Disclaimer: They're Saban's, not mine. Insert general disclaimer here. This story takes place after Turbo, sometime. They aren't PR in Space, though. This fanfic is rated PG-13 for violence, death, and some swearing. This story is not related to any of my others, but yes, these are the same kids as in "The More Things Change," just in a different universe.
Earth's Fall
by Ellen Brand
Justin Stewart woke slowly, shivering. It was always cold in the mornings. That was one of the problems with living underground. "Of course, there are a lot more problems up there," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. It was now short and blond, a great change from the brown mop he had worn before. A lot of things had changed since his days as a Turbo Ranger. Stretching, he quickly pulled on a ragged black T-shirt and a pair of jeans that were filled with holes. Then he slipped the cord which held the Turbo Keys around his neck, tucking it out of sight under his shirt. The ritual, as it did every morning, brought back a host of recollections, no less powerful for their being eight years old. Sitting down on his cot once more, Justin buried his head in his hands as the memories washed over him once again.
* * *
"I can't believe it's gone," Kat said woodenly, looking at the huge crater in the mountains where the Power Chamber had once been. "Dimitria, Alpha 6, they've been totally destroyed."
"Yeah," Tommy replied, bowing his head. "When Divatox teamed up with Zedd, Rita, and Mondo, they didn't waste any time in getting rid of our base. Not to mention slipping us that serum that keeps us from morphing. Alpha said that it would run its course, but we have no idea how long it'll take."
"We have an advantage now," Adam said, trying to sound optimistic. "Zedd and company probably think we're dead. We can move without them being aware of it."
"And do what, Adam?" shot back Tanya hopelessly. "You heard the news. The peace conference was obliterated. Jason, Zack, and Trini are dead. We couldn't save Rocky when they attacked him, and God alone knows where Aisha is. If they think we're dead, what's the first thing they're going to do? They're going after our families!"
Adam paled. "We have to get to them," he admitted. "They'll destroy our families, just to make sure that no one decides to take revenge."
"That's not going to happen," Tommy said grimly. "Let's go." The five of them hiked off, hoping that nothing would notice them.
* * *
"See anything?" Tanya asked. The Rangers were hiding in the bushes outside Adam's house, watching it intently.
"No," Adam growled. Standing up, he brushed off his hands. "I'm going in."
Tommy placed a cautionary hand on the other boy's shoulder, but all he said was, "I'm going with you, buddy." Silently, the two of them slipped off into the house. For a long moment, all was quiet. Then a horrendous, agonized cry ripped through the night.
"NOOOO!" Adam screamed, loud enough for his friends to hear him. "No, no, no!" Suddenly there was a loud slap, and he went quiet. The three Rangers left outside the house regarded each other in consternation. After another period of waiting, Tommy and Adam came out of the house. Tommy's face was grim and emotionless, while Adam simply looked as if he was in shock.
"They're dead," was all Tommy said. "We didn't find Franklin, but Mr. and Mrs. Park-" he swallowed, shaking his head. "It was definitely Zedd's handiwork. Probably Goldar and Rito." Kat and Justin bowed their heads, while Tanya went to her boyfriend and enfolded him in her arms.
"Adam?" she asked quietly. "Why are you wearing a leather jacket?"
He favored her with a sick smile. "To hide my holster. They killed my parents, Tanya, and I don't know what happened to my little brother. The stakes have just gone up."
Tommy also had a gun in one hand, and now he checked the clip and the sighting dispassionately. "We're on our own, guys. The rules have just gone out the window," he said coldly.
"Do you know how to use that thing?" Kat asked apprehensively.
He smiled, but it was a small, chilly, frightening thing. "Oh, yeah. I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood, and you had to learn if you didn't want to end up a chalk outline on the sidewalk. I haven't carried one in a few years, but I stay in practice." Clicking the safety back on, he slipped the gun into the back of his jeans. "Let's go."
* * *
It was the same at every house they checked, and Justin flatly refused to go to the shelter. Whatever was there, he didn't want to see. Even Rocky's house was a mess, although there was only one body. Maria De Santos was dead in the front hall, but there was no sign of any of the six younger children.
Now the Rangers were sitting in Angel Grove Park, discussing their next move. "Maybe we can find a new base of operations," Adam suggested, little hope in his tone. "We could move to guerrilla warfare, harassing Zedd's goons, trying to protect what's left."
