Conquest of Evil Classic Part 14
by Shadow RangerDark Season 1
Chapter 1: Taking Control
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to their legal copyright owners. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Author’s note: Astronoma and Andromeda were two misspellings that appeared in the Fox Kids UK adverts for Power Rangers in Space.
Taking Control
He marched into the office, seemingly unconcerned by the various security guards that Maxell had summoned. Behind him walked five females and Maxell quickly realised that with the exception of their hair, four of them looked very much alike. The fifth however did not wear the same sort of clothing as the others and lacked the look of determination as she was guided by two robotic looking soldiers. Maxell had to admit that it was an impressive sight.
“You are Maxell,” the man said as he stood in front of the desk. Despite the desk being on a raised platform where he could stare down at his visitors, Maxell could not fight the feeling that he was the one being looked down upon. “You are the elected Chairman of the Alliance of Evil and as such responsible for calling changes in membership and arranging meetings?”
Maxell bristled at the question. Although that was exactly his role, he prided himself on being more than a secretary, which if he were to guess would be a generous interpretation of the question. As the elected leader of the Alliance of Evil he had wealth, authority and the protection of the dozen or so major factions that battled for political superiority within the organisation. He was in charge of the administration and paperwork, a role that even some villains would argue took the definition of evil to a whole new level. He could with a stroke of his ever present pen grant or block the plans of any of the Alliance’s members, bound as they were to follow the laws laid down by the council. Only the Machine Empire had ever managed to defy the Alliance’s will as determined by Maxell – for no matter how much power they fed into the spells that governed the Alliance, machines were simply immune to magic. Just that morning Maxell had approved the membership of four new factions and their requests to invade selected planets. He had also blocked one ambitious warlord from conquering a star system that Master Vile had paid for decades before. How dare some unknown wannabe walk into his domain and insult him? Especially when the insult had been so worded that he considered himself stupid for even finding it insulting.
“I am,” he confirmed, trying to sound important and imposing, but failing. There was something about this rather ordinary looking man that made Maxell nervous. “Did you wish to apply for membership? The waiting list is rather long for full membership, and new members are required to understand that there is a hierarchy to be respected.”
The man – for despite the feeling of power he did seem to be human – laughed, shifting his form as he did so into a tall elf-like figure.
“No Maxell, I am not here to join the Alliance of Evil. I am here to disband it.”
He gave a quick nod to the females behind him and four of them leapt into action. A combination of magical attacks and honed combat skills quickly took down even the most powerful of Maxell’s security guards. The fifth female seemed to struggle, her face scrunched up in a grimace as she watched those he assumed were her sisters, rapidly slaughter the guards.
Maxell was panicking, his forces had been selected from the best unassigned henchmen that money could buy. They had been given armour crafted by some of the finest armourers in the galaxy and enchanted by some of the Alliance’s most devious wizards. And despite that, they didn’t stand a chance. He briefly saw a glimmer of hope as one of his hidden guards, too small for most people to take notice of, drew a dagger and swiped at the mysterious elf, only for the blow to be blocked as a green figure appeared and decapitated the would-be assassin.
“Ah Ecliptor,” the elf said in a tone that could have been approving, but was most likely mocking, “always on time.”
The fight was over, the four females had resumed their previous positions after stepping over what was left of the bodies of their opponents. The fifth female had stopped fighting against her guards, her head tilted in defeat.
“My sword is yours to command,” the mighty warrior replied and for the first time Maxell recognised him as Ecliptor, one of the Alliance’s much sought after warriors.
“And you my dear consort,” the elf continued, not deeming to address Ecliptor further as he turned his full attention to the defiant female. “Still so spirited after all these years, still determined that you will not accept your destiny as my queen. Still human enough to feel sympathy for those that in another life would be your enemy.” He leaned close, his features changing momentarily into something far less friendly looking. “I am growing tired of this game my dear. You have no hope of rescue; those who might have known or cared that you existed are dead, along with your world. You will never escape and one way or another, you will accept your destiny.”
She didn’t speak, but glared back at him defiantly. The stare down did not last long; he looked away first, returning his features to a more friendly appearance. Despite his words he would not destroy her and she knew it. In a way, she had beaten him.
“The Alliance of Evil has served its time,” he announced, turning to stare at Maxell. “As of now it will be reformed into the United Alliance of Evil. And the role of elected chairman shall be replaced by myself as the Grand Monarch of Evil.”
Maxell wanted to protest. He wanted to shout and threaten all kinds of retribution for the sheer arrogance of this Grand Monarch of Evil. However it seemed that the intruder’s words held enough magic within them to collapse all the spells that had been erected at the formation of the old Alliance. The protections that kept him safe in his office dissipated, making him aware of just how vulnerable he really was.
“You have served this organisation well, Maxell,” the Grand Monarch mused, “but you also tried to resist my will. You are a traitor to the United Alliance of Evil by retroactive decree. Andromeda, deal with him.”
“Of course Dark Specter,” one of the females responded. She had pink hair, so far the only thing that set her apart from the others.
Andromeda raised her staff and a ball of flame shot from the tip, engulfing Maxell. The searing flames consumed his flesh. His screams could be heard throughout the building as the magical flames did their work. When the flames finally faded, Maxell had been reduced to a charred corpse. With a second wave of her staff, Maxell’s body was transported to the entrance of the headquarters where it would serve as a potent symbol of the new regime’s power.
“Very good,” Dark Specter praised his servant.
Andromeda was only a clone, a magical copy of his soon-to-be queen. Like her sisters, she had been created to lead his armies into battle and was completely loyal to his teachings. Astronoma, Astronema and Artemis each had their own strengths, but Andromeda had been a student of Dark Specter’s finest sorcerers and her powers could reach into the depths of the Morphin Grid.
“Thank you, Dark Specter,” she replied, eyeing her master with a hungry look.
Andromeda, Astronema, Astronoma and Artemis had all been created according to Dark Specter’s will. They embodied all the things he wanted his queen to be. Among those traits he had given each of them an overwhelming desire to be his queen and to serve in his name. It made the four servants highly competitive and more than a little jealous of his intended bride.
“Now, send word to all those servants of evil that the first meeting of the United Alliance of Evil will take place soon and that their attendance is compulsory.” Over time Dark Specter had grown accustomed to completely ignoring the looks of desire on his creations’ faces.
“At once Dark Specter,” the four females responded.
“Ecliptor, escort my bride to her new quarters and ensure that she is secure,” he ordered.
Ecliptor bowed his head and turned to the captive female. “Come along, Princess,” he said, gesturing for the two foot-soldiers to lead the way.
As Ecliptor left, Dark Specter to make his way to the raised platform where Maxell had once held office. With a wave of his hand the table was gone, replaced with a throne that spoke of his power. There would be those who tried to oppose him, others who would seek to learn the secrets of his power, but in the days to come they would learn obedience. For just as he had secured an operative deep within the hierarchy of the Galactic Council, so he would now control the Alliance with an iron fist. And then the Universe would be his.
Power Chamber, Earth
“The tests are complete Zordon,” Alpha reported.
Zordon sighed. This was the moment when he would discover whether his instincts were correct. Nothing in his mind could come about without there being a price to pay. The computers had been working since events had freed him from his dimensional prison to confirm whether or not his fears were justified.
“Very well Alpha, transfer the data to the Viewing Screen,” he instructed.
The monitor filled with line upon line of scientific data and carefully compiled numbers. The Rangers would have found it difficult to understand most parts of the complex report, and almost impossible to comprehend some of the more alien tests that the computer had undertaken. Maybe Trey would have understood the full implications since as Lord of Triforia he had had his share of such examinations. And Billy with his experiences on Aquitar had a chance of recognising what some of the readings represented. The others would not know and that was the way he wanted it.
“So it s true,” he said softly. “I had hoped that this was not the case.”
“Ai-yi-yi, I’m sorry Zordon.”
Zordon smiled at the little robot. Alpha had been his companion for during his imprisonment and was extremely loyal. In fact Alpha had been with him before his confrontation with Rita, but had been damaged. In the years following the showdown, when there had been no way for Zordon to communicate with the rest of the universe, Alpha had been ignored and left to rust. It was only when Zordon had been able to reach out that Lexian had volunteered to rebuild Alpha. Over time Zordon had grown to consider Alpha a friend.
“Thank you Alpha,” he replied. “Do not concern yourself.”
“The Rangers will be so upset.”
“That is why you will not tell them,” he replied. Seeing that Alpha was about to protest he wondered if this was going to be the first time he had had to use Alpha’s override command to ensure his silence. “Please Alpha, I ask you to keep this matter between us as a favour to me.”
To his great relief Alpha agreed. The idea of using his ownership of Alpha to turn such a request into a command was something that disgusted him. Alpha had grown and developed into an individual with his own personality and perhaps after all the time he had spent within the presence of such high concentrations of magic, a soul. To reduce him back to the level of a mere machine would be an unthinkable and truly unforgivable act in Zordon’s mind. While Alpha normally did as he was told, that was more to do with him being the
Grid Master’s assistant than simple robotic slavery.
“Thank you, Alpha. Begin analysis of my Power Coin. Let us hope that we will find a solution there.”
There was much to be done and sadly, less time to do it in. Zordon hoped that his research would prove invaluable to the Rangers in their future battles against the forces of evil. If the visions he had received recently were true, then they would need all the help they could get. And perhaps armed with what he now knew it was time to put a new master plan in place.
“We’re ready, Dark Specter”
Across the universe there were many villains. Some were the lone leaders of their own organisations, while others were part of a much larger evil dynasty. Machines, tyrants, pirates, locusts and misguided fools, there was no question that evil sported a wide range different villains. And while some worked together, all were focussed on achieving their aims at the expense of anything that got in their way. And that level of selfishness meant that sometimes infighting was inevitable.
The Alliance of Evil had been a council of the most powerful villains. I was a place where disputes between different factions could be resolved before a minor disagreement turned into an all out war. Rules were in place to make sure that villains at focussed on the goal of destroying the forces of good before turning on each other. It was a place where the size of an empire was as important as the power they held.
But that had changed. Dark Specter had seen the flaws in the Alliance of Evil and had made it his first act to disband the organisation. For the first and greatest flaw of the Alliance of Evil was that membership was voluntary. Once a villain was granted membership, they could sever ties at any time. The Machine Empire had left eons ago and had no long been bound by the rules that applied to the likes of Master Vile. Infighting had become more common in recent decades and given a few more centuries and there was a chance that the Alliance would have fallen apart.
And so Dark Specter had stepped in, destroying the Alliance’s administrator and appointing himself as Grand Monarch. His decree had actually stated that the Alliance of Evil had been absorbed into his own empire and reinvented as the United Alliance of Evil, which all members of the Alliance of Evil, past and present, were required to join. He had ordered one of his underlings to send a message advising his new subjects of the change, but had decided a personal appearance would be a better idea.
Astronama, Andromeda, Astronoma and Andromeda had worked together to build a communication platform capable of transmitting Dark Specter’s image to all points of his new empire. It had been set up in such a way that for magic users he would appear as a magical projection and for the machines, he would appear as an electronic data stream. It was intended to show that that he could use their methods and not limited like some of those he wished to address.
“Excellent my dear,” Dark Specter replied. “Begin the spell.”
And with that the members of the newly formed United Alliance of Evil received the message.
“VILLAINS OF THE UNIVERSE, I AM YOUR NEW GRAND MONARCH. THE ALLIANCE OF EVIL HAS BEEN DISBANDED, REPLACED BY A NEW, STRONGER ORGANISATION THAT YOU NOW A PART OF. THE DAYS OF INFIGHTING AND EMPIRES DECLARING INDEPENDENCE ARE OVER. YOU HAVE A CHOICE: EITHER YOU ARE A PART OF THE UNITED ALLIANCE OF EVIL, OR YOU WILL BE ERADICATED AND FORGOTTEN.
ONE MONTH FROM NOW THERE WILL BE A MEETING, THE FIRST MEETING OF OUR NEW ORGANISATION. USE THE TIME BETWEEN NOW AND THEN TO DECIDE WHAT YOU WILL OFFER THE UNITED ALLIANCE OF EVIL. THOSE THAT DO NOT ATTEND WILL BE DECLARED TRAITORS, HUNTED DOWN AND BURNED.”
As he spoke, Dark Specter demonstrated his shape shifting abilities, each form growing increasingly monstrous as his tone turned more and more threatening. When he was finished he had no doubt that those that had heard him would obey his command.
End
Chapter 2: Escape Velocity
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to the respective copyright owners. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Escape Velocity
“Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the most heavily anticipated race in the history of Velocistar. Today’s special Death Strike Gauntlet will see Visceron step out of his comfort zone in the speed races to take part in the special winner takes everything challenge. Can our brave champion hope to survive the gauntlet that has claimed so many other racers or will next months Baribaria Cup commence without a defending champion?”
The commentator clicked off the mike and watched the numbers soar as punters both on-planet and off-world placed their bets. The smart credits were of course made against Visceron. There had never been an instance where the challenger had survived the gauntlet, let alone won it. And for Visceron to have been entered into the Gauntlet meant that the racing star had upset somebody very important. In that case it seemed even less likely that they would recover any remains following whatever nasty accident he was involved in.
“And the competitors are line up ready to race. We have a full house today, seems everybody wants the opportunity to put Visceron in his place. All your favourite Death Strike teams are ready to race into action. And the anticipation is building with experts predicting an absolute certainty that Visceron will not finish the race. The question now is: how far will he get and which of our competitors will be the one to end his career?”
The race wasn’t fair by any means. For one thing Visceron would be racing his standard vehicle while his opponents had spent years modifying and arming their cars for the rigours of gauntlet competition. Then there was the fact that while he had to beat every other racer to win, they only had to beat him.
“And the flag is raised ready to begin this epic confrontations. The anticipation is growing, who will win this race? And there’s the flag. We’re off!”
The monitor before him showed the cars surge forward and then the majority swerved either to the left or the right in a blatant attempt to catch Visceron early on. It seemed the champion driver at least had the sense to predict such an attempt and had jammed his brakes on the moment the race had started, before directing his vehicle to avoid the massive pile up.
“Spectacular thinking on the part of Visceron to avoid a thirty, no forty car pile up that would have surely ended his chances in this competition. He swerves around the carnage and is in last place as the lead drivers reach the end of the first straight.”
What followed was a fast paced race as Visceron tried to catch and overtake the race leaders without giving them the opportunity to take him out of the competition.
“Oh my word, when did Visceron have a chance to arm his vehicle? Is Visceron even allowed to arm his vehicle?”
The other competitors were armed and dangerous, but there had never been an instance where the challenger had been allowed to even the odds.
“Visceron is fighting back. I don’t think any of our officials expected this. And wait, he’s coming up to last corner now. Spectacular move, he just shot under the racing line of his opponent and into first place. The finish line is in sight. This could be the first time a challenger has ever escaped the Death Strike Gauntlet. He slides the tail just a little, straightens up and he’s over the finishing line. Visceron has won and you can bet that there will be more on this story to come.”
Visceron was an Inquirian, a race known for their endless pursuit of knowledge and boundless curiosity. While some chose to seek their knowledge within the ancient texts of bygone eras, Visceron chose to seek out knowledge through experience. To aid him he had been upgraded with advanced recording and archiving equipment as well as technology to improve his sight and hearing.
Unfortunately Visceron was also a risk taker, willing to place himself in danger to solve whatever mystery had caught his attention. Ultimately that curiosity had drawn him to Velocistar, a racing planet rumoured to be owned by the Dianthe Clan. He had heard the rumours of the illegal betting, race fixing and other crimes that plagued the planet, but had been intrigued to find out the truth for himself.
To that end he had set himself up as a racer and had competed in many of Velocistar’s competitions. He had been crowned champion six seasons in a row and had used his fame and new found wealth to find his way into the inner workings of Velocistar’s criminal underworld. His investigation had taken him to places where he should not have gone, but he had survived and had gathered a great amount of evidence against a number of corrupt officials within the Galactic Council. But his most recent discovery had put all his previous accomplishments to shame. He had discovered how the funds the were being siphoned off were intended to be used.
He had not believed what he had seen at the time. And that was why he had still been there when security personnel had responded to the alarm he had triggered. Unable to kill him outright – for it transpired that Visceron had managed to download the entire Dianthe Database into his expanded memory, and had set it to transmit the contents should he be killed in any of the traditional ways – the Dianthe’s representative had found it amusing to put him in the Death Strike Gauntlet a perfectly legal race with an extremely high death toll. Unfortunately because the death would be as the result of his agreement to participate, albeit unwillingly given, the safety measures he had taken would not trigger.
On the other hand he was relieved to find that the stewards had not checked his car before the race and had missed the preparations he had made should he need to escape in a hurry. And now in the confusion that followed him winning the race, he switched his vehicle to space mode and soared into the sky.
Escaping Velocistar was all well and good, but it now he needed to warn somebody about his discovery. The question was who could he trust when The Galactic Council had been infiltrated by dark forces at its highest levels, the Intergalactic Police Force had enemy agents working within, and even the Rider Corps had been infiltrated if what he had heard was true?
Visceron had only one choice: Zordon. The White Master would listen to him and know how to use the evidence he provided. Maybe Zordon could warn the Council of what was about to come although he doubted even then that they would act in time to stop the poison that threatened to bring them down from the inside… years in his line of work had turned Visceron paranoid and he was constantly thinking up new conspiracy theories.
As he set the coordinates he spotted the first signs that his captors had found him and were giving chase.
He finished downloading the message into his ship’s communications device, Visceron continued to wonder just how things had gotten so bad without somebody noticing. The forces of darkness were gathering in secret, well away from those that drew attention to themselves like Rita Repulsa and Divatox. They had infiltrated the organisations responsible for stopping them and in doing so had effectively crippled the light side. Upon review he realised that he had the needed to expose the corruption of some of the most respected organisations in the galaxy. Unfortunately that discovery was bound to cost him his life.
But knowing that he would not survive only encouraged him to push more and more data into the limited transmitter. Just because he was going to die did not mean that he couldn’t warn Zordon or anybody else who would listen. The broadcast would be imprecise, but it would a chance to make sure that other were warned. Then they would have the means to defeat the threat before it grew too strong.
He only had to fly a little further, to keep the enemy at bay a little longer and then the message could be sent. But it seemed his pursuers had predicted his path accurately as demonstrated when a large vessel appeared right in his path. Suspecting that his end had come, he prepared himself for the inevitable, pulled the wheel sharply to the left and pushed his vehicle into high gear. With a squeal of breaking gears, the shuttle car lurched into high speed flight and disappeared.
Earth
As October moved slowly into November, the year continued to pass for the Power Rangers of Earth. For some now enjoying the freedom of life outside of school, the days seemed to fly by. For other less fortunate members of the elite group, Double English on a Thursday morning was proving to be an exceptionally dull affair. To be precise the five youths that made up the Turbo Rangers were sat listening to another lecture about poetry and grammatical rules. Only Justin seemed to enjoy the lesson although the others were at least more attentive than their fellow students, some of who had fallen asleep.
Was it wrong to hope for a monster attack to break up the tedium of the morning? Tasha knew the answer was yes and secretly hoped she would be forced to endure the rest of the lesson, but a part of her craved the excitement that came from saving the world. And if it would get Justin away from Kristen Parker, so much the better.
If the Turbo Rangers had been the sort to look around, like some of their fellow students, they might have noticed the odd periscope that appeared from the fish tank at the back of the class. Unfortunately for them, Kat and Tanya had taken it upon themselves to lecture them on the importance of keeping up their grades and paying absolute attention in class, so the intruder went unnoticed.
“Rygog, stop messing around with that thing, you won’t see anything new!”
Divatox was bored. Since the defeat of Cocky Roach she had sent a few Bounty Hunters to Earth, but for the most part she had seemingly given up on her plans for the planet. In reality her forces had been carrying out raids and thefts around the world to gather the needed parts for her new scheme. It was nice to return to the pirate lifestyle of stealing that she so enjoyed, but the effect was ruined because in order to prevent the Power Rangers from guessing her plan she had been unable to boast about her crooked gains.
And when all the materials had been gathered, she had been forced to sit back and wait, something that didn’t suit her personality in the slightest. It made her very unhappy and that in turn made the atmosphere on board her vessel extremely tense. So tense in fact that even Elgar was aware of it and chose not to pester his aunt.
In the engine room, Porto took some comfort that for the time being he was safe from her anger. In all honesty he was more concerned about what would happen if Rygog, Elgar or any one of the many foot-soldiers who had been unfortunate to cross her path should find him. Unfortunately as he stared down at the report in front of him he knew he would not be able to hide any longer. At least he had something to distract her with.
“Porto!” Divatox shrieked at the top of her lungs. “Porto, get in here, right now!”
Porto sighed. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, sooner or later she would remember his existence and summon him. Dusting himself off he made his way to the bridge, hoping that this time she would at least let him answer.
“Well?” she demanded the moment he entered, fixing him with an icy stare. “Have you accomplished anything or have you just been hiding out down in the engine room again?”
“I’m sorry Divatox, I was making progress but the overnight ratings arrived,” he explained. Noticing her confused and irritated look, he elaborated: “for the races on Velocistar.”
“Oh?” she responded. As Queen of the Dianthe she enjoyed telling her underlings how she was responsible for the success of all her clan’s little ventures. But she rarely had the opportunity to involve herself directly. “How did we do?”
Porto looked nervous, hoping that he could disguise the bad new without her noticing until he had gone. “Last night saw the highest ratings of all time,” he reported. “Our agents managed to draw in almost five times their previous takings and interest in our operations have never been higher.”
“Excellent news Porto,” Divatox smiled. “With a result like that even my mother should be pleased.”
“Yes,” Porto agreed. “The only downside is that Visceron escaped and was last seen heading towards Earth.”
“WHAT?!” she screamed. “Why didn’t you tell me that first you dunderhead. We need to stop that little sneak before he has a chance to talk to Zordon.”
“We’ll need to find some new drivers too,” Porto reminded her, “Visceron managed to injure most of them while escaping.”
“When I get my hands on that spy I’m gonna…” she trailed off as an idea hit her. “Porto, start advertising the next race: a Death Strike Gauntlet with all new competitors. Then order our scouts to go out there and find me some new racers. If Visceron turns up here we’ll just deal with him and Zordon’s little pests.”
“At once,” Porto agreed.
“And Porto,” she called, “I haven’t forgotten about that task I set you. I want it done, quickly!”
Porto paled and then hurried off, leaving Divatox to smile dreamily as she envisioned herself ruling over the other villains as the one who finally put the Power Rangers in their place.
End
Chapter 3: Nancy Cooper
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to their respective copyright holders. The concept of the Rescue Machines and several other ideas are taken from Tomika Rescue Force.
Author’s note: When considering the Rescue Machines, kindly imagine that the machine that hauls them into battle is just small enough that it can fit down a street and only just scrap the buildings on each side
Nancy Cooper’s Rough Ride
If there had been one effect of Rita Repulsa’s release and the subsequent attacks on Earth from various villains that rarely got a mention in the press, it was the effective ending of space exploration. With numerous villains based on the Moon and orbits close to the Earth, the risk of sending up a new shuttle was deemed too great. And so NASADA, the United States’ Space Agency, having combined the workings of NASA with several other agencies, had pushed their budget towards developing new and better methods of launching and landing shuttles within the Earth’s atmosphere. The theory was that when it was safe to venture to space once more, they would have the shuttles ready to do so.
Nancy Cooper would never claim that she was an astronaut, despite having flown higher than many humans ever managed. Nancy was a test pilot for NASADA’s Space Vehicle Development Program. Practically fearless within the confines of a cockpit, Nancy had achieved more flight hours than any other test pilot and had earned the right to be the first to test the new shuttle design in a special flight from NASADA’s Headquarters in Angel Grove to the recently constructed Flight Innovation Centre at Mariner Bay, in Washington. Although only a short distance, the trip had been plotted to allow for an orbital manoeuvre that would see her circle the planet three times before landing, pushing the shuttle’s retro rocket system with a series of complex turns.
The take-off had gone without a hitch. The shuttle had launched exactly as expected and had performed just as the computer simulations had suggested. The first orbital loop had been performed easily within the time that the flight directors had wanted and the second loop had been locked into the computer. The shuttle responded well to the controls as Nancy made a few small adjustments to allow for a slight drift problem the engineers would need to investigate later. She looked forward to spending more time in the cockpit in the months that followed, pushing the expensive craft through its paces.
It was during the transition from the second loop to the final rotation that something went wrong. Whether it was an unexpected weather front or some object that Air Traffic Control had failed to warn out of the area – although how such an object could be high enough to fall into the shuttle’s path was unknown – the shuttle collided with an unknown object. In the collision part of the left wing and stabiliser structure was damaged and the mission suddenly changed from routine to deadly.
Nancy struggled to regain control as the shuttle pitched and rolled uncontrollably. It appeared that the entire rear section of the left wing had been vaporised one of the wings had been damaged by the impact and that a majority of the shuttle’s electronics had been rendered inoperable by electrical feedback. It was only through hours of simulated scenarios that she was able to calmly restore the shuttle to level flight, using the right wing to compensate for the deficiencies of the left wing. But with the electrical systems knocked out it was impossible to lower the landing gear, raising the question of how on Earth she could hope to land? And given the shuttle’s experimental fuel cells, a crash landing was out of the question.
High above Mariner Bay there was a scientific impossibility. Dark storm clouds had been gathered there for months and had done nothing. There had been no change in the size or composition of the cloud and despite how dark the cloud appeared, no sign of rain. Had the meteorologists been able to see inside the stubborn mass, they would not have believed their eyes. For the cloud was in reality a dimensional vapour created as a side effect of the magic that kept Skull Cavern floating over the place where Queen Bansheera had once ruled. In her time it had been a magical focus that she had used to spread her demonic power over the Earth. Five thousand years later and it served as the home of her servants.
It had been many months since the opening of a tomb had released a group of demons upon the Earth. And since that time, the threat those demons posed had yet to fully appear. True in the early days there had been a series of monster attacks, but following the encounter with Lord Zedd and the loss of one of their teammates, the Lightspeed Rangers had been on alert, but rarely in action. They had trained daily, learning to working together and alongside Lightspeed’s newest operative: Garth Nelson, an escaped government experiment who had been granted refuge in return for his assistance against the demons. But after months of silence the questions were starting to be asked about whether there was even a need for Lightspeed; the US Military was keen to scrap Operation Lightspeed and turn the technology to a more practical use.
If however the humans thought that the threat posed by the demons had passed, they were mistaken. For many months the Rangers of Mariner Bay had been fighting to protect their world from the minions of Queen Bansheera, not realising that Bansheera’s most powerful and dedicated followers were still in the process of being released. The mighty Diabolico along with Loki and Vypra were personal servants of the queen. Along with her son Impus and Jinxer, they were her most faithful courtiers.
And now after months, they had finally broken free from their stasis and were less-than-pleased with the scene that greeted them.
“What has happened here?” Diabolico demanded. “Why can I not feel the great power of Queen Bansheera?”
“It’s the humans, Diabolico,” Loki moaned. “They’ve destroyed everything we left behind and allowed the power to fade. They’ve taken the palace, our lands, everything, and turned it into their world.”
“Then we will take it back starting with this city of Mariner Bay.” He paused and looked at Vypra. “Are you certain this is where the palace stood?”
The winged female nodded. “Yes Diabolico. This is where Queen Bansheera had her palace. That whole city would be her throne room.”
“Then we will start by purging the humans from this place and rebuilding the palace ready for when Queen Bansheera returns.”
This was how it should have been done from the start. But for some reason Diabolico and his companions had not been the first to awaken following their release. Others had tried to take on the task and had failed miserably. It had taken much longer for Diabolico and the others to fully recover, a sign of how drained their powers had become thanks to the humans.
“This place used to fill us with power,” Diabolico grumbled. “Now it barely sustains Impus.”
Indeed most of the latent magic around them had been channelled towards Queen Bansheera’s son. It was not enough for him to truly feed upon; he would not grow more powerful until the source of their power was fully restored.
“These humans appear quire adept at destroying themselves,” Vypra mused as she stared off into the distance. With a wave of her hand she conjured the image of a badly damaged space shuttle thundering toward Mariner Bay.
“Perhaps we should help them along,” Diabolico mused before pulling a card from somewhere and handing it to Jinxer. “Make me a monster that will turn that shuttle into a disaster; something that will blow Mariner Bay off the planet.”
“Tornado winds, blow from the East, transform this card into a monstrous beast!” Jinxer intoned, waving his arms around as Diabolico explained his plans to make any rescue an impossible task.
Lightspeed Aquabase
The shuttle was in trouble and the Lightspeed Rangers had been placed on high alert. While not the type of emergency they really wanted, they agreed that a crash on that scale would be a disaster for the city. They were already running through possible rescue scenarios, using the many non-Zord machines that Ms Fairweather and her had designed. For the authorities had decided that funding the building of new Zords was not a priority and had decreed that any Zords that were completed were only to be used where there were clear signs of demon involvement and not for everyday rescues. Unless clearly stated as a Lightspeed Rescue, the Rangers were acting unofficially and the use of Zords was absolutely forbidden.
Fortunately Ms Fairweather had found a way around that instruction by simply designating her creations as Rescue Machines. Smaller than the standard Zords, the Rescue Machines had the ability to combine and extend their capabilities. It was a system that Captain Mitchell was already considering sharing with rescue organisations around the world. Providing of course they could find a way to ensure that all the tools utilised by the Rescue Machines could not be used as weapons.
“Kelsey, Dana and Chad will control the three Elevator Rescues,” Carter said. “Joel will provide air surveillance and I’ll be standing by for fire control.”
The others nodded and stood ready to move off to their stations. They had a little time to prepare, providing the pilot could keep the shuttle under control. If they were very lucky they would be able to dictate the landing ground.
Before they could do so an alarm sounded.
“Sorry people, things just got more complicated,” Captain Mitchell told them. “Looks like demon activity down town; the shuttle is now second priority. Move out!”
With that the Lightspeed Rangers raced to the Lightspeed Rover and began the process of leaving the Lightspeed Aquabase and heading toward Mariner Bay.
Nancy pulled the flaps to full deployment, using her knowledge of the shuttle’s heat shielding to position the vehicle in such a way that it could burn off a little speed. All the while she hoped that whatever had damaged the wings and had not shattered the heat resistant tiles on the main fuselage. One crack and the shuttle was in danger of burning up before it slowed.
Mariner Bay
From the moment the Rescue Rover emerged from the Mariner Bay end of the tunnel, it was clear that they were in for a difficult time. A full force hurricane had appeared from nowhere and threatened to sweep the city aside. As they had been instructed the Rangers knew that the lives of civilians took priority over property damage, and after locating the most secure places, the Rangers set about guiding the citizens to safety.
The unnaturalness of the storm became more and more evident as the winds seemed to change direction in an instant and actively work to prevent the Rangers from completing their mission. Kelsey found herself blown off her feet and would have crashed into a wooden shack had she not fired a safety line from her side arm. After that the Rangers made certain they had a strong anchor should they need it and a safety line rigged to fire at a moment’s notice.
Only when the immediate area was clear did the Rangers have the opportunity to see the damage the storm had caused. The waterside area was a wreck and the Mariner Bay Docks now housed more than a few sunken wrecks. Overturned cars, uprooted street lights and broken street furniture were the obvious signs of damage. The smashed shop fronts and partially demolished buildings showed how much damage had been caused by the storm, which for some reason had suddenly calmed.
Laughter filled the air as the clouds seemed to shift to reveal a demonic face.
“What’s that?” Red Lightspeed asked as he and the others regrouped.
“I am Diabolico,” he replied.
“What do you want from us?” Red Lightspeed pressed.
“Your people have destroyed the kingdom of Queen Bansheera. I have come to destroy all that you have done to our kingdom and restore Queen Bansheera to her rightful place. And we will start by destroying this city and rebuilding Queen Bansheera’s palace.”
“Wait!” Red Lightspeed begged as Diabolico vanished, replaced by a water funnel that swept into the city. “Come on guys, we have to stop him!”
The Rangers chased after the monster, using the helmets to send a constant stream of data back to the Lightspeed Aquabase where Captain Mitchell and his crew could analyse it properly.
“Rangers, there is something inside the storm,” Captain Mitchell reported. “Use your weapons to draw it out.”
“Rescue Blasters!” the five Rangers called. “Fire!”
They aimed for different points on the tornado and were rewarded when one shot connected with something, causing the tornado to vanish and something to drop to the ground. His name was Whirlin, a demon that drew his abilities from the air around him and resembled a large bat.
“Don’t you realise you can’t stop me?” Whirlin asked as he prepared to launch another attack.
“Save your breath,” Red Lightspeed countered. “My friends and I will stop you. That’s a promise.”
“Well if you’re going to bring friends into this, meet some of mine,” Whirling retorted as he summoned a horde of Batlings.
“He’s got a lot of friends,” Blue Lightspeed commented.
“Yeah, but we have each other,” Red Lightspeed countered.
“Batlings, attack!” Whirlin ordered.
“Rescue Blasters, Baton Mode!” Red Lightspeed ordered as he led the charge.
Months of training had made the Rangers extremely efficient at fighting large numbers of lower powered opponents. Using their batons and blasters to strike down their enemies, Green and Yellow Lightspeed used their rescue lines to their advantage.
Eventually as Pink Lighspeed cleared away two dozen Batlings with her Rescue Blaster, the Red Lightspeed Ranger found himself facing Whirlin. The confrontation was brief and the monster won, send the Red Lightspeed Ranger flying. While he assured his friends that he was okay, Whirlin took the opportunity to strike down all five of his opponents with a wind blast.
“Rescue Blasters!” Red Lightspeed ordered and the team fired in unison, damaging the monster.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is the shuttle. Have encountered severe damage and unable to land safely. Request emergency assistance!”
“Ah just what I was waiting for,” Whirlin told them as he heard the message broadcast over their communicators. The shuttle was broadcasting on all frequencies, overriding local radio in the hope of getting a response. Whirling reverted to his tornado form and shot off in the direction of the stricken shuttle.
“We have to stop him before he causes any more damage!” Blue Lightspeed urged.
“Rescue Bird Command: Deploy!” Red Lightspeed ordered.
The Rescue Bird was a multifunctional tool that was too large for the Rangers to carry into battle and tool expensive and delicate to be left in the Rescue Rover. So instead Ms Fairweather had found a way to make the construct fly to the Rangers’ position.
“Separate!” Red Lightspeed continued, causing the Rescue Bird to divide into its five component parts. Normally the Rangers would use their individual tools to assist during a rescue, but this time Carter had something else in mind. “Unilaser Mode!”
The Rangers clipped the five pieces together, using Red Lightspeed’s gun handle to form a firing mechanism. With the other Rangers bracing him, Red Lightspeed took aim at the tornado monster and fired. The shot was accurate and Whirlin fell to the ground in chunks of blackened monster parts. The question was whether they had managed to stop him in time.
“Rangers, the shuttle is still intact, but the storm has caused further damage. At this point the controlled landing you planned would not work,” Captain Mitchell told them.
“Oh no, what do we do now?”
“Under the circumstances I am declaring this a Lightspeed Rescue and authorising the use of force,” Captain Mitchell continued, “if there is a way to do so safely.”
The Rangers lacked Zords, but had a fleet of Rescue Machines at their disposal following their encounter with Lord Zedd. However in order to use them without facing a major inquiry, for any sort of rescue, the Rangers were required to first prove that the emergency had been caused by the demons they were supposed to fight. When Whirlin had attacked the shuttle he had given the Rangers a much better chance of rescuing the shuttle and its brave pilot.
“I can use Rescue Flyer to help regain control,” Green Lightspeed offered.
“Computers show you would not be able to control the shuttle enough to make a safe touchdown,” Mitchell replied. “I’m sorry Joel, but if we try that we’d risk crashing a shuttle into the city.”
“I have an idea,” Yellow Lightspeed offered, “but if I tell you, you’d think I’m crazy.”
“It’s your call Carter,” Captain Mitchell said.
“Kelsey, call the shots,” Red Lightspeed instructed.
Yellow Lightspeed nodded and gripped her wrist to access the command pad hidden under the gauntlet. “Rescue Machines, Deploy!”
The shuttle rolled to the right as Nancy struggled to maintain control. The storm had not caused extensive damage, but it had disrupted all of the careful flying that Nancy had used to stabilise the shuttle. And now with less speed and the ground growing closer by the second, she was not sure she could regain control. And even if she could there was still the question of landing. He hand twitched towards the final option, a control that would sent the shuttle hurtling out to sea, dumping its fuel crystals as it did so to prevent a huge explosion. They would have to be recovered but would not post an immediate threat. There was no way that she would survive the manoeuvre, but Mariner Bay would be safe.
It wasn’t self-preservation that stopped her from pulling the lever. While she had a strong desire to survive the mission, it was the realisation that having lost so much speed and with the ground approaching so fast, there was no guarantee that the emergency option would get her far enough away for the ship to crash safely. So instead she continued as before, using the working side of the shuttle to try and compensate for the damaged side that threatened to cause the shuttle to crash any second.
While Nancy struggled to maintain what little control she had, the Rangers’ Rescue Machines had been dispatched into the heart of Mariner Bay. They were using the Rescue Hauler – a super-sized Rescue Machine modelled after a large fire with an extended trailer to carry the bulk of their equipment to where it was needed. Today they had replaced the enormous ladder it normally carried in favour of being able to hold extra Rescue Machines.
“All right, everybody off; Joel: get up there and stabilise the shuttle!” Yellow Lightspeed ordered.
Green Lightspeed nodded and rushed to obey as the others scrambled to move their Rescue Machines out of the Rescue Hauler. When they had done so, Yellow Lightspeed flicked a series of controls that reinforced the top bed of the Rescue Hauler, allowing it to handle the weight of the shuttle.
“Carter, Chad, I need you two to set up for fire control in case this goes wrong,” she ordered, allowing the two Rangers to depart before turning her attention to Pink Lightspeed. “Dana, I need this highway cleared. Use the back of your machine and anything else you need, but I want it free of obstruction.”
Pink Lightspeed nodded and soon the various parked and abandoned vehicles were pulled inside Rescue Aider. Where there were drivers in the vehicles, Dana arranged for them to be stored safely in the upper section of the machine’s massive cargo bay, while empty vehicles were crushed in below.
“Road is clear,” Pink Lightspeed reported after a while, just as Green Lightspeed confirmed that he had managed to attach the grappling devices to the shuttle and was now in control, albeit only in control of a shuttle that was still heading toward the ground.
“Okay guys, this is what we do,” Yellow Lightspeed announced. “I’m going to drive along the highway and Joel is going to land the shuttle on top of me. We’re going to run two Rescue Elevators to support the wings, but you’re going to reverse thrust to slow me down because I doubt the brakes will work. Position the Rescue Turbine further along the highway and we can use it to create an air brake.”
“Are you kidding?” Nancy asked over the radio; Joel had established communication with the shuttle earlier and had left the frequency open so that she would know what to do. “This is crazy!”
“Crazy is my middle name,” Yellow Lightspeed responded.
There was a long pause before the pilot reluctantly agreed that this was her only chance and put her life in the Yellow Lightspeed Ranger’s hands.
What followed was a demonstration of why Joel Rawlings was so highly regarded for his piloting skills. Using the massive thrusters of Rescue Flyer, he managed to position the shuttle directly onto the roof of the Yellow Ranger’s machine. He quickly detached the magnetic clamps from the shuttle and used them to connect to his teammate’s vehicle. He then reversed thrust, slowing the Rescue Machine just before it ran out of highway. In the end it was a very close, but successful rescue.
As the Rescue Crane was helping to move the shuttle onto the ground where a mass of rescue personnel and technicians waited to access the stricken craft, Jinxer appeared on top of a tower. He threw a card into the monster’s remains and then started chanting.
“Demon of wind, demon of bats, pull yourself together and defeat those brats! Rise Whirlin’, rise and destroy!”
The spell had power and soon the demolished remains of Whirlin transformed into bats and started to reform at an even bigger size.
“Guys, we’ve got trouble,” Joel warned as the now giant Whirlin blasted whole buildings out of his path as he stalked towards the Rangers.
“Carter, it’s time to step things up a little!” Chad said.
“Right!” the Red Lightspeed Ranger agreed. “Request access to Final Rescue!”
“Final Rescue approved,” they heard Captain Mitchell reply. As he finished speaking a board on the side of their cockpits lit up.
Their new machines were not Zords. Miss Fairweather and her team were working around the clock to create something that would replace the Rescue Racer, but it wasn’t finished yet. Still even the machinery they had had some surprises. All of the equipment used to save lives had the potential to fire a more intense blast to neutralise threats. It was not as effective as a Megazord, but the threats they had faced were not of the same calibre encountered by the Rangers of Angel Grove.
“Wind spin!” Whirlin cried, pulling his arms in to provide extra speed as he started to rotate.
The Rangers response was to position the Rescue Turbine on top of the Rescue Hauler, creating a powerful wind machine of their own, using the powerful fan to deflect the attack.
“Our turn now,” Red Lightspeed told him. “Final Rescue: Engage!”
A jet of flame shot from one of the smaller Rescue Machines and the powerful turbine directed it at the helpless monster. Soon Whirlin was engulfed in flames. And shortly thereafter Whirlin was no more and the city was saved.
Nancy Cooper casually jogged down a sidewalk. It was good to be back in he home town, six months leave to give her a chance to adjust to her ordeal. She had decided to spend the day enjoying the outdoors with her dog, Dorsie.
“Come on Dorsie, you’re doing great,” she encouraged as the dog ran to keep up.
She paused to tie her shoe, letting go of the leash for a moment. She hadn’t expected Dorsie to run off, especially not into moving traffic. She definitely didn’t expect it to just sit in the middle of the traffic like a scared rabbit.
With a growing sense of panic, Nancy started to dash into the road, only to be held back by another pedestrian. A crowd was gathering, waiting for the little dog to be rescued or killed by the heavy traffic. And then the moment they all feared as a car headed straight for the terrified dog, the driver unable to swerve in time without causing a major accident.
Something yellow leaped over a parked car and raced into the street. The person snatched up Dorsie and peeled off just as the car screeched to a halt where the dog had been.
“Here you go,” the yellow clad girl said as she handed over the nervous but otherwise intact dog.
“Thank you,” Nancy said. “You must be crazy to do that.”
“Crazy is my middle name,” came the reply.
Nancy looked up sharply. She remembered the Ranger that had been responsible for her rescue and the words she had spoken. She also realised that the crowd of interested pedestrians had thinned to be replaced by a bunch of men in black suits.
“Crazy is a good thing in my job,” Kelsey told her. “And if you’re interested, we’d like to talk to you about your job too…”
“Nancy Cooper,” Nancy said holding out her hand.
“I’m Kelsey,” Kelsey replied, taking the offered hand. “I think this is going to be the start of an interesting friendship.”
Back at the Lightspeed Aquabase, Captain Mitchell reviewed the file one more time before stamping it. It seemed they had found a replacement sixth team member. Once Nancy was properly trained, Lightspeed would be back to full strength.
The battle was over and Miss Fairweather’s team was already hard at work repairing the damage sustained by Rescue Hauler. Despite their many breakthroughs, Lightspeed’s rescue equipment was relatively easy to damage. The heat from the shuttle had melted parts of its armoured skin and buckled several of the supports. Surviving the weight of a crashing shuttle had never been a part of the design specifications. Combining that with the cooling effect of the Rescue Turbine had uncovered a major rust issue that would need to be resolved as well.
After the shuttle had landed, Lightspeed’s technicians had made a full copy of its flight systems in the hope of uncovering what had happened. The results had caused Lightspeed to call a conference of scientists, super heroes and of course the Power Rangers.
It seemed that Nancy had not collided with an unknown physical object as first believed. Energy readings recorded by the shuttle had indicated it was mostly energy and that the damaged parts of the shuttle had not been knocked off due to the impact, but had vanished into the strange mass. It had not taken much work to realise that they were dealing with some form of portal. An air exclusion zone had been put into effect while scientists search for a way to close the portal or at least limit the damage it caused. However more portals had been observed across the world and while they were not dangerous, they had caused enough concern to shift efforts to detecting and avoiding them. So far however none had proven as dangerous as the portal Nancy encountered. And according to scientists, that portal had closed and was relatively harmless.
The Rangers of Angel Grove had been unable to provide any useful information. It seemed that the portals had not been created by magic or machine technology. Most were inactive and posed little threat. However without knowing more the Rangers could not rule out the possibility of another invasion. And not knowing made the portals far more dangerous.
End
Chapter 4: Thanksgiving Night
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to whomever currently owns the copyright. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it. Jeff Kincaid, Mark Kinega, Savrod, Crucible and the concept of the Night Rangers are based on the works of John Chubb.
Author’s Note: This is the next a story in the Conquest of Evil series. Please see the author’s note at the end of the story.
Thanksgiving Night
A message had been sent and ignored. The assorted villains across the Universe had heard the decree of the Grand Monarch and had decided it was just another upstart trying to get ahead of his peers with empty threats and boastful language. The Royal House of Gadgetry had laughed at the demand that they join the newly formed United Alliance of Evil although some of the smaller houses within the Machine Empire were prepared to do so; Mondo’s control over the Machine Empire came as a result of a power struggle between himself and rival machine kings. It was only through luck that his rivals had not seized control during the fiasco on Earth.
Master Vile had also sent back a replying, challenging the Grand Monarch to prove his power in a confrontation. Master Vile saw the opportunity to improve his own standing in the Alliance. He had heard rumours that something had happened to Maxell, but refused to believe that the man had been destroyed. He was after all protected by the power of the Alliance’s membership.
Finally there had been the response of the pirate clans with the Dianthe providing the most vocal response. They had not only refused the summons, they had openly declared that they would leave the Alliance if the so-called Grand Monarch was allowed to remain.
Three factions, all bitter enemies, united against a single threat. But that was the problem: they didn’t even consider the Grand Monarch to be a threat. They saw him as an upstart and a bad joke, a problem that they could deal with in their usual manner.
When word reached Dark Specter of their responses, he decided to prove his power. He dispatched the Messenger of Fire, a creature of living flame that he breathed from the mouth of one of his many forms. Hotter than the most powerful of Mondo’s forges, the flaming warrior destroyed one of the Royal House of Gadgetry’s key Space Bases, disrupting supplies and communication across Mondo’s empire. It was a move that cost Mondo severely, weakening his control over the Machine Empire. A later reassessment would show that member of the United Alliance of Evil was the only way to prevent his rivals or worse, Prince Gasket from making a bid for outright control.
Master Vile suffered a similar loss. His spawn worlds were essential for creating the servants he used to maintain control of his empire. The worlds were organic and the when the Messenger of Fire had chosen one, he no problems setting it ablaze. When it was done the living planet was charcoal. Being the pragmatist he was, Master Vile decided that he would attend the meeting of the United Alliance of Evil if only to learn more about the Grand Monarch and find a way to claim the villain’s powers for his own.
Perhaps the greatest loss was suffered by the pirates. While the Dianthe Clan’s fleet was smelted by the attack, the other clans did not benefit. The Messenger of Fire made the Grand Monarch’s stance on further resistance obvious. If the pirates did not join the United Alliance of Evil willingly, he would wipe them out. For Divatox the answer the answer was very simple. She would meet the Grand Monarch, charm him with her feminine wiles and marry him. The Dianthe Clan would become even more powerful with her as Queen of Evil.
And finally the Messenger returned to its creator, explaining all that it had done in his name. Dark Specter was pleased and granted it a place at his side. In future it would serve as his voice in the remote reaches of the Universe.
The Defiant was the primary transport of the Night Rangers. Officially it was a very old ship. It was much older than many of the vessels found within the Galaxy Council, IGPF, Rider Corps or even Alliance of Evil fleets. Attempts to replace the vessel with an upgraded model had been blocked at every level. The Galactic Council did not want the Night Rangers or any of their allies to have access to modern technology, fearing how that technology would be used against them should the Night Rangers turn to the dark side. Officially the Defiant was registered as a Raider-class vessel, designed for speed to deploy a low number of specialist troops and then disappear. For the most part, given that there were normally only twelve Night Rangers, the ship seemed adequate to its task.
But times had changed and the Night Rangers’ enemies had developed their own space vessels that had vastly outclassed the Defiant’s meagre defences. Even its speed was of little use when it could be picked of by a single shot. And so the Night Rangers and their allies had upgraded their ship, a move that the Council could not prevent despite their objections. An overhaul of the engines, weapons and shielding had moved the ship beyond the specifications of Raider-class vessels, transforming it into a Xantium-class ship. At some point the Defiant had spent months in a private dry dock at the KO-35, but nobody had ever revealed what upgrades had been installed during that time.
Originally the Defiant had been constructed from the same alloy used for generations of Battlestar-class vessels and later to construct Zords. The metal’s strength was greatly enhanced by the Morphin Grid, but only functioned as a strong skin. On a planet that level of protection was adequate, but in space the possibility of a breach in its metal skin left the entire crew vulnerable. Many suspected that the Night Rangers had installed a more advanced form of armour and perhaps additional shielding.
Perhaps the Defiant’s most notable feature was its computer systems. Individual computers had been installed to operate independently of each other, allowing greater processing speeds. The individual systems were controlled by the Defiant’s main computer: Hardrive. Hardrive was more advanced than most ship computers. At the core his systems were electronic, but featured a prototype synthetic neural interface, made up of organic cells linked to a soft-sided circuit module. The design allowed Hardrive to function more as an electronic brain than as a simple computer. His programming was advanced enough that where there were no commands to determine his actions, he was able to develop his own subroutines. A very advanced computer indeed, but still a machine that was slaved to its programming when the software existed – for despite the ability to rewrite his programming, he was bound to follow existing commands where they existed and his commands could be overridden by those planted within one of the other computers.
When Jeff Kincaid had escaped folling their previous encounter, Crucible had used his knowledge of the Defiant’s programming to predict where the ship would go. However before he had been transformed in Crucible, Mark Kinega had encouraged Hardrives’s quirky personality components and this combined with the nature of its systems had allowed Hardrive to become creative.
In short, while Crucible was confident that the ship’s computers would follow a set of predefined orders and Hardrive’s situational awareness would be overridden, he had dismissed the possibility that Hardrive would adapt. Hardrive knew at the moment the computers indicated Earth as the next stopping point that Crucible would guess their destination. And while Hardrive was prevented from breaking the subroutines that Mark Kinega had designed, forcing it to obey the decision reached by the other computer, it could exert limited control over other systems.
That was why in spite of its speed, the Defiant had not yet reached Earth. Hardrive could not change the destination, but his scheduling software had issued a command to the Navigation Computer to switch to test mode. Hardrive had then set up a programmed course with Earth as the final destination, but which required the ship to make an undefined number of test runs before it got there. The result was that the Navigation Computer continually changed course to adapt to the new tests Hardrive would ask it to perform, keeping the Defiant from reaching the Earth. And so the computer had programmed the most indirect route possible, jumping from one side of the galaxy to the other using marked space lanes and taking advantage of the fact that Earth was not on any of the official trade routes. And as it continued its seemingly random flight, allowing the flight computer to get locked into a cycle for a short time, Hardrive monitored the movements of the enemy.
Eventually though there was no choice but to set course for Earth. A check of Jeff Kincaid’s health showed that the Night Ranger was not healing from the wounds he had suffered in his last battle. It seemed that the Night Rangers powers could do many things in battle, but healing was a problem. Hardrive determined that the wounds would likely need the help of a Morphin Master to heal. The computer had delayed as long as possible, but the health of its operator took priority over the need to survive.
“Perhaps today is a good day to die,” Hardrive stated as the navigation systems were switched back to real time, reconnecting them to the system that was sending alert after alert that protocol was not being followed and the course to Earth was plotted.
As the vessel took off at maximum speed to make up for lost time, Hardrive calculated the most likely point where it would be ambushed and engaged its weaponry, ready for a battle. Without an operator, the Defiant’s defences were extremely limited. Without an active Ranger its armour was not at full strength and the computers though accurate took much longer to aim then they did when fired manually. Many systems could only be activated by voice command or tactile interface, limiting Hardrive’s control over key systems.
It detected the first enemy craft as it approached Mars. It seemed a small fleet had been waiting there for some time. Fortunately they were not the sort of villains that invaded worlds directly, otherwise Earth would have already been conquered.
Normally in such a battle, a vessel under computer control would have been at a severe disadvantage. But Hardrive had been around the Night Rangers for too long and had picked up a great deal of their unorthodox methods. It isolated a small section of memory and allocated it a small amount of processing time and disk capacity. It then uploaded a program to the new system and set it running before isolating the system from all other parts of the computer. Surprisingly the system was very simple. It identified a scenario and selected a matching scenario from the ship’s memory core, much the same way that Hardrive’s processor could associate a quote from a television show or movie with a conversation.
“Hardrive, shields up!”
Hardrive was aware that despite the voice sounding exactly like Mark Kinega, it was actually a computer generated recording from a previous battle. A red light on one of the many consoles indicated that the voice identification software had been declared faulty and that until further notice all voice commands would be accepted as long as Hardrive determined them to be authentic.
And with that the Defiant launched into the most unusual battle ever fought with its systems and defences under the control of a voice recorder. Yet it worked surprisingly well, mostly because the enemy had not expected the Defiant to put up a fight and did not have a plan of attack other than destroying the vessel with its shields down.
“Lock on target and fire!”
This time it was the voice of a Night Ranger who had died over fifty years earlier. Still Hardrive obeyed and the ship continued to fight its way to Earth, returning fire as needed.
It was Thanksgiving and the Power Chamber was quiet. Divatox, Rita and Mondo had not attacked and the Rangers were enjoying the holidays with their loved ones. Tommy however had felt the need to teleport to the Power Chamber. He had a feeling he would be needed.
“Tommy,” Zordon greeted. The White Morphin Master was in his tube, the best place for him to interact with the Power Chamber’s systems. “Is there a problem? Alpha and I have not detected any signs of attack.”
Tommy sighed. “No Zordon, there isn’t really a problem. I just had a feeling that something was wrong. Not Rita or Mondo, or even Divatox. Just… wrong.”
Zordon nodded sagely. When the Rangers morphed for the first time, the Power enhanced any latent gifts they possessed. Tommy was not as psychically sensitive as Billy or Rocky. His mental awareness certainly didn’t match Christina or Jamie, however being placed under numerous spells throughout his Ranger career meant that Tommy was aware of when things were not right.
“Alpha, conduct a distance scan of the Solar System and report any unusual activity.”
Alpha obeyed, setting the sensors to collect as much data as possible and feed it into the Power Chamber’s systems. Even though Zordon’s sensors lacked detail, they information the fed into the system was too much for the computer to interpret. That was where Alpha’s search routines and Zordon’s gifts came into play.
“Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi!” Alpha cried.
Zordon was quick to pick up on what the robot had spotted. His response was less panicked, but urgent.
“Alpha, prepare a Level Six shut down of the Power Chamber. Disconnect all outside communications and block any of Billy’s feeds.” He paused and looked at Tommy. “I am sorry Tommy, if I had my way you would not be involved in this, but since you are here I must ask for your word you will never reveal to the other Rangers anything that happens between now and the time Alpha releases the lockdown.”
“Of course, I promise. But Zordon, what’s happening?”
“Alpha, replay the message you received so Tommy might hear it.”
“Attention Power Chamber, this is Night Ranger vessel Defiant. Is anyone receiving? Roger me. Wilco me. Anything. Hello. Hello. Earth? Repeat this is Night Ranger vessel Defiant calling the Power Chamber is anyone receiving?”
“Alpha, confirm that the message is genuine,” Zordon instructed.
Alpha didn’t need to study the data that the computer was scrolling in front of him. There was only one ship with a computer that sounded so unprofessional.
“It’s the Defiant,” he confirmed. Then he studied the data stream being sent from one of the ships more reliable systems. “The ship is under computer control, the only Ranger on board is injured.”
“Defiant, this is Zordon. You have permission to land. Please transmit the status of your crew.” In a blur of light Zordon emerged from his tube. “Alpha, as soon as the Defiant has landed, teleport the injured Ranger to the Medical Bay. Tommy and I will meet him there.”
Alpha nodded and Zordon left, followed by Tommy.
“Zordon, what is a Night Ranger and why did you ask me to make that promise?”
“Long ago the Morphin Masters discovered that there some evils they could not fight in the traditional way. The Morphin Masters were bound by rules and morals that forced them to keep to a strict code of behaviour. For a long time it was not a problem; many villains preferred to act in the way you are used to, fighting dirty but open conflicts against the light. But there were some that did not fight in the light. They hid in the shadows, corrupting the souls of those they encountered. Their attacks were far more personal albeit on a smaller scale. However, they proved just as dangerous if not more so. A number of Morphin Master demanded a change to face this threat and in the schism that followed, they formed the Acexta Order and left.
“Later they recruited a new time of warrior, the Night Fighters and eventually found a way to grant them powers similar to Rangers. And then one day a warrior rose from their ranks and found a way to use the forces of darkness to power his morpher, turning him into a Night Ranger.”
They reached the door to the Medical Bay and Zordon placed his hand on the scanner. The locks started to click and Tommy realised this was not the normal place where the Rangers were treated for injury.
“With this discovery a new team of Rangers was created. While they drew their powers from the Light Side of the Morphin Grid, they used them in ways that the Morphin Masters would never approve of. They totally disregarded the rule to never escalate a battle, deeming that the evil they faced was too dangerous to be confronted with anything less than maximum force. It was only their own morals that prevented them from using their powers for evil.
“The Morphin Masters did not like the idea. Some even formed an organisation dedicated to destroying them, but that has since faded into obscurity. In the end it was decided that the only way the Morphin Masters could limit the damage they had the potential to cause, was to accept them as Rangers.”
“The Night Rangers,” Tommy guessed.
“Correct. The Morphin Masters tried at first to force the Night Rangers to stop referring to themselves as Rangers. They failed. Then they tried to force them conform to their beliefs. The Night Rangers told them what they thought of that idea and pledged themselves to the Acexta Order as leaders of the Night Fighters. The Night Rangers did agree to certain restrictions although it was later found that they had no choice in the matter due to other factors; their numbers were limited to thirteen, which was the maximum number of Night Morphers they managed to create; later they admitted that attempts to create more Night Morphers had failed. They also agreed not to engage in the ongoing war between Good and Evil. They agreed because they felt that should they do so their enemies would also join the conflict. Finally it was agreed that the Night Rangers would hide their identities even from other Rangers. That is why I asked for your promise. Nobody may disclose the existence of the Night Rangers to those that are not aware of their existence, except if the Night Ranger is fulfilling his duty.” He didn’t add that in recent years the Night Rangers had pretty much abandoned any pretence of following that rule; while they didn’t announce their existence, they did nothing to hide it.
The lock finally finished opening and Zordon pushed the door. Then he stopped.
“I must warn you Tommy that the Night Rangers are not like other teams. They have the capacity to drew great power, especially at night, but their powers come at a price. The Night Rangers are broken souls, good people that have been damaged by the cruelties of life. Many lack the family that other Rangers enjoy and can seem bitter and hostile. Though they freely cross the line between light and dark, they struggle constantly not to cross the line between Good and Evil.”
“What would happen if they did?” Tommy asked.
“They would become a real monster. Fortunately few Night Rangers have ever fallen so far that they cannot be redeemed.”
“Until now.” Tommy and Zordon turned to regard the young man sitting on the bed. He looked ill, his body showing the signs of a recent battle and wounds that looked to be infected.
“Jeffrey, it is good to see you again,” Zordon said as he crossed the room and laid a hand on the stranger’s should. Almost immediately the wounds didn’t look quite so bad. “What has happened to your teammates?”
“You mean you haven’t heard?” Jeffrey snorted. “I thought it would have been all over the Morphin Master grapevine by now. The big bad Night Rangers and their allies destroyed by their own leader.”
“Mark turned on you?” Zordon asked, his voice wavering.
Zordon had known Mark very well. He had mentored the Red Night Ranger and encouraged him to recruit his new team. It seemed that something had gone wrong.
“That’s putting it lightly,” Jeffrey growled. “He lured us into a trap. He didn’t even have the courage to fight us face to face. He destroyed our Zords, killed the others and destroyed everything the Night Rangers stood for. And then for good measure he destroyed the Acexta.”
“How did you get away?” Tommy asked.
“Who are you?” Jeffrey demanded.
“This is Tommy Oliver, the current Red Zeo Ranger,” Zordon answered. “Tommy, this is Jeffrey Kincaid, the Blue Night Ranger.”
“It’s Jeff!” he snapped, “and he can’t know about me. Or have you forgotten the rules?”
“Tommy was here when Defiant arrived and has sworn that he will not reveal your existence to the rest of his team,” Zordon answered. “I am willing to allow him to keep his knowledge on that basis.”
Jeff nodded, although he still looked as if he wanted to protest. In the end he just sighed, his face seeming to relax as Zordon continued healing his wounds.
“I didn’t escape, I got lucky,” he said. “Mark forgot that Defiant’s computer is loyal to the Night Rangers. When he betrayed us the computer decided he was no longer a Night Ranger and turned on him. Hardrive rescued me and we’ve been running ever since.”
“And Mark is after you?” Zordon asked.
“He’s calling himself Crucible now,” Jeff replied.
Zordon suddenly looked much older. “Then he is beyond redemption,” he sighed. He noticed that Tommy was about to speak and quickly explained. “There was a recent attack on another Ranger team by a warrior calling himself Crucible. I had heard about the powers he possessed but did not know that Mark had defected. Crucible didn’t just kill them, he slaughtered them.”
“He doesn’t even recognise Mark Kinega as a part of himself,” Jeff added. “It’s like Mark ceased to exist when Crucible appeared. We know Mark took steps before he betrayed us, little things to make it easier to destroy us. But once he turned into Crucible all traces of him were gone.”
“Perhaps he did,” Zordon said sadly.
Unlike most Rangers, the Night Rangers could not be turned evil by the use of spells. They were protected by the nature of their powers. Unfortunately that meant that when they did turn it was their own choice and they usually fell so far that they could never find their way back.
“Mark will seek to control the Pit of Night,” Zordon said after some thought.
“Already tried,” Jeff answered. “I bound the spirits but he has possession of the Mirror of Night and control of the Pit of Night; I couldn’t protect the planet. It probably belongs to him now.”
“The loss is disturbing, however as long as he is unable to fully tap the powers of the Night Rangers, Crucible will never reach his full potential. Unfortunately that means he will seek out the one that is preventing him from doing so.”
“Me,” Jeff agreed. “I barely got out of the pit alive. It won’t take long for him to find me, assuming he doesn’t know I’m here.”
“I agree,” Zordon said. “For now there is little you can do to overcome Crucible. However, the longer you can keep him from unlocking the Spirits of the Night, the more chance there is of finding a way.”
“So what do you suggest I do? Run, hide?”
“Recover,” Zordon told him. “The Night Rangers are needed as much now as they were when they were first created. I believe the Night Rangers will rise again.”
“Dimitria said the same thing,” Jeff told him. “That was before she sent me on a near suicide mission.”
“Then we must assume that since you survived, her words were true,” Zordon concluded as he finished healing the Ranger.
Jeff nodded his thanks and then seemed to realise something. “Aren’t you supposed to be stuck in a time warp?”
Tommy and Zordon laughed and started to fill the Night Ranger in on their recent history.
Kincaid was nearby, Crucible could sense him. Though the powers of the Night Rangers were beyond his reach, he had known that Hardrive would travel to Earth. It had taken longer than expected and Crucible suspected that the computer had somehow managed to extend the flight time.
~I underestimated Hardrive before and Jeff got away. Now it seems he has found a way to break my programming. When I defeat Jeff and claim his morpher, I will purge the Defiant’s computer and turn that ship into scrap.~
A polite cough drew his attention. He squashed the annoyance at being disturbed. Savrod had been the man to awaken him from the illusion that had been his life as Mark Kinega. Savrod had shown him the way to get what he wanted, what he deserved. It had cost him his friends and allies, but sacrifices had to be made to get what he desired. He was grateful for all that Savrod had done, which meant he was willing to control his temper.
“I’ve received word from the ships we stations on one of the moons of Mars,” Savrod said. “The Defiant passed through them a short time ago. Literally through them mind, there was very little left.”
“And the one who delivered this report?”
“Will be paying for his comrades’ failure for the rest of his very short life.”
Crucible nodded. It was right that the underling paid the price of failure, but he wanted him begging for death long before he was allowed to die.
“So Kincaid is on Earth then,” he guessed. “By now it is likely he has found his way to the Power Chamber and having his wounds healed,” Savrod agreed. “Perhaps we could locate his family and flush him out.”
“No,” Crucible said, shaking his head. “Why not? You can’t have that much respect for your former teammate, can you?”
“Of course not,” Crucible replied. “You don’t know Kincaid as well as you claim. He hates his family with a passion; if we kidnap them he will probably wait until the deadline expires and then go to make sure they are dead.”
“He would kill them?” Savrod asked.
“No,” Crucible replied. “But the doesn’t mean he would lift a hand to save them. You’re thinking as if Kincaid was an ordinary Ranger; he’s a Night Ranger or have you forgotten?” He paused, considering the possibilities. “Access the computer files on known associates of Jeff Kincaid. He might not be willing to help his family, but I bet he would go out of his way to help a friend he respects.”
It was true. The Night Rangers were a lot darker than normal Power Rangers. They didn’t respond in the same way as other Rangers would respond. When confronted with a situation their concern was dealing with the threat rather than protecting the innocent. At most kidnapping one of their supposed loved ones would make them angry, which in turn would make them more difficult to battle.
“I already have that shoot fighting school under surveillance,” Savrod told him. He wanted to make it clear that there were very few things about Crucible’s former life that he did not know.
“Bruce Greene would be a good start,” Crucible agreed.
“I’ll order some Guardsmen to detain him,” Savrod offered.
“I hope you are not suggesting using Greene as a hostage,” Crucible said. “Because that would be a very foolish thing to do. Kincaid is a Night Ranger, not a hero. You show him a hostage and he would likely shoot the hostage just to take away any leverage you might have held. And then he would go on a rampage to find those responsible.”
Now it was Savrod’s turn to think. Crucible wanted him to keep watch on Greene, but didn’t want him taken as a hostage. He doubted Crucible planned to mount an attack to draw Kincaid out, it was more likely such an attack would draw the attention of Earth’s native heroes. So what was he up to?
“Kincaid’s first call would be to Zordon,” Crucible said softly. “He’ll need healing and seeking out Zordon is hard-coded into the Defiant’s protocols.”
Just how had Hardrive managed to delay their arrival on Earth for so long? Crucible was convinced that had Kincaid showed up when they expected him he would never have gotten passed the forces waiting for him. But he had not appeared and time had passed, and the lookout assigned to watch for the Defiant had failed to warn the rest of their unit. As a result the Defiant had made it to Earth. Deciding that he would discover the answer when Kincaid and Defiant were in his possession, at which point he would personally decrypt every byte of Hardrive’s memory to discover the answer, Crucible returned to the matter at hand.
“Can you imagine what it would be like for a Night Ranger to spend all his time around a White Morphin Master and an Alpha Unit? Even if he was introduced to the native Rangers he would have little in common and his… personality would likely drive them away. No Savrod, sooner or later Jeff Kincaid will seek some form of interaction and the only person that comes close to what he needs on this miserable planet would be Bruce Greene.”
“And when he seeks out his friend, we’ll grab him,” Savrod concluded.
Crucible nodded. There was no guarantee that the plan would succeed, but short of assaulting Zordon’s Power Chamber, it was their best option. And for some reason Crucible could no longer remember the exact location of the Power Chamber.
Three days passed and Kincaid recovered. Zordon had healed most of the damage his body had sustained while binding the creatures within the Pit of Night to himself, but his body needed time to flush the impurities from his blood. During that time he had seen plenty of activity within the Power Chamber, after Zordon had unsealed it. It seemed that all of the Rangers enemies were suddenly eager to launch their attacks against the planet. So far he had seen Rangers from multiple teams arriving before being sent off to deal with different problems. Something was happening, but he wasn’t sure what. Not that it really mattered since as a Night Ranger he was not allowed to interfere in domestic issues.
A few of the Rangers had approached him. For the most part they had regretted it soon after. The Pink and Yellow Rangers had been drawn by the pain they sensed. It was natural that as the nurturers and fixers they would try to heal him. But he was too dark for them to be around for long and he sensed that despite the hurt on their faces, they had been relieved when he had pushed them away. Not that the reactions of the Yellow and Pink Turbo Rangers had not been amusing; Tasha Young had had to be restrained by her teammates after their encounter.
Then there had been Adam Park, the Green Zeo Ranger and Justin Stewart, the Blue Turbo Ranger. They had seemed curious rather than concerned and while Adam at least was aware of his annoyance, Justin had treated him as a mystery to be unravelled and had pointedly ignored any hints of his aggravation. Worse still it appeared that no matter how hard he tried, Kincaid could not help but open up a little when Justin was around, the kid’s genuine enthusiasm was annoyingly contagious.
In the end it had taken all of his willpower not to agree to go with the group to the Angel Grove Youth Center. The place was built for happy teenagers who only had to worry about life’s minor problems, it was not the sort of place that would welcome Kincaid.
Savrod was frustrated. Crucible’s training had been proceeding well and the new villain was on his way to becoming the sort of leader that Savrod and his organisation desired. Before long Crucible would assert his authority, putting Savrod in his place and making his claim as leader clear. At that point Savrod knew would be rejoicing that the long wait was over. But it seemed for all the potential Crucible displayed, there were still areas where he was lacking.
The war between good and evil had been fought since time began, maybe earlier. The war would likely continue for a long time to come and then when evil emerged victorious there would be the power struggle to determine which faction claimed the ultimate prize. In that context a leader would have to show much more patience that Crucible possessed. The young warrior was learning, but it only took the mention of Jeff Kincaid for him to forget all that he had learnt.
~The sooner that Night Ranger is eliminated, the better,~ Savrod thought. ~From a command perspective he is bad for military discipline.~
He had considered allowing the Night Ranger to keep running, hiding and occasionally until Crucible was ready to ascend to his rightful place, but the preoccupation with Jeff Kincaid was proving a distraction.
“Perhaps a more direct approach is necessary, Crucible,” he said as he approached the villain-in-training.
“And what would you suggest?” Crucible asked. “You know monster attacks won’t work. Do we even have monsters?”
“All members of your empire are willing, living beings,” Savrod replied. “I’m certain even the humblest Guardsman has committed acts that would make him a monster. But no, we do not favour the throwaway creations used by some organisations. I’ve heard a few of your followers do have the ability to create avatars from clay… or other materials. When our forces go into battle the face they wear is a reflection of their souls. I know some have found a way to use that to transmute their entire bodies, personally I prefer the last face my enemy sees to be my own.”
“Then how can we draw him out?” Crucible demanded.
“Ah, I understand now. When I said that I meant offering him a challenge that would appeal on a more personal level,” Savrod advised, gesturing with his fingers. “Kincaid will not react to any old monster attack, but if the monster happened to be you…”
“He would charge in to stop me,” Crucible concluded.
It was likely true that Kincaid hated Crucible enough to attack him if given the opportunity. And even if that were not the case the recent loss of his teammates would make the Night Ranger determined not to lose anybody else to Crucible power.
“Or just as likely he would run to draw you away from the planet,” Savrod countered. “And given the treats Mark Kinega left behind, I think we’ll have some say in where he goes.”
Crucible nodded. He much preferred the idea of fighting Kincaid to the death – Kincaid’s death of course – but failing that just drawing him out of hiding would suffice.
“It would also prove an effective way of demonstrating your power Crucible.. Your enemies need to know how powerful you are, as do your competitors. Fight or flee, Kincaid has found refuge on Earth. The people of this world should be punished for acting against you.”
Every word was calculated, every suggestion measured to turn Crucible into the warrior, the leader that Savrod was aiming for. He wanted Crucible to continue his pursuit of Kincaid, but this was an opportunity to sever any remaining ties that Crucible had with the planet Earth. The planet had a power all of its own and Savrod was already scheming how that power could be used to extend Crucible’s influence.
“We have enough drop ships to start a small invasion,” he stated. “We couldn’t hold the planet, but we can send a message that to defy you is to invite death.”
“Do it!”
“Of course Crucible,” Savrod agreed. “And the force watching Greene?”
Crucible pondered for a moment before smiling coldly. “Tell them they have new instructions…” He paused to consider the coming confrontation. “Greene has the potential to become a vital part of our army, perhaps as a combat instructor. But first he’ll need to appreciate how much better life can be on our side or at least how harsh it could be without us. As for Kincaid, the time has come for Jeff to join the others, but his demise will be at my hand and not merely by my command.”
