Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
Chapter 18 – Once A Ranger
Nearly two years had passed since the last time Kira had morphed, and she had to admit that she missed the thrill that came with it. At thirteen, she was in her last year of junior high and preparing to attend Reefside High in the fall, hoping against hope that her father wouldn't be teaching ninth grade next year, though she suspected she'd luck out; there were a few perks to being on a first name basis with the principal, the relatively newly created Principal Elsa Mercer. After months of dancing around each other, both having felt awkward about the Mesogog and evil Elsa bit, and two years of dating, Anton and Elsa had finally tied the knot, with Trent's full approval and blessing; he really liked Elsa. Both Trent and Ethan were preparing to go into their final year of college, Ethan already having offers from professors to oversee his Masters thesis while Trent had already been promised a full time job at the graphic design company he currently worked part time for. Connor continued to play for the Reefside Flames, and live with his parents, putting away nearly every cent his starting position in minor league soccer gave him, and estimated that after one more year he'd have saved enough get his own place and stand on his own two feet, something, he had to admit, that he was looking forward to. Hayley still ran the Cyberspace, though with much less interruptions what with not having to close at a moment's notice to offer tech support to the Rangers. After her maternity leave, Kim had gone back to her program coordinator job at the gym, taking an almost three year old Eric with her to the daycare there, allowing her to quickly do damage control when he mentioned the Power Rangers in conjunction with his family, which thankfully had only happened once, for he learned quickly that he couldn't speak about it, even if he wasn't entirely sure why he couldn't speak about it.
All in all, everyone's lives progressed quite smoothly. Of course, a Ranger's life was never smooth for long, and while Kira thought that after two years she'd relish a chance to get back in the suit again for a bit, she had no idea how wrong she would soon be proven. In the spring of 2008, Kira and Connor were babysitting her brother one day after school that Connor did not have practice when they were called back into battle, or rather when one of them was. A golden glow appeared directly inside the Olivers' house, somewhat materializing into a humanoid shape.
"Who are you?" Connor demanded as he and Kira jumped up, the latter grabbing her brother. "What do you want?"
"I am the Sentinel Knight, guardian of the Corona Aurora, working alongside the Overdrive Power Rangers to stop evil from laying their hands on the Corona." He replied swiftly. "We are in need of your help. An old enemy of mine has escaped from his imprisonment and cost the Overdrive Rangers their powers. If we do not hurry, all will be lost."
"We both can't just up and leave." Connor said, indicating the kid in Kira's arms. "Besides how do we know you're telling the truth?"
"It is not both of you I am here for, but just the Yellow Ranger." The Sentinel Knight replied. "I am assembling a team of Rangers from various teams throughout time in the hopes that the variety of powers will give an edge to Rangers not created for the protection of the Corona. Other Rangers have already agreed to assist us. Perhaps you will believe one of them." Waving his arm, another beam of golden light entered the house, this one materializing into a very recognizable physical form.
"Uncle Zack!" Both Kira and Eric cried, the almost three year old not having had the same trouble with double syllables as his sister had had.
"Hey guys." Zack replied coming over and taking his godson into his arms while hugging Kira.
"He is your uncle?" The Sentinel Knight asked, confused. He'd known nothing of their familial connection and they looked nothing alike.
"Yeah I am." Zack replied. "And guys he's telling the truth. He came to me first and I had Alpha confirm it."
"Telling the truth or not we're a team." Connor said. "I don't like you going off alone."
"I won't be alone, Uncle Zack and other Rangers will be with me."
"Still…"
"Connor I'll be fine." Kira promised him. "And you'll know probably before I will if that changes and you'll be able to teleport to my side within half a second." Connor looked at her for a moment longer before conceding.
