Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers in Space--the cool arsenal, the awesome powers, the wonderful people. . .nope, they don't belong to me. They belong to Disney.

Author's Notes: Okay, it the last book in the "Road to Completion" trilogy people! Thank you for sticking around and reading it! I hope you've enjoyed the series. As always, please read and review!

Second Chance
Part one: Split Image
By: stargazer_1017

Where am I? The man flew his eyes open and tried to focus on what was in front of him. The face of an old man loomed overhead and the man straightened immediately. "Who are you?" he demanded, jumping up from the make-shift bed he was laying on. Pain shot through him immediately. "Wh--Where am I?" he choked out.

The old man held his hands up and said something in languge he couldn't understand. The man narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Who are you?" he asked coarsely, trying to ignore the pain still inhibiting his thoughts. Again, the old man spoke, but he still couldn't be understood.

The man felt a hand being placed on his shoulders. "We will not hurt you," the heavily-accented voice spoke behind him. The man dropped to his knees, unable to bear the pain any longer. "Please, rest."

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. The next thing the man remembered was being helped from the floor back onto the bed. "You must rest. These injuries. . .they do not heal in a night." The man wasn't sure he heard right, but when another surge of pain went through him, he was forced to do what he was told--and fell into an unconscious sleep.

***

Months Later. . .

"And you said this was easy!" Cassie groaned.

Andros grinned. "It is easy! When I told you that, I was telling you the truth!"

"Yeah? Then why have I only been able to move a peanut from one end of the table to the other?" Cassie asked, plopping down on the seat. She gestured at the cup on her left. "That cup hasn't budged an inch--no wait, not even a centimeter."

"You'll get it, I promise. Though I don't think that it's taken anyone I know this long to get even a cup of water moving. . ."

Cassie feigned an angry look at Andros and pretended to tackle him--only to have Andros grab her by the arms and envelop her in a hug from behind. "And I guess we could get more done if we stopped this too," Cassie pointed out, looking up at him

"You mean this isn't helping? I thought it would make you concentrate better," Andros joked, tightening his hold around Cassie.

Cassie groaned. "You've got to be kidding me. . .concentrate better? I think I'm getting even more distracted." She put her hands on Andros', which were on her hips, and gave them a quick squeeze before getting out of his hold. "As much as I love the hugs, I want to get this done. I want to at least move something." She walked towards the table--then turned around and gave Andros a quick kiss. "Nothing personal."

Andros smiled as Cassie turned around again and headed towards the table. "I won't take it personal this time, but the next time is a different story." He walked around the table to be directly across from Cassie. "Just concentrate on the cup moving, Cass. Feel it moving in your mind." He watched as Cassie closed her eyes and concentrated. He looked back down at the cup. Nothing.

"Is it moving yet?" Cassie asked.

"No," Andros replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"Augh!" Cassie flew her eyes open and threw her right hand out. Suddenly, the cup flew off the table. Andros jumped out of the way to avoid being hit by the cup. He looked at Cassie. "Did I just. . ."

Andros grinned. "Yeah! You actually moved the cup!" he announced proudly.

Cassie grinned back at him. "Really?" She jumped up and down. "I can't believe it! Now all I have to do. . .is. . .get angry? Is that how I move things from now on?" Her expression changed from excitement to confusion.

"Well, now that we know what can spark your 'inner energy', all you have to do is harness that power and then you'll be able to move things without using anger."

Cassie took a seat. "How did it start with you? Or you could basically move dozens of cups at one time when you first started out," she teased. Andros smiled as he took a seat in the chair next to her.

"No--believe it or not, we all start out the way that you did. I could barely move a pencil the first time I tried, but we usually start off at an early age, so I had a lot of time to improve. I don't really remember too much about training to use our telekentic powers."

"So how'd you know you could barely move a pencil?"

Andros rolled his eyes. "My dad took a video of the learning process."

Cassie smiled. "Ah, so that tradition still stays the same," she said. She looked around. "Got it onboard?"

"What?"

"The video? I'd love to see it. . ."

"No way, no way. . ." Andros said, shaking his head.

Cassie put her hand on his knee. "Oh come on, Andros, it'd be fun! Besides, I don't think you've watched home videos in awhile anyway. Time to go through memory lane."

"I'd rather not. . ."

"Come on!" Cassie grinned. "If you show me that video, I'll show you a video of my third birthday party."

Andros raised his eyebrow. "What's so special about your third birthday party?"

"My mom flew cake into my face right after I blew out the candles--and I had a few accidents during the whole party," Cassie replied.

She doesn't seem embarassed, Andros thought as he looked at Cassie's shining face. "You don't seem embarassed to even let me see it," Andros said.

"Well, I am but I figured an embarassing home video for another," Cassie pointed out. Andros looked slightly hesitant--and then groaned. Cassie was pouting her lips slightly.

"Oh no, not the pout. . ." he groaned.

"It works all the time," Cassie pointed out, still managing to keep the pout on her face. "Please Andros? Please?"

Andros stared at her and then gave in. "All right, all right--but you promise, no one sees the video except for you."

"As long as you promise the same."

