#shattered grid - alternate universe

[augment-techs]

Song lyric prompt: if this is what death is like, I’d embrace it again, and again, and again. + Sentry Skull +/ Drakkon

Title: blinded on rosebushes Rating: Unrated Relationships: Lord Drakkon & World of the Coinless Eugene Skullovitch; Jason Scott & Lord Drakkon; Jason Scott & Lauren Shiba & Kimberly Hart; Zack Taylor/Trini; Billy Cranston & World of the Coinless Farkas Bulkmeier; Kimberly Hart & Jen Scotts. Characters: Lord Drakkon; World of the Coinless Eugene Skullovitch; White Tiger Power Coin; Green Dragon Power Coin; The Emissaries; Orange Power Coin; Prime Universe Rangers; World of the Coinless Farkas Bulkmeier; Grid Ghosts. Additional Tags: Shattered Grid - Alternate Universe; Incidentally Immortal! Skull; Accidental Necromancer!Drakkon; Haunting; Gentle Stalking; Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault; Implied/Referenced Blood and Violence; Drakkon Quite Literally Being Followed By His Mistakes Like Some Stephen King From the Sewers Devil Level Shit; Grown Men Crying; Body Horror. Summary:

It is a very stupid thing that Drakkon believed in while still learning from Rita so that he might one day rule the galaxy with his own leanings and iron fist: that there were only two flavors and types of magic. Light or Good, Dark or Evil. Magic is a wide and varied spectrum, not tremendously unlike species and genus of animal and birds, fish, bugs, plants, flowers, gems. And he never did do a very good job of locking up the books he'd learned from, or fully going scorched earth with what he'd stolen from others he'd killed. So when he killed Skullovitch, whose word was true and sure about his belief that the Rangers would be his end, Drakkon did not expect to keep seeing him after his body fell to the ground in dead weight and loss. Coming back into the perfect world he'd built just to watch him like a coyote on the dunes watches another animal with a limp from a distance. No noise, no greeting, no adoration like all others in the world when hazel eyes met silver; just meeting him head on before Drakkon blinked and he was gone again until another time. Really, it was his own fault, given that he didn't know how to follow the rules: Green does not and cannot kill Orange. At least, not with any sort of finality or permanence.

@skyland2703

[kimberlyannharts]

At this point Power Rangers has done a few crossover comics, and they've all been some pretty logical and big name choices - the Justice League, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Godzilla. So today's crossover comic is one that definitely took people by surprise - Usagi Yojimbo, the long-running story of a wandering rōnin having adventures in feudal Japan (who also happens to be a bunny rabbit), written and illustrated by Stan Sakai since 1984. While an icon in his own right - funnily enough, he's a regular guest in TMNT properties - I don't think ANYONE really had HIM in mind as a contender for a crossover with Power Rangers compared to more conventional properties like Transformers or even My Little Pony.

After all, what do they know about samurai in Power Rangers?

It's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Usagi Yojimbo!

= So I know I've gone on and on about Shawn Daley's art but I really just need you to look at them again. It just makes me so happy to see a more stylized take on the MMPRs - basically if you took Daniele di Nicuolo's art and ramped up the anime influence by 100. It gives the book that much extra charm

= who the hell is THIS I'm here for the FURRIES not another random boring human!!!!!! it's like I'm playing Animal Crossing

= Jason's attitude in this book annoys me but at the same time it wouldn't be a Ryan book if he wasn't writing Jason in a way that annoys me.

= (also, they knew about the Morphin Masters this early in their Ranger career? I guess Zordon did mention them in an early episode, but.........what have they done that's similar to this that Jason would know about kjkjdkf

= I still think it's very weird that they didn't give the whole "maybe it would be easier if I was fighting alone" to uh.....you know.....Tommy, the loner? Who's so used to fighting alone that he struggled to adjust to a team? But I guess he has a girlfriend and Jason doesn't so.

= Is this a safe space. because the rabbit is pretty hot.

= HAHAHAAAA TOKEN EVIL HUMAN I KNEW IT

= YFIP: THE MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS - assisting the villain, thievery of a powerful artifact, assault against civilians, racism against furries

= Like I've said before Jason's characterization here irritates me a bit but I'll give the book props that someone's actually allowed to call him out on it for once. Like man I wish Tommy in the main series was allowed to tell Jason to shut up once in a while like Usagi does here

= Kim: Tommy, it's 4 pm! Time to go help our friends!

Tommy: yes honey

= Wow, look at these guys! They're like......Shogun Rangers! ............wait a minute

= But seriously, though, I gotta say these are one of the best alternate MMPR designs we've gotten in ages - I LOVE how they apply all of MMPR's little details into each individual user. And the altered weapons are awesome, too. Between these and the Kaiju Rangers we've really been cooking with the alternate forms lately

= And as I said, they did manage to resist the urge to give Usagi a Ranger form. I did like my old "maybe he'll find a Samuraizer" idea, though

= They both nearly died via crystal explosion a few hours ago but all they care about is their cool new outfits, just otp things <3

= I was about to say "well yeah, duh, that's why the Dragonzord doesn't have wings" but then I remembered. oh yeah. technically the Zords aren't Japanese in origin in-universe, are they

= It's nice to see Dragonzord Battle Mode! That was a form that didn't get a lot of spotlight in the comics - I think the only time we really saw it in the main series was Shattered Grid, and not for very long before it got destroyed by Serpentera

= Kim and Usagi only get one real onscreen exchange but she also catches him in the Pterodactyl and they have matching bangs. I'll take this as a win, though Splinter is still her #1 rodent dad

= they are so fucking sad

= I think future books should bring Usagi back or just crossover with him again with no explanation. Make people think he's a PR character just like how people assume he's a TMNT character

[cm-top-10]

C.M. Top 10: Timeline & Alternate Characters

As we all know the universe, multiverse, omniverse & xenoverse have so many alternate realities. Some similar to our own, others in a timeline all of it's own. But what really trips up the mind is seeing the you you may or may not have wanted to be.

So here's 10 alternate heroes & villains of the many universes &/or timelines. What alternate characters will we see next? You be the judge on that.

.

.

1. Marvel's Midnight Suns - Fallen Hulk

Earth/Timline - 616

2. Injustice - Harley Quinn

Earth - 22 (the Injustice Universe)

3. Rise of the TMNT - Future Leo

Third Earth Dimension, Future of 2044

4. RWBY: Ice Queendom - Negative Weiss

The Anime RWBYverse

Straight into Weiss' memories.

5. Disney Mirrorverse - Belle the Explorer Mage

6. DBZ/Slickverse - Slick Chi Chi

7. JP/JW Universe - Vastatosaurus Rex (V-Rex)

8. Marvel/MCU Universe - Loki

Earth - 199999

9. Transformers Prime - Megatron

Uniend 911.05 Alpha

10. Power Rangers - Lord Drakkon

The Shattered Grid

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Hello!

Hi there! I'm Efficiency! I use they/them pronouns. I'm currently majorly into the SMG4 fandom,, I am open to talking about others as well tho!!

Tags:

!posts! - most of my things have these, just meant to signify that it's a post :>

!lyrics! - lyrics I think are neat! Also if they fit a situation or character

fanfiction: my writing!

fanfiction: frens!

fanfiction: anons!

!original characters!

oc: [] - about an oc of mine

admin: [] - about an admin/higher-up (However Domain&Forum are different! They use "usb: smg3" and "usb: smg4" because that's how they were referred to when they were created! I am NOT going back and changing every post with that tag. No way.)

coding: [] - about a manifestation of code of SMGs

avatar: [] - about an avatar of an smg universe

!snippets! - story snippets

fren! - a mutual

!asks!

!anons!

!wip!

!non canon!

AUs/Arcs

Factory Reset In Progess (collaborative)

Misguided Defenders

Let The Monsters In

Proceed To Overwrite

The Toxic Ringmaster

Fractured Memories

In Regards To Eternity

Fleeting Sands

Breaking The Cage

Bug In The System

Unveiled Secrets

Raging Riptides

Non-Canon AUs

God Box Made SMG4 (collaborative)

A Shattered View

Dim Quadrants AU (Alternate timeline)

Calamity of the Monsters AU (Alternate timeline of Let The Monsters In, happens later on)

Act of Lies (a major 'shift to the left' AU)

Code Deities -> here

The Admins/Higher-Ups -> here

The Avatars -> here

The SMGs -> here

SMG4 AU Anamolies -> here (1) / here (2)

The Viruses/Programs -> here

Code Manifestations -> here

The Grid Employee Profile Hub -> here

The Fusions -> here

[saratogaroadwrites]

Tron: Liberation (8/15)

Tron: Liberation | saratogaroad rating: T total wordcount: 106,965 characters: Tron, Beck, Mara, Zed, Paige, Pavel, Tesler, Clu 2, Dyson, Yori, Quorra, Original Siren Character relationships: Tron & Beck, Beck & Mara & Zed, Tron/Yori other tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Continuation, For Want of A Nail warnings: none

The Game has changed. The Revolution has begun. With Tron healed and once more in the fight for the Grid, the war has begun. But Clu will not give up so easily, and this is a war that will be fought in the streets. But it is a war that Beck and Tron intend to win, so long as they can do one thing first:

Survive.

[AU: Fanmade Season 2]

=

"So, let me get this straight,” Zed said as he paced a circle between the two couches in the main room of the apartment building. Rain pattered on the tarp keeping the shattered window covered as he continued, “Pavel’s the one who blew up the garage?”

“That’s what Paige said,” Beck answered, ignoring the twin looks of exasperation from Tron and Mara on either side of him, “So yeah. Something like that.”

“Okay…and Clu’s forces just blew up your old base?”

“Right,” Tron grimaced, leaning against the wall. “But their orders may have just been to check out the odd rock formation. It might not have had anything to do with us.”

Ruby, sitting on the arm of the other couch, turned her head to look at him. “Do you really believe that?” She asked, voice oddly quiet. She and Zed had both been in the alleyway when the Spire had gone up, and both were now marked with a myriad of patches from the gashes they’d earned as every window for six square blocks had broken from the shockwave.

