Power Rangers GPX

""GPX, Start it up!""

Written by BigD1987, Power Rangers GPX is an original Power Rangers fic described as "Power Rangers on Power Metal and infused with realism, some slight parody and Lampshade Hanging, with some Gurren Lagann added to the mix. And Sailor Moon villains. And maybe, a little social commentary."

Taking place in an alternate universe to the main Power Rangers 'verse, the story goes like this: Fifty years prior to the beginning of the story, some scientists and engineers began working on a cloth that could withstand colder temperatures after the Korean War, but also to protect soldiers. Eventually, they discovered a universal bio-electric field, which led to unbelievable advances in technology. About 15 years before the story, SETI discovers a signal from another world. At first they are excited about it, until they discover that it is a distress signal from another world. The United Nations panics and looks for options to stop this invasion when MIT scientists involved in the suit project give their proposal to the U.N. The U.N. likes this plan and agrees to it.

Fifteen years later, the invasion has begun. Colonel Alan Greene of the United States army calls together five individuals who were trained as part of this project from their youth to Tokyo to become Power Rangers. The candidates, American Sean O' Callahan, Irishman Kevin O' Donnell, Venezuelan Maria Aparicio, and Japanese siblings Daisuke and Hitomi Miyazawa are at first skeptical until they are forced into becoming Rangers, thrust into a conflict with the Zordonian Empire.

GPX is an interesting story. At first sloppily presented, it starts building momentum as the story gets going, and according to the text, is heading towards one hell of a Grand Finale... and that's only the first part. The story is probably different from its source material in that it is more adult or young adult-oriented than regular Power Rangers. The story gleefully plays around with its tropes. It could be a Deconstruction one moment, play its tropes straight in another, parody them the next and then veer right into a Reconstruction the next, sometimes within the same chapter. Also, the villains are (admittedly) clones / rip-offs of Sailor Moon villains. Of course, the story also has fun with itself, including the aforementioned Lampshade Hanging and minor parodying of itself. The realism portion is simply adding more realistic elements into Power Rangers, like the Rangers trying to prevent any property damage, or the universal bio-electric field, implied to be the Morphing Grid. Also, this will probably be the only story where the Rangers actually change their suits mid-story.

Part One has been completed, and Part 2 has been posted. The story relocates to Orlando, Florida, and a new Green Ranger, Mandla Ndebele, is introduced.

Part 1 has been "re-posted", albeit in an edited and re-written form with a lot of potential for Retcon, which has already begun.

The character sheet is available here

Recurring Power Rangers tropes include:

 * Big Bad: Emperor Rashon, an Ersatz of Prince Demand/Demando/Dimande/Diamond from Sailor Moon.
 * By the Power of Greyskull: "GPX, Start It Up!"
 * Chest Insignia: A gold, motion font number over a wheel.
 * Combining Mecha: The Grand Prix Megazord fills this role.
 * Five-Bad Band: The Zordonians, not counting the Quirky Miniboss Squad ... only problem is, there's four.
 * Big Bad: Emperor Rashon
 * The Dragon: Eltar
 * The Brute: Hercuron
 * Dark Chick: Liaria
 * Five-Man Band:
 * Part One:
 * The Hero: Sean
 * The Lancer / The Big Guy: Kevin.
 * The Smart Guy / The Lancer: Daisuke.
 * The Big Guy / The Chick Maria.
 * The Chick: Hitomi
 * Part Two:
 * The Hero: Sean
 * The Lancer: Kevin
 * The Big Guy: Mandla
 * The Smart Guy: Maria
 * The Chick: Hitomi
 * Home Base: If actual houses count, then yes.
 * In the Name of the Moon / Super Sentai Stance: Lampshaded, parodied, and dropped. Sean hates having to do it, because he finds it silly.  It's lampshaded again in Part 2, and Sean still hates it.
 * Make My Monster Grow: Crystal balls, apparently.
 * Mooks
 * Mecha-Mooks: The Swabots.
 * Monster of the Week: Not so much, since there have been 23 episodes and there have been only 9 MOTW so far.
 * Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: A hockey player, a former Irish Defense Forces soldier, an heir and his sister, an exile, and some schmuck fight aliens.
 * Transformation Is a Free Action: Generally justified. When forming the megazord, the zords fire some cables at the big monster to keep it in place for them to transform. Also, the Rangers just morph in a flash of light.
 * But sometimes subverted. The Zordonians have recognized the Rangers are at their most vulnerable when they're about to morph, so one MOTW attacks Sean and Hitomi before they morph.
 * Victory Pose
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Cool Sword: Sean's GT Sword. Later upgraded.
 * BFG: The Nitro Cannon and Kevin's personal weapon, the Touring Cannon. It's upgraded and shrunk and is now more like a rifle.
 * Blade on a Stick: Daisuke's Mountain Staff, a naginata. Later given to Hitomi.
 * An Axe to Grind: Mandla's Mountain Axe.
 * Knife Nut / Knife-Throwing Act: Maria's Haz Daggers.
 * The Archer: Hitomi's Am Bow.
 * The Archer: Hitomi's Am Bow.

