Author's Notes: A nice long chapter to pay for the wait. And boy what a chapter it is. It finishes off the "Doomsday" plotline. And, yes, we're going into the "Return of an Old Friend" plot next. And that's going to be pretty freakin' epic. I absolutely can't wait.
Thanks to my reviewers: exwindz, brankel1, romirola, alias093001, Vodams, togapika, Protector of Canon2 (Me, evil? Never! Mwa-ha-ha.), liron-aria, JediMasterSarah, lunarweather, PinkRangerV, Willowxxx, curly, sfinufan, Ghostwriter, Yersi Fanel, turtle titan (I have honestly not planned in that much detail that far ahead. I do think I'm going to be plotting thing a little differently around the White Ranger and the power transfer stuff.), and Linariel (Thanks for the long-awaited review! Yes to the last question.)
Darker Shades
Book 2: Doomsday
Chapter 9: Coming Home
Penn shoved the hotel key card into the lock. It beeped and flashed red. She growled and did it again, this time more deliberately. The lock had barely glowed green when she pushed her way through the door.
Tommy was lying on the bed, watching an action movie. He did not acknowledge her violent entrance.
"What the hell was that?" Penn asked in barely-contained fury.
Tommy looked up finally. His eyes were defiant, though his face was a mask. He said nothing.
Penn glared at him. "I've been talking to people for over an hour. I was barely able to keep from paying fines, and it's damn lucky the other fighter isn't filing a suit against you."
Tommy kept his face immobile. "It's not like I hurt him. Not permanently, anyway."
Penn's hands balled up into fists, but she kept her arms tightly crossed. "Not… permanently… Tommy…" She took several breaths, as she'd become so angry she was beyond sense.
Tommy, in the meantime, had turned back to the movie.
Penn strode over to the television and turned it off. Tommy continued to stare at the blank screen, avoiding his mother's glare.
"Look at me, Tommy," Penn said in a dangerous voice.
Tommy looked at her. This time the mask was beginning to slip, and Penn could tell Tommy was as angry as she was.
"I just want to know what kind of stupid Cobra Kai stunt you were trying to pull," Penn said slowly. "I taught you to hold back in fights. To fight safe, to never hurt people in the ring. And then you nearly break some guy's leg. Why? Because he was winning?"
"You taught me to end a fight quick," Tommy said, his voice shaking from… anger? Something else? "It's not my fault he couldn't keep up."
"You can blame me for a lot of things, Tommy, but there's no way in hell you can blame me for what you just did," Penn said, her voice growing calmer and calmer. "Ever since you left Angel Grove, it's all been the same. No one wants to fight you, because you keep pushing the limits… going too far…" Penn shook her head. "Whatever's gotten into you, it's not because of me."
Tommy stared at her, his eyes burning.
Penn sat on the bed, her anger melting away. "Okay, Tommy, let's have it out. What happened in Angel Grove?"
"What?"
Penn chuckled drily. "I acknowledge I'm not the best mother in the world, but I'm not bone stupid. I know when you're unhappy." She paused. "I know you only went with me because you were running away from something."
Tommy's eyes were wide. Penn could read… something… in them. Fear? Possibly. But there was too much else going on, and Penn truly had to admit that she knew next to nothing about her son.
"What was it, trouble at school?" Penn hazarded a guess. "Or some of those things your dad tells me about but you never talk about?"
Tommy scowled. "I've been clean, okay? Not that you'd know anything about it."
"Right, then," Penn ploughed on, unfazed. "Girl trouble? That girl I saw before we left? What's her name?"
"Kimberly," Tommy said, and his voice was clouded with pain.
"Or was it that your father is getting married again?" Penn said softly.
Tommy kept looking away.
Penn stared at him for a few minutes, waiting for him to say something. He didn't. "Fine," she said. "Have it your way." She got up to leave.
"It was fine with everyone," Tommy said in a low voice.
Penn stopped.
Tommy was smiling bitterly. "It was great. Sylvia is awesome, and Billy's my best friend. And… things were going so great with Kimberly. And dad was happier and healthier than he'd been for years. And I wasn't having any problems with any of them until I… left."
"So why did you leave?" Penn said.
Tommy looked at her, the anguish in his eyes tell her more than he could articulate. "I… I really can't tell you. I just had to get out of town. Maybe… maybe I was running away from something. I dunno. I just knew it was better for everyone if I just left."
Penn sat on the bed again. "Would I be overstepping my bounds if I told you that you were flat-out wrong?"
"What do you mean?"
Penn laughed. "Tommy, I of all people should know that no one's better off when it comes to running away. I mean, look at me." She steeled herself, ready to share more than she'd ever meant to. "When your father got sick, I was terrified. I talked a lot of bullshit—still do—about not wanting to be tied down, but the truth? I was scared to watch him die. So I bolted. I ran away, leaving you and your father. And now I've ruined my chances forever with both of you."
Tommy was watching her carefully, and for the first time he didn't have that little reserve of anger he'd always shown to her.
"Your father is finally finding happiness," Penn continued. "And you… you belong with your father. I can't keep trying to take you with me when you've obviously found someplace where you belong. So…" Penn held out an envelope she'd kept folded in her pocket.
Tommy opened it, his brow creased in confusion. He pulled out some money and a bus ticket.
"It leaves this afternoon," Penn said. "You can be back in Angel Grove in a day."