"What's the use?" asked Kat miserably. "It's all gone. We don't have our powers, or the Zords, and our families are dead, all the people we care about. Zedd's beaten us."
"Don't talk like that!" Justin cried, leaping to his feet. "We're not beaten until we give up! We can't just let that skinless creep get away with this! He's got to go down, all of them do. We owe it to our friends and families!"
"Justin's right," Tommy replied, that hint of cold steel still in his voice. "We're still the Power Rangers, sworn to defend Earth. Zedd can take a lot of things away from us, but not that. I almost forgot that once, and never again."
"So what do we do?" pleaded Tanya. "What do we do, Tommy?" He never answered her, because at that moment, a horde of Cogs, Tengas, and Piranhatrons stormed into the park, carrying weapons the likes of which the Rangers had never seen.
"Fall back!" Tommy cried. "There's too many of them! We have to fight them on our terms!" For the first time in their careers, the Rangers turned and ran, leaving the park behind, running down the streets of Angel Grove. Behind them, bolts of laser fire singed the ground, prompting them to run faster.
One Piranhatron got lucky. Its shot struck Kat directly in the back. With a strangled grunt, she fell to the pavement. Instantly, Justin was at her side, followed by the rest of the Rangers.
"Give me your arm," Justin told her frantically. "We'll support you until we get out of town."
Kat shook her head. "No time. I think he hit a lung. It hurts- to breathe," she whispered. Indeed, her voice was beginning to gurgle, as fluid began to fill her lungs. "Go. Leave. And Justin, please, take this. Guard it for me, and find someone to use it." With the last of her strength, she pressed her Turbo Key into his hand.
"No," Justin sobbed. "You're going to be all right," he insisted tearfully. "I'm not going to leave you."
"You have to," Tommy responded, picking the boy up and slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Kat-"
"Good-bye, Tommy," she whispered, her eyes slipping shut. "Keep him safe." Tommy nodded once, then was gone, running off into the darkness.
"Put me down!" Justin cried, pounding at Tommy's back. "We can't leave her! We can't!" He was almost screaming now, a note of pure agony in his voice. Tommy, convinced they had given the monsters the slip, swung Justin down from his shoulder, sitting the boy down roughly.
"Shut up and listen," Tommy growled. Justin, unused to hearing Tommy sound so angry, immediately quieted down. "I didn't want to leave her either, but she was dying. There was nothing we could have done for her, and she would have slowed us down. We might all have been caught. Is that what you wanted?"
"No," Justin whispered, unable to speak louder. "But- we just abandoned her! We should have done something!"
"There was nothing we could do," the older boy repeated flatly.
"Don't you care at all?" Justin screamed. Tommy's face hardened, and his grip tightened on Justin's shoulders. Adam tensed, ready to move forward if Tommy lost control. However, Tommy just let go and stalked off. Tanya and Adam looked at each other, then Adam followed his leader while Tanya comforted Justin.
"It's okay, Justin," she told him, while he cried into her shoulder. "It's okay."
"It's not okay," he shot back, still sobbing. "I left her, just like I left my mother."
"What?"
"When my mom was dying, they told me to go home, that she'd be fine when I came back the next day. Only when I came back, she was -gone."
Tanya pulled him closer, rocking him gently. "Oh, Justin, honey. It wasn't your fault. There wasn't anything you could have done."
"I should have been there. I shouldn't have left her." He continued to sob, and she held him tighter.
* * *
A little later, Justin sneaked off, following the path Adam had taken as he had gone to find Tommy. Adam had finally caught up with his leader by the edge of the cliff, which was where Justin found them. Hiding himself in the bushes, he listened as the two talked. "You were kind of hard on him, don't you think?" Adam asked. Tommy ignored him, staring into the water far below. Finally, he spoke.
"No, I don't. We don't have time for him to be a kid anymore. Like it or not, Justin is going to have to grow up, and grow up fast."
"But do you have to tear him apart?" Adam exploded. "That kid looks up to you! He thinks you can do no wrong! I know you're hurting, Tommy, we all are. But that's no excuse to rip Justin apart!"
