"RPM! Get in Gear!"
With a burst of light, the five newcomers morphed into their Ranger suits, standing in a line of red, blue, yellow, black, and, green as before the murderous robot and its horde.
"That…" gasped Ben.
"They're…!" Jake stammered.
Even Hilary was at a loss for words. "Those are…!"
The five new Power Rangers stepped forward, primed and ready.
"Time for you to go back where you came from." the Red Ranger taunted.
"Yeah!" added the Green, "Because we're going send you to the scrap heap, which'll be real uncomfortable because there are no soft beds to sleep on there!"
Suddenly, the other four Rangers all looked at their green Ranger.
"Ziggy?" asked the Blue, thick Scottish reverberating from beneath his helmet "What did we tell you about adding to our trash talk?"
"To not…" The Green groaned.
"Guys, can we do this later?" Yellow asked them. "We've still got an attack-bot to deal with."
"Yeah?" Black retorted. "Well, not for long!"
Then all five snapped their pistols from their sides, unfolding them into swords before charging into the fray. From the sidelines, the onlooking teens watched the five new Rangers carve a path through the swarm, the strange orange warriors knocked aside as if they were nothing.
But for all the new Rangers' efforts, plowing through the ranks to make their way to the larger robot, the foot soldiers were already rising behind them. And with their focus all on the big one, their backs were vulnerable to a counterattack.
Ray whipped around to Hilary. "You said our powers still worked, right?"
"Yeah," she nodded cautiously, "but I've got no idea how long they're going to hold out for."
"We can't just let them handle this by themselves," Ben countered. "We've got to do something."
Hilary gave no protest, giving only a firm and silent nod as the others equally agreed.
"Hey! Don't forget who brought you here!" Ray taunted. The robots suddenly whipped around, confused at the sudden attitude from the teens as Ray stepped before the team with his Morpher held at the ready. "You guys ready?"
"Ready!"
"Data Squad! Digitize!"
Their suits swirled around them, flashing into existence as the power surged through them and Data Rangers soared into the fray. Ray's boots skidded to a stop beside the other Red Ranger, and the man spun around, completely taken aback by their arrival.
"Huh? What?"
"You handle metalhead over there!" Ray yelled to the other red Ranger, "We'll take care of these guys!"
Before the Ranger could reply, a group of robots lunged at Ray. He spun on the spot, snatching out his modem blade and striking three of them down. The eagle-faced Ranger nodded cautiously.
"Right," he agreed. "Rangers, we'll deal with the attack bot. Leave the Grinders to these guys!"
"More Rangers?" exclaimed the green one. "Doc K, how many more of these guys have got coming out of the woodwork?"
Whatever reply was met with a groan as the other team returned their attention to the monster and the Data Squads lunged into the horde.
The first Grinder came at Ray, the Red Ranger spinning into a kick to knock it into the two behind. He then leaped, rolling over another to deliver a kick, spinning on his feet to flip his Modem Sword down into a pistol. Then he opened fire, lasers barraging into the remaining bots and exploding all around them.
Beside him, Hilary had waded into the thick of it, vaulting into a powerful tornado kick that barreled the Grinders' back. She dropped as she landed, sweeping the leg to trip over another one just as one came charging at her with a sword. Hilary stood tall as she turned to face it, meeting its blade with her own as she batted back the strike, and the robot stumbled in recoil. Then she surged forward, flipping into a powerful swipe that sent it flying into its comrades. The perfect angle for Ben, charging like a bowling bowl through skittles, Modem Sword swinging wild as he carved the Grinders left from right.
On the other flank, Johnny ducked and weaved between the orange robots, spinning and striking to take them out one by one. Beside him, Jake leaped high, vaulting off the crate to land beside the Black Ranger, Modem Blaster at the ready.
"Shall we?" he offered.
"Yeah!"
The two Rangers opened fire, peppering into the large cluster of Grinders and blowing to bits as the other three rushed beside them.
As they turned back to the new group of Rangers, they saw the five of them gathered around a large cannon.
"RPM Enforcer!" they called as the yellow Ranger produced a large, matching data card, ramming it into the slot on the side. "Engine Cell, Activate!"
"Fire!"
The canon hounded as a yellow round burst from the barrel, flashing across the distance and colliding with the monster as it burst into a column of flames.
"Good to see some things never change," Ray noted.
But it wasn't over yet. Fresh from the impact, the monster's eyes snapped open, its body beginning to glow with blinding light as its limbs and torso swelled in size. Moments later, it was back up and energized towering over the city in a gigantic form.
"In more ways than one," Jake agreed.
The Red Ranger ahead of them wasted no time, snapping his morphing device from his waist while the others did the same.
"Calling Zords!"
