POWER RANGERS TURBO REVISITED:
RANGERS OF THE LOST ARK
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
Disclaimer: Power Rangers Turbo is trademarked by Saban Capital Group. No profit shall be made from this
CHAPTER ONE:
Within the beating heart of the Angel Grove community, Ernie's juice bar, fresh faces were gathering for a unique opportunity, and they were being noticed by the curious eyes of males and females who were well acquainted with the hang out.
One group of girls sized up the wave of boys heading to the audition floor to try out for membership in a new band being put together by two fresh faced students, both new to Angel Grove High, who were looking to make an impact.
"Who do you reckon will be your date tonight?" asked Bunny to her friend Stella as she took a slurp of her orange juice.
"What makes you think I just want one date tonight?" asked Stella, as she took the sundae away from her friend and took a slurp herself.
"We do have a wide selection" replied Bunny, "I reckon you can get one to play for you while the other serenades your soul with a heart-warming melody"
"Hopefully the two wenches auditing those masculine muffins don't take an eye to them; you know what happens when you mix business with pleasure"
"If I'm intruding on your business, the pleasure is all mine" said voice coming from behind the girls. Both turned around to greet the warm and lively presence of T.J, who maintained a steady, but nervous grin.
Sensing some awkwardness from him, the not so impressed girls quickly left the table.
T.J, deflated, walked back over to where his friend Cassie was sitting; she was taking notes with her friend Vickie.
"Hey girls, got time for a more familiar face than all the fresh ones you're profiling for your band?" he asked.
"The pick-up routine didn't go too well did it?" asked an amused Cassie.
"I'm just not too good at this" T.J admitted.
"Hey, practice makes perfect" said Cassie.
"Next" said Vickie as another of the auditioning talents stepped up.
"Name?" Cassie asked
"Carlos" the young male replied, turning around and giving a double thumbs up to a girl watching from a short distance, who waved over to him also.
"You can do it Carlos" she said.
"Alright Carlos, show us what you can do" said Cassie.
The lights dimmed, the music began to play, and Carlos stepped into what he thought was a dynamic rhythm, putting his own spin on "Angel Grove High", which had previously been a short jingle for a now long defunct radio show.
Cassie and Vickie didn't quite take to the cover, it had way too many high notes, and Carlos seemed more concerned in snapping his fingers every time he hit a beat. His swagger and posture gradually domineered the performance rather than what mattered the most, namely the soul and spirit of the singing.
Finally, the girl's minds were made up.
"Thanks, it was interesting, but it just wasn't what we are looking for" said Vickie.
"I'm sure if you work on it, you can try again some other time" said Cassie.
Carlos walked over to the girl that had been encouraging him.
"Just what is their deal Ashley? I have it all" Carlos replied, "I have the looks, the style, the moves, I'm perfect for them"
"Hey, at least now you don't have it cutting in to your soccer practice" Ashley replied .
On the other side of town, Tommy and Rocky were training hard in the dojo at the Kung-Pow Sports Arena. Both were in training for a six-man "senior/junior" martial arts combat expo to be held at the event. The winner would receive a cash prize of $50,000, which can be used to help fund and maintain the Angel Grove Kids Shelter.
But Rocky was letting the weight of the competition get to him, and Tommy was taking note of that.
"Hey man, slow down, you're trying way too hard with this" Tommy said, but Rocky remained persistent
"We're not trying hard enough" Rocky added, and continued to pour on the aggression, which almost threw Tommy off balance as they exchanged kicks and blows.
Adam entered the dojo carrying refreshments for the boys, and was also rather perplexed by Rocky's momentum.
"This lion sure wants to roar" he said, as she stepped into the ring and handed the pair their drinks.
"You shouldn't try so hard Rocky, we all want what's best for the shelter, but you don't want to burn off energy you may need for the competition" Adam advised him.
"Sorry guys, I just really care about this cause you know?" Rocky said, taking a big intake of H20. "I want to be at my best"
"Just make sure you're in the right shape to be the best you can be buddy" said Tommy. Rocky nodded, but Adam and Tommy could tell from his facial expressions he was barely listening to the advice, he was consumed with his own sense of ambition and priorities.
"Say, have you figured out who's going to join you and Rocky as the junior yet?" Adam asked Tommy.
"Don't worry; I got someone on top of things"
At the Angel Grove kids shelter, Katherine had arrived to pick up young Justin, she was greeted at the entrance by the disciplined, yet cold Mr. Spectra, the chief caretaker.
"Hi, I'm here for Justin?" she said
"This way" said Spectra, opening the door and gesturing with an icy and clammy finger for her to step into his parlour. Katherine felt quite intimidated.
She was led down a rather murky corridor to a series of doors. The lights were barely functioning, there were cobwebs everywhere, and a dank odour aroused suspicions from Katherine that Spectra was not a worthwhile caretaker at all.
Spectra knocked on the door to room B.F
"Justin? You have a visitor" he said.
There was no answer, instead Katherine could hear grunts and groans, and soon she picked up sounds that made it seem like there was a great struggle going on in the room.
Katherine insisted Spectra open the door. He did so, and upon stepping into the room, the two found Justin playfully holding his friend Nico in a headlock.
Spectra stormed over to them and grabbed Nico, before motioning to strike Justin with the back of his hand, only for Katherine to hold him back.
"Leave him alone" Katherine spoke, Spectra's eyes were red with rage, and showed a side to him that was the most animated that Katherine had seen of the man thus far. When he looked into Katherine's concerned eyes however, he visibly mellowed and lowered his hand.
