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blucougar.livejournal.com posting in antigwenallies Apr. 26th, 2014 09:11 pm)Title: Adaption
Chapter One: A Day In The Life
Author: blucougar57
Summary: A new rift victim proves to be a revelation, and then some, for the Torchwood team.
Rating: T, for now.
Adaption: Prologue
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Chapter One: A Day in the Life
Jason awoke to the smell of pancakes and waffles, and knew it was Saturday morning. His heart leapt as he pulled on his robe and pushed his feet into the slippers that his mother insisted that he wear since the dining room and family room floors had been redone with natural polished timber.
At first, he had to admit that he’d been annoyed. After all, he had a natural predilection to walking around in bare feet – a quirk he’d developed through many hours spent training in bare feet for karate. One morning, though, about a week after the new floors had been finished, he’d snuck downstairs in bare feet whilst his parents were still in bed. He conceded, at least to himself, that he had been feeling smug that morning, thinking that he was breaking the rules and feeling unaccountably gleeful over it. That was, until he miss-stepped, caught his foot on a rough spot that must have been missed by the workers, lost balance and landed on his butt with a nice, big splinter in the bottom of his foot.
The worst part was coming to his senses and finding his father was standing in the archway, watching with an amused grin.
Donavon had helped him up, gotten the splinter out of his foot and patched him up, and suggested lightly that it would stay between them if Jason did the right thing from then on and at least wore his slippers, rather than going barefoot. Jason had conceded, if somewhat reluctantly. Loathed though he was to admit it (he was a teenager, after all, and there had to be some element of rebellion there, or he would be letting down his fellow teens around the world), having some sort of footwear on his feet was not such a bad idea.
Tying off the waist cord of his robe, Jason trotted into the kitchen with unconcealed eagerness. His mother, Sarah, looked up and smiled warmly at her son as he seated himself at the bench to watch her cook.
“Hungry, honey?”
“Starved,” he confessed. “I’m heading to the beach today with the gang, and Tommy and I are planning to hold a class on the beach. I’m going to need plenty of energy for that.”
Sarah laughed as she slid three pancakes and a couple of waffles onto a plate and handed it to the teen.
“I can take a hint. Here you go, and make sure you actually chew! Don’t just inhale it like you usually do. Your father isn’t here to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre if you happen to choke yourself.”
Jason pulled a face as he reached for the syrup and poured a liberal amount over his breakfast.
“I forgot he had to work today. Will he be home tonight? We were meant to be going out to dinner, remember?”
“Mm, I don’t see why not,” Sarah mused. “I know he was anticipating a busy day, but he thought he’d be home by mid-afternoon.”
“It’s not fair that he has to work on Saturdays now,” Jason grumbled, frowning at his breakfast. Sarah smiled in sympathy. She could understand her son’s annoyance – he and Donavon used to have a Saturday morning ritual of having breakfast together before going for a walk to the local shops and back for the morning papers, bread, milk and an occasional treat. It was a tradition that had started back when Jason was a lonely little boy with no friends to meet up with, and had continued on even after Jason had built up a network of friends, with whom he seemed to spend every other waking moment.
In what had become a busy life in general for both father and son, it was their chance to spend just a bit of time together each week, catching up and keeping up with each other. When Donavon had found it necessary to open his psychiatric practice on Saturdays to keep up with the demand for his services, Jason had been understandably unhappy at losing their private little Saturday morning ritual. Donavon, too, was regretful, but both understood it was necessary. The compromise had been that every second Saturday, Donavon would make certain he was home by a certain time, and he and Jason would go out for dinner together – usually pizza, or something equally casual. It was a ritual they were both loathed to let go of and yet, just last week Donavon had failed to get home in time to keep his fortnightly appointment with his son.
Jason had been bitterly disappointed, so much so that Donavon had promised that they would make up for it the very next Saturday. Sarah could understand his concern, though, because she felt the same. It seemed that Donavon’s work was taking up more and more of his time, and intruding more and more into their family life. It was a discussion that they had already had more than once, but there seemed to be no easy solution. Sarah accepted that her husband was needed by the community at large, and he was not the kind of person to turn away someone who needed the specialised type of help that he provided.
“Believe me,” she reassured Jason, “he’d rather not, but there are just too many people for him to be able to see them all during the week.”
“I don’t understand why he doesn’t just take on a partner,” Jason argued, his frustration starting to seep through. “That way, he’d halve the number of people he treats.”
“Oh, Jason, if only it was that simple,” Sarah said with a shake of her head. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it than just bringing in another psychiatrist.”
“Like what?” Jason muttered, suddenly feeling less inclined to finish his breakfast.
“Well, for starters, he needs to get accreditation in order to be able to bring in a new partner,” Sarah explained. “That’s not easy to get, and it can take a number of months. Then, he needs to find someone suitable, someone that he can work with. And most importantly, he has to consider the needs of his patients. Some of them have been seeing your father regularly now for a long time. They all trust him, and it’s not so easy to just start trusting someone new.”
“I know,” Jason said. “I know. I just wish he had more time for us, is all. I miss being able to spend time with him. He’s gone by the time I get up most mornings, and I only see him for a couple of hours at night. Sunday is the only day left when I get to see him longer than to just say hi or bye to.” He paused, really looking at his mother for the first time since entering the kitchen, and seeing the same sadness and disappointment on her face that he knew was reflected on his own, and felt lousy for dumping his concerns on her. “Sorry, Mom. I guess I just got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
She smiled, then, and patted his hand.
“I’d love to know how, since your bed is sideways against the wall.”
The two stared at each other for long seconds before they both burst out laughing.
“Really, though,” Jason said as he started to eat again. “I shouldn’t be complaining. Dad does the best he can. I know that. I’d just like to see more of him, and I know you would, too.”
Sarah nodded as she seated herself beside him and tucked into her own plate of pancakes.
“I would, but I’m grateful for the time he can give us, and maybe down the track he will be able to take on a partner, and things will be easier all round. But until then, we do the best we can. Right?”
Jason nodded, and squeezed his mother’s hand to show her he wasn’t still upset.
“Right.”
“So, you plan to spend all day on the beach?” she asked.
“Most of it, probably,” Jason confirmed. “I’m going to meet the guys at the Youth Centre for the beginners’ class and then we’ll move it to the beach. After that, we’re just going to hang out there, provided the weather stays nice.”
Sarah huffed.
“Not to mention, no monster attacks. Honestly, it’s almost laughable, and I doubt I’d believe it if I hadn’t see some of those ridiculous monsters with my own eyes.”
Jason smirked into his waffles.
“Ridiculous?”
“Oh, please, have you seen them?” Sarah retorted. “Ridiculous is even being too kind. And what sort of name for an evil villain is Rita Repulsa?”
Jason snorted with laughter. He had to admit, he shared his mother’s mirth. While he saw a serious side of the situation with Rita that ordinary people like his mother didn’t (and had the bruises to prove it), there was almost always an element of the inane about the monsters she sent. Mind you, that didn’t change the fact that the Rangers often had to use their utmost cunning and skills in order to defeat those monsters. When it came down to the crunch, it really was no laughing matter, and that was a fact.
“Fair enough,” Jason conceded with a small smile. “But still, thank God for the Power Rangers.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Sarah agreed. “Thank God for them, whoever they are.”
* * * * *
Jason arrived at the Youth Centre at the same time as Tommy, about half an hour before their beginners’ karate class was due to start. The amusement on Tommy’s face was obvious as they met.
“Thought you would have been here half an hour ago, bro.”
Jason shrugged, taking the ribbing good-naturedly. He knew what Tommy was edging at. He was normally the punctual one, where Tommy was more often than not running late and scrambling to get himself sorted out. Whether it was school, or karate classes, the guy had a reputation for being scatterbrained.
“It took me a bit longer to get out of the house than usual. Mom and I were having breakfast together. You know, just talking. It was nice.”
“Fair enough,” Tommy agreed. “You ready for a day on the beach?”
“Absolutely, provided Rita doesn’t interrupt us,” Jason retorted. “And having said that, I probably just jinxed us.”
“Yep, you probably just did,” Tommy said with a smirk. “If today goes to hell, we’re all gonna blame you, just so you know.”
Jason snorted as he followed Tommy into the Youth Centre.
“Yeah, I know. Go figure.”
* * * * *
It was a gorgeous day. It really was. The beach class had gone even better than hoped for. Curious parents had attended, interested to see what their children were learning and, as a direct result of the impromptu audience, the kids in the class had put in that little bit extra effort and enthusiasm. It had been quite the treat for all present, a treat added to by one thoughtful parent who produced frozen fruit pieces and fruit juice as a treat for both students and teachers alike after the class was over.
Later, Tommy and Jason were joined by their friends who had been watching from the shade of the sand dunes, and they lounged on the warm sand, enjoying the last of the fruit and the juice.
“Now this is the way to enjoy a Saturday,” Zack said with a grin. “We get to sit back and watch you two getting hot and sweaty teaching the rugrats, and then sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labour.”
“Literally,” Trini added wryly, and they all laughed.
“Don’t get too smug about it, Zack,” Jason warned him with a smirk. “Remember, you agreed to take over from me in a couple of months’ time when we go on vacation.”
Zack’s groan was loud and exaggerated, and prompted a fresh round of laughter.
“Don’t remind me. I’m telling you right now, Tommy, we aren’t killing ourselves on the sand when I’m helping you out. It’s the Youth Centre or bust.”