All threw back their arms, light bursting from their chest as six great vehicles materialized on the road onto the road. The Rangers leaped into the cockpits, the vehicles forming on the track as they began to shift together. Moments later a mighty mechanized warrior stood before them, all six vehicles combined in formation that now blocked the giant robot's path.
"Their Zords are cars?" Ben exclaimed, "That's so cool!"
The fight lasted barely a moment; they didn't summon their sword. Instead, the six connected Zords began glowing with colored light, building with bright intensity before unleashing a prismatic barrage that tore right through the creature. The beams sliced through its form, puffs of flame bursting off its body before combining into a massive fireball that blasted it to bits. Then, with the giant monster done and dusted, the large mecha vanished from the sky, the five Rangers landing on the ground to stand before the Data Team.
They stood in a line, each color facing the other, all staring each other down in uncertainty. Then Ray felt the suit around him start to falter, the power rapidly sapping from his body. In a flash of light, their suits disappeared, almost ripped from their bodies and the five teens stumbled forward, exposed and standing in their civilian clothes.
Out in the desert, he'd hoped the short morph was just the strain from his Battleizer. But Hilary hadn't been wrong, lucky as they were to still have some powers, their connection wasn't strong enough to be relied upon.
"Power down!" the other Rangers called.
They too dismissed their suits in a flash of light, returning them to their colored t-shirts and matching leather jackets. Now de-morphed, the man in red scanned Ray from head to toe. "Who are you guys?"
"Honesty," Ray admitted. "We were kind of hoping to ask you guys the same thing."
"We're not exactly from… around here," Johnny tried to explain.
"Guys?" the Scottish man suggested, "Maybe we should take this somewhere else?"
"Flynn's right," the girl in yellow agreed. "This is the kind of thing Doctor K will want to look into."
The boy in red paused for a minute, then nodded.
"I'll get my dad to send a scanning team to the garage," he decided. "This could still be a Venjix trick. Once we know you're on our side, the five of you will have a lot of explaining to do."
Then he coolly slid into the driver's seat of his car, the other Rangers doing the same as the five Data Rangers hurried to follow in uncertainty.
As Ray leaped into the passenger seat, Jake turned to look at him.
"So much for the welcome wagon."
GET IN GEAR- PART II
Far out in the wasteland, a mighty city of factories stood beneath the skies of blanketed smog. Smoke billowed from their stacks, rivers of toxins flowed from their pipes, and the entire complex stretched as far as the eye could see, like a blackened scar.
Machines to build machines, and each one for a singular, targeted purpose: the complete and utter extinction of the human race. Within their tower, the master of all earth surveyed their domain from their confining tube with a burning, crimson eye. The harbinger of extinction- Lord Venjix.
"General Shifter!" the voice bellowed through the halls, heard through all the buildings. Within the factories of the machine city, no one could escape Venjix's call. The large, golden general shuffled meekly into the room to stand before his master.
"You called for me, Master Venjix?"
"I grow tired of your excuses, General!" The voice boomed. "Once again your attack-bot failed to infiltrate the city.
"The city even helped you open the shields," added a sneering voice behind the tower. A woman, dressed in a metallic purple catsuit stepped out into the open, expression both disdainful and bored. "But don't worry, I'm sure lots of Generals are foiled by teenagers in a rust-bucket car."
"Silence, Tenya!" Venjix replied, "Unless you too wish to be reminded of your failures."
"My lord, we were unprepared!" Shifter insisted. "We received no intelligence that any survivors were lurking in the Cranston ruins. I have dispatched more Grinders to wipe out any others."
But before the three of them could argue further, a third robot rushed into the room. Its figure was hunched, its head protruding well beyond its body. It skidded to a stop before its master, arms flailing excitedly.
"My lord Venjix!" proclaimed Crunch, "We have found intruders requesting an audience."
"And let me guess," sighed Tenaya sarcastically, "Because you thought it was such a good idea, you let them walk right through the front door?"
"Yeah! They said they could help us defeat the Power Rangers."
If his face could move, he no doubt would have smiling like the imbecile he was, and Tenaya could only roll her eyes at his ineptitude. But whatever the intentions of the newcomers, their master clearly wished to see for themselves.
"Bring them in!" ordered Venjix.
The doors hissed open on all sides, fresh steam flushing into the room as Grinders hurried from the edges. Forming a perimeter, their weapons snapped to the ready as three others entered by the main door. A lizard with a tortoise shell, a beetle with a cannon for an arm, and a woman in olive green armor.
"Nice digs," commented Mileena, "very industrial-shique."
"Glad you appreciate," Tenaya snarled, wrist blaster, snapping out and whirring at the newcomers. "You'll like it even more once you're scattered across the floor."
"SILENCE!" Venjix bellowed, the surrounding Grinders whirring as their weapons primed for triggering. "You have five seconds to explain your presence, and why you shouldn't be destroyed."
