All similarities to the Turbo Movie are purely intentional, since I think the fans could have done it better. Thanks to Jen Bigley for her help with the concepts of this story. Alert! Gratuitous use of movie dialogue, from both movies. This story is in the "Personality Conflicts" series, and takes place after the Dark Mirror series.
"Coming at you!"
Justin Stewart called, tossing the Frisbee into the air. Fred Kelman leaped
for it, snagging it neatly with one hand and landing gracefully.
"You'll have
to do better than that, Justin!" Fred laughed, adjusting his red baseball
cap. "Frank, it's yours!"
Franklin Park
grinned, turning and performing a behind-the-back catch. "Thank you, thank
you," he bowed.
"Show-off,"
Rosa De Santos laughed, pelting him with grass. Frank and Rosa had been
friends forever, since their older brothers, Rocky and Adam, had met before
the two younger children had even been born. She was the only person he
allowed to tease him. Frank resembled his older brother greatly, while
Rosa had her father's black hair and eyes.
"You should
talk, Rosa," chuckled Tasha Young, the final member of the group. Her dark
eyes flashed with amusement as she watched her friends goofing off. She
and Justin rarely had days like this, spending so much of their time at
the Little Angel's Haven, the Angel Grove orphan's shelter. The people
who ran the shelter were nice, but they were grown-ups, and had far too
many kids to look after to devote this much personal attention to just
one or two. She always knew how lucky she was to have found friends who
she was able to be so close to. She'd grown up in one of the harbor district's
poor black neighborhoods, where friend tended to come and go, often in
ambulances and body bags.
Suddenly a bright
light streaked through the northern sky, and a flash of light nearly blinded
the five thirteen year-olds. "What was that?" Fred asked as his sight cleared.
Instinctively, the entire group turned towards Justin. The boy was a certified
genius, often compared to Billy Cranston by teachers and parents. Like
Billy, Justin had scored so high on his placement tests that the school
administration wanted to send him up a grade, and like Billy, he and his
father had refused. In fact, Justin and Billy were rather good friends,
often working on projects together. Billy's friends Rocky, Tommy, and Adam
taught martial arts classes at the shelter, and Justin's best friends Franklin
and Rosa were related to Rocky and Adam.
Justin shrugged.
"Meteor strike? If it was, there should be a huge crater off to the north.
Come on, let's go check it out!"
Now everyone
turned to Fred. He was the unofficial leader of their group, and had an
instinctive sense for trouble, something very useful in Angel Grove. If
he thought that it would be unsafe to head up there, they wouldn't go.
Fred simply shrugged, however. "Sounds good to me."
The five hurried
off, heading for where the bright light had touched down. When they reached
the site, however, they were astounded at what they saw. A small shuttlecraft,
not more than three feet high, was buried nose-deep in the turf. However,
there was almost no crater around it, and no sign of the intense heat that
must have been given off as the thing slowed down.
"Incredible,"
Justin whispered, moving closer. "It's some sort of alien technology. Look,
you can see the retro-rockets that it must have fired upon entering the
atmosphere. This is fascinating."
"Um, Justin,"
Rosa said nervously, "are you sure that getting close to that thing is
such a good idea? I mean, aliens are not necessarily a good thing."
"No, can't you
sense it?" Franklin replied, following his blue-clad friend. "It's not
malevolent. There's something in there that's good."
"Hey, I trust
Justin and Frank," Tasha sighed. "They've been idiots, but they've never
been wrong before." She joined them beside the shuttle, and Fred was not
far behind her. Sighing, Rosa followed.
"Well, J, can
you get it open?" Tasha asked, with the confidence of someone who had never
been let down before.
"It's not like
hacking into the shelter's computers, Tasha," Justin replied, not looking
at her. "This is delicate alien technology. One wrong move, and I could
fry whatever is inside, or worse, fry us. I got it!" he cried as a hatch
opened on the shuttle.
Out of the hatch
came five posts of some sort of clear plastic. Encased in the plastic were
wristbands and keys of some sort. After the posts, a speaker extended from
the ship. From the speaker came a synthesized, electronic voice.
"Greetings,"
the voice said. "I am Lerigot, wizard of the planet Liara. This machine
is translating my language into something that you will be able to understand.
A pirate by the name of Divatox is coming to Earth to release a being known
as Maligore from his prison in the depths of a volcano on the island of
Muranthias. The island is located in a pocket dimension which is extremely
hard to get to. Unfortunately, Divatox has stolen my Golden Key, which
will allow her to break the barrier.
"I cannot leave
my planet to stop her, although I devoutly wish I could. Instead, I have
created the Turbo Powers to help your people thwart her plans. This ship
is enspelled to offer the powers only to those destined to bear them. You
must stop Divatox. If she releases Maligore, your entire planet could be
destroyed. Also, she wants the power of Turbo. You must defend it at all
costs. No one else can do this, my friends. Only you.
"The posts will
melt at your touch, if you are truly the destined ones. By taking up these
keys, you will be taking an oath to protect, to defend Earth and all its
people from the forces of evil, and never to use the powers for evil yourself.
It is an awesome responsibility, but there is no one else who can take
it. Good luck, Turbo Rangers." The voice died away.
The five regarded
each other seriously. "Should we do it?" Franklin asked at last. "You heard
Lerigot. It's a lot of responsibility."
"Yeah, but he
also said that no one else could do it," Rosa pointed out. "If we turn
this down, who'll stand up to this Divatox?"
"The Power Rangers
will," Tasha replied practically. "Come on, there are sixteen of them!
They can handle anything that creep throws at them."
"It's not necessarily
a question of numbers," Justin reminded her. "Besides, what if she has
an army? They can't fight forever."
Everyone turned
to look at Fred, who had a thoughtful look on his face. "Destiny," he said
slowly. "Lerigot said we were destined for this. If we walk away from it,
we're turning our backs on every chance we have to make a difference. We
are the only ones who can do this. If we don't, then we're saying that
it's okay with us if Divatox conquers the Earth. We can't let that happen."
"Fred, we're
not heroes," Franklin pointed out. "We're just kids."
"Heroes are
defined by their actions, not their ages," Fred replied. "Your brother
told me that once. We have a choice here. Either we walk away, and always
wonder what we could have been- or we accept the risk, the danger, and
make a difference. I know what I'm going to choose." Reaching out, he placed
his hand on one of the posts, which immediately began to shine with red
light.
"I'm in," Justin
told him, reaching out as well. The post he chose began to glow as well,
this one in bright blue.
"Me too," Rosa
added, making a face as the third post glowed pink under her touch.
There was a
long silence after that. Then Frank sighed. "Aw, hell, who wants to grow
up anyway?" Reaching out a hand, he grasped a fourth post, which began
to shine with an emerald light, the same color as his T-shirt.
Tasha watched
them incredulously. Shaking her head, she looked at each of her friends
in turn. "Well, if you're all so hot to get yourselves killed, I might
as well come along for the ride." Placing her hand on the last post, she
saw it glow yellow.
As if this were
some sort of awaited signal, a current of energy ripped through all five
kids. Their heads snapped back and their eyes widened. Fred's baseball
cap flew off his head, unnoticed, and caught in a nearby tree. Beneath
their hands, the material which encased the Turbo Morphers and keys melted
away, dropping the machines into their grasp. They felt as if more energy
than was contained in a thousand suns had been poured into them, then it
dissipated and was gone.
"Whoa," Rosa
managed, picking herself up off the ground. "What a rush. Everybody okay?"
"I can't reach
my hat," Fred replied, disgusted. The others chuckled as Fred retrieved
his baseball cap, which was never far from his head, and always worn backwards.
"Don't laugh!" Fred grinned at them. "My dad gave me this hat!"
"So what do
we do now?" Frank asked, looking around.
"Oh, one more
thing," Lerigot's synthesized voice spoke up, startling all five Turbos.
"There's an extra bonus for you. Blue Ranger, my final gift to you is this
computer." A small computer, just big enough to fill both hands, appeared.
"It will tell you more about your powers and equipment. The rest of you
can find out about your special gifts in it's files. Good luck, my young
friends." The voice died away once again, and this time, the ship followed,
fading out of existence until there was nothing left but the Turbo Morphers
to prove that it was real. Solemnly, the five young Rangers strapped the
Morphers on their wrists, where the large gray machines suddenly disappeared.
The keys were quickly tucked into pockets.
Picking up the
computer, Justin was about to place it in the pocket of his blue flannel
shirt when it simply disappeared. Startled, Justin called, "Come back!"
and it did. Further experimentation proved that the computer could be stored
in a sub-space pocket when necessary, and recalled at will.
"So now what?"
Frank asked again, repeating his question from earlier. No one ever got
a chance to answer him, because a woman in a strange outfit, leading a
troop of monsters, teleported in.
"Give me the
Turbo Powers!" she cried.
The five young
Rangers dropped into fighting stances. "Divatox, I presume," Fred grinned.
The two groups began eyeing each other, sizing the other up for a fight.
"Oof!" Tommy
cried, as he slammed into the mat. His best friend Jason grinned down at
him.
"Watch your
focus, Tommy," Jason chuckled, helping his friend to his feet. "Without
focus, you'll never win a fight."
"Hey, I focus
just fine when it matters," Tommy shot back good-naturedly, throwing himself
to the attack once more. On the other side of the room, some of their friends
watched in amusement.
"Does this remind
anyone of the time they were going to compete in the Team Ninja competition?"
Kimberly asked, taking a sip of her soda.
Skull chuckled
and Bulk winced. "Don't remind us," the bigger boy groaned. "Skull and
I still have nightmares about watching our ninja warriors get their butts
kicked."
"We actually
had something that time," Skull reminisced. "They were actually good, even
if we did have to pay them to let us manage them."
Zack and Trini
nearly snorted their floats laughing. Lillian O'Neil, Tommy's girlfriend,
watched the rest of the group wistfully. They often talked about things
that she had never experienced. They never made her feel left out, but
sometimes she wished that she had been there as well. Suddenly her communicator
toned, startling everyone. The group leaned forward, surrounding the wristband.
"We read you, Zordon. What's up?" Lillian asked quietly.
"Please teleport
to the Power Chamber, Rangers. A situation has arisen that needs your immediate
attention."
Lillian looked
at her friends and shrugged. Turning back to the mats, they saw that Tommy
and Jason had also received the message and were heading their way. Sneaking
out into the hall, they checked for onlookers and teleported out.
In the Power
Chamber, they found all sixteen Rangers present, clustered around the viewing
globe. It showed a woman in knee-high boots, a short skirt, a top that
showcased her considerable- talents, and a gold mask. She was backed up
by two ugly monsters and a number of humanoid fish.
"Eww, gross,"
Kimberly frowned. "That outfit is just completely- gross," she repeated,
for lack of a better word.
"That opinion
depends entirely on gender," Billy replied, only to receive a smack on
the head from his girlfriend, Christina.
"That, Rangers,
is Divatox. She has come to Earth to release her fiance Maligore, an evil
being that was imprisoned in a volcano centuries ago. She is looking for
the power of Turbo, which will quite likely make her invincible. You must
stop her."
Tommy nodded.
"Right, Zordon."
"Zeo Rangers,
you must go to the business district, where Divatox's brainless nephew
Elgar and her second-in-command, Rygog, are wreaking havoc with a school
of Piranhatrons, Divatox's answer to the Putties. Morphin Warriors, you
must teleport to the park and stop Divatox from obtaining the Turbo Power.
My sensors tell me that it is there."
"Right," Jason
responded. Looking at Tommy, he grinned. In unison, the two boys let loose
with their morphing call.
"It's morphin
time!" Sixteen flashes of light, and Bulk was the only human left in the
Power Chamber.
"I love it when
they do that," Bulk sighed. "I just hope they're all right."
"Hey, you! The
overgrown Christmas tree ornament!" Red Ranger cried. Rygog turned towards
him.