The sly look on Tommy’s face raised immediate alarms.
“Sorry, pal,” Tommy apologised, though he sounded anything but sorry. “The parents have already been advised by letter that once summer hits properly, all Saturday morning classes will be on the beach.”
“Cruel,” Zack moaned. “That is harsh, man. You could have warned me.”
“Consider yourself warned, bro,” Jason said with a laugh. “Now, quit whining and enjoy the peace while it lasts.”
“Don’t, you’ll jinx us,” Kim threatened him. Jason sighed and settled back on the sand.
“It’s too nice a day to worry about Rita. If she’s got any sense at all, she’ll be out somewhere enjoying the sun, too.”
Tommy snorted.
“She could use it. The woman is way too pale, man.”
* * * * *
Their laughter was heard not just by nearby beach-goers, but also by the witch in question herself, as she observed the Rangers enjoying their day on the beach.
“They think I’m pale, do they?” she shrieked in rage. “How dare they! Don’t they know too much sun is a bad thing? Well, if they don’t, they will by the time I’m through with them. Goldar!”
The gold-armoured monster ape ambled forward, bowing low in an obsequious show of compliance.
“What is your command, Mistress Rita?”
“Take an army of putties,” she ordered. “Keep the Rangers occupied until Finster finishes his latest monster creation.”
Goldar’s red eyes literally glowed with anticipation, especially with eagerness for another shot at his chosen nemesis, the Red Ranger. He knew that if he could just get Jason away from his precious friends, he’d be triumphant in destroying the Red Ranger. Rita had told him to take an army of putties to distract the Rangers, so that was exactly what he was going to do. He’d let the putties take up the attention of the other Rangers, and he would deal with the Red Ranger once and for all.
* * * * *
None of the Rangers could really claim to be especially surprised when Alpha 5 in the Command Centre alerted them to the fact that Goldar had appeared in nearby Angel Grove Park with a veritable army of putties, and was wreaking havoc on the locals.
“Jinx,” Kim teased Jason lightly as they quickly packed up their things and got ready to teleport. He favoured her with a withering look. Despite their earlier jokes, he didn’t particularly appreciate the humour now. He really had been looking forward to an uninterrupted day of peace, but it seemed that Rita was determined that they should not have even one day of that. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wished there was no rule against escalating a fight, because he would have dearly loved to assemble the Megazord, take it to the Moon and launch an attack that would send Rita back to hell, or wherever she’d come from in the first place.
A glance at Tommy, and Jason knew his friend harboured similar thoughts. No, they would never act on them, but it sure as hell was cathartic to think them.
“Okay, guys. Let’s go deal with monkey boy and his goons.”
* * * * *
While the method of the fight was much like they were used to, even Jason had to concede that the sheer volume of putties was far beyond what they were used to dealing with. The ugly grey creatures swarmed the park like locusts, and it wasn’t long before the teens were forced to morph in order to get the situation under control.
Suspicions of a potential trap began to form in Jason’s mind, and his suspicions seemed to be confirmed when Goldar confronted him and attacked without hesitation. Risking a glance around, even as they clashed swords, Jason realised his friends were all completely occupied with the putties, which had turned their collective attention to an unfortunate group of children and their parents who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. None of them were even remotely aware that he was yet again facing his old nemesis.
Even as they battled, Jason sensed a difference between this time and the previous times they’d faced off. For starters, Goldar had not said a single word to him, unlike their other clashes when the over-sized ape targeted him. Usually their battles were as much a war of words as a war of physical ability but today there was nothing of the sort. Perhaps it was a result of the silence which cloaked Goldar, but the monster henchman’s attack seemed to have escalated in power, and Jason suddenly found himself struggling under the weight of the assault.
“Let me guess,” Jason gasped as Goldar delivered a particularly powerful blow that slipped through Jason’s defences and struck him solidly in the chest. “You had a double serve of Weeties this morning?”
Goldar snarled, but said nothing, much to Jason’s growing consternation. Such was the ferocity of the attack that he dared not even spare a glance for his friends. The power suit supposed allowed him to survive direct hits like the one Goldar had just delivered, but he didn’t care to test out that theory to its full extent. The sword came at him again, and he ducked and rolled, only to be sent sprawling when Goldar’s metal-plated foot kicked him with brutal force in the side. It was only sheer luck and the momentum provided by that kick that helped him to roll out of the way when Goldar drove his sword downwards with clear intent to impale.
Fighting back discomforting flashbacks to the Dimension of Darkness, where he had once been trapped and forced to fight Goldar without his morphing powers, Jason scrambled to his feet in a desperate effort to regain his equilibrium. All of a sudden, he had a deep-seated and terrifying notion that this time, Goldar truly was intent on killing him. Drawing in a long, calming breath, Jason raised his sword and focused his mind and body on defending himself against his old enemy.
* * * * *
Despite being the least skilled fighter of all the Rangers, Billy Cranston was not by any means helpless. Thanks to the ongoing tutelage of his friends, and ingrained abilities gifted to him by his power coin, Billy could more than hold his own against the onslaught of putties. One advantage that he did have, though, was that despite being caught up in the heat of the battle, he never lost his skill of observation.
So it was that while the others were busy fighting their own battles, and appeared oblivious to all else, Billy was acutely aware that Goldar had once again zeroed in on Jason. He noticed the new ferocity with which Goldar was attacking the hapless Red Ranger, and he couldn’t help but notice the way that Jason was slowly beginning to strain under the force of Goldar’s fury.
Above and beyond all else, though, Billy was the only one – out of both sides – that noticed the sudden swirling vortex that was opening up over their heads, and particularly seemed to be centred above Jason and Goldar.
Billy’s heart leapt into his throat as he realised quickly what it was that he was seeing. A wormhole, not dissimilar to the ones on the Stargate TV show, had opened up and, by the looks of it, was starting to pull things into it like some sort of miniature black hole. Suddenly panicked for his oldest friend, Billy yelled a warning that brought the entire battle to a standstill.
“Jason! Look out, above you! Get out of the way, quickly!”
Jason froze at Billy’s warning, and then looked up. Puzzlement rapidly turned to shock and fear, and he turned to flee from the danger zone. He’d only made it a few steps, though, when his momentum was halted by a clawed hand grabbing hold of his belt. He gasped as he was jerked backwards, and cried out in pain as Goldar’s claws raked his back and arms through his uniform as the monstrous henchman grabbed him in a vicious grip. His suit offered precious little protection from the razor sharp claws, and he tasted blood in his mouth as Goldar punched him hard from behind with his razor-covered fist, winding him beyond immediate recovery.
“Goodbye, Red Ranger,” Goldar snarled, speaking to him for the first time since they’d started fighting. “Time for us to be rid of you forever.”
Jason looked around helplessly as Billy and the others ran towards him to help. A moment later, Goldar threw him into the air with a roar, straight into the centre of the vortex. He hung there for long seconds, suspended in mid-air as the wormhole swirled around him and, for just a brief moment, he thought gravity would kick in and he would tumble back to the ground. He flailed ridiculously, as though the uncontrolled movement would bring him back to earth. Then, he was being swept upwards into the swirling darkness and away from the world he knew. An unbearable pressure surrounded him, and everything went black.
* * * * *
“Jason!” Tommy screamed, horrified at the sight of his friend vanishing into the vortex. “Damn you, Goldar, where have you sent him?”
Goldar laughed cruelly.
“I have no idea, White Ranger. That wormhole was not of our creation. It was simply a random opportunity that I took full advantage of. Good luck finding your friend. He could be in any one of an unlimited number of world or parallel universes... assuming he survives the journey through the wormhole.”
Roaring with laughter and delight, Goldar summoned the remaining putties, and vanished in a blaze of fire, leaving behind five stunned Rangers.
“Command Centre,” Tommy said finally in a hoarse voice. “Quickly. Zordon will know what to do, and how to get Jason back. C’mon, let’s go.”
They were gone in a flash of rainbow light.
* * * * *
“Zordon?” Alpha asked in his standard, panic-stricken voice as they watched the situation unfold on the viewing monitor. “It’s a wormhole! Do you think Rita caused it?”
“I doubt it, Alpha,” Zordon intoned grimly. “I can think of a number of enemies with the power to create such a porthole but Rita is not among them. Her power is considerable, but not that far extended.”
“But if we don’t know who created it, then how are we going to get Jason back?”
Before Zordon had a chance to reply, flashes of rainbow light heralded the return of the Rangers. Tommy strode forward, de-morphing as he went.
“Alpha, you need to start scanning all the other dimensions now. Billy will help. We have to find Jason before Rita does anything worse to him.”
“Rita was not responsible for the wormhole into which Jason was thrown,” Zordon said, bringing the teens to an abrupt halt after their initial buzz of activity.
“What do you mean, she’s not responsible?” Kim asked. Her voice was strained in an audible display of the stress they were all feeling. “Who else would have done it?”
“There are a more enemies in the universe than Rita Repulsa,” Zordon answered with reluctance. This was a conversation he had not wanted to hold yet with the Rangers. Though he was sure they wouldn’t be naïve enough to assume that Rita was the only villain out there, nor were they quite ready to face someone more powerful than her. “Some of them wield a great deal more power than she does. A number of them have the capability to create a wormhole such as the one you just witnessed.”
