No Second Chances

Billy was never prone to anger or frustration before, but now pessimistic thoughts seemed to be a constant presence in his mind. It was his fault that Trini died. It should have been him. He had no family, no child… Trini had everything to live for, unlike him.
He banged his fists on the consoles.
It was all his fault.
Ever since Zedd's resurrection by a necromancer, he had been plagued by thoughts that if the evil energies of Zedd could be revived, there might be a chance to do the same for the good energies dispersed in the Z wave.
However, Zedd had not been idle. While he was not an expert in necromancy like Reaghoul, he was proficient enough to summon Rita's dark spirit in the mortal plane though he was unable to restore her physical body. His new ally, Scrozzle was able to construct a robotic vessel for her and the evil couple was reunited.
Sensing Billy's attempt to revive Zordon, she hijacked the signal and broke into the Command Center, attacking the blue ranger and his ally. Though he was able to lure her out into the open and enlist help from his team, they were no match for her evil powers, which were no longer inhibited by her god half and Trini paid the price for his actions.
"It is not your fault, Billy." Alpha 5 reassured him.
"I drew her back to Earth." He stated grimly.
"No. My memory banks have extensive information on Rita Repulsa. She would have come for all of you either way." The robot told him. "This is not your fault."
Billy didn't reply but gave a disbelieving nod before teleporting away.
"Aie aie aie…" The robot muttered, turning towards the empty plasma tube in the center of the hall. "Look after them, Zordon."
----Billy teleported into his secret lab, underneath his house. It was a place where he designed prototypes for non-ranger related innovations. Lately, it had turned into something else.
The monitors showed data he had covertly downloaded from the servers from Silver Guardians as well as SPD, everything they knew about time travel. Owing to the Time Force team, he knew time travel was possible and so was changing the timelines and he knew he would never forgive himself if he didn't try.
From what he gathered, it would not be difficult to generate a time portal, especially with help of grid technology. The grid was a pathway into the past, present, future as well as alternate realities.
When he succeeded in going back, he would be ready for Rita, put traps in the Command Center that would neutralize her energies the moment she teleported inside the premises and Trini wouldn't need to sacrifice herself for him.
He would rewrite the timeline and Trini would be alive, with Minh and they would all be safe.
His calculations were accurate and with a few adjustments to the transportal device, he would be able to go back and stop himself from making the biggest mistake of his life.
"You can't." A sad yet familiar voice said from behind him and he turned around warily to see a man in a white jumpsuit with a silver triangle medallion on his chest teleport in front of him.
"Wes?" Billy squinted. Though he met the red time force ranger only a couple of times, he had been sure he had blond hair instead of brown.
"No. I am Director Alex Drake of Time Force and I am here to stop you from making a big mistake." He said curtly. "Trini Kwan's death is a fixed point in time. You cannot change it without causing unparalleled damage to the timelines."
"What do you mean? Her death was a mistake." Billy stressed. "She didn't need to die and I will be doing the world a favor by destroying Rita before she murdered her."
"You do not get it, Mr Cranston." Alex rubbed his forehead. "Her death at the hands of Rita was always meant to happen. To reverse it would mean destabilizing not only our timeline but the grid itself. It will lead to another Shattered Grid."
"I am afraid I do not follow. What do you mean by a Shattered Grid?"
"In another universe very similar to own, a evil overlord killed Tommy Oliver in his early days as the green ranger, sending ripples through out time and fracturing time and space into pocket dimensions. The disruption almost wiped out the multiverse." He told.
"But I am saving her-"
"It will be an anomaly, just the same." Alex repeated. "I know it's hard to accept but Trini Kwan was always meant to die when she did. She didn't deserve to, obviously but it is what it is."
"So, I just give up?" Billy asked helplessly.
"There is no saving her. To do so would mean dooming this universe." He said sadly.
"What happens now?" He asked.
"I think you know the answer to that, Mr Cranston. Mourning is not easy but it is essential to carry on living. I am truly sorry." Alex stated before pressing a button on his wrist watch and a purple portal appeared behind him. "Farewell, Mr Cranston. May the Power protect you."
Billy threw the transportal device to the floor as he fell to his knees, crying. Alex was right. He couldn't save Trini, not if it meant dooming the entire universe, including Minh. It was not something she would have wanted.
The only thing he could do was ensure something like this never happened to anyone else. He may not be able to change the past but the future was still in his hands.