The Foe in the Mirror Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to the current copyright owner. This story is based upon the events depicted in Boom Studios comic series.

The Foe in the Mirror Prologue

Rita Repulsa had never been one to admit weakness, but there were moments, dark moments, when even she couldn't escape the voices.

It started shortly after the creation of the Green Ranger. When Tommy Oliver had first appeared under her spell, she had revelled in the idea of controlling such a powerful force. He was more than just another pawn in her game—he was the key to everything. The Green Ranger had the power of the Dragonzord, an unmatched weapon in her arsenal. And when she forced him to join her cause, she believed that victory was within her grasp. The Power Rangers would fall one by one, and Tommy Oliver would lead the charge against them.

But in the stillness of her dark lair, amidst her triumphs, something stirred—something unsettling. It wasn't the sound of a passing wind, nor the rumblings of distant battles. It was something far worse. It was a voice, a whisper, soft at first, but growing louder with each passing day.

"He will turn on you," the voice had said, its tone dripping with the certainty of a prophecy.

Rita had shaken it off. At first, she thought it was just the product of her own paranoia, the voice of doubt creeping in when victory seemed so close. She silenced it, buried it beneath layers of her own schemes. But deep down, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The Green Ranger was too unpredictable, too driven by emotions, and that, she realized with growing dread, might one day turn against her.

Still, she pressed on, secure in the belief that she held the power. She was the one who controlled Tommy, not the other way around.

But then came the day when it happened. Tommy turned on her.

He stood there, looking at her as if she were nothing more than a distant memory. His eyes, once filled with confusion and darkness under her command, were now filled with defiance. The power she had once held over him was gone, shattered like a glass vase, and it was in that moment that the voice spoke again—this time, triumphant and smug.

"I told you so."

It echoed in her mind, laughing at her failure. How dare it? How dare the voice mock her? Rita, the powerful sorceress who had brought countless armies to their knees, who had stood against Zordon and his Rangers for eons, was now a failure in the eyes of a mere whisper? But the sting of the words, the truth behind them, cut deeper than any of her spells ever could.

Rita had tried to suppress her rage, but it festered like a wound. She had no one to blame but herself. She had underestimated Tommy Oliver, thinking him just another tool. But what she hadn't anticipated was the strength of his will, the purity of his heart, and the bond he shared with his fellow Rangers. It was something she couldn't break with simple dark magic.

And so, for a time, Rita seethed in silence. But the voice didn't leave her. It lingered in the background, always there, like a presence she couldn't escape. It would whisper to her during moments of reflection, sometimes in the quietest of hours, other times in the middle of a battle when her focus wavered.

"You cannot defeat him without me," the voice would say. "But I can show you the way."

At first, Rita tried to ignore it. But the battles, one after another, wore her down. Each monster attack, each failed attempt to destroy Tommy and his fellow Rangers, seemed to feed the voice. With each passing failure, the voice grew louder, bolder, as though it were feeding off her frustration, her rage, her determination to conquer.

"They'll never see you as anything but a villain, Rita," the voice continued, soft yet taunting. "You need something more. Something that will break Tommy, once and for all."

She thought about it. The voice wasn't wrong. Tommy was always the wild card, the one who had slipped from her grasp once before. If she could only break him again, control him, she could destroy the Rangers for good. But how? How could she defeat a force that was so strong, so deeply rooted in the hearts of the Power Rangers?

The answer came as a whisper, clearer than ever. The Green Chaos Crystal.

For weeks, Rita had kept it hidden, a dark, shimmering gem imbued with unimaginable power. She had thought it could be a key to something far more potent, something that could sway Tommy back to her side. But there was hesitation in her. It had been the very source of his strength—the very thing that had once bound him to her will. Destroying it, or even using it again, felt like a risk. What if the power was too great? What if it consumed Tommy again, but this time, beyond her control?

But the voice was relentless.

"You cannot defeat him without it. Not without the Chaos Crystal. You've tried everything else. There is no other way."

The voice was right. It was time to stop doubting and embrace the power she had once feared. Tommy would fall, and she would be the one to bring him back to her. She could not allow him to be free. Not when his potential was so immense. And not when his strength could serve her cause, not their precious Rangers.

Rita clenched her fists. This time, he will serve me, and the Power Rangers will pay the price.

For weeks, Rita's mind had been consumed with thoughts of the Green Chaos Crystal, a creation born from the time she had held the Green Power Coin. Back then, she had been free to experiment with its mystical energies. Using her dark sorcery, she had managed to draw out fragments of its power, moulding them into what became the Green Chaos Crystal. It was an artefact of great potential, tied intrinsically to the essence of the Green Ranger powers. But even her formidable magic had limitations. The coin's inherent connection to the Morphin Grid demanded a living conduit—an active Green Ranger. Without one, the crystal's energy had reached a frustrating plateau.

