Fractured Fates (S.P.D./inSpace Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt 4 ~ commitment
Apparently in this house, all discarded shoelaces and socks automatically become cat toys. -Amused- I should probably have expected this, but everyone else seems to think it's my fault.
Title: Fractured Fates
Author: Tsukino Akume
Relationship: Zhane/Sky Tate, Jack Landors/Syd Drew
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, because I probably wouldn't have done this to it even if I did. This is all purplestripe66's fault.
Warning: Character with depression/health issues
Summary: When Andros put Zhane into cryogenic stasis, he didn't wake up until he was completely healed - twenty-four years later. Zhane finds a new team, and S.P.D. tries to deal with the aftermath.
List of 22: 4 ~ commitment
Author's Notes: This chapter is dedicated to one of the most useless Zords ever by cannon definition: the MegaWinger, which apparently only has one attack. And it's not even deadly. I plan to fix this in the future.
Love to BlackCrimsonLight, phantom_blue, and purplestripe66 for input.
He hesitated just outside the Command Center door. Should he really be here? Sure Kat had called, but ... Did the Rangers really want him to come back?
"I've issued an all-points bulletin for Mirloc," he heard Cruger announce through the door.
"Unfortunately, with his ability to transport through reflective surfaces he's going to be very tough to find," Kat pointed out.
"Great," he muttered. "Just what we need." He paused at the sound of footsteps, and turned.
He and Sky stared at one another for several moments.
"You came back," Sky said at last, his expression strangely blank.
He shrugged a little. "Kat said you needed help."
Sky's eyes narrowed a little more. "Is that all?"
He glared back. "*Should* there be more?" he retorted.
Sky humphed and stormed past him into the Command Center. "Commander. *You* should have told me about Mirloc and my father," he declared. It was the closest he'd ever heard Sky come to snapping at Cruger.
Cruger looked at Kat. "I didn't say anything," she protested.
"I didn't feel it was in your best interest at the time," Cruger said at last.
"Well, that's just an invitation for disaster," he spoke up as he finally came inside just enough to lean on the doorframe. His eyes settled on Cruger's. "You keep information from your Rangers, it always comes back to get you."
"Zhane," Sky cut in sharply. "I don't need your help on this." His eyes remained on Cruger. "You're probably right. Fact is, I blew it. I let my feelings get the best of me and Mirloc got away. I should be demoted back to D Squad."
Zhane scowled. "Hey, if anybody's getting kicked off the team here, it should be me," he argued. "I'm the loose cannon who has issues with authority, remember? If we're downsizing, soldier boy over there is the *last* person you want to see go."
Sky shot him another glare. He stuck his tongue out in response.
Behind Sky, Cruger was shaking his head and obviously trying not to roll his eyes. "That's the decision for your team leader," he said after a moment, glancing to Jack.
Zhane tried not to flinch at the reminder.
Jack turned, staring straight up at Sky. His eyes narrowed. "You told me your father fought to the end. And now you wanna quit because you messed up once?! I guess you're not much like your father after all," he sneered. He turned to point at Zhane. "And you. You said yourself that you lost control because you were protecting Syd. You said you weren't ashamed of it, but then you take off without so much as a word to anyone. In my book, that means you *are* ashamed of yourself - which means you're ashamed that you wanted to help her."
"That's not true," he protested. "I - I just - "
He faltered. Sky was staring at the floor in thought, jaw clenched; everyone else was watching him. "Zhane?" Syd asked softly, taking a step in his direction. She smiled gently when he looked at her. "You never let me say thank you, for trying to save me."
He blinked for a moment, and swallowed hard.
"I say we split up," Sky said abruptly. "Hit the streets." His eyes met Zhane's, challenging.
There was a brief moment where he debated telling Sky he had beautiful eyes, and then he nodded. "Sounds like a good plan to me."
"All right," Jack agreed, sounding pleased as he glanced between them. "Sky, you and Syd take the city plaza. Bridge, Z, check out Newtech Center. Zhane and I'll take the west side."
Cruger nodded. "Excellent. Be careful, all of you."
"Yes, Sir!" they chorused as they turned for the door. For once, even Zhane found himself joining in.