"Mom…" Tommy said. "You've never sent me home before. I… I thought you wanted me on the tournament circuit. Why did you ask me to join you in the first place?"
Penn was avoiding his gaze this time. "Maybe I keep wanting that second chance with you, but I have no idea how to go about it. I know it's not going to be through keeping you from your… family." She smiled. "You lit up when you were talking about your friends… and Sylvia. I'm not telling you what to do, but you're not happy with me. You're happy with them." She smirked. "Besides, you're banned from this circuit anyway, for at least a year. So you have no excuse, do you?"
Tommy pulled her into a hug, and Penn felt tears sting her eyes. They didn't fall, though, as usual. She pulled back. "Come on. Let's get you packed before the bus leaves without you."
It wasn't until he saw the city limit sign through the bus window that his heart started pounding.
He was stupid to come back. If he was smart, he'd take another bus to… anywhere. Not Angel Grove. He didn't care what his mother said. He didn't belong here. Rita had proven that.
Every time he thought of Rita his insides clenched. The time away had done nothing to dispel his dread of facing Rita. If anything, the fear had grown. He knew how vulnerable he was. He was in more danger simply because he had once been a Power Ranger. He drew more attention than any other—his fist clenched at the word—civilian.
His mother had been right about one thing. He'd been running away, but not from any of his relationships. At least, not any among the humans.
He wondered what his mother would say if she knew what exactly he was running away from. Probably call him a coward.
The bus stopped, and he realized he hadn't called his father. No one knew he was there. He smiled grimly. He always got pissed off when his mother would show up without calling, and here he was.
He grabbed his bag and got off the bus after letting everyone else go in front of him. He stretched the stiffness out of his limbs as he walked to a payphone. He told himself he wasn't looking around at shadows because he expected an attack at any moment.
The phone rang several times, but it sometimes took his dad a few minutes to get to the phone. They didn't have an answering machine anymore.
There was a palpable pause after the phone was picked up. Tommy gulped. Somehow his dad always knew. "Hey, dad," Tommy said before his father had to say anything.
"Tommy," John said lightly, in that cheerful voice he'd take to that Tommy hated so damn much. "How are things on the road?"
Tommy cleared his throat, trying to think of the best way to tell him… but failing. "I'm… I'm home, dad. At least, at the bus station part of home."
Tommy couldn't decide how he felt about calling Angel Grove "home."
This time there was no pause. "That's fantastic!" John said. "Do you need me to pick you up? Just give me time to call Sylvia… We should do something special tonight. Maybe go out…"
"Dad, it's all right," Tommy said, a bit overwhelmed. "I can walk home. It's not far."
"Oh, we're definitely all going out tonight," John said. His voice was jubilant.
Why, Tommy thought, did his father always accept him back so easily? He never held it against him.
"You… you might be careful around the park," John added. "Coming home, I mean."
Alarm bells rang in Tommy's head. "I didn't hear the monster sirens. Is there an attack?"
"Nothing like that," John said. "I… I just wanted to warn you that there's some sort of celebration honoring the Power Rangers going on at the park today. Your friends are all there, of course. I didn't know how you'd…"
Tommy smiled. He'd been preparing for the worst, so this seemed much less dire then he had thought. "Dad… do you mind if I go there first? I'll come straight on home after."
"Tell you what," John said, "I'll meet you there."
Tommy walked slowly to the park, dropping by the Youth Center and stowing his bag in a locker on the way. He tried to decide how he felt about this celebration thing, but it was all bound up in being back in Angel Grove. His friends were there. Kimberly was there. It was a day celebrating the Power Rangers. He'd been a Power Ranger… but then he hadn't, really. He was always the extra. He'd started out as an enemy. Then… he'd lost his powers.
So why did he feel so compelled to go to the park? Why did he want to see such a flagrant celebration of something he'd lost?
On the road with his mother, he'd been able to ignore what he'd lost. Forget that he'd ever been a Power Ranger. That he'd ever been part of a group. Or, at least, he thought he'd been able to forget it. But he realized every fight he'd been in—all the fights he'd been pushing… nearly hurting people—he'd been fighting against this one thing.
Angel Grove had destroyed him. And… he had to find a way to rebuild himself. And if he was going to do that without going off the deep end or hurting someone, he was going to have to face what he'd been avoiding.
He walked past the gaudily-decorated gate. He had enough time to smile at the color green included with the other Ranger colors… when everything disappeared.
Shit. Shit shit shit shit SHIT!
Tommy closed his eyes and pressed himself against the stone wall, willing himself not to be there. Hoping against hope that he was having one of his nightmares. That he couldn't possibly be in one of the lower dungeons of the effing Moon Palace!
He opened his eyes slowly. It wasn't a dream. It was the effing Moon Palace.
Tommy slumped to the ground. He didn't know what sort of surveillance they had in the dungeon at the moment, but he definitely did not want to be spotted. He was pretty sure, since he wasn't the only one who'd been teleported, that he wasn't the target, and he could even speculate that Rita didn't know he was there. It wouldn't stay that way forever, though. He'd be spotted, and he knew what would happen then. Rita wanted revenge on him. Everyone did. And he was powerless to stop them.
He realized his heart was thudding in his chest. He forced himself to breathe normally and pay attention to what was going on around him.