"Alright fine." He took Eric from Zack, knowing they'd both be leaving right that second. "I'll look after Eric till your parents get home." He bent and gave her a kiss on the cheek in farewell, having to bend ever so slightly less as Kira had finally hit five feet. That bit of contact was new in their relationship. As Kira grew the two became more comfortable with each other, beyond just hugs and sitting close together, but not into the realm of anything inappropriate. Connor's feelings had not really changed, though he was hyper aware that she was looking less and less like a kid as time passed, while Kira's feelings had shifted a bit, though mostly due to the start of puberty and boys no longer having cooties. Their bond was taking things slowly and making every change in their feelings very clear, allowing for lots of time to adjust to any changes, but also the absolute certainty of where their relationship was eventually headed.
"Just…be careful." He asked of her and she had time to nod before the Sentinel Knight called on his power and disappeared, taking Zack and Kira with him. They reappeared in a field looking down on a battle scene, taking place right next to one of the oldest historical sites in the world.
"Stonehenge?" Kira asked. "They'll destroy the monument! Not to mention the Rangers…" But before Zack or Kira could do anything, the other Rangers the Sentinel Knight had called on began to arrive. Tree roots erupted from the group, encasing one of the villains inside, just as the two were about to destroy the Overdrive Rangers who'd been knocked to the ground one too many times. Off to the side, a Green Ranger with a cape appeared, recognized from the news as part of the Mystic Force team. Not long after an explosion hit the second monster and out of the resulting smoke came Jack, the Red S.P.D. Ranger. Kira then decided to step in. Morphing on the go, she launched herself into the air and used her Ptera abilities to practically fly at the monster who'd broken through the tree roots, landing gingerly atop Stonehenge, thankful to feel that the giant stones were solid against her weight.
"It's great to be back!" She called, barely seeing as a fourth Ranger joined them, attacking one of the villains with super speed and eventually slowing to reveal Tori, the Blue Ninja ranger. Knowing the only Ranger who was left, if the Sentinel Knight had followed a standard five Ranger team, Kira turned in the direction of Zack and was just in time to see a fully morphed Original Black Ranger swing his Power Axe over his head, bringing it down on the ground and sending shockwaves at the monsters; thankfully he hadn't used his full power or a crater would have split the earth right next to a very old historical monument.
"Looks like you guys could use a little help." He said, addressing the Overdrive Rangers as the others fell in line behind him; even Jack who came from S.P.D. where the Red Ranger was always the leader, fell in line behind Zack for as an Original Ranger, he trumped every other Ranger around, save for the other Originals. It was simply a fact of the Ranger world that the Originals were at the top, no matter their colour. The five Rangers joined together to chase away the two villains before powering down and going to help the Overdrive Rangers.
"Thanks." Said the one in red. "Whoever you are."
"We're glad to help." Zack replied.
"Is anyone else confused here?" asked the one in blue.
"I will answer all of your questions." The Sentinel Knight said, appearing in the clearing.
"But maybe this isn't the best place." Tori added. Everyone agreed wholeheartedly. Stonehenge was a very big tourist attraction and they'd only been driven away because of the battle. Now that it was over, they'd be returning any moment. All eleven Rangers piled into one of the Overdrive Rangers' shuttles, having to take the debris of their vehicles back as well, which finally allowed for hellos and introductions.
"Tori good to see you." Kira said, giving the Blue Ranger a hug. They'd seen each other often enough over the years to have become friends. Connor had gotten in to motocross meaning whenever Blake had a race nearby they went, and Tori was usually there supporting her now fiancée. They'd also visited the Wind Ninja Academy at Sensei's invitation, though they suspected Connor's twin had something to do with it to.
"And Jack, good to see you – Bridge…" She stopped having finally had a chance to see those around her. She'd assumed the Red S.P.D. Ranger was Jack and so had not paid him any attention until now. "Good to see you Bridge." She knew there was a story there, but figured she'd hear it later.
"And you we've never met." She turned to the Green Mystic Ranger, holding out her hand. "Hi, Kira Oliver, Yellow Dino Thunder Ranger."
"Xander, nice to meet you." He said in an Australian accent.
"Well I think that's a good place to start for general introductions." Said Zack, including the Overdrive Rangers as well. "As you heard she's Kira, Yellow Dino Ranger. I'm Zack, the Original Black Ranger."
"Tori, Blue Ninja Ranger."
