Beta-Reader/Idea Contributor: The Vigilant Spider

CHAPTER 1: PLANET REMNANT

Somewhere in Space…

November 4th, 2025

An SOS beacon over the restricted SPD channels was big news. Whoever was sending that signal was important enough to be able to access it in the first place and that number was very small to begin with. Naturally, that meant the best of the best had to respond.

The Power Rangers had packed everything for this mission. All of their vehicles, the S.W.A.T. truck, even the SWAT flyers. Even Omega Ranger brought his zord and vehicle. It paid to be more careful than not careful enough.

Pushing their spacecraft to its max speed, they sped towards the planet where the signal was coming from.

"Any info on what we're dealing with?" Z asked her squad leader.

Jack shook his head. "Kat doesn't even know who sent out the distress beacon. We're just assuming that they're VIPs in trouble."

"I don't think Kat could even figure out the identity of the caller." Sky looked at the map where the distress beacon originated from. "These calls are meant to have as little information as possible so that the enemy isn't able to get anything in the event of a possible interception from the enemy.

Jack turned to his number three. "Speaking of that, you got anything, Bridge?"

Bridge grasped his morpher in one hand while typing away at the console in front of him with the other. "Nothing. It's just as Kat said, an SOS signal. No way to I.D. the caller, not without going into some real technical stuff that'll take too long. We'll probably get there and find them before we can decode the signal fully."

"So just a location and we know they're friendly." Syd summarized their findings succinctly, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "Just another day at work."

Z looked at her fellow female ranger. "You got that right."

"We'll find out who it is soon enough." Jack continued to pilot. "We're about to make landfall in ten minutes. Should be entering the planet's atmosphere in four."

The Yellow Ranger turned to the back. "Sam?"

"Yeah?" The Omega Ranger turned his helmeted head.

Number four gave the Ranger from the future a look. "You okay back there? Sure you wouldn't rather take a seat?"

. "I'll be fine." The sixth member of the team gave a thumbs up.

Everyone acknowledged him and simply settled themselves down. It was almost go time and they were all about to put their game faces on. The last year had seen them transform from a motley crew of reluctantly-cooperative fighters into a tight and squared-away squad, who knew each other to the point of being able to fight without the need to speak verbal commands to each other in the heat of combat.

Whatever they were about to face now, they'd be able to deal with it and then some. That's what they did.

The console by Sky then began to beep a warning signal. The Blue Ranger immediately snapped to attention and began to assess the info the screen was feeding him.

"What is it?" Syd was the first to ask.

Sky narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Computer's picking up a wormhole, but I didn't notice anything unusual outside."

"Let me do a sweep." Jack took his eyes off the blackness of space and did a scan with his systems, but he too came back negative. "I got nothing either. Bridge?"

The Green Ranger was waving his hand around, shaking his head after a few moments. "I don't sense anything unusual. It's just nor-"

Then the oddball of the team cut off, his face concentrating again, his hand waving around again.

"Bridge?" Z regarded her teammate with a concerned expression.

Silence for a few seconds, and then the Green Ranger's eyes widened. "Jack, turn the ship around!"

The Red Ranger was tempted to ask questions, but he'd learned to trust his teammate's intuition, and judging by the urgency in his voice, there wasn't time to divulge any more info, so he began to maneuver the spacecraft in the opposite direction of their original course.

At this point, all the Rangers were now on alert, all of them ready to respond to any problem with all their capabilities.

"Okay, what now?" Jack looked over his left shoulder to cast a glance at his number three.

Before that question could be answered, the craft began to lurch uncontrollably and this was followed by the appearance of a wormhole directly in front of the aircraft.

"We're getting pulled in!" Bridge took a quick glance at his monitor.

Jack gritted his teeth. "We need full power to the thrusters! Z, Syd, manual override!"

"Got it!" Yellow and Pink sounded off.

The order came too late as their craft was forcefully pulled into the direction of the wormhole, causing everyone in the cockpit to physically brace themselves less than receive an injury from being bounced around all over the place.

Jack once again attempted to regain control of the craft to redirect their flight path, but no matter how he steered, he couldn't escape the force of the unnatural cosmetic phenomenon in front of them.

Only one thing left to do.

The leader strapped himself tightly in. "Rangers, brace yourselves!"

Everyone did what they could to keep themselves in place, which kept their hands away from the controls and unable to control their chaotic spacecraft which was now passing through the wormhole.

As soon as they passed through it, the apparatus closed.

Any ship that could potentially pass by would think nothing happened.

Power Rangers - - - RWBY

Solar System, Earth

Newtech City, SPD HQ

"Sir, I've lost the Rangers' signal." Kat Manx reported to her boss. "They're just… gone."

Anubis "Doggie" Kruger stood next to her. "Explain."

"One moment, their signal was loud and clear, and now I can't even find a trace of them." The female alien elaborated. "It's like they were never there to begin with."

"Grrrr." The Commander growled but kept it quiet. "Can you trace the last ten minutes prior?"

Kat nodded. "I'm on it."

RWBY - - - Power Rangers

Location Unknown...

Sky felt a splitting headache as he opened his eyes. The first thing he did upon regaining consciousness was he checked himself for any injuries. After taking all a minute and seeing that he wasn't hurt, he immediately moved to check on the teammate closest to him, which happened to be Z.

He first went to the Yellow Ranger, gently grasping her shoulders. "Z, wake up."

Elizabeth groaned lightly and moved a little bit. "Who?"

"It's me, Sky." The second-in-command replied to her. "Wake up."

The brunette began to open her eyes. "Mmph, Sky. What happened?"

"We got caught in the wormhole." The Blue Ranger quickly brought her up to speed. "You hurt anywhere?"

Although still groggy, Z checked herself for any injuries, finding none. "I don't think so. What about you?"

"I'm okay." The number two of the team relayed.

Turning his head, Sky found that Jack was up and he along with Bridge appeared to be okay as they check up on Syd.

"I'm fine." Syd looked to her leader and the number three. "Hair's all messed up now, but I'll live."

