Raiden Rangers
Chapter 3: Helter Skelter
Author's Notes: So,this is finally the chapter where we see our heroes become the all powerful Raiden Rangers. In other chapters I felt that it would be nice to preserve the cheesy yet feel good nature of the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, but when it comes to Mortal Kombat there is a certain sadistic quality to it's villains, and I felt that since the Rangers will know that enemies are looking to KILL them, they would have no problem with fighting the same way. No there may not be fatalities because it's more fights on the fly instead of the tournament from the game, but if I ever do decide to use a tournament in my story, take comfort in knowing that I will create original and unique fatalities for each of the Raiden Rangers. I will try to make this story a nice culmination of everything we loved from Power Rangers and Mortal Kombat. Also sorry this chapter took me so long to write, but I was very busy doing research into the MK Universe and the Skarlett DLC came out so I had to play MK9 for a while, lol. Thanks for reading.
Illedryan Gailwynd.
As he crossed the vast throne room, Quan Chi rubbed his gloved hands together in thought.
"What plots are you scheming now, necromancer?" came a voice from the Shadow Throne. Quan Chi bowed with an evil smile to his master, the Fallen God Shinnok.
"I was just reveling in how excellent the plan for Shao Kahn's defeat was executed, my Lord," Quan Chi continued his smile. Shinnok stood up from the throne and placed a hand upon Quan Chi's pale shoulder.
"Yes, I must say it was quite an excellent idea for you to pledge the Netherrealm's allegiance to him...in exchange for Earthrealm's warriors souls," his lips curled back to reveal his yellowed teeth. Quan Chi stood again, and waved his hand to summon his minions into the throne room. They all bowed before their master's master.
"And now with Raiden weak," Shinnok began. "We can destroy my weak nemesis and what remains of his pitiful Earthrealm Defenders," His laughter echoed throughout the throne room. Then he sat back down upon the Shadow Throne.
"Prepare the attack!" Quan Chi exclaimed to his servants. Again they bowed and left the throne room. Quan Chi looked back toward the Shadow Throne, all that could be seen was the soft glow of Shinnok's eyes.
Billy awoke in a cold sweat. His dream was a particularly frightening one, that seemed all too real to him. In his dream, a strange pale man with symbols tattooed on his body, was attacking Angel Grove. He shook his head of these thoughts and looked out his window. As the fog rolled away he pretended it was the shattered remnants of his horrible dream leaving him, and it calmed his nerves. He jumped out of his bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. He was in a hurry, he was anxious to see what Raiden had to say.
Zack pulled the cover back over his head. He tried to fluff his pillow, when he realized it was no longer under his head. He sat up and noticed that he was levitating 12 inches above his bed.
"Oh, my God!" He cried aloud.
"Zachary, are you alright up there?" Came a voice from downstairs.
"Sorry Mom, it was just a big spider," he called back nervously. He couldn't help but try to get down. He grabbed onto the bed post and pulled himself to the floor. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, he slowly let go of the bed. He peeked with one eye and saw that he was still on the floor, and then he wiped his sweating forehead in relief. He hurried to talk to Raiden and the others.
"Maybe someone else is having strange things happen to them as well..." He thought. "I hope I'm not the only one..."
Raiden stood upon the edge of a gorge, it was about a 50 foot drop. He thought that this was a good place to build the Ranger Command Center, no one came around here and so no one would ever find it. He closed his eyes and and raised his hands to the sky.
"T'nok uuya, nostfin rei'legh," he began as black clouds gathered at his command. "F'nostra, engratos mutta, estrigaaaa!"
As he finished his chant, lightning struck him and the Earth began to shift under his feet. The lower part of the gorge began to open and from the great crevice slowly rose the Command Center. Raiden had summoned it forth from the depths, and now he waited for the Rangers to arrive.
He only waited for a moment or two, the Rangers must have followed the clouds to his position he smiled to himself. This was a sign of good observation skills, and this again made Raiden smile.
"Rangers, I see you have finally arrived. To be honest I thought you might not show, I would not have blamed you had you thought yesterday's events only a strange dream," he chuckled.
