A/N 1: To keep those of you who have finished "Self-Destruct" up to speed; yes, there will be a sequel, but it's still a ways down the road.

A/N 2: Just as a warning to all of you, this story will be extremely violent, more so than anything I've written before, and likely more so than anything anyone else has written before, too.

Timeline: Late 2007, two months after the events of Operation Overdrive.

"To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day." – Sir Winston Churchill

"The Fear of Death often proves Mortal, and sets People on Methods to save their Lives, which infallibly destroy them." – Joseph Addison

--

Oltre a Vita e Morte

Chapter One – The End of Everything

Original Posting Date: July 6, 2008

To most people, ten thousand years would sound like an awfully long time, far too long for any one person to be alive. However, for the one who had been imprisoned by the legendary Zordon of Eltar over ten millennia ago it seemed like little more than a nap; a very long, extended nap, with plenty of time to make plans for what he would do to Zordon if he was ever freed from his life of imprisonment.

Being sealed within a hyper-locked chamber at the hands of Eltar's master wizard was no fun experience, but his retribution would be more than worth it in the end. It had been nearly six years since the Ninja Storm Power Rangers had overloaded the Abyss of Evil, unknowingly freeing him from his prison; he'd used those six years wisely, in constant preparation for the day when he would finally have his revenge against Zordon.

Standing in at just over six feet tall with waist-length black hair that flowed about his black and gold tunic and the darkest eyes the universe had ever seen, the man in question was known only as Pravus. Simply put, he had been the most supreme evil in the entire universe ten thousand years ago, and would have still reigned today if Zordon hadn't finally been able to stop him. Pravus had been disappointed when he heard that his old rival had sacrificed himself to save a third-class world called Earth; such a foolish sacrifice it was, and now the planet's protectors would have to be the ones that paid for Zordon's mistakes.

His sights had been set on Earth for some time now, plenty long enough for Pravus to establish a fair assessment of the planet's defenses. Outside of a handful of humans known as the Power 

Rangers, no one on Earth had the capability to even put up a decent fight against him. The planet wasn't even worth conquering, but its defenders? That was a different story. They had either served Zordon or followed his teachings, and for that they would have to suffer.

He moved from one city to another in the blink of an eye. One moment he was in New York City, the next moment, Tokyo; London, Berlin, Los Angeles, Paris, San Francisco, Mexico City, Toronto…he was everywhere and he was nowhere. There wasn't a radar system on Earth that would be strong enough to detect his movements.

When he'd finished visiting every one of Earth's major cities in less than ten minutes, he decided that the time had come to draw the Power Rangers out of their hiding places. Walking through a crowded, mid-afternoon New York City, he stopped in front of the Empire State Building. By the time he had arrived in Paris a few moments later the fifteen-hundred foot structure had already started to crumble.

Half a dozen skyscrapers in the La Défense business district of downtown Paris were the next to fall; Sydney Tower and the Sydney Opera House in Australia soon followed. The Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo was split in half, causing hundreds of vehicles to plummet into their watery graves at the bottom of Tokyo Bay. In downtown Los Angeles, U.S. Bank Tower now lay in ruins, taking half of a city block with it on the way down. Pravus left chaos everywhere he went, mercilessly killing in excess of one million innocent civilians in his wake.

It only took a few minutes before television and radio stations all over the world were reporting on the massive amount of destruction that was taking place, with no clue whatsoever as to what was causing it to happen. Then the world suddenly seemed to die; from the smallest apartment to the largest skyscraper, not one building on the entire planet had power. Moments later, by Pravus' design, every television and radio on Earth started to flicker back to life, all tuned to the same station.

For those in front of a television they could see for themselves the man that was responsible for the greatest massacre in Earth's long and storied history. Those with only a radio were forced to imagine the owner of the booming voice calling out to them, making it all the more horrific. The world was in the palm of his hand, crumbling, and there was only one group of people that had the ability to bring an end to it.

Standing atop the highest point of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, a wry grin spread across Pravus' lips, his face taking up the majority of the various television screens that were currently displaying his image. He spoke loudly and firmly, somehow in dozens of different earthen languages. His voice demanded the utmost respect; refusal to cooperate with that would not be taken lightly.

"Attention citizens of Earth, my name is Pravus. As you can see, I have decided that your planet was in need of a little…redecorating. I do not wish to cause any more harm to the innocents of 

this world; my only desire is to see justice properly served. Ten thousand years ago I was locked away, imprisoned in a hyper-locked chamber by a being known as Zordon. Most of you will not recognize this name, but he is the reason that you are all alive today. He is also the one who single handedly created Earth's first teams of Power Rangers. I am here because they are the ones who must pay for the error of Zordon's ways."

"Power Rangers, I know you are out there, so listen up. You have one standard hour to show yourselves at the place where your history began. If you have not arrived within the time I have allotted, I will obliterate this planet entirely. The choice is yours, Power Rangers; you can stand up and fight for what you believe in, or watch as the planet you have defended bravely for so many years meets its demise. Your time is ticking…what will it be?"

Millions of televisions and radios turned to static briefly, and then everything was back to normal again, or as close to normal as could be expected for a planet that had just lost well over a million of its citizens. All over the world, people had begun to go crazy. Stores were being looted relentlessly; fights broke from out of nowhere; kidnapping, rape, murder…the planet had been reduced to absolute chaos.

At the center of it all were the Power Rangers. Regardless of where they lived or if they were even affiliated with their old teams anymore, nearly one hundred former Power Rangers had heard Pravus' warning. Some decided to fight without question, some pondered whether or not they should go, and some just flat out refused to even think about it coming out of retirement.

Disappearing from his perch on the Golden Gate Bridge, Pravus arrived on the outskirts of a small, southern California town called Angel Grove. It was there that he would spend the remaining fifty-eight minutes of the Ranger's time, patiently waiting their arrival and, eventually, their demise.

