This fic
covers PR:SPD episode “History” and the Always a
Ranger series
A/N: Ryan - this is for
you. Thanks for asking about this… I enjoyed doing it. As well, to make things
fit, several main points in the TV show have been changed (see end of story for
details).
Revisionist
History
June 2006
Final day of school
“Conner!” yelled Ethan
James as he saw the former red ranger come through the doors closest to the
front office, passing the students eagerly escaping the confines of the
institution.
“Hey
Ethan! When did you get in from MIT?”
replied Conner McKnight, moving quickly to catch his much missed friend in a
bear hug.
“Last night. I headed
directly to my folks’ place.”
“I know what you mean…”
Conner groaned, his face showing an exaggerated expression.
“What? You aren’t staying
with your folks…” asked Ethan, wondering what might have happened with him and
the reason he shouldn’t be in his old room.
“No… but they want me to
come by and spend time and all. With me being off at school, I hear the whole,
‘we don’t see you anymore’ riff, and so I’m guilted
into having dinner once a week.”
Smiling, Ethan realized
that Conner wasn’t back to bachelorhood, just having to pay penance for being
off in school.
“I understand. So, where’s
your better half?”
Conner punched Ethan’s
arm hard, making the former blue ranger grin even as he rubbed the sore spot. Obviously still in love…
“She’s on her way. I
offered to drive her, but she said she wanted to pick up Kim on her own. I said
it was fine for me to drive them, but I got the impression that she wanted to
talk with Kim alone. No doubt about us,” Conner mock complained, even as he
smiled brightly at the idea of him and Kira as ‘us’.
“God, you two…”
“Us two what?” asked Kira Ford, coming up behind Ethan, poking him in the ribs before
moving to Conner’s side.
“Glued together, just
like always.”
“Hey, give them a break.
Besides, you didn’t give Tommy and me the same grief,” said Kimberly
Hart-Oliver as she popped out of the front office and moved to be hugged
happily by Ethan and Conner.
“God, it’s great to see
you Kim,” commented Ethan with a wide grin as he hugged her.
“Same
here. Tommy will be thrilled to
see you too.”
“So, Dr. O doesn’t know
we’re coming to surprise him, right?” asked Conner, worried now the surprise
might be already gone.
“No. As far as he knows
it’s the last day of school and Kim’s coming to meet him to pack up his room.
Kim?” Kira asked, looking to the former pink ranger
and Dr. O’s wife of nearly 2 years.
“I didn’t say a thing. I
can keep a secret from him if I have to,” Kim remarked with a smile.
“Where’s the last member
of our surprise party?” Ethan asked, looking around rapidly.
From behind them, they
heard the doors open and a young Hispanic man with a huge grin on his face walk
through, headed straight for them.
“
“Sorry I’m late. I had to
catch the red eye out of
“Well, now that we’re all
here, let’s help Dr. O pack,” said Ethan, turning and heading for Dr. O’s
classroom.
The group was chattering
and laughing until they got close, and then Kim had to take over. She shushed
them and knocked on the door before opening it a crack to peer in. She found
Tommy with a cardboard box on his desk in the corner, tossing papers in it and
then in the trash in alternating movements.
“What? Are you sure you
don’t want to take it all?” Kim teased and her husband looked up from his task
and smiled.
“Hey
there you. I didn’t realize it
was that late,” Tommy said as he laid his glasses on the desk to move to drag
his wife into the room, kiss her some before going back to the task of
finishing up another school year.
Seeing his intent, Kim
knew the time to spring the surprise was now before he started something that
would embarrass them both before their former team mates and friends. Opening
the door further, she stepped in, followed by Trent, Ethan, Conner and Kira as they all yelled out in unison.
“Surprise!”
Tommy froze in his
tracks. They…
“You set me up,” he said to
Kim with a mock growl before moving to hug the group of young adults moving
forward to greet him.
“I was inspired to surprise
you for once. Luckily you deal with surprises on your feet.”