"Bridge, Red S.P.D. Ranger."
"Xander, Green Mystic Ranger."
"I'm Mack, Red Overdrive Ranger." Their Red Ranger introduced. "These are my friends, Rose, Pink Ranger, Ronny, Yellow Ranger, Will, Black Ranger, Dax, Blue Ranger, and Tyzonn, Mercury Ranger." The each nodded in turn as he said their names. It wasn't long before they arrived at the Hartford mansion and led the veteran Rangers down to their command centre.
"This is way better then a hollowed tree." Xander commented.
"So you've all been Rangers before." Will commented, not entirely sure if he liked having past Rangers coming in to take over for his team.
"Well, except for me." Said Bridge, and Kira knew she'd get the important facts of the story. "I'm not a Ranger yet, but I will be, in the future. In the future, I'm gonna be the Green Ranger. Oh, and then I'm gonna be the Blue Ranger"
"But you're wearing red…?" Rose asked, the standard Ranger colour coding not at all lost on her.
"Oh…uh, yeah…long story short, our mentor who's…well who's a dog, got promoted to Galactic Commander of the Chommell Sector, which used to be run by a bird, but he retired and went down to Miami, then Jack, Sky and I all got promoted, which is how I became the Blue Ranger, then Sky got promoted again, which is why I'm the Red Ranger. Or rather will be."
"Makes sense to me." Said Dax, earning weird looks from every other person in the room, though they were split between him and Bridge.
"In any case, welcome. I'm Andrew Hartford, Mack's dad, and the creator of Operation Overdrive. We're so glad to have you here." The Sentinel Knight then appeared once again and began his own explanation.
"I have asked these previous Power Rangers to help in this time of crisis."
"And we're all happy to help." Zack said. "Once a Ranger…"
"Always a Ranger." Kira finished with him, having heard that sentence for as long as she could remember.
"As the guardian of the jewels, it is my duty to see that they are protected. That is why I have chosen them to replace you as the knew team of Power Rangers." No one looked happy by that news, and Zack decided to clarify.
"Until you get your powers back."
"You mean if we get our powers back." Ronny amended for him, only to have Zack shake his head.
"You'll get your powers back." He promised them. "We just gotta figure out how they were lost in the first place."
"Oh we know how they were lost." Said Andrew. "Thrax severed their connection to the Morphing Grid."
"So it's a simple problem with the Morphing Grid?" Kira asked, hope filling her.
"Well…I don't know if I'd call it simple…" Kira looked up at her uncle and the two smiled at each other.
"Since the rest of us can still morph, the Grid hasn't been destroyed completely. Which means it will be an easy fix. For one person at least." Said Zack, raising his communicator.
"Who?" Rose asked.
"One of the two beings that created the Morphing Grid in the first place." Kira responded.
"Alpha come in." said Zack. No reply came and he tried again only to similar results.
"This can't be good." Kira muttered. If Alpha wasn't responding, there must be something seriously wrong. Or maybe not, for while Alpha didn't answer, someone else did.
"Zack, it's Billy, I've redirected all communication to the Command Centre to me. Alpha's on a recharge cycle."
"You've got to be kidding me." Zack muttered. "Why do things like this happen at the worst possible time?"
"Zack what's going on?"
"Uncle Billy it's Kira." She spoke into her own communicator. "Uncle Zack and I, along with some other Rangers, have been asked to step in for the Overdrive Rangers. Their connection to the Morphing Grid has been cut off. We were hoping Alpha could fix it."
"I'm sure he can, once he's recharged. To break the cycle now could cause irreparable damage to his circuitry."
"How long until he's recharged?" Zack asked.
"I estimate…twenty-four to thirty-six hours."
"So a day or two. Ok, thanks Billy."
"I'll send Alpha your way once he's recharged. Call if you need reinforcements."
"Will do, Zack out." He then looked back up at the others and smiled. "A day or two and we'll have your Morphers back online." He promised, to the Overdrive Rangers' delight.
