Resurrection: Displaced (#2)

[Cuiran]

Resurrection #1: Genesis -- original thread (http://www.rangerboard.com/showthread.php?t=49034)

The year is 2232.

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, six teenagers took up the mantles of the Power Rangers, defeated the United Alliance of Evil, and became legendary heroes in their home planets' histories.

Two days ago, the evil Gray Rangers disabled fourteen Dekaranger squadrons and gave Earth four days to surrender its governmental control -- or they would kill the kidnapped Aquitian Alliance Council.

One day ago, five teenagers decided to take a stand...

"Yellow!" Krys shouted, bringing her Star Slinger up.

"Pink!" Tori held her Satellite Stunner up, both hands wrapped around the butt of the weapon.

"Blue!" Reese slung the Astro Axe back over his shoulder, taking a wide stance and winding up as if to strike something.

"Black!" Lan planted one end of the Lunar Lance in the ground, setting his other fist on his hip.

"Red!" Dominic lowered his fist, raising the Spiral Saber in both hands.

Across the way, Gray Prime whistled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, I'll be damned. Just when you think you've squashed all the ants in the house…."

The five figures shifted stances again, each holding their weapons out towards their enemy, standing across the way.

"POWER RANGERS!"

...and became legendary heroes themselves.

In two days, the enigmatic Gray Rangers will murder the Aquitian Alliance Council in cold blood. Can these five rookie heroes find a way to prevent the surrender of Earth?

Find out in Resurrection: Displaced!

First post goes up in a few hours.

[Cuiran]

Aaaand here we go! For those of you jumping over here straightaway, I'll note I explained how Dekaranger works in 2232 at the very end of the Genesis thread, so even though there's no more fic going there, it might make for good expository reading. =)

We pick up right where we left off, with everyone staring in shock at an unexpected guest lying unconscious a floor beneath the Power Chamber....

----------*----------

Installment #1
WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED

"Cassie?!"

The room below the Power Chamber was completely silent for a moment, the five humans' heartbeats suddenly echoing in their ears louder than any words could have. Unable to speak, the teenagers could only study the mysterious girl lying across the yellow pad in the tiny room.

Finally, however, Lanford Rider burst forward, moving to her side and crouching.

From where she sat, behind a small laptop a few feet away, Krystin Shear got to her feet and followed. Bending over the girl, she studied the obvious signs of physical injury with a frown and a harsh sigh.

Behind the two teens, three figures still stood in the doorway, unable to comprehend the sheer and unexpected insanity taking place in front of them.

Tori Huang was the only one to speak. "Cassie...Cassie Chan?"

Lan and Krys ignored her, and instead, Lan asked, "Can we get her jacket off?"

Krys frowned. "I don't see any lacerations, but that doesn't mean she hasn't got a broken rib or anything. Let's do it as carefully as we can."

Lan looked up at the doorway, where his friends still stood, stock-still, mouths agape. "Reese!" he snapped, already moving towards the girl's feet. "Don't just stand there! This girl's injured!"

Reese Martin blinked once, twice, then leapt into motion, quickly moving across the room and carefully setting his legs underneath the girl's shoulders, trying not to get tangled in her long, black hair. "She'll bend if we just pick her up, Lan."

Lan considered for a moment, then grunted. "You're right. Dom, keep her waist up. Tori, hold her head in place. I'll lift her legs and Krys can get her jacket off so we can inspect the damage."

Tori Huang moved first, then her boyfriend, Dominic Walker, right behind her. Crouching alongside their teammates, Dom carefully poised his hands near the unconscious girl's waist, while Tori set hers underneath the girl's head.

"Ready," Lan nodded. "One...two...three!"

As Lan and Reese lifted the young woman's body up, Dom slid his hand under her waist and supported her in the center, so that she wouldn't collapse inwards and possibly further damage anything. Tori similarly held onto her head to avoid neck injury.

Once the four had stabilized their charge a foot or so above the ground, Krys gingerly removed the girl's jacket, sliding it off her shoulders and gently tugging it downward to avoid moving her arms too far.

"Got it," Krys said, pulling the jacket out from underneath the girl.

"Okay, guys, set her down," Dom said, "slowly."

Tori looked up at the jacket Krys was now holding. It was a gray jacket, cropped short and above the waistline, with long sleeves. It looked well-starched, as if it were a uniform of some sort, with small assorted badges and symbols. The back held several black spots and small holes where the material had been burned through. "Even her clothes are singed," she breathed. "What happened to her?"

"I've got a better question," Dom said, as the four of them set the young woman back down. "Who is she?"

"You heard Lan," Krys replied, softly.

"No way," Reese said, astonished. "Cassie Chan's been sitting underneath the Power Chamber for a couple hundred years?"

"Of course not," Lan snapped. "Krys' technical wizardry did something much, much harder."

Krys looked down, then stepped over to where her laptop sat. Reaching down, she gently turned it towards the other teenagers.

The display read: "BIO SIGNATURE - CASSIE CHAN - LOCKED AND TARGETED; TELEPORTATION SYSTEMS ONLINE"

The implications took several seconds to settle in before Reese gaped, "You teleported her through time?"

Krys nodded softly, still looking at the floor. "There was...a bomb blast in 2003," she said. "She was vaporized. You guys know the history. So I...tried to get her out right before the bomb hit."

Lan stood up, facing his best friend and pointing down at the unconscious and battered girl. "But you didn't time it right."

"She's not dead!" Krys shouted, looking up sharply at the other teen. "It...there was so much margin for error...I had to use the Power Chamber's records and...."

"Whoa! Slow down, you two," Reese said, standing up as well. He quickly moved between the two friends, breaking their locked gazes. "Okay. Lan, you're great, but shut up for a second. Unsurprisingly, I have a question." He turned to Krys, pointing at her as if to line her up in his sights. "How, of all things, did you manage to transport her through time?"

Krys gulped. "Well, when we were trying to examine Dom upstairs," she said awkwardly, "I was looking for anything that might help. There were these records on an energy signature related to someone called the Wizard of Deception."

"And that wasn't ominous at all?" Reese asked, grimly.

"It said he was destroyed!" Krys protested. "Even his wand was snapped, but its energy signatures were there...including one that he'd shown when causing temporal distortions. I...programmed this teleport pad to replicate and integrate the energy waveform, and did some fine-tuning as best as I could...."

"Better question," Reese announced. "Why?"

"We need guidance!" Krys snapped, looking up and staring Reese -- despite his taller height -- in the eye. "We can't just keep running around like this or a lot of people are going to die! We need...we need a mentor. I mean -- I know she's no Zordon, but...she had these powers before us. She's experienced. She's seen fights and everything before. She...she might know what to do."

Lan stepped forward again, moving to stand behind Reese's shoulder. This time, however, his tone was softer. "Are you sure this isn't just idol worship?" he asked, softly. "We don't know that much about her besides what she did and who she fought with."

"I knew I could do this," Krys said, "and she was going to die anyway! Isn't that a waste when she could continue to do good here? Now?"

Lan closed his eyes. "Is it better for her to die, or end up somewhere where she won't know how to live?" he asked, softly. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, we have to get her to the infirmary."

"Can we just teleport her there?" Dominic asked.

"I was hoping so," Krys frowned, "but it looks like I've burnt out this pad, and the system is in tatters. I guess the Chamber's auto-repair systems are still working, but I can't transport anything right now."

Dom groaned. "Right. That would be too easy."

"We'll build a stretcher," Lan decided. "There's still some wreckage around here in a few places, and I can get a couple sheets from my house by Galaxy Glider."

"You sure that's safe?" Tori asked, slowly getting to her feet as well. "What if you're spotted?"

"I know better," Lan said. "Don't worry about it."

Tori raised an eyebrow, and near her, Dom chuckled. "You make an athlete a Power Ranger and...."

Lan smirked, softly, and ducked out of the room. The teens saw a faint flash of light, and then four of them were left with the legendary-hero-turned-bombing-victim.

"She doesn't look that imposing like this, does she?" Reese said, quietly.

"Not like I expected," Tori murmured. "I guess you learn something new every day..."

Dominic touched his wrist, where his morpher would be sitting if he were to arm it. "More things some days than others."

--

"All right, just like last time. One...two...three!"

Five teenagers gingerly lifted the unconscious Cassie Chan off of the teleport pad she lay on and onto a would-be stretcher, cobbled together from what looked like pieces of metal railing and three layered bedsheets.

"You checked those poles?" Lan asked. "No splinters or creases or anything?"

"For the third time, yes," Reese grunted. "If there's one thing you do when you meet a legend, it's not to stab them in the arm with their own stretcher."

Lan paused, then finally nodded. "Okay, I'll take that. Ready?" He moved to one side of the stretcher, setting his hands on the handles.

Reese moved to the other. "All set. One...two...three!"

The two lifted the young woman, and the slight dip created by the not-quite-taut bedsheets kept her in place as they carefully steered her out into the corridor and towards the stairs up to the Power Chamber proper.

"So there is an infirmary here?" Dom asked, following them curiously.

"Saw it when we were trying to figure out what was wrong with you, earlier," Lan replied. "Careful on the stairs, Reese, don't tilt her too far. We didn't put you in there, Dom, because we weren't sure what was wrong with you -- the scanning bed in the Chamber was plenty."

"Huh." Dom considered this. "I guess I didn't think the Chamber would need an infirmary, but I can see how a secret identity might make it hard to explain everything to a hospital."

"Exactly," Lan said, "or at least, that's what I thought." He cleared the top stair, holding his end of the stretcher low, and slowly raised it as Reese emerged from the stairwell after him.

"Which way?" Reese asked, looking down the hallway and the nearby door into the center of the Power Chamber.

"I think it's down here," Lan said, nodding back down the hallway. "Shouldn't be far. The Chamber doesn't really spread outwards too far -- just down."

Krys and Tori emerged from the stairs after the boys, spreading out into the wider hallway. Tori walked beside Dom, while Krys moved ahead to stand next to the makeshift stretcher, looking down at the girl it carried.

As Reese and Lan began to move down the hallway again, Cassie Chan stirred lightly, managing to crack her eyes open.

Krys looked up sharply. "Lan -- "

Lan looked down, blinking. "Hey," he said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Hurts," the girl mumbled. "Can't remember..." Her eyes seemed cloudy and unfocused, and a worried expression crossed her face for a moment.

"Shhhh," Krys told her, softly. "You're getting help, hang in there."

She blinked a few times, gaze still hazy. "Wh'happened?" she mumbled. "Hurts...." The worried look grew deeper, eyes flicking around. "Power Chamber?..."

Lan shook his head and spoke, quietly. "Don't worry about it. You're safe, and we'll take care of you. Promise."

Cassie hesitated for a moment, blinking once or twice. "S'you...." and then she nodded softly, her eyes closing again. "Okay." With that, she was unconscious again by the time the teens reached the infirmary's door.

"Weird," Krys said. "She must be delirious from all that damage. Seemed like she recognized us, didn't it?"

Lan raised an eyebrow as they carefully set the stretcher down. "Don't be stupid, Krys."

Krys raised her hands defensively. "If I'd just been in a bomb blast I'd probably be seeing things too. Let's get her onto this bed, here."

The teens carefully moved their limp 'patient' onto one of the biobeds in the room, and Krys checked over the monitors as they lit up. "Vital signs a little weak, but all right. One slightly cracked rib, hairline fractures on her right arm and left leg. Mild concussion."

"She'll be fine," Lan said. "It's Ranger technology."

"Sure," Reese frowned. "Old, half-blown-up Ranger technology."