Andros leaned over and gave her a kiss. "It's a deal."

*** "I'll kill them--I'll kill them all."

The young woman with long, dark hair stumbled and fell on the sidewalk. "If it's the last thing I do. . ." she said, taking a deep breath and trying to regain herself.

"Well look here. Looks like this young girl has fallen and can't get up. . ." a voice taunted from above the woman. She glared up at the two men, wearing leather jackets and jeans, with chains around their necks. She noted that one had a club in his left hand.

"And no one to help," the other man, who was shorter than the first man that spoke, said. Both men laughed.

Suddenly, they stopped laughing. "Give us your money, lady," the first man demanded.

The woman snorted--then broke out into laughter. The men glared at her. "What the hell are you laughing at, lady?" the shorter man demanded. "I said give us your fricken money!"

The woman laughed even louder and harder. "You--" she choked out before continuing her laugh. She kept on laughing for a few moments until one of the men grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her up. Before he could even get a word out, the woman kicked him in the groin and shoved him away. She could feel herself transforming back as she called for her staff.

"What the--" the short man stammered as he started to back away.

"You idiots! You dare to try and mug me? You obviously have no idea who you're MESSING WITH." Her expression had now changed into a harsh and furious look. "I'm Astronema! And no one--no one attempts to kick my ass and get away with it alive." She aimed her staff at the short man and was about to shoot when the other man knocked her off her feet.

"Let's get out of here!" one of the men cried out. Astronema could hear the pounding footsteps head away from her. She jumped to her feet--only to fall back in a dizzy spell.

"Get away from her," Astronema heard a voice say. She looked up--and gasped.

"What the fuck. . ." She was looking up into her own image! Her otherself was looking at her cautiously.

"Had the same question on my mind," the other woman said. She grabbed her staff and aimed it at her. "You better talk--now, or I'll blow that head of yours so fast that the last thing you'll ever see will be me. Who are you?"

Astronema narrowed her eyes. It was all too weird--this woman certainly sounded like her. "I'm Astronema," she growled up at the woman.

The other woman narrowed her eyes. "That's impossible. I'm Astronema."

*** "Think she'll like these?" Andros asked Cassie as they headed towards the Glider Bay. He was holding a container in his hand. "I mean, I tried."

"I'm sure that's all she'll ask for," Cassie replied reassuringly. "My mom totally adores you."

Andros shrugged and followed Cassie up the steps--then frowned when he noticed the red blinking light above his Glider Chute. "That's strange," he muttered, walking over to the jump tube and looking in.

"Your Galaxy Glider's missing?" Cassie asked. "Is that even possible?"

"I've never encountered it," Andros replied. He paused for a moment and turned back to Cassie. "Don't worry about it--I'll just get the reserve Glider in the Weapons Bay and meet you at your mother's house."

Cassie nodded. "All right. I'll see you there," she agreed. She jumped into the tube and after landing on Earth, she demorphed and walked up the path to her mother's front door. It's so beautiful today, Cassie thought as she squinted and looked up at the clear blue sky. Perfect day for a picnic.

A loud, rustling sound made Cassie break out of her reverie. Cassie frowned as she tiptoed to look over the bushes surrounding the Costello's house. This is getting weird, Cassie thought as she walked away from the door and headed towards the sidewalk.

"Anyone there?" Cassie asked uncertainly. Just as she was almost to the sidewalk, Quantrons popped up. Cassie's heart lept in her throat but she regained her composure quickly and got into a fighting stance. Then another sight made her lose her composure again. "What the. . ."

She watched as two Astronemas approached her. One of them smiled at her evilly, and crooned, "Well, if it isn't one of my sworn enemies. . .must be my lucky day. I finally get to kill you."

Cassie glared at her--and then at the other Astronema. "I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play, Astronema, but it won't work."

"Always that tough talk. Tell me, what does it take to get you to scream?" With that, Astronema lept forward and threw a kick at Cassie. Cassie dodged out of the way and tried to get a kick in, but Astronema was too quick and she back-flipped to avoid the attack.

Cassie winced as she felt something hit her on the side and realized the other Astronema had gotten into the fight as well. Cassie was too stunned to react, and before she knew it, she was flipped on her back. She winced in pain and tried to look up at her attackers, but the sun was glaring down at her, making it hard for her to see anything clearly.

"Back off!" Cassie heard Andros yell out. Then she heard the sound of his laser gun firing--and hitting something. Cassie propped herself up on her elbows and looked up. She noted that one of the Astronemas was hit.

Andros, who was still morphed, jumped off his glider and landed in front of Cassie. He held his arm out to shield her. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.

Cassie nodded, wincing slightly. "What's going on?" she asked, as she got up slowly. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Before Andros could reply, the uninjured Astronema grabbed onto her split image. "We'll be back," she growled. A moment later, she and the other woman disappeared along with the Quantrons.

Cassie grabbed onto Andros' arm for support. "What--what was that all about?" she demanded. She frowned when she felt Andros tense. "Andros?"

"I think we better go back to the Megaship," Andros replied mysteriously. He turned around and held her by the shoulders. "It's something I've been fearing for awhile now."

To be continued. . .