Tommy's head jerked up when he heard Mr. Kaplan's voice. "People of Angel Grove, please do not panic. We have a lot of children in here, and we don't want anyone to get trampled."
The crowd yelled out confused questions. Tommy could feel the panic in the air, the panic that merged so neatly with his own. Through it all, though, Mr. Kaplan's calm, authoritative voice kept the room's attention. "Where we are, we can only guess. We can only assume that we have been taken prisoner by Rita Repulsa, the enemy of the Power Rangers. If this is the case, and it probably is, we can be assured that we will be saved by the Power Rangers."
Tommy watched as the crowd challenged Mr. Kaplan's faith in the Power Ranger. He smiled at the all-too-quick loss of faith in the town's heroes. They'd been celebrating the Power Rangers. He hadn't been able to see much of the celebration, but from the crowd he knew it had been pretty big.
As an afterthought, he scanned the crowd for the Power Rangers, looking in a few strategic spots he knew Jason would aim for immediately. They'd be trying to find a way out of the dungeon without raising any suspicions from the crowd. But, no. He'd known all along that they wouldn't be there. Rita would have lured them elsewhere before gaining her hostages.
"I would usually be the first to head up an attack against our kidnappers," Mr. Kaplan answered the challenges. "But it's too risky. First off, we're locked in a place that might not even be on Earth. Second, there are too many children here who could get hurt. We have to rely on the Power Rangers. We can't risk ourselves and have the Power Rangers' efforts be all in vain."
"Rely on the Power Rangers," a man said sarcastically. "You mean the ones who couldn't even save the people who were celebrating them from being kidnapped?"
There were several yells against the man, but also several yells in agreement. Tommy felt like hitting the man.
Mr. Kaplan looked around furiously. "Now, let me tell you all something. I was there the day of the attack on the high school. The Power Rangers visited me the night before, and I helped them install security in the high school so we could protect the students. I saw them fight with no regard for their own safety to protect all those students. Not only did the Power Rangers save everyone, but they healed the students who were injured. Now you cannot tell me the Power Rangers aren't doing everything in their power to save us. I have faith in the Power Rangers. We all must have faith in the Power Rangers."
While he was talking, Tommy watched helplessly as Rita flickered onto a screen and struck Mr. Kaplan down with a bolt of magic. The crowd yelled in shocked anger.
"Oh, don't worry, puny humans," Rita said, her voice easily silencing the crowd. "I have not killed your spokesman. He's going to sleep for a bit," she smirked, "while I tell you exactly why the Power Rangers will not save you."
Tommy shrank back against the wall. She didn't see him, though. She looked to be concentrating on something else.
He looked around the room. They were spellbound… Mouths hanging open, the most aggressive now staring blank-faced. Even the children were silent and still.
A spell…
Tommy quickly turned away from the screen and looked at the wall beside him. He felt the old magic tugging at his brain, prompting him to stare at his former empress, but he could recognize the impulse for what it was.
Tommy considered what to do. He had no idea why Rita was putting everyone under a spell, but it couldn't be anything good. She was obviously using them against the Power Rangers, and not just as hostages for ransom. He could think of a dozen possibilities, and each presented dire consequences if they stayed under Rita's power too long. Not to mention what would happen when he was spotted.
And yet… what if he just gave in?
Rita's voice was still there. He somehow knew that if he gave in to the spell, she would recognize him immediately. The struggle and fear would be over. If he was under her power, he wouldn't even care what she did to him. There would be peace and certainty.
But it was one thing to be taken by the spell. It was quite another thing to surrender to it voluntarily.
He realized his brain was finally calm. The worst had happened. The very thing he'd been dreading most.
He looked at the prone figure of Mr. Kaplan. He could see the purple suit through a sea of legs. Mr. Kaplan didn't have any powers. He was just a human, and not very young or athletic at that. And yet he was brave. He'd been the only one to stand up and try to rally the other prisoners. He'd stood up to Rita's forces armed with nothing but a baseball bat.
Tommy remembered the day of the attack on the high school, the day Mr. Kaplan had referenced. Tommy had held Mr. Kaplan at gunpoint, but the man hadn't backed down. Tommy remembered… the spell on him had almost broken in that instant. Mr. Kaplan, without even knowing it, had almost beaten him through sheer nerve.
Tommy had been worrying so much about losing his powers, afraid that he wouldn't be able to fight. That he'd be at the mercy of Rita without them.
Yes, he was vulnerable. Yes, he could no longer fight monsters. But that didn't mean he was supposed to give up. And that didn't mean he didn't have a responsibility.
Rita was droning on about the inadequacies of the Power Rangers. In the meantime, as if he'd known the whole time it was there, Tommy felt the loose stone give behind him. Without anyone having seen him, he slipped through the tiny opening and replaced the stone behind him.
The trip through the passageways was rat-filled but largely uneventful. Tommy worked his way upwards, toward the light and heat, where he knew Rita kept the palace the most habitable.
Finally, he decided to chance it and pushed through a weak panel in the wall. He held his breath and made as little noise as possible. Even Squatt and Baboo would pose a danger to him at this point, not to mention if Goldar or Scorpina happened to be hanging about.
A deep, rich, earthy smell assaulted him, and he had to shield his eyes from the light. A loud electronic buzz filled the room.
