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Chapter 21 – Fight
It had been almost two months since the Aegis Rangers mission to and subsequent return from Edenoi and a relative peace had seemed to settle over Alliance space; interrupted only by the ever present scourge of piracy which was quickly responded to by Silver Guardian task-forces in each instance; making Rensa's long distance transmissions to Andros interesting affairs as the Red Astro Ranger as he and his small army of guerillas were still allied with Elgar, who rooted for the pirates on every occasion. The Dark Empire had been far less belligerent in their activities and allowed the Rangers and those above them in Lightspeeds' chain of command to seize the vague glimmer of hope that the Vanguard Fleet was losing its' momentum; the absence of any more enemies capable of using the Morphing Grid seemed to be suggestive of something. That was not to say that they had been silent however and the Aegis Rangers had been deployed to several incursions of various worlds; firstly on an Aquitian research centre on a storm ravaged world whose surface was almost entirely covered with water where they fought a monster resembling some kind of squid which Justin had dubbed 'Ecchi' though he had refused to explain the joke to the Rangers. Secondly against a simply absurd creature with a skull comprised largely of twisting horns and a body hidden beneath a thick woollen coat which Mercy, amidst a fit of giggles had called 'Ram-page'.
Currently however the Rangers were free to enjoy the downtime given to them on weekends and were currently in the city of Mariner Bay itself, having left the Aquabase behind. Specifically they were in an admittedly working class part of the city, a short distance from the factories and spaceports catering to interstellar businesses that formed what had come to be known amongst the residents of Mariner Bay as 'New-Tech City' but was still comfortably within what could be considered to be the alien part of town.
Mercy and Aslaug were stood outside of a row of small and old garages, ugly grey stone things with rusting doors the screeched as they were pulled upwards and empty bottles and other such things littering their flat roof to indicate that groups of teenagers often hung out on top of them; the drab surroundings were complemented by the weather which was currently grey and overcast with a fine misty drizzle filling the air which had caused Mercy to pull her hood low over her face.
All the better to steal furtive glances at Aslaug.
Mercy was still unsure of exactly what was happening between them, neither of them had broached the subject and she was unwilling to give the situation a name until that happened which left the Red and Yellow Rangers simply allowing things to happen at their own pace. The pair were almost inseparable, much to the amusement of many people within the Aquabase who found their obliviousness towards the fact that they were already practically dating to be hilarious; whenever they were alone together Mercy would be leaning against Aslaug, often falling asleep on her and finding excuses whenever she could to lace her fingers through the taller girls' or reach up to gently kiss her cheek with the gestures being happily returned.
At the moment Aslaug's attention was directed inside one of the garages whose door was open to reveal Rensa, Tempestus and Panthera inside; the Black Ranger was merely lurking in a dark corner of the garage, ostensibly to keep out of the rain but also undeniably due to the fact that he felt most at home in the darkest recesses of anywhere he happened to find himself; often using his ability to scale walls to work himself into odd places. What held Aslaug's interest however was Panthera and Tempestus, or more precisely what the teal skinned and feline alien and the dark skinned Aquitian were currently working on.
Panthera had bought herself a motorbike.
This fact admittedly annoyed Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger had openly stated her desire to own such a vehicle ever since being introduced to the Masked Riders jet-bikes on Edenoi but due to the tribal and often isolationist nature of her people on Mirinoi she could provide little in the way of checkable paperwork and had been unable to acquire a license, despite being the same age as Panthera who had gleefully informed her that she had plenty of identification which could be used anywhere in the galaxy; some of it was even in her name.
The bike itself had been supplied through Jack Landors, their fellow inhabitant of the Aquabase had, like Elizabeth Delgado whom he considered an adopted sister been a ward of the alien wheeler-and-dealer Piggy and as such could find almost anything for sale, given time.
"I think it should be ready to test-drive" Tempestus noted "It will be gnarly...be careful"
"I'll be fine" Panthera grinned, amber eyes with slitted pupils glinting as she wheeled the bike out into the open, allowing Mercy and Aslaug to see the nature and extent of the modifications that the Felidae smuggler and Aquitian prodigy had made
"Is that even legal?" Mercy asked worriedly
"It's always legal if nobody can catch you" Panthera sniggered as she slung a leg over the bike and flexed her long, clawed fingers. The bike itself was an old chopper whose dull black and gunmetal frame was something the Panthera would almost certainly get around to changing, its' wheels however had been replaced with a larger pair which sported tires intended for all-terrain use whilst the things' engine had been ripped away and replaced with something clearly alien in origin, though a pair of thick exhausts remained present on each side, whatever new power source had been put in place connected to them for reasons that were almost certainly aesthetic
"Be careful" Aslaug's low guttural voice warned, Panthera merely flashed them a wink and wide smile before bringing the engine roaring into life, gouts of flames spewing from the exhausts and smoke filling the air as the rear wheel spun in place.
And then she was thrown from the bike rocketed forwards several dozen feet before coming crashing to a halt.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Mercy demanded as she and the other Rangers rushed to pick Panthera up, only for the Pink Ranger to shrug their hands off of her
"I'll be fine, just skinned" she growled as she examined several lightly bleeding injuries she'd sustained in her fall "Grab the bike"
"I told you to be careful" Aslaug sighed, shaking her head at her friends' antics as she strode over to the bike and righted it with one hand and seemingly little effort; before examining it for a moment and promptly mounting it
"What is she-" Panthera was cut off by the sound of her new toys' engine roaring once again and Aslaug streaking passed them with impressive speed and control.
A nerve below Panthera's eyes twitched and both Tempestus and Rensa stepped back, the Blue Ranger quietly concerned whilst the Black Ranger obviously fought the urge to laugh at Panthera's expense. Mercy however was left chewing her lower lip and internally struggling with the fact that Aslaug had somehow managed to become even more attractive.