“No,” Tron sighed after a moment, “I don’t.”

Zed kept pacing. “And on top of all that, the city is absolutely crawling with soldiers.” He stopped, bringing his hands down from where he’d smacked fist to palm just below his chin. He turned to Beck and Tron, eyes wide and expression incredulous. “Tell me again how we’re supposed to deal with this?!”

“Zed…” Beck sighed, leaning forward and raking a hand through his hair. He couldn’t blame his friend for his concern, but… “This doesn’t change anything. As soon as the storm clears, we head for the highway.”

“On foot, though?” Mara leaned her head on one fist, arm on the back of the couch. “It’s a long walk, even to Gallium. We’d get spotted for sure.”

“We don’t have much choice,” Beck shook his head. He spread his hands as he said, “Without the Garage, I’m not sure where we could get a truck big enough to hold the five of us.”

“I might,” Ruby replied, head tilted, “But it’s under Occupation control now. We’ll need a distraction. And don’t—” She pointed with one hand at Beck and Tron, “Volunteer again. You’d bring Clu down on your heads and that’s the last thing we need.”

Beck and Tron shared a look, then looked back at Ruby. Beck shook his head.

“Is there another option?” He asked, only to look at Mara as she sat bolt upright with a small gasp and a quiet “oh!”. Everyone stared at her as she reached to her hip, pulling a small baton from her holster. Beck’s eyes went wide.

“Is that—”

“Moog’s painter tool,” Mara confirmed, twirling the little baton between her fingers. She smiled ruefully. “I never did give it back to him before he and Rasket left town.”

Behind him, Tron made a small sound of astonishment. Zed looked from Mara to Beck, then buried his face in both of his palms.

“Grid,” His voice was muffled, but no less exasperated, “How have you two survived this long?”

“Luck, no doubt,” Ruby said, leaning forward. Beck turned to her, then leaned back at the gleam in her eyes as she continued, “Mara, do you know how to make explosives?”

Mara blinked. “Uh…no?” She shook her head, looking at Beck, who could only shrug. He’d never manufactured a grenade, either. A quick glance at Tron earned him a shake of his mentor’s head, and he turned back as Mara reached up to scratch at the edge of her patch. “That was Moog’s thing, too. I mean, we did a few code-bombs, but he was the one who made them. I just made sure the plans worked.” She looked up. “Why?”

“Because,” Ruby smiled as she stood up, “Free Code can make for some very bright explosions.”

“Bright enough to cause a distraction,” Beck breathed out. Ruby turned that grin on him and nodded, before she looked to Tron.

“You wouldn’t know where to get your hands on some old grenade code, would you?”

“Ammo dump down the hill,” Tron said, pushing off the wall, “But it’s probably guarded.” He turned to Beck. “Stay here. Rest. We won’t take long.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea—” Beck began, only to be cut off by Zed’s groan beside him.

“One of these millis, Beck,” Zed said as Mara giggled and headed for the door with Ruby, Tron a pace behind after giving Beck a stern look, “You have got to learn to relax.”

Watching the door whoosh shut, Beck frowned.

“…One of these millis.”

“Which is a funny way of saying never, right?” Zed grumped, slumping down until he was halfway off the couch. Beck had no answer for him. In the silence, Zed rolled his head to look up at him, dark eyes unreadable. For a moment, they sat in silence, the weight of unsaid words hanging between them like a shipping container waiting to drop. Beck swallowed hard.

“So,” Zed began, running his tongue over his lips, “long milli, huh?”

Beck blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Then he laughed tiredly, quietly, and slumped against the couch. “You have no idea.” He chuckled, dragging his hands down his face. Zed nudged his arm, the familiar gesture causing him to look over. Zed was smiling, just a little, and it reached his eyes.

“I can guess. No wonder you kept skipping shifts so often.”

“Yeah, well,” Beck lowered his hands to his knees, “Fighting the Occupation didn’t exactly mesh with fixing bikes.”

“No. I guess it didn’t.” Zed sighed, then shook his head.“I gotta say one thing, though.”

Beck grimaced, shoulders brushing his ears. “What?”

“You’re nowhere near as lazy as I thought you were.”

Beck couldn’t help it. He laughed again, more energetically this time. Zed chuckled a bit, not nearly as amused, and they both trailed off into silence. But it was lighter than before, easier, and Beck closed his eyes. His head lolled against the couch, systems beginning to slowly shut off in the quiet. It was late, he was still tired, and the next milli promised to be interesting. It was enough to make him want his old Garage days back!

“Will you…tell me how you got started?” Zed asked suddenly, jolting Beck back into full wake mode. He looked at Zed, the look on his friend’s face cautious but curious. Beck frowned, turning the idea over in his head. Zed had the right to know after all Beck had put him through, but at the same time…he sighed.

“If you tell me how you found out in the first place.”

“You said my name.” Zed smiled. When Beck blinked in confusion, his friend shrugged one shoulder. “Remember when all those trucks crashed and Mara went off her programming? The Renegade said my name, and I hadn’t told him.” Beck grimaced, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Something that small, huh? Zed went on. “That just gave me the idea, though. I started thinking about it, and the times the Renegade showed up matched up pretty well with the times you didn’t show up for work. Things just clicked.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought about it,” Zed said with a sigh, knocking his head back against the cushion. “But I figured there was a reason you hadn’t told anyone. That…” he sighed, “And I was a little scared. I mean, I said some really nasty things, and I just—”

“We’re even.” Beck broke in, smiling faintly. Zed blinked at him, and he nudged his friend’s leg with his foot. “I put you through some nasty doubles, so…”

“So you’re about as crazy as ever, thinking that makes us even.” Zed groaned. Beck chuckled quietly, rolling his shoulders. It really didn’t, but he just didn’t care anymore. With a sigh, he leaned his head back against the couch once more.

“So.” Zed sat up straight after a moment. “How did you get started?”

“Well…”

—

Halfway through the downcycle, only his second in Argon, Clu quietly watched out the window. Tesler had yet again failed to capture Beck. Once again, his General was in medical treatment to restore his hands. Once again, Clu had a decision to make: either leave Tesler alive to fail again, or derezz him and be done with an incompetent fool. Repurposing him probably wouldn’t help at all. His thoughts going in circles—he needed sleep, not more energy--Clu sighed quietly as the door opened to his observation chamber behind him; no rest for the weary, it would seem.

“Just once, Dyson, I wish you’d bring me good news.”

“But then, I wouldn’t be doing my job, sir.” Dyson replied with a smirk. Shaking his head at the old banter, Clu gestured for him to continue. He heard the rasp of a tablet being pulled, but didn’t bother to turn around.

“A message from Commander Nim, sir.”

“On our friends in Argon?”

“Yes. It seems that most of the programs from the Garage—Beck’s coworkers—managed to escape.” Dyson paused, frowning, before saying, “They were last sighted heading for the Harbor. Several ships have left since then and the Harbormaster isn’t talking, unfortunately.” He sighed. “All we know for certain is they were helped by the top Siren from the Coliseum, who hasn’t reported in for work.”

The head Siren—Clu whirled around. “Ruby?” Clu asked incredulously, barely keeping his voice even. Dyson nodded, and Clu turned his attention out the window. Users, of all the Programs to be working with the growing resistance…of course it was Ruby. The one Siren that had always toed the line. It was why he had sent her with Tesler’s crew when they’d come to settle Argon: time away from the city was supposed to settle her, too. And yet…

And yet that seemed to not be the case. She had always been too close to Yori, he thought to himself, and he really shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d fallen out of line. The only question was if the rest from her command had also been compromised. Sighing through his nose, Clu shook his head.

"...I see." He finally said. Behind him, Dyson inclined his head and tucked the report under his arm.

"Sir. What would you have me do?”

Find Ruby. Find where she’d sent the mechanics. Bring them in and repurpose them all. Use them against the petty rebellion and break Beck, then Tron, in the same nano. But almost sixty programs…no. There would be no time for that. He drew a steadying breath, watching dozens of red-lined ships comb across Argon. He clenched his fists at the small of his back, gloves creaking and joints popping.

“Find Ruby. Where she is, Tron and Beck are.”

"Should they be brought in?"

"Yes. And Dyson," He turned to look over his shoulder, Dyson having bowed his head and begun to back away, “If you find Beck and Tron together?”

“Yes, sir?”

Clu narrowed his eyes. “Make sure Tron watches.”

Dyson smiled.

“With pleasure.”

——

Footsteps. Quiet, tinkling over broken glass that had yet to be swept aside like they didn’t know it was there. A muffled crash in the dark, a soft curse. A door opening and closing across the hall.

Something was wrong.

Beck opened his eyes to stare blearily at the apartment, the dim light of the down-cycle not helping him shake off the sleep mode. It was quiet, not even Zed’s sleep-mode whistles and clicks to rouse him. He turned his head—no, Zed’s cot was empty. Blinking, Beck stared.

Then, he heard it again.

Footsteps. Beck blinked himself more awake, shaking off the edges of sleep mode.

"Zed?" He called quietly, raising himself to an elbow. The dim light from outside let him pick out the nearly empty apartment, just their cots and someone else’s half-finished project cobbled together from scraps of code on the workbench, but there was no sign of the other program.

It wasn't the oddest thing; Beck’s system timer had him down for just a quarter milli. Tron and Mara and Ruby probably hadn’t even returned yet. Zed was probably just out stretching his legs, or cleaning up some of the broken glass around the building just to do something with himself. With a quiet promise to himself to go looking if Zed wasn’t in the building, Beck swung himself to sit upright.

“Zed? Is that you?” He called into the hall through the closed door. No response. Not Zed, and not Tron. Slowly, he began to stand up.

"Hello, Beck," Beck stopped halfway off his cot, core grinding to a halt.

"Cyrus..." He breathed, looking up. There, at the door into the hall, Cyrus stood and grinned.

“Miss me?”

Beck stared, eyes wide. Cyrus grinning at him, casually leaning against the doorframe as if he was just there to check on an old friend.

“What?” he asked after a moment of silence, “Something on my face?”

“You’re—” Beck shook his head, finally finding his voice. “You’re supposed to be derezzed!”

