The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers...
Words From The Author:
I was cleaning out my brother's apartment and I found this box of old scripts that he and I had worked on way back when we were both huge Ranger Fans. Keep in mind that these were written back in 1994, when the series was just beginning. Any similarities to anything that happened in future seasons is purely coincidental. As well, these were not written in prose form, so some of the scenes might seem a little off.
I hope you enjoy these. They were all based on one question: what's the deal with Titanus?
It was near lunchtime, Saturday, and the Juice Bar was much busier than usual. People were milling about, enjoying various beverages and talking. The focus was one of Angel Grove's ever present martial-arts expositions. Some out-of-stater was showing off some fancy moves in preparation for a local tournament.
"Ki-yaa!" He finished his routine with a flip and bow. The crowd applauded. Across the room, at the bar, Bulk and Skull were busy eating anything that wasn't nailed down.
"Hmph. He's not so good." Bulk returned to his sandwich.
"Yeah. He's not so good." Skull mimicked
On the other side of the room, the Power team had taken in the day's activities. Both Tommy and Jason seemed impressed with the recent display of martial arts.
"He's pretty good." Tommy said softly.
"Yeah, man." Jason agreed, reaching for his drink.
"Now it's time for my favorite part of the show... audience participation. Is there anyone here who would like to go one on one?" This dude, who looked maybe in his early-to-mid-twenties wiped his face on a towel.
"Watch me." Bulk set aside his sandwich and stepped forward. "Sure." He sauntered over, after telling Skull to "Time me."
"Okay." Obviously Bulk was not whom the demonstrator had expected when he'd asked for volunteers.
"I'll have you on the mat in no time." Bulk lunged
"Oh, shoot, my shoe is untied." Bulk flew over the man's head when he bent down to tie his flopping lace. The room exploded in gales of laughter.
"Two point one seconds. Not bad, Bulk." Even Skull joined in the laughter.
"Shut up." Bulk brushed himself off, then exited in his usual rude form, pushing past anyone in his way.
"Anyone else?"
Several people came forward and it was the same story each time. They ended up on the mats, not seriously hurt, except maybe their pride. After the seventh person went down, there were no further volunteers. Surprisingly, neither Tommy, Jason, or Zack had answered the challenge.
"That's everyone?" He asked, staring right at Tommy. Tommy fidgeted nervously. "No prob. Thank-you all for coming and I look forward to seeing you at the tournament."
"Awesome show." Ernie congratulated the man.
"Thanks. Hit me with a bug juice."
"Sure." Ernie quickly prepared the drink, which the man finished equally as fast.
"Wow!" Ernie said "You musta been thirsty."
"One more for the road?" He asked
"Anytime." Ernie refilled his drink. "Don't worry, they're on the house." He said, watching him pat his gi, obviously forgetting that he had no pockets.
"Just remind me before I leave. I'm good for it." He leaned against the bar, savoring his beverage.
The team was discussing what they'd just witnessed amongst themselves.
"I think he's definitely a match for anyone here. Even me." Jason said
"Affirmative." Billy agreed
"I think he's kinda cute." Kim looked over at him and winked, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend.
"I'd like to take him on." Tommy said in a low voice.
"Why didn't you?" Jason asked "He was staring right at you when he asked for volunteers."
"Nah, man. Just one on one... no crowds, just him and me... man to man." Tommy answered
"Well, maybe you can set it up. He's comin' this way." Zack elbowed Tommy, causing his drink to slosh all over his arm. By the time he'd gotten it all cleaned up, they'd been joined by the unidentified male.
"Hiya."
They nodded in unison.
"I saw you watching the show and I'm hoping you can answer a question for me... who was that lard butt and why does he he act like he's God's gift to this town?"
Kim giggled.
"I don't mean to differ, but your previous statement encompasses a pair of separate inquiries." Billy interjected
"Oh-kay."
"He said that's two questions." Trini translated
"Don't mind Bulk, he tries to be cool but fails miserably." Zack replied
"Thanks. By the way, the name's Jimmy Pierce. I just moved here from New York City."
The Rangers all introduced him or herself to him.
"...and I'm Kimberly, gorgeous."
"Gorgeous, eh? I've been called a lot o' things by a lot o' people in my life, but that's a first."
An uncomfortable pause followed that statement. Tommy was still wondering if now would be a good time to step in and stop Kim's flirting. It was not that he minded her friendliness, he just wished she wouldn't do it right in front of him.
Jimmy finally broke the silence. "It's nice to finally meet some people who do not want me dead." He laughed weakly at that. "But there is a bigger reason for me bein' here. This demonstration, and the tournament, are just warm-ups. You might say I have a date with destiny."
"A date with destiny? Who? You could probably total everyone here."
"Almost. I think there's one person who could give me a real challenge, but don't worry about it." Jimmy answered
"Yeah man, who?" Jason asked
"Would you believe the Green Ranger?" Jimmy answered
The team were shocked.
"What??" Tommy blurted out. "Are you serious, man?"
"I know what you're thinking and no, I'm not being cocky. I've seen what he can do and I'm impressed. I don't impress easily. I wouldn't mind knowing who's behind the mask, either. Maybe after I defeat him, I can unmask him as well."
Tommy looked across the table to Jason, who shrugged calmly.
"How long you been trainin'?" Tommy asked, desperate to change the subject.
"Twelve years. I've modified my style several times." Jimmy emptied his glass and set it down.
"Your style is close to mine." Tommy copied several of Jimmy's moves right there at the table.
"It should be. We were in the same class for four years. I thought you might recognize me, but I guess we've both changed."