"Reese, the bed is still in one piece," Tori pointed out. "We'll check on her again soon."

"But first," Dom said, looking directly at Krys, "I think we need to go talk."

Krys diverted her gaze again, looking down at the floor. "...I guess so."

"Come on," Dom said, leading the group back to the Power Chamber.

----------*----------

And you thought your high school peers were bad? Imagine what happens when they catch you messing with time travel!

Also, the Gray Rangers examine the past day's events, and Sleeping Beauty in the infirmary demands an explanation! It's time to get things rolling, so come back soon....

[Fire ranger]

Interesting. After you mentioned Cassie thinking everything was familiar, or whatever it was, it made me think, do these Rangers look similar to the Space Rangers? Anyway awesome job!

[Green Senturion]

Wow...a VERY unexpected twist, my man! I'm...a little skeptical about this bombing occurring during the era of the Ninja Rangers, as well as Tommy's not mentioning their deaths on his video journal during "Legacy of Power." But I'm sure you'll find an explanation for this event as well as some other intentionally loose ends such as Krys' bio-signature and Reese's violent saving of Dom.;) BTW, I think the title of this installment summarized all of your readers' attitudes well.:) I can't wait for the next one!

[Fire ranger]

Wow...a VERY unexpected twist, my man! I'm...a little skeptical about this bombing occurring during the era of the Ninja Rangers, as well as Tommy's not mentioning their deaths on his video journal during "Legacy of Power." But I'm sure you'll find an explanation for this event as well as some other intentionally loose ends such as Krys' bio-signature and Reese's violent saving of Dom.;) BTW, I think the title of this installment summarized all of your readers' attitudes well.:) I can't wait for the next one!
Maybe Tommy didn't know about this bombing.

[Cuiran]

Actually, I'm probably a tiny bit divergent -- mostly because if the Astro Rangers are such big heroes as they're made out to be, why didn't Shane, Tori, and Dustin know that Power Rangers existed? So, because the Astro Rangers become a lot bigger of a deal for me than they seem to in canon PR, it might have to be a divergent timeline.

Failing that, however (since remember, it doesn't seem like there was a Space Patrol Delta, not exactly, in Resurrection) you'll notice Tommy went generation-by-generation, very specifically. I don't actually think he mentions Forever Red, either. Cassie was a Ranger several years ago, and so things that may have happened later (TJ getting the Turbo Morpher back, Trini's possible death, and now, apparently Cassie's) Tommy just seemed to gloss over. If they weren't an active Ranger when it happened, the video diary skipped a few points. =)

No, I'm probably not covering this point because no one in Resurrection has any reason to know about Tommy's video diary. ^_^

[Cuiran]

FR: Well, Lan's black (shades of Zack anyone?) and Reese is white, and Dom's got a more lean build and short hair -- nah, they don't really resemble the Space Rangers at all. As for Cassie, well, can you blame her?

----------*----------

Installment #2
RETROSPECTIVES

"Were you even thinking?"

Knowing the infirmary wasn't that far away, Dom tried hard to keep his voice down, but he couldn't stop himself from just barely yelling at his friend, gesturing widely.

"Of course I was thinking!" Krys snapped. "You heard my reasons already!"

"But -- how irresponsible can you get?" Dom yelled, hands balling into fists. "She's never seen things like we have in this century! How about I kick you out of your house and send you to go live in a slum on Onyx somewhere and see how you feel!"

"Dom!" Tori said sharply, moving to stand between them. "You both need to cool down. It's already done."

"It didn't have to be done in the first place," Dom said, brows furrowed. "It's not some kind of 'new lease on life' for her here, Krys. Even if she can help, what does she do after that? You can't just thrust her into some new world and go 'oh, you'll be fine'! How is it a new life if she isn't going to know how to live?!"

Krys bit her lip for a moment before speaking again. "What else were we supposed to do?" she asked, brokenly. "Go handing our secret identity out and advertise or something? You think mentors for Power Rangers are a real big industry? People are going to die if we can't get ourselves together, Dom!"

"And that's going to help?" Dom jabbed a finger back in the general direction of the infirmary. "We'll be spending half our time trying to make sure she's all right! How can we -- "

"GUYS!" Tori yelled, but the two continued to bicker at each other, gesticulating wildly.

Near the door of the Power Chamber, two other figures stood, until now only silently watching.

"...You think they'll get it out of their system?" Lan asked, arms crossed over their chest.

"They'll work it out," Reese said, with some confidence. "Or, failing that, Tori and I can always separate them and make them go sit in the corner. This isn't worrying you?" he asked, glancing at his friend.

Lan shrugged. "Like Tori says, it already happened. Now we just deal with the fallout."

"The fallout," Reese grunted. "Like what do we do with a 250-year-old legend who's not supposed to be here?"

"Well..." Lan coughed, then glanced down the hall. "...There is that. The Power Chamber's systems seem to be back online, so the medical beds are still working." He frowned. "It actually looks like Krys' timing was pretty good. She's in fairly good condition overall...but that means she'll be waking up soon."

Reese grunted. "I don't want to be the one to tell her what's happened."

In response, Lan smirked, softly. "I'm not sure I do, either, but I'll volunteer anyway."

"Sure," Reese said. "I think I'll give Tori a hand separating those two."

"Have fun with that," Lan replied, giving the two arguing Rangers a bemused look.

"I'll find ways," Reese said, walking forwards and stretching his neck. "Have fun yourself."

Lan chuckled, ducking outside and into the hallway. "I'll find ways."

--

Somewhere else, far away from the Power Chamber, two figures stood in a dark corridor, built of metal plating that was a gunmetal gray in color. Both wore tightly-fitting bodysuits and wore a holster containing a sidearm; one had a protective plate set over his chest and upper back.

Both were distinguished by their gray helmets, lined with silver.

"So."

"So."

"These Astro Rangers are already proving to be...a problem."

"I remain confident."

The one who had spoken first was female, bodysuit revealing well-toned curves. She stood with an easy poise, as someone who possessed a degree of self-confidence and comfort in her own body and abilities. Her weight was shifted to one leg, and her arms were crossed over her gray-suited chest, on which a coin that appeared to be made of white gold glittered. On the coin, the roman numeral 'III' was engraved in sharp relief.

"They haven't put a dent in any of our plans yet," Gray Three observed, "but that doesn't mean we can't anticipate problems in the future."

"Of course not. I'm still hoping Earth will be gracious enough to surrender in the small amount of time left to them."

The second speaker was male, almost towering over the other. His build matched his height; he was, in fact, taller than Astro Red, though in the midst of battle, neither opponent had noticed their disparate sizes. His own stance was wide, hands set on his hips as if he were perpetually surveying a land that he laid claim to. His helmet inclined slightly upwards with the tilt of his head, lending him an air of superiority and arrogance -- one hardly lost on the comrade to whom he spoke.

"You forget," Three noted, "that these Astro Rangers have always been heroes in the eyes of the humans, if not the entire Alliance. Their appearance will create hope...and perhaps suggest to President Griffith that his planet might be better served by rejecting us and waiting."

Gray Prime gestured widely, as though what she said had been occurring to him all this time. "Indeed. That is why I suggest we simply disable this fledgling band of Rangers. The Red Ranger's combat is rusty, rough around the edges. He is unaccustomed to using these powers, as, I assume, are the others. It should be a small matter for us to defeat them -- they clearly are not the heroes of old that Earth holds in such high regard."

Gray Three emitted an unladylike grunt, shaking her head. "They succeeded in causing us a considerable amount of trouble." She reached back and rubbed the small of her back with one gloved hand, remembering how the Pink Ranger had tackled her to the floor during the brief melee. "I, for one, am rather disappointed that there isn't a chiropractor that specializes in Power Rangers."

"Merely an error in estimation," Gray Prime said, making another sweeping gesture, albeit smaller. "When I first encountered them, they used only their ranged weapons, and then only over broad targets. I presumed they were sloppy and would prove even less of a challenge than the trained Dekaranger squadrons with whom we have been dealing."

Three smirked within her helmet. "Which, I assume, is why you ended up flat on your back in that intersection?"

This time, it was Prime's turn to grunt, looking away from her and to the walls of the corridor. "Though unpolished, the Red Ranger is a capable fighter. We went far too easy on those two. Overconfidently."

"A mistake we won't have to make twice," Three said. "I propose we attack tomorrow. Draw them out."

"Sensible," Prime nodded. "If we defeat them publicly, Earth will find it all the more imperative that it surrenders. With its new beacon of hope shattered, the President won't have much other choice, will he?"

"Not at all," Three said, bowing slightly to her teammate. "Shall I inform the others?"

"Please," Prime nodded. "I'll see who's currently in Control and tell them. I'd like to go take a look at the monitors myself, anyway."

"Feel free." Three inclined her head, slightly, helmet tilting accordingly. "I'm going for a round of pool after I make the announcements. Care to come along?"

Prime considered, then nodded, lightly. "I'll ask Two, but I'll presumably show up."

A snort was Three's reply. "So long as you and she aren't all over each other again when it's your turn," she said, a bit wryly. "Five and I will meet you there. She said she has some frustration to work out."

Prime sighed softly. "Apologize to her for me. I didn't want her blowing all of those gravcars up while we were in such close proximity. It might not hurt us, but it would certainly have complicated things when it was just as easy to leave the situation behind."

"I'm sure she won't hold any grudges," Three smirked, starting off down the corridor. "I'll see you in a bit."

----------*----------

Villains that play pool? Power Rangers that argue? What kind of fic -is- this?

The kind that continues tomorrow, as Cassie demands answers! The original Power Rangers in Space guest star as we find out what happened to her -- and how Lan deals with it....

[Ryuranger]

I love your villains. Do they have back stories that will come up sometime?

[Fire ranger]

Awesome job. And might I add interesting thing you have going on with the Gray Rangers. Does Prime and Two have something going on?

[KyrieEleison]

Villains that play pool? Power Rangers that argue? What kind of fic -is- this?A darn awesome one!

[VengeanceGOD]

Have I told you how awesome this fic is yet? Good. Now give me more installments! MORE!!!

[Cuiran]

Kyrie: Thanks! =D *gives more popcorn*

FR: Yes, Gray Prime and Gray Two are indeed an 'item'. =D

Ryu: Thanks! There's two sides of each's backstory -- one for the group and one for each individual Gray. They'll come out pretty gradually at first, and then about half of them pretty suddenly...it's hard to explain exactly, but at some point you'll understand why they act like Zedd and Goldar and Scorpina half the time and like the cast of a WB teen drama the other half. =)

Ven: Well, if you insist... =D

----------*----------

Installment #3
OLD FACES, NEW QUESTIONS

Lan stood near the young woman's bedside, hands jammed awkwardly in his pockets. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, reassuring himself that she was, in fact, alive and well, lying there in front of him in one piece.

It all still seemed unreal. Only an hour ago, he and Reese had simply been chatting about, of all things, their high school's football team -- an interesting topic to bring up when standing in the center of the base of operations of the first Power Rangers -- and now, so little time later, here was one of the legends of the 20th Century, in the flesh.

Lan grew awkward watching, and turned towards the monitors, studying the young woman's vital signs. From what he could tell, it appeared, the medical bed was already doing its work, concentrating on knitting the hairline fractures she had sustained. For the most part, the job was done, but making the knitting steady and independent of the bed's systems would still require some time -- and then there was the matter of the bruises and burns to deal with.

From what he could read off the monitors, nearly her entire back was a mass of one large bruise. Fortunately, the only internal damage was the cracked ribs -- Krys' timing really had been better than he thought. It would be painful to even look at for a while, but she would heal soon enough.