"Why don't we go upstairs and grab some lunch?" Andrew suggested. "I think there's some stories here that we'd all like to hear. Spencer…this is Spencer by the way." He said, having forgotten to introduce him. "He's our butler, and an important member of the team. You need anything and he'll get it for you. Spencer, can you get some lunch ready?"
"Of course, sir." They all followed him upstairs, heading to the den until lunch was ready.
"So Bridge you wanna elaborate?" Kira asked.
"Yeah, sure. Well Cruger got promoted, as I said, and Jack took his position as Commander of S.P.D. Earth so Sky became the Red Ranger and me the Blue Ranger. Then things got complicated…"
"How?" Zack asked, remembering Bridge from Eric's first birthday, even if he didn't know nearly as much of the story as Kira.
"Sky got Syd pregnant."
"What?!" Kira cried, completely shocked. He was talking about uptight, by the book, no sense of humour Sky, wasn't he?
"That was pretty much our reaction, we didn't even know they were dating. Though apparently they weren't and had just slept together, which just made things that much worse." Said Bridge with a shudder. "That was not a good time. Supreme Commander Grayson showed up and we all thought he was gonna kill Sky. Of course none of us expected Supreme Commander Collins to help him, but she was just as pissed."
"That doesn't surprise me." Kira commented, knowing Jen's temper.
"Well of course Syd had to stop being the Pink Ranger, though she stayed at S.P.D. and helped Kat, and as Red Ranger Sky was directly in danger a lot so the position got taken from him and given to me as none of the Supreme Commanders wanted to risk the child losing its father. So Sky was facing being demoted cause there was no other position for him, and it would have been really bad if it weren't for Jack. He stepped in and said he could use some help so instead of getting demoted, they promoted Sky to Commander alongside Jack and the two have been working together ever since."
"Wow…" That was not what Kira had been expecting when she'd thought of the story of how Bridge became the Red Ranger. Everyone spent the rest of the afternoon talking and telling stories, Zack explaining about Alpha and Zordon and how they'd created the Morphing Grid, until the alarms blared and the new team of Rangers had to go into the field for the first time as a team. They fought Flurious and some of his Chillers, the only difference in this battle then the others they fought being that the main boss was the one commanding them and not a minion. At least it was the only difference, until another enemy showed up.
"What…?" Zack mumbled taking in this new villain. He bore a striking resemblance to Lord Zedd, even having Zedd's staff, though he also possessed some human qualities.
"Uncle Zack, who is that?" Kira asked, recognizing the staff, and not liking where her mind went when she did.
"I don't know." The new villain helped Flurious out before they both disappeared leaving the Rangers to follow a panicking Zack and worried Kira back to the Overdrive command centre.
"Who was that?" Zack demanded. "The one with the staff with at Z at the top?"
"That's Thrax." Andrew answered. "The one who cut the Rangers' connection to the Morphing Grid. Why?"
"Sentinel Knight!" Zack yelled, needing answers. The Knight appeared moments later, along with the Overdrive Rangers who came down upon hearing him yell.
"What is it?"
"Is Thrax in any way related to Lord Zedd?" He so hopped the answer was no.
"He is the son of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa." Both Kira and Zack felt their hearts stop for a moment as that bit of news sunk in.
"Oh…ew gross!" Kira cried, when it did sink in. "He's their son? Those two…? Ew I think I'm gonna be sick."
"And you didn't think that little fact was important?" Zack demanded, also looking a little green.
"Why would it matter who his parents were?"
"Maybe because they were the very first enemies of the Power Rangers. Ever." Zack snarled. "How could you not have known that? You said you chose Rangers for a variety of powers, you must have randomly just picked us out of a hat if you didn't know who our arch-enemies were."
"I think mom, dad and the others have a right to know." Kira said and Zack agreed.
"Andrew, if I give you the entry code can you bring up a video chat?" Andrew nodded and did just that, Kira giving him the code to tap into the computer at the Dino Lab, setting off the alarms in her house and bringing her parents, with Eric and Connor, down.
"Uncle Zack!" Eric cried.
"Hey buddy." Zack replied before being cut off.