“Did Tron tell you that?” Cyrus laughed with a shake of his head. “Oh, Beck. You should know better by now.” He stepped forward, arms loose at his sides. Beck stood up. “You should really know better than to trust him. Besides—” The lines on his face glowed in the dim light of the apartment. “I don’t see him around here. Do you?”

Beck’s core lurched, spinning back up faster. “What did you do to him? And where’s Zed?!” Cyrus had nearly cost Tron’s life the last time they’d fought. If he’d done anything to Tron this time, or if Zed was hurt, Beck would—

Cyrus just laughed. “Oh, don’t worry about your friend. I’ve got him hunting down a lead some blocks from here. As for Tron…well. You’ll see him soon enough.” He continued to step forward. “Now. Be a good program and come with me.”

Beck tensed. His frame still ached, but his energy was high enough. He set his stance, frowning.

“Sorry. Able always taught me never to go with strange programs.”

Cyrus blinked. Then he sneered, lunging forward with a sharp cry. Beck sidestepped, turning on his heel and running for the door as Cyrus crashed onto his cot. In such close quarters, with nowhere to go, Beck knew he’d be on the losing side of that fight. He burst into the hall, took in the open apartment doors from the stairs to the lobby, then turned on his heel and slammed his palm into the locking mechanism for the apartment he’d just left. The door slammed shut with a whoosh and a click, the lock blaring a warning tone as Cyrus crashed into the door with an aborted yell of anger. Beck stepped back with a gasp, watching, waiting, before he shook himself. What was he doing?! He had to get out of here!

He turned and ran, taking the steps two at a time as the whine of Cyrus’ disk cutting through the doorway echoed through the building. He had to find Tron, but where could he even start looking?! He didn’t know where the ammo storage was, not for sure! And Zed was—Cyrus had said blocks but that put him anywhere in the city, and that was only if Cyrus hadn’t been lying and not done something, hidden either of them in another compressed space trap! He grit his teeth, landing hard on the second level as he missed a step. Upstairs, the door shattered, the cascade of cubes loud to Beck’s audio receptors. Cyrus crowed in triumph, and his footsteps hit the stairs with all the grace of a one-tread tank.

“You can’t run forever, Beck!” Cyrus yelled, heavily modulated voice piercingly loud. “I’ll find you!”

“I’d like to see you try,” Beck whispered to himself as he broke into the alley, taking a quick turn away from the building. Outside there was no sign of a fight anywhere, no gouges in the buildings or stone, no damaged access stairwells alongside the buildings themselves. The rumble of tanks and bikes continued in the distance, but that was there, not here. Here was empty alleyways and Cyrus’ footsteps behind him. Beck cursed, turning quickly into another alleyway. Argon stretched out in his mind, familiar side roads and back alleys a grid pattern across the entire city. This block was full of apartments and small shops, plenty of places to hide a shut-down program in. He could be searching for a full milli and never find Tron, Zed, or the others in all this.

And that was if Tron was still around to be found at all. That was only if Cyrus hadn’t….hadn’t…

The thought made Beck’s core lurch, and he shoved it away. He couldn’t think about Tron being derezzed in some dark alley somewhere. Not after everything they’d gone through. If he’d lost Tron, too, then…Grid. He just couldn’t.

With a violent internal kick, he shoved the thought away, pushing to run towards a small footpath. Before he got two steps away, he called out in alarm as Cyrus dove through the shell of a window and right into Beck with all the force of a cargo train. They went down hard, rolling and tumbling into the building across the street, before Beck caught his bearings and lashed out with a sharp kick to Cyrus’ middle. With a grunt the rogue program rolled off of Beck, jumping back to his feet in the same instant that Beck did. But where Beck palmed his disk and took up a defensive position, Cyrus simply stood casually, hands loose at his sides and grin firmly plastered on his face despite Beck’s glare.

“Where’s Tron?” Beck snapped, “If you’ve hurt him, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Cyrus scoffed, still smiling. “Derezz me with your bare hands? Please.” He waved a hand in the air. “You don’t derezz programs, Beck. That’s not you.”

“Then you don’t know me very well.” Or perhaps a little too well. Beck shoved that thought away as well, sidestepping to keep Cyrus in view. “Now where is he?”

Cyrus just sighed. “Tron. Tron, Tron, Tron. It’s always Tron with you, isn’t it?” He scoffed again, stepping forward without a care for how Beck raised his brightly glowing disk. “You’re fragged, Beck. A file on skipping repeat.”

“Takes one to know one. But I’m not the one who Tron locked away, remember?” Beck retorted, circuits blazing hot. Cyrus stopped in his tracks, grin dropping. Beck didn’t bother to hide his smirk. “Sounds to me like you’re the fragged one here.”

Cyrus stared at him for a moment, as if seeing Beck for the first time. Beck just stared back, core spinning faster and faster. He knew everything he was saying was mostly bravado. Even Tron hadn’t been able to defeat Cyrus, so what chance did he have? Probably none at all. Not if he couldn’t somehow lose Cyrus and then go find Tron. Together. Together they could take him!

So long as Tron wasn’t derezzed or worse. Unbidden, Dyson’s words replayed in his memory. "Or the repurposing could have already taken hold. He could already be on his way to Clu.”

It couldn’t be true. Could it? No. No, it wasn’t true. Cyrus was a very sneaky program—Tron had probably just missed him! Grid, he hoped so.

He certainly wasn’t going to miss this, Beck had the fleeting thought as Cyrus charged with a yell, not bothering to bring out his disk as he hit Beck with all the force he could muster. They went down again, rolling and tumbling down the road. Beck’s disk dropped with a clatter and went dark, useless behind them as they grappled. It was obvious that Cyrus was more experienced at this; though Beck managed to land a hit, sending a few stray cubes flying to the road from hitting Cyrus’ nose, Cyrus gave twice as good as he got and grabbed Beck by the hair, slamming his head to the road. Everything whited out for a moment as his systems were forcibly reset, audio receptors ringing as he blinked away remnants, Cyrus laughing on top of him.

“He didn’t even train you!” He was saying, eyes wild and flashing, “And he had the nerve to call me his only failure!”

He. Tron. Tron had said that. Beck grit his teeth.

“He was right,” He grit through the pain, interrupting Cyrus’ laughter. “You’re the one he was never proud of!” Gathering his strength Beck lashed out, an open palm strike to Cyrus’ chin knocking him back before another kick to his middle sent him reeling back. Beck struggled to his feet, balance not yet restored, but his determined glare remained. “You failed him! You’re the one who let him down, and you’re the one who just can’t let it go!”

Cyrus yelled in rage and came at him again. They traded blows, circuit flickering impacts that left limbs numb and useless as power distribution reset itself. Teeth rattling blows, forehead to forehead impacts that sent lights flickering across Beck’s vision even as Cyrus stumbled back. But no matter how much they hit each other, neither would go down.

They were at an impasse. Except, Beck realized as he gasped for air after Cyrus finally kicked him back, they weren’t. Cyrus was just toying with him. Despite his yells, despite his obvious anger, Cyrus was barely hurt. Beck, still drained from the prior milli’s events, was flagging. He had to end this somehow, but how? His eyes flickered to his disk, dark against the road, and then back to Cyrus. The rogue program stared back at him, a smear of blue across his cheek from where Beck had punched him hard. It did nothing to stop him from grinning.

“Well,” He coughed on a laugh. “This has been fun, but I didn’t come here to tussle with you. You and I have a date to keep.” He stepped forward, shoulders limber. “And we really shouldn’t be late.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Beck hissed, eyes flicking back to his disk. If he could just get it—

“You think you have a choice.” Cyrus’ smile was all teeth. Before Beck could react, he rushed forward, grabbing Beck by the throat and slamming him into the wall nearby. It cracked, a sound loud enough to be heard over Beck’s mixed gasp of pain and surprise as he impacted port first. The immediate warning blanked out half his vision, the rest full of Cyrus’ face as the marked program leaned in, ignoring Beck clawing and scratching at his arm.

“That’s cute.”

A second warning flared across Beck’s systems: overheat from lack of intake. He clawed blindly at Cyrus’ arm, feeling his systems begin to shut down in response to the lack of airflow, but it was like trying to carve through a steel beam with nothing more than a blunt wrench. It just wasn’t working, and in his final moment of clarity, Beck realized something: If he let Cyrus take him, there was no telling where he'd end up, or if he'd even survive.

He couldn’t let that happen.

With a desperate thought for any Users that were listening, for any help he could get, Beck slammed his foot directly into Cyrus’ gut. The marked program ‘whoof’ed at the sudden hit to his airflow system, frame instinctively curling around the damaged parts to protect them. Without any fanfare, he dropped Beck to the ground as he stumbled back. Beck dropped to his hands and knees, coughing as he sucked in as much air as he could get. Systems rebooting, he struggled to his feet, scrambling to his disk. With a stumble that became a roll, Beck palmed it and kicked it on just as Cyrus recovered, a hand on his middle as he strode forward.

"You know," Cyrus said quietly, "I almost admire your stubbornness." He strode forward as Beck looked up, face oddly calm. "You remind me of myself."

"I'm nothing like you." Beck levered himself to stand up, patches aching once more. “This ends here, Cyrus. No more games.”

Cyrus took a breath. “No, you see…” He kicked on his disk, the white-rimmed code now edged in a toxic, viral yellow. Beck swallowed hard, “The fun’s just getting started.”

——

“Seriously?” Mara laughed as they walked, “You fell into an energy pool?”

A pace beside her, angular helmet back up, Tron rolled his eyes behind his visor. Ruby didn’t bother to hide her chuckle, but she had the decency to look away when he turned a look on her, and then looked back at Mara.

“Me,” he confirmed with a staticy, modulated sigh, “And it was one time.”

“Five times,” Ruby corrected with a smile, “And each time, you came out so overcharged Yori was sure you’d be running for a cycle.”