"Are you talking
to me?" the monster inquired. His huge round upper-body armor did indeed
resemble a large blue Christmas tree ball, but he didn't particularly like
the comparison.
"Yeah! Why don't
you go back where you came from?"
"Divatox wants
this planet, and she always gets what she wants!" The large monster charged
the Rangers, with Elgar close behind. The ten Zeo Rangers quickly found
themselves surrounded by Piranhatrons.
Purple and Black
Rangers were fighting back to back, knocking Piranhatrons left and right.
Any fish that approached them was either met with a whack from the Shadow
Staff or a vicious cut from the Sword of Lightning. The Piranhatrons were
circling warily, unwilling to get too close.
Gold Ranger,
on the other hand, was more than capable of handling the school of Piranhatrons
closing in on him, all by himself. Occasional bursts of gold light were
sighted as the Golden Power Staff bashed its way through the press.
Silver Ranger
and White Ranger had teamed up with Green and Yellow Rangers, and were
circling around Elgar. The mutant had his sword out, but didn't seem inclined
to strike. He was far more absorbed in looking for a way out of his predicament.
Pink Ranger
and Red Ranger were surrounded by Piranhatrons as well, punching, kicking,
and generally causing chaos. Red Ranger was so absorbed in his current
situation that he did not notice Rygog sneaking up behind him. Fortunately
for him, Blue Ranger did.
"Hey, ugly!"
Blue Ranger called. "Why don't you pick on someone who can give you a real
fight?"
Rygog turned
and smiled at his opponent. Blue Ranger gulped, taking a step back at the
monster's fang-filled smile. "Oh, I intend to, Ranger. Come here!" A whip
of pure energy shot out of his hands, encircling Blue Ranger's neck, pulling
him into Rygog's reach. With the whip still tightening around Blue Ranger's
throat, the mutant began pummeling his opponent unmercifully. Blue Ranger
felt his ribs snap and his organs move around. The pain grew until it was
too much for him, and he blacked out. Dropping Blue Ranger to the ground,
Rygog drew back for one final strike, and felt his hand stopped. Turning
to look, he realized that Silver Ranger had encircled his wrist with her
power whip. The other Rangers had made short work of the Piranhatrons and
Elgar, who had decided to retreat. Sensing he was outnumbered, Rygog teleported
out.
Almost immediately,
Red Ranger was by his friend's side. "Aw man, this does not look good.
Come on, we have to get him to the Power Chamber. Maybe Zordon and Alpha
can help him."
"I want those
Turbo powers," Divatox threatened. "Give them to me now, and I'll let you
live."
"Fat chance,"
Justin shot back. "Fred, shall we?"
Fred nodded.
"Right. Shift into Turbo!" he called. He didn't know where the words came
from, they just seemed right.
"Mountain Blaster
Turbo Power!" Justin cried. His clothes changed into a blue Spandex suit
and a helmet reminiscent of a car, headlights and all, formed over his
face.
"Wind Chaser
Turbo Power!" Rosa called. She underwent a change similar to Justin's,
but the suit she wore was pink and came equipped with a skirt.
"Desert Thunder
Turbo Power!" Frank yelled, and immediately was clad in a green version
of his friend's suits.
"Dune Star Turbo
Power!" Tasha shouted. Her outfit was yellow, and also had a skirt on it.
Fred, last of
all, exclaimed, "Red Lightning Turbo Power!" His outfit was red, and had
a much fancier helmet than the others. "What do you think of us now, Divatox?"
Red Turbo asked, falling into a defensive position.
"I'm not impressed.
Piranhatrons, get them!" The fish monsters rushed the five Turbo Rangers,
who quickly found themselves extremely outnumbered. They also found, however,
that the Turbo Ranger transformation gave them enhanced strength and stamina,
and speed to rival most race cars. Red Turbo and Green Turbo fought beside
each other in the team that they had perfected over the last two years.
Red Turbo was quicker than his friend, able to land more punches and kicks
on an adversary, but Green Turbo was stronger, so fewer punches did the
job. Working together, they were almost unbeatable.
Meanwhile, Blue,
Yellow, and Pink Turbos were in a back-to-back-to-back triangle formation,
making it impossible for any of the Piranhatrons to get close enough to
land a punch. They spun and whirled, taking out any and all fish that landed
in their way. Still, the superior numbers were beginning to turn the tide
when the Morphin Warriors appeared.
"Need a hand?"
Jason asked, drawing his sword.
"The thought
crossed my mind," Green Turbo shot back. He did not recognize Jason or
any of the other Warriors, thanks to the magic which protected their identities.
Only someone close to the warrior or someone who saw the warrior transform
could tell who they were.
"Let's give
them a hand," Jason called. The six older warriors leaped into the fray,
and soon the Piranhatrons were no more. Divatox, realizing that she was
hopelessly outnumbered, disappeared.
"And stay out!"
Blue Turbo called, shaking his fist at the air.
Jason turned
towards the five new Spandex-clad heroes. "You guys were great. But who
are you?"
The five conferred
with each other for a moment, then Red Turbo turned back towards Jason.
"We're the Turbo Rangers. You'll be seeing us again." Then each Turbo Ranger
laid a hand on his or her belt and they disappeared in five multi-colored
showers of sparks.
"Whoa," Zack
remarked. "That was weird."
"No kidding,"
Trini nodded. "Let's get back to the Power Chamber and tell Zordon about
this."
"Yeah, maybe
he knows something about these 'Turbo Rangers,'" Billy agreed. In six streaks
of colored light, they teleported out.
"What was that
all about, Fred?" Franklin asked. After teleporting away from the Morphin
Warriors, the Turbos had landed in a deserted section of the park and demorphed.
"Those were the Power Rangers, or at least one set of them. Why didn't
we tell them who we are?"
"Because," Fred
replied patiently, "we're thirteen year-olds. They're all adults. What
do you think they would say if they knew who we were? 'Oh, great to meet
you, nice to have you on our side?' Not likely. No, it would be 'You're
all too young for this kind of work, this is nothing for kids.' Then they'd
tell our parents about it, and we'd never be able to get away without a
chaperone."
"Fred's right,
Frank," Rosa added. "These are our powers. This is our responsibility.
We've accepted it, and I, for one, am not going to let anyone tell me I'm
too young to fight for what I believe in."
Tasha and Justin
were ignoring the others, preferring to concentrate on retrieving the information
in Lerigot's computer. "I've got it!" Justin cried, causing the others
to cluster around. "We already know that the keys slip into a lock on the
morpher to trigger the transformation. Oh, this is interesting. The design
of the costumes wasn't set. It was simply made to take the form of something
fast that we're familiar with."
"Cars?" Fred
asked.
"Cars," Justin
confirmed. "Apparently, there are also battle machines, 'Zords', they're
apparently called, for us to use. They also took the form of fast vehicles
that we're familiar with." A set of specifications came up on the screen,
followed by a series of computer models.
"Fred, your
Zord is Red Lightning, a race car. It has electrical cannons mounted on
the front, and apparently it can change size from normal car size to Zord
size, which is seven or eight times normal. I guess they can all do that.
You'll be the head when they come together.
"Rosa, you've
got Wind Chaser, another race car. It has a large wind generator, probably
quite capable of stirring up a dust storm. You'll form the arms of the
'Megazord,' as he calls it.
"Frank, you've
got a minivan, Desert Thunder. To make up for the fact that you're driving
a minivan, you have the Thunder Cannon, a roof-mounted cannon capable of
firing sonic waves that could stop a train. You're one of the Megazord's
feet.
"Tasha, you've
got Dune Star. She's a dune buggy, with the capability to fire short laser
bursts. You'll be the other foot of the Megazord.
"I've got Mountain
Blaster, a four-by-four that forms Megazord's torso. I can also fire laser
blasts if necessary."
Frank leaned
in closer. "Lerigot mentioned 'bonuses' for us all. The computer is yours,
but what about the rest of us?"
"I'm working
on it, I'm working on it. Ah, here we go. Rosa, you have the Wind Gliders.
They're sort of like wings or a hang glider that appears on the back of
your costume when you call for them. They let you kind of hang glide above
the battle."
Rosa raised
an eyebrow at that. "Cool," she mused.
"Tasha, you've
got an I/O jack in your helmet, with a length of fiber optic cable. In
addition, your suit has a heads-up display in the helmet and is wired for
full virtual interactivity. In short, you are now Super-Hacker."
Tasha grinned.
"Oh, boy. If you all thought I was bad before-"
"No using the
powers for evil, remember?" Fred cautioned her.
"You are no
fun, Red," she mock pouted.
Justin cleared
his throat, drawing the attention back to him. "Frank, you have the Thunder
Scanner. It'll increase your vision range, allow you to see infra-red,
and basically pick up things that you might not see otherwise.
"Fred, you've
got a shield. The Tire Shield, it says here."
Rosa snorted.
"Poor Fred. We all get the cool gadgets, and what does he get? Armor All."
Shaking his head,
Justin sighed. "Don't write the Tire Shield off so quickly, Rosa. It powers
up and reduces damage by 50%."
Frank whistled.
"Whoa. Pretty impressive."
"No kidding,"
Fred nodded. "This should come in very handy. In the meantime, let's head
back to the shelter. It's almost time for us to be heading home, and we
should probably all touch base there in case something's come up."
"Right," the
others agreed. Justin replaced the computer in subspace, and the five headed
off to the shelter.
"How's he doing?"
Skull asked Tommy. The leader of the Zeo Rangers had chosen to stay at
Angel Grove Community Hospital with his fallen friend until the other Zeos
could inform the rest of the team what had happened to Rocky. Green, Gold,
and White Rangers had gone to the De Santos house to inform Rocky's mother
of what had happened, while Katherine and Tanya had gone to the reservation
to collect David. Katarina was still at Rocky's bedside in the ICU, while
Lillian was waiting with Tommy. Jamie, Jason, and Kimberly had gone to
the shelter to tell Justin and Rosa the bad news, since the little girl
would most likely not go home in time to catch her mother before the family
headed to the hospital. Also, Rocky was very close to Justin, and the team
felt that he ought to know as well. Billy and Trini were in the Power Chamber,
monitoring Angel Grove for any sign of Divatox or the mysterious "Turbo
Rangers," whom Zordon knew nothing about. Zack and Bulk had teleported
to the hospital with Skull as soon as Zordon had told them what had happened.
"He's in critical
condition," Tommy sighed. "He's hooked up to all this stuff, and they aren't
even sure if he's going to live. All his accelerated healing ability went
to protect his brain, and as a result, there's major internal injuries.
It doesn't look good."
"Man," Bulk
said quietly, "this has got to be tough on Katarina."
Despite his
worry, Tommy smiled slightly. "She hasn't left Rocky's bedside since they
first let us in. She nearly put the nurse who tried to remove her through
a wall."
"That girl is
tough," Zack nodded. "He'll be just fine, though. He's been through worse.
We all have. Maybe not physically, but there have been times I thought
we were all going to die."
Tommy started
to respond, but his attention was taken by the young man in the green jacket
stepping out of the elevator. A particularly sensitive person might have
noticed a strong resemblance between Tommy and the newcomer, as they were
both over six feet tall, with the same long, dark hair and caramel eyes.
That was all they would notice, however. Only someone with the abilities
of a Power Ranger would see that the two men were identical. The new arrival
was Tyler Oliver, Tommy's Dark Reflection, and now a valuable ally to the
team. Endowed with Tommy's mage abilities, Tyler had placed a glamour on
himself and his wife Terry so that no one would notice that they were exact
doubles of Tommy and Jamie.
"I came as soon
as I got the call," Tyler said breathlessly, coming up to the four men.
Terry was close behind him. "How is he doing?"
Tommy quickly
explained Rocky's condition to the two newcomers, and saw them wince at
his description of Rocky's injuries. Tyler shook his head sadly.
"Man, that's
rough. I think with the three of us, though, we can fix things."
"Yeah, luckily,
Angel Grove doctors are readier to accept miracles than most." They were
interrupted as Christina Collins, the White Ranger ran in.