--

It was times like these where Tommy Oliver was thankful that his connections in the Power Ranger community ran so deeply. Since Pravus' message had aired ten minutes ago, Tommy had been in contact with at least one member from every Ranger team. He was disappointed when most of the former Rangers admitted that they weren't going to Angel Grove, either because of personal reasons or because they couldn't have made it in the hour timeline that Pravus had given them. Still, he'd been somewhat expecting it to be this way. In his experience, the Rangers that hadn't served under Zordon just didn't hold the same respect for their duties that Zordon's Rangers did.

Even then, though, only three of Zordon's Rangers, himself included, had decided to come. Most of them had families now, lives that couldn't be put aside to parade around the world in spandex again. Tommy understood where they were coming from, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Truth be told, the small number of Zordon's former Rangers en route to Angel Grove was more 

than a little discouraging; Tommy wanted to be angry with them, but there just wasn't enough time for that.

Using one hand to hold his cell phone and the other to steer his Jeep, Tommy remained focused on the dirt road in front of him but he was still aware of the fearful expression on the face of his companion. Subconciously, Tommy looked at his left ring finger for just the briefest of moments, his eyes settling on the simple, white gold wedding band that he'd been wearing for just over a year now.

Words could not explain how much it had meant to Tommy when his wife been the one to volunteer their services upon seeing Pravus' message. Now more than ever they needed to present a united front, if for no other reason than to let the people of Earth know that the Rangers would fight to the death if it was necessary to keep the planet safe.

For many miles the pair drove in silence except for when Tommy was on the phone with another one of the Rangers. Occasionally, Tommy would look to his right and sneak a glance at his wife, trying to gauge her reaction to what was happening. She looked relaxed and composed one moment, fearful and tense the next. This was the first time in all the years he had known her that he wasn't able to get a read on her. It quickly got to the point where not knowing what she was thinking really started to bother Tommy.

"What's wrong, Beautiful?" asked Tommy softly, hanging up the phone.

Kimberly Hart-Oliver looked to her husband and scoffed. "You mean outside of the fact that we're about to go up against a guy capable of destroying entire cities in the blink of an eye and we don't even have any powers?" she replied, shaking her head. "Outside of that, nothing is wrong, Tommy."

"Kim, I didn't make you come and I wouldn't have held it against you if you chose to stay behind, but you volunteered yourself for this. If you're not up for it, let me know now and I'll take you home, 'cause once I hit the freeway, I'm not turning back."

Oh, how infuriating he was some times. Why couldn't he see that now wasn't exactly the most appropriate of times to start an argument? Why couldn't he realize that every ex-Ranger wasn't a carbon copy of himself? Not every former Ranger was an adrenaline junkie who got a rush by being in the proverbial eye of the hurricane.

"I don't want you to turn back," Kimberly snapped angrily. "I want you to at least try and understand what I'm going through right now. This isn't easy for me, you know. I haven't been a Ranger for damn near thirteen years! And let's not even mention that I haven't thrown a single punch or kick since I left Angel Grove!"

Tommy sighed helplessly. When it came to being Power Rangers, he and Kimberly were cut from two very different molds. She appreciated her past as a Ranger; it was something she held 

near and dear to her heart, but she didn't constantly miss it like Tommy did. Sure, there were times where she daydreamed about how fun it would be to be able to hop into her Crane Zord again and pilot it daringly across the skies, but those were just subconscious recollections of a time in her life that had ended a long time ago.

If she was honest with herself, the only reason she volunteered to go was because she knew how truly disappointed Tommy would be if she had opted to stay in Reefside. He could say that he would have understood if she had made that decision, but Kimberly had known him long enough to tell when he was trying to lie to her.

And if Kimberly was even more honest with herself, she wouldn't have been able to stay behind even if she had wanted to. A second chance with Tommy wasn't what Kimberly had been looking for when she accepted a position teaching English at Reefside High School. She knew that Tommy taught there—they'd been on friendly terms since the shortly after the events on Murianthis—but the romance that had ensued was unexpected to say the least. In fact, it couldn't have been more accidental if it had been scripted.

Looking back two-and-a-half years ago, Tommy had to smile when he recalled the circumstances under which his relationship with Kimberly was given another shot at life. His friend and colleague, Anton Mercer, had given Tommy two tickets to the Major League Soccer Association's championship game between the Reefside Wave and the visiting Thundering Herd of Silver Hills. Tommy had planned on taking best friend, Jason Scott, but those plans had fallen through at the last minute when Jason had gotten called in to work.

With no one else to take, Tommy put the other ticket up for sale on an online auction site. He'd priced it at face value, two-hundred and forty dollars, but when bidding had come to an end the highest bid was for well over a thousand. He could still remember the look in Kimberly's eyes when she sat down next to him.

"Oh, you are so buying dinner," Kimberly commented, settling into her seat.

"Kim?" asked Tommy, chuckling in disbelief. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were a soccer fan."

"Are you kidding? I love soccer. I played competitively until I was thirteen, but it eventually got to the point where school started to get harder and I just couldn't juggle two year-round sports at the same time. I had to choose between gymnastics and soccer; obviously, you know which one I picked."

Tommy nodded his head, absentmindedly wondering how that little nugget of information had managed to slip by him in all the years that he had known Kimberly. "I had no idea. You never mentioned it before."

"You never asked," Kimberly retorted, leaving Tommy trapped in a state of awkward silence. It was true; he'd never really thought to ask if Kimberly was into any sports other than gymnastics. He'd just assumed that it was the only sport she enjoyed. When the silence started to get painful, she decided to throw him a rope. "So, Doctor Oliver, what are you buying me for dinner?"

"I wasn't aware that a free meal was included with the purchase of the ticket, Ms. Hart," Tommy deadpanned.

"For eleven-hundred dollars, it better be."

"Hey, it was a thousand and eighty-six; and I didn't make you bid that high. Besides, are you saying that my company isn't worth eleven hundred dollars?"

"No, I'm saying that mine is at least worth a hot dog and a beer," Kimberly returned, grinning.

Tommy smirked back at her. "So if I buy you dinner, is this considered a date?"

"Do you want it to be?"

"Do you?"

"I don't know, yet. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess," Kimberly answered honestly, giving Tommy a wink.