He laughed at that and
continued with the round of hugs being thrown his way by his former students,
friends and team mates.
“What are you all doing
here?”
“Helping you pack and
coming home for the summer,” replied Ethan, moving to poke his nose in the
cardboard box on Dr. O’s desk.
“I would have thought you
would have stayed in
“I’m selling the house,
so I wanted to see it one last time,” he remarked with a touch of melancholy in
his voice, prompting Kim to sling her arm around the now taller young man’s
waist in comfort.
“Well, let’s get you outta here and maybe catch up over some pizza!” said
Conner, hurrying over to Ethan as the two of them piled the stuff there and in
the drawers into the box until it was bulging.
“Alright, let’s go,”
relented Tommy as he moved to circle Kim’s wait with his arm and headed towards
the door, Conner with the box in his arms and Kira at
his side, Trent and Ethan following behind.
As they stepped out into
the empty corridor, Kim looked to Tommy with a smile, seeing past him to note
the others around them. All was perfect in their world,
Kim thought when her eyes were suddenly filled with a blinding white light. It
enveloped them in moments… And when the white light dissipated, only the box of
Dr. O’s things remained, falling to the floor with a thud.
-x-
“Oh crap,” said Kim as
she looked around, realizing they were no longer in the school.
Instead they were in some
kind of lab, and before them a pair of obviously monstrous beings stood before
them. Which, having dealt with bad guys for as long as Kim and Tommy had been rangers was a sure sign that they were in trouble.
“You’re going to help me destroy
this planet by giving me your powers,” said the being in the glass helmet.
“No way!” called out
Conner indignantly.
“Let’s get out of here!”
yelled Tommy, his hand making a quick gesture towards the door.
Breaking for the door,
the six dino thunder members were able to quickly
escape. But as they got outside, they realized they were lost… and that they
were being pursued. Racing to locate some space to maneuver, the team found
themselves hit a dead end, and were forces to turn as one to face the black and
white colored robotic like foes facing them.
“Any thoughts on what
these things are?” asked Conner, the team’s backs against a wall.
“They’re not tyranodrones, but they’re up there in the creepy department”
commented Kira, noting the blocky things advancing on
them.
“And they sure aren’t
putties,” remarked Kim, Tommy right beside her.
“Any
ideas on how to get out of this?”
Conner questioned, his hands coming up to battle stance.
“I’m still trying to
figure out how we got into it,” replied Ethan.
“Alright everyone,”
called out Tommy as he fell into battle stance, “we’re back in business!”
And then the bad guys
were on them.
-x-
“This is strange…”
“A Trubian energy reading?”
“No. A
ranger energy reading. An intense surge in the morphing grid is spiking in
the downtown sector,” said Kat, watching the six colored signatures blinking on
her map. The colors were wrong…
“But I didn’t deploy the
rangers. I thought they were here in the base?” asked Commander Doggie Cruger.
Before Kat could answer,
the rangers in question strode through the door.
“What’s new in the SPD zoo
Commander,” asked Jack, his smirk fading as he saw the looks on Cruger and Kat’s faces.
“Narrow in on the energy
reading,” Cruger told Kat.
“I’m on it.”
“What’s going on Kat?”
asked
“What energy reading
Sir?” questioned Sky.
“I’m detecting an
alternate ranger energy reading downtown,” explained Kat.
“But, we’re not
downtown,” said Bridge confused. “I mean, I’m not downtown. I don’t think I
am.”
“Don’t look at me. I’m
all here,” said Z, referring to her other ‘selves’.
“Then it must be
A-Squad?” asked Sky hopefully.
“They made it back!”
“Too many colors… wrong
ones too,” said Kat, pointing at the screen.
“Well, whomever
it is, you should go and check it out,” said Cruger,
sending the team running for the door.
