Disclaimer:I don't own the Power Rangers, Servo, the Planeteers, the Shadow, or any of the DC characters. Saban, Turner, Dark Horse Comics, and DC comics own these characters respectively. I know I said that the VR Troopers as well as Trey and Rebecca would be in this one. But due to creative muse diffuculties, they will hopefully be in the next one. Thanks Signkat for reading this story and making corrections/suggestions for me, Thank You!
Gotham Rangers
By Frog
By Frog
Tommy groaned as he leaned into his seat on the plane bound for Gotham City, 'Man, it's been a long two months! My cousin shows up on my doorstop with bad news from Zordon, I still can't call him grandfather; T'ner then falls in love and goes through the I'unz ceremony with Cassie without telling her who he really is; going through the adult rites on Aquitar and Billy getting married right afterwards; Rebecca running off to who knows where after finding out about her true destiny with Trey; oh, let's don't forget T'ner getting captured by Divatox and nearly getting killed! To top it off Kim is on her way to Angel Grove while I'm on a plane out of Angel Grove to track Jason down in Gotham City! I really need to talk to Kim; she should've told me the truth from the beginning instead of sending that letter,' he thought with anger and disgust over the break-up of the special relationship they had together. "Beginning final descent to Gotham City. Please bring seats to upright positions " the stewardess told the passengers over the loud speaker. Sighing over what couldn't be, Tommy prepared himself mentally to face his best friend with the news he had to bring to him.
Jason Scott winced as he watched Coach Hughs teach his own brand of self-defense to a class full of gym students at Gotham Heights High School. Though, Jason was the one hired to teach the class, and to be an assistant coach to the middle-aged head football coach, Hughs intended to prove he could still teach gym without any outside help.
"Now, Drake! Let me see you try to throw a punch at Anderson! Anderson you're going to dodge it, all right?" shouted the heavyweight coach.
"Yes, sir," The boys answered simultaneously. Though Luke Anderson, the star football player, had an evil smirk on his face. Jason eyes narrowed in concentration, He knew Anderson had been taking Karate lessons in the city. Drake, on the other hand was a complete mystery to the ex-Ranger.
'There's something about Tim Drake. Whenever he's near I sense an unusual power aura about him. Man, I wish the Planeteers would tell me what is so special about him! I should've pressed further on the issue when they asked me to keep an eye on him both in and out of his night suit,'Jason thought to himself.Suddenly, he felt a disturbing presence about to enter the gym.
Tim Drake hissed with anger as he was thrown over Luke's shoulder and landed on the matt hard, 'I should've know he would do that, instead of dodging my punch! I wish I could show him what I know about self-defense, but I have to keep my identity as Robin a secret. Our new assistant coach seems distracted, which is unusual for him! I remember when I ran into him as Robin…
Four months ago….
Robin watched as an old man was being robbed at gunpoint by the Street Dragons. He was just about to put an end to their fun, when a young man who was a couple of years older than Robin stepped into the robbery.
"Didn't your parents teach you to respect your elders?" he asked.
"Hey, man! I respect my elders just fine, as long as they pay for my respect!" shouted one gang member, who Robin knew as Gonzo, the leader of the Street Dragons.
"Oh, you're respecting him just fine then. But where's the honor of scaring an old man to death?" the young man asked with curiosity.
"Hey, haven't you heard? The strong survive around here! Taking what we want is honor to the Street Dragons!" Gonzo yelled with fury.
The dark haired young man shook his head with sadness and replied, "Take and conquer has no honor, weak of soul and mind. Let him, go."
"You gonna to make me?" The gang leader barked as he pointed the gun at the two men,one young, the other way beyond his prime.
Robin decided he had had enough of listening to these hoodlums talk. As he swooped down to join the other young man in the face off with the Street Dragons, He whipped a batarang in Gonzo's direction, successfully knocking the gun from his hand.
"Leave them alone, Gonzo." Robin commanded in an imitation of his mentor's voice. He then quickly made turned his attention toward the victim and the wanna-be hero, "You two, get out of here!"
The old man did as he was told, but Robin was surprised when the young adult didn't run off.Instead he stood his ground and went into a defensive stance.
"Robin, I presume? Some friends of mine have heard of you and your dark mentor. My name is Jacob Dragon by the way," he commented as he prepared for the coming fight.
"You've heard of us, huh? Well, Jacob you shouldn't stay, I can handle these guys. They're way out of your league," Robin warned as he and Jason went back-to-back in order to defend themselves.
Jason Scott a.k.a. Jacob Dragon gave a small smile, "No Robin, they're not out of my league. In fact I'm in an entirely different league altogether. But, I'll fight by your rules," he acknowledged softly to the young detective.
During the fight Robin noticed that Jacob's fighting styles were unusually different and that he seemed to be holding back a great deal when dishing out kicks or punches to their foes. Being the curious young apprentice he was Robin questioned his temporary partner while ducking from a punch. "Where did you learn to fight? I've never seen that type of martial art and Batman makes sure I know most forms of fighting."
Jacob chuckled and answered his new friend in amusement, "I'm afraid that is one question I can't answer too. However, I will tell you this, the martial art form I'm using is more ancient than you can imagine."
"How ancient is your fighting style?" he asked as he pursued on the subject.
Jacob remained silent as he knocked the last gang member unconscious, when Robin was tying the gang members up, he finally spoke cryptically to the young Boy Wonder, "As old as the greatest fight." Startled by this riddle, Robin looked up to speak to Jacob, but he vanished into thin air.
Present…
'The next morning I find out he's the new assistant coach at my school, and though I see him every day I still can't figure him out! Even Oracle hasn't come up with anything unusual about the guy! If I didn't know better I would have to say he has been following me both in and out of the suit! Sheesh, that's ridiculous Boy Wonder! He hasn't even hinted at what you do in your spare time!But, I sense something about him. C'mon Drake, snap out of it! Even before Mr. Dragon showed up you've been feeling different; knowing things that even Batman doesn't find out until later! Maybe I should take up Bruce's offer to contact the Martian Manhunter to see if he can figure out what is wrong with me; Bruce said nothing physical is wrong, but he does suspect something mentally is wrong with me,'Tim Drake silently thought to himself, suddenly he felt a cold chill run down his spine when his instincts told him a dark presence had entered the gymnasium.
