Tommy Oliver delivered a spin kick so devastating that the head of his mechanical adversary was left dented as it reeled from the attack. He smirked to himself.
Deep down there had been a growing doubt in himself. A feeling that he was growing too old for this kind of stuff.
Well… maybe not too old, but just that he'd been out of the fight so long he'd grown soft.
He wasn't a teenager with attitude anymore. He was a young man. A college student who worked alongside an insanely wealthy philanthropist with a slight obsession with dinosaurs. He didn't spend his days fighting monsters anymore, instead, he was either in class or at the latest dig sight.
The lifestyle left him with a nagging anxiety that when the time came to fight again he wouldn't be ready.
Thankfully he was wrong, and old muscle memory reawoke as if there hadn't been a pause at all.
Another Cog stepped towards him and Tommy didn't waste a breath before springing towards it. But a different Cog flanked his side, tackling him to the ground.
The feeling of cold hard metal crushing his chest was suffocating. He gasped for a shallow breath as the rest of the Cogs descended upon him.
Panic settled like a wet cloth over his face. Was this really how everything ended? Leaving Kat alone to raise J.J.… How would she even tell him what happened?
But then there was an animalistic roar and the mob of Cogs was quickly and violently dispersed.
Tommy was met with the smiling face of Cole, the red wild force ranger as the Cog on top of him was thrown off.
"Thank you," Tommy said as Cole offered his hand.
"Of course," Cole replied curtly before quickly turning his attention back to the mob.
Tommy smiled, rubbed the back of his head, and tried not to look as bothered as he felt.
Then, it finally hit him. This was just a memory. More specifically a memory from the mission to the moon to stop the Machine Empire from reviving Serpenterra. So why was he reliving his memory? And how had he gotten there?
"Tommy, what's wrong?" Cole asked.
Before Tommy could answer Jason was thrown to the ground in front of them. Smoke flew from his tattered clothes.
Jason… Tommy couldn't help but stare at the original red ranger. This was the last time he'd seen him, and the only time he'd seen him after Zordon's funeral.
"Guys, they've got a-" Jason began before getting struck with a wave of energy that instantly vaporized him.
Tommy was in disbelief. That definitely wasn't a part of his memory.
And neither was the figure that slowly sauntered towards them.
White suit, black stripes, red visor.
The Ranger before them was unmistakable.
"Who are you?" Cole managed to ask before being obliterated.
Tommy took a step towards the Ranger, towards Trent. One of the Dino Rangers, the team Tommy had personally mentored.
But this wasn't the same Trent Tommy had the privilege of watching become a was the evil copy created by Mesagog.
"Long time no see, Geezer," The White Ranger spat.
Tommy's hands tightened around the Master Morpher. He hadn't even realized he'd grabbed it before being taken to this nightmarish place.
Emerald arcs of lightning danced across the Morpher as Tommy raised it into the air.
Billy Cranston saw the purplish-colored fluid that pooled across the floor and suddenly he was gasping for air.
It was blood, Aquitian blood. More blood than he'd ever seen in his whole life.
A mod of piranhatrons stood in his living room, and through the mass of bodies, he saw her. Cestra, lying prone on the floor.
Billy screamed and raised his freshly reconstructed Morpher into the air.
In a flash of light, he shot towards the monsters, and he exterminated them with a cold efficiency.
But… it was all for naught. He lifted her body up and pulled her into his chest.
She was already dead.
After a while, after a long while. He finally set her down.
Then, he let out a sigh. "I don't enjoy being played with."
Billy demorphed and he closed his eyes. Then focused on himself and his place in the universe. On his connection to the grid itself.
And the illusion melted away.
What he found was nearly as bad as what he'd escaped. Within the dark smokey void he could only assume was the Dark Dimension stood Tommy Oliver wielding the Master Morpher.
Only the Morpher was enveloped in a dark green haze, with rolling smoke pouring from the device. A feature Billy definitely hadn't integrated himself.
"Chaos Dragonzord Power!" Tommy exclaimed as a blinding green light enveloped him.
Once the light subsided a Green Ranger stood before Billy. But not the Green Ranger he'd programmed into the Morpher. Not exactly.
The green ranger followed a nearly identical design to the ranger of times past, only his suit was more reinforced and more ornate. It was a shimmering emerald color, covered in tiny green scales not unlike chainmail, with slight gold detailing that extended down his torso and legs. The helmet turned towards Billy, metallic green with silver trim and a fin on top that pointed at the former blue ranger.
A sword appeared in the Ranger's hand— a familiar blade of twisted metal with a red gem embedded in its hilt.
Billy found himself taking a defensive stance, his Morpher tightly in his grasp.
That vile sword, the very sight of it struck fear and panic in the blue ranger. The sword of darkness, the one Rita had used to facilitate the evil spell over Tommy all those years ago.
