Cruger was in a clearing in the Whitetail woods, having completed some practice with a few of his new modes, when he felt a disturbance. Finding it familiar, he held out his hand as the Token materialized, falling into it. He looked it over, it was a necklace consisting of a black ankh with a white lightning bolt shaped crossbar, along with a horn and feather. As he held it, he heard a female voice "'I am Black Alice! If you need help beating the shit out of someone/thing, need some healing or just want to hang out then summon me and I'll be there."
Cruger put it on and placed a finger on it, "Miss Alice, I offer my services as a mentor, should you accept of course."
Black Alice was sitting through a lesson of advanced herbalism with her best friend Little Strongheart when she felt a familiar tug.
"Excuse me teacher, I hate to interrupt your lesson but there is something I must attend to right away but I'll be back." Alice said.
"Is it another one of those Displaced you called them?" Little Strongheart asked.
"Yes but it's not one I'm familiar with so it's not Zinnia or Umbra or any of the others." Alice replied before opening a rift into the void.
"Be careful Alice."
Alice merely smiled before disappearing.
When Alice arrived at her destination she was not prepared for the sight that greeted her. A large, blue, anthropomorphic dog that she was all too familiar with but hadn't seen in years. The mere sight of him made her blood boil with rage.
"Unfucking believable! Of all the Displaced to summon me I had to be called by a pretender!" Alice roared.
The dog frowned, "You had better explain yourself. If this is you preferring the Sentai to SPD, I might be able to let that slide, but if you're insinuating that I'm not as good as the original Anubis Cruger, we're gonna have words, at minimum."
"Don't you tell me I "better" anything! I don't take orders from fake Power Rangers!" Alice shouted before saying in a much softer voice, "Though I'll admit the theme song was catchy and I'll give them points for originality on the whole alien anthro dog with the name of the Egyptian god of death as the leader of SPD, but still," Alice glared at Cruger, "That still doesn't excuse that fact that you are a pretender and a traitor to the originals! And you have the nerve to order me around?! If you were Jason or Tommy that'd be one thing or hell even their replacements when Jason left I might consider listening but seeing as you're not you don't get to order me around!"
"I'll have you know Linkara considered Cruger one of the greatest Ranger mentors ever, even superior to Zordon himself in some areas. Besides," Cruger's face shifted to a smug grin, "would a mere pretender have their own SPD with a mandate from Celestia herself?" He pointed behind him, "to say nothing of their own Delta Base."
Alice was speechless.
"S-superior to Zordon?! Blasphemer! None are superior to him! I don't care what you have from Celestia, you are no Power Ranger!" Alice shouted.
For a time Alice was sorely tempted to kill Cruger right on the spot for defiling her childhood heroes. But then a sudden realization struck her: She was acting just like those psycho Star Trek and Star Wars fans that gave the true fans of those respective series a bad name and poisoned the good rep of Steven Universe. And that thought horrified her to no end. Not to mention when she thought about it, getting angry at a person for liking one of the many spin-offs of the original Power Rangers was rather silly.
"I'm sorry." Alice said in a much softer tone than she had been using.
Cruger waved a hand, "No problem, fan is the root of fanatic. Although I must admit, you have me at a disadvantage. I have no idea who's power set you got saddled with."
"It's hard to explain but the simplest version is that I can have anyone's powerset that I want, provided that they are magical." Alice replied simply.
Cruger whistled, "Man that's handy, what'd you buy to get Displaced as that bag of awesome? I only ask because I'm compiling a database of such things."
"I didn't buy anything, well I did but that's not how I got here. I got sent here by a freebie. What I bought was a complete encyclopedia to the DC and Marvel multiverses, but what sent me here was a free Death Note that was given to me by the person sold me those books." Alice explained.
"Sounds valid, the encyclopedias at least. By the way, concerning the Marvel one, I'd recommend Doc Strange, Ghost Rider, and Arana for sorcerer, DPS tank and assassin respectively." Cruger turned, "by the way, care for some lunch? The ponies here are omnivorous and I'm making bacon cheeseburgers."
"Don't tell me how to utilize my powers. Besides, I don't think I can use the powers of Marvel characters, Black Alice is from DC after all. So unless there's a Displaced version of those characters out there somewhere I'm out of luck. And I've tried but so far no response." Alice growled.
