GREEN VS. RED
DISCLAIMER
Takes place directly after "Return of an Old Friend Pt. 2" and the others learn that Tommy's power supply is limited. All original characters belong to Haim Saban and Fox Kids. And I know it's a lot like "Bloom of Doom", but that's because that's where I got the idea from.
Up on the moon, Rita Repulsa, stormed through her throne room.
"I'VE HAD IT WITH THOSE POWER RANGERS!" she shrieked. "FINSTER! I NEED A MONSTER!"
"Right away, Empress," Finster agreed.
"Oooh. How about these two?" Baboo suggested holding up a clay figure of a flower and a clay lion.
"OOOOH! Good idea!" Squatt squealed. He took the molds and bounded for the monster-O-Matic. However, they were intercepted by Scorpina.
"Go away," she barked. Then, while looking at Goldar and rolling her eyes, "Idiots." Squatt and Baboo ran off. Satisfied that he wouldn't be disturbed, Finster turned back to clay molds.
"Now, let's see. What to make?" the dog-faced monster wondered, stroking his bearded chin. "It needs to be nasty, cunning, powerful..." As his words trailed off, he failed to notice Squatt and Baboo, who had once again retrieved the lion and flower molds. They put the two figurines into the Monster-O-Matic. Almost instantaneously, the machine made its clanging, honking, and whistle sounds.
"What in the galaxy?" Finster wondered, turning around. Then, seeing the machine in progress, "Oh, dear." Hearing the commotion, Rita raced to the lab, Goldar and Scorpina at her heels.
"What's going on? Finster?" she snapped.
"Don't look at me. I didn't do a thing," was the answer. Just then, the finished product of Squatt and Baboo's molds came out. Everyone stared at the mixture of lion and flower.
"What...is...that?!" Rita exclaimed.
"You call that a monster?" Scorpina queried.
"This thing doesn't deserve to be destroyed by the Rangers," Goldar said.
"Hey! You're mean!" the Flower Lion objected.
"Oh, never mind! Just send it down!" Rita ordered. With that, it disappeared. Meanwhile, in Angel Grove, Tommy Oliver, the newly restored Green Ranger leaned against the wall of the youth center. He smiled softly. He was glad to be back, even if his powers weren't up to full. This caused his smile to disappear. He hated to think that his powers could fail him and leave the team in a bind. He had been in tight situations before the Olivers had adopted him and didn't like to imagine his friends going through something even worse. Just then, Jason Lee Scott, the Red Ranger and leader of the team, walked up to him.
"Hey, bro. How you doin'?" he queried.
"Fine," he answered. "It's great to be back," he continued.
"It's good to have you back," was the response. The two slapped hands, then walked over to the counter.
"Hi, guys," Ernie greeted.
"Hey, Ernie," Tommy acknowledged. "Could I get a bananna smoothie?" he requested.
"Sure thing," Ernie replied. He went to the back. Just then, the other Rangers came up.
"Hey, guys," sixteen-year old Trini Quan acknowledged.
"Hey, Trini," Jason responded. Tommy watched as the others began to converse. They were such a close-knit group. It was so cool. Just then, the Rangers heard a six-tone beep.
"Oops. Gotta go," Jason stated.
"Uh, Ernie! Could you cancel the smoothie please?" Tommy requested. He disappeared around the corner before the man could reply.
"We read you, Zordon," Jason said once they were clear.
"Rangers, come to the Command Center at once," Zordon requested. The Rangers looked around. Seeing that they were clear, they teleported in streams of red, black, yellow, pink, blue, and green.
"Zordon, what's going on?" Jason wondered.
"Behold the viewing globe," Zordon instructed. The Rangers turned around. To their surprise, they saw a monster that seemed to be a combination of a flower and a lion.
"Yo, what is that thing?" Zachary "Zack" Taylor asked.
"This is Rita's latest monster, the Flower Lion," Zordon replied.
"Squatt and Baboo got near the Monster-O-Matic again, huh?" Tommy joked. The other Rangers turned to stare at him.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"We gotta take care of that thing," Zack declared.
"I'm in," Tommy immediately.
"Wait. What about your powers?" Kimberly Hart objected.
"She's right. You need to conserve your energies," William "Billy" Cranston agreed. Jason looked as equally concerned.
"I'm doing it," Tommy insisted.
