Chapter One
It was unfortunate, but Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd had learned something from Ivan Ooze. They had learned to play rough. It seemed so simple now, why their monsters hadn't worked before. Last time Rita was in power, the human race was just coming out of the stone age and was completely unaccustomed to magic of any type. The Homo Erectus species could not comprehend violence on a grand scale because not enough of them ever banded together to even be considered a large group.
When Rita came out of her prison, she had remained unchanging, but the human race was completely different. It was now Homo Sapiens, and had they ever banded into a large group. The people covered the earth like a fast growing bacteria, rooting in one spot and spreading out from there. Rita thought she would have more success by joining forces with another evil being, but his reign had been before even hers the last time. Neither of them were prepared for the level of resistance they would receive from mere striplings of a race.
Zordon himself had been surprised at how hardened his charges were when he met them. Growing up in a world where violence was glorified on television, sung about in music, and even finely honed as an exercise had toughened their innocent hearts somewhat. More than half their number participated in martial arts, all of them went to see 'action' movies, and none of them even flinched when they donned their brightly colored armor and took to battle. They even shook off injuries as if they were unimportant. It made the inter-dimensional being a little sad sometimes.
When Ivan Ooze, as his name was said on Earth, appeared, the Rangers couldn't have imagined the level of power they faced. Ivan's propensity to enslave anyone he could find was often the killing blow to his enemies. None could fight when their own friends and family were attacking them. Ivan's attack on the Power Chamber was his other big strategy. Remove the general, or the one guiding the troops, and they become lost. In Zordon's long history, he had not seen it fail. It was through wills carved of countless battles and the selfless duty to protect others that the Rangers went to Phaedos and conquered not only the Ninjetti power, but themselves as well.
They returned in high spirits and high power, and did not even mention the bruises and cuts they sustained. They even drew life force of themselves to pull the rapidly-aging mentor from death's door and install him again into power. He never mentioned it to the teens, but he and Alpha had sometimes discussed how poignant it was that they never thought of themselves. How heartrending that they had to grow up so fast, and that each of them had done so without a complaint. No one would ever know their identities beyond their colors, even though they should be sung about and worshipped for what they did on a daily basis.
It was all the worse when Rita and Zedd were released from Ivan's power after his destruction. Ivan came closer than any of them to destroying the Power Rangers, and the evil couple had learned from him. The human death toll was in the scores before the Rangers even knew the new monster was on Earth. It was the worse they had seen. It looked like everyone else except for midnight black skin and snow white hair. The oddly colored man had been built for extreme enjoyment of violence and dropped in the middle of the shopping mall.
The worse part was that the creature had no discretion. It killed whatever was closest to it. First, it killed a group of women coming out of a lingerie shop by breaking each of their necks. Next were a few older folks who were too slow to get away. It had little trouble beating them to death. People ran screaming in all directions as it marched through the crowded corridors, perpetrating horrendous acts of violence without mercy. The worst, however, that the Power Rangers teleported onto the scene just in time to see, was a poor little girl torn limb from limb as she screamed.
Never before had any of the teens seen anything like this. An instant, blinding rage arose in them all and they attacked, fueled by reckless hate. Doing battle without a clear mind has never brought an advantage, and this time was no different. Adam, the most gentle of them all, was the first to go in. He surprised his teammates by calling on the power of the mastodon and rushing in, the full force of his patron animal behind his blow. His kick connected and sent out a shockwave that broke out three storefront windows and cracked the tile under his feet. The creature was unfazed, however, and took hold of the Black Ranger by his neck and lifted him off the ground.
Adam struggled feebly as the others rushed in to help him. Tommy's fist in its face distracted it enough for the Black Ranger to get free, but when Adam landed on the ground, he didn't get up. Kimberly was next, striking at the creature with her powered up pink whip. The blows to the body were having no effect, so she moved past her usually demure self and whipped it in the face. The tip connected with its right eye and drew blood as she had intended, but the Pink Ranger was not prepared for what happened next. It roared like a dragon and paused only for a moment while its eye reformed and healed.
It then moved with lightening speed and tore the whip from her hands. Easily fending off Billy's strikes from behind, it snapped the handle of the whip in half and whirled on Aisha, who was sneaking up behind it. It threw the jaggedly broken piece at the Yellow Ranger with such force that it buried in her shoulder and carried her across the room, pinning her to a large planter. She cried out and tried to get up, but the broken whip was imbedded too firmly in the concrete behind her bleeding shoulder.
