Fractured Fates (S.P.D./inSpace Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt 21 ~ warmth
Note to self: Stop getting so attached to your characters. It's kind of pathetic when you feel bad for what you've done to them when *you're* the one writing it.
Please keep this in mind in the future. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Self
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: Charact er 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: 21 ~ warmth
Author's Notes: While only Vitri is mention by name, all characters shown in flashback (excluding Andros and Zhane, obviously) are snagged from my story Fade to Darkness.
"Are you *sure* you know what you're doing?" Kat asked suspiciously, hovering just beyond his shoulder. "I know that Bridge has been tutoring you in recent technology, but I can still - "
"Relax, Kat," he interrupted. "I'm a fast learner. And no offense, but I'd rather do this myself."
"Working with the Power Ranger Technology is what I *do*," she pointed out irritably.
"Of course it is," he agreed easily. "It's just that it's my morpher and, well ... I'd kind of rather hold on to it, you know? After I worked so hard to get it, and all."
She folded her arms with a scowl, and he could see a hint of fang as she spoke. "You've offered it to both Jack and Sky without so much as a second thought."
"That's because they're my teammates," he told her, looking back down at the screen he was working on. "I know you're tech support, but it's really not the same thing. I wouldn't offer it to anyone else."
The computer beeped and displayed the results of the general analysis test he'd been running. His eyes widened at the result. "Geez ... No wonder it's been acting up ... " he muttered under his breath. The Power Levels of his morpher were ridiculously low, and fluctuating. It was like the morpher was trying to find energy and failing, only managing to give him what it could in short bursts. Which would explain why the Power had failed to heal him, and why he had some days where he was fine, and others where his mood was all over the place - the energy from his morpher bouncing around was wreaking havoc on his body.
"What was that?" Kat demanded sharply.
"Nothing, nothing," he said absently.
So he needed energy for his morpher. But he couldn't exactly hook it back up to the Morphin' Grid: for one, it wasn't the connection that had been damaged, and for another, he knew his way around basic repairs, but he wasn't a Power Tech. But what else could he do? Where was he supposed to find a pure, untainted energy source to recharge his morpher, especially on twenty-first century Earth?
He paused.
There was one way ... It was risky, but it might work. And since when did he back down from a solution because it was too dangerous?
"What are you doing?" Kat asked warily as he brought up a weather map.
"I need to find a lightning storm," he murmured distantly, scanning the result.
"For what?" she demanded.
"Just a little experiment. Nothing to worry about," he assured her as he snagged his morpher from the testing area and strapped it back on his wrist. "If anybody needs me, I'll be back in an hour or so, okay?"
"Zhane - "
"Later Kat!" he called over his shoulder as he jogged out of the lab.
He thought he heard her growl behind him.
****
He stared up at the giant metal spire in the center of the building he'd chosen for his 'experiment'. "Well, that's convenient," he remarked. "I can just tie my morpher on that, and let it do the rest."
The storm he'd located was in some place called Angel Grove. A quiet place by the looks of it, but there was an undercurrent of energy he could feel running through the whole place. If he was lucky, it'd go a long way in helping to recharge his morpher.
He was halfway up the spire when he thought he heard someone calling his name. He stopped, frowned, and looked down.
B Squad was staring up at him, racing across the rooftop. "It's not worth it!" he heard Z yell.
"Zhane, we love you!" Syd screamed. "Don't do it!"
He blinked. What were they doing ... ?
"Zhane, get down here!" Jack shouted. "That's an order!"
He shook his head slightly in confusion, waved to let them know he was fine, and went back to climbing. "Almost there," he muttered to himself. "Just a little higher ... "
His foot slipped about a foot from the top, and he yelped out loud, clinging tightly until he could wrap his ankle around the spire again. "That was close," he mumbled, heart racing as a bolt of lighting struck a little closer to the building than he'd expected it to.
He fumbled for a moment as he tied his morpher to the tip of the spire. He added some wiring he'd snagged from Kat slightly above it, just as an added attraction for the lightning. Once both the morpher and the wires were secure, he slid back down to the bottom and stepped back to wait.
He was immediately ambushed by B Squad, Syd latching on to his arm while Jack and Sky moved to restrain him. Bridge and Z crowded in on either side of Syd. He blinked at them. "Hey, guys. Something wrong?"
"Zhane, you can't," Syd begged, tears in her eyes. "We just started to get to know you! You can't leave us now!"
"Leave?" he repeated blankly.
