Thunder Before the Storm
Rose looked up from her desk and put her glasses away. The twenty-four-year-old looked over at a photograph on her desk of her fellow rangers as her advisor at Oxford came into her office.
"I need you to cover my class tomorrow," the older man told her.
Rose shrugged, "Sorry, I'm leaving town again today, family emergency."
She could tell by his expression that he wasn't thrilled with her response.
"If you want to be promoted to a full professor someday, Rose, don't thank that your frequent truancy will do you any favors." He turned his back to her. "I'm afraid you've been highly unreliable these last few weeks and I'm going to have to take points off on your evaluation."
Rose shook her head, "Doctor Brown, please..."
"You're a brilliant young woman, Miss Ortiz, but that doesn't guarantee any special treatment."
"I'm not asking for special treatment, sir. If I didn't have to leave, I promise you I wouldn't."
"How long will you be absent?"
"I'm not really sure, I don't really know how bad the situation is in California." She had just finished cleaning and locking her desk.
"I thought your family lived in London?"
"This is a different family." She was getting irritated with him. "Look, I have to leave. It's summer session so I'm sure you'll find some professor off duty who can cover your class."
Rose grabbed her purse and brushed past him. By the time she made it to her car she was wishing that she hadn't even bothered to leave after the wedding. It would have made things a lot easier, and she knew "easy" wasn't a word she would be using again anytime soon.
She met her private pilot on the runway, an employee of Andrew Hartford. He asked her how she was briefly before closing the cockpit and in a few minutes they were in the air.
They landed six hours later, and she was off the plane and in Mack's arms before ten minutes had passed.
"What's going on?" she asked him, letting him lead her off to his car.
"About a week ago Dad got a call from Billy Cranston. He was pretty surprised to hear from anyone so soon. It's only been about three weeks, but it turns out that the situation is pretty bad. Jason got a message from Trey of Triforia warning him about some new threat and Wes Collins has something to show us at BioLab."
Rose raised her eyebrows. "BioLab?"
Mack ruffled his short curly hair and rolled down the windows in his new Lexus. He shrugged, telling her that he knew as little as she did.
"What does this have to do with us?" Rose questioned, feeling the hot California air assault her once again.
"I wish I could tell you it was good news, but with Trey's message and Wes's call coinciding so closely, I doubt we will be receiving anything but bad omens in Silver Hills."
Mack pulled the car up in the drive of his San Angeles home that he shared with his father, Andrew.
Spencer, the Hartford's butler, took Mack's car and they rushed inside. It was immaculate as always in the interior of the house, adorned with priceless artifacts and the toys of a billionaire and his twenty-five-year-old son who was addicted to the latest technology.
Andrew saw Rose and hugged her briefly, then, as always, he got down down to business.
"You'll be heading to Silver Hills when Ronny and Will get here. I'll be linked to you by satellite in case you need me."
"In case there's some action, Dad?" Mack asked. Andrew ignored him wholeheartedly.
"Bet you wish you hadn't bothered going back," Dax called as he climbed the stairs from the basement.
"I'm probably going to lose my job, so I guess it was a waste of perfectly good time."
"What do you mean?" Mack asked, noting the sadness in her voice.
"Dr. Brown said he doesn't feel that I'm reliable enough for a full professorship. Maybe it was just meant to be. I was probably stupid to think that I could get a job there anyway."
"It wasn't stupid, Rose. I'm sure things will work out."
She didn't seem convinced.
Dax was holding an audition script, his face alight with the prospect of winning the lead in a new kung-fu film.
Mack didn't have the heart to tell him that they would likely miss the audition, but Dax already knew that and was just trying to keep hope alive for his tumultuous career.
"Hey, Dax, didn't I read this one?" he asked. The cover read Shanghai Cops! in big red letters.
"I dunno, they're all novels and remakes these days." He grabbed the script back and pretended to front kick Mack.
"What's going on?" Will asked, making his way through the front door and collapsing on the sofa. He was wearing a black Hollister tee and gray Bermuda shorts and looked like he'd just been running.
"We're screwed," Rose rebutted, flinging her arms dramatically.
"I just left a race in Phoenix, so this better be good," Ronny said haughtily. She threw her purse next to Will and vaulted over the arm to sit next to him.