"Sorry it took
so long," she panted. "Mrs. De Santos took the news well, but Alex, Miguel,
and Emilia didn't. We had to escape from a trio of crying children before
we could get back here. Adam is back at the Power Chamber, helping Billy
and Trini scan for Divatox, and Trey's gone back to Pyramidas to try from
there. Can we get in to see Rocky?"
Tommy nodded.
"Yes, but only the three of us. They won't allow more than four at a time
in, and Katarina refuses to leave."
"That's all
right," Tyler grinned. "Skull, Bulk, and Zack can watch out for doctors.
I really don't feel like explaining my mage abilities to them."
Tommy chuckled.
"Right. Good point." The three of them headed into Rocky's room in the
ICU, with their friends standing outside. Rocky lay in the hospital bed,
connected to a heart monitor and several IVs. The three Rangers winced
at the sight of their friend in such a state.
No words needed
to be spoken among them. Christina gestured for Katarina to move away from
the bed, which she did. Then she placed her hands on Rocky's chest and
reached out with her psychic healing senses. Tommy and Tyler came up behind
her, each placing one hand on her shoulders. Once in contact with her,
they could sense what she sensed, and could "see" the damage done to Rocky's
body. Rolling up her mental sleeves, Christina began to heal the damage
done to Rocky. Through their link, Tommy and Tyler fed her all of their
healing power.
Katarina, outside
the link, watched in awe as Rocky's body began to shine with a mint-green
light. Her gypsy blood made her sensitive, and she could feel the raw power
humming in the room. Finally, it stopped, and Christina collapsed into
Tyler's arms.
"It's done,"
she said wearily. "I've healed all the life-threatening damage, but the
rest will have to come back on it's own. He'll be out of action for a little
while."
"That's why
Kat went to go get Dave. We'll need him to take over for Rocky temporarily,
especially with Divatox around," Tommy told her. Carefully, the two men
escorted Christina out into the lobby, helping her to sit down on a convenient
couch. David, Kat, and Tanya had already arrived, and Tommy noticed that
the communicator on his brother's wrist was now blue, rather than the desert
red it had been. Grinning, he extended a hand to his twin. "Nice to have
you back, Dave."
"Yeah, whatever,"
David grinned back, grasping his brother's hand. "This is only temporary,
right? I intend to leave the full-time heroing to you professionals."
Tommy nodded.
"He'll be all right," he responded. "You can go see him, if you want."
The three of
them did want, and they headed into the ICU.
"Why do you suppose
they looked so strange when we told them about Rocky?" Jamie asked Jason.
"I mean, yeah, they were worried, but they also looked- I don't know, kind
of guilty."
"I think you're
just seeing things," Jason responded. "How could five thirteen year-olds
feel guilty about Rocky getting caught in a random monster attack?" That
was the story the team had concocted to explain Rocky's injury, and that
was what they had told Justin and company at the shelter. They had offered
to walk the kids to the hospital, which wasn't far away, but they had declined.
Fred and Franklin needed to call their parents and ask if they could go
visit Rocky, and then they would walk by themselves. It wasn't as if the
hospital was in a bad neighborhood or anything like that.
"No, I think
Jamie's right, Jason," replied Kim, shaking her head. "They looked kind
of like we do when someone gets kidnapped as bait for us."
"Hmm, did someone
say 'kidnapping?'" a sultry female voice asked behind them. "That's one
of my favorite pastimes." The three teens whirled to see Divatox behind
them.
"What do you
want?" Jason snarled, as the three Rangers fell into defensive positions.
"Well, I'm getting
married soon, and I noticed that the three of you were both strong and
pure of heart. I need humans like that as sacrifices for my beloved Maligore,
and I think you'll do just fine."
"Dream on,"
Jamie spat. "We don't go down that easy."
"We'll see about
that," promised Divatox. "Piranhatrons!"
"It's morphin
time!" Jason responded.
"Zeo Shard Power!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
Three flashes of light, and Divatox found herself facing Purple Ranger
and the Red and Pink Morphin Warriors.
"Oh, so you're
some of Zordon's little Power Pukes?" Divatox asked, unimpressed. "I don't
remember costumes like the ones on you two, but you've got Zeo Power, don't
you?" She pointed to Purple Ranger. "You may be a bit too much to handle,
but the other two will do just fine. Piranhatrons!"
The fish-men
began swarming all over the three teens. They were far too strong for the
three Rangers to fight on their own, and the press of fish kept any of
them from being able to reach their communicators. One well-placed blows
to the back of the head each, and Jason and Kimberly were unconscious.
Despite her struggles, Purple Ranger could not force her way through the
school to reach them. Two of the Piranhatrons picked Jason and Kim up,
slung them over their shoulders in a fireman's carry, and disappeared.
"No!" Purple
Ranger cried, even as the fish surrounding her evaporated into nothing.
"Bring them back," she snarled, turning towards Divatox. "Bring them back,
or I swear I'll kill you."
"Threats are
so boring," Divatox yawned. "I have better things to do. Have a nice day."
In a flash of red, she disappeared.
"I have to get
back to the Power Chamber," Purple Ranger muttered. "Maybe Zordon can help."
Becoming a streak of purple light, she teleported out.
"They won't let
us in," Fred told his friends disgustedly. "They say we shouldn't strain
him, but Tommy and company are coming in and out of there all the time.
They just don't want to let us in because we're kids."
"Well, we're
not going to take this lying down. What we need is a diversion," Rosa grinned.
"Fred, you and Tasha distract her while Frank, Justin, and I sneak in.
Then when we come back, Justin and Frank can distract her while you two
go in. After all, you're all really good at doing the puppy eyes."
Fred sighed,
but agreed. He and Tasha headed back to the desk, both looking up at the
nurse with big brown eyes, turning on every ounce of cuteness and charm
they possessed. While the nurse was watching them both and fighting not
to laugh, the other three kids sneaked into the ICU. They were right outside
Rocky's room when a doctor came down the hall. Justin looked around quickly,
then his eyes lit up as he spied a gurney with a sheet hanging down from
it. "Under there, quick!" he hissed. Under the gurney, no one could see
them, but they had a good view of Rocky's room. Their hearing, which had
been augmented by the Turbo powers, allowed them to hear every word that
Tommy and David were saying to their friend.
"Hey, Rocko,
how're you feeling?" Tommy asked quietly.
"Pretty good,"
Rocky mumbled. "I'm so spaced out on painkillers right now, I don't think
I'd blink if Rito and Goldar walked in here with a singing telegram. So,
you've got my powers, Dave?"
Beneath the
gurney, Justin and Rosa frowned at each other. "Powers?" Justin mouthed
silently. Rosa just shrugged.
"Yeah, man,"
David was saying, "but it's only temporary, until you're back on your feet
again."
"Sounds good,"
Rocky murmured. "'s good to know you're here." Just then, a strange beeping
noise came from Tommy's wrist. The three kids hidden beneath the gurney
leaned forward, interested.
"What is it,
Zordon?" Tommy asked. A deep, rumbling voice came from the band on his
wrist.
"Jason and Kimberly
have been captured by Divatox. Jamie is safe, but she was not able to stop
the kidnapping. Teleport to the Power Chamber and I will tell you more."
"We're on it,"
Tommy responded. "You going to be okay, Rocky?"
"I'll be fine.
Now that I'm not Blue Ranger anymore, that Rygog dude won't be after me.
You go on."
"All right.
We've left you a communicator on your bedside table. Give us a call if
you need us. We're gonna go." In two streaks of colored light, David and
Tommy disappeared.
Beneath the
gurney, the three kids sat in shock. "Rocky's a Power Ranger?" Rosa asked
at last. "The blue one? No way. He's too much of a doof."
"Got another
explanation?" Franklin asked. Suddenly he realized that Justin was no longer
under the stretcher with them. Slipping out, the two of them found the
young genius examining the wristband by Rocky's bed.
"This must be
the communicator they left him. I think I can use this to hack into the
computers at that "Power Chamber" they went to. Go get Fred and Tasha.
We need them in here now. I'll be under the bed, where the doctors won't
find me." So saying, Justin grabbed Rocky's communicator and slipped under
the bed.
Frank and Rosa
had a hard time, but they finally managed to sneak Fred and Tasha into
the ICU as well. Sneaking into Rocky's room, the four of them joined Justin
under the bed. "What have you got?" Fred asked, without preamble. Someone
who had known Jason and Billy during their first days as Rangers would
have found the scene awfully familiar.
"I'm in. Patching
through now." Suddenly a group of well-known voices came through the computer.
"Zordon, what
do we do?" Skull asked desperately. "What would Divatox want with Jason
and Kim?"
"Skull's a Power
Ranger?" Frank asked incredulously. "No way!"
"Shh!" Fred
motioned for him to be quiet.
"I am afraid
that Divatox intends to use them as sacrifices to free her fiance, Maligore.
If the two of them join forces, the world as we know it is doomed."
Frank's eyes
widened at the next voice. "So where are they now?" Adam asked.
"I've been tracking
them." Billy responded, causing Justin to gasp. "Divatox apparently has
them in a submarine heading for someplace called the Nemesis Triangle.
It's an area of ocean in the Pacific that leads to the pocket dimension
in which Muranthias is located. Normally it's closed, but the hole has
just opened again. We've created a way to pass through the Nemesis Triangle,
so we can get to the island. We just have to hope we can take on Divatox
and stop her before she releases Maligore."
"There are fourteen
of us!" Kat cried. "We darn well better be able to stop her!"
"Zordon, what
about those Turbo Rangers?" Zack asked. "Are they good guys or bad guys?
Are we going to have to worry about fighting them or anything?"
"I cannot tell
you that, Zachary. There is nothing in my files on the power of Turbo,
although the energy signatures I picked up from them are similar to Lerigot's
Golden Key, which is now in the hands of Divatox. It is what she will use
to open the gate to Muranthias. I have duplicated the signature for your
portal key, and I do not doubt that she could do the same."
"So these guys
could work for Divatox," Trini mused.
"Or they may
have been recruited by Lerigot, in which case, they will be your allies.
You must be careful, Rangers. I have no idea whose side they may be on."
"You okay?"
Lillian's voice asked sympathetically.
Jamie chuckled.
"Yeah, Lil, I'm fine. God knows, we've been through worse. Zordon, is Rocky
going to be all right? I mean, with Rita, Mondo, and Gasket still out there,
leaving him alone is not exactly a good idea."
A voice that
was unfamiliar to the five listening children responded to that. "Don't
worry about that, Jamie. I've taken care of the situation."
"And just how
did you do that, Trey?" Katarina asked, the arch of her eyebrow evident
in her tone.
"I contacted
Dr. Kino," Trey responded. "She'll be watching over him. If worst comes
to worst, she can teleport him here."
"Besides," a
high-pitched voice broke in, "we will be monitoring him at all times, Rangers.
Rocky will be well-protected."
"We can always
count on you, can't we, Alpha?" Justin identified this voice as Christina,
Billy's girlfriend.
"Well, what
are we waiting for?" David asked. "Let's get to that island and rescue
our friends."
"I will teleport
you to the ocean, where the Ghost Galleon awaits you. It will transport
you through the Nemesis Triangle, and is completely undetectable by Divatox's
scanners. Good luck, and may the Power protect you."
"I'm reading
a teleportation beam!" Justin exclaimed. "Tracking, tracking,- got it!
Coordinates locked!"
"Good," Fred
responded. "Justin, are those Zords ready?"
"Yeah, any time
you want them. Why?"
"Can you modify
them to run under the water?"
"They've already
got a submarine mode. Why?"
"We're going
to morph and teleport to the same coordinates that the Rangers went to.
Divatox is our responsibility as well, and we can't let them handle her
alone. We've got a galleon to follow."
Placing Rocky's
communicator back on the bedside table, Justin stuck the computer back
into its pocket. Then, still under the bed, the five teens looked at each
other. "Shift into Turbo!" Fred cried.
