Disclaimer: You know the drill, Saban owns, well, almost everything, including the Power Rangers. It's all his!
Author Note: This is an idea that's been knocking around in my head for ages, I even put up a teaser for it on Cynthia's message board a while ago but never got round to actually writing it, so here it is. UAE means United Alliance of Evil, COL means Council of Light. As with most of my fics, Billy never went to Aquitar.
Time Scale: This takes place a couple of years after the end of PRiS.
Supply and Demand
By Matt
Mendel Street Warehouse, Northern California
A smartly dressed young man stood up in the office of the warehouse watching over the work. The large man he was currently conducting this business with stood a short way behind him, awaiting some kind of response. As the young man watched another crate being loaded onto the pile he turned to his associate and said, "It had better all be there, we do not like to be crossed."
"Don't worry, it's all there. We wouldn't come all this way and risk all this just to double-cross you." the other man replied.
"Very well Benny, I'll sign for it all and you can be on your way." he said, walking over to his desk. As he sat down and started sorting through the paperwork, Benny stood watching until he turned the paper around and handed him a pen. "I just need you to sign and we're done."
Benny scanned over the paper and immediately noticed something. "This says 15,000,000, we agreed 18,000,000."
"We changed our minds!" the man replied.
"What do you mean you changed your minds?" Benny snapped, slamming his fist down onto the desk and punching a hole right through it. The young man was not impressed.
"We evaluated the price of the goods and realised this was a more suitable price!" he answered.
"Yeah, but what about the rest? Do you know how much cloaking technology costs? Without it we would have been captured before we even got into this system! And then there's hazard pay. Do you know how hard it is to find a crew willing to come to Earth? The COL keeps such a close watch on this place and the punishment for what we're doing isn't pretty, it all costs and I need that money to cover it!" Benny snarled.
"It's all you're getting from us." the man said calmly, not even flinching as the large man got angrier and angrier.
Benny pulled a gun from inside his jacket and pointed it right into the business man's face. "I want 18,000,000!"
"Benny, put the gun away, you know you don't want to do this!" he insisted, keeping his cool demeanour.
"No, it's you who doesn't want to do this, now change the agreement back to 18,000,000." Benny shouted, pulling the trigger slightly. A tiny laser shot from the end, producing a small red dot on the man's forehead, a target.
The man reached to the back of the footspace under his desk and pushed a button with his foot. Literally less than a second later, several compartments on the wall of the office opened up and an assortment of weapons fired. Every one of them hit Benny. He was down, dead, blood pouring from every part of his body before he even knew it was happening.
The business man stood up and pulled out a cell phone. He pressed a button and put it to his ear. "This is Mr. Ceed. The delivery is secure, but we're going to need a new dealer, Benny didn't like the new offer." He pressed a button and slipped it back into his pocket then pressed a button on the intercom. "Get someone in here to clean up, Benny's made an unfortunate mess!"
NASADA Main Headquarters, 3 miles outside of Angel Grove
Research and Development Sector
"Morgan, increase power flow by 32.6% for 12.93 seconds and then cut back to 50%." Dr. Hewter called out as he stood over one of NASADA's latest project. He considered himself very lucky really. His current work was only a side project of NASADA, most attention was being given to the development of the Space Station Terra Venture. Of course, that meant limited funding for him, but it also meant less interference from his superiors, allowing him to conduct the tests in any manner he saw fit.
"Increasing power now." Kendrix replied. Exactly 12.93 seconds later, the power cut back to 50%. Kendrix looked over at the small device the Doctor was observing. For a second it looked like it was coming back on line, but a shower of sparks and a small bang from it soon proved otherwise.
"Damn, I thought we had it that time. Morgan, come over here." Dr. Hewter requested of his aid. She walked over and stood beside him. "You take a look at this, there must be something I'm missing here, maybe you can see it."
"Doctor, I may be able to help, but you still haven't told me what this thing is. I've been working with you on it for nearly six months now and I know virtually nothing about it." Kendrix replied, hoping to finally get some answers.
The Doctor sighed, turned away from her for a moment, then turned back. "I've been told to only tell those who vitally needed to know, so I suppose that would include you." Dr. Hewter commented. "This is an Astro Morpher."