With a small sigh of relief, Lan summoned his Astro Morpher, withdrawing his hands from his pockets and looking down at the tiny, wrist-mounted machine. Something still felt odd about wearing it -- particularly in the presence of someone who had accomplished so much with it before -- but even he had to admit that things had gone well so far.

Glancing between the Morpher and the monitors, Lan allowed himself to think that, maybe, things were actually going well.

Then the young woman stirred.

Lan jumped at the sound of a soft groan, eyes shifting nervously to the prone figure on the medical bed. For just an instant, he considered sneaking away, but as he had told Reese, he'd volunteered to keep an eye on her. Even if that meant having to break her the news. Still, he considered, maybe she had merely moved in her sleep, or something equally lucky, and --

Cassie Chan opened her eyes, first one, then the other, blinking a few times and wincing as though the movement caused some small pain. "...Uh?" she asked softly, looking around. "Wh...where am I?" She started to sit up.

"Wait, don't move," Lan said softly, moving to her side. "The medical bed is knitting some tiny bone fractures. It won't take that much longer, but you should, uh, try not to move."

Cassie hesitated, then nodded, slowly. "...Okay."

"You remember anything?" Lan asked quietly.

"Just...a parade," Cassie said, her brow furrowing in a thoughtful expression as her lips quirked to one side. "What...what's going on?"

Lan tried to defuse the question. "Nothing important," he said, "at least, not now."

"I...remember you guys moving me," Cassie murmured. "In here. I guess you guys must be one of that new crop of Rangers...that Wild Force...or maybe...I remember Tommy telling me about some new group calling themselves Wind Rangers, right?"

Lan hesitated. "Well...."

Cassie turned her head towards him slowly, a small smile making its way onto her face despite the pain. "Come on," she said, almost teasing. "I'm sure of it. We're all Rangers here, anyway, it's not like a secret identity will...matter...too much...what's that on your wrist?" she asked, voice suddenly becoming very soft.

Lan tried to hide it, jamming his hand behind his back. "Don't worry about it," he said quickly, swallowing.

"No, I...that was an Astro Morpher," she murmured. "How...? -- oh, my God."

Cassie closed her eyes again as the memories suddenly came flooding back.

--

"I'm never going to get used to this," Cassie groaned.

Leaning in the doorway, Carlos Vallerte laughed, teasing her in his flippant but friendly manner. "Thinkin' about changing jobs?"

"I couldn't," Cassie answered with a soft laugh of her own, "even if I wanted to. Tommy always says, 'once a Ranger, always a Ranger,' after all."

"It's true," Andros said, appearing in the doorway next to the Black Ranger. "Even if we said we wanted to do something else, I don't think Angel Grove -- or maybe even the whole galaxy -- would let us."

"You don't mind," Cassie stated, smiling at him.

Andros grinned, albeit still a little shyly. "I've been a Ranger so long I don't think I know how to do much else."

"Come on, Cassie," Carlos said, a little impatient. "We agreed to do this parade -- they'll throw a fit if we don't get there soon. Your hair's just fine."

Cassie ran her brush back through her hair one last time, then looked at herself in the mirror again. "I know, I just...I'm stalling, I guess," she murmured. "They've done all kinds of things, but Angel Grove's never put us in a parade before."

"We don't even use our powers any more," Carlos agreed. "Well, except for Andros."

Andros raised both arms, showing that he wore no Astro Morpher. "After we destroyed Serpentera, I retired, remember?"

"It won't last," Cassie smiled.

Andros snuck out of the doorway and into the hall. "I'm serious, this time."

Carlos grinned. "If he spends much more time running around the galaxy, Ashley will probably break off the engagement," he teased, gently punching Andros in the arm.

Cassie laughed again as she walked out of the doorway. "Come on," she said, "let's go."

--

They were met at the parade grounds by the remainder of their team. All of them wore their standard Megaship uniforms, though Karone had opted to go without the jacket for the day, restricting herself to the pants and a purple shirt.

"Took you guys long enough," Ashley commented, before jogging over and giving Cassie a hug.

The three Astro Rangers had teleported down into the building from which the parade was starting.

Carlos grinned. "Cassie couldn't go 'til her hair was just right," he said, walking forward and giving TJ a high-five. "You guys all set down here?"

"Sure, no problem," TJ responded. "They're putting us on two floats, though."

"Two? What happened to the whole team thing?" Carlos responded.

"I guess they're just going to overdo it," Cassie said resignedly.

"Sorry, Cassie," Ashley said with a grin, "they wanted to put the guys on one float and the girls on another, but Zhane and I decided to switch."

Cassie laughed. "I'm not surprised."

"I don't think I could pry you guys apart with my Lunar Lance," Carlos said, nodding to Andros and Ashley, who were now holding hands and standing together.

"Hey!" Zhane yelled, and the other Rangers turned towards him to find him gesturing. "Come on! They want to get started!"

"This is almost scarier than taking on Dark Specter," Cassie groaned, letting out a breath.

"You can do it, Cassie," TJ grinned. "They're your adoring fans. It's just like being in concert."

"Of all people," Cassie grumbled, "I would never have a concert on Power Rangers Day."

--

The parade went smoothly, the floats moving down the street with painstakingly slow speed. Atop them, the Astro Rangers stood, waving to the crowds that lined the way, the citizens clamoring amongst each other for a photograph or just a chance to see the heroes that had saved the world.

After a while, Karone looked away from the crowd and glanced at Cassie. "Are you starting to get a sunburn?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're a little red."

"Uh, no," Cassie said, determinedly returning to her waving.

Karone blinked, then grinned. "You're blushing!" she said, laughing merrily. "All these people...."

"Please," Cassie groaned. "Don't remind me..."

"Cassie!"

That voice was familiar. So familiar...

Cassie whirled around, gaping as she saw a black-and-silver-suited figure racing towards the float. "Ohmigod. Phantom!"

The Phantom Ranger raised both hands as he ran down the street, between floats, as if trying to yell. "Cassie, get off that thing!"

Already understanding what he meant, Karone started to reach for Cassie and Zhane, meaning to pull them off of the float with her.

Cassie, however, had stepped away as soon as she had seen the Phantom Ranger. Karone tried to reach her, at the same time giving Zhane a hard shove and pushing him off the float, sending him rolling along the street.

"CASSIE!" the Phantom Ranger yelled.

There was a tearing, roaring sound, as though something was being shredded into pieces.

Cassie had just enough time to realize it was the float, being ripped apart by an explosion, before she felt the concussive wave strike her hard in the back and send her flying.

The pain momentarily blinded her, and though she felt the buzz of a teleportation beam spiriting her away, she screamed before blackness completely overtook her.

"PHANTOM!"

--

Cassie's eyes went wide, and she looked up to Lan's face, shocked. "I...the parade..." She swallowed hard, a frightened expression on her face as she looked up at the African-American boy at her bedside. "Is Carlos...?"

Lan cursed silently, lowering his arms again. "It's complicated," he said softly. "We got you out, but...."

"These walls..." Cassie looked up, frowning again. "I know this place. It's...the Power Chamber? But that was destroyed!" After a moment, she blanched. "How -- did we go back in time?" she asked, surprised. "Stranger things have happened...."

Lan hesitated, then couldn't help laughing at the irony. "Uh...not back, I'm afraid...and it wasn't quite as destroyed as you think, I guess."

Cassie blinked, focusing on him again. "Wait. Forward? What...how many days? What's happened?"

Silence filled the room as the two Rangers, past and present, studied each other, each searching for answers to their own questions and finding little.

Lan finally spoke, softly. "You should take it easy."

"How?" Cassie said. "I don't even know what's going on...."

"I know." Lan closed his eyes for a moment, then let out a short breath. "Well...the year is 2232. You've been brought forward two hundred and twenty-nine years into your future."

Cassie listened silently, no signs of a reaction visible on her face as Lan continued.

"My name is Lanford Rider, and I'm the Black Astro Ranger...you can call me Lan, if you like." He paused, still seeing no reaction, and shuffled one foot awkwardly. "Or not. The galaxy, as usual, is under attack...only this time, as far as we can tell, the attackers are Power Rangers. We became the Astro Rangers to fight back, basically." His hand unconsciously went to his Astro Morpher, holding it as he continued to speak. "One of us -- the Yellow Astro Ranger, Krystin -- brought you here because we...aren't organized. There's a lot to do, and we...have a deadline."

"Deadline?"

"The legislative body of the Aquitian Alliance -- that's a bunch of worlds that are all governed together now -- was kidnapped, and these evil Power Rangers are going to kill them in about two days if we don't do something, but...we don't know what to do." Lan looked down, letting out another breath. "She didn't tell us what she was going to do, and she thought that you'd be able to help."

"Help?" Cassie asked softly. "...If...if you brought me here...are you going to send me back?" She looked up at him, almost pleading. "Help me understand...how am I supposed to help? What am I doing here?"

Lan bit at his lip, afraid to admit that he wasn't sure he knew the answer.

----------*----------

Next time -- Krys takes responsibility, Lan covers for her, the other Rangers get confused...

...and Cassie finally gets a few answers! Don't worry, though, the Gray Rangers will be back soon enough for more dual-personality dynamics!

Great, I'm starting to alliterate. That's it, I'm going to sleep....

[Green Senturion]

Wow...who would've rigged her float with an explosive? Is Karone all right? Could Lan possibly feel any more awkard than he does now?;) I hope at least a few of those questions will be answered in the next installment. The conversation between the two Rangers was excellent but certainly question-raising!^_^

[NinjaStormRavageRed]

hmmm....so many questions. good job. its a good way to keep ppl interested.

[Fire ranger]

Awesome job! A Power Rangers Parade? Nice touch!

By the way, are you a boy or a girl? I keep thinking your a girl.

[Cuiran]

LOL -- I'm a boy, actually. I guess I can blame my user ID for that one, though. And the fact that I use so damn many smileys. =) I've been on the Internet for too long....

[KyrieEleison]

This has been the best part of a bad afternoon. :( --> :) Thank you.

[VengeanceGOD]

You live to keep us dangling man...I've learned a lot reading this fic. The best way to keep your audience reading is to draw out the payoffs.

[Cuiran]

NSRR, Vengeance: I can't help it, I wrote this designed as a long plotline, and I have to keep resisting the urge to give things away early! =)

GS: Hmmm, no, and probably-but-not-by-much, in that order. =)

FR: Power Rangers Day already existed (cf. MMPR) so it just kinda made sense as an added touch. =)

Kyrie: Possibly the greatest compliment I've ever gotten. Thank you. ^_^

And now, in the latest (and REALLY LONG since I missed my update last night) installment: Krys takes responsibility! Lan covers for her! What's Dekaranger doing?...

...and Cassie finally gets a few answers, at least!

I'm really tired today, so this one might seem to meander a bit at times, and stuff. z_Z

----------*----------

Installment #4
PERSPECTIVES

"You talked to her?"

"Yeah. I tried to explain everything I could. She...took it pretty well, all things considered." Lan jammed his hands back into his pockets, looking embarrassed.

"Well, she's a Power Ranger," Reese reflected. "You figure this sort of thing happened to her on almost a monthly basis."

"It must be hard," Tori said, shaking her head softly, "but I guess she has been through some pretty awful things."

"I think watching the Earth get invaded probably qualifies," Reese pointed out.

Dom's expression was grim. "Well, if we don't do something soon, she'll be going through it twice."

Krys, standing a short distance away, looked down, clasping her hands together and knotting them tightly.