Tommy roared in anger and drew his sword, the eyes of the tiger head glowing with his rage. He moved faster than anyone had ever seen him, slashing and stabbing over and over. Each time, the cuts the White Ranger inflicted healed faster, and soon, he could not tell if he was doing any damage at all. The creature reached out with a black hand and snatched Tommy's wrist out of the air, pulling the White Ranger to the ground. With a sickening wet crack, Tommy dropped the sword and flinched in the monster's grasp.
Rocky and Billy nodded to one another briefly before moving in simultaneously. Billy went low and swept the thing's feet, while Rocky went high and sent one of his powerful flying sidekicks directly at it's neck. Because of the Blue Ranger's actions, its head dropped right into place as Rocky's kick connected. Another shockwave went out that brought dust and glass raining down from the high ceiling, and the creature's neck bent at an unnatural angle. It fell to it's knees but did not release Tommy, who continued to pull at it's grasp.
As soon as it was on the ground, Kimberly came running in, wielding a huge knife from the nearby kitchen store. She plunged it straight into the monster's abdomen, and pulled up, slicing through the midsection. The others stared at her brutality in shock; they had no idea sweet Kimberly was capable of such violence. She ripped the blade upward until it caught on the creature's ribs and broke off. It roared fiercely again and twisted Tommy's broken wrist. He trembled in his armor, but could not break free.
Still on its knees, it reached up and popped its head back into place, turning the evil eye on the one who did that to it. Slowly, while gripping Tommy's wrist as an outlet for the pain, it withdrew the broken metal. Another bone broke in the White Ranger's arm, but Tommy was helpless to do anything but take it. The creature flipped the blade so the point was in it's hand and threw it at Rocky with shocking speed. The Red Ranger tried to seek cover, but he was not fast enough.
As the blade flipped through the air, Rocky turned and dived for the ground. The point made its final rotation mere inches from Rocky's neck when a form got in the way. The Blue Ranger twisted as he placed his body between the whistling blade and his friend's throat. It sank into Billy's side, with the unexpected side effect of mixing the creature's foul blood with his own. The Blue Ranger dropped and cried out in pain as the hot contaminant spread through his veins.
As Rocky picked himself up, the creature stood and advanced on Kimberly. Tommy bit back a scream as he fought to pull the monster away. It broke the other bone in his forearm to make a point and before he could do anything, it's hand whipped out and broke through the Pink Ranger's armor just under her chest plate. She went stiff as its fingers dug into her flesh and then limp as it lifted her bodily to fling her at Adam's still form. Tommy screamed in rage and pain, completely unable to get away or do anything.
Rocky was on its back in an instant, using his formidable bulk to get the creature off its feet. The Red Ranger had also taken a page from Kimberly's book and rammed Tommy's dropped sword into the creature's mouth. It gurgled for a moment, then its white eyes took on a strange gleam. It pulled Rocky over it's shoulder effortlessly by his armor, and threw him straight up. The Red Ranger broke through the mall's skylight, flailing to gain control. The top of his flight came just above the mall, then he came tumbling back down.
Once again passing through the broken windows, he landed hard on the marble floor, making a small crater. Tommy watched in horror as the monster pulled out the sword with no problem and began to laugh. On the moon, Rita and Zedd closed their mouths from the shocked stare at the violence of their latest creature and began to laugh as well. Kimberly was tangled on top of Adam's motionless form, red blood pouring out from her armor. There was a much larger pool of blood around Aisha, who had stopped struggling and passed out from so much lost.
Billy was flat on his back, weakly trying to remove the poisonous blade from his side, but barely moving at all. Rocky, on the other hand, was completely still. His red helmet had cracked open on impact, and blood was seeping from under the dark hair. Tommy felt a wave of anguish wash over him. The right arm on his own white armor was soaked with blood and his hand was at a sickening angle, but that was not the worst. He had failed his team. The monster stopped laughing and stared down at the White Ranger with snapping white eyes. It crushed his right arm as it leaned down, filling Tommy with pain. Just before his consciousness fled, it spoke.
"I am Cruelty. You are nothing."
To be continued…