-x-
As the dino team faced the fishbowl guy and his minions again,
they were prepared for another round of battle, and probably having to morph
before getting their butts kicked. Instead, they watched as a jeep with sirens
and lights screeched to a halt near them, making their opponents turn. Five
youths dressed in grey and colored jumpsuits emerged quickly from the jeep,
heading their way, dodging the now attacking bad guy minions.
The dino
team watched in stunned awe as the newcomers took on their adversaries.
Quickly the minions had
been dealt with and the five youths now squared off with the main bad guy…
“Back off Broodwing,” yelled Jack, pointing at the massive monster.
“Fly back to where you
came from,” snarked Z.
“SPD,
always getting in my way! I’m not
through with any of you,” Broodwing exclaimed as he
jumped into the air, his wings letting hi fly off and escape.
“You guys okay,” asked Z
as they raced to the six people left in Broodwing’s
wake.
“A little confused, but
we’re okay,” replied Conner with surprise.
“Broodwing’s bad news. Attacking innocent civilians, that’s just low” said Sky dismissingly.
“You’ve fought this freak
before?” asked Conner, moving forward towards the colored team before him as
Tommy and Kim looked at one another in surprise… could they be…
“Oh yeah, all in a day’s
work,” answered Jack, reaching for his badge. “We’re power rangers, space
patrol delta.”
“Wait a minute…” started Kira, her mind starting to get lost. “You can’t be the
power rangers.”
“Why not?” asked Z,
curious but confused as the rest of the SPD team stared at them quizzically,
not even recognizing the people before them let alone comprehending the colors
they were wearing.
“Cause we are,” announced
as the dino thunder team raised their wrists in near
unison, showing off their gauntlets, dino gems
glittering from them.
“Oh…” replied Z, her
mouth fighting not to drop open.
-x-
The dino
team had been escorted through the corridors, most of them fighting not to get
lost as their heads whipped around, looking at the technology, the people
staring at them like they were aliens or something. That was until they walked
into what seemed to be the command center of the place. They’d been told that
they were now in the future and that they were being lead through the academy
that trained power rangers, and that Earth was under attack by an army of
aliens and giant robots.
Kim and Tommy had signed
at that last part, knowing that even in the future the lives of rangers never
seemed to get any easier.
Finally the group passed
the entrance to the hub of the complex and Ethan looked around admiringly.
“Okay, I’m not complaining,
but our command center was a cave,” he commented.
“Hey guys, that’s our
commander, Anubis Cruger,
and our lovely technical expert Dr. Kat Manx,” said Jack as the team was
brought up short by the blue skinned being before them and cat eyed woman at
his side.
“Welcome to our base
rangers,” said Commander Cruger, making the whole dino team draw up short.
“Broodwing
was after them,” said Sky, cutting to the chase.
“I can see why,” said
Kat, bringing up images of the team in battle on the main screen. “The archives
show the dino thunder team have faced off against
some of the most treacherous and dangerous villains in all history.”
“Ah, memories,”
wisecracked Conner.
“But that was yeas ago.
What I don’t get is how you got here,” Jack said, looking at the team before
them.
“We’re not sure how we
got here,” explained Tommy, hoping the group before them would.
“I’m sure Broodwing went to a lot of expense to bring you here. He
won’t give up on you so easily,” explained Cruger.
“It was probably a
spell,” announced Kat, her eyes focusing on the six former rangers before them.
“I would assume that Broodwing wanted something from
you, more than likely your ranger powers, so he brought you here to take them
from you.”
“Well he isn’t getting them,”
Kim said harshly.
“No, he isn’t. And to
make sure of that, we need you to stay here while we locate a way to get you
back to your own time where you will be safe from Broodwing
and Emperor Gruumm,” said Cruger.
“Besides, you’re not
rangers anymore,” said Sky.
“We’re retired, not
dead,”
“Besides, we don’t want
you guys to get into anymore trouble,” replied Jack. “We have enough problems
to deal with.”
Before anyone could say
anything, an alarm sounded, bathing the room in red light and the SPD team
hurried to look at the screen, seeing Gruumm’s forces
massing.
“The quarry is under
attack,” announced Kat.