Kendrix stared in shock. "Did you say Astro Morpher, as in the Astro Rangers?"
"Yep." Hewter replied. "I was given it and asked to try and get it back on line. I only got a vague description of its background, but I think I can explain it. You've heard of Zordon, haven't you?"
"Yes, he's the one who sacrificed himself to rid the Universe of evil, he was also the mentor of almost every team of Rangers throughout the Galaxy." Kendrix commented, only knowing what she did from reading the interviews with the ex-Astro Rangers.
"Not only was he their mentor, but he also created most of the Ranger Powers. He had access to something known as the Morphin' Grid which he used to create and power the various Ranger teams. I don't know exactly what the Grid is, but when Zordon died, the immense wave of energy shorted it out, rendering all Rangers powerless. These Astro Morphers are slightly different to most other Ranger Powers. They get their powers from energy cells built into them, the Grid just makes them stronger and is used to start them up." the Doctor explained.
"So these morphers are like a car without a started motor?" Kendrix asked.
"Exactly." he replied.
"And we're trying to hotwire it!" Kendrix smiled. When the Doctor nodded in response, she asked, "What about the other five?"
"Spread around the world in various other facilities with other people like us trying to do the same thing." Hewter said. "None of them are having any more luck than we are. We're starting to give up any hope of actually succeeding."
"Can I just ask one more thing." Kendrix requested.
"Of course." Hewter said in return.
"Why do we even need them? There's no threat to Earth any more!" Kendrix said matter-of-factly.
"Now that I don't know. All I know is that I've been asked to do this, and I intend to succeed, now how about you take a look at it." he suggested, moving out of her way. Kendrix moved in and started examining the morpher.
Haven Hills, Residential Area of Angel Grove
Ashley sat on the sofa, her boyfriend's arms around her. He was watching the TV, but she was thinking about something else. She looked around quickly and smiled, then turned to Andros and said, "When did this happen?"
"When did what happen?" the Kerovan ex-Ranger asked.
"When did we finally get our peace back? I mean, when did the reporters stop bothering with us and let us have our lives back?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know, I think it was when they got the reports of the two headed chicken in Arkansas!" Andros grinned at her.
"I'm being serious!" Ashley snapped, trying to hide her smile.
"So am I!" Andros said back. Ashley sat up away from him and slapped him gently on the arm, still trying not to laugh.
"Do you miss it at all?" Ashley asked. "I mean you were a Ranger for what, five years?"
"Yeah, five years." Andros said, thinking back to the fateful day Zordon had chosen him to be a Ranger. "I suppose I do miss it. I mean, I don't miss the bad parts, you know, where we didn't win, or we failed or anything like that, but feeling the rush of the power, the thrill of the battle, and the feeling of being in total control. It made me feel… important." Andros sighed.
"Hey, you're important to me all the time!" Ashley said, putting her hand on his.
"Thanks. How about you?" Andros asked in return.
"I'm not too sure really. I was only a Ranger for less than two years, and through all that time I think we lost more than we gained!" Ashley said. "The Power Chamber had been there for thousands of years, undamaged, and then we come along and let Divatox destroy it. Then there was the Delta Megazord and MegaVoyager, we let those get blasted into pieces too. And most of all, we almost let the whole of the Earth get captured."
"Yeah, well the Power Chamber and Megazords were just material things, they can be replaced. You never let anyone down, nobody really got hurt, that's the most important thing! As for almost letting the Earth fall… well almost isn't good enough! Remember, I actually did let my planet get defeated. I know how you feel, only worse!" Andros replied.
"Sorry, I never thought about that." Ashley said sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it! We won in the end, KO-35's inhabitants are back home and we won. What else matters?" Andros asked.
"This matters!" Ashley said with a grin, before pouncing on him and kissing him.
Mendel Street Warehouse
Mr. Ceed was sat at his desk finishing off the last of the paperwork from the last shipment of goods when the phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Ceed here."
He listened for a moment and replied, "Yes sir, Benny is no longer with the company!"
He listened again. "Completely necessary, he refused our revised offer." Mr. Ceed insisted.
"Yes sir, three more shipments and we should have everything you require." Ceed said confidently, awaiting a reply.
"Perhaps another twelve days." Ceed reported.
