Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter 4: The Last Stand

Beyond time and space…

The Sentinel Knight peered through the depths of time, his mystical powers allowing him to gaze into the past as he searched for an answer to the challenge that now faced him. He knew full-well that Thrax would not merely be satisfied with the destruction of the Power Rangers: once they were gone and Gruumm had taken whatever he wanted from Earth, Thrax would burn the entire planet if he could, as a final insult to the world that had taken his parents from him.

Unfortunately, with their connection to the Morphing Grid severed, the Power Rangers of Space Patrol Delta were no longer a match for Thrax and Gruumm. On their own, they would fail to save their planet: they would try, but they would fall, and the human race would be left to the mercy of the two merciless warlords.

There was a chance, of course, that the Rangers could find a way to regain access to their powers. But if they could not, then something else had to be done. The Earth would require new defenders if the current ones were no longer able to do so.

And, as the Knight looked back through the river of time to days gone by, he found himself lucky in one regard:

Past or present, Earth has no shortage of defenders.

Steeling himself and summoning up his remaining powers for the task at hand, the Sentinel Knight reached out through time, selecting those individuals who seemed best-suited to the task at hand.

Come, he projected, the plea serving as a beacon as it rippled through time and space. Your world needs you once more.

And as his call echoed back into the past, to his satisfaction, it was answered.

The Sentinel Knight had been a being of pure energy for decades, with no physical face except for the emotionless visage of his helmet. But as he floated in the vortex of time, he remembered what it had once felt like to smile.

Space Patrol Delta Base

New Tech City, 2025

Jack couldn't stop his hands from shaking. He was constantly clenching and unclenching them, trying to keep his mind off of everything… especially the empty holster by his side, where his Morpher typically rested. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. One thought kept drilling its way into his mind, implacable and gut-wrenching.

We lost.

It wasn't like he'd never lost a fight before. Growing up on the streets, he'd gotten the crap kicked out of him plenty of times. Hell, the reason he'd joined S.P.D. in the first place had been because he and Z had lost a fight to Sky, Bridge and Syd, and becoming Power Rangers had been their only way to get out of prison. And even after becoming a Ranger, he and the others had come up on the losing end of a fight plenty of times during their battles against Gruumm and his forces.

But even through all of that, he'd never felt as hopeless as he did right now. He and his fellow Rangers might have lost battles before, but they'd always been able to come back stronger and do better next time. This time, though, that just wasn't possible. Thrax had done more than simply beating them: he'd broken them, cutting them off from the Grid and destroying their Ranger powers. Without that… how were they supposed to protect the Earth? His team were all strong and skilled fighters even without their transformations, but not enough to really challenge Gruumm's more powerful troops. So whenever the Troobians decided to launch their next attack…

And at that exact moment, the base's warning alarms began to blare.

Jack groaned audibly, pinching the bridge of his nose. You had to think about it, didn't you?

"Jack!" Z called over to him as she headed for the door of the lounge. "C'mon, let's go!"

"Right, right…" Jack nodded, sighing as he picked himself up and jogged out of the room after her.

The rest of the team were already there by the time they reached the Command Center, where Cruger and Kat were examining the surveillance monitors with matching grim expressions. The Commander nodded in satisfaction as he saw them entering the room, switching off the alarms.

"What's going on, Commander?" Sky spoke up as the Rangers formed a semicircle around the room's central console.

"Bad news," Kat replied grimly. She brought up the surveillance feed that she and Cruger had been watching on the main holographic display, illustrating an image of two figures striding through a large, open park in the city center. Both figures were clad in gleaming golden armor, but other than that they looked nothing alike: one was a hulking, gargoyle-esque alien with dark blue skin and glowing red eyes, while the other was a dark-haired humanoid woman with a cruel smirk. As they watched, the woman fired a beam of golden energy from her sword, blasting a crater into the ground nearby and filling the air with the panicked screams of fleeing bystanders.

"Well, seems like Gruumm and Thrax didn't waste any time," Jack muttered.