“My hunch is that Broodwing is trying to draw you out,” Cruger
stated.
“Look, just because we’re
not rangers anymore doesn’t mean we can’t help… we still have our powers,”
Conner instsited.
“You guys just need to
chill until we get back,” said Jack, his eyes brooking no dissention to his
order, but he’d forgotten though whom he was dealing with.
“Are you guys mental?” cried
Kim, moving slightly forward towards where the SDP team stood, ready to leave.
“You were brought here so
Broodwing could steal your gems. If you go out there,
that’s what will happen,” Cruger insisted.
“Excuse me, but, uh,
oldest, greatest ranger here,” commented Conner, pointing to Tommy. “We can
handle ourselves.”
“We’re very well aware of
Dr. Oliver’s ranger past. We have an entire course on the early history of the
rangers on Earth, which includes a chapter on Thomas James Oliver, not to
mention the dino thunder team. But the truth is that
you are not experienced with Gruumm. We are,”
explained Sky.
“That sounds all great
and all, but it’s our lives,” Ethan remarked with some annoyance.
“Yes, but we don’t want
anything to happen to you. You have to go back to your own time, and we can’t
risk Gruumm getting you. You have to trust we can
handle this and get you back,” stated Z said, anxious to get out there.
“So we just sit here and
hope you can break the spell or something and send us home?” Tommy asked, not
liking the idea of his, Kim and the other’s lives in the hands of these… kids.
“It is the safest thing
for you,” Cruger said, his tone calming.
The dino
thunder team looked to Tommy. Whatever he decided would be the way things would
go. He in turn looked into Kim’s eyes, searching for her guidance and support.
He smiled tightly and nodded slightly.
“Alright,” Tommy said
reluctantly, his hand landing on Kim’s shoulder before turning to regard the
new team of rangers before them. “We’ll wait for you to get back with our
ticket home.”
-x-
“Let me guess, that’s Gruumm,” said Ethan from their vantage point at the
monitor.
“This is serious,” said
Kat, her eyes turning back to the dino thunder team.
Maybe…
“Okay, that’s it. Come on
Dr. O, we gotta go,” Conner urged, knowing that even
with the extra power the dog/lizard thing that seemed to be the head of the
ranger academy was offering the SPD team that the rangers were way outgunned.
“You realize that we
might be getting ourselves in over *our* heads, right?” Kira
reminded him with a forceful look that reminded Kim and Tommy of them. “They’re
the ones who know this Gruumm guy.”
“Yes, but they are in
trouble,”
“Dr.
O?” Ethan asked, knowing that no
matter what Conner’s opinion, it was Dr. O and Kim that would make the final
decision.
Tommy stared at the
ongoing battle before them, seeing the carnage and the desperation by the space
team to hold their ground. They needed help, and they needed it now. If it was
his team out there, like when the other rangers were there for the attack on Mesogog’s fortress to get Kim back… no, they had to help.
Now.
“We’re going.”
Tight smiles and nods
abounded. Then the dino rangers turned and hurried
past a group of cadets huddled near the door, watching all of this going on as
they raced to aid their future counterparts, and hopefully secure their way
home.
-x-
“So, time to go back,”
“It is. You have lives to
get back to in your timeline,” Cruger said simply,
watching the rangers before him admiringly.
“I think you guys need us
here a little longer to deal with Gruumm. He’s going
to be madder than ever,” Ethan said, feeling conflicted about going when they
could stay a while and help.
“Yeah,
and what about Broodwing? He’s still around, flapping about,” Kira added.
“It’s obvious we should
stay,” Conner added, looking to Kira as she watched
him. “I mean, you’ll put us right back, no time in our time will be missed,
right? Besides, we work great together.”
“Nice try, but I don’t
date older guys,” said Syd, mistaking Conner’s
comment for something it wasn’t.
“Not a problem. He’s not
available,” Kira said possessively, grabbing Conner’s
hand in her’s.