"Welcome back, Rangers," Andrew called as he came up the stairs. Tyzonn came behind him with a thoroughly startled look. "We need to talk before you head out for Silver Hills."
Spencer handed them all glasses of lemonade and sat down next to Mack.
"I want you all to promise me that you'll but 100% into this project."
Will nodded, followed by Ronny, who seemed confident that Wes's call was more important than cars, and Dax who took the oath without hesitation while throwing the script back in his backpack.
"Rose?" Andrew asked, seeing all eyes on her.
"My position is really important..."
Her companions all looked expectantly, waiting for her to say she was leaving.
"Rose?" Mack repeated with concern, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"But there will always be new opportunities, and my first priority is as a Ranger." She put her hand out and they all shook on it.
Carter Grayson lowered himself off the bar, counting the pull ups he'd just completed, eighteen. He turned around and immediately lost concentration on his workout. The men standing behind him weren't fellow firemen. Bill Mitchell and two other Lightspeed officers were waiting for him.
"Sir?" he asked, feeling a sudden shudder wrack his body. Mitchell's expression wasn't that of an idle visit.
"Carter," he said briskly. "We have a situation..."
Carter could barely remember the whirlwind drive to base. The traffic blazed by so fast he could feel the spit in his mouth dry as it caught the wind.
He looked up at the monitor from his chair next to Chad Lee.
The room was deathly silent for the duration of Mitchell's speech about the call they'd received, the impending attack, and being sent to Silver Hills.
"Dad, did they say why we're going to Silver Hills?" Ryan was in his swimming trunks and a tee, his dark blond hair disheveled and wet, clearly bewildered by the midday change of plans. He'd been on a shallow dive when he'd received a call, pulling him away from his GPS search and into his father's office.
"Wes didn't want this message to fall into the wrong hands, it's utterly vague."
Dana shook out her long hair and nodded. "They wanted a medical team standing by, so it sounds serious."
Kelsey let her brilliant blue eyes linger on the display. "Why are there flashing red dots marking several California cities?"
"I was emailed this map and told that each of these points is being set up as a strategic command center."
"It's all the places where Rangers are currently living," Joel noted, bouncing daughter, Ainslee, on his knee.
"Angel Grove, Turtle Cove, Mariner Bay, Silver Hills, Reefside, Briarwood, San Angeles..." Angela Fairweather pointed out several of the flashing points. "All we have to do is click on one of the points and we'll be linked in real time to the command there via satellite video."
Chad looked surprised as he was handed a fancy looking watch.
"These portable devices link to this network."
Chad pressed a button and several codes popped up on the digital display
"Wow," Kelsey exclaimed, fastening her new communicator to her wrist. "This is new."
"As you can see, this technology will allow you to communicate across time and space as long as the signals remain up and running."
"What about Turtle Cove?" Carter asked, noting that only a flashing 'no signal' text appeared instead of a name.
Joel looked over at his wife, "Angela?" Her face was turning paler.
Fairweather looked down at the watch on Carter's wrist. "That shouldn't have happened, something's wrong..."
Leo Corbett pulled his Quasar Saber from the stone and took a step back, running his fingers down the blade. He looked at his reflection. The face of the man who looked back at him was not the same man who had pulled the sword from its housing nearly a decade prior. He had the trace of a five-o-clock shadow on his cheekbones and his features were more defined, hardened by his experiences in battle. the black short-sleeved shirt he wore suddenly seemed out of place. Even though Mirinoi was always warm, Leo was suddenly cold inside, and the unfamiliar tingle of a chill ran down the length of his body.
Kai Chen stepped forward, feeling the weather change. He had also changed dramatically since his saber encounter in 1999. He didn't feel like the carefree young soldier he'd been. Everything in his life had changed. He braced himself and pulled the saber cleanly from the stone.
Damon Henderson came up to the stone and pulled out his saber swiftly, barely feeling the weight in his muscled arm. He too noted the changes in his face. He carried the weight of all their victories and failures.
Maya stepped forward, the Mirinoian woman wore a long black skirt and a tan tank that bared most of her midriff. Maya pulled the Quasar Saber from the stone easily and looked too at her reflection. Her long hair was flowing around her shoulders in thick tresses, her full lips parted almost sultrily. She missed the first time she'd felt the sword in her hand, it hadn't weighed her down like a lead brick then.