Mara threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, that sounds just like Beck!” She shook her head when Tron looked at her. “Grid, this was…a long time before the Occupation rolled in, but, this one time? He and Bodhi made this really stupid dare that about who could jump more energy pools in the Outlands.” She waved a hand towards the outskirts; Tron knew where she was talking about. She continued, “So they go out there, and jump around like hyped up grid-bugs, and then…” She giggled, shoulders shaking. “Beck slipped and fell in one. He pulled himself right back out, but he was so overcharged that he couldn’t go into sleep mode for almost three triples.”

Heedless of his helmet being up, Tron brought a hand up and tried to bury his face in his palm. Betas. Of course Beck would do a thing like that.

Users, he was too much like Tron for his own good. Mara kept laughing for a moment, then shook her head. She opened her mouth, but Tron’s attention was drawn by the buzzing of power above them in a half-destroyed light pole. It was too loud for something that should have shut down after the bulb shattered, and yet…he narrowed his eyes, watching as sparks jumped between the remains of the filament. There was a large spark and then--

“Ouch!”

Everyone stopped. Mara frowned.

“Zed?” She asked quietly, peering around Tron’s front. Sure enough, just down the road, Zed was shaking out his hand like he’d been shocked. In front of him, the junction box for the block was wide open, wires strewn about like loose gridbugs. Grimacing, Zed looked up.

“Hey, Mara—done already?”

“Yeah…” Mara’s frown deepened. “What happened to you?” She stepped over towards him. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to get the power back on.” Zed reached up, turning his HUD emitter back on in a flash of green light before returning his attention to the junction box. “It’s out for the whole block.”

Tron frowned. The entire block was without power? He looked down the street, narrowing his eyes. With most of the streetlights out from the explosion and no programs in the area any longer, it was hard to tell, but…it was quiet. Too quiet.

Zed was right. The power was completely out. Tron turned to the young mechanic, elbow deep in wires.

“What happened?”

“I dunno,” Zed sighed, flinching back as a loose spark arced over his arm. He frowned and dove back in a moment later as he said, “It just went completely out—no lightning, no hit damage…everything in here is intact, it’s just…” He grunted, arms tensing as he managed to get a hold of something and began to tug, “There’s this—thing—in the way—!” He stumbled back with a yelp, Mara leaping forward to catch him with an arm around his back before he could fall. Both mechanics frowned now, and without a word Mara activated her HUD and work-protection before diving in alongside Zed. Tron watched, Ruby stepping up beside him as both programs dug their hands in deep. They were squashed in shoulder to shoulder but between the two of them managed to pull hard enough to dislodge whatever was inside the box and step back with it held between them.

Tron’s eyes went wide. Ruby audibly gasped.

“That’s a power siphon!” She exclaimed, staring at the grid bug shaped device with equally wide eyes. Built from a sphere, there were four prongs extending from the main body, meant to dig into a junction box or power conduit, while the main body itself had a large needle like protrusion from its base meant to absorb the energy current. They had, in the past, been used to darken a district without having to wait for an Admin or actively damage power conduits, and would harmlessly disconnect when no longer needed.

This one was different. Not only was it larger, but the sphere was transparent, and full of glowing energy. But the blue glow of the current couldn’t mask the red code of a countdown timer, still counting down even as Zed and Mara held it. Both mechanics stared with wide eyes, watching as the timer ticked down. Tron lunged forward, intent on grabbing it from their hands and throwing it far, far away, but Mara reacted first. With a shriek, she pulled it from Zed’s grasp and tossed it up, straight into the airspace above them. Tron, unable to stop his momentum, crashed into the pair and knocked them to the ground, covering them with his own body as the modified siphon went off like the bomb it was.

Compared to the energy fires and explosions that had rattled Argon City herself when Tesler’s ship had finally gone up, this was nothing. It was still enough that Mara and Zed both cried out, instinctively covering their faces. Tron could feel the heat of the blast across his port, bits of flaming energy raining down around them in a shower of fire. But it was short lived, and the last bits of code tinkled to the ground. Tron leaned back on his heels, staring at the junction box as Zed and Mara sat up. Zed was heaving, nearly hyperventilating to keep his core from overloading, lines overcharge bright.

“What was that?!” He shouted, eyes wide, “Who would—” He looked up at Tron, “Would Clu have—”

“No,” Ruby said as she stood up from the defensive crouch she’d fallen into, “Clu wouldn’t risk damaging the city. Not like this, at least,” She frowned, tilting her head. “But I don’t know who would have done this. And on just our block?”

There was only one program Tron knew who would have had the knowledge and desire to do such a thing. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“Cyrus.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Mara stiffen. She rose to her knees.

“Cyrus—wait! Tron!”

He paid no attention to her calling out to him, already running back around the corner and down the street. His boots pounded the pavement, and he prayed to any User—Flynn, or Alan-One, or Lora-B, or Flynn’s partner—that he was wrong. That this was just coincidence, that he wouldn’t be turning in to the building to find a massacre or worse.

Somehow, the sinking feeling in his core told him otherwise.

— In the distance, something exploded. Beck chanced a look up, only to take a boot to the torso and lose his balance. With an unceremonious thud and a yelp of pain, Beck tumbled backwards over his port, straight into the side of a nearby dumpster. Ahead of him, standing with his arms casually at his side, Cyrus laughed.

“Oh, that’s funny,” He chuckled to himself as Beck groaned, trying to get back to his feet, “You don’t know when to quit any better than Tron!” He shook his head, marked patterns blurring with the rapid motion. “You really are just like him. Figures.”

On his knees, Beck frowned.

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked, painfully levering himself back to his feet. He swayed, stepping back to keep his balance. Both legs were screaming at him, patches struggling to hold back the damage from extending due to overuse. If this kept up, he’d be as good as derezzed. Up ahead, Cyrus rolled his shoulders.

“Did you ever stop to think why it was you that found my prison, Beck?” Cyrus asked suddenly, modulated voice echoing through the otherwise empty street. Beck blinked, startled at the sudden change of topic. He clutched his disk hard.

“I told you: it’s because I got lost.”

“No,” Cyrus chuckled, “No, see, it’s something more than that. Something I didn’t know until Clu found me.” Slowly, he began to pace back and forth. Beck didn’t turn away, watching him with narrowed eyes. What was he getting at? Clu had gotten to him? Grid, no wonder he was even more unstable than before. Still, he continued to speak. “You and me? We were designed as two parts of the same code, the same bundle. You were designed to maintain, and I was designed to protect. Coinciding directives.”

Beck’s core froze, lurched, restarted. His voice wavered. “How does that—” He coughed “—How does that explain my finding you?”

Cyrus turned to him. “It’s simple, really. We’ve each got a little piece of each other’s code; it draws us to one another, like beacons.” He laughed again, quieter this time. Almost sad. “Or did you really think some null-unit mechanic from the middle of nowhere could really go on to be the next Tron?”

No. He didn’t think that. Tron could say he’d surpassed his programming all he wanted, but at the end of the milli, Beck wasn’t a fighter. Sure, he knew how and could defend himself, but…he wasn’t Tron. He wasn’t even Cutler. He was just Beck. Mechanic to the bitter end. Even if that end would be his deresolution at Cyrus’ disk. Two halves of the same code….built from the same source? Clenching his fists at his sides until the edge of his disk bit into his palm, Beck narrowed his eyes.

“That’s how you built everything—your prison, too. You know how to fix code. Change it.”

“Repurpose it,” Cyrus corrected, waving a hand as Beck flinched. If he never heard that word again, it would be too soon. “You’re finally starting to get it, Beck. Just like you always should have.” Cyrus sighed, suddenly sounding tired. “We’re still of one mind, the same source code. We were supposed to work together. And we still can.”

The thought was so shocking that Beck nearly stumbled even as he stood still. Work with Cyrus? The program that had gotten Able derezzed? That had nearly derezzed Mara and Zed? No. No way. His circuits flared bright white. “To what, destroy the Grid?” He shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”

“You still think you have a choice.” Cyrus scoffed, stopping his motion and turning to Beck. “It’s not cute anymore.”

He shoved off on one foot and then he was on Beck once again. Their disks clashed with a wash of sparks, the viral yellow edge of Cyrus’ disk biting into the cool blue tones of Beck’s. Beck grit his teeth, pushing back with every ounce of strength he had left, but Cyrus was still stronger. He pushed back, hard enough that they both slipped on the rain-slick ground.

“You think you earned this!” Cyrus dropped his disk, ducking Beck’s swing and punching him right in the center of the emblem that was still emblazoned on his blacks. Beck cried out breathlessly, stumbling back, patch aching as Cyrus followed him. “All you did was steal it from someone better! You don’t—” He shifted his weight, coming up on one foot and lashing out with the other, kicking Beck in the side and sending him tumbling across the alley, “You don’t deserve it!”

Beck coughed as he rolled to a stop, grabbing up his disk from where it had fallen from his fingers, “I’m not the one who was locked away, Cyrus!”

“No,” Cyrus admitted, “But you’re the one who’s going to derezz!” He charged forward, disk in hand—only to skid to a rapid halt and leap backwards as a glowing white disk nearly severed his nose from his head.

“The only one going to derezz here,” Tron said as he strode down a side alleyway, coming to a stop in front of Beck, “Is you.”

Core lurching, Beck heaved a sigh of relief. Not only was Tron here, but he appeared to be unharmed, and in complete control of himself. Beck slowly began to stand up, disk in hand, as Cyrus snarled and stepped forward.

“How many times are you going to save this useless glitch!?” He shouted, snapping a hand out at Beck. Tron raised his arm, as if to shield Beck from sight. Cyrus didn’t care. “He just keeps failing you, and you—”

“I told you before,” Tron’s frown was audible as he cut Cyrus off, head inclined, visor catching the light of his disk, “You are my only failure, Cyrus.”

Cyrus’ eyes widened. Beck stepped back as, with a shout loud enough to make anyone’s audio input ring, Cyrus charged right at Tron, disk revving and circuits overload bright as he screamed. Tron met him blow for blow, almost calm about the whole thing. He deflected each wild blow, sidestepping Cyrus’ wild charge and ducking under wide swings. He lashed out with open palm strikes, knocking the rogue program back, further and further away from Beck with each passing nano. He was, Beck realized, completely in his element. This was what Tron had been programmed to do: Protect the Grid and all her programs from any threat. It was an awesome feat to watch, but also a frightening one.