He straightened his tie and stepped out of the room with Nico, leaving Katherine and Justin alone.
Katherine examined the room encircling her, and was quite impressed at the assorted Power Rangers memorabilia on display.
"Pretty high on the Power Rangers aren't you?" said Katherine as she examined the half-broken Ranger action figures and slightly faded posters displaying her teams in their various guises from the past to just before their Turbo upgrades.
"They're the best, one day, I'm gonna be just like them" said Justin, "Then I can pour everything I've ever pent up inside"
"Justin, the Rangers practise the most disciplined forms of fighting, none of them do what they do out of anger or frustration, they are focused and strong warriors. You can be just as disciplined if you follow their principles"
"I wish I had their discipline, that way I could stand to be around my dad, or maybe then he'd be able to stand me" Justin replied.
"I'm sure you don't mean that, I've talked to him in the past, I don't think he's a bad father" said Katherine.
"Then why did he leave me here? I hate this place"
"Things could get better, for you, your dad, this place, if you seize the opportunity" Katherine assured him.
"What opportunity is that?" Justin asked.
"Well, the Kung-Pow sensei's have been impressed with what progress you've made in training there, so much that you've been hand-picked to represent the junior division in Tommy's three-man team for the expo"
"In that case, when do we start?" asked an excited Justin.
"Put your shoes on, training begins as soon as we step into the dojo at the sports arena" said Katherine.
Out in space, on the lunar surface of the moon, Rita Repulsa was in the middle of some light reading, while her husband, the emperor of evil, Lord Zedd, was finishing up a conversation on a mobile phone that came straight out of the nineteen eighties.
"You have a deal, come to the palace as soon as you can spread your wings" Zedd spoke, and put the phone down.
"What are you spending our fair fortune on my dear?" Rita asked.
"I've just been in touch with Dreadfeather, a comet scavenger on the cusp of a Wraiathalon galaxy, he has discovered an ancient map that leads to the island of Muranthius" Zedd revealed.
"I thought that was only a myth" said Rita.
"Ah, 'myth', little more than a cheap effort by the elite to dispel whispers of technology and feats far stronger than whatever they are capable of conjuring from the consciousness of those they desire to keep in line" replied Zedd.
"If the island exists, that means its Spectoxia volcanoes are real" added an excited Rita.
"Forget the Spectoxia, I desire the coveted 'Dark Ark'" Zedd replied.
This alarmed Rita.
"Zeddy, don't take a bit out of something you're be wise not to chew" she said, "Concentrate on what we could get out of this deal that doesn't come with a harsher price tag"
"The Power Rangers have cost me plenty already, including my grip on sanity, or as close to that as you can get for an insane intergalactic interloper" Zedd said, his body igniting into a crimson glow to reflect his anger.
Rito and Goldar, in the meantime, were eavesdropping on the conversation.
"I don't get it, what does Edd want with an ark? All of space isn't suffering any kind of flood" he said.
Goldar shook his head and proceeded to whisper the secrets of the Ark's nature to Rito. He was so taken back by the truth he started to overreact, ultimately running into a wall hoping he'd form a hole in it, only to knock himself out.
Back at the Sports Arena, Rocky's intense training was beginning to take its toll on him, and it was starting to worry his friends.
"Come on man, you're trying way too hard" Tommy said.
"I'm not trying hard enough" Rocky said, and came charging at his friend
"Watch out man, you're coming at me way too fast" said Tommy in alarm, Rocky wasn't listening and dived high into the air, and tried to land his extended right foot on Tommy's chest, only to miss his mark by a considerable margin and fall out of the ring and hit the mat hard.
"Ah, my back" Rocky said, his body contorting in agony.
Tommy, Adam, and the various trainers rushed over to their friend so they could tend to him, just as Katherine was arriving with Justin.
"Oh no, Justin stay here OK?" said Kat as Justin's face froze in horror at Rocky's situation.
"Come on champ, easy does it" Adam said, trying to keep Rocky stable
"Kat, we need you to call an ambulance, now" said Tommy. Katherine was soon on top of things, reaching into her purse for her phone and dialling in 911.
Justin remained anchored to the spot, trying to comprehend this very real, adult situation as best as he could. This place had always been a source of escape for him, an escape away from the pain awaiting him back at the shelter.
Now that harsh reality was extending its reach to places that provided solace and solitude for him, and he did not how to easily deny its callous touch.
At the Power Chamber, Alpha was trying his best to change his reality for the better, as he finished downloading his consciousness into a new body.
"Ai-Ai-Ai Zordon, this new look fits me like a glove, it seems fitting that as the Rangers upgrade their powers, we start to tune up everything that encircles them" he said, pointing out the various changes made to the Power Chamber around them.
Zordon, however, was in a solemn mood, and was not up for celebrations.
"Contact the Power Rangers Alpha, one of my greatest fears has been realised" he said.
"Oh you say that every month Zordon, whatever could the problem be this time?" Alpha said.
As uncharacteristic as it was of him to question his mentor like this, he was in too good a mood to have it be soured.
"Just a few minutes ago, I detected a hyper-subspace signal being sent out towards the quadrant belonging to the 'Tox" explained Zordon.
"The ring of ruthless intergalactic pirates?" Alpha replied.
"Correct, they are being summoned to rendezvous with Lord Zedd at his lunar palace. Given the 'Tox specialise in the distribution of Spectoxia in the galaxy, this can only mean one thing" Zordon answered.
Alpha did not need to know the rest; he knew what to do next.
Trouble was on the rise.
And so the Power Rangers must rise once again.
He made the call.