Teams like the X-Men came under fire by “blue check” Hollywood for featuring the word “Men” in their name. X-Men Dark Phoenix (Shudders at the memories) has that scene where Mystique essentially demands that the name gets changed to X-Women. I couldn’t do much with a rename like that, but… turns out there are a lot of unisex names associated with the X-Men Franchise. So in no particular order, here are the various teams that could be employed and adapted to that effect. I listed this because these cries sound so incurious and ignorant in context now. I could not IMAGINE just how many groups could so easily be looked up if someone was willing to spare (quite literally) 3 minutes at most.X-PeditionersX-HumedX-NationX-CellX-Factor, X-Factor and X-Factor again (Formerly XXX-Investigations) X-CorporationGeneration XX-Treme Sanctions Executive; Xavier Security Enforcers; Xavier Underground Enforcers.X-TerminatorsX-People (Turns out this was already a team name)X-PatriotsX-PatrolX-Persons (And this was also a Team Name)X-PunksX-ResistanceX-TerminatedX-Saviours X-Sentinels (Actually a Sentinel type, but could be picked up later.)X-SimiansX-SocietyX-SquadX-StatixX-TernalsX-TractsX-VampiresXavier GangXavier’s Sales ExecutivesXenX-ForceNew MutantsX-FacesX-CouncilX-CommandX-ClubX-CeptionalsX-CellentX-CalibreX-BugsX-BrotherhoodX-BabiesX-AvengersX-AnimalsX-AngelsX-34 (Space Exploration Team)X’ChanglingsXCadre KSixSee any I missed?

So here’s an odd one. Somewhere between my typical papers, and an actual fanfiction. I’m not sure whether to put this here or on my official Deviantart. But ever since I first heard of an official TMNT Power Rangers Crossover book, I kept thinking back to the ...official crossover we already had. Clearly there was some wasted potential here. And I kept wondering, what else could have been done. Before we dig in, let's have ourselves a merry bit of context. This 2-parter would be on each respective show. Part 1 on the Ranger show, Part 2 on Turtles. The benefits would obviously begin with SO. MANY. New toys. But also, drawing eyes to the Mirage source material, making more money for TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Also would have provided a nice art collection book, featuring the flashback imagery. A new flashback format would be featured. Where are the artists who had worked under the TMNT franchise, and artists who wrote done, cat a patient's or coloring books for the Rangers, their varying art styles would be featured in still frames that would transition buy peeling away like a page. Main characters would provide narration as the images kept turning like pages in a book, thus very efficiently breezing through a fast and elaborate backstory (after backstory after backstory.) This would provide set up to check out one another's series, and it would give expanded lore for expanded universe or otherwise existing franchise. After the episodes' release, the illustrations would be collected and pulled together into a book. Each illustration on the left side, with the written dialogue on the right side. Enough photos still taking up the most dynamic frames between each flashback would be captured to fill the story and then put through a comic book filter. That way the entire crossover can be told, as well as the simultaneous release as coloring books. Preferably drawn by Eastman and Laird.And not to mention the Toyetictm prospects of what could be introduced within. One was trying to relaunch by emulating the other, which was preparing for cancellation. Power Rangers had much from Super Sentai that they were unable to use, only counting the series they stitched footage from. They couldn't even use suited footage from Dairanger or Kakurager. Ergo, there was a lot of costumes and props still waiting to become merchandise. These should have provided one last great financial push. Having established that...Plot: Rangers Show up on a Planet of the week, Andros letting it slip that he used to live here, just before he left to take up the fight. Suddenly they're alerted to nearby noises, and Andros morphs, stepping into a defensive position in front of the others. At the sight of this, Leo and Raph come out of the shadows. The two Turtles recognize their old friend. Andros makes the introductions, then asks where Michaelangelo is. They say that he was in the other pod. When Andros asks where Donatello is, they get upset. A brief flashback shows Donatello directing the Turtles two by two into escape pods, but staying behind to launch them. This flashback ends with Venus and Mikey walking up to the group. TJ mentions that if their pods were the energy signals detected by the Astro Megaship, then there's a third one nearby. On their way there, Venus and Mikey take turns in their own way to explain why they're not in New York. Cutting to another drawn sequence: In pursuit of Dr. Queeze, they were ambushed by Bone Steele. But as they hunted Queaze, and Bone Steele hunted them, someone else hunted Bone Steele. To punish him for hunting stray monsters and henchmen, they attempted an alien abduction while he was in the open. But they only captured the Turtles when the beam missed. And their actual prey took cover. So these "Acid Cats" (Take the suits from the Flower Kunoichi Team) had to make good with what she had. The only other prisoner helped them break out, and hold off the guards. The other prisoner is Professor Honeycut (Red Python Repaint.) Chaperoned