"A week? I'll see what I can do." Ceed said, unsure about his employers latest demand to shorten the delivery time of the last few arrivals.
"Yes sir, I know you don't accept failure. That is why I don't intend to fail." Ceed sneered back, listened again and finished with, "Thank you very much sir." He put the phone down and pushed a button.
The door to his office swung open a young lady walked in. She wore a black miniskirt with a white blouse and small black jacket over it that only just reached her waist. Her long blond hair was tied back and hung down near her waist. "You called?" she asked. Although she did not address him as sir, or any other title as such, the respect for him in her voice was clear.
"Yes Miss Bee, have you found a new supplier yet?" Mr. Ceed asked, sitting back in his large, black leather chair.
"I've got four potentials lined up, I was just about to start contacting them to make a final decision." Miss Bee replied. "Why? Has something happened?"
"Indeed." Ceed replied. "We need everything within one week." He could see the suprise on Miss Bee's face, but she kept her professional demeanour.
"I really don't think one week is long enough." Miss Bee said back.
"Then make it long enough. We need everything in one week!" Ceed stated in a tone that clearly meant the conversation was over. The young lady turned and walked out without a further word.
NASADA Main Headquarters, 3 miles outside of Angel Grove
Research and Development Sector
The Next Day
"Good morning, Morgan." Dr. Hewter said as he walked into the small lab.
"Morning?" Kendrix glanced over at the clock on the wall, blinked a few times then said, "Oh yeah, morning Doctor."
"Have you been working on that all night?" Hewter demanded.
"Not ALL night!" Kendrix replied, then looked at his bemused face. "I took a half hour break at two o'clock."
"Morgan, how many times do I have to tell you? A tired mind is a careless mind!" the Doctor said with a disappointed look on his face. "Now go home, have shower and something to eat and come back after you've had a few hours' sleep!"
"But I think I'm close, have a look at what I've managed so far!" Kendrix insisted.
Doctor Hewter was tempted to do as she asked, but he knew he was right and that she should go, so he just glared at her. "Okay, okay, I'm going!" she said reluctantly, knowing she had no chance against the stubborn minded doctor. "But please, look at what I've done, I think it could help us a lot!" With that, she left, leaving the Doctor alone with the morpher.
"So, let's see what she was so excited about." he mumbled as he examined her night's work. "Incredible!" he gasped as he examined it, "I never even considered that possibility. Thank you Miss Morgan, you have just helped me more than you think!"
Doctor Hewter walked over to a large computer console and activated it. The view screen above it came on, showing a darkened room. "Doctor Hewter, what can I do for you?" a voice asked.
"I'm sending you some information now, my assistant has made quite a breakthrough. I believe this will help in our project." Hewter said happily.
A few seconds later, the voice replied, "Excellent work, this brings it one step closer to completion! Keep up the good work and keep me informed."
"Of course!" Doctor Hewter replied as the signal cut out. hr
Dragon Dojo, Central Angel Grove
"Siek-hyah!" Tommy called out as he performed a perfect Flying kick towards Adam. Fortunately for Adam, he managed to move out of the way, or the match would have been over. As Tommy landed, he immediately jumped and carried out a roundhouse kick. It connected with Adam's back and he fell to the ground. Tommy had only done it gently, had he done it at full strength, he may well have broken Adam's back.
"That was a good one!" Rocky said as he came over to join them.
"Yeah, good match Adam." Tommy said as he helped him up.
"Man, you've been working on your stamina, haven't you! I've never known you to last that long before!" Adam commented. He was right, that had always been his advantage over Tommy. The ex Ranger leader had always been a powerful skilled fighter, but if a match lasted too long, he tired very easily. But not any more, this time Tommy had easily been able to keep going.
"And you've been putting in some time at the gym too! Some of those hits were lethal." Tommy replied, checking himself for the dozens of bruises he had expected to appear.
"Yeah, I've been doing a lot since.." Adam stopped there and winced as the memories came back to him.
"Aw man, I'm sorry, I never even thought." Tommy commented.
Tommy looked away from Adam as he remembered what had happened. After he and Tanya had passed on their powers, their relationship had gotten somewhat more serious. Together, they left Angel Grove because of the constant attacks. Within a year they had even started talking about marriage, that was about when Divatox's attacks stopped. Then they had decided to move back to Angel Grove, because at some time during their lives in that City, it had become home to them. There was no other place they really thought of as such.
