A/N: This is my first story; so I hope you all be kind to the rookie, and enjoy it. This is a Transformers Prime crossover story, that explores what if Jack became the Quantum Ranger, instead of Eric. Unlike Eric, Jack would obviously be less of a jerk; and he would happily come to the Ranger's aid, whenever they needed him. Eric will still be present in this story; and he would most likely have some hard feelings about Jack getting the Morpher, instead of him. He wouldn't just have the typical rivalry with Wes; but also some resentment towards Jack.
A major difference is that Jack, unlike Eric, will be more cooperative with the Rangers, right from the start. Timeline wise, for the Transformer characters; this story will take place sometime after the episode "Metal Attraction" , and sometime before "Rock Bottom." Jack being the Quantum Ranger, would probably give him an edge against the Decepticons, as well.
I don't own Transformers Prime, or Power Rangers. I also don't own the picture I used for this story; so if anyone wants me to take it down, that's what I'll do. Please don't sue, I am literally broke as a joke.
Silver Hills, Archaeological dig site
The sun was shining brightly in the sky; as the Archaeologists worked tirelessly to excavate the artifacts that they had uncovered. The event was so historical, that it wasn't only being filmed; but it had also been opened to some of the general public. Some high schoolers were even given access to the dig site. Currently, a school bus had just dropped off a whole load of students. These students were on a field trip from Jasper, Nevada. Among the students on the trip, were 3 friends. Their names were Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, and Rafael Esquivel.
Jack was a tall, 16 year old guy; with raven colored hair, and blue eyes. A long time ago, Jack was abandoned by his father; so he was now being raised by his single mother. His mom had always tried to raise him to be responsible; to do what's right.
Miko was about half a foot shorter than Jack. She was a 15 year old Japanese foreign exchange student. Her hair was a mix of her natural black, and pink hair dye; she also tied it into pig tails. She had brown colored eyes. Miko was into loud music, and anything that made her adrenaline spike. Raf was the smallest of the group. He was a short 12 year old, who wore glasses; and had brown spiked up hair, and brown eyes. Raf was kinda a super genius.
They all had different reasons for being on this field trip. Jack's mom signed his permission slip, because she thought that it would be good for him to go and have some fun with his friends. Miko, on the other hand; couldn't care less about the Archaeological dig. The only reason that she wanted to come, was because she wanted to see the Power Rangers. She heard that a new team of Rangers was protecting Silver Hills; and she was hoping to catch a glimpse of them. Raf wanted to go, because he was genuinely curious about what the Archaeologist would find. This sort of thing, interested him.
There was 1 rather curious artifact that was found at the dig. It was a silver box, with a hole in the center of it, big enough for someone to stick their whole hand inside of. The box also had red markings on the sides. The people who dug it up, were oblivious to the drawings on the walls of the cave that it was found in. The drawings depicted images of a fierce, unusual looking T-Rex. No one at the dig site expected to find anything like that box. They expected to find ancient artifacts.
The events of the excavation, were then being televised. But no one could have predicted who would be seeing it on TV. At an undisclosed location, laid a taken over prison. The person who took over the prison, was a criminal by the name of Ransik. He was a Mutant from the year 3000. He was created through an accident; and the humans rejected him because of his deformity. So he started up his own crime syndicate. He gathered other mutants to fight against the humans. But they were all caught and imprisoned by Time Force, the law enforcement of the future.
Because of their crimes, mutants were placed in a state of cryogenic suspension. While Ransik was being captured, he escaped; and he took the cryo prison with him, when he traveled back in time to the early 2000's. His plan was to take over the world, centuries before Time Force even existed. Ransik had long black hair; and his outfit consisted of mostly black leather. He wore part of a metal face mask, on the left side of his face, to cover up his deformity.
Ransik saw the progress of the archaeological dig, on TV. He quickly identified the box that was found, as the "Quantum Controller." It was an item from Time Force. It held the powers of the Quantum Ranger. Which made it very powerful, and very dangerous. He had to retrieve it, before the Rangers got a hold of it. The Time Force Power Rangers, with the exception of the current Red Ranger, were a group of individuals that chased Ransik through time. Their goal was to bring him to Justice.