"Well," Lan said, "I'll try and put the Power Chamber on automatic, so we know if anything goes wrong tomorrow."

"Yeah, we've still got class," Dom agreed. "I don't know how many people will actually show up."

"There's still one day of deadline left," Reese pointed out. "I don't think the rush will really start until after school's out."

"He's right," Tori said. "Especially now that they know we're around. People will be trying to go on with their regular lives."

"School it is," Dom said. "Lan, remember to get some sleep, okay?"

"It won't take that long," Lan chuckled. "See you guys tomorrow...and this time, I mean that," he said, dryly. "Krys, gimme a hand?"

"Tell that to the other guys." Dom smirked once before he, Tori, and Reese were claimed by the teleportation beam."

"You sure I'll be a help?" Krys murmured. "Dom was pretty unhappy with me..."

"Well, you did transport one of his idols through time," Lan noted. "If that doesn't qualify you for helping me with the alarm system, nothing will."

Krys cracked a small smile at that, moving over to one of the consoles. "I guess."

Lan moved to stand next to her, and the two worked in silence for a few minutes, the quiet broken only by the clicking of buttons and switches.

Krys couldn't help herself, and finally spoke without looking up from the control panel. "Lan, can you do me a favor?"

"What's up?"

"Tell my mom I slept over at your house. And tell everyone else I'm home sick."

"What?" Lan looked up, confused. "Why would you want me to do that?"

"Well..." Krys bit her lip, wringing her hands anxiously again. "I can keep an eye on the alarms..." she trailed off.

"...And Cassie," Lan finished for her. "You feel responsible?"

"Of course," Krys mumbled, looking down. "It's my fault she's stuck here. The teleportation systems are back online but I won't be able to pull a stunt like sending her back for months!" Krys sighed, looking up at Lan again. "It's bad enough that she'll have to deal with this when she wakes up. I don't want her to have to do it alone, too."

Lan studied her for a moment, then smiled, softly. "If there's one person who'll be able to catch up, it's you," he laughed. "Like Dom said, remember to get some sleep, okay?"

"I'll try my best," Krys assured him. "Now, go home, already."

Lan took a step back from the console and snorted. "Yes, Mom," he teased, and teleported out.

Krys looked around, and tried to figure out how to get comfortable. "You'd think that a base of operations would have some chairs...."

--

Countdown: 1 day remaining

The students of the English class that day had made every effort to appear normal. Their teacher was in the same place she always was, and they themselves were arrayed in their seats in the customary fashion. In their usual general area in the second and third rows, towards the windowed side of the room, sat Dom Walker, Tori Huang, and Lan Rider.

In between them, one seat was left vacant.

"Krystin Shear?" the teacher asked, then realized the seat was empty with some surprise.

"Sick," Lan piped up.

"So suddenly?" the teacher replied, raising both eyebrows.

"Stress," Lan added. "She's delicate."

Dom stifled a snicker, turning it into a cough and holding his fist to his mouth.

The teacher frowned. "I hope it's not too bad," she said. "Krystin has almost never missed class before."

"She probably just needs to sleep it off," Lan said reassuringly. "She has the whole weekend, Ms. Canterbury."

The English teacher simply nodded in agreement before looking down and continuing to take roll.

Tori leaned over towards Lan, frowning. "Krys isn't sick," she said, softly.

Lan's eyes flicked to Ms. Canterbury, who was no longer looking at them, and he shook his head softly.

"Where?" Dom asked simply, turning around and leaning towards his friend as well.

"She...stayed overnight," Lan hedged, setting his elbows on his desk and his chin in his hands.

Dom looked confused, leaning closer. "At your house?"

Lan shook his head.

Tori's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What? Why?"

"She feels responsible," Lan murmured. "She's watching over our friend."

Tori coughed, softly. "But -- "

"All right, class," Ms. Canterbury announced, standing up again. "Get out your grammar textbooks; we're going to start with an exercise...."

Dom groaned softly and opened his grammar textbook, turning towards the front of the room again.

Lan shook his head. "Later," he murmured, and reached for his bookbag.

Tori looked irked, but turned away, rummaging in her backpack for her grammar textbook. "-- Darnit!" she hissed.

Dom turned around again as the classroom started rustling with the sound of students withdrawing textbooks. "What?" he asked.

"Left it in my locker." Tori sighed, putting her chin in her hand and slumping visibly. "It's just not my morning."

--

DEKA DISABLED?
Even without their powers, Mirinoi's Galaxy Squadron continues to get their job done
by Amanda Palin, Associated Press

CROSSROAD CITY, MIRINOI - Captain Kel Rios is, at best, reluctant to discuss the events leading to the loss of his Galaxy Ranger powers.

"They came out of nowhere and overwhelmed us with numbers," he explains. "Once we'd escaped, we demorphed. Within minutes, our morphers were just...gone."

Rios' story is only one of many in the wake of these brutal demands for surrender from the self-proclaimed Gray Rangers. All across the Alliance, Dekaranger squadrons tell similar stories, each culminating in the surrender of their base planets.

Rios, however, has decided he must continue doing his job to the best of his ability. With that in mind, the former Red Ranger makes regular patrols each night, accompanied by his teammate and former Blue Ranger, Denzel Carson. The two have had some success in the endeavor, foiling more than one attempted robbery.

The other members of Dekaranger perform their own asks and duties accordingly. 1st Lt. Tracy Rider and Sgt. Major Carla Ruvalcaba, Pink and Yellow, respectively, make their own rounds during the daytime. 2nd Lt. David Galetti, Green, has been examining the Gray Rangers with what information is available now. 1st Lt. Michael Hsu, the Magna Defender, is currently guarding the Quasar Sabers at an undisclosed location.

Despite the setbacks, Cpt. Rios remains fiercely optimistic. "We weren't assigned to Dekaranger because we look pretty with morphers on our wrists. We were assigned because we're qualified to do the job, so powers or no powers, Galaxy Squadron will see that the job gets done."

--

Sometime that morning -- after school had started, which was unsurprising since she was tired and had no alarm clock -- Krys woke up in the Power Chamber, momentarily disoriented and trying to remember where she was. Reality, of course, came running back to her after a few seconds, and she rubbed at her eyes, sitting up.

After Lan had gone home, she had tried to find some sort of cot, and eventually had given up, lying on the scanning bed that Dom had so recently been on, shutting the scanners down, and using her jacket for a pillow. As she sat up now, still vaguely groggy, she absently wondered if she were the first to do so, or if crises had ever arisen to such a point that the Power Rangers were stuck sleeping in the Power Chamber in case of emergencies.

Picking up her jacket and keying the bed back into the wall, Krys yawned and stretched, looking around the chamber. Her eyes lit on a bright yellow patch she didn't remember seeing before, and as she got near it, she realized it was a tray. On it were two cups, a thermos, and a pair of bagels, with a small, handwritten note.

The note read "I thought I'd better pick you both up something. Make sure she eats. -- Lan."

Krys smirked as she read the tiny line written below that. "P.S. Make sure you eat, too. Because you'll probably forget."

She started to reach for a bagel, then stopped and glanced at the door to the hallway outside. Shrugging softly, she picked the tray up and walked out.

When she reached the infirmary, the door swished open ahead of her and she took a few steps in, then stopped, raising both eyebrows.

Cassie Chan, skin still a somewhat mottled blue-black and red, was sitting up in her medical bed, reading a pull-down monitor hanging from a flexible post at her bedside. At the sound of footsteps, she looked up, surprised, and then slowly looked down again, seeming to draw into herself.

Krys watched her for a moment, then sighed softly and walked to Cassie's bedside, taking a seat in a chair that she found nearby. "Lan left us some breakfast." Getting no response, she continued to talk anyway, unwilling to admit that being around the other girl made her nervous. "It's breakfast Lan style, which is to say it's coffee and a bagel. I usually tease him about it, but I should have known if I kept doing that, one of these days he'd buy it for me."

Cassie remained silent and reading, though Krys thought she saw the other girl's lip quirk with the hints of a smile.

With a shrug, Krys gently set the tray down near Cassie's bedside, leaning back in the chair. "Feeling up to eating bagels?" she asked, softly.

Finally, Cassie looked away from the monitor again, quirking a small half-smile with one corner of her lips. "I think I can manage," she responded with a faint, wry expression.

Krys extended the tray towards her, allowing Cassie to grab one bagel before setting it down again and looking up at the scanners. "So it looks like all your bones are fixed up. It's just the light bruises and burns, although the bed's been on standby since you sat up."

"I'd kinda rather let it heal on its own," Cassie admitted. "At least I guess I can walk around again. Lying on my back is pretty horrible with me all banged up like this."

Krys frowned. "Good point. You want some coffee?"

"Hm?" Cassie glanced at Krys again, teeth already half-into the bagel. She finished taking a bite and said through a mouthful, "Oh, no thanks. I'm awake."

Krys nodded, then leaned forward. "-- Hey, what're you reading?" she asked, curiously leaning past Cassie's shoulder. The other girl shied away slightly at the movement, but otherwise allowed Krys to read the small monitor. Krys, for her part, was surprised. "You're catching up on things?" she asked.

"Nothing else to do," Cassie said with a soft sigh. "This whole Gargantron thing was pretty horrible, but interesting at the same time."

Krys mulled over this. "It was a long time ago," she said, leaning back in her chair again. "Pretty big deal as far as the Alliance today is concerned."

"I bet." Cassie read a few more lines before turning and abruptly asking a question, bagel hanging forgotten in her hand. "So are you Krystin, or are you the other one?"

"Huh?" Krys looked up, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. My name's Krystin. Everybody calls me Krys except my family."

Cassie smiled, slightly. "I know the feeling. Parts of my family refuse to call me Cassie." She paused. "Refused. Refuse. Used to refuse." After a moment, she looked at Krys again, expression taking on a more helpless, lost and confused look. "Why?" she asked softly, shaking her head. "Why not one of the others?"

Krys bit her lip. She'd known this was coming, and she closed her eyes. "I shouldn't..." she started, but the silence after she trailed off made her too uncomfortable. "...The other Astro Rangers...mysteriously disappeared. Andros went missing first, and then Ashley, TJ, and Carlos left to go after him. They weren't ever heard from again."

Cassie was still silent, slowly turning back to the monitor, evidently processing the new information. A long moment of quiet passed before she murmured, "You didn't mention everybody."

Krys hesitated again. "Zhane...was lost in another explosion. The Mega Winger was sabotaged when he was visiting Onyx...they never found anything but a few scattered pieces."

Cassie closed her eyes, looking down and gripping the bagel with both hands as if it would help to relieve some of the knots in her stomach. "Karone."

Krys looked away, unable to watch the older girl's tension. "Caught in the same explosion as you."

"Destroyed?" Cassie asked softly, biting at her lip. "No. Don’t answer. I...was the easiest to pinpoint?"

"Kind of." Krys looked down at the floor, glumly. "I idolized you when I was littler. I guess some part of me thought that you would know what to do, and...just...didn't want to see you lose your life so senselessly."

Cassie pulled her knees up and held them to her chest, ignoring the shooting pains it sent through her bruised back. "And if I don't know what to do...what then?"

Krys closed her eyes. "The teleport pad is burnt out. I won't be able to do another burst like that for...a long time. I guess...I...wasn't thinking." She covered her face with her hands, leaning back in the chair again. "I'm sorry," she said softly, almost shaking. "It was my idea, and yet, I'm...it's hard becoming a Power Ranger all on your own, you know? If I mess up, all those people are gonna die, and I just thought...we needed someone...."