"No, the pain is all to real," Jason sighed as he rubbed his neck.
"You wouldn't mind doing that thing you did for Trini would you?" Jason smiled inquisitively. Raiden shook his head and pointed to Kimberly.
"Becoming Raiden Rangers entitles you to...certain advantages," he said mysteriously. They all looked at Kimberly in confusion and she nervously smiled.
"This morning when I woke up I stubbed my toe and when I touched the broken nail, the pain and the crack was gone," she explained.
"Soon you will find that you all shall have the powers of a Thunder God, but some of you will get unique abilities based upon your personalities and skills," Raiden began.
"Trini, you have the speed and grace of many warriors, you now have the power to create duplicates of yourself with electrical energy," He said motion for her to step forward. She concentrated for a moment, and began to sweat a little. Then next to her appeared a silhouette of herself. She took a deep breath and it disappeared.
"Do not worry, in time you will grow stronger," he smiled as she stepped back in line with the others. Next he motioned for Zack to come forward.
"You have the grace and swiftness of the crane, but what is a crane if it cannot fly?" He said waving his hand toward the edge of the cliff. Zack stood at the edge trembling, he was terrified that he might not be able to fly. As he was about to back away from the ledge, he felt a push.
"AAAAAAAH!" He closed his eyes as he screamed. He waited to hit the ground but when he opened his eyes he saw he was still level with the others although not on the ground. Raiden laughed and grabbed his hand to pull him back to the ground.
"Billy, you have a brilliant mind. Using your mathematical skills to predict the outcome of events. You have the gift of sight," Billy stepped forward a little and then began to speak.
"This morning I had a strange dream, some strange person was planning an attack on Angel Grove," Billy stated very seriously. Raiden put his hand to his chin and began to think.
"I had not thought Quan Chi, and Shinnok would mobilize so quickly. We must get you ready for the perils that are ahead," he raised his hand to the sky, and in a flash they were at the bottom of the gorge staring at the Command Center.
"Hey, what about my powers?" Jason asked.
"You Jason are a special one indeed, you have many skills that would help you fight evils, but it is hard to choose which one to enhance with this gift. It may take me some time to choose what to bestow you with," Raiden replied placing a hand on his shoulder.
"But first, I must show you the Raiden Ranger's Command Center," Raiden smiled.
"Lord Shinnok," Quan Chi bowed. The Shadow Throne sat empty. Quan Chi looked up and approached it. He had some small curiosity of what it felt to sit upon it. He did not indulge himself though, he knew Shinnok would appear as soon as he did sit down.
"You dare approach the Shadow Throne in my absence, necromancer?" Came Shinnok's ominous voice. Quan Chi immediately bowed.
"No your excellence, I was merely admiring it's craftsmanship," he lied.
"I know when you are lying,but I am in a generous mood today. What news do you have of Raiden in the Earthrealm?" Shinnok said as he sat down smugly.
"I have assigned the task to Noob Saibot. He and his Brotherhood of Shadows are investigating," Quan Chi stated.
"I imagined you will oversee any problems we may have?" Shinnok asked.
"Should he or the Brotherhood make a mistake you mean, Lord Shinnok? I shall deal with him personally," Quan Chi replied.
"That is exactly what I meant, and as I say again... should they make any error it is on your head," Shinnok snarled. Quan Chi nodded in agreement.
"As you command, Lord Shinnok."
"Now leave me, I would like to spend a moment or two with my thoughts," Shinnok said as he sat down. As Quan Chi began to walk out of the Throne room, Shinnok spoke.
"I want to send you to Earthrealm, we need a base of operations," Shinnok gave a sly smile. Quan Chi felt a tinge of anger, he knew this was his punishment for approaching the Throne.
"Yes, Lord Shinnok," Quan Chi said as he opened a portal to Earth. After he disappeared Shinnok laughed maniacally, the chilling sound echoing through the hall.
Quan Chi stepped out of the portal. His eyes were not yet used to the light of Earthrealm and so he raised his hand to shade his face. He was in an unknown forest, alone.