"All right," Jason agreed reluctantly. "It's morphin' time!" he continued.
"Dragonzord!" cried Tommy.
"Mastodan!" yelled Zack.
"Pterodactyl!" exclaimed Kimberly.
"Triceratops!" shouted Billy.
"Saber-toothed Tiger!" added Trini.
"Tyrannosaurus!" finished Jason. As soon as they had morphed, they teleported to the location.
"Man, he's ugly!" the Black Ranger exclaimed.
"Mean! You'll pay for that!" the Flower Lion shouted. With a roar, he charged them. The Rangers were knocked back.
"Ha! Ha! Take this!" the monster roared. Before the Rangers had a chance to get their bearings, multi-colored petals were thrown at them. They cried out in pain as sparks exploded on their suits.
"Man, he packs a punch," groaned the Red Ranger. "Tommy, you all right?" he continued as he and the other Rangers helped each other up.
"Yeah. I'm fine," the Green Ranger replied with a moan. However, he fell to his knees almost immediately.
"Tommy!" the Pink Ranger exclaimed, kneeling beside him. "You're hurt," she said.
"I'm fine," the Green Ranger insisted, rising once again.
"You sure, bro?" the Red Ranger checked.
"I'm fine," the Green Ranger answered, with a hint of annoyance. Just then, Putties appeared.
"Great! Just what we needed!" the Pink Ranger cried. The Rangers went into action against the clay beings. The Green and Pink Rangers were knocked to the ground simultaneously.
"Tommy! Hang on, bro!" the Red Ranger shouted. He kia-ed and knocked back the swarming Putties.
"Kim!" the Green Ranger cried, as he tried to get to the girl. The Yellow Ranger beat him to it.
"Back off!" she warned the weaker creatures. Suddenly, all of Rita's minions disappeared.
"Tommy, you all right?" the Red Ranger queried.
"I was fine! You should've been looking after Kimberly!" the Green Ranger shouted.
"Tommy, you were worse off than her. I made a decision," the Red Ranger responded.
"Well, I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself," the Green Ranger retorted. Up on the moon, Rita watched with interest.
"So, the Green Ranger doesn't like being protected," she cackled.
"Why don't you cast a spell on him making his irritation uncontrollable?" Scorpina suggested.
"Excellent," Rita grinned. She went up to her skull and began to chant in a foreign language. Back in Angel Grove, the Green Ranger sighed.
"Jase, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap," he apologized.
"It's ok, bro," was the answer. Suddenly, the Green Ranger groaned.
"Tommy!" the others cried. The Green Ranger fell to his knees.
"What's happening? What's Rita doing to him?" the Pink Ranger wondered.
"Tommy, you all right, man?" the Red Ranger asked, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. To his surprise, it was immediately thrown off.
"I don't need your protection!" he snapped.
"Bro, I---"
"Just leave it, all right?!" the Green Ranger interrupted. Then, he demorphed and teleported away.
"Let's get back to the Command Center," the Red Ranger suggested.
"Yeah. Something's not right," the Pink Ranger agreed. With that, they teleported.
"Zordon, what happened to Tommy?" questioned Kimberly.
"Yeah, what did Rita do to him?" added Zack.
"I am uncertain, Rangers. For now, I can only advise you to keep an eye on him," Zordon answered.
"Right," the Rangers agreed. Later that day, they watched their friend, who seemed to be on edge. Presently, Jason walked up to him.
"Hey, you all right?" he asked.
"Man, you're unbelievable," was the answer. "Look, Jason, I was defending myself long before I became a Ranger. Everytime I got placed with a bad foster family, I had to protect myself. I didn't have anybody else. So don't go thinking that I'm some weak little boy," he continued. Then, he pushed past him.
"Man, what's up with him?" Jason wondered. Later that day, each of the Rangers were doing their own personal thing when they were hailed by their communicators. Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Kimberly each answered the summons and teleported to the park. By the lake, Tommy was doing a kata when he heard the six-tone beep.
"Oh, great. Just perfect," he seethed. Then, plasting a smile on his face, he said pleasantly, "Come in, Zordon."
"Tommy, your assistance is required at Angel Grove Park," Zordon said as Tommy rolled his eyes. "Also, in order to defeat the Flower Lion, you will need a special weapon, which Alpha is teleporting to you," Zordon stated. Almost immediately, Tommy found a green whip in one of his hands.