Tommy whirled on his friend. Even in the moonlight, the anger was visible in his eyes. "Don't you think I know that? It's just- she's dead, Adam! I couldn't save her, and I couldn't even stay with her until she died! I wanted to stay beside her just as much as Justin did, but I couldn't! My own damn instincts wouldn't let me! Rita chose me because I was a warrior, and like it or not, I think like one! I think in terms of expendability, and least loss! I'm a damn battle computer, and sometimes I don't even think I'm human anymore!"
Adam watched his friend in awe. Tommy had never seemed this close to snapping before, and in that moment, Adam could see why Rita had chosen him as her Green Ranger.
"It's okay," Adam replied. "I'm here, we're all here for you, Tommy. I'm sorry I snapped. We're just a little on edge, and I think we're all in shock."
Tommy nodded. "Our parents are dead. We'll be grieving soon, and we'd better find someplace to go to ground before it sets in. We'll sleep here tonight, keeping watch, and we'll move on in the morning. Come on, let's get back to Tanya and Justin before they really get worried." Slinging his arm around Adam's shoulder, the two of them headed back, Justin scurrying before them the whole way.
* * *
That night had started a pattern of running and hiding, striking at the forces of the alliance where and when they could. Every night, they bedded down, thankful they had survived another day, wondering when they were going to be able to stop running and start fighting back.
A week after Kat's death, they were running again, trying to lose a troop of Tengas. Tommy and Adam were covering their escape, laying down a barrage of cover fire sufficient to daunt any of the birds. Meanwhile, Justin and Tanya tried to climb the rocky cliff behind them.
No sooner had they reached the top than Goldar teleported in. Pushing Justin behind a rock, Tanya fell into a defensive stance. "What do you want, you big gold goon?" she spat.
"Your destruction, of course. What else do I ever want? And now, without your powers, you're helpless against me!"
"Dream on, Goldilocks! I'm never helpless!" Goldar charged her, and she dodged away. The two of them fought for a while, kicking, punching, and dodging, but finally Goldar got in a lucky shot, kicking Tanya and sending her back off the cliff. Justin watched in silent horror as she fell down, down, down, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
"Another one down, three more to go," Goldar chuckled. Turning to Justin, he lifted his sword in mock salute. "Until we meet again, Blue Ranger!" Then he disappeared in a rush of gold flame.
Justin wasted no time descending the cliff to Tanya's side, but he was still the last one there. Adam and Tommy had been even quicker, and now knelt beside her. Despite the awful injuries she had sustained in the fall, Tanya was still alive, and now her eyes fluttered open.
"Dear God," Tommy muttered. "Accelerated healing." Even so, she was in extreme pain. With the utmost difficulty, she raised a hand to Adam's face. Taking it in his own, the young man held it tightly, clutching it to him.
"I'm- so sorry," she managed. "I thought- we'd be together- longer."
"Don't try to talk, Tanya," Adam sobbed, the tears beginning to flow. "We'll fix you up somehow."
"No," she responded, her speech punctuated by gasps. "You can't. My back is broken. I can't feel my legs. I just want you to remember that I love you very much, and I always will. Always." She turned to look at Tommy. "I can't go with you, we both know that," she half-asked, half-stated. Tommy could only nod, his lips pressed together in a fine line.
"Are you sure?" She nodded as well, although even that motion was painful.
"Don't leave me here for them to find," she pleaded. "I just want to say that knowing all of you was the greatest adventure of my life, and I don't regret any of it."
Tommy sighed. "Justin, Adam, go look and see if any Tengas are coming," he ordered flatly. Adam started to protest, but a look from Tommy stopped him. Pausing for one last kiss with Tanya, Adam rose and left, Justin following behind.
As they scanned the area for any sign of an attacking force, they heard a shot ring out behind them. Exchanging a glance, the two of them ran back to where they had left their friends, only to see Tommy coming towards them, putting away his gun.
"Tommy, what-" Adam began helplessly. He stopped, however, when he saw the flat, dead expression in Tommy's eyes.
"She's- not in any more pain, Adam," Tommy said gently. "Come on, we have to keep moving. Justin, Tanya wanted you to take care of this for her." Tommy handed the little boy Tanya's Turbo Key, which he tucked into a pocket. Then the three boys headed off, Adam still looking back over his shoulder at the cliff that was now Tanya's monument.