Jack laughed at her words. "She's fine. Sky, Z, you two good?"

"Green." The Blue Ranger replied.

The number three of the squad raised his hand.

Sky gave his fellow ranger a look. "Not you, Bridge."

The resident tech put his hand down.

Z got up to shake herself. "I'm all here."

"Sam?" Jack looked around.

Sam appeared to have fallen to the floor and was now picking himself up. "A little shaken up, but I'm fine. More importantly, where are we?"

Bridge was the first to look on the console. "We're… close to Earth?"

"What?" Sky stood on the left of the Green Ranger. "We were transported back?"

Jack stood on the right side. "Hold on. SPD HQ, this is Cadet Landors. You read me?"

Silence and static were the only response. There was not even an attempt to make contact from the other side.

"Is our comms array busted?" Syd suggested. "Maybe the wormhole did something to our systems?"

Bridge shook his head. "No, all systems are nominal, and I doubt that HQ's having problems. That means one of two things: we're either not in range… or they're not there."

"Not there?" Jack took particular interest in that last bit. "What does that mean?"

Sam was the one who spoke up. "It means that we're nowhere close to Earth, but if the scans are saying it's Earth… then we may have been pulled into another alternate universe."

"You've got to be kidding me." The Red Ranger cursed quietly. "It's got to be Grumm or one of his goons."

Sky bit his lips. "Or it could be a random space event."

"Aren't those things like a literal one in a billion chance?" Z crossed her arms. "I'm with Jack: Grumm's pulled this kind of thing before. Who's to say he can't do it again?"

Bridge raised his hand. "Maybe it could be both. I mean, we barely understand enough about space to navigate. I don't even think we know enough about our own seas of water back home. The ocean's still mostly unexplored, and space is much bigger than even the Pacific Ocean, so who's to say it's a one in a billion, but Grumm's also-"

"Bridge," Sky interrupted his teammate, "We've got bigger things to be worrying about."

The Green Ranger reeled himself. "Right, sorry."

"What are you thinking, Jack?" The Blue Ranger looked to his leader.

Their leader looked at their computers for a moment. "... let's check out Earth or whatever planet's in range. If we're in as deep as Sam says, we're probably going to have to figure out some real basic stuff. Food, water, all that."

"I'm already missing home. Peanuts, please be safe." Syd looked momentarily sad at the lack of her favorite stuffed animal, then she brightened up. "Well, we've got RIC with us."

And speaking of their robotic companion, he strolled into the cockpit, tilting his head and looking at each of the rangers. Although he didn't have eyes like a dog, they could all infer that he was confused about their current status.

The Pink Ranger kneeled down to pet the canine. "We're okay. We just got ourselves stuck in another universe, that's all. You're still a good boy."

RIC took the information in strides and simply appreciated being petted by his favorite ranger.

"She makes our situation sound so normal," Sam commented, somewhat amused. "Then again, is anyone surprised at this point."

All the rangers responded in unison. "No."

After a collective chuckle at their collective answer, they began to steer back to the topic at hand.

"Alright, let's check out what we've got in front of us." Jack settled back into the pilot's seat. "Everyone ready?"

Save for Sam, everyone found their seats and they began to pilot the ship towards their destination. They were approximately 700,000 kilometers away from the planet, so it would be a minute before it came into view.

But once it did, they all immediately came to one conclusion.

"That's not Earth." Z summarized all their thoughts.

Sky spoke next. "But it's colored just like our planet. I can even see clouds."

"Those continent shapes." Bridge put a hand to his chin as he considered the landmasses. "It's like someone wiped their face on a napkin and this was the result."

Jack turned to his number three. "That's oddly specific, but yeah. It's weird; not exactly our world, but there are a lot of similarities.'

"Any signs of life," Sam inquired, leaning against a nearby wall, "If this is an alternate version of Earth, it's likely there's intelligent life down there."

The Green Ranger swiveled his chair to face his console. "We're about to find out. Give me a minute to scan the planet."

Everyone was silent as their systems began to gather information about the planet that was in their view. When it was done, a whole wealth of information was coming in, enough that Bridge had to begin sorting.

"How much info did you get?" Sky leaned to his right to see better.

Number three continued to type as he spoke. "Too much to sum up in a few words. What do you want to know first?"

"Is there intelligent life down there?" Jack took the lead in the questioning.

Bridge nodded. "Oh, yeah. Not only is there life, but it's human life… actually it's human and something called faunus."

"Faunus?" Z leaned forward. "What is that? Some kind of alien life?"

"No, from what I'm getting, they're mostly human, but with one or a few animal traits, and there are a LOT of different types. However, they're the minority race and they're not exactly on good terms with our human counterparts."

Sky frowned. "It wasn't all that long ago that humans and aliens on Earth were at odds. We've only recently come together as a society. If these people are similar to us, it's probably going to be a while before they work together."

"Here, I just pulled some images and videos off this network. Man, their systems are incredibly simple." Bridge typed a command in. "Sending it to the main computer screen now."

A multitude of images came to the main viewport and just as described; they were mostly human save for obvious animal traits. Apparently said traits also gave them enhanced senses depending on the type of species.

Jack regarded the images. "Just these two?"

"No, there's one more prominent species." The Green Ranger began typing again. "There's a species called Grimm. According to public information, nobody knows where they come from or why exist, but their sole purpose is to hunt down and kill all humans and faunus."

Syd tilted her head. "But why? What's the point of that."

"That's also a mystery." Bridge shrugged his shoulders. "A lot of theories from what I can see, but nothing concrete."

"Wait, hold up." Sky crossed his arms. "These people use the same language that we use?"

Number three nodded. "Apparently. I looked over the entire alphabet and number system. All the same. Weird, right?"

"Too weird," Z replied, "What are the chances of that? Development of the exact same language alongside us."

Too many coincidences and too many similarities. It was one thing to read about this kind of stuff in fiction but seeing it in action was surreal to be sure. Whatever the case, it made comprehending the basics easy.

Jack redirected the conversation. "It's not Earth, but it's not too far off. Good to know."