Mileena's hand snapped to her sword before Kelgar stretched out his own to stop her. Then he stepped forward to kneel before the glowing red eye.
"Almighty Venjix!" hailed Kelgar, "We are but humble pilgrims, travelers from the distant past in search of your magnificence. We too battle Power Rangers, and have come seeking technology with which to destroy them."
Tenaya scoffed, rolling her eyes as she cast a disproving glare at her master. "Destroy the Power Rangers? Well, you're definitely in the wrong place."
"SILENCE!" Venjix roared again. "Tell me, stranger, what is that you propose?"
"Lord Venjix, I believe that we can help each other," Kelgar offered. "By offering our services, we will help you destroy the Power Rangers of your time. Then, with the power of your technology, we will travel back and destroy our own!"
"Welcome to HQ," Scott announced as the doors slide open to invite the Rangers.
"Okay," said Jake, eyes widening, "Not that I'm complaining, but our command center is an abandoned warehouse!"
Having been cleared of carrying Venjix hardware, the Data Rangers were at last released by city security and immediately brought to the RPM base of operations. Jake wasn't kidding. Their warehouse had always been fairly spartan, but compared to this?
Pool table, entertainment area, fully functional kitchen! And, most importantly as far as Ben was concerned, a properly stocked mechanic's workshop.
"Nice ride," he whistled at Scott's streetcar. "How many hundred horses you got under there? Six?"
"Seven," the Red Ranger grinned.
"Ben," Hilary warned, "Can you try to stop thinking about cars for more than thirty sec- whoa!" The Yellow Ranger stopped dead in her tracks as the hydraulic doors hissed open and revealed the lab behind. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Okay, I'm with Ben on this one. It's like I've died and gone to heaven!"
Johnny stepped over to an astounded Jake and Ray. "You'd think we'd just expect this by now."
"One would think," replied Ray.
"Yup," Ziggy announced, stepping in front of the new Rangers to give the tour. "It's very impressive. Nothing but the best for us; we're kind of a big deal around here."
"It's almost like the city wants us well-equipped when standing between them and complete annihilation," Dillon commented dryly.
"Well, yeah, that… I guess."
"We better take you through to Doctor K," said Summer. "She's probably going to be the best person to figure all this out."
"Oh yeah," agreed Ziggy. "And one thing you should know about Dr. K; she can be a little… cold."
As the five of them stepped into the lab, they were greeted by the sound of another hissing door, behind which was a very short girl, labcoat almost oversized over what appeared to be a school uniform, her black hair shorn in a crude bowl-cut and a glare of almost irritated curiosity. The Rangers could only stare. She was so young! Easily their own age, maybe even less! And she was going to figure out their way home?
"Data Squad Rangers," she addressed them.
"Hey, hey Doc, get this," said Ziggy excitedly. "Not only these people also Rangers, but they've, wait for it… traveled through time!"
Doctor's expression was blank as she merely nodded to his statement. "Yes, Operator Series Green. I had surmised as much already."
And just like that, every single head in the room whipped around with dropping jaws to stare at the tiny doctor, all aghast at the utter and blunt casualness with which she'd said it. Moments later, Ziggy expressed what they were all thinking.
"Hang on," he stammered. "What?"
"Clearly," Dr K stated. "These Rangers have been chronologically displaced from their own timeline and transported to our own. Now, if finished with your stupid questions, Ranger Green, I have a lot of work to do."
2009
"Okay," Kyle decided, standing in the middle of the square with the jury-rigged device strapped to his chest. "Step me through it one more time."
Doc breathed in deeply as he followed the cords wired to Kyle and stood by the computer desk they'd set up.
"When the attacks collided, it created a cataclysmic temporal event, temporarily punching a hole in the time-space continuum and sucking the Rangers in. While that hole has now closed, it left behind faint traces of remnant tachyons that I've been able to zero in on and use to pick up the trail. If, if, my calculations are correct, then this device, powered through a surge triggered by your morphing sequence, should latch on to the lingering chronal tail and pull from our timeline and into the one where the Rangers are now stranded." Finally allowing a breath, Doc looked nervously up at the Security Ranger. "Did any of that make sense?"
Kyle paused, eyes scrunching for a moment as he processed Benson's explanation. "Nope, still didn't follow a word of that. I'm just going to trust you're right," he decided. "Are you sure this thing is safe?"
"NO!" Doc exclaimed. "None of this is safe! Why do you think I was trying to explain to you how insane all of this is?"
Kyle gulped down as he stared again at the wiring strapped to his chest. It really was all or nothing.
"Kyle," Benson warned. "Even if this does work, I don't know if I can bring you back. For all we know, this is a one-way trip."
"Julian, I have to get to them," Kyle insisted. "If that virus is in that timeline with them, then they're going need every bit of help they can get."