Kendrix Morgan stepped forward last and took the last saber. She immediately felt the energy ripple through her, blowing her blond hair as she stepped back into the line, brushing leaves across her boots.
Mike took his saber from the Mirinoi elder with grim determination and turned back to face the others. Behind him, the Astro Megaship loomed, a reminder of the past.
Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone, stood waiting for them aboard. Each of them wore the clothes of the people of Earth, ready to take on the journey.
The six Galaxy Rangers moved toward the ship and silently boarded. The ship was ghostly quiet, full of memories. It would take them home.
Maya tried to suppress feelings of sadness at leaving her people, perhaps for the last time. She didn't have any idea what was waiting for them.
Karone took her shoulder, "We've been leaving our homes for years, but somehow, we always manage to find our way back." She spoke of both Mirinoi, and her home of KO-35.
Maya smiled at her and accepted Karone's hug. She wasn't alone in her feelings after all. Karone seemed as fearful and as confused as she was, it was written all over her lightly freckled face.
She glanced down at Karone's wedding band. She was glad that Zhane would be there with her and wished that she had the love and support of a husband for her own.
Damon walked by and gave Maya a comforting pat on the back. "It'll be okay, you'll see."
Leo and Kendrix were curled up in a chair together in the corner, looking fairly content despite the dark cloud looming over them. Zhane and Kai were cooking to pass the time, and Andros showed Mike upgrades to the ship. If she didn't know better, she'd think they were going back for another wedding, but it was all too dark outside for there to be happiness in her future.
Tori Hanson caught the wave and rode it toward the shore, teetering slightly on her blue surfboard. She eyed the beach and smiled to see Blake Bradley sitting there in his shorts and navy beach pullover. She hadn't expected him to sit there so patiently.
"Wow, you actually waited for me."
"Yeah, I did." Blake tipped the brim of his baseball cap.
"I'm ready to go if you are," she said, wringing out her hair.
"Where to now?" Blake asked. "We could head over for a quick lunch."
"Aren't you supposed to meet Hunter?" She had started walking across the beach toward her blue van.
"We have enough time."
"Blake!" she exclaimed.
"We do," he promised. "Is it so bad that I want to spend more time with you before I have to leave again? This next competition is gonna have me out of town for a while."
"I want to be with you too, Blake, but you should have some time with Hunter too." Tori was pretty sure that his brother would be less than thrilled if he showed up late.
"I guess you're right. I should probably get back and get ready."
He turned his back to her after a quick peck on the lips.
"Do you want a ride?" Tori asked, realizing she'd driven him there.
Blake nodded with a grin.
Hunter Bradley was cruising down main street in the town of Blue Bay Harbor, his windows rolled down. He brushed a fly off his shirt and pulled up at the cafe across from Storm Chargers.
He could see Kelly inside making a phone call. He thought about going in to say hello, but he decided there would be time later. He went inside the cafe and got a table near the windows. He watched the traffic roll by as he slipped a glass of Pepsi.
He saw Blake hop out of Tori's van and run inside.
"Hey bro, good day with Tori?" he asked.
"You bet! You?"
"Long drive, I went to check on Charlie and his mom. Sounds like he's doing okay." Hunter had been his Big Brother for a couple months during their time as Rangers.
"That's good. Look, I've got a bike for you to test out..."
Blake stopped as both their cellphones went off at the same time.
"It's Cam," Hunter realized, picking up.
"Sorry to cut your lunch date short, guys, but I need you to get to Wind Ninja Academy immediately. We have a situation..."
Shane Clarke and Dustin Brooks met them at the gate and let them in, leading them with Tori to Cam's renovated Ninja Ops.
"Hey guys, great to see you again, but I'm afraid I don't have good news. Hope you can cancel your plans because we're heading to Silver Hills."
Dustin crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at the trees outside, they looked slightly wilted to him, but maybe it was just his imagination.
"Dude, I have a Factory Blue race in Florida next week!" Blake exclaimed.
"Sorry man," Shane told him, clapping Blake on the shoulder. "Dustin, Cam, Tori, and I have planned leave for the next three weeks just to be on the safe side. Hunter, I'd do the same."