If Tron was ever repurposed, Beck realized, no one would be able to stop him. He’d be the worst threat they could ever face.

He was definitely Cyrus’ worst foe. As Cyrus lashed out, Tron reached out and grabbed him by the arm, twisting him around and tossing him straight across the alleyway, into a dumpster. He stepped forward to pursue, but Cyrus rolled to his feet and tossed his disk in a wild arc. Tron leapt back, flipping in mid-air to avoid the blaze of light, and Beck ducked with his hands over his head as Cyrus’ disk embedded itself into the wall nearby. He looked up in time to see Tron land in a smooth crouch, then stand up.

“Give it up, Cyrus,” He said firmly, “You can’t win this fight.”

Cyrus, despite no longer having his disk, stood up straight and tall. He looked at Beck, still crouched behind Tron, and then sneered.

“You have no idea, do you? Just how much he’s failed you.”

Beck’s core lurched. He made to stand as Tron leaned back. Cyrus held his ground, pointing at Beck over Tron’s shoulder.

“He hasn’t lived up to the legacy he’s carrying once. All he’s ever done is let you down, time and time again! I never would have—”

Beck stepped forward, right into the bar that was Tron’s suddenly outstretched arm. “You were going to blow up the Grid!” Beck yelled, not struggling against Tron, “How many programs are derezzed because of you?! I am nothing like you!”

Cyrus smirked.

“Me?” He put a hand to his chest. “No, Beck. You’re not. I know that now. But see…” He tilted his head. “I meant it when I said we share source code, you and me. We sprang from the same source, the same program we took to like energy from a pool."

Beck’s core lurched. He couldn’t mean--

“We’re from the same source,” Cyrus pressed both hands to his chest, the blocky-”T” on his arms warped from the odd angle. He did mean it. “You!” He lifted a hand to point it at Tron. “We were pulled together from your code! You're a part of us!"

Beck felt Tron stiffen, but before he could so much as look at his mentor, Tron inclined his head.

“Is that supposed to mean something?”

Cyrus dropped his hands, blinking. For a nano, he said nothing. Beck looked between him and Tron, but Tron’s face was hidden by his polarized visor. He couldn’t read that aged face. Core lurching again, Beck turned his attention back to Cyrus. Cyrus was staring at Tron as if the Grid had fallen away from his feet.

Then he snarled. With a wordless cry he bent his weight, moved to charge forward, only--

“Hey! Malware!” Mara’s voice broke in from down the road. Everyone turned, just in time to catch Cyrus taking a sphere of glimmering code to the face. It shattered on impact and he stumbled back with a grunt as lines of bright color worked their way across his skin and suit, the lines of Mara’s graphical “Tron Lives” code rendering across his entire frame. Behind Mara, Zed’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he stared. Cyrus scrubbed his arms, trying to peel the code off of his body. When it wouldn’t give, he glared up at Mara.

“What did you do?!”

Mara sneered at him, her smile anything but kind. “It’s free code, buddy. Really goes with your chaotic style.” She tossed hair from her eyes, disk glowing against her hip. “Though not much is going to save that face.”

Not much would ever save that face, Beck thought to himself in the spare nano before Cyrus snarled again and charged at Mara. She yelped, throwing herself aside, and this time Beck joined the charge right at Cyrus before he could swing back around and attack Mara again. Caught flatfoot, he took a double hit across the face from both Tron and Beck’s bare fists. He stumbled, right over Zed’s foot, and knocked both Zed and himself to the ground. Before Zed could recover, Cyrus was on him, grabbing him with an arm around his neck. Zed cried out, shouted for Cyrus to let him go, but the glitching program didn’t listen. Beck grit his teeth.

“Let him go, Cyrus!” He shouted, “It’s me you want!”

“Not anymore!” Uncaring that he was leaving his disk behind, Cyrus kept backing up, dragging a struggling Zed with him. “You’re going to suffer the way I suffered! You’re going to be alone if it’s the last thing I do—”

He stopped mid-sentence, words becoming a scream of pain as a blue-edged disk carved through his shoulder from behind. Running on base programming alone, he dropped Zed and clutched at the stump as his arm fell away and shattered against the alleyway. Beck followed the disk, staring with wide eyes as Mara caught it in one hand and stepped forward, a shade too desaturated for her normal runtime but face firm.

“You won’t get the chance,” She said coldly, “We’ll stop you first.”

Cyrus stepped back. He looked from Mara to Tron, from Tron to Beck, then back again. His lips curled upwards in a snarl and then suddenly—he charged forward, right at Beck. With a yelp, Beck dropped flat fast as he could, but rather than tackle or try to grab him, Cyrus leapt over Beck’s suddenly prone form, heading for where his disk had been caught since it had gone wide over Beck’s head. Cubes scattered in his wake, voxels falling like rain from his missing arm as he reached it. He yanked his disk from the wall, and with a glare that could have frozen flaming energy, took off down the alleyway back towards the main city. Beck pushed onto his knees, hands on the ground as Mara charged after Cyrus, disk in hand. Tron reached out to her.

"Let him go!" Tron yelled. Mara skidded to a halt in the dropped cubes.

"He--"

"You're not ready to take him on--let him go!" He turned his attention to Beck, helping him upright. "Did he hurt you?"

"No--not badly." His patches ached, but he hadn't torn them. Beck shook his head, standing up with barely a grimace. “I’m fine.”

Tron didn’t seem convinced. He turned his head to look at Mara and Zed, both staring down the way that Cyrus had gone, but before he could say anything—

"Well well well." They all turned back towards the hills. In the dark of the alley, a red-lined program strode forward. Zed cursed between his teeth, and Beck could see Mara's eyes go wide as Pavel strode out of the darkness. Someone he couldn’t quite make out stood behind him, but Pavel’s smile was a sneer as he stood, hands clasped at the small of his back, and looked at the four of them like they’d just made his cycle.

"What have we here?"

[augment-techs]

This would be so funny if it weren't so...inexact. Some of us have more wips than...years in our lives. Perhaps a small limit would be good? ...Yeah, I'm limiting this. *coughs*

{PICK UP THE GREEN RANGER AND GET ALL THE SECURITY TAPES FROM THE MALL OVER THE LAST HOUR} (Skull kicked Green with Evil Tommy's ass, part 2)

ten of swords (Green!Adam, White!Jason, Slayer!Kimberly escape to Prime Universe)

the difference between the 90's comedy and mid 2010's comic timeline (Bulk and Skull + Rito and Goldar; but with intelligence and smut)

Orange is always benevolent (Parent!Sentry Skull, Parent!Sentry Adam, Baby!Drakkon redemption)

the pain won't last (Beyond the Grid, Good!Sentries AU, part 2)

Summer soomerki (stoner!Tommy, rodeo rider!David, indie rocker!Stan alternate rangers AU, part 3)

colostrum (baby Putty!Spike AU addition)

take what you can get (PTSD laden Coinless Jason, Coinless Bulk being the best cuddle bubble ever)

What Thoughts Come to Mind About Your Favorite Boom! Comics PR Ship (part 3)

find a better title than the kids aren't alright (World of the Coinless Dino Thunder kids, Drakkon/Slayer->Kim/Bulk)

Mid-Shattered Grid AU (Dino Thunder!Tommy tortured by Drakkon)

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, look upon this tangle of thorns.” (something to go with the Sentry Skull/Adam @felonius-glitch art)

something to do with pirates/mermaids (Mermay Billy/Skull)

forehead touch (Jason/Tommy ask)

The King Regent!Bulk x Ex-Slave/Gladiator!Jason (ask prompt)

Lost Galaxy WRITE SOMETHING BORING timeline (Skull or Bulk, but just NICE ask)

Villain or a Saint? (Trek, Jamie, Nikolai, Daniel; timeline Shattered Grid Emissary fuck up/apology; '69->2010s ask)

Another double Putty!Matt & Skull AU (smut prompt Billy/Skull/Matt ask)

Orange on Green Punishment (Skull vs nonpowered Drakkon prompt)

walk into the sunset (sentence starter prompt for any PR pairing ask)

Must Go Back a Turn part 2 (Scorpina lays into Drakkon about the difference between a trophy and a pet)

tagging: @lordkingsmith @ajgrey9647 @koragg1 @skyland2703 @regaliasonata @estel-eruantien @madhare0512

WIP Ask Game

Tagged by @eriquin, thanks!

-> post all of the wip projects you have ( 😬 )

-> let people send asks with a title, and either share a snippet or share something about the story

-> tag as many people as there are wip projects

Honestly, it's slightly better now than before. Gonna leave out the pile of files that are basically 1-2 lines of idea and just include the stuff in my 'active' WIP folder, with the (mostly accurate) file names:

0 - Tales of the Outer Planes

A Brother is Born for Adversity

MFAU 1 - Emergence

MFAU 2 - Ascendant

MFAU 3 - Oblation

MFAU 4 - Fragments

pick up every stitch

Pinocchio K

Til I Lose My Breath

Yeah, that's about the number I figured. Let's get to tagging:

@serpentinegraphite @thefreakandthehair @hairstevington @augment-techs @skyland2703

@hereforanepilogue @gothichimbo @poemsingreenink @anuwubis

[aplodowski2]

Who Are The Supersonic Rangers?

Who Are The Supersonic Rangers? Read all about the #SupersonicRangers and let #BoomStudios know why this team should be expanded on in the #comics! #PowerRangers #NewPowers #Hasbro

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back! Today I want to talk to you about another unique group of Power Rangers: the Supersonic Rangers!

Why are they unique? Let me tell you!

The Supersonic Rangers first appeared as a set of New Powers in Power Rangers Super Megaforce. In this case, New Powers refers to previously unknown Power Rangers that have yet to be seen in any prior season.

In show, the New…

[gabriel-gabdiel]

What if the fan-made character of King Tyranno was actually a thing in Power Rangers?

Here’s how I’d envision him entering Power Ranger canon.

Original concept of King Tyranno from Tin Hung Vo Tran.