"Well, maybe I can help with that," Cruger opened a portal, "I happen to be a bit of an expert on Displaced gaining powers their base didn't have. By the way, still waiting on whether or not you want lunch."
"Tch I doubt it. As for lunch yeah I could eat. I did skip out on breakfast to attend herbalism class." Alice replied curtly.
"No problem," Cruger replied as they walked through the portal, "lunch should be just a minute, I made the patties ahead of time so I just have to grill them up. By the way, do you still have those books? I was Displaced by purchasing my sword, and messing with it is what unlocked my magical potential."
"If I had them we wouldn't be discussing leveling up my powers in the first place." Alice answered.
"So, your Items disappeared when you got Displaced? A little unusual, but I've heard weirder. One Displaced I've met actually had sex with their Displacer, then got Displaced by getting eaten by a Void Dragon." Cruger chuckled as he set the patties to grill.
"Oh I'm quite familiar with Zinnia's "escapades" and it's not all that weird as it is....arousing? embarrassing? disturbing? Eh I'm sure there's a word for it somewhere."
"To be honest, I was mostly referring to the fact that most Displaced simply appear in a flash of light as opposed to eaten. By the way, small multiverse, isn't it? What are the odds that we both know the same Draconid?" Cruger placed the patties on a platter, "by the way, I'm the guy who put that communication spell on your token, so you have me to blame if you were doubting your sanity when it started talking."
"What communication spell? My token has never talked in the entire time I've had it. But then again I haven't paid much attention to it since my encounters with Zinnia and Umbra." Alice said.
Cruger grabbed a bag of buns from the cupboard as he replied, "First, if you weren't paying attention you might have missed it, kind of hard to hear a cellphone if you left it on your desk at home. Second, you met Umbra too? Man, Multiverse is smaller than I thought. Genderbent Overlord right?"
"Well it's hard to pay attention to it when the Helmet of Fate is giving you lip. Indeed. As for the small multiverse I think it's more that those two are more active and social than other Displaced." Alice grinned as she thought of the crazy Overlady, "Yeah I met Umbra. She is the first Displaced I met and the one who briefed me on what happened to us. What about you?" Alice asked.
Cruger grabbed some condiments from the fridge, "Umbra is the first other Displaced I met as well. Now what say we change the subject before we start freaking out over the cavalcade of coincidences. Grub's up, and before you ask, the bacon and cheese are inside the patties."
Alice stared suspiciously at the food before her, she muttered a quick spell to detect any signs of tampering, such as poison, truth serum or mind controlling thingies and other various drugs. She detected none but cast spells of protection just in case before indulging in the foodstuffs provided.
"So," Cruger asked as he put salsa and hot sauce on a burger, "any bleed through events in your verse yet?"
Alice raised a brow, "Bleed through events?"
"You know, things from your base that appear in your Equestria? That's what I call 'em anyway," Cruger replied before taking a bite out of his burger.
Alice thought for a moment, "Nope. Nothing so far but when Zinnia was with me we were attacked by the Wrecking Crew. Though I have the feeling something big will happen soon. So for now I'm playing the waiting game." Alice responded between bites.
"Man, the one game that even Pinkie hates. In all seriousness, did you try tapping into their powers? While I admit my knowledge of those guys is somewhat limited, I'm 85% sure they're magic types," Cruger asked as he finished off his own burger.
Alice scoffed, "No. For one I was too busy keeping Zinnia and myself alive, for two I already had plenty of magic going on, for three why the hell would I want their powers they suck, not to mention none of their abilities are useful to me. Finally you are correct they are magical."
"While that might be the case, I'd recommend you at least see if you can access them. The last thing you want to do is make assumptions on the limits on both your abilities and those of your opponents, I learned that the hard way." Crugers expression turned thoughtful as he reached for another burger.
"Hmph. Please. I know more about my abilities than anyone else ever could. That's part of the advantage of being who I am, practically no one knows who I am and what I can do. Because Black Alice is a minor character in the comics people don't pay attention to her. They're too busy fawning over the big names like Batman and Deadpool or ridiculous characters like Squirrel Girl or those freaks from FnaF. They never give characters like Black Alice a second thought unless they have a TV show, movie, videogame or is part of the latest stupid meme. Which works for me just fine. Gives me the element of surprise. Which is all the more reason why I'm experimenting." Alice finished her rant and began muttering obscenities from three different languages under her breath.