"What do we do about getting back to Earth?" Sky asked the million-dollar question.

Sam answered for them all. "There's nothing we can do on our end. We don't have the tech to create portals of wormholes, at least not with what we have right now. We're stuck here until the other side comes up with something."

"It would be too easy if we could get out of this." Jack chuckled, although it was humorless. "Alright, new plan, we find a place to land this thing and figure out our next plan of attack."

"We're going down there," Z asked with surprise in her tone, "Really?"

Jack looked adopted a neutral expression. "Sam's right. We don't have anything that can make us a way home. Besides that, we've got maybe a few days' worth of food and water. We're going to run out of necessities sooner or later. And there are people down there, which means they've probably got things we can use."

"Agreed. I don't like this any more than you guys, but we're going to have to adapt." Sky pressed his lips together before exhaling. "If it helps, think of this as an extended mission. We'll keep trying to find Earth and SPD HQ in the meantime."

Bridge seemed pleased. "It's also a good chance to see if maybe there's something down there we can take back. We might be able to find some cool new tech."

"Alright, guess we're doing this." Z seemed a bit uncertain. "Here's to exploring a new world."

Syd chimed in. "Who knows? Maybe someone down there needs some saving."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Jack knew where that line of thought was going. "For now, we need to figure out where exactly we're going to land."

Power Rangers - - - RWBY

System Unknown

Remnant Orbit

For the next hour, all the Rangers began to pour over the multitude of information that their ship was picking up from the planet below. Everything from cities to topography to the populations, major economies, important people, and other bits and pieces.

Given the conflict between the Grimm and the rest of the world, there weren't too many cities and major hubs to choose from, which made searching for a suitable location to temporarily set down on much easier on one hand, but they had to be very flexible considering that they didn't have the means to identify themselves, at least not in a way that wouldn't raise some suspicions.

"Setting up in the main kingdoms definitely isn't an option." Jack shook his head. "Too many people and someone's going to ask questions and put two and two together."

Sky put his head in his hand, adopting a thinking pose. "Definitely stay away from Vacuo. There's little to no infrastructure. Plus, we'd stick out like a sore thumb."

"Atlas would be a good place, but they're the most technologically advanced kingdom on Remnant." Bridge tapped his fingers on the armrests of his chair. "This world might not have space tech, but they might have something else."

Z was next. "What about Vale? It's a pretty modern environment, not too techy. Plus, it's got some back channels we can sneak through."

"Navigating the terrain around would be tough." Jack looked at the map they had of the planet. "And the natural terrain combined with the layout of the kingdom suggests that it's got more hidden defenses than the other three."

Bridge came next. "That leaves Mistral. It's probably our best bet. The area's pretty big, and the cities are relatively scattered, which likely means they have to fend for themselves. We can also get in easier because the Mistral underworld makes some cities easier to get into, even without a real form of I.D."

"Basically, we can thank the bad guys for making it easier for us." The irony was not lost on Syd.

Z appeared amused by the turnaround. "We might just turn into bad guys ourselves."

"As annoying as it is to admit, I'm going to have to agree with Bridge," Sky relayed to his squad leader, "We need as much secrecy as possible and the fewer people ask questions, the better, but it's your call, Jack."

Getting there would also prove to be easy; this planet had no technology in space whatsoever. For one reason or another, they were unable to go into space. That meant that SPD hardware was inherently superior and likely by leaps and bounds. They weren't likely to show up on any scanners, but coming in cloaked would not guarantee they wouldn't be spotted.

That said, Jack didn't want to take chances with hardware. Since they were cut off from help and on their own, the last thing they needed was another instance of theft of technology. That little problem with the stealing of SWAT equipment didn't need to be repeated. They would take all the precautions necessary in order to get down there without being detected.

But it looked like they had their decision.

"Mistral it is, then. Any last thoughts?" Jack asked his team. "Now's the time before we commit to this."

Bridge raised his hand. "Oh! I just want to say this: I think we're going to get involved in a super complex mission that's been affecting this planet since the dawn of their societies. Then we'll be heroes and go back."

"... did you just make that up?" Z almost didn't want to ask.

The Green Ranger merely shrugged his shoulders. "It sounded pretty cool in my head, and let's face it: most of our missions don't ever go according to plan."

Sky sighed. "Then let's hope we're not jinxed because you said that. Let's get down there, hunker down, and get out as soon as we get a way back home."

The other rangers simply laughed at Bridge's rambling. Despite it being confusing and somewhat grating at times, he was still a part of the team at the end of the day, oddball and all that.

With that, they all began their descent onto the planet called Remnant.

"Engaging cloaking device," Sky reported, "Let's hope they don't see us coming."

Syd chortled. "If they can't even go into space, they probably aren't expecting anything coming from space either. We'll be fine."

Despite all of them knowing the technological difference between their stuff and this planet's was not even a contest, they were still cautious. Experience had taught them to never truly underestimate a potential foe, even with such a massive advantage at their disposal. Kruger would definitely not approve of that.

"No objections? We're going in, full send." Jack turned his seat to face the front. "No takebacks."

Everyone nodded. "Roger."

The descent into the atmosphere was uneventful. It was almost like they were returning to Earth. Furthermore, they entered the atmosphere and noticed that the climate and environment were familiar as well: blue skies, blue water, vegetation, and colors that fit in with the world that they came from. All of it made for an uncanny valley.

"It's so weird," Z looked out the window as she commented, "The topography is different, but it looks like Earth."

Bridge looked between his console and the outside. "They've got a lot less light pollution. Looks like only major cities in the kingdom can be seen clearly from space. Still have to get used to the map."

"You think those huntsmen and huntresses are good fighters?" Syd's question, while coming out of left field, was inevitable. "I mean, they can't be that good if those Grimm or whatever are still roaming around."

All of them had considered the question to a degree and all of them asked the question of whether or not they would have to come to blows with any of them. Perhaps it wasn't a relevant question, but it could happen.