* * *
That night, they made camp in a little cave up in the hills. Justin had the first watch, and when his three hours were up, he gladly woke Tommy and threw himself down in his space beside Adam, where he snuggled close for warmth.
His dreams were understandably tortured, images of Kat and Tanya mixing with scenes of his mother in the hospital and his imaginings of what the massacre at the shelter must have been like. Finally, something brought him up out of sleep with a start. Looking around himself, he realized that dawn was breaking outside the cave. Tommy lay next to him, still deeply asleep. Adam, who was supposed to be standing guard at the mouth of the cave, was nowhere to be found.
Rising and dusting himself off, Justin crept toward the exit, wary of walking into an ambush. He couldn't understand why Adam would not be at his post, especially since it was dawn, about time for them to be waking up. Exiting the cave, he looked around, and very soon had his answer. Adam lay in the sand out by the edge of the cave. It was fairly obvious that the sound that had woken Justin from his sleep had been a gunshot. Apparently, as his watch drew to a close, Adam had placed his pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Justin, looking for something to keep his eyes on besides Adam's corpse, found a notepad propped up against the wall. Curious, he walked over to it, remembering as he did so that Adam always carried a notepad with him to write down story ideas for when he wrote creatively. Picking it up, Justin read what was written there.
Justin and Tommy,
God, I'm so sorry to have put you through this, but I can't go on. I can't live without Tanya, and I just can't fight anymore. I wish I could. I know that this is cowardly and stupid, but I just can't go on. If you see my brother before I do, tell him that I love him, and I was always so proud of him. I'm going to see all our friends and families again. Good luck, my friends, and I hope we don't meet again for a long time.
Your friend,
Adam Park.
PS Justin, since you're taking everyone else's Turbo Keys, I'd like you to look after mine, also. Good luck, kid.
Justin sighed. Taking Adam's Key from where it lay next to the notepad, he placed it in his pocket and headed back into the cave to wake up Tommy.
* * *
After Adam's death, Justin and Tommy fell into a sort of routine. Tommy refused to leave the Angel Grove area, where Zedd, Mondo, and Divatox were setting up their empire's capital. He was certain that the key to bringing down those villains was there. Every night, Tommy tried his Turbo Key, hoping that the serum he had been injected with would have dissipated, and every night he was disappointed. Justin refrained from trying his own key, less out of fear of failure than fear of success. If he morphed and Tommy could not, it would confirm his own fears, that Tommy had drifted away from wanting to free the Earth and just set his sights on revenge. Besides, the evidence that the powers had rejected him would be enough to drive Tommy over the edge.
In the meantime, they skulked in the hills outside the city, evading and occasionally doing battle with the Empire's patrols. Despite Tommy's colder personality, the two boys were opening up to each other as never before. Justin was learning more about surviving at all odds than he had ever imagined possible. Tommy had shown him how to set nasty traps for people and monsters, things that would definitely incapacitate or kill anything caught in one.
Justin was cleaning the day's catch when Tommy's head snapped up. "What is it?" Justin asked, putting the half-dressed rabbit down carefully.
"I don't know," Tommy responded. Walking to the mouth of the cave, he looked out. Projected on the sky was a hologram of Zedd, Rita, and Mondo, all smirking at him. "What do you want?" he called.
"Well, Tommy, not very polite, are you?" Zedd chortled. "You should be more civil. After all, there's someone here who wants to talk to you."
"Who says I want to talk to them?" he shot back. In response, the hologram wavered, changing into a face that Tommy knew only too well.
"Tommy?" Kimberly asked quietly. "I'm sorry, Tommy, I'm so sorry."
"Kimberly," he whispered, his eyes going blank. "Aw, no." The hologram wavered again, and was replaced with the original image.
"Now listen well, Tommy," Rita chuckled cruelly. "Today at one o'clock, come to the Angel Grove Rock Quarry, alone. If you refuse, we'll kill your precious Pink Princess. One o'clock, Tommy. Think about it." The hologram faded, leaving Tommy staring at the sky.
"What do we do?" Justin swallowed.
"We don't do anything. I'm going to meet them. Here." Pulling his Turbo Key out of his pocket, he gave it to Justin. "Keep this for me. And don't even think about following me. If you do," Tommy pulled the gun out from behind his back, presenting it under Justin's nose, "I will shoot you."
