Cold Ramen: S01E04

Fantasy Battle Match-ups: Zack and Julius vs. Zack and Julius?! is the fourth episode of the Cold Ramen series. It takes place during the third year of The Modern Times.

## Fantasy Battle Match-up: Zack and Julius vs. Zack and Julius?!

### Previous Episode

Fantasy Battle Match-up: Clocko and Julius vs. Cloud and Zack

### Next Episode

Death Battle: Question Box vs. Bill Cosby

## The Episode

Zack was resting in bed. As usual, the mission hade gone off without a hitch. Bane was defeated, his shuttle blown up, and the Earth was saved. All he wanted to do now was rest. He felt particularly exhausted, more so than he usually did from winning.

"Zack?" The hero heard a voice call his name, but he was so tired he didn't want to move a muscle.

"Zack?" The voice called again. This time it was more frantic.

The voice sounded familiar but he couldn't figure out why.

"Zack?!" The voice yelled frantically. Zack realized who was calling him. Julius.

"Go away, Julius. I'm sleeping."

Suddenly, Zack felt his shoulders being squeezed and shaken. But no one was in the room except him.

"ZACK WAKE UP!"

“You heard me, Julius. Go away.”

Zack’s relaxing was interrupted by water splashing his face. Zack shook his head and blinked furiously. His room collapsed around him and transformed into a different setting. Now he was outside, eyes looking up at the night sky. Zack coughed furiously as he leaned on his elbows. “What the hell…”

Julius’ voice returned. “Zack!” Zack turned his head and saw Julius sitting down next to him. The other boy looked relieved. “Thank goodness you’re awake. I was worried you were…” He struggled to say the next word.

“Dead? Implying anything can take me down,” Zack stated, getting up on his feet. “Now where are we? Did we take down Bane’s shuttle?”

“Beats me. As for your other question, I’m still seeing bright flashing lights in my vision, so I’m gonna say yes. I tried using my morpher, but can’t contact anyone.”

Zack examined the sky closely. He couldn’t see any signs of wreckage in space. “Wherever we are, it’s not home.”

“You’re right on that one.”

Zack slowly flexed his muscles. “That’s weird. I feel perfectly fine and not like I just fell from space and landed on Earth.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too when I got up.”

“Something’s wrong here, and I’m gonna figure it out,” Zack walked away from Julius and scanned his surroundings.

“You mean *we* are gonna figure it out. Last time I checked, we’re both—“Julius noticed Zack had already walked off. “H-hey, wait up!” The teen quickly got up and jogged after him to catch up. Zack had stopped in his tracks a few feet away. His focus was on two people up ahead. Julius stopped next to him.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Julius asked. Zack said nothing and continued to stare. The other boy looked at what Zack was so focused on and he was speechless. Standing a few feet away from him were Julius and Zack.

15 Minutes Earlier…

Zack and Julius were out walking in Fowler City. Julius was briskly speedwalking and Zack lagged behind a little.

"What did you want to show me, again?" He asked.

Julius began to explain. “So I’m walking home from a long day at Golden Palace when I notice that there were two bright flashing lights hovering over the park. One was red and the other was green. As I start heading in the direction of the lights, I swear I saw two things fall out of them. Then they disappeared! What do you think it’s gonna be? Another bad guy we gotta take down?"

Zack looked up at the night sky. “Hopefully nothing. Bane alone is enough danger for me.”

“Bah, you’re no fun.” The two made their way to the entrance of the park. “The light appeared near the pond," Julius recalled. The two entered and followed the path that lead to the pond.

"I don't know, Julius..." Zack said, taking another crack at Julius' question. "How about a…friendly alien? It would be nice to meet someone who doesn’t want to kill us on the spot.”

"Now that would be nice,” Julius admitted, smiling.

The two were just about to arrive at the pond when Julius stopped in his tracks. “Of course we’re not home, we’re at the park.”

“What’re you talking about, Julius?”

“You just said that wherever we are, it isn’t home.”

“I haven’t said anything,” Zack replied. What he heard next stopped him in his tracks as well.

“That’s weird. I feel perfectly fine and not like I just fell from space and landed on Earth,” Someone said in Zack’s voice.

“That…wasn’t you,” Julius said, surprised.

“No, it wasn’t,” Zack replied, just as surprised.

“Yeah, I noticed that too when I got up,” Julius heard his voice say.

Zack turned to Julius. “Was that…”

“Nope, wasn’t me.”

Zack became dead serious. Both Zacks spoke at the same time. “Something’s wrong here, and I’m gonna figure it out.” Zack walked away from Julius and scanned his surroundings. As he did, he came into contact with a split image of himself. It looked exactly like him, but he wore green body armor. Julius walked beside Zack and saw the other Zack. He looked at his Zack, then the other.