"This is not amusing!" He said to himself. People could be heard from afar, he headed toward them.
"This has to be the most advanced computer terminal I've ever seen!" Billy said in amazement. Raiden laughed again.
"I'm glad to see the Command Center is to your liking,"Raiden's face took on a look of grave seriousness. "But now we must get down to business,"
There was a giant glass tube in the middle of the room, and Raiden walked toward it. "First, I must tell you of our enemies," Raiden began. From the ceiling lowered a viewing globe, it functioned so that Raiden could watch the Rangers from the Command Center. As Raiden talked to them about what to expect images appeared and went.
"Before the realms of Mortal Kombat came into existence, there was the One Being, which comprised all of known reality. The Elder Gods waged war and created the Kamidogu, powerful weapons used to shatter the One Being. The Elder Gods then created the realms from its body, with Earthrealm as the center of power. Even though the One Being was shattered, its divided mind plotted through exceptionally powerful individuals. It acted through Onaga at first, and would later through Shao Kahn, both unaware of its manipulations. Both tried to take Earthrealm under their control and then to merge the realms that remained would become a much easier undertaking. If this were to happen it would mean the end of all things as we know it, and not even the Elder Gods would be safe against the One Being's reign of terror," Raiden told them.
"But...Raiden if you're a god why do you have to have us help you protect Earthrealm? Can't you just destroy the foes that would threaten it? And besides aren't those Shao Kahn and Onaga dudes dead?" Zack asked.
"The difference between the Elder Gods, and Raiden, is that the Elder Gods watch over all realms. Raiden is an Earthrealm god, and therefore would have to power over someone from a different realm. It's like if Raiden was the lord of a region in medieval times, and the Elder Gods are the Kings," Trini explained.
"There are fifteen Elder Gods in total, one from everyone of these realms. Several realms of key importance are," Raiden began again.
"The Chaosrealm is a world where chaos is practiced by its inhabitants as a religion, so, unlike other realms, it has no form of government whatsoever. Therefore, the Chaosrealmers reflect their world's chaotic nature, and hold absolute freedom and change in the highest esteem, relishing in chaos and living in an absolute anarchy.
As the polar opposite of Chaosrealm, Seido is a place where law, order and structure prevail above anything else. It appears to be a clear, advanced, highly urbanized and civilized world. It is rare for it's denizens to travel the realms in force however, as they detest the 'disorderly' state of things beyond their own realm but their fiercest warriors occasionally venture forth on crusades of sorts to halt the spread of Chaos and bring Order, whether it is wanted or not.
A very lush and fertile world with slowly aging inhabitants, Edenia is also a feudal monarchy ruled by Queen Sindel and her daughter Princess Kitana. The earliest known ruler of Edenia was King Jerrod, the husband of Sindel and the father of Kitana, but he was killed by Shao Kahn. Edenia also has a military force called the 'Edenian Resistance' also known as the Edenian Knights of which the kombatant Jade is the general.
A realm composed of thousands of different layers. Deceased souls or entities who have committed major crimes descend into the Netherrealm to undergo endless torture. In fact, one cannot enter the Netherrealm without being evil or have a soul tainted by evil. You perceive this realm as Hell, and true to your beliefs one of its former rulers was Lucifer. It is the darkest region of reality inhabited by demons, monsters, and beings of the purest evil. Millions of years ago, the fallen Elder God Shinnok was banished there. After ages of imprisonment, he was able to break free, deposing Lucifer in the process. He restructured the realm to bear some resemblance to Earthrealm, the world which he had long desired to make his own. He later used it as a staging ground for the invasion of Edenia, but found himself cast into the depths of the realm again after this invasion was foiled.
Now with the help of the powerful necromancer Quan Chi, the man you saw in your dream, Billy, he is again in control of this realm. Though he is not yet free from the realm, and cannot be free until he can find some way to defeat me, his agents are many and varied. Other than the various demons he may convince to cross the barrier between realms the most likely foes you will face will be the Brotherhood of Shadows, an organization made up of the souls of many fallen warriors," he paused for a moment.
