<topstuff>
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.
<post_date>2018-08-16 12:00:01</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:38</post_modified>