“…Oh, no…”

As the three stared at each other, the teenaged Julius caught up with his Zack. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

He made eye contact with the other Julius and now all four were staring at each other. “This is…weird.”

His Zack crossed his arms and examined them. “Weird is only half of it. These posers look exactly like us! It’s degrading!”

Julius stamped his foot. “*We* look like you?! *You* look like us!”

“He might have a point, Zack. They look like they’re older than us,” Ranger Julius noted.

“Yeah. Uglier, too.”

Julius pointed at Ranger Zack. “Listen here you little sh—“

“Alright, you two, calm down.” Older Zack said. “Let’s calm down for a second and try to figure out what’s going on.” He pointed at himself. “I’m Zack and this is Julius.”

Ranger Julius stepped forward. “Same here. I’m Julius and that’s Zack. Where are we?”

“Fowler City, Earth,” Zack answered.

“Ah. I bet this is one of those alternate realities the scientists back at SPD base are always talking about.” Ranger Zack pondered.

“SPD?” Zack queried.

Julius stroked his chin. “Where have I heard that from before…?”

Ranger Julius nodded. “Space Patrol Delta. Zack and I are part of a team of heroes who fight against evil back on our Earth.”

“Hey, wait a minute! Space Patrol Delta? Those costumes of yours? You’re power rangers!” Julius deduced.

Ranger Zack crossed his arms and smirked. “What do you know, Julius? We’re famous even outside of our universe!”

Julius began to laugh. “Hahaha! I loved that show when I was a kid!”

“…Show?” The Green Ranger asked, confused.

Julius took out his phone and began to type in it. He then showed it to them. On screen, the theme song played.

“On this Earth, your entire existence is just a kid’s show!” He laughed some more and pointed at Ranger Zack. “So what, were you two out trick-or-treating when you got swept up Wizard of Oz style?”

Ranger Zack morphed into his full Knight Armor and materialized his sword in front of him. The blade was pointed at Julius. He looked at the sword, surprised. It was Ranger Zack’s turn to laugh. “Well here’s the real deal.”

Ranger Julius looked uneasily at his teammate. “Calm down, Zack.”

Zack took a step forward. “Yeah, just take it easy…me.”

Ranger Zack laughed. “This is just great, Julius. Our first look at an alternate reality and our alternate selves are just civilians.”

Julius began laughing again, even more this time. “Oh…oh, you think we’re normal?” He turned to his Zack. “He thinks we’re normal!”

“Julius, take it easy.”

“I know, Zack. Don’t worry.” Julius looked at Ranger Julius. “Hey, me, I gotta ask you something. On your Earth, can anyone do this?” He raised his right hand up and ice began to form on it, creating a claw. A grin was plastered on his face. “You think I’m scared of your stupid sword?”

“You should be.”

Ranger Julius gasped as he watched the other him power up. “Let’s chill out here. Looks like the other me...seems to have that taken care of already…”

Julius pointed his iced up arm at Ranger Zack. “How’s that sword gonna stop a freakin’ blizzard?”

“I’ll slice off your arm before that happens.”

Zack quickly leapt in front of Julius. “Julius, cut it out. Now.” He said the last part fiercely.

“But he started it!”

“I don’t care." He turned his head to the other Julius. “Get your Zack…me…whatever to put his sword away.”

“Zack, quit it. They might be our best chance of getting home.”

Zack lowered his sword and it vanished in a flash of light. The air was thick with tension.

Ranger Julius broke the silence and nervously smiled. “So, how about you guys show us around?”

The group were now walking casually around the park. The rangers were now in civilian clothes instead of their armor.

“So we both fight against evil and we both have a Bane?” Ranger Julius asked.

“Yeah. He kidnapped a…friend of ours and we’ve been trying to get her back.” Zack said.

“Our Bane lives in space and wants to enslave all humanity,” Ranger Zack explained, almost braggingly.

“Lucky,” Julius said. “Couldn’t help but notice that the other me is the red ranger. According to the chain of command, that means I’m the leader! Take notes, Zack.”

Zack glanced at the other Julius. “I assumed that the other me was the leader.”

Ranger Julius scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I got promoted a month ago. Still getting use to the whole leader thing.”

Unbeknownst to the heroes, three figures stood behind a tree, watching their interaction. From the shadows, Bane emerged. Standing next him were his two henchmen, Chan and Hoji. And he was not pleased.

"What?" Bane began, narrowing his eyes. "Two Zacks, and two Julius? This wasn't how it was supposed to go."