“Can you find out who caused it?” Tommy asked. His tone was soft with an underlying hint of danger, and Zordon felt a moment of infinite regret for the one who behind this latest trouble. Only a moment, mind you. A greater part of him wanted to see Tommy deal Ranger justice out to the perpetrator.
“I have already begun,” he reassured the teens. “It may take a little time, though, Rangers. I suggest you return to the park, and ensure that Rita does not attempt to use the distraction and send other menaces.”
“It did happen around the time when she normally sends a monster,” Zack conceded glumly.
“Let’s just hope that if she does send one now, that we can destroy it before she can make it grow,” Billy said in an equally glum tone. Tommy shut his eyes, feeling an oncoming migraine.
“Because without Jason, we can’t summon the Tyrannosaurus Zord and form the Megazord. C’mon, guys. Let’s get back and keep an eye on things back in Angel Grove. We can’t do anything more here. Not yet, at any rate.”
Once the teens had teleported out, Alpha spoke again in a tremulous tone that was most un-robot-like.
“Zordon? We can find Jason, can’t we?”
“We will try,” Zordon replied and, in the silence that followed, Alpha couldn’t help but reflect on how those simple words could instil so much fear into his little electronic heart.
* * * * *
“Do you think it’ll take long to work it out?” Zack wondered. All eyes immediately turned to Billy, who shifted uncomfortably under the sudden scrutiny of his friends.
“I… I don’t know, exactly…” he stammered, unable to look any of them directly in the eye. The others exchanged uneasy looks. They knew Billy well enough that his particular mannerisms were well known to all of them by now. The way he was reacting suggested that he knew more than he was letting them in on and in their own distress, it didn’t occur to any of them that perhaps they were better off not knowing – at least, for the moment.
“Talk to us, Billy,” Trini urged him. “What are you thinking?”
When the Blue Ranger hesitated, Tommy spoke up in a stern, patented leader tone that was tailored to getting a response from his teammates and enemies alike.
“Billy? Look at me.”
Slowly, Billy raised his eyes to meet Tommy’s, and the look of misery that Tommy saw there sent shudders of fear through him.
“Talk to us, Billy,” Tommy ordered, echoing Trini’s gentler entreaty in a far less gentle tone. “What are you worried about?”
“Even if Zordon can find out who created the wormhole,” Billy said dismally, “whether we can get Jason back depends very much on whether it was created as a specific pathway, or just randomly generated.”
“Randomly generated,” Kim echoed in a worried tone. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It’s about as bad as it sounds,” Billy confirmed. “What it basically boils down to, in simple terms, “is that if the wormhole was randomly generated, or even a freak occurrence, we may never be able to get Jason back.”
“Don’t say that,” Tommy said hoarsely. Billy shook his head. Tommy had demanded that he tell them what was on his mind, and he had no intention of stopping halfway.
“We all are hoping for the best, obviously, but we need to understand that there is a possible worst case scenario out there.”
“You’re saying that Jason might be lost forever,” Kim whispered through a haze of tears. Billy nodded. He hated himself for making them see the grim possibilities but they had wanted to know the truth and he could see no point in sugar-coating it for them.
“Yes,” Billy agreed softly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. However, alternatively, there is an equal possibility that Zordon will be successful in determining where Jason has been sent, and that we will be able to rescue him.” He looked around at their pale faces, and felt his heart rend. “I’m not telling you not to hope for the best, guys, but you wanted to know what was worrying me. I was just being honest.”
Zack smiled weakly at the bespectacled boy.
“Next time I want you to tell me something that you don’t want to say, remind me of this moment.”
“Yeah, me too,” Kim muttered.
Tommy glanced down at his communicator and made a conscious effort to tamp down his desire to go straight back to the Command Centre and stand over Alpha until he had a result. Doing that would be of no help – not to Zordon and Alpha, not to them, and especially not to Jason. The best thing that they could do right then was exactly as Zordon had requested. They need to patrol the park and make sure it was safe, and deal accordingly with remnant putties and with any potential monster threat that Rita might choose to send.
“Okay,” Tommy said finally, “we’ll patrol like Zordon asked us to. We don’t have to like it, but at least it might keep us distracted for a while.”
A murmur of consent swept through the group. Tommy was right – they didn’t like it, but at the same time they understood the value in the distraction.
“Okay,” Trini said with resolve. “Let’s patrol and when we’re done, we’ll head back and find out how we’re going to save Jason.”
“And God help Goldar if I see him,” Tommy said through gritted teeth as they headed off. “Because if I see him right now, I might just kill him.”
* * * * *
When Goldar returned to the Moon Palace, it was to find Rita delighted and Finster sulking. As soon as he walked into the throne room, Rita was all over him, praising him and planting kisses all over his face that left him wanting to go and soak his face in bleach.
“You did it!” she crowed. “You got rid of that pesky Red Ranger once and for all! I can’t believe he’s gone! Goldar, you magnificent ape, you wonderful monster! You may have just won this war for me!”
Goldar was puzzled, to say the least, and more than a little disappointed.
“You mean you’ve disposed of the Red Ranger already?”
If nothing else, he’d hoped for a chance to give the young upstart a good beating first. Rita cackled wildly, and Goldar had to resist an urge to clap his clawed hands over his ears. Rita’s laughter was unpleasant at the best of times, even to the ears of a monster. Hearing her screech with delight like this was like a hundred dentist drills going all at once.
“That’s the whole point, you idiot!” she yelled. The scathing words were familiar but the delighted and almost affectionate tone were not. “I didn’t have to! That vortex wasn’t caused by me. It opened up on its own! I don’t know where that pesky Red Ranger is now, but I can guarantee it’s nowhere in this universe. He’s gone, and they’re never going to be able to get him back! This is going to cripple the Rangers, and especially Tommy.”
“So we’re going to send my new monster down now, then, and get them while they’re still in shock?” Finster asked hopefully.
“No, you moron!” Rita shrieked. “I’m not wasting a perfectly good monster. When I defeat the Rangers once and for all, I want it to be a victory that I can savour! No, we’re going to wait, and strike when the time is right.”
While Finster went off in an obvious huff, Goldar retreated to a dark corner to consider the situation. He was a warrior. Sure, he was evil, and he’d cheat and scheme with the best of them, but he was still a warrior and despite what he’d said to Tommy about the Red Ranger ending up potentially anywhere in the universe, he’d thrown Jason into the vortex thinking he was sending the boy to one of Rita’s many Dimensions of Darkness. He’d thought he would then have the chance to crush the boy in a one-on-one battle, and finally finish what he’d strived so hard to achieve for so long.
This? This was not a victory to him. This was fate cruelly cheating him out of a long sought-after prize. If what Rita had said was true, then it would certainly make the Rangers easier to defeat but the shine was definitely taken from the perceived victory. He’d wanted to destroy the Red Ranger with his own bare claws and if Rita was right, now he would never have that chance.
Suddenly enraged, Goldar stormed from the throne room and teleported himself back to Earth, to search for a means of venting his fury.
* * * * *
“Rangers,” Alpha’s tinny voice came over their communicators, “Goldar has just appeared at the north end of the park and is attacking civilians.”
Tommy grimaced.
“Well, that didn’t take long. C’mon, guys. Let’s go stop him.”
* * * * *
By the time they arrived on the scene, though, it seemed that Goldar’s attack had already run out of steam, and he was merely standing there, swinging his sword at nothing in particular and bellowing loudly in frustration.
“Goldar, you’ve got one chance to clear out,” Tommy warned as he approached, fully morphed. “I’m warning you, I am not in the mood for messing around today.”
Goldar turned his glowing red eyes on the White Ranger, and he sneered half-heartedly.
“Pathetic Rangers. I should have had the chance to defeat the Red Ranger in hand to hand combat. Now, I’ll never have the chance. It isn’t fair!”
Tommy glanced back at his friends, feeling an unpleasant chill rush down his spine.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The sneer increased marginally in intensity.
“You think you’re going to find Jason and rescue him? Think again, Rangers. He’s gone forever. You’re never going to see him again. The wormhole was not of our making. It was a random occurrence, and there is no way of knowing where the Red Ranger has gone. Mark this moment well, Rangers. When I return, it will be the beginning of your doom!”
With another howl, Goldar was gone in a burst of golden flame.
“Does he really have to be that melodramatic?” Kim muttered once he’d gone. “I mean, seriously…”
“Tommy?” Trini asked softly. “What is it?”
Tommy drew in a shuddering breath. Clearly, Goldar’s words had not yet sunk in with the others, but he had heard all too clearly.
“We need to get back to the Command Centre. Now.”
He teleported out immediately, leaving the others to follow suit in confused silence.
* * * * *
“Goldar’s gone,” Tommy announced abruptly as he rematerialized back inside the Command Centre. “He had something to say before he left, though. Is it true, Zordon?”
Four flashes of coloured light heralded the arrival of the others, and Zack spoke with just a touch of irritation.
“Tommy, what’s going on?”
“Didn’t you hear what Goldar said?” Tommy asked tersely. “He said they had nothing to do with the wormhole, and that it was a random event. He said there’s no way of knowing where Jason is now. Is that true, Zordon?”
“I am afraid so, Tommy,” Zordon confirmed grimly. “I had hoped it would not be so, but Alpha has just determined it to be the case. The wormhole was a naturally occurring freak event. We could attempt to replicate it, but the odds of a replicated wormhole going to the same destination as the one into which Jason was pulled are extremely remote.”