Sky was the first to respond, a bit of disdain in his tone. "It doesn't really matter if they're good or not. We're likely not going to interact with them. As long as they don't interfere with us, we don't interfere with them."

"Don't sound so condescending, Sky." Z was the first to call him out on his tone. "Or I might think you're jealous."

The Blue Ranger regarded his yellow counterpart. "Jealous? Not really, but I can't say I respect their chosen profession. They might fight like we do, but they're essentially mercenaries for hire. They have no loyalty to their nation or their people."

"Yeah, well that's not our problem. Our problem is that we're potentially stuck in an alternative universe." Jack kept his eyes forward as he flew the ship. "The last thing we need to be worrying about is some robin hood guys. We just got to hunker down, find a way home, and finish our mission."

Everyone gave Jack a strange look but otherwise didn't say anything further. However final his words and tone sounded; they all wanted the same thing as he did.

Once they were in the atmosphere, they all began to monitor all around them carefully. Thankfully, they had entered under the cover of night and thanks to their ship having some cloaking capabilities, they were able to land their craft several kilometers away from the site. Once they touched down, they brought only their morphers and some supplies before setting off on foot, sending their spacecraft back into orbit in low-power mode to be on standby.

They were lacking in civilian clothing, so they had to make do with their uniforms. Thankfully, at the time of night, they were traveling in, there were few travelers for them to encounter, so their route forward was smooth.

Thanks to their time in SWAT training with Sergeant Silverback, they had learned a great deal about nighttime patrolling and movements, so they were able to maintain a close distance to the nearby dirt road, handrailing it but also being able to stay out of sight when they saw people in front of them or heard people behind them.

When the first sign of lights broke, all six rangers took cover behind whatever was available, be it a mount of dirt, a tree, or a large rock.

"Sam, you're morphed, what do you see," Jack quietly asked the sixth ranger of the team.

The Omega Ranger began using his internal systems. "Stand by. Doing a scan now."

They waited ten seconds.

"They've got really primitive tech," The white-clad Ranger relayed to his team while also continuing to do a sweep, "We could easily bypass these perimeters sensors located all around. The walls are high, but we could scale those if we need to, although I think our best bet is the underground tunnels."

"Explain." Jack wanted to hear about that last part.

Sam brought up a 3D hologram, complete with an outlay of the city systems. "This place is rife with crime. Naturally, that means they've got all sorts of ways to avoid being seen by police and other law enforcement. That includes underground tunnels. Now if we combine that with our ship's orbital pictures and our initial scan of the city, we can get a pretty precise map of where the entrances and exits are along with their routes. The only thing we'll have to worry about are bad guys in the tunnels with us."

"We'll take our chances underground." Jack nodded in satisfaction. "We deal with bad guys all the time anyway. They give us trouble; we'll make sure they don't give anyone trouble ever again."

Bridge pointed to a specific point on the above-ground portion of the map. "This looks like the best place to be a face in the crowd. High population density, lots of buildings, easy to blend in."

"Agreed." Z backed up the Green Ranger. "But before we go in, we're going to need some decent disguises. We'll only be a face in the crowd if you dress the part. Bad guys know the goody-two-shoes type."

The Yellow Ranger cast a look at the Blue Ranger.

Sky realized what she was getting at. "Don't start with me. You joined the good guys, you've got no room to talk."

"But I used to be one. It never really goes away," number four replied with a deadpan tone.

"Z's got a point. We still have to do recon to make sure our intel and our maps are accurate. Measure twice, cut once." Jack pointed to his number two. "Once we're clear, we'll move up. We need to see with our own eyes what's the buzz."

Closer to the city, vehicles and people were more abundant, although it was more so people coming in than going out. With patience, the six of them slowly began to make their way toward the city walls, taking care not to trigger any sensors or other traps that could give their presence away. Bridge proved to be the most useful in discerning any traps with his civilian powers.

Once they were within meters of the giant wall, Jack turned to Sam. "You think you turn into light form and check it out."

The Omega Ranger nodded, and they expected him to change into light form.

Except he didn't.

After a few moments, he looked down at his morpher.

"What's wrong?" Jack sensed something was wrong.

Sam fiddled with his morpher, then looked to his team. "I… can't change. I'm trying, but I can't."

"Let me try something." Bridge waved his hand against number six, then looked surprised. "I'm getting human readings."

Sky's brow furrowed. "Human readings? Not energy readings, like the first time you read him?"

"No, these are definitely human readings," Bridge said, "Which means-"

Sam finished for him, a tint of excitement in his voice. "I can demorph now."

For a moment, all of them were shocked. They had always been used to Omega being a Ranger and nothing more. In a way, it was hard to connect with him because of that barrier, but now that he could demorph…

That would have to wait for another time.

Jack was the first to recover. "So you can't turn into your light form."

"Correct." The white helmeted nodded.

Well, that was a lost ability. As frustrating as that was, they would have to figure out another way. Adapt and overcome, as the saying went.

The Red Ranger then felt a lightbulb go off. "Your civilian ability is teleporting objects, right?"

"Yes," Sam responded, albeit confused as to where this was going.

That's all he needed to hear. "Good, I know what we can do. For now, stay morphed. I've got a plan."

RWBY - - - Power Rangers

Unknown System, Remnant

Kingdom of Mistral, City of Wind Path

Gate guard duty was one of the most boring and tedious jobs in the Wind Path Police Department. It was just people coming in and going out and the only people that needed to be ID'd were people coming in. For the most part, everyone came in with no fuss. It was the rare and exciting things that forced them to be vigilant.

But so far, it had been three days without a single incident.

And night hours were extremely boring because there were maybe a few people entering every hour.

So naturally, the conversations had to be equally entertaining.

"Hey." Tucker turned to his partner. "You ever wonder why we're here?"

His partner, Torrey simply looked at him like he was stupid. "Because we're part of the Wind Path PD and we're junior guys for a hot minute. Everyone does this job until they're ranked up. You know this already."

…

…

…

"What?" Tucker looked confused. "No, why are we here? Why do we exist?"