"We know you're going through some rough times right now, but that doesn't mean you have to just give up. We're here for you," Z insisted.
Bridge was studying him curiously. Then he glanced back to the spire Zhane had just attached his morpher to, tilting his head and frowning a little. "Uh, guys ... ?"
"You're going into observation the moment we get back to S.P.D.," Sky growled at him.
"I don't think - " Bridge tried.
"I thought you said you were a part of this team from now on!" Jack snarled in his face, looking furious. "Is this your idea of helping your teammates?!"
"Yes," he replied, frowning. "What else am I supposed to do? This is the best solution I could think of. It may not be ideal, but - "
Sky hit him.
He stumbled back, clutching his jaw and staring at Sky wide-eyed. "What was that for?!"
"Guys!" Bridge shouted. "I think we've got it all - "
There was a blinding flash of light at the top of the tower, sending sparks flying everywhere. The loudest crack of thunder he'd ever heard split the sky, making his ears ring. He could see Bridge's lips moving, but he had no idea what he was saying.
After blinking rapidly for several minutes and giving up on waiting for his hearing to return, he turned expectantly toward the spire. His morpher wasn't shooting off sparks anymore, which had to be a good sign. He walked over to the spire, ignoring his teammates trying to figure out what was going on behind him. He tested the heat of the metal experimentally and smiled brightly when he found it already cool. His senses must have been out longer than he'd thought. Pleased, he wrapped his hands around it and began to climb.
At one point his ankle caught on something, but he easily kicked it free and continued his ascent.
He could practically feel the energy from his morpher humming through the air. Eager to try it and see, he reached blindly to untie it from the metal.
The last thing he remembered was PAIN and falling on something soft.
****
"Of all the stupid stunts to pull," Kat snapped at him as she bandaged his hands with a surprising amount of gentleness.
Zhane hadn't remembered much after trying to get his morpher down. From what he'd gathered, he'd been hit by the residual energy still in his morpher, which had knocked him unconscious. Z had given him an odd glance when she'd mentioned that Sky had caught him as he fell.
The moment they'd all made it back to S.P.D. they'd been dragged into Kat's lab so that all six of them could have their hearing checked. She'd given them shots to prevent exposure, because apparently it had started to rain shortly after he passed out. And then while she'd grabbed the supplies to take care of the burns he'd suffered, the lectures had started.
"How could you make us think that, Zhane?" Syd sulked. He still wasn't sure if she was upset about the mix-up, or something else.
"I wasn't trying to - " he tried to protest.
"Kat found a bunch of tests saying your morpher was almost dead, and then you go off and climb the highest building you can find in the middle of a massive thunderstorm? What else were we *supposed* to think?" Z snapped at him. From what he could tell, she was more upset that they'd misjudged the situation than anything.
"I'm sorry, Zhane," Bridge said regretfully. "I mean, for thinking you were suicidal, obviously. But for not saying anything sooner, too. And for not stopping you before you uh, fried yourself. And - "
"How dumb do you have to be to not know that metal objects hold an electric charge?" Jack demanded irritably, and Zhane tried not to wince, because that one actually kinda hurt.
"Actually, I can answer that one," Kat admitted reluctantly. She frowned down at the cream she was putting on his hands. "With the energy levels in the Digimorpher so low, Zhane has been suffering from a form of temporary bi-polar disorder. With his moods bounding around, it's affected his judgment. Obviously."
There was a pause, and Zhane frowned at her. "Thanks for trying to spare my feelings, Kat," he grumbled.
"And as I've said before, I'm more than qualified to perform repairs on that morpher," she shot back. "I've studied the Astro and Kerovian Ranger technologies for years. What do you think A Squad's morphers were based from?"
He blinked and frowned a little again. "A Squad?" he echoed uncertainly. Jack had mentioned something about another team that was missing, that they'd been covering Earth while they were gone, but he'd never really gone into detail about it.
"The A Squad are Newtech's first Power Rangers. The technology they use was developed from what was learned from the Astro Rangers," Kat told him, seeming almost reluctant. "When S.P.D. first came to Earth, the Astro Rangers were instrumental in getting the organization acclimated to Earth. As a sign of gratitude, the scientists who developed the Morpher Project designed a portion of their Powers and uniforms after them."
His head still felt fuzzy - apparently the shock he'd gotten had been pretty bad. Something about that statement was off, like there was some part of it he should recognize that wasn't clicking yet. So the Astro Rangers had helped get S.P.D. settled on Earth. So Andros and his Rangers had ... had ....