"I'd still give them a try if I were you, at the very least to see if you can use the powers of those who enter your verse. It's always better to have it and not need it than to need it but not have it. By the way, didn't the Wrecker gain his powers because he was mistaken for Thor?" Cruger asked.
"No. He got his powers in order to beat Thor." Alice replied offhandedly. "Has it even occurred to you that I might already have access to the Marvel universe and I'm just not telling you because it would reveal one of many trump cards hidden up my sleeves."
"What about the fact that I already asked about the whole Marvel ability thing, you said no, and my lie-detector spell didn't go off? By the way, I'm not offended by the check you did on the food, but you could stand to learn a little subtlety," Cruger replied with a slightly smug grin on his face. "By the way, why would we ever come to blows outside of a friendly sparring match?"
Alice gave a savage grin, "Because dear Anubis I'm a great liar and my magics are more powerful than yours, it would be cake to fool your lie-detector spell. I wasn't trying to be subtle I wanted you to know and do I look like the kind of person who would care if you were offended by me ensuring my own safety? I would think a so-called elite cop would appreciate my caution." Alice gave Cruger a funny look, "Its super-hero/super-villain 101. Heroes or Villains nearly always fight each other briefly for some reason or another before teaming up to take on a much bigger goal. It happens all the time in virtually every form of media."
"Well, I tried to be nice, but if you don't want my help," Cruger replied with a shrug, "Black Alice, our contract is complete."
A tumbleweed blew by them.
Alice smirked. "I'm not bound by the usual rules of the Displaced. Much like Zinnia I leave when I want to. Besides I never said I didn't want your help. I just find it hard to believe you can give me the help I need. Last time I checked the Power Rangers's magic isn't as malleable as others."
"I can give you two very good reasons. First, like the original Cruger, I am as much mentor as Ranger, I'm good at teaching. Second," Cruger flipped open his morpher, causing a dozen holographic images to appear in the air behind him, "as I said, I'm an expert in gaining powers outside of your base."
"I also never said you weren't a mentor. But I need a specialist like Dr. Doom or Ibis the Invincible to help me hone my technical magic. But that's beside the point, the real question is how did you know I require aid with my abilities? I never sent out an Ad for a mentor." Alice glared suspiciously at Cruger.
"Because when I summoned you, I offered my services as a mentor if you needed one? Didn't you hear that? I usually hear what the others say when I get summoned," Cruger's face was confused, "by the way, did I not just use magic to get us here? I happen to be this verse's foremost practitioner of Dimensional magic."
Alice thought for moment trying to recall Cruger's message before answering, "I must have missed that part I was in the middle of a class, I assumed you needed my help with something or simply wanted to talk. Dimensional magic is one of the easiest branches of magic there is. Why else do you think weaklings like Twilight Sparkle are capable of it? It's so easy even none magical beings are capable of using it to an extent such as the Flash, Deadpool and the Folding Man. Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing your skills and I apologize if it seems like I am."
"And that is exactly what I'm talking about, underestimating your opponent's abilities. For you see, the thing about true Dimensional magic," Cruger tossed the bottle of mayonnaise into the air, "is that it can do a whole lot more than just teleport stuff," he launched a beam of blue magic at it, freezing it in place, "such as pin objects in space-time. Go ahead, I doubt Superman could budge it."
"I know that. I was using teleportation as an example. And maybe Superman can't but that doesn't mean others can't." Alice stated.
"True," Cruger waved a hand, causing the bottle to fall into it, "but it's damn useful none the less. Well, nothing personal, but those additional modes you saw? Only got'em yesterday, haven't finished trying them all out yet, mind if we wrap up this little debate?"
"Fine with me. Personally I've been waiting for a monster to attack for sometime now. I could use the practice." Alice closed her eyes and sighed "Where's Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd when you need them? Hell I'll even take that asswipe Tirek or any version of that douch Loki, at this point."
"Yeah, well, let's see if it works this time, Alice, our contract is complete."
Birds chirped in the background.
Alice stared at Cruger blankly "I said it before I don't go unless I want to. And I'm not going until one of my goals is met. You’re the commander of SPD right? That means you must have Zords and or a team of other Rangers backing you up right? I want to see them. Please."