Torrey shook his head. "I'm not about to get into a deep conversation about whether or not we're the product of coincidence or the Gods with a plan. None of that keeps me up at night, alright? Keep the philosophy to yourself."

"But you never answered the question." Torrey was getting annoyed. "Maybe if you did, I would find something else to do because, at this point, I'll do anything. I'll even sit here and play with my-"

Tucker interrupted. "Okay, first of all, I don't care about what you want to do. Second, maybe I don't answer your question because I'm tired of hearing it. You asked me that question last week. You asked me five minutes ago. You're going to ask me that question in five minutes, so how about you ask another question that I MIGHT actually be inclined to answer!?"

…

…

…

"... you think aliens exist out there?"

"... just stop talking."

So caught up in their pointless conversation that the two guards at the entrance to the gate failed to notice a blur go by them nor a man that walked into the wall protecting the city and proceeded to go right through it, taking with him a woman.

It was just another night on guard.

Power Rangers - - - RWBY

It was so hard to believe that this was the level of security that was present in this city. Even fresh SPD cadets could do a better job at pulling security around HQ than these schmucks. The fact that they wore badges to indicate they were law enforcement only made things even more embarrassing.

SPD shared a common goal with these guys, but the standards between them couldn't be any different or bad.

Not that we were ever pulled for mundane tasks. Jack had to thank his lucky stars for that. So who am I to talk to?

Lax standards aside, getting in and out was looking to be very easy. It looked like with the contentious relationship between law enforcement and the criminal underworld, they would likely be able to get in and out without sneaking around. Of course, they'd have to learn to blend in with the locals, know the terminology, and act like they belonged. It was nothing a little time and practice couldn't get them.

Honestly, Jack had never tried pulling using his genetic powers on another person besides himself. He didn't want to unnecessarily put anyone at risk because there was an, albeit small, risk, of something going wrong while phasing through physical objects. Bringing Z with him was a first, and in all honesty, none of the other Rangers knew that.

And he would be keeping it that way.

"You good?" Jack looked at his long-time friend.

Z nodded. "I'm all here."

"Sam?" The Red Ranger scanned around.

There was a blur in front of them, then the Omega Ranger appeared. "Made it through. Looks like getting in isn't going to be the problem."

"We'll worry about the details once we scope out a place to lie low." Jack looked to his teammates. "Let's split up and start looking around. Sam, you should demorph. We're going to stick out in Ranger form."

The man nodded. "I'll follow you guys out after a minute headstart."

"Meet back here in thirty minutes. Radio if you see anything."

"Roger."

"Can do."

Jack took to the streets first, doing his best to remain inconspicuous. He had gone through the effort of masking his SPD badge and nametape with electrical tape, but he couldn't help the stares he was getting. He might not be law enforcement around these parts, but it was clear that his uniform signified he belonged to some sort of agency.

Beyond the stares, the Red Ranger was quick to note the bleak atmosphere. Nighttime aside, the general mood he was picking up was very unsavory. He knew what it was like growing up poor and having to be somewhat paranoid of his surroundings; he felt old habits kick in and his senses were all on high alert.

"Hey, you. You're new blood."

The man's voice could've been talking to anyone, but being a street rat growing up, the former thief knew when someone was addressing him.

When he turned, he saw a man that was taller than him and physically more imposing than him. His arms looked like thick bands of muscle and his torso was very big. To some people, it would be intimidating combined with an unfriendly greeting. The leader of B-Squad wasn't so easily scared.

Jack played it cool. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"No, but one look at you and I know you're ain't gonna last around here." The man spoke with a deep growl. "You look like a boys scout type."

Had he really changed that much?

Guess it was time to switch it up.

The Red Ranger put on a smile. "I grew up on the streets. Think I'll be just fine, but I appreciate the concern."

"So the little shit thinks he's that good?" The man stood closer to him. "You better watch yourself around here, tiny man. Stains like you are easy to get rid of."

Jack squared up. "I'd like to see you try."

The two men stared each other dead in the eye. In a contest of wills, the most important thing to do was not to look away. The first person who did would instantly be labeled as the weaker. Of course, if both parties held, the first to make a physical move would have the advantage.

The movement was quick, but the SPD cadet saw it and quickly leaned back, then kicked, forcing his larger opponent to get back in order to avoid the strike. With space between them now, the two of them sized each other up.

…

…

…

"Hmph, not bad, kid."

"I can do this all day, old man."

"... I like you, kid. You can fight. That means you ain't a pushover. Tell you what, since you've got a backbone, I'll answer any questions you got. Hit me."

Jack slowly let the breath he was holding subside. If there was one thing that people in the underworld respected, it was the ability to fight and defend what was yours. If you were a soft target, you would be relentlessly attacked for it. He had never gotten so far on the streets without knowing how to throw a punch.

The Red Ranger relaxed slightly but didn't let his guard down. "Who runs this city? Who should I be on the lookout for?"

"'Who runs this city?'" The man looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "The Spiders. The most dangerous gang in this city. Hell, they control the entirety of the Mistral underworld. Everything is seen by them and everything that isn't gets found out real quick."

Jack simply listened.

The more he knew, the better.

RWBY - - - Power Rangers

Z scowled as she navigated the streets. It brought up old memories from her childhood, memories that she honestly wanted to forget about.

Jack was lucky because he at least had memories of his parents. The Yellow Ranger couldn't remember a single thing about her family. Not what they looked like, not what they were like as people, nothing at all. She was essentially forced to live and survive by her own wit and her own desperation.

As a result, she had to do some things that she wish she hadn't done: stealing from other kids that were just as bad off or worse than her, being a little vicious when it came to the things she wanted to keep to herself, and it certainly didn't help that she was bullied relentlessly. She never sought to actively hurt anyone unless it pertained to her own survival.

That's why when unbeknownst to her at the time, Kruger saved her life, she became inspired to do more than just survive: she wanted to live, to do good, and to be a part of something bigger than herself. SPD was home to her, the very first home that she had ever had in her life, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

Walking down the streets of Wind Path, it became clear to Z that this city was very much under the thumb of criminal elements. It was nothing like Newtech City where the underworld was more concealed and more secretive. Here, the bad guys were so obvious even if they pretended like they were the average citizen. The fact that they displayed themselves in a very blatant fashion made her angry.

