Winter Prompt for elwoodjake
This is for elwoodjake, who wanted: Power Rangers AUxSPN RPF J2 (Based on a fic on FFnet I didn’t like, but I thought the premise had potential) In an AU where casts and slavery are going strong, the latest generation of Power Rangers is rounded up. J2 are among the chosen ones. The team first meet anonymously, in armor . But back in civilians’ clothing, they discover one of the Js is a slave…
This..... was pure, pure evil genius. I'm fighting the urge to spread this out further. /o\ Bad plot bunnies. :/
~~*^*~~
The first time Jared held that battered, old blue crystal, and felt the rush of connection, he knew his life wouldn’t ever be the same again. In the seconds after it had woken in his grasp, he knew what had happened.
Oh, Rangers on their world weren’t uncommon. After all, Earth had always been a League planet, comfortable in its place on the fringes and as a sponsored-planet, but rarely without a team of Rangers. But it was one thing to know of Rangers, and a different thing entirely to suddenly realize you were one.
He looked up, a bit jarred to realize that the flow of people around him in the market still continued, that nobody else had noticed a thing. The mahogany eyes of the stall keeper were watching him, knowing and question in that gaze. She glanced down at the crystal still in his hand, and back up, before asking. “Will you serve?”
~~*^*~~
Jared bit his lip, scrubbing his hands on his jeans as he paced outside his father’s office. He was a second-born son of two, the most common arrangement of children. Two males, one to inherit and the other to be princeps, the insurance policy, some called it, and a daughter to bring in additional wealth with a bride-price, and possible steps up the social ladder, if used right.
He was also now a Ranger, and a Ranger could not be one to inherit. He had argued with Nadine for a time, but the woman had stood firm. If he was going to keep the Power, he had to resign from his inheritance. Not that he would have likely received it anyway… Jeff was hale and healthy, and had been coached from a toddler for his eventual ownership of the properties their parents owned. Jared would, most likely, continue his apprenticeship, eventually move out of the area, and take a few of the family’s slaves and other property with him. But to be told he was going to denounce it was something altogether different.
A Ranger brought honor upon the family, but little else. There was the comfort that of the Rangers known, few had ever actually died in their uniforms, but the risk was still there. Rangers were the first line defense for their planet, and sovereigns in a way, speaking for the entire planet at League meetings, and assisting other League nations as needed. There was risk, and there was danger… and there was no way that Jared could turn his back on this. He sighed, and knocked on the door, bracing himself for the lecturing that was about to explode.
~~*^*~~
Overall, it hadn’t been as horrible as he’d been expecting. He was stripped of his inheritance, Megan titled the princeps instead, his apprenticeship nulled and voided out, and suddenly was back to regular schooling lessons.
Granted, Nadine was not like his tutors before, nor was the subject matter and learning even remotely the same. The woman taught the history of the power he had yet to don, the power that itched and burned under his skin, barely soothed by the blue clothing that now hung in his closets. That had been the fourth item on the first day’s lesson, almost the same rules that had been passed down from the original five Rangers. Once, they had been told to keep their identities a secret. But once the League stepped in, the Rangers were no longer kept in secret and hiding, though they still often remained morphed whenever in the public view. “Rangers are a public figure, Blue. They are loved and adored by the people, they are trusted and deferred to, and the uniform grants a sense of reassurance and familiarity to the people. They may not trust a young male, looking like an overgrown puppy,” she flicked his bangs, and he sank lower in his seat, sulking. “But they trust the Ranger. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll see.”
Never escalate the fight. “First and foremost, you are here for peace. You not only need to remind yourself of this, but you’re in the public eye, and as such, a role model. You do not escalate the problem, but you do not refrain from being firm and unyielding. Rangers are the defenders, never the instigators.” She eyed him, stern and serious. “Don’t forget this.”
Wear your color, at all times. “You are indelibly connected to that color, for the rest of your career. Wearing the uniform connects you to the Grid, and as such, alters your body. Scientists from many, many nations have tried to unearth the reasonings and workings of the Grid, but it remains elusive. Trust me in this, Blue. Do not attempt to keep from the color. Color withdrawl is a serious problem, a medical one, that if you insist upon, will eventually shut down your morpher. It need not be overt, but you must wear the color at all times.” He had paled, but nodded, and promptly had Megan braid him a little blue anklet, which had helped the “break in” period. Nadine hadn’t been kidding… the first week had been torture, a weird hum under his skin that wouldn’t stop, like being too wound up on coffee, but also laced with sheer exhaustion. There was a phantom sensation in his brain, like he was missing something vitally important, and he could almost hear things. It was like hearing voices through the static on the radio… brief snatches of words and emotions and impressions, but straining to hear them just made it worse. Slowly, his body had accustomed to the violent flood of changes, and while they were still there, it was more muted now, more tolerable. “We are still missing one, and then you’ll find that it leaves,” Nadine had dismissed his worries.