His eyes flickered to Jack as he fell in step with him. "Jack ... ?" he began. "I - "
"Save it," Jack cut in. "I don't need to hear it." After a moment he glanced over, giving him a slight smile. "After all, you still came back to help your friends, didn't you?"
He slowly smiled back. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Now let's go kick some alien butt!"
****
Zhane sighed in frustration as he and Jack wandered down yet another empty street. "Nothing here, either. Why does it feel like he's playing with us?"
"Probably because he is," Jack said grimly. "I don't even know where to start looking."
"Let me save you some time," came a husky voice.
They both spun around just in time to see someone step out of the window beside him. They scrambled back, raising their fists. It was hard for Zhane to keep from moving protectively in front of Jack.
Mirloc laughed at them. "This is too easy," he taunted.
"I'll show you easy," Zhane growled.
"Freeze!" someone shouted behind them. "S.P.D.!"
"Commander!" Jack cried in surprise.
A Ranger Zhane had never seen before, riding some sort of small, four-wheeled vehicle, launched himself at Mirloc, weapons blazing. "Hi - yah!"
Mirloc went flying into a wall with a cry, and the vehicle screeched to a stop in front of them. "Get out of here!" the Ranger ordered.
"Who are - " Zhane began.
"But Sir, we can help!" Jack protested.
"Now!"
"Let's Rocket!" Zhane shouted. "Galaxy Glider, Hang Ten!" He grabbed Jack as the Glider raced towards them, glancing back to see Mirloc struggling to get to his feet. Holding tight to his teammate, he jumped on, shoving Jack down as he leaned forward.
Behind them, he could hear Mirloc howling "Come back!"
Yeah, right.
****
The ride back to S.P.D. after Cruger rescued them had been stonily silent. So had the brisk walk to the Command Center.
"Report,” Cruger ordered as they came in.
"No trace of them at all," Kat said immediately. "And no response from their morphers."
"I'm certain Mirloc's got them, but how?" Cruger muttered in frustration.
"I've gotta go back out there," Zhane and Jack said in unison. They didn't even bother to look at one another.
"No!" Cruger ordered sharply, spinning to glare at them. "We can't afford to lose you both as well."
"Sir, we can't just leave the others like this!" Jack argued.
Zhane glowered. Who did Cruger think he was? Didn't he know anything about team dynamics at all? It was his *job* to -
He froze.
It was his job to protect the other Rangers. It was his job to protect the other Rangers. He was ... *he* was ....
Andros had been right.
He cursed silently at the thought. Man, Andros was *never* supposed to be right. It defied the laws of physics - or at least the laws of the universe itself. It was just wrong.
But if Andros *was* right, that meant he had to get out of here *now*. The others were counting on him - they just didn't know it yet.
Jack was still arguing with Cruger, who was busy staring down at a computer. Kat was on the other side of the room, which meant that if he moved quick enough, they wouldn't see him leaving. The trick would be getting out of S.P.D. before they noticed.
He'd retreated as far as the doorway when Jack looked up suddenly. He froze, caught, as they stared at one another. A moment passed as neither of them moved. At last Zhane lifted his head just slightly, and gave Jack the weird arm-jerk S.P.D. salute.
Jack nodded back solemnly.
He slipped out the door as Jack raised his voice to argue with Cruger again. No one saw him leave, and no one stopped him by the time he'd morphed, grabbed his Silver Cycle, and moved out.
****
He hadn't gotten far before his morpher beeped. "Zhane, we've got trouble," Cruger informed him, just a hint of steel to his voice to show his irritation. "We need you to cover Jack for backup assistance."
"You got it," he promised. He pulled his feet up under him and jumped high into the air in one swift movement. "Galaxy Glider, Hang Ten!"
The moment he landed, he leaned forward, shooting down the street. At the last moment, he leaned back on the tail just enough to send it higher into the air. He didn't have time to deal with buildings.
When he found the Zord battle, he almost wished he hadn't.
For one, Jack was very obviously not a pilot. And despite how long he and Sky had been teammates, he apparently hadn't asked for any tips. "Aw, man," Silver Ranger whimpered as the jet swung a little too close to the robot and nearly clipped a wing.