The hydroponics lab…
Tommy replaced the panel in the wall and ducked behind some tomato stalks. He'd lucked out and emerged in the one place that was sure to be deserted during an attack: Finster's hydroponics garden, where he grew fresh cooking ingredients as well as the plants commonly needed in various potions. The room also helped with the oxygen supply for the palace. And it was conveniently connected to Finster's lab, where there were computer systems that connected to communication and teleportation.
So far he'd had bad luck in entering the park the second everyone was kidnapped, and then good luck finding an escape and emerging in the best possible place to avoid detection and plan an attack. Tommy knew that his good luck would not hold out for long.
He slid though the garden, careful not to rustle leaves too much, keeping an eye out for surveillance cameras. There was little need for surveillance in the hydroponics lab, and the door between the hydroponics lab and the main lab was probably not wired. The real danger was that Finster was probably in the lab. He'd have to be subdued quickly and quietly. Tommy didn't want to hurt the scientist. He'd always done right by Tommy. But Finster was still the main obstacle between himself and freedom. He'd try to go as easy as possible and still keep the little alien from incapacitating him or calling Rita. He still remembered how effective Finster was in containing Jason.
"Well, I'll be damned," he whispered, seeing the empty lab.
Tommy knew he only had minutes. Finster was probably in the throne room or possibly even doing something around the prisoners. He would be back very soon. First, Tommy felt around the edges of Finster's main lab station. He pulled out Finster's emergency laser pistol and took the safety off.
Thus armed, senses keen to anyone approaching, he keyed in Finster's access codes to the communication channel. He'd watched Finster work with the computer so many times that he'd memorized the basic access codes. And it helped that Finster absent-mindedly said the pass codes to himself as he keyed them in every time.
One eye still fixed on the door, with gun at ready just in case, he sent the signal.
"Ay-yi-yi, Zordon!" Alpha exclaimed. "We're receiving a communication from the Moon Palace!"
Zordon sighed heavily. They had been watching the disastrous battle between their Zords and Goldar's Cyclopsis. Zordon was just starting to realize that the Zords lacked the power to combat Rita's new source of power.
"Rita probably wishes to gloat over her impending victory," Zordon said heavily. "And yet, we cannot ignore her call, as she may give us an opportunity…" He trailed off. "Alpha, answer her hail."
"Zordon, finally. I thought you weren't going to answer."
Alpha let out a squeal and accidentally knocked a minor security system out in his surprise. Zordon was speechless for the first time in years.
"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi, Tommy!" Alpha said. "What are you doing up there?"
"There's no time right now," Tommy said urgently. "I'm in Finster's lab, and everyone's too distracted by the battle to notice me, but Finster won't stay away for long. And if Scorpina catches me here, I'm pretty much screwed. So we gotta hurry."
"Agreed, Tommy." Zordon had sufficiently recovered himself. "Do you think you can weaken the defenses around the prisoners?"
Tommy laughed uncertainly. "If you talk me through it." He grew more serious. "I'm watching the battle on Finster's screen. It doesn't look good."
"The Power Rangers' only hope is that we break Rita's power supply," Zordon said. "Once we rescue the prisoners, Goldar will have no choice but to retreat or lose Cyclopsis altogether."
Tommy paused. "Then let's do this."
Tommy's brain had stopped. He stared down the pistol barrel at Finster, who had frozen in the doorway.
"Zordon," he said over the communication speaker, still keeping his eyes on Finster, "we need to hurry. I've been spotted. Rita doesn't know yet, though."
"We'll have enough time," Zordon said reassuringly. "We've made the connection between the computers, so Alpha is working on the problem. We'll have the prisoners—and you—teleported out of there very soon. You must not move, or we will lose your signal."
"Right," Tommy said nervously. "Just… hurry."
Jason was never gladder to be back in the Megazord cockpit.
"Okay, Kim," he said, "what do we have in the way of power?"
Kimberly had started working frantically as soon as they'd formed. Her costume was scarred black from her recent crash. "We can get the MegaSword, but it'll take ten minutes. If all goes well, at least."
"We're still suffering structural damage," Billy said.
"And shield damage," Trini added.
Jason sighed. "Zack, can you keep us on our feet?"
"As long as you keep us away from the harder punches," Zack said, "I'll keep us upright."
Jason assessed the situation. Cyclopsis was still, staring at them and waiting for them to make the first move in that irritating way Goldar had done to him so many times. Goldar had the upper hand. He had enough power to outlast them, so he didn't need to be in a hurry.
"What about Titanus?" Jason asked the group. "We know there's an 'UltraZord' combination. We should use that."
"It would give us enough power," Billy said, "but we'd need all the Zords to combine. I doubt Goldar will let us. He'd most likely attack when we were at our most vulnerable: mid-reconfiguration."
"And it will mess up any chance of getting the MegaSword," Kimberly said. "We need power to call it forth."
"Guys…" Zack broke in, "is that building glowing?"
The others followed where Zack was pointing. A building just to the right of Cyclopsis was glowing orange.
"And there's another," Trini said weakly. "And another…"
"We're getting a communication from Goldar," Billy said.
Jason felt like the air was being sucked from the room. "Answer it," he said in a low voice.
The speaker crackled to life. "I grow weary of waiting, Power Rangers," Goldar said in a smug voice. "We all know this is the end… that I've just been toying with you. If you surrender now, I will show mercy to these humans. If you persist against the inevitable, whatever humans are in these buildings will die. So what's it to be?"