by the Acid Cats they are to meet up with Scorpina with coordinates for the final drop. But their dropoff point to meet Scorpina has only just been revealed to them. Astronoma’s Dark Fortress. Which has moved…. to the planet they just left. (“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding us”). Their new cellmate puts his form at risk to facilitate their escape (with Donnie’s help). Then it's a mad dash while their new friend sets off some grenades and holds off the rest. As that story ends, Andros tells how he met the Turtles (with some interjections by Mikey and the others). In the aftermath of their original Fugitoid adventure, they needed a way home. He had just lost his 4 comrades, whose colors the current Rangers wear, so he gave their training equipment to these new friends, including reinforced tonfas, a scissor blade and a sai staff. They in turn gave him a tekken and some pointers. By covering the Turtle suits in removable Red Ranger looking accessories, and all four wielding tonfas that could block blaster fire, the (briefly identical) turtles confused and ran circles around the Quantrons who outnumbered them. With Andros sniping while teleporting from rooftop to rooftop. And over the course of their brief time together, they teach him how to best use his tekken. He develops a flying punch like he would use with the Battlizer. And how to blend in socially while trying to disguise himself with his cloak. He’s already effective at concealing his looks, all he needed was practise moving and acting in ways that let him listen more than directly probing. Back in the present, Cassy calls Alpha to scan for other pods. Alpha and DECA locate one more... and another ship on approach! Looks like the type these pods would have come from, and it’s missing a few. Its shields are glitching over that (damaged from within) section of the outer hull, so it’s pretty clear to the scanners. That must be the people the turtles were running from. A fight’s almost here! And the Turtles are still not yet whole. Alpha directs the two teams 37 clicks southwest, sending the Galaxy Gliders down to expedite the search. When the Turtles ride the gliders while carrying Rangers to the pod, Ashley riding solo, repeatedly casting looks at Andros standing behind Venus on the board, holding her shoulders for balance. Meanwhile, Raph is in front of Carlos, both holding his staff. Leo stands behind TJ who's crouching barehanded, while Mikey carries Cassie. After arriving and finding it empty, they spread off into teams. Carlos and Raphael head South with Ashley. Leo and TJ head North. Andros and Venus head East. Mikey and Cassie head west. This allows the two Impulsive/occasionally rogue hotheads to bounce off of each other with Ashley in between. She previously had a few sparks with Carlos, but here’s another red-clad bachelor with more keys and clues to Andros’s mysterious past. And a current leader in blue wielding a big sharp object time alone with a very recent leader in blue wielding a big sharp object time to reflect off of each other. Two delicately-featured newcomers with learned extra abilities relative to their new team/roommates (and potential love interests) able to relate to each other’s efforts to adjust to new settings and just how confusing it can get. They even give each other pointers on their respective super techniques. The one turtle who hits on human women gets paired with a girly girl who’s only ongoing love interest is a usually invisible lone wolf rapidly giving her the slip. (And he's a pirate radio DJ who’s been a comic book artist and a cartoon connoisseur with a former tryout for rock bands who started her journey wanting to be a celebrity performer.) Andros and Venus combine their methods to move heavier than usual items, while feeling out for Donatello’s chi. They locate him and the professor hiding not far away. Calling the others over, they check these two for injuries. As the others come along, Cassie wonders if this is the Phantom Ranger, based on vague-ish comments made by Mikey. But when she gets there, after Leo and TJ, she’s disappointed. Donnie and Andros are discussing how “that” has been doing (Phrased to foreshadow the Zane reveal), then the remaining arrive. As Andros thanks Don for the help with “that,” Alpha signals. The scene shifts to the “Acid Cats” prepping their repainted Shark Cycles from their combined version into individual rides. Alpha patches through a freshly decrypted warning/SOS from Aquatar. Their White Ninja describes the Acid Cats as a decommissioned set of morphers, designed to remove carbon and the resulting acidification from the oceans, to keep them healthy and alive. The "ears" are devices to clean the seas. While the flowers are symbolism, flowers taking in carbon to produce breathable air, honey, and typically fresh food (on their earth). These suits converted the isolated carbon into dense shuriken to be stockpiled with other specialized equipment. But something went wrong. The mentawave receivers in the ears meant to promote telepathic harmony began to produce slowly escalating psychic disruption, and a growing hive mind. Meanwhile, deliberately swimming through saltwater acids was more damaging to the body and brain than the suits could counter consistently. So the suits were reformatted, an emphasis on using surrounding water was applied, and the telepathic link was gone. The entire filtration process was done