Paradoxa assumed the kneeling bow that she was accustomed to as Lord Zedd's form flickered into view; the tyrant's imposing and fearful presence washing over here even from so far away and the insectoid hybrid quickly finding the entirety of her attention focused on the hologram, her surroundings on the moon of Unus quickly fading into irrelevancy.
"Rise" he commanded simply; waiting until the insectoid hybrid did so to continue speaking "My great weapon is ready to be used against the Power Rangers and will soon be in your possession"
"You honour me above my station my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head reverently
"Your station is mine to decide" the towering and armoured warlord replied bluntly "This will be the blow that breaks the backs of our enemies and you will be rewarded properly for your role in it"
"What would you have of me my Lord?"
"Your flesh crafter is to produce two creations, only their finest work will suffice for this task"
"Rest assured that Gibil will relish the challenge" Paradoxa fought the urge to smirk at the thought of the unhinged giddiness that would surely fill the impish creature when he was given the news; Lord Zedd gave her words no acknowledgement
"You will take the first to a target of your choosing and launch a full scale attack….I am willing to sacrifice ships in this instance Paradoxa; simply to ensure that the target is believed to be your true intention"
"As you command my Lord" Paradoxa replied humbly, mentally running through a list of suitable targets from what her reconnaissance of Alliance Space had learned; identifying places whose destruction would draw the largest reaction
"And the second?" she asked
"The second creature is to deliver my weapon to its' intended destination….you will use the last of your teleportation gates' power to deliver them to Earth itself so they may strike at the heart of our enemies"
"I can use the co-ordinates that were provided to us be Ivan Komarov; have my forces attack their city" Paradoxa once again fought the urge to smirk at the thought of the human traitor she had slain before he could ascend through the ranks enough to become a problem, then a thought occurred to her "Would it not be wise to send an officer, a hybrid to oversee this task?"
"If they were to be captured they would know too much" Lord Zedd answered simply, choosing not to reprimand his underling for daring to question him, the notion of sending another Acheron hybrid to Earth was one that he had considered himself after all.
"Understood my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head "Preparations will begin at once"
"Do not fail me" Lord Zedd's parting words hung in the air as his hologram blinked out of existence and sent a chill down Paradoxa's spine as she contemplated what the price of failure would be should the Alliance or their Rangers manage to best her plans once again.
She was soon distracted by the flash of bloody, crimson light of her teleportation gate using its' penultimate charge and announcing the arrival of Lord Zedd's weapon. Without preamble she stalked across the barren and dusty surface of Unus and through the base of operations that she had formed on the moon, passed warriors of various species being drilled and marshalled by overseers, officers and clan, pack, brood or tribal leaders; passed the idling form of the Dread-Forge which even standing lifeless exuded an aura of unsettling and indescribable wrongness and passed mines and quarries where slaves excavated various useful ores and minerals whilst processing the rock and debris for use in the formation of Putties until eventually she reached the teleportation gate itself
"Speak a word of what you have seen and the only other sounds you make for the next decade will be screams" the threat was delivered with aggression or malice, just a simple statement of fact that chilled those it was addressed to to the bone; those engineers and technicians operating her teleportation gate bowed to their master as gulps and other vocalisations of fear escaped them before they turned and all but fled the scene, leaving Paradoxa alone with Lord Zedd's weapon.
She was currently unimpressed.
What had been delivered to her was another stasis pod, much like the one in which Acinonyx Cato had been transported though this pod in particular was a far larger and bulkier affair, with heavy armoured plating covering almost the entirety of its' form and was of a model which Paradoxa was familiar with, a pod fitted with long range communications systems and other such equipment intended to serve as a small base of operations of hybrids being sent to pacify their home worlds or other such operations. There was a small window which revealed the form of the individual being held in stasis within and this was the source of Paradoxa's sudden misgivings, there was so little of Acheron visibly present in this hybrid and they appeared so small and frail in comparison to other hybrids that for a moment the insectoid warlord almost doubted what she was seeing was truly the work of Lord Zedd.
And then she felt it.
The same energy that had radiated from Acinonyx in waves was present here too, far less visible though no less powerful; if anything the power was greater yet simply more refined and focused, Paradoxa stared at the being within the stasis pod for a moment longer and contemplated to herself. Lord Zedd had promised that she would be rewarded for her role in defeating the Power Rangers, yet this being, her fellow hybrid would feature far more prominently in Lord Zedd's and it was inconceivable to her that Lord Zedd would not praise them accordingly; realising suddenly that she may in fact be staring down at the prone form of her own usurper Paradoxa was overcome with a sudden urge to defend her position within the Empire by cleaving their head from their body which she fought to push to the back of her mind.
Her treachery would be uncovered in short order and the suffering she would endure in return was entirely beyond mortal comprehension. In the end she realised that the only option available to her was to follow orders and play her part in the plan.
"Gibil" she hissed into her comm
"Yes Lady Paradoxa" Gibil's almost sing-song voice replied happily and Paradoxa was certain she could almost hear him bowing
"I have need of your talents…..You are to begin creation of as many Putties as we have the resources to make at present; then I will need two of your finest creations" the noise that escaped Gibil upon hearing these demands could best be described as a joyful squeal and was quickly followed by a stream of incessant thanks and genuflecting which Paradoxa quickly tuned out as she turned her attention to her fleet, deciding which ships could be sacrificed and which Alliance world the hammer would fall upon.