Tommy seemed to think about her answer for a moment. "Hot dog and a beer, huh? Well, at least it's up there with one of the cheapest dates I've gone on," he laughed, earning an eye roll from Kimberly.

"It's not a date…yet," Kimberly added, pushing Tommy towards the stairs that lead to the concourse and concession stands. As he started up the stone steps, she called out to him. "By the way, when I say 'hot dog' I mean a bratwurst with sauerkraut and onions, and when I say 'beer' I mean the biggest cup of microbrew in the stadium. How's that for cheap?"

Merging onto the freeway, Tommy reached out and took hold of Kimberly's hand, running his thumb along the top of her matching ring. She looked over at him and smiled, unable to resist how lost she became when she gazed into his chocolate brown eyes. At twenty-nine years of age, hardly the naïve young woman she'd been in high school, his eyes still captivated her the same way they had when she was fifteen.

"Remember the soccer game?" asked Tommy, squeezing her hand gently.

"How could I forget? I let you kiss me with onion-breath," Kimberly replied, fondly recalling their second first kiss. At the time, she'd lived close enough to the stadium to walk but it was almost midnight when the game finally let out and Tommy had steadfastly refused to let her walk home. Upon arriving at her apartment in his Jeep, Tommy walked Kimberly to her door and 

that's when it happened; it had been just one kiss at her doorstep, but it was long, filled with a passion that both their lives had been missing for some time.

"Hey, I resent that! As I recall, your breath tasted like sauerkraut and beer, little lady. Not to mention ice cream, peanuts, licorice, and garlic fries; all of which I bought for you, by the way."

"Details, details, details," Kimberly returned, laughing. Her eyes were focused on Tommy as he moved to answer his phone; it was only her peripheral vision that saved them from colliding with a deer standing in the center lane of Interstate Five. "Tommy, look out!" she screamed.

Tommy looked up just in time to see the deer's wide, ignorant brown eyes staring back at them in the yellow glow of the Jeep's headlights. Swerving to the left, he narrowly avoided the creature whose face was mere inches from Kimberly's window as the black Jeep sped passed the deer. "Whew, that was close. Thanks," he murmured, waiting for his heartbeat so slow down before he answered his phone. Seeing the name on the Caller Identification screen, he smiled brightly. "Talk to me, babe."

"You guys on your way?" asked a husky, deep, male voice.

"Yeah, we're on Five right now. We should be there in twenty or thirty minutes," Tommy answered, reading the sign that told him how many miles away they were from Los Angeles, Angel Grove, and San Diego, in that order. "Be ready, man. By the time we get there, we're already going to be strapped for time."

"Let me ask you something, bro; when have you ever known me to not be ready?"

Tommy chuckled, no room for argument. "Good point. Alright, Jase, we'll see you in a few."

"Later, T."

"He's coming?" Kimberly asked as soon as Tommy had returned his cell phone to his pocket.

Nodding his head, Tommy gave the Jeep a little more gas; pushing it to well over ninety miles per hour, he maneuvered the car in and out of late night traffic with expert precision. "Did you expect anything else?"

"No, I guess not," Kimberly replied quietly, sliding down in her seat a bit. She could hardly believe it when Tommy guided the Jeep around a bend in the highway, his sleeves riding up just enough to reveal a black and gold bracelet strapped to each wrist. "You gotta be kidding me. You've got some nerve, you know that?"

"Huh?" asked Tommy, confused.

Rolling her eyes, Kimberly pointed to his Zeonizers, the devices he had once used to transform into Zeo Ranger Five, Red. "Why would you go and do something boneheaded like that?"

"Like what?" Tommy questioned, still not understanding why she was making such a big deal about the Zeonizers.

"Bringing those things!" snapped Kimberly, her voice biting. "What was going through your head when you decided to dig those out? Wait, I can answer that for you." Continuing, she dropped her voice as deep as it would go to imitate Tommy. "Duh, I big dumb man, me think only about myself instead of safety of wife, wife that hasn't been Power Ranger since Clinton Administration," she added, shaking her head. "Jesus Christ, Tommy. How could you bring those and make me go in there by myself without powers?"

Opening his mouth to reply, Tommy furrowed his brow and sealed his lips. He didn't really have a good answer for that. In the rush to leave Reefside, he'd simply grabbed the Zeonizers by force of habit; he hadn't meant to leave Kimberly hanging, but that didn't excuse it either. Sighing, he held the steering wheel with one hand while using his teeth to unstrap one of the Morphers. When they'd both been removed he extended them to Kimberly. "Put 'em in the glove box."

Kimberly took the Zeonizers from Tommy but said nothing to him as she placed the devices inside the requested compartment. She appreciated that he had removed his Zeonizers, but that didn't excuse the fact that he had brought them in the first place. And though she wanted to be mad at him, she was also aware that they were about to once again put their lives on the line.

The possibility of death was a constant risk for anyone who donned the brightly colored spandex uniform. If one or both of them was going to die today, Kimberly refused to let it be on bad terms. Tommy constantly pushed her buttons, drove her up wall after wall, but that never once stopped Kimberly from loving him more than anything else on Earth.

"I'm sorry I called you a big dumb man," Kimberly murmured, turning in her seat to face him.

Sparing his attention from the road for a moment, Tommy looked in her direction and chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry for being selfish. I love you, Kim, and I hope you know that I would never intentionally put you in harm's way."

"I know. I love you, too," Kimberly replied, stealing a quick kiss as they passed another mileage marker. Next exit: Angel Grove.

--

Long, black dreadlocks flew wildly about the face of a young African-American man as he sprinted at full speed through the brightly lit streets of New Tech City, his legs burning from being pushed to their absolute limits. The year was 2027, but that was rather irrelevant. The arrival of Pravus had transcended time; his message had played to those in the future as well as the citizens of the present.

For Jack Landors, former B-Squad Red Ranger of Space Patrol Delta, this was his second chance. He'd left the Rangers in good hands, with his friend and teammate, Schuyler "Sky" Tate, but when he saw the way Pravus rampaged the Earth it had ignited a fire in Jack's belly that had burned out well over two years ago. His longtime girlfriend, Ally, had been furious with him when he had made the decision to return to the Delta Base with the hope that there was still a place for him at SPD.