Billy knew what would come next. Every atom that composed his being seemed to coil in anticipation.
Yet still, he couldn't help but feel a pang of surprise as the Green Ranger lunged towards him.
Billy raised his Morpher into the air, unbeknownst to him that it too was seemingly infected by the rolling waves of dark energy.
Kat ran. She ran so hard her lungs burned in her chest and each breath of smokey air required Olympian effort.
Meanwhile, the candle-lit halls of Rita's palace seemed to wind to infinity, and her pursuer gave no indication of stopping.
"What's wrong darling?" The voice called from behind her. "Too good to play with me now?"
Kat tried to ignore the voice. Ignore how sickeningly familiar it sounded.
A spray of energy shot from her pursuer's sword and a few flecks of shrapnel peppered Kat's leg, sending her to the ground.
A shrill laugh escaped the creature.
Kat tried to crawl away, but a clawed hand grabbed her ankle.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"
Kat kicked back, feeling her shoe connect with the monster's arm. It recoiled in response, freeing her for the moment.
Knowing this might be her only chance to escape the clutches of her assailant Kat quickly pulled herself back up and broke into a wobbling sprint.
Only to feel twice as surprised when she hit the wall in front of her.
"There's no escape now, my little kitten."
Kat turned around, forcing herself to face the Cheshire smile that haunted her dreams.
Katastrophy, the creature she'd once been transformed into by Rita Repulsa, pointed her sword at Kat's chest. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," she purred darkly.
"What do you want from me?" Kat asked.
"I want you," Katastrophy said. "I've missed you Katherine, and it's time for us to become whole again."
"No, never," Kat said. "I'd rather die."
"Oh come on," Katastrophy said. "I know you miss it. The freedom to cause as much destruction as you please."
Kat raised her Morpher, oblivious to the dark energy emanating from it.
"You've been second fiddle your whole life," the feline spoke. "From the replacement pink ranger to Tommy's rebound, to just another stay-at-home mom. Don't you miss when everything was about you?"
Kat's morpher fell to the ground. The words of her phantom echoed painfully in her mind. Kat had thought of herself as a protector, a dedicated guardian to those she loved. But that was just the narrative she fed herself. The truth was she was just a shell. She did nothing for herself and everything for everyone else.
All so she could feel valued.
In a twisted way, she knew Katastrophy was right. Under Rita's thrall had been the only time in her life she hadn't been riddled with the crippling anxiety that she needed to be useful to be important to people.
She took a step towards the monster, who in turn lowered her weapon.
Kat hadn't realized how easy it would be for her to finally let go. After all these years she was so tired, worn down to the core of being. She took another step forward, this time unconsciously.
"That's right," Katastrophy said, "Surrender yourself to me and we can pick up right where we left off. This time without Rita or Zedd."
In a way, Kat had known this would happen eventually. She'd seen this scene played out countless times in her dreams over the past few months.
It would be so easy…
She paused.
Too easy.
"No, I'm not going with you," Kat said. "Feeling free and being free aren't the same thing. I was just as much a tool for Rita and Zedd. I may not be satisfied with the road I've taken in life but that's no reason to throw it all away."
"You're worthless without me!" The monster screamed and grabbed hold of Kat's wrist.
The two were suddenly rocked back and forth as a violet earthquake shuffled the ground under their feet, followed by a sound like shattering glass.
Kat looked down at Katastrophy's arm and saw fissures forming around her furry flesh.
"You're nothing but a bad memory," Kat spoke.
Katastrophy stumbled back, a look of surprise on her face before she exploded into tiny fractals.
The scenery around Kat began to melt away, revealing a world of blackness and rolling smoke.
Kat knew precisely where she was. The Dark Dimension.
As reality began to warp around her figures sprang up from the aether. First one blue, then a green one.
Kat's heart sank in her chest.
Behind them stood a being wrapped in a black cloak with long greasy hair.
"Welcome back Katherine," the figure said."I was really hoping you'd fall for my little trick. But I suppose two out of three isn't so bad! Hahaha!"
"Who are you?" Kat asked.
"Oh, you don't know?" The figure asked. "I am the Wizard of Deception! Hahahah!"
"Who?"
The wizard frowned. "Has your husband never informed you of my master villainy?"
"Are you the one who controlled that big white Zord?"
"No, that was Lokar!" The Wizard exclaimed. Then shook his head. "Nevertheless, you may not know my name, but you will know my power hahahaha!"
The two rangers beside him began to step towards Kat. One was a seemingly more beefed-up green dragon ranger while the other was the mighty morphin blue ranger with a more metallic look, long spike-like horns extending from the original molding of his helmet, and strangely, a leather jacket was pulled around his midsection.
"Are we really doing evil rangers again?" Kat asked.
"It's an oldie but a goldie!" The wizard of deception exclaimed followed by another howl of laughter. "Now, my puppets, finish her!"