~"I'm Zhane, of KO-35. What's your name?"
" ... I'm Andros."
"So what planet are you from? What do you like to do? What track are you? Got any hobbies? Hey, we should go out for a holovid later. There's gotta be someone in the upper classes who can show us somewhere fun to go, right? Maybe we - "
"Do you *ever* stop talking?"~
~A chuckle. "Looking forward to going to school, I take it?"
"Yeah! I can't *wait*! I’ll show everyone just what a Kerovian Ranger can do!"
A sniff. "Of course you will."
"I wanna go to the Collegiate, too! Why does *Zhane* get to do *everything*?"~
~"So ... why does Andros put up with you again?"
"'Cause I don't give him a choice."
Muttering. "It's true. He doesn't."
"You must be lucky then, Andros, to have someone who cares about you so much."
"*Excuse* me?"
"Don't be so dramatic, Vitri! I *know* you care about me. But you have to - Mother said so."
An irritable sigh. "I knew I should have killed you in the womb."
"Why do we spend all our time with them again?"
" ... Because they're the only Kerovians in the Collegiate?" A pause. "Well, that or it's because Andros makes the best grades, and we like to study off him."
"Ah, right. That was it."
"Hey!"
"Hey! *I'm* the only one who gets to cheat off Andros!"~
~"Andros, look out!"
"Zhane!"
"Andros! Run!"
Fire. PAIN.
Nothing.~
His eyes widened and his stomach lurched. He clapped a hand over his mouth, scrambling off the table he was sitting on and running for the door. There were footsteps behind him and people shouting his name, but he only had eyes for the bathroom door down the hall.
After several minutes of retching, he was distantly aware of a cold cloth on his forehead and hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Someone had their arms around him, supporting him as he gasped for air. He looked up into concerned blue eyes.
"It's all gone," he choked out. A ragged sob went through him, and the arm on his waist tightened. "My family, my friends, my *home* ... It's all *gone* .... " He stared into those eyes, his fists coming up to cling to the shirt in front of him. "I died almost fifty years ago. Why am I still alive?"
The arms pulled him closer, tighter, and a soothing voice made noises of comfort as those hands rubbed his back.
"I'm supposed to be dead," he sobbed again. "Why? Why am I not dead?!"
"Because every Ranger has team," a voice murmured in his ear, breath warm against his cheek. "And your place is here, Zhane. With me."
Please keep this in mind in the future. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Self
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: Charact er 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: 21 ~ warmth
Author's Notes: While only Vitri is mention by name, all characters shown in flashback (excluding Andros and Zhane, obviously) are snagged from my story Fade to Darkness.
"Are you *sure* you know what you're doing?" Kat asked suspiciously, hovering just beyond his shoulder. "I know that Bridge has been tutoring you in recent technology, but I can still - "
"Relax, Kat," he interrupted. "I'm a fast learner. And no offense, but I'd rather do this myself."
"Working with the Power Ranger Technology is what I *do*," she pointed out irritably.
"Of course it is," he agreed easily. "It's just that it's my morpher and, well ... I'd kind of rather hold on to it, you know? After I worked so hard to get it, and all."
She folded her arms with a scowl, and he could see a hint of fang as she spoke. "You've offered it to both Jack and Sky without so much as a second thought."
"That's because they're my teammates," he told her, looking back down at the screen he was working on. "I know you're tech support, but it's really not the same thing. I wouldn't offer it to anyone else."
The computer beeped and displayed the results of the general analysis test he'd been running. His eyes widened at the result. "Geez ... No wonder it's been acting up ... " he muttered under his breath. The Power Levels of his morpher were ridiculously low, and fluctuating. It was like the morpher was trying to find energy and failing, only managing to give him what it could in short bursts. Which would explain why the Power had failed to heal him, and why he had some days where he was fine, and others where his mood was all over the place - the energy from his morpher bouncing around was wreaking havoc on his body.
"What was that?" Kat demanded sharply.
"Nothing, nothing," he said absently.
So he needed energy for his morpher. But he couldn't exactly hook it back up to the Morphin' Grid: for one, it wasn't the connection that had been damaged, and for another, he knew his way around basic repairs, but he wasn't a Power Tech. But what else could he do? Where was he supposed to find a pure, untainted energy source to recharge his morpher, especially on twenty-first century Earth?
He paused.
There was one way ... It was risky, but it might work. And since when did he back down from a solution because it was too dangerous?
"What are you doing?" Kat asked warily as he brought up a weather map.
"I need to find a lightning storm," he murmured distantly, scanning the result.