Of course, then Astronema had shown up and the attacks started all over again. They weren't as often as Divatox's, so they didn't move away, they just put up with it, knowing that the Rangers they had passed their powers to could take care of business. Then came that fateful day, since named Doomsday, when Dark Specter's all out Galactic assault had began. Astronema came to Earth and attacked, turning angel Grove into a battle ground. Very few had died in the attack, but unfortunately, Tanya had been one of them. Adam hadn't taken it well of course, distancing himself from all of his friends and just working constantly, whether at his job or at the gym. Time had started to heal the wound, but the hurt was still ever present, a constant reminder to Adam of what he had lost.
"Hey, don't worry about it! It's been two years, I think we can talk about it!" Adam said, smiling.
"Yeah." Tommy replied quietly.
"Hey, whadda you guys say we go and get some food, I'm starving. You got any more classes today?" Rocky asked his partner.
"No. I'm done for today." Tommy replied. Between them, they had started and built up the Dragon Dojo, and it was now one of the most popular in town.
"Great, we can close up early and get the food, I'm starving." Rocky said eagerly.
"Big suprise!" Adam grinned.
"Yeah, Rocky's hungry, that's a new one on me!" Tommy laughed. The two owners and the visitor went off to get changed and then head out for the rest of the afternoon. hr
Haven Hills, Residential Area of Angel Grove
Andros was working out in the gym. He had taken to going for a workout every day before dinner. He enjoyed the privacy of his own workout area, it was one designed not only to exercise his physical strength, but also his psychic strength. His and Ashley's house was quite impressive. They knew it was wrong to make money off of their time as Rangers, but the financial boost had come naturally, it had been unavoidable, and now, two years later, they were making the most of it.
When Ashley came in, he was laying down, bench pressing quite a large weight, whilst lifting an equally heavy weight on the opposite side of the room with his mind. Since losing his Ranger powers, and the responsibility that came with them, he had been able to put a lot more practice into his psychic abilities. Although almost everyone from KO-35 had some psychic abilities, very few were as gifted as Andros. At one time it had actually been thought that he was the strongest psychic on the planet, although it was soon proven wrong. Regardless of how high he ranked in abilities, he was still very skilled at it, and was getting better and more creative by the day.
"Looking good!" Ashley smiled at him from the doorway. She stood watching as his muscles tightened and relaxed as he lifted the weight.
"You're not looking too bad yourself today." Andros said back. "So what's up?"
"You want to go out for dinner today? I'm in the mood for some of Adelle's fries." Ashley suggested.
"Sure, give me some time to shower and get changed and I'll be right with you." Andros agreed quickly. He let the weight rest on its stand and moved off of the bench, then looked over at the other weight and let it slowly float back to the ground.
"You're getting pretty good at that!" Ashley commented as she watched.
"Yeah, lots of practice! You could be that good too if you actually practiced every now and then." Andros said, as if he were speaking to a child.
"Yeah, I know, I can just about raise a pencil, but if I try and do any more my head hurts!" Ashley sighed. Ever since they had been Rangers together, he had been teaching her to learn how to use the power of her own mind.
"Exactly, that's why you need to practice." Andros said as he walked past her. He went straight past and along to have a shower, while Ashley stayed where she was, thinking about what he had said. As she looked into the gym, she saw a small dumbbell. It couldn't have weighed any more than a few pounds. Staring at it and using some of the techniques Andros had taught her, she concentrated her mind onto it, visualising nothing other than herself and the dumbbell. She pictured it floating into the air, moving effortlessly as if it weighed nothing at all. Nothing seemed to happen, but then it moved a few inches off of the ground. It stayed up for a few seconds before Ashley grabbed her head and winced in pain. It dropped a second later with a clatter.
"I'll get there eventually." she sighed before going off to get ready to go out.
Planet Onyx, Northern Continent
Iosa Storage depot.
Mr. Iosa sat at a computer console, carrying out the last of the day's work. He was seriously considering shutting his business down. Ever since Zordon's Golden Wave had wiped out most of the UAE, his customers had been few and far between. His investors were threatening him that they needed returns on their investments, his employees were insisting they would leave within a week if they didn't see at least one cycle's pay, things really weren't going well.