The other Rangers started talking at once, peppering Tommy with questions. "You know this guy? How? Who is he?"
"Oh, yeah, Tommy knows who I am, but the last time he saw me was eight years ago just before I left."
Tommy's jaw fell to the floor. "J.T."
"So you do remember me now?" Jimmy smiled
"Yeah. Eight years ago, this guy disappears while our class is out of state for a tournament. Everyone assumed he'd been kidnapped or something. My folks went crazy."
"Really?" Jimmy smirked "I always thought they liked you better."
"Whoa, hold on a second, Jimmy. You mean you came all this way to make a challenge to the Green Ranger?" Zack flipped the conversation back to the earlier topic.
"Yep." Jimmy reached for his glass, forgetting that it was empty. "And to get reacquainted with my brother."
"Who's that?" Kim asked, obviously not getting it. "And is he as cute as you?"
"You haven't guessed yet?" Jimmy paused "It's Tommy."
On the moon, Rita was looking intently at the scene in the Angel Grove Juice Bar, surrounded by her semi-faithful minions. She removed her face from the viewfinder and sneered.
"So, the Green Ranger has a brother. We shall capture him and make the Green Ranger return his powers to us." She laughed over-dubbedly. "Finster!"
"Yes, my Queen?" The troll-like henchmen stuck his head through the doorway.
"I need putties. Make them quickly so I may attack Angel Grove!" She gestured wildly with her staff.
"Yes, Empress." Finster walked over to his machine and began shaping the gobs of clay that would become Rita's foot soldiers.
Back at the Juice Bar, Tommy and Jimmy, or "Jate" as Tommy called him, were catching up on what had happened in each other's lives during the past eight years, with a few necessary omissions.
"Eight freakin' years, Jate. It seems like just yesterday, man, we were y'know.. .kids." Tommy gushed
"You still are, bro." Jimmy looked over Tommy's shoulder at the clock on the wall. "Oh, damn. I gotta cut this short, dude. I gotta bug out. I'm supposed to be meeting my partner for lunch and then training. Who knows, maybe the Green Ranger will make an appearance today... it seems like nice weather for a monster attack."
Tommy paled.
Jimmy headed for the changing areas as the other Rangers entered. They exchanged greetings in passing.
"Thanks for the alone time." Tommy said
"No big. But Alpha just radioed. Rita's up to something. And you know her."
"Yeah. It's like, never, good." Kim said, twirling her hair around her finger.
"Right... It's mor..." Jason said
"Not here, Jase." Tommy warned him. It had been a reasonably quiet week, attack wise. Jason had been itching for a fight and had temporarily forgotten than this wasn't like a normal Saturday. There were actually people in the Juice Bar.
"Yeah, y'know, that whole never reveal our identities thing." Zack clapped Jason on the shoulder, a goofy grin on his face.
"Brain... Saturday... don't ask?" Jason turned a similar shade to his shirt.
Jimmy returned from dressing at almost the same moment the Putties magically appeared. Many people fled, but to some, it was getting old. You could only pretend to be frightened so many times.
"Oh no, Putties!" Kim shouted, she being one of those people who'd seen it all countless times before.
"Let's take 'em." Jason shouted
Jimmy was one of the few people who hung around. This was his first putty encounter and he was torn between being scared of them and laughing at how badly they fought.
"Rita's sure sent a lot of them!" Zack said, flipping one over a rail and another onto a table.
"There's too many of them!" Kim shrieked when one actually had the nerve to touch her.
"Their quantities have definitely increased from previous encounters." Billy stated the obvious.
"Forget the Rangers. Grab him!" Rita bellowed, her fingers curling into claws.
Four of the putties looked at each other, bloopled several times, and split from the main pack. They grabbed Jimmy.
"Get off me!" Jimmy struggled against their grip. "A little help over here!" He'd picked a bad day to dress a little more New York formal than California casual.
"Jimmy!" Tommy threw a putty over the bar where Ernie was just returning with some fresh fruit. Like many others, he'd seen this before and was more bothered by the putty knocking over several glasses. The putty scrambled to his feet, and was getting ready to get back into the fight when Ernie hit him with a pineapple.
"Hold tight, bro. I'm comin'!" Tommy started clearing putties out of his way.
The four putties that were holding Jimmy all waved bye-bye and then vanished, their prey along with them.
"What was the point of that?" Zack asked
"Yeah... We didn't even get to morph." Jason sounded disappointed.
"They got Jate." Tommy panted, hands on thighs.
"We'll get him Tommy, don't worry."
"Low, man. I'm sure Zordon will have a plan to rescue him." Jason patted Tommy on the back.
"What do we do now? Rita could be holding him anywhere." Tommy looked up, confusion and worry etched across his face.
"I would suggest a return to our center of operations. Perhaps Zordon will have a viable hypothesis for us to work from." Billy suggested
"Sure. Whatever." Tommy answered, hoping he'd understood what their resident Brainiac was saying.
The six teens quickly ducked into a seldom-used alcove and teleported to the Command Center where Zordon and Alpha appeared to be working on their problem.
"Zordon... what's goin' on?" Jason asked
"Ay-yi-yi!" Alpha sputtered
"Rangers. It appears that Rita is planning to use Jimmy to get the Green Ranger back into her service. If you will not return willingly, she will use whatever means at her disposal. Watch the viewing globe."
As a group, the Rangers turned around.
"As you can see, she has sent the putties back to Earth. You must deal with them before you can begin a rescue."
"There's no time to lose! It's Morphin Time!"