Cassie raised one arm to her face, trying to wipe away tears that had begun to bead there and wincing at putting pressure on her still-tender skin. "I kinda get what you mean. After...After Zordon was kidnapped we didn't really know what to do, either. Nobody really gave us much guidance...Carlos trained with Adam, for a while, but we didn't have much else to go on."

Krys slowly lowered her hands from her face, looking at Cassie with some surprise. "Really?" she said softly. "The way the storybooks tell it, Zordon was always there, up until the end."

Cassie smiled faintly, looking down. "Zordon was never really my mentor. I guess history simplifies some things that it doesn't get otherwise...."

Krys rubbed at her eyes again, letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry," she said again, but this time she sounded much more stable when she said it. "I guess everything got the better of me. I suppose we all get kind of overwhelmed with a job like this."

Cassie smiled softly. "Yeah."

Krys took a breath. "Well, if it's any consolation, we'll all try to help you adjust as well as we can until I can get the machinery working again."

"I...that'd be nice," Cassie nodded. "...Thanks. Hey...are you gonna eat that bagel?"

"What?" Krys blinked, then dove for the bagel, groaning aloud. "I forgot! I can't believe it, I hope Lan doesn't find out...."

----------*----------

Next time: Meanwhile, back at Angel Grove High, the teens do their share of sorting out recent events.

Also: Angel Grove's take on their new generation of heroes, and the Power Chamber's alarms go off! If I'm not dead tired, expect it tomorrow night...

[Fire ranger]

That was cool. Krys and Cassie seem to have a better understanding of one another, that's great. One thing I was thinking about was why was there an explosion on that float and how did the Phantom Ranger return and know about it?

Oh and by the way now I'm in the mood to eat a bagel. I think I'll go have one now. LOL

[KyrieEleison]

Yeah...now I want a bagel too. Darn that there aren't any at home. I guess I'll have one during my break between classes tomorrow...

[VengeanceGOD]

Don't forget to check on that pink ranger you pulled through time and make sure she eats during the break too. ;)

[Cuiran]

FR/Kyrie: Sadly, I've been in the mood for a bagel for days and can't spare the time/money to go get some, so I wrote them instead. o.O

Vengeance: She already ate her bagel. Lan'd have to bring her another. =D

Shorter installment today. Was going to write more but couldn't get around to it, so it'll go into tomorrow's instead.

----------*----------

Installment #5
WORD ON THE STREET

The lunch bell rang, students filing out of their various classes and milling around the lockers. The hall was abuzz with all kinds of topics, ranging from the usual rampant gossip to the newer and more dire discussion of this latest crisis.

As Reese pulled out his various books, stowing them in his locker, he overheard a conversation next to him between two younger girls, probably sophomores.

"So did you see the news yesterday?"

"I watched it all on the hee-vee. Can you believe it? The Astro Rangers!" The second girl sighed. "I heard TJ was dreamy."

Reese stifled a loud laugh, planting his fist over his mouth and turning it into something of a loud wheeze.

The first groaned. "You're such a fangirl. Besides, you know how old he'd be, by now?"

The second hmphed indignantly. "S'not that different from you and the lead singer of Fade to Purple. And he's thirty!"

The first blanched. "Uh, anyway, moving on, I'm still kinda skeptical. What if it's, you know, some kind of marketing gimmick?"

Reese suddenly slammed his locker closed, making both girls jump surprisedly and stare at the senior with wide eyes.

"Have a little faith," he grunted, before slinging his bookbag over his shoulder and walking off down the hall.

--

A short time after lunch began, Reese walked into the cafeteria, walking over to a relatively secluded table around which his friends sat.

Reese dropped into a chair and set his bag down, withdrawing a sandwich and looking at the others. "Tori already told me about Krys, you guys," he said. "Anyone tried to reach her, yet?"

Lan shook his head, leaning over a tray and a school lunch. "Not yet. I don't know if she's actually even awake or what, knowing Krys and how long she stays up."

Dom nodded, thinking. "Though if she was going to watch over our friend, you'd think she'd be up earlier…."

"Maybe now would be a good time," Tori pointed out, nodding towards Lan's wrist.

Lan nodded softly. "I guess. I'll just -- "

"Hey! Lan!"

Four heads whipped around with surprise as a voice called out from nearby.

Lan blinked, then broke into a smile, waving back towards the voice. "Hey, Rick!" he called back. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Rick said, stopping and standing near the table. "Hey, did you get the homework for fourth? I forgot to write it down."

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Lan replied, rummaging around in his bag.

"Fourth period?" Tori asked, looking up at Rick surprisedly. "You're in the Morphing Mechanics program, too?"

Rick nodded. "Yeah, although I don't think I've got any classes with you guys besides Lan."

Lan surfaced again, holding up a small notebook. "Pages 115 to 123 and Problem Sets A and B. Due tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Rick groaned, then paused. "Wait. Tomorrow's Saturday."

Lan grinned. "You should listen in class, then. It's due Monday."

Rick let out a breath. "Thanks, I think. Hey, uh…have you guys seen Krys around?"

"She's home sick," Tori said, without missing a beat. "Nothing too serious."

"It must be serious enough for her to miss class, of all people," Rick responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, nothing that sleep won't take care of," Tori laughed. "Don't worry, she's fine."

"Oh, okay. Great." Rick flashed Tori a grin and walked off again, making a note of the pages Lan had told him about. "Tell her I said get well soon!"

The four teens watched him leave, then looked at each other again.

"He likes her," Dom said, nodding sagely.

"Definitely," Reese agreed.

"Rick almost never smiles like that," Lan noted.

"I am so telling her," Tori said. "Or…well, I'll hint."

Reese laughed. "I still wonder if we should check in on her."

"Nah," Lan smiled. "She'll let us know if anything happens. I have to go look something up quick before my next class -- I'll see you guys later."

"Forget to do your homework again?" Tori asked with a grin.

Lan tossed his bag over his shoulder, shoveled the last bits of food into his mouth, and sternly said, "It's time management, Tori," before dashing out of the cafeteria.

--

LIVING LEGENDS?
Gray Ranger's attempt to cause chaos foiled by hallowed heroes
By Sanjay Patel, Associated Press

ANGEL GROVE, EARTH -- Police officer Roland DeVry won't say anything for the existence of guardian angels, but guardian Rangers are real enough.

DeVry is one of ten police officers who responded to reports of a disturbance in the city's downtown districts, being caused by one of the now-infamous Gray Rangers. The Ranger, standing high above the square, fired his weapon into the crowd multiple times, leaving seventeen bystanders and one police officer, Frank Mulhoney, injured. DeVry, for his part, is thankful that an injury is the least of Mulhoney's problems.

"I was kneeling over Frank," DeVry describes the situation, "after that Ranger had shot him in the side with a blaster. Even from where we were, all of us could see that the attacker was preparing to fire again, and our burst-arms had to that point had no effect. We had to watch him raise the blaster again, and all I could think of was, 'What am I going to tell Caitlin [Mulhoney's wife]?'"

The next instant, DeVry says, he'll never forget.

"This beam shoots out of nowhere," DeVry tells the story, "and the Gray Ranger's weapon goes flying. At first, we thought it was one of us, getting lucky with a burst-arm, but one of the officers sees these multicolored figures on another building even farther away from us.

"I didn't recognize them at first -- shock, surprise, I was still worried about Frank -- it wasn't until someone in the crowd yelled it that I realized they were the Astro Rangers."

Marguerite Miller, 24, provides a perspective from the crowd: "Someone pointed up, and everyone looked -- even the police and the guy on the roof -- and for a second I think it's Dekaranger, you know how it is, but the suits are different, and one of them is black instead of green…there's this kind of quiet atmosphere over the crowd before we all figure it out at the same time, and we start cheering."

Witness reports of the Rangers' actions vary wildly, from their firing and missing the Gray Ranger entirely, to their striking with each shot and sending the Ranger flying off of the building.

DeVry adds, "They came to check on Frank afterwards, courteous as anyone could be, but the crowd starts chanting and they run off. 'Andros! Andros! Andros!' It has to be the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Of course, more than one citizen of Angel Grove is skeptical. As the news broke, passers-by remarked that the stunt was "some marketing scam," or "another publicity thing."

Professor Manuel Ramirez, of UCLA's History department, has come forward in the wake of the event with his own theory. "We have actually observed, from Dekaranger squadrons, that certain sets of the Power retard natural aging by a small amount. It rmains unknown precisely what happened to the last four Astro Rangers when they departed Earth; it is, in fact, entirely possible that something may have happened related to their disappearance, allowing them to continue existing long past their natural lifespans."

"It's them," one bystander asserts. "It has to be. Doesn't it make sense? This big threat appears, and all of a sudden, so do they."

"It's too convenient," comments his friend. "It's a ploy. We'll probably all find out soon enough."

Confusion regarding these new Astro Rangers runs rampant. Who are they? Where are they from? Are they, in fact, the original Astro Rangers, and if not, do they still intend to save the planet, or is there some ulterior motive at work? Only time will tell, but as officer Roland DeVry notes, they're off to a good start.

"They saved the life of a fellow officer, and potentially the lives of a couple hundred people in that square," DeVry says. "Originals or not, they're genuine Power Rangers in my book."

----------*----------

Next time: A mysterious object sets off the Power Chamber's sensors....

[Green Senturion]

Yeah...so, uh nothing happened...no conflict, no struggle, nothing. Just a few rumors innocently and inoffensively flying by. Oh well. I hope we get to see some more action next time. One day left till the Gray Rangers take over earth!^_^

[Cuiran]

Yeah, there was going to be a little more but I kinda passed out and gave up, and my installments lately have been way too long anyway. ;)

[Cuiran]

Hmmm. I feel like I'm kinda losing momentum. (Not because of you guys, just sort of in general). I've been having a lot more trouble writing lately since I've been sleeping less, and this section's not so great.

This one's still pretty quiet, but we'll see if I can shock myself into going next time, when we make with the action again!

----------*----------

Installment #6
HERO WORSHIP

"So explain this whole Dekaranger thing to me again," Cassie said, still reading the thin monitor near her bed. "I'm a little lost."

"Dekaranger?" Krys asked, surprised, but after a moment she reconsidered. "Sorry. It's a household term nowadays. They're like...government Power Rangers, I guess. There's one team of Rangers on each planet of the Alliance."

"Like that Galaxy Squadron, on Mirinoi," Cassie mused, "the one in the article. They're the Galaxy Rangers."

Krys nodded. "Yeah, exactly. They handle the threats and the situations that are even beyond the police's abilities, although since technology's been getting better that means they've been seeing a little less action over the years. They're still great in the media, though. Homegrown heroes, I guess."

"Kind of like you guys?" Cassie asked, raising both eyebrows. "Only really homegrown."

Krys shook her head. "Earth has Delta Squadron," she insisted. "If they were here we wouldn't have needed to find your morphers anyway. We're...second-stringers, I guess. Backups."

Cassie smiled. "You've probably got a lot more courage than you think you do."

Krys blushed, grinning and shrugging at the compliment. "It has to get done," she said, simply.

"There's something else," Cassie frowned. "None of you guys seem weird."

"We're supposed to?" Krys asked, curiously. "I can be weirder, if you want."

"No, no." Cassie couldn't help laughing, waving her hand at Krys dismissively. "That's not what I meant. I mean...nothing seems unusual. I still can't really believe it's 2232. The styles of clothing are a little bit different -- if you and Lan wear what's in style, anyway -- but you talk about the same, you don't act that different...."