She'd told him if he left to not come back; a single tear had slid down Jack's cheek as he exited their apartment, silently wishing that she could understand why he had to do this. Whether he was active or not was unimportant. He couldn't ignore the call when the world needed protecting, even if that meant having to leave Ally behind.

The glowing lights of the Delta Base loomed up ahead in the distance. Forcing himself to run even harder, Jack cursed his luck when it suddenly started to rain down on him. He was less than two blocks from the base, but it was raining so hard that by the time he plowed through the front door of the Delta Base he was soaked to the bone. Ignoring the two young F-Squad cadets that were manning the front desk, Jack made a beeline for the elevators, ever thankful that Commander Cruger had allowed him to keep the key card granting Jack access to the Ranger-level of the building, just in case.

As he rode the elevator to the twenty-second floor, Jack tapped his foot in nervous anticipation, unconsciously picking at his long hair. When the doors opened up a few moments later he was greeted by the imposing form of Sky Tate, curiously missing the red piping on the mostly-black uniform that was standard for SPD's Rangers. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, wearing a stoic expression as he seemingly sized Jack up. Then Sky suddenly smiled, extending his hand to the man who had once been his leader.

"Welcome back," said Sky, shaking Jack's hand firmly.

"It's good to be back," commented Jack, thankful that there was no animosity between him and Sky. Though, why would there be? Sky's childhood dream had been to be the Red Ranger, just like his father before him, and he'd finally gotten that opportunity when Jack left SPD. Stepping out of the elevator, Jack's eyes began to wander in every direction imaginable as he tired to reacquaint himself with the first place that he had ever truly been able to call home.

"I take it you've already heard about this Pravus guy, am I right?" asked Sky. Jack nodded in confirmation as the larger man gestured for them to begin walking. "Then I think it's safe to assume why you're here."

"I want to help," Jack answered, reaffirming that which Sky was already aware of.

Making their way through the Delta Base, the pair came to halt outside of the old briefing room. Though the doors were sealed, Jack could still picture vividly what the interior looked like; he 

remembered everything about SPD, as if he'd been gone two days instead of two years. Sky almost seemed sad as he turned his head to Jack. "If it was up to me, the Red Morpher would be yours in a heartbeat, but Bridge is the Red Ranger now, and I can't demote him just because you decided that you want to come back."

"Wait, what? Bridge is Red Ranger?" asked Jack incredulously.

Sky chuckled. "I forgot how long you've been away. When Fowler retired, Commander Cruger took over as SPD's Supreme Commander, I was promoted to Cruger's old position, and Bridge was made Red Ranger.

"Wow," Jack murmured, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. "I really have missed out on a lot, haven't I? Hopefully not two newbies taking the Blue and Green Morphers, though," Jack added, Sky shaking his head.

"Not yet, at least. We've got a couple of C-Squad cadets we're looking at possibly promoting to B-Squad, but that's still a few months down the road, if at all," Sky answered. Pressing his palm to a device next to the briefing room door, he waited until the fingerprint scan was complete and the doors had opened before turning back to Jack. "Look, we'll have plenty of time to catch up later, but we have less than half-an-hour before Pravus expects the Rangers to show themselves. Right now, we need to worry about getting you and Bridge suited up and ready to go."

"Just me and Bridge?" asked Jack, following Sky into the familiar room where Bridge was already waiting for them. "What about Syd and Z? Where are they?"

"Undercover mission on Gamma Repulsa," Bridge answered as he moved from where he stood, leaning against a computer console, to greet his former teammate. Standing face-to-face with each other, the two men smiled as they shook hands and shared a half-hug. "It's good to see you again, Jack."

"Good to see you too, man," Jack replied, slapping Bridge's shoulder playfully.

Behind them, Sky cleared his throat loudly, bringing the attention of the two old friends back to him. Sky pointed to a nearby wall, Jack's eyes following the finger until his eyes settled on two Delta Morphers, one blue and one green/ Nodding his understanding, Jack crossed the room; staring at the two Morphers, he tried to decide which one to take. He held one in each hand, weighing them as if he expected there to be a discrepancy. In the end, the only thing Jack had accomplished was realizing that neither of the Morphers felt the same in his hands as the Red Delta Morpher had.

He knew that Bridge and Sky were watching him, waiting for him to make a decision, but he simply couldn't. Gripping the edge of the steel table Jack kept his head bowed, his dreadlocks concealing his face as he stared at the Morphers; then came the soft sound of metal meeting 

metal. Turning his head, Jack's eyes widened when he saw the Red Delta Morpher resting atop the steel table, inches away from his hand.

Hesitating, he allowed his fingers to gently caress the Morpher's cool, metal surface. Oh, how much he would have loved to wield the Red Ranger powers again, but that was Bridge's position now. Picking up the Morpher, he held it out to Bridge. "I appreciate the offer, man, but I can't take this."

"Why not?" asked Bridge in confusion. "It's not like I'm giving it back to you permanently. I expect it back when we're done with this Pravus character. Besides, it was yours before it was mine," he added, picking up the Blue Delta Morpher. "I can deal with being Blue again, at least for a little while."

Jack swallowed hard. "A-are you sure?"

"Positive," Bridge answered, giving his friend a confirming nod.

"Thank you, Bridge," Jack replied, shaking his head. "Seriously, man, I-I really don't know what to say."

Bridge just smiled in a way that only Bridge could do; his grin was as goofy and lopsided as it was equally comforting. "You don't have to say anything. I don't know what to say, either. Or rather, I wouldn't know what to say, either. Or is it the other way around?"

Laughing heartily, Jack shook his head as he clapped Bridge on the shoulder. "Bridge, my man, it doesn't even matter. It doesn't even matter."

In the short time he'd been back in the Delta Base, Jack had already begun to realize how much he had missed this camaraderie, the level of brotherhood that only SPD had ever been able to provide for him. It hadn't taken long for him to start giving serious consideration to asking Sky for his place on the team back, even if that meant having to be blue or green.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's get you guys acquainted with the Delta Ship," Sky interjected, gesturing for Bridge and Jack to follow him as he made his way out of the briefing room and into the hallway.

"Delta Ship, huh? Is that something else I've missed out on?" asked Jack curiously. Judging by the look on Bridge's face, Jack wasn't the only one who didn't know what this new Delta Ship was about.

"Not quite," Sky answered, shaking his head as he walked with arms folded behind his back. "Production of the Delta Ship was kept strictly Eyes-Only. Outside of Cruger and I, no one but the production crew—who all had to sign life-bonded confidentiality contracts—even knows about it, yet."

"What's so special about it?" Bridge queried.

Holding up his hand, the trio came to a stop in front of a long, black wall. Dipping his hand into his pocket, Sky extracted a white, handheld device; placing it up against the wall, he turned back to Bridge and Jack with a sly grin. "See for yourself," he answered. Pressing the only button on the device, the wall suddenly disappeared, revealing a sleek, black space craft with the SPD logo and the words Delta Ship I emblazoned on both sides. "Guys, let me be the first to introduce you to the Delta Ship, the first space craft in the entire universe that's capable of both time and inter-dimensional travel."

"Woah!" exclaimed Bridge and Jack in tandem, looking up at the ship in awe.

"How do we use it?" asked Jack, shifting his attention from the ship to Sky.

"Leave that to me. You guys just get inside and get yourselves strapped in. I'll take care of the rest," Sky answered, Bridge and Jack nodding their understanding. "Bridge, Jack, best of luck to you. I expect to see you both back here in one piece, is that understood?"

Standing at attention as they had done for Commander Cruger so many times, Bridge and Jack shared a silent look with one another and smirked. "Sir, yes, sir, Commander Tate, sir!" they yelled, saluting Sky with smiles that went from cheek to cheek.

Rolling his eyes as he slowly shook his head from side to side, Sky couldn't help but to let a tiny chuckle escape his lips. Looking back on the last two years, he had to admit that things had changed drastically when Jack left. In some ways, Jack, who was always so calm and level-headed, was the glue that had held the team together. It just wasn't the same without him there.

Secretly, Sky was hoping that Jack eventually asked for his place on the team back; not only would it save him the hassle of promoting and training a new Ranger, but the five of them would finally be together again. Remembering that Bridge and Jack still had a job to do, Sky suddenly grew serious again, wiping the smile away from his face. "You're dismissed, Rangers," he spoke, nodding to both men. "Good luck."

Returning the gesture, Bridge and Jack turned their backs to Sky and started off towards the Delta Ship. A few minutes later they were in the cockpit, strapped safely into their seats as they waited patiently for Sky. Soon enough, Sky's voice entered the cockpit, telling the Rangers what he was going to do. Shortly after that, the ship's engines came to life, roaring louder than anything they'd ever heard before.

As the ship slowly started to elevate, the ceiling began to split in half; once in the sky, the ship rocketed forward, leaving Bridge and Jack gripping their shoulder straps tightly while they screamed like little babies.

--

Flying down the freeway in a dark blue Ford Explorer, the four occupants of the vehicle in question would be lucky if they made it to Angel Grove in time. In the front seats were two men in their late twenties wearing matching, navy blue uniforms; the red beret atop the driver's head and the navy cap his passenger wore were the only things separating them from one another. For Wesley Collins and Eric Myers, not making it to Angel Grove on time wasn't an option that either was willing to consider.

Behind the pair, two women bounced along in the backseat, holding on for dear life as Wes fearlessly executed moves that no SUV should have been able to make. Seated directly behind him was his wife of almost five years, Jennifer Scotts. Shortly after the Time Force Rangers had returned to help the Wild Force team defeat the Mut-Orgs, Jen had revealed that her former fiancée, Alex, was giving her the option to remain in the year 2002 with Wes.

"When we first met, I was afraid of you; afraid of what you stood for and the person I thought you were. But the more I got to know you, the more I realized that the only thing I was afraid of was myself," Jen had said to Wes through tear-filled eyes as they stood hand-in-hand at the altar a year later. "You've taught me so many things, Wesley Andrew Collins, but the one thing I'll never be able to forget is that we all control our own destinies. Today proves that. I love you more than anything, and I couldn't be happier that my destiny includes you."

Her eyes still brimmed with tears when she thought of that day. That they were actually married was a minor miracle in itself, and hadn't truly set in for almost three days after the wedding. Looking back on the last six years of her life, she couldn't even begin to imagine what they would have been like if Wes hadn't been there with her. Probably pretty terrible, just like it had been every other time they were unwillingly forced to go their separate ways.

The decision to answer Pravus' message had been made both silently and simultaneously. Unlike Tommy and Kimberly, Wes and Jen were the spitting image of each other as Rangers. Neither had given the slightest consideration to not leaving Silver Hills for Angel Grove. They had already been en route to Eric's apartment when he called, asking if they would pick him up on their way.

Had it not been for the pit stop in Turtle Cove to retrieve Eric's longtime, on-again-off-again girlfriend and former Yellow Eagle Wild Force Ranger, Taylor Earhardt, making it to Angel Grove in time wouldn't have been an issue. The blonde woman kept a hand on Eric's shoulder at all times, an unusual show of affection from the couple that was the complete polar opposite of Wes and Jen. Eric and Taylor constantly bickered with each other; verbal arguments constantly turned into full-on displays of martial arts, with Taylor winning those bouts just as often as Eric did. They'd go weeks at a time without speaking to each other only to get back together because, deep down, they both knew that they needed one another.

For quite some time now, Eric had been giving real consideration to asking Taylor for something more serious in their relationship. But Eric had never been all that confident when it came to the 

fairer sex, so he chose to remain silent instead of taking the risk that asking for a serious commitment could potentially push her away. If they made it through whatever it was that Pravus had in store for them, Eric made a promise to himself that he would finally be a man and take that chance.

"How far out are we?" asked Jen, trying to crane her neck far enough above Wes' shoulder to read the Explorer's GPS screen.

"Eighteen miles," Wes answered. Reading the digital clock above his rearview mirror, he saw that it was eleven thirty-eight, twenty-two minutes before their hour window expired. Silently, Wes prayed that they didn't hit any unexpected traffic.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Taylor commented.

"It's an Explorer, babe, not a Porsche," Eric retorted, his head turned back to Taylor as he winked at her.

"Don't call me babe, hotshot. You know I'll kick your ass from here to next Tuesday," Taylor fired back, discreetly high-fiving Jen.

"Oh, yeah, you and what air force?" asked Eric, sarcastically alluding to Taylor's time as a pilot in the armed services.

"Oh, don't you even get me star—"

"Guys, come on. Now is really not the time to be doing this," Wes interjected, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes at their childish behavior. "Let's try and focus on kicking Pravus' ass before we start talking about kicking each other's, okay?"

"Can it, Collins!" Eric and Taylor replied in tandem, slightly embarrassed as they smiled back at each other.

"Aww, look at how cute you guys are matching each other's words," Wes teased, earning glares of death from both Eric and Taylor. Passing by a green mile marker, Wes checked the clock again. A smile crept across his lips when he realized that they only had nine miles left until they reached Angel Grove with nearly fifteen minutes of their hour still remaining. "So much for not driving fast enough," Wes thought to himself, giving the Explorer a little extra gas just to be on the safe side. "Eric, call Tommy; let him know we're almost there and ask him what he wants us to do when we get there."

Nodding, Eric reached into his pocket for his cell phone and started to dial the familiar number; at the same time his phone started to vibrate, signaling to Eric that someone was calling him. Looking down at the screen he saw Tommy's name and laughed as he flipped the phone open and placed it against his ear. "Tommy, I was just about to call you. Where are you guys at?"

"Kim, Jason, and I just got here. I'd say we're the first ones by the look of it. Where are you?"

"About seven miles away," Eric answered after checking the GPS screen. "What's it like out there? Anything look suspicious at all?"

"I don't really know, right now. We haven't had much time to look around yet but we're going to in a minute," Tommy answered, pausing for a few moments. "So far, everything looks to be fairly normal but you and I both know what that means."

Eric half-chuckled, knowing exactly what that meant. "It's only a matter of time until the shit hits the fan."

"Yep, so just make sure you guys are all on your guard when you get here. Crazy things have been known to happen out in these dunes, and with this Pravus guys running around like a fucking maniac…"

"Got it. See you in a couple minutes," Eric replied, closing his phone before Tommy completely shifted into leader-mode and started bossing people around. He and Tommy couldn't have been more similar if they were brothers, and they acted like it, too. Ninety-nine percent of the time they got along famously, but every once in a while their equal levels of stubbornness caused them to butt heads, usually when it involved the Rangers. Tommy was born to lead and Eric hated being told what to do more than anything.

"Two more miles, guys," Wes commented, an air of nervousness settling over the occupants of the vehicle. Going into this completely blind, all they knew was that the world was in danger, but that was more than enough to draw the foursome out of their peaceful retirement. They were Rangers until the end.

The sight that beheld them when they arrived at the place where the Command Center used to be was shocking to say the least. The turnout of Rangers was more than any of them had expected to see.

Tommy, Kim, Jason, and Andros were all standing near Tommy's Jeep, chatting casually with each other. From the way Andros kept looking to his left, Wes and Eric reasoned that he had probably hid the Megaship somewhere in that direction. Not too far from where that foursome stood were husband and wife, Carter and Dana Grayson, seated inside a Rescue Rover, one of the military grade Humvees built specially for Lightspeed Rescue. Parked nearby was a black motorcycle and a forest green Jeep Grand Cherokee with two young men and a woman, no more than twenty years old, leaning against the SUV.

"Who's that?" asked Wes, jerking his head towards the trio as he and the rest of the Rangers representing Time and Wild Force exited the Explorer.

"If I remember my history lessons, it's Mystic Force. The one in green is Xander; red is Nick, also known as Bowen, and blue is his girlfriend, Madison."

"What about those two?" questioned Eric, pointing towards a young woman with dirty blonde hair and an African-American male with cornrows, a giant diamond piercing each ear.

"Those are the Overdrive kids, Ronny and Will," Jen answered.

Looking at the two youths, Eric rolled his eyes helplessly. "They can't be more than eighteen or nineteen years old! The guy looks like he belongs in a goddamn rap video for crying out loud! Jesus, Tommy's probably shitting a purple monkey right now! Where in the world are T.J. and Leo? Hell, I'd even take Cole at this point!"

Coming up from behind, Wes clapped his hand firmly on Eric's shoulder. "Hey, you need to lighten up and relax a bit, man. These guys are Rangers for a reason. At least give them a chance to show their stuff before you start ragging on them."

"Seriously," Taylor added as she and Jen hurried to catch up to the men. Walking at Eric's side, she wrapped her arms around one of his. "You used to say the same stuff about me, remember? Do I need to remind you where that got you?"

"Probably flat on his ass," Wes supplied, earning a glare from Eric and an elbow to the ribs from the short but fierce brunette on his arm.

"Fine, I'll give them a chance," Eric grumbled, allowing Taylor to kiss his cheek. "But the first time one of them fucks up, I'm going to be on their asses faster than a horse running away from a glue truck."

"Fair enough," Taylor conceded as the foursome stopped in front of Tommy, Jason, Kimberly, and Andros.

"What's up, guys?" said Tommy, shaking hands with Eric and Wes, exchanging hugs with Jen and Taylor.

Everyone in the group was familiar with one another except for Kimberly so Tommy took the liberty of introducing her to the Time and Wild Force Rangers. She'd heard about the women from Tommy, but had never actually met them before. This wasn't her first encounter with Eric and Wes, though. She had come in contact with the Silver Guardians once before, but it had been a very brief meeting; she'd been on her way out to have drinks with some friends when they'd arrived at Tommy's house for a poker game.