"Master Raiden, is it not time to bestow upon them your gift?" Came a voice from behind them. It was a yellow robot, it looked like the Lin Kuei soldiers they had fought before.
"You are right indeed, Cyrax," Raiden answered. "Rangers, this is Cyrax. He was formerly a member of the Lin Kuei, but he stood against the Grand Master's assimilation idea but unfortunately he was captured and turned into the cyborg you see before you," Raiden informed them.
"I regained control of my soul in the end however,and I no longer serve the Lin Kuei," Cyrax bowed. He pressed a few buttons on the console, and then nodded to Raiden.
"Once I give you the powers of the Raiden Rangers, I will no longer have a physical body. This containment tube will keep my electrical essence here in Earthrealm so that I may help and guide you during your trials," Raiden explained.
"It'll be like on of those plasma bulbs!" Billy said. "You know, you touch the glass bulb and it looks like lightning is shooting out of your fingers?" He looked at them and they all nodded in agreement, even though they understood what Raiden had meant the first time.
"So lucky to have you here to put it in layman's terms," Raiden said with a chuckle as he stepped into the chamber. Cyrax closed the door behind him, and then began to press buttons on the console again.
"Now I must have you close your eyes. Turn on the chamber, Cyrax," Raiden said. The console began to light up and the room started to darken.
Each one of them started to feel the same way they had when they were transported in the lightning. Although this felt as if it was a more powerful energy, and they all started to float in the air. When they opened their eyes they could see the changes that had happened. Each of them wore an outfit similar to the one that Raiden had wore, but instead of a uniform blue tunic each had a specific color. Jason the leader wore red, Billy was honored to wear blue like Raiden had. Trini was in yellow, and Kimberly was in pink, while Zack wore black.
"Rangers," Raiden began to with a boom. "As you can see, you are now completely transformed into the Raiden Rangers. Each of you has an amulet, that has the symbol of your power animal and it is a communicator linked to each other and the Command Center," Raiden continued.
"Jason has the Tyrannosaurus Rex the symbol of power and leadership. Zack has the Mastodon, symbol of force and strength. Kimberly has the Pterodactyl, symbol of freedom and majesty. Trini has the Saber-tooth, the symbol of aggression and courage. Billy, with the Triceratops, the symbol of wisdom and kindness but not without it's strength," Raiden finished.
They all smiled up at Raiden and he did as well. Suddenly the alarm went off. "Trouble, Lord Raiden, in the city!" Cyrax shouted.
"Is it Quan Chi?" Raiden asked turning his attention to the monitor.
"I'm not sure!" Cyrax answered. "But it's coming from the park."
"Send the Rangers to the Angel Grove park," Raiden commanded. Cyrax pressed a few buttons on his wrist, and then plugged his finger into the console. Suddenly the Rangers felt the electrical energies surrounding them, and they were transported to the park.
"All right, guys let's do this," Jason said. They were in the middle of the park, nothing looked out of the ordinary but as they grew closer to a group of people they realized what was wrong.
"They're...dead!" Billy cried in horror. The bodies looked like dried raisins, as if someone had literally sucked the life out of them.
"ATTACK!" Came a voice from behind them and they were surrounded by soldiers in all black.
"These must be the Brotherhood of Shadows!" Billy said.
They sprang into action, each of them leapt toward their opponent. Jason came down with a thunderous blow to the head of one of the attackers. The man stepped back and then he dropped to sweep the leg. Jason jumped and came down on his head again with his heel. His adversary fell back and writhed in pain, Jason then drove his fist into the center of his chest breaking his sternum. His attacker melted into black goo, and Jason turned to find another opponent.
Billy charged his foe and dropped into a sliding kick. The man began to cough as he felt his stomach take the blow. Billy quickly tripped him with a jab to the back of the knee. Dropping to his knees, the foe reacted with an elbow to the mouth. Billy reeled back and touched his face, blood flowed from his open lip.
"Well now, time to get rough," Billy grinned.
He charged again and this time as his opponent came at him he leapt into the air. His foe turned around to meet a karate chop straight to the throat. Billy watched as the soldier melted away like the one Jason had killed.
