Tommy felt his insides lurk with every movement of his suit. He was getting weaker every second. Still, he knew that he needed to keep his composure. The fledgling Rangers looked to him like a mentor, and their performance was in his hands.
"Aye, yi,yi,yi!" Alpha 4 exclaimed. "We don't have enough power in reserve to transport you to the Aether Academy."
Tommy cursed under his breath. He had been hoping for at least one easy way out.
But it seemed as if this world was void of any sort of hope.
Well...that wasn't quite true; Tommy decided as he gazed at the three youths. There was hope somewhere at least.
"Get us as far as you can," He said to Alpha 4. "We'll get to that portal."
"Right," The Android said and moved to the controls.
Kimberly let out a sigh. He could see the stress lines forming across her face and the heavy dark bags under her eyes.
He resisted the urge to hold her close.
He resisted the urge to run his hands through her hair and whisper everything he'd wanted to tell her in the last decade.
He resisted to cry out like a man letting go of his last breath.
"Okay," Alpha said. "It isn't far, but you guys should be able to escape most of the goons and get a head start."
"Thank you Alpha," Kimberly said, "For everything."
"Don't mention it," Alpha replied. "It's what Zordon would have wanted…"
"We'll revenge him," Tommy said in a stern voice.
"Don't," Alpha said in a sort of charged voice. "Revenge is for the dead. Zordon isn't dead. He lives on in all of you. He lives in hope, and as long as you have hope he'll never truly die."
Tommy smiled from under his helmet. Sure, it was cheesy, but sometimes it's the cheesy stuff that hits the hardest.
There was only silence as the five of them were enveloped in the bright light.
Tommy hit the ground hard, falling to his knees under the pressure of the impact. Once the disorientation faded he realized he was somewhere right outside of Reefside.
It wasn't perfect but it was close enough.
"It seems like Alpha had a little more juice then he thought," Kimberly said and brushed some dust off her hands. "He didn't think we'd even make it out of the city."
"Or maybe you got a little boost," A grumbly voice said from behind the Rangers.
Tommy felt an ice fill his midsection. He remembered that voice well enough.
Rito Repulsa stood with a posse of Tenga soldiers.
"So you're working with the man that killed our sister huh?" Tommy asked and drew his saber. "Good one."
"My father knows who to form alliances with," Rito replied, "And with Lord Zedd and his Ranger buddy causing a rift in the United Alliance of Evil it's only a matter of time before a civil war breaks out. We'd like to be on the right side."
"Too bad both sides are wrong," Fred said and stood next to Tommy. "Besides, United Alliance of Evil is a pretty stupid name anyway."
"And who are you?" Rito asked. "Besides a decent meal for my Tenga."
Fred was joined by Maria and Mathew who all drew their Thunder Morphers. "We're the next generation of Power Rangers."
"Once you've seen one you've seen 'em all," Rito said with a fake yawn. "Let's just get this over with. My shows come on in an hour."
"It's Morphin' Time!" They yelled in unison.
"Power of the Lion!" Fred yelled as a green light enveloped him.
"Power of the Unicorn!" Mathew yelled as a blue light enveloped him.
"Power of the Dragon!" Maria yelled as a red light enveloped her.
In one grand display of light and energy, the newest Rangers were born.
The three suits were composed of their primary color with a white shirt on their torso and a helmet that resembled the mythical beast they drew their power from.
"Wait!" Fred said as he grabbed hold of his armor, "Why am I the Green Ranger?"
"Sorry," Tommy said with a shrug. "The Dragon spirit called for Maria."
"She's the youngest one here!" He protested, "And she gets to wear red?"
"Worry about it later," Mathew said and drew his nunchucks. "We're kinda surrounded."
The first Tenga jumped at the group but the Blue Ranger managed to kick it away.
The Green Ranger charged into battle with his staff flying through the air. Sparks flew upon impact as his lightning fast moves pummeled them. "This power is amazing!" He exclaimed.
"Enjoy it while you can," Rito said and moved through the crowd. "Because you won't be living much longer." He swung his sword down but the Red Ranger parried with his twin blades.
Tommy fought alongside Kimberly against several relentless Tenga. Each swing caused a roaring pain in his arms, but he didn't allow himself to show weakness.
"I've never seen these guys before," Kimberly said.
"That's because Lord Drakkon took over before Rita's dad could come into the picture," Tommy explained.
"Rita has a dad?" Kimberly asked.
"And a brother," Scorpina added, "Though, as you can probably tell, Rito over there got all the looks."
"Don't you dare talk about my sister like that!" Rito roared and pushed the Red Ranger out of the way to charge towards the trio of older warriors.
"Why not?" Kimberly asked, "That old witch got what was coming to her."
Scorpina shot Kimberly a dirty look, though she moved in to protect her from Rito's blade.
"I've always had a bone to pick with you," Scorpina hissed. "Remember Revlon VI of the Sasori System?"
"What about it?" Rito asked. "That was a planet of weaklings."
"Why did you kill everyone?"
"Kill everyone?" Rito asked with a chuckle. "The people of that system were too valuable to kill off. They're a novelty! I sold them off and bought this hat with the money." He said and tapped on his hat.
"You bastard!" Scorpina howled and rushed with her curved blade raised. The first few attacks went through but eventually, her injuries caught up to her and she winced in pain.
Rito grabbed by the hair and pulled her close. "You're quite the interesting one. I might just keep you as a prize."
"Forget it," Tommy said and threw an orb of energy at Rito. The energy splashed against him and freed Scorpina from his grip.
"You guys are getting annoying," Rito said with his sword raised. But a shot of energy exploded from his back. He turned in frustration to see the Red Ranger waiting for him.
"Did you forget about me?" She asked.
"I was trying to," Rito remarked and swung his sword at her. Though moments before impact she disappeared into a wisp and reappeared to flank his side. She was then joined by the Green and Blue Thunder Rangers.
"Thought you could have all the fun without us?" The Green Ranger asked with his bo-staff ready.
"Yeah," The Blue Ranger said. "If you're gonna take on a big baddie we gotta do it as a team."
"You think that ganging up on me is going to make a difference?" Rito asked.
"You know what?" Red asked the other Rangers. "Why don't we show this guy the Power of Thunder."
The three Rangers powered up their individual weapons and unleashed a powerful blast that impacted Rito head on. Sparks erupted from his skeletal frame and he howled as he was enveloped in flames.
"You think this is impressive?" Rito asked as he continued to combust. "I'm small cheese compared to the other guys." Then he exploded into dust.
"That's a shame," Scorpina said and kicked the pile of ashes into the air. "I'd have loved to finish him myself."
The three Rangers demorphed and appeared to be in good spirit. Tommy had to admit the sight had given him a bit more energy as well. He felt both pride in his new team and satisfaction in getting to see that creep finally get blown to bits.
If Tommy could he would have lifted his helmet and spit into Rito's ashes.
"That was really good," Tommy said as the group headed towards the portal.
"Yeah?" Maria asked with sparkling eyes.
Tommy just nodded. It felt good to get a victory under his belt. A lot had gone wrong in this world as seeing a tiny bit of good was an overwhelming experience.
As they approached the portal Tommy was feeling hopeful. Rito was dead, the resistance had the Power Chamber and three brand new Rangers. He didn't think anything could change that.
Until he finally stepped through the portal and found the world on fire.
A/N: Sorry for the delay with his chapter. I actually had to completely rewrite it because I wasn't satisfied with the draft I had written last month.