Jason stared at the buildings, imagining the panicking people inside.
"Come on," Goldar gloated. "It's Power Ranger Day. Be the heroes."
"What do we do, Jason?" Zack said in a low voice.
Jason felt the others staring at the back of his head. They were hoping he'd come up with a brilliant strategy, but he had nothing. They had lost. There was nothing they could do.
Tommy drummed his fingers against the work table, shooting nervous glances at Finster. The laser pistol was getting heavy in his hand, but he didn't dare waver. Finster knew every inch of the lab, and he could cause Tommy no end of trouble if he gave him the chance.
"When do you have to report in to Rita?" Tommy asked.
Finster merely stared at him. "Tommy… you must not do this."
"What, save a whole bunch of people?" Tommy said. "Because I have a feeling those people won't last through what you have planned for them."
Tommy was used to Finster looking kindly and slightly absent-minded. At this moment, Finster looked dangerous.
"You must not go against us like this," Finster continued as if Tommy hadn't spoken. "You are no longer a Power Ranger, and Queen Rita has not sought out a fight with you. It is not your place to fight against Queen Rita. She will only kill you for your trouble."
Tommy tightened his grip on the pistol and glanced at the battle below. The Rangers were losing very quickly. If they didn't break Cyclopsis' power in the next few minutes…
"There's still time," Finster said, his voice growing more insistent. "Allow me to break the connection with the Command Center, and I will teleport you out of here unharmed. Queen Rita need never know of this. I can ensure your safety if you call off this attack. However," Finster's voice turned grim, "if you continue, you are declaring yourself our enemy: in league with the Power Rangers. Queen Rita has declared death to any Power Ranger who strays into the Moon Palace." He paused. "Do not try me in this way, Tommy."
Tommy kept one eye on Finster and one on the battle. "How can I take your offer? How can I save myself when it means so many deaths? Finster… I am your enemy."
The speaker crackled to life, breaking the silence. "Tommy, we're ready to teleport everyone out now. Just key in the teleportation sequence from your end."
"Don't," Finster said shortly. "You don't know what you're doing."
Tommy shot Finster a challenging look and pressed the button.
Several things happened at once.
Scorpina shouted in shock when the dazed, staring prisoners disappeared. She turned on her heel and ran to see what was going on.
Hundreds of people appeared in the park, accidentally knocking down a few police officers. They awoke from their trances instantly and had little memory of what transpired.
The downtown Angel Grove buildings stopped glowing orange. Goldar cursed as he jabbed at his console, realizing his nearly unlimited source of power wasn't there anymore.
The machine in the throne room sparked and shorted out. A recently-installed matching component in Cyclopsis shorted out as well, but not before casting out a wave of reserve energy as the containment field failed.
The Power Rangers sensed that, too, and their upsurge of hope drained the remainder of Cyclopsis' power reserves.
Rita screamed in fury and sent a message throughout the Moon Palace, demanding to know what was going on.
Finster, as soon as Tommy pressed the button, stepped on a hidden button on the floor he'd been inching toward for the past few minutes. Sirens wailed throughout the Moon Palace and a panel dropped down to close off his computer station, nearly taking Tommy's hand off.
"What just happened?" Tommy said in a shaky voice.
"You have… saved… the prisoners," Finster said in a hard voice. "I have also activated emergency security protocols. All but I and Queen Rita are locked out of the computer system. That pistol has been deactivated, and Scorpina is headed this way." Finster was calmly loading a syringe. "If you stay in one place, you may still be teleported out in a few minutes. Do you think you can last in one place that long?"
Tommy heard running footsteps echo down the corridor. With a curse, he threw the pistol away and ran into the hydroponics lab before Finster could get near him.
Oblivious to their friend's peril, the Power Rangers watched as their power level rose.
"Billy…?" Jason said.
"I don't know," Billy said. "Cyclopsis has apparently lost its power source, and it's significantly weaker. In the process, however, the Zord's excess power was thrown from Cyclopsis, and it seems both the MegaZord and the Dragonzord was able to gather some of that excess power."
"Translation," Jason said, hardly daring to believe.
"We're at full power," Kimberly said.
"Shields are at full," Trini added.
"And the major functional repairs have been completed," Billy finished. "We just don't know how any of this happened, except the simple explanation of a malfunction."
Zack was the first to give a whoop of joy. "Who cares how it happened? I say it's time to take this puppy down!"
Jason grinned. "You heard the man. Let's do this!"
He was about to call for the MegaSword, but he stopped. "On second thought, let's do this in style. Goldar's been grandstanding this whole fight. See how he likes it."
With one voice and one mind, the five said, "We call on the power of Titanus and the UltraZord!"
How they all knew the next move, they didn't question. They were in sync as they hadn't been for weeks. Something about the energy wave from Cyclopsis had not only saved their Zords but had energized their spirits.
Cyclopsis began backing up in fits and starts—obviously experiencing power problems—when Titanus appeared on the battlefield. The other Zords, in the meantime, recombined to join with the Dragonzord.
The six Zords, brought together by Titanus, dwarfed Cyclopsis. They couldn't believe minutes before they'd been afraid of it.
Jason opened his mouth to order the attack, but then he stopped. They had to get rid of Cyclopsis, but Goldar had no way to defend himself. "Billy, open up a channel to Goldar," he said, hoping he wasn't going to regret it.