The gym doors banged open as a tall dark haired man with an equal dark beard wearing an unusual black leather outfit entered the gymnasium. Jason immediately went on guard; the Morphin energy that remained in Jason made his eyes glow a bright red as he realized who had interrupted the class, "Ares," he muttered out loud softly with disgust while at the same time he thought, 'What in the name of the Masters is he doing here?'
Ares, the God of War strode into the gym as if he owned the entire school, he looked at Coach Hughes with a cold look in his eyes, "Pathetic, you're trying teach these children how to fight, when you don't know the first thing about fighting yourself," he criticized the over-weight coach with a dark voice.
"Now what wait just one minute! Who in blazes are you to tell me I can't fight! Who are you?" bellowed Coach Hughs.
"You're worst nightmare old man," announced the God of War as he sent a lighting bolt at the football coach sending him up into the rafters.
"Help! Somebody get me down!" he yelled as he clung to rafters.
Everyone looked in shock at Ares; finally Tim Drake looked bravely into the evil god's eyes and asked, "Who are you? And what do you want?"
Ares laughed out loud in amusement, "My name is Ares, as to why I'm here, I'm looking for the Batman's junior partner who is somewhere in this city. Have you seen him, boy?" he asked Tim and the rest of the class.
"Yes?"he questioned in annoyance.
"Uh, Mr. Ares, how did you put the Coach up into the rafters?" questioned the red headed young lady.
"You never heard of me? What are they teaching kids these days? I'm the God of War, the son Zeus and Hera, girl! As for how I did that…he said as he started to tell exactly he had done in the good old days.
Jason mused silently in thought as he listened to Ares bragging about all of his accomplishments and keeping his eyes up to the rafters where the unfortunate football coach was at, 'Damm, no wonder the Planeteers asked me to keep an eye on him!They suspected something like this was going to happen!I'll just have make a call to them later, right now I've got to keep Drake away from Ares and get Coach Hughs down from the rafters before he falls!'Suddenly, Jason felt a welcoming presence nearby.
*Jason, what in the name of the Power is going on? I can sense a strong dark presence near you, * questioned his best friend, Tommy Oliver.
With a tight smile on his face and thanking the Powers that Zordon taught all the Rangers how to use their various psychic abilities Jason called out mentally to his close friend, *Tommy, Thank the Power you're here! Ares is here in the school gym! *
*What, no hello? Jason, what is going on? Why is Ares here? I sensed him all the way from the airport, despite the fact that Gotham City is on a negative nexus, *questioned the White Ranger with telepathy to his best friend as he flew toward the school in his falcon form.
*It's a long story, and it would be easier to explain in a power flash. What are you doing here?*he mentally asked his old friend with relief that he would be receiving help soon.
*A power flash, huh?Bro, I've always had trouble with that technique! But, if it will make explanations go faster fine, it would also make it faster to tell you why I'm here. What do you want me do, bro? *asked Tommy as he landed outside of one of the gym's large windows.
*Can you rescue the man hanging on the rafters? I'll block Ares if he makes a move on a kid by the name of Tim Drake,* replied Jason as he moved closer to the God of War.
*Ok, bro. However it wouldn't be wise to advertise on what you can do, a major problem has arisen and Zordon has requested that we go through the adult rights. By the way, is Tim Drake the one with the unusual power aura about him? Is he part of this long story? * questioned Tommy as he peered into the window, his beak tapping against the glass.
*Yes, to both questions. I thought I sensed something different about you; you look great as a bird by the way.* he mentally replied to his best friend.
Tommy sighed with impatience as he flew down toward the ground and transformed back into human form. When the transformation was complete, he closed his eyes as he magically transformed his clothes into his ancestor's costume of a long time ago, the White Stranger. "Not bad," he muttered to himself out loud as he completed his costume with a white mask over his eyes. Then, he mentally reached out to Jason, *Thanks, bro. Now, let's teach Ares a lesson he won't forget for a long time!*he exclaimed very strongly telepathically to his old friend.
Tim Drake narrowed his eyes at the being who claimed to be the God of War, he had no doubt he was seeing the real thing; he just wished he could get to his spare suit in his school bag. "Do you think this guy is the real thing, Drakester?" questioned his classmate and friend, Ivan Hudson.
Tim looked over to his friend and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know Ives, there are weird things in this world," he whispered to his friend.
"Hey, I'm not weird! I'm a one of the Gods of Olympus!" shouted Ares when he overheard the boys' conversation.
"Well, if you were the real God of War you would get the coach down from the rafters!" shouted Tim as he looked at Ares with anger blazing in his eyes.
Ares gave a cruel, secret smile to the young boy as he replied, "That's it kid use your anger at me, give in to it, let your anger engulf you."
For the first time since Ares entered the gym, Jason spoke out loud, "No! Tim don't give in to him, that's exactly what he wants!"
Ares looked over at Jason, "And what do you know about what I want?" he questioned the young assistant. Before Jason could answer a crash came through one of the gym's windows; Ares looked in amazement as a young man with long, dark hair and a white western outfit landed on the gym floor, jumped to the high rafters, picked up the heavy Coach Hughs with one hand and landed easily to the floor. As the mysterious stranger gently put the older man on the floor, Coach Hughs rolled up his eyes and fainted into unconsciousness. Everyone with the expectation of Jason, looked at the hero in astonishment, finally Ares asked, "Who are you? Did Gina's brats send for you?"
"My name is the White Stranger, and no the Planeteers didn't send me. I came looking for a friend, instead I found you and him," answered Tommy to the dark god.
Ares looked with curiosity around the room, "Friend?" he questioned.
"Yes, friend, Ares. And I'm the one the Planeteers sent for," spoke Jason as he moved to stand beside the White Stranger.
Ares eyes narrowed with concentration as he took in the two friends, "The Planeteers sent you? An ordinary human?" he asked sarcastically.
"Appearances can be deceiving, Ares," replied Jason as he and the White Stranger went into a defensive stance.