“How remote?” Tommy demanded. Even though he understood what was being said, a small part of him couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, there was enough of a chance that it would be work taking the risk. He would gladly walk into any vortex if there was even the slimmest chance of finding Jason.
“Three hundred thousand trillion to one,” Alpha said in a small voice.
Silence met the dramatic announcement.
“Oh my god,” Trini whispered long seconds later, tears filling her eyes as reality hit.
“He’s gone,” Kim whimpered, equally tearful. “Jason’s gone. He’s really gone…”
“No,” Tommy said hoarsely, shaking his head. “No, there has to be a way. Zordon, there has to be a way to find him! We can’t give up. He wouldn’t give up on finding any of us. We can’t give up on him!”
“I have no intention of giving up,” Zordon answered with a resolve that mollified them all just slightly. “However, whilst hoping for the best, we must be prepared for the worst.”
Tommy let his breath out in a long hiss.
“As long as we’re not quitting. I can deal with that.”
“In the meantime,” Billy spoke up finally, “what about his parents? We can’t leave them not knowing anything. We can’t do that to them. They don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
Tommy nodded, looking back to Zordon expectantly.
“We have to tell them something, Zordon. Billy’s right. We can’t just leave them in the dark, not knowing anything about what happened to Jason.”
“You may tell them the truth, Rangers,” Zordon conceded. “However, you must avoid revealing Jason’s identity as the Red Ranger.”
“Zordon, that might be difficult,” Zack pointed out. “There were people in the park watching when all of that went down. It’s gonna be all over Angel Grove by tonight that the Red Ranger was thrown into a vortex. Jason’s folks aren’t stupid. They’re gonna figure it out.”
“That is true,” Zordon conceded. “Very well, Rangers. You may tell them the truth, but they must be sworn to secrecy. No one else must know, because your own identities will be placed at risk. Jason will need to be reported as a missing person, but only his parents may know the truth of what happened to him.”
“I understand, but that is not going to be easy for them,” Tommy said gloomily.
“Uh, Zordon?” Billy asked tentatively. “There’s one other big problem. When Jason was pulled into the wormhole, he took the red power coin with him. Without him, we can’t form the Megazord. How are we going to get around that?”
“I will need to create a new coin,” Zordon admitted, “but it will take time.”
“So there’ll be a new Red Ranger?” Tommy asked quietly. “You’re going to be picking someone to replace Jason?”
“No one can replace Jason,” Zordon told the teens kindly. “He was a vital member of this team, and it will be hard for you all to adjust without him. However, as Billy has pointed out, you cannot form the Megazord without the red power coin, and a Ranger to wield it. My intention will not be to replace Jason, but to introduce a new member to the team as a wholly new component. As I have said, we will not cease searching for Jason, not ever. Now, you must be vigilant, Rangers. This is a dangerous time for all of us, and Rita will be well aware of our vulnerabilities.”
Tommy was silent for a long moment before nodding. He understood what Zordon was not saying, but he appreciated their mentor’s attempts to be diplomatic. The old wizard was effectively saying that Jason was lost, would have to be replaced and that they needed to move on, and yet he was saying it in such a way that it didn’t sound like it. For that, Tommy was grateful because it still afforded them hope.
“We understand, Zordon. Thank you, and please, let us know straight away if you find anything at all.”
“I will, Rangers. Farewell for now.”
Exchanging reluctant looks, the five friends teleported out of the Command Centre.
* * * * *
“Tommy?” Kim asked softly as they approached the Scott home. He caught her hand in his own, and squeezed gently.
“I’m not looking forward to this,” he admitted.
“None of us are,” Trini confirmed as she, Zack and Billy came up on either side of Tommy and Kim. “That’s why we’re doing it together.”
“I’m just glad Jason’s dad is home,” Zack said softly. “Not that it’s going to make it any easier for us, but at least they’ll hear the news together, and have each other for support.”
“C’mon,” Tommy sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
He walked stoically up to the front door and rang the bell before stepping back deliberately to wait. When the door was answered a minute later, it was by Donavon Scott. He faltered at the sight of the five friends, and the smile that had been on his face slipped away with disturbing ease.
“Something’s wrong,” he said flatly as he took in the expressions on their faces. “Where’s Jason?”
“Can we please come in, Mr Scott?” Tommy asked softly. “We need to talk to you and your wife, and I really don’t want to have to repeat myself.”
In numb silence, Donavon stepped back and let the teens into the house, motioning for them to go through to the family room where Sarah was sitting. She looked puzzled as they filed in, and that puzzlement quickly made way for tangible concern.
“Kids? What’s wrong? Where is Jason?”
“We need to tell you something,” Tommy said quietly, forcing himself to look them both in the eye.
“Something’s happened to Jason,” Donavon guessed. There was a tell-tale tremor in his voice, and Tommy hated himself right then for putting it there. He nodded miserably.
“We… We’ve been given permission to tell you the whole truth about what happened today, but no one else can know.”
“Who gave you permission?” Donavon demanded to know. “And why can’t anyone else know?”
“Because,” Tommy said tensely, “if anyone else finds out the truth, then they’ll be able to work out the whole truth, and that will break the oath we made when… when we became the Power Rangers.”
Silence met the bold statement. Both Donavon and Sarah stared at Tommy for so long that he was seriously considering teleporting out of the house. Then, when one of them did finally speak, it was not the scepticism that Tommy had anticipated.
“Jason is the Red Ranger,” Sarah said abruptly. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yeah,” Zack intoned when Tommy didn’t respond. “Good guess.”
Sarah smiled bitterly.
“I have to admit, I’ve wondered for a while now. It’s been going on for nearly eighteen months, hasn’t it?”
Donavon nodded in agreement.
“I bet we could pinpoint the approximate period when he started. That would be when all you kids started showing a preference for one particular colour. I know that Jason always liked red, but he’d never been inclined to dress exclusively in red, until about eighteen months ago. So going by that…” He looked from one to the next with deliberate care. “Tommy, you’d be the White Ranger… Trini, you’re the Yellow Ranger. Zack would be black, Billy would be blue and Kim would be pink. Am I right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Tommy confirmed.
“All right, then,” Donavon murmured. He motioned to the couches and chairs scattered around the room. “You’d all best sit down, and tell us what’s happened.”
Neither Donavon nor Sarah made any assumptions as to what had happened, and Tommy wasn’t sure in the end if that made it easier or harder. All he knew was that by the time they’d finished telling the Scotts about what had happened to their son, there was not a dry eye in the room.
“Thank you, all of you,” Donavon said as he hugged his sobbing wife. “It can’t have been easy to come here and tell us all of that, but I’m grateful that you did. It would have been worse to have Jason simply disappear, and not know what had happened to him.”
“We thought you’d be angry,” Trini admitted. Donavon smiled tiredly at her.
“We probably will be, once the shock and the grief fades, but never at any of you. I hope none of you will ever be too scared to say hello when you see either of us, or even come around from time to time to talk. We’d love to hear some of the stories you must have to tell, and it might just do you kids some good as well, to have someone to talk to.”
“That would be good,” Tommy admitted, feeling a load lift from his shoulders at Donavon’s assurance that he wasn’t blaming them. He got awkwardly to his feet. “Zordon said that Jason will have to be reported as a missing person, so I suppose you’ll have to wait for twenty-four hours before to make a report.”
“Not necessarily,” Donavon said. “Jason is well known for being responsible, and he’s got none of the problems that your typical teenage runaway might exhibit. There’s no drug, alcohol or domestic violence issue, so we might only need to wait until tomorrow morning. I think that by then the police will take it seriously when we report that our son never came home the night before.”
“I’m sorry you have to go through all that,” Tommy apologised. “But if anything gets out that causes anyone to guess that he’s the Red Ranger…”
“It’s okay, Tommy,” Sarah told him. “We understand. Your safety needs to be paramount. Just promise us, you won’t stop searching for him?”
“Never,” Tommy vowed fiercely. “We’ll never quit searching for him. I swear it.”
“That’s all we ask,” Donavon murmured. “Thank you. All of you.”
* * * * *
“So what now?” Kim asked softly after they’d left the Scott home. Tommy shrugged.
“We go about business as usual, as hard as it’s going to be. We can’t just stop living, after all. And besides, you heard Goldar earlier. Rita’s not going quit. If anything, the attacks are likely to get worse. I just hope that we either find Jason, or Zordon can complete the new power coin very soon. Preferably both. A new Ranger wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“I just wish it didn’t have to be at Jason’s expense,” Trini said tearfully. Zack hugged her briefly before speaking grimly.
“One thing we haven’t thought of before. Once Jason officially becomes a missing person, the police are gonna be asking each of us when we saw him last.”
“Easy enough to deal with,” Tommy said. “We spent the day on the beach, aside from the monster attack. Later on, we all headed home, and that was the last we saw of him.”
“You think the cops will buy that?” Zack wondered, somewhat incredulous.
“The simpler, the better,” Tommy said with a shrug. “They’ll be suspicious if we have too elaborate a story to tell. Not to mention, we’re likely to start telling different versions, and that really will make them suspicious. No, we need to keep it simple. We left the beach, and the last we saw of him was him heading home. Don’t elaborate or embellish. Okay?”
A murmur of agreement went through the group. Tommy looked around at them all sadly.