Ransik placed one of the frozen mutants, into a machine, and thawed him out. The thawed out mutant's name was Brickneck. Ransik tasked him with getting the control box, before the Rangers could. Brickneck was all too eager to serve Ransik, and destroy the Rangers.
Back at the dig site, Raf was eager to take a closer look at the box. "Come on guys, let's get a better look! I mean, how often does someone get to see something like this? That box has got to be centuries-old. Think of all we could learn from it. This is going to be quite the discovery, I can feel it!" Raf said with enthusiasm.
"Big whoop, they found a box, in the dirt. I came here to see the Power Rangers; not a bunch of old antiques." Said Miko, who did not seem at all amused.
Jack saw how excited Raf was; he also saw how Miko's comment hurt his feelings. So, he decided to speak up. "Miko, is that all you care about? Can't you at least pretend to be excited, for Raf's sake? This really means a lot to him." Jack stated, while trying to support his friend.
"It's a box. And it doesn't even look that old." She commented.
"And how would you know?" Jack inquired.
"I don't, but seriously; who wants to nerd out over a musty old box? We're in Silver Hills. We should be watching the Rangers take down evil mutants; not watching people dig through the dirt."
"Miko, the point of this field trip, is to see what the Archaeologists uncover; not to have front row seats to a superhero brawl. Besides, even if the Power Rangers are real, and even if they are in Silver Hills; what makes you think that we'll run into them?"
"What, aliens can be real; but brightly colored superheroes are just out of the question?"
"You want to say that a little louder? I don't think ALL OF SILVER HILLS HEARD YOU!" Jack scolded her. If anyone had heard her, then she would have inadvertently given away the Autobot's secret. Then the Archaeologists placed the box in a case; and was preparing to transport it to a second location, for further study.
"Look, dude, I'm telling you, the Power Rangers are real; and they're right here, in Silver Hills." Miko proclaimed. Not even a minute after she said that, the dig site was hit with laser fire. Everyone, including the three friends, fell to the ground. Brickneck showed up with a squadron of Cyclobots. The Cyclobots were gold robots, with one huge red eye in the center of their heads. They also carried swords, that doubled as blasters.
"Thank you for wrapping it for me!" Brickneck joked. He walked up to the case, and picked it up. "Excellent!" He said in congratulations to himself. Then "The Silver Guardians" , the private security force of Silver Hills; arrived on the scene. They told Brickneck that he was trespassing on private property. Then they told him to hand over the case; and prepare to be placed under arrest. He laughed at this; and then the Guardians opened fire on him.
The Guardians managed to take down some of the robots with their blasters; but when that wasn't enough, they entered hand to hand combat. It was like one big free for all. When he got a chance, Jack took out his phone, and called Arcee for help. He told her where they were, and what was happening. Arcee was surprised to hear all this; some of it sounded unbelievable. But she knew that if there was trouble; she couldn't leave the kids to fend for themselves. She and the other Autobots, were now on their way to help.
During the fight, there was one member of the Silver Guardians, who was fighting the hardest. His name was Eric Myers. He tried to fight Brickneck, but he was instead thrown to the ground; while Brickneck raised his sword for the killing blow.
But his weapon was blocked by another sword, that was wielded by none other than the Red Ranger. The Red Ranger slashed Brickneck, and got him off of Eric; before the other Rangers arrived. Besides the Red Ranger, there was also a Pink Ranger, a Yellow Ranger, a Blue Ranger, and a Green Ranger. Their costumes had a bit of white mixed into them; and the visors of their helmets, all had a unique Arrowhead design on them.
When the three friends saw the Power Rangers, Miko turned her gaze towards Jack. "Told ya so!" She said with a wicked grin.
"Shut up!" Jack retorted. But Miko didn't take any offense to that. She knew that Jack wasn't trying to be mean. He was just annoyed; and being a sore loser about it. The Red Ranger, Wes, helped Eric to his feet. But Eric just scoffed at him, and announced that he didn't need his help. "Well, that's gratitude for you!" Jack said in a sarcastic manner, as he watched the whole interaction between the Red Ranger and Eric.
Eric was always jealous of Wes. He always thought that he was just a rich kid who had everything handed to him. Which made Eric feel as though he always had to prove that he was better than Wes. But Wes didn't care about any of that. He only ever wanted to be Eric's friend. Something that Eric was too bull headed to notice.