"Something's missing, other me...that's it! You don't have that signature Julius Vladmire machismo about you!"

"...Julius Vladmire what?"

"I'm working on the name. Basically, you need to walk around like you're the greatest person to ever exist. Mostly because you are!"

"Really?"

Zack watched the exchange between the two Julius. “Who else is on your team?”

“Well, there’s Julius and I for starters. Then there’s Cloud.”

“You guys have a Cloud, too?” Julius asked.

“Yeah. Hyper all the time and loves videogames.”

Zack and Julius looked at each other. Looks like some things didn’t change. “Anyone else in the group?”

“The last person is Popple. Know her?”

Julius looked confused. “Popple? No idea who she is.”

Ranger Zack and Julius looked surprised. “Really? Now that’s a big difference.”

“How so?”

“She’s been one of our best friends since childhood,” Zack explained, then pointed to Ranger Julius. “Plus, she’s Julius’ girlfriend.”

The other Julius laughed. “Girlfriend? H-ha! Lame. Around here, I got girlfriends!”

Zack glanced at him. “He’s single.”

His Julius elbowed him in the ribs. "Zack, shhhh! You're making me look bad in front of me!" Ranger Zack and Julius were laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, the Green Ranger noticed a familiar black object hurtling towards the group. "Everybody, move!"

The others paused their interactions and saw what Zack saw. They scattered in different directions just in time to avoid getting hit.

Ranger Zack recovered first. His teammate got up next to him. "What was that?"

"Not sure, but don't you think it was eerily familiar, Julius?"

"Can't say, I was busy trying to dodge it."

"...Typical."

Julius stomped his foot and pointed at Zack. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

As the two bickered, Zack got to his feet and extended a hand for Julius, who accepted the help. "Thanks, Zack."

"No problem. I think a certain someone's here to ruin our night walk."

"Now this is peculiar."

Everyone turned to a tree next to them, where Bane emerged from the shadow.

"Bane!" They all exclaimed, each getting into their battle ready stances.

"Come on, man! Can't you see we have guests?!" Julius stated, pointing at the other Zack and Julius.

"Of course, why wouldn't I. I'm the one who brought them here in the first place."

Zack, Julius, and Ranger Julius gasped, but Ranger Zack rolled his eyes and smirked. "What, you got tired of getting your ass kicked by these guys that you wanted a change of pace?"

Bane stared at him intently. "Peculiar indeed. I don't think I've ever heard Zack curse before."

"Why did you bring us here?" Ranger Julius asked.

Bane began pacing. "I was expecting to be greeted with my alternate self, but it seems that you two stumbled into my world instead. It's strange, I executed the spell perfectly, exactly where I saw him in the vision. He lives in space..."

Ranger Zack watched Bane, a confused expression growing on his face. "You can't be Bane, you're way too calm."

Ranger Julius piped up. "Oh! Hey Zack, think this might have something to do with us blowing up Bane's ship?"

His teammate pondered this. "Could be. Or maybe this Bane trades anger issues for being incompetent."

Bane pointed at them. "That must be it then. It seems my counterpart isn't as strong as I think he is."

"Julius, he's completely ignoring me," Ranger Zack said to the Red Ranger. "Hey, poindexter! We're over here!"

Bane sighed lightly, his thoughts interrupted. "Unfortunately," He said, turning back to the heroes.

"Bane, of all the crazy things you've done, trying to kill us, travelling to Japan to kidnap people who'll try to kill us, this is the craziest!"

"How about you just admit to your mistake and bring us back home, huh?" Ranger Julius appealed.

Bane looked the heroes from another dimension up and down. "Your arrival could still be beneficial to me. For one, that armor of yours must be strong if it can withstand the vacuum of space."

"Sorry, Lame Bane, not for sale," Ranger Zack stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not interested in buying them," He retorted.

"Are you sure this is a fight you want to pick, Bane?" Zack inquired. "There are four of us, and one of you."

From behind the same tree Bane exited from, Chan and Hoji emerged. They both wore black jackets, black jeans, and brown work boots.

"Make that three," Bane corrected. His underlings stared at the four, cracking their knuckles.

"Chan, Hoji. You guys look well," Julius greeted them jokingly. "How're you two doing after the assbeating we gave you?"

"Is it just me, or are Chan and Hoji severely underarmored?" Ranger Julius pointed out.

"Yeah, geez, Bane. Dumb, dull, *and* too broke to properly outfit your cronies? Not a good look," The younger Zack reviewed.

"Now, let's see what you two can do," Bane said, pointing at the newcomers. Chan and Hoji summoned their crystals and started advancing on Ranger Zack and Julius.