Justin looked up into Tommy's eyes, seeing no bluff there. Tommy meant every word he said. "It would be better for you to be dead than be their prisoner. Run, Justin. Run far, far away. You have the Turbo Keys, and it's your responsibility to protect them. If they are destroyed, or worse yet, fall into evil hands, all hope for our world is lost. Good luck, Justin. It was good knowing you."
Justin simply nodded, unwilling to trust his voice. Then he threw his arms around Tommy's neck, hugging the older boy tightly. Tommy was taken aback by the strength of the younger boy's embrace, but hugged back just as fiercely. "I hope I don't see you again, Justin. Better for us both if I don't survive the day." Tommy let the boy go, then walked off, tucking his pistol back into his waistband as he went. Justin watched him for a long moment, then went in another direction. He knew of a path that led up to the top of Angel Grove Quarry, where he could watch the action and not be seen.
* * *
"I'm here," Tommy called. His voice bounced off the rocks of the quarry, scattering like a flock of frightened bats. "It's one o'clock, and I'm here, damn it! Where are you!"
"Right behind you, Tommy," Goldar's familiar voice rumbled. Tommy turned to see Goldar and Scorpina smiling at him cruelly. Scorpina's hand, the one with the poisoned stinger, was placed at Kimberly's throat.
"Kim, are you all right?" Tommy asked quietly. She smiled wryly.
"Oh, yeah, never better." He had to chuckle at that. Even in the face of incredible odds, Kimberly was flip. His face quickly hardened, however.
"I'm here, like you wanted. Now let her go."
Scorpina giggled. "Certainly, Tommy, whatever you wish." Jamming her stinger into Kimberly's neck, she flung the girl at Tommy. He caught her, and slowly lowered her to the ground.
"Kim! Oh, come on, talk to me," he pleaded, holding her close.
Slowly, she raised her hand to his face, tracing his features gently. "Tommy, I'm so sorry," she murmured. "I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to be happy."
"I'm happy with you, Kimberly," he choked. Kim's speech was slurring more and more as the poison made its way through her body, but she still fought to keep awake.
"I love you, Tommy Oliver. Always have, always will. Remember me."
Tommy clenched his jaw, swallowing hard against the tears that were welling up inside him. "I love you, too, Kimberly Hart. I will never forget you, I promise."
She smiled a little at that, and her eyes slipped closed. A few seconds after that, her breathing stopped. Kimberly died in Tommy's arms, even as he held her. Gently, he laid her on the ground and rose to face the two villains, his eyes cold and dead.
"You two just made a very bad mistake. You killed the wrong ex-Ranger. Now, I'm going to kill you both, even if I have to rip your hearts out with my bare hands."
Goldar laughed. "Not today, Tommy. We're not here to fight you. In fact, we're here to give you your wish!"
"What are you talking about?" Tommy asked warily.
"I know how much you hate being powerless, so we're here to remedy that situation." Smiling evilly, Scorpina held up something that flashed gold and green in the sunlight.
"NO!" Tommy cried, backing up. "That- that's the Green Power Coin! But- it can't be!"
"Oh no? Rita did a little research, tracking it through the centuries from your clone's possession to the present day, and found it. It's all recharged, just waiting for its rightful owner- you," chuckled Goldar.
Tommy shook his head wildly from side to side as the two monsters advanced on him. When they attacked, he fought back, but he was so panicked that his struggles were in vain. Grabbing his arms, Goldar and Scorpina teleported Tommy out, leaving nothing behind but the echoes of their cruel laughter. Even Kimberly's body disappeared in a flash of red light.
* * *
With the arrival of the Green Ranger, most of the fight promptly went out of the citizens of Angel Grove. They vividly remembered what had occurred the last time he had fought for evil, and with no Rangers left to oppose him, they decided to surrender rather than incur his wrath. Justin, meanwhile, had problems of his own. He knew that Tommy knew he possessed the Turbo Keys, and that the other would hunt him down. It was time for Justin Stewart to disappear.
Stealing an electric razor and a good deal of peroxide, Justin first ruthlessly chopped off his trademark mop of hair. Then, once it was almost a buzz cut, he took the peroxide and bleached it blond. Satisfied, he looked in the mirror at himself. He was almost unrecognizable.