"Well, try this appearance," announced Ares as he blasted a lighting bolt at them. With practiced ease, both Tommy and Jason held their palms face forward; a bright white and red shield glowed around them and sent Ares' bolt of lighting right back to him. He yelled as the bolt hit him in his chest and sent him flying up into the rafters of the ceiling.
Hanging from the rafters, Ares shook his head in shock and pain as he yelled,"What are you two, Gods?"
"Not even close, Ares!" shouted Jason back at him.
"You haven't seen the last of me!" he yelled, and then with a flash of light the God of War disappeared.
Sighing with relief, Jason spoke out, "Good he's gone and he didn't recognize us."
"Well, the last time we met him you were a bit more red and I was wearing green, partner,"Tommy commented to his friend.
"Who are you guys?" questioned Ives as he interrupted the conversation.
The two friends looked at each other as if in silent communication, finally Jason ordered, "Tim, come stand beside us."
"Why?" he asked with curiosity.
"Partner, just do it," commanded Tommy with his western accent.
With confusion, Tim did as he was told; Jason put his hand on the young boy's shoulder and spoke to the White Stranger, "All right, do it."
The White Stranger spread out his arms with his palms forward, he chanted,"Memories grown, memories thrown, never remember in this room, when the God of War went boom! Nor remember your friend is a Robin born or we are warriors of ancient lore! Sweep it away, it was but a dream!"
Lighting flashed, before Tim's eyes as his classmates immediately fell into a deep sleep. Jason released Tim's shoulder as he commented to his friend, "You call that a spell?"
Before Tommy could answer, Tim shouted with anger, "What did you guys do?"
Jason gave the young boy a long look before he replied, "Protecting your identity, they'll be fine and won't remember a thing about Ares's little visit."
"We don't have time for this bro, let's get our explanations out of the way," Tommy told his friend with extreme tension in his voice. "Of, course. Tim, could you wait a minute?" asked Jason as he went to stand in front of the White Stranger.
Placing their arms and hands in a warrior's clasp, they two friends chanted together, "Mind to mind, power to power; show this one what needs to be known; but no time to be told." A red and white aura circled around the two friends, Tommy immediately gained the knowledge of the favor that the Planeteers asked of Jason; while Jason became immediately aware of the coming war between the forces of light and darkness.
When the glow of power disappeared, they started at each other silently in shock, finally Tim asked sarcastically, "Are you two finished?"
Turning at the sound of his voice, Jason replied, "Yes, we are. Bro, can you stay here?"
The White Stranger nodded his head as he answered, "Yes, no way is this kid going to go through what I've experienced."
"Good, thanks bro. Tim, I have to leave. I don't have time to give you answers to your questions, my friend here will be around to help you against Ares," he told the young boy as Tommy snapped his fingers to repair the window, he broke during his dramatic entrance.
"Wait, who are you guys? Are you from another planet?" asked Tim with curiosity as he tried to guess his rescuers origins.
Jason smirked with amusement to the guess as Tommy replied to the Boy Wonder, "Partner, we're from Earth, but it doesn't pay to get on our bad side." Then the two Rangers teleported from the gym with flashes of red and white lights, leaving the young boy to stand among his unconscious companions in amazement.
Tommy winced as a surprised shout echoed off the walls of Jason's former apartment,"Ares is in Gotham!" yelled Wheeler the Planeteer of Fire through the crystal ball that Tommy was using as a communications device to contact the Spirit of the Earth's champions.
"Yes, for the eighth time Wheeler. And Jason is needed back in Angel Grove, I can't give you the reasons why yet, so you will have to make do with me," Tommy told the elder heroes, even though the Planeteers looked as though they were Tommy's age; they had been serving under Gina for more than a century.
Gi, the Planeteer of Water groaned with remorse, "I just knew something like this would happen, who is guarding the kid now?" she asked as she rubbed her temples in a attempt to get rid of her headache.
"Servo is at the moment, the Boy Wonder has gone to the JLA tower on the moon with his mentor," he assured the group of heroes, as he tried not to think of what was on the moon at the moment.
"You guys still don't like Green Lantern even after the Curse of Oa has come true?" questioned Matoya, the Planeteer of Heart as he sensed the Ranger's discomfort over the thoughts he was having.
Tommy gave Matoya a dirty look and was about to reply, when Nickia the Planeteer of Wind spoke up to prevent the argument that seemed to be forthcoming, "We don't have time for this, Tommy the reason that Ares wants Tim Drake is because of the powers he's inherited from his grandfather."
"Grandfather?" he questioned with curiosity.
Ghami, the Planeteer of Earth sighed with regret as he began the explanations, "Yes, and Tim's grandfather makes the Batman look like the tooth fairy." As the Planeteers took turns explaining Tim's unique heritage, Tommy became more remorseful with each passing second.
Meanwhile on the moon, Robin has just finished with his explanations over what happened to him at school. "And then they just disappeared into thin air!" he exclaimed to Batman and the rest of the JLA.
"Are you sure no one at your school remembers what happened or who Jacob Dragon was?" questioned Hawkman to the young boy wonder.
"Positive, the only thing they remember happening was some type of gas that put everyone to sleep," he replied.
"Well, look on the bright side. At least you got out of school early," the Flash told Robin in an attempt of re-assurance. Everyone glared at Wally at his attempt, finally he yelled, "Ok, ok, it was a bad comment! Sheesh!"
"What we need to figure out now is who are these two young men are, who are the Planeteers, and why is Ares after you?" questioned the Batman out loud as he tried to bring everyone to the subject at hand.
"I know of who the Planeteers are Batman. They are a group of children who serve Gina, the Spirit of Earth. Four of the Planeteers have the power of one of the elements of the Earth, while the last one has the power over the heart. When they combine their powers they summon one the Earth's greatest champions Captain Planet," Wonder Woman explained to her fellow members.
"How long have they been serving the Spirit of the Earth?" asked Oracle, the JLA's mysterious member whom always spoke through the computer.
"I believe they started working with Gina around 1900, Oracle," replied Wonder Woman.
"But you said they were children?" questioned the Green Lantern.
"They look like children, Green Lantern. Because of their association with Gina they age differently than normal humans. I'm 30,000 years, however when we first met you thought I was a twenty-five year old woman," she argued her point to the Green Lantern in hopes he would understand. With great disbelief, he just shook his head at Wonder Woman and remained silent.