"Who are they?" Sydney questioned, frowning as she looked more closely at the two alien attackers.

"Goldar and Scorpina," Cruger replied, his tone dark and heavy as he glowered at the screen. "Two former lieutenants of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, and a pair of the most infamous villains in the galaxy. They were both presumed dead after Rita and Zedd were defeated and their army was wiped out many years ago, but these two must have survived."

"I'm guessing Thrax must've sent them," Jack surmised. "That's why they're not doing anything important: they're just calling us out. Seeing if we'll take the bait."

Cruger nodded. "I agree."

"So… what do we do?" Bridge spoke up questioningly, frowning as he looked at the screen. "I mean… we don't have our Ranger powers anymore. Can we take those guys without them?"

"I'll go," Sam declared, stepping forward. "I might not be able to take them down alone, but I'm the only morph-capable Ranger we've got right now, so I have to try." He turned to Cruger, his expression unreadable as always thanks to his helmet but his attitude brisk and serious. "On your orders, sir."

Cruger was clearly hesitant, but after a long moment he nodded. "Very well," he agreed. "Go, Omega Ranger. We'll see what we can do to provide you with reinforcements."

"Understood, sir." Sam saluted, then turned and jogged out of the command center, racing down to the base's parking garage where his vehicle was waiting for him.

"Commander?" Jack put in, the other members of B-Squad looking to him. "What about us?"

"Unless Omega Ranger cannot handle the situation himself, you won't be deployed," Cruger replied with some reluctance. "If this were simply a squad of Krybots, I would have no problem with sending you out even without your Ranger powers, but against foes like this a non-morphing-capable Ranger would have no chance of victory. Therefore, you are only to join the fight if there is no other option." His eyes swept over the Rangers. "Is that clear?"

All five cadets were clearly hesitant, but all five ultimately conceded reluctantly.

"Good." Cruger nodded, returning his focus to the surveillance hologram.

Z and Jack exchanged a glance, the Yellow Ranger looking particularly worried. "C'mon, Sam," she murmured, looking back to the hologram. "You've got this."

Goldar laughed, hurling another fireball after a group of fleeing humans. The blast knocked a few of them off their feet, but his aim had been off and he'd missed the actual group.

"Pathetic!" the alien warrior cackled, tilting back his head and howling in laughter. "I thought humans might have gotten a little tougher after all these years, but they're just as weak as they always were!"

"You can say that again," Scorpina replied with a chuckle, swinging her sword in an arc: a line of golden light followed in its wake, slicing through several nearby trees and sending them toppling to the ground. "It's sad, really. You'd think they would have improved over time." She shrugged. "It's probably for the best that Lord Thrax and his new allies will be putting this planet to the torch once the Rangers are gone, then. Not like many people in the larger galaxy will miss it."

"I'm just annoyed that Lord Thrax got to take out six of this planet's last Ranger team without us." Golder grinned predatorily, unleashing another fireball that shattered a decorative fountain. "Luckily there's still one left, apparently, so we should hopefully get a decent fight out of him." He smacked one fist into the opposite palm, his eyes burning eagerly. "I could definitely use one."

"Oh, trust me, I know," Scorpina deadpanned. "You never shut up about it." She watched as he strode past her and tossed out several more fireballs at random, her mind wandering back to the events that had led them here.

Goldar and Scorpina had been working together ever since the day the Alliance of Evil was destroyed more than twenty-five years earlier, with their former masters Rita and Zedd being among the many infamous villains whose dark power had been obliterated that day. Fortunately, the two of them had been far away from the battlegrounds where the rest of their allies had fallen, having been assigned by Rita and Zedd to watch over their young son Thrax. Thrax had been just a baby at the time, born shortly after Rita and Zedd had left Earth, and Scorpina had served as his caretaker while his parents had gone off to join the Alliance. Goldar, meanwhile, had been at Zedd's side during most of the battle, but had been sent back to join Scorpina when word came that the Power Rangers were heading for Earth, as Zedd and Rita had wanted to have some extra protection on hand to make sure Thrax would be safe.