Cruger sighed as he finished his burger, "Fine, I think A-Squad's training right now, but how about we go for an inspection of the Runner Bay?"
Stars appeared in Alice's eyes "Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's do that. While SPD may be inferior to Mighty Morphin they are still Power Rangers and I've always wanted to see the real thing. But alas we don't live in a universe like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" so this is the next best thing."
"Tis a cruel world indeed, by the way, want your mind blown?"
Alice nodded.
Cruger grinned, "You are currently inside a Zord, what say you to that?"
Alice raised a brow "Which Zord? And prove it. Is what I say to that."
"Delta Command, aka the Delta Base, elevator's right over there."
"Wait, wait, wait. The base can become a Zord?" Alice asked
"You got mad because I was 'impersonating' Cruger, but you don't know what his personal Megazord was? Turn in your Power Rangers Fan Club Membership Card," Cruger held out a hand.
"Ok first of all I wasn't mad you were impersonating Cruger. I was mad because you were impersonating the concept of the Power Rangers which ended when they stopped making sequels with the original cast or their successors and started making spin-offs such as SPD. And of course I wouldn't know what his Zord is I never went past the first few episodes of SPD. And I'll turn in my membership card when I'm dead!" Alice said defiantly.
Cruger laughed, "Alright, just as long as we both agree that the decision they made for Turbo Blue was weird, we're good. So, ready to see the latest advancements in giant robot technology?"
"Ugh, don't even mention Turbo to me. Their movie was bad enough to make bad spin-offs like SPD look as good as Mighty Morphin. Anyway, yes I want to see giant robots." Alice said as her eyes switched from being stars to galaxies.
The two of them entered the elevator, Cruger placing a hand on a scanner, "Runner Bay." With a lurch, the elevator descended. When the doors opened to a catwalk, Cruger pointed down, "sorry you had to see them during maintenance, but I personally like seeing them like this. Well, what do you think?"
But Alice couldn't hear him as she was too busy imagining herself piloting the robots,
"Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself, etc!" her imaginary self shouted as she stomped all over Equestria, destroying everything in sight and laughing maniacally.
As she was in dreamland, Cruger waved over a Griffon who was leading the repairs, "Yo Flare! How are they doing?"
Flare Blast grinned, "We managed to get 2's rotors realigned and were just about to pull the blaster out of 3 for some calibrations."
"Excellent, ahead of schedule as always," Cruger turned to Alice, "want to see the biggest laser gun you've ever seen?"
Alice snapped out of her daydream. "Sure but I doubt it'll be the biggest laser gun I've ever seen."
"We shall see," Cruger turned to Flare Blast, "don't let me stop you."
Flare Blast turned to the crew surrounding Delta Runner 3, "OPEN'ER UP!"
With the push of a button, the right side of the Zord moved outwards, revealing a triple barreled laser pistol so large that Big Macintosh could use the trigger guard as a hammock.
"So," Cruger asked Alice as workponies attached a crane to it to pull it completely out, "Impressed yet, or do you want to wait till they bring out the blade?"
Alice smirked, "While I can appreciate it's size it is still not the biggest I've seen. By all means pull out the blade."
Cruger huffed, "Young people these days, no appreciation for quality, am I right Flare?"
"True enough sir," Flare Blast replied, "we can have the blade out and ready for inspection in 10 minutes if you wish to wait."
Alice snorted, "Please. I appreciate quality but you didn't ask for my opinion on the quality. You asked for my opinion on it's size. And I'm telling you the honest truth: I've seen bigger."
"Mind if I ask what could beat that?" Flare asked incredulously.
Black Alice smiled wolvishly, "Well there's the Brahmastra. Which is pretty much the size of a planet if not a moon. And then there's the various Gundams so yeah."
"Um Gundams are smaller than Megazords," Cruger interjected.
"It really depends on which Gundam you are talking about because keep in mind there are more Gundams in existence then there are Power Rangers. I know for a fact that Epeyon is bigger than the White Tiger Zord." Alice countered.
"While that may be true, have you actually seen any of those in person?" Cruger asked somewhat smugly.
Alice glared at him "And just what are you insinuating?"
"Umbra and Zinnia don't have Gundams, so unless you've met other Displaced who do, or are from an Earth where those things are real, this is the first giant robot you've seen in real life, even if it is in the shop," Cruger explained.