"I'm sure you've just missed some stuff," Krys nodded. "I guess people wanted a simpler time after Gargantron destroyed nearly everything. The Earth's greatest times were in the early twenty-first century -- the Power Rangers, the Ranger Academy, the formation of the Alliance...people sort of clung to what they could remember of that time, and the rest of society...re-grew around it, I guess."

Cassie nodded, taking this in. "You seem to know a lot," she noted, smiling.

Krys shook her head again, smiling back despite herself. "I read too much. My thing is really machinery. Lan is better with history." She paused for a second, looking down, before commenting again. "You know...I...kinda thought you'd be taller," she suddenly admitted, feeling silly.

"Taller?" Cassie quirked another half-smile, looking at Krys skeptically. "Because I'm a hero, or something?"

"Kinda. The whole legend thing gets to you after a while," Krys admitted. "I mean, Andros must be six-foot-seven in my head, or something."

Cassie burst out laughing. "Six-foot-seven?" she said, breaking into giggles. "I don't know anybody wh's six-foot-seven."

Krys grinned, "Sorry, sorry, I -- "

Abruptly, an orange and pink light in the wall began spinning rapidly, a high-pitched noise echoing through the room.

"What's that?" Krys asked, looking up with surprise.

Cassie squinted as well for a moment, and her eyes widened with surprise. "That's the alarm!"

"The alarm?" Krys leapt to her feet, quickly saying "Stay here," and running out before having time to realize she'd just given one of her 'legendary idols' an order.

Cassie reached a hand after her for a moment, then sighed and sat down in the bed again, looking down at her bruised arms. "I'm gonna go crazy...ow," she added, trying to get comfortable again.

--

Another lecture in Galactic History class was starting to wear on Dom and Lan's patience. The teacher continued to speak about the development of economic stability on KO-35 after the Rebellion, and even being something of a history buff, it wasn't enough to prevent Lan from feeling like his head was full of cotton. After yesterday's events, maybe he hadn't slept enough, or maybe he hadn't studied enough, or maybe --

Lan's train of thought was interrupted by a funny sort of 'gleep' sound, and he blinked, looking around for a moment to see where the noise had come from.

No one else seemed to have noticed, or so it seemed...and then he realized Dom was looking directly at him with the same confused look.

When it sounded again, both of them jumped, jolted awake more sharply than coffee could ever have managed.

You or me? Dom mouthed, two fingers surreptitiously tapping his left wrist.

Lan glanced to the teacher, then mouthed Me in response.

Dom nodded once and raised a hand, purposely derailing the teacher's lecture. "Mr. Fitzpatrick?" he asked. "What about the Kerovans' space travel? Didn't that help?"

"Uh, well, you see -- " Fitzpatrick stammered, clearly not having expected a question from the usually silent class.

Lan pounced on the stop. "Can I go to the bathroom, Mr. Fitzpatrick?"

The teacher looked between them. "Um -- ah, of course, Lan. Now, Dom, about interstellar trade...."

Lan mouthed, Watch my stuff, and bolted for the door.

He had to dash through the halls several feet to finally get to a stairwell, where he could duck under the stairs and arm his morpher without anyone getting in the way, even as it made the odd noise again. Raising it to his lips, he spoke softly, so that the stairwell's acoustics wouldn't pick anything up. "What's up?"

Krys' voice was on the other end. "There's some kind of mysterious object about to hit the park."

"Mysterious object?" Lan responded, giving his morpher a skeptical look as if it would help.

"If I don't know what it is, it's mysterious," Krys retorted. "Can you check it out? I've got a feeling the Grays are involved."

Lan glanced around again, making sure there still wasn't anyone nearby. "I'm on it," he murmured. "I'll make up an excuse for missing sports practice."

"I'm going to stay here and get some readings," Krys responded. "I'll send someone else out there as soon as I can manage."

"Got it." Lan nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "Did you eat the bagel?"

There was a pause on the other end before Krys finally said, "Yeah, of course."

Lan smirked. "Good. Out." He lowered the morpher and made one last check, ducking his head out from under the stairwell to be sure there were no other people, and listening carefully for footsteps on the high school's hard floor.

When he was satisfied, he thrust his hands out in front of him, morpher armed and ready.

"LET'S ROCKET!"

----------*----------

Next time: A surprising visitor, a brawl, and some crap gets blown up! Maybe this is a Power Rangers story after all!

I may take a real short break at some point to recover myself (and to try sleeping instead of staring at a Word file), but probably not just yet. Until then, enjoy! =)

[Green Senturion]

Again...this episode revealed nothing new. Couldn't we at LEAST have had an indication of what the object was? And Cassie seems to not care about who was responsible for the explosion that made her bumped, bruised, and futuristic, but we've already discussed that issue. Sigh...here's to hoping for more next time...

[Fire ranger]

Great job! One thing I don't understand is what's going on when you change scenes and have those big white bold letters like DEKA DISABLED?

[Cuiran]

That's a news article. I didn't really want to blow the letters up and make them a headline, though when I post them online they'll look different and not so much like another section of the story. =)

Don't think I'll get my installment in tonight. Rehearsals are being a pain (and they're in another city to boot).

[Shoichi]

yo, i think i'm abit slow. i just read displaced from the start

really cool premise you set up here... waiting to see what happens on Day 0.

[KyrieEleison]

This stuff is great, but don't feel like you have to hurry the story out for us...take your time.

[Ryuranger]

i love pr fanfics that make up AP stories!

(although i do have to shut my journalism instincts off to keep from editing the AP stories)

[Cuiran]

GS: Hopefully this section will go a little better, then. ;)

Shoichi: Thanks. Day 0 is coming, but there's a bump or two on the way through finishing Day 1, first. =)

Kyrie: I'm trying not to force it. Today's was better -- I wasn't writing as late at night, and I wasn't sitting staring at a computer when I wrote it, which usually helps a lot.

Ryu: I'm a broadcast major, not a journalist major! =D (I'm a doctor, not a -- er, wait.)

----------*----------

Installment #7
OFFICERS AND OPPONENTS

As Lan came into view of the park, he looked down over the side of his Galaxy Glider and held his wrist up to his helmet. "I'm not seeing anything," he said, brows furrowed behind his visor.

"It isn't kicking up a smoke trail," Krys replied, from the Power Chamber. "If it landed, it looks like it landed pretty smoothly."

"I'm not sure if that's a good sign or bad," Lan grunted, still searching. "How's our guest holding up?"

"Okay," Krys said, a little unsurely. "She's taking this awfully well. She's been catching up on things."

Lan frowned, softly. "I see," he commented. "Keep an eye on her, when you can. I'm still not seeing anything, and I'm starting to be a little conspicuous flying around here overhead."

"Hang on, I've got Blue and Pink on the way. Go ahead and touch down, and they'll teleport over."

"Got it," Lan said, dropping off the Galaxy Glider and neatly landing in a patch of grass. "Do you at least have some coordinates? I'm going pretty blind, here."

"West by northwest, about one hundred twenty-seven yards. It's within fifty yards of there."

"Mostly tree cover. No wonder I couldn't see it. You could've told me that before," he grumbled.

"The energy signature faded once it landed," Krys replied, a little testily. "Sending Blue and Pink over now."

As Lan lowered his wrist, two colored streaks dropped in behind him and faded, leaving behind the Blue and Pink Astro Rangers.

"So where is it?" Reese asked. "Uh, Yellow seemed pretty worried."

"This way," Lan said, starting off into the trees lining the grassy part of the park. "It came down really suddenly, didn't crash, and its energy signature faded out. We're worried it's the Grays' doing."

"Makes sense," Tori frowned, "but why aren't they showing off again?"

"Maybe they decided to try something subtle," Reese said. "You know it had to happen sometime."

"There!" Tori exclaimed, and the three Rangers ran forward in the direction she had pointed.

As they ducked past a bush, Lan saw what had caught Tori's attention: a small aircraft, barely longer than a human. A set of rockets were laid into the back, and two small seats, looking somewhat cramped, were squeezed into the center. The whole thing was a vibrant green, but had an open cockpit, making Lan frown with thought.

"Doesn't look like it'd fly real well," Reese said. "You'd start runming out of oxygen once you hit the 'go' button."

"It got here somehow," Lan said, slowly walking around the small craft. "I just want to know why -- oof!"

As Lan reached the other side of the craft, a green blur shot out of the shadows and rammed him headfirst. Lan rolled back and kicked the offender off of him, jumping to his feet. "What the --"

Reese and Tori, caught by surprise, couldn't react fast enough as the streak of green leapt into the air and swiftly came down again.

This time, Lan was much less accomodating. The Lunar Lance was suddenly in his hand, as the other figure drew a sword from his belt.

The two figures launched themselves at each other, weapons clashing and clashing again quicker than Reese and Tori could follow. As Reese drew his blaster, intending to help, a figure burst from the brush nearby. "Dave! Wait! It's them!"

She was a pretty, relatively young woman, possessed of curling brown hair and dark skin. What most drew Reese's attention, however, was the triangular badge on her jacket's left arm bearing a stylized dog's head, above which four letters read "DEKA".

The two figures' weapons clashed again and froze, and Lan used the opportunity to finally get a good look at his opponent.

The outfit was largely green, helmet with a pointed center suggesting some sort of bird; the shoulders and torso, however, were white, excepting a jagged black stripe around the wearer's abdomen. The weapon in the suited figure's hand was a segmented sword, with a tapered, apparently collapsible blade and a gold crosspiece that resembled a pair of wings.

Lan drew back with surprise, holding the Lunar Lance at his side. "You're -- you're Galaxy Green!" he exclaimed.

The other Ranger took a step back, clearly equally surprised. "Wait, you're not a Gray Ranger?"

Lan looked down at his black costume. "Not unless I've picked up a lot of dust lately."

The woman wearing the uniform jacket spoke up. "We were actually coming to find you guys," she said, a little awkwardly. "Um, the guy in green is Second Lieutenant David Galetti."

The Ranger demorphed with a bright green flash, revealing a young man, only a little older than he Astro Rangers themselves. He wore a jacket almost identical to the woman's, a similar DEKA emblem on his arm. "Better known as the Green Ranger, Galaxy Squadron." One hand ran back through his messy black hair as the other jammed into his jacket pocket. "Man, it's warmer on Mirinoi...you'd think massive crises could wait until summer here."

The woman gave him a pointed look. "I'm Second Lieutenant Tracy Rider, Pink Ranger -- well, usually." She looked down at her wrists, frowning.

Lan's voice echoed over the Astro Rangers' internal helmet comms. "This is going to make things real interesting."

Tori switched her external systems off and responded in kind. "Having another Ranger around?"

"Not exactly. Tracy is my cousin."

"What?" Tori asked, looking at Lan with a look of surprise, invisible through her helmet. "You never told me your cousin was a Ranger!"

Lan laughed, softly. "I guess it runs in the family."

"Uh, guys," Reese's voice echoed, "remember they can't hear you guys looking at each other." He switched modes and spoke again, this time to the two Dekaranger officers. "Well, welcome to Earth," he said amiably. "We can pretty much use whatever help we can get at this point."

"Sorry we can't tell you our own identities," Lan said, stepping forward, "but if the Gray Rangers find out who we are, it's all over."

Tori nodded, flashing the two officers a thumbs-up. "We're glad you're all right," she said. "We'd heard all of Dekaranger was taken down."

"Not exactly," Tracy said, looking to her traveling companion.

"...Mostly," David admitted. "See, though, I --"

"Guys!" A voice buzzed through the small forest grove, carried on the Rangers' communicators. "This is Red. Are you guys in the park?"