Trust your teammates. “Some militia say they feel like brothers, yes? What family you are about to enter, exceeds any bond you have ever experienced before. At all times, you trust and you protect your teammates. I cannot stress this to you enough, Jared. Above anything and everything else, you trust and you protect your team.” It was the only time his name had passed her lips, and it felt even more important because of that.
Granted, he hadn’t met his team. He hadn’t met anyone, other than Nadine, who had laughed when he asked if she was a Ranger. “No, I’m not. I was asked to find and to train you, and to gather you together. I was not chosen to bear the uniform.” He had tried, again and again, to inquire further, trying to find out why he was still in his house if they were to ‘be gathered’, why he hadn’t morphed yet, why he hadn’t met any others. Again and again, Nadine just shook her head. “Patience.”
~~*^*~~
Looking back, Jared had to have been the fourth to be chosen. He had been reading, learning of the teams of Rangers before him, memorizing names and dates and teams and colors, when the sudden flood of sensation through bonds he didn’t realize was there flooded through him. He curled, panting as the sensation bordered on painful, even as his Power flared bright and steady, overjoyed at being reunited and completed. There was suddenly complete impressions and emotions and directions… he thought briefly it was like being wrapped tightly in a blanket in a dark room, thinking there wasn’t any other space than what you were in, with that static-filled radio. And then lights suddenly flooding in, the room massive and too big and reaching in every direction, and the radio loud and clear and there was 4 of them, all on different stations, yet it was right.
Gradually it dimmed a little, settling back, and he realized he could still sense the other four, like knowing you could reach to the side and touch another person, but he could also retreat, wrapping himself up in the shielding Nadine had taught religiously for the first few days. It helped, muting the noise, and he shivered.
He expected to meet the others the next day, but Nadine stayed away for two weeks. No word, no explanation… just a disappearance the time he needed her the most. He hated her a little for that, and when the surge of alarm flooded through him one day, the intense and powerful and unyielding need to morph, to move, to defend, a need as undeniable as breathing, he didn’t even hesitate to grip the blue crystal, letting the light explode between his fingers, coating him in armor and protection, and flooding his brain with new information. Thousands of pieces of knowledge, the impression of the ones who came before, and the vague sense of those who would come after, and the instant solid bond of the other four should have been overwhelming, but it was like standing on a cliff and watching the sea rush at the stones below. It was all a background process. He had to get to the others, to protect, and he didn’t hesitate to grip his morpher, letting it guide him where he needed to be.
And when he saw the other colors, green shimmering into existence beside him a split second later, he threw himself into the fray without thinking, maneuvers and knowledge at his fingertips as he needed them.
It was over a minute later, and an hour later. Time moved differently in the uniform, both slow-motion, telegraphing every bit of information and processing it, and also rapidly, the surge of adrenaline and Power tripping time forward. He realized they had loosely circled when Nadine strode across the pavement, hands tucked in her white lab coat. “Very good, my Rangers.” She stopped beside Green, who moved behind her so smoothly that Jared couldn’t exactly say when it happened. “You have no doubt now secured the connections to the Morphing Grid, and as such, bonded yourselves to one another.” She smiled wryly. “Now do you understand why I pressured you so hard to shield?” Jared nodded, and then grinned as he saw four other helmets nod emphatically as well. “Well, I suppose the only things now left to do are to introduce yourselves to your teammates, and prepare to move your possessions into your new home.”
Jared tilted his head, trying to figure out exactly how to go about removing the armored uniform, when a distinctly female voice came from Red’s direction. “Professor, how do we…” she trailed off, fumbling for words.”
“Well, you have two options. First, if you desire to remain protected, you may remove your helmet only. There are clasps on the sides of the helmet, about where your jaw hinge is located. Your other option is to fully demorph.” Jared almost asked, further, but then his Power surged, and he wasn’t surprised to see four others cross their wrists, the armors fading away as one.