"O...kay. What am I supposed to do with this?" he wondered.
"You must strike the monster, much like a lion-tamer," Zordon replied. Tommy made sure his communicator was away from his mouth before speaking, "Well, it's a good thing I'm handling it instead of that over-protective Jason." Then, with another plastic grin, "It's morphin time. Dragonzord!" Almost instantaneously, he was at the park with the other Rangers. One-by-one, the Pink, Yellow, Blue, and Black Rangers tried to attack, but to no avail. Rita's monster simply showered them with his poisonous petals.
"Leave them alone, or you'll have to tangle with me!" the Red Ranger shouted.
"Stand down, Jason. I've got the thing for this guy," the Green Ranger stated. With that, he lashed out with the whip and sparks flew and the creature cried out in pain.
"Way to go, bro! I'll finish him off!" the Red Ranger cried. He leaped the air, intending to strike with his power blaster. However, the Flower Lion disappeared.
"Whoa! Where'd he go?" the Red Ranger asked.
"Way to go, Jason. I had it all under control and you had to wreck it," the Green Ranger snapped. The monster reappeared. Before the leader of the Power Rangers could stop him, the Green Ranger rushed the menance. However, he stopped as his head began to spin.
"Wha---what's happening?" he wondered. When everything was clear again, he found himself in a dark dimension.
"Whoa! Where am I?" he wondered.
"Tommy!" the Red Ranger shouted. Up on the moon, Rita cackled.
"See what your pride has done, Green Ranger? You're mine now," she stated. Back on Earth, the Rangers decided to teleport to the Command Center.
"Zordon, what did Rita do to Tommy?" Jason wondered.
"Alpha and I have been monitoring the situation Jase and have determined that Rita has cast a spell on him using his pride," Zordon replied.
"So that's why he was acting so weird," Kimberly said. Then, "Zordon, how do we get him back?"
"Jason can break the spell by striking the Flower lion with his Power Sword. This will also free him from Rita's dark dimension," Zordon answered.
"Right. Back to action!" Jason shouted. Meanwhile, in the dark dimension, the Flower Lion had pinned the Green Ranger to the floor.
"You'll never win, reject! My friends will come!" he shouted.
"Friends? What friends? You drove them away with your pride," the monster cackled. He lashed out and sparks flew from the Ranger's armor. Suddenly, a white power blaster materialized, hitting the creature.
"Tommy! Hang on, bro! I'm here!" a familiar voice cried as the Green Ranger found himself back in Angel Grove Park.
"Jase! You came!" the Green Ranger exclaimed in relief.
"Of course I did. That's what bros do," the Red Ranger replied. "We're still bros, aren't we?" he queried.
"Always," the Green Ranger confirmed. "Ready for some gung ho, partner?" he continued.
"You read my mind," the Red Ranger said, as they slapped five.
"I'll destroy you both," the Flower Lion declared, as the other Rangers came up behind the Green and Red Rangers.
"Let's not give him a chance to try," the Green Ranger decided. With that, they all pulled out their weapons and held them side-by-side.
"Fire!" they all cried. The monster screamed as the energy formed into a ball and enveloped him.
"NOOOOO! NOT AGAIN! YOU NUMBSKULLS!" Rita shrieked.
"I'm exceedingly sorry, Empress," Finster apologized.
"Shut up! I have a headache!" Rita snapped. Back in Angel Grove, the Rangers convened in the youth center.
"Jase, I'm really for acting like a jerk," Tommy apologized.
"It's okay, man. You didn't mean it," Jason replied.
"But what I said---" Tommy began to object.
"No, you're absolutely right. I can be too over-protective," Jason interrupted. "I'll try to remember that you don't need me looking over your shoulder," he continued.
"You can still watch my back though," Tommy said.
"Everytime," Jason responded.
"See? This is what I love? That not even a spell can drive us apart," Kimberly stated.
"Not a chance," Zack agreed. The friends shared a group hug, then pulled away and stared at each other.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed my fics thus far! And to Jepoliant who reviewed chapter five of my story "Always Me", at first, I had thought about doing a sequel to the story where Tressa's sister came after him for revenge and he'd have to come to terms with what happened to him, but then I figured that'd be too exploitive, which was something I'm hoping to avoid, so I nixed the idea of a sequel.