The Power Rangers had moved on from the garages shortly after the fiasco involved Panthera's motorbike and after some deliberation agreed to first get food at the branch of Ernie's Juice Bar which Piggy ran before moving on to a shopping centre deeper in the city where they would no doubt find some of the Silver Guardian cadets who were currently being housed and trained at the Aquabase. Mercy both in service of her own need for a regular relief from the stresses of being a Power Ranger and as a way to build camaraderie between her team-mates all of whom were newcomers to Earth and were utterly unaware of the culture of the world on which they had found themselves; as such weekends were almost sacred to the Red Ranger and any interference with them was highly unwelcome.
Which was why Mercy scowled and glared accusingly at her communicator as it let out its' signature bleeping sound whilst she and the other Rangers were making their way towards their destination, with the wind and rain steadily picking up around them
"Over there" Panthera nodded to an empty bus shelter which was at least partially enclosed, Mercy nodded and led them into the small and cramped shelter before answering the communication
"Rangers" Justin's voice greeted them "We're bringing you in, we've got a situation that's gonna need you" Mercy let out a small sigh before forcing her emotions beneath a mask of professionalism and answering
"Understood, we're ready to teleport" a moment later the call had ended and all five teens felt the familiar tingling sensation of teleportation encompassing their entire body as the vanished in multicoloured streams of light.
A moment later they had re-materialised in familiar surroundings; waiting for them in the briefing room and command centre that part of Justin's workspace had become were Justin himself, frantically entering commands into various consoles as the Moonbase began re-routing control of various parts of the infrastructure of wherever the Dark Empire's latest attack was taking place to the Aquabase. Alongside Justin were Kimberley Hart whose discomfort could be seen despite her mask of stoicism and Zebidiah Lord, robed and inscrutable as always
"What's the situation Captain?" Mercy asked as she snapped off a quick salute and made her way towards her superiors, the other Rangers moving almost in formation behind us.
"It's bad" Kimberley's strained voice as she prefaced what was to come was enough to cause the teens to brace themselves
"Five Dark Empire warships just dropped out of warp in high orbit above Oecumene, they've managed to overwhelm the local defences and begun a ground assault on the Eperopolis" Panthera spat out a curse in a language which Mercy didn't recognise
"How bad is it?" she asked, the Pink Ranger's shoulders visibly sagged as she explained
"Oecumene is a Capital Planet for a whole sector, was the head of its' own federation before it joined the Alliance" Mercy nodded at this, being vaguely aware of the planet by name if nothing else "Eperopolis is one of the biggest port cities in the galaxy; it's huge….it has it's own shipyards and an embassy from every planet in the Alliance-"
"It's honestly one of the biggest examples of what the Alliance aspires to be" Kimberley added, taking charge of the conversation once again "And that's almost certainly why it was chosen for an attack"
"It was also a Ranger World….The Biomic Rangers" Zebidiah interjected "They answered the call to arms and fell on Acheron; currently there are no Rangers on the world"
"Then let's go!" Aslaug snapped, hands already flying to her Morpher
"Let's take a look at the situation on the ground first" Justin suggested "I've got the feeds" as he spoke the feeds in question came flickering to life on the various screens mounted on a nearby wall, showing countless civilians fleeing from swarming Putties and being cut down by the Dark Empire's soldiers taken from the various species the controlled; pitched battles took place in the streets between the Empire and private security forces alongside the small Alliance military presence already in the area. The epicentre of the violence seemed to be focused around a civilian spaceport where ships attempting to flee were targeted and fired on without mercy by the Dark Empire ships lurking above them whilst in what appeared to be a nearby plaza, open and extensive where thousands of people had once eaten and traded the bodies of civilians, local defence forces and robotic sentries lay in piles even as fresh waves rushed over them, only to meet similar fates.
Silence fell over the Command Centre at the sight of the two individuals responsible for the carnage they were witnessing.
The first was a truly repugnant thing with a low-slung and squat body which stood at a little over six feet tall even in its' hunched state a sported a rubbery hide that was a vivid acid green in colour with black markings and was coated in a shimmering and slimy film whilst its' underbelly and lower jaw were a porcelain white colour. The things' head was roughly as wide as Aslaug's shoulders and featured a wide mouth with heavy armour plating forming ridges over its' skull with fierce red eyes; its' torso was bloated and rotund and it supported itself on a thick and sturdy of legs in an odd squatting position whilst its' overly long arms, which ended in widely splayed fingers were tipped in long talons that dripped with the same slime that coated its' body.
All in all the monster had the appearance of some abhorrent frog-like creature and the Rangers watched in horror as some hovering vehicle that was clearly analogous to a tank came into view only for the monster to open its' maw wide, revealing short but jagged teeth before an impossibly long tongue burst forth, tipped with a spiky bone-like protrusions and littered with serrated hooks along its' length; the disturbingly muscular and prehensile appendage burst through the hull of the tank and hoisted the vehicle into the air before hurling it into a nearby building.
The sight of the other individual however made the Rangers' blood run cold.
Paradoxa had joined the battle herself and her double ended halberd issues waves of purple light which ripped through her opposition in the instances that she didn't cleave through them with simple brute force
"The commander of a fleet killing unarmed civilians and fighting grunts like a coward" Zebidiah spat venomously, lightning crackling around his clenched fists as he regarded his second born sons' lieutenant with open disgust
"Today we avenge the Gold Ranger" Aslaug breathed
"If we can defeat Paradoxa we could destabilise the Vanguard Fleet and the Empire's entire war effort….it would be most groovy" Tempestus noted.
"Priority one is getting people to safety" Mercy asserted bluntly before turning to Kimberley "Captain what's the status of reinforcements"
"Mass teleportation points are being set up outside of the affected area, seven Hillard class destroyers are moving into position to deal with the Dark Empire ships" the former Pink Ranger's words seemed to light a fire in Mercy's belly and fill her fresh motivation to act
"So we have free reign to directly engage?"