Part 1

- Jason actually found out about King Tyranno while researching about Power Rangers RPM. This gave him the idea to fight fire with fire against Lord Drakkon but only as a last resort.

- Time Force and RPM clean up the mess left by what would've been another Shattered Grid event had Jason and Tommy not done all that preparation ahead of time to meet against the forces of Lord Drakkon. Time Force makes it a point to make sure that the Z-Wave happened and wasn't undone because Mystic Mother was a huge help in solving most of the incidents.  

- An anomaly starts taking place afterwards, with ranger team after ranger team falling. It doesn't help that they just went through World War 3 with Lord Drakkon, so their zords and their powers were all depleted.

- Enter King Tyranno from another dimension, played by a bearded John Travolta. His sensors picked up this universe's Jason summoning his own King Tyranno powers. He's from the timeline that beat and killed Tommy before he could turn into Drakkon. He then used the White Ranger powers as his means to fuse the alien Gold Ranger powers with the MMPR Red powers.

- Time Force sends MMPR into the future before King Tyranno gets a hold of Jason. The MMPR is then left with only the Hexagon Rangers and the Shadow Rangers to help out in this dire situation.

Part 2

- However, the future is somehow bright and sunny. There's no crime. Everything is great and everyone are law-abiding citizens under the rulership of the benevolent King Tyranno. He destroys all space aliens and invaders, thus keeping Earth under his protection.

- Jason considers giving up his coin to this alternate universe version of himself, but Tommy talks him out of it. They soon see through the happy facade of the enslaved citizens forced to work without their freedoms. However, in light of how powerful King Tyranno is, how can the MMPR and Hexagon Rangers take him down?

- The OG MMPR make use of what's left of their connection to the grid along with Omega Ranger powers and Tommy's Master Morpher in order to face off against the practically omnipotent King Tyranno. Tyranno laments how green this version of himself is while mercilessly attacking Tommy.

- The Hexagon Rangers with Ranger X then enter the fray once more combining their super attacks against Tyranno to no avail, who summons the Zodiac Rangers (Uchu Sentai Kyuranger) and overwhelms them with their numbers. Neither the new rangers or the OG rangers stand a chance against Tyranno.

- However, this was all a distraction to allow Billy to get Tyranno's staff. He uses it to power a timeline teleporter to bring them back to their original timeline and face off against the Tyranno of the past.

Part 3

- As usual, MMPR proves no match against Tyranno, even when they summon their zords against him since he has his own impossible-to-beat zord he could summon even in the past. It was literally like fighting Superman. However, they don't plan to engage him for long.

- Jason keeps up with Tyranno with the staff and Tommy keeps up with Tyranno by teasing combining powers with the Master Morpher, but they both hold back.

- Earlier, after much deliberation with Jason, Billy has the solution to this dilemma. Knowing how powerless the rangers are to this demigod of a ranger equal only to Lord Drakkon, Billy uses the staff to power his device using the advanced technology of the future to not only get them back to the past but also to release Drakkon from his prison.

- "Jason?" asks Drakkon. "TOMMY...!" screams Tyranno. Drakkon engages Tyranno in battle to see who's truly the best. They end up weakening each other because of their awesome power. They delight in fighting each other because they're the only rangers who are equal to one another.

- It's at this juncture that both Hexagon Rangers and MMPR use their team attacks to push Drakkon and Tyranno back into the prison dimension Drakkon was banished into by Mystic Mother. Tommy and Jason then destroy the staff before sending its remnants to Trey of Triforia.

- They recreate the ending of "The One", with them fighting against hordes of monsters that the different Power Ranger teams have killed all the years while also fighting each other forever. "Last Resort" plays in the background.

[ajgrey9647]

Awww thanks! This is shipping Billy Cranston x Matthew Cook with eventual Billy x Matthew x Coinless Eugene Skullovitch. This is their side of the Quad Life Universe. The Quad is Drakkon x Coinless Jason (Red) x Tommy Oliver x Jason Scott. I'll also have one for Kimberly x Bulk.

They're different threads of my same alternate universe. I don't really follow the Shattered Grid story per say besides a mention of an event here and there. I took some liberties with these guys lol.

@augment-techs A juicy tidbit for you! Thanks for the recommendation to @yourpalwhale

[hermit-writes]

Chromaggia

Chapter 6  - Propitiation

Summary

Castiel has carved out a life for himself in the shadows of the Seattle Sprawl. The street clinic he keeps afloat by the skin of his teeth is a source of comfort for the community that accepted him. He’s married to the man he loves and who loves him back.

But happiness is the most dangerous drug on the street, it numbs your instincts. So when his past comes calling Castiel is defenceless and can only watch as his perfect life shatters in moments.

Now he has to claw it back or break trying

Tags

Street-doc!Castiel, Shaman!Castiel, Alternate Universe – Shadowrun Fusion, Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Bobby Singer lives, Dark secrets, Confrontation, sometimes sacrifice is another name for suicide, Castiel needs to use his words, Castiel whump, misuse of opioids,  

Excerpt

There was no tactical advantage to driving through the Downtown core. Not even if he’d had the resources to fake the license and registrations, to brute force his way onto the auto-nav grid. Being law-abiding meant the law could remote stop him at any time. Trying it would have half of Lone Star trailing him within a block, all too glad to reroute him back to the no man’s lands of the SINless. So Castiel had walked, or staggered, north and away. Until he could reach the frontier blocks, find the bus stop with the workers that made the city run but that the sarariman couldn’t let themselves look twice at. It was bad luck, to look at what one might become.

The city slipped behind the windows of the bus like some diorama made from old school negatives sliding in place. Concrete, graffiti, the crawling smothering vines of ivy. The commuters entered and shuffled towards the back of the articulated bus. No matter how crowded it got, none of them came to sit next to Castiel. He didn’t belong. They glared at him, upset at the disturbance and intrusion, but whatever instinct was at play also kept as large a circle around him as could be managed.

Read on Ao3.

[augment-techs]

Tag Game: List Ten AUs for your favorite fandoms you love to read, and five that you constantly write/draw for, then tag five people.

Reverse AU

Hanahaki AU

Nontraditional Omegaverse

Not Canon Compliant

Everyone Lives/Not Everyone Dies

Angst With a Happy Ending

Not Ending/Epilogue Compliant

Time Travel/Time Loop/Groundhog Day

Enemy to Caretaker/Accidental Familial Acquisition

Strong/BAMF Character Centric AU

(No idea if the AU in question is fandom specific, but these are the top five that qualify under the heading so meh)

Alternate Universe - World of the Coinless

Post-Comic Arc: Shattered Grid/Beyond the Grid

Not Drakkon New Dawn Canon Compliant

Orange and Purple Bulk & Skull are Canon (FUCK ZORDON)

Self-Indulgent AU

Tagging: @ajgrey9647 @lordkingsmith @skyland2703 @regaliasonata @theonewhonothingknows and anyone else who wants to chip in.

[kimberlyannharts]

Predictions for the final PR darkest hour issue?

I have a headcanon that maybe after the universe gets inevitably rebooted, it will become the tv show canon.

It's kind of hard to theorize because I have no clue what they're trying to say with this event, but here are some I've had in mind:

= Vessel purging himself from Dark Specter will be the final blow in defeating him. Dark Specter will live on in his little purgatory state but Vessel will die in the process, rendering Zordon's body gone forever. Rita might help with this, because I assume Rita has to come in and get her epic clapback against her abuser I ASSUME?

= Hyperforce Dad will probably die, or just get arrested? Maybe we'll get some closure about Chloe's mom man I don't know why do we care about that. A lot of what happens with Hyperforce depends on if they want to leave their stuff open since TECHNICALLY they're also an alternate universe now

= M*tt will get a heroic sacrifice as the BIG EMOTIONAL RINGO-WINNING SCENE that we'll have to be very sad about (this is 100% wishful thinking but I'm hanging on to how Ryan requested that Melissa end his story. At the VERY LEAST he will lose his powers. Please.)

= I've also seen the theory of the comic universe ending and turning into the TV universe canon, which I'm....mixed on. It works with the idea of this being the end of BOOM's canon, but it doesn't make sense with our theory that Hasbro wants to move on from the TV canon. For now I'm guessing some kind of "the adventures continue" ending, but the exact state of the canon will be ambiguous. Kind of like how Shattered Grid ended (and I remember when people thought Shattered Grid's reset would turn it into the TV canon too)

= Rocky and Adam might do something, maybe. Honestly I'm losing hope with every new issue

[ladywhaiyvern]

Musings of An Otaku #9- On Thomas Oliver....

Being a fan of Power Rangers since the beginning back in 1993 and watching it religiously till Power Rangers: Wild Force. Then having an on-again and off-again to pretty much now. I pretty much watched a few episodes (out of every incarnation) of the Disney-era, got bored or disgusted by the looks of how they approached it and stopped watching. Had hopes when Saban purchased the rights back from the mouse but found myself once again, doing the same thing. Watch a few episodes out of the current series, get bored or disgusted by once again how they approached the series and stopped. Saban passes the torch to Hasbro and I have not picked up watching a single episode at all. Even going back and watching all the Disney seasons to see if my opinions have changed and tried not to compare them so-much to the original source material. However, this is not what this muse is about. It’s a season by season breakdown. Or an American comparison to the original Sentai. No. 

There’s one Ranger in particular that every single person seems to be fascinated with. Someone that everyone seems to worship the ground that he walks on. He’s somehow the most powerful Ranger that has ever walked upon planet Earth. Everything seems to revolve around him. And it’s not just the fanbase. Lately, it seems like Hasbro can’t get off of Tommy’s dick either. Every piece of nostalgia has to be Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy. There are a Shit ton of other Rangers out there that deserve the same treatment. He is not an omniscient God 

Now, okay….before I go any further, I am not in any way shape or form dissing Jason David Frank. I love the guy! No, no, no, this is about the character that he portrayed. Unlike some people, I see both JDF and Tommy as two different individuals. Two different people. Like both could reside besides each other in the real world. 

 This is just about Tommy. And NOT the Tommy from the Boom Studios comic series. Cause...oh my god...yes, he is one powerful son of a bitch. No. No. This is just about the television series, Tommy! No alternate universes being thrown in. 