He was near enough to a decision when the Galactic communication module burst into life. He activated it and a young woman appeared on the screen. "Iosa industries, what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Mr. Iosa I presume. My name's Miss Bee and I think you can be of some help to us." the woman on the screen replied.
"Certainly, if you need it, I've got it." Mr. Iosa smiled.
"Oh it's not the goods I was worried about. I've heard of your reputation for getting the goods required, the problem may be the target, you see, I'm on Earth!" Miss Bee said, expecting some kind of adverse reaction like she had already got from two others. The first had cut the signal and refused to accept any more transmissions from her, the second had given it a little more thought, but his decision was the same. Iosa didn't even seem bothered.
"Earth? Okay, what do you need and when?" Mr. Iosa asked.
"I can see we're going to get on just fine!" Miss Bee smiled.
The Surf Spot, Central Angel Grove
Tommy, Rocky and Adam were sat together at one of their usual tables when Adelle came over with a tray of food. She laid the whole thing out on the table.
"There you go." she said to Rocky, then looked at the other two. "I'll be right back with yours!"
"That's all for Rocky?" Adam asked.
"It sure is." Rocky grinned, already picking at the food.
"Hey, don't put him off." Adelle said. "He's one of my best customers!" Flashing them her broad smile, she went off back to the kitchen.
"I can't believe how much this place has changed since I first came here!" Tommy commented.
"Oh no, Tommy's going all 'remember the good old days' on us again." Adam laughed.
"No I'm not, I'm just saying how much it's changed. When I first came here it was just the Youth Center, with Ernie running it. Then Lieutenant Stone took over, then he let Adelle buy him out and turned it into the Surf Spot." Tommy said, thinking back to the first day he had been there, for the Martial Arts tournament. It was a day he would never forget, for more than just one reason!
"Yeah, this place has changed even more than the Rangers' powers!" Adam commented. Of all the Rangers, he had seen the most Ranger incarnations. He himself had been a Morphin', Ninja, Zeo and Turbo Ranger, and then he had helped out the Black Astro Ranger, Carlos, when he was facing some problems.
"Oh yeah, speaking of which, have you heard from Carlos lately, or any of the others?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah. Carlos is in Spain at the moment, visiting some distant relatives or something. Cassie and TJ have are somehwre in Asia. They say they're having loads of fun, travelling through space was fun, but travelling around the world is even better." Adam smiled. "Cassie said that TJ's even met someone he really likes, although it's only a one week thing, until they move on to the next place."
"Wish I could do something like that." Rocky said, taking a two second break from the food.
"What you're doing is just as good. The Dojo's helped a lot of people you know. If anyone should be envious, it's me!" Adam replied. Just then, Adelle rushed over, gave then their food and rushed off as the lunch time crowd started coming in.
"Anyway, Kat called yesterday. She's being kept really busy at the High School, since she got promoted to vice principle she hasn't really had much time for anything else. That's about all. You heard from any of the old team?" Adam asked the ex leader.
"Well Kim's latest Gymnastic tournament has just finished. She's been given a few months off before serious practice starts for the next one. She said she was going to go and visit her Mom in Paris before she comes back here to see her Dad and us." Tommy replied.
"Cool, it'll be great to see her again." Adam said happily.
"Yeah." Rocky agreed before shovelling more food into his mouth.
"Jason's Dojo in Stone Canyon doing as well as ours is here. Zack and Trini are both getting a bit annoyed with the Peace Conference. They're doing some good stuff there, but it's slow, difficult work. Billy's kinda busy with work too." Tommy explained.
"That's Professor Cranston to you!" Rocky joked.
"Yeah, that sounds weird. He can't be a professor, he's… Billy, our school friend and team mate, not some old professor cooped up in a laboratory at the University." Adam said.
"I know what you mean, if you'd met him when I did you would have really seen a change. As much of a geek as he was, and I mean that in the nicest possible way, when you met him, he was twice as bad when I met him!" Tommy commented.