"Be careful you two, these guys are a different Chan and Hoji compared to what you're used to," Zack advised.

"You're telling me. Compared to ours, your Chan and Hoji are practically naked!"

The two henchmen lunged at their opponents, starting the engagement. Chan swiped at Julius and Hoji charged at Zack. Meanwhile, the older Zack and Julius were left alone with Bane.

"Just another day in the life, huh, Zack?" Julius quipped. His hands began to glow a bright blue color.

"Yup," Zack replied simply, his own four crystals appearing above his head.

Ranger Julius blocked Chan's strike and countered with a straight punch, send him spinning backwards. The henchman quickly recovered and pointed at him, directing a crystal to fly at him. He ducked under the projectile and raised his hands in the air. He froze and looked up at them. *Uh…blasters? That’s your cue to appear in my hands!* His mind raced to find an answer. *Wait…did I leave them in space?! Aw, come on!* Chan took the opportunity to step forward and land a gut punch. Julius gasped sharply.

"Focus, Julius! This should be easy work!" Zack said. He was currently avoiding Hoji's wide swings. His crystals were held in his hands with a reverse grip, being used like daggers. *Alright, Hoji is the aggressive one, so all I need to do is wait for my opening.*

"I forgot my blasters in space!" Julius complained, still recovering from Chan's hit. He stepped to the side to avoid another one of his's punches. "Y'know, when I blasted a hole through Bane's shuttle to escape and save the Earth?" Chan summoned two more crystals and sent them low, towards his knees. He leapt to avoid the attack and landed behind Chan. When the henchman turned around, he was greeted with a swift roundhouse kick.

"Sloppy Julius, very sloppy. I expected better from our team leader." Ranger Zack said, watching as Hoji lost his patience and changed to a regular grip. He rushed forward and thrust his right arm at Zack to stab him. Zack, exactly as he anticipated, ducked under the stab and unleashed a volley of rapid fire punches to his stomach.

"I feel like you just do this to harrass me," Julius acknowledged, watching the currently downed Chan carefully.

"Yeah, I do it because I care," Zack admitted, hitting Hoji in the face with his elbow, then summoning his own blaster in his hand. He aimed it at Hoji's chest, but had second thoughts and fired at his foot. Hoji yelled in pain and hopped on one foot. Zack laughed to himself, reminiscing about the time he did the same to the Chan in his dimension. He then bent his knees in preparation, then rose up to deliver an uppercut that knocked Hoji to the ground, out for the count.

On Julius' side, Chan began to slowly get to his knees. All three of the crystals he had summoned returned to float above him and began circling each other. As they picked up speed, Julius took a step back, concerned. "Zack, toss me your blaster!"

He turned to see Julius and Chan's fight, watching as the crystals continued to pick up speed. "Fine, but you owe me a soda when we get back," He stated, throwing it. It sailed through the air and landed in Julius' outstretched hand. He quickly fired it at Chan's chest, the force of the impact sending the henchman to the ground. The crystals immediately stopped moving mid-air and fell to the ground. He clutched where he had been hit, writhing in pain.

"Geez, these guys hardly put up a fight. And not a word from either one the entire time!" Zack commented, walking to his teammate's side.

"Do you need to talk smack every time we get into a fight?" Julius responded, handing Zack back his blaster.

"Hell yeah, not only does it get in their heads, but it's also fun! You should try it sometime."

Next to Julius, Chan was trying to get up. Julius noticed this and bent down. "Alright, well, how about...oh!" He grabbed Chan by his hoodie. "You didn't stand...a *chans* against me!" He turned to Zack for approval. Zack tilted his hand up and down in a so-so sign sign. "Eh, joke was good but the deliver could use some work."

"Fair, we all have to start somewhere," Julius agreed, raising his fist and bringing it down on Chan's face, knocking him out. "Now, how are the other versions of us doing?"

"AHH CRAP!"

Ranger Zack and Julius instantly recognized the voice of the other Julius. Not too far away from them, the other Julius had just been hit by a shadow ball and was sent flying into a tree. He hit the base of it and fell to the ground, defeated.

Behind him, Zack was getting up from the ground after taking some attacks of his own. He attempted a sneak attack with his crystals, but Bane turned around and punched him in the face, sending him back down.

"Two heroes defeated."

"And now you have two more!" Ranger Zack hollered.

Bane turned around and saw Zack and Julius running towards him. "So, you defeated Chan and Hoji. Impressive, very impressive."

"Yeah, thanks, creepy bad guy, I really needed the ego boost," Zack replied, cracking his knuckles. "Last chance to send us back home without a black eye!"