Let’s step back in time for a minute. When Tommy was first introduced into the series and became the evil Green Ranger- I enjoyed the character. I loved the struggle he faced between being good or being evil. Yes, while under Rita’s spell he was pretty powerful but one has to wonder if he wasn’t her power that was enhancing his power and abilities. Any Ranger with the help of an evil witches power can become a pretty strong opponent. 

The entire evil Green Ranger saga ends and Tommy joins the side of good (obviously…). Tommy didn’t single handedly defeat Rita in the end because she was banished to the depths of space in another dumpster by Lord Zedd. Moving into season two, obviously we have Lord Zedd taking over and the entire Green Candle saga starting. When he loses the Green Ranger power, it’s understandable. Things do not last forever. Power can’t last forever. Sad to see him leave the Ranger team but I wasn’t devastated. Yes, it was a complete shocker to see the White Ranger power being created. Awesome, new Ranger, new Power. HOWEVER, I knew Tommy wasn’t up and done completely being a Ranger. I had a slight feeling he was going to come back for that. His story as the Green Ranger may have been finished, but this new chapter was just starting. 

What I did not like though, was when the Power Transfer took place and he just pushed his way into the leader position. He did not even give Rocky a chance. In Ranger-lore the Red Ranger is typically the leader (no matter what character type they possess). Yeah, Rocky may seem a little aloof (and he’s completely different from Jason), but he still should have been given a chance to prove himself in the position. Was it alright for Tommy to just push him aside without allowing that chance? Why was everyone else so chill with this decision? It was kinda a dick move there, Thomas. 

Zeo comes trotting along and almost all the storylines are still focused around Tommy. Granted, yes..he’s finally the Red Ranger. In my eyes, he finally has the mantle to be leader of the group. But still, why was he singled out. I thought the Rangers implored teamwork. I thought to fight evil, they had to fight together- all of them- together. Not this, “Oh! If we just attack Tommy- the others do not matter.” Poor Adam and Rocky were just kinda pushed towards the back burner in this season. And I won’t even get into the strange relationship that seemed to be going on between them. It’s not like Tommy single handedly beat Rita and Zedd. They hightailed it out of dodge when the Machine Empire showed up on their doorstep. Not like he single handedly defeated the Machine Empire either. Shit, the Zeo Rangers did not even destroy the Machine Empire. Zedd and Rita came back to give them their just deserts. 

Shifting into Turbo, we see Thomas once again being given the mantle of Red Ranger. Shocker. By now the Rangers are getting ready to graduate (except you, Justin…). This is obviously foreshadowing things to come and another power transfer. Also noted here is where Tommy mentions that when he graduates, he mentions something about becoming a racecar driver or something to that line. If that is the case, then why the hell did years later he show up with a fucking PHD in Paleontology. I would still LOVE to see the look on Billy’s face for that one! He was the science nerd. IMHO, he should have been the one in that role. But nooooo...his character had to be sent off to an all water planet to never be heard from again. In my eye’s the character of Tommy will never be related in any way shape or form to Science. I honestly saw him opening up a dojo of his own (whether it be on the other side of Angel Grove or some other town). When I think of “Tommy” my mind connects that to martial arts and fitness. In a way, he could have been a mentor to a young team of Rangers (a team that revolved around martial arts and not Dinosaurs). 

But seriously, I digress. Where within the television tropes did he become this all power being that all of fandom and marketdom has to worship?!  Many other Rangers have shown time and again that they have faced similar situations (that he had gone through) and prevailed. What makes him so special? I mean seriously, cut me some slack! ANDROS FUCKING SACRIFICED ZORDON’S LIFE TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!!!!!! He did not want to swing that Drill Saber and end Zordon's life, but he still did. He may not have been the best leader. He was kind of a pissy asshole (but I loved him anyways and still do). But this isn’t about Andros. Why is all the attention drawn to this one single character though? Not everyone can relate to Tommy, so why is so much emphasis in Ranger history based around him? 

Tommy Oliver is an overrated individual and as the series went on, I became more and more distant away from him. As a character, I only enjoy him in the very early Green Ranger days. I tolerate him from then on. As a leader, yes, I liked Jason. I liked Rocky for his goofy side and he should have been given a chance to prove himself as a leader. In the alternate universe of the comic book series- I absolutely love Tommy. Lord Drakkon, Shattered Grid, pure evil, pure insanity, pure mayhem. Yes! Jason David Frank- is an amazing person, a great actor, he did a good job portraying a character that I love to hate.   

[multiverseforger]

Lord Drakkon[1] was a supervillain, an Evil Power Ranger who controlled the Black Dragon and battles the Power Rangers as the primary antagonist during the Shattered Grid event of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic books by Boom! Studios.

Lord Drakkon is a tyrannical, older version of Tommy Oliver who hails from an alternate reality where he reigned over a technologically-advanced, dystopian Angel Grove as its oppressive ruler with his army of Ranger Sentries.

Biography

Diverging Path

Lord Drakkon's earlier history follows the same events as the Tommy Oliver from the prime continuity up until his climatic final battle against the Red Ranger of his timeline, Jason Lee Scott. In this pivotal event, Tommy was freed from Rita's curse, but instead of allying with Zordon and his Rangers, he fled, wandering from city to city while evading pursuit from the Power Rangers. Search Party

Eventually, Tommy is intercepted by Rita who persuades him to her cause with tales of a young man named Drakkon, in whom she saw potential as he forged his legacy under her guidance. Tommy, intrigued, left with Rita and continued to serve her. Believing Rita meant to better the world through conquest, Tommy aided Rita in taking over the Earth, one city at a time. As their conquest continued, much of Earth's population began to embrace Rita's rule.

Eventually, Tommy led Rita's forces into one final battle against Zordon's last battalion of Rangers and Zords just as Zordon was on the verge of creating a new Power Ranger more powerful than any before. Tommy breached the Command Center as Jason was being infused with this new power, interrupting the process before it could finish. The two engaged in one final battle that Tommy ultimately won. Tommy then stole the new power for himself, and emerged from the Command Center clutching Jason's shattered helmet.

Tommy and his forces then defeated the Power Rangers, destroyed their Zords, and successfully conquered the Earth in Rita's name. However, immediately after the Rangers were vanquished and Rita taught him her spells, such as brainwashing, the sorceress (who was too trusting of her subordinates, unlike her counterpart) was met with an unforeseen outcome, namely Tommy becoming so corrupted that he sought to control the world by himself. While vowing to continue Rita's work, Tommy killed her; thus removing her as a potential obstacle, and gained the loyalty of Finster, who he turned into the cyborg Finster 5, using Alpha 5's body parts.

Now rechristened Lord Drakkon, Tommy drew upon the Power Coin energies to create Ranger Sentries, each serving a specific role in his army. However, he lacked Billy's coin, as Trini hid it away. The former Rangers and those who were against Tommy's rule formed the resistance group The Coinless. Unknown to Drakkon, Skull had infiltrated his army as a Tyrannosaurus sentry.

Ever since the death of Billy and Matthew Cook by Drakkon’s regime, Kimberly Ann Hart began her solo quest for vengeance against the dark lord Ranger. However, Drakkon managed to brainwash her with one of Rita’s brainwashing spells quickly, turning her into his brainwashed Ranger Slayer.

Defeat and Capture

Lord Drakkon loses his powers.Lord Drakkon was overconfident after defeating The Coinless and capturing his alternate self along with Billy and the alternate Trini. However, Billy and Trini collaborated a plan to use his alternate timeline counterpart's Power Coin and created an energy burst that zapped both Drakkon and his Ranger Sentries by modifying the teleportation function. The energy blast released from the morpher during this tactic broke Drakkon's power coin, leaving Drakkon in a brief state of shock and insecurity at the loss of his power. He then tries to goad his counterpart, speaking of how friendship is weakness and Tommy's friends will eventually fail him when he needs them most. Tommy refuses to listen and battles Drakkon. After Tommy's friends find him, rather than face defeat, Drakkon jumps off a cliff to what Tommy believes is his death.

But Drakkon survives and the energy of the portal returning the Power Rangers home tugs him into their universe, where he wakes up in a mountainous region somewhere and is suddenly captured by soldiers of the US Government.

Billy's curiosity is rewarded with a startling discovery...In Issue 23, it is revealed that Drakkon was apprehended by the soldiers to a special underground holding cell in Grace Sterling's Promethea complex. Here, he was kept on energy restraints and isolated from the outside world with armed guards outside keeping anyone from gaining entry. That is, until he got an unexpected visit from one of the people who defeated him, Billy Cranston. Billy teleported inside out of curiosity to find out why the Promethea facility's power substation was only at half of its total output and what there would require so much energy to maintain, only to come face to face with Drakkon in his cell.

He then proceeds to taunt Billy, who declares that he is not afraid of Drakkon. Grace later on reveals that she had captured the rogue former dictator, and that in the months of his captivity by Promethea that he took a perverse pleasure in regailing the former red ranger with the details what he'd done in his native timeline, the rangers he'd slaughtered, and more. Later, Saba came to execute the madman, but failed, and Drakkon then ripped Saba's head off, using the remains of the weapon along with an incantation he presumably learned from his dimension's Rita to create a portal to escape his prison. 

Shattered Grid

You may know me as Tommy Oliver. You may know me as the Green Ranger. But I’m not the man you know. I am a man from a different reality. I conquered my Earth, and became someone infinitely more powerful. I am Lord Drakkon. Now I’m coming back to this world to conquer the Power Rangers here and everywhere else, wherever and whenever they’re hiding. And that’s... just the beginning.

[newstfionline]

Monday, January 4, 2021

Is a Home Office More Productive? Some Workers Think So. (WSJ) Some Americans have a new outlook on remote working: They prefer it. In June and July, a group of 1,388 people working from home were asked for their impressions of the experience by workplace consulting firm Global Workplace Analytics and video technology company Owl Labs. The new arrangement, it turns out, suited many of them. While roughly 27% said they would have considered such a setup to be ideal before the coronavirus pandemic started, 80% said they would like to continue working remotely for three days of the week or more once the pandemic is over. Many of these people said they would prefer remote work all five days of the workweek. Another set of 10,000 employees surveyed by the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago say they felt the work-from-home situation was either just as productive or more so than the office. Some told the researchers that home was 30% more productive. “On average, workers and employers have been pleasantly surprised by productivity when working from home,” says Steven Davis, one of the study authors and a University of Chicago business and economics professor. “Reality exceeded expectations.”