What's more, it was frustrating that the former thief couldn't help them. Jack had been very explicit in saying that they needed to make sure all the Rangers' bases were covered before they could do anything else. She understood it and she begrudgingly accepted it, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

As soon as they weren't hurting for basic necessities, she would be the first one to say that this place needed their help. Whatever they could do, they should help the people here. She would, of course, receive some Flak from Sky due to his more conservative nature and his penchant for being uninvolved in matters unrelated to him personally or SPD, but she could probably get him on board as well with a little persuasion.

For now, she simply had to navigate, keeping one eye on her morpher and the other on her surroundings. Already she had gotten a multitude of stares and she wasn't too keen on sticking around. Even with her badges and name concealed, she couldn't hide her uniform, which clearly separated her from everyone else.

At this point, Z was just waiting for something to try something on her. She used to be a thief, but now she appeared as an upstanding citizen, the type that she used to label SPD as and scoff at. She knew what being jaded and being on the dark side did to the mind.

Then she felt something bump her the front of her legs, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground. She instinctively got into a fighting stance, prepared for anything.

"I-I'm Sorry! Please don't hurt me!" It was a child's voice that greeted her. "I didn't do anything!"

The SPD cadet looked down. There was a young boy, maybe between six and eight years old. His clothes were dirty and somewhat ragged. He had to be either a thief or a beggar. Also, considering his immediate reaction to running into her, it was likely that he had been physically hurt before.

The last part in particular made her angry, but more importantly, it was extremely disheartening. In another life, this could have been her. She was lucky that Doggie had saved her, providing her with the inspiration to do good for others, but from the looks of it, this kid didn't have any positive adult figures in his life.

Z kneeled down, careful not to make any moves that could be threatening. "Hey hey, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

She was putting herself out there for the whole world to see, a risk to be sure, but at this point, tending to this kid was what mattered more.

Her eyes scanned him for any injuries or anything else that might indicate he was in poor health. She did notice many scratches and bruises as well as some scarring. She doubted that most of them were by accident.

Who did this? And why? The Yellow Ranger wasn't prone to anger often, but this was one way to guarantee it.

Then she saw something that she hadn't noticed at first glance: at first, she had mistaken it for a big bruise, but upon looking a second time, she saw what they were.

Scales.

She remembered Bridge's words.

Mostly human, but with a few animal traits.

Z let that thought slip away for a moment. "My name is Z. C'mon, let's get you something for those cuts."

When she tried to reach for him, he moved away from her. When he did, she took note of the fear in his eyes. It was so clear that it made her heart wrench.

"I'm not a bad guy, okay?" She spoke softly, her eyes focusing on him. "I just want to help you, okay?"

This was not Sam. This boy's experience might be even worse than her teammates' as well as hers. This kid likely had no concept of kindness or even empathy if his first instinct was to cower in fear.

Z smiled. "You can trust me. I won't hurt you. I'll be your friend."

"...n-nobody wants to be f-friends with a faunus." The little boy shook his head empathically. "E-everyone keeps telling me that, so it m-must be true."

To be so cruel to a child just because he was born a certain way.

The Yellow Ranger didn't break his gaze. "Then I'll be your first friend."

Scouting could wait for a bit.

Power Rangers - - - RWBY

Sam admittedly was a bit out of his element. Once he had split from Jack and Z, he had demorphed discreetly and took to the streets in his civilian identity. Although it was somewhat in bad taste to conceal his identity, especially seeing as SPD was a public entity, circumstances were different and he had to adapt accordingly. Plus, his time in the dystopian future of Earth 2040 had a way of changing SPD standard operating procedures (SOPs).

More awkward for him was being in his human form for the first time in months. He'd almost forgotten was it was like to be human. He wasn't quite sure how the rest of B-Squad would react to him. He had never been particularly close to them, even as a fellow Power Ranger, but now that they were all stuck in an alternate universe, they were maybe the only people he could trust now.

The Omega Ranger did his best to keep his head down as he kept himself watching for anything that might be of interest. One thing that he had noticed from various men and women was a black spider tattoo in the center of a web. Once was an accident, twice was a coincidence, and three times was a pattern. Not only that, but the people that did have the tattoo were clearly not the friendly-looking type.

Sam kept to the shadows and watched everyone with that same tattoo. The fact that they were out in the open meant that law enforcement in the city either couldn't arrest them or chose not to. Either way, it wasn't good.

The time traveler had been tailing two men with identical spider tattoos on the back of their hands. They were going somewhere and from their demeanor and movement, they were doing so with haste.

He wasn't able to change into light form any longer, but he knew a thing or two about keeping incognito in urban environments. SPD being a resistance force in the future forced all Rangers to become more than crime fighters. They had to be whatever the situation on the ground dictated; in this case, a shadow. Because it was nighttime, he was able to conceal his movements with ease as he ducked and weaved through the crowd, careful to watch for anyone that might be tracking his movements.

"Wonder what they're involved in." He whispered quietly. "If gangs are anything to go by, it's not good."

He could think of several ideas off the top of his head.

Murder. Theft. Extortion. Trafficking. Those among many other crimes were very common with gangs, especially ones with significant reach. That being said, every gang had their own unique shtick. This one was likely no different.

Sam ducked and weaved through a maze of people, still keeping himself from being noticed. He was still in uniform despite no clear insignia or name, but the fewer people he interacted with the better. The last thing he needed was to rob blind, not that he had anything worth stealing on her person.

"Anything from the boss?"

He was close enough to hear the chatter from the spider guys.

"Nothin'. Same shit, different day. Patrolling was okay for the most part. Did see something weird at the crossroad of Destiny and Dusty. Some brunette chick helpin' out a Faunus kid. Real bleedin' heart."

Normally, Omega wasn't one to make snap judgments too quickly, but the three details he heard meant something to him. By themselves, nothing important, but combined together?