"You do" Kimberley confirmed
"I've got a secure drop point for you, just out of their line of sight so you don't hit by….." Justin trailed off, evidently trying to think of a name for the frog-like monster
"Is now really the time?" Zebidiah enquired with a resigned sigh
"Yes, I refuse to take them seriously for morale reasons" Justin insisted, holding up a hand to silence Mercy who was about to offer a suggestion of her own
"I've got it" he gave a lopsided grin as he swivelled in his chair to face the Red Ranger "Hoppenheimer"
"That's appalling" Mercy giggled behind her hands before she quickly regained her steely composure and turned to her fellow Rangers, all of whom nodded in silent agreement as they reached for their Morphers, waiting for the order which she readily gave
"It's Morphin' time!"
"Osore!"
"Sabre Beast!"
"Plesion!"
"Ursa-Titan!"
"Red Tailed Hawk!" the Rangers' armour formed around them in coronas of blinding light that was quickly subsumed by the light of their teleport streams as they were deployed to the surface of another world which needed them.
Bodies fell to the ground in crumpled heaps, their final war-cries and exclamations of pain being abruptly silenced as Paradoxa weaved around soldiers brave enough to charge at her with an almost lazy gracefulness; her halberd tearing and shattering bodies and painting a macabre and grisly display across the floor and nearby walls as they were spattered with blood of every conceivable colour.
Mercy's heart hammered in her chest and her throat became dry at the sight
"How are we doing this?" Panthera asked as she readied her blades, the twin pulses of fuchsia light fortunately going unseen by their enemies as the Rangers had moved into position behind them, taking cover at another entrance to the vast plaza; Mercy was about to give an answer when the monster that Justin had dubbed Hoppenheimer lunged forward and used its' barbed and muscular tongue to ensnare a weapon emplacement that the defenders of the city had been preparing to fire, crushing it into a misshapen and sparking pile of scrap metal and sending the soldiers operating it scattering. Mercy's priorities quickly changed
"Hoppenheimer has a larger reach, that's the bigger threat. I've got Paradoxa, the rest of you deal with that thing"
"That's too risky" Rensa's quiet and gentle voice objected only for Aslaug to shake her head
"She knows what she's doing" there was a moment where Mercy's fellow Rangers looked uncomfortable with the idea, visibly concerned for her safety even with their faces hidden by their helmets before the Red Ranger decided that enough time had been wasted
"Come on!" with no further warning Mercy sprinted into the plaza, her katana manifesting in a pulse of crimson light as she surged towards Paradoxa on a collision course; as the commander of the Vanguard Fleet turned to face her Mercy could almost feel the waves of smug confidence radiating from her and despite the fact that Paradoxa's face was hidden beneath the battle-mask formed by her own crown and the large mandibles which hung beside her cheeks, Mercy just knew she was smiling.
"Red Ranger" Paradoxa sneered in greeting as she twirled her weapon and used one of its' oversized blades to block Mercy's flying kick; the Red Ranger responded by using the surface of the halberd as a platform from which to leap backwards, landing in a crouch before launching herself towards her adversary again with her katana flashing out in movements whose speed rendered them all but invisible, only for Paradoxa to block and parry each blow with expert precision as the pair danced around each other and their redirected attacks tore deep gouges into the ground beneath them.
"I see you came to die Ranger?" Paradoxa goaded as she sent Mercy staggering away with one blade of her weapon before bringing the other overhead for a killing blow "You've known how this battle ends since Triforia" Mercy span and blocked, her katana locking Paradoxa in place
"With you running and hiding and every monster you send being beaten" she countered fiercely
"My haven't you grown" the insectoid hybrid retorted calmly before seizing the shaft of her weapon with both hands and forcefully yanking it back and sending Mercy staggering forward, directly into the bath of her backhanded strike; the armour of her forearm cracking the Red Ranger's visor before she quickly followed up by kicking the Ranger away. Mercy quickly regained her balance and made to throw herself at Paradoxa once only to be see an arcing flash of writhing and pulsing purple light as Paradoxa twirled her double-ended halberd as if to build momentum before swinging upwards.
Mercy was sent hurtling through the air as the blow struck her chest beneath her guard, a series of scorch marks trailed away from the point of impact in the pattern of a web or a series of thin fractures. Landing with a dull thud the Red Ranger dragged herself to her feet and saw warnings flashing across her visor confirming what the excruciating pain in her torso had already told her, that Paradoxa's blow had broken her ribs even through her armour and that the Power was trying to rapidly heal her injuries.
"Another time Red Ranger" Paradoxa cooed as she rested her halberd on the ground "My work here is done" with that the warlord was teleported away in a flash of light and whilst the logical part of Mercy's mind reasoned that Paradoxa had fallen back to take command of her fleet personally as the Alliance ships arrived to combat them, there was still something unmistakeably ominous and threatening in her words.
She quickly decided that she had more important matters to attend to and summoned her sword which she had dropped back to herself as she turned her attention toward Hoppenheimer.
The frog monsters was against all odds managing to hold Aslaug, Rensa, Tempestus and Panthera all at bay. It was obvious that Aslaug had attempted to bring her axe to bare on Hoppenheimer, only for its' barbed tongue to wrap itself around her weapon and her entire right forearm with sparks of golden yellow light jetting out from her armour as the barbs of the appendage ground against it. Tempestus was beside Aslaug, holding onto the tongue as Hoppenheimer attempted to drag Aslaug into its' gaping maw; his Aquitian physiology granted him greater than human strength and with the Power coursing through his body he was able to aid the Yellow Ranger, though it was clear that he would not be able to do so indefinitely. Rensa and Panthera had attacked from the sides, their blades having slashed deep wounds into the arms and flanks of the bloated monster and left watery blue-grey blood spilling down its' body yet even now, with its' attention focused elsewhere it was blocking and parrying the attacks of the Black and Pink Rangers with the thin film that coated its' body causing blows to glance off where they should have torn flesh.