Rocky woke up
for a second at the noises under his bed, but since he couldn't identify
them, he soon dropped back into sleep again. He never even noticed the
five showers of colored sparks streaking out of his room.
The sun was setting
as the Rangers boarded the Ghost Galleon. Making their way on board, they
were understandably nervous at the number of skeletons on the deck. "I
wonder what happened to them all," Kat mused.
"Personally,
I don't want to find out," Adam replied. Billy, listening to them, suddenly
dropped his head into his hands with a grunt of pain.
"Billy?" Tommy
asked, immediately coming to his friend's side. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know!"
Billy cried. "This keeps happening to me! Usually I hear this word, 'Ninjetti.'
The only problem is, I don't know what it means! The first time you morphed
into the Green Warrior, I heard it, and then again when we were fighting
the Skeletiger. I had a vision of you, me, Kim, Aisha, Adam, and Rocky,
all in outfits just like yours, but in our Ninja Ranger colors. You were
on the back of a big dinosaur skeleton! Now, I had a flashback to Adam
and Kimberly talking about a heap of dinosaur skeletons, saying the same
things Adam and Kat were saying just now."
Tommy reached
out with his magical powers, scanning Billy for any signs of a spell. "No
magic, exactly, but there's some sort of energy. I just don't understand
it. Maybe you should go back and talk to Zordon."
Billy shook
his head. "No, the pain's gone. I'm all right. It doesn't happen very often.
I'll be fine."
Tommy sighed
and returned to examining the ship. Billy, however, was still jumpy. He
vividly remembered that right after Adam and Kimberly had said those things,
there had come an attack. He wasn't sure if he was having deja vu, or some
sort of premonition, but he found it impossible to relax. Somehow, he was
sure something was going to come.
As it turned
out, he was right. With a shrieking sound, something gossamer-thin detached
itself from the mast and swooped down on the Rangers. The teens lost no
time in hitting the deck.
"What the hell
was that!" Jamie cried.
"They don't
call this the Ghost Galleon for nothing, honey!" shot back Tanya.
"Great!" David
groused. "How do we fight a ghost?"
"Better make
that 'ghosts', plural," gulped Zack, pointing behind him. Another wispy
spirit was approaching from the stern. This one was a little more visible,
and seemed to consist of a skull and white, gauzy ectoplasm. Red light
burned in the eyepits of the skull, and it was screaming like a banshee.
"Oh, pleasant
thought," Trini mumbled to herself, remembering exactly what the cry of
the banshee signified. Looking towards the bow, she saw two more rising
up, readying for the attack.
"We got company!"
Skull yelled. "Three more, approaching from the port side!"
"Do we morph?"
Kat cried, ducking a ghost's swoop.
"What good would
it do?" Trey answered practically. "Heads up! Here they come!" The seven
spirits began to circle the teens, swooping in at them. The fourteen Rangers
had double the number of their attackers, but that didn't seem to matter.
There was little they could do to defend themselves.
"They're dead,
right?" Lillian called. "What can they do to us?" She was answered when
one of the circling skulls swooped down and knocked into her. It looked
as if it were trying to merge with her, but black light surrounding her
made that impossible. Instead, it settled for trying to knock her into
the water.
"I've got you!"
Tommy cried, snagging her hand. He quickly reeled her back onto solid decking.
"Are you all right?"
"He slimed me,
Ray," she grinned, quoting from Ghostbusters. Tommy chuckled, realizing
that she was not hurt. "No, I'm serious. Look." She pointed at a large
patch of ectoplasm on her shirt. "I think it was trying to possess me.
That's what they want, bodies. The Shadow power held it off, but I don't
know how long it's going to last." Suddenly, she grabbed Tommy's head and
pulled him down as a skull dive-bombed them.
"We have to
figure out some way to take them down. But how do you hurt a ghost?"
"Unfinished
business," Lillian breathed. "They're protecting something, something on
the ship. If we could only figure out what!"
"Too bad they
don't have vocal cords. Then we could just ask them." Tommy cocked his
head to one side. "Maybe I have an idea."
Meanwhile, things
were not going so well for the other Rangers. Skulls were knocking them
right and left, sliming them badly. For some reason, most of them had focused
on Kat, who was now covered in ectoplasm. It dripped off her, coating her
blond hair and soaking her pink T-shirt and jean shorts. They were also
paying Jamie a great deal of attention, but she was more adept at dodging
that Kat. Skull, in contrast, was almost ignored by his namesakes, a condition
that amused him no end. The only spots of ectoplasm on him were from the
times he pushed the others out of the way.
"Hold it!" Tommy's
commanding baritone cut through the air, stopping all of the fight's participants,
human and not. "That's enough! We want to help you, but we need to know
what you want. We'll give you the means, but you have to tell us how."
He stepped out into the center of the deck, closing his eyes. The skulls
hovered in the air for a long moment, then one swooped over to Tommy and
slid into his chest. His body shook, and when his eyes opened, they were
no longer his. Instead, they were a piercing blue.
"My thanks to
ye, Tommy Oliver, for the loan of yer body," he said. The Rangers listened,
marveling at the way even his speech had changed, although the voice was
still Tommy's. "I am Captain Morgan, the skipper of this ship. Her name's
the Dragon, by the way. A long time ago, we were hired to transport a rare
idol from one port to another. But the idol was cursed, and the curse fell
upon us. We were condemned to wander the ocean forever, seven skulls on
a ship that would not decay, until someone living could rid us of the idol.
But devoid of speech, we could not tell anyone what we needed, and they
ran in terror. We sail our old route, looking for someone to remove the
curse. Please, throw the idol overboard, and let us rest in peace! Our
ship will then take ye to yer destination." With that, the captain's eyes
slipped shut, and the spirit left Tommy's body. He opened his eyes and
shook his head.
"Whoa, that
was intense." Looking around the bow of the boat, he found the gold box
that the captain had shown him mentally. Picking it up, he hurled it into
the ocean. As soon as it splashed into the water, the skulls shrieked and
disappeared in a flash of bright light.
"Wow," Tommy
shook his head. "That was strange."
"It's not over
yet," Adam told him. "Look, the compass is moving."
"The sails are
going up by themselves!" Trey cried. Slowly, the ship began to move, catching
the breeze and moving out to sea.
"Does anybody
have any dry clothes?" Kat asked in a small, miserable voice. She was still
covered with ectoplasm, although most of it had evaporated from the other
Rangers without a trace.
"You really
got soaked, didn't you?" David inquired sympathetically. "Come on down
into the hold. We can probably find something for you to wear down there.
If not, my shirt's long enough for a mini-dress. Your clothes will dry
eventually." The two of them headed off down the stairs, and the other
Rangers began to settle in on the ship. None of them noticed the five Turbo
Zords following the galleon at a safe distance.
"How are you
feeling?" Tanya asked Kat sympathetically. David's shirt fit Kat like a
tent, but it did come down to her knees. She held it in with David's belt,
which he had insisted he did not need to hold up his jeans, and she looked
strange.
"Awful. I don't
know if this stuff will ever come out. I guess they thought I was a good
candidate for possession, huh?" Kat smiled one-sidedly. "I'm just lucky
that my underwear is dry, and that David has a long torso. All my height's
in my legs, so the shirt's long enough to be a dress."
"Come on up
on deck. It's a great evening." Tanya smiled mischievously. "And David
will be there to keep the guys from ogling you."
Kat laughed
aloud. "You have a point," she conceded. "All right." The two of them headed
up onto the deck. The night was warm and fragrant, and most of the Rangers
had decided to sleep out on the deck. Although David, looking at Kat in
nothing but his shirt and a pair of her underwear, was not sure he would
be able to sleep much, if at all. Kat had much the same thoughts, looking
at David, who was only clad in his tank top and jeans. Sitting next to
him, she snuggled into his side, and he draped his arm around her.
"It's peaceful,
isn't it?" Trini sighed. "The stars are gorgeous."
"Yeah," Zack
replied. "Almost makes me wish this was a pleasure trip, and I was out
here with Angela."
Tommy chuckled.
"Yeah, well, I've got my girlfriend with me." Zack and Trey growled at
him good-naturedly, the former sticking out his tongue as well.
"Speaking of
girlfriends," Billy murmured, "has anyone seen Jamie?"
"No. Skull doesn't
seem to be around either," Lillian responded, concerned. "Do you think
they're all right?"
"Yeah, I saw
them after the fight with the ghosts, so they didn't get left behind,"
answered Tanya. "They're probably worrying about Jason and Kim."
"I'll go talk
to them," Christina sighed, getting to her feet. "Knowing them, they probably
won't even sleep unless they absolutely have to." Walking towards the bow
of the boat, she saw two shapes looking out over the water. "Jamie? Skull?
Are you two all right?"
"We're fine,
Chris," Jamie sighed. "We're just worried."
"I know, we
all are. You need to sleep, though. Come back to the rest of the group."
"How can we?
Kim and Jason are out there somewhere, a sacrifice for a monster with the
munchies, and we're supposed to sleep?" Skull cried. There was no real
anger in his tone, though.
"Yes, or you'll
be no use to them when we catch up," Christina told him firmly. The two
of them nodded sheepishly, and followed her back to where the other Rangers
waited.
"We're approaching
the Nemesis Triangle," Justin transmitted. Once inside their Zords, the
five Rangers had morphed back into their normal forms, finding them more
comfortable for the long journey. They had also found what Justin called
"food replicators," so they had not been hungry on their voyage. Now, in
the water ahead of them, they saw a wall of black energy roiling in front
of them. The galleon they were following was sliding through, surrounded
by strange lights. Fred swallowed.
"How do we get
through that?" he asked incredulously.
"The Turbo Zords
have the correct energy signature to pass through the barrier without a
problem," Justin responded. He sounded far too blase about the whole thing
for Fred's comfort. "We just drive on through. It may be a bumpy ride,
though. If we don't hit it fast, and I mean fast, well, ever hit a brick
wall at a hundred miles an hour?"
"Great. Okay,
everybody, fasten your seat belts!" Fred called. "Ready for impact?"
"Wind Chaser,
ready!" Rosa responded.
"Mountain Blaster,
ready!" shot back Justin.
"Desert Thunder,
ready!" Frank grumbled. He was still a little upset about driving a mini-van.
"Dune Star,
ready!" replied Tasha.
"And Red Lightning
is ready, too," finished Fred. "Let's make tire tracks. Kick it into Turbogear!"
Simultaneously, the five pulled back on their gearshifts, throwing the
Zords forward at incredible speeds. Before they even knew it, they had
hit the wall and were through. As they applied the brakes, they looked
around themselves in astonishment.
"We did it,"
Frank whispered.
"Yahoo!" cried
Justin, startling them all. "What a ride!"
The Turbo Rangers
laughed. "Come on, guys, let's get going," Fred grinned. "Follow that galleon."
The five Zords took off again, this time at a more sedate speed.
The galleon made
it to the island of Muranthias without incident, but the Rangers were still
wary. The boat was still two hundred yards away from shore when Tommy called
them all together. "Guys, Divatox is probably expecting party crashers,
and I'm sure she's left us some presents. I want everybody to go over the
side, and we'll swim in. I know we'll get soaked, and it's not exactly
comfortable, but I'd rather not get blown up as well."
The others nodded.
"Right." Quickly, the Rangers slipped into the water and headed for the
island.
On Divatox's
submarine, the alarms were going crazy. "I detect fourteen life forms,
but no sign of a vehicle!" Elgar cried.
"What are they,
swimming?" shot back Divatox. "They've got to be riding something! Maybe
some torpedoes will find out what."
Jason and Kimberly,
both chained in one corner of the main room, regarded each other with alarm.
"No!" Jason cried, jerking at his chains. "You can't!"