Once the introductions had been completed, Tommy drifted away from the group. He stood in the center of the makeshift circle that the fourteen other Rangers had formed, looking around at all of them. "Everyone get over here and gather around!" he called out. The ones who knew him obeyed immediately; those who didn't had the unfortunate position of being on the receiving end 

of Tommy when the fate of the world was at stake. "Oh, I'm sorry," he added, looking to the Mystic Force and Overdrive Rangers, "I didn't realize that I hadn't included you in that. Let me try again. EVERYONE GET OVER HERE AND GATHER AROUND!"

Checking his watch, Tommy shook his head as the five young Rangers sheepishly made their way towards the rest of the group, earning glares from a few of the veteran Rangers in the process, one Eric Myers in particular.

"Listen up!" Tommy continued, looking proudly to each and every Ranger who had had the courage to show up for this. "The hour that Pravus has given us is up in four minutes. I suggest you all use that time to familiarize yourself with each other as much as possible."

No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the sound of rumbling engines started to echo off of the surrounding cliffs. Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light that dissipated as quickly as it had arrived, leaving the looming shadow of an approaching space craft overhead.

"So much for four minutes, huh?" Jason commented, all of the Rangers instinctively dropping into defensive stances. Those with active Morphers had them at the ready when the space craft touched down and the door hissed open; the door split in half, vertically, the bottom half containing a staircase that folded out until it touched the ground. Two men appeared at the entrance; they quickly descended the stairs and sprinted towards the other Rangers.

"Sorry we're late," one of the men panted, hands on his knees. He wore a red tee shirt with the letters SPD emblazoned across the chest in black lettering and black wind pants with a thick, red, vertical stripe on each leg. Catching his breath, he extended his hand to Tommy. "Jack Landors, SPD Red Ranger," he continued, Tommy shaking the young man's hand cautiously. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"SPD, huh?" asked Tommy. He eyed Jack and his companion, another young man, this one with blue eyes and sandy blonde hair wearing a black uniform with blue piping, SPD written in small blue lettering on the left side of his chest. "I've never heard of you before."

"That's because they aren't from this time," Jen interjected, stepping forward as the attention shifted from Tommy to her. Time travel was definitely not one of Tommy's fortes; he stepped back, graciously conceding the floor to Jen. "A fully functional branch of Space Patrol Delta on Earth is still another fifteen years down the road. 2025?" she asked, looking to Jack and Bridge.

"2027, actually," Bridge answered, speaking up for the first time.

Jen's expression grew curious at that. From the history books she had read in the Time Force Academy, Jack had permanently retired from SPD shortly after the defeat of Emperor Gruum and the Troobian Empire. She was given little time to question it, though. Before another word could escape her lips the sky suddenly started to open up, revealing a giant beam of golden light that stretched from the ground to the outermost reaches of the atmosphere.

The light was so bright that it left the Rangers temporarily blinded, blinking away specks of light long after the beam had disappeared from sight. Nick was the first whose eyes had adjusted enough to make out the form of Pravus slowly stalking towards them. "That's him," he murmured, pointing to the man as the rest of the Rangers began to recognize Pravus as well. Looking to his left, Nick pointed an accusatory finger at Xander. "Don't go doing anything stupid, alright? Now's not the time for Plan Xander."

"Relax, mate," Xander replied in a thick Australian accent, putting up his fists defensively as Pravus grew closer. "Even I know that Plan Xander won't work on this guy. He looks pissed."

"What do we do?" asked a concerned Madison.

Tommy had been pondering that very question long before he heard Madison ask it. Ever the leader, he was doing his best to think on his feet. It wasn't exactly easy to create a plan of attack when he didn't even know who had powers and who didn't, though. Moving towards Tommy, Jason laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What do we do here, bro? Everyone's waiting for you to take control of this situation and tell them what they should do."

Sighing, Tommy nodded his head. He knew that they were all waiting on him, raising the pressure level to new heights. He'd been under pressure hundreds of times, though, and never cracked once; he didn't plan on making today the first time. Taking a deep breath, Tommy swallowed the oversized lump resting in his throat.

"Alright, listen up!" Tommy called to the Rangers. "If you have a Morpher that works, get in line and form a wall behind me! Keep your Morphers ready but don't use them unless I say so! Move, now!"

All at once fifteen Rangers moved at Tommy's command, creating a wall that Tommy would have been confident in against any of the many evil beings he'd encountered during his tenure as a Ranger; after seeing what Pravus was capable of, Tommy wasn't so sure that this was going to work but it was the best he could do in such a short period of time. It was only when the wall was finished that Tommy realized he and Kimberly were the only ones without powers. Even Jason still had access to his Tyrannosaurus Power Coin and Morpher.

Kimberly stood behind the wall of bodies appearing left out as the other Rangers carefully watched on, never taking their eyes off Pravus as the man brought an end to his forward movement. He looked at the Rangers, eyeing his competition, and let out a tremendous laugh. "I ask for Earth's defenders and this is what I get? A mismatched group that looks as imposing as a meager speck of space dust? I must say, I'm rather disappointed."

"What do you want, Pravus?" Tommy demanded, waiting for the absolute perfect moment to unleash the Rangers on him.

"The complete and total destruction of Zordon's entire legacy!" answered Pravus truthfully, his voice booming against the cliffs as he pointed towards the Rangers. It made Tommy sick to his stomach when he heard a handful of the younger Rangers murmuring to each other, indicating that they had no idea who Zordon even was. "And you will be the ones to help me bring about that destruction!"

A raucous uproar came from the Rangers, each of them yelling over the top of one another, fighting to have their voices heard. Holding up his hand, Tommy snapped his fingers and suddenly everything was quiet again. Shaking his head, he looked to Pravus. "You're must be out of your damn mind if you think we'd ever help you. Newsflash; we're the ones that stop psychos like you!"

"A psycho?" asked Pravus, chuckling in amusement. "You think I'm psychopathic, dear boy? On the contrary, I'm actually quite sane. You see, it's really rather simple. The ones who didn't come will be punished, but the rest of you have a very special opportunity. You will compete in a tournament to the death; the winner will remain alive while the rest of you will spend eternity in the company of your dear friend, Zordon."