Time slowed down as Mercy watched Panthera be swatted aside and Rensa leap over the monster to snatch her away a moment before clawed fingers stabbed downwards and ripped through the space that the Pink Ranger had occupied whilst at the same time Tempestus and Aslaug were forced to give ground and slid forward a single step.
Mercy sprung into action.
Her chest burned as each breath sent fresh lances of pain through her broken ribs yet she refused to allow herself to be slowed or distracted; she levelled her katana and took aim at where she expected the monsters' heart to be as she charged, being rewarded with a sharp intake of breath and a sudden tightening and gradual relaxation of muscles as Hoppenheimer let out a few wet, choking sounds before finally collapsing backwards as Mercy ripped her blade free
"Hate doing it from behind" she muttered to herself, feeling a little dirty before focusing and turning to Aslaug "Are you okay?"
"I need to bathe, but I'll live" the Yellow Ranger revealed as the extricated her arm from the monsters' now limp tongue, revealing that the pristine white armour that covered her right arm had been scorched and blackened by whatever substance had coated the tongue.
"Good" Mercy sighed, letting out a sigh of relief before opening a comms channel to the Aquabase "Hoppenheimer is down, Paradoxa escaped….what's the overall situation?"
"Ground forces have managed to create a perimeter and a pushing Empire forces back" Kimberley's voice answered
"Alliance ships have entered the system, the Empire ships have broken off their bombing but they're not pulling out yet"
"Which means we know what comes next" Mercy gestured to the other Rangers before stepping away from the body of Hoppenheimer "We need Aegis Zord power, now!"
"You called it kid" Justin sighed as a series of warnings popped up on the screen of his console, informing him that one of the Dark Empire's remaining ships above Oecumene had fired a mutagenic grenade which had subsequently breached the planets' atmosphere as the Alliance forces had been too distracted by the ongoing battle to intercept it. Currently two of the Dark Empire ships had been crippled or outright destroyed at the hands of seven of the Alliances' Hillard class warships with a third on the path to joining them; one of the Alliances' ships had been destroyed in return and the space above the city of Eperopolis was filled with scores of smaller fighter craft which swarmed between the larger vessels and traded barrages of fire.
Justin couldn't afford to allow himself to be distracted by such things and quickly began entering commands that would send the Zords to the surface of the world; only vaguely aware of Kimberley leaning over his shoulder and watching with rapt attention whilst beside him Zebidiah levitated in a cross-legged sitting position.
Then alarms began to blare and the lighting with the workspace which doubled as a command centre shifted to an angry red
"What's going on?" Zebidiah demanded as he returned to his feet, voice beginning to rumble and reverberate as he lowered his hood to reveal arcane magic crackling behind his eyes in anticipation of an impending threat
"Dana, what's our situation?" Kimberley demanded as she brought her communicator to her lips only to be surprised when a beam of dull silvery light announced the Vice-Admiral teleporting to their location in person wearing an expression that was equal parts dread and fury. Her reply to Kimberley's question was heard clearly by all present and her words sent an almost visible chill rippling through the room.
"A Dark Empire strike force just teleported into Mariner Bay, Putties have begun spreading out through the city whilst live ground troops have begun escorting a monster, it looks like they're heading this way"
"So they do have a teleportation gate" Zebidiah snarled, his voice sounding like that of his former self as lighting coursed over his body
"Oh my god!" Kimberley gasped "The attack on Oecumene was a distraction to draw the Rangers away"
"Almost certainly, which is why I'm here to collect Zebidiah" Dana nodded towards the robed man who had once been Lord Zedd. Before any questions could be asked regarding that statement the door of Justin's workshop hissed open and a trio of figures marched into view.
The first was Zen-Aku who held the Crescent Glaive at the ready and whose entire body seemed coiled and ready whilst an almost palpable sense of impending violence radiated out from the Duke Org; the second was Taylor Earhardt, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger dressed in a way which suggested she had been teaching students before be summoned although the golden device in her hand which resembled a flip-phone made it clear that she was ready for what was to come, the third and final individual was TJ Johnson; the former Red Turbo and Blue Astro Ranger whose face had been scarred in the battle of Acheron giving a familiar nod to his former team-mate which Justin quickly returned.
"Justin bring the situation up on screen" Dana ordered and Justin, with a moment of hesitation turned his way from the Rangers as they continued to battle Hoppenheimer on the surface of Oecumene and began accessing cameras in the city that the Aquabase bordered on until he found the Dark Empire's latest monster.
The thing was a juggernaut
Standing at almost twelve feet tall the thing sported an absurdly muscled physique and midnight black flesh with a thick and heavily armoured exoskeleton draped over it whose shimmering surface shifted between a pale blue and indigo. It had four arms, each of them as large as a mans' chest and featuring multiple segments which ended in three pronged claws whilst a gargantuan and angled forward carapace adorning its' back suggested the existence of wings or additional limbs being hidden as it twitched with unseen movements. The things' head however was the most strikingly repulsive aspect of it; a single long horn added several more feet to the monsters' already considerable height and was tipped with a mass of chitin which gave it the appearance of some monstrous and herculean beetle whilst below the entirety of the monsters' skull was formed of a pair of mandibles, the pincer like jaw moved on a pair of armatures from which several pairs of eyes grew on stalks and were tipped with monstrous fangs which threatened to eviscerate anything they came into contact with.
"Okay what's the plan Dana?" Justin demanded urgently "I can't be mission control for the Rangers and deal with the Beetalion over here" the name for the monster came easily though none of his current allies seemed to appreciate it; with Dana's only response being a nod of understanding.