This fanfic contains examples of:
"Kevin: "A hockey stick! You have a hockey stick for a weapon!"
 * A Simple Plan: But an effective one. Used by Sean to catch a wolf-monster.
 * Achilles in His Tent: Zig-zagged with Daisuke. At first,   
 * Action Girl: Maria and Hitomi, Maria more so.
 * Action Film Quiet Drama Scene: Quite a bit of the story. In fact, there might be more of these than actual fight scenes!
 * Aloof Big Brother: Daisuke to Hitomi.
 * Alternate Universe: Shown to be outside the original Power Rangers universe. This might be beneficial.
 * Angrish: When Sean finds out
 * Ascended Meme: Deifed in Episode 15,
 * Badass: Apparently, the story seems to be trying to make Sean one.
 * Badass Crew: The Rangers as a whole.
 * Badass Normal:
 * Badass Boast: "Who the hell do you think we are?!"
 * "We're Power Rangers! We don't quit, we don't surrender, and most importantly, WE DON'T LOSE!!!"
 * Band of Brothers --And sisters!
 * Berserk Button: Liaria gets pissed off when Maria and Hitomi scar her cheek in their first battle. She doesn't exactly forgive them for that.
 * Don't turn Hitomi's friends feral. Just... don't.
 * Big Badass Wolf: Grond, a wolf/rabbit-like monster.
 * Big Damn Heroes: It's Power Rangers, what do you expect?
 * The best is in, again, Episode 15 when
 * Big Que: When ever Maria gets flustered, she gives out a big, "¡¿QUE!?"
 * Sean when he finds out
 * Bilingual Bonus: There are several instances of foreign languages being used, such as Gaelic, Japanese and Spanish. Sean and Maria even have a short conversation in Spanish in Episode 11.
 * Breather Episode: Episode 11.
 * Festival Episode
 * Hot Springs Episode
 * Brother-Sister Team: Daisuke and Hitomi
 * Camp: The author is obviously inspired by RPM and The Dark Knight Saga. Any Camp is either downplayed, mocked, blasted, deconstructed or done in a Gurren Lagann-style awesomemness.
 * Captain Ersatz: The Zordonian Empire is quite clearly (and admittedly) a clone of the Black Moon Clan from Sailor Moon. The author even takes it a step further by making the Quirky Miniboss Squad clones of the Shitennou from the first Sailor Moon season/arc.
 * Although, they don't share their exact personalities and even have different color schemes, so they can be seens as Expys.
 * Sean's personal weapon, the GT Sword, ends up becoming a weapon's version, a flat-out copy of the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, although justified in this case, since he asked the UN to make it like the sword.
 * Casual Danger Dialogue
 * Cerebus Rollercoaster: Possibly, although it seems planned instead of coming out of nowhere.
 * Chekhov's Gunman:
 * Clark Kenting: Played around with. Early on, it looked as though the Rangers weren't trying to hide their identities, although that might be kind of justified due to those early battles taking place in the middle of the street. However by Part 2, they covered up their faces with handkerchiefs and sunglasses. After that, they morphed before leaving the house they share.
 * Cool Big Sis: Sean's sister Bridget.
 * Cool Car: All over the place! The GP Cruiser is a Hummer H2, and the zords are big cars.
 * GT Racer (Red): GT race car
 * Touring Racer (Blue): Touring car
 * Mountain Hauler (Green): Pick-up truck
 * Haz Runner (Yellow): Hazmat vehicle
 * Am Chaser (Pink): Ambulance
 * Curb Stomp Battle: The Rangers' first battle with Phaedos, in which he handily defeats them, one-by-one. He does so much damage to their suits that they're forced to change their suits. Also a literal one in chapter nine when Phaedos curb stomps Kevin.
 * Sean