"I'm afraid not. I still have one more technique in store. And I must admit, this one will be very entertaining for all parties involved."

A shadow aura began to appear around Bane and his shadow stretched out from under him and towards Zack and Julius. Once it reached theirs, the shadow lifted upwards, forming a demonic face before fading away.

"What did we just witness?" Ranger Julius asked.

Zack shrugged. "I don't know, but since Bane doesn't want to take any initiative..." He summoned his blaster again and aimed at Bane. But suddenly, something fast flew through the air and knocked his blaster out of his hand. Ranger Zack looked around intently, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Zack and Julius, allow me to introduce you two to my newest helpers.."

The older Zack and Julius got up from where they were and walked to Bane's side. "...Zack and Julius."

The rangers' helmets masked their shock. Finally, Ranger Zack managed to say something. "...Ah, shit."

"Me?" Ranger Julius said softly. "Come on, me, snap out of it!"

Julius blankly looked at his counterpart, silent. Both his and Zack's eyes were glowing bright red.

"If I had to put money on this, I'd say that if we hit Bane hard enough, they'll break free!" Ranger Zack hypothesized, running towards Bane.

"If only if it were that easy," Bane said, amused. "Zack, Julius, attack."

As Ranger Zack got closer to Bane and raised his fist, Julius fired an ice beam at the ground, creating a wall of ice that blocked his path. Bane's form grew darker and shrank into that of a shadow, which entered Zack's and disappeared from sight. Ranger Julius ran to his teammate's side, just as the mind controlled Zack and Julius ran around the ice wall.

"Slow your roll, amigos? Where's the rush!" The possessed Julius exclaimed in a distorted voice. Two blue glowing orbs appeared in his hands and he threw them at the heroes. Ranger Zack and Julius jumped back to avoid them and a spiked mass of ice formed on the ground where they just stood.

"So, who do you want?" Ranger Julius asked. "Do we do a mirror match? Or do we just fight each other?"

Zack pointed at his older self. "I definitely want to see what other me can do." In a flash of light, his sword appeared in the hand he was using to point.

"Woah, Zack, what're you gonna do with that?!" Ranger Julius exclaimed.

"Relax, Julius. I'm not gonna kill them," Zack reassured him. "But I would be lying if I said this wouldn't hurt a lot."

The possessed Julius tossed two more ice projectiles. Ranger Julius backflipped to dodge the first and lunged to the right to avoid the other. Julius charged at him and released a right hook. His counterpart raised his left arm and blocked the strike. Using his free hand, he hit him with an open palm strike to his chin, sending him staggering back. He followed up by punching him two times to the ribs before finishing with a left hook to the face.

Julius clutched where he had been hit in the face. “Ooh..you really know how to deal ‘em! I didn’t expect anything less from myself!” He stretched his right palm out at Ranger Julius. Right before an ice attack could come out, Ranger Julius grabbed his right arm with his right hand and raised it over his head, causing the attack to fire into the air. Pulling his left fist back, Julius soon felt a searing pain as he took a punch straight to the stomach. Ranger Julius turned around, brought his mind-controlled self's arm back down, and performed a one armed shoulder judo throw. Julius was flipped onto the ground and groaned in pain.

“Ready to give up?” Ranger Julius queried, still holding Julius’ arm and bringing his own fist close to his face. “Don’t make me hurt me…you more, mostly for my sake. Geez, this is freaky…”

“I don’t give up that easily!” Julius answered, reaching his other hand behind him and blasted Ranger Julius’ leg with an ice blast. He yelped and jumped back, quickly looking over the leg. Julius got up, flexing the arm that was used to flip him over.

“Alright, now you're gonna get it!”

Meanwhile, the two Zacks were circling each other, waiting for the other to make a move.. Zack had four of his crystals summoned and they floated over his head.

“So Julius gets to shoot ice, and all you can do is make rocks float?” Ranger Zack taunted.

Zack remained silent and directed one of his crystals at Ranger Zack. As he bent his knees in anticipation to block them, they flew past him. Zack stepped forward and threw a straight punch, but the other Zack stepped back and avoided it. Before he could counterattack, however, he felt a stinging pain in his lower back. Zack took the opportunity to raise his leg up and kick the ranger in the chest. He stumbled back, rubbing where he had been hit. In front of him, the crystal Zack had initially sent at him returned.

“Alright,” Ranger Zack said as he straightened up. “That’s not happening again.” Raising his hand, his blaster materialized in his left hand and he started firing shots at Zack. His crystals clustered together in front of him, shielding him.