Hunter nodded, and Blake hesitantly agreed. If something was going to happen, he didn't want his students in danger. When Lothor had attacked Thunder Academy he'd lost good friends, he didn't want that to happen again.
Anubis Cruger looked up at the tower outside, realizing that something didn't look quite right. He sniffed the air. It didn't smell right. He looked over at his wife. She seemed lightly perturbed as well.
"Get me Jack Landors on the phone, now!" Schuyler Tate yelled at Boom from across the command center of SPD. He had been enjoying a perfectly normal day in his office when suddenly he'd felt that things were off, then he'd gotten a cryptic message in a cypher that the Rangers had developed for communication.
Sydney Drew was hovering over his shoulder, her pale blond hair running in ringlets just above his ear. Her fist was glowing a perfect diamond shade. "What's going on, Sky?" she asked, fingering her nails.
He looked over at the map of SPD and the surrounding area. Things looked normal, but he felt that things were off.
"We're packing up and going back. Get Z and Bridge here in ten minutes."
Syd nodded and headed off toward the mess hall. Elizabeth and Bridge were eating macaroni and cheese at a corner table, enjoying a day off.
"Sorry to break the news to you guys, but we're phasing out in half an hour. We just got some sort of message from the Rangers there saying there's something seriously wrong." She looked worried. For the first time in a long while she was completely at a loss as to what was happening.
"Records don't indicate any hostile alien activity on Earth during that year!" Bridge cried.
"Maybe this isn't our normal evil. Maybe its operating outside time. It wouldn't be the first or last time."
Z agreed with Syd. "I'm ready to go."
Sky hung up the phone as they came in the office. "I just talked to Jack, he's on his way. He just has to say goodbye to Ally and make sure she's doing okay."
Bridge nodded, realizing that this would be their first time on duty together as a team in almost four years.
Jack showed up, with his hair casually tied up in a ponytail and his bag strewn over one shoulder. "Okay, Rangers, let's do this."
Boom and Kat Manx looked up from the computer terminals.
"Come home safely, Rangers," Manx said quietly, activating the time device.
"This cannot be good for us," Z muttered as she disappeared from the control room and popped up in a remote storeroom deep under BioLab. She could feel the tingle inside her that promised change.
Kira Ford was enjoying a day at Cyber Cafe with Trent, lazily watching him draw, while fingering a new tune on her guitar. He was drawing a Roman soldier, she noted, with a shiny silver breastplate and a sword that she knew had to be a good couple of inches taller than she was. He looked resigned to the fact that he would die for the glory of his emperor. He seemed content about his war-poisoned life, his venanata vita. He didn't scream, or swear, or make any other ungentlemanly gesture, he just raised his shield and fought. She wondered if the man had a wife, a child, a family back in Rome. She wondered if he'd once frolicked in the grass he now crunched under his steel boot. She saw a bit of Trent in him, the fiercely human look to his eyes, the sculpted chest toned perfectly to the life of a warrior.
"What is it?" he asked her, attune to the cutoff of her notes.
She tried to smile. "I see a bit of us in that man you're drawing."
Trent turned the picture toward the light and finished a last touch to his brow. "I think he looks a bit like Conner."
"I thought he looked like you," she told him.
Trent tried to hide his satisfaction. "I drew him to be the husband of my Lady Juliana." He flipped to the previous page, where a young woman in a startling gold dress looked up with Kira's face.
"She's me," Kira realized.
Trent nodded. He pointed to her hand, clasping a white lily in her fingers.
Kira took a moment to realize he wasn't pointing to the flower, but to the ring she wore, a beautiful diamond, simple but elegant.
"Does she accept the ring?" Trent asked her playfully.
Kira was taken aback. "Are you proposing?"
"That depends completely on you." He set the sketchbook down between them and leaned in to kiss her.
Kira savored the warmth of his lips. "What if I don't know what to say?"
"Say yes, or no, Kira. I'll understand either way."
She sat back, taking in the humble ring on the finger of the Roman patrician. She'd never imagined a man could propose marriage so beautifully.
"I..."
He seemed to notice her hesitance. "Need more time?"
"No, no, I don't need more time, Trent."
He touched her cheek. "Then what is it?"
"I just... I don't know how to answer you in a way that will hold a candle to the proposal of Sir Mercer."
Trent laughed. "Just a single word, that's all I need."