"Kira are you alright?" Connor asked, he'd gotten a bit from their bond, but over the years the two had practiced and gotten to the point where while they couldn't hide things necessarily, the other's thoughts weren't front and centre; they had to concentrate, both of them, if they wanted the other to see things clearly.
"I'm fine, Connor." Kira assured him before turning to Zack to pick things up again.
"The enemy we're fighting, the one who cut the Overdrive Rangers' connection to the Morphing Grid, his name is Thrax. He's Rita and Zedd's son." Zack didn't waste time. The news was clearly not welcome to Tommy and Kimberly who both sported confused, then shocked, then disgusted expressions. "There's nothing you can do right now, but we thought you guys had a right to know. Will you tell Billy, Trini and Jason?"
"Sure, make us the bringers of bad news." Kim muttered.
"Of course we'll tell them." Tommy said. "It might be good to look into contacting Rita and Zedd." He referred, of course, to the fact that shortly after The Countdown, they learned that Rita and Zedd had actually been good at one point but Dark Spector turned them evil. Zordon's energy had turned them back, and shortly after they'd sent a message, much to the Original Rangers' shock, apologizing for what they'd done. They hadn't heard from them since, and there had been no mention of a son, but it was worth a shot.
"I'll head to the Command Centre." Zack said as they signed off. Zack then teleported out leaving Kira behind to fill in the others. A half hour later he returned with little more information then they already knew.
"There wasn't much in the archives." He admitted. "Nothing on Zedd, apparently Zordon didn't know about him until he was already evil, but there was a bit on Rita. It said that she was a powerful sorceress of good magic before she was evil, like really powerful. That's it. That's all I got."
"I may be able to get more." Xander spoke up. "Especially if she returned to practicing good magic once she was good again. What time frame are we talking?"
"She would have been turned evil about ten thousand years ago." Said Zack. "And good again in 1998."
"Let me contact Udonna." He did just that returned with news; at least they were getting somewhere.
"Alright, so Udonna doesn't know a Rita, but she has some very interesting information. Apparently the Mystic Mother, of all people, disappeared just over ten thousand years ago only to return in the late '90s. A coincidence maybe?"
"I don't believe in coincidences." Said Kira. "But who's the Mystic Mother?"
"She's the Mother of all good magic, the most powerful sorceress of all time, from anywhere in the universe. If there was royalty in the magical world, she would be it."
"Can we call her?" Zack asked.
"You don't call the Mystic Mother." Xander said with amusement. "She's the Mystic Mother. She knows when she's needed."
"Of course I do." Everyone whipped around to see an apparition much like the Sentinel Knight, though this one with power of pure white. "That's why I'm Mystic Mother."
"She also likes scaring people." Xander muttered, opening the floodgates to a thousand questions from everyone at once, including the Sentinel Knight wondering how someone got through his power into this command centre when they weren't supposed to be able to.
"Quiet!" She growled. "You're all giving me a headache."
"Yep that's her." Zack said with certainty. "I haven't even asked yet and I know it's her. Hey Rita."
"Don't address her so informally." Xander hissed. He meant it that the Mystic Mother was like royalty to the magical community, and she deserved respect.
"Evil against her will or not she's tried to kill all of us since before I was born." Kira said with an eye roll. "If anyone's earned the right to address her informally it's us."
"Yes, I will not deny that." Rita said with a small smile. "You have grown Kira."
"That's what happens in thirteen years."
"And this is the first time she's called you by your name and not 'the Power Brat'…" Zack added. "Man it's weird."
"So sorry you're creeped out." Rita said sarcastically.
"No you're not." Zack snorted. "But we didn't ask you here…or however you got here, for a battle of wits. Your son is causing us problems." Those words shattered the Mystic Mother's calm exterior as she gained a look of both shock and hope.
"He's here? Thrax is here?" She whispered.
"We'll take that as you didn't know." Said Kira.
"No. Neither Zeddy nor I have seen our son in ten years. When Dark Spector rallied his forces we left him with daddy in the M51 galaxy. After Zordon's energy freed us we returned to find daddy and Rito back to normal, but no Thrax. We searched, of course, but was never able to find him."
"Why didn't you come to us for help?" Zack asked, unable to think of losing a child, especially now as Angela was pregnant.
"After everything we'd done to you how could we ask for your help?"
"Yes because we're all about holding grudges." Kira said with a sad smile.
"We forgave you the second we found out you had been turned evil against your will." Zack assured her.
"So…he is evil?" Zack and Kira nodded, causing Rita to sigh. "That must be why I could never find him. As my child he is magically powerful and had he been surrounded by good magic I could have located him. But shrouded in evil I can do nothing. My powers are useless when it comes to dark magic, except to fight it should it try to take over."
"But he's good underneath right?" Kira asked. "We can turn him good again?"
"Yes. Evil can be created but not born. No being can be born evil, they can only learn evil, whether from the cradle or as an adult, or having it forced upon them, it matters not, it is still learned and can be unlearned."
"Alright, so its our job to un-teach it to him." Said Kira.
"Thanks Rita. We'll keep you informed." Zack promised. Rita nodded her thanks but by no means disappeared.
"W-what does he look like?" She asked hesitantly. She'd not seen her son in ten years. His disappearance had always been a mystery and a sore spot with both her and Zedd.
"You sure you want the answer to that?" Kira asked. Rita cringed, knowing he must not look human, but nodded nonetheless.
"He's…well he's like a mutated version of what Zedd looked like." Zack said. "And as I'm sure you remember what Zedd looked like, that's saying something." Rita nodded and with a sad smile disappeared, leaving behind some very confused people. It was up to Kira and Zack to explain the history of Rita and Zedd and that they couldn't destroy Thrax. That last bit didn't sit well with some people, but they got over it pretty quickly when both Zack and Kira heatedly explained the concept of beings forced to be evil and how no one should judge them. The Sentinel Knight then filled in some blanks regarding Thrax, having been the one to imprison him after all, before everyone called it a day, all of them emotionally drained.
-C/K-
The following day started off no better then the last day had ended. The only upside was when Billy called to inform them that Alpha would be recharged closer to the twenty four hour mark and they only had to wait until late that afternoon to get the Morphing Grid fixed. They all waited anxiously for him to teleport in but when he finally did, he wasn't alone.
"Mom, dad…" Kira said, going over to hug her parents. "What are you guys doing here?" She addressed the entire congregation, which included all the Original Rangers.
"We wanted to be here when you faced Thrax." Tommy said. "We won't step in, unless needed of course, this is your battle, but we wanted to be here."
"If that's ok with whoever owns this house." Kim added.
"Of course it is." Andrew said, stepping forward and introducing himself, before he and the Overdrive Rangers were introduced to the other Originals.
"We're sorry for this." Jason said. "Rita and Zedd were our responsibility and we let them get away, meaning Thrax got away too. This is our fault."
"From what we've heard none of you had any idea that Thrax even existed." Said Tyzonn. "I don't see how that could be your fault." Jason and the others pursed their lips but said nothing else.
"Uh…this is Alpha." Kira introduced the robot. "He's going to be fixing the Morphing Grid."
"Hello Overdrive Rangers." Alpha greeted having been brought up to speed by Billy. "If I could borrow your Morphers, I shall return to the Command Centre and be able to locate your Morphers' energy signature and what is blocking it from accessing the Grid. I shall then be able to repair it and return them to you." They didn't hesitate in handing their Morphers over and both Alpha and Billy teleported out.
"Hey, who's watching Eric?" Kira asked her parents as they waited none too patiently for Alpha and Billy's return.
"Oh Connor's watching him. As well as Lily." Tommy said with a smirk.
"You sure that's wise?" She asked with her own smirk. "I get that you're thinking they'll run him ragged but did you ever think it'd be the other way around?"
"Evidently not." Rose said as everyone laughed at Tommy, and Jason's, worried expressions.
"If my daughter is in anything but pristine condition when we get back I'm going to murder you Tommy." Jason growled.
"Let's save the murdering ok?" Trini asked, though it wasn't really a suggestion. Not long after, Billy and Alpha returned handing the Overdrive Rangers their newly rebuilt Morphers, much to their delight.
"I have also reinforced their connection to the Morphing Grid." Alpha explained. "Never again can the connection be severed unless the entire Grid is destroyed."
"Which we're gonna hope never happens." Said Jason. "Cause if it does, none of us will have Ranger powers." Suddenly the alarms blared. Everyone rushed downstairs to the command centre, the Originals trailing behind them. Thrax had appeared with every one of the Overdrive Rangers' enemies, of which they seemed to have many instead of the standard one or two.
"Well, I don't know if they waited until you got your powers back or if they think they're ahead of us but they're wrong. Either way I'm glad they didn't attack till now." Andrew said.
"I'll say." Zack muttered. "Let's go Rangers!" Alpha teleported them all to the quarry via remote attached to the Command Centre's transport core, he and the Originals, except Zack, staying back. Upon arriving at the quarry Zack and Kira tried to talk to Thrax, testing the waters.
"Thrax!" Zack called. "You don't need to do this! Your parents have been searching for you for ten years, they love you Thrax!"
"You can go home. You can be a family like you never had the chance to be." Kira added.
"My parents were weak and succumbed to goodness." Thrax snarled. "But I will restore their legacy by destroying you in their place! Then I will take my revenge on the Sentinel Knight, and only then will I take my place as ruler of the universe!"
"Unfortunately we can't let that happen." Tori said.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
"Nothing…I guess…" Zack said sadly.
"Let's do it!" Mack yelled. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Overdrive Accelerate!"
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!"
"S.P.D. Emergency!"
"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"
"It's Morphin' Time! Black Ranger Power!"
"But how? I destroyed your Ranger powers!" Thrax shouted at the Overdrive Rangers, having thought they'd come as nothing more then foolish powerless Rangers.
"That's what you thought!" Dax countered.
"Fine, no matter. We shall just destroy you now. Attack!" Every villain charged at once, and the Rangers more or less split off by colour as per standard team up procedure. The exceptions were Kira and Zack who paired together against Thrax, their Overdrive counterparts pairing together, while Tyzonn, Xander and Rose paired up, there being no other Ranger on this team with the same colour as them. The battle was quite short, the build up to these kinds of fights always taking so much longer then the battle itself. At the end, when it became apparent that the Rangers would win, the evil villains turned on each other, foregoing their brief alliance in favour of saving their own necks. Thrax was still squaring off against Kira and Zack when he realized he was the only villain there.
"Curses!" He growled before knocking the two Rangers back. "This is not the end, Power Rangers. We will meet again and you will be defeated!" He then took off, having immediately known that he alone couldn't stand up to eleven Rangers. And so, with their enemies gone, the Rangers returned back to the Hartford mansion. Kira and Zack left the younger ones, not by age obviously given Kira was the youngest, but by time spent as a part of the Ranger universe, and headed downstairs to meet up with their family, none of them noticing as Andrew and Spencer made a quiet retreat.
"We failed." Kira murmured despondently. "We let him get away."
"I can't imagine what Rita and Zedd must have gone through." Zack said. "Angie's only four months pregnant and I already can't imagine a life without that baby the doctor says isn't much bigger then my fist."
"Thank you for your kind words, Zack." The Rangers whirled around to see the apparition of Mystic Mother, though five of them were seeing her for the first time. "Though they are not deserved."
"Forget whatever happened when you were evil." Kim said, realizing that this was Rita, no matter how different she looked. "That doesn't matter anymore. What matters is what you've done since and from what we've heard you've watched over good magic and helped the Mystic Force Rangers destroy their arch-enemy. Sounds like you're doing pretty good to me."
"You Rangers were always too kind and trusting." She said before calling off to the side of wherever she was. "Zeddy come here!" Not long after a man walked into the projection area, or Rita cast her magic on him, or however she was appearing before them. He was obviously Zedd, Rita had made that perfectly clear, but if she hadn't they never would have known that he was the former Lord Zedd for he was human. No more radiator mouth with his brain showing and looking like his skin had been turned inside out, he was a middle aged human with brown hair and blue eyes; the only weird thing about him being his clothes which were of a similar style to Rita's.
