A/N: Chapter 3. Includes, amongst other things, Forever Red and the destruction of the island.

A/N 2: I own nothing. Power Rangers once belonged to Saban, then they went to Disney and belong to Saban again.

Chapter 3 – Forever Red, Graduation, and The Island

Wednesday, May 8, 2002

Somewhere out in space

As a huge, black as night ship (the ship was as big as some cruise ships) streaked across the galaxy on the way to another planet that its owner intended to conquer, she was not exactly pleased.

The woman was dangerously beautiful all at the same time; what made her dangerous was the malicious, evil glint in her eyes which always persisted as well as the poisonous snakes alive in her hair. But what made her beautiful was the supermodel-like body which most men on Earth would have killed for, and to top it all off she wore gold and silver earrings, topped with a flowing silver gown which was the cherry on top of her juxtaposed hideous beauty.

As the Rangers had battled countless villains such as Rita, Zedd, those idiotic Machines and the even more idiotic Divatox over the years, she had, unknowingly to most of the team, done more harm to those color coded teenagers than they ever imagined.

But the owner of the ship didn't like what she saw at the moment. Because just as good could feel patterns in the Morphin' Grid, so could evil. And right now, that damned Tommy Oliver was making progress that had the potential to threaten all those years of work she put in to silently destroy those Rangers.

What was even worse, she thought, was that Rita and Zedd had voluntarily returned to the side of light immediately following the failed invasion by Astronema. Even worse than that was Dulcea, that meddlesome witch from Phaedos, had put a very strong shield around Rita and Zedd everywhere they went; any closer than 25 feet of Rita and Zedd by anyone with even the slightest evil intentions and they would be fried on the spot. And she had no idea what happened to Scorpina.

Ideally, she'd have had them both here to help her, but it was pointless now. The bigger concern was the momentum that damned Oliver was building in his favor; from his undergraduate days, to what he was doing in whatever that town was…Boston, or whatever, he was making progress and if he got to a certain level, he could potentially undo all the work she had done.

What was just as concerning to her was that he was making huge progress at certain milestones since his relationship with the Crane had ended.

She had to find a way to stop him or at least briefly halt the momentum he was building, but her only help was from four different generals the Rangers had faced before, none of whom had got the job done in the past.

As she scanned throughout the galaxy for anything powerful, she spied a huge, massive machine.

"Is that…" she muttered. "That's got to be Serpentera. But how can that possibly be? Zedd is now good again and that machine was designed for evil purposes."

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Maybe, just maybe, here was a way to stop the momentum that Oliver was building, or at least slow it. She had to do something, she knew.

'Time to up the ante,' she thought.

"GOLDAR! GASKET! GET IN HERE!" she bellowed.

Immediately, two of her generals and two of Tommy Oliver's greatest historical rivals appear at her side. The first is a powerful golden monkey from the planet Titan. The other one is a gray and green clad warrior who carries a powerful sword in his hands.

"You summoned us my Queen?" Goldar said.

"Indeed," the woman said. "Come here and take a look at this. Is that Serpentera or is it not?"

"By Titan, I think it is," Goldar said. "But I thought it was dead and gone, as Zedd returned to the light. Perhaps it is not."

"Maybe, just maybe if the right things happen it can come back to life," Gasket commented. "Those Rangers, to my understanding, never had a chance against it when Zedd used it against them."

"Indeed," the woman commented. "It is very powerful and if fully activated, it could destroy the Rangers in an instant. Do either of you know of anyone who could pilot this machine if fully operational?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Gasket said. "I know of a general from the Empire named Venjix who is very upset my father was destroyed. He would love nothing better than to conquer those Rangers in the name of the Empire."

"Tell him that if he gets the job done, not only will he succeed where others have failed, but I will pay him a handsome sum that he cannot refuse," the woman said, suddenly realizing the significance of the day; 2,275 days since her greatest accomplishment. "You are dismissed, both of you."

"Yes, my queen," Goldar said as he and Gasket exited the main control room.

"You may think you will get your Crane back, Oliver, but I will fight you at every turn to keep it from happening," the woman said as she smirked evilly. "You will not destroy my progress without a fight. This is just to show you that I can make progress on your milestone days too."

Sunday, June 2, 2002

NASADA

Angel Grove, CA

"Are you kidding me? I was doing all the work while he was at the Juice Bar kissing on Kimberly."

Tommy wasn't directly involved in the conversation, but he had heard the remark by Jason. He still oved Jason like he would a brother but the remark cut through him deeply, like a knife.

Kimberly wasn't on the premises, to his knowledge, but it was almost as bad as her being there and reaming him out for going on the mission, as if the letter had never happened.