Kira was interrupted by her cellphone ringing. "I probably should get that."
A second later Trent's phone rang too.
"Hello?" they said in unison.
Kira listened intently, hearing every word said to her in one ear, and feeling every emotion like she had two different brains. "Yes," she said into the receiver, and projected outwardly, answering two questions in one word.
Aisha hung up the phone back in Angel Grove.
"...I'll marry you."
Trent looked up from his conversation with Adam. He hit the end button immediately, taking her in a warm embrace.
Kira looked over his shoulder at the legionnaire, and back at Trent.
"I'll fight for you," Trent told Kira assuredly.
She nodded, understanding what he meant. Their moment had suddenly changed. It wasn't a man on the page going off to a war fought centuries ago, it was them, a reality almost unbearable. It was a moment of happiness and fear so intimately intertwined that they could do nothing but hold on tight and hope that the waves did not wash them away into a sea of emotion.
Taking off his sunglasses, Casey Rhodes looked down the street at Rockporium in the town of Briarwood, California. He could see several figures inside, none of them customers. Two of them were women, huddled together in the corner next to the window, one of them crying hopelessly, her black hair longer than the other's.
"You know," a voice called from behind him. "Women really hate that; you watching them when they're crying."
Casey turned, confused. He saw Lily Chilman behind him. "Lily?" he asked with a confused look. "What are you doing here?" he hugged her, savoring the smell of her orchid perfume.
"I couldn't let you do this alone," she told him, burying her face in his leather jacket. "Everything is going to change, Casey."
He looked back at Madison and Vida. "I know," he whispered into her hair. The breeze picked up suddenly and caught them as a motorcyclist stopped beside them.
"Do I know you?" the man asked quietly, his dark eyes threatening.
"You're Nick Russell," Casey said firmly. "Leader of the Mystic Force Power Rangers."
Nick paused, throwing his helmet over the handlebars. "And you are?"
"Casey Rhodes, we need to talk."
Nick nodded. "If you plan on making sense of that nice phone call I just received, I'm all ears, if not, I have business to attend."
"Business like making your lover cry?" Casey asked haughtily. "You're a real ass these days."
Nick smirked. "Don't pretend like you know me."
Lily stepped between them. "Please, don't start this."
Casey forced her out of the way. "You have no idea what it means to be a hero. After everything you went through, you didn't learn a thing. How jaded can you get before you crack into a million pieces?"
"Back off," Nick said quickly, "I don't need your crap."
"Well, someone has to do something about you, and I don't see anyone else lining up."
"The world is about to end..." Lily shouted. "Do this later," she begged.
"There is no later, Lily," Casey told her harshly. "Nick. I don't care how alone you feel. You've made it that way. Your destiny is what you make of it. Stop acting like a spoiled baby. You have powerful magic that this team needs right now. I'm begging you to get over this and do what's right."
"What is 'right'? I don't even know who I am," Nick turned away.
"I think you do know," Casey argued. "I think you know exactly where you want to be. Nobody's stopping you. Turn your back and you'll never know."
"Who taught you to be so smart?" Nick asked with a pained look. "How would you know what it's like to be burdened like this?" He grabbed his head as his eyes glowed red. "I want this to end. Can you do that, Casey? No. You can't make me normal. You can't stop this. I'm changing inside." He closed his eyes and felt the power ripping through his body looking for an escape. "I can't control it anymore."
"You really are a fool if you don't think there are people who can help you with that. You've got to accept help, Nick. This isn't just about you anymore. You are Udonna and Leanbow's son, but that is not all you are meant to be."
"It seems to me like you know more about me than I do. I get that feeling a lot. I'm sick and tired of you people holding out on me. You should have had the guts to come out and say it at the wedding instead of hiding in the bushes."
Lily leaned back against the nearest tree. "That was neither the time, nor the place to tell everyone they are going to fight or they are going to die."
"Maybe so," Nick said with anger, "but we're still going to die, and now we've lost precious time." He looked inside at Madison and Vida. His eyes lingered on them for a long moment before he looked back at Casey. "Do you honestly believe there's hope?"
"Why, don't you?" Lily turned away, unable to look either of them in the face at that moment. When the leaders started to doubt themselves, everything became that much more difficult. "Are you just going to give up?"