*Gonna need some way to get rid of those crystals,* he thought to himself. Looking above Zack, he noticed that his opponent was standing under a tree. Aiming upwards, he fired at the tree’s branches, breaking them off and sending them showering down on Zack. The hero grunted as he was pelted from above and his crystals’ formation faltered, allowing for the Green Ranger to fire on him uninterrupted. A shot to the shoulder caused Zack to cry out in pain and grab said shoulder. Ranger Zack dismissed his blaster and rushed in, hitting his lookalike with the hilt of his sword. As the strike sent him reeling backwards, Ranger Zack grabbed him by his collar and yanked him back and shoving the crystal wielder behind him. As he passed back, he swung and kicked him in the rear. Stumbling on the ground, Zack let out a groan.

In front of him, Julius was on the receiving end of a series of punches, the final one causing him to sprawl into the middle of the field where Zack was. Ranger Zack and Julius, on opposite sides of the field, began walking towards their opponents.

"Whoo! We are dominating you two!" Ranger Zack announced confidently. He swung his sword in a carefree manner.

Julius and Zack slowly got to their knees, seemingly feeling the damage they sustained. However, quick as a whip, they switched sides and began attacking the other's opponent. Zack ran towards Ranger Julius, his crystals at the ready.  Julius fired an ice beam at the ground and moved his hand forward, creating a frozen path. He hopped on the path and began sliding to the right, moving his beam on Ranger Zack to cover his approach. The Green Ranger narrowly avoided the ice attack by dodge rolling on the ground and ducking behind a tree. His hand crept from behind his cover to quickly let off some shots, prompting Julius himself to duck behind a tree as well.

He stepped from behind the tree and released an ice beam again, this time focusing on the tree Ranger Zack was behind.

“Hope that suit of yours is insulated…” Julius joked, continuing to approach the tree. If he was behind it, he would be frozen stiff by now. However, when he looked behind the tree, there was nobody to be found.

Julius was absolutely perplexed. “Where’d he go…?”

“Up here.”

Julius looked up just in time to see Zack, among the branches of the tree, drop down directly on top of him. Dazed and pinned down by the ranger, Julius watched as he aimed the blaster at him. Julius reached up and grabbed Zack’s hand and moved it to the left of his body, causing the bolt of energy fired to hit the ground. Zack raised his left arm to punch Julius, who caught in his own. Julius maintained control and kept both arms at bay. As he did, his own started glowing. Ranger Zack suddenly felt an excruciatingly cold feeling in his arms. Ice was growing on them.

“Ha! What’s your plan now, genius?” He goaded.

To his surprise, the Green Ranger raised his helmet-protected head up and brought it down on Julius’ head, causing his grip on his arms to loosen. Raising his head again, Zack headbutted Julius once more and Julius let go. He rolled off of Julius and hit his forearms on one another to break off the ice. As Julius tried to get up, Zack turned around and clocked in the face with a right swing. Julius fell back to the ground, defeated. Ranger Zack turned back to his possessed counterpart and Julius. The two furiously exchanged and blocked each other's blows.

"You're still fighting me, Julius?" He asked, moving towards them.

Ranger Julius threw a punch, but Zack's blocked it with his forearm and threw his own, which Julius also blocked. "Taking down this version of you is harder than you think!"

While the two pushed at each other with their forearms, Zack glanced to the side and saw the younger version of himself. He swept his leg low and knocked Julius to the ground, then jumped back. From out of his shadow, Bane returned.

"You two are far stronger than I anticipated," He noted.

"And you're just as crappy as I expected," Zack responded. "This has been a lot of fun, but I think it's time for you to bring us back home."

Bane put his hand on the Zack under his control's shoulder. "I have a better idea." Both Bane and Zack's bodies formed a black aura around them and Bane melted into a shadow once more. This time, he entered Zack's body. Zack grasped his head and closed his eyes, groaning.

Ranger Julius got up and watched him. "What's he doing?"

"Giving us a free shot." Ranger Zack summoned his blaster and pointed it at him. Suddenly, his blaster was knocked out of his hand. Before he could react, he was knocked to the ground.

"What the hell?!" He clutched his upper arm and exhaled sharply.

An array of bright green crystals swarmed around the mind controlled Zack, and more began to gather around him by the second. Ranger Julius ran to his Zack's side and helped him up.

The possessed Zack let go of his head and stood upright, examining his hands and legs, as if using them for the first time.

"Alright, now let's see what happens when *I'm* in the driver's seat," He said, looking back up at the other Zack and Julius.

"Wait...Bane?!"

"Yes. This power..." 'Zack' mused, clenched and unclenched his fists. His voice sounding like Zack and Bane talking at the same time. The crystals continued to float over his head. At the moment, he had almost 30 summoned.