"Dragonzord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Saber-toothed tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
In transformed form, the Rangers materialized dockside, where the putties were just standing around, actually, waiting for the Rangers to appear. Some were reading, a couple were having lunch and one was actually leaned against a building, smoking a cigarette. The newspapers, Happy Meals, and Winstons were tossed aside immediately and the fight began.
"Step two." Rita cackled from the Moon. "Finster!"
"It's ready Queen."
In the middle of the gratuitous putty butt-kicking, the team suddenly found themselves up against an old foe.
"I'm back!" A multi-tentacled apparition waved it's many arms in their general direction.
"Not again!" Kim shuddered, remembering how icky it had been the first time.
"Let's take this overgrown fruit salad!" Zack shouted
Back at the fortress, Rita was enjoying the show when the original quartet of putties returned, their captive still struggling to escape.
"What part of let go of me do you not understand, you blobs of silly putty!"
Rita pointed her staff at them, causing their instant dematerialization. The sudden lack of support threw his equilibrium off and he crashed to the floor.
"Nice flight, but I didn't care too much for the landing!" Jimmy stood, brushing dust from his sleeves. "You mind telling me what is going on?"
"Silence! You will do as I command!" Rita yelled
"Yeah, right. The day I listen to a woman is..." Jimmy's rebuttal was cut off when Rita pointed her magic staff and him and outlined him with a pale light.
"Finster, prepare him for the energy transferal." Rita turned back to watch the fight while her servants took Jimmy away, his eyes already glowing an eerie color. "Magic wand, make my monster grow!"
Back on Earth, the Rangers were dealing with things rather well until their principal foe suddenly quadrupled it's size.
"We need dinozord power, now!"
"Dragonzord power, now!" Tommy reached for his summoning dagger, but before he could he was attacked by several putties who had actually used sound battle strategy for a chance.
"Tommy, look out!" Jason shouted, but it was too late. Like Jimmy before him, the putties quickly vanished, taking with them one Green Ranger.
"So, we meet again, Green Ranger!" Rita greeted her guest, once he was securely chained up in the spooky mist-filled chamber she used for all her important visitors.
"Where's Jate?" Tommy demanded, struggling to free himself from the energy shackles that bound his hands and feet.
"Your brother... Don't worry, I assure you he's safe." She suddenly laughed with glee. "For the moment at least."
"Why, Rita? He has nothing to do with any of this." Tommy pleaded
"That is true, but you do. I offer you an exchange. Return to my side and I will set him free." Rita knew that Tommy would refuse, but in honorable villianess style, she made it anyway.
"If I say no?" Tommy asked
"Then Goldar will deal with him. I promise you it will not be nice! He will be reduced to mere memories!"
Tommy thought about his options, limited as they were. "Okay, Rita, you win!"
"I knew you would see things my way." She screeched, leaving Tommy alone in the creepy darkness.
He struggled to release himself, but whatever magic Rita had used to create his shackles was more powerful than he was. He might've been able to do something if he could've reached his dagger, but it was at his side, useless, much like how he felt.
It seemed like an eternity before someone else came down to the dungeon. The door opened and a bright light shone into the room, temporarily blinding Tommy.
"Who's there?" Tommy asked, struggling. He'd heard no commotion, so he assumed correctly that it was not a rescue party.
In fact, it was a lone figure, dressed in a suit of dark armor.
"I said who's there?" He repeated, the strength in his voice contrasting how weak he really felt.
The light from the doorway seemed to draw into whoever this was. Tom couldn't even tell if it was male or female. With an exaggerated flourish, he tore the dragon dagger from it's sheath.
"I don't think he's here to rescue me." Tommy thought
Dockside, the Rangers had finally managed to defeat the putty patrol without getting too badly beaten by the Giant Pine-Octopus.
"Only one monster to go." Zack looked up. Pine-Octopus looked down, snarling, its tentacles whipping around in a frenzy.
"Now would be a good time to have Tommy here." Jason lamented
"We don't, though." Zack answered "Let's kick it into Overdrive!"
"We need Megazord Power now!"
The Pine-Octopus obediently stood by while the Rangers' individual 'zords combined into one. Then obliged them by running straight at it. They fought, Titan to Titan for several minutes until the Megazord tossed the creature away. Pine-Octopus got back up and prepared to charge again.
"Nothing seems to be having any effect on it!"
"We need the power sword!" Jason summoned
"You think I'm afraid of your little toy!"
The Megazord showed off it's 'little toy' in a fancy light show.
"Hmmm." Pine-Octopus took a few steps back, then charged again. Megazord waited and then slashed the monster as it ran past. "No fair!" It crumbled to the ground and exploded, sparks flying everywhere.
In the cockpit, the Rangers celebrated.
"Not yet, guys." Jason said "We still have a rescue to figure out."
Tommy was trying to remain optimistic. After all, he'd been in worse situations than being completely helpless, tied up in a dungeon in who-knows-where, and possibly being moments away from oblivion, right?
"So this was Rita's Green Ranger. I am not impressed."
Tommy stared at his dagger, still being wielded by this masked man. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"I am Rita's newest creation. Much like you were once her Green Ranger, as I am now the Purple Phoenix... resurrected from the remains of the power she used to create you."
"You gotta snap outta this... Rita'll throw you away much like she did me."
"I know your history, Green Ranger. Do not think you can fool me with your deceit."
When Rita's hit man finally stepped between the blinding light and Tommy, he finally got a decent look at him. His costume was similar to Tommy's own, only with more armor around the chest and the colors were different.
"You can't trust Rita!" Tommy shouted
"Am I to assume that you were the one being deceptive when you agreed to return to her power?" The Phoenix said, using a Kata to position the dagger right at Tommy's neck. If there was any good news, it was that Tommy recognized the move set and now had a real good idea about who his enemy was, but it didn't make his current predicament any easier to get out of.