The others seemed to know what he was going to do, but they did nothing to stop him. "Goldar," he said, "now would be a good time to retreat."
A string of unfamiliar words came over the speaker in what was probably alien cursing. "I can't move Cyclopsis, as you very well know, Red Ranger," Goldar answered.
"Leave it behind," Jason said. "We're going to fire in a few minutes whether you're in there or not. I just thought I'd give you fair warning."
There was a pause. Jason half-expected the speaker to burst into flames from the obvious fury on the other end. "You'll pay for this, Rangers," Goldar said.
"I expect so," Jason said calmly. "Guys, lock on and fire all weapons."
The sky grew dark from the brilliant blaze of the UltraZord's weapons firing all at once. The blasts consumed Cyclopsis, so that not even rubble remained.
The Rangers cheered at the dramatic and sudden victory.
Jason hit his communicator. "Zordon, come in. Since Cyclopsis lost its power, I assume the prisoners are all saved?"
There was a pause. The Rangers stared at each other. Zordon usually spent this time congratulating them.
"Not… all of the prisoners were saved," Zordon said grimly. "Please report to the Command Center immediately."
Not sure of what to expect, the Rangers sent their Zords back and teleported to the Command Center. Alpha was working frantically at the controls.
"I can't find him, Zordon," Alpha cried. "He must have been unable to keep his position."
Billy quickly joined Alpha. "What are we looking for?" Billy said. "I can help you hone the sensors."
"Thank you, Billy," Alpha said. "We are looking for Tommy."
"WHAT?"
The chorused word would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious. Billy swallowed any questions and got straight to work.
The others, however, didn't have an immediate task.
"What do you mean, you're looking for Tommy?" Kimberly said, her voice squeaking from the surprise. "He's off with his mother, isn't he?"
"He is in the Moon Palace at present," Zordon said. "I do not know how he came to be there. Ten minutes ago he contacted me from the Moon Palace with a plan to save the prisoners. He was able to give us access enough to teleport the prisoners back to Earth. However, we were unable to teleport him out before the Palace's security blocked us. He has moved from his last known location, so we are completely unable to locate him."
The Rangers stared at Zordon, their mouths hanging open.
Jason was the first to recover. "It doesn't matter how he got up there. The important thing is that we get him out. If Alpha and Billy can't teleport him out, we'll have to go in after him."
"It's risky," Trini said. "Do you remember what Scorpina said?"
"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice," Zack said. "It's not like Rita is going to negotiate with us. She's not going to let him go until he's dead or evil again."
"Agreed," Jason said. "He's the reason we won the fight. He saved the prisoners, us, and Angel Grove all in one swoop, and I'll be damned if he pays for that with his life. If they can't teleport him out in the next few minutes, we're going."
"Your intentions are admirable," Zordon said. "However, you will be unable to teleport in. Security prevents it right now. We will be using all our power to find him and teleport him out."
"We've got to do something!" Kimberly said desperately.
"You might be quiet," Billy snapped. He turned from the controls. His eyes were wide and panicked, and his face was sweating. "I'm sorry," he said a bit quieter, "but I need to concentrate if we're going to save him."
The other four nodded, not wanting to distract him any further. Trini wandered over to the side, muttering about preparing more serum, just in case. No one wanted to remind her that the serum wouldn't work on Tommy anymore. Jason, Zack, and Kimberly stood and watched helplessly. Even when they'd been completely overpowered by Cyclopsis they didn't feel so helpless.
Scorpina didn't know why she didn't go straight to the throne room. She didn't know why, of all places, she chose Finster's lab. She just had a gut feeling that something was wrong there.
Squatt and Baboo stood in the corridor in front of her. "The prisoners are gone, and you're in trouble!" they sang together at Scorpina.
"Out of the way!" Scorpina thundered, brandishing her sword at them. They scattered.
Finster was keying in the sequence to unlock his computer from the extra security. A loaded syringe was on the table beside him.
"What happened?" Scorpina said.
"You're not going to believe it," Finster said shortly, any signs of absent-mindedness gone.
Scorpina's heart was thudding. She wasn't going to show up before Rita without at least an explanation. "Amaze me," she said through gritted teeth.
"Tommy used my computer to contact the Command Center. I was just able to trap him, but I could not prevent him from stealing the prisoners."
"You're shitting me," Scorpina said. "How the hell did he get up here in the first place? Wait… that doesn't matter. Where did he go?"
Finster brought up a map of the Moon Palace. "I'm tracking him through the hydroponics lab. It connects to a duct system. From there he can get to anywhere in the Palace, including any place with a teleportation panel."
Scorpina was already halfway through the door to the hydroponics lab.
She scanned the technological garden. The buzz coming from the generators, lights, and irrigation system just barely obscured a faint rustling among the leaves.
"Tommy!" she called out.
The rustling stopped near the far-left corner of the room. She grinned and began walking vaguely toward the right as a feint.
"You can't escape, Tommy," Scorpina said. "Maybe if you surrender yourself, Rita will go easy on you."
Scorpina heard a distinct laugh, and this time it was coming from her immediate left rather than the far left. Was Tommy throwing his voice? When did he learn to do that?
Then it dawned on Scorpina. He was already in the ductwork.
Without warning, she let loose a power surge from her sword. Several plants and part of the wall blasted open. She heard a scuttling behind the wall. She'd missed him.