The Autobots arrived towards the end of the fight. There was a risk of being exposed to the humans; so they remained in vehicle form, for the moment. But if any human lives were at the risk of being lost; then they would not hesitate to jump in the action. Especially if their human charges could get hurt. Besides, between the Power Rangers and the Silver Guardians; it looked like things were pretty much under control. During the fight, Brickneck tried to run off with the case; but then the Pink Ranger chased after him.
"You'll never have this!" Brickneck declared.
"The Quantum Controller doesn't belong to you. Give it up!" The Pink Ranger commanded.
"Don't make me laugh! You're pathetic, Pink Ranger. Oh, you may want this box. But you aren't going to get it, or its contents. Ransik is going to have the power of the Qantasaurus, and the Quantum Ranger; and there's nothing you can do about it." Unknown to Brickneck, Eric heard every word of their dialogue. The box that they were fighting over, held the powers of a new Ranger. If he could just get his hands on it; then he could become a Ranger. Then he would finally be able to prove that he was better than Wes.
Unfortunately for Eric, he wasn't the only one who heard everything. Jack and his friends were also listening very closely. They now understood how important that box was to the Rangers. Some of the other Rangers converged on Brickneck. Although, he remained unfazed. "It'll take more than you four to stop me!" Brickneck shouted.
"No problem." The Red Ranger yelled as he jumped down and slashed Brickneck in the chest. This caused him to drop the case; and the Red Ranger picked it up. "We'll take this, Brickneck." Brickneck threw his sword at the Red Ranger; when it missed, he opened fire with his blaster. The blast sent the Red Ranger flying across the field; and the box, to fall to the ground. The other Rangers went to go check on their friend. With this distraction, no one was paying any mind to the box.
"Come on, guys, follow me!" Jack ordered, as he and his friends made their way towards the scene of the fight. Eric was just about to scoop up the box and run with it. But before he could, Jack had already managed to swipe it. He knew how important it was to the Rangers; and he also knew that he couldn't let any of the bad guys get their hands on it. His Hope was to somehow get the box to the Rangers, if he could. But first, he and his friends had to make sure that they kept it safe before that. So they ran off with it.
None of this deterred Eric. He would become a Power Ranger; even if he had to take that case from those kids. So he chased after them. When the fight was over, Brickneck finally noticed that the case was missing. He would have to come back for it at another time; so, he teleported away. The Rangers knew that their friend, Wes, was hurt pretty badly; so they chose to take him back to their base for treatment. As for the Autobots; they began looking for their charges.
The three friends, made their way to an empty Warehouse; where they examined the contents of the case. It looked like a metal box, same as any other. But both the Rangers, and the bad guys wanted it. That made it special. Jack took a moment to call the Autobots, and tell them where they were. But then Miko wanted to play with the box. Jack took notice of this, and snatched the box from her clutches. "What are you doing?" He asked her.
"What? I just want to take a look. I mean, you can't tell me that you're not a little curious, right?"
"Oh, I thought it was just a musty old box." Jack mocked Miko, using her own words against her.
"That was then. Now we know that it matters to the Power Rangers. So that makes it cool, in my book." She stated. She then made another reach for the box. Only for Jack to stop her again.
"So, historical finds don't excite you; but things that superheroes fight over do?" Raf questioned.
"Obviously." She clarified.
"Miko, this is not a toy. If the Rangers want it so badly, then that means it could be dangerous. So, here's what we're going to do. Miko, when Bulkhead gets here; you and him go look for the Rangers. Tell them where I am. Raf, you go back to the dig site, and rejoin our class. Keep everyone calm; and try to keep them from leaving without us. I'll stay with the box, and wait here for the Rangers. With any luck, Arcee will be along shortly. At least then, I'll have some backup."
"Ah, no fair! How come you get to be the one who gets to wait with a cool box? Why don't you give me the box; and you go find the Rangers?" Miko wondered.
"Because I don't trust you to be alone with this thing. The second you have it, you'll start to play with it; and then that will instantly make things worse."
"I will not. You can trust me."
"Really? So you don't have any thoughts about messing with it; or maybe becoming a shiny new Ranger?" Jack could see Miko eyeing the box. That confirmed his suspicions. "That's what I thought. Now, get going!" After Miko and Raf started to leave, they were met by their Guardians; who gave them both a lift, to their respective locations. Arcee went to go check on Jack.