"Do you have any idea why these Planeteers sent those two guys to protect me or why Ares is after me?" asked Robin to the Amazon Princess.
"I don't know Robin, however the Planeteers do have a great deal of knowledge of past souls who have been reborn; who you are related to in the past or present; as well what you have inherited from your ancestors," she replied.
"So it could be any of those three options?" asked Superman.
Wonder Woman answered as she stood up from her chair, "Yes, but which one is the problem. I believe I shall go back home, perhaps my mother and the High Priestess will be able to contact one of the other Gods of Olympus for answers." Then with a nod of respect to everyone, she left toward the teleporter room.
"Now what?" asked Flash to everyone else around the table, who haven't left yet.
"We wait for Wonder Woman to return with answers, hopefully. In the meantime Robin, I'm going to run some tests you're mentor and I talked about earlier, however I do have two questions before we start. Are sure that the stranger in white chanted 'we are warriors of ancient lore' when he cast the spell? And that this assistant coach told you that his fighting style is as old as the greatest fight?" addressed the Martin Manhunter to the young boy.
Robin gulped with nervousness about the type of tests the telepathic alien had in mind, but answered the question that was posed to him, "Yes, why?"
The Martin Manhunter remained silent, as he became lost in his thoughts over what Robin had told them about the mysterious strangers, 'As old as the greatest fight, that supposedly coach told Robin. Warriors of ancient lore defeating a God of Olympus without any effort whatsoever can it be? Jordan for some reason always believed it, even as Parallax.'
"J'onn!" shouted Black Canary.
"What?" he asked startled from his thoughts so abruptly.
"Is everything all right?" she asked as everyone was starting at him in concern.
"I'm fine, it's just what Robin informed us about the two strangers, it reminded me of a story that Hal learned from the Guardians," J'onn told his comrades.
Everyone looked at the green alien in amazement, finally Batman broke the silence, "You have our attention, what story did Jordan tell you?"
J'onn rubbed his head in tension as he replied, "I don't remember the entire story, just fragments. When Robin spoke the phrase 'warriors of ancient lore;' it was the exact phrase that Hal used to describe a race of powerful warriors who cursed the Guardians of Oa and all Green Lanterns."
The Green Lantern gulped as he asked nervously, "What curse? Why did they do it?"
"I don't know!" shouted J'onn in frustration for not being able to remember what Jordan told him long ago, taking a deep breath to calm down he spoke softly, "I don't remember the details that Jordan told me and he only learned of it by eavesdropping on the Guardians when they banished Sinestro from the Corps. At the time Jordan thought it was nothing more than a fairy tale, but after an adventure somewhere in northern California, he turned deadly serious about it and never spoke of it again. Funny thing though, he avoided northern California as if it was a plague after that adventure, even as Parallax."
"I think I know which adventure you're talking about J'onn, it was one of the many with my Uncle Barry. They had to catch Dr. Light and the Trickster in a town called Angel Grove; I was a kid at the time and couldn't go because someone had to protect Central City, while Uncle Barry was away. But, when Uncle Barry got back he was as pale as a ghost and told me never to ask him or Uncle Hal about that trip," mused Flash outloud to his teammates.
Once again silence ruled the room until finally, Superman addressed his comrades,"Batman, J'onn, you two go ahead with these tests for Robin. The rest of you, we're going to discuss how to test this ancient warrior story."
During the meeting of the JLA, A private plane was bound for Gotham City. It's lone passenger, a distinguished-looking gentleman who's dark hair was slightly speckled with gray around his temples, sat musing over what he had just discovered, 'My grandson,after all these years I've finally found my grandson! And he's been under my nose the entire time as Robin, the Boy Wonder. I must admit it was quite wise for the Planeteers to hide him in a city that is above a dark nexus. However, they can hide him no longer, the boy is coming into his powers. Which made it easier to find him, even in a city as dark as Gotham. Soon, I shall find my only blood kin left, and never let him be lost again!' Then with an eerie laugh, the mysterious gentleman settled into his seat with further thoughts of his grandson.
A few hours later, in the apartment Jason Scott formally occupied, Tommy was rubbing his forehead in an attempt to get rid of a headache. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and his unmorphed cousin stood before him with a black eye. "What happened to you?" questioned Tommy to the Phantom Ranger.
T'ner sighed with distress, "Cassie, she found out who I really was and as a result she gave me this," he replied as he gestured to his black eye.
Tommy groaned as he laid his hands in his face, "I told you so, you should have told her the truth from the beginning of your relationship with her. Anything else I need to know about?" he questioned through his hands.
T'ner shrugged, "Rocky has found his sister in Cross World City, she's dating one of the VR Troopers. And before you ask, Trey doesn't know about it or that she is in Cross World City. Do you have something for my eye?" he asked his cousin.
Tommy finally looked at him and gestured toward the small kitchen, "Ice pack in the freezer, that's it. We can't afford keeping more advance first aid technology around here in case someone snoops around," he answered to his blood relative.
"N'est!" cursed T'ner as he headed toward the kitchen.
Tommy sighed with weariness as he thought about the past few hours, 'What a day! Ares is after a kid who doesn't know of the powers he possesses, and let's don't forget that the Planeteers suspect that Robin's grandfather may show up anytime to complicate matters even further! Protect him and help him to control his powers, which are starting to show up, they said! They'll be back with help they said! Now T'ner brings me more cheerful news about his own love life as well as Trey and Rebecca's courtship! By the Power! Trey had better not screw up a potential alliance with the Troopers! We need them in the coming war!'And with that thought, Tommy joined his cousin in the kitchen for some aspirin.
Later that evening, Servo the dimensional guardian of all
cyberspace
was bored out of his mind.
"So, how did the tests go?" asked Nightwing as he round-house kicked one of the crooks in the face. Both Robin and Nightwing were sent to Gotham National Bank to prevent Two-Face from stealing 22 million dollars in cash. So far they have had better luck, than Two-Face in the battle.
"Not bad, J'onn won't know anything til morning and Batman is hovering over his shoulder while he does the evaluation," he replied to the former Boy Wonder.