“Go on home, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He watched them head off in their individual directions before reluctantly heading off in the direction of his own home. It was going to be very hard to sleep that night. He only hoped and prayed that wherever Jason was right then, that he was safe.
* * * * *
to be continued....
Chapter One: A Day In The Life
Author: blucougar57
Summary: A new rift victim proves to be a revelation, and then some, for the Torchwood team.
Rating: T, for now.
Adaption: Prologue
Chapter One: A Day in the Life
Jason awoke to the smell of pancakes and waffles, and knew it was Saturday morning. His heart leapt as he pulled on his robe and pushed his feet into the slippers that his mother insisted that he wear since the dining room and family room floors had been redone with natural polished timber.
At first, he had to admit that he’d been annoyed. After all, he had a natural predilection to walking around in bare feet – a quirk he’d developed through many hours spent training in bare feet for karate. One morning, though, about a week after the new floors had been finished, he’d snuck downstairs in bare feet whilst his parents were still in bed. He conceded, at least to himself, that he had been feeling smug that morning, thinking that he was breaking the rules and feeling unaccountably gleeful over it. That was, until he miss-stepped, caught his foot on a rough spot that must have been missed by the workers, lost balance and landed on his butt with a nice, big splinter in the bottom of his foot.
The worst part was coming to his senses and finding his father was standing in the archway, watching with an amused grin.
Donavon had helped him up, gotten the splinter out of his foot and patched him up, and suggested lightly that it would stay between them if Jason did the right thing from then on and at least wore his slippers, rather than going barefoot. Jason had conceded, if somewhat reluctantly. Loathed though he was to admit it (he was a teenager, after all, and there had to be some element of rebellion there, or he would be letting down his fellow teens around the world), having some sort of footwear on his feet was not such a bad idea.
Tying off the waist cord of his robe, Jason trotted into the kitchen with unconcealed eagerness. His mother, Sarah, looked up and smiled warmly at her son as he seated himself at the bench to watch her cook.
“Hungry, honey?”
“Starved,” he confessed. “I’m heading to the beach today with the gang, and Tommy and I are planning to hold a class on the beach. I’m going to need plenty of energy for that.”
Sarah laughed as she slid three pancakes and a couple of waffles onto a plate and handed it to the teen.
“I can take a hint. Here you go, and make sure you actually chew! Don’t just inhale it like you usually do. Your father isn’t here to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre if you happen to choke yourself.”
Jason pulled a face as he reached for the syrup and poured a liberal amount over his breakfast.
“I forgot he had to work today. Will he be home tonight? We were meant to be going out to dinner, remember?”
“Mm, I don’t see why not,” Sarah mused. “I know he was anticipating a busy day, but he thought he’d be home by mid-afternoon.”
“It’s not fair that he has to work on Saturdays now,” Jason grumbled, frowning at his breakfast. Sarah smiled in sympathy. She could understand her son’s annoyance – he and Donavon used to have a Saturday morning ritual of having breakfast together before going for a walk to the local shops and back for the morning papers, bread, milk and an occasional treat. It was a tradition that had started back when Jason was a lonely little boy with no friends to meet up with, and had continued on even after Jason had built up a network of friends, with whom he seemed to spend every other waking moment.
In what had become a busy life in general for both father and son, it was their chance to spend just a bit of time together each week, catching up and keeping up with each other. When Donavon had found it necessary to open his psychiatric practice on Saturdays to keep up with the demand for his services, Jason had been understandably unhappy at losing their private little Saturday morning ritual. Donavon, too, was regretful, but both understood it was necessary. The compromise had been that every second Saturday, Donavon would make certain he was home by a certain time, and he and Jason would go out for dinner together – usually pizza, or something equally casual. It was a ritual they were both loathed to let go of and yet, just last week Donavon had failed to get home in time to keep his fortnightly appointment with his son.
Jason had been bitterly disappointed, so much so that Donavon had promised that they would make up for it the very next Saturday. Sarah could understand his concern, though, because she felt the same. It seemed that Donavon’s work was taking up more and more of his time, and intruding more and more into their family life. It was a discussion that they had already had more than once, but there seemed to be no easy solution. Sarah accepted that her husband was needed by the community at large, and he was not the kind of person to turn away someone who needed the specialised type of help that he provided.
“Believe me,” she reassured Jason, “he’d rather not, but there are just too many people for him to be able to see them all during the week.”
“I don’t understand why he doesn’t just take on a partner,” Jason argued, his frustration starting to seep through. “That way, he’d halve the number of people he treats.”
“Oh, Jason, if only it was that simple,” Sarah said with a shake of her head. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it than just bringing in another psychiatrist.”
“Like what?” Jason muttered, suddenly feeling less inclined to finish his breakfast.
“Well, for starters, he needs to get accreditation in order to be able to bring in a new partner,” Sarah explained. “That’s not easy to get, and it can take a number of months. Then, he needs to find someone suitable, someone that he can work with. And most importantly, he has to consider the needs of his patients. Some of them have been seeing your father regularly now for a long time. They all trust him, and it’s not so easy to just start trusting someone new.”
“I know,” Jason said. “I know. I just wish he had more time for us, is all. I miss being able to spend time with him. He’s gone by the time I get up most mornings, and I only see him for a couple of hours at night. Sunday is the only day left when I get to see him longer than to just say hi or bye to.” He paused, really looking at his mother for the first time since entering the kitchen, and seeing the same sadness and disappointment on her face that he knew was reflected on his own, and felt lousy for dumping his concerns on her. “Sorry, Mom. I guess I just got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
She smiled, then, and patted his hand.
“I’d love to know how, since your bed is sideways against the wall.”
The two stared at each other for long seconds before they both burst out laughing.
“Really, though,” Jason said as he started to eat again. “I shouldn’t be complaining. Dad does the best he can. I know that. I’d just like to see more of him, and I know you would, too.”
Sarah nodded as she seated herself beside him and tucked into her own plate of pancakes.
“I would, but I’m grateful for the time he can give us, and maybe down the track he will be able to take on a partner, and things will be easier all round. But until then, we do the best we can. Right?”
Jason nodded, and squeezed his mother’s hand to show her he wasn’t still upset.
“Right.”
“So, you plan to spend all day on the beach?” she asked.
“Most of it, probably,” Jason confirmed. “I’m going to meet the guys at the Youth Centre for the beginners’ class and then we’ll move it to the beach. After that, we’re just going to hang out there, provided the weather stays nice.”
Sarah huffed.
“Not to mention, no monster attacks. Honestly, it’s almost laughable, and I doubt I’d believe it if I hadn’t see some of those ridiculous monsters with my own eyes.”
Jason smirked into his waffles.
“Ridiculous?”
“Oh, please, have you seen them?” Sarah retorted. “Ridiculous is even being too kind. And what sort of name for an evil villain is Rita Repulsa?”
Jason snorted with laughter. He had to admit, he shared his mother’s mirth. While he saw a serious side of the situation with Rita that ordinary people like his mother didn’t (and had the bruises to prove it), there was almost always an element of the inane about the monsters she sent. Mind you, that didn’t change the fact that the Rangers often had to use their utmost cunning and skills in order to defeat those monsters. When it came down to the crunch, it really was no laughing matter, and that was a fact.
“Fair enough,” Jason conceded with a small smile. “But still, thank God for the Power Rangers.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Sarah agreed. “Thank God for them, whoever they are.”
Jason arrived at the Youth Centre at the same time as Tommy, about half an hour before their beginners’ karate class was due to start. The amusement on Tommy’s face was obvious as they met.
“Thought you would have been here half an hour ago, bro.”
Jason shrugged, taking the ribbing good-naturedly. He knew what Tommy was edging at. He was normally the punctual one, where Tommy was more often than not running late and scrambling to get himself sorted out. Whether it was school, or karate classes, the guy had a reputation for being scatterbrained.
“It took me a bit longer to get out of the house than usual. Mom and I were having breakfast together. You know, just talking. It was nice.”
“Fair enough,” Tommy agreed. “You ready for a day on the beach?”
“Absolutely, provided Rita doesn’t interrupt us,” Jason retorted. “And having said that, I probably just jinxed us.”
“Yep, you probably just did,” Tommy said with a smirk. “If today goes to hell, we’re all gonna blame you, just so you know.”
Jason snorted as he followed Tommy into the Youth Centre.
“Yeah, I know. Go figure.”
It was a gorgeous day. It really was. The beach class had gone even better than hoped for. Curious parents had attended, interested to see what their children were learning and, as a direct result of the impromptu audience, the kids in the class had put in that little bit extra effort and enthusiasm. It had been quite the treat for all present, a treat added to by one thoughtful parent who produced frozen fruit pieces and fruit juice as a treat for both students and teachers alike after the class was over.
Later, Tommy and Jason were joined by their friends who had been watching from the shade of the sand dunes, and they lounged on the warm sand, enjoying the last of the fruit and the juice.
“Now this is the way to enjoy a Saturday,” Zack said with a grin. “We get to sit back and watch you two getting hot and sweaty teaching the rugrats, and then sitting back and enjoying the fruits of your labour.”
“Literally,” Trini added wryly, and they all laughed.
“Don’t get too smug about it, Zack,” Jason warned him with a smirk. “Remember, you agreed to take over from me in a couple of months’ time when we go on vacation.”
Zack’s groan was loud and exaggerated, and prompted a fresh round of laughter.
“Don’t remind me. I’m telling you right now, Tommy, we aren’t killing ourselves on the sand when I’m helping you out. It’s the Youth Centre or bust.”