It transformed to Megazord mode, but that didn't seem to be much of an improvement. "Watch the wings, would you?" he whined to himself as he hovered just beyond the battle site, waiting.
His morpher beeped again. "Zhane!" Red snapped out as the MegaWinger tried to wrestle for the robot's staff. "What sort of attacks does this thing have?"
"The Wing Blaster," he answered, wincing again.
There was a pause. " ... And?"
"And the Wing Blaster. That's it."
"Are you kidding me?" Red demanded. "Who the heck makes a Zord with only one attack?!"
"Hey, you don't like it, don't steal her next time."
"I'm *borrowing*. There's a difference. And seriously. What am I supposed to do to take this guy down?"
"Tackle it and blast it," he advised. "It's always worked for me."
"That explains so much," Red muttered.
He watched as the MegaWinger suddenly launched itself onto the robot, flattening it to the ground. It struggled, only to have the Wing Blaster physically knock the staff flying before blasting it in the face at point-blank range.
Silver dropped his head in his hands with a groan. "Well, at least he got rid of the thing," he muttered, silently bemoaning the state of his Zord.
He looked up just in time to see Mirloc step out of the windows on the building beside the MegaWinger. "Jack, look out!" he cried in warning.
But it was too late. Mirloc did ... something with his hands in front of his chest. There was a blinding flash of light, and the MegaWinger - and the Red Ranger - were gone.
Silver stared in horror at where they'd been. "He's got *all* of them now," he said softly, fist clenching. "I'm the only one left ... "
In the distance, he could hear Mirloc laughing again.
Something about the sound clicked in his mind. His hands ... he had opened some sort of ... mirrors? It happened so fast, it was hard to remember what he did exactly.
He tried to replay it in his head. When Mirloc's hands moved, there had been some sort of reflective surface embedded in his chest. The light from the mirrors flashed against the building's windows, the MegaWinger seemed to multiply for a split second, and then -
"I get it," he murmured. The reflective surfaces on his chest work together to make an infinite reflection that traps the people inside. Which means ... the Rangers are *inside* Mirloc! "But not for long," he growled softly. "*Nobody* takes my team and gets away with it."
"Was that directed toward me?" that hoarse voice he'd heard before crooned.
He turned to find Mirloc standing barely twenty feet from him, his head tilted mockingly. "Let the other Rangers go, Mirloc. *Now*," he ordered quietly. "Or you won't like what I do to get them out of there."
"You seem to know who I am, but I've never met you," Mirloc returned, obviously unimpressed by his threat.
"You don't know? Maybe you should study up on your history," he retorted, slightly offended. He hadn't had to introduce himself in *years*. "And you don't need to know my name for me to kick your butt from here to the moon."
"History, eh? A Ranger from the past?" Mirloc mused. "What a prize. No wonder Grumm wants me to capture you."
He snorted. "Capture me? I don't *think* so. I've beaten a lot worse than you. Now let my friends *go*."
"Why don't you come and get them?" Mirloc shot back.
He smirked under his helmet. "Not a problem. Super Silverizer!"
When Mirloc raised his own sword from out of nowhere, he knew this wasn't going to be easy. And Mirloc was *good*. They were evenly matched as they traded blows. Another hard swing made Mirloc stumble back, and he raised his Silverizer triumphantly.
He strike landed on dead air.
"Nice try," Mirloc chuckled, already safely inside another conveniently nearby window. He vanished instantly.
Zhane swore under his breath. Forcing himself to close his eyes, he slipped into the regulated breathing he'd been taught as a child. Mirloc was still here ... he knew that much. But where was he hiding?
"Look Ranger ... " Mirloc crooned from somewhere. "Look at your fate."
He kept his eyes closed, fists clenching as he heard pained gasps. He knew without bothering to look who it was - he could sense them easily. It wasn't *really* the other Rangers... more like a shadow of them. But it was enough to tell him that they were alive, they were hurting, and they needed him.
Mirloc had just made a *serious* mistake.
He knew the instant the alien reappeared, and he swung his Silverizer to meet him. Mirloc cried out, and he opened his eyes with a satisfied smile. "Lesson number one, Mirloc? *Never* underestimate me," he said smugly.
"It appears so," Mirloc snarled back. "But I won't be so easily defeated."