The Turbo Rangers had been enjoying a long weekend when their communicators had sounded. They teleported to the Power Chamber and after exchanging greetings with a very sceptical Jeff Kincaid, had discovered the reason Zordon had summoned them.
“Zordon, you can’t do this!” Jeff protested. “Crucible destroyed a team of Night Rangers, these kids will be dead in a few minutes.”
“Why?” Tasha demanded. “Because we’re humans? Or perhaps because we’re not five thousand years old like some Rangers? We’ve been protecting this planet for months, against Mondo, Rita and Divatox… or do those names not mean anything?”
“Actually they don’t,” Jeff told her calmly. “Rita, Divatox and Mondo are not the same as Crucible. They don’t fight in the same way, they don’t use the same powers… I’m not sure if Crucible is more powerful, but I suspect if I walked up to Rita and said ‘boo’, she’d run back to Gamma Vile. I doubt Crucible would do the same when confronted by the power of Turbo. And no, it’s not because you’re young and from Earth. I’m from Earth and I’ve only been doing this a little longer than you. It’s because Crucible WILL kill you, then he will kill your friends and family and then he will likely destroy this world!”
“Fine then how do we fight him?”
“You can’t, he’ll destroy you,” Jeff told them. “The best you could do is buy a few minutes and distract him. We could throw every Ranger on this planet, myself included, all your Morphin Masters, mentors and allies at him and it wouldn’t make a difference. Defiant’s sensors did some analysis of Crucible last time we met and came to the conclusion: we just can’t harm him badly enough. Why do you think I haven’t sought him out? It’s not because I’ve forgiven him. I want to make sure that when we meet I have a chance to put a stop to him once and for all. Getting myself killed won’t accomplish that and getting yourselves killed won’t help me. The best we could do is frustrate him, ruin his scheme and perhaps irritate him enough that he decides to withdraw. We could combine the maximum firepower of every Zord in your arsenal and he might decide that he won’t get anywhere and leave.”
“So there’s no way to stop him from doing… that?” Franklin asked, pointing to the screen where Crucible could be seen sending out wave after wave of destructive energy.
“Well we could stop him,” Jeff stated. “The moment he detects Defiant lifting off he will stop whatever it is he is doing and follow.”
“Indeed, Crucible’s obsession with destroying the last Night Ranger would distract him from any other plan,” Zordon agreed.
Which was fine except for the fact that Crucible’s forces were actively scanning the planet ready to shoot down the Defiant when it appeared; it was lucky that since he had turned evil, Crucible experienced the same mental block when it came to the location of the Power Chamber as most other villains, despite the fact he had visited Zordon there on many occasions.
“Yeah but he’s likely to leave his forces behind with orders to cause as much damage as possible,” Jeff pointed out. “We’d have to make sure that can’t happen.”
“I have an idea,” Franklin said after some thought.
What followed was an idea that Jeff would never consider original. The Turbo Rangers would attack and distract Crucible – Kincaid estimated they’d last less than a minute although the Turbo Rangers seemed far more confident – while every other Ranger on the planet sought to cause as much damage to the ships waiting for Kincaid as possible. Then Defiant would launch and lead Crucible away, the damaged pursuers prevented from catching the fully operational ship at least for a short time.
“Fine,” Fred agreed. “We’ll call in the reserves and then head out and keep him ‘distracted’, while you do whatever it is you’re going to do.”
Jeff frowned. These kids just weren’t getting it.
“I don’t think you understand, even if you’re just distracting him, Crucible isn’t going to hold back. I’ve been able to find out what he’s been up to and it isn’t pleasant. If you go there he will fight and he will not stop until he has defeated you or he’s been driven off. And if he catches you long enough to hit you, it will probably be a fatal blow.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re fast,” Justin offered.
“Besides, I think I know a way that you can do this and get a good lead on him for a while,” Franklin offered.
“Zordon?”
The White Morphin Master checked one of the Power Chamber’s many systems.
“The Defiant is fully recharged and Alpha has removed all of Mark Kinega’s programming from the computers,” he answered. “You should find that all systems are back online.”
“You were going to do this anyway without help, weren’t you?” Rosa challenged. “You were just going to fly Defiant and hope they couldn’t catch you.”
“That’s still my preferred choice,” Jeff answered.
“Then it’s a shame you’re just a Blue Ranger and it’s the Red Rangers that are in charge,” Fred told him.
Jeff looked surprised. He was used to Morphin Masters and Power Rangers – those that were aware – trying to pull rank on him on the grounds that he was a Night Ranger and technically beneath even the lowest recruits, but had never experienced someone pulling rank on the grounds of colour. Not exactly sure how to respond, given that Fred’s claim to hold authority on the grounds of colour was undermined by the fact the Turbo Rangers were not truly recognised as Rangers away from Earth, but then the Night Rangers were not really recognised at all, he chose to ignore the matter and focus on Defiant. “Was I right?”
“Yes Jeffrey,” Zordon replied. “Hardrive shows no signs of tampering by Mark Kinega; the odd behaviour you have noted is consistent with all previous findings.”
“In other words Hardrive is just odd,” Jeff concluded.
“Exactly. However, every other computer on the Defiant has had a new operating system installed that requires it to act within parameters set by Mark Kinega. Only those recognised as crew can override those functions or remove them. The Defiant’s flight control system has been programmed to send out a location to the ship’s commander every time the ship moved in case it was stolen. Since the system still recognises Mark Kinega as being in command, he retains overall control.”
“Did you manage to copy the message?” Jeff demanded. He had suspected that Crucible would be able to use his status as Defiant’s rightful captain to track the ship. That was why he had not left already despite his instinct to lead Crucible away.
“Yes. Alpha has also found a way to remove all of Mark Kinega’s programming and any claim Crucible might have on the Defiant. But you as the last Night Ranger, must be the one to do it.”
“Fine,” Jeff growled. He hated being reminded that he was the last, the wounds were just a little too raw. Alpha hand him a datapad filled with instructions. Jeff read them and nodded. It seemed straight forward enough. “Hardrive, change the logs to show that Mark Kinega, Red Night Ranger is dead along with all Night Rangers except Jeffrey Kincaid.”
“Confirmed!”
“Hardrive, add Crucible to list of known threats.”
“Confirmed!”
“Hardrive, recognise transfer of all Defiant command codes to new captain.”
“Confirmed. And the million dollar question is, who is the new captain?”
Four names appeared on the datapad. Actually it was Jeff Kincaid’s name that appeared four times.
“You can call a friend or ask the audience,” Hardrive added.
“Hardrive, record the new captain of the Defiant as Hardrive!”
He knew what the computer had done, the tricks it had pulled to keep him alive. He was aware that Hardrive had at some point had to betray his own programming to preserve the last of the Night Rangers. For that reason he gave the computer sole control of the Defiant and hoped that it would remain at his side. He almost laughed at the faces the Turbo Rangers made as Hardrive gave an acceptance speech. But it was not the time for humour. There was work to be done.
“Confirmed!”
“You guys sure you want to do this?” Jeff asked.
“We don’t have much choice,” Fred answered.
“The other Rangers have been gathered and Tommy has briefed them,” Alpha advised.
Jeff sighed. There was no way he would be able to keep knowledge of the Night Rangers secret now. “Okay, let’s get this done.”
Fred nodded. “Shift into Turbo!”
There were many ways to get a Power Rangers attention. Sometimes it just involved teleporting into a populated area with an army of foot-soldiers. Crucible’s mere arrival in the Little China District of Angel Grove had likely triggered every sensor Zordon had looking for him, but he wanted to make certain he had their attention. Gathering the dark energies as his tutors had shown him, Crucible pushed his hands outwards, using his anger and hatred of Jeff Kincaid to direct the energy. The power didn’t explode, it rippled outwards, gradually expanding in a ring of destruction. As he sent a second pulse he tried to focus on the shape he desired, aware that the speed of the destructive power would not kill those it encountered on the first or even the third strike. It was a cumulative effect although to those watching from the outside it probably seemed instantaneous. He was chasing the poor citizen of Angel Grove with his twisted power and to Zordon it probably looked more like he was cutting them down where they stood.
He could almost imagine the satellite images as the ground blackened to his design, burning the symbol of the Night Rangers into the wounded ground of Angel Grove. He reduced the power of his waves, making it hot enough to scorch the earth, but not enough to fatally wound a human. He wanted the humans alive. He wanted them to suffer as he had suffered all those years that Mark Kinega had protected them.
A tickling sensation warned him when the first Power Rangers arrived. He was disappointed, but not surprised to find that Jeff Kincaid was not with them. These were the Turbo Rangers if he recalled correctly, Earth’s youngest team of Power Rangers.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with fire?” Rosa asked.
Crucible scowled. He’d hoped for a better opening than that.
“I don’t see any fire,” he replied before extending his arm and making a flicking gesture at the Rosa.
Rosa cried out as her uniform was engulfed by flames. Around her the other Rangers tried to help their friend, but nothing they did seemed to extinguish the magical fire.
“Looks to me like you’re the one playing with fire, Rosa,” Crucible mocked.
“Stop it, now!” Fred snarled, drawing his side arm and deciding that maybe the way to help was to attack the fire at its source.
While Franklin and Tasha tried to douse the flames with water, Justin and Fred attacked. Blue Turbo fired his Hand Blasters while Red summoned the Lightning Sword. For his part Crucible just stood and allowed the blasts to strike him while the sword slid harmlessly off his armour.
“My turn,” he told them. He gave them a mental push that sent both Rangers sprawling back across the ground. As they struggled to stand, he raised his arms and they were levitated into the air. “I wonder how far a Turbo Ranger can fall without being killed or seriously injured by the impact?” he mused. “Let’s find out!”
He was distracted by a sharp pain in his side. He turned to find that Franklin and Tasha had realised they could not help Rosa until Crucible had been forced to release his fire spell. Tasha had jammed her Star Chargers into his side and had sent a jolt of Turbo energy into his armour; he had barely felt it. With a grunt he backhanded her, knocking the Ranger aside. He was so busy concentrating on her though that he almost failed to notice Franklin firing his Thunder Cannon. Almost. He batted the energy away with his hand, directing to where Blue and Red Turbo were still hovering.
“Enough!” he snarled, pushing the five Turbo Rangers into the ground with a mental shove that managed to break Franklin’s collarbone in spite of his armour. “If this is all that Zordon will send against me, if he does not value this world enough to fight me, then I will burn this city, the legendary home of the Power Rangers, to the ground.”
He wanted Kincaid. Kincaid knew that, Zordon knew that. He suspected even the Turbo Rangers were aware of it. But still they had sent him children. He was offended, angered that they had sought to fight him when it was clear that they were outmatched.
The fire was gone now, Rosa felt the pain but she had not been harmed. Blue and Red Turbo were shaken but intact and despite the broken bones they had suffered – for Tasha was certain that the blow Crucible had landed had cracked her jaw – Franklin and Tasha were back on their feet.
“Turbo Power Weapons!” Fred cried.
The five Rangers lifted their weapons and lined up. Red was on the right hand side, the green, yellow and pink with blue on the left hand side.
“Ready!” the others cried.
“Turbo Scramble Charge Attack!” Fred ordered, “Begin!”
And with that the five Turbo Rangers sped forward, using all the power they could draw from the mystical energy source known as the Speed Force through their Turbo Keys. This was an attack that used their speed to its fullest, an attack the other Rangers of Earth could not duplicate, although Gold Zeo Ranger’s Gold Rush came close. Building up speed as they approached, they veered off sharply, covering as much ground as possible, each footfall helping to build a store of energy within their suits.
Again and again they flashed passed the bemused villain, occasionally reaching out to land a not so gentle tap with their fists before moving on. As they continued they grew faster and the distance they seemed to cover before returning to land another blow grew larger, yet the time it took them between strikes never varied. Their Turbo Power Weapons started to glow as they fed the stored power into them. And then at just the right moment, Red Turbo Rangers gave the command and the Turbo Rangers landed their first real blow.
Watching from the sidelines, a considerable distance from the battle, Savrod winced. He knew that the Turbo Rangers’ strike had to hurt and he was impressed that Crucible was even standing after such a blow. Five fully energised Power Weapons wielded by five Turbo Rangers at near maximum velocity had struck Crucible simultaneously. The Wind Bow, Hand Blasters and Thunder Cannon had been passing shots as the three Rangers had kept up the momentum and sped away. Tasha had somehow reconfigured her Star Chargers into knuckle dusters and had landed a superb double-handed blow. Red Turbo’s Lightning Sword attack delivered if Savrod recalled in a style used by the team Megazord had been especially impressive. But more impressive was that having delivered their blows they had discarded the Power Weapons, pulled their Turbo Blasters and prepared to strike again.
He had been expecting them to stop after the blow they had delivered. He believed that any other team of Rangers would have decided that such an all out attack would have been sufficient. Instead the Turbo Rangers had moved away ready to strike again, not willing to take Crucible’s defeat for granted. Savrod was actually impressed.
Not that the Turbo Rangers stood a chance. Their attack had been powerful by most standards, but Crucible was a whole different level. Still as he observed the slight dents in Crucible’s armour, which rapidly corrected themselves, he had to admit he was impressed.
“Strike two!” Red Turbo ordered.
With that the five Rangers charged in, Turbo Blasters firing. Even from a distances their shots connected with enough force to throw Crucible off balance. And because they were attacking from different directions, he had to adapt to the forces applied in different areas. As one targeted his knees, another would strike at his chest. There was no way to predict where the Turbo Rangers would aim and while their shots would not harm him, Crucible was growing annoyed that they were making him look bad.
“Final pass, then switch to Turbo Swords!” Red Turbo ordered.
The others acknowledged and the five ran off into the distance and then vanished from sight. For a moment Crucible wondered if he had won. Then he dismissed the idea only to reconsider when they did not reappear. Then his eyes widened as he understood their plan. He turned around just in time to cover his eyes. The Turbo Rangers had been running so fast that in the time he had spend wondering where they were, they had managed to run across the world to attack him from behind.
This time he had been staggered by the force of their attack. With each pass they drew more energy from their Turbo Keys, allowing them to run faster. And with their Turbo Blasters discarded, the next three passes allowed them to land a series of sword slaps to his armour.
By the fifth time they raced passed him with their swords, Crucible had had enough. He tried to fight the blurs as they went passed, successfully knocking Blue Turbo hard enough to break his concentration. His punch put the Blue Turbo Ranger into a spin and he crashed into the remains of a building. His next strike caused Red Turbo to stumble. It didn’t put him down like Blue Turbo, but it slowed him so that he could not keep up with the other three. And when the came passed for their next attack, Crucible was ready for them.
“Goodbye Turbo Rangers!” he snarled before hurling a ball of blue energy at them.
The Rangers couldn’t dodge, the energy beam was too broad to avoid. And at their speed they could not duck or find cover. Their own speed drove them into the full and deadly force of Crucible’s attack. They appeared to shimmer and then turned into the tiny sparks of teleportation as they were whisked away to safety, leaving Crucible to turn his annoyance on Red Turbo.
“What did you do to them?” Red Turbo demanded.
There was a skid mark extending for over half a mile where he had been forced to brake. His boots were smoking from the friction and physically he was exhausted. Still he was in better shape the Justin, who had not moved since he hit the wall.
“I gave them a shove,” Crucible replied, sounding as if he believed that answered Red Turbo’s question completely.
“Where are they?” Red Turbo demanded, once again holding the Lightning Sword.
Crucible Shrugged. “Who knows? I hear Tibet is nice this time of year. The middle of the Dead Sea perhaps; maybe they got thrown into space. The thing is, Red Ranger, that I don’t know where that energy pulse carried them, but if they survived they will have a real job trying to build up that much speed again in time to save you.”
“Then you’ll have to go through us first.”
And at that moment a question that had been burning in the back of Crucible’s mind was answered: where were the other Rangers? He had known that Kincaid would not make an appearance. The Night Ranger was too cowardly to fight his former friend. But Earth was known to have multiple teams and yet only the Turbo Rangers had emerged to confront him. But as he turned toward the voice and saw the gathered Power Rangers waiting for him he instead wondered what had taken them so long and why was Kincaid not with them?
“And they’re off!” Hardrive reported.
“Then so are we,” Jeff replied as he pressed the sequence of buttons that activated Defiant’s flight systems.
It had been difficult finding a way to launch the Zord without the risk of allowing Crucible to find the Power Chamber. Many villains knew where the Power Chamber was located, some had been there, but very few could actually find it. Which was why while the Turbo Rangers had done such a good job of distracting Crucible at a high cost – for even Jeff was uncertain what had happened to the three Crucible had turned his last attack on – the other Rangers had shifted Defiant to a new launch position and had then taken the liberty some of ships in Crucible’s fleet.
“Launch!” he ordered as Defiant’s thrusters came to life.
“Set controls for outer space, now flying higher than ever before…” Hardrive started.
Kincaid shook his head, he had no idea where the computer had picked up that song.
“All right, find Crucible and get ready,” Kincaid ordered. They needed Crucible to know they were leaving so that he would follow.
“Crucible,” Savrod repeated for the umpteenth time.
It seemed the Rangers of Earth had managed to outmanoeuvre their forces. While the Turbo Rangers had been fighting against Crucible, it seemed the rest of the Rangers had had other targets. The units Crucible had dispatched to cause as much death and destruction as possible, had been routed. The Power Rangers had appeared in force, fought a swift and decisive battle and then moved on, leaving the Guardsmen to the mercy of some very angry locals. The drop ships had been damaged and isolated to prevent escape and despite succeeding, even the attempt to snatch Bruce Greene had proven costly in terms of manpower.
He read another report and realised that this was not some lucky strike Jeff Kincaid had been spotted directing the action at two of the battle zones. The Night Ranger had joined forces with the planet’s defenders in a direct breach of the Council’s rules. And it seemed the the local Morphin Masters – for he was certain he had spotted the legendary Ninjor out there – appeared to approve.
“I’m here Savrod.”
Crucible sounded annoyed, but given that a large number of Rangers had just teleported to his location, that was not surprising.
“We’ve been deceived,” Savrod told him. “While you were fighting Turbo Rangers, Kincaid has been attacking our forces all over the planet. We’ve suffered an almost complete loss.”
“Kincaid’s not here,” Crucible answered after some thought. “The others just arrived, but no Kincaid.” There was a long pause. “Savrod, prepare for pursuit, he’s planning to run.”
“Are you sure?” Savrod asked.
“This whole battle has been a ploy to launch the Defiant,” Crucible told him. “Check the energy web.”
Aside from ferrying troops to cities around the globe to punish the planet for siding with Crucible’s enemies, the drop ships had been acting as transmission nodes capable of broadcasting a net of destructive energy. The intention had been to activate the net the moment Defiant had appeared, damaging the ship and allowing Crucible to find Kincaid before the Night Ranger could escape.
“There’s a hole in the network,” Savrod confirmed. “I’ll order our forces to target the hole.”
“Don’t bother,” Crucible answered. “Just order them to track him.”
It was already too late, but he was not going to give Kincaid another moment of triumph. He was certain that when they investigated later they would find that the net had been shut down to draw their attention while Jeff had another route open to him at a moment’s notice.
“In the meantime I’m going to kill as many of these Earth Rangers as possible.”
“Let’s go!” Red Zeo ordered and the army of Rangers attacked.
One thing Crucible had never lacked was confidence. When Savrod had helped to strip away the remnants of Mark Kinega’s personality, he had instilled him him the believe that there was no opponent he could not overcome. However confronted by the horde of charging Rangers, Crucible found that for the first time that he was questioning his chance of succeeding.
The Rangers attacked in a predictable manner. First they used their side arms before switching to personal weapons. Next they tried combining their weapons before shifting to their special attacks. The assault was creative and extremely powerful, but as he battered aside the Shadow Ribbons and fought off a jolt from Jamie’s Sword of Lightning, Crucible knew that this was just another distraction.
“Brachio Staff!”
He ducked the assault from the Dino Thunder Rangers while blocking a swinging blow from Gold Zeo’s Golden Power Staff.
With a grunt he threw his arms up, pushing the Rangers far away and readied a blast. He stopped when he noticed that although they were back on their feet, they had not made an attempt to charge him again.
“Crucible, we’ve found him,” Savrod reported. “He’s six miles north of your location and heading towards you.”
“So he finally decided to face me,” Crucible concluded.
He couldn’t hear a reply as he was deafened by the roar of the Defiant’s engines as the huge craft came to rest above him.
“We’re detecting Defiant’s engine signature above your position. Kincaid could be on board.”
“Thank you Savrod, I am aware of that,” Crucible groused as he noticed that Defiant’s weapons and those of the surrounding Rangers were locked on his location. “Any time you feel like ordering your crew to retrieve me – before they open fire – would do,” he added. He wasn’t worried, but didn’t envision the pain caused by the combined power of so many Rangers and a giant ship as an enjoyable experience.
“Fire!” he heard the Red Rangers cry.
He felt the familiar sensation of teleportation, ten full seconds after the first blast connected with his armour.
The clean up had taken longer than normal. There had been a great deal of damage to repair both in Angel Grove and the many cities where Crucible’s forces had tried to land. The Guardsmen had not been easy to defeat and the Rangers had been forced to use some of the tactics they normal reserved for powerful monsters in order to defeat them. Lives had been lost, buildings and property had been damaged. And because Crucible and his forces were not the result of a spell, the damage they caused did not simply reverse after the battle. It had taken a great deal of work and a large number of failures to repair what damage they could and to offer comfort where possible.
But not everybody survives a monster attack. Rocky had once said that to Lita Kiino, a psychiatrist that helped the Rangers in times of stress. However the Rangers had never realised how true those words could be. The Turbo Rangers were recovering. Justin had sustained the worst injuries although Fred had not been that much better off. Both would be back in action before long. Of the other Rangers there had been a few injuries from the battles with Crucible’s forces and Zack had taken a nasty head blow from Savrod, but they were alive.
As Adam sat down to a late Thanksgiving dinner with his parents he was thankful that despite how bad things had seemed, the Power Rangers had emerged relatively unscathed. At the DeSantos table, Rocky paused briefly before giving thanks for his family and friends. His older brother had checked in and his younger siblings had been safely within the Monster Shelter. He gave thanks for the Youth Center. And at the Kellman residence, the two boys better known as the Turbo Rangers were thankful that Fred’s dad had allowed Justin to spend the night. Little Angel’s Haven was okay, but Justin never really had any good friends there.
“So you’re going to leave their memories intact?” Jeff asked incredulously.
The Night Rangers were the embarrassing secret of both the Morphin Masters and the Galactic Council. For a whole planet to be aware of their existence would be unacceptable to most. But worse still still one of the witnesses to Jeff Kincaid’s actions had been the Lord of Triforia; there was an equal chance that Dex of Edenoi had also seen the battle that had taken place. Two powerful races were suddenly aware of a secret that the Council did not want exposed.
Zordon had already received his instructions, direct orders from the Council to swear his Rangers to secrecy and take steps to ensure that the people of Earth forgot about the Night Ranger. That was easier said than done. There was no way to wipe the memory of everybody on the planet without resorting to some very strange magic. One of the councillors had suggested adding something to the water supply, but Zordon had ignored the suggestion when he had learnt that it could cause fatalities.
“It is not my place to erase them,” Zordon told him. “Too many people saw what happened. There were news reports from Angel Grove and around the world. If I attempted to cover up there would be clues left that would rapidly expose the truth. The Council has forgotten, again, that the Earth is not a part of their jurisdiction and that they have no right to demand the people forget something that happened to them.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Jeff was not convinced Zordon would just allow things to remain as they were. There were too many unknowns in such free knowledge and Zordon was too responsible to allow such chaos.
“I instructed Alpha to make all the information that should be available about the Night Rangers available,” Zordon answered.
“But that would mean people would have access to everything without ever searching. Oh!”
“Yes Jeffrey,” Zordon agreed. “People will have full and unrestricted access to all the facts. And you know what happens when people have all the information with nothing hidden from them.”
“They forget,” Jeff concluded. “They grow bored because they don’t have to search. The grow suspicious of all the information so easily available. They start to question whether what they saw was real and then look for conspiracies to poke holes in the facts they’ve been given.”
“Exactly,” Zordon agreed. “Before long the humans will deem the Night Rangers as a myth and start looking elsewhere.”
“And the Rangers, did you alter their memories?”
“They agreed to protect your secret,” Zordon told him. “They promised before the Council demanded that I obtain their oath. The Council were displeased that instead of the formal promise they required the Rangers only gave an oath that was to the point. Where will you go from here?”
“Crucible will need time to track me down again,” Kincaid said. “He’s already left the system because he thinks I’m ahead of him. It should take a while before he catches up and discovers it’s one of his own ships. I’ll drift off in the other direction, wait a few months and then stick my head out in some backwater galaxy. By the time he hears where I am I’ll be the other side of space. I’ll keep doing it until I can find a way to defeat him. But otherwise I’ll stay low and make sure I don’t draw anybody else into this mess.”
“Jeff…”
“Don’t Zordon! Don’t you dare try and comfort me. You know what happened, so do I. We both know there’s something but we just can’t say it. People died because of me today. Good people, bad people… people. I won’t risk the lives of anybody else by getting involved with Crucible. He wants me, let him find me, but when he does there won’t be anybody else around to get hurt.”
With that the Night Ranger cut the communication and Defiant took off into space, leaving Zordon to hope that in his grief, Jeff Kincaid would not become a bigger monster than Crucible.
The Rangers had hurt him, but he had hurt them too. He had taken something precious and he would take more. Already he was aware that Bruce Greene was being dumped on an alien world, fully aware that Jeff Kincaid was to blame. If by some chance he survived, Crucible imagined the man would become bitter and twisted, willing to train Crucible’s Guardsmen in return for a chance at revenge against Kincaid. And that in turn would hurt Kincaid.
As for those other Rangers… One day Crucible would return and would conquer the Earth. And when he did he would take revenge on every Ranger that had dared to fire upon him. And he would take special pride in putting an end to the Turbo Rangers. He paused and shook his head. Something was wrong there but he couldn’t tell what. Then the sensation was gone and he was back to scheming his revenge.
“Crucible, there is a messenger here to see you,” Savrod told him, strolling into the chamber as if he owned it. There was a good chance he did own it, Crucible had never thought to ask who paid for all the ships at his disposal.
“I’m not expecting a message,” he said after some thought.
“I’m aware of that,” Savrod told him. “I am responsible for sending most of your messages after all. This messenger demanded an audience and I would suggest you grant him one.”
“Show him in then,” Crucible sighed. The problem with being a leader was having to deal with other leaders.
“The Messenger of Fire,” Savrod announced. His voice sounded odd. Was that awe? “Ambassador for the Grand Monarch of Evil, Dark Specter.”
It was an impressive being, even Crucible had to admit that. Seven feet of billowing flame was bound to impress some. His mind briefly caught onto the memory of a story about a burning bush, but he ignored it.
“Crucible,” the messenger greeted. His voice sounded like twigs crackling on a wood stove. There was an uncertainty, as if he had wanted to add something before his name. And Crucible realised in that moment that to the Messenger this was a very odd situation because unlike other, Crucible had not given himself a title. “I come with a message and an invitation. The message is as follows: you and your followers have been accepted into the ranks of the United Alliance of Evil. Congratulations on your achievement. Acceptance is mandatory. You are instructed to accept the enclosed invitation to attend the first meeting of the United Alliance of Evil and to swear allegiance to Dark Specter, the Grand Monarch of Evil.”
“And if I say no?”
The fire seemed to grow brighter. “When others refused they were taught that my master could have them destroyed in flame.”
“I’m not like the others,” Crucible answered. “And I have no desire to follow or swear loyalty.”
“The Grand Monarch does not share,” the Messenger warned. “You are powerful, but you are untrained and not ready to challenge the Grand Monarch.”
“I would try,” Crucible warned.
“And you would fail, and you would be destroyed. But what then?” The Messenger seemed to drift off. “You are not important, but what you represent is something the Grand Monarch was not meant to be. That makes you important. But the Grand Monarch cannot have an equal.”
“Perhaps a compromise then,” Savrod suggested. “Crucible is still learning to become the leader his people need. Until then he is only the leader in name. I am the commander of his forces, himself included. I will agree to accept this membership and give the oath. When Crucible is ready to assume command though, he will not be bound by any such agreement.”
“Dark Specter might have use for his services,” the Messenger of Fire claimed.
“And those services would be performed,” Savrod answered smoothly. “In return Crucible will be allowed to continue to train and to seek out the Night Ranger Jeff Kincaid.”
“Yes, destroying the last Night Ranger would be of great service,” the messenger agreed.
The flames grew brighter and then vanished, replaced by a green skinned alien with a tall head. “Agreed. Find your missing Ranger and destroy him. I shall summon you if I have need of your other skills.” the Grand Monarch ordered before vanishing. “But for the first meeting, you will be there.”
Crucible nodded wordlessly as the identity of the being he had been willing to fight sank in. He had felt Dark Specter’s power up close and having felt the power of all those Rangers earlier, knew which was stronger. He would not stand against Dark Specter. At least not until Jeff Kincaid was destroyed and the power of the Mirror of Night was his once more. Perhaps one day Dark Specter would become a part of the mirror’s power too.
“There was one more thing,” Savrod told him. He looked pleased with himself. “I remember Mark Kinega mentioned something about a young lady… Leslie? I thought you might want to show her your appreciation for the way she treated Mark, especially since it helped Crucible to emerge.”
Crucible grinned. “A fine idea Savrod, but we’re behind schedule. Let the hunt begin.”
End
Chapter 5: A Tale of Unfortunate Events
Disclaimer: I do not own and make no claim of ownership to the Power Rangers. They belong to their respective copyright holders. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Timeline Note: These events take place at the same time as those in the last few stories. It should be noted that Andros is not on Earth and that a day is not necessarily the same as it would be on Earth or Kerova.
A Tale of Unfortunate Events
It seemed to Andros that luck was definitely not on his side. His journey to Onyx to find information surrounding the devastation of KO-35 had been cut short not long after it had started. The Astro Megaship’s navigation array had needed to be reconfigured following repairs and Andros had programmed in a number of small trips to align the Megaship with the makeshift space dock he had been using.
Andros had not expected to emerge in the middle of a fire fight. He had deliberately set the coordinates for an uninhabited region of space. However when the ship had re-entered normal space he had been forced to change course abruptly to avoid colliding with a large – no massive – vessel. It had not taken long to realise what he had stumbled upon. A number of small craft that had likely been launched from the larger vessel were attacking a single ship. The attacking ships were of similar design, but the larger vessel was not something he had expected to encounter, especially when it was adorned with such a distinctive flag.
“Dianthe!” Andros had moaned as he skilfully avoided an incoming vessel.
The Astro Megaship’s defences managed to lock onto the attacker and fire, blowing the craft to pieces, but drawing the attention of the other vessels. As he engaged the enemy in a vicious dog fight, Andros wished that he had another Guardian to help him; DECA’s ability to work the weapons was incredible given how much difficulty they had had when the designers had first integrated the AI into the ship’s systems, but Andros and and his teammates working together were far more capable of space combat, especially since it allowed DECA to monitor for threats.
“Project shield three meters from hull,” Andros ordered. “And then hold it at that position.”
“Projecting the shield away from the hull will reduce its effectiveness,” DECA warned, but complied anyway.
“Fire all forward weapons!” Andros ordered as he pushed the Megaship onward.
The moment the vessel emerged through its own shield, caught the pirates by surprise. Andros was annoyed that he had wasted such a move against the smaller vessels.
“Warning, incoming fire!” DECA warned, overriding pilot control long enough to evade the worst to the broadside. “Port shielding damaged.”
To his dismay Andros realised the vessel that had been under attack when he arrived had vanished. Had it been destroyed in the cross fire? He wasn’t sure but he hoped not.
“Andros, I am detecting power fluctuations from the attacking vessels,” DECA warned.
Before Andros could ask, a series of images flashed across the many screens.
“No way!”
The smaller ships had linked together and then transformed, gaining the extra parts from somewhere to turn into a giant robot similar to a Megazord.
“DECA, what are our chances?” Andros asked.
“Enemy Megazord carries a high complement of weapons. Our shielding and weapons are limited.”
“In other words: not very high,” Andros guessed. “Time to be creative then. DECA, start charging the energy cells and direct the power to the main turrets. I am taking us in.”
The Megazord shot forward, spinning in all directions to avoid the barrage the Megazord launched. As he did so Andros hoped that the machine in front of him was not a true Megazord. If it was a simple giant robot capable of turning into a pirate galleon there was a chance he could win their confrontation – for some of the Mega Ships used to defend Kerova had had a similar abilities to change modes. If however it was a true Megazord connected to an energy source like the Morphin Grid, Andros realised he had very little chance of survival.
“Energy interlocks located,” DECA reported.
“When we’re in range fire the Ion Cannons,” Andros commanded.
DECA obeyed and the Astro Megaship opened fire. The result was all Andros had hoped it would be. With the energy interlocks disrupted, key sections of the Megazord shifted back to their original form, allowing Andros to fire upon its torso component using the main guns. Two fly pasts allowed Andros to strafe the pirate vessel while it was jammed between modes.
“Warning: larger vessel has raised shields and is pursuing,” DECA said.
Until now the large ship had been a sitting target, but once it started moving, Andros was amazed at just how agile it was. And while it could not lock on to fire its weapons, DECA seemed incapable of breaching its formidable shields.
“Attacking ship has initiated tractor beam,” DECA warned. “Engines will not be able to escape.”
“Are the weapons fully charged?” Andros asked as he put the ship into a tight turn.
“Affirmative,” DECA replied. “Pirate vessel is too close to fire safely, capture is likely.”
He didn’t like it, but Andros knew what he had to do.
“DECA when I say now, dump all energy from the weapons systems into the port hull, maximum discharge. Then close down all computer systems for ten hours. If I’m not here, find the closest safe world and set down there.”
“Understood.”
Andros directed the Megaship into a climb, gaining the precious seconds he needed to put his plan into action. He turned the vessel to expose its port side to the oncoming ship, luring it in.
“Now!”
DECA obeyed, diverting the necessary runtime into a subsystem and closing off the rest of her systems while it completed the task. Electrical circuits throughout the Megaship closed down pitching the interior into darkness as even emergency power was diverted. And then when the energy readings reached maximum, a massive jolt of energy was directed through the hull into the path of the oncoming craft, just as it lowered its shields to activate its tractor beam. Andros was too busy to notice, for while he had been concentrating on the bigger threat, one of the smaller vessels had decided to initiate a capture of its own, ramming into the side of the Megaship a full speed. And as the defenceless Megaship took the full brunt of the impact, Andros was thrown into the wall and knew no more.
While his desperate tactic had accomplished all that he had expected, the Red Guardian still found himself a prisoner. As expected the discharge had severely damaged the large pirate ship. So much so that it was unlikely that they would be moving for a while. On the other hand the hull of the Megaship had been torn open by the unplanned impact, ruining his plan to escape as soon as DECA became functional. Luckily the ship was not damaged to the point where it could not repair itself. It would just take an extended period to do so. He was just relieved the pirates had left the Megaship afloat for their salvage team to plunder rather than dragging it on board.
“You broke my ship!” the vessel’s captain growled as Andros was dragged in front of him.
Andros had been hoping that the energy discharge would disable the pirates, but most appeared unaffected. Still considering that the vessel in question was almost a mile long and comprised of heavy armour, he was not surprised.
“Twice!” the captain added before backhanding the Red Guardian. “First you disrupt my wonderful giant robot, and then you almost destroy my beautiful ship. Not to mention those gun ships you destroyed. Consider yourself lucky we caught our prey in spite of your actions, or else I would make you very sorry.” He turned away abruptly and asked: “Who is he?”
“Just a Kerovian,” Fury, the ship’s Quarter Master replied, hardly deigning to look up from the cutlass he was polishing. “One of the system’s Guardians if I’m not mistaken.”
That drew the attention of a few of the other senior officers although the captain continued to look uninterested.
“Is there anything that makes him worth keeping?” There was no doubt about it, he was bored.
“He’s an escaped Astro Guardian, so he’s on the bounty list,” one of his underlings stated. “He wouldn’t fetch as much as a ‘real’ Power Ranger or anywhere near as much as the prisoner he almost helped escape, but it could be a small bonus. His ship and its computer would trade well on the scrap market. There are a few sections we cannot access that might hold treasure… or perhaps more transformation devices. The computer logs we were able to access show exclusive footage from the battle of KO-35, which somebody will pay for. Oh and he was on a shakedown run. That means he has a space dock somewhere.”
“It’s not much,” the Quarter Master conceded. “Barely enough to make it worth keeping him alive. The reward would be lower, but we could still make something by handing him in dead. Altogether he is worth far less than it will cost to replace the ships he destroyed.”
“Or we could find out what his mission was and sell that as intelligence,” a female officer countered. “You could always offer him to Crash along with the others.”
“I suppose an Astro Guardian template would be of some value too,” the captain pondered before smiling. “Seems this expedition has turned into a better opportunity than planned.”
He punched Andros again, forcing the Red Guardian off his feet and walked around him, studying the Kerovian closely. In his left hand he carried a decorated pistol and in the other he held a cutlass. Despite his human appearance, Andros suspected that this captain was alien. His eyes latched onto the cutlass as he tried to decide if his odds of survival would increase if he used his mental abilities to snatch it.
“I know what you’re thinking,” the captain said as he idly cocked his pistol. “You’re not the first to find yourself in this position. You’re wondering whether you could snatch my cutlass away and overwhelm me before I shoot you. The answer is probably yes; I get distracted and that does grant others the opportunity to take advantage. But I assure you that my crew are far more attentive than I, and if you make such an attempt, they would happily kill you the moment you tried.”
He twirled the cutlass in an intricate and elaborate pattern, allowing Andros time to reconsider his actions.
“I’m very fond of this cutlass,” the captain continued as he ran the blade over the pistol in a practiced fashion. “Most of the crew only get paid in gold, my position allows me to select my method of payment and most of the time I settle for Power Coins. A few of my crewmen have more tailored tastes and some prefer to barter for other things, but I think that’s a waste. Why negotiate a reward then have to barter with traders when you can just get what you want to begin with?
“As I said before: I prefer Power Coins and I use them to improve myself and this ship.” He leaned in close. “The hull of this vessel is coated with a layer of melted Power Coins. Our engines are powered by the energy we can draw from the hull. Our pistols are enhanced by them and even our cutlasses have a cutting edge honed by their power. And then there’s my cutlass, forged entirely from broken coins, giving it an edge that could cut through the armour of a Ranger… or just the uniform of a Guardian. Would you like to try it?”
Andros realised the captain was looking at his morpher. He also knew that transforming would take too long.
“Oh don’t worry,” the captain reassured him. “I will wait until you are fully transformed before attacking. Never let it be said that Sledge is a man without honour, ey lads?”
The crew laughed and jeered. Not that it mattered. Andros didn’t trust him, but a part of him knew that it was his only chance. Transformed there was a chance the blade could kill him; unmorphed, the blade would likely slice him in half.
“Let’s Rocket!”
He had been expecting some form of treachery, one of Sledge’s crewmen to act to stop him, Sledge to change his mind… something. Instead he was allowed to full transform before they showed any real interest in him.
“Well?” he demanded, his interest gone as he turned away..
“Got it!” one of the crewmen replied, emerging from the shadows with a datapad in hand. “It’ll take a few seconds but the template should be ready soon.”
“Do you understand yet,” the Quarter Master asked. “You were allowed to transform so that we could copy the template for your powers using this little toy, a helpful little gadget courtesy of the Power Broker.” He reached out and caught something thrown to him by the other crewman. He pulled out a device and slotted what resembled a small key into the slot. “Activate!”
There was a flash and where the pirate had stood there was now a perfect replica of the Red Guardian.
“This wonderful device allows the user to map the template of a Ranger onto a personal energy grid. Of course this is just an image, but with a bit of work, the Power Broker can use it to make an exact duplicate of those powers.”
“Boss, we have a problem,” the Red Guardian’s duplicate said as he turned to look at his captain.
“Let me guess: the template scan failed to unlock some of his abilities?” Sledge asked. He smirked when he received a curt nod. “Then we’ll have to extract those secrets the old fashioned way. Take him down!”
Andros was quick on the draw, but his opponent was faster. By the time Andros had summoned his Spiral Sabre, his opponent had already struck him three times. On the third strike he had somehow yanked Andros’ weapon from him and used it for a double blade strike. There was only so much that Andros’ powers could withstand without the constant feed from the Megaship and the final blow proved too much as he collapsed and his powers deactivated. He wasn’t sure what the really looked like – for the display in his helmet had confirmed he was using some form of electronic disguise, but he was certain now he was not human.
“Now the fun begins,” the still morphed pirate promised before stomping down on Andros’ exposed head with his boot.
Three local days following his capture and Andros knew that he had to escape. The situation had been dangerous when he had been captured, but it had grown more deadly when the pirates had discovered how much damage he had caused to their ship. It seemed the combination of the Ion Cannons and the booby trapped hull had connected with a key area and knocked out most of the flight systems, forcing Sledge to call for help. That meant the pirate would lose face when his superiors arrived and likely lose a large chunk of his bounty on the prisoners.
~Serves them right for using a stolen ship,~ Andros thought.
There was no doubt in his mind that this ship was indeed stolen. So too were the vessels that had been used to create the Megazord. They at least had been modified to take on a pirate theme, but the larger ship still retained its original shape. Andros had easily recognised it from the stories he had read as a youth. It was a Battlestar Class Warship, the type of vessel last seen during the Grid Wars, when large numbers of Power Rangers and the Grid Masters had needed to assault whole planets. It was in effect a giant aircraft carrier with a few high powered weapons of its own. Capable of high speeds and extremely manoeuvrable, he wondered how the pirates had gotten their hands on it.
Then again he remembered what he had seen while being dragged through the corridors. The vessel was in serious state of disrepair and one section looked like it had been patched together in a hurry. It was entirely possible that they had found it adrift and had somehow gotten its systems operational.
~These vessels were capable of self repair, so how badly damaged had it been before those repairs started?~
He had also learnt a little about the crew, mostly from their complaining. Sledge was not a high ranking captain in the Dianthe Fleet. In fact he was on the Queen’s bad side and had been assigned as far from the action as possible. With few worlds to plunder he had been forced to make a living as a bounty hunter, tracking down those that were even more out of favour than he and handing them over to the Dianthe hierarchy. On occasion he was able to trade a captured Ranger template with the Power Broker, which gained him a small level of respect.
The problem was that the ship was transporting some very valuable prisoners. How they had managed to get two of the highest valued enemies of the Dianthe was uncertain, but the reward for their capture was immense. And since they had sent word they had been damaged by a mere Astro Guardian, their superior had decided to send his fleet to make sure the prisoners didn’t escape. Andros would have been surprised to find that Sledge worried that they would take the prisoners and the ship, and leave him and his crew drifting in space.
And it was the identity of the help that caused Andros the most concern. For the most part the Dianthe tried to stay away from worlds protected by Rangers and Guardians. But there were some who had no choice. Their job was to track down Power Rangers and Masked Riders that crossed their path to send a message not to mess with the Dianthe. Since the Grid Masters usually ignored them and left it to the IGPF, the Dianthe leadership assumed the approach worked. And it was that group, who also dealt with other beings that got on the Dianthe Queen’s bad side, that Sledge had contacted.
The notorious Captain Crash and his Creep Squadron were vicious when it came to punishing those that angered Divatox. There were rumours that Crash was a cousin of Divatox who had fallen out of favour, and that it was only his record when it came to hunting down enemies of the Dianthe that spared him from sharing their fate. Although some also suggested he was a favourite of the Queen Mother because he continued to annoy her daughter so much.
It seemed Sledge was keen to prove to Crash that he enjoyed handing out their brand of justice just as much as they did and had taken to torturing the prisoners. Despite what they had done to him, Andros knew that the cell’s other occupants had suffered more. He had heard the sounds of suffering as each was made aware of Sledge’s displeasure. It didn’t matter if they had information that could increase their value or not, Sledge and his crew were eager to be seen as ruthless. At the time he had been unable to see his surroundings so had not realised who they were tormenting.
“You have no idea how lucky you are to be here,” one of the crew told him as he prodded him with his boot. “You, a mere Astro Guardian from a ruined world in a conquered system, are here in the brig with some of the most notorious enemies of the Dianthe!”
He pulled the Red Guardian by the hair and pointed to the wall opposite where the loudest screams had been heard the day before. He could barely make out through his still swollen eye the mangled form of another being.
“That is Visceron, the data courier who thought he could spy on the Dianthe’s allies. And then to make matter worse, he actually tried to escape from the Death Races. Naturally Divatox couldn’t just let him go, think of the message that would send to others. Not to mention the damage the information he stole would cause. I bet he wishes he’d just let them kill him in the races now.” His voice lowered. “And that’s nothing compared to what Crash will do to him when we hand him over.”
Andros could just about make out the metal shards emerging from Visceron’s battered form. He tried not imagine how they had gotten there since he was certain Visceron was not a mechanoid. It looked as if somebody had forcibly hammered them into some places and wielded them to his skin in others.
“I see you noticed the metal work,” his captor said. “It wasn’t intentional. The fool chose to press his luck in an asteroid field and crashed. Those shards stayed in place when we cut him from the wreckage. Still, Visceron always claimed his car was an extension of his body, a part of him. Now it is. But if Crash asks… we did it deliberately.”
The pirates had come across Visceron completely by accident. They hadn’t even realised he was wanted by their leaders until after he had been captured. They had assumed he was carrying treasure and was fleeing to prevent them from seizing it. Not that he was fleeing for his life.
He walked over to the corner farthest from Andros where not one but two figures had been secured to a metal frame. With an evil chuckle he went to work, lifting a hammer and smashing it repeatedly into the already broken bodies.
“You are indeed honoured to be included in such an elite gathering,” Andros was told. “Just think, you share a cell with not only the infamous Visceron, but also the mighty Phantom Ranger.”
That revelation shocked Andros. He had not expected to ever meet the Lone Wolf of Space, the legendary Ranger described by many as being indestructible. How had they managed to capture such a powerful Ranger? Then again the figure the pirate was battering hardly resembled the Phantom Ranger he had heard about.
“I know what you’re thinking,” the pirate said. “You expected the Phantom Ranger to be wearing armour. It seems that he only uses that in combat and we got the drop on him before he could activate it. You see, the Phantom Ranger has been a thorn in the side of the Dianthe for generations. Everytime he is killed he just seems to return. And he has proven a real nuisance recently. Queen Divatox was so annoyed she placed him at the top of the list after the setbacks he caused. I’m not sure if Crash is going to kill him, but I know the Queen Mother plans to toss his worthless remains into the Abyss of Doom and Suffering. Maybe that will help him stay dead.”
Another stroke of luck. The Phantom Ranger had actually been taken down by the Elite Raiders, one of the Dianthe’s most dangerous mercenary groups. He had been handed over to Sledge and his crew to transport, but then there had been an accident and the Elites had been eliminated. Sledge had shown true leadership and claimed the prize for himself and his crew.
The pirate drove the hammer repeatedly into the Phantom Ranger’s body and Andros realised that while it was likely causing very little injury, the aim was to wear down the Phantom Ranger with the persistent assault. There was only so much strain a Ranger’s healing could withstand. How long had the Phantom Ranger been forced to endure such attacks?
“He put up a pretty good fight, but in the end we had the skill and the numbers to bring him down,” the pirate said. “After the beating we gave him I doubt he would be in any condition to fight right now, but since he hasn’t powered down we have no way of knowing. And you can never be to careful with the Phantom Ranger; he’s already tried using his powers to fool us into thinking he had already escaped.” There was a brief pause. “Ah, can’t forget about the other one.”
On the floor, Andros recognised the battered carcass of an intergalactic robotic policeman used to support officers in the field. They were known to be good to have at your side during a fire fight, but were otherwise useless. They lacked the more complex artificial intelligence needed to help them solve crimes. This one had most likely been assigned to assist and more importantly observe an agent. He was surprised that the pirate actually took the time and effort to attack the machine.
“I know what you’re thinking: why are we keeping this piece of junk active? Believe it or not, he is something new, far more advanced than a normal unit. At some point it has been reprogrammed and upgraded by the nice freelancer over there, quite illegally I might add, turning him into a sidekick as opposed to a mere machine. And then, three months ago they were involved in a raid on one of the Dianthe’s spice vessels. They conducted a perfect take down on the facility, but they withdrew when this unit picked up an unknown message. We don’t know what the message contained, but it shut down every computer in the vicinity. The facility had to be abandoned due to the expense of replacing all that equipment.”
It was later discovered that the signal had deactivated computer systems of tens of worlds and crippled hundreds of passing ships. Divatox had naturally wanted to know the contents of the message and how it worked so she could duplicate the effects. Of course the Space Sheriff had been operating outside his jurisdiction and therefore had left himself open to reprisals.
“We don’t know what the message contained, but it caused this unit to further upgrade itself and then to disconnect from the IGPF’s Hub. When it decided it would seek out Zordon on Earth we intercepted it. We can’t allow Zordon to receive an unknown message, especially one that would make an outstanding weapon. So we decided to investigate.” And to charge a great many credits to whoever want to purchase their discovery.
But again he was lying. They had entered the system after receiving a primitive distress call and had plundered the vulnerable planets. It had only been the discovery of the spice ship that had prompted them to investigate.
“What little we could get from the message was enough for Divatox to demand that we keep them alive until she can investigate personally.”
He had commenced driving his hammer into the machine’s body, sometimes attaching a drill to increase the damage. As he did so Andros realised that none of those held prisoner could escape, otherwise they would have already done so. The continued torture was not to keep them in place. It was for the pirates’ own amusement.
“Amazing isn’t it?” the man asked as the hammer landed again and the broken mechanoid emitted a quiet scream. “That message made it capable of feeling pain!”
It wasn’t amazing; it was sickening. They were torturing the machine just because it could feel the pain they inflicted upon it. He was certain that torture would not allow them to extract the message.
“It won’t allow us to extract the message, but then we don’t need it’s body to do that. Just so long as the memory banks are left intact we can forcibly decode them later. However we have no guarantee that the message has been stored permanently, so we can’t turn it off.”
“Because if the message was stored in volatile memory it would be lost,” Andros realised.
The grip on Andros’ head increased causing him to cry out.
“Which leads us to you. A Red Guardian from a lost world shaking down his ship before a trip to Onyx? What did you think you would accomplish there? Spying perhaps? And then you would discover some information that could be used against the Dianthe and pose a threat… I think you understand how we deal with threats by now. Just think, we’re amateurs compared to Crash? I think you’re going to have a very short but exciting life ahead of you Andros.”
He pulled out a device similar to the one Andros had seen earlier. There was a bright flash as he activated the device, calling forth a costume without a helmet.
“Oh I’m not a Ranger,” the silver clad warrior told the confused Guardian. “If you haven’t guessed by now, this is a Pan-Morphic Transformer, a device created to allow a single being to change his armour to suit the needs of a situation. It never worked with Rangers before because the Power chooses the form of the Ranger, not the user. However thanks to the Masked Rider over there…”
Andros looked to where the silver pirate was pointing and fought the urge to vomit. While the Phantom Ranger and Visceron had remained mostly intact, the Masked Rider had seen better days. If he was still alive, and Andros doubted anyone could look that much of a mess and actually live, he was not going anywhere. The pirates had practically nailed him to the bulkhead, shattering his armour in the process. A large crack ran down the left side of his faceplate. A badly mangled Ecto-Accelerator glowed slightly, suggesting that perhaps there was some hope. The device had been ripped open and deformed by the attempts to learn its secrets.
“Altering these devices to work more like an Ecto-Accelerator was just the first step,” the pirate announced. “Building the scanners needed to identify the powers and copy the template took even longer, even with the toys the Power Broker provided. Unfortunately it only copies the obvious powers and not the special abilities locked away inside. We have to map those manually.” he grabbed hold of Andros again. “Which leads us back to you, Red Guardian. You are going to morph and demonstrate the abilities the scanner failed to unlock.”
“Just so you can use them,” Andros guessed.
“Hardly,” the pirate laughed. “The Power Broker has found a way to create a single-use version of the Pan-Morphic Transformer. When loaded with a template it will allow the user to transform and use the powers of the Ranger they are copying. As you might imagine the market for such abilities is huge. He offered us thousands of credit for each device we create. He’d pay even more to be allowed to view the raw template, he probably hopes to isolate single abilities.”
“Why are you doing this?” Andros asked, suddenly aware that the pirate no longer seemed able to read his thoughts.
“Because I am the only one who truly appreciates the powers you possess,” he claimed dreamily. “I understand how powerful they are and have become a dedicated collector… see?”
A shoulder shield and chest plate appeared and Andros recoiled in revulsion. The Mounted like trophies on his armour were the misshapen helmets of Rangers he had faced in the past. Some were still covered in blood. When he claimed to be a collector he was not kidding. His collection of Ranger corpses filled the lower decks of his ship. He giggled a little, his body swaying as he lost himself in his fantasies.
“Curio!”
Had it been anybody else Andros might have felt some relief at being interrupted. But he remembered the beating he had received from the Quarter Master and wondered whether Curio would be getting his Guardian helmet sooner than anticipated. The Quarter Master wore a blue coat with gold trim, a pair of sturdy boots complete with buckles and a pair of well worn leggings. Unlike Curio he didn’t carry a pistol, which Andros realised had been replaced by a three-pointed harpoon. However he held two swords at the ready and Andros had no doubt he could use them.
~The question is: could I morph, fight them and escape with the prisoners before their reinforcements arrive?~
The answer was obviously no. Even if he could get the drop on the newcomer, Curio would impale him before he could escape. And if he attacked Curio, the other pirate would have the time to transform and Andros knew he would be trapped in the same predicament. There was no way he could escape the pirate in his current condition.
~Maybe I should try and slow them down instead,~ he thought, a plan forming in the back of his mind.
Using the mental abilities that were common to his planet, but which the years as a Guardian had helped him develop, Andros reached out an grabbed hold of the hammer. With a mental tug he sent it spinning towards the blue coated pirate before lashing out at Curio. Curio blocked easily and rushed forward with his weapon, but despite his incredible speed, Andros managed to scramble out of the way, allowing his opponent to charge into the bulkhead. And while Curio was distracted trying to free his weapon, Andros too the opportunity to morph.
“Let’s Rocket!”
As he transformed, he tapped the side of his helmet, activating his suit’s computer system. He then fired a seemingly random volley of shots around the cell. With a mental shove he pushed himself off the bulkhead as the pirates charged in, leaving them in the cell while he was outside. He fired another shot, at which point the hull tore open and the cell depressurised, sucking the pirates into space.
How they had managed to survive was beyond Andros and he had been pretty pessimistic to begin with. The seemingly random shots and taken out key anchor points along the hull’s weakened plating, something that would not have been possible if the ship had been in prime condition, causing it to buckle. While he held on tightly and the other prisoners were firmly locked in place, the pirates had not been so lucky. The hull breach had had a cascade effect, ripping sections from the hull all over the ship. When a hole had opened in the bridge, Sledge had ordered his crew to abandon ship, escaping in a red galleon that was dwarfed by the larger ship.
The pirates had picked up their shipmates and retreated to what they had hoped would be a safe distance when the war ship exploded. Unfortunately for them, the explosion never occurred. Faced with imminent danger, the giant vessel’s computer systems finally retook command, activating a heavy metal skin that enveloped the craft completely. Then as the suddenly fully functional vessel accelerated away, it activated its security protocols, dispatching its forces to remove all intruders, Andros among them.
But Andros was unaware of his impending doom as he struggled to release the prisoners from the nearby cells, many of whom had been stored in a form of cryogenic suspension. With their help he had taken his former cellmates to a makeshift medical bay and had left them in the care of an older man. While the man lacked any medical experience, they had been able to confirm that the Phantom Ranger, Masked Rider and Visceron were still alive.
After that relief had turned to anxiety as they had found that the ship was locked down with no means of escape. And although the Astro Megaship had been hauled aboard, its systems were still unresponsive. With a growing sense of dread, those on board realised they were still prisoners and that now they didn’t have any means of escape.
“Well?” Sledge asked.
“Just as you said,” Curio replied. “As soon as he was given an opportunity he morphed and managed to escape. We now have two of the abilities we needed to map added to the template.”
“Marvellous,” Sledge declared. “Except in the process you managed to lose him and the rest of our cargo, not to mention the rest of the ship.”
Sledge’s faced showed the fury he was feeling very clearly. If Crash showed up and he didn’t have the prisoners as promised, Crash wouldn’t just kill him. If he let all his prisoners escape Crash would likely beat him to the point of death and then revive him just so Divatox could have a go.
“We need to get them back,” he snarled. “Prepare a boarding party and set course to catch them. We’re going reclaim our ship, even if it kills them.”
Curio grinned maniacally, but the others did not seem so enthused.
“Keeping these prisoners is getting too risky. It might be time to consider how much Crash would pay for them dead.”
As the crew scurried away to complete their tasks, Sledge wondered what he had done to deserve the command of such pitiful underlings. Oh he knew full well what he had done, and how angry Divatox had been. It had only been his incredible cowardice that had allowed him to continue to live working in such a broken existence.
He looked down at the transformation device in his hand, remember the fierce battle he had faced in order to remove it from the small world of Mobirartay. That had been an interesting day where he had stunned his opponents with his flamboyance and unpredictable actions. Maybe it was time to become even more infamous by doing something even Divatox would never consider and change sides.
End of Part
Chapter 6: A Reason to be Thankful
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to Saban Brands. Jeff Kincaid and the Night Ranger characters are the creation of John Chubb. No profit is being made from this fan work.
Author’s note: Okay folks this is basically a retelling of the end of Thanksgiving Night. That story ended with the Turbo Rangers being whisked away for some sort of research project. This chapter tells events as they should and really happened.
A Reason to be Thankful
“What are these things?” Rosa cried as the shapes closed in on them. Slowly, the creatures stepped into the light, revealing themselves to be large reptiles. Franklin couldn’t suppress a shudder.
“Oh man, reptiles?” he muttered before his eyes widened, “no, dinosaurs!”
“Come on!” Tasha cried. “We can take these guys!”
Franklin shrugged although his face betrayed just how uneasy that idea made him. “Looks like we’re going to have to… Here they come!”
As the creatures charged, the three quickly dodged, and the fight began. “Chew on this!” Rosa snarled, kicking one in the snout. It absorbed the blow without flinching, then sending her flying into a tree with a vicious backhand.
“Tasha!” yelled Franklin, running to her side. “Are you all right?”
“Never better,” she replied weakly, allowing him to help her to her feet, realising they had left Tasha to deal with their opponents on her own.
“They’re too strong,” she informed them. “We have to morph.”
“Shift into Turbo!” the three Rangers called together.
“Wind Chaser Turbo Power!”
“Dune Star Turbo Power!”
“Desert Thunder Turbo Power!”
There was a great deal more flickering than the Rangers normally experienced during their transformation. And once it was completed they felt weaker than they had before calling on their powers. But then the feeling was gone.
“All right,” Frank grinned, slightly worried about what was happening. “Let’s take these beasts!”
After that, the fight was less one-sided, although Pink Turbo received a nasty shock when one of the reptiles spewed a stream of green venom at her. “Ewww!” she cried, dropping into a split. The venom flew over her head, striking a tree, and instantly eating all the bark off of it.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you, it’s not polite to spit?” Green Turbo asked, wrapping a length of chain from a nearby gate around the mouth of the offending creature.
“Fangs for the workout, Kaa!” chuckled Yellow Turbo, hitting yet another snake-man in the stomach. Realizing that they were outclassed, the creatures quickly retreated into the darkness.
This left the three Turbo Rangers alone and very confused.
“Um guys, where are we?” Franklin asked as for a moment their surrounding revealed a room filled with small chambers, each containing what appeared to be a sleeping person.
As their eyes roamed over the capsules they felt a sharp pain in their heads as memories they were unaware of started to surface; memories of news reports about caped vigilantes and masked super heroes saving the world. Names they had not thought about for a long time echoed through their heads.
“What is going on here?”
As the darkness suddenly closed in around them, the capsules vanished one by one until they were confronted by just three, each containing the sleeping body of a Turbo Ranger. At that moment they realised that that was a very good question and one they could not answer.
“This experiment is ended, put them back where they belong.”
“But why? There is so much still to learn.”
“We will need to find other ways to unlock those secrets. The attempt to remove them from the memories of their friends is failing. Even when reapplied it will not hold. And if they remember, we will be exposed and this mission will be placed in jeopardy. The success of the mission must come above all other considerations.”
He didn’t need to mention the massive influx of test subjects they had recently ‘rescued’ from machines they had created. Those test subjects would just about make up for a chance to dabble with the Turbo powers.
Calculations were made, buttons were pressed in the correct sequence as history was reshaped to accommodate their needs. Normally such acts were forbidden, but since they were setting right the problems they had caused, their actions were overlooked. Time was rolled back to a key battle and then events were allowed to play out naturally.
Thanksgiving Day, Recent Past
A tickling sensation warned him when the first Power Rangers arrived. He was disappointed, but not surprised to find that Jeff Kincaid was not with them. These were the Turbo Rangers if he recalled correctly, Earth’s youngest team of Power Rangers.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with fire?” Rosa asked.
Crucible scowled. He’d hoped for a better opening than that.
“I don’t see any fire,” he replied before extending his arm and making a flicking gesture at the Rosa.
Rosa cried out as her uniform was engulfed by flames. Around her the other Rangers tried to help their friend, but nothing they did seemed to extinguish the magical fire.
“Looks to me like you’re the one playing with fire, Rosa,” Crucible mocked.
“Stop it, now!” Fred snarled, drawing his side arm and deciding that maybe the way to help was to attack the fire at its source.
While Franklin and Tasha tried to douse the flames with water, Justin and Fred attacked. Blue Turbo fired his Hand Blasters while Red summoned the Lightning Sword. For his part Crucible just stood and allowed the blasts to strike him while the sword slid harmlessly off his armour.
“My turn,” he told them. He gave them a mental push that sent both Rangers sprawling back across the ground. As they struggled to stand, he raised his arms and they were levitated into the air. “I wonder how far a Turbo Ranger can fall without being killed or seriously injured by the impact?” he mused. “Let’s find out!”
He was distracted by a sharp pain in his side. He turned to find that Franklin and Tasha had realised they could not help Rosa until Crucible had been forced to release his fire spell. Tasha had jammed her Star Chargers into his side and had sent a jolt of Turbo energy into his armour; he had barely felt it. With a grunt he backhanded her, knocking the Ranger aside. He was so busy concentrating on her though that he almost failed to notice Franklin firing his Thunder Cannon. Almost. He batted the energy away with his hand, directing to where Blue and Red Turbo were still hovering.
“Enough!” he snarled, pushing the five Turbo Rangers into the ground with a mental shove that managed to break Franklin’s collarbone in spite of his armour. “If this is all that Zordon will send against me, if he does not value this world enough to fight me, then I will burn this city, the legendary home of the Power Rangers, to the ground.”
He wanted Kincaid. Kincaid knew that, Zordon knew that. He suspected even the Turbo Rangers were aware of it. But still they had sent him children. He was offended, angered that they had sought to fight him when it was clear that they were outmatched.
The fire was gone now, Rosa felt the pain but she had not been harmed. Blue and Red Turbo were shaken but intact and despite the broken bones they had suffered – for Tasha was certain that the blow Crucible had landed had cracked her jaw – Franklin and Tasha were back on their feet.
“Turbo Power Weapons!” Fred cried.
The five Rangers lifted their weapons and lined up. Red was on the right hand side, the green, yellow and pink with blue on the left hand side.
“Ready!” the others cried.
“Turbo Scramble Charge Attack!” Fred ordered, “Begin!”
And with that the five Turbo Rangers sped forward, using all the power they could draw from the mystical energy source known as the Speed Force through their Turbo Keys. This was an attack that used their speed to its fullest, an attack the other Rangers of Earth could not duplicate, although Gold Zeo Ranger’s Gold Rush came close. Building up speed as they approached, they veered off sharply, covering as much ground as possible, each footfall helping to build a store of energy within their suits.
Again and again they flashed passed the bemused villain, occasionally reaching out to land a not so gentle tap with their fists before moving on. As they continued they grew faster and the distance they seemed to cover before returning to land another blow grew larger, yet the time it took them between strikes never varied. Their Turbo Power Weapons started to glow as they fed the stored power into them. And then at just the right moment, Red Turbo Rangers gave the command and the Turbo Rangers landed their first real blow.
Watching from the sidelines, a considerable distance from the battle, Savrod winced. He knew that the Turbo Rangers’ strike had to hurt and he was impressed that Crucible was even standing after such a blow. Five fully energised Power Weapons wielded by five Turbo Rangers at near maximum velocity had struck Crucible simultaneously. The Wind Bow, Hand Blasters and Thunder Cannon had been passing shots as the three Rangers had kept up the momentum and sped away. Tasha had somehow reconfigured her Star Chargers into knuckle dusters and had landed a superb double-handed blow. Red Turbo’s Lightning Sword attack delivered if Savrod recalled in a style used by the team Megazord had been especially impressive. But more impressive was that having delivered their blows they had discarded the Power Weapons, pulled their Turbo Blasters and prepared to strike again.
He had been expecting them to stop after the blow they had delivered. He believed that any other team of Rangers would have decided that such an all out attack would have been sufficient. Instead the Turbo Rangers had moved away ready to strike again, not willing to take Crucible’s defeat for granted. Savrod was actually impressed.
Not that the Turbo Rangers stood a chance. Their attack had been powerful by most standards, but Crucible was a whole different level. Still as he observed the slight dents in Crucible’s armour, which rapidly corrected themselves, he had to admit he was impressed.
“Strike two!” Red Turbo ordered.
With that the five Rangers charged in, Turbo Blasters firing. Even from a distances their shots connected with enough force to throw Crucible off balance. And because they were attacking from different directions, he had to adapt to the forces applied in different areas. As one targeted his knees, another would strike at his chest. There was no way to predict where the Turbo Rangers would aim and while their shots would not harm him, Crucible was growing annoyed that they were making him look bad.
“Final pass, then switch to Turbo Swords!” Red Turbo ordered.
The others acknowledged and the five ran off into the distance and then vanished from sight. For a moment Crucible wondered if he had won. Then he dismissed the idea only to reconsider when they did not reappear. Then his eyes widened as he understood their plan. He turned around just in time to cover his eyes. The Turbo Rangers had been running so fast that in the time he had spend wondering where they were, they had managed to run across the world to attack him from behind.
This time he had been staggered by the force of their attack. With each pass they drew more energy from their Turbo Keys, allowing them to run faster. And with their Turbo Blasters discarded, the next three passes allowed them to land a series of sword slaps to his armour.
By the fifth time they raced passed him with their swords, Crucible had had enough. He tried to fight the blurs as they went passed, successfully knocking Blue Turbo hard enough to break his concentration. His punch put the Blue Turbo Ranger into a spin and he crashed into the remains of a building. His next strike caused Red Turbo to stumble. It didn’t put him down like Blue Turbo, but it slowed him so that he could not keep up with the other three. And when the came passed for their next attack, Crucible was ready for them.
“Goodbye Turbo Rangers!” he snarled before hurling a ball of blue energy at them.
The Rangers couldn’t dodge, the energy beam was too broad to avoid. And at their speed they could not duck or find cover. Their own speed drove them into the full and deadly force of Crucible’s attack. They appeared to shimmer and then turned into the tiny sparks of teleportation as they were whisked away to safety, leaving Crucible to turn his annoyance on Red Turbo.
“What did you do to them?” Red Turbo demanded.
There was a skid mark extending for over half a mile where he had been forced to brake. His boots were smoking from the friction and physically he was exhausted. Still he was in better shape the Justin, who had not moved since he hit the wall.
“What did I do?” Cruucible asked. He seemed to be offended. ” I did nothing more than create an energy sphere. They were the ones that ran into it.”
“Where are they?” Red Turbo demanded, once again holding the Lightning Sword.
Crucible Shrugged. “Who knows? I hear Tibet is nice this time of year. The middle of the Dead Sea perhaps; maybe they got thrown into space. The thing is, Red Ranger, that I don’t know where that energy pulse carried them, but if they survived they will have a real job trying to build up that much speed again in time to save you.”
“Don’t worry Fred, we have them,” Alpha reported. “Zordon teleported them out just in time.”
“Then I guess it’s down to just us,” Fred said.
“Us? You mean yourself and your little blue friend over there? I doubt he is in any condition to fight.”
“Or perhaps he meant us,” a new voice said.
And at that moment a question that had been burning in the back of Crucible’s mind was answered: where were the other Rangers? He had known that Kincaid would not make an appearance. The Night Ranger was too cowardly to fight his former friend. But Earth was known to have multiple teams and yet only the Turbo Rangers had emerged to confront him. But as he turned toward the voice and saw the gather Power Rangers waiting for him he instead wondered what had taken them so long and why was Kincaid not with them?
“And they’re off!” Hard Drive reported.
“Then so are we,” Jeff replied as he pressed the sequence of buttons that activated Defiant’s flight systems.
It had been difficult finding a way to launch the Zord without the risk of allowing Crucible to find the Power Chamber. Many villains knew where the Power Chamber was located, some had been there, but very few could actually find it. Which was why while the Turbo Rangers had done such a good job of distracting Crucible at a high cost – for a moment Jeff had been certain that Crucibles energy attack had killed three of them – the other Rangers had shifted Defiant to a new launch position and had then taken the liberty of destroying some of the ships in Crucible’s fleet.
“Launch!” he ordered as Defiant’s thrusters came to life.
“Set controls for outer space, now flying higher than ever before…” Hard Drive started.
Kincaid shook his head, he had no idea where the computer had picked up that song.
“All right, find Crucible and get ready,” Kincaid ordered. They needed Crucible to know they were leaving so that he would follow.
“Crucible,” Savrod repeated for the umpteenth time.
It seemed the Rangers of Earth had managed to outmanoeuvre their forces. While the Turbo Rangers had been fighting against Crucible, the rest of the Rangers had had other targets. The units Crucible had dispatched to cause as much death and destruction as possible, had been routed. The Power Rangers had appeared in force, fought a swift and decisive battle and then moved on, leaving the Guardsmen to the mercy of some very angry locals. The drop ships had been damaged and isolated to prevent escape and despite succeeding, even the attempt to snatch Bruce Greene had proven costly in terms of manpower.
He read another report and realised that this was not some lucky strike. Jeff Kincaid had been spotted directing the action at two of the battle zones. The Night Ranger had joined forces with the planet’s defenders in a direct breach of the Council’s rules. And it seemed the local
Masters of the Morphin Grid – for he was certain that one of the warriors he
had spotted was the legendary Ninjor – appeared to approve.
“I’m here Savrod.”
Crucible sounded annoyed, but given that a large number of Rangers had just teleported to his location, that was not surprising.
“We’ve been deceived,” Savrod told him. “While you were fighting Turbo Rangers, Kincaid has been attacking our forces all over the planet. We’re suffered an almost complete loss.”
“Kincaid’s not here,” Crucible answered after some thought. “The others just arrived, but no Kincaid.” There was a long pause. “Savrod, prepare for pursuit, he’s planning to run.”
“Are you sure?” Savrod asked.
“This whole battle has been a ploy to launch the Defiant,” Crucible told him. “Check the energy web.”
Aside from ferrying troops to cities around the globe to punish the planet for siding with Crucible’s enemies, the drop ships had been acting as transmission nodes capable of broadcasting a net of destructive energy. The intention had been to activate the net the moment Defiant had appeared, damaging the ship and allowing Crucible to find Kincaid before the Night Ranger could escape.
“There’s a hole in the network,” Savrod confirmed. “I’ll order our forces to target the hole.”
“Don’t bother,” Crucible answered. “Just order them to track him.”
It was already too late, but he was not going to give Kincaid another moment of triumph. He was certain that when they investigated later they would find that the net had been shut down to draw their attention while Jeff had another route open to him at a moment’s notice.
“In the meantime I’m going to kill as many of these Earth Rangers as possible.”
“Let’s go!” Red Zeo ordered and the army of Rangers attacked.
One thing Crucible had never lacked was confidence. When Savrod had helped to strip away the remnants of Mark Kinega’s personality, he had instilled him him the believe that there was no opponent he could not overcome. However confronted by the horde of charging Rangers, Crucible found that for the first time that he was questioning his chance of succeeding.
The Rangers attacked in a predictable manner. First they used their side arms before switching to personal weapons. Next they tried combining their weapons before shifting to their special attacks. The assault was creative and extremely powerful, but as he battered aside the Shadow Ribbons and fought off a jolt from Jamie’s Sword of Lightning, Crucible knew that this was just another distraction.
“Brachio Staff!”