Divatox turned
to him, smiling cruelly. "Just watch me," she replied, in a low, sultry
tone. "I can do whatever I want, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Jerking his head up, she kissed him. Finally breaking the lip-lock, she
regarded him hungrily. "Too bad I can't play with you," she sighed, looking
him over. "Unfortunately, I don't want to break you before you're fed to
Maligore. After that, though, you're fair game." The predatory smile on
her lips sent shivers down Jason's spine. Releasing him, she turned back
to her crew. "Elgar! Fire torpedoes!"
A pair of torpedoes
streaked from the ship, heading towards the galleon. Divatox, her crew,
and her two captives watched as the underwater missiles struck the ship
and exploded, blowing it into a million pieces.
"NOOO!" Kimberly
cried. "Skull! Tommy!" She began to sob into Jason's shoulder. He held
her, awkwardly trying to comfort her. Shutting his eyes, he bowed his head
in memory of his friends.
"What the hell
was that?" Rosa asked, as the shockwave from the blast rocked the Wind
Chaser.
"Two torpedoes
just detonated," Frank shot back, looking over his console. "The galleon
is- gone."
"I'm reading
fourteen life forms on shore," Tasha continued. "Looks like they all made
it out."
"Excellent!"
Fred cried. "Let's follow them, but carefully. I don't want them to attack
us because they think that we're the bad guys."
The five Turbo
Rangers followed the Zeos and Morphin Warriors at a safe distance, until
the jungle became too thick to drive through. Parking the Zords, they huddled
together for a strategy session.
"I say we morph.
It'll keep us safe, keep our identities secret, and help us to kick any
alien butt we need to," Fred told them.
"Sounds good.
As Turbo Rangers, we can run almost as fast as our cars go, but go a lot
more places," Justin agreed.
"So what are
we waiting for?" Tasha asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Let's
go!"
"Shift into
Turbo!" Fred called. In a flash, the five became the Turbo Rangers, and
headed off through the jungle.
"Kat, you okay?"
David asked sympathetically, helping her over a fallen tree.
"I'm fine, David,"
she sighed. "It's just that I had just gotten my clothes dry, and now I'm
all wet again. And this time, there's salt in my underwear!"
Despite himself,
David chuckled. Kat regarded him exasperatedly for a moment, then laughed
along with him. "I guess that did sound pretty funny," she admitted. "So
how are you doing? I've never been sure whether you like being a Ranger
or not. I mean, you're always willing to fill in for someone who needs
it, but you're always adamant about giving the power back as soon as possible.
Why is that?"
David smiled.
"Well, there are a couple of reasons. One, I like being a Ranger, but I've
seen what it does to your life. It plays hell with relationships, with
family and friends. I like to make a difference, but I don't want my life
destroyed while I do it. The second thing is, I've seen the way the power
affects people. You, Tommy, Rocky, you can't give it up. It's an addiction,
and I can understand why. The power to help, the power to make a change,
the rush of the energy, the adrenaline of battle, they're all so easy to
get addicted to. I can't take these things away from someone who needs
them so badly. Besides, I kind of want to avoid the addiction myself. I
couldn't take the letdown that'll come, sooner or later."
"Yeah, no kidding.
We're all going off to college in less than a month. I can't imagine what
it's going to be like to give the power up to a replacement."
"How do you
find one, anyway? I mean, I know how I wound up drawn into this, but there
have been so many of you. You can't all have been kidnapped by monsters
and have figured out the Rangers' identities."
"Oh no?" Kat
grinned. "Tommy was told by Rita when she made him her Green Ranger. Rocky,
Adam, and Aisha were kidnapped by Zedd, who wanted to turn them evil. They
found out the Ranger's identities when Billy was choking and Tommy and
Kim were forced to remove his helmet. I was kidnapped by Rita and told
the Ranger's identities, and Aisha told Tanya about them because she needed
someone to take the crystal home. Katarina was kidnapped by Mondo's android,
who spilled the beans on Rocky and Skull was kidnapped by Goldar, although
he'd already figured out the Ranger's identities before that happened.
I'd say it's a pretty common thread."
David shook
his head. "Wow. That's pretty impressive. But what are you going to do
about replacing an entire team? I mean, that's a lot of people."
"Well, the Morphin
Warrior powers can't be transferred from person to person, so they can't
be replaced. Trey will keep his powers and stay around to help out, and
Lillian's powers will go with her to Crossworld City. Neither she nor Jamie
can give the powers to someone else. Jamie's going to Angel Grove University,
so she'll be around if she's needed. We'll only have to replace seven rangers,
not ten."
"Still, seven
people's a fair amount. Have you been looking?"
"Sort of, but
we really haven't found anything. We've still got time, I suppose."
"Pipe down back
there!" Tommy called from the head of the line. "We're almost to the temple."
Instantly the team went quiet, not wanting to alert Divatox to their arrival.
"There it is,"
Tommy pointed as the others caught up to him. "Let's go." Silently, they
headed towards the massive stone structure.
"Just hanging
around?" Divatox asked, laughing cruelly up at Jason and Kimberly. The
two of them were handcuffed and tied to a large rope that was dangling
them over a large volcanic pit in the center of the temple. Jason sneaked
a quick look at Kimberly, as best he could over his shoulder. She was still
in the almost catatonic state she had inhabited since the ship exploded.
She didn't speak or respond to anything anyone said, simply stared straight
ahead. Jason knew how she felt. His mind kept replaying the scene of the
galleon bursting into flames over and over, until he, too, felt like curling
up in a corner. Unlike Kim, though, he would not do that until he had avenged
his friends' deaths.
"You won't get
away with this, Divatox," he told her calmly. Despite his cliche words,
the cold lack of emotion in his voice made the pirate shiver.
"And just why
not?" she drawled, trying to cover the momentary surge of fear his words
had given her. "Who's going to stop me? Zordon's stuck in his tube, your
Power Ranger friends are dead, and you're chained to a rope, about to become
lunch for my fiance. What makes you think anyone is going to come to your
aid?"
Jason smiled
coldly. "I didn't say that. I don't expect to come out of this. Somehow,
though, someone will stop you. It's the way things work. Even if you kill
every single Power Ranger on Earth, someone will rise up against you, and
in the end, you'll fall. Your kind always fall."
"Spare me the
melodrama," she sighed. "We've got better things to do. Maligore! Great
flame of destruction, come forth! I have sacrifices for you, strong and
pure. Come forth! Feed upon their purity and twist their souls to evil!"
Jason struggled
helplessly against his bonds as he began to lower, slowly, inorexably,
towards the pit. "Kim, snap out of it!" he cried. "Kim, come on!" There
was no response. She simply hung there as they headed for the molten rock
below.
Jason Scott
was not a religious person, really. He had never seen much need for it,
beyond a basic belief that something was out there, something inherently
good that watched over the universe. He hadn't been to church in three
years, except for Christmas, Easter, and Mother's Day. Now, however, he
closed his eyes and began to pray in earnest, not only for himself, but
for Kimberly and the rest of the world as well.
"Did we miss
the party?" a familiar voice asked, snapping Jason out of his fear-induced
stupor. Red Ranger stood in the middle of the floor, arms crossed lazily
over his chest. Anger radiated from his entire body. Behind him, the rest
of the Rangers, all morphed, were eyeing Divatox's Piranhatrons warily,
although the fish were too stunned to attack at the moment.
"Tommy!" Jason
cried. "Are we ever glad to see you!" Behind him, Kim began to stir.
"Tommy?" she
murmured. "No. You're dead." Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him.
Red Ranger's
voice was warm as he replied. "Now, Kim. You know me better than that.
We swam ashore. There was no one on the ship when it blew."
"Tommy! Skull!
You're alive!" she shouted. "Get us down from here!"
Skull chuckled.
"Comes right to the point, doesn't she?" He judged the distance between
himself and Rygog, who was still lowering Jason and Kim into the pit. "I
think I can handle tall, fanged, and ugly over there. You guys try and
get to Jason and Kim."
Red Ranger nodded.
"Right. Let's kick some scale!"
The scene that
followed was impossible to describe, but two words came close: utter chaos.
Elgar and the Piranhatrons outnumbered the rangers by about four to one,
but the Rangers had experience in fighting enemies much more numerous than
they. Skull was unstoppable, a white-clad juggernaut carving a path through
the Piranhatrons with his saber. Hacking and slashing, he fought his way
closer to Rygog, an expression of pure rage on his features.
Meanwhile, Purple
Ranger and Black Ranger had teamed up, and the Piranhatrons were getting
clobbered. The two girls moved in almost perfect synchronization, hacking,
thrusting, slashing, and whacking. Over on the other side of the room,
the other female Rangers had wound up dealing with a school of Piranhatrons
which seemed less interested in battle than other types of "action." Since
they were concentrating more on disarming the girls than harming them,
the amorous villains were getting their butts kicked.
Blue and Gold
Rangers were back-to-back with Billy and Zack, sending Piranhatrons flying
in every direction. Billy had also frozen a few of them with his Ice Laser.
All around them, the battle raged. In the center of the room, Red and Green
Rangers were fighting to get through the Piranhatrons and reach the winch
that held the rope. Skull was still fighting with Rygog, holding his own.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get to the rope, and it was still slowly lowering
into the pit.
"Let's speed
this up, shall we?" Divatox smiled. Throwing a lever that stood to one
side of her, she laughed as Jason and Kim plummeted into the pit.
"NO!" Red Ranger,
Purple Ranger, and Skull cried in unison, throwing themselves towards the
edge of the pit. Suddenly a gout of flame billowed out from it, hurling
them back. When the flames cleared, Jason and Kimberly were standing on
the edge of the volcano.
"Kim?" Skull
whispered, hardly daring to believe it. The two teens turned around, and
the assembled Rangers gasped. Jason and Kimberly's eyes were now blood
red, and the expressions on their faces were cold and emotionless. Raising
their hands in front of their faces, they snapped the chains holding their
wrists together with ease.
"Maligore's
children, arise!" Divatox cried. "Destroy those who would threaten your
master!"
With a pair
of impressive flips, Jason and Kimberly leaped down from the side of the
pit. "Kimberly," Skull pleaded, rising slowly to his feet, "you have to
fight it. Fight the evil inside you!"
"Evil is like
evil does," Kimberly replied. Her voice was low and husky, different than
he'd ever heard it. She was advancing on him, and he was backing up, unwilling
to fight her. She took the decision out of his hands when she spin kicked
him, knocking him out of her way. Smiling evilly, she continued to advance
on Kat.
Jason, meanwhile,
had instantly targeted Red Ranger. The two of them had been engaging in
friendly competition for years, ever since Tommy had joined the team. Now,
under the spell, Jason's only thought was to destroy the Ranger who could
destroy him. He would prove who was the better man once and for all. The
two of them fought back and forth, neither gaining the upper hand. For
all Jason's strength, Red Ranger was quicker, and the bigger boy's powerful
strikes did little good if they didn't connect. Red Ranger was tiring,
though, and it was only a matter of time before he was too slow to get
out of the way.
The other Rangers
were still dealing with the Piranhatrons, and it looked as if they were
winning. Suddenly, though, the room began to shake and another gout of
flame spat out of the pit, drawing everyone's attention back to it. The
fights were forgotten as the combatants watched in awe and terror as a
wickedly clawed hand, made out of solid and molten rock, landed on the
edge. Then, slowly and deliberately, Maligore pulled himself out of the
volcano.
He was a terrifying
sight, standing seven feet tall and almost three feet wide. Red eyes glowed
in his eye sockets and his face resembled that of the sea monsters in old
horror movies, except that there was no denying he was real. A set of incredibly
sharp teeth completed the picture.
"At last, I
am free!" Maligore cried, stretching. Blue Ranger thought vaguely to himself
that this was the last straw his sanity could take. He had expected the
creature, if it could talk at all, to have a loud, rumbling voice, like
an erupting volcano. Instead, Maligore's voice was deep and rich, almost
pleasant to listen to.
"Divatox, my
dear, I commend you on your efforts to free me. In return, we shall be
wed as soon as possible," Maligore said. Divatox flushed and bowed. Then
the molten being walked over to where Kim and Jason stood, regarding the
Rangers contemptuously. "And the two of you shall have great power as well.