She felt a surge of fury against him. She had risked everything to protect him, and still he acted against Rita, inviting her attacks. Ever since he'd joined the Power Rangers, he'd slowly become one of them: pigheadedly fighting against what he didn't understand, consequences be damned.
He wasn't the same person anymore. He was one of them.
"If that's the way you want it," Scorpina growled. She'd been tracking his movements slowly and carefully. There was one other duct in the room, and he was just about to pass it.
Scorpina launched her stinger at the vent right when she heard him approach. There was a scream, and she felt her stinger pierce flesh. She knew the poison was already in his blood system.
She heard him move, this time slower and more uncertainly. But she wasn't worried. He would be dead in minutes.
Tommy clung to consciousness desperately. The pain was overwhelming, and his vision and hearing kept fading in and out. He clambered forward, ready to escape the ducts into a corridor at first opportunity. He would rather not die in a wall like a rat if he could help it.
It was starting to feel as though he wouldn't be able to help it.
He saw stripes of light and pushed his way through. He tumbled out onto the floor, the duct cover making a loud clang that seemed to echo through the entire Palace.
"I don't believe it," a gruff voice said behind him.
Tommy felt like screaming when he heard Goldar's voice, but he didn't. His whole body seemed seized up with a combination of fear and whatever Scorpina had done to him.
"So you're the cause of all this," Goldar said, his voice turning venomous. "You're the reason I lost Cyclopsis, you bastard."
Tommy somehow got to his feet, and he didn't take time to answer his accuser. Instead, more by instinct than any plan, he launched himself into a very familiar door. The door slammed shut behind him. He keyed in the code that would lock the door. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would keep him from being killed immediately by Goldar.
The door shuddered. It sounded like Goldar was trying to knock it down. And Tommy knew that, with his luck, the golden warrior would succeed.
Desperately, he tore the mattress on the bed open. When Scorpina had dumped and burned his stuff, she hadn't thought or cared to check his mattress.
After what seemed like forever, his hand closed on what he was looking for: his spare communicator, one that Finster had given him. With the last of his strength, he pressed the button that would send him to the Command Center.
He felt the tingle of teleportation, and then hands grab him. Then, he felt nothing.
"Get that table over here!" Trini said.
Kimberly and Billy set the table in the middle of the Command Center, and Jason and Zack laid Tommy on it. He'd teleported in their midst mere moments before; Jason had just been able to catch him to keep him from falling on the floor.
Alpha was already there with a medical scanner. "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! I'm detecting an unknown substance in his blood stream."
"Can my serum counteract it?" Trini said.
Alpha looked up sadly. "Yes, Trini, if the serum had any effect on him."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zack said angrily.
Zordon's voice was heavy with emotion. "It means that Tommy no longer has a Power Coin. The serum only affects Power Rangers."
The Rangers stared at their dying friend, Trini holding her serum ineffectually.
Jason was losing himself in panic. Tommy was going to die, and it was all his fault, and…
"He doesn't need a Power Coin," Kimberly broke the silence. "He's a Power Ranger, always. And he has us. We can be his power."
Billy looked excited. "Affirmative! If I could save Skull, then all of us can save Tommy."
Hope stronger than what they'd felt in the UltraZord filled the Rangers. Somehow, they all knew what to do. Alpha stepped aside as the Power Rangers surrounded Tommy and held out their Power Coins. Jason held out both.
Power radiated around Tommy's prone form. The Rangers squinted against the brightness, but they kept filling Tommy with power.
For the tiniest of seconds, Tommy seemed to flicker into the form of the Green Ranger.
"Now, Trini!" Zordon said.
Trini rushed forward and injected Tommy with the serum.
The power seemed to absorb into Tommy's skin. He gave one great shudder and then opened his eyes.
"Hey, guys," Tommy said weakly, "did you win?"
Amid the shouts of relief, Jason said, "Yeah, bro… I think we did."
Goldar reported from the telescope, "It's confirmed. I've spotted the traitor Tommy on Earth, alive and well."
The news met with a tense silence. Scorpina was clearly agitated; she leaned against a wall, but her stinger, which she usually kept safely tucked away, was lashing about her. Everyone else kept their distance. Squatt and Baboo were watching the stinger nervously. They'd been threatened out of singing about her getting into trouble for the third time, and they knew she was near attacking them. Finster was ignoring everything and cleaning up the mess of the ruined device from the throne room floor.
Only Rita was still. She was glaring from her throne. She seemed too angry to yell and scream. Bags were under her eyes and her forehead was lined with pain, a testament to the strain she'd put herself through during the attack.
They waited. They were ready for the recriminations, the punishment… everything that went along with a loss.
"You all performed to the best of your abilities," Rita said softly.
They all looked up in shock, but they didn't say anything.
"Goldar," she began, "you were admirable on the battlefield. You were even able to save some of Cyclopsis's components before you were forced to abandon the battle machine. I'm… truly sorry you lost it."
Goldar looked stunned. "Thank you, my Empress," he said in a dazed voice.
Rita turned her head to Finster and Scorpina. "Both of you dealt with the… security intrusion to the best of your abilities. While you were unable to keep him from teleporting out the prisoners, Finster, you put the Palace under security lockdown as soon as you could at risk to your own life. And Scorpina… you administered a killing blow against the… intruder." She smiled weakly. "I will never question your loyalty again."