"Oh, I bet J'onn is enjoying his company!" laughed Nightwing out loud, then he noticed Two-Face sneaking up behind the young boy, "Robin, look out!" he shouted in fear.
Two-Face grabbed the Boy Wonder in a headlock and held a pistol, "Back off, Wing freak or the kid gets it!" he shouted to the other vigilante.Slowly, Nightwing backed off and then one of the hoods knocked him unconscious.
'Oh, boy! Better go get Tommy,'Servo thought as he sped through the world of cyberspace.
Servo wasn't the only one who had witnessed the capture of Robin and Nightwing by Two-Face. A young African-American man also observed the abduction, though he was dressed as a member of some street gang to any observer who might see him, he was far from belonging to any of Gotham's street gangs. 'Oh, man! I better call Burbank!' thought the young man as he brought out a small cell phone from a hidden pocket on his jacket.
"Burbank," stated a rough male voice from the phone's receiver.
"Burbank, this is Agent Davis. Robin and Nightwing have been captured by Two-Face, Instructions?" questioned the young agent.
"Hold," replied the mysterious voice.
As Davis waited for Burbank to get back to him for orders, he noticed Two-Face's men tying the two crime fighters and placing them into an unmarked blue van. "C'mon, Burbank. Hurry up!" he whispered softly as he observed Two-Face and his men.
Finally, Burbank came back on the phone line and gave instructions to the young agent, "Do not engage them, activate a homing device and follow their trail. Help will arrive shortly. Burbank, out."
"Guess that means the big boss himself is coming," he muttered as he activated the homing device on his cell phone and placed it back into the hidden pocket of his jacket. As he started to silently follow the insane criminal and his gang members, Davis noticed that the ruby ring which he always wore started to glow a soft red. 'The boss is definitely coming,' he thought as he moved through the darkness of Gotham City.
"A Green Lantern showed up in the park?" questioned Tommy through his communicator to Alpha-Six, his voice filled with amazement and disgust.
"Yo, that's right, along with the Flash. The Rangers as you might expect had a homicidal reaction to the Green Lantern. I teleported him and the speedster back to JLA headquarters with a warning note," he told the former leader.
"Terrific, just what we need on top of everything else. Ok, Alpha, thanks for the info and the osiou pendent, oh! One more thing, can you keep an eye on Trey?" asked Tommy to the little robot.
"Uh, sure. Why?" questioned Alpha-Six.
"Because the way things are going lately, I have a bad feeling Trey will do something stupid against the VR Troopers," he replied.
"Okey-dokey, Tommy. But I don't see what kind of trouble Trey can get into against the Troopers. I'll catch you later, bye," Alpha babbled before he broke off communications.
"Alpha does have a point, what could Trey possibly do? And why do you need an osiou pendent? I thought the Turbo Rangers already had osiou pendants to help them control their psychic abilities that are developing?" questioned T'ner as held an ice pack to his eye and listened to the radio in the living room.
"The osiou pendent will help Robin with own psychic talents and as for what Trey could possibly do in Cross World City, well that's just what I'm afraid of," answered Tommy, before his cousin could comment further on the subject, they were interrupted by a beeping sound coming from Tommy's laptop computer which was on the kitchen table. With a swift motion of his hand to his cousin to hide by using the Phantom Ranger powers, Tommy made his way to the kitchen to greet a young boy who came through the computer with a crackle of energy.
"Sam? What's wrong?" Tommy asked the brown-haired young boy who was around Justin's age.
Sam a.k.a. Servo replied, "It's Robin and Nightwing, Two-Face captured them just a few seconds ago."
Tommy rolled his eyes in disgust over what was happening, "Great, what else can go wrong? Thanks for the help Sam," he told the young boy.
Sam nodded his head and declared to the Ranger, "You're welcome, just put this down to on the Planeteers tab." Then without another word he disappeared into the computer, then beyond into cyberspace.
"What do you want me to do cousin? This is as you say here, your show," questioned T'ner as he reappeared in his Phantom Ranger form.
"Go find Ares, and see what his next move is going to be. I'll go rescue the two Boy Wonders," he ordered his cousin as he opened a window, then he changed into a falcon and flew off into the night.
Meanwhile, a black Corvette was driving away from Gotham Airport, its driver was keeping one eye on a small screen near the dashboard that showed a map of the city. The driver, a small middle-aged woman was changing the direction of the car as a small red dot moved rapidly on the screen.
"Where is Agent Davis now, Smythie?" questioned a cackling male voice in the backseat of the car.
Smythie, swallowed with fear, as she looked into the face of her boss. As always when he was prepared to fight crime he wore black clothes, cloak, and a large hat; the only color that could be seen was a red scarf that covered half of his face. "He's headed toward Gotham Towers, according to the information in the local newspaper it's the annual Gotham Police dinner. Unofficially, it's a chance for the D.A. and the Mayor to brag," she replied to her boss.
She heard a disgusted grunt from the back and the muttered comment, "At least some things haven't changed in this city. I wonder if that fool of a boxer will be there? It was always quite amusing watching a supposedly courageous crime fighter who would hit the nearest bar after our meetings."
"Uh, boss? Pop always told me any crime fighter who met you, no matter how powerful would get roaring drunk, Wildcat was no expectation," she implied to her employer.
"Yes, that is true. However, Ted Grant would drink alcohol for three solid days after he had dealings with me," he replied.
"Oh, that is an interesting fact. Boss, are you sure this Robin kid is your grandson?" she questioned with a nervous tone in her voice.
"Yes," he gave a clipped reply.
"How do you know?" she asked in confusion.
Her boss gave a cackling laugh as he replied, "I know, Smythie. I know."
'I should've guessed,'she silently mused as her boss continued with a long, eerie laugh that rivaled the Joker's own mad laughter.
Commissioner James Gordon sighed as he listened to the D.A. Trent talked about the accomplishments of the GCPD for the past year, the annual dinner of the GCPD was as always a great political showmanship. Though he was proud of what the GCPD accomplished in Gotham, he knew half of the hard work belonged to the Batman and his 'family.' He and the other police officers may have official been recognized as the ones who caught the insane criminals such as the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, etc; in reality it was the Bat Family who was responsible for putting the madmen back at Arkhanm. Suddenly, there was a hissing sound and white, smokey gas filled the room. Coughing viciously, he saw the familiar forms of Two-Face and his henchmen with gas masks. As the Commissioner fell into a deep sleep, he prayed that help would come in the comforting form of a bat.