"That's what I do, give up." Nick walked away, across the street and into the Rockporium without another word.
"What do we do, Casey?"
Casey turned back to her and put his hand on her cheek. "I need you to get to Silver Hills and rally with Dom and the others. I will deal with this."
"I'm scared..."
He looked over at Nick and Xander and Chip standing outside, the silent screams coming from their lips. "I don't think there is any one of us who isn't."
Eric forced himself upright on the bed. "Wes?" he called weakly. "What is this?" he held out his hand, it was starting to flicker.
Wes ran to his side and took his hand. Eric had begun to cough uncontrollably and his vitals were spiking. "Doctor!!" Wes cried, holding on to Eric's hand as to not let go.
"No, Wes," Eric said calmly. "I think we need to let this happen."
"The hell we will. I'm not going to let you die for him. This was a stupid idea..." Wes looked over painfully at the mirror. His own image was pinched and worn. He could feel the beating of his heart, mercilessly slow.
Don't give up, Wesley Collins, the voice of Demetria told him again and again. You will live to fight this battle to the end. Don't give up.
It was hard to listen to the voice. She was leeching him dry like a vampire.
"Eric, we need to hold on," Wes told him adamantly. "Just a little longer, okay. Just until Zordon gets enough strength to hold his own."
Eric nodded. He closed his eyes again, remembering better times. More than a few of the thoughts were ones that had been rather unpleasant at their time.
Taylor entered the room and stood by Wes's chair. "Hey, would you mind coming out with me for a moment?"
Wes stood up shakily, nearly crashing into the wall. "Yeah, sure."
Taylor took his arm and supported him as they entered the silent room next door. "Wes," she started, feeling the weight on him against her. "Promise me that you will get some rest tonight."
He looked back at her. "I wish that was something I could promise." He twisted off the cap on his water bottle and drank the whole thing in less than a minute.
"There's something I need to tell you, and I don't want Eric to know right now..." she started.
The street was dark; the headlights of Alyssa's Volkswagen Jetta barely penetrated the mire. She had never been forced to find Cole's house in the dark and it was extremely difficult. The trees casted strange shadows all over the car causing her small West Highland White Terrier to whine.
She dialed Cole's cell and waited patiently for his voice.
"Cole," she asked, "which street is it again?"
"21 West Elm," he told her, his voice shaking.
"Tiger," she told the dog harshly, as he tried to climb under her feet and by the pedals of the car. "We'll be there in a minute."
During the next few minutes, the trees continued to throw her into darkness, but eventually she made out a street about ten miles outside Turtle Cove.
As she approached Cole's door she could hear his Golden Retriever barking at the door, the wind lingered around her.
"Cole?" she asked as she entered the room .
"Back here," he called from his bedroom.
As she set Tiger down and came around the corner she saw him kneeling by the bed with a wet cloth and pan of water. On the bed was a figure with a large gash on her forehead and blood dripping from her mouth.
The dress she wore was unmistakable.
"Shayla," she cried as she rushed to Cole's side.
"She can't hear me," a voice riddled with pain cried from the corner of the room.
Alyssa saw Merrick for the first time. Blood covered his hands.
"It's not his," Cole promised.
She came to his side and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, feeling him shivering and feverish.
"I just found her lying outside my door," he choked.
"Why is she here?" Alyssa asked as she began to clean Merrick's hands with a towel.
"She tried to warn me..." He looked up at her, his face covered with tears. "I feel her slipping away."
Alyssa touched his forehead, it was burning hot. "How long ago?"
"About an hour. He found me and we brought her here," Cole replied.
"You're exhausted," she told Merrick. "Let's get you on the couch."
"No..." he said, pulling away.
"Merrick, you can't help her."
She forced him into the living room and onto the couch. He didn't have the will to fight her.
"Did you call the others?" Alyssa asked quietly when she returned to Cole's side.
He lowered his voice. "I don't think they'll make it in time."
"Don't you say that," she told him, feeling a tear start to slide down her face.
Merrick had returned from the living room, limping like a wounded animal, he collapsed against Shayla's limp form, lying beside her and stroking her hair.
"I never should have let her go."
"You did what she wanted you to do. She knew that there was a life here for you, Merrick. This is your world. She wanted you to have a normal life because she loves you."
"That's a lie."