Eric had tracked the kids to their general location. But he didn't know where in the warehouse that they would be. So he instead reported back to headquarters, for the time being. He could always resume his search for the kids later. Bio-Lab was the headquarters of the Silver Guardians. It was run by a rich businessman, by the name of "Mr. Collins." He was the father of Wes. He wanted Wes to take over the family business someday. But Wes dreamed of carving out a future for himself, that was outside of his father's vision for him.
Eric approached Mr. Collins; and then he saluted him. This was his chance to finally rise up. They both knew that Wes was the Red Ranger. But Eric was going to be better. "Mr. Collins, sir; I understand that Commander Porter was injured. I'd like to take his place as leader of the Silver Guardians. There is no one more loyal, and dedicated than me. And I fight as well as your son, the Red Ranger; if not better."
"I need someone I can trust." Mr. Collins said before he turned to the Silver Guardian behind him. "You, you're in charge." The Guardian thanked Mr. Collins for his decision. Mr. Collins then turned to face Eric again. "I don't know the first thing about you." He said to Eric. After Eric saluted him one last time; Mr. Collins took his leave.
This annoyed Eric. It was like no matter what he did to prove himself; no matter how hard he tried, no one was willing to give him a chance. But he refused to let this stop him. "So, you're going to make it hard, are you? Well, I'll prove to you who the leader should be. Even if I have to hunt down those kids, and take the Quantum Controller from them." Eric thought to himself.
At the Clocktower, the home of the Rangers; the others were trying to nurse Wes back to health. There was the Pink Ranger, Jen. Normally the Red Ranger would be the leader of the team; but the others normally took their cues from Jen, because she was the most experienced. Although, her and Wes had fallen into a sort of co-leader relationship. Lucas was the Blue Ranger; who also happened to be a race car driver in the future. The yellow ranger, Katie; was the strongest out of all of them.
Then there was the Green Ranger, Trip. He was an alien, that had a gem in the center of his forehead. It let him read other people's minds; as well as imbue him with psychic senses. He was also the Power Rangers resident genius. The Rangers had a robot that they brought back with them from the future. The robot was in the form of a blue and white owl. His name was Circuit. They acknowledged that they had to get the Quantum Controller back; but that didn't stop them from asking Circuit how it even ended up in this era in the first place.
Circuit told them that when Time Force first started experimenting with time travel; they sent the Q-Rex and the Quantum Controller through Time. But somehow, the two got separated; and we're both lost, somewhere in Time. So whoever gets the control box, would control the Quantasaurus. So the Rangers had to find it first. This was one race, that they absolutely couldn't afford to lose. Elsewhere, Brickneck was closing in on the control box; using a tracking device that he had.
Circuit alerted the Rangers that a mutant had been detected at the storage Depot. So the Rangers headed out, on their Vector Cycles, to the location of the depot. Not long after that, Wes woke up and wanted to join them; even though he was still injured.
Miko and Bulkhead had been driving around for a while, looking for the Rangers. When they finally found them, cruising down the road on their motorcycles; Bulkhead slammed on his brakes, stopping the Rangers, right in their tracks. Miko got out to talk to them. "Hey, Rangers, I've been looking for you. I've got something to tell you."
"What is it? We're in the middle of something important." Jen said.
"My name's Miko Nakadai. Me and my friends, Jack and Raf were on a field trip to the dig site. Anyway, the point is that we found the box you've been looking for."
"What?" Katie murmured.
"Really?" Lucas added.
"Where is it?" Jen inquired.
"It's with my friend, Jack. I can take you to them."
"Lead the way!" Jen said.
Miko got back inside Bulkhead; and prepared to drive off. But then something occurred to Trip. He turned to Katie and said "Wait a minute! Miko Nakadai? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Trip knew that he had heard of those names somewhere before. After all, you don't get to be the smartest guy in the room, without learning a few things. He couldn't quite put his finger on where he heard those names from. He knew that they were somehow important. But until he could figure it out; he chose to focus on the task at hand.