"And now, it's time for you to die." Zack pointed at them and one by one, the crystals began flying through the air at them.

The Rangers retreated backwards in their attempt to avoid the crystals. Zack summoned his sword and began blocking them as they got near. Julius ducked and dived to avoid getting hit. Dodged and deflected crystals periodically flew off the ground and back towards their targets. As the onslaught continued, the crystals began to increase in speed. While dodging one by jumping over it, Julius set himself up to take a hit on the shoulder. Zack took a crystal to the knee and fell on the other, but kept on swinging to block more of them.

"What's wrong, Bane? All you can do is throw pebbles at us?" Zack quipped. "They're doing as much as you were slinking in the shadows!"

For a brief second, the next few crystals that flew the heroes' way were slightly off target. They narrowly missed them and fell to the ground.

"We can't keep this up forever, Zack!" Ranger Julius yelled. He arched his back and watched a crystal shoot past above him.

Zack blocked a crystal and got back on his feet. "Any idea how?"

Julius looked around the field frantically for some semblance of an idea. He turned to Zack and his sword. "...Alright, something coming together! Let's split up and attack from two different angles!"

"Alright, I'll attack from the right and you go to the left!" The heroes split up and ran in their designated directions. As Julius sprinted as fast as he could, he glanced behind himself and saw Zack, still struggling with the hit to the knee he sustained, moving noticeably slower.

"Zack!" Julius panicked. He needed to get the attention off him, and fast! *Come on, Julius, think!* His mind flashed back to a conversation he had with Zack. *Do you need to talk smack every time we get into a fight? Hell yeah, not only does it get in their heads, but it's also fun! You should try it sometime...*

Without thinking, Julius took a deep breath and began to speak. "Hey, Bane! You're pretty...dumb!" His taunt went ignored as he continued to avoid crystals. The frequency had become fast enough that he had to stop moving towards Bane and avoid the crystals in place.

"I bet it'll be embarrassing having to go back into your own body, Zack's looks a lot better than yours!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Julius cringed. Even he knew how bad that one was. He needed to cut Bane's focus, and his usual wimpy insults wouldn't cut it. Julius tried to get into his opponent's shoes. *I'm Bane...I'm a bad dude who wants to take over the world. I am the smartest person I know...Wait, vanity! That's it!*

"So, Bane," Julius started. "What's your story in this dimension?"

Silence from Bane.

"C'mon, why don't you humor me? I'm gonna die anyway!"

This solicited a response from the villain. "Hmph. In this world, you two grew up around me, until my...awakening a few months ago."

"...That's all?" Julius replied. "That's your story? You just magically woke up one day and decided to go crazy? Well, let me tell you about my Bane! For one, he'd *never* work with you!

Once more, crystals were off focus and slowed down slightly. But as fast as it happened, the speed and accuracy went back to normal. "Who I associate with is the least of your concerns."

A stray crystal struck Zack in the left arm, where he had been hit earlier and he cried out in anguish dropping his sword to the ground. The crystals began pummeling him, as he had become a stationary target.

"Zack!" Julius shouted before shaking his head, returning his focus back to Bane, his priority.

"Well, our Bane is a ruthless conqueror. He was dangerously close to destroying Earth until we stopped him. What's your greatest achievement, finding a date for prom?"

The crystals began moving in erratic directions. Julius took the chance to continue going after Bane. A quick look to his side showed him that Zack was also taking the opportunity to recover.

"When he sees you, who's so weak he has to get inside of his arch enemy's body to win, you think he'll want to work with you? He's gonna *destroy* you, Bane. You and your Chan and Hoji, who could use some better training. Forget that, a better master!"

The crystals were really starting to feel the effects of Julius' taunting. They began slowing down to the point that a hit from them was only a mild pain. Zack grabbed his sword off the ground and managed to start moving again, blocking crystals as he went.

"You're an embarrassment to every other Bane out there! You're probably trying you're best, but at the end of the day, you're on the bottom rung."

Julius was getting close enough that he could see the possessed Zack's face. His eyes were closed and it looked strained. Behind him, Zack was picking up speed, as the crystals' damage was comparable to hail.

"What do you have to say to that?" Julius finished.

His eyes opened and the intense red color they had taken when Bane gained control of him intensified. Julius deactivated his own helmet and gave him his best smirk. Bane gritted his teeth in fury and stretched his arms out. Every crystal active gathered around Julius, ready to bury him.

"Enough! I'm killing you, then the other Zack."

"Speaking of which," Julius shrugged innocently. "Where is he?