Her experiments had also been constrained by the nature of the coin itself. As an artefact bound to the Morphin Grid's balance, it resisted her attempts to fully control or wield its energy. She had been unable to tap into the coin's full potential, not only because of the rules tied to its power but because of her own evil nature. The coin's light fought against her darkness, repelling her at every turn. It was maddening. Yet, she had created the crystal as a means to channel what power she could harness.

Now, the crystal was out of her reach, lost in the chaos of battle when her forces had been driven back by Zordon's meddling Rangers. The knowledge that Tommy Oliver, the current Green Ranger, was still unwittingly feeding its energy only added salt to the wound. Every time he called upon his powers, he inadvertently strengthened the crystal's potential. It was a cruel irony, and one Rita vowed to exploit—once the crystal was back in her possession.

Standing on the balcony of her moon palace, Rita allowed herself a moment to reflect on recent battles. The Green Ranger had proven to be a thorn in her side since breaking free of her control. His unexpected power and determination had tipped the scales in more than one confrontation. There was the battle against Fangore, the monstrous bat-like fiend she had unleashed on Angel Grove's park. Fangore had been close to overwhelming the Rangers when Tommy had arrived, Dragon Dagger in hand, summoning the Dragonzord to even the odds. The creature had fallen, leaving her plans in ruins.

Then came the battle with Brambleback, a plant-based monstrosity she had sent to overrun the city's botanical gardens. Its razor-sharp vines and poisonous thorns had given the Rangers a run for their money, and Rita had been confident the creature's ability to regenerate would guarantee her victory. Yet Tommy's quick thinking—combining his powers with Trini's sabre strike—had severed the creature's core and turned the tide.

And who could forget the relentless attacks of Gravetide, her ghastly pirate ghost who had commanded spectral galleons to bombard Angel Grove's harbour? The Rangers had been caught off-guard, but Tommy's swift leadership in coordinating the team's zords had sunk Gravetide's forces and banished the fiend to the depths.

Despite these victories, Rita had observed cracks within the Rangers' camaraderie since Tommy's inclusion in their ranks. His powers were undeniably formidable, but they came with limitations. The Green Ranger's powers, tied to her original spell and her Chaos Crystal experiments, were unstable and prone to draining. The other Rangers had to adjust to this new dynamic, and Rita had noted their occasional hesitation to rely on Tommy too heavily. Jason's leadership had been steady, but there were moments of friction, subtle and fleeting—yet visible to Rita's sharp eyes.

Even the public was slow to fully accept the Green Ranger. Rumours and whispers spread about Tommy's past as her minion, and while the Rangers defended him, Angel Grove's citizens weren't so easily convinced. Rita smirked at the thought. His presence in their ranks was a double-edged sword. It made them stronger in battle but weaker in unity. All it would take was a well-timed push to unravel it completely.

The voice that had become her constant companion chose that moment to interject, its mocking tone cutting through her thoughts.

"You've lost your edge," it said, laced with condescension. "So much ambition, but lacking the ability to follow through. To think you've allowed such a valuable artefact to slip through your fingers. The Rita of old would never have let this happen. Have you truly lost your edge?"

Rita's grip tightened on her staff. "Silence!" she snapped aloud, her anger spilling over. "I haven't lost anything. The crystal will be mine again, and with it, Tommy will fall."

"Will it?" the voice asked, its tone softer yet still taunting. "Or will you waste yet another opportunity to crush them while they're vulnerable?"

The sorceress turned away, fuming. In the dim light of her throne room, her minions cowered in the shadows, avoiding her wrath. Baboo, however, was not so fortunate.

"Baboo!" Rita barked, spinning on her heel to face him. The creature froze mid-step, nearly dropping the tray of potions he was carrying.

"Yes, oh glorious Empress of Evil?" he stammered, his voice trembling.

"You lost the Green Chaos Crystal during the retreat, didn't you?" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her staff glowed faintly with dark magic.

Baboo gulped, his knees shaking. "W-well, you see, it was very chaotic, and—"

"No excuses!" Rita roared, slamming the base of her staff into the stone floor. The room shook with the force of her fury. "If you fail to recover it, Baboo, I will personally ensure you regret it for the rest of your miserable existence!"

Baboo nodded so vigorously that his entire body seemed to quiver. "Of course, your evilness! I'll find it! I swear!"

"See that you do," she hissed, turning her back on him. "I won't tolerate failure, not from you, not from anyone. That crystal is the key to my victory, and I will stop at nothing to reclaim it."

The room fell silent as Baboo scrambled to bow repeatedly before scurrying out, muttering promises under his breath. Rita, meanwhile, stared out at the Earth below. The loss of the crystal was a setback, but one she was determined to rectify. No matter what it took, the Green Chaos Crystal would be hers again. And with it, she would turn power of the Green Ranger into a weapon that would destroy the Power Rangers from within.

End of Part