Brunette hair.

Bleeding heart.

Helping a child.

Sam knew one person who would do that. Z

Mentally, he cursed. While he did admire the Yellow Ranger and he was grateful to her for saving his life, her desire to help others could be somewhat problematic. This whole thing that B-Squad was involved in was abnormal.

It's already happened, nothing to be done about it now. Sam let the temporary frustration out, then reigned it in. We'll just roll with the punches. It's what we do best, after all.

"So basically, new blood for us to suck dry."

"Yep. No way she'd join us, but she'll learn that being a hero doesn't pay around these parts."

"You're just gonna run this by the boss, yeah?"

"Something like that. Spider loyalty."

"Yep, Spider loyalty."

Spider loyalty? Was that a catchphrase?

… was Spider their name.

Really? They couldn't come up with something more catchy or original.

"I hate this shit. Things haven't been fun since Parrot and Mouse were wiped off the map."

"Yep, you and everyone else feel that way, but what else is there to do?"

Sam kept following them and while he trailed them, the Omega Morpher was simultaneously tracking his every movement in order to leave a trail for him to follow back as well as map out everywhere he walked.

The two men eventually entered a nightclub titled Hazy Club Hideout. It featured the silhouette of a man wielding a literal club, no doubt a weapon. These criminals clearly had no qualms about showing off that they owned this place.

"Guess I'm getting some drinks tonight." Sam knew that he was potentially extending his recon time, so he needed to inform the team lead, prompting him to hold his morpher to his mouth. "Omega Ranger to Red Ranger, come in."

A pause, then a response. "Omega, this is Red Ranger. Send your traffic."

"Red Ranger, I'm tracking potential major gang activity in the city center." The sixth member of B-Squad kept his voice down. "I'll need more time to follow this lead. Between thirty mikes to an hour. Requesting permission to pursue."

"Omega, request to pursue approved. Find out as much as you can, then report back in forty-five mikes."

"Read you lima charlie."

This should be fun. Not his typical mission, but he appreciated the change of pace all the same.

RWBY - - - Power Rangers

Sky kept his binoculars focused on the city walls, his notebook, and pen close by so that he could take note of any details that seemed important in the city's defense.

He had never seen anything like it: a whole population of people stuck behind a wall for their own safety. The Grimm was apparently that much of a threat that these defenses were necessary. It was actually surprising that none of B-Squad had encountered any of the monsters that were so rampant on this planet.

It was so strange to see such a high wall that defended a city. It was understandable given the presence of monsters present, but it had its drawbacks. In the event of expansion and the need to grow the borders, the options were limited. It either makes buildings taller or tears down small sections of the wall, leaving a dangerous opening exposed.

The Blue Ranger also noted the mix of automated defenses as well as manned posts. The mix signaled one thing to him: auto weaponry wasn't at the point of being reliable enough to completely eliminate the need for a person. Machines were vastly superior to humans, and at a certain glance, technology should eliminate the need to needlessly put people in danger.

Another thing that was of note to the second-in-command of B-Squad was the overall layout of the Kingdom of Mistral. The cities were scattered in such a way that it would be hard for any of the cities to be able to quickly respond to each other in a crisis should one be overrun by the enemy. That meant the kingdoms had to trust in the strength and self-reliability of each of its major populated areas.

It felt so cold, almost cruel the way that societies here lived, forced to survive by their own will and wit. Maybe he wouldn't ever understand thanks to his upbringing and how these people lived, but it didn't leave a good taste in his mouth.

Bridge continued to monitor signals coming in and out of the city. Most of the radio waves were unimportant on their own. Weather reports, music broadcasting, news and radio personnel, the usual stuff. Basically, everything that could be found on Earth with some variations.

"Anything interesting on your end?" Sky turned to the number three of the team

Bridge simply nodded. "Everything. I don't recognize any of the celebrities, tech companies, or any pop culture reference."

"Oh, who's the greatest singer?" Sky scooted closer to the Green Ranger. "I need to check out the hits here and compare them."

The tech expert of the squad looked at the female Ranger. "I don't know if she's the most famous, but I'm hearing a lot about someone called Casey Lee Williams. She's apparently very versatile and does a bit of rock. There's also Weiss Schnee, she does opera shows."

"Schnee, as in the Schnee Dust Company?" Sky focused on that part in particular. "What's the daughter of a tycoon doing singing?"

Syd answered quickly. "Probably because she's looking to branch out. I know that I wanted to try everything when I was a teenager. Sky's the limit, no pun intended."

The Blue Ranger simply shook his head in amusement at his teammates' antics. A year ago, he would've been far more aggravated at their jokes. He had certainly come a long way from the stiff and unmoving man that he was.

"Sam just radioed in. He's looking into some major gang activity." Bridge removed his earpiece from his left side. "Something about them being a major player in the city."

Sky's face became serious. "Did he say a name?"

"Spider. That's literally the name. He says that their emblem is denoted by a tattoo of a black spider in the center of a web." The tech whiz reported. "Which makes sense, I guess… unless they're trying to fool people by saying they're part of the Spiders but in actuality they're secretly converting to a different name."

Syd made a face at the mention of the arachnid. "Spiders? Really? They couldn't pick something cuter like a dog or a cat?"

"When's the last time you saw gangsters and cute icons together?" Sky was serious, yet snickered at the Pink Ranger's reasoning. "It's like mixing oil and water."

She didn't say anything, but he saw her thought process start with a rebuttal, then consideration, then acceptance. "Good point."

"Jack's been saying that he's working on street level to figure out the best place for us to lie low." Bridge returned to the original conversation. "Apparently, he's already made contact and he's potentially working out a deal."

That sounded right for the Red Ranger. Sky knew that he would never be able to do what his leader was doing. "He's good. And Z?"

"She's apparently been helping out a kid, which then led to her coming into contact with lots of kids." Bridge looked grim, which was rare. "She thinks they might be connected to the various gangs in the city."

Syd became serious. "Does she need help?"