"For what?" she demanded.
"Just a little experiment. Nothing to worry about," he assured her as he snagged his morpher from the testing area and strapped it back on his wrist. "If anybody needs me, I'll be back in an hour or so, okay?"
"Zhane - "
"Later Kat!" he called over his shoulder as he jogged out of the lab.
He thought he heard her growl behind him.
****
He stared up at the giant metal spire in the center of the building he'd chosen for his 'experiment'. "Well, that's convenient," he remarked. "I can just tie my morpher on that, and let it do the rest."
The storm he'd located was in some place called Angel Grove. A quiet place by the looks of it, but there was an undercurrent of energy he could feel running through the whole place. If he was lucky, it'd go a long way in helping to recharge his morpher.
He was halfway up the spire when he thought he heard someone calling his name. He stopped, frowned, and looked down.
B Squad was staring up at him, racing across the rooftop. "It's not worth it!" he heard Z yell.
"Zhane, we love you!" Syd screamed. "Don't do it!"
He blinked. What were they doing ... ?
"Zhane, get down here!" Jack shouted. "That's an order!"
He shook his head slightly in confusion, waved to let them know he was fine, and went back to climbing. "Almost there," he muttered to himself. "Just a little higher ... "
His foot slipped about a foot from the top, and he yelped out loud, clinging tightly until he could wrap his ankle around the spire again. "That was close," he mumbled, heart racing as a bolt of lighting struck a little closer to the building than he'd expected it to.
He fumbled for a moment as he tied his morpher to the tip of the spire. He added some wiring he'd snagged from Kat slightly above it, just as an added attraction for the lightning. Once both the morpher and the wires were secure, he slid back down to the bottom and stepped back to wait.
He was immediately ambushed by B Squad, Syd latching on to his arm while Jack and Sky moved to restrain him. Bridge and Z crowded in on either side of Syd. He blinked at them. "Hey, guys. Something wrong?"
"Zhane, you can't," Syd begged, tears in her eyes. "We just started to get to know you! You can't leave us now!"
"Leave?" he repeated blankly.
"We know you're going through some rough times right now, but that doesn't mean you have to just give up. We're here for you," Z insisted.
Bridge was studying him curiously. Then he glanced back to the spire Zhane had just attached his morpher to, tilting his head and frowning a little. "Uh, guys ... ?"
"You're going into observation the moment we get back to S.P.D.," Sky growled at him.
"I don't think - " Bridge tried.
"I thought you said you were a part of this team from now on!" Jack snarled in his face, looking furious. "Is this your idea of helping your teammates?!"
"Yes," he replied, frowning. "What else am I supposed to do? This is the best solution I could think of. It may not be ideal, but - "
Sky hit him.
He stumbled back, clutching his jaw and staring at Sky wide-eyed. "What was that for?!"
"Guys!" Bridge shouted. "I think we've got it all - "
There was a blinding flash of light at the top of the tower, sending sparks flying everywhere. The loudest crack of thunder he'd ever heard split the sky, making his ears ring. He could see Bridge's lips moving, but he had no idea what he was saying.
After blinking rapidly for several minutes and giving up on waiting for his hearing to return, he turned expectantly toward the spire. His morpher wasn't shooting off sparks anymore, which had to be a good sign. He walked over to the spire, ignoring his teammates trying to figure out what was going on behind him. He tested the heat of the metal experimentally and smiled brightly when he found it already cool. His senses must have been out longer than he'd thought. Pleased, he wrapped his hands around it and began to climb.
At one point his ankle caught on something, but he easily kicked it free and continued his ascent.
He could practically feel the energy from his morpher humming through the air. Eager to try it and see, he reached blindly to untie it from the metal.
The last thing he remembered was PAIN and falling on something soft.
****
"Of all the stupid stunts to pull," Kat snapped at him as she bandaged his hands with a surprising amount of gentleness.
Zhane hadn't remembered much after trying to get his morpher down. From what he'd gathered, he'd been hit by the residual energy still in his morpher, which had knocked him unconscious. Z had given him an odd glance when she'd mentioned that Sky had caught him as he fell.
The moment they'd all made it back to S.P.D. they'd been dragged into Kat's lab so that all six of them could have their hearing checked. She'd given them shots to prevent exposure, because apparently it had started to rain shortly after he passed out. And then while she'd grabbed the supplies to take care of the burns he'd suffered, the lectures had started.
"How could you make us think that, Zhane?" Syd sulked. He still wasn't sure if she was upset about the mix-up, or something else.