The sly look on Tommy’s face raised immediate alarms.
“Sorry, pal,” Tommy apologised, though he sounded anything but sorry. “The parents have already been advised by letter that once summer hits properly, all Saturday morning classes will be on the beach.”
“Cruel,” Zack moaned. “That is harsh, man. You could have warned me.”
“Consider yourself warned, bro,” Jason said with a laugh. “Now, quit whining and enjoy the peace while it lasts.”
“Don’t, you’ll jinx us,” Kim threatened him. Jason sighed and settled back on the sand.
“It’s too nice a day to worry about Rita. If she’s got any sense at all, she’ll be out somewhere enjoying the sun, too.”
Tommy snorted.
“She could use it. The woman is way too pale, man.”
Their laughter was heard not just by nearby beach-goers, but also by the witch in question herself, as she observed the Rangers enjoying their day on the beach.
“They think I’m pale, do they?” she shrieked in rage. “How dare they! Don’t they know too much sun is a bad thing? Well, if they don’t, they will by the time I’m through with them. Goldar!”
The gold-armoured monster ape ambled forward, bowing low in an obsequious show of compliance.
“What is your command, Mistress Rita?”
“Take an army of putties,” she ordered. “Keep the Rangers occupied until Finster finishes his latest monster creation.”
Goldar’s red eyes literally glowed with anticipation, especially with eagerness for another shot at his chosen nemesis, the Red Ranger. He knew that if he could just get Jason away from his precious friends, he’d be triumphant in destroying the Red Ranger. Rita had told him to take an army of putties to distract the Rangers, so that was exactly what he was going to do. He’d let the putties take up the attention of the other Rangers, and he would deal with the Red Ranger once and for all.
None of the Rangers could really claim to be especially surprised when Alpha 5 in the Command Centre alerted them to the fact that Goldar had appeared in nearby Angel Grove Park with a veritable army of putties, and was wreaking havoc on the locals.
“Jinx,” Kim teased Jason lightly as they quickly packed up their things and got ready to teleport. He favoured her with a withering look. Despite their earlier jokes, he didn’t particularly appreciate the humour now. He really had been looking forward to an uninterrupted day of peace, but it seemed that Rita was determined that they should not have even one day of that. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wished there was no rule against escalating a fight, because he would have dearly loved to assemble the Megazord, take it to the Moon and launch an attack that would send Rita back to hell, or wherever she’d come from in the first place.
A glance at Tommy, and Jason knew his friend harboured similar thoughts. No, they would never act on them, but it sure as hell was cathartic to think them.
“Okay, guys. Let’s go deal with monkey boy and his goons.”
While the method of the fight was much like they were used to, even Jason had to concede that the sheer volume of putties was far beyond what they were used to dealing with. The ugly grey creatures swarmed the park like locusts, and it wasn’t long before the teens were forced to morph in order to get the situation under control.
Suspicions of a potential trap began to form in Jason’s mind, and his suspicions seemed to be confirmed when Goldar confronted him and attacked without hesitation. Risking a glance around, even as they clashed swords, Jason realised his friends were all completely occupied with the putties, which had turned their collective attention to an unfortunate group of children and their parents who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. None of them were even remotely aware that he was yet again facing his old nemesis.
Even as they battled, Jason sensed a difference between this time and the previous times they’d faced off. For starters, Goldar had not said a single word to him, unlike their other clashes when the over-sized ape targeted him. Usually their battles were as much a war of words as a war of physical ability but today there was nothing of the sort. Perhaps it was a result of the silence which cloaked Goldar, but the monster henchman’s attack seemed to have escalated in power, and Jason suddenly found himself struggling under the weight of the assault.
“Let me guess,” Jason gasped as Goldar delivered a particularly powerful blow that slipped through Jason’s defences and struck him solidly in the chest. “You had a double serve of Weeties this morning?”
Goldar snarled, but said nothing, much to Jason’s growing consternation. Such was the ferocity of the attack that he dared not even spare a glance for his friends. The power suit supposed allowed him to survive direct hits like the one Goldar had just delivered, but he didn’t care to test out that theory to its full extent. The sword came at him again, and he ducked and rolled, only to be sent sprawling when Goldar’s metal-plated foot kicked him with brutal force in the side. It was only sheer luck and the momentum provided by that kick that helped him to roll out of the way when Goldar drove his sword downwards with clear intent to impale.
Fighting back discomforting flashbacks to the Dimension of Darkness, where he had once been trapped and forced to fight Goldar without his morphing powers, Jason scrambled to his feet in a desperate effort to regain his equilibrium. All of a sudden, he had a deep-seated and terrifying notion that this time, Goldar truly was intent on killing him. Drawing in a long, calming breath, Jason raised his sword and focused his mind and body on defending himself against his old enemy.
Despite being the least skilled fighter of all the Rangers, Billy Cranston was not by any means helpless. Thanks to the ongoing tutelage of his friends, and ingrained abilities gifted to him by his power coin, Billy could more than hold his own against the onslaught of putties. One advantage that he did have, though, was that despite being caught up in the heat of the battle, he never lost his skill of observation.
So it was that while the others were busy fighting their own battles, and appeared oblivious to all else, Billy was acutely aware that Goldar had once again zeroed in on Jason. He noticed the new ferocity with which Goldar was attacking the hapless Red Ranger, and he couldn’t help but notice the way that Jason was slowly beginning to strain under the force of Goldar’s fury.
Above and beyond all else, though, Billy was the only one – out of both sides – that noticed the sudden swirling vortex that was opening up over their heads, and particularly seemed to be centred above Jason and Goldar.
Billy’s heart leapt into his throat as he realised quickly what it was that he was seeing. A wormhole, not dissimilar to the ones on the Stargate TV show, had opened up and, by the looks of it, was starting to pull things into it like some sort of miniature black hole. Suddenly panicked for his oldest friend, Billy yelled a warning that brought the entire battle to a standstill.
“Jason! Look out, above you! Get out of the way, quickly!”
Jason froze at Billy’s warning, and then looked up. Puzzlement rapidly turned to shock and fear, and he turned to flee from the danger zone. He’d only made it a few steps, though, when his momentum was halted by a clawed hand grabbing hold of his belt. He gasped as he was jerked backwards, and cried out in pain as Goldar’s claws raked his back and arms through his uniform as the monstrous henchman grabbed him in a vicious grip. His suit offered precious little protection from the razor sharp claws, and he tasted blood in his mouth as Goldar punched him hard from behind with his razor-covered fist, winding him beyond immediate recovery.
“Goodbye, Red Ranger,” Goldar snarled, speaking to him for the first time since they’d started fighting. “Time for us to be rid of you forever.”
Jason looked around helplessly as Billy and the others ran towards him to help. A moment later, Goldar threw him into the air with a roar, straight into the centre of the vortex. He hung there for long seconds, suspended in mid-air as the wormhole swirled around him and, for just a brief moment, he thought gravity would kick in and he would tumble back to the ground. He flailed ridiculously, as though the uncontrolled movement would bring him back to earth. Then, he was being swept upwards into the swirling darkness and away from the world he knew. An unbearable pressure surrounded him, and everything went black.
“Jason!” Tommy screamed, horrified at the sight of his friend vanishing into the vortex. “Damn you, Goldar, where have you sent him?”
Goldar laughed cruelly.
“I have no idea, White Ranger. That wormhole was not of our creation. It was simply a random opportunity that I took full advantage of. Good luck finding your friend. He could be in any one of an unlimited number of world or parallel universes... assuming he survives the journey through the wormhole.”
Roaring with laughter and delight, Goldar summoned the remaining putties, and vanished in a blaze of fire, leaving behind five stunned Rangers.
“Command Centre,” Tommy said finally in a hoarse voice. “Quickly. Zordon will know what to do, and how to get Jason back. C’mon, let’s go.”
They were gone in a flash of rainbow light.
“Zordon?” Alpha asked in his standard, panic-stricken voice as they watched the situation unfold on the viewing monitor. “It’s a wormhole! Do you think Rita caused it?”
“I doubt it, Alpha,” Zordon intoned grimly. “I can think of a number of enemies with the power to create such a porthole but Rita is not among them. Her power is considerable, but not that far extended.”
“But if we don’t know who created it, then how are we going to get Jason back?”
Before Zordon had a chance to reply, flashes of rainbow light heralded the return of the Rangers. Tommy strode forward, de-morphing as he went.
“Alpha, you need to start scanning all the other dimensions now. Billy will help. We have to find Jason before Rita does anything worse to him.”
“Rita was not responsible for the wormhole into which Jason was thrown,” Zordon said, bringing the teens to an abrupt halt after their initial buzz of activity.
“What do you mean, she’s not responsible?” Kim asked. Her voice was strained in an audible display of the stress they were all feeling. “Who else would have done it?”
“There are a more enemies in the universe than Rita Repulsa,” Zordon answered with reluctance. This was a conversation he had not wanted to hold yet with the Rangers. Though he was sure they wouldn’t be naïve enough to assume that Rita was the only villain out there, nor were they quite ready to face someone more powerful than her. “Some of them wield a great deal more power than she does. A number of them have the capability to create a wormhole such as the one you just witnessed.”
“Can you find out who caused it?” Tommy asked. His tone was soft with an underlying hint of danger, and Zordon felt a moment of infinite regret for the one who behind this latest trouble. Only a moment, mind you. A greater part of him wanted to see Tommy deal Ranger justice out to the perpetrator.