Zack was tasked with fighting the biggest guy of all. The foe tossed him around for a moment or two and when Zack got in a hit it seemed to no effect. Finally Zack thought of a plan. He dodged the foes charge and grabbed his belt. Then leaping into the air, he began to flew up. His foe began to scream and tried to escape but now they were in the air a good 30ft.
"You want down?" Zack asked coyly. The warrior stopped struggling and looked up at him in confusion. Then nodded his head slowly.
"Ok!" Zack laughed as he let him go. Screaming all the way to the ground, a loud thud and a splash of black goo was all that remained of the fighter.
Trini and Kimberly fought two of their own, each one taking turns attacking their foes. Trini's opponent made the unfortunate mistake of not wearing a face mask like the rest. When he grabbed her and began to squeeze her in attempt to suffocate her, she thrust the heel of her palm directly into his nose and sending the cartilage into his brains. She was released as he disappeared.
Kimberly was more defensive than the rest of the Rangers. She allowed her opponent to make the first move. He laughed and then jumped at her to kick her. Knowing how well this had worked for Jason against the Lin Kuei, she simply side stepped and close lined him in the stomach as he passed by. The soldier did a 360 and landed on his face. Kimberly ran toward the tree line and he gave chase. When they were surrounded by the trees she turned to face him again. He laughed again and pulled out a pair of kunai. She slowly backed into a tree. He laughed even harder when he saw that she was cornered but she had other plans. She felt a small sharp branch poke her in the back, and she hid her relief from the foe. He began to shout as he charged, then he jumped into the air with both kunai ready to cut open her flesh. As he came down she roll dodged away from the tree and the warrior came down upon the branch. He dropped the kunai ,moaning in pain as he faded away.
"Alright guys, there was another one," Jason said looking around. He saw the final warrior.
"I see you were able to defeat them, no matter. You will not be so lucky against me," came the man's rasping voice from under his cowl. Then he simply melted away into the ground.
"Damn!" Jason exclaimed. The Rangers regrouped.
"We are ready to return to the Command Center Cyrax," Jason said into his communicator amulet.
"Rangers, you have succeeded in your first battle," Raiden greeted them.
"We defeated them, but their leader got away," Jason informed him. Cyrax touched the goo on Trini's outfit. He opened his chest and slid the goo onto a slide and stuck it into his chest. He waited for a moment and then his wrist remote began to blink.
"Lord Raiden, this is the remnants of a Brotherhood of Shadows soldier!" He said. Raiden's face took on a worried look. This made the Rangers uneasy.
"I had thought Noob Siabot had perished during Nightwolf's attack on the Soulnado," Raiden wondered aloud.
"Lord Raiden, if I may clearify something here," Cyrax began.
"Noob Siabot did perish in the Soulnado, but Noob Siabot is the title given to the leader of the Brotherhood of Shadows, in reality he was the wrathful soul of Sub-Zero. Known as Bi-Han to his family, the Sub-Zero killed by Scorpion in the Netherrealm," Cyrax informed him.
"Indeed, Cyrax you are correct," Raiden agreed.
"But today was a victory for the Rangers, let us celebrate."
In the darkness of the Netherrealm, Quan Chi sat in his skeletal chair. Before him stood the many wraiths of the Brotherhood of Shadows. Before him came the soldier who had escaped the Rangers.
"Did you defeat them?" Quan Chi asked. He stared intensely into the warriors white eyes. The warrior bowed and then began to speak.
"No, but this first confrontation was only a test. I do not see them that they are going to be much of a problem," He said. Then he stood up again.
"You will make an excellent new leader of the Brotherhood of Shadows. But first you must give up your old identity, swear your allegiance to us, and then you shall rule all the other wraiths," Quan Chi told him.
"I am ready, Master."
"You will become Noob Saibot leader of the Brotherhood. Who is it that died to give Noob Siabot life, what is the name of the weak warrior that gave way to the strength that is now Noob Siabot?" Quan Chi asked the ceremonial question, his voice echoing throughout the Netherrealm. The Warrior's eyes began to glow with his new powers as he answered the question.
"Lui Kang."