"You're to continue acting as mission control" she informed him before turning to Kimberley "You have the Aquabase….contact Cruger, the Moonbase is to coordinate with our orbital defences and make sure we're not about to be attacked by a full fleet. Contact Princess Shayla and warn her that we may need support from the Animarium, Eric will be taking contingents of Silver Guardians into the city to deal with those Putties but I want you to contact Master Watanabe and alert the Ninja Academies"
"And the rest of us will be dealing with that" Zebidiah gestured to the monster on the screen, which at present was using its' powerful mandibles to hurl a bus after a crowd of fleeing civilians "Good, it's been far too long since I walked upon a battlefield in person"
"Okay people you have your duties, let's move!" Dana barked, she, Taylor and TJ drawing their Morphers as Zen-Aku twirled his weapon expectantly and Zebidiah was wreathed in an aura of terrifying magical energy
"Titanium Power!"
"Wild Access!"
"Let's Rocket!" five teleport streams carried the strike team that Dana was leading away from the command centre and left Kimberley and Justin staring at each other in shock as they attempted to come to terms with how much more serious the situation had suddenly become and as they prepared to take on their respective tasks they found themselves saying the only thing that the could in these circumstances
"May the Power protect you"
"Megazord Activated" the synthetic voice announced into the cockpit as all five Rangers felt the leap of acceleration as their consciousnesses were merged and tethered to the towering mecha that they now piloted. With the stakes as high as they were and the now gigantic form of Hoppenheimer levelling buildings with each thrashing movement each of the Rangers had come to the conclusion that using the individual Zords to battle the monster would be a futile endeavour and had moved to combine their efforts as soon as possible.
"Well, we have it's attention" Panthera's voice noted, dripping with sarcasm as it was projected directly into the minds of each of the other Rangers. Her statement was borne out was the resurrected monster charged toward them with an odd lumbering gate that made the ground shudder with each step as its' own mass was now too great for it to truly hop
"Let's end this quickly, before it can do too much collateral damage!" Mercy exclaimed
"Allow me" Tempestus's voice sounded in the Rangers' heads as his consciousness rose to the fore and he assumed control of the Megazord; the monster drew close enough to throw a wild an uncoordinated swing of its' right arm that ripped a corner away from a skyscraper that it passed and damaged several floors of the building and the Megazord stepped into its' guard and seized the monsters' wrist with its' left hand before driving its' right elbow into its' skull; Hoppenheimer staggered back and Tempestus brought the fist of the Megazord down on the amphibians' elbow, shattering bone with a sickeningly loud snapping sound.
The monster did not take the abuse idly
"Shake it free!" Rensa warned as Hoppenheimer wrapped its' left arm around the back of the Megazords' skull before lurching forwards and driving the thick and ridged plates of armour adorning its' own head into the chest of the towering mecha with enough force to visibly damage its' armour, freeing itself of the Megazords' grip and flinging it backwards and causing it destroy one of the many gargantuan buildings that formed the city of Eperopolis.
"We need a- WE'RE HIT! WE'RE HIT!" Mercy exclaimed frantically as the Rangers each felt the Megazord be rocked backwards by the force of an impact that left the lights within the cockpit flickering before feeling their combined mecha begin to be slowly dragged forwards as the sound of screeching metal reached their ears. Directing the eyes of the Megazord downwards showed the source of the impact to be exactly what each of them had feared, Hoppenheimer had launched its' barbed tongue at them and the bony spear-like tip of the appendage was firmly buried in the torso of the Megazord; doing an as yet unspecified amount of damage as it attempted to reel them in towards its' waiting mouth.
"Time for the sword, we'll cut it's tongue off!" Mercy made to seize control of the Megazord and reach for the gigantic claymore that manifested across the machines' back only to halt as she felt Aslaug's consciousness brush up against hers
"It has us, but we have it" she explained before taking control and directing the Megazord to reach out and grab the appendage and begin to drag Hoppenheimer forwards, clearly causing the reanimated monster great discomfort
"Now" Aslaug grunted, her voice strained with exertion even as it reverberated in Mercy's head "End it now!"
"Mega Cannon!" the Red Ranger answered as she suddenly understood what needed to be done. The giant ranged weapon mounted over Megazords' left shoulder, protruding from the gaping mouth of the Plesion Zord took aim at Hoppenheimer and discharged, a blinding flash of white light preceded a shock wave blossoming out from the point of impact and caused notable damage to the structure of several nearby buildings but the Megazord was immediately freed from the monsters' grasp as when the afterglow subsided the Rangers were treated to the sight of the frog like monster swaying on its' feet with its' head, upper torso and right arm entirely absent, having been simply unmade by the blast.
Then Hoppenheimer collapsed forwards and the unspeakable cocktail of dark magic and chemicals that had reanimated the monster caused its' body to explode and send a pillar of flames jetting into the sky
"This is Mercy to Mission control" the Red Ranger sighed "Target has been destroyed, Megazord has some pretty heavy damage. What's the-"
"Rangers" Justin's voice was panicked enough to immediately set the teens on edge, a condition which was justified by his next words "Silver Guardians are reinforcing local defence forces and they'll have to make do. I'm bringing you back to Earth….Mariner Bay is under attack"
The pavement cracked under Dana as shit the floor, though she managed to control her fall enough to roll into a crouch as she was flung away from the towering beetle-like monster; her axe remaining stuck in the armoured carapace of its' wing covering.
"We need a plan" Taylor observed as she pulled the Titanium Ranger to her feet just in time to watch TJ launch himself into the air and deliver what promised to be a punished blow to one the stalk-eyes of Beetalion, his fist glowing with incandescent blue light as he used a technique that had once been considered something of a signature move by Andros.