"You've spent so much time watching over her that you never once took care of yourself." Alyssa grabbed Cole's hand and they left him alone.
"I can't forget what it was like being with you," Merrick said quietly into her ear. "I'm not strong without you, I had no idea how hard it was going to be." He stopped and kissed her. "I need you, even if you no longer need me."
Shayla stirred, her pail face still the image of grace.
"I love you so much. You brought me here, to my friends, to my family..."
The faint aura of her thoughts raced into his head. She was pulling him into her mind, deeper than he'd thought possible.
"Merrick," she said wistfully. "I wish we had more time."
"You can't mean that."
"You have to let me go, dear one." She kissed his lips tenderly. "You know what you have to do."
"Don't make me leave you."
"This world is greater than you or me. Just listen to me one more time, once more. In this world or the next I will see you again. I will find you..." she wrapped her arms around him as he fell to his knees.
Merrick opened his eyes, Tiger licked his hand with a small pink tongue.
Shayla's hand held on to his inexplicably, then she disappeared in a shower of white light.
Cole and Alyssa rushed in. The bed was empty, the blood-stained linen clean and crisp.
Commander Logan looked down at Jen's face, written with a ferocity that she hadn't expected to see from him.
"Sir?"
He turned away and let Alex step forward. "Jen."
"Alex?" She noticed that he had a broken sort of expression written all over his face.
"I don't know what future awaits you anymore Jen. I lost track of you a long time ago."
"What are you talking about?"
"This message." He handed her a printout.
"I wrote this?"
"Yes, you did, I've held on to it all these years. It was passed on with explicit instructions for a thousand years."
Jen looked over at Alex's face.
"I wanted to let you know in private."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" She could scarcely believe it.
"Yes, Jennifer."
"Alex,"
"You were lost to me a long time ago, Jen. I need to move on, and so do you. It's time to make some changes."
Katie, Trip, and Lucas appeared at the doorway. "I just wanted to see you off personally," he told them.
Jen nodded. She didn't know what was coming, but she knew that if she survived there was hope for her world. She had to fight for that. She packed all of her belongings with Katie quietly.
Katie was still in shock. Trip hadn't said anything. Lucas just nodded brusquely. This time it was almost too much to even contemplate what was about to happen to them.
It was raining with a newfound fury when they all managed to convene in the BioLab boardroom. The window panes were coated in water, leaving a murky shadow of the world outside, a world without sunshine. The massive hall was littered with people huddled closely, trying desperately to hold together.
Massive screens displayed each of the base commanders, their faces grim and not the least bit comforting.
"I'm sorry to have brought you here, but the circumstances for all of us has become dire at best. Several days ago Eric and I were given a rude awakening by destiny. Here we all are, awaiting that fate to which we have been called. I'm not going to lie to you, or make any false impressions. I am going to be frank with all of you, we need a plan and it has to be quick. Zordon is alive and he has come back to warn us of our impending doom. I don't know where, or how, or why, but we are being singled out for a massive aerial attack. As Jason can confirm, the planets of Triforia and Aquitar have already been assaulted. Triforia seems to have fallen to the enemy, and Aquitar is in the process of evacuating all it's citizens. Andros has confirmed the presence of unknown spacecraft around KO-35. Several hours ago a large warship was sighted in Mirinoian space. Attacks are being logged all over the neighboring star systems." Wes turned to his screen and brought up a new slide. "Global Security Forces is working on preparing a fleet to fight these invaders in our time, but unfortunately for them, this even seems out of their hands to control."
Sky Tate stood up carefully, assessing the audience carefully. "Prior to the distress signal received at SPD base, we had no record of any destructive event occurring within the next several months. It came as a surprise to me that a large-scale attack like this would be absent from our logs, however, there doesn't appear to be a record of it, anywhere. This led my team to believe that the person, or entity, behind these attacks has managed to manipulate time, complete their plan, and wipe it from history, rendering future teams such as us from providing any valuable assistance.
"Had this even occurred naturally, we would have been able to send a team to the source of the conflict and stop it before it came to fruition," Jen continued. "As it were, there was only a handwritten message sent by myself and locked in a safe that led me to any conclusion about what is going on here."