"Have you reconsidered? Rita will take over this world, it's just a question of whether I am by her side alone or both of us are."
"Listen... Jate... you don't wanna do this!"
The name caused the first crack in the Phoenix's armor to appear. He took a step back, faltering slightly. "How did you...?"
"A-Ha!" Tommy silently cheered at his small victory.
"Rita commanded me to dispose of you if you were found not to be on our side after all and I WILL carry out her wishes."
"Listen. I thought the same way. But Zordon helped me. Let me go and I'll help you."
"You really think I would turn against my Queen that easily?" Phoenix answered, bringing the blade to rest against Tommy's jugular. "It will be ironic disposing of you with your own weapon."
"Jate... listen to me!" Tommy begged
"Why do you keep calling me that. I am the Phoenix!"
"Because it's me... your brother Tommy!"
The pressure against his neck lessened as the knife was drawn back. "Tommy?"
From his body language, Tommy could tell that the part of the Phoenix that was still Jimmy was having a hard time processing this new info.
"Phoenix! Finish the prisoner off!" Rita's voice echoed throughout the chamber.
The Phoenix, or Jimmy, or whatever you want to call him right now, hesitated.
"Do it now or face my wrath!"
"As you wish, Empress." He sighed, returning the knife to rest against the Green Ranger's neck once again.
"What are you waiting for. I warn you Phoenix... I made you and I can destroy you as well!"
"My choice is clear! Thank-you Queen." Jimmy spun around and swung the dagger sharply. Upon contact with the shackles that bound them, a huge bolt of electricity shorted them out as well as coursing back through the Dagger into Jimmy's hand.
"You will pay Phoenix! Goldar! Finish them both!" Rita yelled, followed by the appearance of the gold-plated monkey man.
"You will pay for your betrayal of Empress Rita!" Goldar brandished his sword.
"Two of us... one of him. Let's take him!" Tommy said
"No prob. But I think you'll find more use for this." Jimmy picked up the Dragon Dagger with his non-singed hand.
"Awesome, man." Both men assumed fighting stance. Goldar ran toward them, but they disappeared before he could finish his attack.
"Ughhhhh. I'll get you, Green Ranger. I'll get all of you if it takes another ten thousand years! I have such a headache!" Rita threw up her hands.
Tommy and Jimmy both reappeared in the middle of Angel Grove Park, both still in costume.
"What the hell just happened?" Jimmy demanded, looking around. "How'd I get here and why am I dressed like this?" Apparently the teleportation had triggered a slight case of amnesia.
"I don't know what I can tell you, Jate." Tom answered "You got some questions that I don't have the power to answer."
"Then find me someone who can. And preferably someone who did not work for "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy". Bleech, purple."
Tommy spoke into his watch. "Zordon, what now?"
"I shall instruct Alpha to teleport you both back here immediately. The time has come for discussion. The other Rangers are waiting for you."
"Got it. We've movin' bro?"
"Oh, not again!" Jimmy groaned, still ill from the last trip. "Can't we take a bus?"
"If you wanna get there sometime tomorrow, sure. Don't worry. I threw up my first coupla times too."
"If you say so." Jimmy scrunched his eyes together.
All the other Rangers were present in normal form, having already powered down, when the brothers arrived.
"So, you're the Power Rangers, huh?" Jimmy said "Hm."
"The time has come for action. As your brother before you, Rita has given you power that can be used for either good or evil. As you now know, Rita is out to conquer the Earth at any cost. You may choose to remain with us or I can remove the power from you and return you to the Youth Center with no recollection of this encounter. If you agree to remain, there are three conditions you must agree to."
"Go ahead." Jimmy said
"The first is never use the Power for personal gain. The second, the power is to be used for defense only. Never escalate a battle unless you are forced to. And finally, never reveal your identity to anyone or you will lose the protection afforded to you." Zordon stated
"I think I can handle that." Jimmy answered
"But as for a zord..."
"It doesn't matter. I can always ride shotgun with Tommy. Looking at that ugly-looking thing he drives, I'm sure there's room for a passenger!"
"The Dragonzord is not an ugly-looking thing!" Tommy answered "Why does everyone always pick on it!"
"That will not be necessary. Alpha, give him the flute."
Alpha walked over to one of the many drawers underneath the teleportation console.
"Ay-yi-yi!" He muttered, pushing aside a can of rust spray and a teddy bear to find what he was looking for.
"With this flute, you now control Titanus." Zordon announced "Since time eternal, I have been controlling this awesome machine, but now, with the seventh Ranger prophecy having come to pass, I pass this responsibility to you."
"Nice." Jimmy stated
"To summon Titanus, use the flute Alpha have given you. Remember the sequence one-three-three-one-two-four. It will call your Zord whenever you need her."
"Got it." Jimmy quickly committed the number order to memory.
"Welcome to the team." Jason said, the other Rangers huddled around their newest member, welcoming him.
The warning sirens suddenly went off, bathing the Command Center in eerie red light.
"Ay-yi-yi. The Grid shows a large power surge."
"Rita again?" Jason asked
"Zordon, what now?" Alpha started pressing keys frantically.
"Rangers. You must teleport back to Angel Grove. You must evacuate the citizens to safety. If Alpha's readings are correct, this is the moment I have been fearing for many millennia. Rita has finally summoned..."
Zordon suddenly vanished from his time warp, leaving a very confused power team.
"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! Zordon, come back!" Alpha scurried about, generally panicking.