Nothing could have ever prepared him for what he saw, looking around at his teammates. He had expected two females and three males, what with yellow and pink being two of the colors, but four males were present. The Red was the only female, and he turned to Nadine to ask why on earth a female was the ‘leader’ of their group, when he saw Green.
By the stunned emotions vibrating back and forth along the new bonds, and the silence, he assumed the others were just as speechless. “You have got to be kidding me,” Jared spat, staring at the thing that had decided to wear the Green.
It was a slave. The bold ink tattooed into its neck made its status quite clear, both proclaiming what it was and hiding the scar from the devocalization procedure. It hunched in a little, fine tremors running along its frame, and Jared gestured to it. “Please, tell me that’s a fluke.”
“Watch your tone, Blue.” Nadine’s tone brooked no argument, but Jared wasn’t about to serve next to a possession.
“How can that thing hold a Power? It’s just standing in for someone else, right?” A flash of hurt flickered through the bond, and his stomach sank when Nadine put her hand on its shoulder, leaning in a little.
“Go back home, Jensen, okay? I’ll meet you there.” It nodded, touching the crystal in the silver band that now wrapped around his wrist, disappearing in a green shimmer. It took Jared a second to realize his own blue crystal is embedded in a similar band.
“Professor, may I go talk with Jensen, please?” Red asked, glaring hard at Jared, and Nadine nodded, and with a red shimmer, left the three males and Nadine.
“You will respect Jensen as a teammate; do you understand me, Blue?” Nadine spat, and Jared crossed his arms defiantly.
“That thing isn’t fit to be a Ranger. Do you have any idea the laughing stock we’ll be? I mean, it won’t even be able to warn anyone, or did you forget that they silenced it?”
Nadine snarled, leaning in close to him, and Jared felt a flicker of fear. It shocked him even further when he realized that the other two were wary, but not about to interfere. “It’s name is Jensen, and you will respect him. The Power chose him, same as it did you, and at this moment, I can’t help but think the error in the Power’s judgment is you, not him.” She took a step back, disappointment and anger warring with each other across her face, and she turned to the other two boys. “Do either of you have a problem serving next to Jensen?” They both shook their head, and Jared thought he realized quickly just how screwed he was. Until Nadine said, “Good. Then pack your belongings, and stop by the base.” She glared again Jared. “That is not a request, are we clear?”
Shit. He had really stepped in it this time, and he knew it.
This..... was pure, pure evil genius. I'm fighting the urge to spread this out further. /o\ Bad plot bunnies. :/
~~*^*~~
The first time Jared held that battered, old blue crystal, and felt the rush of connection, he knew his life wouldn’t ever be the same again. In the seconds after it had woken in his grasp, he knew what had happened.
Oh, Rangers on their world weren’t uncommon. After all, Earth had always been a League planet, comfortable in its place on the fringes and as a sponsored-planet, but rarely without a team of Rangers. But it was one thing to know of Rangers, and a different thing entirely to suddenly realize you were one.
He looked up, a bit jarred to realize that the flow of people around him in the market still continued, that nobody else had noticed a thing. The mahogany eyes of the stall keeper were watching him, knowing and question in that gaze. She glanced down at the crystal still in his hand, and back up, before asking. “Will you serve?”
~~*^*~~
Jared bit his lip, scrubbing his hands on his jeans as he paced outside his father’s office. He was a second-born son of two, the most common arrangement of children. Two males, one to inherit and the other to be princeps, the insurance policy, some called it, and a daughter to bring in additional wealth with a bride-price, and possible steps up the social ladder, if used right.
He was also now a Ranger, and a Ranger could not be one to inherit. He had argued with Nadine for a time, but the woman had stood firm. If he was going to keep the Power, he had to resign from his inheritance. Not that he would have likely received it anyway… Jeff was hale and healthy, and had been coached from a toddler for his eventual ownership of the properties their parents owned. Jared would, most likely, continue his apprenticeship, eventually move out of the area, and take a few of the family’s slaves and other property with him. But to be told he was going to denounce it was something altogether different.
A Ranger brought honor upon the family, but little else. There was the comfort that of the Rangers known, few had ever actually died in their uniforms, but the risk was still there. Rangers were the first line defense for their planet, and sovereigns in a way, speaking for the entire planet at League meetings, and assisting other League nations as needed. There was risk, and there was danger… and there was no way that Jared could turn his back on this. He sighed, and knocked on the door, bracing himself for the lecturing that was about to explode.