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: The Zordonians are starting to learn from the Rangers.
 * Darker and Edgier: Gurren Lagann-level awesomeness aside, this story goes places regular Power Rangers wouldn't dare touch, not even PRiS or RPM will go (say, threatening to level an entire country just to smoke out two Rangers, for one). Hell, the acknowledgement the Rangers are trying to prevent planetary genocide is a good indication this is different.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Most of the Rangers, save for Hitomi. Also much of the cast, even the villains count, too.
 * Decon Recon Switch: Happens almost at will. One moment is a Deconstruction, the next is a Reconstruction and back again.
 * Despair Event Horizon: The Rangers are close to this in episode 23
 * Destructive Saviour: They try to keep the property damage to a minimum, but Col. Greene admits there's always the possibility of property damage.
 * Dull Surprise: Sean's reaction to  Although, in his defense, it's most likely because
 * Dynamic Entry: Wouldn't be a Big Damn Heroes without it!
 * Everything's Worse with Bears: Kind of subverted with a polar bear monster named Pola-Killer. Only thing is, he's a big softie like a big teddy bear. Hitomi even makes friends with him. Of course, we say "kind of" because he's turned vicious... and brings out Hitomi's Dark side, too.
 * Erotic Eating: Maria eats a chocolate cake... suggestively.
 * Evil Laugh: Phaedos... indulges himself in episode 12 when
 * Extreme Doormat: Hitomi when
 * Female Gaze: Maria watches Sean play hockey and she starts admiring him... until he catches her.
 * Fiction 500: The Miyazawa family not only owns one of Japan's most successful department store chains, but they also own stock in other chains like Macy's. It's not too much of a stretch to assume they may be at least partially funding Project Ranger.
 * It's been confirmed they are funding Project Ranger.
 * Filler: Unfortunately. Luckily, it's still quality.
 * Genki Girl: Hitomi.
 * Genre Savvy: The Rangers, and even Col. Greene is implied to be.
 * Get A Hold Of Yourself Chica: The only way for Maria to get Hitomi out of her Beware the Nice Ones / Berserk Button mode is to take her helmet off and smack her.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Sean whenever Daisuke insults him.
 * Ham-to-Ham Combat: Sean and Phaedos's  is not just a battle between two soldiers, but the two biggest Hams in the story.
 * Happily Married: Rob and Bridget, possibly. Godai-san and Hikari obviously.
 * Heroic Second Wind: "I told you! We're! NOT!! DONE!!! YET!!!!"
 * But the biggest one comes in
 * They're Back:
 * Hey, You: "Hey Rich Boy!"
 * Hope Spot: Several times in episode 13, and the Rangers' fight with Phaedos as a whole
 * Hot-Blooded: Sean and Kevin. We haven't seen that yet, though, but he has shown hot bloodedness. Apparently the author is waiting for the right moment for Sean to unleash his full hot-blooded potential.
 * Human Aliens: The Zordonians, natch
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: "Can you call Tokyo with those?"
 * I Am Your Opponent: Sean gives what could be an American spin on the phrase in Episode 15 when he shouts
 * I Shall Taunt You: Multiple occasions, the Rangers love doing this to their enemies.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Sean gets a hockey stick as a weapon.
 * I Am Your Opponent: Sean gives what could be an American spin on the phrase in Episode 15 when he shouts
 * I Shall Taunt You: Multiple occasions, the Rangers love doing this to their enemies.
 * Improbable Weapon User: Sean gets a hockey stick as a weapon.