I'm sure I can think of excellent rewards for you." He turned to Jason.
"You shall command my armies in my conquest of this planet." Jason bowed,
a cold smile on his face. "And you," he said, turning to Kimberly, "shall
have a place of great honor by my side. Not as my wife, of course, but
the post of first concubine is hardly a lowly one."
At the word
"concubine," Skull and Red Ranger had both stepped forward, growling under
their breath. Before Skull could move, however, Red Ranger had launched
himself forward, slamming into a startled Maligore with all his strength.
The volcanic monster reeled back, falling back into the volcano from which
it had emerged. For a long moment, all was still.
Suddenly, with
a mighty roar, Maligore leaped up out of the sea of molten rock. Slamming
into Red Ranger, he knocked him to the ground, shattering his helmet against
the floor. "I am not so easily defeated," he sneered. "Power down, Rangers,
or I gut your leader from throat to belly."
The Rangers
exchanged helpless looks, then as one powered down. As the Piranhatrons
circled them, weapons at the ready, they slowly raised their hands.
"Power down,
Red Ranger," Maligore grinned. "Unless you'd like to see them all destroyed?"
Tommy regarded
the monster coolly for a second, then returned to his normal attire. Maligore
hauled him up, shoving him towards the others. "Now, Rangers," the molten
being mused, "what shall I do with you?"
"Okay, Fearless
Leader," Yellow Turbo asked sarcastically, "what do we do now?" The five
Turbos had crept up through a passage in the rock just in time to hear
Maligore's ultimatum.
Red Turbo cocked
his head, a frown evident in his voice. "I don't know. All I do know is
that the five of us can't just rush in there. We'd get killed, and the
Rangers probably would, too. We need a plan. Spread out, surround the temple.
There look to be at least five entrances to this place. Wait for my signal.
When I beep you on the Helmetcoms, we'll rush in, but not before." He looked
directly at Blue and Yellow Turbos. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," Blue
Turbo replied seriously. "We're on it." Four of the Rangers headed back
out of the passage, leaving Red Turbo to watch the events inside with growing
concern.
Maligore was
inspecting the Rangers smugly, pacing back and forth in front of him as
they all glared. "At long last, I will have my revenge on Zordon of Eltare!
He and that miserable Lerigot imprisoned me in that volcano centuries ago!
Now I am released, and I have found the perfect vengeance on Zordon. I
will destroy his Power Rangers utterly!"
"Better goons
than you have tried to kill us," Tommy scoffed, "and we're all still here."
"Oh, but I don't
intend to kill you, Rangers," Maligore chuckled. "At least, not all of
you. I have far more entertaining plans in mind than that." So saying,
he turned to Jason and Kimberly, who still watched their imprisoned friends
with those impassive red eyes. "My children, as a reward for your faithful
service, you may each choose one Ranger to do with as you wish. Jason?
Which Ranger is yours?"
Jason walked
up and down the line of captive Rangers for a long moment. He looked at
Tommy, an evil grin lighting his features, then shook his head. "No," he
rasped. "As much as I would like to destroy you, Ranger, I won't waste
my reward on so fleeting a pleasure." He moved on until he was face to
face with Jamie. One hand shot out and buried itself in her hair. Pulling
her close, he crushed her to him and gave her a long, passionate kiss.
When he finally
released her, Jamie looked up into her boyfriend's eyes, searching for
any hint of the man she knew behind his blood-red eyes. All she saw was
evil. "Jason," she whispered. "Please, don't."
He chuckled
coldly. "You are mine, Jamie. Begging won't do much good, although it'll
be interesting to hear it from your lips. You've always been so proud and
self-sufficient. It'll be fun to see how much breaks you."
Maligore nodded.
"If she is the reward you choose, you shall have her. I'll even give you
some time to play with her before we throw her into the fire. After that,
though, I think she'll succumb to my power most nicely." With an evil smile,
the molten monster turned to Kim. "And you, my dear. Which one do you chose?"
Her choice was
made far more quickly than Jason's. Immediately she crossed to where Skull
was being guarded by several Piranhatrons. "This one," she hissed. "I choose
him."
"I am afraid
not," Maligore responded. "He is protected by the White. Too pure to succumb
to my power, and too dangerous to leave free-minded. I'm afraid we'll just
have to kill him. The purity in him would cause the fire to self-destruct.
Pick another."
Kimberly cocked
her head, regarding the line of captives. Then, with a smile, she pointed
to Tommy. "Him, then. I'll take him."
"The hell you
will," Lillian spat. "I'll kick your butt into next Tuesday, friend or
not."
Maligore chuckled.
"I think I'll put you and your boyfriend into the fire, and you and Kimberly
can fight over him. Won't that be entertaining?" Turning away, he gestured
to the Piranhatrons. "Separate the Red and Black Rangers from the group."
The fish-men did so roughly, pulling Tommy and Lillian out of the line.
Then Maligore strolled along the line himself.
"Some of you
will join my ranks," he told them. "The pit will allow the evil in your
hearts, small as it may be, to take over. Some of you, however, are not
worth the effort. I'm afraid I'll just have to kill you." Walking down
the line, he stopped in front of Adam and Tanya.
"You two are
so much wasted effort. I'd be out of my mind to bother with you." Moving
on, he came to Kat. "You on the other hand, Pink Ranger, have much delicious
darkness in your heart. You will be an excellent warrior for my cause."
His voice lowered, and he grabbed her chin in one clawed hand. "And you
are quite lovely, as well. Perhaps I will make use of you in a more- personal
sense."
With a low growl,
David knocked Maligore's hand away from Kat's face. "Touch her, and I will
personally turn you into rubble," the young man snarled.
"Now, what to
do with you?" Maligore mused. "There's no evil in you as there is in the
Red Ranger. I suppose I'll just have to destroy you. Perhaps I'll do it
myself, or better yet, have your lovely girlfriend do it."
"Wait," Divatox
interrupted, stepping forward. "I have a better idea. Give him to me. He's
helpless without his powers, so we just take those away. I have some marvelous
uses for him planned." She looked him up and down, hunger evident in her
gaze. Maligore regarded her for a second, then nodded.
"All right,
my dear, as you will." Two more Piranhatrons grabbed David and Kat, hauling
them over to where Tommy and Lillian stood. The rest of Maligore's inspection
was uneventful, as he passed up the rest of the team as "too good for his
purposes." Turning to his assorted followers, he raised his arms. "First,
we bring these three Rangers over to us. Then we'll let them destroy their
friends. Zordon's Rangers will be no more, destroyed by their own, and
I will finally have my revenge!"
"I don't think
so, ugly," an unfamiliar voice called out. Maligore whirled to see Red
Turbo standing behind him, Turbo Lightning Sword at the ready.
"You're going
down!" another voice cried. The assembled villains looked to their left
to see Green Turbo, his Thunder Cannon pointed directly into their midst.
"We'll turn
you into so much gravel!" threatened a third voice. Once again, the assembly
turned to see a Turbo Ranger. This time, Yellow Turbo was leaning nonchalantly
against a boulder, her Star Charges aimed at them.
A fourth voice
came from yet another section of the chamber. "We're the Turbo Rangers,
defenders of Earth!" Blue Turbo yelled, readying his Hand Blasters.
"Let our friends
go!" finished Pink Turbo, aiming her Wind Fire directly at Maligore's head.
The lava creature realized he and his forces were surrounded.
"So," Maligore
growled, sounding more demonic than ever, "Lerigot has found someone to
pass the powers onto. Well, your tenure will not last long. Piranhatrons!
Destroy them!"
The fish creatures
moved to do Maligore's bidding. Tommy, realizing the confusion that surrounded
the Rangers, called out to his friends. "It's morphin time!"
With twenty-one
fighters, the odds were far more even. Red Ranger immediately found himself
tangling with Jason once again, while Kimberly and Black Ranger were trying
to kill each other. Pink Ranger had targeted Divatox, who was fighting
back, but not very efficiently. Purple Ranger, Blue Ranger, and Skull had
their sights set on Maligore, and among the three of them were keeping
him fairly busy. Green and Yellow Rangers were beset with Piranhatrons,
and rather surprised when Green and Pink Turbos came to their rescue.
"Thanks," Green
Ranger panted, smashing a Piranhatron into a nearby wall.
"Don't mention
it," Green Turbo returned, sending another flying with a well-placed spin
kick.
Gold Ranger
and Trini were fighting Rygog, while White Ranger and Billy took on Elgar.
Both groups received some unexpected help, as Blue Turbo noticed that the
rope used to lower Jason and Kim into the volcano was just dangling there.
Checking to make sure that it was anchored, he leaped into the air. With
a Tarzan yell, he plowed into Rygog, knocking him into Elgar. Landing lightly
on his feet, he joined the fight.
Meanwhile, Zack,
Silver Ranger, and Yellow Turbo were handling the mob of Piranhatrons attacking
them with ease. The three of them punched, kicked, and moved as if they
had been working together for years.
Jason was beating
the living daylights out of Red Ranger, mainly due to Red Ranger's desire
not to hurt his best friend. The bigger boy had the Ranger backed up all
the way to the edge of the volcano, but showed no desire to push him in,
preferring instead to throttle him. Suddenly a smaller blur of red plowed
into Jason, knocking him off his quarry. "Why don't you pick on somebody
your own size?" Red Turbo asked hotly. With a cold laugh, Jason backhanded
the shorter Turbo Ranger, sending him flying across the room into a wall.
He struck it hard, slid down to the floor, and lay still.
"NOOO!" Red
Ranger yelled, charging Jason. The other was ready for this move, however,
and caught the charging boy, pushing him back until they were leaning over
the pit.
"Out of the
frying pan, into the fire," Jason whispered. However, he still seemed to
be fighting the urge to drop Red Ranger into the volcano.
If he drops
me, it'll seal him to evil for the rest of his life, Red Ranger thought.
He won't be able to face himself otherwise. I can't let that happen.
"I won't let
you blame yourself for this, Jason," Red Ranger said in a low tone. "I
won't let you force me into the fire. I choose it myself." With a mighty
shove, Red Ranger hurled himself out of Jason's grip, directly back into
the volcano.
"Tommy!" Jason
screamed, reaching out helplessly to his falling friend. He wasn't quick
enough, however, and Red Ranger fell by him. All the red left Jason's eyes
as he stumbled back from the pit, not wanting to watch as the other hit
the magma below.
Suddenly, a
huge gout of flame spurted out of the volcano and a shockwave of pure white
light seemed to fill the room. Kimberly, still embroiled in her battle
with Black Ranger, stopped, shaking her head.
"Lillian?" she
asked. "Oh, my God, what have I done?"
Black Ranger,
seeing that the red light was gone from her friend's eyes, just shook her
head. "It's over now." Suddenly she looked over at Jason. "Wait a minute.
Where's Tommy?"
She was never
answered. Maligore suddenly threw back his head and screamed. "No! The
Pit of Eternal Fire! The source of my powers! NOOOOOOO!" As the Rangers
watched, his solid rock body began to liquefy and run across the floor,
hissing steam as it went. Soon Maligore, the great flame of destruction,
was just a little puddle of cooling basalt.
Divatox regarded
the Rangers nervously. "Rygog! Elgar! Piranhatrons!" she shouted. "Let's
get out of here! I'll deal with you another time, Rangers."
"Yeah, we'll
be waiting, Divatox!" Green Turbo shouted back. "All of us." As she ran
out the door, Red Turbo came limping over to the other Rangers.
"Guys, where's
Tommy?" he asked. "He was fighting with Jason, Jason backhanded me into
a wall, and that's all I remember." In unison, everyone turned to Jason,
who wore a look of utter devastation.
"He went into
the volcano. He pushed himself back, so that I wasn't responsible for it.
He sacrificed himself." Purple Ranger went up and put her arms around him,
and he buried his head in her shoulder. Blue Turbo and Billy exchanged
glances, and walked to the edge of the pit.