"I wasn't trying to - " he tried to protest.
"Kat found a bunch of tests saying your morpher was almost dead, and then you go off and climb the highest building you can find in the middle of a massive thunderstorm? What else were we *supposed* to think?" Z snapped at him. From what he could tell, she was more upset that they'd misjudged the situation than anything.
"I'm sorry, Zhane," Bridge said regretfully. "I mean, for thinking you were suicidal, obviously. But for not saying anything sooner, too. And for not stopping you before you uh, fried yourself. And - "
"How dumb do you have to be to not know that metal objects hold an electric charge?" Jack demanded irritably, and Zhane tried not to wince, because that one actually kinda hurt.
"Actually, I can answer that one," Kat admitted reluctantly. She frowned down at the cream she was putting on his hands. "With the energy levels in the Digimorpher so low, Zhane has been suffering from a form of temporary bi-polar disorder. With his moods bounding around, it's affected his judgment. Obviously."
There was a pause, and Zhane frowned at her. "Thanks for trying to spare my feelings, Kat," he grumbled.
"And as I've said before, I'm more than qualified to perform repairs on that morpher," she shot back. "I've studied the Astro and Kerovian Ranger technologies for years. What do you think A Squad's morphers were based from?"
He blinked and frowned a little again. "A Squad?" he echoed uncertainly. Jack had mentioned something about another team that was missing, that they'd been covering Earth while they were gone, but he'd never really gone into detail about it.
"The A Squad are Newtech's first Power Rangers. The technology they use was developed from what was learned from the Astro Rangers," Kat told him, seeming almost reluctant. "When S.P.D. first came to Earth, the Astro Rangers were instrumental in getting the organization acclimated to Earth. As a sign of gratitude, the scientists who developed the Morpher Project designed a portion of their Powers and uniforms after them."
His head still felt fuzzy - apparently the shock he'd gotten had been pretty bad. Something about that statement was off, like there was some part of it he should recognize that wasn't clicking yet. So the Astro Rangers had helped get S.P.D. settled on Earth. So Andros and his Rangers had ... had ....
~"I'm Zhane, of KO-35. What's your name?"
" ... I'm Andros."
"So what planet are you from? What do you like to do? What track are you? Got any hobbies? Hey, we should go out for a holovid later. There's gotta be someone in the upper classes who can show us somewhere fun to go, right? Maybe we - "
"Do you *ever* stop talking?"~
~A chuckle. "Looking forward to going to school, I take it?"
"Yeah! I can't *wait*! I’ll show everyone just what a Kerovian Ranger can do!"
A sniff. "Of course you will."
"I wanna go to the Collegiate, too! Why does *Zhane* get to do *everything*?"~
~"So ... why does Andros put up with you again?"
"'Cause I don't give him a choice."
Muttering. "It's true. He doesn't."
"You must be lucky then, Andros, to have someone who cares about you so much."
"*Excuse* me?"
"Don't be so dramatic, Vitri! I *know* you care about me. But you have to - Mother said so."
An irritable sigh. "I knew I should have killed you in the womb."
"Why do we spend all our time with them again?"
" ... Because they're the only Kerovians in the Collegiate?" A pause. "Well, that or it's because Andros makes the best grades, and we like to study off him."
"Ah, right. That was it."
"Hey!"
"Hey! *I'm* the only one who gets to cheat off Andros!"~
~"Andros, look out!"
"Zhane!"
"Andros! Run!"
Fire. PAIN.
Nothing.~
His eyes widened and his stomach lurched. He clapped a hand over his mouth, scrambling off the table he was sitting on and running for the door. There were footsteps behind him and people shouting his name, but he only had eyes for the bathroom door down the hall.
After several minutes of retching, he was distantly aware of a cold cloth on his forehead and hot tears streaming down his cheeks. Someone had their arms around him, supporting him as he gasped for air. He looked up into concerned blue eyes.
"It's all gone," he choked out. A ragged sob went through him, and the arm on his waist tightened. "My family, my friends, my *home* ... It's all *gone* .... " He stared into those eyes, his fists coming up to cling to the shirt in front of him. "I died almost fifty years ago. Why am I still alive?"
The arms pulled him closer, tighter, and a soothing voice made noises of comfort as those hands rubbed his back.
"I'm supposed to be dead," he sobbed again. "Why? Why am I not dead?!"
"Because every Ranger has team," a voice murmured in his ear, breath warm against his cheek. "And your place is here, Zhane. With me."