“I have already begun,” he reassured the teens. “It may take a little time, though, Rangers. I suggest you return to the park, and ensure that Rita does not attempt to use the distraction and send other menaces.”
“It did happen around the time when she normally sends a monster,” Zack conceded glumly.
“Let’s just hope that if she does send one now, that we can destroy it before she can make it grow,” Billy said in an equally glum tone. Tommy shut his eyes, feeling an oncoming migraine.
“Because without Jason, we can’t summon the Tyrannosaurus Zord and form the Megazord. C’mon, guys. Let’s get back and keep an eye on things back in Angel Grove. We can’t do anything more here. Not yet, at any rate.”
Once the teens had teleported out, Alpha spoke again in a tremulous tone that was most un-robot-like.
“Zordon? We can find Jason, can’t we?”
“We will try,” Zordon replied and, in the silence that followed, Alpha couldn’t help but reflect on how those simple words could instil so much fear into his little electronic heart.
“Do you think it’ll take long to work it out?” Zack wondered. All eyes immediately turned to Billy, who shifted uncomfortably under the sudden scrutiny of his friends.
“I… I don’t know, exactly…” he stammered, unable to look any of them directly in the eye. The others exchanged uneasy looks. They knew Billy well enough that his particular mannerisms were well known to all of them by now. The way he was reacting suggested that he knew more than he was letting them in on and in their own distress, it didn’t occur to any of them that perhaps they were better off not knowing – at least, for the moment.
“Talk to us, Billy,” Trini urged him. “What are you thinking?”
When the Blue Ranger hesitated, Tommy spoke up in a stern, patented leader tone that was tailored to getting a response from his teammates and enemies alike.
“Billy? Look at me.”
Slowly, Billy raised his eyes to meet Tommy’s, and the look of misery that Tommy saw there sent shudders of fear through him.
“Talk to us, Billy,” Tommy ordered, echoing Trini’s gentler entreaty in a far less gentle tone. “What are you worried about?”
“Even if Zordon can find out who created the wormhole,” Billy said dismally, “whether we can get Jason back depends very much on whether it was created as a specific pathway, or just randomly generated.”
“Randomly generated,” Kim echoed in a worried tone. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It’s about as bad as it sounds,” Billy confirmed. “What it basically boils down to, in simple terms, “is that if the wormhole was randomly generated, or even a freak occurrence, we may never be able to get Jason back.”
“Don’t say that,” Tommy said hoarsely. Billy shook his head. Tommy had demanded that he tell them what was on his mind, and he had no intention of stopping halfway.
“We all are hoping for the best, obviously, but we need to understand that there is a possible worst case scenario out there.”
“You’re saying that Jason might be lost forever,” Kim whispered through a haze of tears. Billy nodded. He hated himself for making them see the grim possibilities but they had wanted to know the truth and he could see no point in sugar-coating it for them.
“Yes,” Billy agreed softly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. However, alternatively, there is an equal possibility that Zordon will be successful in determining where Jason has been sent, and that we will be able to rescue him.” He looked around at their pale faces, and felt his heart rend. “I’m not telling you not to hope for the best, guys, but you wanted to know what was worrying me. I was just being honest.”
Zack smiled weakly at the bespectacled boy.
“Next time I want you to tell me something that you don’t want to say, remind me of this moment.”
“Yeah, me too,” Kim muttered.
Tommy glanced down at his communicator and made a conscious effort to tamp down his desire to go straight back to the Command Centre and stand over Alpha until he had a result. Doing that would be of no help – not to Zordon and Alpha, not to them, and especially not to Jason. The best thing that they could do right then was exactly as Zordon had requested. They need to patrol the park and make sure it was safe, and deal accordingly with remnant putties and with any potential monster threat that Rita might choose to send.
“Okay,” Tommy said finally, “we’ll patrol like Zordon asked us to. We don’t have to like it, but at least it might keep us distracted for a while.”
A murmur of consent swept through the group. Tommy was right – they didn’t like it, but at the same time they understood the value in the distraction.
“Okay,” Trini said with resolve. “Let’s patrol and when we’re done, we’ll head back and find out how we’re going to save Jason.”
“And God help Goldar if I see him,” Tommy said through gritted teeth as they headed off. “Because if I see him right now, I might just kill him.”
When Goldar returned to the Moon Palace, it was to find Rita delighted and Finster sulking. As soon as he walked into the throne room, Rita was all over him, praising him and planting kisses all over his face that left him wanting to go and soak his face in bleach.
“You did it!” she crowed. “You got rid of that pesky Red Ranger once and for all! I can’t believe he’s gone! Goldar, you magnificent ape, you wonderful monster! You may have just won this war for me!”
Goldar was puzzled, to say the least, and more than a little disappointed.
“You mean you’ve disposed of the Red Ranger already?”
If nothing else, he’d hoped for a chance to give the young upstart a good beating first. Rita cackled wildly, and Goldar had to resist an urge to clap his clawed hands over his ears. Rita’s laughter was unpleasant at the best of times, even to the ears of a monster. Hearing her screech with delight like this was like a hundred dentist drills going all at once.
“That’s the whole point, you idiot!” she yelled. The scathing words were familiar but the delighted and almost affectionate tone were not. “I didn’t have to! That vortex wasn’t caused by me. It opened up on its own! I don’t know where that pesky Red Ranger is now, but I can guarantee it’s nowhere in this universe. He’s gone, and they’re never going to be able to get him back! This is going to cripple the Rangers, and especially Tommy.”
“So we’re going to send my new monster down now, then, and get them while they’re still in shock?” Finster asked hopefully.
“No, you moron!” Rita shrieked. “I’m not wasting a perfectly good monster. When I defeat the Rangers once and for all, I want it to be a victory that I can savour! No, we’re going to wait, and strike when the time is right.”
While Finster went off in an obvious huff, Goldar retreated to a dark corner to consider the situation. He was a warrior. Sure, he was evil, and he’d cheat and scheme with the best of them, but he was still a warrior and despite what he’d said to Tommy about the Red Ranger ending up potentially anywhere in the universe, he’d thrown Jason into the vortex thinking he was sending the boy to one of Rita’s many Dimensions of Darkness. He’d thought he would then have the chance to crush the boy in a one-on-one battle, and finally finish what he’d strived so hard to achieve for so long.
This? This was not a victory to him. This was fate cruelly cheating him out of a long sought-after prize. If what Rita had said was true, then it would certainly make the Rangers easier to defeat but the shine was definitely taken from the perceived victory. He’d wanted to destroy the Red Ranger with his own bare claws and if Rita was right, now he would never have that chance.
Suddenly enraged, Goldar stormed from the throne room and teleported himself back to Earth, to search for a means of venting his fury.
“Rangers,” Alpha’s tinny voice came over their communicators, “Goldar has just appeared at the north end of the park and is attacking civilians.”
Tommy grimaced.
“Well, that didn’t take long. C’mon, guys. Let’s go stop him.”
By the time they arrived on the scene, though, it seemed that Goldar’s attack had already run out of steam, and he was merely standing there, swinging his sword at nothing in particular and bellowing loudly in frustration.
“Goldar, you’ve got one chance to clear out,” Tommy warned as he approached, fully morphed. “I’m warning you, I am not in the mood for messing around today.”
Goldar turned his glowing red eyes on the White Ranger, and he sneered half-heartedly.
“Pathetic Rangers. I should have had the chance to defeat the Red Ranger in hand to hand combat. Now, I’ll never have the chance. It isn’t fair!”
Tommy glanced back at his friends, feeling an unpleasant chill rush down his spine.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The sneer increased marginally in intensity.
“You think you’re going to find Jason and rescue him? Think again, Rangers. He’s gone forever. You’re never going to see him again. The wormhole was not of our making. It was a random occurrence, and there is no way of knowing where the Red Ranger has gone. Mark this moment well, Rangers. When I return, it will be the beginning of your doom!”
With another howl, Goldar was gone in a burst of golden flame.
“Does he really have to be that melodramatic?” Kim muttered once he’d gone. “I mean, seriously…”
“Tommy?” Trini asked softly. “What is it?”
Tommy drew in a shuddering breath. Clearly, Goldar’s words had not yet sunk in with the others, but he had heard all too clearly.
“We need to get back to the Command Centre. Now.”
He teleported out immediately, leaving the others to follow suit in confused silence.
“Goldar’s gone,” Tommy announced abruptly as he rematerialized back inside the Command Centre. “He had something to say before he left, though. Is it true, Zordon?”
Four flashes of coloured light heralded the arrival of the others, and Zack spoke with just a touch of irritation.
“Tommy, what’s going on?”
“Didn’t you hear what Goldar said?” Tommy asked tersely. “He said they had nothing to do with the wormhole, and that it was a random event. He said there’s no way of knowing where Jason is now. Is that true, Zordon?”
“I am afraid so, Tommy,” Zordon confirmed grimly. “I had hoped it would not be so, but Alpha has just determined it to be the case. The wormhole was a naturally occurring freak event. We could attempt to replicate it, but the odds of a replicated wormhole going to the same destination as the one into which Jason was pulled are extremely remote.”
“How remote?” Tommy demanded. Even though he understood what was being said, a small part of him couldn’t help but hope that maybe, just maybe, there was enough of a chance that it would be work taking the risk. He would gladly walk into any vortex if there was even the slimmest chance of finding Jason.