They were on their way; until they ran into Brickneck. Brickneck gave the tracking device to the Cyclobots; and told them to keep looking, while he dealt with the Rangers. The Cyclobots continued the search, as Brickneck engaged the Rangers with his sword. Miko waited inside Bulkhead; and saw the whole fight, while also taking pictures with her phone. Back at the warehouse, Arcee and Jack were waiting for the Rangers to arrive. The box was resting in Jack's lap, when it started to glow.
Jack took notice of this. It was like the box was calling to him. He started to reach his hand to the big hole in the box; until Arcee stopped him. "What are you doing?" She asked. This question snapped Jack out of his train of thought; and brought him back to reality.
"I don't know." He replied to her question.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. You don't know what could happen. It's probably just best to wait for it's owners to show up; and then hand it over to them." Arcee instructed. Jack knew that she was right. Unfortunately, then the Cyclobots showed up. It was thanks to them that Eric also found out where Jack was hiding. Arcee blasted some of the Cyclobots, and told Jack to run. Eric fought his way to get to Jack. But soon enough, Jack found himself on the roof; with Cyclobots aiming their blasters at him.
They shot at him; only for Wes to jump in and save him. They both fell from the roof, and through the door of another structure. But the Red Ranger cushioned the blow. When Jack saw that the Red Ranger was the one who saved him, he was relieved. "Thanks! I owe you one." Jack told him.
"No problem. Give me the box, kid!" Wes ordered.
"Sure thing. I was actually waiting for you guys to show up, so I could return this to you. I know how important it is to you." They both got to their feet; but as Jack prepared to hand over the box, more Cyclobots showed up. Then a fight ensued. Wes tried to protect Jack, and the box; but there were times when Jack had no choice but to fight.
"Give me the box, and get to safety!" Wes instructed.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Jack answered in a sarcastic remark.
During the fight, Jack and Wes got separated. Jack had never actually been in a real fight before; so when the Cyclobots attacked him, he was kind of outmatched. They punched him in the gut, they kicked him in the leg, and they kneed him in the face. Then they threw Jack across the room. Jack was in a lot of pain; but he still held on to the box. Letting them have it; was something that he was never willing to do, no matter what. The Cyclobots tried to shoot him, but Jack used the box to deflect their shots.
Then the box started to emit a strong golden light, that blew all of the Cyclobots away. Jack dropped the box. After it was over, Eric showed up. Not long after that, Raf also arrived on the scene. He had been waiting for Jack and Miko for a long time; and he just wanted to make sure that they were okay. With all the explosions, it wasn't hard to find Jack. Eric ran over to the box, and picked it up. "Finally, it's mine." He said. Seeing this, Jack rushed over and grabbed the box. A struggle ensued.
"You can't have this!" Jack told him.
"Let go!" Eric commanded, as he tried to break Jack's grip.
"It doesn't belong to you." Jack clarified.
"Don't make me hurt you, kid." Eric warned.
Raf ran up to them, and grabbed a hold of Eric. Raf was trying to help his friend. "Leave him alone!" Said Raf. But Eric, having little patience for either of them; just shoved Raf to the ground.
"RAF!" Jack shouted. This guy was really starting to get on Jack's nerves. No one treats his friends like that. Then the box started to glow again; and it forced Eric to the ground. This time, when Jack looked at the box; he felt a strong need to place his hand inside.
Circuit flew to the scene, and told Wes to stop him. "Hey, kid, stop! I appreciate all that you've done; but you have to give me the box, now." Wes said. Jack heard him; but he still felt as though the box was calling to him. So he put the box down on the ground; and placed his left hand inside of the hole. In a flash of light, the box disappeared; and in its place, a black and red Morpher was now resting on Jack's wrist. Jack now had the Morpher, but that didn't mean he knew everything about it. For example, how to activate it.
If it was voice activated; maybe a certain phrase would initiate a transformation. He thought for a moment; and since it was the Quantum Controller, maybe something with the word "Quantum" in it would do. Wes could see the look of curiosity in his eyes. "Wait! Please don't!" Wes implored him.
"Jack, you don't know what that's going to do." Raf warned him.
"Don't worry. It's going to be okay." Jack said. Somehow, he just had a good feeling about this. "QUANTUM-POWER!" He shouted. For a brief moment, the word "FIRE" appeared on the screen of the Morpher; just before it started to glow gold. The Morpher gave off a huge discharge of electricity, which caused an explosion.