Bane's eyes widened and he turned around to see Zack coming at him full speed with his sword. Some of the crystals that were trained on Julius flew back to Bane and began targeting Zack. Now that Bane was completely preoccupied with keeping Zack at bay, Julius advancing on him once more. He picked up as much speed as he could and raised his right fist up. "Bane! I think this belongs to you!"

He turned around and was met with a fully charged punch from Julius. The instant he struck him, every crystals that was in the air fell to the ground and in a small flash of green light, disappeared. Bane hurtled to the ground from the blow, defeated. Julius stood over him, thoroughly exhausted.

"That's two Banes in a day, man," He heard Zack say from behind him. He turned around and saw his teammate, looking just as tired as he was. "Nice work, you trash talking genius!"

He extended his fist and Julius bumped it. "Thanks, Zack."

"What happened here?"

Ranger Zack and Julius turned around to see Julius limping towards them. "My entire body is killing me..."

The rangers looked at each other. Finally, Julius spoke up. "Yeah...that's a long story. Bane took control of you and Zack's bodies and we had to beat the evil out of you."

The other Julius groaned. "Alright, gonna pretend I got that."

Soon, Zack came to as well. He rubbed his head where he had been hit. "Where's...Bane?"

"That's a question even longer and more complicated than the last."

From Zack's shadow, Bane returned. His face was strained. "How..how could this be?!"

"Looks like you couldn't handle all of this Julius!" Julius announced triumphantly, putting his arm around Ranger Julius' shoulder.

"It's time to give you that black eye I promised, pal!" Ranger Zack stated giddily, cracking his knuckles.

The four heroes began advancing on Bane. There was no way he could take them all on, the odds weren't in his favor. Knowing what he had to do,

"...Tch. You may have won today, but it won't be promised the next time we fight," Bane said. He pointed to the his right and a black portal appeared. Everybody stopped walking towards Bane to get a look at it. "Consider this a parting gift."

"Parting gift? You're not going anywhere!" Ranger Zack responded. He leapt forward with his sword, but Bane was already creating another portal behind himself. Just as Zack swung down, Bane fully entered it and it disappeared before the heroes' eyes. "And there goes what could have been the highlight of this trip."

"It wasn't meeting up with our alternate selves in another dimension?" Ranger Julius asked.

The ranger mulled over his teammate's comment and looked at the other Zack and Julius. "Maybe you're right, Julius."

Everyone began walking towards the portal. "We should do this again sometime," Julius suggested. "Minus all the, y'know, mind control and crap. We can go out for burgers at Golden Palace or something, my treat."

"Yeah, well, we'll be sure to let you guys know when we figure out a way to travel across dimensions," Ranger Julius said.

The portal whirled and whooshed as the four stood in front of it. The time to leave the dimension had come.

"Take it easy, older me! And sorry for roughing you up so hard!" Ranger Julius apologized.

Julius gave a small smile. "Eh, don't--"

"...beat yourself up over it?" The other Julius finished. The two laughed at the joke and Julius put his arm around Ranger Julius. "There's the Julius Vladmire machismo!" The Zacks watched the exchange before turning to each other.

"So, uh...this is goodbye," Zack began. He extended his hand to Ranger Zack. "Thanks for the help back there."

The other Zack shook his hand. "No problem, other me. Sucks that I have to get back to my world, would've enjoyed hunting your Bane down together."

After saying goodbye, Zack and Julius stepped back, waving to the rangers.

"Goodbye, Fowler CIty. Hello Belview!" Ranger Julius announced, giving his counterparts one last wave before walking through the portal and disappearing. Ranger Zack crossed his arms and looked at them.

"Hey, other Julius! You're alright!"

Julius smiled. "You're just saying that because you beat me up, aren't you!"

Ranger Zack put his hand to his chin and took a second to respond. "Eh...yeah." He gave a two finger salute to Zack and Julius before walking through the portal, which blinked out shortly after. Once more, Zack and Julius were one of a kind. The two looked at each other before beginning the walk home.

"Y'know, you should be more like that Zack," Julius stated as they walked. "Cracking jokes, popping out one-liners, et cetera."

Zack shrugged. "Alright, maybe I will! Hm..." He tapped his chin, thinking of a quip. "So, Julius, when are we gonna meet your Popple? The other you has a girlfriend, what's taking you so long?"

Julius gulped and scratched the back of his head. "Hey...yeah...uh..."

Zack was cracking himself up as he watched Julius' loss for words. Julius rubbed his forehead. "Alright, alright, you can go back to normal, geez!"

...

In another dimension, Julius woke up in a bed. Side by side with him, in another bed, was Zack. Cloud was staring down at them, worried. Commander Roy was looking at something else.

"Hey...guys, look! I think Julius is waking up!"