“Three hundred thousand trillion to one,” Alpha said in a small voice.
Silence met the dramatic announcement.
“Oh my god,” Trini whispered long seconds later, tears filling her eyes as reality hit.
“He’s gone,” Kim whimpered, equally tearful. “Jason’s gone. He’s really gone…”
“No,” Tommy said hoarsely, shaking his head. “No, there has to be a way. Zordon, there has to be a way to find him! We can’t give up. He wouldn’t give up on finding any of us. We can’t give up on him!”
“I have no intention of giving up,” Zordon answered with a resolve that mollified them all just slightly. “However, whilst hoping for the best, we must be prepared for the worst.”
Tommy let his breath out in a long hiss.
“As long as we’re not quitting. I can deal with that.”
“In the meantime,” Billy spoke up finally, “what about his parents? We can’t leave them not knowing anything. We can’t do that to them. They don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
Tommy nodded, looking back to Zordon expectantly.
“We have to tell them something, Zordon. Billy’s right. We can’t just leave them in the dark, not knowing anything about what happened to Jason.”
“You may tell them the truth, Rangers,” Zordon conceded. “However, you must avoid revealing Jason’s identity as the Red Ranger.”
“Zordon, that might be difficult,” Zack pointed out. “There were people in the park watching when all of that went down. It’s gonna be all over Angel Grove by tonight that the Red Ranger was thrown into a vortex. Jason’s folks aren’t stupid. They’re gonna figure it out.”
“That is true,” Zordon conceded. “Very well, Rangers. You may tell them the truth, but they must be sworn to secrecy. No one else must know, because your own identities will be placed at risk. Jason will need to be reported as a missing person, but only his parents may know the truth of what happened to him.”
“I understand, but that is not going to be easy for them,” Tommy said gloomily.
“Uh, Zordon?” Billy asked tentatively. “There’s one other big problem. When Jason was pulled into the wormhole, he took the red power coin with him. Without him, we can’t form the Megazord. How are we going to get around that?”
“I will need to create a new coin,” Zordon admitted, “but it will take time.”
“So there’ll be a new Red Ranger?” Tommy asked quietly. “You’re going to be picking someone to replace Jason?”
“No one can replace Jason,” Zordon told the teens kindly. “He was a vital member of this team, and it will be hard for you all to adjust without him. However, as Billy has pointed out, you cannot form the Megazord without the red power coin, and a Ranger to wield it. My intention will not be to replace Jason, but to introduce a new member to the team as a wholly new component. As I have said, we will not cease searching for Jason, not ever. Now, you must be vigilant, Rangers. This is a dangerous time for all of us, and Rita will be well aware of our vulnerabilities.”
Tommy was silent for a long moment before nodding. He understood what Zordon was not saying, but he appreciated their mentor’s attempts to be diplomatic. The old wizard was effectively saying that Jason was lost, would have to be replaced and that they needed to move on, and yet he was saying it in such a way that it didn’t sound like it. For that, Tommy was grateful because it still afforded them hope.
“We understand, Zordon. Thank you, and please, let us know straight away if you find anything at all.”
“I will, Rangers. Farewell for now.”
Exchanging reluctant looks, the five friends teleported out of the Command Centre.
“Tommy?” Kim asked softly as they approached the Scott home. He caught her hand in his own, and squeezed gently.
“I’m not looking forward to this,” he admitted.
“None of us are,” Trini confirmed as she, Zack and Billy came up on either side of Tommy and Kim. “That’s why we’re doing it together.”
“I’m just glad Jason’s dad is home,” Zack said softly. “Not that it’s going to make it any easier for us, but at least they’ll hear the news together, and have each other for support.”
“C’mon,” Tommy sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
He walked stoically up to the front door and rang the bell before stepping back deliberately to wait. When the door was answered a minute later, it was by Donavon Scott. He faltered at the sight of the five friends, and the smile that had been on his face slipped away with disturbing ease.
“Something’s wrong,” he said flatly as he took in the expressions on their faces. “Where’s Jason?”
“Can we please come in, Mr Scott?” Tommy asked softly. “We need to talk to you and your wife, and I really don’t want to have to repeat myself.”
In numb silence, Donavon stepped back and let the teens into the house, motioning for them to go through to the family room where Sarah was sitting. She looked puzzled as they filed in, and that puzzlement quickly made way for tangible concern.
“Kids? What’s wrong? Where is Jason?”
“We need to tell you something,” Tommy said quietly, forcing himself to look them both in the eye.
“Something’s happened to Jason,” Donavon guessed. There was a tell-tale tremor in his voice, and Tommy hated himself right then for putting it there. He nodded miserably.
“We… We’ve been given permission to tell you the whole truth about what happened today, but no one else can know.”
“Who gave you permission?” Donavon demanded to know. “And why can’t anyone else know?”
“Because,” Tommy said tensely, “if anyone else finds out the truth, then they’ll be able to work out the whole truth, and that will break the oath we made when… when we became the Power Rangers.”
Silence met the bold statement. Both Donavon and Sarah stared at Tommy for so long that he was seriously considering teleporting out of the house. Then, when one of them did finally speak, it was not the scepticism that Tommy had anticipated.
“Jason is the Red Ranger,” Sarah said abruptly. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yeah,” Zack intoned when Tommy didn’t respond. “Good guess.”
Sarah smiled bitterly.
“I have to admit, I’ve wondered for a while now. It’s been going on for nearly eighteen months, hasn’t it?”
Donavon nodded in agreement.
“I bet we could pinpoint the approximate period when he started. That would be when all you kids started showing a preference for one particular colour. I know that Jason always liked red, but he’d never been inclined to dress exclusively in red, until about eighteen months ago. So going by that…” He looked from one to the next with deliberate care. “Tommy, you’d be the White Ranger… Trini, you’re the Yellow Ranger. Zack would be black, Billy would be blue and Kim would be pink. Am I right?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Tommy confirmed.
“All right, then,” Donavon murmured. He motioned to the couches and chairs scattered around the room. “You’d all best sit down, and tell us what’s happened.”
Neither Donavon nor Sarah made any assumptions as to what had happened, and Tommy wasn’t sure in the end if that made it easier or harder. All he knew was that by the time they’d finished telling the Scotts about what had happened to their son, there was not a dry eye in the room.
“Thank you, all of you,” Donavon said as he hugged his sobbing wife. “It can’t have been easy to come here and tell us all of that, but I’m grateful that you did. It would have been worse to have Jason simply disappear, and not know what had happened to him.”
“We thought you’d be angry,” Trini admitted. Donavon smiled tiredly at her.
“We probably will be, once the shock and the grief fades, but never at any of you. I hope none of you will ever be too scared to say hello when you see either of us, or even come around from time to time to talk. We’d love to hear some of the stories you must have to tell, and it might just do you kids some good as well, to have someone to talk to.”
“That would be good,” Tommy admitted, feeling a load lift from his shoulders at Donavon’s assurance that he wasn’t blaming them. He got awkwardly to his feet. “Zordon said that Jason will have to be reported as a missing person, so I suppose you’ll have to wait for twenty-four hours before to make a report.”
“Not necessarily,” Donavon said. “Jason is well known for being responsible, and he’s got none of the problems that your typical teenage runaway might exhibit. There’s no drug, alcohol or domestic violence issue, so we might only need to wait until tomorrow morning. I think that by then the police will take it seriously when we report that our son never came home the night before.”
“I’m sorry you have to go through all that,” Tommy apologised. “But if anything gets out that causes anyone to guess that he’s the Red Ranger…”
“It’s okay, Tommy,” Sarah told him. “We understand. Your safety needs to be paramount. Just promise us, you won’t stop searching for him?”
“Never,” Tommy vowed fiercely. “We’ll never quit searching for him. I swear it.”
“That’s all we ask,” Donavon murmured. “Thank you. All of you.”
“So what now?” Kim asked softly after they’d left the Scott home. Tommy shrugged.
“We go about business as usual, as hard as it’s going to be. We can’t just stop living, after all. And besides, you heard Goldar earlier. Rita’s not going quit. If anything, the attacks are likely to get worse. I just hope that we either find Jason, or Zordon can complete the new power coin very soon. Preferably both. A new Ranger wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“I just wish it didn’t have to be at Jason’s expense,” Trini said tearfully. Zack hugged her briefly before speaking grimly.
“One thing we haven’t thought of before. Once Jason officially becomes a missing person, the police are gonna be asking each of us when we saw him last.”
“Easy enough to deal with,” Tommy said. “We spent the day on the beach, aside from the monster attack. Later on, we all headed home, and that was the last we saw of him.”
“You think the cops will buy that?” Zack wondered, somewhat incredulous.
“The simpler, the better,” Tommy said with a shrug. “They’ll be suspicious if we have too elaborate a story to tell. Not to mention, we’re likely to start telling different versions, and that really will make them suspicious. No, we need to keep it simple. We left the beach, and the last we saw of him was him heading home. Don’t elaborate or embellish. Okay?”
A murmur of agreement went through the group. Tommy looked around at them all sadly.
“Go on home, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He watched them head off in their individual directions before reluctantly heading off in the direction of his own home. It was going to be very hard to sleep that night. He only hoped and prayed that wherever Jason was right then, that he was safe.
to be continued....
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Off to read the next bit. =)