"Well actually I've seen three before I got Displaced. The first was just a giant statue though." Alice admitted.
Cruger stared for a minute, then turned around and placed his head against a wall, "Of course, you've been to the moon, they've been there twice."
"Are you kidding? I have a chair made out of the very cosmos itself with two Suns as armrests. I did that when I was trying out the Spectre's powers. It was very surreal, a lot like that time I went exploring underwater as Aquawoman." Alice answered casually.
Cruger turned his head and looked at her, "Are you done, or would you like to pound on my ego some more, I think there's still some life left in it."
"No I'm good but thanks for offering." Alice said teasingly before bursting into laughter.
"Oh man. You know Cruger, you're an alright guy/dog/alien-thing. I take back every bad thing I ever thought about you. Except for the parts about being inferior to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that I still stand by."
"That I can let slide," Cruger replied before turning back towards her and sticking out a hand, "friends?"
"Sure. Anyone who can get me to laugh especially after that emotionally-draining experience I had with Zinnia is ok in my book. Friends." Alice grabbed Cruger's hand and shook it.
"Now are you going to show-off to me your squads or am I going to look for them myself?"
"One sec," Cruger flipped open his morpher, "looks like training is done for the day, so they should be in the lounge." Cruger opened a portal, "what say we take the express this time?"
"Sure. I'm game if you are. By the way, I've been meaning to ask, did Zinnia put the moves on you too?"
"She tried, but I turned her down," Cruger replied as they walked through the portal, "good to see you Rangers."
"Commander Cruger, good to see you," replied Night Stalker, "who's the civilian?"
"A Displaced who refuses to leave until she met you guys," Cruger answered with a sigh, "Rangers, meet Black Alice, Black Alice meet Pearl Spark, Hammer Fist, Evil Breaker, Night Stalker, and you probably recognize Rainbow Dash snoozing on the couch."
Alice was silent. "What color is RD?" she demanded in a tone that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Red, because she earned it, is that a problem?" Cruger replied, fingering his morpher.
Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "No. I'm just surprised that RD of all ponies made Red considering it's legacy of excellence. I would've figured her for Blue or Black but definitely not Red. So color me impressed." Alice gave a half-hearted smile.
'This RD must be smarter than she looks to make Red. I should give her the benefit of the doubt, after all G'nort became an excellent Green Lantern until he died, so maybe this RD is like him.' Alice thought.
"So," Cruger asked, "ready to go home, or do you have another request."
"Well let me check my list," Alice pulled out a sheet of paper. "Let's see all that's left on the Power Ranger Edition besides piloting a Zord is 'Super-hero Team up with the Rangers to destroy the obligatory monster (that should've shown up hours ago!) and have a sparring match with each Ranger....but I might have to pass on that one in this case."
"Piloting a Zord is out, DNA based security," Cruger replied, "I'm not gonna be one of those guys who lets the bad guys steal a Megazord. As for the team up," he tossed Alice his token, "how about this, you supply the bad guy, I supply the team, it's only been two days since the last one."
Alice smile grew bigger, "Any preferences?"
"Preferably a big one, you want to see the Megazord in action don't ya?"
"Of course! I just wanted to know if there was a specific monster you wanted to fight."
"Well, if you're taking requests, I've always wanted to go up against Galactus," Cruger put on his best pair of puppy dog eyes, "pretty please?"
Alice was shocked at Cruger's request, "Galactus?! Are you crazy? You'd would not only kill yourself and the entire SPD but you would also doom the entire planet. Galactus is way out of your guy's league. Besides even if he wasn't I don't want to risk putting any of the Marvel universes in danger by him being destroyed, injured or imprisoned. He's a necessary evil. Choose someone/thing else
"Fine, Fing Fang Foom then, even if I am at the level where I can curbstomp Tirek when he's at full power," Cruger pouted, "might as well give these guys some practice."
"Now Fin Fang Foom I can do. But be warned Foom is nothing like Tirek, he is actually competent. But for now I shall take my leave. Until next time. SHAZAM!" Alice shouted.
KKKRRAAACCKOOOM!!!!
A bolt of Divine Lightning came down and struck her. And when it vanished, Black Alice was gone.
With a start, Rainbow woke up, "Hey guys, did I miss something?"