"No, she says that she's doing what she can on her end." Bridge calmed down slightly. "Says that she'll work better on her own."

Sky nodded. "We're going to be here a while. You guys got your ration packs, right? Might want to eat while we're doing nothing."

Although they didn't have a lot of food with them, it was enough to sustain them for a few days, long enough to get into the city and find their basic needs. Doing that would be tricky in a city where crime was rampant. They were going to have to rely on Jack and Z even more thanks to their experiences growing up.

"Penny for your thoughts, Sky?" Syd quietly chewed on a protein bar.

The Blue Ranger sighed. "Just feeling kind of useless right now. I'm not exactly well-versed in being an actor."

"None of us are," Bridge replied, then added, "At least I'm not."

Sky let a small smile onto his face. "I'm not either."

"None of us are any good at this, but we'll learn." Syd didn't seem all too concerned. "Just remember, Jack and Z weren't always SPD, but they've learned."

She had a point.

Power Rangers - - - RWBY

Eventually, the team reconvened after nearly two hours of Jack, Z, and Sam scouting around. They could now share all the info.

Jack went first. "Looks like law enforcement and the gangs are in each others' pockets. We can't trust anyone wearing a badge to do the right thing."

"Right, they don't even care about the kids that are homeless on the street." Z looked the most aggrieved. "These kids are the future and this how you treat them?!"

Sam looked sympathetic, but he kept his emotions better concealed. "The Spiders are the most prevalent gang in the streets. Word is that a few years ago, they fought other gangs for absolute dominance in Mistral overall. They're led by a woman named Lil Miss Malachite. If my info's correct, she's bad business. Dust extortion, racketeering, bribery, word is that she even had her own husband killed."

"We can't just let them be." The Yellow Ranger voiced what everyone was thinking about on some level. "We've got to take these guys down."

Syd was the first to object. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on, we can't just get involved like this. I get that bad stuff's happening here, but it's not our world. We're not responsible for these people and their civilization."

"You can't be serious." Z glared at her teammate. "We're SPD. It's our job to serve and protect. It doesn't matter that we're not from this world. There are people in trouble here. It's our duty to help them."

Sky crossed his arms. "It's not that simple this time, Z. We're cut off from help and from resupply. We've got limited resources and we've got little to no idea about this place, even with all the intel we've got. We can't just rush in blindly."

"So we just leave these people to fend for themselves? You know as well as I do that people don't change that easily." The brunette matched her second-in-command with her gaze. "These people need help and we've got the capabilities to help them."

Jack looked to his number three. "Bridge, you got a thought?"

"I'm honestly pretty curious about everything in this world." The Green Ranger was half-paying attention to the conversation, focused on his laptop. "It's actually pretty cool, but there are so many points of confusion. How are they speaking English just like us? Where did dust come from? What is the Grimm's true purpose? It also might be just me, but it feels like all of this is based on old fairy tales and legends from Earth."

"...think we can count that as a vote to get more involved." The Red Ranger simply shrugged.

Sam entered into the conversation. "I don't think it's a matter of choosing to be involved. I think we'll have to get involved sooner or later. The longer we're here, the longer we risk getting tangled up in something."

"Then we keep contact to a minimum." Sky countered calmly. "This isn't our world; this isn't our fight."

Jack shook his head. "You say that, but if you see someone in trouble, are you just going to look the other way and pretend it never happened? That's not what we do, Sky. Our people or not, we swore to help those who can't help others."

The Blue Ranger's lips pressed together, his mind considering his priorities. Despite being the most strict of them all, he had grown more lax in the past year. He understood their perspective. However, what he said could not be debated either; they needed to pick and choose their battles carefully while they had no contact with SPD HQ.

"Then why not mix a bit of both?" Bridge came in with his own suggestion. "Why do we getting back and helping these people have to be mutually exclusive? As soon as we cover our own bases, we can start helping other people wherever possible."

For a moment, everyone didn't say anything, simply considering all the paths they could take. If Kruger were here, he would have found a course of action real quick, but he wasn't here and a decision had to be made.

"Jack, you're Red Ranger." Sky turned to his squad leader. "It's up to you what we do."

The number one mentally cursed himself. More than a few times, he had to remind himself that after Kruger, he was the next in the chain of command. Whenever D.C. was out, it fell to him to run the base. Now without their trusted commander and his authority, it fell to him once again to make a call.

And he already knew the course of action that needed to be taken.

Jack looked at everyone. "Once we get our footing in Wind Path, we'll begin helping the people here. We can't help these people if we can't even get our own basic needs met. That being said, we don't know how long we're going to be here, so we might as well do our job in the meantime."

"Hell yeah, brother." Z grinned at his words.

The Red Ranger regarded the rest of his squad. "Unless anyone's got another idea."

Bridge raised his hand.

Syd beamed. "The fun never stops. I'm in."

"I follow you wherever you guys go," Sam said.

Jack turned to his second. "Sky?"

The Blue Ranger looked reluctant. "I've just… I don't have a good feeling about any of this."

"I know you don't. Truthfully, I'm worried too, but we're here and if we get caught up in something, we'll deal with it. We're Power Rangers. There's nothing we can't do as long as we've got each other. We're a team."

That reminder seemed to put Sky back on track. "We're a team."

They were all in agreement.

"Alright, Rangers. Looks like we've got a big job ahead of us. This place is lawless. Now it's our job to bring back law and order."

All of them placed their fists across their chests. "Yes, sir!"

I began rewatching a lot of Power Rangers, especially in the Disney era, and this story idea came to mind. This is actually a first for me a while because not only is this a story featuring multiple characters crossing over, but I'm also doing this story idea with the help of a beta reader. That's something I haven't done in a LONG time. The entire story's been mapped out, so all you guys have to do is read and hopefully enjoy it.

A big shoutout to The Vigilant Spider for helping me develop ideas and beta-read the first chapter. You are the best. I can't thank you enough for your contributions to this story and how much more realized this story's become thanks to you.

As readers, what are your thoughts on this story? Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

"There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism."

Alexander Hamilton