Had his back not been facing the Rangers, they would have been able to see the fury in Tommy's eyes, the desire to put Pravus in his place. "That's it! I've heard enough of this!" he yelled, quickly falling back to join Kimberly behind the wall of Rangers. "Do it, guys!"

"It's Morphin' Time!" Jason called out.

"Let's Rocket!" Andros followed.

"Lightspeed, Rescue!" Carter bellowed, Dana at his side mimicking his arm movements.

"Time For, Time Force!" yelled Wes and Jen in unison.

"Quantum Power!" roared Eric powerfully.

"Wild Access!" added Taylor.

"SPD, Emergency!" Jack shouted for himself and Bridge.

"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" Nick continued, Xander and Madison flanking him on both sides.

"Overdrive, Accelerate!" Will finished, Ronny morphing in tandem with her teammate.

Flashes of different, vibrantly colored light exploded into the night sky, illuminating both the outskirts of Angel Grove and the city itself for miles in every direction. At the end of it all, fifteen Rangers stood morphed and ready for action; with their weapons drawn, they charged at Pravus without the slightest bit of hesitation.

To say that the battle was short would be a vast understatement; it was over before it had even had a chance to really get started. When the Rangers were within ten feet of Pravus, a wave of golden energy erupted from his hands heading straight for them. The blast connected and the Rangers were all sent flying backwards, arms and legs flailing about wildly as they tumbled through the air; the fifteen Rangers landed hard against the rocky ground, each and every one of them now demorphed.

"Well, I'd say that was anti-climatic. How 'bout you?" muttered Jason who had ended up at Tommy's feet and was now receiving a helping hand up from his friend. "Shit man, that hurt like a son of a bitch," he added, rubbing his ribs tenderly as the rest of the Rangers slowly started to regroup around the pair.

Pravus was infuriated as he looked towards the Rangers; he'd given them an opportunity and they had repaid him by spitting in his face. Gazing from Ranger to Ranger, he noted that there were seventeen in all. "Time to even their numbers," he murmured to himself, debating which one of them to kill. "Rangers, you listen up and you listen well!" he yelled, the Rangers slowly turning to face him. "I didn't want your blood on my hands but that display of aggression has left me no choice! One of you must pay and I choose…you!"

All eyes suddenly shifted to Jason—who looked much like the deer Tommy and Kimberly had encountered earlier that evening—as a slim beam of energy shot from Pravus' fingertip, flying right at Earth's first Red Ranger. "No!" Tommy yelled, instinctively diving in front of Jason. Unfortunately for Jason, Tommy's attempt at turning himself into a human shield failed; the beam was inches from connecting with Tommy when it stopped, waiting for him to hit the ground before it exploded viciously into Jason's chest, almost as if it had a life of its own and knew that it was intended only for Jason.

With one hand on his heart Jason looked down at Tommy, his face contorted as it began turning white almost immediately. He tried to speak, to say goodbye to his best friend, but found that his mouth was already far too dry for words. Instead, Jason simply fell to the ground; rolling over to face him, Tommy scrambled madly on all fours until he reached Jason's lifeless body. Tears filled Tommy's eyes as he squeezed one of Jason's hands, suddenly aware that there was another presence nearby. Slowly turning his head, he saw that Kimberly was kneeling on the other side of Jason, crying violently as she beat her fists against her big brother's chest.

"No! No! Not you, Jase! Not now!" Kimberly whimpered, the other Rangers watching on helplessly. Andros, Carter, Eric, and Wes—all of whom knew and respected Jason—were struggling with tears of their own, but knew that their emotions were next to nothing compared to what Tommy and Kimberly had to be feeling.

Kimberly lost the will to continue hitting Jason rather quickly, choosing instead to bury her face against his neck as she held him tightly. Her face would have connected with the ground if Tommy hadn't intervened, catching her when Jason's body suddenly disappeared without the 

slightest hint of a warning. For a few silent moments he hugged her with everything he had, rocking her back and forth in his arms. It was like the world had stopped again, this time in the most literal sense; no one, not even Pravus, dared try interrupting the grieving couple.

"You know what we have to do, right?" asked Tommy eventually, forcing Kimberly to look at him as he used his thumbs to gently wipe away her tears, blinking as even more slid down his own cheeks.

Sniffling, Kimberly nodded firmly, taking deep breaths in rapid succession. When she finally spoke it was with a tenacity that Tommy hadn't heard from her in a very long time. "Find a way for us to stay alive long enough to make that bastard pay."

"Come on," said Tommy quietly; standing up, he pulled Kimberly with him onto her feet. "We'll grieve for Jason later. Right now, we just need to stop this before Pravus hurts anyone else." Slipping his hand into Kimberly's, Tommy guided her along as they made their way to Pravus who smiled triumphantly at them. "We stand here, powerless, and accept your offer."

"Good; very good. I knew there was a reason you were Zordon's chosen ones" Pravus replied, stroking his chin in between his thumb and forefinger. Hearing Pravus slander Zordon's name caused Tommy to ball his fists tightly, forcing himself not to do anything stupid. "I respect bravery, Rangers. It deserves to be rewarded and, thus, rewarded you shall be."

With a wave of his hand, a golden coin appeared in the palms of Tommy and Kimberly. Shocked, they stared at the coins and saw that the small discs looked exactly like the ones Ninjor had created for them so long ago; Tommy's coin was emblazoned with an image of the falcon, Kimberly's depicting the crane.

"Yes, now you finally see how powerful I truly am! Face it; you are at my mercy, Rangers! You can either fight in the tournament and still have a chance to live or refuse and die now! I've given you plenty of time to make up your minds, step forward now or perish like your comrade!"

A chorus of quiet murmurs came from the Rangers as one-by-one they made their way to stand by Tommy and Kimberly. The sixteen men and women who had once defended the Earth valiantly could hardly believe that this, fighting against each other, was what they had been reduced to. Whether they liked it or not, the Power Rangers had finally met their match, in the worst way possible.