“Still, it looks like
you’re under manned around here,”
“We appreciate your offer
to stay rangers, but that’s not possible,” Cruger
reminded them. “If something happened to any of you, the timeline would be
ruined.”
“How much could our lives
affect all this?” asked Kira, waving her hand at the
command center’s technology, obviously confused.
“How…”
started Syd before laughing. “I grew up with your music Kira.
You’re a famous recording star. If that doesn’t happen…”
“And Conner, you have an
important role to play in the 2008 Olympics in Bejing.
If you aren’t there the
“And Ethan, you have to
go back. You developed some software that we still use here at SPD,” added Sky
before Bridge jumped in.
“And I loved the ‘Danger
Ranger’ series that you wrote and illustrated
There was along pause as
the members of the Dino Thunder team considered the Space Patrol’s words. Then
the four younger rangers looked to Tommy and Kim. The rangers of the future
hadn’t mentioned their contributions… Cruger saw it
and knew he had to alleviate their concerns. Yet as vaguely
as possible.
“You *all* have a role in
the past that will affect the future we live in now. Your lives as rangers have
made a difference. But you all go on to lead exciting and significant lives
after you hang up your helmets… in some cases for the second time. So you need
to go back.”
Grasping Tommy’s hand
with hers, Kim caught her husband’s eyes and they shared a look that spoke
volumes. This wasn’t their fight anymore. It was time to let others fight. They
had other things they wanted.
“They’re right,” Tommy said
simply, looking to his team. “They’re capable, and they can take care of things
here. We did our duty… it’s time for us to live our lives for ourselves.”
“Alright then… I guess,
send us home,” Conner announced, taking Kira’s hand
in his as they waited.
“Your courage and
dedication will live on in ranger legend. Thank you all,” said Cruger as Kat activated the return spell.
“Goodbye dino rangers. Your memories of us will be erased,” said
Kat, powering up the machine to run the spell to send them back. “But we won’t
forget you.”
Then the bright light
that had sent them there in the first place hit them, sending them back.
-x-
At first glance, the dark
haired young woman looked like any cadet. It wasn’t until you focused on her that
anyone with any knowledge of her heritage could tell who she was. The piercing
eyes, the proud carriage and the way she seemed to fit in here, in the center
of the space patrol’s command center…
Still, she was not where
she was supposed to be, and she knew someone was going to catch on sooner or
later. But she needed to be here.
As she stood behind the
sensor panel, she watched the Dino Thunder rangers speaking with Commander Cruger and she smiled a watery, happy smile. Then the room
went bright white as they were sent back to their own time. Just as she was
recovering from the flash, she heard her name being barked out, and she froze
and looked up from her semi-hidden spot near the other techs at the back of the
command center.
“Are you glad you got a
chance to see them before we sent them back Elizabeth?” asked Doggie Cruger, coming up to the young woman who had just started
at the academy and whom he knew without a doubt was going to be taking the red
mantle of her father in a few short years.
“It’s strange. I mean,
it’s not like I don’t remember them like that, but… well seeing them, all of
them in action, and young again… wow.”
“Well, the dino thunder rangers were special, and you know that your
parents were always something more than that. They were the best that a ranger
could be,” he replied and nodded his head. “You better get to class.”
She gave a guilty grin
and rushed off, knowing she had a legacy to uphold.
-End-
Okay, hope you liked.
Maybe we’ll be back with “Wormhole”, but I’ll have to wait and see. As to what
was changed: 1. No one has a 1 year reunion. How stupid is that? 2. I had to
get everyone in place to make this work, so I fudged the dates and times a bit
– while the episode is 2005, this is 2006. 3. The rangers still have their
powers, but are obviously retired again since the Solar Rangers arrived the
month before. 4. The whole thing about what their futures were going to be, I
left some of it in tact, but changed others. 5. I didn’t rewrite the battle
scenes, because, well… I wanted to focus on the other stuff. Lastly, the teaser
at the end… I just had to. J
Jeannine