As he got in his Jeep and silently prepared to go to the airport (he was returning to Boston that night and his graduate summer classes would begin in approximately two weeks), another realization hit him; another realization that stung him bad at first.

It was 2,300 days since…that.

But then a smile came over him. It was another milestone day and another milestone moment. Whoever had devised this plan to unearth Serpentera (he seriously doubted Venjix had come up with the plan himself, Venjix had nothing to do with the originals, it had to have been someone who had connections to the original Rangers) had gotten their just desserts. Venjix, he believed, had just been the poor fellow who was the trigger man.

A part of him also wondered if maybe this had been a plot devised to at least divert Tommy from his original mission. He'd had to fly back to California from Boston on very short notice and then almost immediately was on a ship trying to keep Serpentera from clobbering the Earth. He didn't know for sure, but some day, he was going to find out.

In the meantime, he knew he had to get his graduate studies done with by the end of the year; he'd been selected as an intern to go on a dig by a very prestigious paleontologist, Anton Mercer. Having been introduced to Tommy by Hayley, Anton saw him immediately as a bright mind, someone who he could take under his wing and get the most out of him.

The problem now was that Anton's internship began in the spring of 2003. This meant Tommy would have to bust ass to get his Ph.D. done by December, so he could continue to fulfill his mission. Thus, summer classes which began in two weeks.

But on Day No. 2,300 since "that," Tommy thought silently as he turned on the radio to the Lakers/Kings NBA Western Conference Finals Game Seven, he would do anything and everything to get the one woman he still loved back.

Somewhere out in space

"YOU TOLD ME VENJIX COULD GET THE JOB DONE!" the woman screamed as she tortured Gasket with her magical attacks. "HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY FAIL? HE WAS GOING TO HAVE SERPENTERA ON HIS SIDE! SERPENTERA WAS DESTROYED BY THE YOUNGEST RED RANGER OF THEM ALL!"

"I'm sorry, my Lady," Gasket said. "But seriously, there will be plenty of opportunities to destroy the Earth in the future."

"That's not the point, metalhead moron!" the woman screamed. "The point, in case you haven't been paying attention lies in the fact that the meddlesome Ranger known as Thomas Oliver is still alive! That plot was specifically designed to at least divert him from his life and Venjix couldn't even do that!"

"Tommy doesn't matter anymore, why should he?" Goldar said. "He isn't even a full-time Ranger."

"Agreed, besides, we could go execute him any time of day or night," Gasket said. "He has no way of defending himself; those powers were only temporary."

"No wonder they say you're not what you once were, you morons. I should execute both of you on the spot for such stupidity!" the woman snapped. "Don't you ever watch the fluctuations in the Morphin Grid?"

"No, my Queen, since I don't have anything to do with the unending line of color-coded teenagers anymore," Goldar said.

"Well, let me just say this and I'm only going to say this once, so listen up and listen good," the woman said. "If he keeps on his trajectory, that four-time Ranger will ruin all the progress I've made and it's going to be our worst day ever!"

"Then why don't we just go destroy him now? He's without his powers, isn't he?" Rito Revolto interjected.

"No, you goof, he'd be expecting another attack now. He'd be without his powers sure, but he'd be expecting an attack," the woman snapped. "All of you get out of my sight. You've all pissed me off for today."

Instantly the minions scattered and the woman continued to stand in front of her controls, scowling as she did so.

"You may have survived today, Oliver, but rest assured, I will find a way to keep you and the Crane apart," the woman said. "Enjoy what time you have left because in time you will meet your destiny and you will finally realize I am your worst nightmare."

Thursday, December 19, 2002

Boston, MA

As Tommy walked across the stage to receive his Ph.D., his last act at MIT before he would head back to California tomorrow for a brief respite before his internship was set to begin in March, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He'd had to move fast to earn what he wanted, but he'd finally gotten it done. After many sleepless nights, a lot of hard work, and a whole lot of help from Hayley, he'd finally gotten the payoff.

And as he took his Ph.D. he also realized this was another significant day; it was 2,500 days since…that. It was yet another milestone achieved on another major day.

Next stop was the Pacific Ocean and whatever Anton had in store for him.

Tommy rarely smiled, as he was so engrossed in his work. Unless Hayley took him out on the town for a beer, he rarely if ever smiled. But today, he could crack a smile, because he'd taken the next step in his development, and was potentially one step closer to his ultimate goal.

20 minutes later

"Tommy, my God I can't believe it," Hayley said. "You did it, against all odds when no one said we could."

"It took a lot of hard work, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but yes, it's done," Tommy said. "And one correction; I didn't do it alone, I couldn't have done it alone. We did it together."