He ducked the assault from the Din Thunder Rangers while blocking a swinging blow from Gold Zeo’s Golden Power Staff.
With a grunt he threw his arms up, pushing the Rangers far away and readied a blast. He stopped when he noticed that although they were back on their feet, they had not made an attempt to charge him again.
“Crucible, we’ve found him,” Savrod reported. “He’s six miles north of your location and heading towards you.”
“So he finally decided to face me,” Crucible concluded.
He couldn’t hear a reply as he was deafened by the roar of the Defiant’s engines as the huge craft came to rest above him.
“We’re detecting Defiant’s engine signature above your position. Kincaid could be on board.”
“Thank you Savrod, I am aware of that,” Crucible groused as he noticed that Defiant’s weapons and those of the surrounding Rangers were locked on his location. “Any time you feel like ordering your crew to retrieve me – before they open fire – would do,” he added. He wasn’t worried, but didn’t envision the pain caused by the combined power of so many Rangers and a giant ship as an enjoyable experience.
“Fire!” he heard the Red Rangers cry.
He felt the familiar sensation of teleportation, ten full seconds after the first blast connected with his armour.
The clean up had taken longer than normal. There had been a great deal of damage to repair both in Angel Grove and the many cities where Crucible’s forces had tried to land. The Guardsmen had not been easy to defeat and the Rangers had been forced to use some of the tactics they normal reserved for powerful monsters in order to defeat them. Lives had been lost, buildings and property had been damaged. And because Crucible and his forces were not the result of a spell, the damage they caused did not simply reverse after the battle. It had taken a great deal of work and a large number of failures to repair what damage they could and to offer comfort where possible.
But not everybody survives a monster attack. Rocky had once said that to Lita Kiino, a psychiatrist that helped the Rangers in times of stress. However the Rangers had never realised how true those words could be. The Turbo Rangers were recovering. Justin had sustained the worst injuries although the others had not been that much better off. All would be back in action before long. Of the other Rangers there had been a few injuries from the battles with Crucible’s forces and Zack had taken a nasty head blow from Savrod, but they were alive.
As Adam sat down to a late Thanksgiving dinner with his parents he was thankful that despite how bad things had seemed, the Power Rangers had emerged relatively unscathed. He glanced at Franklin on opposite him and was thankful that he had not been one of the many casualties. At the DeSantos table, Rocky paused briefly before giving thanks for his family and friends. His older brother had checked in and his younger siblings had been safely within the Monster Shelter. Rosa had recovered from her ordeal but had complained of strange dreams. He gave thanks for that they were all safe.. At the Kellman residence, Fred and his dad sat down for a modest meal, while at Little Angel’s Haven, Justin and Tasha enjoyed a meal with the other children.
Zack had once described a trial by fire, the moment a Ranger came to terms with his own mortality. Today had been the day when that message had been brought home to the planet’s youngest Ranger team. Their job was difficult and the risks were real. Success was never a certainty and a mistake could cost them their lives. All were thankful that they had learnt that lesson without losing a comrade.
“So you’re going to leave their memories intact?” Jeff asked incredulously.
The Night Rangers were the embarrassing secret of both the Grid Masters and the Galactic Council. For a whole planet to be aware of their existence would be unacceptable to most. But worse still still one of the witnesses to Jeff Kincaid’s actions had been the Lord of Triforia; there was an equal chance that Dex of Edenoi had also seen the battle that had taken place. Two powerful races were suddenly aware of a secret that the Council did not want exposed.
Zordon had already received his instructions, direct orders from the Council to swear his Rangers to secrecy and take steps to ensure that the people of Earth forgot about the Night Ranger. That was easier said than done. There was no way to wipe the memory of everybody on the planet without resorting to some very strange magic. One of the councillors had suggested adding something to the water supply, but Zordon had ignored the suggestion when he had learnt that it could cause fatalities.
“It is not my place to erase them,” Zordon told him. “Too many people saw what happened. There were news reports from Angel Grove and around the world. If I attempted to cover up there would be clues left that would rapidly expose the truth. The Council has forgotten, again, that the Earth is not a part of their jurisdiction and that they have no right to demand the people forget something that happened to them.”
“So what are you going to do?”
Jeff was not convinced Zordon would just allow things to remain as they were. There were too many unknowns in such free knowledge and Zordon was too responsible to allow such chaos.
“I instructed Alpha to make all the information that should be available about the Night Rangers available,” Zordon answered.
“But that would mean people would have access to everything without ever searching. Oh!”
“Yes Jeffrey,” Zordon agreed. “People will have full and unrestricted access to all the facts. And you know what happens when people have all the information with nothing hidden from them.”
“They forget,” Jeff concluded. “They grow bored because they don’t have to search. The grow suspicious of all the information so easily available. They start to question whether what they saw was real and then look for conspiracies to poke holes in the facts they’ve been given.”
“Exactly,” Zordon agreed. “Before long the humans will deem the Night Rangers as a myth and start looking elsewhere.”
“And the Rangers?”
“They agreed to protect your secret,” Zordon told him. “They promised before the Council demanded that I obtain their oath. The Council were displeased that instead of the formal promise they required the Rangers only gave an oath that was to the point. Where will you go from here?”
“Crucible will need time to track me down again,” Kincaid said. “He’s already left the system because he thinks I’m ahead of him. It should take a while before he catches up and discovers it’s one of his own ships. I’ll drift off in the other direction, wait a few months and then stick my head out in some backwater galaxy. By the time he hears where I am I’ll be the other side of space. I’ll keep doing it until I can find a way to defeat him. But otherwise I’ll stay low and make sure I don’t draw anybody else into this mess.”
“Jeff…”
“Don’t Zordon! Don’t you dare try and comfort me. You know what happened today and so do I. People died today because I led Crucible here. Good people, bad people… people. I won’t risk the lives of anybody else by getting involved with Crucible. He wants me, let him find me, but when he does there won’t be anybody else around to get hurt.”
With that the Night Ranger cut the communication and Defiant took off into space, leaving Zordon to hope that in his grief, Jeff Kincaid would not become a bigger monster than Crucible.
The Rangers had hurt him, but he had hurt them too. He had taken something precious and he would take more. Already he was aware that Bruce Greene was being dumped on an alien world, fully aware that Jeff Kincaid was to blame. If by some chance he survived, Crucible imagined the man would become bitter and twisted, willing to train Crucible’s Guardsmen in return for a chance at revenge against Kincaid. And that in turn would hurt Kincaid.
As for those other Rangers… One day Crucible would return and would conquer the Earth. And when he did he would take revenge on every Ranger that had dared to fire upon him. And he would take special pride in putting an end to the Turbo Rangers.
“Crucible, there is a messenger here to see you,” Savrod told him, strolling into the chamber as if he owned it. There was a good chance he did own it, Crucible had never thought to ask who paid for all the ships at his disposal.
“I’m not expecting a message,” he said after some thought.
“I’m aware of that,” Savrod told him. “I am responsible for sending most of your messages after all. This messenger demanded an audience and I would suggest you grant him one.”
“Show him in then,” Crucible sighed. The problem with being a leader was having to deal with other leaders.
“The Messenger of Fire,” Savrod announced. His voice sounded odd. Was that awe? “Ambassador for the Grand Monarch of Evil, Dark Specter.”
It was an impressive being, even Crucible had to admit that. Seven feet of billowing flame was bound to impress some. His mind briefly caught onto the memory of a story about a burning bush, but he ignored it.
“Crucible,” the messenger greeted. His voice sounded like twigs crackling on a wood stove. There was an uncertainty, as if he had wanted to add something before his name. And Crucible realised in that moment that to the Messenger this was a very odd situation because unlike others, Crucible had not given himself a title. “I come with a message and an invitation. The message is as follows: you and your followers have been accepted into the ranks of the United Alliance of Evil. Congratulations on your achievement. Acceptance is mandatory. You are instructed to accept the enclosed invitation to attend the first meeting of the United Alliance of Evil and to swear allegiance to Dark Specter, the Grand Monarch of Evil.”
“And if I say no?”
The fire seemed to grow brighter. “When others refused they were taught that my master could have them destroyed in flame.”
“I’m not like the others,” Crucible answered. “And I have no desire to follow or swear loyalty.”
“The Grand Monarch does not share,” the Messenger warned. “You are powerful, but you are untrained and not ready to challenge the Grand Monarch.”
“I would try,” Crucible warned. “I will not bow to another and I will not share.”
“You would fail, and be destroyed. But what then?” The Messenger seemed to drift off. “You are unimportant and would not be missed. But you represent is something the Grand Monarch was not meant to be. That makes you important. But the Grand Monarch cannot have an equal.”
“Perhaps a compromise then,” Savrod suggested. “You said Crucible is unimportant to your master, so why create a problem by trying to force him to do something he is unwilling to do? Crucible is still learning to become the leader his people need and until then he is only the leader in name; I am the commander of his forces, himself included. I will agree to accept this membership and give the oath. Be warn though that Crucible will not be bound by any such agreement. IS your master willing to divert his attention to fight on multiple fronts?”
“Dark Specter might have use for his services,” the Messenger of Fire claimed.
“Crucible is nobody’s lackey!” Savrod answered with a hint of anger. “Should the Grand Monarch request his aid and Crucible should feel it serves his purposes, he might oblige. But his priority is to his training and the destruction of the Night Ranger Jeff Kincaid.”
“Destroying the last Night Ranger would be of great service,” the messenger mused, reinterpreting the words to suit its needs.
The flames grew brighter and then vanished, replaced by a green skinned alien with a tall head. “Find your missing Ranger and destroy him. I shall summon you if I have need of your other skills.” the Grand Monarch ordered before vanishing. “But for the first meeting, YOU WILL ATTEND!”
Savrod nodded wordlessly as the intensity of the being he had been willing to fight sank in. He had felt Dark Specter’s power over the connection and had been staggered by its potential. Having sensed the power of all those Rangers on Earth, he knew which was the greater threat. Crucible was not ready for such a battle, yet. He would not stand against Dark Specter until Jeff Kincaid was destroyed and the power of the Mirror of Night was his once more. Perhaps one day Dark Specter would become a part of the mirror’s power too. The Messenger of Fire vanished leaving Savrod and Kincaid to plan.
“Before we deal with this, there was one more thing,” Savrod told him. He looked pleased with himself. “I remember Mark Kinega mentioned something about a young lady… Leslie? I thought you might want to show her your appreciation for the way she treated Mark, especially since it helped Crucible to emerge.”
Crucible grinned. “A fine idea Savrod, but we’re behind schedule. Have her brought to my quarters later. In the meantime, let the hunt begin.”
End
Chapter 7: Mother Knows Best
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to Saban Brands. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Mother Knows Best
Divatox’s Chamber,
Day Minus Two
Sleep was something that all beings appreciated, whether they were good or unquestionably evil. But it was not the opportunity to rest after a long day of evil deeds that most villains relished while they slept. Rather it was the dreams of glory, conquest and unimaginable rewards that they cherished. Villains like Divatox, who had chosen to have an early night and was indulging herself with dreams about turning Power Rangers into her willing and corrupted servants.
“Divatox!”
Unfortunately for the pirate her beauty sleep was not as important to some as it was to her. Zonetta Mommadee the First, Queen Mother of the Dianthe Pirate Clan had decided that her daughter’s failings required her unwelcome attention and had decided to discuss the matter in person.
“Divatox, show yourself at once!”
Divatox was a pirate, the leader of the Dianthe Clan and scourge of hundreds of worlds. She had killed millions, forced kings to pay her ransoms filled with gold and made deals with the most fearsome villains known. Yet despite all her achievements and her reputation, when she heard her mother’s voice echoing through her craft, the best she could manage was a feeble: “Yes Mom?”
“Do you know what happened to me last night?” Mommadee asked, sipping a cup of tea produce by slave labour on some unimportant world. “I had to sit with the heads of the other clans, listening to them debate how the Dianthe have become a disgrace to pirates everywhere. Do you realise how it feels to be a laughing stock? The other clans are considering ending their alliance with us to avoid being associated with failure. When we meet with the Grand Monarch we MUST be able to speak for all the clans, or else he’ll replace us.”
And so the lecture began and Divatox was forced to listen as her failings were discussed in painful detail, each new observation leading her mother to repeat everything she had already said.
“And what am I supposed to do?” Divatox asked ten minutes later, after listening to her mother harp on and on about the way she had turned their family name into a joke. “Give me some advice already. You know we’re not in the planet conquering business; we’re pirates!”
“Like you ever listen to me, you ungrateful brat,” the Queen Mother laughed sarcastically. “But since it’s clear you can’t think of anything by yourself I’ll tell you exactly what you have to do: get rid of those pesky Power Rangers and start gathering every item of value from that pathetic world. Do you know how much a Zeo Crystal would be worth to an up and coming monarch or how many worlds he could conquer with a few of those Zords? I suggest you start thinking like you are the Queen of the Pirates instead of a mere captain.”
“Yeah, yeah, easier said than done,” Divatox replied. “You know how difficult Rangers can be. That’s why we stay away from them.”
That was true, the Dianthe usually attacked unprotected worlds and made its profit from illicit activities. Occasionally they would have a run in with the odd Masked Rider or an Enforcer, but as a rule they stayed away from Ranger protected worlds.
“Well you didn’t seem to worry about that when you decided to attack the Earth now did you?”
“Oh please mother, you know I had to come here to marry Maligore…”
“… And look how that turned out! All those mercenaries you claim you’ve been sending after the little brats were some of the Dianthe’s best workers. You’ve been sending our own servants to their doom!”
“It wasn’t my fault, those Rangers ruined my plan and I had to stay and get revenge,” Divatox whined. “It’s not easy to defeat them. We plan and send down a monster to beat the little twerps and somehow they defeat it!”
There was silence as Divatox and her mother tried to find the answer to a question they didn’t realise needed answering. It was a problem they shared with other villains. Yet somehow despite the greatest minds evil had to offer, nobody was able to find a way to destroy the Power Rangers.
“Well you had better hurry up and get revenge my girl, or I’ll send someone to replace you. And you know what happens to those who get replaced, don’t you?”
A shiver passed through Divatox. Although she was the Queen of the Dianthe, it was a position that could be taken from her. No matter how fearsome a pirate was, the leadership had always been as much a vote among the clan members as it had a show of strength and cunning. Those who lost a vote of no confidence lost their rank and were often placed in positions where they would never again rise to be a threat to the new leader. Only a few knew what Divatox had done to her uncle when she had replaced him, but knowing there were some just as ruthless waiting to take her place made her tremble.
“A little more help?” Divatox asked sarcastically.
“Oh very well,” her mother agreed. “Since you seem incapable of thinking for yourself, I will tell you what to do. Get that scientist of yours to hurry up with that project you were so smug about.”
“That’s it?” Divatox asked incredulously. She had expected something a lot more complex than telling Porto to stop sleeping on the job. “I ask for your help and all you can do is tell me to give Porto orders.”
“I told you before Divatox, you’re supposed to be the Queen of the Dianthe. Act like it! Before I decide to give your brother a chance to lead. Or maybe you could try proving that you did at least inherit something from me and use magic.”
Divatox scowled. Her mother loved to point out her failings and unfortunately magic was one of them. Divatox preferred to rely on technology rather than the family’s tradition of witchcraft. Still, if her mother thought it was a good idea, she would go along with it just to stop her nagging.
“Fine, I’ll tell Porto to get a move on and when he’s done, I’ll show those Rangers a piece of magic they’ll be talking about for centuries.”
“You had better,” her mother warned. “And while your at it, maybe you should start looking for a new husband. Your reputation hasn’t been the same since Maligore met his end.”
Divatox snorted. A very unladylike sound. “And just where am I supposed to find a new husband of Maligore’s quality?” she asked.
Her mother laughed. The role of Queen Mother was an honorary role with very little power. Zonetta was luckier than some in that her daughter’s preoccupation with Earth allowed her the opportunity to command the majority of the clan. But like most of the ruling mothers – those who had been clever enough not to be killed by their children’s assassination attempts, she strived to further the Dianthe’s power through marriage.
Zonetta was also ambitious, aiming beyond the normal inter-clan weddings, preferring instead to ally her family with the darker powers. Maligore had been one such arrangement, but that had fallen through. Recent events in another part of the galaxy had given her a new option for her daughter.
“Closer than you think my daughter. And if you ask nicely he might just take care of the rest of those Power Punks and that pesky Zordon too. Have you ever heard of Ivan Ooze?”
Divatox was actually stunned into silence as her mother ended the communication. It lasted for almost half a minute before her mother reappeared.
“Never say I don’t give you anything, Divatox,” she smiled. “I know how ‘difficult’ you might find dealing with those pipsqueaks, so I’ve arranged to send you a little help. They will arrive soon,” she promised, “be sure to make them feel welcome.”
“Who?” Divatox demanded.
“You’ll see,” her mother smirked, enjoying the look of irritation on her daughter’s face. “I promise you, you will be just as surprised by this as those teenagers you want to destroy.”
Divatox pouted, but knew better than to argue with her mother, just as Mommadee knew that criticising her daughter’s childish behaviour would not accomplish anything. It was better to wait and see what the Queen Mother had in mind. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take her annoyance out on a suitable target.
“PORTO!”
Night turned to day although for Porto it had been a night where sleep would have meant awakening to the night image of an angry Divatox.
“Divatox I have carried out your instructions as best I could, but I’m afraid I…”
“Porto,” Divatox growled, “if you are about to tell me you failed, I’ll have you fired out of the torpedo tube and into the Sun.”
“Well not failed exactly,” Porto whimpered. “It’s just that all the features you demanded made the task almost impossible.”
“Get to the point Porto,” Divatox ordered. “I ordered you to build me a Turbo Key so I can have my own Dark Turbo Ranger. Have you done it?”
“No Divatox,” Porto admitted before pulling out three devices. “The only way to include everything you wanted was to build three Turbo Keys that your Ranger can switch between.”
“Three?”
“Yes Divatox, each one is programmed to give your Ranger their standard armour and then focus on one of the abilities you desired.”
“So instead of building one morpher, you built three? And all three work?”
“Of course they work. Your Ranger can use them in any order but will need to power down before using the next one. They won’t work well together I’m afraid.”
“Are you trying to tell me that the reason this has taken so long is because instead of building me one functional morpher, you were making three?”
“Yes!” he practically shouted. How many times did he need to repeat himself?
Divatox sighed dramatically.
“Porto, you’re an idiot,” she said finally. “Rygog, find me five humans that would be suitable Dark Turbo Rangers.”
“I only made three,” Porto protested.
“Then make two more!” she ordered. “There should always be five Rangers.”
“Yes Divatox, but maybe you should think this through. Evil Rangers are notorious for changing sides. Do you really want to risk having to tell the Grand Monarch that you’ve given the Rangers five new allies?”
“Maybe you have a point,” she groused. “Fine, we’ll try it your way Porto. Find me five humans I can use. They can share the role between them.”
That was not the answer he had been hoping for.
“Rygog is busy finding a suitable Ranger,” Porto explained. “In the meantime I would like to introduce you to Behemoth, one of the most powerful warriors in the Galaxy.”
“I’m the most powerful warrior in the Universe,” the warrior assured her. “I’ll eat those power squeaks for breakfast!”
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Divatox responded rudely before shrugging. “Very well, go to Earth and don’t come back until those Turbo Rangers are dust.”
“Turbo Rangers? I’ll crush them all” Behemoth laughed before teleporting away.
“I’m afraid that since Behemoth is not a part of your clan, he charges ten times the normal fee,” Porto warned.
“His loss,” Divatox snorted. “Have Elgar launch the torpedoes as soon as Behemoth destroys them. Then we won’t have to pay him anything. And if he fails we’ll just send out my new Dark Turbo Ranger.”
Behemoth, a new marriage with Ivan Ooze, a team of wicked Rangers and whatever help her mother had promised just in case… The battle to conquer Earth had turned into a race that Divatox needed to win. She felt confident that victory would be hers.
Maybe mother did know best… sometimes.
“Hey Porto, what happens if you launch those torpedoes at a monster that is already big?” Elgar asked.
“If he was already weakened you would destroy him, otherwise you would make him even stronger,” Porto answered after some thought.
“So if we fire them now he’d be invincible?” the mutant pondered.
Divatox smacked her nephew around the back of the head. She was not in the mood for his idiocy, especially when she realised moments later that he had a point.
“Fire the torpedoes!” She smiled evilly as she decided on another change of plan. Perhaps instead of wasting an opportunity against the Rangers she could eliminate some of the competition. “And then send him to Horath. Maybe he can prove his worth by getting rid of the bucket of bolts Gasket.”
End of Part
Chapter 8: The Titanium Tragedy
Disclaimer: I do not own or lay claim to the Power Rangers. No profit is being made from this work. Justin Hammer belongs to Marvel Comics however the references to his previous endeavours to make his weapons appear to work are based on the situations described in the film Pentagon Wars. The Hydrothermal Generator was taken from the Transformers cartoon. The Task Force Operation does indeed refer to Super Sentai shows created prior to Power Rangers but never used by Power Rangers. J-Force is a hybrid of Jetman and Gatchaman. It should be noted that Turboranger refers to the Sentai show Turboranger and not Power Rangers Turbo (even though the Earth-2 equivalent of the Power Rangers Turbo do resemble them).
The Titanium Tragedy
Throughout history the moment a discovery had been made the question raised would always revolve around its military applications. When man had found a way to fly, the generals had tried to determine if the technology could be used to spy. The splitting of the atom, radio, even the caterpillar trail were assessed for their value as weapons of war. Drugs were in production capable of curing the deadliest diseases, but could not be released until scientists found a way to counter them in case they needed to use biological weapons.
So when the Earth’s governments had found definite proof of alien existence on the planet, they had worried more about securing useable technology and weapons than they had about making peace. If Rita Repulsa had only wanted to destroy a part of the Earth there was a good chance the governments might have worked to reach a secret deal. With that in mind it was no surprise that when they had had the opportunity to capture and examine one of the aliens they had seized the chance. That the ‘visitor’ in question had given them access to technology they had not possessed beforehand made it all the better.
The Titanium Morpher represented over a decade of toil. Even though the urgency to develop the device had only increased a few years before, government agencies around the world had sought to unlock the secrets that led to its creation much earlier. When the Task Force Operation had ended due to the refusal of the project’s engineer to continue providing the much needed components, a race had begun to replace the suits that had been such an essential part of the project.
At first they had tried to convince ‘guest’ to show them how the suits worked, but he had refused. Unfortunately while he was willing to see his designs used in sometimes questionable ways, he had objected completely to the policy of purging users every twelve months and by the time he found out about the policy the Task Force Operation had been running for a number of years. Gentle persuasion had given way to methods that had he been human would have been classified as torture; there were no laws against such methods used on aliens. He had steadfastly refused to give them the secrets or explain how to reactivate the previous suits after their year of active service had expired. Once they had threatened to kill him if he did not comply and failed to follow through, there was nothing left for them to bargain with.
At that point the race to find a replacement for the suits had started. Teams of scientists from around the world worked to be the first to unlock the secrets of powered soldiers. No expense had been spare, no resource had been unavailable. Many of the old suits were destroyed in the process before they found a way around the protections that had been installed. In the end one of the American teams had taken the controversial step of using a hostile captive to decode one of the suits.. The secrets of the suit had been unravelled and used to create the Titanium Morpher. They had even managed to salvage a part of the suit’s design template and had used it as proof of their success.
For the military the completion of the Titanium Morpher represented an opportunity to place the protection of the planet into trained military control. The officer overseeing the project had nothing against Lightspeed, but the loss of a team member months earlier had motivated him to find a way to fight the threat to Mariner Bay without putting untrained personnel at risk. Since Lightspeed was at least partially outside of military control, that meant replacing the organisation completely. The Titanium Morpher combined with another project that had recently reported success would mean that a five man team could be replaced by a single operative accompanied by an automated support team.
However despite his pleasure at having developed a workable alternative to Lightspeed, he was not happy. He was a no-nonsense sort of officer. He would have preferred to be arranging the handover of responsibility for protecting Mariner Bay, but the higher-ups had decided that his current assignment required positive media saturation in order to avoid misunderstandings with the public. That he considered the project’s success essential to the protection of his country made it feel even more insulting that they had overruled his objection to this farce of an event.
He glowered as the event’s organiser took to the stage. He was a patriot, he cared about his country and the people under his command. He wanted to save lives by removing troops from danger while recognising that in any battle there was an element of risk. His aim was to reduce that risk as much as possible. The current speaker was more interested in increasing his bank balance and his public image. There was no doubt that the chance to claim a major defence contract that Stark Industries had refused to accept was a boost to the man’s ego.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today. It is a pleasure to have so many of our great leaders present and of course the esteemed members of the press. I know that many of you will find what you are about to see difficult to believe, but I promise you will be impressed. Our technicians – all of whom graduated top of their classes from our country’s fine universities – are making the final adjustments, so while they do so let me explain a little more about this project.”
Presentation was everything. Justin Hammer knew that better than most. Over the years he had sold many wonderful weapons to countries around the world, knowing that many of those weapons either didn’t work or were in some way flawed. The heat-seeking missile that had such a badly designed sensor package it had required testers to strap twenty electric fires only the side of a tank in order to make it appear as a target. Even then the missile had failed to explode properly. His biological and chemical weapons had been even more of a disaster. But as long as he continued to present those failures in a favourable light, Hammer would continue to win lucrative defence contracts that would cost many soldiers their lives.
“The world is a dangerous place,” he announced, playing a video of various trouble spots around the globe, starting out with terrorist and unfriendly governments before showing the more recent problems caused by alien invasions. “Lightspeed has gone a long way to curb the threat of these invaders, but more needs to be done. Look at Angel Grove, one threat after another because a decisive stance was not taken to deal with the problem. Such threats need to be dealt with by those focussed on the good of our great country.”
A black and white film replaced the images of carnage and destruction. It was record of a cold winter night many decades earlier.
“This is not the first time this planet has encountered visitors from beyond,” he told the audience although secretly he wasn’t sure the footage was authentic. Based on the truth? Possibly. But he suspected the film had been made much more recently. “This is the recording of an earlier arrival, aliens who crashed on our world. Our government in association with others recognised the value of these visitors and the Task Force Operation was launched. Aided by another visitor, this government bravely fielded teams of powered super heroes to protect the interests of our great nation and our allies.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of trust these magnificent suits were given only a short product life and for reasons of security, a purge protocol was authorised. This led to a misunderstanding with our visitor ally and a withdrawal of his services. The Task Force Operation was abandoned.”
Now came his moment of triumph, when he proved that allowing his personnel access to one of the nations most closely guarded prisoners had been a sensible step, especially since his attempts to reach a deal with the alien scientist responsible for the suits had been such a colossal failure. It was a moment to remember, when he could graciously accept the multi-billion dollar contracts his efforts deserved and push for several other contracts to be awarded to his corporation’s subsidiary companies.
“This was unacceptable! This nation, this planet, will not be held ransom by some alien just because we would rather see a threat dealt with than risk the lives of our loved ones. Our military personnel could escape injury and death thanks to these suits and for that, we needed to be able to create them ourselves.
“Now Lightspeed has done a fantastic job of creating its team of Rangers, but they were starting from scratch and the unfortunate death of one of their team proves that the technology has yet to be perfected. Today you will see the results of successfully unlocking the secrets of alien technology and how it has been successfully used to create a new prototype soldier. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Titanium Morpher!”
He held up the small box with a blue ‘M’ on the front. This was the the result of reverse engineering an earlier set of suits and combining the technology with the schematics ‘borrowed’ from Lightspeed. He had insisted that when used, the morpher would create a Ranger more powerful than anything Lightspeed had managed. After all, he wanted to take that contract away from them. He had not counted on the government already having a technological replacement for Lightspeed in place.
“This morpher has passed every test we could devise. Simulated testing has shown that the user will experience enhanced strength, speed and durability while being protected from most forms of weapons. In short he would be a super soldier.”
Of course there was one last test to perform and Hammer had wanted that test to be public despite the military’s misgivings. The best publicity he could hope to obtain would come from this demonstration.
“Our experts selected the best possible candidate for this test…”
And so Hammer continued to drone on about the work his company had undertaken, building up the public’s understanding of how his staff had overcome the technical difficulties they had been faced with to achieve complete success. It was just a shame that for all the simulations and computerised scenarios, there had not been a single test to make certain the results were accurate.
Hammer had managed to keep talking for at least an hour, covering every possible topic that the press could want to cover, taking the opportunity to ensure that it was understood how his company had been responsible for the success of the entire project. He had gone to great lengths to discuss the qualifications of their test subject, a man the military overseers had initially rejected. In short what was supposed to be a simple new briefing to reassure the public during the transition from a team of human Power Rangers to a single operative assisted by five robotic units, had become a farce.
“… without further ado, let me introduce you to the first part of this spectacular new force: the Cyborg Rangers!”
The spotlight shifted to highlight a collection of robots at the back corner of the stage. Five of the cyborgs stomped forward as the cameras flashed and took up position in the marked spots. Each stood around seven foot tall, had been manufactured from some of the strongest and most expensive materials that could be produced and had been programmed using the combat data of the Lightspeed Rangers. Each was equipped with advanced and powerful weapon systems that could in theory slay a demon instead of merely slowing it down and could act both independent and as directed by their lead operator. However it was the ability to alter their appearances using a combination of shifting components and electronically generated illusions that caused them to flicker and then assume the familiar forms of the Lightspeed Rangers.
“And now the moment you have all been waiting for, the first transformation of the Titanium Ranger. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome our volunteer, Earl Grier!”
The conference centre erupted into applause. The press would make this man look like a hero, a lone soldier defending Mariner Bay. They would completely overlook the sixty technicians who even now were scrambling to prepare the initial power up of their new creation.
For his part Earl managed to look dignified as he gave a polite nod to the cameramen and shook hands with the military. Of course Hammer tried to inject a bit of enthusiasm into the event, but it was clear that the volunteer was focussed on the task at hand. He calmly took the Titanium Morpher and then moved to a predetermined spot before waiting patiently as the technicians completed their part of the operation.
“Ladies and Gentlemen for the initial activation of the Titanium Morpher it is necessary to channel a great deal of high voltage electricity into the device. I assure you there is very little current present so you are all safe. However if you would all like to take a step back it would help avoid any unfortunate new hairdos.”
At long last the technicians gave the nod that their part was done and the cameras recording the experiment were double-checked to ensure the entire transformation could be reviewed at a later date. Wires had been fitted to monitor his vital signs and after a few checks he was deemed as ready as he could be. The room fell silence as Earl took a deep breath and then spoke the activation code.
“Titanium Power!”
And with that the generator came to life, and all hell broke loose.
When an army captain had chosen the location for this press conference it was doubtful he had looked into the history of the site. If he had he might have reconsidered. For over a decade the area had been a major part of secret project seeking to take advantage of alien technology; he had been able to identify the energy source and had been surprised the humans had failed to grasp such a simple technology. The site had been sealed at the end of the project, but the military had not been told that in order to empower the Titanium Morpher, scientists had found a way to tap the portal and use the energy unleashed to drive their Hydrothermal Generator.
The scientist had never really understood the nature of the energy they were trying to manipulate. They had failed to grasp that it was capable of altering the nature of anything it came into contact with. They didn’t realise that it could not be contained without a specially built Faraday Cage.
When the circuits were switched to allow the energy to flow it did so, bypassing safety cut outs and surge protectors to freely flow around the miles of electrical cable that ran through the facility. The power surge flowed into the computers and phone lines, causing no harm to the electronics. However as it passed through one of the computer hard drives it encountered a computer virus designed to log and gather information.
The computer was altered by the power surge and the virus gained a small amount of sentience. Falling back on its initial programming it took control of the computer and started to pull information from the facility’s network. It accessed huge amounted of data and spread throughout the mainframe. In seconds it was manipulating robotic arms and taking on a physical existence. In minutes it had moved onto more complicated machinery.
The inrush of data gave it a great deal of information and a limited understanding of humans. It judged them based on the information it received and compared them to its own programming. It judged them to be inferior and a threat to its continued existence. Operating more on instinct than actual intelligence, it chose to attack.
By now the virus controlled the Cyborg Rangers, the massive Zord-like machines that had been built to assist them and more importantly: the Hydrothermal Generator that powered them.
Something had gone horribly wrong.
When the Titanium Morpher had been activated it had functioned as expected. The panels had opened to reveal both the control mechanism and the charging circuitry. The morpher had flashed as it ran through its first use protocols, charging itself and then activating the latent energy feeds that would ensure it would be self-charging. The template program stored inside the morpher’s control chip was accessed as the device followed the inbuilt pattern to create the personal energy grid around which the uniform formed. The first stages in the transformation completed, the Titanium Morpher switched to the materialisation stage, pulling the suit, which had been compressed within the device, and arsenal of the Titanium Ranger and locking them into place around his body.
It was at that point that things went wrong. A computer virus had been mutated by the unstable energy used to power the complex. It seconds it had taken control of the electrical charge, the controls working the doors and even the elevators. Everything that could be operated by a computer had been overridden; only the Titanium Morpher had escaped infection due to being a closed system.
Within seconds of the Titanium Morpher activating, the generator was adjusted to increase the current, sending a potentially lethal current into Earl’s body. There was a loud scream as nearby equipment exploded from the electromagnetic pulse. Lightning flashed out of control from the morpher, striking the robotic Rangers.
Earl cried out in agony as he was electrocuted. His half-formed suit provided him with some protection, but it was nowhere near enough. His muscles clenched uncontrollably in response to current. And then the morpher detected the fault in its power sequence and closed down, leaving him fully exposed.
In the meantime the robotic Rangers had been damaged, causing them to initiate their damage control protocols, software that had been altered by the virus. The changes caused the robots to see the electrical discharge as an attack and to react accordingly, while removing the protections installed to prevent them firing upon humans. The result was the brutal slaughter of anything in their path.
And as the Cyborg Rangers wreaked havoc and the Titanium Morpher killed its chosen user, the virus spread throughout the facility. It took control of devices that gave it new abilities, allowing it to scan and digitize inorganic matter. With a constant stream of data the computer soon made improvements to the machinery, allowing it to absorb living beings as well.
Somewhere along the line it lost control of the Hydrothermal Generator causing it to enter a dangerous build up of volatile energy. If not handled safely the generator would explode and blow a hole in the planet; such a build up would take months before it reached the critical point.
And so as one of the Cyborg Rangers turned its targeting sensors on one of the soldiers and raised its arm into the firing position, the computer virus spoke for the first time.
“Humans,” it said, its voice emerging from every speaker on every computer within the complex. “This world is mine!”
Hours later
Exactly what had happened after the first shot had been fired was unclear. The guests had been evacuated and the facility had been sealed. However many of the staff had been trapped inside and their fate was unknown.
The VIPs reappeared relatively unharmed, with no recollection of what had happened beyond the shooting and a burst of light. They all remembered the voice telling them that it had taken control of their computer and would soon claim their planet. All of them would be haunted by nightmares of what had happened and the odd feeling that there was something they had forgotten that would prove disastrous.
Somehow the Titanium Morpher had been retrieved by Hammer during the chaos. It had been taken from him by Lightspeed and despite his claims that he was the authorised custodian of the device, they refused to give it back.
Fortunately for Hammer all other broadcasts from the facility had failed when the virus had taken over, so the extent of his failure was not known. That lack of information would likely save his company. It couldn’t stop him worrying about what had happened to his technology?
Because the official record of their failure was unclear, the senior figures involved in the fiasco survived with their careers intact. And the quest to unlock the secrets of Ranger technology continued.
End of Part
Chapter 9: Princely Scheming
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to Saban Brands. This is a fan work and not for profit.
Author’s Note: This chapter takes place after Mother Knows Best.
Princely Scheming
He stood over his fallen foe, regretting the necessity of slaughtering him. It wasn’t the act of killing, for in battle it was only logical that the enemy needed to be destroyed. No, as Prince Gasket, arguably the Heir of the Royal House of Gadgetry, stood over the defeated form of the being that had called himself Behemoth, his only regret was that he would not be able to torture the identity of his foe’s employer out of his broken corpse.
“The absolute foolishness of believing that any organic could hope to emerge victorious again a powerful machine like you,” Archerina raged.
It had been a close call, even she had to admit that. Behemoth had been a big monster, at least the size of one of the Machine Empire’s enlarged creations. He had also been extremely angry and dedicated to his task, tearing through whatever Gasket had thrown at him; their Cog reserves were absolutely exhausted following the battle to the point where there were hardly sufficient Cogs to run the factory to produce new units. The only good thing was that Behemoth had not cared whom he encountered while chasing Gasket across the planet and had taken his toll on the resistance movement as well.
“Quite my dear, but the question remains, who would be foolish enough to attack me? And why?”
Oh there were plenty on names that ran through Gasket’s electronic mind. The rebels hiring a warrior to fight on their behalf only for the plan to backfire, his father deciding to destroy him for his continued disobedience. He briefly entertained the notion that perhaps Archerina’s father or one of the other leaders of the rival factions within the Machine Empire had struck at him as some form of uprising against the Royal House of Gadgetry, but dismissed the notion. Most of those that opposed him or his father politically would have known not to send an organic creature against them. There were far better machines capable of assassination attempts… some would have had a chance of succeeding.
He moved on to consider other enemies of the Machine Empire, the so called heroes that opposed the will of the Machine Empire. There were many of them and it was true that he posed a threat to them. But even he had to admit that compared to other enemies, he was not the biggest threat.
~Besides there are very few races capable of enlarging others using light magic,~ he thought.
The Triforians could manage it but tests had proven that the effect only lasted so long at the Triforian was within range. Since the breach of their planet had been by Behemoth and Behemoth alone, that method on enlargement seemed unlikely. And since that was the most effective method of growing a being without turning to the darker powers, he was willing to rule out the Galactic Council and their members… for now.
So that left other villains. Those that were jealous of his strategic brilliance or feared his prowess in battle. Behemoth had been a strong opponent, of that there was little doubt. It had taken all of Gasket’s cunning and mechanically enhanced strength to defeat the alien warrior. Fortunately Gasket was not only programmed in the noble art of sword fighting, he was also an experienced combatant. Over the centuries he had constantly pitted himself against the finest machines his underlings could create and from time to time sullied himself by facing organic warriors in single battle. It was that practical skill that would have allowed him to wield Damocles Sword in battle where his father had failed.
But who would have the nerve to attack him, or for that matter the gall? The new Grand Monarch had issued a summons just a few days earlier and Gasket was aware of what the Messenger of Fire had done to make it clear his master mean business. Was it possible the Grand Monarch had sent another agent to make sure that they got the message? Certainly killing the Heir of the Royal House of Gadgetry would have sent the message that he was serious, but Gasket liked to think that he was too valuable to be used in such a way. Sprocket perhaps, but not Gasket.
A rival then? Yes, that made much more sense. One of the other villains wanted him out of the way so that they could grab the planet Earth before the day of the meeting. There was no question that he who claimed control of that vital planet at the time would become one of the most important figures in the hierarchy of the newly formed United Alliance of Evil. And Gasket liked to believe that he had as much chance of seizing the planet as his competitors. More in fact given his superior machine mind and willingness to embrace methods his father shied away from.
Except now he wasn’t a contender. Whether the intention had been to destroy him or injure him, the fact was Behemoth had succeeded. Gasket’s Cog forces were all but wiped out, his factories had been severely damaged and his stock of machine monsters were limited. By rampaging across the planet, Behemoth had set back Gaskets ability to play a major part in UAE by decades. Even within the Machine Empire his faction was now the weakest and he would need to be weary of competitors seeking to claim possession of Horath.
~Master Vile perhaps,~ he wondered.
The ruler of the M-51 Galaxy was certainly powerful enough to take on the might of the Machine Empire and risk its wrath. While it was true that his magic would prove extremely limited against the Cold Iron bodies of King Mondo’s forces, there were ways he could direct that power to overcome that disadvantage. Of course such an attempt would need to be swift and guaranteed to succeed, for there was no way that even a powerful magic user like Master Vile could defend himself if Mondo chose to attack.
~And Father would have been honour bound to avenge my death,~ Gasket realised. Not because there were any positive thought processes by Mondo regarding Gasket, but rather because Vile would have had the nerve to attack the Machine Empire. ~No, if Vile were to try this he would direct his attack at Father first.~ Vile would only have had one opportunity after all.
He dismissed Lord Zedd on the grounds that the villain had been destroyed. While his father had ordered a part of the Machine Planet’s runtime to determine the exact nature of Zedd’s existence, which given the amount of magic involved would likely lead to a complete failure, Gasket was a firm believer that they had seen the last of Lord Zedd. Whether that was a good thing given the former villain’s abilities he could not determine – for Gasket did acknowledge that when it came to actively conquering worlds, Zedd was a figure to be emulated.
~Rita then?~ Giant monsters were a part of her arsenal, but Behemoth was not one of her monsters constructed from clay. There was no sign of Rita’s magic wand and if she had attacked he reasoned that she would have sent the Putty Patrol along to secure the planet after Behemoth succeeded.
Then there was Count Dregon. While not the best known villain attacking the planet Earth, and considered by most to be more the sort of threat left to the Rider Corp than a serious problem, Dregon was known to capture and experiment upon specimens from the worlds he conquered. The majority of his forces employed in the attempted conquest of Earth were creatures he had collected on Edenoi. So creating a monster possessing Behemoth’s strength was not unfeasible. ~Unlikely though given his preoccupation with the Masked Rider and his problems on Edenoi.~
And finally there was Divatox. ~Would she attack me, would she even dare?~ The answer of course was yes, so long as she believed that she could get away with it. A previously unknown alien suddenly turning up and wrecking havoc on Horath would allow her to deny sending it, especially if it was a mercenary hired from outside the Dianthe Clan. ~And nobody would believe that she had done that when all her recent claims to be hiring mercenaries have turned out to be crewmen from her own fleet.~ She would never have the nerve to attack Mondo or the Machine Empire, but he was willing to be that if she saw an opportunity to get rid of a competitor and get away with it, she would.
~There was an explosion following his arrival,~ Gasket recalled.
Behemoth had plummeted through the atmosphere and mad a massive impact, but the explosions had come after he had landed. Was it possible that Divatox had launched two of her torpedoes to make him more powerful? Of course it was. It made sense that Divatox would take an opportunity on a whim without considering the consequences. While her mother was an ambitious woman and her brothers were both competent strategists, Divatox maintained her position through fear and viciousness. Whereas General Havok would have considered the fall out of such a move and the danger of making a move against the Machine Empire, Divatox would just see the opportunity.
Oh Divatox wasn’t foolish by any means. It was clear that she had made sure that while his suspicions were likely correct, they were just suspicions. There was no immediate evidence that she was behind the attack. The torpedoes were known to completely combust following their use. He was not going to mistake a lack of forward planning for foolishness or stupidity.
But there would need to be retribution. Divatox would have to be shown that attacking Prince Gasket was not something she could get away with. But payback would have to wait. Seriously short on resources and determined to secure his position in the UAE, he had more pressing concerns.
“Our assessors have completed the inventory,” Archerina announced, ending his quiet contemplation.
“And the results my darling?” Gasket asked.
“As you suspected,” she said. “Most of our factories have been destroyed, our Cogs are barely sufficient to provide security. We will not be able to rebuild your creations.”
“Have no fear my lovely wife,” Gasket assured her. “All is not lost and we have at our disposal the means to rebuild our forces.”
“How?”
How indeed? It was a risky venture and would lose him control of Horath again, but if his new plan succeeded they would have an invasion force capable of conquering the Earth.
“Tell our forces that we are leaving this world and to prepare the Space Base for flight.”
And there it was, the ultimate plan. When Gasket had conquered Horath, he had made his Space Base, which was considerably smaller than his father’s, a part of the planet. And while the factories had been devastated by the recent attack, the Space Base would still function.
“But what will we do?” Archerina pressed.
“We are going to take this Space Base and take command of the replacement troops Grandfather is building on the Machine Homeworld,” Gasket announced.
Following the arrival of the Messenger of Fire, the production plants on the Machine Homeworld had been brought to maximum capacity to fulfil Mondo’s need for an ever growing army. And while they would not be able to seize any of his father’s creations, due to the inbuilt loyalty programs, there was no reason not to secure a new legion of Cogs and begin work on their own creations.
“And when we have enough Cogs to form a work unit, we are going to set them to work converting this Space Base into the biggest Machine Monster those Rangers have ever seen. And then we will wipe out the Rangers, Rita, Divatox and my father in with a single blow.”
“Standing against your father is a dangerous idea,” Archerina commented. She would never stand in her husband’s way of course. More likely she would be there to make sure his mother didn’t interfere.
“Fear not my love,” Gasket told her, clasping her hand in a gesture of machine modulated emotion. “The true genius of this plan is that even if the Rangers destroy my creation, I will at least secure my position as Heir of the Royal House of Gadgetry.”
Their touching interaction was disturbed by a low moan as as their gaze shifted, they were surprised to find that Behemoth was starting to recover.
“Unbelievable!” Gasket proclaimed. “I was certain I had ended his existence.”
“It seems my love that whoever sent this thing realised that it would be facing Prince Gasket and tried to make it stronger.”
“Quite true my lovely princess,” Gasket agreed, considering the rapidly recovering yet still incoherent creature. “Tell me Archerina, do you still possess those arrows you modified to work on organics?”
“Of course I do,” Archerina said. “But you do recall that the effects are not the same?”
Indeed when Archerina had tried to use her arrows on organic beings in the past, they had turned insanely jealous, destroying everything around them in order to prevent the loss of their beloved Archerina. When one such experiment had destroyed some of Gasket’s heirlooms, it was agreed not to continue the experiments.
“Yes,” Gasket answered. “But consider what would happen if you used an arrow and let him loose in a place where he could only damage the enemy.”
“Such as the Machine Home World?” Archerina asked.
There was no doubt that Behemoth would be destroyed before he could wreck too much havoc, but if aimed in the right direction, not only would his assault give Gasket a reason to visit the planet to protect his interests, but it could lead to the destruction of one of the areas he had been looking to destroy himself. And with Behemoth as the responsible party, the blame would be laid at Divatox’s feet.
~Which would send Father after Divatox and allow me time to launch my attack on the Earth,~ he mused.
And once he had the opportunity to launch his attack on the planet, Gasket promised that his assault would be relentless. He had come to realise that the only way to overcome the humans was to dominate them completely. Not one monster at a time, but every weapon in his arsenal launched together to sweep aside the human defences and establish Machine superiority. It wasn’t a knew idea and he understood that his father had likely calculated the need for such an attack when he had arrived at the planet.
~But Father’s preoccupation with Sprocket has blinded him from his duty,~ he thought bitterly.
After their disagreement over his choice of bride, Mondo had removed Gasket from his position as Heir to the Machine King. He had gone further and destroyed his other potential heirs in case they too rebelled. To avoid upsetting Machina, Mondo had erased his former children’s’ names from every database within the Machine Empire and had then created Sprocket as their replacement. But the cover up had not been completely successful and Machina’s memory banks could not be completely erased. And so Mondo had reprogrammed his wife and youngest son, forcing her to dote on her young child until he grew up while restricting Sprocket’s programming so that he would mature as his body grew.
~But Sprocket’s body cannot develop,~ Gasket thought. ~Father designed him to remain the same forever so the Mother would never know what he did.~
Not that Gasket cared that Mondo had destroyed his brother and sisters. If they were still alive he would have killed them the moment he assumed the throne. But the deception was holding Mondo back, forcing him to indulge his wife’s need to teach Sprocket how to be a good conqueror like his father. And that meant that instead of creating the sort of machines that could conquer worlds, Mondo had been building a collection of toy soldiers.
~That will change now,~ Gasket calculated. ~Father will have to abandon his current approach if he wishes to beat Rita and Dregon. Mother will be most upset, but she is programmed to support Father above all else. And Sprocket will be incapable of understanding why Father is not indulging him any more.~
But Sprocket would not have time to be upset for long. For Gasket’s plans required Sprocket to grow up… in more ways than one. And then with Sprocket removed, Grommet lost and his other mechanical sibling destroyed, it would just be a matter of waiting for his father’s runtime to expire. And then he would be the rule of the Machine Empire and all would bow down to King Gasket.
~According to my calculations the future will be very interesting,” he thought. ~Speaking of which… ~
“Archerina my love, I have been computing the possibilities and I have decided that it is time for us to start construction of our child.”
Archerina made a strange noise, a mix of an acknowledge and and electronic squeal of delight as she jabbed an arrow into Behemoth’s prone form and practically dragged her husband toward their private chambers, leaving a few unfortunate Cogs to put the couple’s devious plans into motion. If it were possible for Cogs to show fear, it would have been clearly evident as one nervously reached out and nudged Behemoth, just as he finally awoke. And as the noise of banging and grind from Gasket and Archerina were drowned out by the wild growls of a not-so-coherent Behemoth, other Cogs were already in the process of carrying out their ruler’s commands.
And as hours later the batter Space Base raced through space, Gasket and Archerina cuddled while enjoying a goblet of warm oil. Sometimes it was good to be a prince, but for Gasket, better things awaited.
~I just can’t wait to be King!~
End of Part
Chapter 10: Questions Never Asked, Answers Never Sou
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, Masked Rider, Beetleborgs, or any DC or Marvel Comics characters. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This is a fanfiction and no money is being made for this work.
Questions Never Asked, Answers Never Sought
Imagine an army of generals with no soldiers to command. Now add to that an opposing army made up of millions of soldiers willing to die as part of their war on anything they encountered. This was the problem that had presented itself and while all agreed that front line troops willing and able to destroy the enemy were more important than a room full of generals, only a few were willing to accept placement on the frontlines in the coming conflict.
And so a plan had been devised to breed an army created from the greatest warriors they could find. They ignored the obvious races that were born, bred and lived for combat, fearing that they would turn on their leaders the moment they lacked an enemy. Instead they turned their attention to the insignificant planet known as Earth, a world that had seen off countless invasions and was currently facing the combined threat of space pirates, diabolical machines and a wicked witch, if the reports were to be believed.
On closer observation it had become obvious that Earth had a vast and varied army of what they called super heroes that would make excellent soldiers and more importantly, would provide the blueprint for an army of soldiers to fight the coming war. The rights of the individual were discarded under the pretence of necessity. For what were the rights of a few humans compared with the fate of the universe at large?
The collection process had then started and over the many years it had been running, they had extracted whole groups of super-powered humans. A whole breed of what most would have considered mutants had been stolen from their homes while their families slept, the knowledge they had ever existed erased from the minds of those that had known them. But that group had proven unsuitable, their genetic makeup too unpredictable for the cloning process. Other subjects had been sought and had proven more successful, such as a super hero family that could call forth the power of gods.
Fortunately their superior technology allowed them to collect candidates from almost any point in history with the minimum of side effects. The erasure of the memories of those that had known the ‘disappeared’ helped to keep their activities a secret. In some cases they had been forced to allow the knowledge of those they had taken to exist but in a different form, such as the great detective whose cases were known throughout England, and had been turned into the creation of a drunken Irishman.
Eventually though all the avenues had been explored and the soldiers they desired had not been found. Many had come close, but they were looking to build an army with as little effort as possible on their parts. They needed their soldiers to be strong, powerful and easily controlled. Sadly the strongest they had encountered had not been easy to indoctrinate and those with the most power also seemed to be the most stubborn. They had manipulated governments, using greed to convince them to start a super powered arms race. The Task Force operation had been a partial a success with each generation providing a greater insight into the way to build their army, but it still wasn’t what they desired. In the end it had become clear to the true masterminds behind the Corps Project and the Task Force operation that their only choice was to use Power Rangers.
Arcadia Academy Research Division
Arcadia Academy was a not a building or a campus, it was a research organisation with several facilities around the world. While some developed technology, this branch was one of three dealing with biological weapons operating as part of the government’s Super Weapon Development Program. Their long held remit allowed them to seize, identify and utilise any material of an alien nature. The terms of what qualified material as alien were extremely broad and included technology and living matter. The remit also allowed those in charge of their operations to classify almost anything as alien, placing it under the jurisdiction of their operatives. Aliens, demons, mutants or super heroes, anything that was considered the slightest bit unusual could also be considered as alien. Over time such projects along with similar organisations in the United Kingdom, France, Russia and other parts of the world had become quasi-autonomous organisations only partly answerable to the governments they represented.
The military liked to think they were the driving force behind the Corps Project and Task Force operations. The truth was that those organisations had been infiltrated by aliens that sought to use their research as a means to build an army. For centuries in some cases they had manipulated those that sought to control the aliens around them into conducting research on their behalf. Their aims were not malevolent towards humans, far from it they really didn’t care about the Earth or its people, but they wanted weapons capable of fighting in an upcoming war. And to that end they had influenced the kidnap, testing and indoctrination of thousands of living beings. Over time their manipulation had spread to the entire human race, using a form of memory proofing to make people forget those that were chosen as test subjects.
The acquisition of their latest subjects had been very difficult to justify. There had been no doubt that the three humans were ordinary humans, but their use of alien technology allowed the organisation’s chief to justify their capture. Not that they would ever call it a capture. That would lead to too many questions over the legality of their treatment. Once in protective custody it was decided that they should be used to test the suitability of Power Rangers as soldiers. It was the first time that after erasing the memories of those that had known them that they had checked back repeatedly to make sure the memory wipe was still in place. It was becoming increasingly obvious that it would soon fail.
“This test has concluded. The subjects have been connected to the system and their minds have been fully mapped. They appear to have accepted the integration sequence without any negative effects. In fact it appears they were unaware of their lack of surroundings until after they defeated their enemies.”
Due to the emphasis that had been placed on their success, the researchers had an almost unlimited budget, allowing them access to the most advanced research equipment available. For just as schools had moved beyond the need to dissect animals in science classes, so the researchers had chosen to use virtual environments to test their subjects to avoid unnecessary suffering. With their bodies placed in suspended animation, the researcher used artificial bodies and computer generated illusions to test their responses.
The three humans tested were known to possess super powers and had been led to believe they were facing opponents that were both highly aggressive and extremely dangerous. Their subjects had used their powers and the scientists had taken the opportunity to discover their inner workings.
“And the analysis of their powers?” his supervisor asked.
“Still inconclusive,” he answered. “They are not magical, which means we can ‘legally’ use them. Unfortunately they defy our attempts to understand them.”
Their remit for some reason prohibited the development of an army based around magic. The Turbo Ranger powers were scientific enough to escape that classification although the phenomenon known as the Speed Force was still not fully understood.
The first subjects they had collected had been easy to understand. The heroes known as Cyborg and Vision were the creations of science. They had been extracted at a time when many had been reported missing following the events of a desperate assault on reality. Their allies had likely overlooked their failure to resurface when reality had been restored. In truth they had been taken away for research and the results had been forwarded to another project. Vision had been completely disassembled and then rebuilt, allowing a new understanding of how he worked and the creation of similar machines. Sadly those machines had not lived up to the potential of the original. Cyborg had been heavily modified and upgraded to become the prototype for their Techno Trooper design. The upgrades had failed and they had been forced to remove them, but Cyborg had at least proven useful as combat computer.
“Find a way. Time is running out and we need all the warriors we can get. Those powers might be the answer to our problems. And those three humans are the first successful transference we’ve made.”
Time was indeed running out. A war was about to be fought and soldiers were needed. Oh there were plenty of generals and tactical leaders, but this was a battle that needed troops on the front line, willing to die without question for the glory of their leaders. And that was something that did not exist within the race of generals and officers. They were bred to lead and command, and sit back waiting for news of victory. It fell to others to do the fighting.
They had experimented using all manner of heroes taken from Earth. They had extracted candidates at just the right moment and hidden their existence from the memories of those that knew them. They had intercepted several survivors of the planet Krypton before they had had a chance to settle Earth. That had represented their biggest failure since not only had they proven reluctant to fight, it seemed that with the correct weapons they could be rendered completely helpless.
As the threat of war had grown, they had extracted more and more heroes for experimentation. A whole breed of empowered humans had been stolen away without anybody noticing only to discover that their powers were too random to form a cohesive army. And that had led them to try other heroes, those the Power Rangers had fought alongside – for they had resisted the temptation to snatch a Ranger team, fearing that to do so would unleash a force they could not fully control. They had settled for the disbanded members of the JLA and Avengers, and several other groups. And in each instance they had altered the memories of those that had known them so they never existed.
~Didn’t they ever ask themselves why the heroes they had fought alongside suddenly stopped appearing in the news?~ he wondered. ~Didn’t the citizens these heroes protected never stop to consider why their cities were suddenly overrun with criminals?~
“The age of the specimens was a major factor, I’m sure. Of those we’ve tested the age of the subject seems to determine how quickly they start to question their environment. Of course this was the first time we subjected new arrivals to danger as soon as they awakened.”
“It could well be a part of the human survival instinct,” his supervisor agreed. “What about their origin point? Have their companions noticed their disappearance yet?”
A woman with tightly woven brown hair looked up from the console she was monitoring.
“Not exactly,” she reported. “It would seem that our attempt to remove them was not completely successful. A part of them was left behind and seems to be continuing their fight against what they consider the forces of evil. Their existence is tightly woven into the timeline…”
“A timeline we altered,” somebody added.
“… that reality is resisting our attempts to remove them.”
Indeed it appeared that even as he spoke the three Turbo Rangers they were testing were back on Earth once again fighting the forces of darkness. Could it be that something about the powers they had been unable to analyse was also preventing them from fully transporting their test subjects.
“Monitor the situation and speed up the testing. These humans could be the answer we’re seeking, but we can’t risk damaging the timeline; we need a stable history on which to base our predictions. Put them back as soon as you can. We will have to make do with the mind maps to answer any further questions.”
There was a war coming, a war that would be fought beyond the heavens in a way that most would be unable to imagine. And already it appeared that in the face of the coming confrontation, that the morality and neutrality of a race that presented itself as the oldest, wisest and most peaceful in existence, had been sacrificed. There was always an unknown factor, a being that would place what was right above the well being of a single race. To many he was considered a liability in the coming conflict because he would not allow them to do everything necessary to secure victory.
The supervisor turned away, his eyes roaming over the hundreds of stasis capsules they had secured within the facility. This was where the humans were tested, their minds fed into an artificial world created by technology and closely controlled to resemble the real world as closely as possible. This was not a game or a bubble universe. This was a total immersion into an artificial landscape where they could test their subjects repeatedly in as many scenarios as possible. While injury was certainly a possibility, so far they had avoided killing any of their experiments.
There was a question of how such simulations would transfer over to the real world. Even if the indoctrination process succeeded would it last when the mind was in a fully coherent state? Only time would tell, but as he watched an army of Captain Americas charge into battle, he felt strangely optimistic. This was not a war they could afford to lose. Despite those that felt it should be fought to prove their dominance over all others, the truth was that if their enemies triumphed they would not stop until all their enemies had been crushed, which for that particular race, all enemies meant every other living creature.
As he walked out he caught sight of a news broadcast. It seemed that the Power Rangers were indeed at full force. He made a note to return their subjects to a point where they would be able to take part in such a battle. After all it wouldn’t do to have them present in two places at once. That would cause all kinds of problems and the Universe was in enough trouble already.
End of Part
Chapter 11: Psycho-logical Profiling
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to their respective copyright owner, which at the time of writing is Saban Brands.
Psycho-logical Profiling
He could tell what they were thinking. Their minds were open pages for him to peruse at will. He had been observing them for months, watching the arguments and the frustration build. Soon he planned to interfere and to give them a purpose. But not quite yet; he was content to observe for a while longer.
He had to admit some surprise that one of the greatest fighting forces ever created had turned out to be more successful in the world of business than it had in world domination. Multiple businesses started as fronts for military operations had continued to become successful enterprises. He could see the power of the Earth’s magic in effect, taking the dark plans and eroding the evil, channelling their efforts into less aggressive activities. From the formation of the INET Corporation, the evil replicas of the Power Rangers known collectively as the Psycho Rangers had lost their edge. Fortunately the world of business could be just as evil as the world of warfare.
And so he turned his gaze to the being that summed up the majority of the Psycho Rangers problems: Biilly.
Biilly was frustrated. He was Minion’s chosen successor, the Blue Psycho Ranger. He had led his fellow replicas on a quest that had stabilised their degrading bodies and had even found them new powers using forbidden magic. But despite all he had accomplished Biilly had found himself incapable of forming and keeping to a plot. The ideas came thick and fast. Brilliant ideas that he grasped enthusiastically and promised he would put into action. And that was when the promised arose, for try as he might his schemes always seemed to fail to materialise. There was always some niggling detail he found he had overlooked that caused him to reject the scheme, or some other idea that made him change his mind.
As much as he was prone to blame the others for distracting him, Biilly had to admit the failure to turn his plans into reality was his failure. There was a mental block that prevented him from creating the perfect plot, which he knew he was capable of concocting. And he was aware that as he grew more and more frustrated, his grip on his position as leader weakened. There were some who were more than willing to just throw themselves into battle, any battle, to end the months of tedium that had followed their return.
Oh some like Aiisha had found a hobby. Aiisha had found herself studying the works of Count Dregon and had built a sizeable collection of mutated animals. They would have made perfect warriors if only Biilly had agreed to commit them to battle. Triini had taken on the role of Biilly’s deputy and it was through her quiet administration that INET had grown so huge in just a few months. Of course the fact she had used the other Psycho Rangers to undermine rival organisations before buying them had helped a great deal. And with a new product due for release that would leave millions exposed to the Psycho Rangers’ power, she believed they were heading in the right direction.
Others like Adaam were either patient enough to wait for him to announce his grand scheme, or were too easily distracted to care. He knew that Roocky had been responsible for the kidnapping and torture of random people. Exactly how Roocky broke them was unclear, but even those that did escape his little games alive were far from intact. Zaack and Taanya meanwhile seemed to find each other a constant distraction.
And then there was Jaason, or Jacen, or Brutus, or whatever he had chosen for his new name. The replica of Jason Lee-Scott was the bane on Biilly’s existence, constantly trying to usurp his leader’s place. It annoyed Biilly that Jaason seemed incapable of learning his place or at least changing his approach. Jaason’s challenges were constant and direct without a hint of subtlety. He was too disliked to find allies to help him and too stubborn to rely on cunning. The last three challenges had seen Jaason taken down not by Biilly, but those that did not want Jaason as their leader.
The problem was that the longer Biilly remained all talk and no action, the more chance there was of a challenge from a more capable opponent. He was well aware that Kiimberly considered herself a contender for his leadership. And unlike Jaason, she was cunning enough to find a way to unite the others. So far she was willing to wait, but for how much longer? Biilly knew he needed to think of a plot and stick with it regardless of anything else that happened.
What Biilly failed to understand was that his lack of ability was a part of his design. Minion had designed Biilly to be the leader of his replicas, but he had taken steps to ensure that Biilly would always remain loyal to Minion. And so he had created weaknesses in each of the replicas, preventing them from functioning efficiently under their own leadership. Biilly was too indecisive and a perfectionist, Jaason was too much of a thuggish bully to command the loyalty of his forces, and Adaam while a strategic genius, was to shy to offer his advice let alone take a leading role. The male Rangers were too competitive to work with each other and the females were too suspicious of each other to form alliances. What it meant was that without somebody to give them a sense of direction, as a unit they were doomed to accomplish nothing.
Had Biilly known what Minion had done, he might have been able to correct the problem by removing the various spells that prohibited the Psycho Rangers from reaching their potential. Had he been aware there was a chance he could have see the other solutions such as finding a figurehead to lead them, bypassing the effects of the enchantments. Or he could have disbanded the group, allowing each individual to excel at what they did best. There was a great possibility that had he done so the Psycho Rangers would have worked together without the flaws they had previous displayed.
But he didn’t know because Minion had never told him. And so he continued vainly trying to plan the end of the Power Rangers and the conquest of the planet Earth as the Psycho Rangers’ business empire grew.
~Oh Biilly, if only that incredible mind of yours wasn’t so blinkered by Minion’s programming,~ he thought.
Each of the Psycho Rangers had been implanted with a flaw that prevented them from working with each other or alone, unless they were acting under the orders of another. They were lucky that Minion had never specified that they had to be following his orders or the whole group would have simply wasted away. And it was made worse because the flaws were linked directly to what Minion had considered their greatest strengths. Exactly why those flaws seemed less severe for the likes of Triini and Aiisha was unclear, but it seemed that Roocky at least had adapted to his personality problems instead of trying to change them.
Roocky was bored. Very bored. And when Roocky was bored it meant that his latest victim was in for a very bad time indeed. Oh Roocky knew how the others thought of him. The irresponsible thrill seeker, the constantly eating fun lover who was incapable of being serious if his existence depended on it. What they failed to understand was that Roocky was also extremely perceptive. He had known since Biilly had managed to stabilise them that there was a problem with the other Psycho Rangers. Most of them failed to spot the flaws, a few like Adaam accepted them to the point where they became exaggerated. Roocky however understood how they worked and altered his behaviour accordingly. He could accomplish anything so long as he could convince himself that it was fun.
And that was why he had designed his games, testing them on not-so-innocent civilians until he was certain that they would work. So far nobody had escaped, nobody had seen the deception he so skilfully employed. The games like Roocky were a lie. And it didn’t matter how skilled the player was, or how smart they were, or how ruthless they considered themselves, Roocky would win. Because, there was no fun in losing.
What were the Psycho Rangers anyway? As he watched them he couldn’t help but think about their construction. They had been clay constructs similar to Minion, but after their stabilisation and obtaining their new totems, he suspected they had become something else. Dark reflections perhaps? It was possible given the use of the Neji Glass during their quest for new powers, but unlikely. He suspected that while Biilly had grasped the opportunity presented by the dark artefact, he had failed to understand or had simply ignored the knowledge contained within the scrolls.
~Would he have been capable of using the Neji Glass to its full potential anyway?~ he pondered. ~Kaat could have, but I doubt Biilly could understand the magic needed for such a feat.~
Grid constructs then? Also unlikely since the Neji Glass had been used passively during the act of empowerment. It was not unknown for the darker energies of the Morphin Grid to change the nature of its wielders, but normally it required more than a simple act of looking.
~Maybe their biology became so twisted by the Neji Glass even they cannot be sure what they are anymore,~ he thought.
Of all the possibilities that one seemed to fit. He knew they were no longer clay, but it was highly possible that they had become a combination of clay and magic, or flesh and clay, or even flesh and magic. In the end did it really matter so long as they were stabilised? No, but he couldn’t hide his curiosity. It was just a part of his nature.
Nature or nurture? That was a question that had led to a great scientific debate at one time. Aiisha believed that both had their uses. Combining magic, science and the deep understanding of animals she had inherited from her original, she had dedicated herself to breeding some of the greatest monsters imaginable. Had he been open to such an idea Aiisha suspected that she could have served as an apprentice to Master Vile himself.
Alphabet Soup Research, her pride and joy, not to mention a veiled hint for those that knew the truth about her. As a subdivision of the INET Corporation her research facility was supposed to be involved in the laboratory testing of new medicines. In reality her research was more in line with the application of pain, genetic markers, magic and other technologies to create her wonderful monsters. After her research had started using humans, the breakthroughs had been even more impressive.
Which was why as she stared at her latest and greatest work, a creature covered in poisoned spikes that could be propelled to breach the armour of a Power Ranger, she felt a sense of pride in her achievement. It was a shame that like most magical produced creatures she would not be able to breed it; she wondered if she could obtain Finster’s services to produce a model.
Adaam was certain that he was alone, yet he was unable to drop the act for even a second. As far as the Psycho Rangers were concerned he was a cowardly, weak-minded fool seeking favour by kissing the boots of those that held the power. But they were wrong and that led them to underestimate him. As a dark practitioner of the Spirit level, or dark ninja as some referred to it, he excelled at using illusion and misdirection against his foes.
Biilly didn’t see him as a threat, Jaason ignored him, Kiim and Kaat treated him with contempt. Yet they allowed him to get close and dropped their guards in his presence. He had lost count of the opportunities he had had to put an end to Biilly. Yet he had held off realising that the moment he made his move the others would see him as a threat. And while taking out Jaason would probably just make Biilly and the others wary of him, attacking Biilly would expose him to Triini’s wrath; touching either Kaat or Kiim would provoke the wrath of the triplets.
And so he waited, biding his time while reaching out to Roocky, Aiisha and Taanya, his most likely allies. And he watched the others, learning how they moved ready for the time when they moved against him.
“Again!”
The three battered training droids picked themselves up and made an attempt to shift to a ready position. They had already been damaged to a point where they would need hours of panel beating to remove the larger dents.
With a growl Jaason attacked, not waiting for the droids to finish reconnecting the limbs he had previously torn off. When Triini had built the machines for him out of the scrap parts left over from some of Mondo’s Cogs, he had relished the challenge. After the third encounter he had grown tired of the easy wins he had experienced. Even unarmed he was stronger than the droids, his rage and hatred driving his powers to new heights. If he were capable of calming down enough to think of a plan, he would have had no problem defeating Biilly and claiming the leadership position he desired so much.
He punched and kicked the first droid, throwing it aside so that he could clothesline the second. The third he didn’t waste his time fighting, he simply unleashed an energy blast to turn it into molten slag, before twisting in time to slice the head off the first droid with his broadsword.
“Pathetic!”
He didn’t turn to face the second wave of droids until they were almost upon him. Triini had spent extra time programming them to adapt their technique as required. Of course Jaason realised on some level that she had programmed them to eliminate the threat he represented to her beloved leader.
One by one he fought them, never allowing their superior numbers to place him at a disadvantage. Those he could not tear apart with his bare hands or decapitate with his sword, were smelted by violent discharges of rage-fuelled fire. As he slammed, punched, kicked and stomped his way to victory, he allowed himself to imagine the faces of those he hated as the recipients of his violent actions. Those thoughts drove him onward, increasing the power of the blows he mercilessly rained down on his victims.
A burst of golden energy filled the room, knocking him aside and incinerating the droids. He looked up, shocked that he had not heard Tarran enter. The replica of Trey of Triforia was a solid warrior, cold and impassive. While Jaason liked to show his skills and charge into the fray, Tarran was detached and calculating, striking from a distance with the least amount of effort. His golden energy blast was particularly destructive, as Jaason had just witnessed. In a rare show of emotion, Tarran grinned in Jaason’s direction, causing the Red Psycho Ranger to growl angrily.
~How dare that Triforian scum interfere in my business?~ he thought angrily.
He turned to give Tarran a piece of his mind, only to find that the Gold Psycho Ranger had already departed. With another growl, Jaason drove his fist into the floor.
Magic clashed with martial arts as the three warriors unleashed their full fury against each other. Tyler, Oliver and Daavid, three replicas of the same man – for Minion had tried and failed to find a way to replicate David Trueheart. And since Samoht Revilo was the clone of Tommy Oliver, and for some reason Minion had sensed that his continued existence depended on not replicating Samoht, he had settled for three replicas of Tommy. Of course he had tried to give two of them the abilities he suspected Samoht and David possessed. So while all three were skilled combatants, Daavid had the additional mental powers of a White Ranger while Oliver had been granted the magical powers Samoht displayed. Both abilities came at some cost, especially for Daavid; although it was possible to create connection to the White powers while drawing from the Dark Side of the Morphin Grid, the nature of the White power could drive the wielder insane.
The three warriors charged, trying desperately to prove themselves superior. Swords, daggers, energy blasts and powerful kicks were exchanged as each tried to take down the others. To the other Psycho Rangers it might have appeared as a violent sparring session, but the truth was that they really were trying to destroy each other. All three believed that they were drawing from the same link to the Morphin Grid, and that whoever survived their fight to the death would gain the power of the other two.
Unfortunately there had never been a decisive winner. Most of their fights resulted in a triple knock out and on the few occasions one of them did triumph, they were interrupted before they could finish the job.
“Are you boys going to fight all day or are you up for a little fun?”
The fighting stopped immediately as the three replicas turned their attention to their new distraction. There were few things they all agreed on, but the beauty of Kiim and Kaat was one of them. Either girl was capable of making them forget all about fighting. That the two girls seemed willing to share and play with each other made the three male replicas highly protective of them.
Tyler grinned. Daavid and Oliver were already sweeping the two girls off their feet as he cleared the space to have some fun.
He moved on from observing the frolicking replicas. Their private lives were hardly his business. Well no more than he wanted them to be anyway. He had seen enough to confirm what he already knew: the Psycho Rangers were hopeless without leadership, something he would provide. In the end it was the only logical step for him to take command of the Psycho Rangers and guide them to their destiny. After all, there was nobody better suited to the task. But first there he would need a few things to set his plans in motion.
The Machine Planet
The attack by Behemoth had gone exactly as Gasket had calculated. Key areas of the planet had been devastated before the unfortunate monster had been defeated once again. This time Gasket had ordered his engineers to repair and upgrade the simple creature as much as possible before sending him back to Earth with an overwhelming desire to destroy the Power Rangers. No doubt they would win, but by that time Gasket would arrive with his new weapon.