Both men stood in silence, breathing tensely in full appreciation of the gravity of what they were doing. Then, at last, Doc looked up and nodded. "Then I guess we're doing this."
He rushed to the computer and began typing like mad. "Remember," he warned. "Once you go through the temporal vortex your armor is all that's keeping you safe. Do not de-morph until you're on the other side."
"Just how bad is it if I do it too early?" Kyle asked, dreading the response.
"Absolute best case? Be ready to go through puberty again."
Kyle gulped down and nodded, moving over to stand on the small scorch marks where the blasts had collided. By then Doc had finished the priming sequence.
"All right, here goes," he decided. "Ready for chronal event. Good luck, Kyle."
Kyle pulled out his Morpher, punched in the code, then clicked it to the rig on his chest. "Data Squad!" he roared. "Digitize!"
Light burst from his chest, the familiar armor materializing around his body. Only this time it didn't stop, the energy of the grid shifting into blue and black energy swirling all around him. Spark arced against the ground, growing into a vortex that surged forward and grabbed him. He barely had a moment to look at Benson, stare at him with pleading, praying terror, before the tendril yanked him in with the full force of whiplash.
Then Kyle was falling. It was like a pit with no bottom, nothing but downward thrust as the vortex roiled in all directions, spinning and tossing him like clothes in a dryer. The light around him was shifting, bleeding into all colors as a strange sensation twisted at his insides. At his nerves. At his very fabric of existence.
Already he could feel his armor shifting, flicking as the energy burned against him, sparks tearing at the plating as the entire protection threatened to shatter with every spark.
Hold on, he begged, just hold on!
Then beneath him was a glowing, burning brightness so consuming he squeezed his eyes to look away. Like the falling maelstrom was going to open to an even greater void. Only instead, he found the bottom, and with a flash, he dropped and thudded onto the hard and dusty concrete.
Every inch of his skin was tingling, smoke rising from his limbs as his heart raced in subsiding panic. His armor had completely vanished, now lying in his civilian clothing on the hardened rock beneath the scorching sun. His world was still spinning, and despite the sudden sedentariness, it was all he could manage to not be sick.
But he'd made it! Or, at the very least, he was alive and not having an awful revisit to his pre-teen years.
Pushing back the oozing lump in his throat, Kyle slowly rose to his feet to begin examining his surroundings. It was no longer night, the sky instead pushing closer to dusk, the blazing ball descending to the west over the dry and dusty landscape. It was only then that his eyes widened in horror and he realized where he was.
He was still in Cranston City Square. Whereas moments before it had been rising around him, the epicenter of the city's joy and community, now all that surrounded him were crumbled ruins. And as the dust kicked up with the wind, he realized no single noise could be heard. The device had worked, all right, but now he was desperately wishing it hadn't.
"Hello?" he called out in the vain hope that his missing Rangers, and only his missing Rangers, were nearby. So far, nothing. "Guys, are you there?"
Something moved in the distance, betrayed by the soft sound of crumbling rock. His head whipped around, a tense silence filling the distance between them. Cautiously Kyle crept towards it.
"Is someone there?" he asked hushed whisper. "Maybe you could help me?"
But as he took another step, a shadow started to emerge from the ruined, and Kyle's heart stopped dead. His ears were filled with the familiar whirring of machinery, the figure rising from the darkness to meet him with a face of rusted steel.
A robot.
"Not good," he breathed. "Not good!"
The machine came at him, arms stretched wide in a pounce as Kyle scampered on the defensive. The first strike missed, swinging through the dusty air as it recovered fast and launched again. This time Kyle was ready, his arm snapping high like a bar of steel that collided with the blow, smashing it back as his fist struck hard in the chest.
But as the creature stumbled back, its feet nearly tripping in the sand, the whirring of joints only grew louder. And it was no longer just coming from his opponent. Heart rate growing, Kyle dared a look around as his eyes widened to see more and more of them crawl out of the city's shadows.
Their glowing eyes focused tightly on him.
Time to go!
He abandoned his fight and bolted. Not a moment too soon. The robots snatched their weapons and opened fire after seeing the sudden movements. Ribbons of light unfurled from the barrels, slicing across the air before exploding on contact with the ground. The maze of shots collided, fusing into a booming barrage that blasted everything back, human and robot alike.
The force swept Kyle from his feet, scooping him as he ran to send him hurling several feet and sprawling into the dirt. Fighting threw the throbbing and grazes of his landing, Kyle was already on his feet. Behind him he could hear the whirring of his enemies, they two already rising to chase after him.
And his team was still nowhere in sight, but right now he had bigger problems. He'd be no help to them if he didn't live until morning.
Hoping to hell he found them soon and wondering what awful hellscape he'd been thrown into, Kyle took off towards the buildings, running for dear life with murderous robots close behind.