"What's goin' on?" Tommy asked
"Billy, could it be just static?" Jason asked
"Negative. The charged particles could easily dispersed by the conventional frequency modulation unit built in to the Command Center's central power unit. I fear that Rita has found a way to completely block Zordon's entrance into our dimension." Billy answered
"Oh. Cool?" Jimmy asked
"No. Not cool." Billy answered
"That's not the worst of it, ay-yi-yi-yi-yi. The Command Center is also experiencing a complete energy drain. You'd better teleport out before the whole system goes down."
"Teleport... again?" Jimmy whined
"Alpha, give him the extra communication device." Billy said
A secondary siren wailed while Alpha scurried about, looking for the extra communicator. It would save Jimmy having to be near one of the other Rangers when he needed to teleport.
"Now what! Ay-yi-yi!"
"Warning! Warning! Energy level at twenty percent. Shutdown of all non-critical systems imminent!"
"Hurry, Rangers, before it's too late!"
"We can't just leave!" Jason had to shout to be heard over the sirens.
"Warning! Warning! Energy level at fifteen percent! Shutdown of all non-critical systems in one minute!"
"I have to stay and try to maintain what I can!"
"Warning! Warning! Energy level at ten percent! Shutdown of all non-critical systems in thirty seconds... total power failure in one minute!"
"Go! While you still can!" Alpha shrieked
"Warning! Warning! Energy level at five percent. All non-critical systems beginning shutdown. Total failure of power grid in thirty seconds!"
"You heard Alpha... it's Morphin Time!"
"Dragonzord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Saber-toothed tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
"Titanus!"
The Rangers teleported out. Not three seconds later, the entire Grid shorted out. Alpha was now alone in a completely dark Command Center.
When they reappeared in the park, they were surrounded by people running about in total panic. Looking at the nearby tall buildings, it was obvious that the same power drain that had affected the Command Center was also in effect here.
"I have never seen things this bad." Trini said
"We need to..." Jason was knocked over, mid-speech, buy a frenzied Angel Grovian.
"Rangers" Jason quickly jumped to his feet. "Clear the park as fast as you can and then meet back here!"
"Right!" They chorused, splitting up to aid the citizens.
The sky suddenly darkened, and the winds picked up. It looked like a storm was coming and the Rangers were in the way. Near one of the picnic areas, Bulk and Skull were eating yet again, paying little attention to the weather, but Bulk did look up when the Red Ranger was almost on top of him.
"What do you want?" With a deliberate effort, Bulk took a bite of his huge sandwich.
"I've got to get you to safety!"
"Who are you? My mother?" Bulk retorted
"Yeah!" Skull sneered
"For once, would you listen to someone else. Something's coming..."
A sudden crash of thunder propelled Skull into Bulk's arms.
"Not cut that out." Bulk pushed Skull away and looked at his now-ruined lunch.
"Follow me." Jason said, seriously re-thinking his career choice. Of all the Rangers, he got stuck dealing with these two.
"How do we know this isn't just a bit of wind?" Bulk demanded
"If this was just wind, do you think that..."
A flash of lightning struck the statue of the town founder in the middle of the spark, decapitating it, followed by a loud crash of thunder.
"As I was saying..." A loud creak to Jason's left caused his to turn. A large elm was tumbling right toward them. "Drop!"
Bulk and Skull stared at the approaching tree, making scared noises.
"C'mon, move!" Jason pushed Bulk and Skull out of the way. The tree landed squarely on Jason, crushing him beneath it's massive bulk.
Speaking of Bulk, he and Skull stared at the tree. They were about to attempt a rescue when another crash of thunder scared them. They ran out of the park without a second thought. Meanwhile, near the charred statue, the other Rangers waited impatiently for their leader.
"What's taking Jason so long? He should've returned by now." Trini looked worried. (Okay, so her helmet made worried motions as she spoke!)
"This freak storm is gonna hit soon! He better get his Ranger butt back here and fast!" Zack also sounded "worried".
"We gotta find him. Whatever Rita's plan is, this storm is great cover. We don't even have zord access until power is restored to the Grid."
"So, we're basically screwed, do I read you right?" Jimmy asked
"Exactly, Jate." Tommy answered "Without zord power, we need all the manpower we can get."
"Guys, if that's the case, shouldn't we be, like, lookin' for Jason?" Kim asked, huddling a little closer to the Green Ranger with each passing moment.
"Affirmative. We can accomplish this task with greater haste if we once more separate into our component entities."
"Translation, please?" Jimmy asked
"We'll find Jason faster if we split up." Trini clarified
"Affirmative." Billy repeated
"Why didn't you just say that?" If one could see inside the Purple Ranger's helmet, you could see Jimmy's eyes roll back in his head. He too was starting to seriously question his choice of career.
They separated.
"We'll never find him in this mess." Jimmy grumbled. "Any of you guys having any luck?"
No reply. The comm was dead.
"System must be completely powerless."
A bolt of lightning struck the ground only a few feet from where he stood, sending a tingle right through his body.
"That was too close." Jimmy backed up a few steps and fell over a large tree.
"What the hell is a tree doing here?" He yelled, brushing himself off. He wasn't hurt physically, only a little embarrassed. He sat down on the trunk, pondering his next move.
"If anyone can hear me, I'm heading back to where we started." Jimmy shouted into his comm, even though it still seemed to be without power.
"I guess not." He jumped down and saw a flash of red pinned beneath the leaves.
"There's somebody under here." He got down on his haunches and pushed some of the foliage aside. "So that's where you got to."
Jimmy grabbed what he could and heaved, trying to roll the tree aside. If there was one thing the powers didn't provide, it was super strength. He could barely move it.