"Whoa!" Blue
Turbo cried. "It's all gone cold!" It was true. All of the magma in the
pit had changed to solid rock.
"I would theorize
that Tommy's selfless act, made to save a friend, was good enough to nullify
the evil in the pit," Billy said sadly.
"Tommy," Black
Ranger whispered. A choking cough interrupted them.
"Someone call
my name?" All nineteen Rangers whirled to see Red Ranger standing behind
them, scorched and battered, but unmistakably alive.
"Tommy!" Jason
and Black Ranger cried in unison, rushing him. "You're alive!"
"I'm not so
sure of that," he replied sardonically. "I feel like I just went through
the heart of a star."
"What happened?"
Jason asked, still holding onto his friend's shoulder. "I saw you fall.
How did you get out?"
Red Ranger shrugged.
"I don't know. I blacked out before I hit the magma. Next thing I know,
I was back there, listening to you all talking about me."
"Well, I'm not
going to look a gift miracle in the mouth," Black Ranger smiled, hugging
her boyfriend close. Suddenly Red Ranger's communicator beeped.
"We read you,
Zordon. What's up?"
"Tommy, there
is an emergency. Divatox is attacking Angel Grove. You must teleport back
here immediately. Now that Maligore has been destroyed, the barrier against
teleportation has been dropped."
"We'll be right
there, Zordon. Can we bring the Turbo Rangers with us? They helped us in
the fight against Maligore, and we'll probably need their help again."
"Yes, the Power
Chamber should admit them if their Ranger powers are of the light. We will
be waiting for your arrival."
"Let's go, guys,"
Red Ranger said. Red Turbo raised one hand.
"Hold up a minute."
Quietly, he asked Blue Turbo, "What happens if we teleport without the
Zords?"
"They'll just
return to sub-space. They'll be fine."
Red Turbo nodded.
"Okay, let's go." The Zeos and Turbos dropped their hands to their belts,
while the Morphin Warriors raised their hands to the coins set into their
chests. The sky was suddenly filled with sparkling lights as the Rangers
teleported to the Power Chamber.
"Wow!" Blue Turbo
cried, looking around the Power Chamber. "This place is incredible!" The
Turbo Rangers were the only ones who had kept their helmets on once they
entered the Power Chamber.
"Guess they
still don't trust us," Tommy chuckled quietly. All mirth left as he turned
to the viewing globe, however. A large metal dragon was displayed, happily
chewing on some of the buildings in downtown Angel Grove. The viewpoint
pulled back, revealing that the dragon was only one of four, each styled
slightly differently from the others.
"Rangers, these
are Divatox's Elemental Dragons. Each possesses the power of one of the
elements of Alchemy. The Fire Dragon can shoot bursts of flame from its
mouth, much like the dragon of Western myth." The globe showed a dragon
built like the ones in the old fairy tales, four legs and two bat-like
wings. It had a long neck and a spade-shaped tail. In color, however, it
was a bright red.
"The Water Dragon
is most at home in the water, able to fire torpedoes and a high-pressure
jet of water from its mouth." This dragon most resembled the sea serpents
drawn on the old maps of the world. It had no legs whatsoever, and looked
most like a big snake. It was a deep blue color.
"This is the
Earth Dragon, a strong, powerful fighter, equipped with blades on its arms."
This dragon had four legs, but no wings whatsoever, and was a burnished
golden color.
"The Air Dragon
is quick and fierce, armed with arrow-like projectiles that can pierce
even the armor of the Megazord." This final dragon, a pure white color,
was not truly a dragon at all, but a wyvern, with only the two back legs
and a pair of wings.
"Nasty," Jason
grimaced.
"To make matters
worse, Piranhatrons are attacking innocent civilians in the park." The
viewing globe switched to show picnickers running in panic. "You must stop
them."
"Those dragons
are big. We're going to need Megazord power against them. Against all of
them," Tommy said grimly.
"Oh yeah?" Adam
asked. "Tommy, where on Earth are we going to get four Megazords?"
"We already
have them," Blue Turbo broke in, drawing everyone's attention. "Well, not
actually four Megazords, but we have three Megazords and one really big
pyramid. Don't you Zeo Rangers have both a Zeo Megazord and a Super Zeo
Megazord? And the Gold Ranger has Pyramidas, and we have the Turbo Megazord.
That should do it."
"And we can
handle the Piranhatrons in the park," Jason added. "I think he's got something."
"But we don't
have pilots for the Super Zeo Megazord," Tommy replied, frustrated.
"Leave that
to us," Lillian grinned. "We'll come up with something."
Tommy sighed.
"Do I have a choice?" he asked rhetorically. "All right. Zeo Megazord will
take on the Fire Dragon. We can handle the heat best."
"Pyramidas and
I will handle the Earth Dragon," Trey volunteered. "We can match him strength
for strength."
"And we'll take
the Air Dragon," Pink Turbo added. "We're the fastest, and we'll need the
speed."
"Super Zeo Megazord
will take the Water Dragon when we get it up and running," Lillian finished.
"You all go on. We'll handle this."
"It's morphin
time!" Jason cried.
"Tigerzord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Saber-Toothed
Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
"Back to action!"
Tommy cried. Soon the Morphin Warriors, the Turbo Rangers, and the first
six Zeo Rangers were gone from the Power Chamber.
"Alpha, contact
Lita," Lillian ordered. "We're going to need her help."
In a flash of
light, Lita Kino was in the Power Chamber. "What is it?" she asked, concerned.
"I left Bulk with Rocky, who's doing much better, by the way. What do you
need me to do?"
"We've got four
metal dragons tearing up downtown Angel Grove, and we're one pilot short
of a Megazord," Lillian told the older woman soberly. "We need you."
Lita's eyes
widened. "Don't you need powers to pilot a Zord? I mean, the reaction time,
the sheer mass, must take a huge amount of power to control.
"We can rewire
your Zord to accept commands from you," Alpha told her. "As for reaction
times, your coin gives you almost as much of an edge there as a fully powered
Ranger. You can do it, if you choose."
Lita smiled.
"Hey, I've never been one to back away from a challenge. Let's do it."
"Very well,"
Zordon boomed. "Christina, you will pilot Super Zeo Zord I. Katarina, you
will control Super Zeo Zord II. Jamie, I am placing you in command of Super
Zeo Zord III. Lita, the Green Coin will give you the sympathy to pilot
Super Zeo Zord IV. And finally, Lillian will control Super Zeo Zord V.
Go now, and let the power protect you."
Lillian looked
at her friends and shouted, "Back to action!"
"This guy is
tough!" Red Ranger grunted, dodging one of the Fire Dragon's blasts. "Zeo
Megazord Saber, now!" The sword coalesced in the Megazord's hands, blocking
the next shot of flaming breath.
"You need a
breath mint, buddy," Blue Ranger grumbled. "Tommy, we're heating up. I'm
not sure how much more the Zord's cooling systems can take."
"We've got to
figure out a way to take this guy down!" cried Red Ranger, ducking a swipe
of the Dragon's tail. He returned the attack with a punch to the creature's
head.
"Tommy!" Pink
Ranger called. "I've got it! Come on, we have to lure this guy towards
the harbor district. Tanya, get in touch with the Super Zeo Megazord. I
have an idea, but we're going to need their help."
"Kat, the harbor
district's one of the most populated places in the city. We can't risk
two of these things running amok down there!" exclaimed Green Ranger.
"Adam, would
you just trust me?" Pink Ranger shouted, sounding exasperated.
Red Ranger winced
as the Fire Dragon swiped at the Zord with one claw-tipped hand. "Do as
she says, guys. I think I know what she's trying, and trust me, it's a
doozy." Backing off slowly, the Zeo Megazord began to lead the Fire Dragon
towards the harbor district.
Meanwhile, near
Angel Grove Harbor, the Super Zeo Megazord was waist deep in the ocean,
battling the attacks of the Water Dragon. Every time they managed to deflect
the torpedoes the monster launched, they were struck with a powerful jet
of water.
"Face it, guys,
we're a washout," Purple Ranger grimaced, as another blast of high pressure
water struck the Zord.
"Very funny,
Jamie," Black Ranger shot back. Her voice was taut with the effort of piloting
the Zord. "Somebody give me some good news here!"
"I've got some!"
Silver Ranger replied. "Tanya just called. She says that Kat has an idea
of how to beat the monster, but we're going to have to work together. They're
trying to lure the Fire Dragon here."
"Well, they'd
better hurry," Lita shot back. "We can't get a clear shot at the damn thing,
even with the Super Zeo Megazord Saber."
"Here they come!"
White Ranger cried. "I've got them on radar, and they should be here on
visual in a minute."
"I see them!"
Black Ranger replied. "Katya, get me a direct radio link to the Zeo Megazord
cockpit!"
"Done. Ready
for transmission."
"Tommy!" yelled
Black Ranger. "It's about time you got here. I know you're always late,
but this is getting out of hand."
Red Ranger chuckled.
"Sorry, Lil. I'll do better next time. Kat, tell the ladies what you've
got planned."
"One's fire,
one's water, right? And the two of them are mortal enemies! All we have
to do is get them to shoot each other!" Pink Ranger explained.
Black Ranger
nodded, forgetting that the other could not see her. "Right. Tommy, back-to-back
formation. Be ready to hit the jump jets when I say go."
"Right, Lillian.
Good luck."
"Hey, bro, I
thought you were the one in charge of the Power Rangers," Blue Ranger chuckled.
"I am, but Lillian's
just as good at tactical maneuvers as I am," Red Ranger admitted. "Better,
actually, if you want to know the truth."
"Smokey's going
to fire!" Pink Ranger called, watching her scope intently.
"Water Dragon
too!" transmitted White Ranger.
"Wait for it,
wait, and- GO!" shouted Black Ranger. The two Zords launched into the air,
rising off the ground a distance of at least half again their own height.
The fire and water blasts passed right through where the Zords had been,
striking the Dragon on the other side. Being hit with the opposite element
was too much for either Dragon, and both quickly self-destructed.
"All right!"
Red Ranger cheered. "I wonder how the others are doing?"
In Rocky's room
at Angel Grove Community Hospital, Rocky and Bulk were talking about nothing
in particular when the monster sirens began to wail. The two boys exchanged
glances. "Bulk, could you turn on the television?" Rocky asked. His condition
had improved rapidly since his admission to the hospital. Although he had
only been there for a day and a half, he had healed so well that the doctors
had moved him out of Intensive Care and into one of the regular rooms.
He was sitting up, and walking around, much to the astonishment of the
hospital staff.
"So what did
you tell the doctors about your 'miraculous recovery?'" Bulk asked, rising
to switch on the television.
"Aw, Tommy brought
me in as the Red Ranger, and the doctors just figure that the Rangers must
have zapped me with something that increased my healing abilities. It's
pretty close to the truth. Anyway, they're all just happy I'm going to
make it, and I intend to be out of here tonight." They fell silent as the
news came on, showing footage of the battles raging throughout Angel Grove.
"This is Marlene
Maris for K-Grove News, live from the harbor district, where the Zeo Megazord
and Super Zeo Megazord have just finished destroying two of the monsters
which attacked our city only an hour ago. Unfortunately, as we speak, there
are still two more dragons attacking, and a new type of foot soldier, which
I am told is called a Piranhatron, is tearing up Angel Grove Park. Now
we're switching to Mike La Rue, down in the park, for more information."
"Thanks, Marlene,"
Mike replied. The camera angle was odd, and Rocky and Bulk looked at each
other in confusion. "For those of you wondering why I'm transmitting as
such a strange angle, I'm up on the Rock Wall by the edge of the lake,
staying well away from the action. Those Piranhatrons are brutal, and I
don't want to risk distracting the Morphin Warriors as they battle them."
He continued to talk, but Bulk and Rocky hardly noticed, only able to concentrate
their attention on their friends, who were battling the Piranhatrons. Bulk
winced as Skull took a particularly nasty hit.