An invisible Phantom Ranger shook his head in amazement as he watched Ares build a monster out of wrecked cars in the Gotham City junkyard. Though the car monster was no where near as powerful as the monsters he and the other Rangers have encountered in the past, he was astonished that Ares believed that he created one of the most powerful monsters in the universe. 'Rita could make a better monster blindfolded than what this guy thinks he can do,' mused the Phantom Ranger in silent thought as he tried not chuckle at the supposedly powerful monster or Ares bragging to himself while he build it. Suddenly, a beeping sound that only he could hear came through his communicator. "Yes, ADVAC?" he questioned softly in order to prevent Ares from hearing that he was here.
"It's not ADVAC, it's Andros. What are you doing there? ADVAC told me you were in a dark nexus city with the White Ranger, however I found it hard to believe," he aired over the communicator.
"Well, both I and the White Ranger are doing a favor for the Earth's Planeteers. What are you doing here? I thought you said when we last met you would avoid this planet as you would a plague," questioned the young Ranger with curiosity on what could have brought the Red Astro Ranger.
"I would have avoided this place if Delphine hadn't 'requested' that I deliver a message from her to the Lord Councilor," he answered to the other Ranger.
"Message?" he asked.
"Yes, it's too sensitive to make on open communications for her to make to the Lord of the Skies," Andros replied to his friend.
Phantom sighed in weariness as Andros used one of Tommy's formal titles, he knew Tommy hated protocol as much as he did. 'It's a good thing I never told Andros I'm the Crown Prince of Eltar, he would constantly call me your Highness and remain at a distinct distance from me,' he mused silently to himself. Suddenly, he noticed that Ares was finished building the monster and that he disappeared in a flash of light. "Andros, do you feel up to scraping a piece of galactic junk?" he asked.
"I guess, want kind of junk is it?" he questioned with curiosity.
"A poor excuse for a monster, just teleport to my coordinates," the ghostly Ranger replied to his friend.
"Very well, I'll be right down," stated the Red Astro Ranger.
Meanwhile back at Gotham Towers, Robin and Nightwing were gagged and tied together to the ceiling as they watched Two-Face and his henchmen robbed the people below them. The city officials and their guests were still asleep from the knock out gas. "Get ready for the bat boys! He's bound to come to rescue his two kids and these splendid dinner guests, oh, let's don't forgot these the hard working officials of Gotham City!" he commanded to his henchmen.
"Well, the bat may not be here, but will a cat do?" asked Wildcat as he jumped from the shadows of the room and started to fight Two-Face's men.
However, Wildcat's effort was futile and soon he was captured by Two-Face's men. As they held him before the mad criminal, Two-Face commented "Let's see what fate has for you lives cat," as he flipped his coin in the air to determine the old crime fighter's fate.
'Oh, no! Wildcat!'screamed Robin within his mind. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence and his eyes widen with surprise as a white falcon crashed through the dining room window.
"What was that?" shouted one of the henchmen.
"It's just a stupid bird! Look, it's landing on the Boy Wonder's shoulders. Probably, his pet! Well, they can both die together! Right now, let's see what the coin says about this old-timer! The scared side, looks like you nine lives are up!" bellowed Two-Face as he aimed his gun at the crime fighter.
Robin felt a great sadness and wished desperately that he could do something to help Wildcat. *You can, Tim.* addressed a calming voice with telepathy to the young crime fighter.
*Who said that?*asked Robin using the power of his mind without even knowing it.
*The bird on your shoulder, Tim. I called myself the White Stranger, we met earlier today, and we don't have much time to rescue your friend. Listen, you have abilities your just becoming aware of. I guess now is a good time as any to teach you your first lesson, are you willing to listen to me?*he questioned to the Boy Wonder.
Robin remained silent for a moment, and finally replied by nodding his head reluctantly. *Excellent, all right I'm going to give you this pendent* as Tommy magically put the osiou pendent around Robin's neck and quickly explained what he wanted the Boy Wonder to do.
"Say goodnight you old tom-cat," addressed Two-Face as he clicked his gun, suddenly the gun in his hand as well as all of the other guns in the room literally flew out of the window. "What the @#48&?" cursed Two-Face.
*Mmm, not bad for you first attempt with telekinesis. But, you'll have to work on controlling the objects you move; someone might get killed or severely injured if you use telekinesis so wildly,* lectured Tommy mentally as he gazed down at the criminals from his perch on Robin's shoulder.
Robin just turned his head to the falcon and gave him an evil glare as he silently cursed the White Stranger. *Robin! Watch your thoughts! Anyone with psychic powers can most likely hear your thoughts and you don't know the first thing about using mental shielding yet!*admonished Tommy, suddenly they both felt a strange presence come into the dining room.
"Yes, Robin. Watch your thoughts, you never know who might hear you," cackled a mysterious voice though no one could see who it was that spoke.
"Who said that?" questioned Two-Face as he looked around the room.
Wildcat on the other had gone deathly pale when the voice spoke and knew exactly who it was that spoke. "Aw, no! It can't be!" he yelled as he looked frantically around the room.
"You know who said that?" growled Two-Face at the old crime fighter.
"Unfortunately, it's the Shadow," he replied with fear as suddenly a man with black hat and clock with a red scarf that covered half his face appeared before him.
"Wildcat, it's nice of you to remember me after all this time. What do you think of my grandson? He's done quite well at his first attempt with his abilities," the Shadow questioned both the crime fighter and the criminals in the room.
"Grandson?" shouted both Two-Face and Wildcat as the stared at the mysterious crime fighter.
"My grandson, I've been looking for him for a long time, you know him as Robin," answered the Shadow as he watched with amusement as everyone stared at the Boy Wonder or went into complete shock.
'I'm his grandson?'Robin thought with astonishment.
Tommy gave a disgusted squawk as he watched the situation rapidly getting out of control, *Yes, what he says is true. But, explanations will have to wait for now,* he mentally replied.