Tori raised her wrist to he mouth, nodding as she spoke. "Yeah."

"So are they," Dom's voice responded. "I've got them closing in on a grove in the northwestern part of the park."

"Too close," Lan said, looking at the others with alarm. "We'll have to move. Yellow," he said, raising his wrist to his helmet, "We're getting out."

There was no response on the other side.

"Yellow?" Lan asked again, before looking up at Tori and Reese.

"Lemme guess. Not good?" Reese asked, hands on his hips.

"Not good," Lan said. "I'll keep trying, but it looks like we're doing this the hard way."

Tori pounded her fist into her palm. "Let's do it," she said.

"Go!" Lan shouted, and the Astro Rangers dashed out of the patch of trees and brush, pulling out their blasters as they ran.

"Can't we help?" Tracy asked, looking anxiously at David.

The other Dekaranger officer shook his head. "If the Grays find out we're here, that's it," he frowned, "and you can't morph. You'll get injured taking on a Ranger."

"There has to be something..."

"They're on their own for this one," David said grimly.

--

In the Power Chamber, a console beeped, and Lan's voice issued from it again. "Yellow? Yellow, come in! Now would be a real good time!"

Unfortunately, Krys was somewhat occupied, at the time, and couldn't talk.

Her silence was at least in part due to the arm currently wrapped around her neck, grabbing her in a chokehold.

As Krys struggled, she realized the arm that held her was a mottled red and blue, covered in injuries. And wearing a pink shirt.

Krys looked back over her shoulder, barely able to choke the name out. "Cassie?"

----------*----------

It's Lan, Tori, and Reese versus some very angry Gray Rangers! Krys against Cassie! Dom against time! And does David really have to be a stick-in-the-mud strategist? Find out next time (probably in about two days) on Resurrection: Displaced!

Now it's 7:40 AM, and I have dance rehearsal tomorrow, so sleep it is. x_X

[Fire ranger]

Whoa! What's going on with Cassie? I thought Krys and Cassie had become more understanding of each other. Another great chapter and it's cool that you brought in two Dekarangers from the Galaxy Squadron. Just one question: which planets do the Zeo, Turbo and Lightspeed Rescue protect?

[Green Senturion]

A number of interesting twists came up this time! I was a little disappointed by the brevity of this installment, but I know that the lack of length will leave much to be covered next time! Bring us the next installment soon!^_^

[KyrieEleison]

Ooh, could Cassie not be the mentor the rangers were expecting? This is gonna get so good!

[VengeanceGOD]

Cassie's pissed at being sucked out of time....this is going to get really interesting.

[Cuiran]

FR: I have most of the Deka assignments worked out, but not all of them. Turbo is assigned to Eltar (formerly the home of the Robot Rangers) and Zeo is assigned to Triforia (logical enough). I haven't gotten Rescue placed yet. =)

GS: I started earlier and while I was more awake this time. It helped the length a bit. ;)

Kyrie / Ven / FR: Cassie -thinks- she knows what she's doing, but it's not anything that'll qualify her for mentorship right now...at least, Krys probably doesn't think so!

And now, the battle begins....

----------*----------

Installment #8
A LOVELY LITTLE WAR

Bursting from the brush, weapons ready, Lan, Reese, and Tori found themselves face to face with a sea of gray helmets, each with a similar scowling visor.

Reading quickly, Lan counted off the numbers Two, Three, Five, Eight, and Nine, and of course Prime, with his gilded numeral One and dark brown chest mantle.

"I believe this is the part where we send you packing," Lan said, pointing at Gray Prime with one gloved hand.

"I can't recall reading the script," Prime said, hand slowly lowering to his belt.

"Really?" Reese asked, feet sliding into a defensive stance as he readied his Astro Axe. "So you never got the memo?"

"Idiots," Gray Two hissed.

"Prolonging the inevitable?" Gray Three asked pointedly.

"Enough," Gray Prime snapped. "Battle Blades!"

The six Gray Rangers who were present dropped their hands to the side of their belts, pulling their blasters and twisting the handles to make each a straight line.

"This is another not good, right?" Reese murmured.

Lan brought his Lunar Lance up to a ready position. "Good call."

The Grays pulled on their straightened blasters, the handles extending out over twice as long. Winding their hands back, they slammed the handles back in, ejecting long, wicked looking blades from the other side of each weapon.

The six set themselves, holding their swords at the ready, and with a cry of "Battle Blades! HA!" they charged at their opponents.

"Red, we could use some help!" Tori shouted into her wristpiece.

"Just hang on until I get there!" Dom's voice replied, steadily.

Reese slowly bent his knees as the Grays approached. "He makes it sound so easy -- hah!" Springing up, he leapt over his opponents and planted his foot on Gray Eight's helmet, kicking the woman to the ground. As he came back down he whirled around to catch the other, but Gray Five ducked the axe swing and slashed across his chest, sending him away with a shower of sparks.

Nearby, Tori ducked a swing from Gray Nine's blade, her fist striking him in the chest, quickly followed by her elbow. Dropping into a roll, Tori felt Gray Two trip over her midsection, and she raised the Stunner in that direction, narrowly missing.

Gray Nine got to his feet, one hand holding his chest. "Pretty good for someone who goes into battle wearing pink."

Tori charged forward, leaping into a spin-kick that Nine swatted away with his blade. "You wish you had my fashion sense," she snapped, feinting a hook at his right. When he moved his blade that way, her right lashed out, pistol-whipping the Gray Ranger's helmet with her Stunner.

In the center of the clearing, Lan's staff struck Prime's blade once and both Rangers pulled back, facing off silently.

"I know your secret," Prime growled, softly. "You are not Carlos Vallerte."

Lan snorted, Lance spinning once in his hands. "I could have told you that."

"You're new at this, all of you," Prime said, grimly. "Your fighting is rough. Untrained."

"Really, now?" Lan smirked behind his visor and gripped his staff tightly, suddenly swinging it backwards in one sharp motion.

The staff slammed into Gray Three, who had been trying to sneak up on him, and she went flying.

Gray Prime looked up sharply as Three was knocked away. "...Luck," he grunted.

"We'll see."

The two Rangers raced at each other, Lan fluidly raising his Lance and deflecting Prime's first strike off to one side.

Reese swung his fist up in a sharp uppercut, catching Gray Five in the chin and slamming her back into Gray Eight. The two women sprawled to the floor, both smoothly rolling to their feet and charging again, blades held forward.

Reese was unable to block both simultaneously, and Gray Eight slipped past his defenses, another flurry of sparks knocking him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Tori, barely able to block any swings using her Stunner -- decidedly not a close combat weapon -- was being forced back towards the tree cover by Nine and Two's combined attacks.

As Tori felt her back strike a tree, she looked up to find Gray Nine raising his sword high over her head.

"G'night, Pinkie," he snarled.

Tori felt something brush her fingers and strike the ground next to her. Instinctively, she wrapped her hands around it and raised it, parrying the sword's blow.

Pressing the unexpected advantage, Tori swung, a shower of sparks knocking Nine back. Looking at the mysterious object, Tori realized with some surprise that it was a winged sword, crosspiece emblazoned with the emblem of a roaring cat of some sort.

"Okay," Tori said, slowly lowering the Pink Quasar Saber. "This is now officially weird."

--

Krys grunted as she was pulled farther from the console, struggling to literally give herself some breathing room and loosen the grip Cassie's arm had on her throat.

"Cassie...why?" she rasped, hands pulling uselessly on the other girl's arm.

"Where are we?" Cassie shouted. "I'm not buying it! That float exploded, and this was just too convenient. Where's Zhane and Karone? I bet you've got them around here, too." Cassie's arm tightened, and Krys saw stars erupt in her eyes, clouding her vision. "Where's the Phantom Ranger?"

Krys closed her eyes tightly. For as long as she had known her friends, she had always been the weakest fighter among them, owing to a penchant for preferring to study rather thn take lessons.

Unfortunately, as she was currently being choked by one of the greatest Power Rangers in Earth's history, Krys' largely noncombative past was not proving particularly helpful.

As the other girl prepared to push Krys into a wall, Krys sucked up her courage and swung her foot backwards, ramming her heel into the massive bruise she knew was all across Cassie's back.

Cassie yelled, arm loosening as her back instinctively jerked away from the source of pain.

Krys burst free of her grasp, rolling across the hard floor of the Power Chamber and crashing into another console. She levered herself to her feet, desperately gasping for air and trying to watch Cassie steadily from across the room.

"Well?" Cassie asked, levelly. "After you guys kidnapped me, you had a lot to say. What happened to him? You seem to know enough about everyone else...what about the Phantom, Krys?"

"I..." Krys swallowed, backing away. "I don't know."

"Stop it!" Cassie yelled, running at the Yellow Ranger again, and Krys had to leap to one side to avoid being caught a second time.

--

At one side of the clearing, Reese was slammed into a tree as Gray Five managed to catch him in the midsection with a hard punch.

At the other, Tori was knocked through the air by a swift kick from Gray Two, the Pink Quasar Saber going flying from her hands as she tumbled through the air and landed on the ground in a heap.

"Ow," Tori mumbled, slowly pushing herself to her hands and knees. Vision momentarily hazy, Tori looked to the center of the clearing the Rangers were strewn about.

The vision was a sight to behold. There, on the grassy field, titans clashed arms, or so it seemed to Tori's fatigued brain. The Lunar Lance whirled like a glittering black maelstrom, its alien alloy striking one Gray Ranger's blade away, then swatting the other before coming back up to deflect the first.

"Rough edges aren't your strong point," Gray Prime growled, frustrated at being unable to connect.

Lan snapped the Lance up again, smacking Prime's blade -- a nastily curved scimitar -- to one side with a fluid motion. "It runs in the family," he murmured with a smirk, and slapped Three's straighter cutlass away with a sharp spin. "We're just full of surprises."

Desperately raising his Astro Axe to ward off Gray Eight's blows, Reese looked across the clearing and spotted Gray Nine charging at Tori, who seemed completely unawares.

Pushing up sharply with his Axe, Reese pushed to his feet again, shouting "Pink!" and receiving Five's foot in his helmet for his troubles.

Tori heard the warning and turned around, but without the Quasar Saber, she had no way to block. She held her arm up, cringing back from the blow --

-- when a blast of red energy slammed into Gray Nine's side, lifting the evildoer off of the ground and hurling him across the battlefield, into the tree cover.

Tori's head whipped around to find Dom, holding the Spiral Cannon at the ready. "You made it!" she yelled, grinning underneath her helmet.

The Red Ranger grinned back. "I heard you guys could use some help." He looked over towards Lan, whose staff was still whirling madly. "You all right, Black? Looks like you're stuck on the defense."

"Just keeping them off Blue and Pink's backs," Lan grunted, voice starting to show signs of strain.

"Eight!" Prime shouted, blade still clashing viciously against the Lance.

Several feet away, Gray Eight slapped her blade back into its hilt, closed and set the handle, and calmly blasted Lan in the back.

"AH!" Lan shouted, sparks pushing him forward into the two Grays' blades.

"Hey!" Reese leapt forward, shoulder ramming into Eight's side and bearing her to the ground. "You may be a villain, but that was a cheap shot!"

As Three and Prime reared back to strike again, Dom leapt forward, ramming them head-first like a set of dominoes. The three rolled away, leaping to their feet.

"This ends now, Red Ranger!" Prime snarled, hands curling into fists.

"Sounds good," Dom replied, grimly. "Astro Rangers, ready!"