~~*^*~~
Overall, it hadn’t been as horrible as he’d been expecting. He was stripped of his inheritance, Megan titled the princeps instead, his apprenticeship nulled and voided out, and suddenly was back to regular schooling lessons.
Granted, Nadine was not like his tutors before, nor was the subject matter and learning even remotely the same. The woman taught the history of the power he had yet to don, the power that itched and burned under his skin, barely soothed by the blue clothing that now hung in his closets. That had been the fourth item on the first day’s lesson, almost the same rules that had been passed down from the original five Rangers. Once, they had been told to keep their identities a secret. But once the League stepped in, the Rangers were no longer kept in secret and hiding, though they still often remained morphed whenever in the public view. “Rangers are a public figure, Blue. They are loved and adored by the people, they are trusted and deferred to, and the uniform grants a sense of reassurance and familiarity to the people. They may not trust a young male, looking like an overgrown puppy,” she flicked his bangs, and he sank lower in his seat, sulking. “But they trust the Ranger. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll see.”
Never escalate the fight. “First and foremost, you are here for peace. You not only need to remind yourself of this, but you’re in the public eye, and as such, a role model. You do not escalate the problem, but you do not refrain from being firm and unyielding. Rangers are the defenders, never the instigators.” She eyed him, stern and serious. “Don’t forget this.”
Wear your color, at all times. “You are indelibly connected to that color, for the rest of your career. Wearing the uniform connects you to the Grid, and as such, alters your body. Scientists from many, many nations have tried to unearth the reasonings and workings of the Grid, but it remains elusive. Trust me in this, Blue. Do not attempt to keep from the color. Color withdrawl is a serious problem, a medical one, that if you insist upon, will eventually shut down your morpher. It need not be overt, but you must wear the color at all times.” He had paled, but nodded, and promptly had Megan braid him a little blue anklet, which had helped the “break in” period. Nadine hadn’t been kidding… the first week had been torture, a weird hum under his skin that wouldn’t stop, like being too wound up on coffee, but also laced with sheer exhaustion. There was a phantom sensation in his brain, like he was missing something vitally important, and he could almost hear things. It was like hearing voices through the static on the radio… brief snatches of words and emotions and impressions, but straining to hear them just made it worse. Slowly, his body had accustomed to the violent flood of changes, and while they were still there, it was more muted now, more tolerable. “We are still missing one, and then you’ll find that it leaves,” Nadine had dismissed his worries.
Trust your teammates. “Some militia say they feel like brothers, yes? What family you are about to enter, exceeds any bond you have ever experienced before. At all times, you trust and you protect your teammates. I cannot stress this to you enough, Jared. Above anything and everything else, you trust and you protect your team.” It was the only time his name had passed her lips, and it felt even more important because of that.
Granted, he hadn’t met his team. He hadn’t met anyone, other than Nadine, who had laughed when he asked if she was a Ranger. “No, I’m not. I was asked to find and to train you, and to gather you together. I was not chosen to bear the uniform.” He had tried, again and again, to inquire further, trying to find out why he was still in his house if they were to ‘be gathered’, why he hadn’t morphed yet, why he hadn’t met any others. Again and again, Nadine just shook her head. “Patience.”
~~*^*~~
Looking back, Jared had to have been the fourth to be chosen. He had been reading, learning of the teams of Rangers before him, memorizing names and dates and teams and colors, when the sudden flood of sensation through bonds he didn’t realize was there flooded through him. He curled, panting as the sensation bordered on painful, even as his Power flared bright and steady, overjoyed at being reunited and completed. There was suddenly complete impressions and emotions and directions… he thought briefly it was like being wrapped tightly in a blanket in a dark room, thinking there wasn’t any other space than what you were in, with that static-filled radio. And then lights suddenly flooding in, the room massive and too big and reaching in every direction, and the radio loud and clear and there was 4 of them, all on different stations, yet it was right.
Gradually it dimmed a little, settling back, and he realized he could still sense the other four, like knowing you could reach to the side and touch another person, but he could also retreat, wrapping himself up in the shielding Nadine had taught religiously for the first few days. It helped, muting the noise, and he shivered.