But when the smoke cleared; in Jack's place, stood a Ranger, clad in a red suit. His outfit looks similar to the Red Ranger's. But instead of the white areas; the Quantum Ranger had black. The arrow on his visor looked more rigid; and strapped to his right hip, was a blaster that was in the shape of the face of the Q-Rex. Wes was hoping that Circuit could tell him something about this new Ranger; but unfortunately, Circuit had no information.
"Whoa!" Jack said as he looked himself up and down. The suit and gear was impressive; but Jack could also feel a surge of power running through him.
"Jack, are you okay?" Raf asked out of concern.
"Yeah. In fact, I feel great." Jack approached Wes, who was still on the ground; and offered him a helping hand. Wes accepted, and got to his feet. But before anything else, he received a transmission through his visor. His friends were in trouble. Fortunately, since Jack was now a Ranger; he saw the same transmission that Wes did. Being the person that he is, Jack was filled with a desire to help them.
"Look, Red Ranger, I know you don't know me. You probably have no reason to trust me. But I am begging you, please; let me use this power to help you and your friends! I know what this means to you. And I promise that I will return the Morpher when we're done. So, what do you say? Are we allies?" Jack said as he held out his hand.
Wes contemplated this for a moment. Although he didn't know Jack; he expressed a certain amount of trustworthiness, that lead Wes to believe that he was telling the truth. Wes then shook Jack's hand. "Alright, kid. I'm trusting you."
"By the way, my name's Jack Darby. But you can call me Jack."
"Ok, Jack, let's go!" Wes said as he, Jack, and even Raf left to help the other Rangers.
Meanwhile, the other Rangers were having a bit of trouble with Brickneck. He shot at the Rangers, which made them stagger back. Then Jen pulled out her V-Weapon; it was a large blaster. She blasted at Brickneck; only for him to dodge, and shoot back. His shot hit Jen dead center in the chest; sending her to the ground. Her friends then tried to help her. "Jen, are you alright? He's just too tough for us." Katie said.
"Don't give up, Katie. No one's too tough for the Power Rangers!" Stated Lucas.
"Then let me introduce myself. I'm no one; and I'm too tough for the Power Rangers!" Brickneck quipped, as he pointed his blaster at them.
Across the way, Miko and Bulkhead were watching the whole fight. "Miko, get out!" Bulkhead told her.
By the tone of his voice, she could just tell what he was planning to do. He was going to try to help the Rangers. "Bulk, are you sure? What about Optimus's rule? You would be exposing yourself." Miko remarked. Truth be told, she did want him to help the Rangers. But she also knew that this would blow his cover.
"Can't be helped. Optimus's other rule, protect humans. Those guys seem human enough to me. The guy their fighting, not so much. Now, go!" Miko did as requested, and got out of Bulkhead. He then prepared to transform, and enter the fight.
"This can't be happening!" Murmured Jen.
"Oh, but it is." Brickneck mentioned. But before he could blast them, his blaster was shot from his hand. The attack that made him drop his weapon, was so strong, that it sent a shockwave that knocked both him, and the Rangers off their feet. Then the only sound that could be heard, was the revving of a motorcycle engine. Brickneck stood up. "Who did that? Where are you? Show yourself, right now!" He demanded. Then, in the distance, a Red Ranger could be seen riding a blue motorcycle, that also had some pink trim to it.
At first, the Rangers thought that it could have been Wes; but a second glance proved them wrong. The motorcycle skidded to a stop. The Ranger set up the kickstand, before he got off. He pulled out his weapon, "The Quantum Defender" , and aimed it right at Brickneck. "I'm only going to say this once. Get away from the Rangers, before you get hurt!" The other Ranger said.
"Another Time Force Ranger?" Questioned Brickneck.
"Listen and learn, Brickneck. I'm not just any Ranger. I am the Quantum Ranger."
"I don't care what you call yourself. I'm calling you, destroyed. CYCLOBOTS!" Brickneck shouted. Then an army of robots appeared to do battle with the Quantum Ranger. The Ranger shot a few of them, before the real fight began. During this time, Wes had made it back to his friends; and told them everything that happened. Jack was never much of a fighter. But ever since he transformed into the Quantum Ranger; it was like he was filled with a newfound sense of confidence.
"Computer, assess strategy!" Jack commanded. Jack was receiving readouts in his helmet, that was helping him make decisions.