Wes looked up at the screen. "These ships are meant to fight enemies that can be seen, our soldiers can only fight armies that they can physically battle. If this event occurs within a time dilation field, this entire event could happen and be done with before anyone realizes what happened. We might be the only ones who can stop this, and if we can, it will take every ounce of power and cunning we can muster."
It was Billy's turn to take over the explanation. "There is no technology in the known universe that we can use to stop a time dilation field unless we know the source. And, seemingly, it's too late for that. My wife is in a coma, which as far as I can tell isn't likely to end any time soon. We've lost any connection to Aquitar that we might have had. Contrary to what was believed just half an hour ago, Aquitar and Triforia have been marked as destroyed." He stepped away from the podium and sat down in his chair heavily. He looked completely worn out.
Taylor stood up hesitantly, holding on to Eric's hand still as she spoke. "Last night Princess Shayla was murdered in cold blood while trying to get a message to us. Whoever is behind these attacks is cunning. They know who to hit to do us the most damage, and to keep us in the dark. They will stop at nothing to get Zordon and Demetria. We have to move fast if we stand any chance of saving this planet."
"We could call for reinforcements from other Earth-based teams," Carter considered.
"I don't think any amount of reinforcing will do us much good at this point, Mr. Grayson," Andrew Hartford told him stoically from his office in San Angeles. "There are other evils in this world that are going to need their attention. If we stop the usual routine, this world will tear itself apart, we won't need any alien forces."
"He's right," William Mitchell agreed. "We're on our own here. There just aren't enough heroes out there."
"What the hell good is Superman if he can't help us out during the big game?" Zack asked pessimistically. "Hell, the guy never made an appearance to help out in the 17 years I've been a part of this!"
"Saving the world is a daily thing these days," Vida said hopelessly. "Maybe he's been busy." There wasn't a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
"We're not strong enough to hold off an alien fleet. All our Zords are either destroyed or inoperable. Our powers are iffy at best. What good can we possibly be?" Ashley stood up and glared at Mitchell. "There is no way we'll survive."
"Then we'll die trying," Andros replied. He looked over at his wife and brushed away a tear forming in the corner of her eye.
Sydney Drew looked toward the wall with all the base leaders lined up and their pained expressions written clearly for everyone to see. "There has to be some hope, we're still alive. If Earth had been wiped out, we'd be dead. The timeline is in tact, somehow we make it through this."
Katie looked over at her, wishing that she could tell her what she knew about time travel. It was a fifty-headed monster, they still hadn't worked all the kinks out of it, a thousand years in the future.
"There is a possibility that even if you died in this time you would still be here. You would no longer be the you from this reality, but the you from an alternate reality displaced by the change in the timeline. I'm sorry, Syd, but there is no saying what will happen. The future is always changing, and we can't control it the way he hope to every time." Jen had just given her the gallows news. She hung her head and looked away, trying not to feel like she was going to die.
"If we die here as kids, what happens to us when we go back, do we not exist, do we go poof?" Jack asked her. "If I'm not around to become me?"
"You will have no way to return to your time, you will become the product of this reality, and if it no longer matches the one from whence you came, you will likely never find the way back. In short, Jack, if we fail in any form, you will never see Ally or your son. A harsh reality, but an all too real one."
What little flicker of hope everyone had had just died with Jen Scott's words. "I'm sorry, but the fact is our battle is not only against space, but against time, and we're playing with our own lives."
"We need a plan," RJ said quietly from the back. "We need a plan now and it has to be a good one. We've got one shot at this, or we can all sit here and die like little blades of grass being driven into a lawn mower. The Masters foresaw a day like this, when the Power Rangers would be forced to make a very difficult decision. Our choices will mark salvation or destruction for the entire world, and maybe beyond."
"We've never had to deal with something like this before," Max cried. "It was always so much easier when we knew who we were fighting against. It didn't seem like we we're going to win sometimes, but it always played out in our favor in the end. How can we be sure that will happen this time?"
"You are a bowler, Max, one day you strike, the next all the pins laugh at you. It is all a matter of what you are meant to do," Sensei Kanoi said quietly from his place at the Wind Ninja Academy.
"The fact is that no amount of brightly colored spandex is going to make any sort of difference, even if we still had that power," Eric said weakly.
"Eric-san is correct," Master Mao replied solemnly. "The time has come for a different sort of power."