"Plan B... plan B... aha... maybe if I can get at his battle blaster, I can cut him free." Jimmy reached in, feeling for roughly where he knew the Rangers carried their side arms.
"Just another inch... c'mon, where is it?" He was thankful that Jason was unconscious because Jimmy was pretty sure he'd just groped the leader of the team while trying to reach his weapon. "I got it!" He pulled the Blaster out, mentally swearing at the fact that all the other Rangers had really nice weapons, when all he got was a stupid flute.
Three well-placed shots and Jimmy was able to extricate Jason.
"You okay, Red?" He asked, placing his fingers on Jason's wrist. "I hope you don't weigh too much, buddy."
He picked up Jason and carried him, fireman's rescue style, back to the rendez-vous point. Only Tommy was there.
"I found him!" Jimmy shouted over a loud hiss as rain started to pelt the city. "Where are the others?"
"I sent them to the plaza! Is Jason alright?" Tommy asked
"I dunno. I'm taking him to the hospital just to be safe. Where's the closest?"
"They set up an emergency shelter at the Juice Bar. It's only five minutes from here." Tommy had to shout to be heard over the storm.
"Tommy, take cover with the others and tell them what happened. We're gonna need a plan. I'll take Jason over to the Youth Center. Is your comm working?"
"Nah, man. We lost them when the Command Center shut down all non-critical systems." Tommy answered
"I'll call you when we arrive." Jimmy shifted his load slightly and took off in the downpour. Tommy waited for only a minute before he ran in the other direction.
"...and Jate took him to the Juice Bar for help. That's all I know." Tommy finished.
"Ideas?" Tommy asked
"Negative." Billy replied "This situation has far too many variables to formulate a sound battle stratagem."
"I knew I shoulda stayed in bed." Zack fumed "No Zordon, no power, no nothing. We're no better off than anyone else right now."
If only we knew what Rita was up to." Tommy responded "Then maybe we'd have a chance of fighting it."
What was Rita up to? Well, shortly after losing control of her Phoenix in less time than it had taken to capture Jimmy, Rita's temper was very short.
"I need a spell... no, I used that one last week... how about...? No, that one turned Squatt into an aardvark and I wasted all day trying to reverse it. How about this? No, too expensive... too ugly... too stupid... I've got it!" She cheered
This cheer brought Finster from the anteroom. "That is good news, my Queen, but I hope it isn't contagious. You know how my monster creating abilities suffer when I am sick..."
"Shut up, you moron! I've finally found the answer to my problems. I don't know why I didn't think of this a long time ago. Pudgy Pigs, Terror Toads, Pine-Octopuses, they never worked, but I guarantee that this one will. I call on the power of Chaos!"
Flashing back to the present, Kim was staring outside when she suddenly gasped "Guys, you might wanna see this..."
The others crowded around.
"What is that?" Zack asked
"I'm no expert in weather phenomena, but it looks like a localized rupture in the fabric of space."
"I see." Tommy lied, now wishing he hadn't fallen asleep during his science classes.
As the Rangers stared, a familiar face appeared in the skies above.
"Not him again." Trini groaned
"Lokar. What do we do about him this time?"
"I have not formulated a specific battle plan to deal with the entity, but since I know with whom we will be engaged in conflict, I'm sure I can postulate something." Billy replied
"Power Rangers?" A portly woman came over to them. "I know this might sound strange to you, but there's a phone call for one of you."
"This whole day has been strange." Tommy answered "I'll take it." He followed the matronly lady over to a desk. Power was failing all over town, but for now the phones still worked.
"Hello?" He asked
"Yo, Green Ranger, I made it." It was their comrade.
"What's your report?"
"You really need to talk to Zordon about improving the Power suits."
"Whaddaya mean, they've worked fine up till now." Tommy answered
"Well, they sure didn't help today." Jimmy retorted
"Dude, you've been a Ranger for less than a day, and already you're complaining..."
"The Red Ranger is dead." Jimmy interrupted "The tree crushed him. Even with his Power suit. Maybe if I'd gotten to him sooner..."
"You tried your best. That's all we demand from any of the team." Comforting words were not coming to him, so Tommy tried to remember what Jason had once told him after he'd screwed up massively.
"I still let the team down." Jimmy sighed "My first day, and I'm burying a teammate."
"You're down?... I get to tell everyone else. That's the tough part. We're already on edge." Tommy said
"Yeah. Rita's sure outdone herself this time."
"Yeah. Bil... I mean the Blue Ranger has an idea of how to defeat this monster, but I think he was counting on all of us." Tommy quickly covered his slip. Too many people around.
"Well, I'm gonna stay here and see if there's anything I can do." Jimmy answered
"Okay. We'll call back when we have something to report."
"Okay." Jimmy hung up the phone. "Well, that was easy." He said to the man standing beside him. "So, what's the next step?"
Tommy walked across the plaza to the others. It was unfortunate that his face was covered or the others might've been able to figure out how bad things had just become without an explanation; one that Tommy did not want to give.
"Dude, what's up?" Zack asked
Tommy took a deep breath. "Good news is Purple made it back in once piece..."
"Uh oh." Trini muttered, her woman's intuition kicking in.
"Yeah, uh oh. Red didn't make it."
There were several moments of silence while the team members let the implications of this sink in.
"We should go back to the Youth Center. We need to work together on this." Tommy gritted his teeth. The whole situation was making him angrier by the second.
The Rangers arrived back at the Juice Bar, sopping wet. Two things to keep in mind... one: the Power Suits are not good protection against being crushed by a twenty foot tree and two: they aren't waterproof.
"We... made... it..." Zack leaned against the wall, out of breath. Teleportation from point A to B had jaded them all. To a person, they were out of breath from running across town.