"Yeah but in the end, you were the one that ended up with the Ph.D.," Hayley said. "Do you realize the significance of the day also?"

"Yeah, 2,500," Tommy said. "I was just thinking about that going up on the stage. Another day, another milestone achieved."

"Do you think we're any closer?" Hayley said.

"I think we're much closer than we were, but there's still a ways left to go in this journey," Tommy said.

Meanwhile, somewhere out in space

"Curse you, Thomas Oliver, curse you," the woman who had set in motion the events of Forever Red said as she watched the whole scene.

"So, he's going on an island with this Mercer fellow, is he?" the woman said. "Well, if I have my way about things, that will be the last thing he ever does and that will be the end of his dream. Then, I shall rule the world."

Monday, July 7, 2003

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

Life was good, Tommy Oliver thought as his internship with Anton Mercer was winding down. For the most part, his time with Anton had been a success. Very recently, he, Anton and Anton's other intern, Terrence "Smitty" Smith had found several rocks that Tommy could feel a strange power emanating from. There were three in all; red, yellow and blue.

He had talked with Anton, who had said that he and Smith were working on something to do with those rocks and to keep them for an undetermined amount of time. It was hard work, but Tommy felt he was doing what he needed to do to move forward in his quest.

In the meantime, he had bought a house in Reefside and had accepted a teaching job at the local high school. He never thought he'd pull a Miss Appleby, but destiny sometimes had a strange twist for everyone. He'd also left Hayley with specifications from the old Power Chamber and advised her to start work on that part of the house. He'd also left her some contact numbers, which included Tommy's old "friends" Rita and Zedd.

Surprisingly, she'd found out that they were still alive and just outside Angel Grove and when she called them and told them her story, they'd suggested Finster. With her and Finster working together on the lab, she said, things were going "swimmingly."

Unfortunately, Tommy's quest was about to take another turn, one that could potentially cost him his life.

Somewhere out in space

As the ship streaked through the sky towards another planet she wanted to conquer, she'd been keeping an eye on Earth and what she saw made her that much angrier than the events before and after Forever Red.

Tommy was now a very dangerous threat to all her plans, she knew, even more so than a year ago. He'd gone to A&M and conquered that, had survived Forever Red, which she and Gasket had propagated, then conquered MIT and had someone who could help him with the technical operations of Ranger business. That redhead, Hayley or whatever her name was, was really pissing this woman off.

Not to mention, if her sources were correct, she understood Tommy was having a lab built on Earth, similar to the Command Center, thanks to Hayley and one of Rita's friends. She knew if she didn't take drastic action, then her plans to destroy Earth would all go up in smoke. Because she knew what would happen if…those two…ever got together again. If she couldn't keep those two apart, she was going to put all her cards on the table to stop them.

"Rito," she said suddenly, "prepare Missile Four-Seven-Q-Five. And do it pronto."

"Uh, isn't that like the thingie that will destroy anything it touches? One of your most lethal missiles?" Rito said.

"Yes. I'm tired of this loathsome Ranger Oliver meddling in my plans. I'm going to end this crap once and for all. I am going to wipe that island off the map and he will die. And if for some reason I don't end him, then maybe this experiment his colleagues are on will backfire and we'll benefit. Now go!"

"Um, yes, OK," Rito said as he disappeared to give the order.

"Geeze, good help is so hard to find these days," she grumbled as Rito came back in the room a few minutes later.

"Uh, missile is ready for launch," Rito said.

"Excellent," she smirked. "Goodbye, Thomas Oliver, once and for all. Fire!" she shouted as she pressed a red button and a small but powerful missile streaked towards Earth.

Moments later…

The Pacific Ocean

The explosion was so loud it rattled Thomas Oliver's hearing and he immediately felt the ground lowering.

Not only that, the Tyrannodrones that he, Anton and Smitty were so invested in had backfired and were now chasing him.

There was only one option left as he viewed it; grab the colored rocks and get the hell off the island…and then take your chances and hope for divine intervention.

As he made the one final leap off the island into the ocean with the rocks, the last thing he thought was, "If I should die because of this, someone tell Kimberly I never stopped loving her."

Once again, his thoughts did not go unnoticed.

Somewhere out in space

The woman smirked. Thomas Oliver had gotten off the island, but it had come at a price for sure because now he was at the mercy of whatever lay in the Pacific Ocean…and Tommy was without powers, without a shred of land anywhere in sight. That missile had done its job.

On Day No. 2700 since "that," it seemed that one missile had ended Tommy's dream.

It felt good to be the queen.

TBC...