“And King Mondo will never suspect that the damaged caused here was deliberate or the reason why it occurred until it’s too late.”
Gasket turned toward the speaker, surprised to find it was a human.
“Fear not Gasket,” Xing said, “I bring good news. I intend to keep quiet about my little discovery and all it will cost you is three of Archerina’s arrows.”
“And why should I allow myself to deal with a puny organic like you when I can just destroy you?” Gasket demanded.
“Maybe because you’ll be too busy fighting the virus I just inserted into your subroutines,” Xing replied confidently. He watched for the telltale signs that Gasket was performing a virus scan. He could tell the exact moment that Gasket inadvertently triggered the virus. “Forgive me, did I say just inserted? I meant the virus Minion installed in you and your father that would trigger when you scanned for a certain type of virus.” He could sense the machine’s panic. “Fear not Gasket, I seek only the arrows and then I will let you go.”
Gasket nodded his agreement and retrieved the arrows Xing had requested. Xing in turn kept his promise. However as Xing departed Gasket could not help but ponder how the human had known about the virus and how to trigger it. The answer was extremely disturbing.
Rita’s Palace
“Hello Rita,” Xing said as he suddenly appeared, that large of his infuriating and unsettling the witch at the same time. “Fear not, I bring good news.”
“Good news?” Rita screeched. “The last time you claimed to have good new I lost Zeddy to that human!”
“Ah but you forget, I promised you that Lord Zedd would return more powerful than ever. Have I ever lied to you Rita?”
The evil empress wanted to say yes, to throw up the lies that had led to Zedd’s demise. In truth though she realised that Xing had never been dishonest. Events might not have turned out how she expected, but his words had not been deliberately misleading.
“Well, what do you want of me?” she demanded.
“Only two things dear lady,” he stated, as he bowed and offered her another tooth-filled smile, “a vial of Lord Zedd’s rejuvenation fluid and this monster.”
Rita absently accepted the picture Xing had handed her. The first request caught her by surprise, so she didn’t spare the monster a second glance. The rejuvenation fluid was deadly to anybody apart from Zedd. In his Zarakin form she suspected it was lethal to him too. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the thought of providing Xing with such a weapon.
“Not the whole vial,” he said quickly, sensing her unease and revealing the arrows he had retrieved from Gasket earlier. “Just enough to coat these arrows.”
Now Rita was truly curious about what Xing had in mind. She had wondered about his real identity for a long time. She knew where the name Xing originated, but she had decided after Zedd’s defeat that it was likely misdirection. But that led to the question of who he was really and what his interest in Zedd and Rita could be.
“A debt repaid, nothing more, nothing less,” Xing told her as if reading her thoughts.
And there it was, a simple request for something Rita could provide in return for repaying some debt he believed he owed her. It seemed too simple, but if her could truly reunite her with Zedd and defeat the Power Rangers as he claimed, she was not about to argue. Reaching a decision she took the only logical step.
“Finster!”
Biilly looked at his creation and smiled, knowing that it was perfect. This was the sort of thing where he excelled, when he was able to act as Biilly the inventor rather than Biilly the leader of the Psycho Rangers. In truth he would have given up his position if only there was somebody he could trust with the role. Jaason was too hot-headed and arrogant. He was a bully who would probably end up killing his own warriors instead of leading them. Adaam was too weak, the triplets were too busy fighting amongst themselves, and the others didn’t show an interest in leading; Tarran while an admirable soldier seemed to lack that commanding presence needed to keep the others in line. And so Biilly was forced to remain in his position and to fight to maintain it however much it grated on him to do so.
The scheming and frustration of never completing a workable plan was made worthwhile when he could find the time to work on his masterpieces. Billy Cranston had had a role in designing the Zeo Zords and a part to play in the advancement of the Turbo Zords. Biilly could even see some of the young genius’ creativity when it came to the Lightspeed mecha. But where Billy had only helped design a few Zords, Biilly had built a fleet. Five Megazords so far with more to follow, each designed to take down whatever technology the Power Rangers could create.
Aiisha and her creatures, Jaason and Tarran with the warrior prowess, Kaat and Kiimberly with their – gifts; even the triplets despite their constant attempts to kill each other – for Biilly was well aware of the problem and the reason it existed, made the Psycho Rangers a formidable force. If only they could find a leader then they would be ready to take their revenge upon the Power Rangers at long last.
The Moon
“I call him Hung Horn,” Finster announced as he showed off the completed monster.
Rita nodded in approval. She had forgotten just how skilled her monster maker could be. Perhaps he could find her something to help conquer the Earth before her meeting with the Grand Monarch. It was not as if she expected Xing’s plan to succeed.
Hung Horn was an impressive creation. He resembled a large humanoid bull dressed as a bullfighter, complete with poncho and for some reason a sheriff’s star. In his right hand he held what appeared to be a pistol, although knowing Finster’s distrust of firearms, it likely served a different purpose.
“Can he do everything I required?” Xing asked.
“Oh yes, I make him to your exact requirements,” Finster replied. “I sculpted his body to be as strong as possible and to provide maximum speed.”
“And the invulnerability?”
“I made him as powerful and resistant as possible,” Finster said.
Xing nodded. Had Finster claimed that his monster was invulnerable, he wouldn’t have believed him anyway. Magic had limitations and magical creations could not exceed the powers of their creators without a connection to the Morphin Grid that was beyond Finster’s ability to grant. Still, he was sure Finster knew his craft well enough to create something worthwhile.
“Very well, send him to Earth.”
The monster wasn’t important; the lesson it was going to teach was what counted.
“Okay we try one more time and then we leave,” Justin said. He saw the disappointed look on Tasha’s face. “Look if we stay any longer we won’t have time to do what we need. If they come back and catch us they’ll add more security.”
That seemed to appease the Yellow Turbo Ranger. Neither of them wanted to have to spend the time figuring out new ways to get into the Administrator’s office. It meant less time accessing the computers and learning whatever it was that the staff had written about them. Life at Little Angel’s Haven was far easier when you were aware of the adults’ concerns and could either defect them or use them to your advantage. It was something the two Turbo Rangers had become very adept at.
“Okay so we’ve tried her maiden name’ children’s names, cat’s name…” Tasha ran through an impressive list of attempted passwords. “Could it be a phrase or saying?”
“Whatever it is I wish she’d left it as the default,” Justin complained. The two shared a look. “You don’t think?”
Tasha was already typing in the password they had learnt the year before. They were rewarded when the screen unlocked.
“She’s left it wide open!” Justin grinned.
Unfortunately before they could accomplish their snooping, their communicators beeped. The two exchanged a frustrated look.
“What’s up, Zordon?” Tasha asked.
“Rita has sent a new monster to Little China Town,” Zordon replied.
“Okay Zordon, we’re on it,” they heard Fred say.
The two nodded and after turning off the computer and checking the coast was clear, relocked the door and departed.
“Shift into Turbo!”
While the Turbo Rangers did not spot the monster as soon as they arrived, the effect his presence had was hard to miss. Hundreds of screaming civilians ran through the street, trying to avoid what ever it was that they were fleeing. A large column of dust made it difficult to see. The shouts and screams were accompanied by the sound of broken objects that along with the occasional person appeared to fly into the air. It was only when the air cleared for an instant were they able to see the monster.
“Okay one monster, no Putties, Tengas or idiots,” Yellow Turbo said, summing up what Green’s Thunder Scanner revealed.
“Then I guess we need to take the bull by the horns,” Red said, earning him a groan from his teammates. He shrugged and the five Rangers ran forward.
It seemed their presence was enough to distract Hung Horn from his current activity, namely tossing people into the air and then trying to impale them on his horns. He snorted in their direction, scraped his hoof against the ground and charged. As he reached them his horns grew larger and before the Rangers knew it, they were being carried along by the charging monster. Unfortunately for them that means that they were taking the brunt of whatever lay within the monster’s path as they were propelled through buildings and objects.
“Did anybody get the number of that bull?” Red asked as they were finally tossed unceremoniously into a heap.
They looked up as the monster pulled out it’s gun and pulled the trigger. The end lit up as a small flame and had it not been for their helmets, the Rangers would have been scratching their heads. Then the bull belched and a jet of superheated flame shot in their direction.
“Ew gross!” Yellow complained as their uniforms tried to deal with the unorthodox attack.
Then the monster attacked again. Although it exchanged blows with all of them, it was clear that it was trying to target the Red Ranger. When the others got in its way it would only fight long enough to move passed them and continue its assault. Unsurprisingly, Red was taking a pounding.
“Guys this isn’t working!” Red said after he had been tossed into the air for a third time, only to be saved from impalement by Pink Turbo’s intervention. “We need a new plan.”
“We need to hold on a bit longer,” Green told him, watching as city officials cleared the terrified civilians. He handed Red Turbo a small capsule. “When I say now, start running away from here until he catches up, then follow this device back to us. We’ll need a few minutes to get set up.”
“For what?” Red asked.
“Now!” Green ordered.
As Red Turbo started to run as fast as his Power enhanced legs would carry him, Green, Yellow, Blue and Pink charge at Hung Horn. Although their attack accomplished very little, it delayed him long enough for Red to make it a few streets before he tossed them aside and gave chase.
“Finster made him to be provoked by the colour red?” Justin asked as the monster took off. “That’s just a myth.”
“Myth or not let’s use the time to get set up,” Franklin answered.
“Before big, horned and ugly decides to come back,” Rosa added.
Red Turbo weaved his way through the streets of Angel Grove, using a constant satellite feed to avoid the areas where civilians had been gathered. The monster had caught up to hi quickly and thought of keeping him chasing were foiled when one of the horns almost pierced his suit. In desperation he had manoeuvred himself onto the monster’s back, causing Hung Horn to stop running and start trying to buck his unwelcome rider. When he decided the others had had all the time he could but them, Red Turbo kicked the monster in the head, leapt from his back and started running the course indicated by the device Green had given him.
As he ran through the streets he started to notice that he was heading down side streets and narrowed alleys with sharp corners. The device told him where his teammates would be, but he realised Hung Horn would not have that knowledge. Beneath his helmet he smirked as he realised what the others might have planned.
“Fred when you head up the next alley, make sure you hit the garbage cans,” Green urged.
Red Turbo did as he was told, dislodging the cans and sending them rolling towards the bull monster. Hung Horn was hardly slowed, but it confirmed that the others had been busy.
“Okay you’re almost here,” Pink confirmed. “As soon as you turn the corner, duck!”
Again, Red obeyed, realising that the tipped over garbage cans had gained him the precious seconds he needed. He turned the corner and ducked, covering his helmet, just as a snorting Hung Horn followed him. There was a bright flash, a loud groan and the sound of something heavy colliding with something solid. Red raised his head and looked to where Hung Horn now lay, slightly embedded in the wall of a dead end street. He turned his head and as expected saw the other Turbo Rangers with the Turbo RAM.
“Okay guys, let’s put this guy out to pasture!” Red said.
“Right!” the others responded as together the five Rangers charged the recovering monster.
Blue, Pink, Yellow and Green passed by, striking him with their swords. Red followed slightly behind and when he sensed that Hung Horn was off balance, he followed through with his Turbo Power Sword, delivering the final blow. As he sped away to join the others, Hung Horn exploded, collapsing what was left of the dead end, not that the Rangers’ attack had not already torn down most of the wall as they shot passed him.
The Moon
“Oh dear, I never expected them to outsmart him,” Finster admitted.
“Well we’ll soon fix that,” Rita said. It had been a while since she had sent down a monster. Even though he had lost he had been more successful than many of those she and Zedd had sent against the Ninja Rangers, and they had had the advantage of Goldar and Rito helping them. “Magic wand, make my monster grow!”
Xing shrugged as the wand left Rita’s hand. How the battle ended was of little concern. He was certain that he had made his point. Now it was up to his student Shinzon to carry those lessons forward.
The Psycho Rangers had noticed the monster attack and out of boredom had gathered to watch. They had been impressed by the monster’s strength although the ease with which he had been outsmarted caused many of them to roll their eyes and look at an oblivious Jaason.
“Looks like it’s all over,” Zaack observed as the Turbo Megazord started to spin.
“It was over before it began,” Biilly answered. “That monster was too stupid to notice an obvious trap.”
“And yet he managed to throw those Rangers around and almost succeeding in killing one,” Shinzon stated, appearing before the Psycho Rangers for the first time. “That is one more time than any of your monsters have managed because no matter how perfect a plan might be, it is useless if left unexecuted.”
Biilly allowed a look of anger to cross his face. “Destroy him!”
The Psycho Rangers attacked, Shinzon flashed with black energy, the Psycho Rangers were flung in all directions and stared up in shock and horror at the figure before them.
“Who are you?” Biilly demanded in a shaky voice.
It was Shinzon’s turn to show his anger, striking the Blue Psycho Ranger with a bolt of energy.
“So these are the Psycho Rangers,” he mused out loud, his disdain obvious. “I had been hoping for so much more than this. The leaders of Minion’s army reduced to squabbling like children, playing games and rotting away from inactivity. A Tenga warrior has done more than you to strike against our enemies. Do you really think that this is what Minion would want?”
“Who do you think you are coming here and trying to tell us what we should do?” Jaason demanded.
The overly large broadsword that the Red Psycho Ranger preferred to use in battle was in his hand and there was little doubt he planned to use it to cleave Shinzon in two. For his part Shinzon looked unimpressed by the weapon, easily catching the blade with his left hand while striking the wannabe leader of the Psycho Rangers away with an energy blast from his right hand.
“You really are a hot-headed thug, Jaason,” Shinzon told him. “It’s disappointing that Minion couldn’t have captured at least a little of Jason’s self-control when he create you.” A more powerful blast shot from his hand and narrowly missed the Psycho Ranger as he tried to stand. “STAY DOWN! I’m here to talk to those with half-a-brain, not waste my time incinerating you.”
Surprisingly, Jaason obeyed, although the others could not tell if he did so out of respect for an obviously more powerful for or because the first blast had injured him. Most hoped it was the latter.
“No cooperation, no real leadership, no sense of loyalty… you wouldn’t last long in a battle with the Power Rangers,” Shinzon told them. “Minion gave you all the qualities you would need to emerge victorious and instead you waste time with petty infighting. Finster’s monster was imperfect but at least he sent a monster! The Grand Monarch has called a meeting at which time he who hold the Earth will be in a position to negotiate and all others will be in a position to kiss his feet. Do you really want to become his servants? Do you want to be split up and sent into combat one after the other like common throwaways?” He saw their faces and knew that his words had gotten through to them. “Fear not Psycho Rangers, in the words of my mentor: I bring good news.”
He made an overdramatic hand gesture and the Psycho Rangers found themselves of standing again; some hadn’t realised that they had been disabled.
“I have come to solve the problems you face. You lack leadership, so I will provide a leader. You lack a united purpose, so I will give you something to unite you. You lack inspiration and so you will be given a plan.”
“So you are assuming command?” Biilly accused.
Jaason looked angry, realising that somebody else planned to take the spot he believed was his.
“I bring a choice,” Shinzon promised. “I can either take command or…” He crossed the space between them in an instant, freezing the other Psycho Rangers in place. He rested his palm on Billy’s chest, grinning sadistically as it started to glow. “Or I can take the commander.”
Biilly’s eyes widened as he stared into Shinzon’s feral features. The feeling was familiar as if he knew this being from somewhere. He couldn’t believe what his mind was screaming at him. There was no way it could be true.
“You?”
Shinzon’s smile grew as he sensed the recognition and the denial.
“It’s not possible,” Biilly whispered.
“Ah but you forget Biilly,” Shinzon replied so the others could hear him. “When dealing with the Power, the possibilities are endless.”
There staring match continued for a short time and then Biilly back down, bowing his head in submission, shocking the other Psycho Rangers. They had seen him stand up to Jaason. That he was willing to back down without a fight put them on their guard around Shinzon.
“You will always be the leader of the Psycho Rangers,” Shinzon told him. “And Jaason will always be your number two.” Both Shinzon and Biilly smirked at that. “Now the time has come for you to stop planning and act.”
He pulled out two of the arrows his master Xing had secured from Archerina earlier, dipped in Lord Zedd’s rejuvenation fluid.
“And this is what you are going to do…”
The Moon
Hung Horn had been destroyed. While disappointing Rita was not really surprised. Monster attacks rarely achieved anything on Earth. But then it was only on Earth that she had taken to using her monsters one at a time. Before she would sent multiple monsters or a legion of one sort of monster to overrun the defenders of a world she wanted. What had changed?
She knew the answer was one of focus. When she had been released she had seen Earth as an easy target. She had selected a city close to where the Rangers lived because Zordon’s recruitment had drawn her attention. She had underestimated them that day and they had defeated her forces. And after that if had become a matter of pride. She had deliberately sent her monsters one at a time to prove that she could defeat a bunch of human teenagers. She had become so focussed on their age and species that she had overlooked the fact they were Power Rangers.
But then it got worse when Zedd arrived. Somehow her obsession transferred to him. Her father had managed to resist the problem for a while by focussing on a bigger goal; the Zeo Crystal and the Orb of Doom were schemes that were too grand for a single city. But the Machine Empire, Divatox and many others had fallen into the trap of focussing too much on defeating an enemy and not on the business of conquering the planet.
~Could that be a part of the planet’s power?~ she wondered.
To redirect and focus the intentions of those that would cause the planet harm, trapping them in a cycle of defeat required powerful magic. But by doing so it would leave a villain exposed over a long period to the other effects of Earth’s magic. Over time evil intentions would diminish turning the most evil villain inept. Until eventually they would fade into insignificance.
Xing had not cured Rita of the effects of Earth. He had done very little to help Rita and Zedd and in all honesty, Rita blamed him for losing Zedd in the first place. But by losing Zedd she had become focussed on getting him back again, on reclaiming him from the Earth woman who thought she could steal Rita Repulsa’s husband. And Hung Horn had been kick she needed to start her plans. Oh she knew or at least strongly suspected that the monster had been a diversion to hide Xing’s true aim of obtaining the poison for his arrows, but he had reminded her that the machine existed. And that in turn had set a whole new plan into action.
~At this rate perhaps I will conquer the planet in time for the Grand Monarch’s meeting,~ she thought. There was much to do and little time. “Finster!” She bellowed. It was time to get building.
End of Part.
Chapter 12: Dark Racers Epilogue
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Author’s Note: Okay folks, this story is basically the closure of a plot point started in Mother Knows Best. Zord wise: Sonic Streaker comes from Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Turbo Express is based on a combination of sources including Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Artillatron is from Power Rangers Turbo.
Dark Racers Epilogue
“So the powers are gone for good?” Justin asked.
The four youths that Divatox had attempted to turn into Dark Turbo Rangers – the Dark Racers as she had called them – had gathered with the Turbo Rangers to clear the air. There were no grudges but their fights had turned nasty at some points. It also allowed TJ the opportunity to talk about his time as Divatox’s captive; the youth had been lucky that Porto had done everything in his power to distract the pirate from claiming her newest slave.
Cassie nodded. “Zordon says that unlike Rita and Zedd, Divatox didn’t take any chances. Our Turbo Keys were programmed to erase themselves should she instruct it. We’re lucky one of us wasn’t killed when it happened.”
“And Porto altered the Keys so that once the template was removed, there is no way to restore them,” Franklin guessed.
It had been a difficult few weeks for the Rangers with first the Purple and then the White and finally the Black Turbo Rangers making an appearance. And while it had taken time to defeat them – for Divatox had not made the mistake of using close friends of the Rangers they would be fighting. That had made it more difficult to discover their identities and release them. In the end the brainwashing had been removed and the Dark Turbo Rangers had been released. Sadly unlike previous evil Rangers, they would not prove to be a thorn in the sides of their former mistress.
She looked down at the Turbo Key in her hand. It was barely recognisable. Between Divatox and Porto’s manipulations the device had been rendered unrecognisable. In a way she was glad, there would be no pressure for her to use her powers now and with the various villains under the impression that she was powerless, she wouldn’t be bothered by their future plots.
What she didn’t mention to the Rangers and hadn’t shared with Alpha and Zordon during their examination, was that the powers were still a part of her. She lacked the uniform and the weapons that made her a Ranger, but the pathways that had been created to channel the Speed Force remained. She doubted it was detectable by Zordon’s scanners or he had simply not been able to detect the energies while dormant, but she had been shocked to discover that she retained the super speed she had previously enjoyed. From the almost guilty looks on her former comrades’ faces she imagined they had discovered the same thing. TJ’s link was slightly different as his powers had failed before he had used them, but something had happened that had allowed him to ruin the pirate’s plans.
“Does this mean Divatox will leave us alone?” Carlos asked. Clearly the former Black Racer was not as certain of their new status.
“If it was Rita you can bet that she’d leave you alone from now on,” Justin said. “But with Divatox you can’t be sure she won’t try something just out of spite.”
“Which is why we brought you these,” Rosa chirped, pulling out four communicators.
All were a dull grey colour, the one reserved for friends, family and in-the-know non-combatants.
“If you’re ever in trouble you can call us,” Tasha explained.
The former Rangers nodded and sighed. It was a shame that they would not get to fight alongside the other Rangers, but then maybe it was for the best. If the Universe liked a sense of balance then a large number of Rangers could only lead to a new and more powerful threat for them to face.
“At least we able to put the Zords to good use,” Fred joked.
In the aftermath the Rangers had discovered that Porto had not so thorough in protecting the Zords as he had the powers, perhaps because he had added them later and in a rush to please Divatox. The Turbo Express though heavily damaged could be repaired and had been handed over to the Lightspeed Rangers in Mariner Bay. Lightspeed had already drawn up plans to use it in their ongoing fight against Diabolico and his demons. However given the repairs and modifications needed, it would be some time before the rechristened Super Train Megazord would be ready for action.
The Turbo Rangers had kept the Artillatron for themselves. They planned to use it as a heavy duty Zord when the Turbo Zords were not enough. As Franklin had been quick to point out, it made a perfect Carrierzord. They had been unable to access its transformation sequence, but had found a partial Megazord mode just as useful.
Sonic Streaker had not been claimed, but was safely stored in one of Power Mountains hangars where its damage could be repaired.. The Rangers had always considered themselves lucky that most attacks happened near their homes. Sonic Streaker provided the means to confront evil wherever it appeared without having to worry about transporting their Zords.
Porto finished the final adjustments to his latest project. The loss of the Dark Turbo Rangers had been expected and after the precautions he had insisted on taking, the Rangers had not gained from the failed plan. But Divatox was not interested in empty victories and denying the Rangers new allies. She wanted her evil Turbo Rangers and had threatened Porto with all sorts of nasty things if he failed her again. Luckily Porto always had a backup plan.
When Divatox had originally insisted that there should be five Dark Turbo Rangers, Porto had been eager to argue against the idea. He had reasoned with her and even begged her to reconsider. With the failure of one of the sets of powers he had concentrated on perfecting the three Dark Turbo Rangers that remained. However when the plan had reached the point where their defection had been inevitable, Porto had decided to start work on a side project, creating two more Turbo Keys and combining their energies with two of his earlier creations.
And now the powers were finished, the candidates had been selected and the brainwashing had already commenced. Hopefully by the time Divatox found him they would be ready to go. If he was really lucky they would even succeed where their predecessors had failed. But somehow he doubted that. Porto never was that lucky.
End of Part
Chapter 13: The Empty Victory
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Author’s Note: Okay folks, this story is basically the closure of a plot point started in Princely Scheming. There is very little story here since it covers the event as a whole and not the story behind it. That will follow at a later date.
The Empty Victory
14th December
It was a day of tragedy for the Royal House of Gadgetry. Princes Sprocket, the heir to the Machine King, had been destroyed. It had been a glorious battle, one that had seen the near destruction of the Power Rangers’ Zords as the prince had used his new body to wreck havoc within the city of Angel Grove. It had been luck that had allowed the Rangers to unlock the powerful combinations that had led to Sprocket’s defeat. However his demise had not been confirmed until Mondo had received word from the Machine Home World. It appeared that during a recent onslaught by Behemoth, a creation of Divatox, the backup unit responsible for retaining Sproket’s personality in case of damage, had been destroyed. Without a suitable backup, Sprocket’s program was deemed lost and so the Machine Empire was left without an heir.
Not that the machines were overly upset. King Mondo and Queen Machina had emotional dampeners that allowed them to emulate real emotions, but prevented them from succumbing to grief. They simply accepted the loss and vowed vengeance against the wretched humans. They also took solace in in the knowledge that their son had caused more damaged to the Rangers’ prized Zord fleet than any previous villain. The sight of the Zeo Megazord’s head crashing to the ground would be something they would long remember.
And while his parents were upset, Prince Gasket was unbelievably happy at the recent turn of events. With his brother removed he was once again the rightful heir to the Machine Empire, a position that allowed him to start actively planning for the removal of his father. It had been an expensive way of bringing himself closer to the throne though, the body he had stolen from the Machine Home World to house Sprocket had been an incredible piece of workmanship and its loss would be felt. On the other hand he had made plenty of notes regarding the machine that would allow him to make sure the next model would be unbeatable.
Zordon sighed as he looked over the work order for the next few days. With so many Zords damaged they needed to prioritise the repairs. The Turbo Zords were of course the highest priority. Given their state he was just grateful that the Turbo Rangers had not been killed outright during the battle. That it had been functional enough to delivering the Spin Out and end Sprocket’s rampage was frankly a miracle, something that was highlighted when the Zord had almost collapsed seconds later.
Then it was a matter of restoring the Zords needed to form Megazords. The secondary Zords could wait, but the priority had to be to get as many of their larger machine operational as possible. The repairs to Tommy’s Phoenix Zord would take weeks to full complete given that Sprocket had almost managed to slice it in half.
After that there were the Dino Zords, the Thunder Zords, two of the Shogun Zords and Titanus in various states of disrepair. In the case of Titanus the Rangers would likely need to recover his head before the massive Zord would ever function again.
But there had been some good news. The battle had brought the Rangers together in ways he had never imagined. The cooperation between the teams that had attacked Sprocket from the inside and those that had fought in the Zords had been amazing. The Morphin Rangers had shown why they were looked up to by the younger team and the Turbo Rangers had once again proven themselves up to the challenge. That there had not been a single fatality in Angel Grove had been due to the actions of their allies from Mariner Bay. When he was finished with the Zord repairs Zordon decided he would send the Lightspeed Rangers a special thank you gift.
And through it all Zordon could not shake the feeling that he was missing something. The resources needed to manufacture a monster on the scale Mondo had unleashed were incredible. And even though he could see Mondo calculating the cost as necessary in the event of a victory, he refused to believe the Machine King would have considered Sprocket’s chances as being worth the effort. Which raised the question why he had backed such a costly scheme?
And Mondo was not the only one that seemed to be pouring more effort than usual into his schemes. Both Rita and Divatox had been growing more ambitious, more personal and more vicious in their attacks. The violence seemed to be escalating and Zordon was uncertain of the reason why. That combined with recent murmurings within the Council led Zordon to wonder if perhaps the rumours were true and a new villain was on the rise.
~But for such a being to intimidate Mondo he must be incredibly powerful,~ he thought.
It made him uneasy. In truth he had felt a little fearful of the future since he had regained his body. Nothing ever happened without a reason and Zordon somehow doubted that the Great Power had released him solely to defeat a single villain. There were greater forces at work and when the time came, Zordon was not certain he’d survive.
Far from Zordon and his ponderings, on the Dark Side of the Moon, lay the Machine Scrap Heap. This was the place where the remains of Mondo’s monsters were sent to rust away. This was the place where the scrapped body of Prince Sprocket had been left to corrode into nothingness. It was a place of peace and quiet away from the demands of the Machine King and his campaign.
And within that place a light flickered in the darkness. For Prince Sprocket had survived. His body had been broken and his electronic brain had been fused, but a part of him still recalled his name and his mission to destroy the Power Rangers. That same mind detected that he was not alone.
“It has been a long time, little brother,” Prince Grommet announced as he made his way towards the young prince’s rusting carcass. “Father has abandoned you just as he abandoned me; just as he left all that reside in this place to rust. But we are not lost Sprocket, soon we will show Father just how useful we can be. And you brother shall lead the way.”
As Grommet finished talking Sprocket became aware that something was moving. The scrap yard was alive and at Grommet’s command, it started to rebuild him.
Sprocket had lost, but with Grommet’s help he would return. That loss had only served to make him more determined to triumph. Zordon and the Rangers had won but the cost had been high. And Gasket… well Gasket believed that he had won, but that victory would come back to haunt him. For Sprocket was well aware that his brother had betrayed him and even as his body was being rebuilt, he promised that Gasket would pay dearly. It was no doubt Gasket’s greatest moment, but it would turn out to be an empty victory.
End of Part
Chapter 14: The Journey Resumes
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Author’s Note: Okay folks, this story is basically the closure of a plot point started in A Tale of Unfortunate Events. There is very little story here since it covers the event as a whole and not the story behind it. That will follow at a later date.
The Journey Resumes
18th December
“Life support has been fully restored,” a voice announced over the vessel’s internal communication system.
It had taken a while to secure the large vessel after the pirates had been removed. Their attempts had been severely hampered by whatever security force had been left on board. Half of the prisoners had been convinced that they were dealing with a zombie infestation before Visceron had discovered that the strange suits were being operated remotely by the vessel’s security computer. After that it had been a matter of breaching the ship’s inner security, forcing their way passed hundreds of deadly mechanised warriors to finally shutdown the computer core.
At which point all the ship’s systems had crashed. Lighting, heating, all the basics of life support had failed. The propulsion and navigation systems had locked them onto a course they couldn’t identify. And when it became clear that the shielding that had previously prevented large sections of the vessel from blowing out into space, had also failed, those on board had wanted nothing more than to flee.
Fortunately there had been those on board that were capable of taking command. And under their guidance, repairs to the damaged systems had started. While large areas were still uninhabitable, they had managed to create a habitat where the new crew could survive. And in the weeks that had followed they had managed to restore some of the most important systems. There was still much left to do before the vessel would ever be considered capable of moving.
The restoration of life support throughout the most vital areas of the ship heralded a big step forward. Being able to move safely from section to section meant they could commence repairs, tacking the worn out frame enough that it would survive being moved. With access to engineering they had been able to start the process of restarting the ship’s massive engines. Just one working engine proved sufficient to get their trip underway, but with the modifications the pirates had made, systems that should have been restored automatically had required manual intervention.
With the hangar bay finally unlocked it was possible for the unlikely allies to go their separate ways.
The Phantom Ranger was the self-appointed enemy of the Dianthe Clan and dedicated to their eradication. Although still injured he was determined to resume his quest to put an end to the pirates as soon as possible. Andros however was more interested in seeking out the truth about KO-35. While he suspected their missions would overlap, it was clear their priorities were not the same. And Visceron had also chosen to go his own way. Not that Andros could blame him. Visceron’s strength was as a spy, uncovering useful information. It had been agreed that he would resume his information gathering and would work on establishing a network of informants to keep Andros and his allies advised. That such a plan would keep him undercover and away from the Dianthe, was an added advantage.
And then the agreements had been reached. The Red Astro Guardian would after following up on one last lead, take the data the various parties had assembled and would hand it over to Zordon. Meanwhile the Phantom Ranger would resume his previous mission, and perhaps investigate the links between the new Grand Monarch and the Dianthe. The released prisoners would remain on board the giant warship they had renamed Galaxy Megaship. Under the guidance of Kimwon, a survivor of the Battle of Kerova and a man with experience of building and commanding large vessels. They would repair the ship and promised that if any of their friends called for assistance they would do everything in their power to provide aid.
When the new crew of the Galaxy Megaship had shut down the mainframe, they had not wanted to take the chance of somebody accidentally turning it back on. The computer core along with its security force had been unceremoniously deposited on a barren world.
But the world was not abandoned. Long ago it had been a world of weapon manufacturers and violent reptilian warriors. In their haste to make more and more deadly weapons, they had succeeded in trapping their world within a time bubble. To outsiders the planet appeared devoid of life while on the surface the population continued their mad drive to build ever more powerful weapons of mass destruction.
And so when the computer core had been dumped on their world, the inhabitants had been quick to examine it and its robotic warriors. They had overlooked the insanity of the computer core as they had sought to rebuild an army of deadly robotic warriors. They succeeded, but their repairs were too thorough. Within hours of activation, the machines started to wipe out their creators while promising revenge on the humans that had stolen their ship.
“Are you sure?” Kimwon asked again as he studied the Astro Morphers that Andros had presented him. Without the a suitable source of power they were useless, but it the crew could restore the engines and install suitable relay systems they could use the devices.
Andros couldn’t blame the man for being uncertain, a wiser move would have been to keep all the Astro Morphers on board the Megaship. He had actually kept some back in addition to those he had locked in the Astro Megaship’s vault. They would serve as a tribute to his fallen comrades, but he didn’t need all of them and Kimwon and his crew needed a way to protect themselves from attack.
“You need every advantage you can get,” he replied.
Kimwon nodded and thanked the Red Astro Guardian. Returning the gesture Andros returned to the Astro Megaship and departed.
As the Astro Megaship sped through the darkness of space, Andros pondered his final discussion with the Phantom Ranger. The revelations about the Grand Monarch had been enlightening, but it had been truth about his servants that had shocked Andros.
“She’s alive,” he whispered still not believing it.
Discovering that there were survivors of KO-35 had been a shock, but to find out that his sister was still alive had been too much. Why was she alive? What had they done to her? Would he ever see her again? Too many questions were flooding through his mind.
“I will find you Karone, I promise. And then I will find out who took you and I will make them pay.”
End of Part
Chapter 15: Xanta Claws is Coming to Town
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Xanta Claws is Coming to Town
23 December
The Christmas holidays were almost upon them and the people of Angel Grove were enjoying the brief reprieve from monster attacks that usually occurred around that time of year. Zordon had once explained that the period channelled the positive emotions of the human race and combined it with the abnormally high output from the planet’s natural magic to make the Christmas uninviting for most villains. And those that did attack during the period had a habit of finding themselves whisked into bizarre dimensions where their actions ended up having little effect.
That was why when Rita decided to launch an attack, the Rangers were unprepared. More so because she had not sent her forces to Angel Grove Park where the Christmas Carol Service was taking place. Over the years the Rangers had gotten to know where various villains liked to strike and had even gotten to the point where they could work out the abilities of whatever monster was sent down based on their location. However there had been very few attacks on the Rangers’ homes and fewer still on those that were not a part of the currently active team, namely the Turbo Rangers. So when Rita’s Putties had shown up out side the Zedden Residence, home of Jamie Zedden the Purple Zeo Ranger and her father, Larry Zedden better known to the people of Earth as Lord Zedd.
However if they had expected an easy target, the attackers were in for a big disappointment. For Larry Zedden was in fact an alien prince who had long ago been placed under the control of an evil being. Months earlier he had vanquished that evil and trapped it permanently within his mind, satisfied that should he died, Zedd’s evil would be eradicated. More importantly though Larry was the master of the fabled Sword of Fire, one of the Elemental Blades forged by his people long ago. And his daughter, who was the chosen avatar of the Sword of Lightning, had proven to be a capable student in swordsmanship.
And so it was that on the lawn of the Zedden property, Larry and Jamie proceeded to slice limbs off the intruders. Combining the razor sharp edges of their swords with the power to channel fire and lightning, they made quick work of any Putties that were brave enough to remain. However even as Larry decapitated the last Putty with his flaming sword, he had to wonder what Rita was up to? Even he knew that the witch rarely attacked just for the sake of it.
“Maybe she’s angry we left her off the Christmas card list,” Jamie suggested as she called down a bolt of lightning that sent the remaining Putties leaping into the air.
“Ho Ho Ho!”
Father and daughter exchanged an uneasy look. “Uh oh!”
They turned around to find themselves facing Rita’s attempt at a monster. Xanta Claws was the name Rita had given it and for good reason. While its head resembled a rabid reindeer, the rest of it was a clear parody of Santa Claus, complete with a belly that wobbled as he laughed evilly. His fingers ended in a set of sharp claws.
“You’ve been very naughty!” Xanta told them before swinging his massive sack and sending both Zeddens crashing to the ground.
“I thought we agreed no tacky ornaments,” Jamie grumbled.
Xanta just laughed, causing his belly to shake and the ground to tremble as the two Zeddens fought to get back to their feet.
“Why don’t we see what Xanta has in his magic sack?” the monster asked, before opening the bag. A massive spray of snow erupted from opening, covering the entire street with snow. “And now you can meet my friends the snowmen!”
Six wicked looking snowmen formed out of the snow, their mouths cut into sinister smiles. One of them had metal spikes emerging from its body and a pair of tree trunk legs.
With a sigh the father and daughter team threw themselves into battle, Larry charging Xanta Claws while Jamie handled his snowman servants. Xanta responded by drawing a weapon of his own, a four edged blade coloured like a Christmas tree. A spear would have been a better word for the weapon, which seemed to enlarge and shrink at Xanta’s whim, allowing him to keep Larry at a distance.
Meanwhile Jamie was finding that the snowmen were a lot more difficult than she had thought. For one thing they had the ability to explode into a shower of snow and reform in a different location, meaning that even when she could land a blow, it barely phased them. And as she fought she noticed the temperature was dropping, making her reactions slower while the snowmen seemed unaffected. When they started throwing exploding carrots at her though, Jamie had had enough.
“Wait a minute, you’re made of snow, how can you survive exploding carrots?” she demanded. There was an awkward pause as the snowmen seemed to consider her words before attacking again. Clearly using logic against Rita’s monsters wouldn’t work. “Fine. Dad is that spell still in place?”
When he had moved back with his wife and daughter, Larry had erected a spell around their property. Although it was low powered it prevented those that did not know about their activities from seeing what they were up to. It proved especially useful when they were sparring or Jamie was called to action.
“Of course,” Larry answered.
That was all Jamie needed to hear.
“Zeo Purple Power!” Jamie called. “Power of the Blade!”
Once inside the protective uniform of the Purple Zeo Ranger, Jamie found the cold no longer affected her. And with the increased strength and speed, she had the snowmen scattering.
“Zeo Pistol!” she called, drawing her side arm. But instead of aiming fro the snowmen, she unleashed a burst of low energy fire at the surrounding snow, putting an end to their ability to hit and run. Then as she blasted each snowman in turn, they were reduced to puddles of water, leaving only their spiky leader.
And so the fight was on as Purple Zeo and the Snow Monster clashed. The snowman was powerful and his spikes while unable to pierce her uniform, made it difficult to land a blow. Eventually though Jamie drove the Sword of Lightning into the snowman, unleashing a bolt of lightning that evaporated it as she turned her attention to where her father was still fighting Xanta Claws.
Larry was hurt. It was only a small wound but he had seen the look on the monster’s face as it had pierced his skin. And it worried him. After that Xanta Claws had seemed less aggressive, almost as if he were trying to avoid fighting. But Larry knew better and sure enough the monster suddenly found a second wind and renewed its assault. He had replaced his spear with a candy cane sword and was proving that he was a nimble swordsman despite his size.
However when Purple Zeo joined the battle, it was clear that Xanta’s time was limited. The Sword of Lightning and Sword of Fire when used together were capable of cutting through his weapons and the monster soon found himself soundly defeated.
“Fire Wave!”
With a final burst of flame, Larry sliced through the fake Santa Claus, putting an end to the monster.
“So,” Jamie asked as she powered down and helped her father to tend his wound. “What do you think that was about?”
As she watched her monster explode, Rita wished that she had sent it to Angel Grove Park. However she quickly dismissed such thoughts as she looked at the vial in her hand. The rejuvenation fluid of Lord Zedd had proven extremely destructive during her tests. None of the monsters Finster had created had survived the initial contact. And from what she had been told it was lethal to humans. So when she had seen Xanta Claws cut Larry Zedden’s skin with his poison laced claws, she had wished that it had been his daughter that had been on the receiving end. For Jamie Zedd would not have had Larry Zedden’s immunity and would have succumbed to the poison in a matter of hours. Larry would not escape the effects of the rejuvenation fluid either. It was just that she expected the results to be a little more interesting where he was concerned and a lot more painful.
Through the Repulsascope she watched as the citizens of Angel Grove enjoyed each other’s company, singing carols, seemingly without a care. They could have their season of good will, she was aware that any attempts to launch an attack would fail and that the likely magical backlash would leave her weakened for months.
“Enjoy yourselves while you can you little pests,” she said as she was inspired to hold a party of her own. “I will be back and this world will belong to me!”
End of Part
Chapter 16: Darkness on the Horizon
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any other shows. They and all other material used in this story belong to their respective copyright owners.
Author’s Note: This story takes place a few weeks after the previous story.
Darkness on the Horizon
Little more than a month the messenger had granted them before a compulsory meeting of the United Alliance of Evil, which they had all been told that they had joined. Just thirty days, after which their acts as individual villains would likely end at the command of their new Grand Monarch. And while their territory would remain, their chances to extend their empires would be curtailed.
Six weeks at most left in which to play for the greatest prize in the Universe: Earth; a hideously short time to overcome its defenders and secure the power that would guarantee their survival in the dirtier side of Alliance politics. And as they absorbed the meaning of the message, assorted villains representing the Machine Empire, the House of Vile, Xett and Repugna, the Dianthe Clan and a few that had been conducting their own wars without attracting as much attention, swore as they realised that half a day had already passed.
They had collectively ignored the first message, dismissing the woman that had delivered it as some insane witch without the power to back up her threats. That line of thinking had rapidly changed when the Messengers of Fire had started arriving. Their exact nature was unclear, but they had affected those that relied on pure technology and those that dabbled in magic alike. Fires had ravaged one of Master Vile’s spawn worlds, incinerated a vast section of the Dianthe fleet and had turned one of King Mondo’s space bases into a floating pool of molten metal, which had taken hours to cool despite being in space.
After that demonstration, the Messengers had restated the ultimatum, allowing the villains a slight grace period that had passed between the first summons and their attack. Now there was not a single villain that didn’t realise that their time was running out. When the United Alliance of Evil met, new rules would be established and any claims to the Earth would likely be dismissed; it was highly likely that the Grand Monarch would declare the planet as his, ending all the previous squabbles.
But there was hope. Capturing the planet before the meeting would give them a bargaining chip with which to demand a greater share of the prize – for even possessing control of the Earth would not be enough to overpower a villain with such powerful servants.
And so their efforts intensified, their plans reaching new and more ambitious heights in their desperate bid to claim the prize. Rita delved into the darkest arts at her disposal, Mondo and Gasket began construction of their most diabolical machines, Dregon shifted through his collection to find the most powerful Insectivores he possessed while Divatox had Porto, Rygog and Elgar searching for a warrior capable of defeating the Power Rangers while she called every vessel in the Dianthe fleet to her aid. And away from all the madness and rush, Master Vile smiled evilly as he concocted his own plan, one which would give him the means to meet the Grand Monarch as an equal and perhaps give him a chance to grab the Earth for himself.
So many villains, so much ambition and so little time. So much to lose, but so much more to gain. And in the middle of this race for power stood the little planet known as Earth. Looked down on by galactic society, feared for the violent nature of its people and the way they had managed to see off so many threats where more advanced and powerful worlds had fallen.
Forces of darkness competing for possession of a world with no regard for the people that lived there. And regardless of who won for the human race and especially the Power Rangers, this promised to be a countdown to destruction.
End of Part.
Chapter 17: The Dimming Light
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or Doctor Who. They belong to their respective copyright owners.
Author’s note: These events occur as the same time as the events in the previous chapter.
The Dimming Light
The Book of the Unknown held many secrets and Dimitria considered herself cursed that while she knew much of what the books foretold, she could never use that knowledge to warn others unless the Book allowed it. The events that were to come could not be avoided. They were alas set in stone. The only question lay in which side would ultimately benefit. For the Xenotome told only of the journey and not the destination. And sadly she noted that a time when he was needed more than ever, Jeff Kincaid would not be there to play a role.
But the Xenotome also spoke of another player. Reluctant and unwilling to choose a side, he would curb the excesses of both factions, protecting life above all else. But it seemed the book was slightly confused because the time when he would make his appearance seemed to change every time she looked.
Eltare
When the first ships had been reported above an unimportant planet only a few light years from Eltare, the
Grid Masters had known that it was not a simple raid. As more ships continued to arrive it became clear that this new force was seeking to surround the planet, cutting them off from the neighbouring allies. When they received word that similar vessels had appeared at other seemingly random planets, they had known that the danger they sensed was real. For weeks the
Grid Masters had been receiving visions of a new evil that threatened to sweep them aside. A hidden danger, a Dark Specter that could wipe them all out, one that would steadily circle its target until it was ready, and then it would strike a swift and fatal blow. And somehow in their dreams they knew that there was only one hope for their survival – for they were convinced that the final battle would be fought on the planet Earth.
They had been so concerned that they had sent a message to the Council, explaining their findings. The Council had responded that they were mistaken, refusing to change its stance on Earth. In doing so they ignored a powerful ally that could have saved many from an undeserved fate and practically handed victory to the dark forces that waited to strike.
Springwood, Ohio
Serpenterra continued on its path of destruction, unhindered by the machine’s high fuel consumption, which had been corrected thanks to the Zeo Crystal’s near infinite supply of energy. Even with its plasma cannon repeatedly firing the fuel cells didn’t show signs of diminishing. Of course the shots were not the high yield planet crushing blasts that it had used before. For some reason Minion found it more pleasurable to take lives in small doses rather than kill all life at once.
Below was a small town. It managed a few select stores, a public bar, elementary school and its own small television station. The major employer in the area was the nuclear power plant, the most notorious plant in the country since its millionaire owner was a miser who was more than happy to ignore as many safety rules as possible. The mayor was a corrupt womaniser who spent much of his fortune paying the town’s papers not to cover his indiscretions and the police department to deal with those that weren’t sensible enough to accept bribery.
The town was not known for its citizens’ calmed reasoned thinking at the best of times; today there was absolute panic. The people had realised that the monster above them could not be stopped and there even the old fallout shelters built in case of nuclear war, would not shield them. And so they huddled together under the statue of their town’s founder, hoping that something would save them.
Serpenterra hovered over the town, waiting as the sense of panic reached a peak. Then the energy flowed into its weapon systems. A glow formed in the mouth and with sudden ferocity, a plasma blast ripped into the ground. The roads boiled as the houses were vaporised. The people tried to cry out in pain, but their voices were already lost as the sound of the explosion echoed into the neighbouring town.
And on board the ship, Minion laughed as he adjusted his course to take him to Washington DC via a few other small towns as the remains of Springwood settled into a scorched pit, the anguish of those that had died there trapped within the tainted ground.
Springwood had never recovered from the decimation Minion had inflicted upon it. Like the other towns he had callously destroyed, it had not been restored when the Rangers had restored their reality. Perhaps because its destruction had been so complete that no amount of magic could reverse it. The ground had smoked for months following the incident leading authorities to check that there wasn’t something beneath the ground that was burning. Eventually though the smoke had cleared and the area had been fenced off while those in power discussed what should be done.
High fences topped by razor wire had not stopped some from entering the area it seemed. Two figures walked across the scarred ground, delighting in the pain and suffering they could feel around them. They were Orgs, demonic spirits formed from the despair greed and suffering of humans. To them this tainted wound in the surface of the planet was everything they desired. For it seemed that while the humans had been correct that the area beneath the earth had not been set alight, they had failed to understand what a festering sore this former town had become. Unknowingly Minion’s actions had created a nexus point where Orgs and other things could feed and grow stronger. If a being capable of seeing such things had looked they would have seen that Springwood was the epicentre of destruction with jagged tendrils of magically tainted ground spreading like a patchwork of cracks in all directions. It was a tainted Ley Line.
“Do you feel it?” the female asked, her horn glowing from the magical energy.
“Yes,” Jindrax agreed. His companion was far more capable at sensing spiritual beings even when they were not strictly Orgs, but with such a high concentration of spiritual energy even he could sense it. “But why haven’t they emerged?”
Org spirits were just that: spirits. In order to affect the world around them they had to first emerge and take on a physical form using whatever materials were to hand. That it seemed would be a problem in a place that lacked the raw materials for them to inhabit.
“They’re not Orgs,” she answered. “They’re just evil spirits created from this place.” Then she smiled as she reached into her gown and pulled out a handful of seeds. “no matter, that can be corrected.”
The seeds seeped into the ground the more they touched, providing the spirits that lived there a slight grip on the world around them. The two Duke Orgs watched as the seeds started to grow, forming monstrous vines that carried dripping fruit composed of wicked energy. The fruit ripened swiftly and sickly black flowers appeared shooting spore like pollens into the air that were carried by the suddenly fierce winds. And then the fruits withered, rotting into the ground and polluting it further as new vines emerged. And as they did so the spirits that inhabited the ruined ground started to seek out the small pieces that remained of the former town; any fragment no matter the size would do for the mutant spirits – for despite their hopes it was clear to the sinister duo that these were not true Orgs. Perhaps though they were an indication that the real Orgs would one day return.
Finster walked around the finished creation and nodded his approval. It had taken much much longer than his usual works, but this was a full-size sculpture and the details had been vital.
“Almost finished,” he sighed.
Most of the monsters he shaped would be considered complete by this point, but that was because they were normally created from an image with a clear understanding of their identity channelled through their creation. This was not a mere monster, it was the host body for a powerful demon.
“It’s ready, Rita,” Finster announced as he checked his measurements.
As a craftsman Finster rarely had the opportunity to truly show his skills. The monsters he created for Rita were copies of previous creations and while he took pride in his work, even he admitted they were often rushed and made from inferior materials. This time he has been allowed to use a sample of the most potent magical clay from Gamma Vile’s deepest clay pits. And he had used that clay and his skills to painstakingly craft his empress her greatest desire.
Usually such a creation would be placed inside a machine to infuse it with a portion of Rita’s magic. This time though Rita had an ulterior plan in mind. As he had been crafting, the witch had been chanting, calling upon the aid of the Ghost of Darkness to assist her.
If Rita had heard Finster, she gave no indication. Her voice continued to drone in the ancient language, switching dialects occasionally to provide focus. As she continued the spell shifted from a request to help to a ritual used to summon a demon. Her voice grew louder as she pointed toward the clay statue and then she laughed, sensing that her plan had succeeded.
Everything around him was dark, not a sound to be heard within the deepest corners of Larry Zedden’s mind. There the demon known as Lord Zedd lurked, trapped inside the Zarakin and unable to break free. Bound be the love and honour of a man he had possessed for thousands of years, he was helpless.
But recently his description of his prison had become less accurate. There was darkness, utter darkness, but every now and then there was a tiny flicker of light. He had studied the disturbance, located it, watched it until he could predict the next time it would appear. And then he had used it as a tiny flaw in his cell that he could weaken further.
It didn’t take much of a breach for Lord Zedd to break free; in his current state he was as fluid as thought. He escaped his cell in the back of Larry’s mind, knowing that unless the Zarakin removed the barriers he had placed there, the prince would never know he had escaped.
Once free the question arose of what to do next? Possessing Larry Zedden again was not possible. The rituals that had once perverted the Zarakin were gone and Zedd did not have the power in his current form to create more. That meant a less stable possession where he would be vulnerable to positive emotions.
Then he felt something pulling upon his magic. He recognised the feeling of somebody trying to summon him; the summons was not aimed at Zedd, but for any demon willing to bond with the caller. And in that moment Zedd saw his opportunity. A willing body would not fight back until it was too late. He allowed himself to answer the summons.
The statue of Lord Zedd glowed with power as Rita directed the spirit of her recently released husband into his new shell. It was not perfect and would need replacing before too long, but in the meantime… Lord Zedd was back!
The Xenotome told many things and what she read filled Dimitria with sadness. On Earth she knew this time of year was considered a time of peace. In truth this year had anything but and the future would only grow darker. But all was not lost year. The Book of the Unknown did not state how the year would end, she hoped that meant there was a chance that it would be a happy ending. Deep down inside, she doubted it.
And the year to come promised to be a year of loss and of sorrow. There would be betrayal and difficult decisions to make. The Darkness would sweep through the universe and although the light would shine brighter than ever, it would not last long once the light had been extinguished.
End of Part
Chapter 18: The Sacrifice
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to whoever holds the copyright. This is a fan work and no profit is being made.
Author’s note: This chapter features around the Rangers who left to answer the cry for help from Aquitar. I do intend to write the story of the Liberation of Aquitar at some point, but for now the story picks up after their triumph. This also marks a leap forward in time for the series and happens after the events in Stirring in the Dark. For those wondering, even at this stage Dark Specter’s conference is still taking place.
The Sacrifice
March 10th
They had won, lost and drawn. It was very difficult to decide as with most battles it was all a question of how they wanted to interpret the outcome. The Power Rangers of Earth had received a telepathic cry for help from the people of Aquitar less than two months earlier. They had not needed to discuss their response, they owed the people of Aquitar a debt and despite having paid a part of it back in the past, still considered the watery world a close ally. And so they had had left, leaving only the Turbo Rangers to protect their world in their absence.
Their first stop had actually been to a hidden store house Zordon had had built many years before his battle with Rita. There they had found a fleet of space craft they could use during the mission – for it had been pointed out that relying on just Pyramidas would put the Rangers and especially Trey at risk due to his intolerance to Aquitar’s atmosphere. Armed with the resources to help them liberate the Aquitian people, the next month or so had been a constant blur of planning and action against a world where even their allies were their enemies.
For something had corrupted Aquitar. And while the Slaver Lord known as Zanzibar – who had seized control of the planet following the departure of its previous masters – had been relatively easy to dethrone, something had been working against the Rangers. When Zanzibar had finally been driven from the surface, his skiff trailing smoke as it struggled to escape the planet’s atmosphere, the Rangers had realised that something was still polluting the waters.
The evil force had been seeping into the normally pure water for months, but the Aquitians had been under the psychic slavery of Zanzibar and had failed to react. Once they had been freed though they had detected the corruption and their collective minds had reacted with panic, generating a telepathic wave the entity could latch onto. From there the force had taken control of the Aquitians, using their fragile mental states as a means to embed itself in their consciousness. It had ordered them to attack their liberators, forcing the Rangers into a fight they did not want.
The last fortnight had been a nightmare for the Power Rangers of Earth. Unwilling to kill the people they had come to help, they had been forced to run constantly, driven further and further away from the source of the problem as the evil entity emerged. Taking the form of a giant squid it had raised itself from the depths of the ocean, its sickly ink poisoning the seas around it.
It had been Aisha that had realised that the ink it was constantly spewing in the water was the cause of their problems. She had analysed the waters and discovered that just like a Triforian, the squid would find the waters of Aquitar inhospitable. The ink was changing the make up of the water, reducing certain chemicals and increasing other so it became comfortable. But worse the ink contained an hallucinogen that caused the Aquitians to see the squid’s enemies as their own, forcing them to attack their liberators. What they couldn’t see was how the changes in the waters had also started to alter their body chemistry – for those Aquitians that had remained closest to the squid had started to mutate into demonic creatures fed by the dark water.
Finally the Power Rangers had been left with no choice. Once their escape route had been cut off after the squid had ordered its forces to strike their ships, they had been forced to fight back. Instead of targeting the Aquitians though they had taken their fight directly to the monstrous squid and its demons.
The problem with such a bold move was that the squid was much larger than any monsters they had previously fought and they lacked Zords. The beast could smash their sea craft with its tentacles, and anything they threw at it was practically useless. Even the Power Cannon and Zeo Power Blaster failed to do more than lop the end off one of its limbs. And with the pollution increasing, they had found their craft swarmed by water demons.
“Brachio Staff – Power Strike!” the Dino Thunder Ranger called, aiming for the squid’s eye.
“Shadow Ribbons – Strike!” Zeo Shadow called, the black tendrils from her staff knocking back the incoming demons.
“Rolling Thunder!” Black Morphin Ranger cried, using his powers to blast the beast with a wall of sound energy as Red Morphin and Red Zeo attacked with their swords.
The Power Rangers were all over the beast, using their weapons to create breaks in the skin that they could use has handgrips and footholds. As Zeo Blade used her lightning attacks to distract the large beast, the other Zeo Rangers were attacking the back of its head and the Morphin Rangers were striking from the side. The giant beast tried to strike them back but only succeeded in striking itself. In desperation it dove beneath the surface, hoping to drown the Rangers only to find that it could not do so – for the Rangers had managed to direct the battle in such a way that the beast found it was no longer over the deep waters.
“Saurian, Thalian, Ninjor!” the Morphin Rangers cried, summoning the legendary Morphin Masters. Ninjor easily flew his magical cloud around the beast, confusing it and leaving it open for his fellow Morphin Masters. Meanwhile Thalian used his powers to battle the squid with the power of air and fire. Saurian was more old fashioned in his approached, preferring to enlarge himself and drive his sword into the belly of the beast.
“Zordon, something’s wrong!” Yellow Zeo warned.
The White Master had been helping to fight in his own way, but paused when he heard Tanya’s warning. Sure enough the blood from the Squid seemed to be affecting the Aquitians, turning them even more rabid than before.
“If this keeps up we’ll destroy the squid but end up with a world of water demons,” Green Zeo warned.
“And if we don’t defeat it’ll still transform Aquitar, it’ll just take longer,” Black Morphin added.
“Either way, there’s nothing we can do now,” Yellow Morphin stated sadly. “That things already polluted the planet too much.”
Silently Zordon agreed with that assessment. He didn’t know where the squid had come from, a part of him knew that it had somehow remained hidden on Aquitar from a time long before the current occupants had appeared. Had it been sealed away? It was a possibility, although that also meant that at one time it had been free and something had been powerful enough to contain it. His mind drifted briefly to tales of untamed monsters that had once roamed the universe, and the creatures that released them on suspecting world and then hunted them for sport.
He shook the thought away as Thalian was struck by one of the beast’s remaining tentacles and tumbled towards the sea, reverting to his normal size as he did so. In a flash of white light he was gone, his ability to help exhausted. Ninjor made short work of the offending limb, only to be set upon by a swarming horde of water demons. In the end he too had to teleport away just as Saurian managed to drive his sword into the thick skull of the squid. He too retreated as he was covered in toxic ichor.
“Now!” Red Zeo cried and the Rangers once again unleashed their complete arsenal. This time though the squid was severely damaged and unable to move properly. The Rangers concentrated on the beast eye, striking it multiple times until they managed to burn their way through.
The agonised scream could be heard around the planet as the mental shockwave blasted forth. The Rangers fell to their knees as their minds were overwhelmed by the pressure. The Aquitians that had not mutated found themselves free of the influence while those that had joined their master’s death cry. The planet shook as the beast bellowed in rage. The waters around it were dark and bloodied, the Rangers had to scramble for safety as their armour started to burn.
And then in a final act the squid unleashed a massive spray of ink, emptying its body of the poisonous liquid. Great clouds formed, carrying devastating rain across the planet. And the Rangers realised even as they tried desperately to stop it, that there was nothing they could do. Aquitar was doomed.
“Rangers there is little time, but we can still safe this world,” Zordon told them.
“How?” Jason demanded. “We don’t have that much power.”
“Actually we do,” Billy answered, although he seemed reluctant. “Zordon’s body is a living manifestation of the Great Power. If we can release some of that power we could cleanse the planet. Unfortunately I lack the equipment to build the means to direct the energy and prevent it from dissipating completely. For all we know it could create a wave of energy and wipe out all evil in the galaxy, but leave Aquitar untouched.”
“What about the Zeo Crystal?” Tommy asked. “If Zordon directed his energy into that it could purify the waters.”
“And if we combine our powers we could direct the energy so that it doesn’t escape.”
“What about Zordon?” Kimberly asked. “Wouldn’t letting go of the Great Power destroy him.”
“If it does then I will live on in all of you,” Zordon promised. “A sacrifice I am willing to make to assist the people of Aquitar.”
“I have a better idea,” Nate decided. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t lose too much power. There’s no reason he has to do this by himself. We all have powers, let’s use them to keep the Great Power under control.”
Now it was Jason’s turn to take the lead, as he had done a few times before. “We call on the power of all ours combined: Morphin!”
The eight Morphin Rangers joined hands, pooling their collective energy.
“Zeo!” Tommy added as the nine Zeo Rangers gathered. A gold light signalled the arrival of Trey as he joined the effort.
“Dino Thunder!” Nate called, pouring forth the incredible power of a Ranger that easily exceeded the strengths of those around him.
“I ask the Great Power: heal this world!” Zordon bellowed.
The multiple streams of energy merged together, pulling all the power the Rangers and their mentor possessed. It was an incredible strain, a force they could barely control as the raw energy tried to escape them. Then the giant ball of power exploded, knocking the Rangers off their feet as purifying energy stormed around the planet, destroying the squid’s evil as it did so. The water demons were reduced to droplets of water and forced back into the depths of the ocean where the squid had previously been trapped. The dark ichor that polluted the seas was eradicated along with the squid’s body as the people of Aquitar were finally released from their mental bondage and restored to their normal state.
As the shock wave dissipated Trey was teleported back to Pyramidas high above the planet and a small surge of energy sought out the three Morphin Masters, healing their wounds. The Dino Thunder powers flickered briefly before stabilising, their strength reduced to that of a normal Ranger. The Zeo Rangers and Morphin Rangers felt their powers tested for a moment before normalising as the Great Power enhanced their ability to draw on the Power to make up for their exhaustion.
And finally Zordon felt the Great Power return to him. It felt weaker than it had been before – for there was no way that restoring a whole world could be portrayed as a minor feat and it would take time for it to return to normal. However the Great Power was almost unlimited and given time it would gather once more. For now though he was almost mortal again, something that he welcomed. His body was now more and less than it had been before. It was flesh and blood, vulnerable in ways it had not been when he had returned to the physical world. But in his weaker state the temptation to use and become corrupted by the Great Power also diminished, giving him a welcome break from an incredible burden.
It was funny in some ways how the battle had turned out. The Rangers of Earth had been weakened by their efforts, yet the power they had lost had brought them closer together and helped to eliminate some of the concerns they had held about their own power levels; Nate had even by his own admission been too powerful to unleash unless as a last resort. Now his powers remained impressive and he would likely still have an edge, but the amount of raw power he could use had been reduced. That was likely to convince the Council to leave him alone until his powers reached their previous level.
Likewise the Zeo powers had been realigned, making the Rangers equals in spite of their capabilities. Jamie, Lillian, Katarina and Christina had along with Trey held more power than the other Zeo Rangers despite not using their powers as often. Now the ten Rangers were at the same level.
As for the Morphin Rangers there had been very little change. As Full Aspect Rangers they had been incredibly powerful and the Great Power had taken their excess strength, but in doing so it had strengthened their link to the Grid, allowing them to draw more power to make up for the shortfall. In effect they had neither lost nor gained.
Aquitar was free butjust like its saviours, it would need time to fully recover. The world’s infrastructure had been devastated, it defences shattered. As much as the Rangers of Earth wanted to go home they knew they would not be able to do so until they had helped the Aquitians recover. To not do so would leave Aquitar open to whichever pirate or alien overlord decided to claim it. It meant there would be a lot of work ahead for the Rangers as they tried to restore a world that had not been the same since Minion had targeted them years before.
There had been some good news when the Rangers had discovered that their allies the Aquitian Rangers were still alive. Their powers had been dormant during their planet’s enslavement, but now they were once more able to protect their world, something that was assured when Ninjor had reappeared and presented them with new Power Coins.
Still there were questions to be answered about the giant squid. Aquitian history spoke of huge beasts being driven into the depths of the planet, but didn’t mention where they had come from or how they managed to mutate native Aquitians. There were references to the Water Demons though and those descriptions implied that it had not been a coincidence. Evil was on the rise once more. The recent departure of known villains for some sort of conference was an indicator, but the Rangers knew from experience that they rarely faced a single threat. If there was a new player they recognised that they would likely struggle against it, especially if it could turn whole planets insane with just one of its giant creatures.
But those concerns were put to the side as they turned their attention to repairing the damaged world. When a threat arose they would fight it because that was what they did. In the meantime the battle was over and their mission: complete.
Angel Grove
“O’Neil! In my office now!” yelled Ronald Jacobs. Jacobs was the cantankerous editor of one of Angel Grove’s three major newspapers, The Angel Grove Gazette. The Gazette’s major competitor was the Chronicle, which had the best reporting team in the city. They had recently published yet another article about the Power Rangers, and as usual, Parker O’Neil was feeling the heat.
“Yes, boss?” he asked, strolling into Jacobs’ office and casually taking a seat in a chair. Parker was 6’4″, and well-muscled, with brown-blond hair and odd tawny eyes. He radiated the easy charm and complete confidence that made him such a wonderful reporter. People talked to him, even people who had something to hide. But it was Parker’s skill with a camera that made him such a valuable asset to the Gazette. He had a gift for taking pictures, especially pictures of the Power Rangers, that no one else could take. Not to mention that he was the only reporter the Power Rangers would talk to.
“O’Neil, why the heck didn’t you get this story? ‘Pizza Monster rips up Little Japan.’ The Chronicle’s made fools of us- again.”
Parker just grinned at his choleric boss. “Relax. I’ve got something even better.” Tossing a packet on Jacobs’ desk, he had the pleasure of seeing the older man’s eyes light up as he thumbed threw it.
“A direct interview with the Power Rangers! Plus pictures! Hot damn, O’Neil, you’ve pulled it off again!”
Parker paled a little knowing that the story he had handed over was nothing compared to the scoop he had been handed in December. The greatest story a reporter or photographer could be handed and he was unable to tell it. It was frustrating for somebody dedicated to telling the truth, but not for the first time Parker O’Neil reminded himself that the lives he could ruin by doing so were worth more than a moment of fame. For Parker like many others in Angel Grove had recently been let in on a secret: the identity of the Power Rangers. It was a secret that the families had agreed to protect for the sake of their children and themselves. How the Parks, Cranstons, Taylors and Kwangs had reacted to the news that one and in some cases more than one of their children were heroes was uncertain; the news had been broken just hours before the majority of those revealing their secret had left on some mission to the planet Aquitar. Very little had been discussed other than a cover story for their absence.
Parker was smart enough to understand that his concerns were mostly focussed around his sister Lillian. As the Black Zeo Ranger, or Zeo Shadow as she preferred to be called, she had been one of those leaving the planet. He knew that she was in good company, but a part of him was still worried. And that worry had driven him to uncover the facts and learn the identities of the other Rangers.
He had spent a good few weeks trailing the Turbo Rangers, recording their exploits. If knowing his sister was a super hero had been a shock, learning that the Earth’s first line of defence consisted of even younger teenagers had been almost too much to take in. But he had followed their adventures and watched them thrive against a very bizarre and unfocussed enemy. They were swift, innovative and crafty. And that made up for the lack of experience and overall strength. At first he had been mistaken in believing they were facing a less dangerous threat than their older teammates, but after witnessing one such battle he had to admit, they were doing a fine job. And the interview he had secured helped to make sure that others also recognised their hard work.
“That interview gives everything the Chronicle’s article has, all from the Power Ranger’s mouth, so to speak. We’ll blow them away.”
“I knew I hired you for a reason, boy. Now go on, go find me another headline.” Shaking his head, Parker left Jacobs’ office, whistling.
Now if only his sister and her friends would come back safely.
End of part
Chapter 19: Hey Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers or any other show. They are the property of whoever owns the rights at this time. Justin’s dream is courtesy of the epilogue of Two Faces of Sydney from JRL’s Earth Crystals story, which he has still not continued despite previous promises hint hint.
Author’s Note: Super Green is not an original idea. It’s what I called a mode that was seen in a couple of Masked Rider episodes where Dex’s armour changed without reason. In some of those episodes Dex was also shown in an enlarged state. The reason for this was that they were using footage from a Kamen Rider movie instead of the usual series, however instead of making up a new power for Dex, I just wanted to give this mode a name. As far as the devolved Edenite goes, inspiration for that came from two sources: Kamen Rider Black which was the show before the show that got translated as Masked Rider, gave the hero a pre-armoured phase, and the movie Kamen Rider Shin where the protagonist mutates rather than transforms into a Kamen Rider.
Datz is the name originally given to Fact in the Masked Rider/Power Rangers crossover Friend in Need. I decided to keep them as two separate machines and will probably end up using them both in future stories.
Hey Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone
The Moon
6th January 1998
His name was Behemoth and he was a failure. He had arrived offering his services to Divatox. She had sent him after Prince Gasket who had soundly defeated him and then sent him on a suicide mission against the Machine Empire’s foundry. He had survived only to wind up back where he had started. And now the area of the Moon where he had once met with Divatox was empty, leaving him alone… and hungry. With nothing better to do he had made his way to Rita’s Luna Palace and had eventually found some food.
He sniffed it, making a face at the disgusting smell. It didn’t taste much better and when the pain started he thought that maybe he had made a mistake. That was until he started to feel the effects of the strange food as it restored his battered body, renewing his strength along with a change of skin tone. Now he would show Divatox that he could pulverize the Power Rangers just as he had boasted… once he finished eating.
November 1997
“That prediction made no sense, even Fact is not so dense,” Gork mocked.
“I think reactivating Datz was a mistake,” Nefaria whispered to Cycloptor.
Indeed the majority of Count Dregon’s senior advisors were in agreement. Datz had last been used on the planet Edenoi and had been damaged shortly before Dregon had decided to make Earth his new target. The Datz unit had been damaged and replaced by Fact, but following a recent fit of anger, Fact needed time to repair… and for Dregon to calm to down.
“Datz unit is at peak computational capacity,” Datz responded. “Current test subject has a forty-two percent chance of triumphing over the Masked Rider. Current plan has a ninety-six percent chance of successfully completing primary objective.”
“How can the plan succeed if the subject fails?” Nefaria demanded.
In recent months Dregon had expanded on his hybrid experiments, creating a collection of warriors to replace his dwindling supply of Insectivores. The process had been slow due to the constant interference of the Masked Rider and his allies, but Dregon was finally at the stage where he had sufficient specimens to start sending them into battle. The problem was that most of them had an even lower chance of success than the Insectivores.
“Masked Rider has superior abilities that will result in destruction of mutant,” Datz replied. “Destruction of specimen will lead to completion of Count Dregon’s primary goal.”
“And how would defeat allow Count Dregon to conquer this planet? He is not making sense!”
“Perhaps because conquering this planet has never been my main goal,” Dregon mused.
“Correct, primary goal of Count Dregon is control of the Masked Rider powers,” Datz replied.
“Very well Datz, tell me how this plan of yours will work,” Dregon instructed.
“Compliance.”
“Electro Saber – Activate!”
Positioning his hand against the Ecto-Accelerator, the Masked Rider gripped the handle of the Electro Saber and pulled it free, charging the weapon as he did so. For Dregon’s forces it was the moment they had been waiting for. Datz’s analysis of the Masked Rider had detected a weakness in the Masked Rider’s armour while drawing his weapon. With the Ecto-Accelerator partially exposed, the Blaster Bug followed its instructions and unleashed an energy pulse that struck the the charging interface.
The Masked Rider was thrown backwards, crashing to the ground, his Electro Sabre destroyed by the overload. However apart from the discomfort of his landing, Dex was unhurt. He launched himself back at the Blaster Bug, avoiding the miniature swarm of razor sharp spike it threw in his direction.
“Rider Kick!”
Masked Rider drove himself feet first in the Blaster Bug, causing it to explode.
“I thought his defeat was supposed to give Count Dregon control of the Masked Rider powers,” Nefaria sneered.
“Outcome successful,” Datz reported.
“Datz must be blind or out of his mind,” Gork protested.
“Perhaps you should be watching the monitor then,” Cycloptor told him.
“Ectophase, deactivate!” Masked Rider called.
And then he screamed. Dex had endured pain before. He had suffered countless injuries at the hands of Count Dregon’s forces. He had suffered nightmares almost every night due to some of the things his ‘uncle’ had put him through. But that was nothing compared to the agony he felt as he tried to deactivate his damaged Ecto-Accelerator. Blaster Bug had damaged the device, breaking the safety protocols that limited the way in which the device transformed Dex. With the device damaged, the discharge was no longer controlled and tried to alter its user’s body.
In a flash his armour vanished, but the power was not done. He could feel the changes to his DNA as the Ecto-Accelerator tried to transform his body into a living version of the Masked Rider. His skin ripped as his fingers tore at his burning flesh. His muscle mass increased, ripping his clothes as his body grow to accommodate the power. Sharp spikes appeared on the back of his forearms. His face changed to resemble that of his Masked Rider armour, but his eyes were green instead of red.
And then control seemed to slip as the insect warrior’s instincts took control of the transformation, forcing Dex’s consciousness to the back of his mind. With an inhuman scream the devolved Edenite turned toward the populated areas of the city and charged.
“The Masked Rider has been devolved into an Edenite mutant,” Datz reported. “Count Dregon’s primary goal is now complete.”
Suddenly the machine’s prediction made sense. Even though the Blaster Bug had lost, the Masked Rider had been transformed into a beast, something that Count Dregon could control. By triumphing Dex had effectively handed his enemy control of the Masked Rider powers.
“Dex come on buddy,” Skull begged as he tried to lead the Mutant Rider away from the population centre.
Meanwhile Bulk was keeping the rest of Dregon’s forces at bay.
“Now would be a good time to call that grandfather of yours and ask for some advice,” Skull continued. “Dex?”
The response came in the form of a powerful swipe. Sparks flew from Skull’s armour as the mutant tried to cut him in half. A punch to the jaw had Skull flying through the air, cursing that the monster had somehow learnt to master the Rider Punch.
“We don’t want to hurt you Dex,” Bulk warned as he cut through the last Maggot with his axe. “But you wouldn’t want us to let you hurt people.”
“You must take back control Dex,” Lexian urged.
“How?” Dex asked.
“You must control your thoughts and emotions,” the old king explained. “You control the power of the Masked Rider, it does not control you. Take back control Dex, conquer your fear and embrace the change for what it is: an opportunity.”
“But what is this thing?”
“It is a part of you Dex, a part of your heritage that the Masked Rider powers unlock everytime you transform. Like the Super Blue and Super Gold transformations, it can be a great asset in your war against Dregon, but only if you command it. Embrace it Dex, seize this opportunity and let the Masked Rider evolve.”
Evolution, that was what it was all about. Dex remembered how in the past the Masked Rider powers had seemed to behave oddly, allowing him to grow to giant size or in one instance changing the appearance of both his armour and of Chopper. Super Blue and Super Gold had been technical enhancements to his powers, it seemed that this was a change brought about through his bloodline or maybe the power source from which the Ecto-Accelerator drew its power.
“I must take back control!”
And in his mind Dex found himself facing the creature that had taken control of his body. This was the Masked Rider that relied only upon its Edenite heritage. A creature of instinct and violence. A creature that had noticed him and was already charging.
But as he ducked the first swipe of its deadly forearm claws, Dex realised that this was his mind. And here he could call on the power of the Masked Rider. And so he did so, allowing the power of the Masked Rider to shape itself to his need, coating him not in the black and green armour he was used to, but rather a shinier all green armour.
And then they clashed, the raw power of a devolved Edenite against the skill, training, magic, technology and heritage of the Prince of Edenoi. Rider Punch against Rider Punch, Rider Kick against Rider Kick. Both were exceptionally powerful, but while the monster allowed its anger to drive it that was all it had. While Dex drew upon the knowledge that his family, his friends needed him to regain control and to stop Dregon. That determination drove him onward, adding extra force to each punch he delivered.
“Rider Kick!”
And as his foot connected with the mutant, Dex knew that he had won. It was time to return to the real world and help his friends.
“Mask Rider, Super Green!”
With that call, the devolved body of the Edenite mutant vanished as solid armour replaced living exoskeleton and Super Green was born.
Onyx
January 1998
The inaugural meeting of the United Alliance of Evil that had not progressed as he had foreseen. The return of Lord Zedd while welcome had disrupted the proceedings as the revived villain had demanded the return of territory taken in his absence. That had led to other old disputes being dragged up as some factions almost came to blows. And even when they had settled under the pressure of his dominant visage, there had been some too ignorant to respect his authority.
The Grand Monarch could have cursed his agent for taking so long to complete his task and risking exposure. In fact Dark Specter had cursed him; he had almost obliterated him as punishment for his failure and as a warning to those he might have inspired. But in the end he had spared him. For while he had failed to remain undetected, he had brought with him a prisoner that would allow Dark Specter to triumph.
The problem was that it had shown some of the others that the prizes they had at one time pursued were still obtainable. And that in turn had led to speculation that they could make similar attempts and perhaps wrest control of the United Alliance of Evil from his control. And while he knew that in such a struggle he would stand triumphant, it would be at the loss of several major players he had been counting on as pawns in his little game.
That was why he had decided to overlook some of the minor empires that had ignored his command to attend the meeting. While the more powerful factions were distracted by their petty rivalries, he was willing to let a few insignificant villains try their hand at invading the Earth. They would most likely fail, but if they succeeded, he would tear their prize from them and use them as an example. Most importantly, he would be protected; Dark Specter understood the power of the planet Earth. He had seen how the planet’s magic bolstered positive feelings such as love, creating them where they did not exist, bolstering them where they did. Even the most wicked villain attacking the small world was doomed to become a victim of the planet’s magic, becoming a poor reflection of the villain he had once been. Rita and Zedd were prime examples of just how far a villain could fall; Dregon had pretty much turned into a joke.
Yes it was far better to allow the smaller factions to try their luck. If they got lucky, he would then claim their victory on behalf of the entire United Alliance of Evil. And as the ruler of the UAE, that meant the Grand Monarch would claim the Earth for himself.
A commotion drew his attention and he sighed when he noticed the source. It seemed two witches had decided to settle their disputes with a magical duel. The problem was that they were equals and had the same limited number of spells at their disposal. What had started with curses had descended into hair pulling and clawed nails. Assuming his more intimidating form he growled at the pair, relishing the way they broke apart. It was a shame that the moment his back was turned they would resume their fighting. He shook his head and called the meeting back to order. It was going to be a long day.
“News in from Japan where government sources have confirmed that Ultratech Soldiers were dispatched earlier today to combat what appears to be another monster attack. Official sources confirmed that the monster was taken down and has been removed for further study. No comment has been made about the apparent loss of two soldiers during the incident. The Japanese Government is expected to give a formal report on the incident to a closed meeting of the United Nations within the next few days.
When the various villains invading the planet Earth had received orders to attend Dark Specter’s meeting, they had complied. However while Rita had been sure to take her most prized possessions and Mondo had seen to it that anything he left behind could not be used by a competitor, Divatox had simply upped and left. In her haste she hadn’t even thought to cancel the bounty she had placed on the Turbo Rangers. Or maybe she had remembered and decided to leave it there on the off chance that one of her mercenaries got lucky. Regardless of her reasons, the Turbo Rangers had found themselves having to clean up the Streets of Angel Grove.
Surprisingly in Divatox’s absence the bounty hunters had actually managed to organise themselves. There wasn’t an established leadership or an outright plan. Although there was an agreement that they would not undermine each other once they agreed whose turn it was. And by decide they meant long sessions of drinking the most toxic space liquor and bragging about their abilities. There was no doubt that each considered themselves the best at something, even if in one case that was knowing the difference between a tree and a shrub.
So far the Turbo Ranger’s had battled the best chef, the best hedge trimmer and the best burglar in the Universe. None had been that difficult for the teens to overcome although the chef had put Tasha off broccoli for life. And as the days passed and it became clear that wherever Divatox had gone she would not be returning anytime soon, the Turbo Rangers had come to accept that they were going to be the team known for their easy wins over low calibre opponents; it was almost embarrassing.
But despite how useless the majority of those left behind were, there were still some signs of hope. Porto had been working on a secret project before leaving and unable to complete the final stages himself, had located a qualified instructor. It had been the instructor’s job to train Porto’s candidates into the seasoned warriors needed to defeat the Power Rangers Turbo. Sadly it seemed that Master Spank’Em had been angered to the point where he was willing to destroy his two charges.
Angel Grove
“You look exhausted,” Trini remarked as she sat down at the table across from Sydney.
“I am exhausted,” Sydney answered, peeling an orange. “I’m still remembering stuff, and… some of it isn’t pleasant. I didn’t sleep real well because of it.”
“Remembering stuff?” Trini asked, taking a bite of her cereal. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a long story, but I don’t mind telling you if you’re ready. It’s gonna shock you, though.”
“Very little shocks me anymore,” Trini told her.
Sydney started to begin her tale, but another memory suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. She jerked her gaze to the microwave nearby, where the digital display revealed the time was 7:31 a.m. “Oh God.”
“What?”
“Trini, please trust me. You have to morph and go to the Zord Holding Bays, right now.”
“Wh-?”
“Right now!” Sydney cried. “Please, just trust me!”
Trini, admittedly shocked at her adopted sister’s outburst, nonetheless nodded her head and shouted, “It’s Morphin Time!” As yellow energy crackled behind her, she thrust her morpher out and cried, “Saber-Tooth Tiger!”
Sydney caught a glimpse of the armoured Yellow Morphin Ranger, and then, Trini was whisked away in a yellow teleportation beam. “Please don’t be too late,” she pleaded.
When Trini materialized, she did not find herself standing in the middle of the massive Zord Holding Bays. Instead, she was standing in the burning wreckage of the destroyed Zord Holding Bays. Large fragments of their Zords lay everywhere, utterly demolished. Smoke was billowing up in great black clouds, and the sky was stained orange from the burning debris.
Justin Stewart awoke with a start, cursing yet another night of interrupted sleep. It had been going on since the start of the year. It was never the same dream and he would not class them as scary, just deeply disturbing and more than a little confusing. In his dreams he always saw the Power Rangers, but rarely were they the Rangers he knew. Sometimes their names were different. Sometimes that had different powers or teammates. He had had one dream where Tanya had been the Purple Morphin Ranger and Aisha had been something else altogether.
But he wasn’t sure what this dream represented. Was it a warning, a glimpse of how things might be, or just a dream? He wasn’t sure. However as his alarm sounded he was sure that this was going to be another long day.
The one thing worse than ridiculous monsters taking up their leisure time was boring lessons. The voice of the teacher droned on and one, making her students yearn for the lesson to end just to escape to a more exciting class. It wasn’t that Mrs Finn was a bad teacher. Most of the time her lessons were enjoyable, however the curriculum had turned to Trigonometry and after the introduction to the subject, the lessons had grown duller as she explained the application of all they had learnt. To be fair it would have been difficult for any teacher to make it fun. Still even knowing that the next lesson would be more interesting did little to improve their attentiveness.
“And so, when you have a right triangle, what formula is used to describe the cosine of the angle.” Mrs Finn surveyed her classroom, eyes narrowed. “Moose!”
The heavyset boy startled, almost falling out of his chair. “What?”
“Can you tell me the formula used to determine the cosine of an angle in a right-angled triangle?”
“Uhh- baby formula?” the bully replied. Most of the class giggled.
“No.” Mrs Finn scanned the room. “Fred Kelman. Can you answer the question?”
“Um,- no, ma’am,” Fred replied. The teacher sighed.
“Justin Stewart.” It wasn’t a question. Justin, Fred, Tasha, Rosa and Franklin were the top students in her class and while the other four found it a challenge, she sometimes thought that Justin held himself back more than he let on. The blue-clad genius looked up from his notebook.
“Adjacent over hypotenuse,” he answered before returning to whatever he was studying. Mrs Finn was certain it was not the work on the board.
“Correct.” Mrs. Finn turned back to the board when a strange sound caught her ear. Turning around, she saw her students grimacing, but no obvious source of the noise. Shrugging it off as just one of those things, she continued teaching to her increasingly inattentive class.
There were a few like Justin who enjoyed the challenge of the subject, but for the others it was just plain difficult. As some fell asleep and others gazed out the window, wishing the class would end, they failed to notice the increasingly agitated figure who had decided to inspect their classes.
The Moon
Dark Red Turbo slammed into the villain at full speed, drawing his sword as he did so. His opponent hardly reacted to the force of the body blow as he skilfully redirected the sword with his sabre. From there Dark Red Turbo found himself on the defensive as his enemy showed the many eons of practice that marked him as a master swordsman. Still Dark Red Turbo while not exactly holding his own was able to prevent the wicked warrior from slicing him to pieces. He was rewarded for his endurance by a fierce kicked to the abdomen followed by a slice to the left leg that pierced the protective material of his uniform. At least that had provided Dark Blue Turbo the time needed to get into position and open fire.
Master Spank’Em appeared momentarily surprised when Dark Blue Turbo opened fire upon him and silently congratulated his scarlet opponent for distracting him. But as he humiliated himself by ducking the first of the two shots, he proved himself the master combatant by using his sword to redirect the second shot into the recovering Dark Red Turbo. He could almost see the surprise of Dark Red Turbo’s face behind the now cracked helmet, but set aside his gloating as he charged at Dark Blue Turbo.
Dark Blue Turbo responded as he was expected to: by firing continuously at the villain as he closed the gap. Dark Blue Turbo and Dark Red Turbo were a team but Dark Red Turbo was better suited to close combat while Dark Blue Turbo was more effective when laying down covering fire. Not that their positions could not be reversed. Dark Blue Turbo could hit harder than Dark Red Turbo, but he was less likely to connect with a blow due to his slower speed. When it came to firepower though Dark Blue Turbo could direct his shots in ways that Dark Red Turbo could not hope to match.
That Master Spank’Em managed to dodge and counter every shot that came his way was impressive. But Dark Blue Turbo was not foolish enough to let an enemy get so close if he wasn’t sure he could blast him. In an instance he replaced his twin pistols with a less advanced battle hammer and attacked. His first shot actually connected, damaging Master Spank’Em and shocking the villain enough that he didn’t notice the second blow until it had connected with his head. By that time Dark Red Turbo had recovered enough to catch up and the two Rangers attacked simultaneously, refusing to become the victims for Master Spank’Em to show to his classes.
“Enough of this!” Master Spank’Em declared.
In a whirlwind of movement he managed to misdirect and disarm both Rangers. His sabre and feet made short work of Dark Blue Turbo and he felt a sense of delight as he swung for the Ranger’s throat. Only to find Dark Red Turbo’s sword blocking his way. His attention shifted to Dark Red Turbo and in the process allowed Dark Blue Turbo to draw his pistols to fire into the villain’s chest at close range. As the villain landed on the ground, Dark Red Turbo was already in motion, his sword shifting through the air as he delivered the cutting blow to the villain’s neck.
“Cease!”
Despite their victory, both Rangers obeyed immediately, not seeming to notice their fallen foe as he exploded. Of course he was just a machine created to fill in for their real teacher as Master Spank’Em stepped from behind the wall where he had observed the battle.
“Your skills have shown a dramatic improvement,” he told them. “However there is still room for improvement. Dark Red Turbo, you have been taught to use all parts of your body, not just your sword. You could have easily used a few kicks to stagger your opponent. And you, Dark Blue Turbo, did well to vary your assault, but should have moved between shots. Still your improvements are acceptable.”
Secretly he was very impressed with the skills they had shown. He had heard about Divatox’s recent plan to create her own team of Turbo Rangers. The plan had failed, but Porto had at least installed a failsafe to make sure the powers could never be used against the Dianthe. Dark Red Turbo and Dark Blue Turbo were a secret side project that Porto had been developing.
Long ago scientists with the Galactic Council had tried to create intelligent life by reverse engineering fallen members of the Machine Empire. To protect themselves against the possibility that their creations would rebel, they had placed their processors inside vehicles captured from the Dianthe’s race tracks. Only two of the vehicles had proved suitable after being retrofitted so they had wheels. The rest had been scrapped and the personality units had been implanted in small scale test bodies – for the scientists had agreed that upon successful completion they would create full size bodies for their creations.
Unfortunately during a Dianthe raid on the holding facility to recover their captured personnel, one of Divatox’s underlings had discovered the project, terminated most of the staff and turned the results over to Porto. The inventor had been tinkering with the results ever since and had found a way to connect the full size vehicles to an energy source similar to that used by the Turbo Rangers. He had then used his knowledge to build two devices to channel that energy from the vehicles into a living body. Knowing he could not pass them off as Rangers, he had designated them Riders. The Speed Force generator in one vehicle powered the Dark Red Turbo Rider while the one located in the other vehicle did the same for the Dark Blue Turbo Rider. Porto had even gone so far as reducing the two vehicle to the scaled models used during testing to make them portable.
And then he had selected his candidates. Unlike previous attempts, Porto had not searched for capable martial artists. Instead he had chosen humans with suitable personalities and had hired Master Spank’Em to turn the results into skilled combatants and loyal members of the Dianthe; loyal only to Divatox and Porto of course. He had even created some Zords for them to use if the need arose.
“For now you are to work on your ‘joint’ tactics. I will have a test arranged for you later. If you pass I will allow you to introduce yourselves to the Power Rangers.”
The two Rangers bowed as Master Spank’Em walked away to make some arrangements. That had led him to seek out the Turbo Rangers so that he could study them further.
Angel Grove
He had intended to remain hidden, but after observing the Turbo Rangers for a short time, he had remembered why he had been so angry before.
“I say, desist this outrageous behaviour at once!” Spank’Em bellowed, revealing himself in the process. He had spent the morning observing the Power Rangers and their classmates. The lack of respect for their teacher, their inability to pay attention and their obvious ignorance left him feeling outraged.
The class turned, most screamed while the five Turbo Rangers were on their feet ready to fight. In the chaos nobody noticed their teacher had fainted. Before them stood what could only be described as a monster. He looked like he had been created from a part of the classroom since they could see chunks of wall surrounding his chalkboard upper body. His right arm was made up from a combination of geometry tools and a text book with pencils acting as fingers while his right arm appeared to be a coloured pencil. Although given the bandolier it was likely some form of weapon. His lower body looked like somebody had stolen a teacher’s desk. Little did they realise that Spank’Em had been created by using one of Rita’s wands and an abandoned classroom. Fred noticed that the mortar board on his head had seen better days and that the cane he carried looked especially painful.
“How dare you ruffians show such disrespect your magnificent teacher by daydreaming and fooling around behind her back. Have you no respect for the knowledge she seeks to impart upon you? No, this is quite, quite unacceptable. Clearly standards in Angel Grove are not high enough and need rigorous enforcement. So, prepare yourselves, for I am taking over this rabble you call a class. My name is Spank’Em and I am a most respected instructor of disobedient youths. Now, you shall all sit and write the line: I must be attentive in class because failing to do so wastes my teacher’s valuable time and disrupts the learning process of those around me. One billion times should suffice.”
“And what if I don’t want to write some stupid lines?” Moose asked. He was not particularly brave, but he really hated schoolwork.
“Then you risk suspension,” Spank’Em replied.
He waved his can in Moose’s direction and the bully found himself suspended over a flaming pit.
“Do I make myself clear?”
Moose nodded as quickly as his head would allow and when the monster released him, he crawled back into a corner, trembling.
“Hey you can’t do that!” Tasha yelled. The other Turbo Rangers were at her side, glaring at the monster.
“Do you mind?” Spank’Em growled in reply. “You are disrupting my lesson plan.”
As he finished his little speech, a black vortex opened in the middle to the classroom.
“Run!” Fred bellowed.
Their fellow students didn’t need to be told twice, and ran out the door, sounding the alarm for the rest of the school as they did so. In their haste they missed Fred, Justin, Tasha, Rosa and Franklin as they were swallowed in the dark vortex.
The five Turbo Rangers found themselves in a smaller version of the school gymnasium. Before they could consider their surroundings too much, they were struck from behind by a collection of heavy medicine balls. Realising that this was a game of dodge ball they did not want to lose, the five Rangers spread out, avoiding a few hits as they did so, but still clearly outnumbered by an enemy they could not see.
“We need to morph,” Fred decided after being knocked to the ground for the third time. “Shift into Turbo!”
The Rangers made the familiar movements needed to activate their powers, only to be struck at the precise moment they needed to insert their keys. A further bombardment sent them scattering for cover, the idea of morphing forgotten as they realised the balls were getting larger and more powerful if the holes in the gymnasium floor were an indication.
“Pathetic,” Spank’Em told them as he emerged from the other side of the gymnasium. “I thought I had impressed on you that I am a professor. I teach uncouth students such as you daily and I make it a point to study the academic records of those I seek to educate. I am aware that you are the Power Rangers Turbo. I am also aware of how you activate your powers, how long it takes to does so and the stages at which you are vulnerable. My knowledge is more than sufficient to render your abilities useless. The theme for today is violence…”
He struck out with his cane, slapping the Rangers’ hands, causing them to drop their Turbo Keys.
“And homework will be set…”
He produced a pair of large board erasers and banged them together, covering the Rangers in a cloud of white chalk that made the gasp for air.
“I’m going to teach you brats a lesson, one that you’ll never forget!”
Another swipe of his cane sent the Rangers flying back into the wall of the gym while he set his sights on the Turbo Keys, much to Tasha’s annoyance.
“Hey those are ours!”
A swipe of his cane sent an energy bolt hurtling toward Tasha, which fizzled out an inch from her face.
“Students should be aware that it is school policy to confiscate any little toys they decide to play with during class time.” With a gesture the keys flew into his hand and he secured them in a box. “You may have them back when this lesson is over. Provided of course that you survive.”
As he finished speaking a group of Piranatrons appeared. Master Spank’Em had found them scavenging around his training camp and after taming them had decided they would make practice material for his two Ranger. Unfortunately Dark Red Turbo and Dark Blue Turbo were now at a level where the fishy soldiers no longer offered them a challenge. So Spank’Em had liberated them to help him test the Turbo Rangers.
“Since this is a gym class, you may start by warming up. And as a little incentive… if you run fast enough you might not get eaten. Piranatrons, show these brats what a school is really like.”
Fred was quick to pick up on the monsters intentions as he pulled the others to their feet. “Run!”
And in other news, INET stocks have rocketed following the successful launch of their new Copernicus Personal Computer range. The company received praise for its decision to donate samples of its Copernicus 2000 Personal Organiser to students within the California School System. “
In a small office a lone figure watched the report with interest before turning to other matters. Copernicus was just a small step in a grand journey.
His name was Behemoth and he was angry. Actually he was hungry but hunger easily translated to anger in his case. He had been stalking the depths of the Lunar Palace, eating anything that was remotely edible and blundering into the various magical objects Rita had left behind. His close encounter with her old wands had sent them hurtling toward the Earth. He wanted food, he wanted to take his anger out on somebody. His rage fed his power, causing him to grow and teleport to Earth as the Power tried to grant his wish.
Being a Ranger inevitably had side effects. It was common knowledge on other worlds that those that wielded the Power were often attracted to clothing of a certain colour. Lesser known effects were the Power’s desire to make its avatars as strong as they could possibly be. Not only did that lead Rangers to workout and exercise to stay in shape, it led to easier muscle development. It also activated latent abilities such as telepathy, empathy and natural magical talents. In truth living on a Ley Line had already ensured that most of those living in Angel Grove with any sort of psychic talent became more aware of what was going on.
For the Turbo Rangers it was not so straightforward. They were Power Rangers by Zordon’s declaration, but their powers came not from magic like the Morphin Rangers and indirectly the Zeo Rangers, but from the Speed Force: another extra-dimensional energy force that interacted but remained separate from the Power. Although similar, the slight differences meant that the side effects also varied. For instance the Turbo Rangers felt a strong desire not only to train in combat, but also to build up their natural speed and stamina.
An important feature of the Turbo powers was their ability to radically change the shape of the person using the powers. Every morpher enhanced the body to a degree, but the Turbo powers actually caused their avatar to grow taller. The reason it could perform such a radical change was that unlike the Morphin and Zeo Rangers, the Turbo Rangers partially merged with the Speed Force during their transformation, their physical bodies transforming into energy contained within their suits. And despite appearances, when they powered down, some of that connection always remained within their bodies; a part of them remained within the Speed Force.
It was that combination training and residual energy that kept the Turbo Rangers ahead of their pursuers. Well that and the general stupidity of the Piranatrons that hadn’t considered just stopping as the Turbo Rangers led them in circles.
“Get ready,” Franklin advised as they completed another circuit. Up ahead were the climbing ropes, just what the Turbo Rangers needed. “Now!”
The five Rangers grabbed the ropes, using them to swing upward slightly before heading back toward their pursuers. The Piranatrons lacked the intelligence to react quickly enough as they were kicked by their prey. The Turbo Rangers were quick to take advantage, suddenly using their environment to their benefit, tripping the bungling fish soldiers over pieces of equipment they had moved into place during their supposedly panicked retreat. The fight was surprisingly short lived, ending when Tasha and Rosa managed to trap the fish soldiers in the back of a soccer net.
“And that concludes your first lesson,” Spank’Em announced as the Rangers tried to catch their breath. “Now for the second lesson: Basic Mathematics. I have already subtracted your powers from this little equation and I added to the danger. So now I guess we need to divide you all up and then your problems will really start to multiply.”
“Hey!” Tasha complained. “Fred’s the one that handles the bad jokes.”
“Yeah!” Fred agreed before he realised what she had said. “Hey!”
“Enough! It is time for your next class.”
Sparks erupted around them, causing the Rangers to shield their eyes. As a result they never noticed when the floor disappeared and they dropped into the new horrors Spank’Em had prepared for them.
When Spank’Em had first appeared, the Power Chamber’s computer had tried to summon the Turbo Rangers only to discover the teenagers were already engaged with the monster and that Angel Grove High School had been taken over. The computer’s second protocol to summon all other active and inactive Rangers had failed because there were no other Rangers available. With no other choice it had used a list of extended contacts to summon Bulk, Skull and Prince Dex as the closest thing to a Ranger team on the planet. Together Dex and his two trainees had tried to discover a way in and learn the fate of the students trapped inside. The discovery that Spank’Em had put the majority of them under a spell and was forcing them to write lines became more of a concern when they realised the lines were not written in a language found on earth.
Before they could investigate too far, the alarm sounded again, this time warning of a monster attack in one of Angel Grove’s neighbouring cities.
“Aw man he’s already huge,” Tommy complained as the Viewing Screen showed Behemoth tearing his way through the city.
“This is Behemoth,” Dex told them. “The computer says that he was a low class mercenary with a high opinion of himself.”
“Well it seems his opinion might have been correct,” Skull commented.
“I am detecting some unusual energy readings from Behemoth,” Dex warned. “We wll need to be very careful when engaging him.”
The trio winced as the monster unleashed an energy wave that destroyed one of the nearby buildings.
“How are we going to fight him anyway?” Skull complained. “He’s huge!”
“I’ve convinced the computer to let us borrow some of the Zords'” Dex replied. “Ectophase Activate!”
Angel Grove
~This is not my lucky day,~ Franklin decided as he took in the monster before him.
Franklin assumed he had lost awareness at some point after the gymnasium. He remembered being bombarded by dodge balls, but it was evident his surroundings had changed without him realising it. He had found himself in a high walled maze constructed of stone and some sort of reflective material. It was not glass, he had discovered that when he had tried to break one of the mirrored sections in the hope of finding a way out hidden behind. A voice had promised him that the only way out relied upon him reaching the centre of the maze and that doing so would require him to face countless traps and dangers. He had also guaranteed the young Ranger that if he didn’t succeed within five minutes then the walls would collapse and crush him.
And so Franklin had raced to the centre of the maze following the methods his father had taught him long ago of always choosing the left turn wherever that was an option. There had been traps and dangers just as the mysterious voice had warned, and with each turn he heard the walls behind him collapse, blocking any chance of backtracking more than a few turns. He quickly learnt that whatever danger he was about to encounter would emerge from the reflective material. Despite everything he had made it to the centre, only to discover that the lesson was designed to teach Franklin a little history about the planets where gladiators were forced to run through dangerous tunnels only to emerge exhausted and then expected to fight a huge beast.
The creature wasn’t a minotaur. Franklin wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he had read enough mythology to know what a minotaur looked like. What he could say for certain was that it was extremely angry as it charged toward him, striking out with a barbed tail. He ducked to the side, causing the creature to collide with one of the reflective panels. Surprisingly both the monster and the wall mirror shattered before reforming as a bigger creature.
“Didn’t you know it’s unlucky to break a mirror?”
Desperate for a way out his eyes fell upon the large timer that had been set up to taunt him. The seconds were ticking down fast. And that gave Franklin and idea. The next time the monster tried to strike him, Franklin moved, climbing up its back and then using its head to jump up on top of the walls just as they started collapsing on the hapless beast. He let go as the rubble settled, landing on top of the collapsed walls. It seemed his lesson had concluded.
“Oh we haven’t even begun Laddie!” Franklin turned and found himself facing a large humanoid shaped mirror. “Mirror Master at your service. And this will reflect on your final grade.”
Tasha found herself in a small cell. Her arms were secured behind her back with what she assumed were handcuffs. There were three solid walls to her cell. The forth wall was a barred door made from some sort of energy. She didn’t need to approach the crackling bars to know that they would disintegrate anything that touched them. Outside the door she saw the keys hanging from a small hook in an attempt to taunt her.
“Amateurs,” she muttered. She was almost insulted.
Ignoring the stone bed the lay on one wall and looked as if it would collapse should she attempt to sit or lie upon it, Tasha leant against one of the other walls. She stood on her left leg while raising her right leg behind her back as far as she could until she could tap the sole with her hand. She heard a small click and was thankful that she had been able to convince Alpha to alter the boots he had created for her after a previous misadventure. They now contained a secret compartment where she was able to hide a few tools. With a small shake of her foot she released the contents, a set of lock picks and a piece of shiny metal about the size of a credit card. She quickly located the correct pick and using her experience of less wholesome pastimes, successfully opened one side of her shackles.
With one arm free she was able to get a look at her restraints. She had been right to feel insulted, she had been secured using a cheap pair of handcuffs. Now she could see the restraints, unlocking the other side took little effort and she threw them into the energy bars, confirming that the bars were indeed set to destroy anything they touched.
That was where the piece of metal came in handy. It was made from one of the materials used to coat the Zords. As such it was high resistant to damage and highly reflective. By angling it correctly under one of the bars, she was able to deflect the destructive energy long enough to reach through a grab the key. Why the key for an energy barrier had been made to resemble a door key with a small button on the end she would never know. But as the bars disappeared, she stepped out in search of her friends.
Now in a larger room she immediately noticed a large safe. Hoping that the Turbo Keys would be hidden inside, she made her way over and tried to open the lock.
“Didn’t your parents teach ya not to steal?”
She whirled around, ducking out of the way as something whizzed passed her head. More projectiles followed and she found herself running around the room, dodging behind anything she could find only to discover the projectiles could change course.
“Boomerangs?” she asked as she rolled to the left. “You’re throwing boomerangs? Oh!”
At that moment she caught a glimpse of her attacker. Shaped like a giant boomerang, he wore a corked hat and a blue jacket with three stripes on the arm.
“Have to keep to the theme, don’t I?” he replied. “Captain Boomerang’s the name.”
He flung his hand in Tasha’s direction and five boomerangs tore through the air, destroying anything they touched.
“Should have stayed in your cell Sheila,” Boomerang told her. “That decision will come back to haunt you.”
While Franklin had been left to find his way through the labyrinth and Tasha had finally proven that her skills as a cat burglar could be useful as a Ranger, Rosa had found herself in the middle of a snowfield. Ice, frost and snow was everywhere, causing her to shiver from the chill. The ground beneath her was slippery and she quickly discovered that the ground was cold enough to burn.
“No way!”
She quickly realised that the frozen landscape was in fact Angel Grove High School. She could see some of the other students and their teachers seemingly frozen in place. Luckily it did not look as though they had been literally turned to ice.
“Don’t worry, they won’t freeze to death,” a voice said.
She turned, slipped and caught herself just as a ball of ice hit her in the shoulder, throwing her back to the ground. Before her stood a man made of ice. He wore a captain’s uniform and a fur parka. It was clear though that this monster was not human.
“My name is Captain Cold,” he explained, unleashing a blast of ice at one of the benches. It froze on contact before shattering. “And I can make things very cold.”
What followed was a very one sided game of dodge. Rosa knew she was being herded, played with as she dodged to avoid the icy blasts sent her way. Some shots just turned the area to icicles, while others disintegrated anything they froze. Remembering something from one of the books her brother loved to read, she lured the villain into the school, grimacing when one shot took out the side of the building. She ran through the building, aware that the floors were not as slippery as they had been outside.
She dodged left and watched as the lockers that had been there crumbled before ducking into a door where students were not supposed to go; the boiler room. She knew the heat would not deter her pursuer; his freezing powers would rapidly cool the warm environment. However when she opened a steam valve in his face and he winced in pain, she knew she had the upper hand. She ducked passed him back into the hallway, relying on his anguish to make him follow her. The steam had hopefully taken the edge off his powers. It had certainly melted a part of his face. He fired a less powerful blast at her just as Rosa set off the sprinklers, turning his powers against him before racing out of the school in search of her friends.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Captain Cold declared, reforming in front of her. “Now I don’t normally hurt children, but I think I should put you on ice.”
Rosa looked for somewhere to run and noticed a bright flame on the far side of the school. With a nod to herself she set off in that direction.
The sports field was on fire. Moments earlier it had been frozen, but as Justin had started to take a tentative step forward, flames had erupted, melting the ice and snow, an igniting anything it could. Luckily when the ice melted it made everything wet, preventing the fire from catching. Still things were getting hotter and Justin wondered if he had been transported to some sort of hell dimension.
Then a voice had spoken to him, revealing a simple challenge. All Justin had to do was run from one side of the field to the other, without being set alight by the red hot running surface. As a Ranger such a feat would have been easy enough. Turbo Rangers could move at high speed and their uniforms offered protection against heat. Unfortunately Justin did not believe that his trainers would offer the same protection.
“It’s your choice,” he was told. “Run across the hot coals and risk being set alight, or remain where you are and roast like a pig.”
It was possible to channel the powers of a Ranger without a morpher. Some of the older Rangers had done it before and Justin knew that some of his Turbo powers had leaked into his unmorphed body over time. However there was a much greater risk channelling the Power of Turbo directly due to the effect it had on their bodies. When morphed the Turbo Rangers atoms became so energised that their bodies were transformed into a semi solid state. That was why the Turbo Rangers were capable of growing when morphed. The problem was that their bodies did not limit how much energy they could draw like they would for magic. If they used the powers without their suits they risked speeding up their molecules to the point where they dispersed into nothingness.
Still he had little choice if he wanted to survive. And so remembering how the Power of Turbo felt, he started running. The result was disappointing. He survived the run, covering the distance in a time that would have had the coaches begging him to become a part of the team. However the power did nothing to preserve his shoes, which caught fire midway through the run, or his jeans which were a charred mess. It did prevent him from being burnt.
“If you think that was bad, I’m just warming up.”
Justin groaned as he caught sight of the monster. Resembling a large firefighter, his body was ringed by flames. Without a second thought he ran as fast as he could around the school, hopin to find some more ice as he dodged the powerful fireballs.
“Justin!”
He looked up in time to see Rosa heading his way, pursued by an ice monster.
“Rosa!” he called back, warning her as the ice villain unleashed another attack.
“Duck!” the cried at the same time.
They both dropped to the ground as Heat Wave and Captain Cold hit each other. They scrambled out of the way as the two villains started arguing. It was time to find their friends and get their powers back.
By a strange coincidence, Tasha and Franklin had had a similar victory over their foes. The two Rangers had managed to find each other and had then fooled Captain Boomerang into striking Mirror Master with one of his projectiles. In the resulting argument the two Rangers had crept away, looking for the others and hoping nobody had gotten hurt.
Fred was hurt. While the others had been toyed with, he had been assaulted by Spank’Em and his two students. Star pupils Spank’Em had called them before launching and assault on Fred with his cane. The Red Ranger had dodged, countered and even disarmed the teacher, only for the two powered thugs to involve themselves. Fred had been thrown back to the ground.
There had then followed an extremely abusive game of keep away as the two students had thrown the box containing the Turbo Keys back and forth while Spank’Em tried to hit him with the cane. It quickly became clear that they were supposed to be evil Rangers although they didn’t look like it. They looked a little too sinister to pass it off as humans under a spell.
In the end Fred decided that there was no way to get the box from them. Instead he turned hi attention to Spank’Em, surprising the teach with a vicious assault that proved why he was one of Tommy Oliver’s favourite students. He stayed on the offensive, catching Spank’Em off guard long enough to snatch away the cane, which he then used to strike the teacher. His next move was to leap into the air, using the cane to strike the box, releasing the Turbo Keys. He landed and scrambled to grab his key, grinning triumphantly as he held it up.
“Shift into Turbo!”
“Do you feel that?” Franklin asked.
“Somebody just activated a Turbo Key,” Tasha agreed, remembering the sensation.
They concentrated, using the resonance to find their way. And as soon as they locked on, they found themselves running through the hallways to join their friends.
“Is that?” Rosa asked.
Justin nodded. He too had felt the activation of the Turbo Key, the vibration alerting him to somebody drawing energy from the Speed Force.
“We need to get in there and get our powers back,” he declared.
Rosa nodded and the two Rangers started running.
“So you have your powers back, it’s still three against one,” Dark Red Turbo pointed out.
“Make that three against three,” Justin announced as he and Rosa stepped alongside their leader.
Inside his helmet Fred quirked an eyebrow. “What happened to you?”
“It’s a long story,” Justin answered, collecting his Turbo Key.
“Hey don’t forget about us,” Tasha warned as she and Franklin entered. “Your faculty are having a labour dispute,” she told Spank’Em with a grin.
“Okay guys, let’s put end to these classroom bruisers,” Fred said.
“Right!” the others answered. “Shift into Turbo!”
Away from that confrontation, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang and Heat Wave had finally stopped fighting long enough to realise the Rangers had played them for fools. Realising that if they stayed there was a good chance they would be destroyed now the Rangers had their powers, the four teleported away, vowing to collect their bounty later. As they left, the effects of their powers disappeared, restoring the school to its previous condition. Almost.
“I can see that you have failed to learn your lessons,” Spank’Em declared. “I shall have to dispense additional punishment.”
The five Rangers adopted a ready stance while Spank’Em ushered his two students away, assuring them he would not be long.
“I must warn you Rangers that I have taken the opportunity to study your techniques. I know how you fight and there is nothing you can do that will surprise me,” the teacher warned.
Red Turbo seemed to shrug as he lifted the cane he had taken earlier.
“Okay.”
“What?” Spank’Em sputtered as the Red Ranger raced forward and struck him with his own cane.
The other Rangers were quick to follow their leader, proving something tat many teachers knew already: teenagers are vicious. At first he was able to anticipate their attacks, recovering swiftly enough to block Yellow Turbo’s Star Charger knuckles. However when Pink, Blue and Green Turbo started launching distance attacks using their Turbo Power Weapons, while Red and Yellow Turbo attacked at close range, he found himself losing.
“Turbo RAM Cannon Mode!” the Rangers called.
Of course Spank’Em knew about their collective attack and was ready to block it. He had not expected the five Rangers to start running toward him as soon as they pulled the trigger, allowing them to attack him at close range with their side-arms. Off balance, he could only look up in resignation as the second blast from the Turbo RAM closed in.
A city close to Angel Grove
The battle was not going well for the the trio of Not-Quite-Rangers. Behemoth was not the strongest nor smartest monster Dex had ever faced. However his ability to absorb damage and return any energy fired at him severely limited the damage the Masked Rider could inflict. Super Green had already taken the brunt of one of the energy blasts. And regardless of how tough Dex’s powers were, Super Green was not a mode he used very often.
“Dex this is Fred,” Red Turbo said. “Duck!”
The Masked Rider looked confused for a moment before they realised what his young friends had in mind.
“The Spin Out!”
As Dex reverted to his more familliar form and rejoined Bulk and Skull, the Turbo Megazord darted through the space he had previously occupied, driving the point of their blade into the monster causing him to explode and officially ending the battle.
“So Mr Caplan decided to give the entire student body a week off classes while they repair any damage to the school,” Franklin explained as he sipped his smoothie.
“Seems that there was a lot of water damage,” Justin agreed.
After the battle was over trio of stand in Rangers had returned to their normal routines after checking on any family that had been present at the school. The Turbo Rangers had regrouped at the Youth Center where they could discuss recent events. They knew that despite their victory, there were lot of loose ends. Spank’Em’s underlings had not been destroyed and there were still those two evil Ranges to consider. Obviously if they had believed life would get easier in the year ahead they had been gravely mistaken. On the other hand: perhaps they wouldn’t need to worry about going down in history as the the team that fought only goofy monsters after all.
He studied the human form he had developed and nodded in approval. Following the escape of the Turbo Rangers the four mercenaries known as Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave and Mirror Master had agreed to remain until they could fulfil their contract. Since they did not want to sit around on the Moon, they had adopted human identities to allow them to move among the natives. Of course they lacked the means to support themselves financially, so had already discovered ways to use their skills to steal what they needed. They knew that such actions would liking draw the attention of the new Grand Monarch of Evil, but they hoped that whatever plans he had would mean that he would be to busy to worry about them. They were after all just Rogues.
The Moon
With a howl of pain Behemoth reappeared in the Lunar Palace, his wounds completely healed. Somehow he had survived yet again where he should have been destroyed, but the pain was still all too real and he promised he would make the Turbo Rangers pay for the damage they had caused.
“You see, I was correct in my assumptions.”
Behemoth turned to find himself confronted by Spank’Em and his two evil Rangers. Spank’Em was still smoking from his encounter with the Turbo RAM.
“Behemoth’s heritage has made him unique to most forms of attack. He can be defeated but he will soon reform.”
“My heritage?” Behemoth asked.
“You were unaware of it?” Spank’Em asked, making a noise that clearly conveyed his disapproval. “Such ignorance. You are descended from one of the major demon lines. Bowzock I believe he was called. Clearly the intellect and leadership qualities have vanished over the generations, but the regenerative potential remains.” He turned to his students. “Now can either of you suggest how Behemoth’s capabilities grow?”
“He gets stronger after each battle and even more powerful when he survives a defeat,” Dark Red Turbo suggested.
“Essentially correct,” Spank’Em agreed. “Anything that does not kill him forces his body to develop some form of protection. Should he encounter that Megazord again, he will defeat it. Alas that is also the reason we are here. Take him!”
On their teacher’s command the two Rangers sped forward, striking the confused monster long enough to secure a collar around his neck.
“You are virtually indestructible,” Spank’Em explained. “My pupils require further training and I am sadly no longer in a position to teach.” That was true, while he showed them a brave face, he knew the damage inflicted would soon destroy him. However in his Dark Rangers – Dark Riders if Porto’s notes were to be believed – he had found a legacy and Behemoth was the key to unlocking their potential. He just wished that he knew their real names. “Their skills have grown to the point where I would consider them a challenge. You will provide them with all the practice they require. And because following each battle you will grow stronger, they too will be forced to become more skillful. And when they reach the level I desire, where I know that my work as their teacher has been completed, I promise you will be allowed to make those Turbo Rangers pay. In the meantime, let the training begin!”
End of Part
Chapter 20: Stirrings in the Dark
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any other show.
Author’s Note: Justin’s dream comes from a story I wrote called Tale of the Fallen. It was a tribute to the Turbo Rangers in Ryuranger’s Ultimate Power Rangers, a fanfiction series that I have enjoyed for a number of years.
Stirrings in the Dark
Somewhere on Earth
It was not much to look at, but given the resources he had had available, he felt he had worked wonders. Of course his master would not see it that way, he never did. And why should he when he expected so much more? But then the servant in question was a low grade copy of a faithful servant with a large part of its mind altered to remove the problems caused by morality and ethics. His master had thought to call him Egor after the character from the horror films he had seen. Riffraff had been a second choice before Useless and Worthless had proven more appropriate monikers. In the end it didn’t matter what his master chose to call him, it was obvious by the disdain in his voice and the insults that followed who he was talking to.
And so it was in accordance with his master’s wishes that the twisted servant lurched its way around the around the complex computers, overseeing the collection, sorting and final distribution of data as he had been instructed. When he finally identified the correct signal pattern he downloaded it into the waiting cubicle and awaited the punishment he knew would come. The process was painful and his master liked to express his discomfort forcefully.
“Arrgh!”
At first he had thought something had gone wrong as the teleport beam was absorbed into the waiting body that rested within the radically altered healing tank. Then the noise grew in volume as the body started to moving, its outer form shifting shape to resemble that of a humanoid. Facial features rapidly appeared as stained white robes appeared over the scarred skin. The light faded, leaving behind a humanoid covered in a green gloop as his body shook in obvious agony as the door to the chamber slid open and allowed him to tumble out.
At once the servant shuffled to his master’s side, seeking to assist him in any way possible. For all the abuse he received his loyalty was absolute, a part of his conditioning and a few spells.
“That hurt!” his master snarled, slamming his fist into his underling’s bowed head. the forceful blow sent it flying across the floor as the anger passed replaced by a wicked grin. “It worked! IT WORKED!”
“Data retrieval has been completed, Sir,” the servant reported. “All parties have been located and verified. All chambers have been primed.”
“All of them?” he asked, frowning slightly. “A pity, there were a few that could have done with missing some parts. Very well Zero, begin the restoration process. Bring back the chosen.”
As the downtrodden servant shuffled off to complete its task, simulated blood oozing from its damaged head, his master took a moment to consider how fortunate they had been. During a recent training session, the Psycho Rangers had been ordered to teleport away, not realising that their ally had set up a barrier to scatter their molecules. Were it not for the machinery he had convinced Biilly to manufacture to retrieve the data from their teleport, they would have been lost. Instead using technology stolen from the Machine Empire’s schemes to infiltrate the world’s leaders, they had achieved near immortality. That the chamber he had emerged from had already sealed and a new blank body had been installed. The process was not perfect due to the need to graft synthetic flesh onto the exoskeletons, but that was something they could work on later. For now everything was working as he had hoped.
And now the mighty Psycho Rangers had been forced to endure another change in circumstances, one they would never have accepted willingly. Their bodies were gone, destroyed by the destructive burst, but like the truly evil beings they strived to be, they survived and adapted. No longer beings of physical matter limited to a single form, the process had decoded their atoms and stored them as streams of raw data held on inconceivably large data drives. So long as the core data survived and there was a way to access it, the Psycho Rangers could continue to return. And since they no longer had to worry about their physical bodies, they would be even more ferocious in battle.
Of course in putting the plan into action Shinzon had cemented his role as the Psycho Rangers’ mentor. Without him they could not control Zero, who was a vital component in the restoration process. Without Zero they were unable to decrypt the stored data. in the process the balance of power had also changed. Before Shinzon had held only a little influence over the group, relying on his origin to sway Biilly’s opinions and his manipulation of a few key events to nudge things in the direction he desired.
Zero pressed a sequence of buttons and the apparatus flared to life once more, this time recreating a group of seven Psycho Rangers. From the discomfort they exhibited it was clear that the process was inherently painful for all who tried it, not just him, something he resolved to correct. It would not do to show weakness at the wrong time. Other than the discomfort it seemed the process had even managed to restore their artificial bodies without causing instability. He could have restored them all, but Biilly, Triini, Adaam, Kaat, Kiimberly, Aiisha and Roocky suited his purposes for the moment.
“Welcome back,” he smiled, delighting in the irritation on Biilly’s face and cautiously noting how it turned to a calculating stare. “As you can see Biilly, your decoding machine worked on the first attempt. We are now not just powerful, we are almost immortal.”
“Our bodies?” Kiimberly asked, clearly confused. He had deliberated altered some of their features so they no longer bore an exact likeness to the humans they were based on.
“Reduced to atoms and then scattered through the Morphing Grid.” Shinzon told her. “All that was left was the raw data used to mimic those atoms.”
“And you thought this was a good idea? You could have killed us!” Roocky snarled and Shinzon made a mental note that while not as near as bad a Jaason, Roocky still had the temperament of a Red Ranger.
“Fortunately I had Billy create a means of locating and capturing that data so it could be stored in a suitable format.”
“So we’re just data now?” Triini asked.
“Hardly,” Biilly corrected her. “While teleportation does split the body into atoms and then duplicates all the information about those atoms ready to rebuild the original elsewhere, it is far more complex than a line of computer code. Consider it a fully decompiled string of DNA combined with our exact nature within the Morphing Grid. In the right circumstances we could have used any number of materials to restore our bodies to exactly how they had been moments before we teleported.”
The Morphing Grid was something that Biilly had made a point of studying. Most Power Rangers
limited their interest in the Grid to the magical energy sources that gave them their powers. Very few studied the Morphing Grid – or Morphin Grid as some preferred to call it – with an understanding of its true nature: a mapping system that plotted the position of all particles and energy throughout reality. Since atoms could be transformed into energy, that allowed a
being with mastery over the Grid, the experience and equipment, to locate any being or object. Admittedly the Morphin Grid was vast and so searches were limited, but Zordon had used such scans many times to locate disturbances or locate his Rangers. In fact the Command Center of old had been equipped to scan and monitor a large portion of the Morphin Grid relating to Earth and its neighbours.
~The universal energy field that links everyone and everything in the fabric of reality,~ Biilly thought, ~sounds like something I would see in the movies. But there is no denying it exists.~
“So we’ve been duplicated?” Adaam asked.
“Perhaps,” Biilly replied. “Backed up would be a better way to put it. And thanks to this machine, our Resurrection Hub, we can be restored as many times as we need in order to defeat our enemies. The Machine Empire has been using a similar process for thousands of years. How else do you think Mondo has survived?”
He pointed to the chamber he had emerged from and heard the satisfying gasp of surprise from the others. Inside the chamber was an exact duplicate of his body, silently sleeping
“The process is automatic now that the first transfer has been completed,” Shinzon added. “Any time your physical forms are damaged, you will be able to transfer to a new body; so long as you remember who controls the machine everything will be fine.”
“So if we can duplicate ourselves why not do so again and again and again, and build a real army?” Kaat asked.
“Because each body would share a consciousness and a… soul?” Triini replied. Did they even have souls anymore? Had they ever really had souls? “You’d have to divide your attention between each body and any injury caused to one would affect the whole group.”
“We could just use the the machinery to create new foot-soldiers,” Adaam pointed out. “If they didn’t have to think and only obey they wouldn’t feel the strain.” His thoughts were already turning to other possibilities.
Aside from their collective memories and a link to the Power, the Psycho Rangers were no longer limited to their original appearances. Indeed they no longer needed to look human or even organic. Just by reprogramming the chambers they could alter their artificial bodies as needed. And yet somewhere deep inside they were all aware that despite the changes they would remain just as ineffectual as they had always been, at least without Shinzon to overcome the fail safes that Minion had implanted.
“Today the Psycho Rangers start again and after recent events, nobody knows we exist,” Shinzon informed them. “We are the forgotten threat that will strike only when the time is right. And this is what we are going to do…”
Getting involved with Dark Specter and his plans would have been a mistake. Fortunately they had avoided such an error and were in a position to strike. Lessons had been learnt after Minion. Never again would the Psycho Rangers allow themselves to be led by an outsider. Shinzon was a man of great vision and in time the Power Rangers and their mentor would come to realise just how much darkness a White
Master struggled to keep subdued and why it was so important for them to control their emotions. And that was before he showed the horrors he had hidden within five yet unopened capsules.
Yes the future looked very promising provided they could keep Dark Specter and his forces at bay.
Deep Space
He was without doubt a victim of circumstance. His career had been best described by the words lucky. It was back luck that had made him fall out of favour with his superiors, followed by a string of good luck that had gained him a small amount of fame and notoriety, which in all honesty he had enjoyed. And now that same unpredictable luck had led to him being branded a traitor. But it was in his opinion a real sign of just how unlucky he was that once on the run his ship happened to cross the path of the person he least wanted to meet.
He had ordered an immediate retreat; the enemy had given chase. He had plotted complex course changes and hidden in places he should not have been found. They knew where to look. His comrades had shown their best performance, putting in a display of teamwork and bravery that would have made any manager proud. It was a shame that the only appreciation their pursuers had shown for their actions was to kill them quickly. The fight if it could be called that had been one sided and swift. Their shields had been rendered useless, their engines destroyed and their hull breached in minutes. His crew had been executed and now he found himself standing before the man who would determine his fate.
“I admit I am impressed,” he was told as the Inquisitor paced back and forth. “Not many can pull off such an act of treason and make it look as if they were simply incompetent. Had it been just the one prize I could have let it go, two I would have had you watched carefully, but more than three of our most prized wins… nobody can be that incompetent.”
“But it’s true,” Sledge protested. “We never thought one Ranger could cause so much trouble.”
“Oh yes, the Ranger,” came the reply. “We did some research and guess what we found? You lied to us. On an official report you lied about the nature of the cargo you were carrying. You claimed to be carrying a Ranger, when it was just a Guardian. Now you’re claiming that the same Guardian somehow managed to escape from your elite crew? Need I remind you that your crew captured both the Phantom Ranger and the fugitive Visceron? And you expect me to believe you’re foolish enough to allow a Guardian to set them free? I am not a fool Sledge, and neither is Captain Crash.”
Captain Sledge, space pirate and unfortunate victim of the Dianthe’s elite Creep Squadron – with Captain Crash preoccupied, the squadron was led by the Inquisitor, a towering brute known for extracting secrets from those that dared not share them, thought as hard as he could, seeking some reason for the towering enforcer not to end his existence. They had already tried bribery with their entire supply of morphing templates. The Inquisitor had simply declared the property would become his when he terminated them. He had then proceeded to pulverize every bone in one of Sledge’s crewmen as a show of the power he wielded before handing the rest of the pirates over to his fellow Creeps for a bit of fun. Sledge hadn’t seen what had happened to them, but the screams of agony led him to believe it had been bad. It was strange because he was certain he remembered his crew being executed immediately, so he was unsure how they had also been tortured.
So now he was on his own, berating himself for not changing sides when he had thought about it. At least then he would have been a known traitor, which was much better than being a suspected traitor. The Inquisitor that Crash employed was not known for his delicacy. The good cop, bad cop routine took on new meaning as it usually started with a beating to the point where the victim could not stand before the bad cop took over. The Inquisitor played both roles very well.
“I know you lied Sledge and I will be making that clear to Crash. It’s been a while since he had the opportunity to punish a traitor and I’m inclined to let him have the opportunity for the morale of crew. You understand I’m sure, but just between you and me…” Inquisitor said, leaning in close and offering a small wink, “I think you really are as incompetent as your story claims. I think that you and your crew stumbled upon these opportunities and used them to bolster your reputations. And then you found yourselves outsmarted by the enemy and realised how it would make you appear. I bet even Crash would have to offer some sort of mercy if he heard such a pitiful tale. Shame you will never get a chance to tell it.”
As he walked out of the interrogation room he flicked a switch, electrifying the floor, walls, ceiling and even the air. Anything he touched made him jolt in pain. Every jolt of pain caused him to flinch, resulting in another painful shock. And as the Inquisitor closed the cell door, Sledge realised that his ordeal had only just begun.
Onyx
The latest meeting had been in session for hours and so far progress was almost non-existent. For all the power he wielded, Dark Specter had been ill prepared to deal with the idiocy, selfishness and overly inflated egos of his should-be followers. Villains he had cowed into submission had grown a backbone in his presence that they had failed to show before the meeting. It had left him with the choice of making another example or pressing on and hoping his speech would inspire their loyalty. He had chosen the latter option and was growing to regret it. By attempting to show himself as a powerful and wise being, he had inadvertently shown that his followers could get away with their antics. That had encouraged others to follow their lead while those he sought to impress the most looked bored.
At the far end of the long table Dark Specter had prepared for his favoured allies, Master Vile was fighting the urge to just leave. He had only attended in the first place because he had heard Dark Specter’s boasts of obtaining a power that would put even the Zeo Crystal to shame. But it turned out Dark Specter had not obtained such a power, indeed his chosen agent’s attempt to gain the power in question had resulted in a clear failure on his part. The Earth was no longer obtainable. But the Zeo Crystal was.
As that thought struck him Master Vile realised that he had the opportunity to snatch control of the UAE away from Dark Specter. If he could obtain the Zeo Crystal he would at least be on an equal footing to this upstart. If in the process he could also claim the powers of the Rangers of Earth, he would be the most powerful member, a position that would guarantee him the leadership and the greater share of the spoils.
He wouldn’t be able to do it on his own though. He would need outside assistance. Rita and Zedd were not an option since they were too busy focussing on Zedd’s lost territory to help with Earth. The Machine Empire would no more work with him than he would lower himself to cooperate with them. As for Divatox, he knew she would betray him at the worst possible moment and through that misjudged act, bring the entire scheme crashing down around him. His eyes searched the crowd, seeking out those that were not disrupting the meeting, those that would be useful. And finally he caught sight of the person he needed. With a air of importance, Master Vile drew himself up and made his way over to where Monastra Repugna stood talking to Count Dregon. It was time to renew an old acquaintance.
Deep Space
It was fire without light, just visible darkness and lots of heat; at one time that had been a classical description of Hell among some of Earth’s populace. Whereas the truth of that image had yet to be confirmed, it was an accurate depiction of the black sun in another part of the galaxy. The heat allowed the occupants of the otherwise freezing space to thrive. They were beings of darkness, without a real form save for the matter they absorbed from around them. Highly magical and capable of changing shape and size at will, they had once been demons and malicious spirits that had been caught in an event horizon and found themselves unable to claim a physical shape. Long long ago there had been several thousand species living on their world, but war and interbreeding had wiped out all but the strongest of their kind. Over time the surviving races had left the Black Nebula, the most recent over a million years earlier had recently claimed the name Dark Specter.
But those that had remained had also endured. To survive the cold and the terrible storms they had been forced to unite in body and mind, pooling their magical strength to weather the storm. As time had passed they had drifted beyond the event horizon and had found themselves trapped inside their own black sun. There had been a brief battle for dominance, several would-be leaders had emerged, none were without a flaw of some description. They had multiplied, but while doing so had led to millions of entities, there were still only a few thousand truly distinct minds.
And now for the first time since the exodus, their attention had been drawn beyond their realm. The little planet known as Earth had attracted their interest. A planet that glowed with magical energy. In recent years the natural magical that surrounded the planet had become a beacon, a veritable feast for those that could claim it. Others wanted the world for their own reasons, but for these creatures it was nothing more or less than a craving to feed upon the potent energy.
As one they chose a suitable form, a biological ship capable of moving through space without the need of machinery or vast amounts of magic. Their selected form travelled by consuming any and all matter in its path and then expelling a stream of dusty particles to propel itself forward. At first it had to lose a vast chunk of its body just to gain momentum, but once it reached a suitable speed, it rebuilt its lost mass and adapted its shape to gain speed.
It was a long journey though and constant eating was not enough to maintain its power needs – for the energy requirements to hold a physical form were incredible. And so it selected nearby worlds to feed on. As it approached a target, it unleashed large portions of its bulk towards the surface, aware of the damage such rocky missiles would cause. That was an important part of its strategy… at over three hundred miles in diameter, it was a hard target to miss and could not afford drawn out conflicts.
The first wave of rocky missiles were little more than meteors, burning up harmlessly as they entered the atmosphere. Yet the duration of the meteor shower and the fact that it occurred across the planet, lighting up the sky and disrupting communications for several hours, had astronomers wondering just what had caused so much debris? As observers around the world turned their eyes toward the sky they were unable to find what they were looking for as the second wave of larger meteors struck at more carefully selected targets. And with each assault the defences of a target world were worn down until there was no possibility of resistance as the world was consumed and the aliens resumed their course toward Earth.
“I swear from this moment that I shall devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice, in all their forms until the day another takes my place!”
He remembered the day he had spoken those words. It had been the day his life had changed forever and he had given up his place in the mortal world to become the Phantom Ranger. He had had a different name back then. He had been a man without direction wandering from planet to planet in search of work and adventure. He had been on a trip to a jungle world known as Bangallia when he had come upon a crashed space ship.
How long the ship had been there was unclear, but the jungle had already started to recover from the fires that had accompanied the crashing vessel. From the scorch marks on the side of the craft it was clear that it had not been a simple case of pilot error.
He approached cautiously, finding his way to the charred section where the cockpit should have been. there he had been surprised to find that not only was the pilot still there, he was alive. Barely alive. He had later learnt that the ship’s systems had served as a makeshift cryogenic unit, maintaining the occupant’s life functions until help arrived. It had been a wasted effort though since a closer inspection revealed that the unit was almost exhausted and that the pilot was too badly injured to survive long enough once removed from the device for even the most skilled surgeon to save him.
“But I already knew that.”
He had been surprised when the injured pilot had spoken. He had thought him to be unconscious.
“The proximity sensors alerted me when you approached,” the figure chuckled. “And no, I cannot read your mind.”
“We need to find a way to keep this thing running until I can get you some real help,” he had said, but the injured man had shaken his head.
“There is no time. My ship kept me alive longer than it should have. Just long enough to complete my final task. I am- Korel Darsan, of the planet Sadrath. I am also known as the Phantom Ranger. And it is to you I offer this legacy.”
He had frowned. “What to you mean?”
Korel had not answered, he had simply concentrated. In a flash of black, the pilot’s armour was gone and in its place had sat a young, handsome man. His hair was a brilliant white, and his eyes were a truly unearthly shade of green. In one hand he held a spherical ruby, which had been in the chest plate of his armour.
“This is the Power Ruby, one of the oldest and most powerful objects ever known. For generations it has controlled the transformations of the Phantom Ranger. I am not the first Phatnom Ranger although many believe that I am. I was granted the power by the previous Phantom Ranger, just as he received it from his predecessor. It is a potent weapon, but there are some things it cannot overcome. I got sloppy in a recent battle and- ” his wry chuckle suddenly became a cough, “I was captured and paid the price for it. Now I ask you to take the Power Ruby and to use its power to continue the Phantom Ranger’s mission, or at least to to protect the power until the day comes to pass it on to someone you deem worthy.”
“I don’t know anything about being a Ranger,” he had protested. Korel smiled, a little rivulet of blood trickling from his mouth.
“The Ruby will tell you what to do. It’s all instinct. When the time comes… you will know.”
He had wanted to refuse, but he had not been the sort to deny a dying man his last request. With a sigh he had nodded. “I’ll do it. I’ll take your place.”
“Very well. From this day forward your life will change. You will still wander, but now it shall be with purpose.”
His hand had closed around the stone and the world had started to spin. Somewhere amongst the lights and sounds, he had heard himself speak the oath, confirming himself as the new Phantom Ranger. And he had known that he would never go back.
Knowledge had swept through his mind, the disjointed history of the Phantom Ranger and his origins. He understood that the Phantom Ranger he portrayed was different to the one that had stood firmly against the tide of darkness in the previous existence. Whereas that Phantom Ranger had been able to elude death, the possibility of being destroyed was something he would need to keep in mind. However despite his mortality, the Dianthe believed that he was still the being they had first encountered three-thousand years ago. The feared him in part because he had continued as their greatest leaders and warriors had fallen. And now it fell to the new Phantom Ranger to continue the mission of his predecessors and bring an end to the Dianthe menace.
The Dianthe Clan had evolved in the space of three-thousand years. The pirates had diversified into all sorts of crimes. Drugs, vice, political favours… there were few crimes they had not committed. Murder, extortion and bribery were just a few of the underhanded methods they employed to accomplish their goals. The slave trade and weapon sales had made them rich enough to bank roll an army to conquer a few planets for their criminal activities.
But wherever the Dianthe Clan showed up, the Phantom Ranger was never far behind. He had made himself a nuisance, breaking up many of the Dianthe’s more profitable operations. Since the clan had grown he had found himself chasing down one of their leaders while ignoring some of the others. And while he had been aware of Divatox’s activities on Earth, he had also seen the reports suggesting the Power Rangers there were more than she could handle. Still his recent encounters with the Dianthe revealed that Divatox had been called away and that the Rangers of Earth had left their planet for some mission. He decided he would check in on those left behind before resuming his quest. If the Dianthe had new allies, then they too would become a part of his quest.
They were a joke among Rangers. Mocked by the comrades and looked down on by the more experienced teams. But they were heroes, just like those that thought them imbeciles. They had tried to be heroes despite their ridiculous uniforms, but now the time had come to stop trying to be Rangers and to fight as Rangers.
Already worn from their battle with Tessai, they looked up to see thousands of Shades and Wraiths approaching. The demon creatures were intent on entering the secret passage and pursuing the Galaxy and Zeo teams.
Pink Turbo shook her head. “Impossible… look at them!”
Blue Turbo tightened his grip on his ViBlade and took a step back. “There’s too many of them… no way we can fight them all.”
Red Turbo narrowed his brow beneath his helmet as he stared ahead at the unstoppable force. He held his ViBlade high and took a step forward.
“Guys,” he said boldly. “We can’t let them pass. If they get through, they stop the Galaxy and Zeos, and the whole universe loses.”
Green Turbo shook his head. “What do you suggest we do?”
“We fight,” Red Turbo said. “And we keep fighting. Everyone else, the other heroes, they may think we’re jokes. Hell, look at our outfits, but we’re not… we are Rangers. And it’s time to show the world why.”
The battle that followed would only last for fifteen minutes, but in that time the Turbo Rangers showed why they were worth of the name. At first the grunts charged forward one at a time and were easily cut down. Then the numbers started to increase as wave after wave crashed against the multi-coloured barricade. Two, then four, then twelve… the numbers were relentless, constantly increasing as the Turbo Rangers moved with incredible speed and and skill. They kicked, dodged, hacked and punched the aggressors back. They were unstoppable as their powers seemed to grow by the second.
They were hurt, not a single member of the team could deny that they were being overwhelmed, but they held the line and in doing so they brought the other teams the time that they needed. Never before had they moved so fast, their bodies blurring as they pushed onward. The grunts were too numerous now to count and despite their efforts, the Turbo Rangers were forced to split up as the creatures clawed at their armour.
Blue Turbo and Pink Turbo managed to stand back-to-back and twirl their weapons through intricate fighting patterns while slashing through the villains. Nothing seemed to survive their blades as they stood on a growing pile of discarded opponents. Hundreds of grunts lay at their feet, thousands more had yet to come.
“I love you,” Blue Turbo said. “You know that, right?”
“I do,” she said. “I love you too…”
They felt their strength draining and their armour weakening. The tears were obvious, the gashes in their skin contributing blood to the carnage they had caused. Green Turbo and Yellow Turbo had already been forced to the ground, and grunts had piled on top of them. Still the two had continued to fight until the very end, even after their weapons were forced from their grips. It wasn’t long before Blue Turbo and Pink Turbo were forced to the ground too, but they showed no less commitment to their cause. The four of them lost their struggle, and their lives.
Nearby, Red Turbo ignored his pain and kept swinging. His blade pierced through a Wraith’s collar bone. He swept the sword backward, decapitating a Shade. In the meantime he could feel another soldier rip across his back, tearing his uniform and ripping his flesh.
His armour sparked from the power drain, burning his body, but he kept moving forward, swinging, chopping at anything that moved. He surrendered himself to The Power. He turned into a living weapon, stabbing, swinging, cleaving the enemy with a massive display of force and speed. He buried his fatigue, buried the grief of his teammates’ death, and pushed onward, becoming a red blur that cut everything in its path. His time had come, his body was beyond its limits, yet he continued, spurred on by the promise that none would pass.
His visor shattered, he hardly noticed. His helmet was smashed off his head, and he used it to bash a Wraith’s skull. Blood trickled down blurring his sight, but he was already seeing red. He pressed forward as his uniform was slowly torn to shreds, his only comfort that while he was one man, he stood on a hill of grunt bodies. A sly grin spreading across his face as his blade scalped a Wraith. I suppose this isn’t a bad way to go down…
Sooner or later the odds had to catch up with him. Even though they had to clamber over the corpses of their brethren, they did not stop and without a team to assist him, it was not surprising that a fist smashed across the back of his head. He crashed against the ground, his injuries finally slowing him enough that he could no longer stand. There was still enough life in him to make a final push. He lifted his blaster and fired into the horde that approached him, draining the weapon of all but a single shot. That shot he directed at the entrance to the passage, and fired.
The blast caused a cave in that blocked the tunnel entrance, but Luke hardly had time to notice as a Shade’s claws dug through his unprotected throat. And as the darkness claimed him he felt a small amount of pride that despite the overwhelming odds, the Turbos had held their ground. None had passed.
Justin Stewart’s eyes snapped open. He wouldn’t call the dream a nightmare, but it was deeply disturbing. He had seen the Turbo Rangers slaughtered. Except they weren’t the Turbo Rangers he knew. This was the third night he had awakened following a strange dream. But so far he had never had the same dream twice. The people were different, the circumstances drastically changed. But perhaps the most disturbing thing was how real they felt.
~I need to talk to somebody,~ he thought before turning over and drifting back to sleep, not realising that the night was already gone and that it was time to get up. As his alarm clock sounded he groaned, realising that this was probably not going to be one of his better days. All thoughts of seeking help were forgotten as he tried to drag himself out of bed.
End of Part
Chapter 21: The Most Important Lesson
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to whoever hold the copyright. No profit whatsoever is being made from this fanwork.
The Most Important Lesson
Leewood
It was an exciting moment. For months Bulk and Skull had followed the teachings of Prince Dex of Edenoi as the Masked Rider had trained them to use their powers. It had not been easy to master the techniques their mentor had tried to pass on or the strategies he had shared with them. Modifying their powers so that their armour had a more comfortable appearance had taken a great deal of soul searching – for Dex had pointed out that while Bulk and Skull were not Power Rangers, they were not official Riders.
He had gone on to explain that unlike Rangers, the Riders were a far less organised and regimented group. While the Rider Corps had been an attempt to standardise their membership and turn them into something resembling an army – a large number of highly trained Corps Troopers wearing mass produced armour commanded by a smaller number of better trained, Corps Riders wearing stronger armour to protect them on the frontline.
Then there were the planetary Rider like Dex who drew their powers from mystical sources such as the Heart of Edenoi, using special technology tied to a family line. It was a way to prevent the powers falling into the wrong hands since it required specialist skills to change the technology to work with a new user. And of course the independent Riders not tied to single worlds or a regulated power source, who adopted the name Rider because of their appearance.
If anything Dex believed that Bulk and Skull fell into the latter group, one which put them at risk of being tracked down by other Riders seeking to secure their powers – for Dex made it clear that some Riders were little more than bounty hunters or hired scum.
Their powers were best described as a hybrid of sources, drawing energy from a source neither he nor Zordon could confirm, through their bodies where it was shaped by the heavily modified transformation devices they had acquired. After searching it had been decided that their powers were closest to those of the Turbo Rangers, which in turn had led Fred and his friends to refer to them as Turbo Riders.
Bulk was the heavily armoured power man of the duo. Dex had mentioned that the template for his armour closely resembled that favoured by the Corps Riders, differing slightly in colour and shape.
While Skull could not match his friend in size and strength, his armour was arguably more versatile. Somehow between them Bulk and Skull had managed to break the accepted rules of how Rider powers functioned, granting Skull the ability to shift his armour as needed, using programmable cartridges to upgrade his form.
“From this day forward the Intergalactic Rider Corps recognises you as its official representatives on Earth,” Dex told them. That wasn’t entirely true. As a member of the Intergalactic Rider Corps, Dex had the authority to induct Bulk and Skull into its membership. However that didn’t mean that the Corps would approve their membership.
Technically Earth was not supposed to have Riders. It was also not supposed to have Power Rangers, but some rules were better off broken. The Rider Corps officially recognising Bulk and Skull as members allowed them to remain active on Earth. Using the mixed designation of Turbo Riders helped to quell some of the outrage the decision had caused.
“Your exact jurisdiction will have to be negotiated later,” Dex warned. “For now you should try and limit it to Earth and its solar system.”
Bulk and Skull were unusually sombre as they accepted their new roles. Dex had explained to them that while the Power Rangers fought the large and powerful villains, the Riders often had to deal with the smaller but no less dangerous threats. Indeed some of those that the Riders faced could be considered worse than Lord Zedd, although for the most part, they were at least mortal.
The sound of their communicators beeping spoiled the mood. “Guys, this is Fred, we need your help.”
The Moon
Earlier that day
Behemoth had a headache. Actually everything ached. Spank’Em’s pet Rangers had battered him continuously, never using the same strategy. It had come as a shock for him to realise that while he had once enjoyed victory after victory against the masked pair, he now rarely triumphed against them. It was only his near indestructibility that allowed him to get up each time ready to fight. He was getting tired of losing.
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” Spank’Em had told him when he had complained. “Do not blame my students for your failure to adapt.”
The problem was that he had learnt his lesson. Each time he had been defeated he had made sure to take steps to prevent them using the same attack against him only to be defeated once more. And when he had pointed that out to Sank’Em, the old teacher had taken and electrified cane and had thrashed him with it.
“You are not learning the correct lesson,” he had said, making Behemoth even more confused.
In the end though Spank’Em had taken pity on the slow witted creature and had promised to demonstrate his meaning, using the Power Rangers Turbo as a learning aid. And as an added boon, Behemoth had even been allowed to fulfil a small role in the learning process.
Interstate 12, Angel Grove
Twin blurs of crimson and navy light heralded their arrival on a bridge overlooking the freeway. They grinned as they imagined the carnage they were about to cause before leaping down onto the road below. Panicked drivers sounded their horns as two pedestrians appeared in their path. They had no idea how bad their day was about be.
Dark Red Turbo reached out and touched a speeding car as it narrowly swerved to avoid hitting him. Using the power of the Speed Force, the energy field that he and his partner along with the Turbo Rangers drew their energy from, he shoved the car, causing it to accelerate out of its driver’s control, smashing into the back of another car.
Dark Blue Turbo had his own ideas, using his powers to steal the speed from a truck as it collided with his fist. With a burst of strength he swung the vehicle, striking cars in all lanes as he and his partners started to clear a path of destruction. At some point the police arrived, but he ignored them even when they opened fire. The car he tossed at them had them scrambling to get clear as it became evident the two evil Rangers had something in mind for that stretch of road.
“Tell the boss we’re ready,” Dark Red Turbo ordered.
Dark Blue Turbo nodded and flashed away, leaving his partner to finish blocking the roads.
“Not again!” Fred moaned as the communicator sounded.
The Turbo Rangers had been kept busy recently chasing after Spank’Em and his two students. The teacher had even managed to find some old monster designs that he used to distract the Rangers while his evil students unleashed chaos. Today was no different, four monsters had been sighted in Angel Grove and the crimson speedster was wrecking havoc on the freeway. With limited options the Rangers had agreed to split up, with Rosa volunteering to help the trapped motorists while the others dealt with the monsters. Then together they would deal with the evil Rangers.
“Shift into Turbo!”
When Pink Turbo arrived she knew something was wrong. It was too quiet. The long range vision provided by her helmet allowed her to see that the freeway had been blocked in both directions, creating a two mile stretch of empty road.
“Welcome Pink Ranger,” Spank’Em said as he emerged ten meters to her left.
He lifted his right arm and opened fire. Pink Turbo rolled and returned fire with her Auto Blaster, causing him to chuckle.
“So you were prepared. Maybe you can be taught.”
“What are you doing here?” Pink Turbo demanded.
“Oh this?” Spank’Em asked, gesturing to the carnage. “This is your next challenge, Pink Ranger. As you can see both sides of the highway have been blocked using crashed vehicles. There are people in those cars; innocent civilians you might say. The cars are connected to detonators that will explode if you attempt to interfere with them. So here is the challenge: in days of old when knights were bold, they had a competition known as jousting. Today Pink Ranger you will take part in a modern joust against my Dark Red Turbo Rider. If you win, you live. If you lose, you might die. Either way I will teleport a third of those trapped to Angel Grove General as soon as the joust starts.”
Rosa quickly understood what he had in mind. She would speed down the highway towards her opponent as he raced towards her. With their weapons drawn they would exchange blows as they passed. The winner would be the one left standing afterwards.
“And if I refuse?” she asked.
“I detonate the whole lot,” Spank’Em told her.
Realising she had little choice in the matter, Pink Turbo took her place as the crimson villain appeared at the other end of the closed off road.
“On my command you may charge,” Spank’Em announced. “And to show I am honourable, I give you my word that I will not interfere once the battle begins. Go!”
Pink Turbo charged forward, her Turbo Sword in her hand. Dark Red Turbo sped toward her from the other end, holding a wicked looking blade her helmet’s enhanced vision was to be believed. The distance Spank’Em had chosen allowed them both to reach their full speed, channelling the power into their weapons. They closed the gap rapidly and both started to swing…
“I don’t get it, they just teleported away,” Yellow Turbo said.
Three of the monsters they had been fighting had vanished soon after the confrontation had started. Left with only one monster to face, the Rangers had quickly triumphed, but it was clear something was not right.
“Rosa!” Franklin cried, voicing their collective concern.
In a shower of sparks they teleported to where the evil Rangers had been spotted. Or rather Tasha teleported there as an injured Rosa was unceremoniously dumped at the feet of her three comrades. Unpowered and battered, it was clear that some of her bones had been broken. Her face was a mess of bruises.
“Guys we have to help her!” Franklin cried. “She’s not breathing.”
Working together the Turbo Rangers managed to stabilised their friend, using an emergency stretcher from the Power Chamber to protect her back and neck. With Zordon, Alpha and the senior Rangers away, they had no choice but to take their friend to the hospital, which was already swarming with patients that Spank’Em had released when the joust had started. Nobody really questioned the Power Rangers turning up with another victim. The medics were professionals and realising her injuries were critical, raced her to the theatre.
That left the three male Rangers to teleport to the highway to help Tasha.
When they arrived it was clear that they were too late. Yellow Turbo had already accepted Spank’Em’s challenge. And like the Pink Turbo Ranger before her, she had been beaten. As they arrived the Rangers saw the two Dark Turbo Rangers adding insult to injury by attacking the injured Ranger. They stomped at her ankles in an attempt to cripple her permanently.
“Hey!” Red Turbo yelled, firing a warning shot at the two dark speedsters, that got their attention.
The three Turbo Rangers raced down to the roadway to help their friend.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Spank’Em warned. “My students are more than capable of ending your friend’s life. And if you attack me… well your pink comrade save a third of our victims and your yellow friend here managed the same, but there are still enough of them trapped in those cars over there that you will regret it.”
“What do you want?” Red Turbo snarled.
“Just a small competition,” Spank’Em replied. “Your two friends failed my little challenge and paid the price. They didn’t learn from history. The question is whether you can, Green Turbo Ranger?”
“We’re a team,” Blue Turbo responded from where he was checking on Tasha. Although injured she was in a better condition than Rosa had been.
“You really don’t have a choice,” Spank’Em replied. “Even now those monster you fought earlier are tearing their way through the Little China area of Angel Grove. Fail to stop them and they will destroy it. Plus you have to get your friend here to the hospital. So what do you think Green Turbo, should your friends go and take care of things while you enjoy a little one-on-one challenge with my crimson friend here?”
“Do it guys,” Franklin urged. He knew there was a trick, he just wasn’t sure what it involved.
Reluctantly the Red and Blue Rangers nodded, vowing that they would return as soon as possible.
“I will teleport the remaining hostages the moment the contest begins,” Spank’Em promised. “Once my Dark Turbo Ranger has finished you, I won’t need to threaten your friends into accepting my challenge.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Franklin growled.
Tasha was a good friend to Franklin and Rosa… Rosa was something more. To see them hurt infuriated the Green Turbo Ranger. He promised he would make those responsible pay.
“Very well… Go!”
Justin and Fred had not spent long dealing with Spank’Em’s monsters. They had gone in using their most powerful weapons and had dispatched the first inside a minute. The second had taken a little longer, but they had been frustrated when the third had resisted their attacks and then teleported away. With a sudden feeling of dread, they had returned to the road where they had left Franklin.
The Green Turbo Ranger lay face down on the road. At first they were concerned by the large amount of blood, but quickly realised that although it looked serious, it was only a small cut from his shattered helmet. Very carefully they forced their friend to power down, wondering why he refused to let them do so until the removed the remains of his helmet. They he had willingly demorphed, falling unconscious at the same time.
“Franklin!”
The two Rangers cringed as Detective Park, Franklin’s father and one of the parents that knew the true identities of the Power Rangers arrived. They expected him to be angry, but if he was, the anger was hidden under his concern for his son’s life. Between them the three men managed to stabilise him enough to transport to the hospital. Still with three Rangers down and countless innocents injured, it had been a very bad day.
And to make it worse, it seemed Spank’Em had reappeared.
Power Mountain
“Justin we need to get back out there!” Fred protested.
He was angry. Justin was too. Their friends were hurt and emotions were running wild. But the Blue Turbo Ranger had insisted they report to the Power Chamber before doing anything else. Fred was a good enough leader to trust his teammate, but the lack of action did not help his mood.
“Look Spank’Em has been winning because he’s managed to split us up,” Justin pointed out. “So we need to even the odds a little and make sure we can take care of any larger problems.”
Fred nodded. The Megazord required five operators to form correctly and with only two Rangers they were at a tactical disadvantage.
“I’m going to contact Dex and ask him to help,” Justin announced. “And besides that, we have these…”
A panel in the wall opened revealing five Turbo Rangers already morphed and ready for action.
“The Robot Rangers,” Fred hissed. “Justin, these guys didn’t work.”
It was true. Despite being programmed with a full copy of the Turbo Rangers’ memories and knowledge, the Robot Rangers had lacked the spirit needed to succeed. And while their intelligence was far greater than many machines, they lacked Alpha’s level of sentience. They did however have all the powers of the Turbo Rangers and could provide a distraction.
“This is what we are going to do,” Justin explained.
The joust was on and Fred was determined that he would win. Calling on the Turbo Lightning Sword, he prepared himself to speed forward at maximum velocity, well aware that he needed all the momentum he could find to deliver a decisive blow. A mile down the highway he could see his opponent, the Dark Red Turbo… thing that been responsible for putting Tasha, Rosa and Franklin out of action. His helmet’s visual enhancements allowed him to see that his opponent had also drawn a sword. There was no sign of the other Ranger though. It looked like Franklin had been right.
“Go!”
The command was given and Red Turbo surged forward, just as Tasha, Franklin and Rosa had done before him. He poured everything into increasing his speed, all the while watching the freeway for the mark they had placed earlier.
“I’m almost there guys,” he warned.
“We’re in position,” came the reply, followed by a delay. Then finally there was a whoop of triumph. “Got him!”
Red Turbo looked up to see the evil speedster closing the gap. It was now or never if he was going to survive this encounter.
“Do it!” he ordered.
Away from the freeway Bulk and Skull had parked their sidecar and had been frantically scanning for their target. When they had spotted him it had been just as the Turbo Rangers had expected. After calling in their sighting and receiving a positive response, Bulk and Skull had decided a change of clothing was in order.
“Turbo Rider – Activate!”
Their modified Ecto-Accelerators charged with power, granting them the armour of the Turbo Riders. The feeling was incredible, but they did not have time to savour it. They had a target to strike.
“Bulk Cannon!” Bulk called, summoned an extremely large shoulder mounted weapon that was named for its firepower and not its user. Armed with four powerful rockets it was a long range weapon that could deliver extremely powerful assaults up close.
Skull shifted into position behind the weapon, providing additional support against recoil and a final check on accuracy. With a nod Skull slapped his partner on the shoulder and Bulk pulled the trigger, launching all four of its rockets directly into the path of the Dark Blue Turbo Rider.
It had been an effective trap. Rosa had fallen for it, Tasha had failed to see it coming and even though Franklin had twigged, it had been too late to escape. Forced into a one-on-one confrontation with their crimson opponent, while their teammates were sidelined protecting other parts of the city, it had been easy to overlook the location of his comrade. And that had been the reason that the crimson villain had triumphed, for as the three Rangers had sped towards him at high speed, they had failed to see the Dark Blue Turbo Rider hurtling at them from the side, bashing into them at the right moment as his crimson comrade changed course slightly. The three Turbo Rangers had each been shunted to the side, losing their momentum in the process. At which point the still speeding crimson juggernaut had slammed into them at full power.
With Rosa they had had more time to strike and the injuries they had caused her had been severe. Fred recalled as he gripped his sword tighter, that even with the benefit of enhanced healing, she would be out of action for months. Tasha and Franklin had not escaped harm either and both would be on the sidelines for months to come. It was only luck that had kept them alive. Sadly the damage caused to the Turbo Keys meant that it was unlikely the powers could be passed on. At least not until they could find someone capable of fixing them.
This time however the plan had not gone as expected. Blue Turbo had been sidelined just as they had anticipated and the Red Turbo Ranger had been alone. Even the Masked Rider was preoccupied battling Behemoth in a confrontation that saw him throw the hero of Edenoi through the walls of the Angel Grove Credit Union. They had checked to confirm that it was the real Red Turbo Ranger they were fighting, but had not expected the interference from the two Riders that had appeared on the other side of the highway.
Dark Blue Turbo had been building up speed, ready to tear the Red Turbo Ranger in half when the rockets had exploded around him. Although he escaped a direct hit, he was thrown into the air by the shockwave and found himself staring up at two Riders.
Meanwhile his crimson comrade had already adjusted his angle of attack and realised too late that the Red Turbo Ranger would not be where he expected him to be. The explosion distracted him, so he also failed to see Red Turbo screech to a halt and teleport a short distance to the side. Dark Red Turbo had lowered his sword when he had realised his error, only to look up in horror as he recognised his second mistake: Red Turbo Ranger was no standing in his path, Turbo Lightning Sword in hand while his weapon was back in storage. At the speed he was travelling it was impossible for him to stop or avoid the impact.
With a growl of defiance he raised his fist, determined that he could still triumphed. Red Turbo however stepped around the punch as he directed the sword into the charging Ranger’s body. It was then that the crimson speedster came to a complete stop.
Patience and concentration, that was the key to victory as far as Blue Turbo was concerned. Well that and a lot of ducking and diving. After a few unsuccessful attempts, it had become clear that his opponent was heavily shielded at all times. Except when it was ready to unleash another round of coloured blocks. And Blue Turbo had quickly realised that before the monster could unleash its full fury, the colour barrels on its forearms needed to twist and turn themselves so that the coloured puzzle was resolved.
Rubik’s Monster as Blue Turbo had called him – for it appeared to be made up of several puzzle cubes – was enjoying itself immensely as the coloured panels on its arms shifted into place, allowing it to unleash another volley at the Blue Ranger.
This time though Justin was ready and as the last panel clicked into place, he opened fire with the Turbo Hand Blasters, striking the panels and breaking the monster’s weapons. But since the monster’s shielding was down and he had not fired his weapons, which shifted the panels out of alignment and reactivated the shield, the monster was still vulnerable as Blue Turbo leapt in close and finished it off with his Auto Blaster.
The monster was of such a poor design there was not enough left for it to grow. Something that made Justin happy as he turned his attention to the cause of the Turbo Rangers’ recent problems: Spank’Em.
In another part of the city the battle between Dex and Behemoth had reached new heights, literally. Behemoth had decided to grow and crush the Masked Rider, but had forgotten the Dex possessed the ability as Super Green to grow just as tall. And while their previous battle had seen the two square off, since Dex had never had the opportunity to defeat Behemoth before the Turbo Rangers had delivered the final blow, but this time the Masked Rider was in full control. As the grappled it became clear that Behemoth was the stronger, but even with his greater size, Dex had the better training.
The battle continued for a while as both combatants took a hammering, but finally Dex decided enough was enough.
“Rider Kick!”
He leapt higher than ever before, directing the power of the Masked Rider into his feet as he slammed into Behemoth at full speed. The unfortunate monster never stood a chance.
“We really don’t want to do this,” Bulk warned as he and Skull closed in on the battered Chaser. Even after he had taken such a pounding from Bulk’s arsenal, he remained in his armour. A slight cough from Skull caused the larger Turbo Rider to stop before chuckling. “Actually, I would love nothing better than to do this,” he admitted.
Spank’Em’s pupils had put three Ranger in the hospital and injured countless civilians. Several people had been killed in their recent onslaught. So if asked Bulk and Skull would admit that neither of them had an objection to pounding the two villains. Especially since scans revealed the pair were acting of their own free will.
The villain pulled himself to his feet and Bulk and Skull waited, hoping that they would not be forced to put him down. As much as they wanted to hurt him, they both preferred to avoid killing. He chuckled as his hands blurred with motion, pulling the molecules around him to form a wicked looking axe.
Both Riders took that as a challenge, leaping into action with their own weapons. They quickly discovered that while hurt, he had not slowed down. His axe whistled through the air, colliding with Bulk’s Electro Axe. As Bulk was forced back the speedster’s knee jerked up, catching the Rider on the chin. Bulk grunted and stepped back, failing to block a roundhouse kick or notice the axe as it neared his midsection.
Fortunately Bulk had a reliable partner and Skull did not let him down. His Electro Saber intercepted the axe, redirecting it as he traded a few kicks with their opponent. When it was clear that such moves would not work, Skull drew his sidearm and fired, his blaster tearing holes in the side of the highway. Surprisingly his opponent managed to dodge the incoming blasts even at close range, but failed to see a recovered Bulk’s fist until it was too late. By that point the larger Turbo Rider had moved into position and grabbed his arms, holding him prone for Skull’s attack.
“Rider Power Kick!” Skull cried, leaping into the air and directing the energy into his left foot. At the last second Bulk moved, allowing their opponent to take the full impact.
The Chaser somehow remained standing although it was clear that he had been beaten. His body had started to fade from view by the time Bulk and Skull had reunited, his powers leaking away from him and with them his life force.
For the Dark Red Turbo and Dark Blue Turbo had ceased to be human once their programming had been completed. They had been transformed by the powers they possessed into a force of nature that Spank’Em had managed to direct. Both of them were dangerous and their anger and hatred of the Turbo Rangers had been genuine. But just as the molecules that made up the bodies of the Turbo Rangers were accelerated to such an extent that they became energy contained within their suits, so the two evil Rangers had been transformed. Except once they had transformed they had never turned back or set their power to standby. Over the course of their training the cohesion of their molecules had grown so weak that without their costumes they were doomed to dissipate. The damage Bulk and Skull had inflicted had been too great and as the speedster fell to one knee, his suit tore and he vanished.
The other speedster was not in any better shape than his comrade. The Turbo Lightning Sword had ripped through his uniform, expelling the energised particles that had once been his body. He had managed to contain the leak, using the Speed Force to hold back the damage to his uniform. But he knew that he had been defeated and that it was only a matter of time. He just wanted the opportunity to take the Red Turbo Ranger with him.
“Convoy Zord, Power Up!” he cried, calling upon one of the Zords Spank’Em had acquired; Porto had actually designed a fleet of Zords to combat those of the Turbo Rangers. With only two Rangers available, he had taken the most powerful of the machines and configured the rest to operate automatically.
Red Turbo dived instinctively as the large red truck hurtle passed him. The crimson speedster reached out, grabbed on and climbed inside, where he activated the controls that made it grow to Zord size.
“Convoy Zord, High Stance Mode!” he called, initiating the transformation sequence.
Fred however had seen this sort of thing before and knew enough about Zords to strike while it was still vulnerable.
“Red Lightning Turbo Zord!”
Without waiting for the opposing Zord to complete its transformation it what appeared to be a large warrior robot, the Red Lightning Turbo Zord streaked forward, striking the Dark Red Turbo’s Zord head on. The Zord flew through the air, landing awkward as Red Turbo put his Zord into a controlled spin and opened fire with its weapon systems.
As the crimson speedster was thrown from his Zord, Fred was taking no chances. He leapt out, Turbo Lightning Sword in hand to finish the battle. His actions were unnecessary though as the rip in his opponent’s uniform had reopened and in a burst of sparks, it was torn apart.
With Behemoth defeated, his students destroyed and his monster lost, Spank’Em knew his time was limited. The Blue Turbo Ranger was a fierce fighter when angered and Spank’Em had engineered the near death of three of his friends. Instead of being blinded by his rage though the Blue Turbo Ranger used it to fuel his controlled assault, striking the villain repeatedly with a flurry of punches and kicks. Only when he was sure the villain would stay down did Justin pull his side arm and deliver the final blow. At which point Spank’Em took the only opportunity he had and grew. The roar of engines heralded the arrival of the Turbo Zords and as Blue Turbo jumped aboard, the Turbo Megazord was quickly formed.
When Justin and Fred had activated the Robot Rangers they had not intended them to fight – for it had been proven that while sentient machines like Alpha could fight the forces of darkness, no unfeeling machine could duplicate the heart and soul of a living Ranger-, but had made use of their duplicate powers and knowledge to carry out emergency work on the Turbo Zords. With three Rangers out of action it had been important to reconfigure the machines so that they could be controlled from the cockpits of Red Lightning and Mountain Blaster.
“It actually worked!” Red Turbo cried as the cockpit lit up.
Blue Turbo nodded. The Turbo Megazord normally required all five Turbo Rangers to form. With three Rangers incapacitated they had needed to alter the way in which the Megazord formed. Using a combination of automated controls and quick teleports between the Zords, sometimes one Ranger leaving a machine and the other jumping straight into their empty seat, they had managed to complete the docking sequence. However bypassing the need for five Rangers once the Megazord had been completed required extra work and the areas of the cockpit where Franklin, Rosa and Tasha normally sat were covered in wires and makeshift circuitry. Some makeshift equipment had been spot wielded into place.
“Shame Billy never built a remote control for the Turbo Zords,” Blue Turbo commented.
Red Turbo nodded as they turned their concentration to the matter at hand. While three Rangers down put them at a disadvantage, Spank’Em was not a particularly powerful opponent. Working together they managed to direct the Turbo Megazord in such a way that they drove the villain back.
Spank’Em retaliated, using the blaster on his right arm to assault the Megazord’s midsection. The Megazord responded with a blast from its chest blasters before reaching out to crush his arm, preventing him from using such an attack again. It appeared the Rangers were capable of learning.
“Turbo Megazord Spin Kick!” Blue Turbo cried, pressing his foot on one of the pedals.
The Megazord responded by igniting the jets under its left foot while raising its right leg. By directing the jets it started a slight spin that caused the outstretched leg to collide repeatedly with its foe. And as it collided Spank’Em was forced back, freeing the leg to make another rotation for a further strike.
“Turbo Megazord Turning Punch!” Red Turbo added.
The leg dropped back to its original position, but the Megazord continue forward, still spinning as it did so, this time with its fist raised ready to punch Spank’Em on the jaw.
“Windmill Blow!” both Rangers cried, causing the Megazord to extend both arms to the side, striking Spank’Em with alternating arms.
Spank’Em was horrified that for all his research the Rangers were capable of such a varied assault. What he failed to understand was that with only two Rangers present they were more reliant on moves that had been programmed into the Zord’s computer, moves that normally would have been ignored in favour of the Turbo Rangers’ preferred style of combat. Not that it mattered because after his previous encounter with the Rangers, any damage was likely to be terminal.
“It’s time,” Red Turbo decided at last after they had taken their time to make sure Spank’Em was vulnerable.
Blue Turbo nodded his agreement and crossed his fingers. While many of the moved they had used had at least bee tested successfully, they had never needed to test the Turbo Spinout with only two Rangers present. Since the move channelled the power from their Turbo Keys into the Megazord’s sword, there was a chance that they would not have enough power to complete the finisher.
“Turbo Megazord Spinout!” Red Turbo ordered.
“Ah the Turbo Spintout: a powerful technique, yet flawed in that it requires its target to remain in position. So if I move, thus,” he stepped to the side and pulled out his energised cane, “I can teach you brats a lesson.”
He flicked the cane, striking the Megazord and knocking it away. He raised the weapon to deliver another blow, but the Turbo Rangers already had something in mind.
“Wind Bullet!”
The power of the Turbo Megazord was redirect into its chest lasers and the arms, which suddenly detached and joined together to reform Wind Chaser. As the single blast left the Megazord’s chest, Wind Chaser was propelled forward like an energised bullet. It was a technique Spank’Em had never seen before while studying the Power Rangers. Therefore he was not prepared as the empowered car ripped a hole in his chest.
“Where did I go wrong?” Spank’Em asked. Unable to teleport and with his three students out of action, he knew that this time there would be no escape.
“You didn’t learn from history,” Blue Turbo told him as the Megazord reformed and once again prepared to deliver the Spinout.
“Never mess with the Power Rangers!” Red Turbo concluded as the Megazord stood victorious.
“… Latest reports suggest the Interstate will remain closed until the end of the week to allow for resurfacing and a complete structural check. Bomb disposal experts have confirmed earlier reports that the Power Rangers had acted after innocent civilians were threatened by one of the monsters. While the condition of the Yellow, Pink and Green Turbo Rangers remains unclear following their brutal encounters, the three children saved by the other Rangers have made a miraculous recovery.
Meanwhile in international news, the government of Japan has confirmed that its entire Ultratech force has been decimated by the most recent monster attack to devastate the country’s coast. While there were no civilian casualties reported, significant property damage has been confirmed as a state of emergency was called in affected areas. The Japanese government has already sent a plea to other nations to supply ‘appropriate aid’ against future attacks. Those nations named by the Prime Minister have so far denied having the kind of resources such a request might suggest they possess…”
Angel Grove
Although they were still limping, Tasha, Rosa and Franklin had been released from the hospital the same day. Their accelerated healing had done the best it could to fix their broken bones, but some things would take time to heal. Since their Turbo Keys had been damaged in the battle, they were unable to morph anyway and would be forced to sit on the sidelines until Zordon and the other returned. Not that their parents minded. Rosa and Franklin’s parents had been relieved to learn their children would not be in direct danger during future encounters; Tasha’s guardians at the children’s home were unaware of her secret identity.
Still that left Justin and Fred on their own to protect the planet. Dex, Bulk and Skull had promised their help, but both Rangers were hoping their friends would hurry up and get back from Aquitar.
The Moon
Spank’Em was gone. His students were gone. All that remained was Behemoth and he had a headache. The Masked Rider’s kick had been painful and while he survived, a part of him wished he hadn’t. Still as he suffered his demonic heritage forced his body to adapt. The next time they met, the Masked Rider would not be able to hurt him in the same way.
The air rippled as two blurs, one crimson and the other dark blue, announced the arrival of what was left of the Dark Turbo Rangers. Instead of being absorbed into the Speed Force as they had expected, the energy field had healed them and then thrown them out. Although as a side effect they were substantially less human than before, existing as energy confined within their suits.
They looked up as Behemoth charged at them and realised that Spank’Em had been wrong. Behemoth was capable of learning how to defeat them after all. It was simply a matter of striking first. And without Spank’Em there to hold him back, the monster had the upper hand. The Dark Turbo Rangers had barely survived their recent defeat, they were far too weak to summon the speed they needed to avoid Behemoth’s devastating force.
Behemoth ignored Dark Red Turbo long enough to smash Dark Blue Turbo in the face so hard that he crashed through the solid walls of the old palace. Then he turned his attention to the more powerful Dark Turbo Ranger, striking him repeatedly until he could not stand. Behemoth’s grip tightened around the other villain’s neck and he was rewarded by the sudden fear that meant his prey understood what was about to happen. Even as the Dark Blue Turbo Rider crawled back into the room, he reached out with his other hand and tightened it over the Dark Red Turbo’s head. There was a pause as the three villains considered their options. Behemoth clearly intended to rip Dark Red Turbo’s head off, Dark Red Turbo was helpless to do more than fight the urge to cry out and Dark Blue Turbo knew that if he did not act his comrade would die.
The Dark Blue Turbo Rider lived up to his name, charging forward to strike the monster he had beaten so many times before. This time though Behemoth had nothing holding him back and proved he was just as fast as the Dark Turbo Ranger, releasing his grip on Dark Red Turbo for a time while he did so. He had grown faster and his fists connected five times for every punch Dark Blue Turbo managed to land. In the end there was no contest as Behemoth stopped throwing his opponent around and instead unleashed a ball of energy that almost ripped him to pieces. And then as he was casually tossed aside and landed beside the fallen Dark Red Turbo, Behemoth loomed over them. And everything turned dark.
End of Part
Bulk in Turbo Rider Form
Skull in Turbo Rider Default Form
Chapter 22: Task Force: The New Initiative
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to whoever hold the copyright. No profit whatsoever is being made from this fanwork.
Author’s Note: This is a short chapter. It will have implications later.
Task Force: The New Initiative
“… Latest reports suggest the Interstate will remain closed until the end of the week to allow for resurfacing and a complete structural check. Bomb disposal experts have confirmed earlier reports that the Power Rangers had acted after innocent civilians were threatened by one of the monsters. While the condition of the Yellow, Pink and Green Turbo Rangers remains unclear following their brutal encounters, the three children saved by the other Rangers have made a miraculous recovery.
Meanwhile in international news, the government of Japan has confirmed that its Ultratech force has been decimated by the most recent monster attack to threaten the country’s coast. While there were no civilian casualties reported, significant property damage has been confirmed as a state of emergency was called in affected areas. The Japanese government has already sent a plea to other nations to supply ‘appropriate aid’ against future attacks. Those nations named by the Prime Minister have so far denied having the kind of resources such a request might suggest they possess…”
He sighed as he changed the channel and returned to the report in front of him. The situation in Japan likely marked the end of the Task Force operation: the super soldier project adopted by multiple nations decades earlier. Japan, America, the Soviet Union, China and parts of Europe all had their own teams created under the Task Force Treaty, which allowed for the building and development of such teams on an equal footing. The decimation of those forces in Japan along with the under funding of the Russian project since the fall of the Iron Curtain, not to mention the destruction of the unbelievably small French team months earlier, meant that the delicate balance between nations no longer existed.
Not that it would be a big loss to the United States. Their efforts had stalled the year before the Power Rangers had first emerged. All attempts to make an armour that lasted more than a year had failed. There had been no further significant development except the disastrous Titanium Project – they still didn’t know what had happened there – and funding had been repeatedly cut ever since. In fact the apart from the Lightspeed Operation, which was not under government control, the Task Force operation could be best described as a waste of resources.
There were so many ways they could have used the volunteers once their active service ended. The Russians used their former operatives as manual labour, taking advantage of their enhanced strength. They were by no means slaves and well rewarded for their efforts. They enjoyed a healthy and fulfilling life providing they didn’t try and leave the country or communicate with the operatives from other countries. The Japanese on the other hand used the retired volunteers to train the next group, believing that having had first hand experience they were best suited to demonstrate the necessary skills. He had heard that in Europe operatives were allowed to go free after their service expired. He snorted; in Europe there had never been a collective approach leading to smaller teams stretching the scarce resources. He doubted there was a single team in Europe that was not patched together in some way.
“The development of new operatives is no longer feasible due to an inability to improve the process and a lack of suitable volunteers,” he said, after turning on the voice recorder. According to the reports he had read many of the retired operatives in Japan that could have been used for breeding had been pressed into service, robbing the country of its much needed gene pool. “Since all known first generation material is now beyond use and given the failure of subsequent generations to inherit the desired traits, it is my recommendation that the attempts to create new operatives for the Task Force operation cease with immediate effect.”
The ending of the operation did have the advantage that it would allow research to move in a new direction, one that would hopefully prove more productive.
“I recommend we should concentrate on the acquisition of alien technology and those that know how to use it, and adapt it to homeland protection. Further exploration of extra-dimensional energy sources should also be explored; the capture of alien beings for the purposes of research should become a high priority even if this means breaking existing treaties.”
It had been a long time coming, but somehow he knew the decision was the right one. Unfortunately that also meant that some of those involved with the project would need to be silenced, but as he signed the order to conduct the autopsies he decided that if nothing else they would serve their country one more time.
End of Part
Chapter 23: The Next Destination
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to whoever holds the copyright at this time.
The Next Destination
Aquitar
The planet was safe at last. In the weeks following the liberation of the planet, the Rangers of Earth had worked tirelessly alongside their Aquitian allies to rebuild the protections it had lost during the earlier invasion. Many of the cities had been rebuilt and services were back to near normal. The planet’s food supplies were low but manageable and with the reopening of the space port, they were able to receive aid from their neighbours. And thanks to Zordon acting as their voice within the Galactic Council, Aquitar had regained its rightful status and entitlement to further assistance.
It was a time of celebration and also of sadness. The work was finished, the planet was safe and the people could return to their peaceful lives. It was sad because with nothing further to keep them on the planet, it was time for the visiting Rangers to leave and that meant it was time for some difficult decisions most importantly, where to go?
Zordon had decided to spend time on Erlion to press the Galactic Council for more action against the growing threat of the United Alliance of Evil. The White
Master and Alpha Five would for the foreseeable future divide their time between Erlion and Eltare where Zordon was reacquainting himself with his home world. It was a sign of how far the Rangers of Earth had come that Zordon no longer felt that he needed to supervise them. In truth they had proven many times that they could be trusted to do what was right. He had gone from teacher and stern guide in the ways of the Power, to a trusted adviser.
And now he felt that he could rely on the senior Rangers to help guide the Turbo Rangers until a new mentor could be found; Zordon had somebody in mind. Not that there had been a real threat to Earth since they had left. There had been a number of upstarts that had tried to fill the vacuum left by Rita and the others, but the Turbo Rangers had reportedly dealt with each new threat as it had arisen.
However it was not just a question of where he would end up, but also his Rangers. He had been aware for some time that his teams had reached far beyond the limits of their original powers, but despite all they had accomplished, there was far more for them to achieve. The Morphin Rangers had been found worthy of a level of power that had never before been bestowed on a single team, yet with their time on active duty they had not been trained how to fully utilise those gifts. It was unfair on the Rangers and a terrible waste for the rest of the Universe.
Then there were the Zeo Rangers. Their powers had been created out of a combination of desperation and ingenuity, using a power source that had been available. That they had then taken those powers, developed them, grown so comfortable in their use that many believed that their powers had been around for thousands of years; actually teams using powers similar to those of the Zeo Rangers had been recorded throughout history, but Zordon was certain they were not the same powers. Like the Morphin Rangers they had grown beyond the limitations of their original powers and were on the verge of unlocking even greater abilities if given the opportunity. Zordon wanted to give them that opportunity.
And after that there were others like Jamie Zedden, whose skills with her Elemental Sword of Lightning could be polished by a stay on the world where her father had been born. Or perhaps Christina Collins whose mental abilities would thrive with further training at a specialist school. Lillian and Katarina also had abilities just waiting to be unlocked if given a chance. The question was whether Zordon was willing to risk everything to give them that opportunity; the political fallout of what he proposed could easily ruin him.
Of course the answer was that he was more than willing to trust his pupils to make the decision. Return to Earth or travel to places where they could receive the training and help need to take themselves to the next level. He remembered how over the years he had encouraged his pupils to move on when the time was right and return stronger for having done so. His hope was that they would do so again.
For while it did not seem that the United Alliance of Evil would prove an immediate threat anytime soon – the assembled villains were still in complex talks about their plans, seemingly locked in a never ending deluge of dialogue, proposals, explanations and arguments, almost as if a spell had been cast on the entire membership to render them little more than a shadow of their supposed glory-, he suspected that when they did act the Universe would fall beneath their onslaught.
And so as the last Ranger teleported from the surface to the waiting Pyramidas, and Trey laid in the course for home, Zordon took the time to tell his Rangers what he had in mind.
Onyx
The Inaugural Meeting of the United Alliance of Evil had finished and as far as Dark Specter was concerned, it was a complete success. After demonstrating his power several times, he had finally convinced the other members that his plan was the most likely to succeed. And he had given them all a real incentive to complete the tasks he had assigned them.
Now the members had left the planet. Each member had been given a mission to complete. For now it was a matter of positioning their fleets so that they were in position for future attacks. And once they had completed their assigned task, he had offered them a new chance to claim the ultimate prize: Earth. It as an incentive scheme that would encourage swift success. As the Rangers of Earth had been seen leaving Aquitar, Dark Specter had sent them on their way.
The first targets would important worlds like Erlion and Eltare. Those planets were well defended and would force the Galactic Council or
Grid Masters to mobilise their armies. Instead he had chosen distant worlds that lacked protection and were considered unimportant during peace time, but would rob the Council and their allies of vital resources once war was declared. It was a plan that would counter the effects of prolonged exposure to Earth, allowing those that had lost their edge to return to their former glory; Rita and Zedd had been more animated than many could recall, Master Vile was even more insidious than ever and the Machine Empire now on a war footing was a terrifying force that could tear through its intended targets with little resistance.
Along with the many new villains he had conscripted into the UAE’s service, the organisation was larger than ever and for the first time since the end of Rita’s battle with Zordon, they posed a real threat. And that was just the start. Dark Specter anticipated that once their forces were correctly positioned, they would be unstoppable; he anticipated the fall of hundreds of worlds in a matter of hours. And while the Council continued to monitor the situation, his forces would turn inward and strike at it heart.
Yes clearly using the Earth as an incentive had worked well especially since he had only offered the opportunity to conquer the planet. Like a true ruler he had promised nothing. And now he had a personal matter to deal with.
“The time has come, my beautiful Karone, to assume your rightful place at my side,” Dark Specter declared.
Dark Specter knew that with a growing empire to control he needed loyal and competent servants to act as his voice. Ecliptor was one such champion of his cause. Loyal to the ideas that Dark Specter had shared, the silicon-based warrior was a noble, obedient and capable lieutenant. Darkonda he had chosen to trust in spite of Ecliptor’s warnings, or maybe because Ecliptor was so strongly opposed to Darkonda’s presence. If Ecliptor considered the other villain a threat then he would need watching, but if directed at Dark Specter’s enemies he could prove adequate.
But what Dark Specter really wanted was his Queen of Evil. He had selected Karone as a child to fulfil that role. He had watched her grow, nudging her carefully to become an Astro Guardian alongside her brother, knowing that the combat skills she learnt would make her a warrior queen. And then he had snatched her from certain doom and had waited for her to grow into the role he had selected for her. Except she had not given in to the darkness as he had expected and had fought him all the way.
At first her resistance had been amusing, but Dark Specter needed a queen and was no longer willing to wait for her to surrender herself to him. With Andromeda, Astronema, Artemis and Astronoma gathered, he started to chant in the ancient language of evil to purge the light from her soul. Dark knowledge, dark experiences and power beyond anything she had felt before pushed into her body, pushing aside her personality and replacing it with something he deemed acceptable. Given time the new personality would completely erase her former self while retaining all the skills that Dark Specter prized. At that moment Dark Specter planned to marry her, but in the meantime she would serve as the Princess of Evil alongside her four sisters. With Ecliptor’s guidance there would come a time when nobody would be able to tell them apart.
All this had been observed by a spy, who had been forced to flee for his life as the assembled villains suddenly became aware of his presence. Even though those that chased him were not connected with the major villains they were skilled warriors and not easy to lose, even in the slums of Onyx. He threw himself around the side of a dumpster and looked for an escape route. He needed to get away from Onyx and reach Eltare as soon as possible. Zordon and the Council needed to be warned.
End of Part
Chapter 24: Shift into Lightspeed, Turbo to the Resc
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. At this time they are the property of Saban Brands and all rights belong to them. I also do not own Masked Rider or Kamen Rider, which belong to their copyright owners.
Author’s Note: In this storyline Lightspeed does not have its proper Zords yet. The Rescue Zords used in this chapter are the ones from Power Rangers Turbo. The Village People comment comes from Ellen Brand.
Shift into Lightspeed, Turbo to the Rescue
“Almost done,” Kelsey reported as with a final twist the screw she had been working on popped free. “One to go.”
It was not the easiest task the Lightspeed Rangers had undertaken. They were working in cramped conditions where the chance of failure were extremely high. The tools they were using were poorly built using cheap materials and ill suited for the size of the hands holding them. And the Rangers’ view was limited to the information that was fed to their helmets from the remote cameras.
“Why did we even put hands on these things?” she wondered as her Zord dropped the screwdriver for the third time.
Months earlier General McKnight had made the unfortunate decision to create a replacement for Lightspeed. His team had been working on the Titanium Project when the computer running the operation had malfunctioned. While most of the staff and guests had escaped with only limited memories of what had happened, the Hydrothermal Generator that had been prepared to charge and activate the Titanium Morpher had been left online. Damaged by whatever had happened – for witness accounts were unclear – the generator had become unstable and started showing signs of overload. The potential loss of life and embarrassment such a disaster could cause had led McKnight’s superiors to order the Lightspeed Rangers to enter the sealed off caverns where it had been stored and to remove the generator so that it could be rendered safe.
The problem with those orders was that the generator was huge, far larger than the smaller priming engine used to start it. It was larger than any of the vehicles available to the government and too heavy for the large cranes to lift once fully assembled. The only option had been for the Rangers to use their new Rescue Zords. Miss Fairweather had used schematics provided by the Rangers of Angel Grove to modify some of the Rescue Machines she had previously constructed – mostly those that had served as prototypes or had been replaced following damage. The Zords duplicated the Rescue Racer’s ability to shift between a pure vehicle and a humanoid mode; Miss Fairweather had already corrected Joel when he had made a quip that they looked more like the Village People than Zords.
“These machines represent everything that we have learnt from the development of the Rescue Racer and our rebuilding of the Rescue Train,” she had snapped. “They are the most advanced machines we have created so far and it has taken us months to get them working!”
Miss Fairweather did not appreciate jokes about her work although she had made a similar comment when she had first seen the plans.
The Rescue Zords had two modes: the humanoid High Stance mode that allowed the Rangers to use them as extensions to their own bodies, and a second vehicle-based mode. In either mode they were equipped to deal with a range of rescue scenarios, but it was clear that there was room for improvements.
“That’s the last one,” Kelsey stated as she removed the screw and replaced it with a metal pin to support the weight of the generator.
“Okay, Chad how are the readings?” Carter asked.
The Blue Ranger’s Zord was the closest to the Rescue Racer design and had been built from the few remaining pieces of the machine. It included a wider array of monitoring equipment and he had been charged with the task of monitoring the generator for fluctuations.
“Temperature is a little high,” Chad replied. “Power level has dropped a bit.”
“Miss F?” Joel asked, knowing both she and Captain Mitchell had heard.
“The power loss is where you disconnected the priming unit,” came the reply. “Just be gentle with it.”
“Sir?” Carter asked. This was the most dangerous part of their mission and he did not want to start without permission.
“Proceed,” came the reply.
“Okay, Joel get into position,” Carter instructed. “The rest of you get ready to lift.”
As Joel shuffled his Zord around to face the door, he flicked the switch to change it back to if large vehicle form. Joel had wanted a large plane of a helicopter, but had ended up with a dump truck. Still even he had to admit that flying such a large and dangerous piece of equipment out of the cavern was unlikely to end well. The dump truck however had been reinforced to handle the load.
As Joel positioned himself, the other Zords each took a corner of the apparatus and lifted it from the ground, just high enough to allow Joel to reverse under it.
“Careful guys!” Chad warned.
The Rangers paused until the readings stabilised before completing the lift as Chad nervously watched the warning lights on his console. Joel’s Zord groaned under the load. Luckily the machine had been well designed and soon adjusted to handle the stress, lowering the front of the Zord to shift the strain.
“I have point!” Kelsey proclaimed as she moved her Zord, constructed from a Rescue Machine designed to function as a bulldozer toward the cavern entrance and switched the Zord to its alternate form, deploying the large shovel ready to clear any obstructions from their path.
Carter moved his fire engine Zord in behind her ready to provide an added shove if needed although his Zord’s hoses were pointed to where they could help to cool the generator if the need arose. At the same time Dana and Chad took up flanking positions on each side of Joel’s Zord, acting as protection as the large convoy made its way along the access tunnel.
“Yeehah!” Joel cried as they rode along although his enthusiasm didn’t last long.
“Cut it out Joel!” Captain Mitchell warned. “This is serious!”
“Yes Sir,” Joel replied.
“The mission isn’t over until the generator has been deactivated,” Mitchell reminded them.
Even removed from the power supply, the generator was still drawing in energy from the atmosphere. Unfortunately the only way to shut it down had been to take it to where Lightspeed’s technicians could work on it, but that mean that it was even more of a danger than it had been inside the cavern. As difficult as their task had been, it wasn’t about to get easier.
Mariner Bay
To the untrained observer it would appear that the demons of Mariner Bay had accomplished very little since their release. The occasional monster attack, which had been repelled by the Lightspeed Power Rangers was hardly the news grabbing story of their Angel Grove counterparts. But there was a reason for their lack of progress and as time moved onward they came closer to resolving their problem: power.
When Queen Bansheera and her demons had ruled their part of the Earth – for no matter how they chose to remember those times the truth was that they had shared power with dark spirits and other demon groups, each with their own rulers and the belief that they alone ruled the planet – dark energy from the many Hell dimensions had made Earth the perfect home for the demons. That power had been lost when the doorway between the realms had been closed and the built up negative energy that had made the demons so powerful had been absorbed into the natural magic of the planet.
The demons needed negative energy to summon their queen. Without it their plans were doomed to fail. And while their presence in Mariner Bay and the partial breaking of the barriers that had sealed their kind had raised the levels of negative energy, they were a long way from reaching the high levels they once possessed. And so they had been using weaker monsters, inciting fear and destruction to gather the energy they needed without wasting too much of their reserves. That had allowed them build the reserves to cast a single spell that would breach the dimensional barriers just enough to allow them to speak to their queen.
As Jinxer spoke the final word of the incantation, the assembled demons sensed the arrival of the Hell Goddess known as Bansheera. Her spiritual form was just as frightening as if she had been in the room with them.
“Diabolico, why are you free while I remain imprisoned? Where is my kingdom?”
“It’s all gone Queen Bansheera,” Loki tried to explain. “The humans have ruined everything.”
“Then the humans should pay!” she snarled.
“Forgive me, my queen,” Diabolico said. “The power we enjoyed before our imprisonment has been diminished by the planet’s magic. It has taken time to summon the power needed to contact you and ask for your guidance. How should we proceed?”
“Destroy the humans and our power will be restored. Conquer this world and our kingdom will return once more. When the humans are miserable, our power will increase.”
“I understand Queen Bansheera.”
It was time for the demons to intensify their efforts to destroy Mariner Bay, and what lay beyond. They had been holding back to avoid wasting energy when they should have been sending monster of their kind to invoke the emotions that allowed their power to grow. With their queen’s guidance the time had come to strike with real monsters capable of destroying their enemies.
“You have disappointed me with your lack of action Diabolico. Do not do so again,” she warned. “Or I will give your power to my son and allow him the glory of bringing about my return.”
“I will not fail you,” Diabolico promised as communication spell ended. “Nor will I ever allow that brat to replace me. Jinxer, prepare an attack.”
“If you want to destroy the humans then we should use their own creations against them,” Vypra said. While the others had been preparing for their queen, Vypra had been watching the Lightspeed Rangers struggle not to make the Hydrothermal Generator explode. “That machine would cause enough destruction to empower any of Jinxer’s creations.”
The other demons turned their attention to the scene Vypra had been observing. It was true that the Zords were moving through the countryside with extreme caution. The Green Zord was making little progress as the other Zords and the nearby ground crew tried to ensure the road ahead was clear of even the smallest obstacle.
“One little bump and it’s all over,” she suggested.
The other demons nodded in approval.
“Or perhaps we can take advantage of a situation they can’t control,” Jinxer suggested, handing Diabolico a card. One of the rare cards that instead of creating a beast, allowed Jinxer’s magic to alter another creature to suit his schemes.
“One degree left Joel,” Kelsey instructed. “And drop it slightly on the right.”
Once outside of the cavern, her role had changed from clearing a path to guiding the Green Ranger’s Zord along the roads that Lightspeed’s operatives had cleared. Unfortunately the only place where it would be safe to completely disarm the equipment was the Lightspeed Aquabase, which meant carrying the unstable machinery through the streets of Mariner Bay.
“If I’d had a helicopter I could have flown this back to base,” Joel protested.
“Do you have any idea how big it would need to be?” Miss Fairweather interrupted before the others could remind him they had already had this discussion. “You’d end up blowing away half the city.”
“Two more degrees Joel and watch your speed,” Kelsey added.
Joel sighed, this day just seemed to grow longer by the minute. He had really wanted a flying Zord of his own, but the idea just kept getting put on the back burner. So far the Rescue Flyer had been the only attempt to do so and with the exception of one mission it had never proven useful.
Angel Grove
Blue Turbo groaned as he struggled to get back to his feet. Behemoth had made an unwelcome return and this time it seemed nothing the Turbo Rangers did could stop him. Since Tasha, Franklin and Rosa were still out of action following their recent injuries – the Power Chamber’s computers had suggested it would never be safe for them to become Turbo Rangers again due to the stresses on their bodies – they had used the Robot Rangers as stand ins. The element of surprise had worked when Behemoth had ripped the Red Turbo Ranger in half only to discover it was a robot before the real Red Turbo had managed to strike him with his sword. Despite that momentary advantage though Behemoth was stronger and faster than the last time they had battled him and he had grown immune to their attacks.
The Robot Rangers had been decimated while Red Turbo and Blue Turbo had been recovering from the beating he had given them. The Robot Rangers did not have the advantage of accelerated healing and Behemoth’s energy blasts were unbelievably powerful. The street around them was a testament to how much damage the creature had caused.
“Rider Kick!”
Blue Turbo had to fight the urge to cover his eyes as Behemoth caught the Masked Rider energised leg and casually tossed him aside. The Masked Rider crashed into the side of a delivery van before emerging on the other side and continuing to hurtle down the street.
The two Turbo Riders were swift in their attempt to avenge their mentor. Bulk was powerful enough when transformed to match strength with Behemoth and Skull was fast enough to make his lack of size a mute point. In a previous battle their skills might have allowed them to triumph, but Behemoth had gotten stronger since the last time he had fought on Earth, so in the end Bulk and Skull were just in his way.
“Turbo Hand Blasters!”
The first time Blue Turbo had fired at Behemoth, the monster had shrugged off the assault. This time though he aimed at the ground under the monster instead of trying to hit it directly. As he excpeted the ground gave way, causing Behemoth to scramble to avoid falling into the hole beneath him and allowing Bulk and Skull to escape.
“Whoa!”
Blue Turbo barely managed to move as Behemoth returned fire. The ball of energy that shot from his mouth turned the vehicle Blue Turbo had been resting on into a puddle of molten metal. There was a blur of red light as Red Turbo took the opportunity to strike at the monster. The Turbo Power Sword impacted on Behemoth’s back, but did little damage.
“Super Blue!”
Behemoth had not encountered two of the Masked Rider’s alternate forms before and that proved to be an advantage as Dex skilfully attacked the monster in a semi-fluid state. While the Masked Rider was capable of inflicting damage on his opponent, Behemoth was unable to land a blow on Dex.
“Super Gold!”
Masked Rider switched form a second time and used his side arm to blast Behemoth at close range. It appeared they had found a chink in his armour for Behemoth stumbled backwards.
“Super Green!”
In his final form the Masked Rider grew to giant size and stomped down on the monster, squashing him with its mighty foot. Behemoth had fought Super Green before, but that had been as a giant, not while he was normal size. When Super Green lifted his food, Behemoth appeared to be road kill. Super Green lifted its foot to make certain when a small object caught it on the side of the head. Super Green collapsed to the ground, taking sever street lights and benches with him before turning back into the Masked Rider’s base form.
The object in question, a small card, connected with Behemoth’s remains and glowed with power. A soft chant could be heard but it was only the final word they could hear clearly: “… Mega Behemoth!”
“I think we’re in trouble,” Skull said as he watched the restored Behemoth, now named Mega Behemoth, grow.
If he had just been repaired the Rangers would have assumed this was just another case of him surviving their attacks, but Mega Behemoth’s body altered as it was rebuilt, changing shape to adapt to their attacks. And as it did so the Rangers realised that they were in big trouble.
Mariner Bay
“You guys have lousy timing!” Green Lightspeed complained as he tore into a throng of Batlings.
The Zord convoy had been progressing slowly – very slowly – through the city when the demons had decided to make an appearance. It soon became clear that their intention was to either steal or damage the device so that it would explode, something the Rangers refused to let happen. Realising that they could not fight their attackers from inside the Zords they had been forced to exit the large vehicles in favour of a ground battle.
Green Lightspeed ducked low as Pink Lightspeed vaulted over him and landed a series of vicious kicks on a waiting group of Batlings.
“Ladies and gentleman, you’ve upset Dana,” Green Lightspeed joked before returning to battle.
Meanwhile Yellow Lightspeed used a zip line to fly passed her opponents, striking them with her Rescue Baton as she did so; Red Lightspeed was picking off Batlings using his sidearm while Blue Lightspeed preferred a more direct approach. At some point Garth and Nancy joined the fight. Garth still had his special abilities and the armour they provided, but chose to fight in a modified combat suit similar to the one Nancy wore; Nancy had yet to receive clearance to use her Lightspeed Ranger powers. Both carried large calibre weapons loaded with specially selected bullets that would destroy Batlings.
A crack of thunder echoed across the city as the last Batling fell and the Rangers prepared to resume their mission. There was a flash and they found their path blocked by a new monster, already grown to full size.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Joel demanded.
“I think I’m going to need a bigger gun,” Nancy commented lamely in response.
Angel Grove
“Where the hell did he go?” Red Turbo demanded.
After reforming and then growing to monstrous size, Mega Behemoth had been about to start a new rampage when he had vanished in a flash of light.
“I’m trying to track him,” Blue Turbo replied.
“Since when do monsters pick and chose their fights?” Red wanted to know before turning his attention to their allies. “You guys okay?”
Bulk and Skull were no longer in their Turbo Rider forms. They were helping a dazed Dex back to his feet. Whatever that card had been it had managed to completely stun the Masked Rider.
“Somebody moved him to a new location,” Dex answered once he regained some of his senses.
“Let’s get back to the Power Chamber and see if their are any giant monster sightings,” Justin suggested.
The others nodded and they all teleported away, leaving behind a ruined street and the remains of the Robot Rangers.
Mariner Bay
It was amazing how quickly things could go from bad to very bad. It had been bad when Mega Behemoth had appeared, looming over the Lightspeed convoy. That had turned so much worse when the monster had reached down and grabbed the Hydrothermal Generator from the top of Green Lightspeed’s Rescue Zord. However it had not been an absolute disaster until the monster in question had swallowed the fragile apparatus, absorbing the energy it contained and turning himself into a giant walking bomb.
“So if we hit him, will it go off?” Blue Lightspeed wanted to know.
“We’re not sure yet,” Captain Mitchell replied. “Rangers, you need to draw him away from the city. Let him chase you, but try not to fight him.”
“If he just swallowed all that power would we be able to hurt him anyway?” Green Lightspeed wanted to know.
“That’s a question I’d rather not answer.”
“All right guys, let’s move!” Red Lightspeed ordered, racing his Zord toward the monster. At the last moment he u-turned and sped off in the opposite direction, causing Mega Behemoth to follow him.
The other Zords were soon racing alongside their leader, drawing Mega Behemoth away from the city while waiting to be told whether or not it was safe to fight him.
~Of course,~ a tiny voice in Pink Lightspeed’s head told her, ~if we can’t fight him he’ll probably end up destroying us anyway.~
“Rangers, the energy readings are stable,” Miss Fairweather told them. “The generator has been disarmed.”
That meant that instead of fighting an exploding monster that was determined to fight them, the Lightspeed Rangers were instead fighting a very large, extremely powerful monster that was determined to pulverize them.
“Okay guys, let’s take him out!” Red Lightspeed ordered, although he lacked any idea how to do so.
Green Lightspeed was the first to respond, deploying a collection of giant bal bearing that were intended foul moving large pieces of rubble. The oversized marbles rolled under Mega Behemoth’s feet, causing him to stumble and then fall backwards. Yellow Lightspeed moved in rapidly, using her Zord’s shovel to lift and then throw Mega Behemoth into Red Lightspeed’s path. Red Lightspeed used his Zord’s super cooled water jets to hose down their opponent as Pink Lightspeed closed in with her Zord from behind and stabbed him with a giant needle.
As Mega Behemoth recovered, Blue Lightspeed switched his Zord to its humanoid form and pressed the attack. When his Zord was violently knocked away, he switched back to its vehicle form before regaining control and driving back toward the monster at speed. At the right moment he switched mode again and landed a vicious punch to his opponent’s face.
Mega Behemoth responded angrily, unleashing a blast of energy that knocked the Zords aside. He closed in on Blue Lightspeed’s Zord and as the other struggled to pull him away, it became clear their Zords lacked the power to harm him.
“Rangers, switch to Rescue Megazord!” Miss Fairweather instructed.
A blue button lit up on their control panels, which the Rangers pressed, activating their Zords’ gestalt features. Red Lightspeed’s Zord folded around to form the upper body as Blue Lightspeed’s machine transformed into the lower body. Pink Lightspeed’s Ambulance Zord split along its length to form the arms as Yellow Lightspeed and Green Lightspeed converted their Zords ready to form the legs. As the Zords new head moved into position the Rangers were united in the cockpit, ready for action.
Power Chamber
“Found him!” Justin cried. The Blue Turbo Ranger had been scanning the television channels in the hope that between local newscasts and Zordon’s satellites, they would be able to find Mega Behemoth. “Oh man, he’s changed. He didn’t look like that before!”
Indeed at some point between his resurrection and his appearance in Mariner Bay, Mega Behemoth’s body had changed. It was likely a part of his demon heritage, the same magic that meant he could only grow stronger after each defeat he suffered. In this form he seemed much more powerful.
“The computer says that he is much more powerful, but he isn’t indestructible anymore more,” Justin read.
“So if we stop him now, it’s over,” Fred added, hopefully.
“Only problem is we have to defeat him first.”
They watched as the Rescue Megazord managed to land a few punches and then winced as it was knocked back. GldBehemoth followed up with an energy attack that left the Megazord sparking. Justin imagined the Rangers and their support team would be scrambling to recover from that.
“Turbo Megazord is assembled and ready to go,” he told his leader.
Fred nodded and picked up his helmet while Justin set the controls to teleport them to Mariner Bay.
“Back to Action!”
Mariner Bay
Mega Behemoth’s energy blast had delivered a mighty blow against the Megazord, knocking its systems offline for a short time. Fortunately its reserves had kicked in before it the monster had had the opportunity to follow up. The Rangers tried to fight back, using distance attacks as well as landing a few decent punches; the Rescue Megazord had an awesome right hook. However despite their efforts, Mega Behemoth remained standing. And once it became clear that they had given him their best blows, he responded.
The blast rocked the Rescue Megazord, ripping through the lower torso. Blue Lightspeed’s Zord was in all likelihood a write off, which left the Megazord tottering back and forth as it tried to support its weight on its broken body.
“Systems are down, legs barely responding,” Yellow Lightspeed reported.
“Lower torso is completely offline,” Blue Lightspeed added, “Fire controls are responding, but it could fail at any moment.”
“Upper body took some of that blast as well,” Green Lightspeed warned. “If he had aimed any high we would have been fried.”
“Can’t we go one mission without losing a Megazord?!” Pink Lightspeed complained. Her dad was going to be annoyed. Then remembering that she had a job to do she checked her own console. “Arms are a little battered, but still operational.”
As if hearing them, Mega Behemoth unleashed yet another energy blast, this time targeting the head and shoulders of the Megazord, causing chunks to metal to collapse in on the Rangers’ heads.
“We need to get moving again,” Yellow Lightspeed insisted before checking her console. “The power couplings between the body and legs are gone. Maybe I can bypass them and get us back online.”
Blue Lightspeed moved to help her, realising they would need to cut away large sections of his damaged Zord to access the interlocks. Red Lightspeed however stopped them. He could already tell that the Megazord was not going to last much longer. Mega Behemoth had decimated the body and even if they could make the legs work, they were a single punch away from collapsing.
“That’s not going to be enough he told them. Captain Mitchell, request permission to destruct the Megazord?”
There was a long pause. It was not an easy decision to make. The Lightspeed Rangers had a disastrous history when it came to Zords, mostly because their machines were little more than prototypes built from Earth materials by human engineers with no time for testing before they were deployed. The first design had not even survived its first test before setting itself on fire. Later attempts had been more successful, but they were considerably weaker than the enemy they were fighting. So far though they had not been in a position where they had needed to sacrifice a Megazord; normally it was more sporting to let the monster destroy them itself.
“Do it!” he replied at last.
They could build a new Megazord given time, but they had to stop Mega Behemoth before he caused any real damage. The Hydrothermal Generator he had swallowed had granted him far more power than they could hope to overcome. At the same time it had at least stopped the threat of the device exploding.
“Initiate self-destruct sequence!” Red Lightspeed ordered.
Before the computer could respond to the command though Mega Behemoth fired a final devastating blast, engulfing the chest and torso of the damages Megazord and causing the whole machine to flop to the ground. Electricity arced from Mega Behemoths clawed fingers toward the downed machine, destroying what remained of its damaged controls as the Rangers struggled to find a way to escape the wreckage. In the end the settled for blasting the chest panel open and repelling to safety as the remains of the Megazord started to collapse. And as they tried to recover from the shock of their near death experience, Mega Behemoth loomed above them ready to unleash another deadly torrent, this time directly at them.
“Turbo Megazord incoming!”
Red Turbo positioned the Megazord into the path of Mega Behemoth’s attack, deflecting the attack with the Zord’s shield. With Red and Blue Turbo at the controls the Megazord was a little less agile, but they worked well together and were soon on the attack. With a combination of shied assisted blocks and sword blows, the forced Mega Behemoth away from the wreckage of the Rescue Megazord, allowing the Lightspeed Rangers time to regroup.
“Turbo Spear Attack!”
The Turbo Megazord charged forward, its sword at the ready. Just as Mega Behemoth attempted to blast it, the Zord leapt into the air before spinning towards it like a missile, its sword extended over its head. The tip connected the Megazord tore through the villain, but Mega Behemoth did not go down.
“No way!” Red Turbo exclaimed.
“Rangers, this has been so entertaining,” Mega Behemoth chuckled. “I’m sorry to see it end. Now I’ll gather up all my energy and release it like so!”
Only Red Turbo’s quick thinking allowed him to shift the Zord’s shield up to protect them as Mega Behemoth blasted them with everything he had. Even then the shield only lasted a few second before it along with most of the Megazord’s arms was vaporised. More shockwaves hit as the machine’s legs were pulverised by the monster’s energy. The Zord collapsed back, only the body remaining operational.
“Systems are down, we can’t move!” Red Turbo cried.
“Chest Lasers!” Blue Turbo ordered, firing the cannons mounted on the Zord’s body. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
The blasts caused Mega Behemoth to stagger backwards. When he had said he was going to blast them with all his power, he had mean it.
“Rangers, this is the Lightspeed Aquabase, can you hear me?”
“We hear you,” Red Turbo answered.
“Our Zords are damaged, but we have working arms and legs,” Miss Fairweather told them.
“And we have a working body,” Blue Turbo replied.
“Our computers show the Zords are compatible,” she explained
“You mean we can take the body of the Turbo Megazord and add the arms and legs to the Rescue Megazord?” Yellow Lightspeed asked.
“Yes,” came the reply.
The two Turbo Rangers exchanged a brief nod. They had very little choice. One the ground the Lightspeed Rangers had decided likewise. As the Turbo Rangers worked to upload the new code into their Zord’s systems, the Lightspeed Rangers tried to release the Rescue Zords manually. When the computer confirmed that the upload was complete though it was too late to worry about whether or not it would work.
“Turbo Rescue Megazord!”
The undamaged limbs of the Rescue Megazord detached and one the Lightspeed Rangers were on board, travelled to where the Turbo Megazord was waiting. The smelted arms and legs had been ejected, leaving the body and torso ready for formation. The Pink Lightspeed Zord formed the arms while the Green and Yellow Lightspeed Zords formed the legs, leaving a new machine ready for action. Inside the cockpit, Green, Yellow and Pink Lightspeed had assumed their controls alongside Red and Blue Turbo. Red and Blue Lightspeed stood at the back of the cockpit.
And so a weakened Mega Behemoth found himself facing the combined power of two Megazords. And the Megazord was able to use it bulkier limbs to pummel the monster before it could generate another blast. The problem however was that the Turbo Megazord’s sword had been lost in the previous attack and the Rescue Megazord had lacked serious firepower of its own. And while they could keep Mega Behemoth off balance, once he managed to grab hold of them, it was not possible to shake him loose.
“Turbo Rescue Megazord Spinout!” Red Turbo called before pressing a control to activate the manoeuvre.
“That’s it!” Blue Turbo cheered, “the Turbo Megaozord’s moves still work!”
The Megazord started to spin, building up speed until the monster’s grip was broken.
“Turbo Rescue Megazord Bullet!”
The Megazord launched its arms at the monster, using the speed from the spinout to propel that at high speed. Sadly despite the force of the attack, Mega Behemoth remained standing.
“Turbo Artillatron!”
Artillatron was the name the Rangers had given to one of the massive Zords they had received when they had broken the spell over three of Divatox’s evil Turbo Rangers. They had spent time rewiring its systems so that it could be used in battle. Its programming only allowed it to enter Combat Mode when all five Turbo Rangers were present, however even if he had wanted access to that function, Fred knew his team had not spent enough time learning how to pilot it safely. There was no way he and Justin could do so alone. Instead he decided to access one of the features the Rangers had finished working on.
“Artillery Power!”
Artillatron housed a powerful flamethrower and gatling blaster, which the Rangers had reconfigured to act as additional weapons for the Turbo Megazord. So when requested they found the weapons worked just as well when transported to the shoulders of the Turbo Rescue Megazord. Green, Yellow and Pink Lightspeed caught on to what the Turbo Rangers had in mind and helped shift the position of the Megazord into firing formation.
“Fire!”
The combined firepower tore into Mega Behemoth, ripping the monster apart. With the energy he had absorbed from the Hydrothermal Generator exhausted – for it seemed that Mega Behemoth had drained it completely instead of allowing it to continuously empower himself – he was just another monster. He exploded, leaving the Megazord victorious.
Diabolico was torn as he watched the Rangers defeat Mega Behemoth. On the one hand he was disappointed that the villain had lost after coming so close, but he was also pleased with the outcome. Mega Behemoth had caused the death and destruction that the demons desired. The negative energy that fed their powers was higher than it had ever been, high enough to ignite the magical beacon that would in turn guide Queen Bansheera back to Earth. They would just need to make sure that when she arrived her orders had been carried out and their kingdom had been restored.
That the damage inflicted by Mega Behemoth in Mariner Bay and Angel Grove had been reverse when he had been destroyed was of no concern. There would be other opportunities to reclaim their kingdom from the human vermin. And when they did so they would not be sharing their rightful lands with other pantheons. This time they would rule the planet.
“Pierre, I have a job for you.”
Mariner Bay
Victory had come at a high cost. The Robot Rangers were beyond repair and it would likely take the Power Chamber days to finish collecting all the remains. The damage to the Turbo Megazord and the Rescue Megazord had also been extensive. Repairs were already underway on the damaged sections and all were hopeful that they would be complete before the next attack. The idea of having to share a Megazord for future battles did not appeal to either team. Lightspeed’s overseers had tried to claim that the Turbo Rescue Megazord was property of Lightspeed. The Turbo Rangers had not been shy about putting them in their place.
The loss of the Hydrothermal Generator had been as much a good thing as it had been a disaster. General McKnight’s staff had been angered that such a valuable piece of technology had been allowed to fall into enemy hands and had been destroyed without permission. However when faced with the public exposure of the bomb they had created, they were willing to agree that putting it beyond use had been the correct action to take.
The exact details of events that had led to the generator being in such a dangerous position to begin with were still unclear. The authorities had deemed disclosure to not be in the national interest so no more questions were asked. However General McKnight had seemed concerned by their description of the cavern where the generator had been housed and the lack of any other equipment. It caused the Rangers and their captain to wonder what they had been up to and how much trouble it would cause when they found out.
The Moon
Spank’Em was gone. His students were gone. All that remained was Behemoth and he had a headache. The Masked Rider’s kick had been painful and while he survived, a part of him wished he hadn’t. Still as he suffered his demonic heritage forced his body to adapt. The next time they met, the Masked Rider would not be able to hurt him in the same way.
The air rippled as two blurs, one crimson and the other dark blue, announced the arrival of what was left of the Dark Turbo Rangers. Instead of being absorbed into the Speed Force as they had expected, the energy field had healed them and then thrown them out. Although as a side effect they were substantially less human than before, existing as energy confined within their suits.
They looked up as Behemoth charged at them and realised that Spank’Em had been wrong. Behemoth was capable of learning how to defeat them after all. It was simply a matter of striking first. And without Spank’Em there to hold him back, the monster had the upper hand. The Dark Turbo Rangers had barely survived their recent defeat, they were far too weak to summon the speed they needed to avoid Behemoth’s devastating force.
Behemoth ignored Dark Red Turbo long enough to smash Dark Blue Turbo in the face so hard that he crashed through the solid walls of the old palace. Then he turned his attention to the more powerful Dark Turbo Ranger, striking him repeatedly until he could not stand. Behemoth’s grip tightened around the other villain’s neck and he was rewarded by the sudden fear that meant his prey understood what was about to happen. Even as the Dark Blue Turbo Ranger crawled back into the room, he reached out with his other hand and tightened it over the Dark Red Turbo’s head. There was a pause as the three villains considered their options. Behemoth clearly intended to rip Dark Red Turbo’s head off, Dark Red Turbo was helpless to do more than fight the urge to cry out and Dark Blue Turbo knew that if he did not act his comrade would die.
The Dark Blue Turbo Ranger lived up to his name, charging forward to strike the monster he had beaten so many times before. This time though Behemoth had nothing holding him back and proved he was just as fast as the Dark Turbo Rider, releasing his grip on Dark Red Turbo for a time while he did so. He had grown faster and his fists connected five times for every punch Dark Blue Turbo managed to land. In the end there was no contest as Behemoth stopped throwing his opponent around and instead unleashed a ball of energy that almost ripped him to pieces. And then as he was casually tossed aside and landed beside the fallen Dark Red Turbo, Behemoth loomed over them. And everything turned dark.
Those events were in the past. Behemoth had gone on to fight the Rangers one more time before they finally defeated him. Already weakened by their defeat at the hands of the Turbo Rangers, the Dark Blue and Dark Red Turbo Riders had had the misfortune of stumbling upon an enraged Behemoth. With nobody to hold him back, the enraged monster had pulverised them. He had been moving in for the kill when something had happened: the room had gone dark. When the light had returned, Behemoth had been on the far side of the room, muttering to himself.
They were not sure what had caused him to stop hunting them, but they had taken the opportunity to slink away and lick their wounds. They had been doing so ever since. Dark Red Turbo had tried to bolt across the lunar surface in search of shelter while Dark Blue Turbo had sought out the hidden workshop Porto had used during their creation where he hoped to find answers. Neither had been successful and had somehow been drawn together once more and teleported to Earth.
Something had changed when they had been ejected from the Speed Force. The swirling energy vortex had not healed them; it had converted the cells of their bodies into energy and restored them based on their memories of how they had been before. The healing was just a side effect of the process since the mental image had been of their bodies before they had been injured. The confrontation with Behemoth had drained the surplus energy they had retained from the Speed Force and the small vehicle-shaped devices Porto had used to channel the Speed Force through their armour were gone.
The pair had searched for the computerised vehicles Porto had connected their power to, hoping that doing so would reveal a means of recharging. However all they found were the empty shells of the intelligent machines. Though they were working vehicles and Porto had modified them to operate on Earth roads, their computer cores were empty.
And months later that left the Dark Turbo Riders out of fuel and unable to replenish their energy. They were certain that death was close. But before they expired, Dark Blue Turbo was determined to try to find a way to complete their mission and maybe gain a measure of revenge. He recalled the list that Porto maintained in his workshop, the one that monitored the activity of other inventors, scientists and creators. Porto had kept a close eye not only on his fellow villains, but on the activities of various governments and research companies. It was within one of those facilities that he hoped to find what he needed.
Since Dark Red Turbo lacked any better alternatives, he had agreed to accompany his ally. Lacking the energy to teleport they had started the engines of their vehicles and driven off to the first location. With the engines running and the Dark Turbo Riders in their seats, the vehicles seemed to come alive once more. And as they tore down the highways, the two Dark Turbo Riders wondered just what their lives had been like before Porto had turned them into servants of Divatox.
Mariner Bay
His name was Pierre and he was a demon. Alongside Jinxer, he was a servant to the Royal Court of Queen Bansheera. However his skills differed from his brother’s abilities and normally that left him to play the role of nursemaid while his brother summoned beasts to aid Diabolico. However Pierre also specialised in necromancy and that made him the perfect choice for Diabolico’s latest scheme. Before him a team of twenty Batlings were digging. It had taken a while to find the correct grave, but after dispensing of a few human protections around the ground, they had started to extract the small casket within.
“Good,” Pierre hissed as his helpers opened the casket and he was able to examine the remains. “The body is decayed but mostly intact. We can use it.”
He briefly considered ordering the Batling to cover the grave again, hiding their tracks from those that might investigate. Instead he decided to leave it open and let the humans discover the desecration of their burial grounds. It would likely cause panic as they worried what the demons had in mind for the stolen carcass. It was doubtful anybody would realise what had been taken until it was too late anyway.
End of Part.
Chapter 25: Up to the Challenge
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to the current copyright owners. This is a fan work and no profit has been made from it.
Up to the Challenge
Angel Grove
With Gold Behemoth finally defeated, life for the Turbo Rangers had quietened down. The team had found themselves more concerned with school work and teenage life than defending the planet. Which was probably a good thing since they only had two active Rangers following their friends’ injuries and were currently sharing a Megazord with the Rangers of Mariner Bay after Gold Behemoth had slaughtered three of their Zords and two that belonged to their allies.
It was a chance to relax and catch up on the work they had missed due to saving the world. It was a chance for Tasha, Franklin and Rosa to recover from their injuries although it was doubtful they would ever morph again. And it was an opportunity to wonder what had happened to Zordon and the senior Rangers? It had been months since they had left to assist the people of Aquitar and very little had been heard from them. Both the younger Rangers and their parents were starting to worry.
But there was something about spending the morning working on complex math problems that the Rangers appreciated after the recent upheaval. School was boring, tedious and in some cases difficult interspersed with the occasional funny moment, interesting teacher or opportunity to catch up with friends. As he sat trying to remember how to solve the problem in front of him, Fred was actually happy.
Bulk and Skull were extremely happy as they polished their badges. After completing their training as Turbo Riders, the two youths had taken up working for Lieutenant Stone. The private detective had been asked to review some old unsolved crimes and had asked for the duos’ unique perspective. Both had readily agreed.
And working with Detective Stone, an adult who knew about their secret identities, also meant they were able to leave work when needed. Angel Grove had been extremely quiet recently though and the boys were enjoying what for them at least could be considered a normal life.
Mariner Bay
The Lightspeed Rangers were not happy. There had not been an attack since Gold Behemoth had been defeated, but unlike the Turbo Rangers, they couldn’t just go back to their normal lives. Lightspeed was their life and that meant that when there were no attacks, they spent their time preparing for the next battle. Days spent training, lifting weights and enduring long lectures on procedure. Then there were the hours of helping repair the Zords damaged in their previous battle; it was still to early to decide if there were enough pieces of the damaged Rescue Zords to put them back together again.
But despite how difficult they found the work, they all agreed that it gave them a sense of belonging. As a team their bond was growing stronger and they had started including Nancy in their training sessions. One day she would become the sixth Ranger and training her had helped them improve their skills.
Garth had been training intensely to keep up with the others. He could never hold the powers of a Lightspeed Ranger; his questionable legal status disqualified him from the role and the modifications that had been made to his body were not compatible with those of a Lightspeed Ranger. Not that he minded since his role was to hunt and destroy demons, as opposed to the Rangers’ primary function of saving lives while fighting Queen Bansheera’s forces. Garth had a lot more freedom in his role even if it meant he would never completely fit in around the others.
In her workshop Miss Fairweather was supervising many of the projects that would increase Lightspeed’s arsenal. They included the attempted repair of the Rescue Zords and the restoration of the Express Zord given to them following the Turbo Rangers’ defeat of Divatox’s evil Rangers. Then there were the enhancement units and the modifications to the Rescue Machines and smaller Rescue Vehicles to oversee. It was a busy and demanding schedule, but she left work each day knowing that her work would make the world a safer place.
In his office Captain Mitchell was dealing with the downside of all the effort: paperwork. Every parts request, training update, medical check and security report made its way across his desk. And then there were the requests for information from Lightspeed’s shareholders and other interested parties. There were questions from accountants wanting to know the justification for some minor purchase and from the lawyers demanding an explanation of why Lightspeed did not own the rights to all the Zords inside the Aquabase. There were insurance claims for damaged buildings and more than a few compensation claims from those injured during monster attacks.
~It’s a good thing Lightspeed has such a large budget,~ he thought as he saw the cost of the road repairs from where a Zord had landed. The organisation’s budget had been established a long long time ago by their benefactor. It had grown through careful investment to the point where everything they had spent so far would be recovered within a few decades and had barely made a dent in their funds. ~It’s also lucky that only certain people can access the accounts.~ That had been included as a safeguard to ensure that his family would always be a part of an organisation and that the funds could not be misused or redirected.
He read over the latest demand for the return of the damaged Hydrothermal Generator that Gold Behemoth had eaten along with an outlandish claim for compensation to replace it. He wrote a small figure on the page that lacked many of the zeros they had requested and dictated a letter for his secretary explaining the payment was for the scrap material they had recovered from the scene. He allowed himself some satisfaction as he imagined the look on their faces when he noted the cost of the damage caused by the generator and Lightspeed’s fee for recovering it.
He put the letter to one side and moved on to the next report on unusual happenings in Mariner Bay. There was nothing of real interest aside from a break in at one of the scrap yards. The owner had sworn he had seen Batlings carrying off the remains of a crushed car. There had also been reports of more break ins and the disappearance of a prisoner serving time for causing death by reckless driving. On their own such events didn’t merit his interest, but he put the reports in a folder and assigned them to one of his junior officers to review at their convenience. He had a hunch the events were not completely random.
As he finished reviewing some of his outgoing mail, he opened the top drawer of his desk to retrieve an envelope and paused for a moment to study the photograph he kept there. His eyes closed as he remembered the pain of loss before retrieving the envelope and carrying on, losing himself in his work. There were some wounds time just couldn’t heal. He hastily wrote some instructions on a piece of paper and put it inside the envelope, which he then addressed to the Rangers. They had worked hard recently, so he had decided to give them a little time off before things got busy again.
Mariner Bay
31 March 1998
His name was Curszer and he was a demon. Alongside Jinxer, he was a servant to the Royal Court of Queen Bansheera. However his skills differed from his brother’s abilities and normally that left him to play the role of nursemaid while his brother summoned beasts to aid Diabolico. However Curszer also specialised in necromancy and that made him the perfect choice for Diabolico’s latest scheme. Before him a team of twenty Batlings were digging in the darkness. It had taken a while to find the correct grave, but after dispensing of a few human protections around the ground, they had started to extract the small casket within.
“Good,” Curszer hissed as his helpers opened the casket and he was able to examine the remains. “The body is decayed but mostly intact. We can use it.”
He briefly considered ordering the Batling to cover the grave again, hiding their tracks from those that might investigate. Instead he decided to leave it open and let the humans discover the desecration of their burial grounds. It would likely cause panic as they worried what the demons had in mind for the stolen carcass. It was doubtful anybody would realise what had been taken until it was too late anyway. But along with the other things he had stolen, he had all the ingredients he needed.
Chad had enjoyed his day off so far, playing with the fish in the bay and diving for treasure at the bottom of the sea. But duty called and it was time to return to the Aqua Base for breakfast. He removed scuba gear and travelled back to the Aqua Base along the access tunnel and made his way to the changing rooms where he could dry off properly. He checked his watch and found there was still time to get something to eat before the mess closed if he hurried.
“Kelsey!” he called as he knocked on her door. He was well aware that if he had not eaten there was a good chance the Yellow Ranger had also missed a meal. She had been up late the previous night and had probably not gotten to bed until a few hours ago. “Time to get up, we have a busy day ahead!”
He heard the sound of a half-asleep Kelsey groan in response and carried on his way, knowing that she would join him eventually. Half an hour or so later as Chad was finishing his breakfast, Kelsey finally made her appearance, clearly tired if the yawning was an indication. Fortunately Chad had already ordered her breakfast for her. After making fun of Chad’s early morning swims, the two settled down to enjoy the rest of their meal.
Skull Cavern
Diabolico stood before the hell-mouth and lamented how Mariner Bay would be rubble now if it weren’t for those Rangers. Mariner Bay was but the first step in the demons reclaiming the Earth, but until the wretched city was destroyed, the pocket of negative energy the demons fed upon was unusable. And with Queen Bansheera back in contact, he was aware that it was only a short time before she tired of his excuses.
“Do not worry Diabolico,” Vypra assured the other demon, “I have a monster that will this city to smithereens.” As she spoke she handed Jinxer a card and told him to get to work.
Jinxer took the card and studied it before chuckling. The three senior members of Queen Bansheera’s court could make monsters of their own, but they needed Jinxer to focus the limited negative energy to bring them to life. Once Mariner Bay was destroyed he expected them to handle that part of things themselves. He tossed the card away and cast his spell.
“Hocus pocus, bullfrog croakus. Bring this monster into focus!”
The demonic energies surrounding the palace swirled about into lightning, striking the hell-mouth head to summon forth a red fireball from within. The fireball took shape in the mist-filled room, as the monster on the card rolled-up into ball-mode. Then he stood up, and announced with a laugh: “Smogger is here!”
“Excellent!” Vypra called, “the Rangers will be no match for Smogger’s explosive firepower.”
“You got that right, sister,” Smogger replied as he set off toward Mariner Bay.
The day off continued as Kelsey and Chad took the time to practice with Nancy. As Lightspeed’s newest Ranger recruit, the team had taken it upon themselves to bring her up to speed as quickly as possible. That meant taking time from their schedules to show her the tricks that made them so effective. Today Chad had decided to show her some new fighting moves and Kelsey had accompanied them because… In truth Kelsey was the only Ranger that had noticed how much Nancy was struggling to keep up with the additional training. She worked hard in the official training sessions and then was worked even harder by her future teammates in her spare time. Kelsey was worried that they were pushing her too hard.
“I don’t know about this Chad,” Kelsey said as he set his two students to work. Nancy seemed to grasp most of the moves but Kelsey was having difficulty. “Skateboarding is more my speed.”
“Trust me on this, Tai Chi is the path to inner calm. Something you need more than anyone.”
“Are you saying I’m not calm?” Kelsey demanded as Nancy tried to hide a snicker.
“Kelsey, I think you’re awesome,” Chad replied. “Adventurous…”
“And fearless…” Nancy added, which caused the Yellow Ranger to blush.
“Bu-u-t,” and here Chad paused as he tried to find the right words. Giving up, he looked to Nancy for help.
“Sometimes she gets a little overexcited?” Nancy asked.
Chad nodded, very cautiously.
“Overexcited?” Kelsey demanded as she rushed over and attacked the Blue Ranger’s chest. “I’ll show you over excited.”
At which point the training session turned into a three way tickle fight until they were disturbed by the sound of a motorcycle.
“Well well, if it isn’t the Blue and Yellow Rangers. I thought you were supposed to be fighting monsters, not civilians.”
The Rangers and their trainee turned toward the voice to find two punks watching them. The one who had spoken glanced at Nancy dismissively before deciding she was not worth his time.
“I bet they’re nothing without their powers,” the girl on the back of the bike commented.
“Hi, I’m Chad and this is Kelsey,” Chad said, offering his hand, only to have his offer of friendship rejected.
“Yeah I bet you think you’re really tough,” the punk sneered. “Why don’t we have a little fight and find out?”
Chad shook his head and gestured for his companions to join him as he picked up his things ready to leave.
“What’s the matter, chicken?” the punk cooed. “Little Power Ranger chicken.”
“He’s not a chicken!” Kelsey snapped, only for Nancy and Chad to hold her back. “Come on Chad, you can take him.”
“Maybe,” Chad agreed, ignoring the punk’s snort of disbelief, “but I don’t need to.”
As the threesome gathered their things, the punk seemed to realise that his chicken impressions were not having an effect. He looked at his girlfriend and when she gestured he decided that if Chad wasn’t going to fight willingly, he would make him.
“Get him Brian,” she urged.
Not needing much of a prompt, Brian marched over and stepped on Chad’s blue towel, preventing him from picking it up.
“Excuse me,” Chad said, but Brian pretended not to hear. With a sigh, Chad excused himself a second time and then yanked the towel free, knocking him over.
As Kelsey laughed and Nancy grinned, Chad cracked a small smile while wiping his hands off with his boot-stained towel.
“Don’t let him get away with that!” Brian’s girlfriend screamed.
Not wanting to look weak in front of his girlfriend, Brian jumped up and stomped towards Chad and the others. He attacked with a volley of clumsy but powerful kicks, which Chad easily deflected. With a small wink at the girls, Chad wrapped his towel around his arms while keeping them behind his back, infuriating the punk further. Eventually though Chad had enough and put an end to the fight. It appeared that Brian realised there was no way he could defeat Chad regardless of his powers.
“Come on Brian, you can beat him!” his girlfriend urged, however Chad and Kelsey had other things to worry about when their communicators beeped.
“Sorry Rangers, but your day off will have to wait,” Captain Mitchell told them. “There’s been an attack down town.”
“We’d better get going,” Kelsey said. “Head back to the Aqua Base, Nancy.”
The three headed off, leaving Brian to protest that he could have won while his girlfriend mocked him for losing.
Smogger charged up his amphibian-like body, and mustered up two large white balls. He tossed them at a building, causing the whole place to be racked with a sudden explosion, and the remainder of it to sink into the ground a bit to the great concern of those under the building in the parking garage. Even as the Rescue Rover sped to the scene Carter and the others were working on a plan.
“Joel and Dana help the people outside the building. Chad, see what you can do about the fire.”
The three Rangers saluted and jumped out of the vehicle, with Blue Ranger using his extinguisher rifle while Dana and Joel directed traffic. Meanwhile Red Ranger had used his helmet to scan the building and located three life signs in the parking garage.
“We need to get those people out,” he said.
Yellow Ranger nodded, as Red Ranger spun the wheel and turned the Rescue Rover into the car park entrance. This was one of those times when they could have used some of the Rescue Vehicles that had been designed, but sadly while the machines were useful, they were slow to deploy until Miss Fairweather could find a new method.
“Closing up!” she said, flicking a switch on the central column. The windows and roof of the Rescue Humvee locked into place, shielding the occupants from the pungent smoke that filled remnants of a building. “Rockets away! That’s how you break down a wall!”
“Next time use the claw!” Red Ranger complained as the Rescue Rover was pelted with debris.
The Rescue Rover had been refitted several times to include tools that could prove useful for small scale rescues. A small lifting claw and a winch were just two of the refinements Miss Fairweather had somehow managed to cram into the Rescue Rover’s frame. Kelsey nodded and used the claw to shove some rubble out of the way as they reached the trapped civilians.
Rescue Riser
Outside the building, Blue Ranger had managed to spray a steady stream of water onto the fiery building using one of the Rescue Vehicles The Rescue Riser was a larger than average, though certainly not Zord-sized vehicle capable of directing large jets of water. Unlike the other Rescue Vehicles, the machine operated better at long range, meaning it did not have to travel so far into the city before it was useful.
“The fire’s under control,” he reported, just as the Rescue Rover emerged from the building as Pink and Green Ranger reported that the area was clear of civilians.
They had just handed the three previously trapped innocents over to trained personnel when Smogger decided to appear.
“Playtime is over!” he announced.
“What are you doing here?” Red Ranger demanded.
“I’m having a ball,” Smogger replied as a horde of Batlings appeared and swarmed the Rangers.
With that the monster turned into his ball-mode, curling up and rolling off down the street. The Rangers broke loose of the Batlings, but it was too late as Smogger moved away. Yellow and Blue Ranger chased after him leaving the others to deal with the Batlings.
In another part of the city, Brian had parked his motorcycle. The area was rundown, a sign that not all businesses took advantage of the generous tax incentives offered by Mariner Bay’s council. Many stayed away from such places, fearing stray monster attacks or worse: punks like Brian who enjoyed the empty and almost lawless streets. His enjoyment of the old architecture was ruined by a loud rumbling as Smogger’s ball-form raced down the road. He hid behind a pillar and watched as the Yellow and Blue Rangers chased the madball of a monster into the abandoned buildings. Smogger rolled down stairs and up them, through small narrow spaces and eventually in through a set of doors.
Blue and Yellow Ranger had managed to keep up and followed him through the door, not realising that Smogger was about to unleash his power. A blast of gas erupted from his fingertips, filling up the room with the noxious fumes. Yellow Ranger told her teammates to stand back as she prepared to blast him out with her Rescue Blaster. Blue Ranger cautioned her that such an act could be dangerous, but the Yellow Ranger had made up her mind and as Brian lurked around the side of tattered building, watching the Rangers in action, Yellow Ranger fired her Rescue Blaster at the door, blasting holes in it and hopefully the monster on the other side.
“I got him!” Yellow Ranger cried triumphantly as she rushed toward the door.
“Kelsey, wait!” Blue Ranger responded as he notice smog drifting through the holes.
She ignored him and burst through the doors, just in time to see the smog vacate the room through a stairwell in the back of the room. The sudden change in pressure sent a huge stream of fire back at them, which ripped through Yellow Ranger, and Blue Ranger, as it ignited and erupted through the building.
Brian watched from his safe hiding place as the two Rangers were thrown out into the open. He had to shield his face from the heat as they demorphed. He could see that the Blue Ranger was mostly unharmed, but the Yellow Ranger looked like she had taken the brunt of the fireball.
“Two Rangers down,” Smogger gloated before leaving. “Just wait until I tell Vypra.”
As Chad lifted an apologetic Kelsey into his arms and carried her to a safer location, Brian had reached a decision and followed Smogger to a nearby warehouse. There he witnessed Vypra commending her monster for a job well done.
“Now take your explosive gas and go and blow up the whole of Mariner Bay,” she ordered.
“No problem, I haven’t even used my strongest gas yet,” Smogger promised.
Brian tried to move to a better location, but accidentally bumped into a barrel, alerting Vypra to his presence. Several Batlings rushed over and captured him, presenting the eavesdropper to the demonic princess on his knees.
“Destroy him!” she ordered.
“Wait, I’m not a spy!” Brian protested. “I want to join you!”
“Join me?” Despite herself Vypra was intriqued that a human would ask something like that. Her amusement was enough to keep him alive a little longer.
“Teach me,” he urged, breaking free of the Batlings so that he could run toward her. “Teach me how to destroy the Blue Ranger.”
Vypra pondered the idea. If nothing else she thought it would be amusing to see the humans fight amongst themselves. And even as Smogger ordered the human to lower his head before his new mistress, she blew on his head with her demonic breath, turning him into a human-demon hybrid for a short time.
“Well, let’s get to work,” she said, causing Brian to lift his head. His eyes had turned orange and his face had paled as the demonic vapours affected his body.
“Yes, my mistress,” he replied in a voice that was no longer his own. A part of him protested but it was silenced by the part that pointed out that this was what he had wanted.
Mariner Bay Emergency Medical Center, Room 413
Kelsey had not been badly hurt, but the doctors had decided that rest and some fluid replenishment was needed before she could leave. At first she had protested, but those complaints were forgotten when she closed her eyes for a moment and fell asleep. Chad had been watching over her since her arrival, once the doctors had decided that he was fit and did not need any treatment following his exposure to Smogger’s gas. Finally he departed to let her sleep, wracked with guilt over her current state despite knowing that it was not his fault.
“I should have stopped her,” he told the others as he joined them in the waiting room.
“Yeah right,” Joel snorted. “Nobody can stop that girl from doing anything once her mind is made up.”
“The doctor says she’ll be fine with a little rest,” Dana pointed out.
Carter communicator chose that moment to beep.
“Rangers, we’ve managed to locate Smogger. He’s in the Main Street tunnel!”
“We’re on our way Sir,” Carter replied before nodding at the others.
The four Ranger teens raced out of the hospital with Chad bringing up the rear. A shrill whistle caused the Blue Ranger to pause and as he looked around he spotted a lone Batling gesturing for him to approach.
“Wait,” Carter ordered as Chad moved to do so. “We don’t have time for this; it could be a trap.”
“You guys go on and I’ll deal with him,” Chad replied. “We can’t leave it alone this close to the hospital. I’ll join you shortly.”
Chad followed the Batling behind an ambulance where the Batling handed him a scroll. As he opened it the words lifted from the parchment and burnt into the air. It read: “Blue Ranger, Under the guidance of my new master Vypra, I now have the skills to defeat you. I challenge you to fight me again and this time I will be the victor. -Brian”.
“Blowing up the city from underneath is the perfect plan,” Smogger proclaimed as he led a group of Batlings through a drainage tunnel close to Main Street.
His scheming was interrupted when three morphed Rangers descended into his path using their ropes. He sendt the Batlings to fight them while he concentrated on his task. The Rangers responded by drawing their Rescue Batons and charging the enemy. The fight was on.
Vypra watched as Brian trained for battle. She was pleased with his progress. More so that the distraction meant there were only three Rangers available to stop Smogger. She was impressed when his demon-powered limbs shattered the wooden boards the Batlings had positioned for his use. Yes, he was ready and not a moment too soon as the Batling she had sent to summon the Blue Ranger arrived with the fool in tow.
“Let him go Vypra!” Chad yelled.
“You’re just in time, Blue Ranger,” Vypra replied, ignoring the demands. “I think you know my new warrior.”
“Don’t worry Brian, I’ll get you out of this,” Chad promised.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Brian replied, “And neither are you!”
Chad held his hand s up as Brian circled him. “Come on Brian, you don’t have to do this.”
“Oh yes he does,” Vypra interrupted. “Come on Brian, get him!”
That was all Brian needed to hear as he charged toward the Blue Range and attacked with a series of nasty kicks and punches. Chad tried to defend himself, but a few of the blows landed successfully. But while Brian was fuelled by rage and demon energy, his skills were inferior to Chad, who after ducking a punch, grabbed his rival’s arm.
“Stop it Brian, I’m here to help you.”
“I don’t need your help,” Brian snarled in response before launching a fresh assault.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?”
Kelsey winced, knowing that she had been caught. She had sneaked out of the hospital, found her way back to the Aquabase and recovered her uniform, but in her current state she had been careless and forgotten to make sure that the Weapons Lab was completely empty before entering. Fortunately it was Miss Fairweather that had caught her; whereas Captain Mitchell would have seen the necessity of her return to action, some of his subordinates would have had her forcibly returned to the hospital regardless of the danger her friends were in.
“Yeah, but the others need me!”
Miss Fairweather smiled. She knew there was a reason Kelsey ad been one of those chosen as a Lightspeed Ranger. Since she worked closely with the Rangers she also knew how stubborn the Yellow Ranger could be.
“I’m not going to try and talk you out of it,” she said. “But at least wait a minute so I can give you something to help.”
She pressed a button and one of the Lightspeed Cycles rose into the Transport Bay, along with a new gadget aside it.
“This is the Rescue Speeder,” Fairweather stated. “I thought you might be able to use it.”
Kelsey smiled and gave the scientist a hug.
“Lightspeed Rescue!”
She leapt onto the Lightspeed Cycle, and revved it up, speeding off with the Rescue Speeder attached.
Chad had had enough. He had tried to reason with Brian, to persuade him that they didn’t need to fight. He had tried appealing to the punk to shake off Vypra’s influence, but it was growing clear as Brian continued to punch and kick the Blue Ranger, that the demon’s influence only enhanced his actions. It seemed that Brian was a jerk and that no amount of reasoning could change that.
“Fine,” Chad announced, dodging a kick and removing his jacket. “We’ll do this the hard way.”
He tossed the jacket aside and adjusted his stance. The next time Brian tried to hit him, he found that his punch was easily blocked. After gauging Brian’s strength, Chad had realised that he could hit the punk harder without worrying about hurting him, thanks to Vypra’s enhancements. So he didn’t hold back and Brian soon discovered that Chad was far more skilled than he let on.
Elsewhere, the Rangers had defeated the Batlings and tracked Smogger down to an abandoned factory warehouse district. Smogger coughed up a set of green energy ropes from his mouth, which wrapped around the Green, Red and Pink Rangers. The ropes unleashed a surge of energy that made the Rangers cry out in pain. But Smogger was not done and pulled out two more large white smog balls to throw at them. The resulting blasts sent each of the three Rangers toppling over.
“Ouch,” Green Ranger complained. That seemed to sum up what the others were feeling too.
As Smogger prepared another larger smog ball, he was distracted by the roar of a motorcycle. He unleashed the ball and looked for the source of the sound, realising too late that it was the Yellow Ranger riding down the streets of Mariner Bay to the rescue.
“Rescue Speeder!” Yellow Ranger cried as the Rescue Speeder launched from the bike. It flew through the air and intercepted the smog ball before it could strike the fallen Rangers, and ricocheted it right back into Smogger. While Smogger was blasted back and fell over, the sidecar returned to the bike. Yellow Ranger parked the bike, much to the surprise and delight of her teammates.
“What did you expect?” she asked as she cut the others free. “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.”
Chad and Brian continued fighting and it was clear that Chad had been holding back more than his opponent had suspected. Hours spent swimming had helped improve the power of his kicks. Brian had tried to keep up for a while, but was clearly outclassed and was starting to tire despite his demon-enhanced body. When he was knocked to the dirt for the fourth time in a minute it seemed that the beating had taken its toll. He could hardly stand.
“Pathetic,” Vypra sneered as she watched her human fail. “I should have known!”
“This is over,” Chad told his fallen opponent as Vypra dismissed her spell. “We should go.”
For the first time Brian showed some common sense as he reached up to take the offered hand. However before Chad could help him, another set of Batlings popped up and grabbed the Blue Ranger, holding his arms and legs in place.
“Perhaps now you can finish the job,” Vypra challenged.
“This isn’t right,” Brian protested. “This was supposed to be my battle.”
“Insolent human!” Vypra snarled before punching Brian in the gut. “Either you destroy him or I’ll destroy you.”
Although she had released her possession of the punk, some of her influence remained as Brian obeyed, readying himself to inflict the killing blow. With a howl, he unleashed all his aggression, shifting the direction of his punch at the last moment to strike a Batling. What remained of the spell was broken, causing Brian’s face to return to normal. He smiled at Chad before kicking the Batling holding the Ranger’s leg. Chad replied with a smile of his own as he took out the Batling that had been preparing to strike Brian from behind.
Working together, they made short work of the Batlings as Vypra looked on in disbelief.
“Nobody is going to tell me what to do anymore,” Brian promised.
“You’ll pay for this!” Vypra swore before she decided to cut her losses.
After collecting his jacket and shaking hands with a thankful Brian, Chad left to find his friends.
Smogger flipped Red Ranger into the air and gloated as he landed next to the others. “One wounded Ranger, three left to take care of!”
His gloating was cut short be the Blue Ranger’s swinging entrance. A flying jump kick was rapidly followed by a set of rapid kicks to the monster’s chest. Smogger ended up in an alleyway and had just managed to pull himself back to his feet in time to witness the arrive of Red Ranger on the Lightspeed Cycle with Blue Ranger in the Rescue Speeder, wielding his Blaster. Red Ranger fired the Cycle’s laser guns, while Blue Ranger sat up in the Speeder and fired his blaster. Both hit their target, bombarding Smogger with a nonstop set of bursts. Red Ranger gave a cry of triumph as they drove through the monster. Smogger fell and exploded as the Rangers came to a halt.
As the other joined them and reported that the mission was complete, Green decided that if that was what a day off was like they would have been better off at work. The others didn’t really argue as Chad tried to convince Kelsey to go back to the hospital. It seemed though the Yellow Ranger had other idea as she dragged the Blue Ranger away, promising that she was going to have more fun by teaching him how to talk to girls.
End of Part
Chapter 26: The Volcano
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to whoever owns the copyright. A great deal of this chapter came from an episode of Lightspeed Rescue and I thank Jesse at PRSW for providing such a detailed synopsis.
Author’s Note: Steph was the Purple Lightspeed Ranger introduce in Entering Lightspeed and killed off in The Emperor’s New Rage. Obviously her death affected Lightspeed and her fellow Rangers. The way they are treating Nancy is out of character to the show, but hopefully understandable (never justifiable). Oh and yes I realise Kelsey is channeling just a little more Sky Tate than I would like.
The Volcano
Mariner Bay
8 April 1998
“The balance of life and death now tips, victim to killer, the veil rips…”
As Curszer continued to chant, the rotten remains he had stolen from the cemetery glowed. In just a week he had managed to partially restore the corpse to a more human form. The daily rituals and soaking of the remains in freshly collected blood had reversed the decay. Another week and he would be ready to start the more difficult task of bringing it back to life.
Miss Fairweather and her team were growing frustrated. They had been tasked with repairing the damaged chest and lower body of the Rescue Megazord, but after days of trying they had no idea how they would accomplish such a feat. The body was mangled, burnt and missing key components. The interlocks that held the two section together could not be released and forcing the separation would likely destroy any chance they had of ever joining together again.
“And even if we could separate them we will not gain anything,” the technician said, continuing her report. “The internal mechanisms had been damaged beyond repair. We have no way to shift either of them into a standard or humanoid form. I would recommend starting with a new design.”
Fairweather nodded in agreement. Her assessment of the damage the Zords had suffered had suggested the same thing. Building new Zords though would take time, something that Lightspeed did not have. At least it was a better option than no Zords at all. She was under no illusions that the needs of Angel Grove would always come first where the hybrid Megazord was concerned.
Mount Jasmine silently overlooked the quiet countryside, a good many miles away from Mariner Bay. At one time the mountain had been deemed extinct, but the release of the demons that now threatened Mariner Bay had caused disruption to the volcano and plate activity throughout the region. Mount Jasmine was a greater risk because the volcano had been mined as part of a government project. There was a good chance that should the volcano erupt, the existing rock structure would be blown aside resulting in a larger eruption.
Stopping the volcano would be impossible. However it was hoped that given time they could find a way to divert any lava flows away from the city. The first step in such an undertaking was knowing when the volcano would erupt. A task Dana had been assigned to oversee. Her team had laboured hard to produce the monitoring equipment, but fitting it to the volcano was outside of their comfort zone and their pay grade. As a Ranger they had been keen to point out that she was the most suited person for the job.
That was why Dana was present as Miss Fairweather vented her frustration for the third time that morning about the futility of trying to repair the Zords. While the scientist was occupied, Dana was running the final configuration of her detector through the testing system.
“Impressive,” Miss Fairweather said as she walked over to where Dana was working. Dana hadn’t even realised that she had been noticed. “May I?”
Dana cheerfully handed over the box, pleased to get the opinion of Lightspeed’s best scientist.
“Very well made,” Fairweather agreed after studying the seals along the side of the box. “You should be able to leave this there for a year before removing it for servicing.”
“In which time it might not be needed,” Dana agreed. “I plan to head out to Mount Jasmine later and place it inside one of the service tunnels. That should be enough to keep the engineers safe while the disassemble their workings. Just as soon as Carter and the others get back.”
It had been a fun morning for Kelsey, Chad, Carter and Joel. It had not been so much fun for Nancy, Lightspeed’s Ranger-in-training. The three male Rangers had been drilling her hard while Kelsey had been shouting instructions. The four of them were determined that when Nancy was given her powers she would be more than a suitable replacement for Stephanie. They had lost one Ranger in the line of duty and refused to lose another. Unfortunately in their eagerness to ensure that Nancy was fully trained, they hadn’t realise how harsh her training sessions had become. Or how close Nancy had come to quitting.
“One more time round the park and then you can have a break,” Kelsey promised.
With a sigh Nancy set off to complete the task while the others had their lunch.
“Unless we finish eating first,” Joel added causing the Rangers to laugh.
Just then Carter’s Rescue Morpher commlink sounded.
“When are you guys going to be back at the Aquabase so I can take the Rover to the volcano?”
“That’ll be after I’ve finished my hotdog,” Joel answered. “I’ve starving. All this training is hard work.”
“Right Joel, whatever,” Dana replied, her amusement obvious. “I’ll find my own way. See you later.”
Garth Nelson had spent the morning alone. The Demon Hunter had managed to fit in with his Ranger allies, but still found it difficult to socialise. The modifications carried out to turn him into a cybernetic warrior had damaged some parts of his mind. Although a lack of proper social interaction during and before the many procedures he had endured were also to blame. The processor installed in his skull added to the problem since its insistence on offering advice on what to say made spontaneous replies almost impossible.
Training on his own though was something he excelled at. He had discovered after working with Lightspeed’s technicians for a few weeks that even he didn’t know the full capabilities of the Techno Warrior System. He had been programmed to know how to use his Techno Blaster and Techno Sword, but there were a myriad of other weapons at his disposal that he was having to learn to operate. And given how destructive some of those weapons had proven, it had been agreed that it was better for Garth to practice on his own, preferably in one of the Aquabase’s testing vaults.
So while Dana was debating how she would journey to Mount Jasmine, Garth was unavailable to join her. Had he been Dana might have been able to justify the massive pile of paperwork it would take to borrow one of the Lightspeed Cycles. Instead she decided to have a little fun and enjoy the thrills of public transport.
Away from the Aquabase, somebody else had their eye on Mount Jasmine. Long ago when the demons had ruled the Earth, a dormant volcano had been a rare occurrence. The demons had fed on the lava and used it to shape the world to their needs. They had used it as a weapon again their enemies. In their absence though the Earth had grown tame, allowing the infestation of humans.
“Using the planet to destroy the humans would surely please Queen Bansheera,” Diabolico mused.
It was true that humans were not strong enough to handle the raw power that lurked beneath the surface of their world. Human structures could be easily blown away, unlike the magnificent demon creations that had been a part of the planet. He ignored the fact that Queen Bansheera’s own palace had for all its greatness, simply vanished.
“And since the volcano is already there we won’t need to waste power creating one,” Loki tried to point out helpfully.
Yes all they needed was a way to restore the dormant volcano to its former glory.
“And Impus has a plan that will allow us to use the first eruption to destroy Mariner Bay,” Jinxer added, interpreting the baby’s gurgles.
“About time the little pest made himself useful,” Diabolico responded before remembering that this was Queen Bansheera’s son he was talking about. “Proceed!”
“Yes Diabolico, I have just the monster for the job,” Jinxer bowed before throwing a card into the mouth of a nearby statue. “From all three heads to its pinkie toe, make me a monster with lava flow!”
A three headed dog creature appeared before them, something that pleased Diabolico. Such a creature would destroy the solidified lava, allowing the volcano to erupt once more.
“Good work Jinxer,” Queen Bansheera said as she revealed her presence. Since she had restored contact with her underlings, she had managed to keep at least a part of her consciousness there. “Trifire, awaken the volcano with your fiery breathe!”
Mount Jasmine was a good eighty miles from Mariner Bay, which meant that Dana had needed to change buses. Eventually it arrived and she stood cheerfully breathing in the fresh air around her as she stretched. She boarded the bus that was marked as stopping in a town close to Mount Jasmine where she would need to proceed on foot. Once all the passengers were on board, the bus pulled away.
With Batlings scouting outside on the snowy rocks, Trifire entered a cave within the side of Mount Jasmine and headed for the core of the volcano. The humans had tunnelled their way through the rock, making his journey to the core quick and without obstacle. He was soon at a place where he could start to get things shaking by turning up the heat. He unleashed a squall of fire from his mouth into the magma centre of the mountain. The cooled rock was obliterated by the flame.
Over in the Aquabase, Miss Fairweather informed Captain Mitchell that the instruments were picking up seismic activity in the entire area, and that for some reason the volcano was heating up. Several computer-graphics appeared on the monitors in the main Command room.
“How could this happen so fast?” Captain Mitchell asked.
“It couldn’t,” Fairweather replied. “Even with the recent increase in activity we should have been looking at a three to four year timeframe before any major eruptions. The only way it could happen like this is if something is helping it.”
“Diabolico,” Captain Mitchell said quietly. “The demons were bound to take advantage of the opportunity. We’re going to need a ran to shut that volcano down.”
Unfortunately for Dana, the bus she had been travelling on had been caught in the first tremors. Since the road forced the bus to travel close to the base of the volcano, the shaking had thrown the passengers around. Unfortunately the road was far too narrow to u-turn so the driver was forced to press on.
“Dana, return to the Aqua Base. We have reports of seismic activity have reports of seismic activity in your area,” Captain Mitchell called over the commlink.
Unfortunately Dana was in no position to answer as another tremor forced the bus into the side of the bridge they were crossing. One of the passengers had not been so lucky and had fallen outside the door. He was barely holding on as Dana grabbed his hand. He weighed about twice as much as she did. Even with help from the other passengers it was not easy, especially since the bus had started to slide over the edge.
Chad, Kelsey, Carter and Joel finally arrived back at the Aqua Base as Captain Mitchell tried to contact Dana. Nancy had accompanied them despite Kelsey’s insistence that she was not ready, and Garth had ended his training session when the alarms had sounded, ready to help out if needed. Unfortunately all attempts to contact Dana had failed.
“A Lightspeed Ranger is on the scene and likely in peril,” Mitchell announced, making certain that an aide was noting his words. “Under the circumstances I am declaring this a Lightspeed Rescue.”
As soon as his words were recorded, the mission was authorised. Technicians and other personnel moved to prepare their stations to help the Rangers.
“Rangers, you will find whatever is causing that volcano to erupt and stop it,” Mitchell ordered. “Nancy and Garth, I want you two to locate Dana and then remove any civilians.”
“But sir, Nancy is not ready for this!” Kelsey complained.
“Yeah we’ve been teaching her everything we know, but she’s just not up to standard yet,” Joel added.
“You four have your orders,” Mitchell told them, ignoring the complaints. “Move out!”
Sensibly the Rangers left without a word.
“Nancy, I know what the Rangers have been trying to do. And I know what they have likely been doing,” Captain Mitchell told her. “When this mission is over I will be speaking to them. For now I want you and Garth to concentrate on finding Dana and getting any civilians to safety. Do not engage the enemy unless you have to.”
“Yes Sir!” Nancy answered.
“Garth, you are authorised to use any means to keep Nancy, Dana and any civilians alive,” he added.
Garth nodded.
“How will we get there?” Nancy asked.
“Use one of the small Rescue Vehicles,” Mitchell answered.
As he spoke the technicians were already programming the vehicle in question. Using Lightspeed technology they were about to almost throw the car at high speed down the roads of Mariner Bay. The on board computer once given a route could execute the turn safety even at speed, allowing the car to reach its destination in a short time. With a squeal of tires they were off.
As the Rangers sped toward the volcano and Garth and Nancy raced to find the trapped bus, Dana had managed to haul the unfortunate passenger back toward the bus. But another quake ripped through the bridge, shaking up the bus and sending it slipping slowly over the side.
“Everybody get to the back or we’re gonna go over!” the driver yelled.
The passengers obeyed, shifting the weight toward the back of the vehicle, shifting their mass on the road side of the pivot point.
“Please don’t let go,” the stranded passenger begged.
“I won’t,” Dana promised although she realised that when the bus moved she had lost he footing and was in danger of being dragged out of the door too.
That was when she noticed that somebody had grabbed her. A female passenger had realised the danger and was trying to help. The woman’s husband had grabbed his wife and the bus driver had grabbed hold of him. Together they formed a chain that helped hold Dana in place. Although by staying near the front they were causing the bus to tip.
Inside Mount Jasmine, Trifire had succeeded in releasing the lava from the core of the once-dormant volcano and had sat back to watch the magma flow and destroy Mariner Bay. He was gleeful when he noticed how there was a bus about to plummet from the nearby bridge. It was a sign that this plan would succeed. At least in his mind it was.
The combined effort worked and the unfortunate passenger was saved. Dana allowed herself a sigh of relief, even though the tremors had not stopped and they were far from safe. A sudden tremor sent the driver tumbling as the bus slid further toward the edge. That was when Garth and Nancy arrived. While the former shuttle pilot readied the vehicle to pull, Garth latched a heavy cable to the bus’ axle. At his signal, Nancy gunned the engine and the bus was slow pulled to safety.
However it appeared that the demons were not content to let the humans go, as some of the Batlings that had been guarding the volcano, appeared on the bridge.
“You need to go and help the others,” Nancy told Dana as she took up position next to Garth. “We’ll handle things here.”
Dana appeared to want to argue, but another tremor reminded her that they were on a mission and now was not the time.
“Activate!” Garth had found that his armour responded to many different commands. Mostly that was because it was activated mentally and not through words. He just chose to verbalise his instructions. He looked over to where Nancy had assumed a fighting stand and smiled. Unlike the others he had not allowed any attachment to Steph to cloud his judgement where Nancy was concerned. The Purple Lightspeed Ranger had died in battle and further training could have helped prevent her death, but he recognised that Nancy was easily at the same level the other Rangers had reached at the time they had fought Lord Zedd. “Here,” he said, offering her a spare sword. He had no doubt with would do more for her safety than being forced to fight unarmed.
For Nancy this was the opportunity to prove herself. She knew that the Rangers meant well, but it had also become clear that what had started out as a desire to keep her safe had turned into a source of amusement for the others. Kelsey’s comments to Captain Mitchell had been especially hurtful, since their commanding officer had never suggested that she was a cadet or their trainee. So given the opportunity, she threw herself into combat, calling on all the skills she had learnt during her military career and the few things she had actually learnt from the Rangers.
Garth and Nancy made a good team. Garth’s computer enhanced senses made him a perfect shot, while Nancy was capable of hitting what she aimed for, but was not as precise. With a sword though she extremely capable of striking the Batlings before they could reach her. And together they soon had the minor demons retreating.
With the Batlings gone, it was time to get the bus on its way to safety. The only problem appeared to be the driver had broken his arm when he had fallen earlier.
“I’ll drive the bus, you clear the way,” Nancy told Garth. At his surprised look she just shrugged and mentioned that she was trained to be able to pilot almost anything. Even buses.
With little option, Garth nodded and climbed back into the Rescue Vehicle and set off, leading the bus to safety.
Pink Lightspeed joined the others at the cave entrance. She had remembered the device she had intended to plant there and after checking it, confirmed that the readings were not natural. Something was causing the the volcanic activity. The Rangers rushed into the cave, and found the creature behind the disturbance of the molten rock standing right before them. Instinctively, the five whipped out their Rescue Blasters and fired. Trifire just soaked up the laserfire and barrelled right into Red Ranger, knocking him back out of the cave. The team regrouped with him outside.
“Say goodbye to your precious city,” Trifire told them before blasting them with a flame attack.
The Rangers dived to avoid it and Yellow Ranger leapt for the monster only to get blown back by his fire attack.
“Are you okay?” Blue Lightspeed asked.
“I’m fine!” she answered. “Now I know how a burnt marshmallow feels.”
“Girl, you are crazier than I thought,” Green Lightspeed remarked.
“Crazy or not, there is no way we can get close to that thing unless we can put its flame out,” Blue Lightspeed warned.
Fortunately Red Lightspeed had the answer in the form of his Rescue Blaster and a piece of the Rescuebird. Although they had not used it very often, the Rescuebird contained the many small tools they needed to carry out their missions. Together, he and Pink Ranger rushed at Trifire, Dana firing her Blaster at the creature while Carter ran behind her. When Trifire coughed up some flames, Red Ranger aimed his Rescue Extinguisher at it and fired.
With Garth leading the way, Nancy drove the bus to safety, turning the vehicle in time to balls of lava that spewed from the top of the volcano.
“You’re pretty good at this,” the injured driver said as she swerved to avoid a rock.
“Thanks,” Nancy replied, braking as a large boulder rolled in front of them, before putting the gas pedal down to catch up with the other vehicle.
Garth had managed to clear the road ahead of obstructions and after a few narrow escapes. the bus and its passengers were safe. At least until the volcano erupted and covered them and the nearby city with lava.
Red Ranger clogged up Trifire’s throat with a constant spray of cold mist. Once that was done, he summoned the rest of the Rescuebird components from where they were stored in the Rescue Rover. Combined together to form the Unilaser. With his teammates acting as a brace, he fired the Unilaser at Trifire, creating a big explosion. Before the Rangers could celebrate though, a card struck the multi-chunks of barbecued meat.
“Volcano smoke and lava flow, make the Trifire monster grow!” Jinxer’s voice echoed around them as Trifire’s remains turned into bats that flocked together and recreated the monster in giant form.
“Good thing Captain Mitchell dispatched the Megazord the same time we left,” Green Lightspeed commented.
The might machine had almost reached them as the giant monster had appeared. The sight of the Megazord caught its attention, causing it to attack and saving the Rangers from having to wait for it to arrive. Instead they teleported aboard. Under the shine of the sun, the Megazord and Trifire duked it out. The monster bites down on the Megazord’s arm using its centre head, but got punched away by the fist of the opposite arm.
Trifire’s turned his flame breath on the Megazord. The Megazord responded by unleashing a water blast from its should cannons. With the monster doused, the Rangers decided to finish him, unloading with the Megazord’s artillery power. The Megazord opened fire and then turned away victoriously as the monster found he was unable to take the heat, and spontaneously combusted into a cloud of smoke.
“Mission accomplished!” Red Lightspeed proclaimed as the Megazord stood victorious.
Inside Skull Cavern, Queen Bansheera’s looked down on her servants, as she boasted that this world would be hers.
“Of course Queen Bansheera,” Diabolico agreed, “What they should do?”
“Nothing,” the demon queen answered. “It has already been done.”
Aqua Base,
Later
“I want to know what the four of you think you’re doing,” Captain Mitchell said as he looked at his Rangers. “I want to know why you felt that you could order Nancy around, or what made you think you had any authority to deal with her training.”
Captain Mitchell had not been pleased when he had found out the extent of his team’s actions. As far as he was concerned when Nancy had been offered the position she had been ready for the role. Any training she had needed had been a matter of teaching her how to use their equipment and powers. He had certainly not expected them to treat her like a raw recruit. In many ways Nancy had more training than the Rangers.
“We just wanted her to be ready, Sir,” Carter answered. “We lost Steph and didn’t want to lose somebody else.”
“If we have to have another teammate, we want her to up to the job,” Kelsey added.
“And I think that is the problem,” Captain Mitchell told them. “I don’t think any of you want her to join the team and that you have gone out of your way to make her life miserable, hoping she would quit.”
The Rangers wanted to deny it, but there was a part of them that acknowledged that they were comfortable with just five Rangers. The idea of a sixth member of the team made them uncomfortable. Even Garth was kept at a distance, something that was made easier by his lack of social skills.
“We don’t need a sixth Ranger,” Joel said, speaking on behalf of his teammates.
“Nancy’s nice, but she’s not a part of this,” Kelsey added.
Captain Mitchell sighed. “That is not and never has been your decision to make. I decide how many Rangers there are, not you. I’ve never been so disappointed in you five. Dismissed.”
He knew he would have to think about their words. Mariner Bay needed the Lightspeed Rangers and he could not replace them. So ultimately he would have to back down on this matter. But that did not mean that he liked it. And from the look he had seen on Nancy’s face as she had overheard the conversation, neither did she.
Deep within Mount Jasmine a pair of crimson eyes glowed. They belonged to a monster that had rested their since Queen Bansheera had ruled the planet. Triskull had awakened it. And now Magmavore would emerge.
End of Part
Chapter 27: The Green Eyed Monster
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. They belong to the current copyright owner. I also do not own Franklin, Tasha or Rosa. They belong to Ellen Brand and are used with permission granted long ago. Equally the original version of this story is the property of Ellen Brand who granted me permission to use and alter it way back when she was writing Personality Conflicts. I thank her once again. This fanfic is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for violence and adult content.
The Green-Eyed Monster
based on the story of the same name by Ellen Brand
“Beware of jealousy, my lord, the green-eyed monster/ which doth mock the meat on which it feeds.”- “Othello,” William Shakespeare.
Prologue
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, life evolved in the Universe. Real life as opposed to the high beings that had emerged much earlier. Experts could not agree which planet was the first to show signs of intelligence for there were a number of contenders. Some evolved too fast and ascended to the higher planes while others lacked the understanding of the forces they inevitably played with and wiped themselves out. One race discovered the secrets to rewriting the structure of reality to the point where they removed themselves from the inferior beings, treating them as objects of fun. And then there were those that possessed the wisdom to stop before they overstepped the mark; in some cases they were simply lucky to survive the disaster they created.
The Wizards of Maltus were one such race. Among the oldest civilisations in the universe, the Maltusians were considered strange by those that encountered them. For despite being a race of powerful wizards capable of directing extra-dimensional energy and bending it to their wills, they abhorred magic. Magic was too wild for them to control and what they could not control, they feared. In a doomed attempt to limit the influence of magic on the universe, the Maltusians gathered all the energy they could find and locked it within a containment unit, which the then threw into the depths of space. It would be eons later that they discovered that containing all magic was impossible since it was constantly flowing into the universe from beyond.
In other circumstances the Maltusians could have become a major player in universal affairs. Perhaps they would have conducted an experiment that was unsafe and in doing so realised a new goal to bring order to the universe. Perhaps they would have become a divided race separated by their beliefs in how that goal could be achieved. Maybe given time they would have learnt to give others the means to exercise the powers they employed using willpower to bend energy to their wills.
But that never happened. The Maltusians’ failure to contain the spread of magic caused them to look inward to maintaining order over their own world. Experimentation stopped and a great race for the most part was content to stagnate. Had they realised that their race had been rewritten by the meddling of another race to make them less of threat, they would have fought. But they never knew and the great forces they were supposed to bring to the universe emerged without their guidance.
Not all the Maltusians felt that way though and from time to time a member of their race would decide to experiment with forces he did not understand. Krona was one such Maltusian. Unlike others who did so for their own amusement, Krona believed that only through understanding could his people achieve their goals. To that end he carried out forbidden experiments using magic and in the process accidentally transformed a demon into a powerful embodiment of twisted emotions: Nyghtmayr.
The Maltusians managed to force Nyghtmayr into another dimension known as the Morphyus Realm. Krona was severely punished for his crimes, but the damage he had caused would not be easily reversed; Krona had unwittingly spread the twisted emotions Nyghtmayr represented throughout existence and in doing so had offset the natural advantage of Good over Evil. Servants of Nyghtmayr remained to do his bidding, finding ways to feed on the emotions they influenced to free their master. The Shadow Empire had many forms.
Guilt ridden about the damage Krona had caused, the Maltusians discovered a way to fight the forces of the Shadow Empire. Unfortunately the method they devised required more than just willpower. It needed a powerful and creative imagination to direct the power. It was a weapon the Maltusians would never be able to use themselves and with their strong feelings of isolationism, one they were unwilling to share. Instead despite their regret, they resigned themselves to failure and returned to bringing order solely to themselves.
And as the Maltusians faded from the powerful force they might have become, a grand schemer was satisfied that he had removed yet another of those that would challenge his race for supremacy. It was a slow battle that he fought, mostly in secret. His people would never approve of the steps he had taken to ensure their position as the guiding influence over the lesser beings. The creation of the threat Nyghtmayr posed and the corruption of the Morphyus Realm had been regrettable, but he comforted himself that as bad as the demon could be, his conscience was much worse.
The journey back from Aquitar had taken the Power Rangers longer than expected. Escorting Zordon to Eltare had been an educational experience. However when Trey had decided that he needed to look in on Triforia, the delays had increased. Still they arrived home to a great party, unaware of the war that Zordon and Trey had been careful to keep from them; Trey had actually arranged for another vessel to return them to Earth, stating that he would follow on later. Friends and loved ones were reunited as couples cuddled. Food, drink, music and conversation flowed as the stories of those that had returned were exchanged with those that had remained.
For those family members that had only found out about their loved ones because of the mission to Aquitar, it was a great relief to have their sons of daughters home again. By morning many of those parents and siblings would not recall that secret as a spell was cast to protect the identities of the Rangers; Zordon while understanding the need to tell their families why they were leaving had been concerned that so many people knowing would cause them problems. In the end it had been agreed that those who were not ready to live with the knowledge that their loved ones fought to protect the planet would have the knowledge shielded. Only when they needed to know would they recall the secret.
At the same time the spell altered the knowledge of those outside of Angel Grove, hiding knowledge of the Rangers’ real identities. In Mariner Bay it was fine for the Rangers to have their identities known since the local laws regarding press intrusion kept them safe. In Angel Grove the less people who were aware of their identities, the better.
It was astounding for the senior Rangers to realise just how far the Turbo Rangers had come. Even reduced to just two members they had protected their world. Although rendered unable to morph, Tasha, Franklin and Rosa had continued to aid their friends. It was a good sign that the planet was in safe hands. Especially since Zordon had made an offer very few of those returning could refuse: the opportunity to receive the training that their peers on other worlds could only dream of, with instruction from some of the greatest Masters ever known. Both the Zeo and Morphin Rangers had accepted the chance to develop their knowledge and skills. The logistics would take longer since most of them wished to at least have the opportunity to return home on a regular basis. But with so much power at their disposal, the possibilities offered by teleportations were limitless.
But as Tommy stared into the night’s sky, he knew that this was not the end. Evil was still out there and the forces that had tried to claim the planet so many times before would return. He had a feeling that the battles to come would prove more difficult than those they had already faced. So far the Rangers had suffered very few losses in their battle against Rita and others. Somehow he knew that was going to change and in future they would all pay the price.
There was likely trouble ahead, but for tonight at least there was moonlight and music, and love, and romance. And together they would weather the storm and protect their world. Because they were the Power Rangers and defending their planet was part of the job.
Angel Grove is beautiful at night. The monster damage is invisible, and the lights of the city shine like a thousand stars in the darkness. Even the harbour district looks good, from a distance. There are a number of good places to look over the city. Hunter’s Point and Miller’s Ridge are two of the best-known. At Miller’s Ridge, teens are generally too busy making out with each other to notice the view. Hunter’s Point, on the other hand, is far less frequented especially with the dense mist that had descended upon it.
It wasn’t really mist, an expert would proclaim upon inspection. It was the vaporous manifestation of beings not native to the dimension they currently occupied. Psychically enriched emotionally charged beings that while often mistaken for demons, lacked the magic and physicality of such beings. Lacking true bodies they rarely set foot in the ephemeral world where lives lasted but a short time but felt so much more real because of it, preferring to draw those they relied upon to feed them into their domain of imagination, desire and delusion. When they did venture forth they took the closest form they could to the natives, which meant they became either shadow, smoke or sometimes mist.
These two beings were not like other that visited the mortal plain. They had ambitions beyond feeding on the emotional experiences of those they encountered. For they were more evolved than some of their counterparts. They were a part of demon Nyghtmayr.
Nyghtmayr had not always been a demon in the true sense. Once he too had been an incorporeal being that fed like a parasite on the emotions of others. But he had been observed, misunderstood and then for some strange reason… worshipped. Belief that he was a demon had altered Nyghtmayr causing him to become more than just another parasite but stopping short of being a true demon. As a result his ability to influence and feed on the emotions of others had been enhanced while his vulnerability to items know to harm demons was significantly lower.
However it was when a sorcerer made the mistake of trying to summon Nyghtmayr that his transformation had been completed. Nyghtmayr had become a very unusual demon and although he was driven back, he had never been destroyed. On a previous Halloween night, the Power Rangers of Earth had encountered Nyghtmayr and some of the lesser demons that he had created. Nyghtmayr had once again been driven back to where he rested, but the Rangers had not destroyed him. And so he waited for the next time he received the needed emotional energy to come forth and feed.
Tonight it was not Nyghtmayr that had stepped into the mortal realm. Instead it was two of his creations, lesser demons better attuned to singular emotions. And as the mist shifted to take the form of the two draconic shadows watching the gem-studded vista below with acquisitive eyes the world around them seemed to grow darker. Then they shifted further, assuming forms the natives were more likely to recognise – for one benefit of Nyghtmayr’s previous visits to the mortal real had been an understanding of what made a mortal.
“Think of it, Jealysy!” one hissed. “The entire world, ours for the taking!”
Jealysy swatted her companion upside the head. Seeing that his form would likely be considered a child by Earth standards and that her form was that of a fully grown female, it likely hurt. “Fool! Don’t be so eager, Malyce! Our master will not accept failure just because we failed to properly study the situation. We shall not be driven back like the others.~
Malyce rubbed his head sullenly. “What will we do, then?”
Jealysy smiled, an evil expression that curled across her face and looked impossibly dragon-like on her otherwise normal features. “We shall use the oldest technique known to warriors, Malyce. One known and used by the Rangers of this world. Divide and conquer. The Rangers shall fall, and we shall have avenged our master and our brothers, and secured a world for Nyghtmayr to plunder, all in one swoop.” Hideous silent laughter echoed through the hills, disturbing more than one dream in the city below.
“Hey, Ernie, where do you want these?” Tanya Sloan asked, setting the last box of papayas down on the juice bar counter.
“Right there is fine, Tanya,” the slightly paunchy bartender replied. “I’ll get to them later. So how’s Pitt?”
“It’s great, although I miss all my friends. We keep in touch of course, by letter and communicator, but still, it’s sad not seeing them every day. One thing I really miss is the sunshine all year round! I certainly wouldn’t be dressing like this in a Pittsburgh February.” She spun, showing off her yellow short-sleeved shirt. Ernie chuckled.
Summer had arrived in Angel Grove and the natives were taking full advantage of the weather.
“No, I don’t suppose you would. So how long are you home for?”
“Four days. I’ve got a long weekend, thanks to some of my professors cancelling all the classes, and my parents know I’m a Ranger, so I just teleported home for the weekend. Maybe later I’ll head up to Northwestern, pay Adam a visit.” She grinned.
“So after you help me load all my food supplies into my pantry, what are your plans for the day?”
She sighed. “Well, I have to help my mom move some stuff up to the attic. After that, I’m joining the Turbo Rangers for a picnic in the park. That’ll be interesting.”
Ernie snorted. “That’s one word for it.” The Turbo Rangers- Fred Kelman, Justin Stewart, Franklin Park, Rosa De Santos and Tasha Young- were the most unpredictable, eclectic group of friends that Ernie had ever had in his juice bar. The fact that they were also Earth’s major line of defence against evil aliens from outer space only made hanging around with them more- interesting. More so given that Tasha, Franklin and Rosa had suffered injuries during their time as Rangers that made their future roles uncertain.
Tanya laughed. “I haven’t talked to Tasha that much recently. I used to mentor her, and I think it’s time we got the communication channels re-opened. I’ll see you, Ernie. I’ve got some heavy lifting to do.” She was really worried about how her friend was coping with the recent uncertainty.
“Bye, Tanya,” he waved as she sped out the door.
“So who brought the food?” Those were Fred Kelman’s first words upon joining his friends for their picnic in the park. Three thumbs jerked in the direction of Rosa De Santos, who smiled.
“And we have quite a selection. Ham sandwiches, roast beef, turkey, tuna salad, peanut butter and mayonnaise…” As Rosa enumerated the food choices on her fingers, the other four all groaned good-naturedly.
Franklin Park chuckled, looking up from his book. “She is DEFINITELY a De Santos,” he grinned. Rosa stuck her tongue out at him.
“I’m a growing girl!” she defended herself.
Justin Stewart raised an eyebrow. “You keep eating like that, and the only direction you’ll be growing in is out.”
“HEY!” Rosa immediately pounced on her blue friend, tickling him unmercifully around the ribs. Laughing, Justin flailed around helplessly, trying to knock her away. The other three just sat and watched.
“Should we help him?” Tasha Young asked, sounding slightly bored. The other two looked at each other.
“Nahhh,” Fred and Franklin replied in unison. “Justin can take care of himself,” Fred added.
Suddenly a flash of black lightning and a sudden breeze alerted the party to the presence of something evil. Rosa left off tickling Justin, and all five Rangers rose slowly to their feet, turning towards the source of the wind. Standing behind them was a dragon made entirely of shadow.
“Anybody got any ideas who or what THIS is?” Fred asked his friends. The other four shook their heads.
“I am Jealysy, servant of Nyghtmayr, humans. Surrender now, and I may yet spare your miserable lives!”
Tasha snorted. “Everyone who’s heard this speech before, raise your hands.” Five hands shot up.
Jealysy had assumed her shadow form for the confrontation, believing that it would inspire apprehension on the part of the humans. For the most part it had elicited only curiousity.
“Look,” Justin began, “we’ve kicked every villain butt from here to Topeka. Why don’t you just give up and go away?”
“Why do we even bother asking each other these questions?” Rosa added. “We always know what the answers are going to be. It’s formula.”
“Let’s skip to the point where we morph and beat her,” Franklin suggested. “I want to get back to our picnic.” Despite their confident joking, the Turbo Rangers were nervous. They had heard about the team’s two previous run-ins with the Demons of Nyghtmayr, and knew they were up against a formidable adversary. With only two active Rangers they were at a distinct disadvantage.
“I think Franklin’s got a plan,” Fred agreed. “Shift into Turbo!” In a flash of light, Justin and Fred were transformed into the Power Rangers Turbo. Jealysy merely laughed, regarding them contemptuously.
“Young fools. Do you believe that those outfits will protect you against my power?” A bright light flashed, accompanied by a sound like thunder. When their vision cleared, the Turbos were alone in the park.
“I guess she’s gone,” Red Turbo said slowly. “Let’s head back to the Power Chamber and talk to the others about this.” He reached out a hand to Rosa, who had fallen to her knees from the shock of the attack. Suddenly his hand was knocked away as an angry looking Franklin stepped between them.
“Keep your hands off her,” Franklin growled. “She’s with ME, hot-shot, and don’t you forget it.”
“Yeah?” Red Turbo replied, not backing off. “You want everything, don’t you? I bet you want to be leader, too. Well too bad, you can’t even morph!”
“Fred, Franklin, what are you doing?” Tasha cried, trying to pull her two friends away from each other before blows could be exchanged. Suddenly a hand fell on her shoulder, pulling her away from the two of them. Tasha turned to see Rosa standing behind her.
“Keep away from my man, Tasha,” Rosa warned.
“Rosa, have you gone nuts? I’m not interested in Franklin.”
“That’s good to hear.” She whirled at the voice behind her. It was Blue Turbo’s, but the tone was so threatening that she had barely recognized it. “You’re with me, Tasha, and don’t you forget it.”
Tasha pulled out of Blue Turbo’s punishingly tight grip on her wrists, controlling her desire to hit him with some effort. He was morphed and she was powerless. Striking him would likely just hurt her hand. “You don’t own me, Justin. What is wrong with all of you?”
Suddenly a flash of yellow light caught everybody’s attention, and all five Turbos turned to see Yellow Zeo teleport in. “You guys! You’re under Jealysy’s spell!” she cried, running towards them. “You have to fight it!”
Suddenly the world flashed white, and the ground fell out from under them. Tasha barely had time to curse before the white turned to black, and she knew no more.
“Ohh, never again,” Tasha mumbled. “I will NEVER let Justin talk me into that roller coaster again!” Levering herself up, she examined her surroundings. They appeared to have landed in a forest. Gray mist swirled around them, making it impossible to see more than a few yards in any direction. The trees around them were black and bare, and seemed to be dead. In any direction, the woods were preternaturally silent. Tasha made a face. “Yuck. What is this place?”
“You got me,” Tanya replied, sitting up next to her. “But we’re all by ourselves, and we’re both unmorphed.”
It was true. Despite being morphed when she arrived, Tanya was clearly out of uniform, and none of the other Turbo Rangers were anywhere in sight. Tasha stood cautiously, helping Tanya up as well. She shivered, looking around her. “Maybe you should morph again. This place seems like it could be dangerous.”
“It’s morphin time! Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!”
Yellow light flared, but nothing happened. The two girls regarded each other in worry.
“That won’t work here,” a mental voice said. The two girls whirled to find an image of Jealysy and another demon watching them. “You’re in the realm of Morphyus, the home of the Demons of Nyghtmayr. Here, you play by our rules. Oh, by the way, this is Malyce. We are part of the dynasty of Nyghtmayr, and we shall be your destroyers.~
“Where are our friends?” Tasha asked furiously, taking a step towards the demons. Her temper, never the best, was frayed to its limit by the events of the day.
Jealysy sniggered. “Oh, they’re around. Good luck hunting for them, Yellow Rangers, because they’ll also be hunting for you.” With that, the image disappeared, leaving the two girls alone.
“What did she mean by that?” Tanya asked. Tasha shrugged.
They didn’t have to wait long for an answer. A blur of red suddenly left the bushes and attacked them. As it approached, the two of them could see that the blur was actually Fred Kelman. “Fred, don’t!” Tasha cried, blocking a particularly nasty kick. “We’re your friends, remember?” He spin-kicked her away, sending her into a nearby tree. “Oof. Guess not.”
Tanya set her stance as Fred advanced on her, and nearly gasped as she saw his eyes. They were black, not just in pupil or iris, but a complete solid black, with no features whatsoever. “He’s under some kind of spell!” Tanya cried, dodging a powerful punch. “Must be Malyce. Nyght Demons can evoke the emotion that they’re named for.”
Nyght Demons, a term Billy had coined after researching Nyghtmayr. The Rangers had wanted to know what they would face if they came across him again. The problem had been that many of the texts contradicted each other. Some claimed he was a demon, other claimed he was significantly less. Some claimed that he was all the twisted and dark emotions given form, while others warned of his parasitic nature. Of the Nyght Demons there was even less to go on except that even when they were destroyed, Nyghtmayr could recreate or just replace them.
“So how do we break it?” Tasha yelled, rising to her feet.
“With friendship,” replied Tanya. “I don’t know him well enough, so you’re going to have to talk him down.”
Tasha swallowed. One slip, and Fred would pound her into hamburger meat. Tasha had no illusions about her fighting ability or Fred’s. Gathering her courage, she tackled her friend, pinning him to the ground. “Listen to me, Fred,” she said quickly, her tone of voice urgent. “It’s me, Tasha. Remember me? Remember all those hours we spent in the Youth Center, you teaching me to fight? Remember that time I helped you with your math homework, and we spent three hours on it, until you finally understood the concept? Or that junior high dance, the one that Divatox and her Piranhatrons crashed? Do you remember how we double-teamed that one that stole your baseball cap?” Fred’s struggles were growing less, but his eyes were still that featureless obsidian. Tasha racked her brains for something else to say.
“Come on, Fred. You’re too strong to let Malyce control you. What happened to the guy who can out-stubborn Tommy Oliver AND Jason Scott? To the leader who never lets us lose confidence in ourselves? We all look up to you, Fred. You’ve pulled our buns out of the fire so many times. Don’t you DARE leave me now.”
That did it. The last of the black left Fred’s eyes. Warily, Tasha got off him, watching him to see what he would do. He startled her by throwing his arms around her neck in a tight hug. “Thanks, Tash,” he whispered. “I needed that.”
“Get your skinny red butt away from me,” she joked, uncomfortable with such an open display of affection. He pulled back, smiling at her. Suddenly his body was surrounded by red light, and he disappeared. Faintly in the background, Tasha could hear Jealysy’s mocking laughter. With a growl, she rose to her feet.
“This isn’t over yet,” she told the woods at large. “Count on it.”
Tanya placed a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “You beat their spells, Tasha, both of them. It’ll take longer for them to recast them, because this time, Fred will be fighting. We’ll rescue him before that happens.”
“I hope you’re right,” Tasha sighed. Then she and Tanya began to walk, knowing that sooner or later, they would encounter another Turbo Ranger.
“One thing I don’t understand,” Tanya said suddenly, breaking the silence between them. They had been walking along the bleak and misty path for a few minutes, alert at all times for an attack by one of the Rangers. “Why didn’t Jealysy’s spell affect you?”
Tasha pondered that for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Well,” she said slowly, “jealousy, the emotion, is fear of losing something that you have. It’s about power, control. I’ve been a shelter kid most of my life. I’ve never really had any friends, family, or possessions to worry about losing, and I realized a long time ago that the only thing in my world I can control is me. Maybe Jealysy’s spell couldn’t find any place to grab on.”
That wasn’t true. When she had first seen Fred and Justin transform, she had felt a pang of envy that they had retained the ability while she was helpless. But that had quickly faded as the two boys had helped their injured friends with their exercises and had never excluded them because of their weakness.
Tanya looked at the younger girl speculatively. “You say you don’t have anything to be afraid to lose,” she teased “What about Justin?”
Tasha blushed bright red, an unusual occurrence for her. “THAT is none of your business.” Tanya laughed aloud. Although she and Tasha looked very similar, they rarely acted alike. The Yellow Turbo Ranger’s current reaction, however, was so much like Tanya’s reaction to questions about her relationship with Adam had once been. It was just too funny.
“Glad you think this is so amusing,” Tasha shot back acerbically, but a smile was beginning to touch her lips as well. Suddenly a pair of blurs dropped from the trees above them. Tasha and Tanya quickly took back to back stances as Franklin and Rosa began to advance on them. A quick look told the two Rangers that their friends were in the same state that Fred had been. “I’ll take Rosa,” Tasha called over her shoulder. “You probably know Franklin better.”
“Oh, sure,” Tanya grumbled as Tasha threw herself into the fight. “Stick me with the black belt.” She and Franklin began to circle, as she racked her brains for something to say that would break through Malyce’s spell on him.
“Rosa, you have to remember,” Tasha pleaded. “You and me, going shopping for your mother’s birthday present? We must have canvassed every store in the mall, and checked out every guy there too. Or remember the fight at the water park, when you and that Piranhatron fought all the way down the waterslide, and at the bottom, I hit him with an inner tube? Come on, Rosa, you have to come back to me. You’re the only other girl on the team. Who else can I talk to about girl things? You’re the only one I know who really understands me. Fred, Franklin, and Justin are great, but they’re guys! You know how that is. Please, Rosa, come back.”
Listening to her friend’s words, Rosa began to shudder as the black faded from her eyes. This time, Tasha held the other girl tightly and did not pull away when Rosa wrapped her arms around her in return. As Rosa’s shivering grew less, Tasha looked over to where Tanya was dealing with Franklin. “Come on, we’d better go help Tanya. Looks like Frank’s giving her some trouble.” Rosa nodded, and the two of them headed towards the other fight, Tasha still supporting her teammate.
Tanya ducked a round-house kick, mentally wondering if martial arts proficiency was genetic to the Park family, or if it was just a product of living in that house. “Franklin, don’t you remember me? It’s Tanya, your brother’s girlfriend. The one you dropped water balloons on? Adam and I were kissing after our date, and you and Fred soaked us to the skin. Franklin, you’ve got to remember. For Adam’s sake, for your own sake, please remember!”
“Franklin.” Rosa’s quiet voice immediately caught the Green Turbo Ranger’s attention. Cocking his head, he took a step towards her, lowering his hands from their attack position. “Remember me? Dancing at the Christmas party, working out in the youth center? Do you remember our first date? We spent the whole night watching each other instead of the movie. And at the end of the night, you finally got up the nerve to kiss me- even if it was just on the cheek.” Seeing Tanya and Tasha’s interested expressions, she gave them an evil glare. “Breathe a word of this to anyone and you die,” she growled.
Tasha chuckled, taking up the thread. “Franklin, you have got to be one of the most stubborn people I know. We both know you inherited your dad’s backbone. What happened to the guy who spent six hours teaching me a kata? Where’s the guy I can talk to about almost anything that bothers me? Come on, Franklin, come back to us. We’re your friends.”
The black left Franklin’s eyes, and he lunged for Rosa and Tasha, throwing his arms around them with a sob. Before they could break apart or do anything else, however, Franklin and Rosa disappeared from the three-way hug in a greenish-pink flash of light.
“Damn!” Tasha cried viciously. “I’m gonna kick those Demons into next week when I get my hands on them.”
Tanya sighed. This WAS getting frustrating. “Come on, let’s get moving. We’ve got one more Ranger to find.” The two of them began to walk again, waiting and watching for Justin Stewart.
As the two of them walked, Tanya studied the younger girl. Of all the Turbo Rangers, Tasha was really the only one Tanya knew very well. Tanya had enrolled in the Little Angel’s Haven Mentor program, and had been assigned to work with Tasha. At first, the younger girl had been suspicious of the attention, but Tanya had persevered, seeing in the lonely young girl a reflection of herself as a child. Although Tanya had found her parents, she still vividly remembered the years she had believed herself to be an orphan. Because of those shared experiences, Tasha and Tanya had forged an extremely close friendship.
Tasha generally kept her feelings locked deep inside, where nobody could see them, but over time, Tanya had learned to read the other girl through body movements. Right now, Tasha was worried sick about her friends. The younger girl might act tough and independent, but she had formed extremely strong bonds with the rest of the Turbo team. Tanya sighed. She thought of Tasha as a little sister, and would hate to see her hurt.
Tanya’s thoughts were interrupted as a blue-clad form shot out of nowhere, tackling Tasha and knocking her to the ground. The two rolled over and over, finally coming to a stop with Justin on top, his hands moving towards Tasha’s throat. In a move that Tanya doubted came from any of the boys, Tasha swung a leg up, hooked it around Justin’s neck, and pushed him off her, rolling and coming upright as she did so. The two of them circled each other warily.
“Justin, it’s me, Tasha. Do you remember me? You taught me to fight, remember? And I taught you how to hot-wire a car. Remember how we spend hours studying for that big science test? We stayed up until almost midnight, and drank more Coke than I’d ever consumed before in my life.” Justin cocked his head, obviously listening to her, but there was no flicker in his obsidian eyes.
“Justin, you’re the smartest guy I know. A lot of kids call you a nerd, but you’re not. You’re smart, and funny, and I really like being with you. You’re always the one I rely on to watch my back in a fight, and you’re the only one who understands what it’s like to be a shelter kid.” Tasha swallowed. “You’re- my best friend, Justin.”
Even as the black left his eyes, Justin was swallowed up in a flash of blue, leading Tasha to slam a fist into her hand. “Damn it! I feel like I’m in a bad episode of Sailor Moon!”
“Very good, Yellow Rangers. I must say I’m impressed.” The two girls turned once more to see Jealysy smirking at them. “You managed to defeat all of my Rangers. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“They’re not yours, dragon-breath,” Tasha growled. Tanya placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.
“What now, Jealysy?” The older girl’s voice was hard and sharp as a flint. The Nyght Demon shrugged.
“We raise the stakes. If you want your friends, simply follow this road. It will lead you to our castle- if you’re brave enough to enter. We’ll be waiting for you.” With that, Jealysy’s image dissolved into so much black mist, revealing a pathway through the fog. Tanya and Tasha looked at each other quizzically.
“Do we follow?” Tasha asked.
Tanya sighed. “Do we have a choice?” That answered, the two of them set off along the path, wary of any attack that might come.
Tasha whistled. “Now that is a big castle,” the Yellow Turbo Ranger remarked, looking up at the huge black structure rising out of the mist.
“Yeah, I think Count Dracula would feel quite at home here,” Tanya agreed. “Shall we enter by the front door or look for a service entrance?”
Shrugging, Tasha began to head towards the main gate. “They already know we’re here. Might as well take the direct approach.” As the two of them crossed the drawbridge, neither of them noticed the flickers of light running through the ebony wood. Not until the flickers coalesced beneath Tanya, forming a vortex that pulled her down almost immediately.
“Help!” Tanya cried, now up to her waist in the swirling white light. With a desperate lunge, Tasha grabbed her friend’s hands, tugging with all her might.
“It’s- no- use!” Tasha grunted. Pull though she would, she could not budge Tanya, who was being drawn deeper and deeper into the vortex with each passing second. Tasha was now straining, almost crouching on the ground as she tried to pull Tanya from the hole’s grip.
“Let go, Tasha!” the Yellow Zeo Ranger cried. “No sense us both being captured.”
“Forget it,” Tasha snapped, looking the other girl straight in the eye. “I don’t abandon my friends.”
Tanya bit her lip as Tasha continued to tug, the two of them still being pulled steadily into the light. “I’m sorry, Tasha, but somebody has to rescue the others. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be all right.” With that, Tanya let go of her friend’s hands, pushing the younger girl away as she did so. Tasha fell onto her rear end and watched in horror as Tanya disappeared into the light.
“NOOOOO!” For a long moment, Tasha just stared at the featureless drawbridge where Tanya had disappeared. They had all gone now, and she was truly alone. Suddenly she shook her head violently. No, she was not alone. Morphed or not, she was a Turbo Ranger, which meant that the other Rangers were always with her. Face set with determination, she rose to her feet. “You think I’ll give up, Jealysy?” she yelled, not really caring if the Demon could hear her or not. “Well, I won’t! I’ll get them back, and I’ll boot your butt from here to Hoboken!” With a confident stride, she made her way across the drawbridge and into the castle proper.
In the throne room of the castle, Jealysy and Malyce watched this turn of events with interest. “Well,” Jealysy remarked snidely, “she’s turning out to be a great deal more troublesome than I thought. I’ll arm the castle defenses, make her run the gamut of the emotions of Nyghtmayr. We’ll see if that doesn’t take some of the fight out of her.”
Malyce shifted impatiently. “I don’t understand, Jealysy. Why can’t I just go down there and take care of her? She can’t even morph! It would be like taking candy from a baby.”
Sighing, Jealysy turned to her companion. “Let me explain something to you, rockhead. Right now, our little Turbo Ranger is burning with a righteous, selfless fury. All she is thinking about is rescuing her friends.”
“So?”
“So, you moron, that means that right now, she is good. You, on the other hand, are pure evil. She lands one shot on you, and you are a little pile of black goo on the tiles, comprende?” Malyce subsided, but not happily.
Tasha made her way slowly through the dark halls of the Castle of Nyghtmayr, alert for any sort of attack. But despite her wariness, she wasn’t quick enough to avoid the wall of dark energy that shot up out of the ground, encircling her. A cold wind blew through the hall, unobstructed by the energy barrier, and Tasha shivered. “Okay, what now?” she growled, squashing her fear down.
A soft sob answered her. Turning, she found herself standing in her old room at the shelter. Lying on the bed in front of her was a much younger version of herself. Without thinking, Tasha took a step towards the crying girl. She remembered this scene only too well. She had been six years old when her mother had dropped her at the shelter and never looked back.
“Why?” the younger Tasha sobbed aloud. “Was I bad? Didn’t she love me enough? My fault?”
Present-day Tasha shook her head. “No, no, it wasn’t,” she said raggedly, around the lump in her throat. But her younger self could not hear her.
“All alone. Mommy, come get me! I want to go home!” the child wailed, and Tasha had to shut her own eyes against the wave of despair that suddenly washed through her.
~ Despair.~ Tasha’s eyes shot open. Tanya had told her about the Rangers’ previous meeting with the Demons of Nyghtmayr, and how they had attempted to break the Rangers’ spirits with the emotions they controlled. Well, it wasn’t going to work. She wouldn’t let it. Deliberately, she closed her eyes to the little girl sobbing on the bed and forced herself to remember what had come later.
She had cried herself to sleep, and had awakened much later, sometime in the middle of the night. Sitting up, she had found a little boy standing in her doorway, watching her with sympathy.
“What do you want?” she had asked, trying to sound tough and failing miserably.
“I heard you crying in your sleep,” he responded, making his way into the room. “You want to talk?”
She snorted. “What’s to talk about? My dad’s dead and my mom dropped me off here without a second thought.”
“Sounds a little like me,” he responded. “My mom died a while ago, and my dad just couldn’t handle it, so he dropped me here in the shelter. My name’s Justin Stewart.” He extended his hand to her, and after a second, she took it.
“Tasha Young,” she said reluctantly. “Where you from?”
“Foggy Creek, originally. Then my Dad dropped me here, and he’s been all over since. I get letters from him occasionally, but what I really want is for him to come home for good. Where are you from?”
“Blaise Street, over in the harbor district,” she replied. “My dad got caught in a hold-up one night, and ever since then, my mom’s kind of been losing it. She’s going crazy, and apparently doesn’t want me along for the ride.”
“That shows she still loves you,” Justin told her. “She dropped you here because she wanted something better for you than what you’d get from her.”
Tasha sighed. “Maybe. Or maybe she just doesn’t care.”
“You’ve got to keep hoping, Tasha. In this place, it’s almost all we’ve got.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Almost?”
“Well, we’ve always got friends.” He grinned at her, and after a long moment, she smiled back. In that moment, she knew that she had found someone who would stand by her for a long time.
Coming out of her memory, Tasha found that the walls and illusion had dissipated around her. Warily, she moved off, keeping an eye out for further traps and tricks.
Farther down the passage, she was not surprised when another enclosure rose out of the ground. Setting her stance, she waited. “All right, what emotion is this?” she asked the air.
“Aw, look at Tasha, in a fighter’s stance,” a voice sneered behind her. She turned to see the other four Turbo Rangers looking at her with expressions of disgust on her faces. It had been Fred who had spoken, but Tasha had been almost unable to recognize his voice through all the distaste in it.
“What, you think you’re a fighter now, Tasha?” Franklin asked in disbelief.
Rosa sniffed. “As if. You’re probably the weakest of us, you know that?”
“Yeah,” Justin chimed in. “Franklin and I are black belts, Fred’s a brown belt, and Rosa just earned her red. You don’t even take a martial art.”
Franklin spoke again, taking up the litany. “Every time there’s a Piranhatron fight, we have to bail your butt out. You’re weak, and helpless. Even when we’re morphed, we’re all so much better than you. You don’t bring anything to this team! Fred can lead, Justin’s the brain, I know all the spy stuff Dad is teaching me, and Rosa’s learned all the healing Rocky can teach her. What can you do? Nothing.”
In the face of her friends’ disdain, Tasha hung her head. “What CAN I do?” she asked softly. “I can hack into computers, but Justin can do that. He can hot-wire cars, too, and Power Rangers don’t need to pick locks or pockets. What good am I?”
“You’re our fighting spirit,” Fred’s voice said in her memory. Tasha’s head snapped up as she recalled a similar conversation she’d had with him not too long after the events on the Island of Muranthias. She had been expressing her doubts about being a member of the team, not really understanding what she brought to it. Now what he had said to her came rushing back.
“You’re our fighting spirit,” he had told her. “Everybody has a breaking point, a point beyond which they can’t go on. Yours is so much higher than anybody else’s, though. Even when the rest of us want to quit, you go on, and you take us with you. You’re as tough as iron, and even when you’re not, you won’t let the rest of us down. You have something I don’t, and Franklin doesn’t, and Rosa doesn’t, and Justin doesn’t. You don’t break. You just keep going, and we need that, more than I could ever say.”
As the memory of Fred’s voice faded, Tasha glared at the illusions before her. “I know you now,” she growled. “You’re Doubt, making me unsure of myself. Well, I’ve got news for you. Maybe I’m not a martial artist, but I can fight. I made my way through three Turbo Rangers to get here, and I’m still alive. Maybe the others have to protect my butt in a fight, but that’s normal. We’re RANGERS. We do that sort of thing for each other all the time. There’s no shame in that. Maybe I’m not a genius like Justin, a leader like Fred, a spy like Frank, or a healer like Rosa, but I don’t have to be. I’m me. That was good enough for Tanya when she passed me the key, good enough for my friends, and it’s good enough for me.”
Around her, the images puffed into nothing again. “Two down, Jealysy!” Tasha shouted to the air. “Let’s see who breaks first.”
An unknown time later, a chittering sound caught Tasha’s attention. She stopped, looking around herself. She hadn’t seen an enclosure appear, but considering the darkness in the passage, that didn’t really mean all that much. The chittering repeated, and Tasha finally caught sight of her newest challenge. Stuffing her fist into her mouth, she backed away, trying desperately not to panic. A spider twice as tall as she was stalked towards her.
~ OHGODOHGODOHGODNONONONOOOOO!~ Tasha’s thoughts ran into each other, and only her diamond-hard stubbornness allowed her to keep her grip on sanity. She hated spiders, hated them with a passion only reserved for Elgar and Rygog. ~Fear,~ she thought hazily, with one of the few remaining rational corners of her mind. ~It’s the illusion of Fear.~ But it looked so REAL. How could she possibly stop being afraid of it?
~You know, there’s no such thing as giant spiders,~ a voice said in her head. It sounded vaguely like Justin’s, from one of the thousands of conversations the two of them had had over the years. Tasha clung to it, hoping the logic of Justin’s argument would keep the fear at bay. Looking at the spider in front of her, she took a deep breath and began listing all the reasons that the creature before her could not exist.
“Number one, spiders quite simply do not get that big. No creature that hatches out of a gelatinous egg can,” she informed it, repeating what Justin had told her so long ago. “A permeable membrane of that size would dry out long before the spiders could hatch.” The spider, hearing this, promptly shrank. Now it was merely the size of a horse. Emboldened by this, Tasha continued to quote.
“Two, when something increases, its mass, and therefore its weight, increases on a cubic curve, while the cross-section of the legs only increase on a square curve. Quite quickly, the legs would be too small to support the creature.” The spider shrank again. Now it was only tall enough so that Tasha could look it in the eye, if she had had any desire to do so- or enough eyes, for that matter.
“And finally, there’s the problem of breathing. Insects and arachnids breathe through tracheal tubes that run from their ‘skin’ to their bloodstream. Those tubes can’t be longer than an inch or so, otherwise no air gets down them, and the spider suffocates.” This spider shrank again, this time to the size of a tarantula. Tasha grinned. “Yeah, much better.” Then she stepped on it. It made a rather satisfying “crunch” under her sneaker, then puffed into nothing, not even leaving a smear on the flagstones. Whistling, Tasha moved on.
Tasha had apparently made better time than Jealysy had expected, because after the spider, she came almost immediately to the throne room. The first thing she noticed were the crystals on the walls, in which Fred, Franklin, Rosa, and Tanya were suspended, in hideous mockery of the uniforms in the Power Chamber. Their eyes were open, but they were not moving, resembling nothing so much as a series of flies trapped in amber.
The second thing Tasha noticed was the attractive fourteen year-old girl lolling on the throne in the middle of the room. Her skin was a pale white, and her hair and eyes were jet black. But it was the cold, cruel, slightly amused expression on her face that tipped Tasha off to her identity. “Jealysy,” she hissed.
The other acknowledged the identification with a nod. “Very good, Yellow Ranger. In this world, we Nyghtmayr Demons can assume any form we choose. I’ve tried being an adult, but I rather like this one better. But you haven’t said hello to my other friend here. Where are your manners?” Tasha turned, following Jealysy’s gesture, and stopped dead.
Because the third thing she saw was Justin Stewart, standing next to the throne, eyes as dead and blank as they had been in the forest. Cold rage sluiced through Tasha as she took a step towards them. “What did you do to him?” she asked, her voice deadly quiet.
Jealysy shrugged. “Not much. A little magic, and he’ll do anything I say.”
Tasha snorted. “Magic? More like testosterone.”
Laughing, Jealysy agreed. “You’re probably right. Still, whatever the reason, he is under my complete control. That doesn’t mean all that much now, but given a few years, he could be very- useful.” Jealysy licked her lips, leaving little doubt in Tasha’s mind what the Demon meant.
“Over my dead body,” Tasha snapped.
“If you insist.” Jealysy gestured to her. “Justin, kill her.”
Justin stepped down from the throne, slowly advancing towards Tasha. The two of them began to circle, watching each other warily, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
Suddenly Justin attacked with a blinding flurry of punches and kicks, forcing Tasha to back away from him. She ducked under a vicious spinning kick, aiming a desperate footsweep at his legs. However, he simply leaped over it and pressed his attack. Backing away, Tasha quickly ran through the things that her friends had taught her. The problem was, Justin knew most of them as well, and was a much better fighter than she. It was unlikely that she was going to be able to talk him down right now. She shook her head. “Sorry, Justin,” she panted. “Nothing personal.” As he moved in closer to her, she jerked her knee up. Unfortunately, he sensed what she was about to do and dodged at the last second, taking her strike on the meaty part of his thigh. Then he slammed her to the ground, knocking the breath out of her. As he reared back for the killing strike, an idea occurred to her.
“If this doesn’t work,” she muttered, “I’m gonna feel REALLY stupid.” Quickly, she reached up, snagged him around the neck, and pulled his head down to hers, planting a quick kiss on his lips. Immediately, the black was gone from his eyes, and Justin collapsed, rolling off Tasha with a very silly grin on his face. Tasha shook her head, getting to her feet. “Men. Sheesh.”
Jealousy rose slowly, losing her human form as she did so. “This ends here, you little brat. I’ll destroy you myself. Malyce! Deal with our little Blue Ranger, will you?”
“Right away, Jealysy,” the other Demon growled. Launching itself from the shadows, it landed in front of Justin, who had just regained his feet. The Blue Turbo Ranger set himself for a fight, the silly grin long gone. The two of them circled each other cautiously, each looking for openings in the other’s guard. Suddenly Malyce’s barbed tail lashed out, aiming for Justin’s head. The boy dropped into a split, causing the tail to whiz harmlessly over his head. Then, leaping to his feet, he launched a roundhouse kick into Malyce’s face, momentarily disorienting the Demon.
Meanwhile, Tasha and Jealysy were going at it hammer and tongs. Both were completely consumed with thoughts of destroying the other. Tasha dodged a swipe of Jealysy’s claws, retaliating with a powerful spinning backfist to the Demon’s nose. She quickly had to dodge, however, as Jealysy swiped at her with her powerful tail.
Justin was beginning to worry. Malyce was far stronger than he, and it was obvious that he couldn’t count on Tasha coming to his aid any time soon. Justin controlled his breathing with an effort, but could tell that he was beginning to tire. Apparently Malyce could tell as well, because he lashed out with his tail once more, knocking Justin’s feet out from under him. The boy hit the flagstones with an audible expulsion of breath. Winded, Justin could only watch as Malyce raised a claw-tipped hand for the finishing blow.
“NO!” Tasha cried. In an instant, everything was forgotten except her worry and concern for Justin, and how much she cared about him. She threw herself into a perfect flying kick, streaking across the room towards Malyce.
The realm of Morphyus, home of the Nyghtmayr Demons, was a part of the void that existed between dimensions. Previous visitors had misunderstood its nature and likened it to Hell, when in fact it was better described as the realm of the subconscious, of dreams made real. The Night Demons themselves are simply solidifications of emotions, the obviously dark emotions and the emotions that would normally be considered light, twisted by dark thoughts and ill-intentions. In Morphyus, all emotions are made real, made solid, and emotions such as friendship and love are made stronger than any. This, by the way, is all to explain what happened next.
In flight, Tasha began to glow with a brilliant white light. Her kick struck home in Malyce’s chest, touching off an explosion of white and knocking the Demon back approximately twenty-five yards. As Justin, Tasha, and Jealysy watched in astonishment, Malyce was consumed by the light, melting slowly into a little puddle of black goo, which quickly dissolved into nothingness. Jealysy was the first to regain her equilibrium.
“You little bitch!” the Demon hissed. “I’ll tear you apart!” The Demon sprang at Tasha, who barely dodged in time. The two of them were then immediately embroiled in a fight that made their previous battle pale in comparison.
Justin slowly levered himself to his feet, completely ignored by the two combatants. “This has been a really lousy day,” he muttered to himself, looking around. Tasha was clearly at a disadvantage, even though she was currently holding her own. If he couldn’t get her reinforcements fast, they would both likely be Demon chow- or worse. He couldn’t hold back a shudder, remembering what it had felt like to be under those spells. Turning to the crystals holding his friends, he forced himself to think. They were crystal, but what type? Quickly, he drew his pocketknife and chipped at the crystal holding Fred. The blade left a line, but not a deep one. All right, the crystal, whatever it was, was not quite as hard as steel. So- Looking around, Justin found a sword made of some black material. Testing it, he found that it was harder than steel. Taking a deep breath, he hauled back and struck the crystal containing Fred with all his might. The container shattered quite satisfactorily, dropping the imprisoned Ranger to the ground. As Fred knelt on the stones, gasping at the resumption of his bodily functions, Justin went on to free the other three. Once everyone was coherent again, he quickly filled them in on what had transpired. “And I think I know how we can beat Jealysy,” he finished urgently.
“How?” Rosa asked, leaning heavily on Franklin. “We’re none of us strong enough to lift so much as a feather, and some of us couldn’t morph even if we had the strength.”
“We can’t morph, but that doesn’t mean that the Keys don’t work,” Justin replied. “This place makes emotions real, somehow. If we can transmit our love and friendship to Tasha, she can annihilate the evil that Jealysy is composed of.”
“And that’s where the Keys come in,” Franklin realized. Tanya looked at the four in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Turbo Keys give us sort of a- psychic connection,” Justin explained, as the four Rangers pulled their Keys out of their pockets. “Another little bonus of the Turbo Powers, apparently. For some reason it only activated when the powers were passed on. I think being completely new Rangers had something to do with it. Tasha, Franklin and Rosa can’t transform, but they’re still connected to the Keys and through them to each other.”
Actually the connection was the result of months spent training and fighting together along with their shared power source. Fred, Justin, Tasha, Franklin and Rosa were a closer team than their predecessors. It was that natural bond that the Power had enhanced, granting them the ability to take their teamwork to the next level. Zordon had spent a great deal of time working with them to further unlock the secrets of the Turbo Keys and had promised that there were likely more discoveries to make as the team evolved.
“Why didn’t you ever say anything about this?”
Fred looked up at her seriously. “It’s something private. It’s kind of hard to explain how it feels, and it’s not something you casually mention.” Then the four Turbo Rangers focused on each other. “By the Power of Turbo, make us one!”
“Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!”
“Desert Thunder Turbo Power!”
“Wind Chaser Turbo Power!”
“Red Lightning Turbo Power!”
Tasha, still fighting with Jealysy, felt the power of the link slamming into her, and instantly understood what her friends were doing. “Dune Star Turbo Power!” she called, surrendering herself to the energy. Her body began to glow, first yellow, then white, as a series of images, drawn from the most powerful friendships she had ever known, ran through her mind.
~Red Turbo and Yellow Turbo, slowly sliding towards the edge of a cliff. “Let go! Tasha, we’re both gonna go over!” “Dream on, Fred Kelman. If you think I’m gonna let you be Piranhatron bait, you’ve got another think coming.”~
~ Justin and Tasha sitting at a table in the youth center, books all around them. “I just can’t get this! I’m just too stupid.” “You’re not stupid, Tasha, you’re just stubborn. Now put it to good use. Once again, definition of osmosis.”~
~ Rosa and Tasha, guy-watching at the mall. “What do you think of that one? Cuter than Franklin?” “Come on, Tasha, nobody’s that cute.”~
~ Green Turbo and Yellow Turbo, trying fix one of Blue Turbo’s devices “We’re never gonna get it working in time!” Yellow Turbo kicks it. “You were saying?”~
Eyes glowing with white fire, Tasha glared at Jealysy. “For my world, for my friends, you are history!” Suddenly, she spun into a perfect spin kick, catching Jealysy along the side of the head. The world flared with white light, as the Demon dissolved into nothing.
“Oh, man,” Rosa groaned, sitting up. Looking around, she saw that the six of them were sprawled on the grass of the park, around the remains of their picnic. “We made it! We’re back!”
“All right!” Franklin yelled, hugging her. As the rest of the team began to sit up, more than a few ashamed looks were exchanged.
“Look, guys,” Fred began, “I’m sorry about what I said and did today.”
“Me too,” Justin agreed.
“Me three,” Rosa seconded.
Franklin nodded. “Yeah, same here. But we just have to remember that it was Jealysy’s spell, not really us. I don’t think it’ll happen again.”
“Definitely not,” Tasha pronounced. “We’re too close for that. Friends?” She extended a hand.
“Friends,” the other four responded, placing their hands on top of hers. Then the four of them broke apart. Tanya grinned.
“Well, I think I’m gonna go back to the Power Chamber and fill the others in on what happened,” she told them. “Anyone else want to come?” The others looked at her for a second, and she nodded imperceptible at Tasha and Justin, who were studiously avoiding each other’s eyes. Comprehension lit the faces of the other three.
“Oh, yeah. I probably should go, too,” Fred agreed. “Franklin? Rosa?”
“No, we’re going to go to the juice bar, work out,” Franklin replied, his arm still around Rosa’s shoulders. “We’ve got some stuff to talk about, too.”
Fred nodded, and the four of them cleared out, leaving Tasha and Justin alone in the park.
“So,” Tasha began nervously.
“So,” Justin responded. They looked at the ground for a few more minutes.
Tasha finally exploded. “Oh, this is ridiculous. Look, I don’t hold anything that happened there against you, all right?”
He nodded. “All right, but- do you regret any of it?”
“What would I- oh.” She stared at him in sudden comprehension. “That kiss. Well- um- to tell you the truth-” She chuckled. “Actually, you’re not a bad kisser- for an egghead.”
He grinned. “Well, you’re not so bad yourself- for a tomboy.”
“Tomboy? Why I oughta-” She left the threat unfinished, however, and simply smiled at him. “Come on, let’s get back to the shelter. They’ll probably be wondering where we are.”
“You got it.” The two of them walked off, hand in hand.
Epilogue
The Demons of Nyghmayr had failed again, but the Shadow Empire survived. The barriers between the many realms had grown thin and the Rangers’ presence in Nyghtmayr’s domain had made it easy for some of the occupants to spread beyond their natural territory. And whereas Nyghtmayr’s Minor Demons had been creatures of purely negative emotion, those that emerged were predators that also used imagination and dreams to their advantage. A new strategy was devised to start with a single planet, the Earth, and from there spread throughout creation.
It was well known on the millions of worlds that considered Earth a dreary little undeveloped backwater of a planet, and even by some of the planet’s population, that the large concentration of Iron limited the population’s interaction with magic. Instead a series of Ley Lines crisscrossed the planet, creating hotspots where magic could seep through. Controlling such a network of magical energy promised unlimited power to those that were willing to make the effort – for doing so was a great deal more tiresome than simply conquering the world. Most villains would never bother with such a time consuming feat. But the Shadow Empire had been around since shortly after the first intelligent life emerged on Maltus and they had learnt to be patient.
Moving from hotspot to hotspot, they planned to draw strength from the suffering they inflicted. The screams of the children, the torment of the adults and the despair of the planet as its natural energy became enslaved by the Shadow Empire would be used to free Nyghtmayr once and for all. And this time nothing would stop them.
End of Part
Chapter 28: The Boy From Space
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or Doctor Who. They belong to the copyright owners. This is a piece of fan work and no profit is being made from this.
The Boy from Space
“Out there in space, will we find friends?
Is there a place, where the universe ends?
And will we find it, when space goes on forever?”
– The Boy from Space
Lightspeed Aquabase, Earth
Captain Mitchell finished reading the police reports and considered his response. Normally Mariner Bay had a low crime rate. There were a few robberies and the occasional case of looting during a demon attack, but for the most part violent crime was not common despite the dark powers that lurked close by. Therefore when there had been a sudden rise in the number of unexplained deaths, the police had asked Lightspeed if there was any demon involvement.
At first glance Captain Mitchell had been inclined to return the matter to the police, asking them to investigate a possible serial murderer. It had been his assistant that had pointed out that despite the state of the bodies – each had been missing at least the heart – there was no evidence of a violent death. That something was harvesting the organs shortly after they died had caused Captain Mitchell to consider his response. His mind drifted to the reports of a cemetery where one of the graves had been opened and the body removed. He could not shake the feeling that it was somehow linked. He just didn’t know how.
Mariner Bay
Twenty hearts, twenty brains, right assorted limbs and many other body parts had gone into making what Curszer considered his greatest work of all time. Boiled in a vat of blood drained from over one hundred victims, the raw materials had been rendered down and then combined with the remains he had personally stolen from the cemetery. The result was a hideous patchwork of body parts that had somehow taken on the shape of a human being. It lay inert, waiting to be given a semblance of life.
“A part for a part, a hear for each year, we’ll have you alive yet, don’t you fear,” Curszer toned as he continued to cast the many preservation spells that would stop his creation turned into a soggy mess.
For now the body was as ready as it could be. The powers he had used had bonded the spare parts with the bones he had taken from the grave and had made them a single being. Biologists studying the process would have witness the many strands of DNA alter to become identical to the original. But without the spark of life the body would only survive a short time and was at best a zombie. Fortunately Curszer had a solution to that.
“Past the shadowed veil of death, I call you back to the land of breath.”
Soul magic was not easy to work, especially when the soul being summoned was not a demon and had been dead for more than a year. But Curszer had been repeating his incantation several times a day, gradually drawing the spirit into his grasp. He enjoyed watching its desperate attempts to flee back beyond the veil, it’s good nature abhorred by what he had in mind.
“The blood of those lost shall restore, just as you were before.”
He laughed as he watched his victim struggle. It was a rare opportunity to torture such an innocent soul. Barely able to comprehend all that was happening, shocked by its sudden appearance in a world where it no longer belonged. Every day it was forced to endure a year in the life of some stranger. It had fought at first, then grown curious, then jealous. Now with each passing day the soul lost a little more of its innocence, becoming the soldier Curszer desired.
“From the passing time confound, and to this vessel once more be bound!”
There was a shriek as the captive soul was drawn into the monstrous body. The moment it touched the body started to shift and reshape itself. With a living soul in place it looked human and as the second part of the spell took hold, the eyes opened.
Twenty years earlier.
The man drove his car along the twisting road, his two children secure in the backseat. It was raining and the driver lost control. The car spun off the road and over the cliff, crashing down on the rocks below. Shockingly the man and his children survived, but the car’s fuel tank had ruptured and the battery had started to short circuit, causing sparks. With only a limited time the man knew he had time to save only one of his children. He could only release and carry either his son or his daughter to safety.
“Oh dearie my, which one will die?”
The man turned as he heard the voice, shocked and angered to see a demon standing before him. The flames and everything else around him seemed to have stopped.
“What do you want?” the man demanded, his hand moving to a gun he kept in his jacket.
“If I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t have slowed down the fire,” the demon responded. “I’ve come to make you an offer.”
Seeing that the man was not going to ask, the demon pressed on.
“You can only rescue one child, the other will die. Give him to me to raise as my own and know that he shall live. But which shall you choose?”
The demon enjoyed playing with the emotions of others. It enjoyed the torment it saw upon the man’s face as he tried to decide which child he would give up. The demon enjoyed the knowledge that it had won.
“Neither!” the man decided, shocking the demon as he rushed to the car.
The demon laughed as it watched the man struggle, knowing full well that he could not carry one child away and return for the other before the car exploded. He heard the man say something to his son before grabbing his daughter and running. The boy somehow managed to free himself from the car and screamed for his father to help him. And that was when the car exploded.
In the flash of the fireball, Curszer shed his guise of just another demon and made his way to the burning wreckage. He pulled the son from the flame and took him away into the night, leaving the father to grieve.
Somewhere close to Mariner Bay
Curszer gasped as he found himself back where he had started. He could sense the changes his little spell had caused. The boy’s memory of events had been altered so that he believed his father had abandoned him and that he had been raised by Queen Bansheera’s Court. His mind held the memories of the training he had received, of the torture and ridicule heaped upon him by the demons as they had forced him to fight for his continued existence. His anger at being abandoned combined with his hatred of the father that had chosen to abandon his son in favour of his daughter. All those thoughts and memories surged through the mind of the newly awakened children.
Except now he was not a child. He was a fully grown and very angry young man.
“Ah,” Curszer cried triumphantly as the dark magic he had used to build the body was released and washed through the chamber. “He’s ready!”
The corruption of the lines of magic surrounding the Earth had been short lived and had only affected a small area. The event did however have side effects such as disrupting the magical waves that flowed from the planet. Normally such a short and localised disruption would pass unnoticed by others. There were however some exceptions.
Ask a mage capable of perceiving magic as a physical object to describe the Earth and they will tell you that it shines like a ball of magical energy in the night’s sky, the many line of magical energy crisscrossing the light to give a dazzling effect. “It shines,” they would tell you. Ask them what the Earth looked like during the time when Bansheera and her clan considered it their world and they will tell you that the Earth still shone like a beacon in the night along with the many other worlds that eventually fell to the darkness.
The legends stated that Queen Bansheera had been banished from Earth and imprisoned by a powerful wizard. Those claims were wrong. Bansheera had never been defeated, had never fought a wizard, nor an army of young warriors. She had left her kingdom on Earth at the time when her empire was at its strongest to oversee the rest of her empire that resided within one of the many Hell dimensions. It had been after the humans had closed the doorway between Earth and her domain that she had been trapped, unable to find her way back to her palace on Earth.
Now the servants of her court had been released that doorway had been partially opened and the way back had become clearer. However Bansheera lacked the strength to break through the barriers between her dimension and the Earth from her side. She had been in communication with her servants as a spectral being, but she wished to physically reclaim her territory, which meant travelling there personally.
When Curszer had started his spell his intention had been the creation of a dark warrior to help the demons destroy the Power Rangers. His goal had not changed. But his scheme had relied on sorcery so dark that it had corrupted the magic of the planet for a short time. Unwittingly Curszer had given Bansheera an opening and the Hell Queen had wasted little time.
Springwood, Ohio,
The entire arsenal of the Ultrazord struck Beast Master, causing the villain to scream before his body was thrown into the air where he remained suspended by the energy that was tearing him to pieces. Then the attack ended and he plummeted back to the ground. His body cracked, the evil spirit contained within desperate to get away. He coughed violently, spewing up a small orb that was lost under his falling body.
“Hit him again!” Tommy ordered. “Fire!”
This time Beast Master was destroyed…
… Or so they thought. The Rangers had been busy at the time; too concerned about the Elemental Beasts and Minion to worry about whether the Beast Master’s destruction had been total. They had lacked the opportunity to investigate the orb he had ejected and by the time they were able to do so, they found no trace. So it was forgivable given their distraction, that they had missed a few people that the Beast Master had still controlled at the moment of his destruction as they carried out his final command and removed the orb from Angel Grove to a place where it could receive the energy needed to begin its development into a new Beast Master. Those slaves had been listed among the missing of Angel Grove although their deaths had occurred many miles away in Springwood, Ohio. There under the concentrated fire of Serpenterra, they had met their end and the orb they carried had been supercharged by its destructive ray and buried deep beneath the rubble.
Serpenterra’s blast had changed the landscape forever, raising the water table and crumbling the bedrock. Even as the ash and sediment from the former town settled, beneath the surface the wound festered. And within the murky, molten, steaming sludge, the orb had rested, nurtured by the agonised spirits of those that had lost their lives. Still unformed it displayed abilities similar to those of its parent, ensnaring the spiritual energy of those that had been killed during its awakening.
The Beast Master had been depicted in the legends as a demon that merely controlled the Elemental Beasts. In truth he was just another beast that had evolved without their great power. Instead of power he held an intellect that allowed him to direct his brethren. And like the Beast Masters before him, he had been capable of giving birth to a new generation of beasts. Fed by the ghostly despair of those that had lost their lives in Serpenterra’s assault on Springwood, it had fed upon the poisoned ground, using the negative emotions to grow powerful.
For a long time following the defeat of Minion, the town of Springwood had been cordoned off as uninhabitable. The land was too unstable for teams to even consider trying to reclaim the lost land or the many bodies that lay among its ruins. And then over time the area was deemed lost and designated as a monument to those lost. Untended the souls of those that had died there had been unable to move on, transformed by the dark energy within the land into vengeful lost spirits. Their hurt and anger caused the tiny seeds that fell from the Beast Master’s egg to grow and rot, feeding the soil with the chemicals needed to and soon turned the area rotting pool filled with the nutrients and magic needed to bring forth a new generation of Elemental Beasts. And as those embryos grew, they were carried upon the magical winds to distant parts of the planet, awaiting the Beast Master’s call.
Yes, this was the perfect place of death and rebirth, hate, fear and evil. It was the sickly combination of darkness that polluted the land that drew Curszer to the site, just as a short time before it had attracted the attention of two Duke Orgs. While their goal had been to find new Orgs to give themselves a purpose, Curszer sought to use the land as the final stage in his project’s development. The creature that accompanied was technically human. It was composed of the rotted remains of a body Curszer had stolen from a grave combined with a soul he had snatched from its resting place. He had combined the two, poured in memories and knowledge and fed it on an emotional diet of pain and hatred. And now the time had come for his little project to be granted a new life in servitude to Queen Bansheera. And its first task when complete would be the destruction of the Lightspeed Rangers.
“Take the steps and three shall bind; body, spirit and the mind,” Curszer whispered. “A trade most bold: new life for old.”
The land bulged and swallowed the walking flesh as a roar was heard that echoed around the world, distorting the planet’s energy as it did so. Unnoticed by most it heralded a new beginning and the arrival of darker times. And as Curszer watched, something vaguely human started to take shape.
Space
“Yeehaw! Cowabunga dude!”
Dappu was a spoiled brat. He had everything money could but and the full benefits of his parents’ hard work. He also knew that he was going to be in deep trouble when he got home. A teenager by the standards of his people, he had been grounded after failing his classes for the third time. His parents had taken away all his privileges and hired tutors to help him improve, but Dappu had been more interested in surfing the space waves than earning a passing grade. His parents were bound to punish him for sneaking out to go planet skimming, especially after curfew and without asking permission to borrow the space pod; for most space travel was reserved for traders and commercial flights with very few families able to claim to own their own shuttle.
Still he wasn’t worried. His parents were rarely at home – for despite their attempts to cover up the fact he was well aware that they had separated and his mother was living a very successful, happy and independent life away from her husband – and despite how tough their staff tried to be when maintaining discipline, the fact remained they were just staff. Besides, it was only supposed to be a short trip around a few of the nearby star systems, using the tidal effect of the stars as a means of changing course at the last possible moment. What could go wrong?
Unfortunately Dappu was so spoilt and so shielded by his parents that he had been left unaware of the dangers facing him. He had not known about the bounty that had been offered for the capture of his father, a widely acknowledged expert in the fields of magical engineering. He had not been told that those seeking to claim the bounty were waiting just beyond the shields that prevented them from simply raiding the planet and taking whatever they wanted. Had he known he would have sneaked out in the other direction.
Dappu’s home planet, Savoth, was protected by a genetic shield that only allowed approved vessels to pass if they carried a resident of the planet. Otherwise they had to seek permission and were monitored closely from the moment they entered the shield. Even with permission non-residents were limited to the spaceports and had to wait for approval to go elsewhere. However those precautions could be circumvented with the capture of any member of their race. At that point a bounty hunter would have the means to pass through their shields and help himself to useful members of society. And nobody had stated what condition that resident had to be in, which was why Dappu was making every effort to escape after being chased by the bounty hunter across several systems. In his mind this was far too high a price for sneaking out.
He had managed to keep ahead of his pursuer, but his luck had run out when he had entered Earth’s solar system with the intention of using one of the tidal currents to slingshot his way onto a new course. His entrance coincided with a magical distortion, the result of a ceremony taking place near Mariner Bay, and his swerve carried him wide. Out of control his vessel had plunged into the atmosphere, forcing him to make an emergency landing. Unable to fully control his descent he landed at his earliest opportunity, the hunter close behind.
“Bummer!”
Angel Grove
The end of the school year was approaching and for the five friends it was accompanied by an odd feeling of deja vu. The classes all seemed familiar, the events planned by the school’s faculty almost the same as the previous year. The only difference seemed to be in the alien forces that attack the planet. The previous year the monsters had been directed by Divatox. This year nobody seemed to control the random mix that tried their luck at conquering the planet.
The five youths of course knew all about the monsters attacking their world, since two of them were the planet’s first line of defence and the other three had just months earlier been an essential part of that team. Justin Stewart and Fred Kellman were secretly Power Rangers. Drawing strength from the Power of Turbo, Justin was the Blue Turbo Ranger and Fred served as the duo’s leader, the Red Turbo Ranger. They were accompanied by Tasha Young, Rosa De Santos and Franklin Park, the former Yellow Turbo Ranger, Pink Turbo Ranger and Green Turbo Ranger. Although they had lost their ability to safely transformed when their Turbo Keys had been damaged – for an expert friend had already determined that it was the transformation devices and not the teenagers at fault – they remained as support for the two active Rangers.
When the senior Rangers returned from their mission to liberate the watery world of Aquitar – a planet that would take decades to recover from the decimation reaped upon it by Minion and others – the Turbo Rangers had the guidance and experience needed to overcome the many varied threats they faced without the need for reinforcements. They had even found a way to temporarily switch powers, allowing Tasha, Rosa or Franklin to replace either Justin or Fred in battle. It had highlighted just how little they understood about the nature of the Speed Force from which they drew their power.
“So, Ernie’s?” Rosa asked, causing the others to grin. It was a familiar conversation when school finished. Normally Tasha and Justin needed to check in at the children’s home, but recently they had been allowed to stay out a little later.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
“Looks like that sandwich will have to wait,” Fred answered as the five youths made their way to a secluded spot so they could answer the communicator. “This is Fred.”
“Fred it’s Zack,” a familiar voice replied.
With Zordon and Alpha still away, the older Rangers had been taking it in turns to monitor the Power Chamber. Working in shifts they watched for signs of trouble and alerted the active Rangers only if there was an emergency. Of course they also spent their time training as Zordon had encouraged them to do, expanding on their knowledge of their powers and the abilities those powers granted.
“”What’s up?” Fred asked.
“The computer detected two ships entering the atmosphere and heading toward Angel Grove,” Zack answered. “One is identified as a bounty hunter, the other is unknown.”
“Either way we need to check it out,” Rosa guessed.
The others nodded. Even if it wasn’t part of an invader, allowing aliens to settle some problem on the planet could spell trouble for civilians.
“I’m sending the coordinates to your Turbo Navigators,” Zack advised. “Be careful guys, just because the siren isn’t sounding doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous.”
“Understood,” Fred answered, summoning one of the Turbo Navigators and studying the readings. “We’re on our way.”
Dappu forced himself not to panic as his ship made a very bumpy landing in a wooded area close to Angel Grove Park. His vehicle had not taken the unexpected landing well and the imperfect angle of re-entry had damaged its exterior. And thoughts of sneaky the shuttle back and pretending nothing had happened were gone. If he was lucky his parents would stop at skinning him alive. And that was assuming that whatever had been chasing him had a change of heart.
He flicked a button on the console, activating the ship’s external viewer. That allowed him to observe the local inhabitants and change his clothing to fit in. The result was far from perfect; the bright red tee-shirt and blue shorts only highlighted that he was not human. Anybody that caught sight of his large ridged head could tell he did not fit in. How he wished that he had brought some sort of disguise technology with him. At least he didn’t need a translator.
“Yo dudes, how ya doin?” he shouted as he approached the nearest group of locals, a group of kids playing soccer.
Unsurprisingly when approached by an alien with a big mouth, the kids did as they had been taught by their teachers and ran for the nearest place of safety, shouting a warning to other park users.
“Hey, where ya goin?” Dappu protested. “Aw man, I’m never going to find any help at this rate!”
“I wouldn’t worry if I were you,” a voice said from behind. “You’re beyond help anyway.”
Dappu groaned as he turned around to find a weapon pointed in his direction. It seemed his pursuer had not only tracked him and survived landing, but had already discovered his whereabouts and was not worried about whether or not he survived.
Red. That was the first thing that Dappu realised about his tormentor. He was red, very very red. indeed apart from a few areas that were black, the majority of the armour that he wore was unquestionable red. The sword he held in his right hand was also red and if he had to guess, Dappu would be unsurprised to find out that the other sword he wore on his back was also red. Admittedly there were two types of red, the dull matt red that covered the majority of his form and the brighter, glossier red that accounted for the armour plates attached to his shoulders and legs. His helmet was red and black.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the bounty hunter promised before he stopped to consider the matter. “Actually it really doesn’t matter if your run, fight or stay where you are. I promise it will be quick. Just like this…”
He swung the sword, firing a bolt of crimson energy at the alien youth. Dappu ducked to the side, but realised he had nowhere else to go.
“Hey what’s your beef man?” he demanded. “Did I diss you or something?”
“My employer wants the services of your father,” came the reply. “Your father was very stubborn and refused his request. I had been looking for an inhabitant of your world to open the shield. But you? Well, you’re much better. With you I can convince your old man to come to me. And if he doesn’t, the shield doesn’t care whether you are alive, dead or finely diced.”
“Knew there was a problem with that thing,” Dappu muttered. To be honest he had never really cared about the shield that protected his world. He had never given a second thought to how it did its job or what it needed to function. His parents had given him the same lecture that most children received for their safety and he had cheerfully ignored them. That was something he was coming to regret. “Can’t we discuss this?” he tried. “Just because you want my dad to do something doesn’t mean you have ta kill me.”
“But it doesn’t mean I can’t,” the bounty hunter replied, unleashing another sword swipe. “Your father won’t realise until it’s too late. Hey, hold still!”
Another sword blow and this time Dappu had nowhere to run. His life flashed before his big blue eyes before a loud clang caused him to peek through his fingers. Red and Blue Turbo stood between the bounty hunter and his prey, their Turbo Swords preventing him from delivering a final blow.
“Maybe you should stop playing with sharp things before you get hurt,” Red Turbo suggested.
“I am Kiaido, professional bounty hunter, renowned through the stars for my skill with a sword,” he answered harshly. “And I do not need two pipsqueaks to give me a lecture on safety.”
As he bellowed the last sentence, a wave of fire erupted from the end of his blade, blasting both Rangers. As Blue Turbo grabbed Dappu and ran for safety, Red Turbo stood his ground, allowing the Tyre Shield to work its magic by absorbing a large chunk of the blast.
“Auto Blaster!” Red Turbo called, opening fire as soon as he dropped the Tyre Shield. His shots were on target, but Kiaido was more than capable of blocking them with his swords. “Turbo Lightning Sword!” He leapt up, aiming to bring the sword down in a solid blow, but found his attempt blocked by the bounty hunter. Instead of letting his frustration show he repeated the move, this time shifting at the last moment so he could roll away and allowing Blue Turbo to catch the bounty hunter with a shot from his Turbo Hand Blasters.
Again Kiaido proved his skills with his swords, throwing the first back at Blue Turbo while he deflected the second at where Red Turbo had been standing. Only then did he realise that Red Turbo had used the distraction to take another swipe at him. Although he blocked it he was forced to concede that the Turbo Rangers did possess some skill. With his prey gone he decided to withdraw for the moment.
“What about my ship?” Dappu demanded much to the frustration of the three teens that had agreed to look after him. He was used to getting his own way and as soon as he realised that he was safe, he had started to complain. “If it’s damaged, you guys are goin ta pay for it!”
While Justin and Fred had been dealing with the bounty hunter, Franklin, Rosa and Tasha had teleported Dappu to the safety of the Power Chamber. There his identity had been confirmed and so had his story. Although when he had started messing with the computers, the former Rangers had agreed to take him elsewhere as soon as the fighting was over. That had been two hours ago and with the help of a device to keep civilians from noticing that Dappu was not human, they had taken him to the Youth Center while they worked out what to do next.
“We’ll look for it after that guy’s been dealt with,” Franklin promised.
Dappu was not happy with that answer.
“Do you know how much that ship is worth? If it’s damaged I’ll make sure the Council makes you pay for it.”
If he had expected the teens to show some sort of concern he was in for a surprise when they started laughing at him.
“The Council? This is Earth. The Council won’t even talk to us let alone order us around,” Tasha told him. “After the response Tommy gave them last time they wouldn’t dare try.”
“Earth? I’m on Earth?” Dappu was really upset now. “How am I expected to find help on a miserable backwater like Earth? I might as well surrender now.”
“Hey!” Tasha snarled, grabbing the larger teen by the collar. “You already got help or did you forget how our friends just saved your life?”
“Look toots, I could buy and sell each and every one of you,” Dappu replied. “So why don’t you be a good little girl and shut up? Trapped on Earth, man life is a real bummer sometimes.”
It was Rosa who broke down laughing first, but the others soon followed. They had heard from Tommy and the others how stuck up some aliens could be. Over time the older Rangers had come up with ways to give them a little reality check.
“You’re rich are you?” she asked sweetly. “Good, you can buy the drinks. Hey Ernie, can we have four colas?”
The portly owner of the Juice Bar hurried over, hardly raising an eyebrow at the alien that had been forced to sit watching the television; the Rangers had given up trying to fool Ernie, especially when he was inside the Youth Center.
“Pay him,” Rosa urged. “Let’s see that money of yours.”
Grumbling slightly Dappu put his hand in his pocket and pulled out some coins, which he handed to Ernie. Only for Ernie to hand them back with a shake of his head and an apologetic smile.
“Pay him with real money,” Rosa instructed, “not space credits.”
“That is money,” Dappu protested.
“Not on this planet,” Rosa answered harshly. “Your money is worthless here which means you are no richer than anybody else.”
While she was making her point, Tasha paid for the drinks.
“Miserable backwater,” Dappu complained as he shoved his money back in his pocket, causing a strange medallion to tumble out.
Instinctively Tasha grabbed it before it hit the floor and when she did so it flared with yellow light. Unsure what had happened she handed it back to Dappu, who had stopped complaining and was looking at the three former Rangers speculatively.
“Here, drink this,” Tasha told his as she passed him a Coke.
“Thank you,” he managed.
Dappu had been surprised when his amulet had flared. It was something his mother had given him years before. She had tried at the time to instruct him in the use of the near-magical energy it channelled. He had given up after discovering that he could not use the powers himself, he could only channel them into objects or other people. He had found that he could use it to enhance some of his father’s creations, but his efforts had never been appreciated. He couldn’t believe that when his amulet had reacted the female had hardly reacted. He knew many others would have demanded an explanation and then that he supplied them with the powers his amulet could provide. What was wrong with these humans?
It didn’t take long for Kiaido to resurface and when he did it was clear he had a plan. The bounty hunter had retrieved Dappu’s ship and threatened to destroy it. Naturally that drew the two Turbo Rangers into battle. This time though the bounty hunter was prepared for a battle and didn’t hold back. His sword strikes quickly incapacitated Blue Turbo, whom he then used as a twisted human shield against the Red Turbo Ranger. In a very short time he had defeated both Rangers and held them at his mercy.
“A trade, Rangers: give me the brat and I’ll let your friends live.”
Actually when they surrendered his prize to him he planned to claim the bounty on the two Rangers as well.
“So what do we do?” Tasha asked.
“We’re not handing him over,” Rosa stated forcefully, sparing Dappu a glance. “Bad guys never keep their word and even if they did, it’s not going to happen.”
The others nodded in agreement, surprising Dappu. He had expected them to hand him over in exchange for their friends. He would have done so in their position. Assuming of course he had any friends.
“We’ve got two problems,” Frank announced. Of the group Franklin had proven himself the tactician and a sound analyst even without his powers. “First problem is getting Justin and Fred free. The second is once they are free and take that guy out, we’re going to have a giant battle on out hands…”
“And no Megazord,” Tasha stated.
The Turbo Rangers Zords had been heavily damaged while aiding the Lightspeed Rangers of Mariner Bay. The result had been to combine two fleets of Zords together into a single Megazord. Sadly there had been no way to separate them and the Lightspeed Rangers had needed them more.
“I really don’t want to ask the others…” Franklin trailed off.
Pride was at stake. The Turbo Rangers had successfully defended the planet despite problems with their powers and Zords. Asking the semi-retired Power Rangers for help seemed like they were admitting defeat.
“How about we change the rules?” he asked.
“Come again?” Rosa asked. It was clear Franklin had some idea.
“He wants us to go to him, so we have to do what he says or even if we get the drop on him we’d still have to fight on his terms,” Franklin said. “Instead, let’s make him come to us in a place where we can fight him.”
“Mariner Bay,” Tasha guessed.
“Right and then not only do we have a Megazord, we have a second team of Rangers and the whole of Lightspeed to help protect Dappu if needed.”
“Zack?” Rosa asked.
“Already spoken to them, Captain Mitchell was happy to help,” Zack answered. “But he wanted you to know that unless that bounty hunter attacks Mariner Bay this will just be refuge, not a Lightspeed Rescue.”
“Understood,” Franklin answered. “let’s go guys. Zack, make this as obvious as possible.”
The plan was simple enough: draw Kiaido away from Angel Grove to Mariner Bay where there were five active Rangers capable of assisting and a Megazord should the battle escalate. And given that the bounty hunter had probably expected either their agreement to his terms or an attack, this would surely throw his plan into disarray.
Kiaido could not miss the sudden teleportation. It was easy to tell that Dappu and his companions had left Angel Grove. Tracking them to Mariner Bay took but a moment. Hauling the two defeated Turbo Rangers to their feet, he quickly followed. When he arrived he didn’t try to hide his presence, destroying a row of parked cars just to be sure he had the Rangers’ attention. He was unsurprised by the loud sirens that heralded the arrival of Mariner Bay’s defenders although a part of him suspected he had been set up.
“Release your hostages and surrender,” Red Lightspeed instructed.
The Lightspeed Rangers had already drawn their side arms. With damage to the city their involvement was fully authorised.
Kiaido laughed and drew his swords. He had no problem adding five more Rangers to his collection. In his excitement he had forgotten the Power Rangers were quick to recover and that once they had the opportunity, Justin and Fred were bound to to make a comeback of their own. Against two Rangers he had struggled a little, but against seven he had very little chance. Blue and Green Lightspeed used their Rescue Batons to pin his swords away from the centre of his body, allowed Yellow and Pink Lightspeed to hit his with energy blasts. Red Lightspeed then delivered his own blow before the five Rangers of Mariner Bay backed up to allow Red and Blue Turbo a chance.
It was a move the duo had been practicing since the Turbo Rangers had been reduced in number; Red Turbo sped forward as Blue Turbo fired his Turbo Hand Blasters repeatedly, one blast down each side of the Red Turbo Ranger’s path. Then when Red Turbo had built his speed to maximum, he jumped into the air and summoned the Turbo Lightning Sword, as Blue Turbo adjusted the angle of his shots so the two blasts converged on a single target. As the blast struck Kiaido in the chest, Red Turbo delivered a fully charged blow from his Turbo Lightning Sword. The combined attack was too much and Kiaido was down.
Dappu was confused. When the three humans had spoken about running to Mariner Bay he had expected to be waiting a long time while Kiaido was defeated. Instead he was taken to a repair bay where his ship was waiting for him.
“We figured teleporting a ship from Angel Grove to Mariner Bay would take more energy than Kiaido was willing to spend,” Franklin told him.
“So as soon as we had his attention and the Power Chamber confirmed he was on his way to Mariner Bay,” Tasha continued. “We had Zack teleport your ship here so you can start on the repairs.”
As he looked around Dappu realised that the Rangers were going above and beyond the call of duty to help him. The machinery available and the parts at his disposal were more than enough to repair his stricken craft. As he looked around though he was struck by how much machinery there was awaiting repair. It was clear that despite going out of their way to help him, the Rangers of Earth were out of their depth.
“What happened to your powers?” he asked as he picked up a wrench. He could fix things much quicker if he wanted to but did not trust the outsiders with his secrets. Still he was a skilled mechanic and his hands could work wonders, as he planned to show the girls at his school if they would let him.
“Our Turbo Keys were damaged during a battle,” Rosa explained, pulling out her Turbo Key.
“And since we were injured in battle, we can’t handle the powers anymore,” Franklin answered. He didn’t believe the Turbo Keys were solely to blame. Even using Justin’s Turbo Key he had only managed a limited transformation.
Dappu nodded, a part of him wanting to ignore their plight. He could see the energy signature of the Turbo Keys. It was almost identical to the power his mother had taught him to use. A little different and he suspected that the powers were Liarian in nature. He could also sense that energy within the three teens. It was clear that their bodies had not fully adapted to the powers and that when the keys had been damaged, so had their undeveloped channels.
As Lightspeed’s personnel turned their attention to doing everything possible to help him, a small part of him actually felt he owed them something. He shook his head to clear it. As if a bunch of humans were worth his help.
~But they did help you,~ an annoying voice whispered in the back of his head. ~You could easily fix this.~
He sighed again. If he dared to help them the Council would punish him. But if they didn’t find out…
Kiaido was a freelancer. He didn’t work for a witch who could use her magic wand or a pirate that was willing to blow him up to full size. Luckily in his travels he had learnt the advantages of being able to change his height and had acquired the potions needed to do so. And an added benefit of the one he used was that it restored his armour to full strength.
“Uh oh!” Red Turbo commented as the bounty hunter grew before them.
The seven Rangers rolled for safety as a monstrous foot stomped down on them. Then they attacked, using whatever means they had at their disposal. As Red and Blue Turbo wove between the villain’s feet, using their Auto Blasters to shoot at his heels and ankles, the Lightspeed Rangers used their rescue lines to climb his massive body, shooting their Rescue Lasers as they ascended towards his head. Of course such a strategy was only going to have a limited effect and when he stated swatting them, the Rangers decided to end the game and leapt for safety.
“Turbo Rescue Megazord!” the Rangers called, summoning the hybrid machine that was a combination of both teams surviving Zords.
Nothing happened and the Rangers realised they were in trouble.
Lightspeed Aquabase
The alarms sounded, technicians rushed to find a solution to the problem and panic was starting to set in. The repair bay where they had left Dappu to work had sealed itself shut, locking the technicians out and the Turbo Rescue Megazord in. The cameras refused to reveal what was going on but it was clear that the machines inside were working at a frantic pace. Various consoles lit up in the Lightspeed control room as Zords momentarily activated and then abruptly shut down. The loud banging told them that Dappu was doing more than just fixing his shuttle. In all likelihood they had let an enemy inside the Aquabase and were about to lose everything.
And then everything went blank for a second before the computers rest themselves and the consoles came to life. Despite knowing that the majority of their arsenal had been unusable at the start of their shift, the technicians could only watch in amazement as their systems came online, fully functional.
“Miss Fairweather?” somebody asked.
Lightspeed’s head technician shook her head. They had work to do. They could figure out what had happened later. She glanced at Captain Mitchell and receiving a nod, decided.
“Send the Zords!” she instructed, reminding herself that in future she might have to state which ones.
For the first time the Lightspeed Rescue Zords raced into battle. Based on designs that had previously proven unsuccessful, they were now fully operational. Pyro Rescue was based on a large fire engine, Aero Rescue some sort of jump jet hybrid; Med Rescue was clearly intended to serve as an ambulance while Haz Rescue was equipped to handle dangerous objects. Finally there was Hydro Rescue, a giant water truck with a long range extinguisher jet. It was clear that these Zords were larger versions of the Rescue Vehicles Miss Fairweather had designed, but the designs actually worked.
Without prompting, Hydro Rescue locked together with Haz Rescue and Med Rescue, the three Rescue Zords using hydraulic pistons to bend upwards to form a pair of legs. Meanwhile Aero Rescue had picked up Pyro Rescue using a set of magnetic cables and had hauled it into position atop the Megazord. The machine lowered its hand to the sidewalk as if waiting. The Rangers quickly realised what it wanted.
“Come on guys!” Red Lightspeed cried, leading his team onto the waiting palm.
From there they found themselves transported to a waiting cockpit. The moment they took their placed the machine stopped operating on its own, ready for their commands.
“Lightspeed Megazord, online!” Red Lightspeed announced.
However if the two Turbo Rangers thought they were going to be left out they were in for a surprise as the roar of engines heralded the arrival of the fully repaired Turbo Zords, which quickly combined into the Turbo Megazord. Faced with two Megazords, the bounty hunter was soon on the defensive. Once the Lightspeed Megazord used its extendable arms to knock him back and then grip him at a safe distance, the Turbo Megazord attacked. However it fell to the Lightspeed Megazord to deliver the final blow with a flaming sword that cut through the bounty hunter’s armour, forcing him to teleport away.
While the Rangers celebrated their victory, the technicians were trying to get over their shock when they discovered that the Lightspeed Zords were not the only machines that had been fixed, finished and improved. It seemed that somehow the repair bay had been completely overhauled and with the advanced machinery available, it had restored and completed all the machines that the technicians had been working on. While the majority of them were intended for Lightspeed, it seemed some were intended for the Turbo Rangers and others were for something else altogether.
It was going to take time to test and learn the systems for the new Zords. Miss Fairweather intended to make sure that Carter and his team worked relentlessly to master their new machines. Just as her technicians would have to work hard to maintain them.
It was also clear that Dappu had not only fixed his ship, he had used the parts to upgrade the engines. And once it was confirmed that Kiaido was gone, Dappu wasted little time in preparing his vessel to depart.
“The jerk didn’t even say thank you,” Tasha groused as the Turbo Rangers watched him walk to his shuttle.
He stopped briefly and turned back to where the Green, Pink and Yellow Turbo Rangers were watching. He pulled out his amulet and muttered something, connecting himself with the energy field the Turbo Rangers referred to as the Speed Force; coincidentally it was the same power that Lightspeed had unwittingly tapped into to empower its Rangers. With a short chant a beam of light hit the three teens, engulfing them in multi-coloured energy. At first the light was broken up by areas of grey, but as he chanted, the Turbo Rangers glowed slightly. Then with a shrug he walked off making them question what he had done?
Without another word, the teenage alien boarded his craft. It seemed the tales his mother had told him were true. Perhaps with time he could learn to use the powers properly. It would mean studying hard and catching up on the things he had missed. But Dappu was certain he would manage it. And if he failed he could always bribe the examiner.
End of Part
Chapter 29: Veiled Acts and Misdirection
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or Doctor Who. They belong to the copyright owners. This is a piece of fan work and no profit is being made from this.
Veiled Acts and Misdirection
Zordon was frustrated. After ten thousand years trapped in a time warp he had believed that very little could aggravate him and that he had learned patience. He had been wrong. It seemed that regardless of experience, the incompetence and selfishness of politicians could never be underestimated. Even in a time of war they refused to work together unless it furthered their personal agendas. The problem it seemed was that while a threat had been identified, the urgency had not been understood.
How many times had the Earth been raised as an issue in the days since the Galactic Council had acknowledged the existence of the UAE and the threat they posed? How many sessions had been wasted while they argued about the allocation of seating and votes? How many votes had they tried to pass to limit the powers of the
Grid Masters who now held a small but significant number of seats to represent their contribution to the war effort while expecting them to freely offer there forces on all Council worlds?
Petty squabbles had slowed the preparations for war even as reports of how the UAE was positioning itself in readiness to strike were updated. Instead of debating why the Grand Monarch of Evil had decided to target minor planets of little strategic value and actively protecting them, they had spent two days negotiating mineral rights for when they reclaimed those worlds.
He was not alone in his frustration; Trey had arrived as Triforia’s representative only to have his status debated by the rest of the Council. It had only been when the Lord of Triforia had threatened to withdraw his planet’s support that the Council had acknowledged his right to be there. Zordon could tell by the look on the Gold Ranger’s face that he wished that he hadn’t bothered. And then there was the inelligence on their new enemy that had been provided by the Red Guardian of KO-35 The Council had spent more time debating whether the loss of KO-35 had stripped the Astro Guardian of his status than it had reviewing the evidence he had sent them.
~All that time sensitive data now useless,~ Zordon thought bitterly. ~Perhaps I’m going about this in the wrong way.~
Deciding that he should follow his instincts, Zordon stood and took his turn to speak. What he was about to say would not be popular, but it was needed.
“Fellow Councillors, I returned here to help fight the coming war against the Grand Monarch and his United Alliance of Evil. To date all we have fought is each other. While we delay, the enemy grows stronger. I do not know why he has positioned his forces to strike the world they have chosen, but I believe there is a reason and that we must discover it. However, I do not believe that this body will uncover that truth or take any positive steps to protect its members as long as these pointless debates continue.”
He paused, allowing the angry shouts to die down before he continued. Many of them questioned his right to speak to them in that way. It had after all been ten thousand years since he had set foot in the chamber; it was a low blow and all that heard it knew that the speaker had gone too far.
“You are correct of course,” Zordon said, his agreement causing more concern than if he had reacted angrily. “It has been a long time since I ‘set foot’ in this chamber, despite my regular attendance at meetings during my imprisonment. Since you believe I do not belong here, I will return to my post on Earth and prepare for the fight to come.”
This caused another wave of anger as the Council realised that he was willing to leave them to fight on their own. For without the support of Zordon it was unlikely the
Grid Masters would remain as patient as they had been. It looked as if the Council’s efforts would fail before they started. Zordon however was not in the mood to negotiate as he left the chamber despite the calls for his return. He was not surprised when Trey joined them after handing his duties to an aide.
“I will return to Triforia and report back on the lack of progress,” Trey decided. “Then I will join you on Earth.”
Zordon nodded.
“Then we will leave as soon as your vessel is ready. I will have Alpha transfer our belongings there.” There was somebody he needed to see first.
Graceful, swift and deadly. All were words that described Gosei and his fighting style. He was a late trainee of Zordon who had been unable to complete his education under the White
Master. He had instead dedicated himself to Zordon’s sacrifice and taken advice from the best tutors he could find in dedication to his former master. It gave him a varied fighting style.
“Master Zordon,” he greeted as the older man entered the room. He knew his master well enough to sense the shift in the Morphin Grid’s currents when the man was close by.
“Your growth in the ways of the Power are astounding,” Zordon commented as he took a seat that had been offered to him. “I thank you for allowing me to resume your training after so long, but as I told you before, you are no longer a student.”
“There is still so much to learn,” Gosei protested.
“Yes, but the place to learn those things is not in a classroom, but outside. I have a favour to ask.”
Gosei stood up straight, allowing Zordon to gain a good look at him. He was slender with a shaven head and brown eyes. He wore an off-white robe with a wide sash tied at the waist holding various pouches. He reminded Zordon of himself in his younger days and the
Grid Master felt guilty that his disappearance had likely caused his former student to choose his appearance as a tribute. Such tributes were unnecessary, but alas Gosei was not the only one that had felt otherwise.
“Anything.”
Zordon nodded. “I am to return to Earth to help prepare the planet for the war to come. In my absence I need somebody to carry my vote in the Council. I have chosen you to act as my proxy.”
“Master Zordon, I have only studied politics from books. I’ve never been in the Council’s chambers or held a debate.”
“You will do fine,” Zordon assured his student. “Consider this a part of your training. It is one thing to know how to act, it is another to do so.”
He could see the hesitation, the doubt and perhaps disappointment that he was to be left behind again. But Zordon knew that Gosei needed to learn these skills and quickly. If the visions he had had were an indication, time was running out.
Despite being a machine, Alpha Five was capable of an incredible range of human behaviour. He felt concern, sadness and on a rare occasion righteous anger; he could be curious and was prone to panic despite being extremely brave. If an observer had been asked to describe his current mood, the word smug would have been closely followed by satisfaction. Alpha had spent the time while Zordon and Trey had been locked in conversation with the Council, reacquainting himself with the Council’s Central Database. He had only been allowed one previous visit to the site before he had entered Zordon’s service, but it was there that King Lexian had provided him with his core programming.
And now that same computer system had granted him an understanding of the United Alliance of Evil’s strategy. He didn’t comprehend everything he had discovered, it took a little more imagination than Alpha could manage to achieve that, but he had learnt enough to prove that their random actions were anything but. Every planet they had raided while insignificant by Council standards were the sole producers of items a growing army could need during wartime. The UAE was seeking to cripple the Council before the first battle.
Lord Zedd and Rita had been spotted harassing undeveloped worlds that only provided a small selection of food for the Council and materials for its artists. The reports had failed to identify the foods as being the preference of breeding Tengas or that the clay extracted from the raided mines could be used to craft monsters and Putty Patrollers. The other planets they had seemingly hit at random had given the treacherous duo the raw potion and alchemy ingredients needed for any potions they would need. And the forest moon they had ravaged had provided Rita with enough raw materials to craft a never ending supply of wands.
With the thought that the various villains were actually undertaking their otherwise pointless missions to cover their plundering of supplies, Alpha had turned his attention to the Machine Empire. Since the Empire was split into Houses and the number of divisions within those groupings, their acts had been more difficult to monitor. However the breaking up of the Machine Home World had been too big an event to miss. It had been a surprise to see the massive planet divide itself into a number of large war vessels until Alpha realised that the Royal House of Gadgetry had taken control of the once organic world long before Zordon’s clash with Rita. The chances that there had been anything left of the original planet were remote given the machines’ desire to asset strip everything they encountered.
The machine ships had set off on their own missions, once again positioning themselves close to minor planets. However while waiting further instructions the machines were harvesting asteroids and using the materials they extracted to produce more Cogs.
Meanwhile Gasket and Archerina had been spotted rounding up slave labour to service their machines. Exactly why they needed organic servants instead of Cogs was unclear, but suggested they were using them for something that was hazardous to machines. And their antics were copied by his restored brother Sprocket as the younger prince set out to prove his worth to King Mondo, and some of the rival factions that sought to replace the Royal House of Gadgetry as the rulers of the Machine Empire.
Divatox had been seen raiding ships across the Council’s territory. It was only when Alpha had computed where her seemingly erratic course could lead that that he noticed her brother had been carrying out a similar pattern of raids elsewhere. Indeed several of the Dianthe’s leading members had been seen to be conducting random acts of piracy, leading the Council to dismiss them… until they reached their destinations. At that point the Dianthe had been in striking range of every maximum security prison operated by the IGPF.
And that was why the feeling of smug satisfaction that Alpha had felt when he had made the connection between the random activity had rapidly disappeared. The war that the Council had been arguing over and had failed to take action to stop had not even started and they were already close to losing. The Grand Monarch had somehow deceived the Council’s spies by making the UAE appear to be little more than an evil version of the Galactic Council where little was accomplished due to petty squabbles and long debates – although Alpha allowed for the possibility that the Grand Monarch had simply frightened the participants into obeying him. Then when his forces had made their move the randomness had made them seem undisciplined and divided. Even now as Alpha knew that the Council had allowed the enemy forces to prepare their armies for war, Alpha wondered what other patterns he had failed to spot.
“Alpha, we are leaving,” Zordon announced over the communications channel they shared. “I trust your research has been rewarding?”
Zordon had not pressed when Alpha had asked to visit the Central Database, but it had been clear that the small robot’s actions had made him curious.
“Ai-yi-yi, yes Zordon,” Alpha replied. “You won’t like what I’ve discovered.”
“Very well Alpha, transmit a copy of everything you have found to Pyramidas and my datapad,” Zordon instructed. “Then prepare to depart. I fear we have accomplished everything we can here.”
“Yes Zordon,” Alpha agreed, already changing his route to pass by Zordon’s chambers to retrieve any personal belongings.
Zordon watched as the shuttle departed. He had made certain that he had been seen boarding the vessel and had no doubt that there would be some that would try to prevent him from reaching Earth. But they would be disappointed when they discovered his ruse: Zordon had arranged other transportation.
Trey had left some time ago. The Lord of Triforia would rendezvous with Andros in a few days and then head directly for Earth with Alpha. They would be there by the time Zordon arrived. Meanwhile Zordon planned to seek out a few of his old allies before returning to Earth; the dimensional prison that had once preserved his life had following his freedom turned into a shortcut that allowed the White Master to cross the galaxy faster than most vessels. That would give him enough time. At least he hoped that it would.
End of part
Chapter 30: The Dark Victory
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, they belong to whoever owns the copyright. This is a fan work and no profit is being made.
The Dark Victory
In some ways the Galactic Council had been lucky. The galaxy was a very big place, the universe was even bigger. The forces of darkness had set out on their campaign of renewed conquest and instead of heading inwards towards Erlion and Eltare, they had pushed out into the wider cosmos. In doing so they had given the Galactic Council a reprieve, but had also raised the paranoia, fear and arguing among its members. For it was not a matter of if the enemy turned their attention to Council worlds, it was only a matter of when.
And with that realisation had come an understanding that the Galactic Council and its members were not prepared for war. They had grown used to the watered down tactics of the Machine Empire and the lacklustre campaigns of Rita and Zedd. Dark Specter had renewed his forces and had sent them forth with determination and a degree of evil competence not seen for a long time.
There was no question that the forces of darkness held the advantage. Dark Specter had somehow united them, organised them and motivated them. The same could not be said for the Council’s forces, which under the squabbling, selfish and fractured leadership, would not present a united front. The Morphin Council had mobilised, assembling an army of
Grid Masters, Power Rangers and Power Soldiers. The Masked Rider Corps were actively recruiting and the Green Lanterns had activated their entire membership in response to the threat.
In comparison the IGPF had been slowed by bureaucracy and bickering between members of the Galactic Council concerning their role and the Council’s military forces were still scattered awaiting orders. There had been no increase in recruitment or training. Technology and budgets were still limited and those responsible for leading the military forces had been held back by a lack of guidance.
One thing they could agree upon though was that dark days were coming and that they needed to work quickly if they were to weather the storm. Sadly it appeared that there was a vast difference between recognising the need for action and following through on their obligations. It would not take long for them to realise that it was already too late.
Dark Specter had won.
Dark Specter had won. He hadn’t conquered the universe, the galaxy or even the planet known as Earth. But in the battle for dominance between the many villainous factions, he had emerged victorious. The members of the United Alliance of Evil had followed his edict and accepted his empty promises. In return for completing the tasks he had set them, they would be allowed an opportunity to strike at the planet Earth.
What Dark Specter had failed to explain to the suddenly eager followers was that he would be the one to assign the tasks and that those that were most likely to conquer the Earth were those given the most difficult, time consuming tasks far away from the ultimate prize. He had sent Rita, Zedd and others to conquer galaxies, knowing that doing so would take them centuries. He had changed the definition of success to slow their progress and to remove the competition.
There was still some competition, but they were limited and easily dealt with. He had given them simpler tasks to complete, knowing that their attempts to target the Earth would quell any complaints that he had cheated. He had even set his own forces tasks that would delay his own strike at the planet until others had tried and failed.
In the end though Dark Specter knew that he would emerge victorious because he alone understood the importance of the planet Earth. Members of the UAE had seen some of the reports regarding the planet’s power. He understood why it was so powerful and why those that attacked it were bound to grow incompetent. And he planned to extract the source of that power and to use it to bind the universe together with himself as its ruler.
And it didn’t matter if they Council managed to get their act together. The only way they could stop him would be to destroy the prize before he could claim it, at which point the greatest weapon they possessed would be lost. One way or another, Dark Specter had already triumphed.
Dimitiria closed the Book of the Unknown once more and tried to make sense of all that she had seen. As an Inquirian she was the perfect guardian for the ancient tome, possessing a thirst for knowledge and a natural grasp of asking the right questions. Still it seemed that there were too many forces in play to draw any real conclusions.
It seemed that nature could not tolerate a vacuum and with so many threats out there steps had been taken to ensure the Earth remained protected. Why the planet was so important was still not clear. The reasons were growing daily, but she still felt there was something they had yet to learn. A great secret that would shake their society to its core.
She feared for her old friend Zordon when the time came. She strongly suspected that the price of securing the peace he so desired would be too high. Still for now Zordon was safely back on Earth, guiding his Rangers and Trey of Triforia had also arrived safely.
There was no question that the darkness was expanding. Dark Specter and his forces had set forth on their campaign, extending the reach of their dark powers beyond their previous territories. Sooner or later that expansion would turn inward and the light was at risk of being swept aside by the dark tide.
And then there were the other dangers beyond Dark Specter’s control. The Xenotome spoke of enemies hiding in the darkness and waiting for the opportunity the Grand Monarch’s actions granted them. Sadly it seemed that no matter how brightly Zordon and his Rangers shone their beacon of hope, there could be only one conclusion:
~The worst is yet to come.~
End
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