Going by the name "Jeff Ryan," Justin managed to quickly fall in with the rebellion. There, he laid low, biding his time until the Turbo Rangers could once again save the world.
* * *
Justin returned to the present with a sigh. Jumping off the bed, he headed out of the room, down the hall to where the Mayor was waiting. It was time for him to get his assignment.
* * *
"Where are you?" Tommy asked under his breath, his eyes never leaving the blue marble of the Earth. "Where did you go, Justin?" For eight years now, as the Green Ranger, he had searched most of the planet for Justin Stewart. No matter where he went, however, he could not find the boy. "It's almost as if he vanished off the face of the Earth!"
"Tommy, dear. Are you still looking for that little brat?" Divatox asked, entering the throne room. Each villain had kept their own base, although Rita and Divatox visited each other often. Since Tommy was nominally under the control of Rita and Zedd, he spent most of his time at their lunar fortress. "Why don't you give it up? He's probably dead by now."
Tommy shook his head. "No. Justin Stewart is a survivor. I taught him myself. If he was dead, he would have created enough ruckus that we would have heard, and he would have taken one hell of a lot of his killers with him. No, he's alive somewhere, and he's got the Turbo Keys! Till he's found, he's a danger to us. We should have taken him out immediately, launched a full-scale assault to draw him out into the open."
"He was a scared little boy. What trouble could he have made? Besides, we haven't heard a peep out of him in eight years. What makes you think he's going to be any trouble now?"
Tommy turned to face her. "Because now, Justin is twenty-one. He's not a scared little boy any longer, he's a young man who watched two of his friends killed in cold blood, and found the third when he committed suicide. He's going to be very angry, he's very resourceful, and he's got the Turbo Keys! I'm not going to rest until I find him." Turning on his heel, Tommy stalked out of the throne room. Divatox watched him go, an expression almost like concern on her face.
* * *
"Hey, beautiful," Tommy said softly. Kimberly had been laid out on a bier in the bowels of the castle, and surrounded with the most powerful preservative spells in existence. Tommy often came down there to talk to her when he was feeling lost or confused. She looked almost as if she were asleep, with only the lack of motion in her chest giving her away.
"I'm still looking for Justin," he sighed, sitting on a nearby bench. "No luck, though. I'll find him, though. He can't keep running forever." As he looked at her, a lump came to his throat. "One of these days, Kim, Goldar and Scorpina are going to pay for what they did to you," he vowed. "Rita and Zedd won't let me kill them yet, but someday, they'll outlive their usefulness. And I can wait. Hell, thanks to Rita and Zedd's spells, I may well live forever."
Suddenly, all the old tales of sleeping beauties and enchanted princesses came to him, and for a second, he allowed himself to believe that if he could just kiss her, the spell would be broken, and she would open her eyes to him and smile. But the illusion faded again, as it always did, and he was left with nothing but a cold, empty ache in his heart and thoughts of revenge. "I have to go, Kim. I'll be back, though, I promise." Standing, he walked out of the room.
* * *
"Captain Ryan, reporting for duty, ma'am," Justin saluted. Mayor Carrington nodded.
"Where's the rest of your team, Captain?" she asked curiously.
"Here we are, ma'am," replied Franklin Park, rushing in at the head of the group. "We got a little held up. Lt. Stone was having some problems with the kids, and he asked for our help."
Mayor Carrington nodded. "Understandable. Now that all five of you are here, I have your newest assignment. A shipment of food and medicine will be headed into one of the clinics in town by Route 35. I need the five of you to raid it. Here's the list of necessary food and medicine. Remember, this is a raid. In and out, don't stop. I know you all have grudges against the Empire, but this is not the time to indulge them. Understood?"
The five young people nodded. "Yes ma'am. We understand," Justin replied for all of them.
"Dismissed, then." With salutes, the five left the briefing room.
"So how are we going to attack this, fearless leader?" Rosa De Santos asked. All six of the De Santos children had managed to get underground, thanks mainly to Rosa's quick thinking and leadership skills. She still tended to be bossy, but usually listened to Justin.
"I'm not sure yet. Tasha, what's the area like?"