Sean: "I asked the UN to make it for me.""

"Sean: "Oh my god, it's Godzilla!" Daisuke: "That's not Godzilla! Godzilla doesn't have a big unicorn horn on his head and he doesn't have hair!""
 * Incoming Ham: "HELLO, RRRANGERS!!!"
 * It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Stupid rain!!
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sean, oh so much. He's probably one of the few examples who doesn't try to hide his Heart Of Gold.
 * Kaiju: The Kel Monster.

"Nacht Owl: We are here to reclaim what is-- Sean: SHUT UP! *Punch*"
 * Knife-Throwing Act: Maria's attack, "Lightning Throw", in which she throws her Haz Daggers at an opponent.
 * Lampshade Hanging: Lots of it.
 * There's much more of it in the re-written edition.
 * Lemony Narrator: The Lemoniest! And it's a third-person story, too!
 * Magic Skirt: Averted, related to Panty Shot below.
 * Minor Injury Overreaction: Liaria loses it when Maria and Hitomi scar both of her cheeks in episode 4. Related to Berserk Button above.
 * Moment of Awesome: ALL of Episode 15.
 * Multinational Team:
 * Sean: USA
 * Kevin: Ireland
 * Mandla: South Africa
 * Maria: Venezuela
 * Daisuke & Hitomi: Japan
 * Nakama: The Rangers (except for Daisuke) are becoming one.
 * National Stereotypes: Averted. The story does its best to present the Rangers without any stereotypes. In fact, let's check:
 * Eagle Land: Averted
 * Oireland: Averted
 * Noblewoman's Laugh: Liaria, enough to annoy Maria and Hitomi.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
 * Non-Indicative First Episode: The first chapter-and-a-half really doesn't give any clue that this is a Power Rangers story, even hiding the fact that the main characters were called to Tokyo by the UN.
 * Oh Crap: Multiple moments.
 * Opt Out:
 * Orcus on His Throne: Rashon is this for the most part, but he did go down to Earth to fight the Rangers in episode 4, where he nearly beats the crap out of the Rangers. And again in episode 16
 * Panty Shot: Averted; Genre Savvy Maria knows that if she wore a skirt, then she'd get some unwanted attention.
 * Patriotic Fervor: Justified in episode 19. The USA wins the World Cup and celebrations pop up all over the country. It's not really mentioned afterwards, though.
 * Pet the Dog: Sure, the Zordonians are murderous, conquering villains but at least they're willing to keep a kidnapped kid comfortable... until Phaedos needs to use him for nefarious deeds.
 * Polly Wants a Microphone: Parraptor, the first MOTW in Part 2.
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: "Howzit, brah?"
 * Prepare to Die:
 * Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Four; Phaedos, Kalderon, Tirna and Zentor are described as "the Four greatest Zordonian generals". Except they don't seem very quirky. Like the main Zordonians, who are Ersatzes of the Black Moon Clan, the Four are Ersatzes of the Shitennou (Phaedos=Jadeite, Kalderon=Nephrite, Tirna=Zoisite, Zentor=Kunzite).
 * Readings Are Off the Scale:
 * Reconstruction: Apparently, despite the realism added to it, GPX seems to be one.
 * However, the Reconstruction aspect goes beyond the Gurren Lagann levels of awesomeness and are more subtle:
 * Of course having insecure teenagers fight is dangerous, so they have 5 college-aged young adults who are relatively stable.
 * Of course Transformation Is Not A Free Action so the zords are equipped with cables to make sure that Transformation Is a Free Action
 * Of course having people who don't know how to fight is a bad idea, so they train them.
 * Of course creating Tyke Bombs is going to cause trouble, so they let them have a normal childhood.
 * Of course fighting an intergalactic war can be stressful, that's why they have therapists.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni:
 * Red Oni: Sean is Hot-Blooded and temperamental.
 * Blue Oni: Daisuke is calmer and more aloof. Kevin is also more calm then Sean.
 * Refusal of the Call: The Rangers (then called candidates) are at first skeptical of the UN's story about the alien signal and how they're supposed to become Power Rangers. Of course, we see how that turns out...
 * The Reveal:
 * The Rival: An entire team of them, Choushinsei Flashman, who show up in episode 19. This doesn't look good...
 * Rousing Speech:
 * Royal Brat: Daisuke could be considered a modern version. His sister Hitomi, however, is pure Ingenue and is too nice to be a brat.
 * Sarcastic Confession: Although it's during a, they still confess to Hikari that they're Power Rangers. She doesn't buy it.
 * Semper Fi: Sean's brother-in-law Rob.
 * South Africa and the United States; two countries Separated by a Common Language.
 * Shout-Out: Several.
 * Maria's last name is a shout-out to Luis Aparicio, a famous baseball player from Venezuela.
 * "Who the hell do you think I am?"
 * "Do the impossible! See the invisible!"
 * The Zordonians have their name taken from Zordon. They are also named after planets from the series, discussed in detail under Theme Naming.
 * There are also Shout Outs to previous Power Rangers series. In episode 12, Sean shouts "It's morphin' time!" before the By the Power of Greyskull. Later, he puts his helmet back on, shouting "Back to action!" He does it again in episode 15.
 * "You don't frighten me, Zordonian pig-dog! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"
 * "Goodnight, everybody!"
 * The Rangers use their keys to charge up their weapons for a Finishing Move
 * Shut UP, Hannibal:
 * "Goodnight, everybody!"
 * The Rangers use their keys to charge up their weapons for a Finishing Move
 * Shut UP, Hannibal:

"Sean: "What. The. Fuck.""
 * "Shut Up" Kiss: Maria does this to Sean in episode 13 when he keeps complaining about . She even adds a little extra by saying, "¿Por qué no te callas?" Unfortunately for Sean, Maria doesn't count it as a kiss.
 * Smug Snake: Phaedos, which he inherits from his Sailor Moon counterpart Jadeite.
 * Spit Take: In episode 9, Maria tells Sean she and Hitomi are going to Ginza. He reacts in this exact way. He does it again in episode 16 when
 * Spoiled Sweet: Hitomi clearly, Maria implied.
 * Super Soldier: When you think about it, that's what the Rangers are. Of course, it's implied in text that they're not genetically enhanced, and they think for themselves. But they are an example of The Spartan Way making Super Soldiers.
 * Take That: A couple of those, as well.
 * In episode 6, the Rangers badmouth Dominio's Pizza (which they're eating!) and Code Geass.
 * Talking Is a Free Action: Mocked. In Episode 15, Phaedos gets annoyed while the Rangers give their 'friendship' and 'unity' speeches. He even mocks them for it.
 * Team Dad: In Part 1, Col. Greene and Godai-san. In Part 2, it's Sean's brother-in-law Robert.
 * Team Mom: In Part 1, Hikari Godai. In Part 2, Sean's sister Bridget.
 * Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The GPX and Flash Rangers while fighting Gargotron. Although Hitomi and Flash Pink work real well together.
 * The Power of Friendship: Friendship is more of a symbolic force than a physical one, but it's still vital
 * Theme Naming: The Zordonians take their name from planets in the Power Rangers main universe.
 * Emperor Rashon
 * Eltar
 * Liaria
 * Hercuron
 * Phaedos
 * Kalderon
 * Tirna
 * Zentor
 * There Are No Therapists: Averted. In fact, the Zordonians get information on them from their therapists' notes!
 * This Is Sparta: GPX! START! IT! UP! and many others...
 * Actually downplayed in episode 25


 * The Tokyo Fireball: Averted for the most part. The Rangers do their best to lower property damage, as shown in Part 2.
 * Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe: Played with. The Rangers went to Tokyo only because the Japanese government gave Project Ranger permission to fight on Japanese soil. The Zordonians later attack the city, but they only picked a random city, and eventually subverted, since  The Zordonians also don't really care about which city they attack, since it's implied they're just looking for the Rangers to try and kill them.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Maria is the Tomboy (sort of) while Hitomi is the Girly Girl.
 * Tyke Bomb: The Rangers are a different type of TykeBomb. According to them, they had to take not only martial arts classes, but strategy, shooting, and all that, but they were able to lead normal lives. Apparently so they don't end up going nuts. Also, they've only been trained since they were 10, 9 and 7, respectively. Also, they think for themselves instead of having undying loyalty.
 * Villains Out Shopping: Literally!
 * Watch the Paint Job: Sean does not want Rob's Mustang to be damaged. Luckily, it ends well for him and the car.
 * We Need a Distraction: Interestingly,   
 * Wham! Episode: Episode 22 is an in-universe version.
 * Out-of-universe, it's episodes 13 and 14. Even episode 22 counts.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Sean to Daisuke, after Daisuke almost shoots a monster when civilians are present. Sean decks him big time.
 * Episode 20, when
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Rashon
 * Wine Is Classy: Rashon loves his Zordonian wine.
 * World of Snark: Most of the cast makes snarky comments at some point or another (except Hitomi).
 * Word of God: GPX is short for "Grand Prix".
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: In episode 11, Sean tells of a time when playing hockey, he pounded an opposing captain into the boards. The captain lay on the ground for a while, making it seem as though Sean would get a penalty. Sean of course, didn't fall for this and insulted the opponent, which got the opponent to get up and chase him.
 * You Are in Command Now: Kalderon gets this treatment at the end of Part 1.
 * You Have Failed Me:
 * You Have Failed Me: