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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 was originally posted as Speeding Darkness and was intended as closure of a plot point started in Mother Knows Best. I've always intended to go back and fill out that story line and this is the end result.
The Dark Racers Part 1 - False Start
Villains did not work together. At least that was the accepted rule. While there were a few occasions when the dark armies united to defeat a common foe on the understanding that afterwards they would fight it out amongst themselves for the spoils, the likelihood of betrayal meant such alliances rarely worked and were commonly avoided.
Henchmen however were not bound by such rules. A lack of appreciation by their masters and a constant stream of verbal and sometimes physical abuse meant they were more likely seeking the companionship of those in similar situations. Scorpina and Nefaria were known to double date in some of the seedier bars when the opportunity presented itself. Elgar and Rito were also very friendly although their respective masters had forbidden them from interacting due to the general drain on the intelligence of those around them. Goldar was known to compete against his fellow warriors in friendly competition while Rygog had become drinking buddies with some of the followers of so-called lesser villains.
For the most part the Machine Empire's generals rarely took part in such unofficial activities. That was mostly due to their programming causing them to look down on their peers. And why would a mighty general of the Machine Empire spend time with a lowly warrior of some organic upstart?
Fortunately while the warrior classes shared some of the prejudices of their masters, the pursuit of new methods and materials meant that Finster, Porto and Klank had no reservations about meeting to share ideas. It had been during one such meeting that the three had created the working prototype of Finster's Monster Matic. And their combined input had resulted in some of the Machine Empire's more organic looking monsters.
Today it was Porto who had called the meeting of what the three would claim were the brightest minds on the side of evil. Porto had been presented a task by Divatox, an important mission that despite his best efforts he had been unable to complete. Oh he had managed to delay the inevitable backlash when the pirate discovered that he had failed, mostly by changing the subject, blaming Elgar or hiding in the lower levels of their ship aware from her wrath. But such clever attempts at evasion could only last so long and if he did not complete the project soon he dared not imagine what she would do to him.
And that was why he had asked his fellow creators to meet, hoping that together they could pool their knowledge and find a solution. As an incentive he had gifted Finster with a box of his favourite snacks and Klank with the complete works of some obscure engineer. It was bribery, but he was desperate. Fortunately when they heard his plight, both were sympathetic.
"Why must it always be evil Rangers?" Finster lamented, shaking his head sadly. "It never ends well."
"Aye, Kin' Mondo at leest hud th' sense tae prohibit them efter th' lest one. Prince Gasket thocht disnae seem tae kin hoo radge they can be . " As he remembered King Mondo's one and so-far only attempt to create an evil Power Ranger, he could not stop the involuntary vibration by a few of his motor circuits. Noticing the odd look Finster and Porto gave him, he flipped open a panel on the left side of his head and flicked a switch. "Sorry about that," he said in a distinctly less-Scottish accent. "I forgot I wasn't home."
"Divatox will never learn," Porto admitted. It was unusual for the three to compare their superiors mostly because as intellectuals they preferred not to succumb to the inevitable violence such discussion would bring. This time was different as it was a subject on which the three agreed: evil Rangers were a disaster. "Can you help me?"
There was a pleading tone to his voice. So pathetic and yet something the other two easily recognised. They had both been in their friend's situation before and knew that no matter how hard he tried, Porto didn't stand a chance of pleasing her without their help.
"I think I have some concept models I created when the Turbo Rangers first appeared," Finster admitted. He would never show such pieces to Rita and Zedd out of fear that they would use them to create monsters, but Finster was an artist, capability of constructing some beautiful if a little twisted sculptures.
"And I still have the data scans that were transmitted from the virus we placed in the Rangers' computer before they found it," Klank added. The Machine Empire had made great use of the information when planning their assaults on the Earth, but the majority of the useful data was now obsolete and what remained was of no value to King Mondo, so Klank was willing to share.
Working together the three intellectuals managed to unravel the mysteries of the Turbo Rangers' powers, allowing them to design and with the use of the facilities Porto had somehow obtained on Earth, build a working set of Turbo Keys complete with their interpretation of how their uniforms. It wasn't a perfect copy, they didn't have time to accomplish such a feat, but it would resemble a Turbo Ranger and aside from the usual weakness of such a plan, they were almost unstoppable.
"You're lucky King Mondo isn't interested in making Rangers anymore," Klank told them. "Otherwise I'd be taking some of these with me."
"Yes, Rita and Zedd will be most displeased if they find out I helped you with this and didn't steal them," Finster agreed before nodding to himself. "So I won't tell them."
And with that the three turned their attention to other discussions, enjoying the rare opportunity to share an intelligent conversation.
"Porto!"
Busted. The engineer had hoped that he would be able to sneak back on board the ship without arousing suspicion. With Elgar on watch it had seemed a simple matter. But then whenever the idiot was involved nothing was straight forward. He hid the grimace that came as much from the slight hangover as it did from getting caught and turned to face an irate Divatox.
"What time do you call this?" the pirate demanded. "You have work to do and you're sneaking off all over the place." She paused, her nostrils twitching slightly. "Have you been drinking?"
"Well you see... I mean..." Porto trailed off, noticing the scowl on his captain's face. Normally this would be a time when he would need to find some underlings to clear up the mess. Divatox was not just annoyed, she was furious.
"Where are my Dark Turbo Rangers?" she bellowed. "You've had weeks to finish them. Now where are they?"
"Well I..."
"You haven't finished them have you?" she continued. "You have been hiding away trying to avoid me because you failed!"
"No I have..."
"I should have known better than to trust one of you imbeciles to do something," she growled. "And then you decide to sneak out for a drink when you should be working. Elgar, get the torpedo tubes ready!"
Porto actually took a step back. As her only inventor he had been protected from the punishment normally reserved for Divatox's nephew and on a rare occasion Rygog. It seemed that her patience was exhausted and that her faith in his abilities had evaporated. HE found that more than a little annoying and for once decided that he would stand up for himself, just a little.
"Well if you don't want them," he said, revealing a set of five recently completed devices, "I guess I'll have to take them apart again."
"You did it?" Divatox asked, forgetting for a moment that he had dared answer her back.
"Yes Captain," he replied smugly. "After weeks of struggle I have completed the task you set me. Now they're not perfect, I only just finished building them in my workshop on Earth, aware from... distractions."
He didn't mention that the distraction in question was her shouting demands that he finish up. He preferred to allow her to think that he meant Elgar. It was better for all concerned that way... except perhaps her nephew.
"You did it?" she repeated, still not sure she had heard him correctly the first time.
Instead of answering he pulled out three of the devices he had completed. There was no way he was going to give her all five after such a lack of faith. Besides if there were only three Dark Turbo Rangers there were only three new allies for the Rangers when they inevitably turned on Divatox. And that meant less ranting when the plan eventually failed.
The threesome had not been able to completely duplicate the powers of the Turbo Rangers despite the information that had available regarding the Turbo Keys. In fact duplicating the Turbo Keys had proven to be the easy part. The problem was that the Power of Turbo was neither magical nor scientific in origin. The transformation made use of a phenomenon known as the Speed Force, and extra-dimensional energy source similar to magic. However the energy worked in accordance with some of the accepted laws of physics and so could also be considered science based in nature.
The Turbo Keys solved a part of the problem by drawing on the energy from the Speed Force and directing it using technology. Unfortunately while that allowed suitable humans to use the Power of Turbo, very few humans were suitable. Lerigot had used magic to get around that obstacle by altering the bodies of the Turbo Rangers. He had modified their cells to accommodate the energies drawn from the Speed Force, allowing them to survive prolonged exposure.
Finding a way to duplicate Lerigot's magic had proven impossible. There were plenty of spells to alter the way the body worked, but none that made them receptive to volatile pseudo-magic unless they were already capable of channelling such power. Finster had suggested that the Rangers' abilities to morph had meant that once they had been connected to one source of power, they were capable of using almost any other source. And that had offered a solution.
The first step had been to create a device that could detect suitable humans. Klank had taken a few minutes to build a suitable if oversized scanner. The next had been to create a means to enhance that potential long enough for the potential Ranger to morph for the first time - for it had been agreed by the three that once the transformation had been completed the Speed Force would permanently alter the bodies of those that utilised its energies.
In the end they had settled on a two part method requiring the use of chemicals to change the atoms that made up the body and a powerful energy discharge to trigger the chemical reaction. Surprising the chemicals they settled on were readily available in science laboratories around the globe. With a small amount of work Porto had soon manufactured a means of dispensing the chemicals and directing the energy discharge.
"The Dark Turbo Keys pick out the unique energy of the Speed Force and use it to accelerate the atoms in the Ranger's body," he explained as Divatox admired her new toys as if she had been the one to complete them. "Once the Ranger has been primed, the Dark Turbo Key directs a small charge of that energy to create a suit to prevent dispersal of their molecules while they are transformed. A programmed template within the Turbo Key allows the Ranger to produce weapons and other equipment as needed."
He nodded, pleased with the explanation. He was a little put out that Divatox had missed the majority of what he had said
"Oh it's good to be me!" Divatox crowed. "We'll soon show those Turbo Punks who's in charge around here. What next?"
"Well first we need to find some humans that have the potential to use the Power of Turbo. Then after attaching a small control module we inject them with a mixture of chemicals and expose them to a powerful energy blast using this." He held up the weapon he had created. "The control module will allow the process to work after which they simply have to use they Turbo Keys to transform."
"So all we need are my new Rangers," Divatox cheered.
"Yes, I'll begin a search immediately," Porto offered.
"No need, I already have the perfect specimens," Divatox told him. "Rygog, bring me my Rangers and be careful not to damage them!"
And suddenly Porto realised there was a good possibility that things could go wrong a lot sooner than he had ever imagined. He had assumed that Divatox would be content to allow him to select three suitable humans and transform them into her warriors. Alas it seemed that Divatox had already chosen her Dark Rangers using whatever criteria she deemed important. A part of him was sickened when he realised she had probably chosen them as playmates for her perversions first and Rangers second.
"Aren't they perfect Porto?" she asked as Rygog and a group of foot-soldiers dragged three bikers into view.
Dressed in leather with skin that had been recently oiled and a glazed look in eyes, it was not hard to imagine that they had spent the previous night serving Divatox in her bed chamber. Porto sighed as the scanner confirmed what he already suspected. No, they were not perfect; they were not even mildly suitable. Their bodies lacked the potential to survive the modifications needed.
Now Porto wasn't entirely sure what the effects of using the priming mixture on an unsuitable candidate would be, but given that some of its key ingredients caused necrosis of the organs and mutation of the cells, he didn't think it would be a pretty sight. A part of him worried that it could prove explosive, poisonous or both.
"I'm sorry Divatox, but it won't work," he told her, willing to face her anger if it meant avoiding a more painful death. After all she needed him for the time being so he knew he would survive whatever she did to him; he tried to ignore the fact that there were many nasty things she could do to him that he could live through.
"Just do it Porto!" the pirate snapped as eh placed the control module upon the chest of one of her chosen. What was his name again?
Porto tried to think of an excuse, anything that would allow him time to suggest an alternative. It was clear however that Divatox was not in the mood to listen.
"I'll do it!" Elgar offered, picking up the injection cannon Porto had cobbled together.
"No," Porto protested, cursing the ill timed arrival of the ship's native idiot.
It was too late. Elgar pulled the trigger and a small needle shot toward one of the bikers. On contact the needle pierced the skin, injecting the volatile fluid as a second later a blast of purple lightning struck the biker in the chest. Reacting on instinct, Porto did the only thing he could think of under the circumstances and ducked for cover.
Divatox did not shout at her nephew when it became clear that something had gone wrong. She was mesmerised by the sudden transformation of her most recent lover. As the chemicals entered his body, forcing it to mutate, the burst of high energy activated the volatile solution, initiating a violent reaction that seemed to spread to his fellow bikers.
"What is that thing?" Divatox bellowed when she finally found her voice.
The three humans had been thrown across the deck and had somehow merged together, their bodies deforming and twisting into a hideous new form. If asked Porto would have been hard pressed to state what they had become at first. Gradually it became clear that the humans had been mutated into a large eight legged snake with bat-like wings.
The creature, which was still growing, snapped up one of Divatox's foot-soldiers in its mouth. The other tried to run, only to be caught in a mass of webbing. The creature screeched and flew awkwardly toward Divatox; it lacked the space to make full use of its wings. And then just as it was about to strike, it vanished from the ship leaving an angry Divatox to turn on a confused Elgar as a terrified Porto looked on.
"What happened?" Elgar asked.
"What happened?" Divatox snapped. "You nearly killed us you imbecile!" She took a breath and then turned to her more competent underlings. "What did happen?"
"I sent them to Earth," Rygog answered calmly as he surveyed the damage. Whatever they were it seemed their venom was corrosive.
"Hm, let's see those little Power Geeks handle that," she agreed. "Good thinking Rygog. I like it when my crew show a little initiative. And you..." she grabbed Elgar by the ear... "Do not do anything unless I tell you to. Nitwit!"
"But you said you liked initiative Auntie D," Elgar protested.
Divatox stared at her nephew. At first he hardly noticed, but with each passing second he grew increasingly nervous. She waited until he visibly gulped before releasing him.
"You don't even know the meaning of the word," she snarled cruelly.
~Or many others,~ Porto silently added.
"As for you Porto, stop wasting time and find me my Rangers!"
Porto knew better than to argue and scurried away to begin his search.
"And Porto..."
"Yes Queen Divatox?"
"Start looking in Angel Grove."
Porto sighed. He knew what was about to happen: he would find a suitable human that would turn out to be a friend of the Power Rangers and therefore a more difficult subject to control. The power of friendship would overcome whatever control they managed to put in place and sooner or later it would all backfire and he would be blamed. He so wanted to refuse the order, to point out the reasons why it was such a bad idea. Instead he swallowed his pride once more and obediently agreed to her demands.
"Yes, Queen Divatox."
In the meantime Divatox decided to watch the inevitable carnage unfold on Earth before she started her search for some new bed warmers. It was good to be the queen.
Franklin Park sighed as he reviewed the list of assignments he had for classes that day. It seemed the teachers were piling on the pressure to make up for time lost due to monster attacks. Mr Kaplan was constantly adjusting the curriculum to give his students the best education possible in difficult circumstances. Unfortunately sometimes that meant that teachers were forced to cover a vast part of their subjects very quickly and assign more and more out of class assignments to make sure the students could keep up.
Luckily Franklin and his friends were able to keep up with the demands of school. Between Justin's intelligence, Franklin's planning and Rosa's encouragement along with Tasha to make sure they had some fun, they were in a better position than some of their classmates. And for once they were grateful that Divatox was otherwise distracted.
Franklin swallowed the small amount of sick that came into his throat as he remembered Zordon explaining that Divatox had been busy trying to find males to fulfil her other needs. The thought of any of the villains they fought having those sort of relations made him queasy - though at his age the idea of any adult doing that sort of thing made him slightly ill - he didn't even want to think about what Zedd and Rita got up to once the lights were extinguished.
Tasha noticed the paling of Franklin's face and hid a smirk. She could guess what he was thinking about and found the result amusing. It wasn't that she didn't find the thought of what Divatox did with her tongue disturbing, she did and had promised that Fred and Justin would pay for ever accessing that file in the Power Chamber's records. ~Why did Zordon have that file anyway?~ She just didn't allow it to affect her to the degree Franklin did.
"All right, we have an hour before Justin and I need to get back to the Shelter," she said. "No more studying. We can finish this up later. Right?"
The others nodded and put their books away. The evenings were drawing in and curfews in Angel Grove grew more restrictive as the year moved on. So the opportunity to have a little fund before heading home was not to be missed.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
It seemed that their luck had run out. After locating a quiet corner of the Juice Bar, Fred answered the call.
"We're here Alpha, what's wrong."
"Divatox has sent down a-- something," Alpha replied. "Teleport to the Power Chamber."
The five teens looked around and then activated their communicators, disappearing in a shower of coloured sparks.
Vinnie had not been a nice man. He had been in trouble with the law more times than he cared to remember, had served prison time for some nasty offences and was prone to violent outbursts that led many to wisely keep their distance. He wasn't overly tall or especially muscular; he wasn't known for his intelligence or wit. He was at heart a thug and a bit of a coward as likely to stab someone in the back as he was to confront them face-to-face.
But then he had attracted the eye of Divatox during one of her quests to find a new lover. He had a bad attitude and despite his lack of stature, she found him repulsive enough to gain an audition. That she had abducted and used a small spell to place him in a near trance was easy to overlook. She had enjoyed his services and he had had the pleasure of serving the Queen of the Pirates for one night.
The next morning Divatox had been bored of her new conquest and had replaced him with another biker named Modo. Modo was older, larger with a lot of greying facial hair and a patch over his right eye. He called himself a bear and for a short time Divatox had agreed with him. After a while though she had grown tired of him and started wondering aloud whether she needed a new rug.
That was when Throttle had received his opportunity; by this time Divatox had decided not to ask about their strange names, just dismissing it as a biker thing. She had been attracted to his tan and his muscles, which was fortunate because his personality was almost non-existent.
Despite the effects of the spell she had cast on each of them the three bikers had never been happier when she had taken all three of them to her bed for a night of passion. It had been at that time that she had decided that they would perfect for her team of Dark Turbo Rangers.
But that happiness was gone, replaced by the agony of the priming solution as it broke down the structure of their bodies and the blast of energy that had left them feeling as if they had been struck by lightning. The chemical reaction combined with the high voltage and their unsuitability to the process had resulted in an unpredictable mutation. The modulator that Vinnie had been given had followed its programming and interfered with the process. The results were not pretty.
Vinnie, Modo and Throttle had been broken down into a biological mass and then reformed into something else. It's lower body and legs were those of a spider. It had the long tail of a snake that trailed out behind it. The upper body looked almost human with a broad chest, powerful shoulders and thick arms, but the large serpentine scales made it clear that this thing was certainly not a man. On its back it had a pair of large bat wings that folded over its shoulders like a cape. Its head resembled that of a cobra complete with the sharp fangs that dripped corrosive venom onto the street below; on top it had a small pair of bat ears.
Its wings flapped and it rose above the ground, shooting a toxic mix of venom and webbing down the street, covering the fleeing citizens as they ran for safety. The three humans had ceased to exist and in there place was a beast that intended to destroy anything that got in its way. As it let out a terrifying screech that shattered the glass windows in the nearby vehicles, it chased after its prey.
"That's a big... what is that thing?" was Tasha's first comment when Alpha showed them the scenes from Angel Grove.
Since they had teleported to the Power Chamber the Turbo Rangers had been quick to study the giant beast. It appeared that wherever it had come from it was mutating at an alarming rate. It was also growing larger. When it had first appeared it had been a little over three meters in length. Now it was closer to five meters.
"Is it a machine?" Franklin asked as he studied the beast's shiny skin. It looked like metal in places.
"Whatever it is, it's intelligent," Rosa observed as it chased a crowd of civilians through the streets, herding them towards a waiting web. "And we need to help those people before it sinks its fangs into them."
"Right," Fred agreed. "Let's Shift into Turbo!"
"Desert Thunder Turbo Power!" Frank cried.
"Wind Chaser Turbo Power!" Rosa followed.
"Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!" Justin called.
"Dune Star Turbo Power!" Tasha yelled.
"Red Lightning Turbo Power!" Fred finished.
In a shower of sparks they teleported to the city.
"Alpha, reconfigure the Ranger's armour to maximum density," Zordon rumbled.
"Yes Zordon," the little machine acknowledged before setting to work.
High on a rooftop in another part of Angel Grove three interested spectators watched the creature as it chased its prey through the streets. They were not from Angel Grove or Earth for that matter, but unlike many of those that took an interest in the small world, they held no interest in conquering it, destroying it or looting its many resources. In fact under normal circumstance they would have ignored the otherwise mundane planet.
But then they had seen the creature stalking through the streets and suddenly they had felt compelled to give the planet a second look. After all if there were more creatures like that to be found on the planet, perhaps they would need to extend their hunting ground.
Very few of the Earth Rangers had ever conducted a full study of their uniforms, mostly because doing so was difficult when wearing them. Billy had browsed the Power Chamber's data files a few times while aiding Zordon with the Zeo Rangers' powers, but even his understanding of the material that made up the uniforms and how to build suits that were solid armour instead of the Spandex type material most wore was limited.
In truth there was no difference between the material used for one type of suit and that used for another. Solid or flexible, hard or soft, brightly coloured or see through, every part of a Ranger's uniform was made from the same base material. Gloves, boots, holsters, helmets and even visors were fashioned from a single substance. It was only the application of various spells and manufacturing techniques that altered the way it looked, felt and moved.
So while the Turbo Rangers had grown used to fighting in the more flexible suits that their predecessors had worn, just like the Morphin and Zeo teams they were able to change them as needed. So when they arrived they were only a little surprised to find that they were wearing lightweight body armour instead of the usual fabric.
"Tasha, Justin, get those people out of that web. Franklin, Rosa and I will distract it."
"And just how are we going to distract it?" Pink Turbo wanted to know.
Red Turbo looked at Green Turbo who just shrugged unhelpfully. It seemed giant hybrid monsters that were too small to justify using the Zords were difficult to plan for.
"We attack!" Red Turbo cried before charging forward.
"Pink and Green Turbo glanced at each other before following Red Turbo. He was the leader after all and they didn't have anything better in mind.
It seemed at first that luck was on their side. The monster was larger but in a city street lined with shops and a street filled with abandoned cars, it didn't have the room to use its superior size. However it was fast and as the three Turbo Rangers soon found out, capable of more than just firing webs.
"Look out!" Pink Turbo warned as the creature unleashed another loud screech, the force of the sonic blast throwing the three Rangers off their feet.
The few seconds they were downed was enough for the creature to turn and lash out with its tail, raising it like a club before hammering it down onto the street. The three Rangers managed to dodge out of the way, the red van that had been behind them was not so fortunate.
"We need to get under it!" Green Turbo urged as the snake thrashed its tail from side to side, launching anything it touched into the air.
As the Rangers ran forward they realised that the tail was clearing the street and make it easier for the creature to move. It lashed out with both its tail and its arms, flinging debris at the Turbo Rangers while spewing more of its toxic webbing.
"Franklin!" Pink Turbo cried as the corrosive venom made contact with the street just in front of Green Turbo. A chasm opened beneath him and the Green Ranger vanished from sight.
"Justin, Tasha, we need you guys here as soon as you can!" Red Turbo cried as Pink Turbo opened fire on the monster that had apparently killed her friend. "Rosa, watch out!"
Having had the opportunity to search the battlefield, the beast had located two of the street lamps and was wielding them like swords or at least knives. Pink Ranger was forced to roll and tumble as it tried to stab her with its makeshift weapons, the hole in the ground limiting her movements.
"Auto Blaster!" Red Turbo called, drawing his sidearm. He fired a number of shots at the beast's legs, causing it to panic. He avoided a tail strike as Pink Turbo fired a few shots of her own.
Then the beast let out a scream of agony and seemed to twitch uncontrollably. Yellow Turbo had used the distraction to leap onto its back and had punched it with her Turbo Power Weapon. A moment later the lower part of one of its legs was incinerated as Blue Turbo unleashed a volley from his Turbo Hand Blasters.
"Ai-yi-yi, Rangers, turn your external audio off," Alpha instructed.
Although they didn't know why they had received such an instruction, the four Turbo Rangers had known Alpha long enough to trust him. As soon as they did so a wave of green energy struck the monster, throwing it back down the street. They turned to find Green Turbo with his Thunder Cannon at the ready.
"You're not the only one that can make a noise," he commented as he regarded the fallen beast clutch at its head. It seemed it did have some weaknesses after all.
Minutes earlier
The ground had given way and there was nothing Green Turbo could do to prevent himself from falling into the chasm. Even the sharp spikes on the bottom of his boots failed to provide the extra friction he needed. Unable to stop himself from falling, the Green Turbo Ranger threw himself forward, hoping to control his descent and that the hole was not too deep. He was aware that some parts of Angel Grove's sewer system were unpredictable due the damage the streets had sustained over the years.
He breathed as sigh of relief when he found that the corrosive venom had only ripped through the roadway. He landed in the sewer, followed by a large amount of debris as more of the road collapsed on him. Fortunately the changes Zordon and Alpha had made to his armour meant the rubble barely hurt him.
"Fred, Rosa, I'm okay," he said, but realised something was preventing his signal from reaching them.
He took the opportunity as he dug himself lose to think of a strategy. Their foe was strong and fast, but limited slightly by its size. It clearly had the ability of a snake to spit its venom and could project its screech as a weapon. It had the webbing of a spider and the speed provided by eight legs. But did that mean that it only inherited the positive side of its new form?
"That's it!" he realised as he remembered the beast's ears. If it had the enhanced senses of a bat made he could use that sensitivity against it. "Alpha, Zordon?"
"Franklin, you're alive!" Alpha cried. "The other will be so glad."
"Alpha I have an idea but I can't contact the others," Franklin said. "I need you to tell the others to turn off their eternal audio."
"At once Franklin and good luck," Alpha replied.
Green Turbo nodded to himself and summoned the Thunder Cannon, a special gift he had received with his powers that allowed him to fire sonic waves. Normally the weapon needed a secure anchor point like the roof of his Zord, but with limited space he chose to hold the cannon on his should and hope the kickback wouldn't cause too much damage. He used his visor to plot a simple leap out of the sewers and once above ground, he aimed and fired the weapon. He was relieved to see the beast thrown off its feet.
"You're not the only one that can make a noise," he commented as he regarded the fallen beast clutch at its head. It seemed it did have some weaknesses after all.
Divatox scowled as she watched the Ranger turn the tide of the battle. Once reunited the five young warriors had resumed the attack, destroying its legs and then working as a team to devastate its tail. It had retaliated with a spray of webbing, but using a combination of their weapons they had broken free. And it had not been long before they were setting up to finish her beast with their Turbo RAM.
"Rygog, fires the torpedoes!" she bellowed.
The beast might not have been something she intended to create, but she hated to lose.
As soon as the monster had grown to the size of a normal giant monster, the Rangers had arranged for Zordon to teleport it away from the city. They had then summoned their Zords and engaged in a more even rematch. The beast still had a few tricks up its scaly sleeves, surprising the Rangers when it shed its lower body, choosing to fight as a giant winged metal snake instead.
Its tail smashed into the Megazord, knocking the mighty machine off its feet. Before it could right itself the snake launched itself forward, sinking its fangs into the Megazord's left leg. The corrosive venom quickly spread, disabling the Zord's systems.
"I can't move the left leg," Green Turbo complained.
"Systems are offline, we need time to reboot," Blue Turbo replied as he scrambled through the access hatch at the back of the cockpit. Yellow Turbo was close behind.
"Fred, I have an idea," Pink Turbo declared. "But I'll need some help."
"I'm on it!" Green Turbo volunteered as he noticed what she was doing. He slid into Yellow Turbo's place, taking direct control over the Megazord's active leg.
The arms of the Megazord rose as the snake reared up. With a push of a button the arms detached, allowing them to combine together to form Wind Chaser. With a swinging kick that took an incredible effort from a prone position, the Pink Ranger's Zord was propelled at the attacking snake. Just before the impact, the Zord split in half again, allowing it to safely pass around the snake monster.
The desperate move had bought time for Blue and Yellow Turbo to restart the damaged Zord's systems and despite a slightly dead leg, the Megazord was back on its feet. With the monster distracted Red Turbo used the Megazord's chest blaster to bombard it with energy. As the snake recovered from the attack, the Megazord's arms reattached and the Rangers summoned the Power Sword.
"Spinout!"
The battle was over swiftly as the Power Sword cut through the giant beast's neck, destroying the monster once and for all.
"Good news my Queen, I have located one of your evil Rangers!" Porto stated as he shuffled onto the bridge, unaware that it was a bad time. "I just have a few more kinks to work out."
"Kinks?" Divatox snarled, angered by the loss of her creation. "I don't want one of them almost ready Porto, I want all of them, now!"
"Yes my Queen," Porto agreed.
"Now get back to work!"
Porto sighed and returned to his workshop, grateful that at least she still needed him for now. He didn't want to think what she would do to him otherwise.
After they had returned to the Power Chamber the Rangers had enough time to teleport back to the Youth Center and collect their belongings before heading home. Fortunately in the event of an attack the Youth Center was designated a monster shelter and Ernie had the final say on when those taking shelter there were free to leave. It allowed the Rangers a valid excuse for being back after curfew.
In the Power Chamber the events of the battle along with an analysis of the beast were being replayed by Zordon and Alpha. Despite the Rangers' victory it was still not clear where the monster had come from. And while it had been Divatox that had made it grow, there was no guarantee that she was the one behind the threat and not simply taking advantage of somebody else's work. Given that it had seemed to be a random attack Zordon wondered if it had been a desperate attempt to defeat the Rangers or just the beginning of something worse?
After failing to find the answers in the replay, Zordon turned his attention elsewhere. The answers would come eventually. They always did.
End of Part
<post_date>2016-01-23 12:00:01</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:36</post_modified>