The monster snatched him out of the air and threw him directly downwards, the ground cratering as he struck it and the Astro Ranger being forced to grab the clawed foot that threatened to crush him and resist with all his might when Beetalion attempted to simply stomp on him
"Now, while he's distracted!" Dana ordered before bolting forwards with Taylor close behind her, the Titanium Ranger rushed in close as Beetalion let out a roar that had an odd, wavering and vibrato quality to it and lunged with all four of their arms which allowed Dana to use the limbs as a platform over the creatures' back and retrieve her axe. Taylor collided with the monsters' midsection with enough force to knock it back several steps, freeing TJ and leaving Beetalion doubled over for long enough for Dana to land and take aim, converting her weapon to its' blaster form and unleash a salvo of blasts that ripped fragments of armour from the monsters' armoured back, succeeding in nothing more than aggravating it further and getting its' attention. Beetalion hurled the Blue Astro and Yellow Wild Force Rangers aside before turning and driving a clawed limb into the Titanium Ranger's helmet and sending crashing into a nearby wall.
Only to brought to an abrupt halt at the sight of what waited behind her.
"FIRE!" Mercy ordered and the Aegis Rangers aimed their combined weapon and unleashed the wrath of the Power Blaster; the beam of light struck Beetalion square in the chest and Dana was treated to the sight of the monsters' ribs being knocked concave before a flash of light engulfed the area.
When she could see again the monster lay lifeless and unmoving on the ground and the Aegis Rangers had sprinted forwards to held the older Rangers to their feet
"We came as soon as Justin told us" Mercy informed Dana, who took in the sight of the Red Ranger through her own cracked visor and saw that she was clearly injured by the way she carried herself and the damage to her suit
"Much appreciated" Dana nodded "The Quantum Ranger is leading the Silver Guardians; Zebidiah and Zen-Aku are dealing with Empire shock troops-" she fell silent as her claims were given credence by the sound of a thunderclap and a bolt of crimson lightning that cast the already stormy grey sky in a bloody glow for several seconds, the forking bolt of arcane energy striking the area in which she knew Zebidiah to be fighting
"You sometimes forget who he is don't you?" TJ observed, Dana remained silent for a moment and was almost convinced that she could hear the sounds of alien screams being carried by the wind until she forced herself to focus.
"There are still hostiles in the city, anyone who isn't too injured to carry on fighting should coordinate with the Quantum Ranger and aid the containment effort"
"Okay Rangers" Mercy called out, struggling to suppress a pained wheeze caused by her broken, but rapidly healing ribs "Back to action!"
Piggy, the beaked and orange skinned alien who ran a branch of Ernie's Juice Bar frequented by the Power Rangers and several other members of Project Lightspeed, including the young man and woman whom he had cared for after finding them living on the streets until they had been recruited as Silver Guardian cadets had been making his way to a grocery store to pick up several items that his establishment was running short of when the sirens had begun to blare throughout the city; it had been so long since Earth had last been attacked directly that he had never heard them before in his time on the planet but Piggy was no fool and understood easily what they represented.
"Ah damn it, damn it!" his voice was almost a wail as he sprinted through the streets, attempting to make his way back to his home and business where he would be able to both assure that his employees were safe and defend himself more effectively using some of the more questionable stock that one of the many, equally questionable vendors to pass through the juice bar had left in his care for a small fee; he was however, painfully aware of the group of automatons that he had heard called 'Putties' on the television chasing him as their odd warbling noises followed close behind him. Piggy had initially refused to believe that the things couldn't be reasoned with, attributing the description of them as mindless and soulless automatons as simple wartime propaganda which he was no stranger to and as such had attempted to reason with the group of them that he had encountered until he realised that one Putty was missing its' head, with nothing but solid stone, a trickle of magma and a faint magical glow leaking from the wound whilst the automaton continued to flail blindly and seemingly unhindered; forcing him to change his opinion.
He continued racing through familiar streets, eyes darting around frantically and making him painfully aware of the inhabitants of this part of the city using whatever was available in their homes to barricade their doors and windows, plenty of people saw him running for his life and yet no help came until he finally slipped on the rain-slicked asphalt as he rounded a corner.
"Damn it" he repeated in a pained groan, realising that he was tauntingly close to home and yet would never reach it and seeing a parked car nearby he quickly rolled himself beneath and held his breath as the Putties rounded the corner, chattering amongst themselves as the attempted to find him; Piggy fought the urge to let out a whine of fear as he watched a pair of legs made of drab grey stone grow closer and closer and realised that as dim as the Putties seemed to be, they would still almost certainly find him any moment now.
"Hey!" Piggy dared to hope as an unfamiliar voice called out to the Putties, as if deliberately luring them away from his hiding place and he watched, playing close attention to the shadows cast on the floor as the group of perhaps half a dozen of the automatons shuffled towards the newcomer.
From what little Piggy could discern from the yells, sound of breaking stone and dancing shadows on the wet asphalt that were followed by a heavy silence utterly devoid of warbling the fight that ensued was an utterly one-sided affair and whoever had interceded on his behalf had laid the Putties low with apparent ease.
"You can come out now" the voice offered with no small amount of amusement and Piggy, grumbling about common sense outweighing heroics and people showing off as he realised he would be seen as a coward, slid out from beneath the car and pulled himself to his feet so that he could take his first look at the person who had saved him.
They were certainly human, yet Piggy found something strange about them.
Whilst he would make claims of expertise regarding human physiology he had still helped to raise two human children and had lived on Earth for long enough to understand the differences between their sexes and the various ethnic groups that made up the species; yet the person in front of him was still oddly difficult to describe, with their gender being impossible to guess and their ethnic background almost as difficult. Piggy would, despite how offensive it may sound if said aloud, describe this individual as a generic, or default human in some regards.