He expected to meet the others the next day, but Nadine stayed away for two weeks. No word, no explanation… just a disappearance the time he needed her the most. He hated her a little for that, and when the surge of alarm flooded through him one day, the intense and powerful and unyielding need to morph, to move, to defend, a need as undeniable as breathing, he didn’t even hesitate to grip the blue crystal, letting the light explode between his fingers, coating him in armor and protection, and flooding his brain with new information. Thousands of pieces of knowledge, the impression of the ones who came before, and the vague sense of those who would come after, and the instant solid bond of the other four should have been overwhelming, but it was like standing on a cliff and watching the sea rush at the stones below. It was all a background process. He had to get to the others, to protect, and he didn’t hesitate to grip his morpher, letting it guide him where he needed to be.
And when he saw the other colors, green shimmering into existence beside him a split second later, he threw himself into the fray without thinking, maneuvers and knowledge at his fingertips as he needed them.
It was over a minute later, and an hour later. Time moved differently in the uniform, both slow-motion, telegraphing every bit of information and processing it, and also rapidly, the surge of adrenaline and Power tripping time forward. He realized they had loosely circled when Nadine strode across the pavement, hands tucked in her white lab coat. “Very good, my Rangers.” She stopped beside Green, who moved behind her so smoothly that Jared couldn’t exactly say when it happened. “You have no doubt now secured the connections to the Morphing Grid, and as such, bonded yourselves to one another.” She smiled wryly. “Now do you understand why I pressured you so hard to shield?” Jared nodded, and then grinned as he saw four other helmets nod emphatically as well. “Well, I suppose the only things now left to do are to introduce yourselves to your teammates, and prepare to move your possessions into your new home.”
Jared tilted his head, trying to figure out exactly how to go about removing the armored uniform, when a distinctly female voice came from Red’s direction. “Professor, how do we…” she trailed off, fumbling for words.”
“Well, you have two options. First, if you desire to remain protected, you may remove your helmet only. There are clasps on the sides of the helmet, about where your jaw hinge is located. Your other option is to fully demorph.” Jared almost asked, further, but then his Power surged, and he wasn’t surprised to see four others cross their wrists, the armors fading away as one.
Nothing could have ever prepared him for what he saw, looking around at his teammates. He had expected two females and three males, what with yellow and pink being two of the colors, but four males were present. The Red was the only female, and he turned to Nadine to ask why on earth a female was the ‘leader’ of their group, when he saw Green.
By the stunned emotions vibrating back and forth along the new bonds, and the silence, he assumed the others were just as speechless. “You have got to be kidding me,” Jared spat, staring at the thing that had decided to wear the Green.
It was a slave. The bold ink tattooed into its neck made its status quite clear, both proclaiming what it was and hiding the scar from the devocalization procedure. It hunched in a little, fine tremors running along its frame, and Jared gestured to it. “Please, tell me that’s a fluke.”
“Watch your tone, Blue.” Nadine’s tone brooked no argument, but Jared wasn’t about to serve next to a possession.
“How can that thing hold a Power? It’s just standing in for someone else, right?” A flash of hurt flickered through the bond, and his stomach sank when Nadine put her hand on its shoulder, leaning in a little.
“Go back home, Jensen, okay? I’ll meet you there.” It nodded, touching the crystal in the silver band that now wrapped around his wrist, disappearing in a green shimmer. It took Jared a second to realize his own blue crystal is embedded in a similar band.
“Professor, may I go talk with Jensen, please?” Red asked, glaring hard at Jared, and Nadine nodded, and with a red shimmer, left the three males and Nadine.
“You will respect Jensen as a teammate; do you understand me, Blue?” Nadine spat, and Jared crossed his arms defiantly.
“That thing isn’t fit to be a Ranger. Do you have any idea the laughing stock we’ll be? I mean, it won’t even be able to warn anyone, or did you forget that they silenced it?”
Nadine snarled, leaning in close to him, and Jared felt a flicker of fear. It shocked him even further when he realized that the other two were wary, but not about to interfere. “It’s name is Jensen, and you will respect him. The Power chose him, same as it did you, and at this moment, I can’t help but think the error in the Power’s judgment is you, not him.” She took a step back, disappointment and anger warring with each other across her face, and she turned to the other two boys. “Do either of you have a problem serving next to Jensen?” They both shook their head, and Jared thought he realized quickly just how screwed he was. Until Nadine said, “Good. Then pack your belongings, and stop by the base.” She glared again Jared. “That is not a request, are we clear?”
Shit. He had really stepped in it this time, and he knew it.