"There he is." Jimmy was leaning against a wall. With his helmet on, they couldn't tell what he was thinking, or even if he was awake.
"Hey, bro." Tommy said
"I'd thought you would've stayed at the plaza." From his startled reaction, it was obvious that Jimmy's eyes were closed.
"We need to be together right now." Kim patted his glove for reassurance.
"I swear that if I ever get my hands on Rita, I'll pop her head like a pimple." Jimmy growled
"Take a number, man." Zack clapped him on the back.
"We'd all like to, but we have a bigger problem right now. We know what we're dealing with."
"You've dealt with this... thing before?" Jimmy demanded
"Yeah, we need Ultrazord to slam it last time." Zack added
"And right now, that is not an option." Tommy answered
"So, like, what do we do?" Kim asked
"I have another hypothesis. Since we cannot tap into the Grid to bring our zords to us, maybe be can get to our zords???" Billy suggested
"Can we do that?"
"It's worth a shot." Tommy stated
"But even assuming we can, how're we gonna power them up when and if we get to 'em?" Always the optimist, Zack was quite to point out a possible fatal flaw in their plan.
"Our power coins. Since we are still in morphed form, it is a safe assumption that they are still operational. Therefore, the power crystals should also be functioning."
"Right." Jimmy answered "Sounds reasonable, even though I have no clue what you're talking about."
"We'll explain on the way." Tommy answered
"Next question... how do we get to them?" Trini asked
"We'll take my car." Billy replied "The Rad Bug is still operational."
"Okay, now I'm really lost... what the hell is a Rad Bug?" Jimmy groaned, wishing that there was a new Ranger's manual. Crystals, Rad Bugs, it was getting to be too much information.
"Billy's Volkswagen."
"And it will fit six, will it?"
"Enough yap, let's fly!" Zack shouted
"Right! Let's go." Tommy seemed to take the position of de facto leader. They followed him out into the storm, hoping that Billy's plan would work. If not, it was gonna be a real long day.
"Here's your stop. We've locked on to Titanus' power signature and her proximity should be close..."
"Got it." Jimmy crawled out of the car. "I'll see you back in town as soon as I can."
The Rag Bug flew away, leaving Jimmy in the middle of hurricane-force winds.
"Where did he say that cave was?" Jimmy looked around for a cave large enough to hide a twenty-ton machine. There was only one nearby.
"This better be it." He sprinted for the entrance. Inside it, he found the large carrier zord.
"Remind me of a kitten I once owned."
Titanus suddenly roared, her eyes flashing.
"Relax. I'm on your side now. I'm not gonna hurt you." Jimmy cautiously approached. He felt a lot better when he was standing beside the large machine, and was still intact. He'd been afraid that if Titanus got spooked, she might eat him.
After a few minutes investigating, Jimmy found an access hatch and climbed aboard. Titanus was unique in that she was a hybrid of computer circuitry and organic components. For instance, it had a central computer console, but when it went off-line, it relied on circuits that fired in much the same way that neurons fired in the human brain.
"I wonder if there's an instruction manual." Jimmy sat down behind the main console and surveyed the numerous gauges, knobs, and readouts.
Titanus made noise that sounded like a whine.
"Must be tired or something. Fortunately I got your catnip right here." Jimmy activated his power crystal and stuck it in the appropriate slot. Once he'd thrown the correct levers, Titanus was rolling.
All six remaining team members arrived back within moments of each other. Huddling underneath Zack's Mastodon, where they were somewhat sheltered from the storm, they discussed possible plans of attack.
"Any ideas? Billy?" Tommy asked
"Since our previous encounter required the use of the Ultrazord..."
"Which we can't do because we can't power up Jason's tyrannosaurus..." Zack interrupted
"That does present a quandary." Billy said
"Can't we use that thing with the Dragonzord when it combines with those other zords?" Jimmy asked
"You mean the Dragonzord in fighting mode?" Zack asked
"Yeah, that... hoof it in Titanus and maybe we got somethin'?" Jimmy asked
"He has put forth an interesting stratagem." Billy pondered
"Like, excuse me. What about me... that's awesome and everything, but my Pterodactyl would be useless."
"You wanna ride with me?" Tommy asked. Zack and Billy also offered similar accommodations. Kim rolled her eyes... she knew the guys just wanted her alone, or so she thought.
Jimmy also has similar ideas, but he was more genteel about it. He dropped to one knee, as if proposing marriage. "Most fair Pink Ranger... Titanus and I would be most honored if you would accept this humble invitation to ride shotgun with us. It would also assist me as I have never driven anything this big before."
"Finally. A real gentleman." Kim and Jimmy entered Titanus. At the door, he gave the other Rangers a cocky thumbs-up gesture.
"He's not seriously thinkin' about what I think he's thinkin' about." Tommy demanded
"Ya think?" Zack added flippantly.
"Let's us assemble the Dragonzord in fighting mode and see if the firepower is sufficient to conquer this evil force."
"Yeah, let's kick some monster butt."
If you've seen the Dragonzord transform into this particular mode once, then you've seen it once too often. Yawn! Anyway...
From her lair Rita watched as her Chaos monster wreaked havoc on downtown Angel Grove. As a side point, insurance premiums for buildings in Angel Grove had gone up three hundred percent since the Day of the Dumpster. If Rita had only worked with the Insurance companies, she could've bought the planet in a few short months.
"Finally, I will destroy the Power Rangers and then Earth will be mine!"
Squatt, ever the optimist, piped in with "What if this Chaos monster fails?"
"This time, it won't." Rita screamed. Squatt cowered in a corner.