"Hello Rangers." He said. They merely waved, too shocked were they to speak. Rita looked drastically different, of course, but it was more like a change of clothes and hairstyle, not going from monster to human.
"I see we've broken them." Zedd laughed. "After all those years of trying to destroy them all it took was an appearance change."
"Thrax escaped." Rita said to her husband once his laughter had died down, effectively draining any hint of amusement.
"I see." He sighed, gaining that sad expression they all wore. "Thank you for trying. And we apologize for all the trouble he's caused."
"Don't worry about it." Jason said, finding his voice. "He'll be back one day, and we'll be ready. We'll get him back at that time, we promise."
"You're showing us kindness we do not deserve."
"I already said that." Rita imputed.
"Well now I'm saying it." Zedd said back. As they disappeared from sight, the two proved that although they were good again, not much had changed in their marriage and they still bickered constantly.
"Can we go home now?" Kira asked.
"Of course." Jason said, wrapping an arm around his goddaughter as they led the way up the stairs. "I gotta rescue my daughter from your mate."
"Both Eric and Lily are fine, I promise." Kira laughed, having connected with Connor through their bond. "They're both napping."
"Wait…napping?" Trini asked as they entered the den where the others were gathered. "They don't want to nap when we put them down. How did he do it?"
"He's just that good." Kira replied with a shrug.
"Tommy, I will have to kill you if you've been keeping Connor-the-wonder-babysitter all to yourself." Trini warned.
"Why is it always me?" Tommy asked. "What about Kim? What if she's been holding out on you too?"
"There is a very simple explanation for that." Billy spoke up. "Kim has us all whipped and afraid of her. You do not." Tommy hung his head in defeat, saying he gave up. The five Originals who had arrived with Alpha then said their goodbyes and left with their robot friend, leaving the others to hang around for a bit and say a proper goodbye.
"First I was glad when you came." Dax said as they all finally prepared to leave. "Then I was mad when you stayed. Now I'm sad that you're leaving."
"Yeah, it was great working with you guys." Ronny agreed. "We'd love to see you again."
"You guys too." Said Tori. "And good luck with Flurious and the others." Just then, Spencer came into the room.
"Your toast Master Bridge." He presented a stack of toast at least ten slices high to the Red S.P.D. Ranger who looked like he could eat the whole thing in one bite.
"Is it…?" he asked.
"The butteriest." Spencer assured him, earning a look of pure love as Bridge dug in.
"Now just remember, if you need anything we're just a phone call away." Said Xander.
"Here, my card." Tori said handing one to Andrew.
"Tori Hanson, Blue Bay Harbour Custom Surf Boards. Impressive."
"It's just a side job what with the whole Ninja Academy Sensei thing. But I do pretty well."
"And guys, if you're ever in Briarwood stop by the Rock Porium, I'll get you a ten percent discount."
"And I'm in Reefside." Kira said. "Uncle Zack's in Los Angeles, Aunt Trini and Uncle Jason are in Angel Grove, along with Alpha, and Uncle Billy's in London England, so between us and all the other Rangers we know, we got you covered should you visit pretty much anywhere in California. Or London." The others laughed when she said that, though it was comforting to know that there were so many other Rangers out there, willing to help if needed. They all knew, of course, that there were other Ranger teams that came before them, but except for Lightspeed Rescue and Time Force, once a Ranger team was no longer active, you never really heard about them so it was pretty easy to forget about them all, and as Lightspeed and Time Force seemed so far out of reach due to their importance all around the world, it was also easy to forget that you weren't alone, that there were other Rangers out there all working towards the same goal no matter whether they were active Rangers or not. Because once a ranger, always a ranger.
A/N - I could not resist bringing Rita and Zedd into the picture, I really couldn't. I know in the show Thrax gets destroyed, but I've kept him alive for a reason. I'm not gonna say what, but you definitely haven't seen the last of him! ;)
Review please!