As the six assembled Grays collected themselves, the Astro Rangers fell into line, flanking Dominic on either side. "Right!"

Dom watched the pack of Gray Rangers steadily for a moment, then raised his Spiral Saber, setting himself in a wide stance. "GO!"

Two teams of Rangers charged at each other, and where the titans clashed, the massive brawl in the center of the clearing degenerated steadily into chaos.

--

"They're not doing so well any more."

"Not since the Black Ranger took that shot to the back."

Behind the brush of the small grove, David Galetti and Tracy Rider crouched, watching the melee unfold in the clearing just outside.

Tracy set her jaw, lips pressed into a thin line. "We have to do something."

"We can't," David replied, shaking his head. "They don't know we're here. If we give that away…if we're lucky, they didn't figure out your Quasar Saber. That might already have clued them in."

"So we sit here and watch our only hope get beaten into paste?" Tracy asked sharply. "You think we'll be able to accomplish much then?"

David closed his eyes, hands balling into fists as his head drooped. "I...can't do it alone, Tracy."

"You can." When Tracy spoke again, it was softer and more understanding, and she reached out and set a hand on David's shoulder. "You're the smartest out of the entire squadron, Dave. If anybody can figure out how to handle it, it's you."

David bit at his lip for a moment. All through his time as Galaxy Green, he had always had other Rangers backing him up and fighting at his side. The thought nagged at him that if something went wrong now, none of his teammates were in fighting condition -- in fact, except for Tracy, none of them were even on the planet. He would be a Ranger fighting alone.

David looked past the brush again, seeing the Astro Rangers sprawling to the ground under the force of gray-trimmed boots. With a deep sigh, he tightened his fist and twisted it, a small device with a blue circle and jagged black line appearing on his wrist. "I guess this is what they pay me for," he said with the faintest hints of a smile.

Tracy gave his shoulder a squeeze before moving a step back, still crouched behind the brush. She smiled supportively and gently punched his arm, nodding. "Go get 'em, featherhead."

With a smirk, David straightened up, opening his hands again, trusting that the Gray Rangers would be too occupied with their foes to hear him speak. "Here goes nothing."

In one fluid motion, he twisted the dial on his Transmorpher so that the arrow pointed green, then held his wrist up vertically, morpher facing forward.

"GO!"

Thrusting two fingers out from his right hand, David slammed them down on the activation panel, eyes focused unblinkingly on the battle ahead.

"GALACTIC!"

----------*----------

Will David expose his presence to the Gray Rangers? Can the Astro Rangers hold up against the Grays' greater numbers? Is Cassie really that intent on kicking Krys' butt?

All this and more in the next installment of Displaced!

[Fire ranger]

Another great chapter! I guess Cassie has every right to be mad at the Astro Rangers. Another great chapter and I loved it how you wrote David's decision to morph.

[Cuiran]

Sorry all, updates will be really slow over the next two weeks. My dance group's getting ready for a show in Los Angeles, and that means I'm running there and back every day until the 28th. x_X Starting February things should get back to normal again, but until then it'll be kinda slow going. Sorry again -- I'd rather it was going by faster, too, but oh well ;)

[KyrieEleison]

Great job! How did I miss this update! NEwho, good luck on your show - rock on and shred the wind!

[Ryuranger]

Break a leg. Even two.

Hope you update soon.

[VengeanceGOD]

How dare you have a life Cuiran! Go update more!

[Shoichi]

whoo! the past few stories were so well and dramatically written, i think maybe it could pass off as a REAL show.

i somehow knew cassie wouldn't be taken in so easily, anyway keep writing!

[Cuiran]

WHAT?! AN UPDATE?!?! Yes, that's right, I'm still alive -- well, 'alive' is questionable, but I'm still here, I suppose -- and it's been really hard to get back into writing.

As a result, this installment is a little clunky, in my opinion at least, but hopefully things will start to pick back up again from here!

Without further ado, here we go....

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Installment #9
FLYING SOLO

Dom ducked a swing from Gray Five, whirling and slashing hard across Gray Eight's chest with the Spiral Saber. A foot crashed hard into his side, and whirling around, he kicked Gray Nine's feet out from under him, sending the Gray Ranger crashing to the ground.

Gray Five pulled away from Dom and dived at Tori, who spun around, delivering a sharp snap-kick to the evil Ranger's visor that sent her reeling.

Tori followed the kick by turning and snap-kicking again, batting Gray Two's blade away from Tori's side. The two faced each other steadily, and then with a yell and leap, Battle Blade met Quasar Saber with a sharp clang and sparks.

Nearby, Reese ducked a swing from Gray Three, fist lashing out in a quick uppercut despite holding the Astro Axe. Three responded with a backfist that Reese narrowly pulled away from, and he seized the opening, swatting the evil Ranger away with his Axe.

In the center of it all, staff and sword clashed again and again as the Lunar Lance and Battle Blade struck each other with unbridled fury.

Gray Prime slammed his blade against the Lance again and took a step back, shoulders shifting as he gasped for air. "You fight remarkably well for a rookie."

Lan shrugged, hands tightening around the Lunar Lance. "Funny. You fight pretty well for a megalomaniac."

Gray Prime nodded once.

Blaster fire erupted behind the Black Ranger, and Lan chanced a quick look back to find Gray Eight dropping to the ground.

Dom holstered his blaster, spinning and swinging at Gray Nine. "Got you covered, Black -- ack!" Nine ducked past his defenses and rammed a fist into Dom's chest, throwing the teen Ranger backwards.

Reese deflected a swing from Gray Three, who suddenly jumped away. Confused, Reese looked up to find Dom flying at him, and with a yell, the Blue and Red Rangers went down in a heap.

"There's too many!" Tori shouted, as Nine's Battle Blade sparked against her armor.

"Just hang on!" Dom yelled back, even though he himself was struggling to even get back to his feet.

"Look out!" Reese shouted, stretching a hand towards Tori.

A whistling sound echoed across the battlefield for a moment, and the combatants paused, surprised. The whistling sound quickly grew into a faint roar, crackling with flame.

From the tree cover, a green ball of fire streaked outwards and slammed hard into Gray Five's side, sending the villain flying over the park and into the distance.

On the ground, the various Rangers watched as she was hurled away by the blast, helmeted heads following the arc of her flight until she dropped out of vision.

"...Did I just see that?" Reese asked, almost slightly skeptical.

Dom blinked as well, eyes looking in the same direction. "...I'm guessing you did, but that doesn't mean I believe it."

Streaks of green lanced out from the treetops, striking the Gray Rangers in a shower of apparent weapon fire and sending them careening into trees and onto the ground in obvious pain.

As Reese slowly got to his feet, reaching down and picking up the fallen Astro Axe, he looked over towards the still-confused Black Ranger and shouted, again. "Look out!"

Lan whirled, Lance coming up immediately, and felt the clang of metal on metal as Gray Prime leapt back into a standing position, bringing his Battle Blade down hard on the staff.

Sparks flew where the two weapons struck, and Gray Prime tried to get out another of his witty verbal jabs. Spurred on by pain -- and anger at being blocked yet again -- he could only snarl incoherently at the apparently unfazed Black Ranger.

Lan raised his eyebrows at the wordless roar. "Hey, if you can't say something nice...."

Gray Prime swung his Blade sharply at Lan's neck.

A voice crackled over Lan's comm. with just one word. "UP!"

Lan leapt.

As he flipped backwards in the air, aided by his Ranger powers, he could feel a wave of heat radiate across his back, narrowly missing him and crashing into Gray Prime. By the time he had landed, all he saw was a brief flash of green before the leader of the Gray Rangers was launched back through the air and far above the tree cover.

As Tori slowly got to her feet again, she murmured, "What was that?"

Reese grunted, halfheartedly kicking one of the downed Gray Rangers. "Lucky."

The Gray Rangers teleported away quicker than they had arrived, leaving the four Astro Rangers the only ones standing in the clearing, which, other than a blaster scar on a tree here or there, was suddenly almost eerily quiet.

"The Galaxy Rangers!" Lan suddenly exclaimed, turning towards the tree cover. "They'd better be okay!"

"The who?" Dom asked, confused.

"Come on!" Tori said, grabbing his arm and pulling him after them.

When they arrived in the tiny space in the midst of the trees, they found no one, though the Green Jet Jammer sat quietly in the same place it had been before.

"...Where are they?" Lan murmured.

"I don't know," Reese muttered. "You think they're..."

A figure dropped from the tree above them and struck a dramatic pose.

"Right here," David Galetti exclaimed in full Green Ranger outfit, "and I brought along my buddy, Sergeant Quasar Launcher."

Dom couldn't help laughing. "So that's where our unexpected help came from!"

"You got it," David nodded. "With a little help from my comrade."

Tracy dropped from the tree as well, landing next to him in her Dekaranger uniform. "The supporting fire would be mine," she said modestly, buffing her nails on her jacket.

"But you're unpowered," Lan said with surprise, "and those shots weren't from a burst-arm."

"I did a little borrowing," Tracy smiled. "Just because I'm not morphed right now doesn't mean I'm no good with a Beta Bow." She held up the green-colored, opened Transdagger, unknowingly flashing her cousin a smile that he knew too well.

"Resourceful," Lan murmured.

"I'm afraid I missed out on the introductions," Dom noted, stepping forward. "I'm the Red Astro Ranger, and I'm sorry that that's all I can tell you, right now."

"We understand," David agreed with a single nod. He extended his hand towards the Red Ranger, helmet inclined in acknowledgment. "David Galetti. Green Galaxy Ranger."

"A pleasure," Dom replied sincerely, smiling. "And you are...?"

"Tracy Rider," the other Dekaranger officer said proudly. "Pink Galaxy Ranger, in my better days."

"We'd better get back to base," Reese reminded them. "Even after that last fight -- or maybe especially -- I'd rather not sit here doing our discussing out in the open."

"Agreed," Lan said, "but Yellow wasn't responding to my calls, before, and we can only teleport ourselves."

"Yellow, come in," Tori said, raising her wrist to her mouth. "Yellow, do you read?"

The brief silence that followed her question was broken by the Black Ranger, stepping forward and shaking his head. "I'd better go check on her -- or on them. I'm worried about our...friend."

Tori interrupted him, stepping forward and putting her hand on his chest. "Wait. You've done a lot the last few days. I'll go check on them and let you guys know the minute I find anything."

Lan hesitated. "But -- "

"No buts. Besides, if anyone ought to go talk to her...." Tori vaguely indicated her own suit, trying to shoot Lan a meaningful look through their helmet visors -- a move that was only somewhat successful.

With a soft sigh, Lan nodded. "All right. Keep us informed."

"You got it." Tori reached for the yellow square on her costume, touching her fingers to it, and with a soft crackling noise she dissolved into a pink sphere of light before leaping out into the sky.

--

"Cassie...you're choking me...."

"Why am I here, Krys?" the former Astro Ranger asked, softly speaking into the young woman's ear. "You should've thought it out better. Why would the same Power Rangers exist in the 23rd Century? Almost no one keeps their powers for over a year."

"What?"

Krystin Shear, from her current position locked in the crook of Cassie's elbow, realized for the umpteenth time that when Dom and Lan had yelled at her before, they'd probably been right.

Cassie Chan, on the other hand, wasn't sure how to feel at all. Something had felt wrong so far. Lan was hiding something, and Krys' answers were all too convenient. Everything was gone except just enough for them to need her help.

She wasn't buying it. "What were you going to convince me to do, Krys? Attack my friends? Help you take over? Were you going to