Reflecting on cyberdefense failure (NYT) General Paul Nakasone and other American officials responsible for cybersecurity are now consumed by what they missed for at least nine months: a hacking, now believed to have affected upward of 250 federal agencies and businesses, that Russia aimed not at the election system but at the rest of the United States government and many large American corporations. Three weeks after the intrusion came to light, American officials are still trying to understand whether what the Russians pulled off was simply an espionage operation inside the systems of the American bureaucracy or something more sinister, inserting “backdoor” access into government agencies, major corporations, the electric grid and laboratories developing and transporting new generations of nuclear weapons. At a minimum it has set off alarms about the vulnerability of government and private sector networks in the United States to attack and raised questions about how and why the nation’s cyber-defenses failed so spectacularly. Those questions have taken on particular urgency given that the breach was not detected by any of the government agencies that share responsibility for cyber-defense—the military’s Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, both of which are run by General Nakasone, and the Department of Homeland Security—but by a private cybersecurity company, FireEye.

Drug price inflation (WSJ) The pharmaceutical industry is raising the prices of many products in the new year, albeit at a rate slightly below the past couple of years. GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi SA are among the companies that raised the prices of hundreds of drugs by an average of 3.3%, according to a new analysis. Pfizer, which has a large portfolio of products, led the way with the most increases, raising prices by 5% or less on more than 200 products. The drug industry normally sets prices for its therapies at the start of the year and again in the middle of the year. In all, about 70 drugmakers raised prices in the U.S. on Friday, according to an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions, which sells software to help employers and health plans choose the least-expensive medicines. The average increase of 3.3% included changes to different doses for the same drug, according to the analysis.

Congress opening new session as virus, Biden’s win dominate (AP) Congress is preparing to convene for the start of a new session, swearing in lawmakers during a tumultuous period as a growing number of Republicans work to overturn Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump and the coronavirus surge imposes limits at the Capitol. Democrat Nancy Pelosi is set Sunday to be reelected as House speaker by her party, which retains the majority in the House but with the slimmest margin in 20 years after a November election wipeout. Opening the Senate could be among Mitch McConnell’s final acts as majority leader. Republican control is in question until Tuesday’s runoff elections for two Senate seats in Georgia. The Capitol itself is a changed place under coronavirus restrictions. Several lawmakers have been sickened by the virus. A memorial was held Saturday for newly elected Republican lawmaker Luke Letlow, 41, of Louisiana, who died of complications from COVID-19 days before the swearing in. The Office of the Attending Physician has issued several lengthy memos warning lawmakers off meeting in groups or holding traditional receptions to prevent the spread of the virus.

In recorded call, Trump pressures Georgia official to change election results (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s top election official to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat in the southern state, according to a recording of the hour-long call released by U.S. media on Sunday. The Saturday call was the latest move in Trump’s two-month effort insisting that his loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election was the result of widespread voter fraud, a claim that has been widely rejected by state and federal election officials as well as multiple courts. Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, came as some of Trump’s allies in the U.S. Congress said they plan to object to the formal certification on Wednesday of Biden’s victory. The former vice president won by a margin of 306-232 in the state-by-state Electoral College, and by more than 7 million votes overall. The Washington Post, which first reported the call, said that Trump alternately flattered, begged and threatened Raffensperger with vague criminal consequences in an attempt to undo his loss. There is a strong case that Trump violated a Georgia law against soliciting election fraud, as well as a similar federal law, according to Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.

Fleeing Lockdown, Americans Are Flocking to Mexico City (NYT) At first, life in lockdown was OK, between working from home, exercising with his roommate and devouring everything on Netflix. But as the coronavirus pandemic wore endlessly on, Rob George began to find the confinement in his West Hollywood home unbearable. So when a Mexican friend said he was traveling to Mexico City in November, George decided to tag along. Now, he’s calling the Mexican capital home—part of an increasing number of foreigners, mainly Americans, who are heading to Mexico, for a short trip or a longer stay to escape restrictions at home. They are drawn partly by the prospect of bringing a little normalcy to their lives in a place where coronavirus restrictions have been more relaxed than at home, even as cases of COVID-19 shatter records. Some of them are staying, at least for a while, and taking advantage of the six-month tourist visa that Americans are granted on arrival. In November, more than half a million Americans came to Mexico—of those, almost 50,000 arrived at Mexico City’s airport, according to official figures. It’s unclear how many are tourists and how many are relocating, at least temporarily. Some may be Mexicans who also have U.S. passports and are visiting family. But walking the streets of Mexico City’s trendier neighborhoods these days, it can sometimes seem like English has become the official language.

Tougher lockdown restriction likely on the way, says UK PM Johnson (Reuters) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that tougher lockdown restrictions were probably on the way as COVID-19 cases keep rising, but that schools were safe and children should continue to attend. Much of England is already under the toughest level of restriction set out in a four-tier system of regional regulations designed to stop the spread of the virus and protect the national healthcare system. But Johnson, asked in a BBC interview about concerns that the system may not be enough to bring the virus back under control, said that restrictions “alas, might be about to get tougher”.

British unhappy with both major parties (The Guardian) The British public are deeply unhappy with the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Brexit negotiations, a damning new poll suggests. The poll predicts that if a general election were held tomorrow neither the Conservatives nor Labour would win an outright majority. Disturbingly for Boris Johnson, the survey says the Conservatives would lose 81 seats, wiping out the 80-seat majority they won in December 2019.

3rd body found after landslide in Norway; 7 still missing (AP) Rescue teams searching for survivors four days after a landslide carried away homes in a Norwegian village found no signs of life Saturday amid the ruined buildings and debris. Three bodies have been recovered but searchers are still looking for seven more people believed to be missing. The landslide in the village of Ask is the worst in modern Norwegian history and has shocked citizens in the Nordic nation.Search teams patrolled with dogs as helicopters and drones with heat-detecting cameras flew amid harsh winter conditions over the ravaged hillside in Ask, a village of 5,000 people 25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of Oslo.

Mafia bosses work on their digital brands (Financial Times) Before his incarceration in 2017, Vincenzo Torcasio, a boss of a clan of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, Italy’s most powerful mafia, spent five years building up a sizable online following. His digital offering provided an unlikely mix of kitsch images of roses and hearts, quotes from the writer Paulo Coelho, and occasional nuggets of grizzled gangster wisdom. For mafia experts, Mr Torcasio’s decision to become a social media influencer is an example of how some Italian mafia bosses, who generally maintain a low public profile to avoid attention from the authorities, have embraced a digital strategy to grow their criminal brands.

In the battle over India’s history, Hindu nationalists square off against a respected historian (Washington Post) Romila Thapar is the preeminent historian of ancient India, an octogenarian feted the world over for her scholarship excavating answers to questions at the heart of the country’s past. She holds honorary doctorates from top universities including Oxford, is the recipient of the Kluge Prize—akin to the Nobel in social sciences—and has lectured at colleges across the world. Those decades of research and accolades have turned her into a prime target. At the age of 89, Thapar is the subject of attacks by supporters of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, who view her as an opponent to be discredited. “In the early days, I used to get a little upset,” she said. Accusations of ignorance about ancient Indian history quickly devolve into “pornographic and sexist” remarks. “But it’s happened so frequently and regularly that it doesn’t distress me anymore,” she said. At stake is India’s sense of self. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pursuing an agenda that emphasizes Hindu primacy in India—a vast, multireligious democracy founded on secular ideals. History is a key part of that vision. For Hindu nationalists, India’s past consists of a glorious Hindu civilization followed by centuries of Muslim rule that Modi has described as a thousand years of “slavery.” Thapar considers such assertions both simplistic and incorrect. Based on extensive research of Sanskrit and Prakrit texts and drawing upon archaeological data, she presents a more complex picture of Indian history. Her research and writings undermines the ruling party’s efforts to project a unified Hindu tradition stretching back thousands of years and to paint Muslim rulers of India as nothing more than invaders or tyrants.

‘Overwhelmed’ Zimbabwe tightens COVID-19 restrictions, orders most businesses closed (Reuters) Zimbabwe extended a nationwide curfew, banned gatherings and ordered non-essential businesses closed for a month on Saturday in an effort to curb a surge in coronavirus infections. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who is also health minister, said some of the tighter restrictions were effective immediately and included a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and a ban on inter-city travel. From Tuesday, non-essential businesses would also be suspended, he said. “People must stay at home save for buying food and medicines or transporting sick relatives,” Chiwenga told a news conference. “Only essential services are to remain open such as hospitals, pharmacies and supermarkets, with only essential staff allowed to come to work,” Chiwenga said, adding such services would have reduced hours and be subject to the night curfew.

[geekcavepodcast]

BOOM! Studios Announces Free Comic Book Releases

BOOM! Studios is releasing FCBD 2020 Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer and FCBD 2020 Lumberjanes: Farewell to Summer as part of Free Comic Book Summer. Both will kick off new events in their respective titles.

FCBD 2020 Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer collects content from Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers #9-12 and the exclusive short from Shattered Grid Deluxe Edition to give the full origin story for the Kimberly Hart from the alternate universe ruled by Lord Drakkon.

FCBD 2020 Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer, with a cover by Dan Mora, releases exclusively to participating comic shops on July 15, 2020.

FCBD 2020 Lumberjanes: Farewell to Summer is special written and illustrated by Aubrey Aiese, Dozerdraws, Maarta Laiho, Casey Nowak, polterink, Sarah Stern, and Brooklyn Allen. The comic will include a preview for The End of Summer, which begins in Lumberjanes #73.

FCBD 2020 Lumberjanes: Farewell to Summer, with a cover by Sarah Stern, releases exclusively to participating comic shops on August 5, 2020. 

(Images via BOOM! Studios)