Scorpina tried to draw back the tears standing in her eyes. She couldn't say anything.
"The fault is mine," Rita said in a stronger voice. "I have allowed these Power Rangers to last longer than they should. I have allowed them too many opportunities. And I made a mistake in simply attacking them through brute force this time. That allowed them to come around and attack us personally." She clenched her fists and pushed herself from the throne. "Next time, the attack will be intensely personal. I will teach them to feel the loss and betrayal we have felt. Next time, we will teach them despair."
"They don't really do those stupid poses, do they?"
The five Rangers—six, Tommy reminded himself—along with John and Sylvia had gathered at the local pizza place. There were sitting at a few tables shoved together. Like many people after a monster attack, they were laughing and talking loudly in relief.
Of course, these people had more of a reason to celebrate. Not only were six of them Power Rangers, but all of them were celebrating Tommy's return.
Jason and Zack had been recounting the little skit at the festival, speaking carefully in code, of course, as they had to hide their identities from Sylvia as well as the others in the restaurant.
"Of course they don't," Jason said.
"And if there are poses, they're cool-looking. I mean, these are the Power Rangers we're talking about."
The general conversation turned to the rest of the day: the battle (discussed in code), Tommy's kidnapping along with the rest of the festival attendants (again, discussed in code), and the triumphant appearance of the Power Rangers at the end of the festival, where they'd received cheers and cries of gratitude.
"Thankfully," Sylvia said, "no one seemed too affected by the kidnapping. Was it horrible, Tommy?"
Tommy shrugged. "It was kind of intense. I don't think many people remember much about it, because there was some kind of spell going on." He laughed. "It's just my luck that as soon as I take one step in the park, I get kidnapped."
"Mom, why didn't you tell us Tommy was there?" Billy said. "We had no idea until we saw him later."
"I didn't know," Sylvia said. "John, why were you so tight-lipped? I wondered why you suddenly wanted to go to the festival."
John's shrug was identical to his son's. "I wanted it to be a surprise, and then when everyone was kidnapped I didn't want to worry until I knew where he was."
"And you didn't want to say anything until you were sure I was actually there," Tommy said softly.
John shifted uncomfortably. "Well, there's that."
But everyone was in too good a mood to bring up any uncomfortable truths. Tommy was glad. He knew he had to make it right with all of them. His father had welcomed him with open arms, as usual. Sylvia had been a little more reserved, but she was trying to follow John's lead.
His friends were another story. They'd been so relieved that he didn't die that they didn't even take him to task for leaving town for weeks, not calling any of them, and then not calling to let them know he was coming back. At least, not yet.
Dinner ended, and they began drifting off to their own homes. John and Sylvia insisted on paying for dinner, shouting down any objections.
Tommy and Billy waited while their parents settled the bill. Billy was absently looking at the little vending machines selling fake tattoos and sticky hand toys.
"I'm sorry for not calling," Tommy said abruptly. The words had been burning at him. "And for… well… everything. It was stupid and cowardly."
Billy smiled slowly, still not looking at Tommy. "You don't think I get why you did it?"
Tommy looked away, too. "Even so, I'm still sorry. I… I thought I didn't deserve a place here. A family and a home." He shook his head. "I still don't deserve it. I don't deserve your mom, or you, or…"
"You really are stupid," Billy said.
Tommy's head jerked up. Billy had always told Tommy he wasn't stupid. And now…
"You can't do anything to deserve a family," Billy said, finally looking at Tommy. "You just have one. Families are people who love you no matter what you've done. You don't deserve family… you need them."
Tommy couldn't think of anything to say.
"Look…" Billy said, "I'm just glad to have you back. You're part of this… all of this. Even if you run away, you're still part of this."
Tommy knew, at once, that Billy meant the Power Rangers, their friendship, the family their parents were forming… all of it at once. Tommy was about to respond when John and Sylvia met them by the door, ready to go.
When they got to the parking lot, Tommy rushed forward to help his father in the van, but John waved him off and motioned to someone standing at a distance.
Kimberly.
Tommy walked to her, more afraid than he'd been when he'd found himself in the Moon Palace. She was standing in the light of a streetlamp next to her car, her arms folded. She didn't look severe, though.
Words sprang to his tongue. I'm sorry. I should never have said those things to you. I should never have left. It was the stupidest thing I've ever done in a long list of stupid things I've done in my life, because it hurt you. I'll understand if you don't want to…
All of those words tumbled through his brain, but they couldn't reach his lips. He opened his mouth to force them out…
"Please don't." Kimberly said, her voice quiet but firm.
Tommy felt himself sweating. "What? I…"
"If we start saying we're sorry, we'll never stop," she said. "Can… can we just start over?" Tears were standing in her eyes, and Tommy felt his own throat burning. "I mean, do you still want…"
Tommy kissed her. In that kiss he felt like he was making up for weeks of kisses, and it still wasn't enough. She kissed him back, passionately and fiercely, as if she was articulating and letting go of all the weeks of worry and pain in the kiss.
They broke apart to gasp for air. The words "I love you" tumbled out of Tommy's mouth before he realized he'd said them out loud. His heart froze until he heard the answering "I love you," and he kissed her again with mounting passion.
When they broke away, it was with regret. They said a few stupid things about meeting later, but that didn't matter. What mattered was Tommy realized he was finally and truly home.