"Recommend, blaster mode." The computer spoke.
"Quantum Defender, blaster mode!" Jack then pushed a button on his blaster, before shooting the Cyclobots that circled around him. He blasted a few others, before more showed up. He was starting to think that this would never end. "These guys don't quit." Everyone could hear Brickneck laughing at this. But fortunately, Jack still had a few tricks left up his sleeve. "There's something you don't know about me, Brickneck."
"Yeah? And what's that?"
"I've got a partner." Immediately after saying that; the motorcycle that he was riding on, transformed into his partner, Arcee. Before coming here, Jack had found Arcee and explained everything to her. It's surprised her that Jack would take so many risks. Typically, that sounds like a Miko thing to do. Jack was always more level-headed. She wanted to be angry; but she understood that they had more important things to deal with right now. She could be mad later.
She began blasting the Cyclobots, alongside Jack. This was a sight that surprised the Rangers. "Guys, that's a Cybertronian!" Trip said, in shock.
"What's a Cybertronian?" Wes asked.
"A sentient robotic organism from the planet Cybertron. They have the ability to transform into any vehicle that they scan. There are even some Cybertronians on Earth, in the future. But I have no idea what one would be doing here." Trip clarified.
"So, wait, they're aliens?" Wes inquired.
"Blade mode, now!" Jack said as he pressed the button on the Quantum Defender. The handle of the blaster, slid back, as a big blade popped out of the front; turning the Quantum Defender into a sword. Jack used his sword to strike down the Cyclobots. One by one, they all fell. None of them were a match for him.
Miko watched with excitement. Aside from meeting the Autobots; this was one of the coolest things that she had ever witnessed. Then Raf made his way onto the scene. He found Miko and began to explain. "Miko, that's Jack! He used the Quantum Controller to morph into the Quantum Ranger!"
"Wait, really?" She was flabbergasted.
The other Rangers had spotted Raf and Miko from across the field; as well as overheard some of their conversation. All these chain of events, made the gears in Trip's head, click. He finally remembered where he's heard the names of those kids.
"Wait a minute! I remember where I've heard those names before. I came across them when I was reading history files on this era. Miko Nakadai, and Rafael Esquivel." Then Trip glanced at the Quantum Ranger; and a realization hit him. "Which means that, that must be Jack Darby."
The others weren't as knowledgeable as Trip, so he explained. "At this point in time, there are two factions of Cybertronians; fighting a secret war on Earth. The Autobots, the good guys; and the Decepticons, the bad guys. Their planet, Cybertron, can't sustain life anymore; because of centuries of fighting. But one day, in the near future, and with the help of those kids; the Autobots will be able to restore Cybertron. There will even come a day when humans and Cybertronians learn to coexist.
It's all thanks to those three. They acted as ambassadors between Cybertron and Earth. People like Jack Darby, he's a legend." Trip stated. Jack and Brickneck clashed swords; before both took up a fighting stance.
"You may have been able to defeat the Cyclobots. But you're no match for me!" Brickneck declared. He shot at Jack, but he managed to dodge it. Jack switched his weapon back to blaster mode, and managed to shoot Brickneck to the ground.
"Quantum Ranger, it is recommended that you use "Freeze Strike Mode" , as the best possible defense for you to complete your mission." The computer suggested.
"Sounds good to me. Freeze Strike Mode!" Jack pushed the button, and changed his blaster back into a sword. The blade started to glow blue. They clashed swords one last time; before Jack slashed him right across the chest. He continued to deliver slash after slash, until it was over. "Your time's up!" Jack said. This was followed by a big explosion; and at the end of it, Brickneck return to his miniature frozen state. Jack, feeling confident, threw his Quantum Defender in the air. It did a few twirls, before landing just right in its holster.
"Cryogenic freeze reconfiguration completed." Said the computer.
On the inside, Jack was totally freaking out over what he just did. But the demeanor that he displayed, was so calm, that nobody would have known that. He went toe to toe with an evil mutant, and won. He turned his attention towards his friends. "Hey Miko, not bad for a fry cook from Jasper, huh?" He joked. That confirmed it, he was definitely Jack. He then began to walk towards the Rangers.
"The Quantum powers are unbelievable!" Katie murmured.