Suddenly, the Shadow seemed to narrow his focus on the bird that was perched on his grandson's shoulder, "Who are you?" he questioned in a dangerous tone of voice.
"I've been asking that question for most of the day," echoed another male voice and in a flash of light the God of War appeared in the room. "C'mon on down here, White Stranger! I'm prepared for you this time!" he shouted to the falcon.
The white falcon on Robin's shoulder screeched with anger as it flew off and circled the room, in a blinding flash of light Robin, and Nightwing were free from their bonds; while Two-Face and his henchmen suddenly became the ones who were tied up and gagged.
Suddenly, the white falcon changed into a human form and anded before Ares as the mysterious White Stranger from earlier in the day. The white, western clothed masked man spoke to the God of War with a barely controlled temper, "Ares, it's been a very lousy couple of months for me and today isn't improving my mood one bit. I suggest you high tail it out of here!"
"I won't retreat this time, White Stranger! I want you to meet my friend," arrogantly boasted Ares as he snapped his fingers. However, nothing happened or appeared before the immortal.
"What friend?" questioned Nightwing with amusement at the arrogant God of War.
"What happened to my monster?" Ares asked out loud in confusion.
Suddenly, two beams of red and white light came into the room, before everyone's amazed eyes the forms of the Phantom and Red Astro Rangers appeared before the silent group of bystanders. "Your monster is in the recycle bin, Ares," the Phantom Ranger told the immortal.
The Red Astro Ranger though had other things on his mind; he stepped toward Tommy and gave the traditional greeting for Eltarian Royalty, "White Ranger,grandson of Zordon, Lord Councilor of Eltar, I bring grave tidings from Delphine, the White Ranger of Aquitar and leader of the Aquitian Rangers," he spoke formally to the young lord.
"There goes my cover," grumbled Tommy as he gave the Red Ranger a dark look of disapproval.
Ares paled as he looked at Tommy with new eyes and he slowly backed away from him, "White Ranger? The former leader of the Power Rangers?" he asked with fear.
Wind whirled around the room and lighting flashed in the sky above them, Tommy closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten first in English, then in Eltarian in order to bring his temper back under control. Slowly, Tommy opened his eyes, which by now were glowing a brilliant white, he softly ordered Ares, "Get out of Gotham City, Ares."
Ares was about to protest, but a sudden crack of lighting near his feet changed his mind. With a loud gulp of fear, he quickly disappeared in a flash of light. Tommy then, turned his attention to the Shadow, "Leave for now, Shadow. Your grandson will be here in the city," he told the mysterious crime fighter.
"I've been searched for years for the last of blood kin. I will not leave without my grandson!" he proclaimed in a powerful voice.
"The Batman and Nightwing are Robin's family as well, they love him as dearly as you do. Is it wrong to separate Robin from the family he's been adopted to for the past few years?" questioned Tommy, his voice echoing off the wall of the room.
The Shadow remained silent for a moment, then he replied, "You're correct, White Ranger. I sense Nightwing's feeling for my grandson, and the information I've gathered on the Batman states that he considers Robin his youngest son. I know the pain of a love one leaving you, far be it for me to separate a family. However, Robin is the last member of my family, I shall not abandon contact with him now that I've finally found him. Nightwing, Robin, I shall meet again with you both within a week. If that is acceptable to you?"
The White Ranger spoke out loud, "Agreed, the Planeteers should be back before then," 'I hope, with a someone who can protect and teach Robin!'he softly thought darkly, though very carefully within the shielded parts of his mind.
"Uh, I'll tell Batman," Nightwing told both the White Ranger and the Shadow as he gave a look to his adopted brother that clearly stated 'Batman is not going to like this!'
Robin gave his own look back as he clearly thought, 'I know, Bruce is not going to like this! It's not my fault, I didn't know I had a grandfather who was a ghost!'
*Tim, watch your thoughts!* shouted both the Shadow and the White Ranger into the young boy's mind with telepathy as they both gave a stern glare to him.
"Ok, sheesh," muttered Robin softly to himself.
"I shall see you later, my grandson," the Shadow told the young boy as he once again merged into the darkness of the room.
"Good he's gone," sighed Wildcat relief evident in his voice.
"Here is something for the bar, Wildcat," echoed a voice somewhere in the shadows as money was thrown at Wildcat's feet. This was too much for the old super hero and before anyone could catch him, he fainted to the floor with a loud thump. Nightwing quickly went to the elder hero to see if he was all right.
After it was certain that the Shadow had left, Tommy was then about to give a big lecture to the Red Ranger about blowing his cover with his unnecessary use of protocol when a beeping sound came through his communicator, "Yes?" he questioned with barely contained angry into the communicator.
"Uh, this is Alpha. Dimitria and the Rangers are too busy at the moment to handle this. But, you were right, the Gold Ranger has done something stupid," he spoke with hesitation to the White Ranger.
"What did he do?" he hissed with fury.
"He's nearly killed one of the Troopers in a jealous rage as well as he and the Silver Ranger are tearing Cross World City apart in a big fight. Neither one of them appear to be under any spell or outside influence," the robot weakly told the Ranger.
"What!" bellowed Tommy as he finally lost his temper, storm clouds suddenly appeared over Gotham City as rain dropped furiously onto the sidewalks below.
"Now, calm down " Alpha never finished his sentenced as Tommy cut communications.
"Red Astro stay here and guard Robin! The Phantom Ranger and I are going to Cross World City!" he ordered the young Ranger.
"I don't suppose I can watch you beat the Gold Ranger up?" the Red Ranger questioned with eagerness in his voice.
"No! It's morphin time! White Eltarian Falcon!" he shouted then with a burst of white light, Tommy changed into his fully armored form. In another flash of light, he and the Phantom Ranger disappeared.
"I just asked," muttered the Red Ranger with regret that he wouldn't see the Gold Ranger get what was coming to him.
Later that night in the Batcave, after explanations were given to the Batman who was still at JLA headquarters, Nightwing and Robin were trying to engage their 'guest'into a conversation. "So, why did the White Ranger agreed to guard me?" asked the Boy Wonder.