Tasha Young shrugged. "It's on the outskirts of town, and the road passes through a narrow canyon. I figure we can probably hit them when they pass through the narrowest point. Their weapons will be useless, and with the way our stunner bolts ricochet, we'll be able to hit them even if we aren't aiming at them." Tasha and Justin had been good friends in the shelter, and the relationship had continued in the Underground. The young woman, along with Franklin and Rosa, had recognized Justin immediately upon his entrance into the Underground. He had explained to them about Tommy's conversion, and they had agreed that a disguise was in order, although they had no idea that Tommy, Justin, or any of their relatives had been Power Rangers.
Fred Kelman, the last member of the team, nodded. "We should probably attack from all sides, at once. They'll never know what hit them, and we can be gone before they wake up." Fred was the only member of the group that hadn't been one of the team before the Fall. Justin had heard his name mentioned, and had sought him out purposely, remembering the things Tommy and Adam had told him about Fred's heroism during the attack by Ivan Ooze. These four were the only ones who knew that "Jeff Ryan" was actually Justin Stewart, and Justin trusted them with his life. For the past eight years, the friends had been working as a team, running whatever missions they were assigned, rising quickly through the ranks of the Underground.
"All right," Justin decided, pulling the team into a huddle. "Here's what we do."
* * *
"You're off again, aren't you?" Alejandro asked, watching his older sister strap on her weapons.
"I have to go, Alex, you know that. We need food, we need medicine, and someone needs to do it. The only other option is to give in to the Empire, and I don't think we're going to do that."
Alex shook his head. "No, we won't. Men need to be free, and the Empire is trying to turn us into a race of slaves. We have to fight them, but- I'm just afraid you won't come back."
Rosa turned to look at her younger brother and sighed. At sixteen, Alex resembled Rocky far more than she had ever thought he would. He looked more like his father had, but his personality was much more like Rocky's than any of the other children. Alex read voraciously, anything he could get his hands on, and had incredible recall. He could make anyone laugh, but he'd fight to the death to protect those he loved.
"I'll be okay, Alex. Besides, you're all old enough to take care of yourselves, now. Lindsey, hell, she's older than me, even if it's only a year. Juan's eighteen, and the twins are seventeen. You'll do fine."
"We'll miss you though, hermana. Don't get yourself killed."
"I won't." Kissing her brother on the cheek, Rosa headed out the door.
Behind her, Alex watched her go. "Vaya con Dios," he whispered. "Go with God."
* * *
"See it?" Fred whispered. Justin nodded.
"Yeah. Let's go. Nice and easy." The raid went exactly as planned. The guards were disabled almost immediately, and the five began to unload the supplies they needed from the transports. Justin looked around grimly. "This is almost too easy."
"Don't say that!" Rosa cried as a green teleportation stream appeared in front of them. "You'll jinx us!"
"Too late," Justin gulped. "Scatter! Get that stuff back to the Underground!"
"What are you going to do?" Fred cried back.
"I'll try and keep him busy," returned Justin, turning to face the Green Ranger.
"You just make sure you get your damn heroic butt back here in one piece!" Tasha shouted as the four scattered. Justin turned towards the Green Ranger.
"All right, let's rock," he said coldly. The two began to circle each other, Justin experiencing a mild sensation of vertigo. The last time he had seen Tommy was eight years ago, back when he had only been four and a half feet tall. Now the two were of comparable heights, and Justin found that extremely strange.
"You're a fool to stand against me," Green Ranger sneered, watching Justin warily. "What do you hope to accomplish?"
"I already did it," Justin chuckled. "My friends got away while you were concentrating on me."
"So noble, just like the Power Rangers. Oh, I forgot, though- they're dead."
"As long as their memory survives, they're more alive than you are, creep!" Justin shot back, still looking for an escape route.
"What's your name, human? I'll make sure to carve you a monument after I'm done with you."
"Jeff Ryan," Justin puffed. "But I'm not dead yet. See ya!" With that, he turned and ran, easily losing the Green Ranger in the maze of debris that littered the ground. Green Ranger shook his head in something akin to admiration.
"You're a worthy foe, Jeff Ryan. You will not be forgotten."
* * *
"Jeff?" Rosa asked, seeing Justin stagger into the main room of the underground.
"I'm all right, Rosa. I just had to give a team of Piranhatrons the slip." He dropped into a convenient chair. "God, he's so powerful! And they sent him after looters!"