with mass-produced drones. Thus the Alien Rangers as we'd seen them were born. But recently, there was a break-in detected. The morphers, subsequent arsenal, and all attending staff have disappeared. Only faint signs of struggle, like it was over quickly. Wouldn’t be the first time the Alliance of Evil used mind control. Beyond that, nothing is known. As this has been said, footage alternates between more illustrations and footage of the Acid Cats riding. And suddenly they are upon the heroes. At no point are any unmasked/sans helmet. The episode ends on “Continued in Next Mutation.” Which we will pursue in another article. Voice casting for their leader (Orange Lily) should prioritize ANY woman who portrayed April O’ Neil through camera, microphone, ...or something else. (Or Julie Strain, who the 4th film April was written specifically for.) This explains the TV news reporter’s absence in the TV series. She is an Utrom, revealed at the end of their battle. Her identity never explicitly revealed, she used a mind control device to enthrall the others, strategically selecting them, and beginning a practice to hunt down and weaponize scattered and disorganized former Foot flunkies. Utrom is unseen, but scraps of ranger suit, clothing, machinery are everywhere. The demorphed body appears to be wearing a yellow raincoat. And most of the hair is still on the half-robotic head that is spirited away. The Turtles agree that they can’t confirm her identity without more proof. But they request Andros and the others to keep an eye out. Lily seeks out Andros and Venus in battle. A later installment admits that a rogue element of Utroms replaced a recently hired cable news host, placing one of their own within the broadest spanning narrative on that planet. And the turtles mention offhand that April took a promotion, leaving local late night behind. Pink goes to Catherine Sutherland, implying that Katherine Hillard is an evil kitty again (as Miss Sutherland expressed interest in). In the Turtle-focused sequel (pending), she admits that when the Zeo Crystal absorbed the wickedness her former mistress slowly, teasingly filled her with, near to bursting, she enjoyed the sensation. She missed so dearly the clarity weightless from all guilt, doubts and anxieties. When the pink energy sought her out as the crystal was separated, that remaining energy sought her right back. And while she never admitted it, they enjoyed, missed each other. Resting dormant within her, it stirred only in her dreaming nights, until she was handed this new morpher, and ALL within her was freed. “Sakura” being less clear a term in the late 90’s, she’s called Cherry Blossom (dirty joke very much intended). She seeks out Mikey and Cassie to prove her superiority and worthiness over them both. Her introduction was during the Ninja arc, and Mikey seems to be so much more interested in screwballing around and pursuing any bipedal woman (preferably late teen) that he can. Meanwhile Cassie was Kat’s successor. After having 4 morphed forms across 3 power types, she passed her Turbo powers onto Cassie. Said powers, weapons, and Zords have been destroyed on Cassie’s watch. Now she and Cassie each have their own distinct powers. And she has some ...complaints with Cassie’s handling of her inheritance. Nancy de Mayo would Seiyu for Violet (Due to the Purple color not being a Ranger color yet, and plans for Jenny becoming one falling through). She sticks close to Kat during this adventure, partially because she was the original choice to succeed Kat. Her qualifications are that she’s physically an excellent dancer (with all the precision, spatial awareness and endurance that employs) and the idea that when she went back to her mother’s she fell in with the Foot for more NInja specific training. Cestria’s actress Steffanie Malanga becomes the Water Lotus. The water flower for the water planet. She was hit with the mind control ray by the intruder (Utrom April) and sent to loot the Acid Cat vault and seize the last Cat and any Aquition in her way with the same device. Once acquired, the remaining personnel have been sent to different factions of the alliance to tell whoever now commands them EVERYTHING they know about Aquitar’s techniques, technology, geography, politics, and various structures. When that’s done they go through the Monster Maker process, turning into bipedal fish (repaints of whatever suits are left, with a battle cry sounds a lot like “Daigon!”) At which point they were collected by Scorpina to take part in the siege of their own homeworld. After the Z-Wave, they are each completely restored, but the Cherry Blossom and Water lotus become Pink and Green Aquitian Rangers proper, with Scorpina being purified into a new form, nicknamed Lamia.And anyone who’s previously been employed for voice work in any of these stock footage series could (maybe Wendy Lee) portray Iris. The unofficial leader of the group in the stock footage, she singles out the Blue Leader Duo. When the four survivors scatter, she is provided as a recon scout in a gesture of good faith to the Dragon Lord. This also allows both factions to narrow in on the Turtles’ lair. Following their leaving in pairs, her duo is separated just before Jenny’s capture. She fights with Tiger’s Claw stance, smoke bombs, drugged Shuriken, improvised surrounding items, and otherwise unused spells and items from her own personal arsenal and that of the Kakurangers....