Luckily, the shielded bunker that Rita and Zedd had created as a hiding place for their son, located beneath their old palace on Earth's Moon, had been sufficient to keep Thrax and his two protectors safe. As a result, the trio had been the only members of the Alliance to survive the energy wave created by Zordon's sacrifice, which had obliterated both Rita and Zedd's armies and their formerly-evil personalities. Unfortunately, however, Goldar and Scorpina had then found themselves alone in the universe, lost and abandoned without anyone else to help them. Forced to flee their sanctuary, they had traveled the stars for the next fifteen years, but they had raised Thrax into a fearsome warlord, worthy of his parents' legacy… until that had all come crashing down when Thrax had the misfortune of crossing paths with the Sentinel Knight, and was sealed away in a Space Dumpster just as his mother had been so long ago. He'd been trapped there for almost a decade, with Goldar and Scorpina powerless to free him, until his growing powers had finally been able to overcome the sealing magic of the container and had allowed him to break free.

Now, the two villains had finally returned to the world they'd failed to conquer so many times, determined to help Thrax succeed where his parents had failed.

And once that's done, maybe we can – what? Scorpina was snapped out of her thoughts by the sudden whine of a siren, accompanied by the rumble of a powerful engine. She turned and immediately grinned, her eyes narrowing as she realized that the moment they'd been waiting for had arrived. "Goldar!" she called to her companion, nodding over towards the source of the noise as he turned around. "Here he comes."

Sam, the Omega Ranger, leapt off his Uniforce Cycle and strode towards the villainous pair, his helmeted gaze sweeping over each of them in turn. "S.P.D.!" he called out challengingly, his voice echoing through the park. "You're under arrest!"

"Oh, are we?" Scorpina called back, smirking as she folded her arms over her chest. "Well, that's a nice change of pace: all the Rangers in the old days wanted was to destroy us. But as far as I'm concerned, that just means you don't have the stomach for fighting that they did." She glanced over to Goldar. "Shall we take him together, or would you like to go first?"

"Allow me," Goldar rumbled, cracking his knuckles and grinning predatorily as his eyes locked on Sam. "I haven't gotten to pulverize a Ranger for twenty-five years: I could use a good workout before we finish this." Snarling, he charged, barreling down the hill towards Sam with a savage war cry. The Omega Ranger responded in kind, racing forwards to intercept him: he ducked under Goldar's first punch and tried to sweep the alien's legs, but Goldar blocked the kick with his own, catching Sam's wrist as he followed up with a punch. He spun around and flung the white-clad Ranger away across the grass, before charging after him with a wild laugh.

"Boys will be boys," Scorpina murmured, rolling her eyes as she strolled down the hill after the battling pair.

"This is bad," Jack muttered as he watched the surveillance feed of Sam brawling with Goldar: the alien and the Ranger were going at it hammer and tongs, each giving as good as they got, sparks flying each time one of them landed a blow. "He's keeping up with that guy for now, but if one of them's giving him this much trouble, he won't be able to handle them both." He pointed to the image of Scorpina, who was standing back at a distance with a relaxed attitude and letting Goldar do the fighting for her. "So as soon as she gets involved, he'll be screwed."

"Unless we help," Sydney agreed. She looked up urgently at Cruger and Kat. "C'mon, Commander, we've gotta get out there and help him! He needs us!"

"He's right, sir," Kat admitted soberly. "Omega Ranger can't handle those two on his own."

Cruger frowned deeply, his eyes narrowed contemplatively. "But without their Ranger powers –"

"With all due respect, sir," Sky put in, "we do have powers even without our Morphers." He indicated himself and the rest of B-Squad with a wave of his hand. "The five of us were fighters with abilities beyond those of normal humans long before we became Rangers. We didn't back down from a fight before we could morph." He shook his head. "We're not going to start now." The other four Rangers nodded in agreement.

Seeing the determination on their faces, Cruger finally nodded. "Very well," he conceded. "Go, Rangers!"

"Yes, sir!" the Rangers chorused, saluting in unison before rushing out of the Command Center.

"I hope they're right about this," Kat muttered.

"So do I," Cruger replied.

Sam twisted out of the way of a downward swing of Goldar's sword, spinning around the alien's strike and landing a solid hit to his chest. However, this let him get in close, and Goldar countered with a vicious kick to the gut, knocking the wind out of the Omega Ranger.

"Ah!" Sam grunted and staggered, falling to one knee, and Goldar grinned as he raised his sword high and brought it down in a full-force strike aimed at the Ranger's head. It never connected, however, as Sam's left hand shot up, catching the blade and holding it back. Goldar's eyes widened in surprise as the metal of his sword groaned in protest.

Sam flung Goldar's arm aside and slammed an open-palmed strike into the alien's chest, knocking him flat on his back. A green glow radiated from his hand, the visible sign of his Omega Morpher's special Muscle Mode. He'd activated it just in time to block Goldar's strike, amplifying his physical strength many times over, but that power-up was only temporary.

"What the hell?" Goldar growled as he picked himself up. His eyes narrowed, his fangs grinding together. "I don't know how you did that, little man… but you're going to pay!" Snarling, he lunged at Sam again, but this time the Omega Ranger was expecting it. Taking a step back, he smoothly adjusted his morpher's energy output, the green glow fading and shifting into a blue one.

"Omega Morpher: Hyper Mode!" Calling out the words, he drew back his left fist and struck in an instant, his arm dissolving into a blur of motion as he created a pulse of energy that slowed down time for a second, making him seem much faster than he normally was.

Goldar's charge was abruptly interrupted: his sword was tugged aside with a casual twist of Sam's arm, and the Omega Ranger followed up with a furious barrage of punches, hammering up and down Goldar's chest and stomach, his fist flashing in and out like a jackhammer.

As the instant of hyperfast motion passed and the normal flow of time resumed, sparks erupted from Goldar's torso as dozens of impacts slammed into him simultaneously. He was hurled backwards again, sent sprawling to the grass and tumbling head-over-heels, a string of garbled curses trailing in his wake.

"Gotcha," Sam panted, grinning beneath his helmet as he straightened up, the burst of energy dissipating. "Nice try. Now –" A moment later, his quip was abruptly cut off by a scream of pain as a blast of burning golden energy hit him square in the back, knocking him flat on his face.

Scorpina smirked, lowering her sword. "Nice try yourself, Ranger," she drawled.

"The hell did you do that for?" Goldar spat, coughing as he picked himself up. "I had him!"

"Sure you did," she returned with a knowing smirk. "Lord Thrax's orders were very clear: personal glory is irrelevant. All that matters is destroying the Rangers."

"Fine," Goldar muttered, dusting himself off. "Let's finish this."

Just as they both turned towards Sam's body, another chorus of sirens echoed through the park. Goldar and Scorpina both turned, eyes widening in surprise, to see a cluster of vehicles barreling towards them: a black-and-white Jeep and three motorcycles, all emblazoned with the S.P.D. insignia.

"Oh, great," Scorpina drawled. "The cavalry's here."

"Fine by me," Goldar intoned as he started towards the incoming vehicles. Scorpina fell into step beside him, idly twirling her sword in one hand.

"C'mon, guys!" Jack hollered over the roar of his red-marked motorcycle's engine as he accelerated across the park towards the scene. "Let's do this!" Bridge and Sky were on his left and right, riding their own cycles, while Z and Syd brought up the rear in the Jeep, Z driving while Syd leaned out the passenger's side with her blaster drawn and ready.

As soon as the cadets got close enough, they opened fire. Sky and Syd both drew their handheld blasters, while Jack and Bridge used the higher-powered lasers built into their cycles. Bolts of red, green and blue light screamed through the air towards Goldar and Scorpina, tearing up the ground around them. Scorpina dodged and weaved through the fire, deflecting a few bolts with her sword, while Goldar just charged straight towards the Rangers, taking a couple of hits but barely breaking stride.

"Go to hell!" Goldar roared. Golden flames erupted in his free hand and he flung his arm out, launching a volley of fireballs that detonated all around the three cycles. Jack and Bridge were able to weave through the explosions, but Sky wasn't so fortunate, and one of the explosions blew him clear off his bike, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Ow," he muttered, rolling over onto his back… before his eyes widened in alarm as he saw Goldar standing over him, sword swinging down at him. Crap! Thinking fast, he raised his arm and swung it in a circle: crackling blue electricity followed in its wake, manifesting a circular force field between them. Goldar's sword rebounded off of it, sending a jolt of energy up the alien's arm and drawing an irritated snarl. Sky used the opportunity to hastily roll out of reach, scrambling back to his feet and lunging back in. He threw a kick, but Goldar easily deflected it with one of his own, spinning Sky off his feet.

"You're finished, Ranger!" Goldar snarled, forming another blast of fire and launching it at Sky. The Blue Ranger reacted quickly, forming another force field between them: Goldar's blast slammed into it, pulsing and crackling violently as the energy rapidly built up, until it reached a crescendo. Finally, the power burst outwards in a violent, blue-and-gold explosion, blasting both of them apart. Goldar skidded twenty feet backwards, his feet tearing up the grass; Sky, on the other hand, was sent flying head-over-heels, his world spinning uncontrollably, until he crashed to the ground in a half-conscious heap.

Jack and Bridge went straight for Scorpina, firing simultaneously, but she leapt over the volley of red-and-green lasers and unleashed twin streams of golden lightning from her sword. The lightning struck both of their bikes simultaneously, flipping them into the air: Jack and Bridge barely had enough time to jump clear, backflipping to safety.

Bridge landed hard, scrambling to his feet as Scorpina stalked towards him. He yanked off one of his gloves, his hand glowing green as he activated his own powers. As he raised his hand, he saw Scorpina suddenly haloed in green, a translucent duplicate of her lunging at him and lashing out with two quick swings of her sword. A moment later, the real Scorpina did the same, but thanks to his powers he already knew what she was going to do and easily sidestepped both of her attacks, grabbing her extended arm and using her momentum to flip her forwards off her feet.

Unfortunately, Scorpina was still stronger and faster than he was, so even his precognition wasn't quite fast enough. Even as she hit the ground, she lashed out with a sweep of her arm that took his feet out from under him. He immediately tried to scramble back to his feet, but Scorpina's hand closed around his ankle before he could get up, swinging him around and flinging him away across the grass. As he tumbled to a halt and rolled to his feet, she unleashed another bolt of lightning that sent him flying, and this time he didn't get back up.

"Bridge!" Jack's eyes widened in dismay as he charged Scorpina, his sidearm already drawn and firing several bolts of blue electricity. Again, though, Scorpina's reflexes were faster, and her sword promptly blurred into motion, parrying and deflecting each bolt as it came at her.

"Nice try, little boy," she taunted as Jack lunged at her, easily deflecting his punches and kicks without much effort. "But you'll have to do better than that!" She struck back, a lightning-fast backhand that should have knocked him sprawling – but her eyes widened in shock as her arm actually phased straight through Jack's body, the attack missing completely. She was so surprised that Jack's next attack connected, a solid kick to her stomach that sent her staggering backwards.

"Surprised?" Jack grinned breathlessly and sprang after her, hoping to keep up the offensive. His body phased right through hers as she swung back at him, and he spun around as he emerged behind her, one arm sliding around her neck and the other twisting one of her arms back as he locked her in a chokehold.

Scorpina, however, wasn't deterred: she just flicked her sword up so the flat of the blade connected with Jack's arm, then sent a surge of electricity up the blade. The sudden shock forced Jack to let go with a cry of pain, and she promptly grabbed his arm with her now-free hand and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him down flat on his back. One casual stomp onto his stomach knocked the wind out of him, and he collapsed, gasping for air.

"So pointless," Scorpina remarked, shrugging as she turned and walked off towards the area where Goldar was battling with the last two members of B-Squad.

Sydney and Z had been forced to jump out of their Jeep when one of Goldar's fireballs had blown out a tire. Undeterred, they'd charged straight into combat, ducking and weaving around the hulking alien in a superb display of teamwork. Unfortunately, due to Goldar's armor and his natural durability, their attacks weren't having much of an effect on him.

When Z spotted Scorpina strolling towards them, idly twirling her sword in one hand, she knew they had to pull out all the stops. "Syd, you take care of her!" she called out. "I've got this one!" Syd nodded and broke away from Golder, racing off to intercept Scorpina.

"Oh, really?" Goldar sneered, barking out a grating laugh. "You think you can take me on alone, little Ranger?"

"Well, that's where you're wrong," Z retorted, grinning. "I'm never alone." Her eyes flashed briefly, and two identical duplicates of herself promptly materialized out of thin air, one on either side of her. All three entered fighting stances and charged with a chorus of yells, whirling around Goldar like a swarm of bees and attacking him from all sides.

Scorpina chuckled as Syd charged at her, her sword rising to guard position. "Oh, please," she snickered, her blade flashing out in a lightning-fast strike… one that was cut off with a ringing clang of metal on metal as Syd caught the blade in her left hand, which had shifted from flesh into steel.

"Fist of Iron," Sydney bit out, her eyes narrowed as her metal hand clenched around the blade. She yanked hard on the sword, pulling Scorpina in closer, and let go of the blade just in time to land a solid hit to her opponent's face, snapping Scorpina's head back with a crack. Without pausing, she swept the alien's legs out from under her and kicked her in the chest in two quick movements, knocking Scorpina flat on her back.

"Well?" Syd taunted, poised and ready in front of her downed enemy. "How do you like me now?"

Scorpina hissed in pain as she picked herself up, blood trickling from her nose. "You little bitch," she snarled, golden lightning crackling up and down the blade of her sword.

Syd's eyes widened. Oh crap –

Before the Pink Ranger could get out of the way, Scorpina screamed in rage and flung out her arm, an arc of lightning blasting from the tip of her sword and hitting Sydney square in the chest. She was blown off her feet, hair standing on end, and was hurled at least ten yards back before her half-conscious body hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

"Syd!" Z's real body shouted, her eyes wide in horror as she saw her teammate go down. She managed to take one step in Syd's direction before Goldar was on her. His hand clamped around her arm and dragged her into a solid knee strike to her gut, before he contemptuously flung her away.

Undeterred, Z's duplicates leapt in to attack from behind, but Goldar was ready this time and landed a solid elbow strike to each of their stomachs, before spinning around and grabbing each of them by their throats. "So weak," he snarled, tossing both duplicates after the real Z: they dissolved and faded out of existence as they hit the ground beside her.

From start to finish, the last stand of the S.P.D. B-Squad had lasted less than five minutes. All six Rangers were down, battered and half-conscious.

Scorpina and Goldar had sustained some minor damage from the fight, but both aliens were still on their feet. "Well, that was fun," Scorpina declared as they reconvened, wiping the blood away from her injured nose and sending a scowl at Syd's fallen body. "But I think it's time we put an end to this."

"I agree," Goldar growled. "Rangers or not, they're still a nuisance. Let's end this now!" He raised a hand, crackling golden energy forming above it: Scorpina did the same, letting their combined power merge into a roaring ball of golden fire and lightning.

"No!" Kat cried out, her eyes wide in horror as she watched the scene on the Command Center's monitors. "They can't!"

Cruger felt the same numbing horror creeping through his mind. Images of Sirius, of his comrades falling and dying around him, flashed through his memories.

"Come on, guys!" Boom muttered under his breath, the same terrified expression on his face. "You've gotta get up! Please!"

"Now!" Goldar roared, his bloodred eyes blazing with malice. "Let the legacy of the Power Rangers be destroyed!"

At that exact moment, a bolt of yellow light struck the growing fireball above their upraised hands, and it detonated prematurely. Both Goldar and Scorpina staggered as the blast they'd been charging dissipated harmlessly into the air.

"What?!" Goldar's eyes widened. "Who dares to interfere?!"

"That would be me!" a female voice called from behind him, echoing through the now-deserted park.

Goldar and Scorpina both whirled around, their eyes widening as they saw the person who had spoken. The fallen S.P.D. Rangers also turned to face the voice as best they could.

"Who the hell…?" Scorpina took a step back, raising her sword defensively.

Standing a few yards away from the pair of villains was a figure clad in the unmistakable suit of a Yellow Power Ranger. But this Ranger's suit was different from Z's: the yellow was mixed with diamond-shaped white patches along the limbs and torso, as well as the insignia of a three-toed reptilian foot in the center of the chest. Her helmet was different too, vaguely birdlike in design instead of the standard S.P.D. look.

"Whoa," Z breathed, her eyes wide in amazement.

"Another one?!" Goldar snarled.

"Oh, yeah," the Yellow Ranger declared, chuckling softly. "Although, spoiler warning: there isn't just one of us."

"Hiiii–yah!" a second female voice rang out, as a streak of blue light shot towards Goldar. A razor-sharp blade sliced across his side, drawing a roar of pain, before the figure dissolved into a blur of motion, running circles around him, laying into him from all sides and leaving chips and cuts in his armor at every turn. After a couple of seconds, the blue streak leapt away from him and landed a few yards away on the other side of the villainous pair, before coalescing into the form of a second Ranger, this one garbed in a light blue suit with the symbol of a stylized dolphin's tail emblazoned on her chest and holding a gleaming sword in one hand. "Let the games begin!" she laughed.

"I don't believe it…" Sky whispered.

Scorpina's eyes narrowed as she swung around in the direction of the new arrival. She raised her sword to launch a blast of lightning, but a flash of red light to her right drew her attention a moment before a chain of small but powerful explosions raced across the ground towards her, tearing up the earth around her feet and knocking her sprawling to the ground next to Goldar. Cursing, she rolled over and pushed herself up, only to stop short when her eyes fell on her attacker: another Ranger, this one wearing a red suit with his helmet styled to resemble the head of a large cat and the symbol of a roaring golden lion on his chest. He was holding a short, dagger-like saber with a glowing red crystal embedded in the hilt. "You won't be hurting anyone else today!" he declared, pointing the sword at her.

"What the hell?" Jack murmured as he sat up.

"Scorpina!" Goldar took a few quick steps towards his ally, until a blast of pink light slammed into the ground behind him with a thunderous explosion and knocked him flat on his face. Growling as he rolled over, he lifted his head to see the person who'd launched that attack: a fourth Ranger, this one dressed in pink with a golden V-shaped insignia on her belt, holding an oversized, long-barreled energy blaster.

"Looks like you're out of time!" the newcomer remarked dryly, racking her blaster with a whine as she started charging up another shot. "I'd give up if I were you."

"Wow," Syd managed, still gasping for air as she tried to catch her breath.

Goldar and Scorpina clambered back to their feet, glaring around at the four Rangers who'd seemingly appeared out of nowhere to surround them. "Oh, come on!" Scorpina snapped angrily. "Any more of you little bastards want to come crawling out of the woodwork?!"

At that exact moment, a high-pitched whistling sound reached everyone's ears, and another explosion went off right between Goldar and Scorpina. Both villains were blasted off their feet, hurled into the air by the shockwave and tumbling to the ground. They rolled over again, coughing as they tried to catch their breath… only to freeze as they saw the individual who'd fired that shot.

This Ranger was dressed in white, with gleaming golden highlights: his suit had an old-fashioned design to it that made him resemble some kind of ancient knight. He held a sword lightly in one hand, a great curved scimitar that resembled something a pirate captain might have wielded in battle, except that this one's hilt was carved into a metal replica of a tiger's head. A faint wisp of smoke was still rising from the hilt, suggesting that it was where the blast had originated.

"Just one," the White Ranger stated as he strode towards the pair of downed aliens, his tone calm and conversational. "Goldar. Scorpina. It's been a long time."

Bridge's jaw dropped. "No way," he breathed incredulously, recognizing that Ranger suit instantly from his history lessons.

Both villains' expressions had shifted from shock to a combination of fear and hatred. "You?!" Goldar snarled, his voice filled with a boiling rage.

"Me," the White Ranger confirmed, a note of amusement in his voice. "It's been a while since I wore white, but it seemed appropriate for this."

By this point, Sam was back on his feet, and the Omega Ranger quickly set to work helping his companions back up as well. The battered S.P.D. cadets gathered together, forming a second defensive line behind the White Ranger.

"You don't scare us," Scorpina snapped as she clambered to her feet, glaring defiantly at the White Ranger. "We've dealt with you before."

"Yeah, you have. Many times." The White Ranger nodded and chuckled softly as his teammates moved to flank him, the five new Rangers standing protectively in front of the S.P.D. team. "And I think you both know how this dance always ended back in the day."

Goldar and Scorpina traded wary glances, eyeing the newly-reinforced group of Rangers. They were both still angry, but they clearly knew that they were outmatched.

"This isn't over," Scorpina warned. She raised her sword over her head, and both she and Goldar teleported away in a flash of golden light.

The White Ranger nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I thought." He sighed and glanced over to his companions, who returned his nod. "All right, guys."

"Power Down!" Five voices called out in unison, and the five Rangers' suits dematerialized in a flare of multicolored light, revealing the people underneath as they turned to face the S.P.D. team.

The Yellow Ranger, a beautiful brunette girl dressed casually in a yellow top, a dark jacket and ripped black jeans, exchanged a smile with the Blue Ranger, a blonde girl in a form-fitting black bodysuit with blue highlights. The Red Ranger, a roughly-dressed and unshaven young man with shoulder-length black hair, grinned cheerfully over at the Pink Ranger, a dark-haired girl dressed in a black leather jacket, a pink tank top and black pants, who rolled her eyes and returned his offered high-five.

But the S.P.D. cadets' eyes were all drawn to the man in the center, the White Ranger, as his suit disappeared to reveal the man beneath the helmet. He appeared to be in his forties, with short, spiky brown hair and an attitude of calm, absolute confidence, as if nothing could possibly worry him.

"It can't be," Sky managed to get out, his mouth hanging open at the sight of the man who was quite possibly Earth's most famous Power Ranger.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," the leader of the new Rangers said with a friendly smile as he stepped forward in front of his team. "My name's Tommy Oliver. Don't worry; we're here to help."

AN: Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I posted a chapter for this story, but I've recently been trying to get back into writing more, so I'll hopefully be a lot more active on this account going forward. I have had time to plan out the rest of this story, and it should be pretty fun!

So, let's address the biggest thing in this chapter: the introduction of my team of Legacy Rangers. Since this version of "Once a Ranger" takes place during S.P.D. instead of during Operation Overdrive, I chose Rangers from the four seasons prior to S.P.D.: namely, Dino Thunder (Kira), Ninja Storm (Tori), Wild Force (Cole), and Time Force (Jen). Choosing Kira and Tori was my nod to the canon episode, as those two were on the Legacy team in Overdrive, while I went with Cole and Jen because they seemed like the best choices from their respective seasons for something like this. Finally, I went with Tommy rather than Adam as the team leader, because while I do love Adam's character, having Tommy be the leader of the Legacy Rangers felt like it would fit really well, especially given his more personal past history with Rita and Zedd. And yes, Tommy is wearing his White Ranger suit from Mighty Morphin, as the White Ranger was his first purely-heroic Ranger color and that felt like the best fit for this team-up.

Shoutouts to RHatch89, Jokermask18, thunderyoshi, Alex B. Goode, Guest (1), and Guest (2) for reviewing: you guys are awesome!

Next chapter, we get some interactions between the two teams of Rangers, and Thrax reacts to the news that his parents' greatest enemy is now active on Earth, before putting the next phase of his plan into action.

Stay tuned! :)