Silver just grinned darkly beneath his helmet. "I love a challenge," he commented in return.
The silver haze that had taken over him when Syd was brainwashed was gone now. Now, he was in his element. Protecting others was what he did. The cries of warning and encouragement from the other Rangers echoing around him only strengthened his drive to win.
It had never been more clear to him just where his place was.
Mirloc had abandoned his sword by this point, and was proving to be just as efficient at hand-to-hand. Out of practice or not, the Silver Ranger still matched him. He wouldn't lose - he *refused*.
A high kick to Mirloc's chest resulted in his ankle being grabbed, and he found himself flung into a something solid. He cried out in pain as he crumpled, his hand already on his left shoulder. What was *with* aliens and those darn *walls*?
"Come on, Zhane! You can do it!" he heard Sky shout.
"Sorry, Rangers," Mirloc sneered. "Now, he'll be joining *you*."
The plan came to mind suddenly and without warning. And he went with it before he had time to think through the variables, the same way he always did. He waited impatiently as Mirloc moved towards him, taking his time and savoring the moment he thought was coming.
Silver clenched a fist. "This better work, or we're all history," he muttered under his breath. "Here goes nothin'!"
The moment he caught the first glimmer of Mirloc's mirrors, he leapt forward, crying "Super Silverizer!"
The sound of shattering glass was heaven.
He heard cries of alarm as the Rangers appeared out of nowhere, landing facedown on the ground, followed by a resounding 'boom' as the MegaWinger showed up in the middle of downtown. He winced at the sound. "Don't worry, girl. I won't let ever Jack drive you again," he promised mournfully.
He glanced around as B Squad jogged over to join him. "You guys okay?"
Sky smacked him upside the back of the head. "Here goes *nothin'*? he demanded.
He grinned behind his helmet, raising a hand to touch the back where Sky'd smacked him sheepishly. "Hey, at least it worked," he protested.
"Next time, gamble with your own life," Sky grumbled.
He shook his head. "I will never, *ever* not come after you guys," he informed Sky solemnly, turning to include the others in his gaze. He locked eyes with Jack briefly and got an understanding nod while Bridge and the girls smiled happily at him. When he looked at Sky again, he found the other staring at him with that expression he couldn't read again.
"You mean it?" Sky asked at last, but it wasn't quite a question.
He responded by powering down and offering Sky his Digimorpher. "My place is with this team, *my* team," he informed him seriously. "My job is to keep all of you safe. That's what I do."
There was a curious look in Sky's eyes now, but whatever he was about to say was cut off my Mirloc's harsh coughing.
"Foolish Rangers," Mirloc wheezed. He was still standing, but a fist remained clenched over his chest. "Don't you realize, if you catch me, I'll only escape again. Ask him. He's worthless. Just like his father was."
Zhane fired off a shot from his blaster barely half a second before Syd snapped "That's just the lowest. Sky's dad was an amazing Ranger."
"Yeah, and so is Sky!" Bridge added fiercely. "He's the best!"
"We're *all* proud to fight by his side," Z put in, still glaring at Mirloc.
But it was him Mirloc was staring at, and his answer glare was cold. "*Never* insult another Ranger in font of me," he warned. "Especially not my teammate."
Sky's hand touched his arm lightly, and his eyes flickered to him. "Seriously, Zhane. Stop helping." He sounded exasperated, but there was a hint of warmth to his eyes that Zhane hadn't seen before.
"How touching," Mirloc sneered. "But he still doesn't have what it takes to defeat me."
"We'll see about that," Jack murmured, almost to himself. He turned to Sky, reaching behind his back to offering his morpher. "Here. Take it."
"What?" Sky repeated, frowning in confusion.
"Why?" Zhane echoed, equally confused.
"It only seems right that you bring him in," Jack insisted.
"But ... he already has a morpher," Zhane tried to point out.
They were either ignoring him or just hadn't heard, because Sky was eyeing the Red Morpher hesitantly. "You sure?" he asked finally.
Zhane stared at them incredulously.
But Jack just smiled. "Go for it."
Sky nodded, taking the morpher and stepping forward in front of them all. "This one's for you, Dad," he promised softly. "SPD, Emergency!"