"You want to see change, try taking a look at Justin! I'd hardly seen him since he finished school until last week, I couldn't believe it!" Rocky said, shocking the others that he'd managed to take a long enough break from the food to say the sentence. He was right about Justin, though. Justin had been skipped ahead quite a few grades when he was eleven. By the time he was thirteen he had finished High School and became the youngest ever student of Angel Grove University. That was two years ago and since then he had just got more and more different. With his genius and Billy as one of his teachers, his intelligence level was rivalling even Billy's, but that was the only change really. The success had not changed his personality, he continued his Martial Arts training, and could now match Tommy move for move. He was still as energetic as he had ever been when he was a Ranger.
"Makes me feel kinda boring! I don't own my own Dojo, I haven't travelled the world, I haven't got a really high class job." Adam moaned.
"Hey, don't complain about the simple life, we actually enjoy it." a familiar voice said from behind him.
"Ashley, Andros, hi, how are you?" Adam said cheerily to the two new arrivals. "Care to join us?"
"I don't know, the last time we had lunch with you, Rocky ended up finishing off most of our food." Ashley said, looking down at the sheepish looking Rocky.
"Don't worry, we remembered to feed him today." Tommy said as the other two sat down between him and Rocky.
"Hey, I resent that. I'm nothing like that!" Rocky snapped. They all looked down at the half dozen empty plates in front of him. "Okay, maybe I'm a little like that!"
Iosa Industries Cargo Ship Jubilant
Half way between Earth and Onyx
Captain Ka'ha sat in his Command seat nervously. He knew his job inside and out, just as he knew his crew, but on this particular trip he had good reason to be nervous. Mr. Iosa himself was on board their ship, and more specifically, on the bridge, watching his every move. He had made several attempts to make him leave, offering him his own private room, or a tour of the ship, but he insisted on staying right there. It's not that Mr. Iosa was an intimidating man, for he wasn't, it's just that most employees, anywhere in the galaxy, tend to feel a bit nervous with a superior watching them.
"Sir, is there anything I can get for you?" Captain Ka'na asked again.
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine." Mr. Iosa insisted. "And please, relax, I'm only here so that I can get to Earth, not to evaluate your performance, that's why my operatives hidden in your crew are for!"
Captain Ka'ha looked around at the owner of the company nervously. "I'm joking!" Mr. Iosa smiled.
"Yes… of course!" Ka'ha said nervously, "Helm, how long left before we arrive?"
"ETA 34 Parsecs, 12 Jardar, sir!" the helmsman replied.
"Very well, any sign of detection by the COL?" the Captain asked another crewman.
"A COL ship passed us 74 Jardar ago and showed no sign of knowing we were here. I think the cloak is holding." the crewman replied.
"Okay, Commander Fink, you have the bridge. Mr. Iosa, may I speak to you privately for a moment." The Captain said as he stood up from his seat. He headed for one of the elevators and Mr. Iosa followed him. They stepped inside and the doors slid shut. "Captain's briefing room!" he gave the command to the computer. The elevator started moving rapidly through the ship.
"Yes Captain, what can I do for you?" Iosa asked as the elevator stopped and they exited into the briefing room.
"I was wondering when you were going to tell me what our cargo is." the Captain said, taking a seat at the head of the table. Mr Iosa took an adversarial position at the other end.
"I don't think you really need to know that." Iosa replied.
"I think I do!" Ka'ha replied. "What I know so far is that it's big, expensive and someone on Earth wants it. I'm not sure what it is, but something about that tends to make me think it means trouble."
"Maybe so, but remember, you work for me and I'll tell you as much as you need to know. Think of it this way. If we got caught, you could plead ignorance." Iosa smiled wryly.
"Yes sir, I know that, and I know I work for you, but this is still MY ship and My crew, and if I'm going to be putting them into a dangerous situation, I want to know why and what for." Captain Ka'ha insisted firmly.
"You're a very good captain, I commend you for your devotion. I suppose it will do no harm to tell you. Our current shipment is mainly signal blockers!" Iosa explained.
"Signal blockers? But there's millions of them, why would anyone want that many… unless they were going to…" Captain Ka'ha stopped as he realised what his cargo was going to be used for.
"Going to what, Captain?" Iosa asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't jumping to the wrong conclusion.
"Some on Earth is trying to stop anyone on their planet using interplanetary communication, they don't want them…"
"Calling for help!" Iosa finished the sentence.