"The Empire must be pretty confident in their hold over the planet to send the Green Ranger after looters," Fred added glumly.
"Yeah." Justin rose to his feet. "Time to shake them up a bit. Guys, could you all come with me? I have something to tell you."
The four shrugged, then followed him into an unused cavern. "What's all this about, Justin?" asked Franklin warily.
"I haven't been completely honest with you. Remember that I told you Tommy was looking for me, but I never explained why? Well, these are why." With that, Justin removed the Turbo Keys from around his neck and set them on the table. "These are the keys which the Power Rangers Turbo used to transform. After the Rangers died, I was made their guardian."
"Why?" Tasha asked. "Did you know the Rangers?"
"I was a Ranger, Tasha. The Blue one. I took over from Rocky when he hurt his back. That's why the monsters went after him, eight years ago. They systematically destroyed all the ex-Rangers, and then the current ones. Kat Hilliard, the Pink Ranger, Tanya Sloan, the Yellow Ranger, and Adam Park, the Green Ranger. Then they captured Tommy Oliver, the Red Ranger, who had already given his key up to me, and made him into the original Green Ranger. I'm all that's left.
"I laid low because I knew that if I tried to take on the Empire as I was, I would be killed. I had to grow up first. But now, we can't wait any longer. I need four other people to join me as Rangers, and you are the only ones I trust with the power. Will you do it?"
His four friends regarded each other for a long time, still reeling from Justin's revelation. Then, one by one, they nodded.
"All right then. Let me show you how this works. Your color is determined by your personality. A key of the wrong color will not respond to you. You hold the key up in the air and say 'Shift into Turbo.'" He suited actions to words with the Blue key, and was surprised to find that the morpher did not appear on his wrist. "It didn't work. It's been eight years, the potion must have run its course by now. Why won't it work?"
"It's been eight years," Fred said quietly. "Maybe you're not Blue anymore."
Justin thought about that, then reached out to the Green key. "Shift into Turbo!" Still nothing. He tried the Yellow, and met again with no response. Then, with very mixed emotions, he reached for the Pink key. Again, nothing happened.
For a long time, he just stared at the Red key lying on the table. Red had always been Tommy's color. Could he really be Red Ranger? He was certainly not the leader Tommy had been. Finally, he reached out and held it aloft. "Shift into Turbo!"
In a flash of red light, Justin Stewart became the Red Turbo Ranger, and the power was unleashed once more.
One by one, the other four each reached out and selected a key instinctively. Fred claimed the Blue key, while Franklin, so much like his brother, took the Green one. Tasha chose Yellow, leaving Rosa with Pink. She made a face, but took it anyway. Holding the keys aloft, they followed Justin's lead, and instantly became the Turbo Rangers. Suddenly something in Red Turbo's helmet began to beep.
"Justin, what's that?" Pink Turbo asked.
"Scanner. It's detected the Green Ranger downtown. He's after some members of the rebellion. We have to stop him."
"How do we get there?" Blue Turbo asked.
"Close your eyes and imagine Imperial Square. Then touch your belt. You'll be instantly transported there."
The Rangers looked at each other, then did as instructed. Instantly, they dissolved into columns of colored sparks.
* * *
"Your end is near, humans," Green Ranger laughed, slowly advancing on the frightened rebels. "Soon, you will see just how useless it is to stand against the Empire!"
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" a voice called from behind him. Green Ranger whirled to see the Turbo Rangers standing behind him.
"Well, Justin, I see you've decided to re-enter the fight," he chuckled, speaking to Blue Turbo.
"I'm over here, Tommy," Red Turbo snarled. "Things have changed since the last time we saw each other."
"Indeed they have. Wearing my color? Perhaps you think you can step into my shoes."
"I'm not here to match words with you, Tommy. The rebels you were after are gone. If you want a fight, we can give you one. Otherwise, go back to Zedd and Rita."
Green Ranger watched the five in front of him for a long time, then shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you, Rangers- for now. Watch your backs, though. I'll be there when you least expect it." In a column of green light, he disappeared.
"Yeah and we'll be waiting!" Red Turbo cried. "Tell your Empire that the Power Rangers are back in business! And this time, we're not going down until our world is free!"
End