Back on Earth, at best it was even... at worse, the Rangers were running out of ideas.
"How do we stop this thing?" Tommy demanded "Billy? Any bright ideas?"
"Negative. Rita's monster is successfully countering every one of our tactics."
A cloud of strong winds enveloped them, knocking the Dragonzord on it's back and flipping Titanus like a pancake.
"Guys, this is crazy!" Jimmy said, upside down in Titanus' control room. "I dunno what you got left, but another flip like that and Titanus is gonna need some serious body work. I've already lost two stabilizers and the left tread is shot."
"It's toying with us. Rita knows we can't defeat it without going to Ultrazord."
"We can't do Ultrazord." Tommy banged his console "I keep telling you that."
"That's what you think." Jimmy muttered, tapping his keyboard. "Plan B, Jase."
From somewhere across the ethereal plane thundered the Tyrannosaurus dinozord, the not-quite-dead-yet Red Ranger at the helm.
"Begin Ultrazord transformation sequence now!" Jason shouted
Rita's eyes bulged upon the appearance of the Red Ranger. "You told me he was dead?" She pointed at Goldar.
"Aren't you supposed to be...?" Zack asked
"Later... let's do this!"
In moments, the Ultrazord stood full battle-ready, nose to nose with Rita's Chaos monster.
"Fire all weapons on my signal."
"Back from the dead not two minutes and he's already giving orders." Jimmy muttered
"Problem down there, Purple?" Jason asked
"Uh, no, commander. I'm just having a little trouble keeping Titanus steady. She took a few bad hits earlier." Jimmy answered, reminding himself to next time turn off the internal comm link before complaining.
"Ready?" Jason asked
"Ready!" The team chorused, complete with synchronous hand movements.
"Two... one... mark!"
Seven hands pressed seven buttons, firing everything they had at the entity. For a moment, it looked like it was going to take this attack like every other, but, like many previous monsters, it exploded.
Celebrations ensured in the Ultrazord command module.
Rita was not happy, needless to say. "All I wanted to do was conquer a planet! Is that too much to ask? Ugh, I get stuck with the biggest bunch of morons in the galaxy! Ohhh, my head hurts!"
The Rangers' celebration was short-lived; Alpha interrupted them.
"What is it Alpha?" Just the fact that he was able to contact them was good news in itself.
"Power Rangers. I have restored the main Power Grid and the Command Center is now fully functional."
"Awesome."
"And Zordon wants you back here immediately..."
"What did we do wrong this time?" Zack asked
"We're on our way." They teleported out, saving another long walk. Though, with Rita's monster destroyed, the weather patterns seemed to return to normal right away.
"Rangers... you battled against seemingly insurmountable odds, yet you managed to defeat yet another of Rita's monsters. I am proud of you all."
"Yep, just another day for the greatest team in the universe!" Zack gushed
"As long as Rita continues to attack the planet, Zordon, you can count on us." Jason responded
"Now that's what I call job security." Jimmy sighed, cleaning some residue from his helmet.
"I still don't get it, man, what was up with that plan?" Tommy asked
"How did ya know that we were gonna be able to win?" Zack also asked
"Simple. Jimmy, why don't you explain it to them. It was all your idea."
"Okay." He set the helmet down on the console. "This is what I figured... Rita has never been able to defeat you... hell, she's never even come close with any of her monsters. So, what if we gave her a situation where she had a distinct advantage? Answer: she got too over-confident and fast. Despite all her magic, she wasn't trying to win or she would've pressed the attack instead of putting her monster on the defense most of the time... Tommy, how many times did that thing have us close to the end?"
"Three, maybe four, man."
"Exactly. After the first two times were we down and almost out, it was 'okay, why doesn't she finish us off'? So, it was just a matter of waiting until she was too set in her strategy to be able to adapt quickly enough." Jimmy continued "Boom! Bring in Jase, hit Ultrazord, she can't counter fast enough and voila! Rita's monster goes splat!"
"Cool." Zack nodded in appreciation. "I never woulda thought of that."
"I guess that's why Rita chose me. Too bad the bonds of brotherhood overpowered her control."
"Yeah, welcome to the team, bro."
"Power Rangers!" (Group Cheer)
The following Monday, the team was relaxing, enjoying another one of Ernie's surprise concoctions at the Juice Bar.
"Hey gang, did you read the paper? Apparently there's a new Power Ranger."
"Another one? Wow, man, they're increasing like rabbits." Zack winked "How many we got now? Couple hundred at least, right?"
"Can I see that?" Jimmy took the paper and was reading about himself until Bulk tore the paper from his grip and crumpled it into a ball.
"Alright geek, it's time for our rematch." Bulk tossed the paper behind him. "Time me."
"Okay." Jimmy stood up. Bulk charged him.
"Hey, man, your shoelace is untied again." Tommy pointed.
"So it is." Jimmy knelt down and Bulk flew past, splattering himself into a wall. He fell down, dazed.
"Two point three seconds." Skull laughed "You're getting better."
"You shouldn't feel too bad, Bulk. One of these days I'm sure you're gonna last longer. At least... three seconds." Jimmy smiled, sitting back down.
"Come on, let's go." Bulk pulled Skull away, mumbled something about a future battle.
"Will he ever learn?" Kim asked
"I've seen beached whales fight better." Jimmy said, sniggering.
"That's Bulk for you... The Moby Dick of Angel Grove."
"Now he's the one I wish HAD gotten away." Tommy said
Laughter ensued. If this was an episode of the TV series, you'd roll the closing credits right now.
End
Let me know what you think... there are more episodes if you want leading right through MMPR, Zeo, and into Turbo.