Jack finally reached the Rangers. "Power down!" Jack spoke into the Morpher. Within an instant, his suit disappeared; leaving him as plain Jack. "Whoa, that was awesome! Being the Quantum Ranger was one of the most coolest things to ever happen to me. But, a deal's a deal." He said as he began to take off the Morpher. Before Jack could hand it over, he felt a strong hand, grip the back of his shirt. It was Eric; and he did not seem pleased.
"Fun time's over, kid. I want that Morpher." Eric made a reach for it. But then the sound of shifting metal could be heard.
"Take your hands off him!" Arcee demanded as she pointed her blaster at him. This made Eric release Jack, and back up in fear. Technically, this could be considered blowing her cover. But not everybody would be willing to believe a story as fantastic as giant transforming robots. The Rangers then got between Jack and Eric.
"Eric, it's over. Jack helped us. And had the good graces to return the Morpher when he was done. So if you want to get to him, or the Morpher; then you'll have to go through us first." Wes said. The Rangers, and Arcee stood United. They were all willing to protect Jack.
It was then that Miko chose to insert herself into the conversation. "And by the way, dude; if you think you can take them, you totally can't. So if I were you, I'd just give it up."
It was clear at this point, that he was outmatched, and outnumbered. "One way or another, I will have that Morpher." Eric turned his sights towards Jack. "Catch you later. Next time, your friends won't be around to protect you." He said before he walked away in defeat.
When he was gone, Jack handed over the Morpher to the Red Ranger. "Here you go." He said as he handed it to him.
"Thanks, for everything." Wes thanked him.
"No problem." Jack responded before he left with his friends.
"Dude, I can't believe you gave up all that power. I mean, you were a superhero. And you just gave them back the Morpher?" Miko said as they walked off.
"It couldn't be helped, Miko. It didn't belong to me in the first place. And I gave them my word, that when everyone was safe; I would just hand it over. Besides, what do I need to be a Power Ranger for?" Jack questioned.
"Seriously though, what did it feel like?" She asked.
"Well, mostly, I was acting on instinct. The adrenaline was starting to get to me. But honestly, it was amazing. To have all that power at my fingertips. I felt strong, confident. But if I could only do it once; I'm glad it was this time."
"Well, that was stupid and dangerous. You could have gotten yourself killed. Don't ever do that again!" Arcee scolded. She saw the hurt expression on Jack's face; which led her to believe that maybe she was a little more hard on him than she had to be. "But, you also managed to save everyone. And in the end, you also had the courage to give the Morpher back. I'm proud of you for that." This lightened Jack's mood. The Autobots transformed, with the kids getting on/in their Guardians. As they drove off, the Rangers wondered if they'd ever see them again, especially Jack.
A/N: Just so you all know, I fully intend for Jack to get the morpher back in the next chapter. But giving it back to the Rangers seemed like the right thing to do at the time, especially since he gave them his word. And despite the fact that Eric did not get the Morpher, he will still become the leader of the Silver Guardians, somehow. Because I don't believe in robbing people of their opportunities, at least not all of them; he'll just have to find another way to make that happen.
Also, for the record, I had the idea to make Jack quite a few Rangers from different stories; but the Quantum Ranger was the only one that made logical sense to me. Because the original Green Ranger was chosen by Rita Repulsa for his martial arts skills, the Magna Defender was chosen after he went into space, and his predecessor trusted him with his powers and the Titanium Ranger was physically conditioned to handle the power of the Morpher. Which is unlikely for any of those things to happen for Jack; so finding the Quantum Morpher at an archaeological dig makes a little more sense. Plus, Jack and his friends will be in Silver Hills for a few days because the archaeological dig was just one of the things on the school's itinerary, while enjoying their stay in Silver Hills is phase two of their trip.
And somehow, I'm going to find a way for Jack and Eric to bury their new hatchet, so that way Eric won't always try to take the morpher for from him. And soon enough, when the other Rangers get to trusting Jack a little more they will share their secret identities with him and treat him as one of their own, as a member of their team. Furthermore, when Jack gets the Q-Rex, it will provide a huge advantage for both the Rangers and team Prime simultaneously.
So, until next time, let's all remain "OPTIMAL!" This is your resident rookie, Cloud Prince J'onzz, signing off.
STAY COSMIC!