"At least they've
rescued Jason and Kim," Bulk sighed. Turning towards his friend, he cocked
his head. "Do you wish you were out there?"
Rocky nodded
wistfully. "Yeah, some. I miss the action already, but I know Dave's doing
a good job. He always did when he filled in for Tommy." Suddenly a new
voice from the TV drew their attention.
"This is George
Lyman, from the top of the observatory, watching as the newest defenders
of our city, the Turbo Rangers, take on one of these strange dragon-creatures.
Unfortunately, they seem to be getting the worst of it. We can only hope
that they manage to turn it around, as the Rangers have so many times before."
"Man," Rocky
sighed. "I wish I knew who those Turbo Rangers are. I guess they're on
our side, though, and we can use all the help we can get." Bulk simply
nodded, and the two continued to watch the news coverage in silence.
"Where'd he go?"
Red Turbo asked, scanning the sky for any sign of their adversary. They
were fighting the Air Dragon in a field outside of town, and a bank of
low clouds were gathering above them. The Dragon had taken advantage of
this, swooping up into the cloud bank to hide and then diving on them from
above.
"Nothing on
the heat seekers, since he's metal," Pink Turbo informed him. "I'm watching
the radar, but he's built like a stealth bomber. I just can't see him coming."
"Weapons report?"
"We've got the
individual Zord weapons, but they're too small to take him on," Green Turbo
reported. "It would be like going after Elgar with a toothpick. Other than
that, all we've got is the sword and shield. There's some sort of move
called the "Turbo Megazord Spinout," but that seems to be used exclusively
at the end of the battle, when you've got a clear shot at your opponent."
"Which we certainly
don't have now," Red Turbo sighed. "Damage report?"
"Nothing major
yet. This guy's strategy seems to be hit-and-run, mostly. Shields are at
85%, and we're running a little hot in the power room. Nothing vital, yet,"
replied Yellow Turbo.
"Got that link
up to the others yet?" Red Turbo asked. Blue Turbo nodded.
"Yeah, I got
it. Zeo and Super Zeo just took out their two, but they're in no shape
to help us. Face it, Fred, we're in the best shape of all the Zords. Pyramidas
has taken a couple of nasty shots from the Earth Dragon, and is still fighting
him. We've got to handle this on our own."
"Right," Red
Turbo responded grimly. "Anybody got any ideas?"
"I've got one,"
Pink Turbo shot back. "Hold on, because here he comes again!" The Zord
rocked as the Air Dragon caught the Zord a staggering blow with its feet,
swooping back up into the cloud cover once more.
"How the hell
is this guy tracking us?" Yellow Turbo cried. "We're moving around under
the clouds, we're radar-absorbing material, and we're not putting out any
heat. What's he following, body odor?"
"Sound!" Blue
Turbo yelled. "He can hear the engines, the gears, us talking, all of that!
He must be sensitive to sound vibrations. It's the only thing that makes
sense, and I think I can use it against him. I'll reconfigure the speakers
to bounce a sonic signal like ours off those rocks. It'll be like we're
in two places at once, and that one will be slightly louder. The odds are
pretty good that he'll attack that sound, and we can get him."
"Pretty good
odds?" Green Turbo shouted. "What happens if it doesn't work?"
"I'm out of
options," replied Blue Turbo grimly. "Here goes nothing." He started the
sound, and the five waited. Soon enough, the Air Dragon swooped out of
the clouds to attack what he thought was the Turbo Megazord, only to find
nothing at all.
"Batter up!"
Red Turbo called, swinging the Turbo Sword at the Dragon, connecting with
it solidly. The force of the blow knocked it into the nearby rocks, where
it blew into little tiny pieces.
"Yahoo!" the
five Turbo Rangers yelled. "We did it!"
"Yeah," Pink
Turbo grinned. "I wonder if Trey's all right."
Gold Ranger was
not all right. The Earth Dragon seemed to enjoy whacking at Pyramidas with
its barbed tail, causing huge dents. "I just had this thing washed!" he
grimaced. "Chew on this, fang-face." A bolt of energy shot from the top
of the pyramid, sending the Dragon back a few paces. It quickly recovered,
though, charging him again. This time, Pyramidas was actually shoved backwards,
nearly sliding over one of the bluffs.
"You seem to
like doing that," Gold Ranger mused. "I wonder if something I learned about
from Rocky would work." Situating himself directly in front of the Dragon,
he shot it again, not enough to hurt it, just enough to anger it. As he
had suspected, it charged him, but this time, he was able to dodge it's
charge.
He continued
in this manner until the Dragon was so angry that it could think of nothing
but ripping Pyramidas apart, and shot it one more time. It lunged at him
again, and again he dodged. This time, however, the Dragon's momentum carried
it off the bluff. It fell to the ground, where it promptly exploded. "All
right!" Gold Ranger cried. "And another one bites the dust. Time to head
back to the Power Chamber. Now it's all up to the guys on the ground."
The ground battle
was over quickly, as Divatox had recalled her forces almost immediately
after the loss of her last Dragon. Now all twenty-one Rangers were in the
Power Chamber, Lita having returned to Rocky's bedside, and the crowding
was intense. Still, little could mute the jubilant mood of the Rangers.
They had just defeated a being of incredible power, and everyone was still
alive. Tommy turned to the Turbo Rangers, who still wore their helmets,
although everyone else had demorphed.
"You can take
those off, you know. We've trusted you with our identities, and we won't
betray yours."
The Turbos regarded
each other, then looked at Red Turbo. He thought for a minute, then reached
up and undid his helmet. The others followed suit. As they lowered their
helmets, the older Rangers' jaws dropped.
"Rosa?" Katarina
gasped.
Adam followed
suit with an incredulous "Frank?"
"Justin?" Billy's
astonishment was as tangible as that of the others.
"Tasha?" asked
Tanya, surprised to see the girl she mentored.
Tommy was the
last to speak, almost unable to conquer his shock at seeing his best martial
arts student. "Fred? What's going on here?"
Fred shrugged.
"It all started when we were playing in the park and something fell out
of the sky." Quickly, Fred related the story of their adventure, explaining
how they received the Turbo Powers and why they had taken them up. "Before
you have a fit and say we're too young, let me just say this. Lerigot sent
these powers to us, and nobody else. Nobody else could take them. We are
the only ones who can do this. Now, if you think we're too young, go ahead
and do what you think you have to. But I don't think I'm too young to fight
for what I believe in, and I'll do it, powers or not. We all will."
The Zeos and
Morphin Warriors regarded the five Turbo Rangers. The younger Rangers stood
with jaws clenched and chins thrust forward stubbornly. For a long moment,
no one said anything. Then Tommy shrugged.
"I don't like
it, but it's not my decision. It's yours, and only yours. Welcome to the
team, Turbo Rangers."
"Rangers," Zordon
rumbled. "This has solved a problem that I know you have all struggled
with over the past few months. In a short while, you will all be leaving
for college, and I know you have wondered who to give the power to. I have
also been worrying about this, and now a solution has presented itself.
The Morphin Warriors, of course, will retain their powers, since they cannot
be transferred. The same is true of the Gold, Purple, and Black Ranger
powers. I have decided, if you agree, not to transfer the powers from any
of you. The sixteen of you have formed a bond greater than any I have ever
seen, and I doubt that I could reproduce it in another group of teenagers
on such short notice. The Turbo Rangers, however, already possess that
bond. I would like it if the Zeo Rangers kept their powers, to be called
upon only in times of great need. The Turbo Rangers would then take over
the responsibility of protecting Angel Grove.
"I would, in
this case, leave you all with communicators, which are to be used at your
discretion. I believe I can trust you not to abuse them. Also, when to
use your Zeo or Morphin powers will be at your discretion in the future.
I trust that you will use them wisely."
"You mean- we
get to keep our powers?" Tommy asked, hardly daring to believe it.
"Yes, if the
Turbo Rangers agree to take up your responsibility in your absence."
The five young
teens huddled, discussing it for a time. Then, standing up, they turned
back to Zordon. "We'd be honored," Fred replied. "It's a deal."
"Hey, check
it out!" David cried. The television news was playing on the viewing globe,
and everyone turned toward it.
"And so, Mayor
Carrington has announced that a celebration is to be held to honor the
Power Rangers, who have defended our city once again, and to welcome its
newest defenders, the Turbo Rangers! Fireworks are planned for the evening,
and Ernie's Gym and Juice Bar will be hosting one of the largest parties
ever seen in Angel Grove."
"A party!" Justin
cried. "Cool! Too bad Rocky can't be there."
"Actually,"
Tommy grinned, "he can. He's made a miraculous recovery, and the doctors
had to agree to let him out of the hospital. He won't be doing karate for
a while, but he'll be able to party with the best of them."
"Great!" Rosa
exclaimed. "Let's go see him, and then head to the party!" The five Turbos
demorphed completely, and all of the Rangers teleported out, except Billy.
Once alone, he turned to Zordon.
"Could you explain
something to me?" Billy asked. His tone didn't sound angry, merely curious.
"When we were turned into little children, you told us that we could not
be Rangers. Why can they?"
"For a number
of reasons. First and foremost, the fate of the timestream is not riding
on them the way it rode on you. If they fall in battle, it will be a tragedy,
but it will not spell the end of the world as we know it- at least, not
immediately. Second, they are older than the six of you were, not only
physically, but mentally. They are thirteen, you were seven. Also, they
have grown up in a world where monsters attack. They are tougher emotionally
than you were at that age. Finally, I really have no choice. I did not
give them their powers, and I cannot take them away. The only thing I could
do is aid them or refuse to do so. If I refused to aid them, anything that
befell them in the future would be on my head."
Billy nodded
thoughtfully. "That makes sense, certainly. I'll worry, especially about
Justin, but we'll be around to help them, so things can't get too bad."
Shrugging, he teleported out.
"So, where are
you all headed for college?" Ernie asked, setting down the tray of drinks.
The Rangers had all helped him set up for the party that was about to start,
and were now sitting around resting.
"Well, Jason,
David, Rocky, Billy, Jamie, and I are all staying here," Tommy grinned.
"Billy and Jamie are headed to Angel Grove University, and the rest of
us are taking classes at AGBI, learning how to run our own business. Eventually,
we hope to open a dojo together."
"I'll bet you'll
do it, too," the older man grinned. "What about the others?"
"Well, Zack's
going to Columbia, in New York City, Trini's off to Notre Dame, Adam's
going to Northwestern, which is out in Illinois, and Kat's off to UCLA.
Lillian's going to Crossworld City University, Tanya's off to Pitt, Skull
and Kim are going to France, and Christina and Katarina have scholarships
at a Dance Academy in London. Trey's not going to college, of course. He's
just going to stay around here, especially since Chelsea's gotten into
Stanford. They'll be close enough to visit a fair amount, especially now
that we can use the teleportation system to get around."
"So the kids
will be filling in for you?" Ernie asked. He liked to know who the new
Power Rangers were, just in case he needed to cover for them.
"Yeah. They're
the Turbo Rangers." Tommy shook his head. "I can't believe it."
"They'll do
fine," Ernie grinned. "They remind me of a group of five kids I had in
here about four years ago. Maybe you knew them."
"Yeah," Tommy
smiled, watching Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Kim horse around. "Maybe."
The party was
a success, and as the entire team gathered on the patio at Ernie's to watch
the fireworks, Billy had another flash of deja vu. This one brought no
pain with it, however; instead he felt a flash of triumph. In that other
memory, they had also won out over incredible odds, and were enjoying the
moment of peace. He knew it wouldn't last, of course; it never did. Looking
out of the corner of his eye, he watched Fred and his four friends as they
cheered on the fireworks. Things were always changing in their lives, but
somehow, they always came around to the same place again. Ernie's words
to Tommy earlier echoed in his mind.
They'll do
fine.
Yeah, they
will, he thought to himself. They always do. Then Billy dropped
his pensive mood and lost himself in the fireworks once again.
The End... for now