Andros, who was still morphed, replied as he looked with curiosity around the Batcave; "I don't know, I suspect it has something to do with an experience early in his Ranger career. You have a unusual headquarters."
"Err… thanks. What planet do you and the other Rangers come from? Your obviously not from Earth", interrogated Nightwing to the young Ranger.
"First, the Rangers that are here on Earth are indeed from your planet, although the White Ranger is half Eltarian. Secondly, I'm personally from a colony on the frontier that has since been conquered by a dark empire. Finally, Power Rangers are one race, yet come from many races across the universes," lectured the Red Astro as he gave the two super heros his full attention.
"Sort of like the what the Green Lantern Corps, right?" questioned the Boy Wonder.
The Red Ranger closed his fists and tried to hold back his anger at the mere mention of the words 'Green Lantern;' after a few minutes he finally growled out, "Please don't compare our race to the power stealing, murderous Guardians' group! It's very rude to even mention their name in any Ranger's presence!"
Nightwing and Robin looked startled of the description and obvious hatred that the young Ranger gave to the Guardians of Oa, Nightwing was just about to ask about the accusation that he had made when a brilliant white and green flash lights appeared in the Batcave. Then the White Ranger and the Green Turbo Ranger stood before them, the Red Ranger was about to give the traditional greeting once again when he was interrupted by Tommy's anger voice, "Red Astro, please don't go through the formalities once again!"
Seeing that the Red Ranger would obey his command, he then turned his attention on the two Boy Wonders, "Robin, I realize you have many questions concerning your heritage, but I cannot answer you tonight to many outside influences are demanding my immediate attention. I will answer your questions in the morning, in the mean time the Green Turbo Ranger will guard you while I have a long talk with the Red Astro Ranger," he told the group of super heros as he gave a dark look of anger at Andros.
"Do you thank Ares will try again?" questioned Nightwing with concern.
The White Ranger snorted with disgust, "I wouldn't put it past him, now that he will have the knowledge of who he is dealing with, Ares will find another means in gaining control of Robin.I should warn you though there are others who wish to gain you into their power or have you killed, Robin," he advised to the young boy.
Robin gulped with fear and asked, "What of the Planeteers?"
"I just spoke with them a while ago, they are in the middle of trying to gain you a more permanent bodyguard and teacher. Until they complete their quest, one of the Rangers will be a temporary bodyguard to you as well as a teacher," announced Tommy as he tried to hold back his hot temper.
"Which Ranger?" asked Robin with curiosity in his voice; "How long?" questioned Nightwing in concern for his younger brother.
"A couple of months, hopefully. As for whom I have in mind… " trailed off the White Ranger as he gestured for Robin and Nightwing to move closer to him.
As the three conversed quietly, the Green Ranger was trying to engage Red Astro into a conversation, "So, how long have you been a Ranger?"
"About two of your years," replied the Red Astro coldly to his fellow Ranger.
"Well, excuse me for asking," he muttered as he acknowledged the Red Astro's cold voice.
"Red Astro, let's teleport to the Megaship. I want to have a private conversation with you and to learn more about Delphine's sensitive message," ordered the White Ranger as he finished the quiet conversation he was having with Nightwing and Robin.
"I'll speak to Batman about your proposal and try to convince him it's a good idea," spoke Nightwing as he waved good-bye to the two Rangers.
"Excellent, I'll see you in the morning, good-night," replied the White Ranger as he and the Red Astro Ranger prepared to teleported to the Megaship.
"Good-night," replied the two adopted brothers and the Green Ranger as they waved good-bye, then in a flash of red and white light the two Rangers disappeared.
A few minutes later in the Megaship's briefing room, an unmorphed Andros yelled in surprise at the young lord, "You want me to do what?"
"To live with Tim Drake at Wayne Manor in order to guard and teach him his new powers. I and the other 'adult' Rangers don't have the time to do it with the war coming upon us; the Turbo Rangers have no experience and are just learning how to use their own psychic abilities, you're the only one with the experience and knowledge to teach him at the moment," Tommy told the young Ranger once again in a tired voice what he wanted him to do.
Andros glared at him with defiance and asked respectfully, "Why do you I have the feeling that isn't the only reason, my lord?"
Tommy sighed with weariness as he replied, "You have a very negative view on Earth's people, and you also need to gain the knowledge of when and when not to use protocol and rules! I've looked at your record Andros, you follow rules and protocol to the letter, there is also the fact you have a tendency to want to commit suicide while in battle!"
"I'm not suicidal!" he shouted with a furious protest.
"Yes, you are! I've been suicidal as well in battle when I first became a Ranger! You've bent on committing suicide ever since you became a Ranger and it has gotten worse since the incident with Zhane!" he shouted as his eyes once again flared a glowing white.
Andros slumped in his chair as sighed and accepted his fate, "What about DECA?" he asked.
"DECA needs some extra modifications which will be completed on a secret base here in the Sol system. Now, what is the message from Delphine? And would you please tell me bluntly," he questioned to Andros with curiosity.
"There is a spy in the Galactic Council on Eltar," Andros told him straight out.
Tommy stared at him for a moment and with a sigh he finally said, "Just what I need to top a miserable day."
Around 1: 00am the next morning at the apartment building, Tommy groaned in frustration as he snuggled further into the blankets of his bed in order to sleep; however his cousin had other ideas, "Tommy, she has accepted who I'm truly am, can you believe it?" questioned T'nar to his cousin with excitement.
"T'ner, you've asked me that for the fifty-fifth time in the past two hours! I would like to enjoy at least a few hours of sleep before the Boy Wonder in the Batcave wakes up from his sleep and starts to badger me about Ares, the Planeteers, and the Shadow! So,will you please shut up!" Tommy yelled at T'ner with a great rage, then he pulled one of his pillows over his head in an attempt to ignore his lovesick cousin.
T'ner was silent for a few moments, finally he asked, "Cousin, is your current anger state lately due to the fact you are still furious with your true mate for dumping you?" Tommy didn't say anything for a short while; he slowly raised one hand from the blankets and pointed his finger at his cousin. T'ner shouted with surprise as he was cover from head to foot with icy, cold water. Spitting water from his mouth, he spluttered, "I'l