Their skin was a warm, tan brown colour and was almost unnaturally smooth with the only flaws coming in the form of skinned and bleeding knuckles that he clearly been caused by the fight with the Putties. Their height was more remarkable as they stood at roughly six feet and three inches and had a lithe and slender build, whilst they had little in the way of visible or bulging muscle mass they seemed to carry themselves in a way that suggested strength and agility. Their clothes seemed ill fitting and somewhat mismatched and yet all oddly knew, which piggy quickly dismissed as being the product of them being a street child who had simply stolen whatever was available.
Their face was thin and gaunt with high cheekbones and full heart-shaped lips that seemed to be naturally drawn into a soft smile whilst their hair was jet black at its' roots and transitioned to a pure, gleaming white at its' tips without any sign of having being dyed and seemed to naturally grow in a way that formed a messy and swept forward mane of spikes.
Piggy found themselves staring at their eyes, whilst he knew of humans who had managed to interbreed with other species and that mentioning such things was considered rude the fact remained that he had never seen a human whose eyes had black sclera and hot pink irises which almost seemed to glow as if lit from behind.
"Thanks, thanks kid" Piggy eventually sighed, they seemed to be young enough to be called such and he was aware that he been staring in silence for too long "They nearly had me there"
"Happy to help" they replied, with a voice that was melodic and oddly soothing "Doesn't look like there's any more of 'em near by but I'll get you where you need to be"
"Thanks for the offer, don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Piggy questioned, tentatively feeling them out and seeing if his suspicions were correct
"I haven't" they looked away and sympathy rose up in Piggy, mingling with his peoples' inherent nurturing urges which dwarfed even the famed human 'pack-bonding' instinct and he found words leaving his mouth faster than he could find an argument against them
"Well I've got a bar with a little place above it, come with me and we'll get some food in you and you can weather this thing out" he paused for a second before adding "You got a name" the teen, for that was what Piggy assumed them to be, wore a contemplative expression for a moment as if they were unsure of how to answer
"I was told it's Kai" they said, nose scrunching up as they did so "I don't like it….you can call me Kay"
Authors Notes:
So I needed a week off but I'm back now.
Welcome to Arc 06 "Dark Green"….this one's gonna be a longer arc with six chapters and it closes out the first act of the overall story.
Also the theme for chapter names is "Songs from the Powers Rangers soundtrack" so shout out to Ron Wasserman.
Anyway let's summarise shall we:
Gotta start with the obligatory catch up scene.
Somebody said they wanted a spin-off to this story and I feel like Andros having to deal with Zhane smashing his sister; a crew full of KO-35 guerillas and former death world prisoners along with Elgar and his brand of nonsense is a definite comedy of errors waiting to happen.
Ecchi….I'll tell you when you're older. And no I don't regret these monster names, not at all.
Newtek city is built where Mariner Bay used to be after aliens started coming to Earth; there's nothing in canon to suggest it but it's an idea I like.
I know that Power Rangers is set in America but if you're British you know exactly what kind of garages I'm talking about; council estate garages that have always got litter on the roof and have almost definitely got drugs and stolen good inside; that was just the place I immediately pictured when I started writing this scene.
So does the Mercy and Aslaug thing count as a slow burn at this point? I'm pretty sure it does…..god damn it I'm writing a slow burn romance.
Panthera is an absolute gremlin…..but she's a gremlin with fake ID and a brand new bike though.
A little mention of Jack and Z, what if I told you we're gonna meet the whole SPD team in this arc and that Mercy is gonna have a little awkward history with Sky.
"It's always legal if nobody can catch you" famous last words, especially before getting on a Harley with an alien engine.
Aslaug is a buff space Viking with back muscles, biceps and tattoos, who wears leather jackets, has the biggest pet dog and can ride a motorbike….Mercy's poor gay heart can't cope.
"Your station is mine to decide" Lord Zedd talk positively about yourself or I'll rip your soul out.
We need more Gibil, I've missed writing the madman.
And we're immediately kicking off with diversions, misdirects and plans within plans.
"Speak a word of what you have seen and the only other sounds you make for the next decade will be screams" how to make friends and influence people, by Paradoxa.
A stasis pod that can double as a small mobile base and comms hub, interesting.
So beyond any shadow of a doubt this new weapon is using the Morphing Grid in some way, just so we're all clear on that.
Ah the bad guy second in command urge to kill the competition and the boss if they can get away with it…..the Starscream instinct.
You do not fuck with peoples' day off.
If Lord Zedd was really smart he'd target the Moonbase; it isolates the Rangers from the rest of the galaxy, it's smaller and less heavily defended just by virtue of it not being on Earth and it's more difficult to get reinforcements there.
Oecumene, being the root of the word ecumenopolis or a planet sized city.
Eperopolis being a term for a continent sized city.
The Biomic Rangers, obviously a nod to Bio-Man; because other Rangers outside of canon have existed in this universe.
We don't have enough frog monsters…..I didn't make any "Pick on the frog day" jokes but also I didn't make any tentacle porn jokes about that joke, so on balance it was a fair trade.
Aww shit, we haven't seen Paradoxa roll up in person since Triforia….the last time she needed a big distraction from her main goal.
"Hillard" class…..so mark that as confirmation that Katherine Hillard is no longer with us.
Hoppenheimer….I'm not sorry, I will never be sorry.
Paradoxa versus the average military grunts is basically Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One.
Chapter twenty one and we're finally getting a brief fight between Paradoxa and one of the Rangers directly, it's overdue.
"With you running and hiding and every monster you send being beaten" and that is how you banter.
Yeah, we're not doing a "The Red Ranger is the only one that matters" thing here, taking Paradoxa out is gonna taking effort from everyone.
Remember Tempestus is strong because he can survive deep sea pressure and that's what his physiology is built for, Aslaug is strong just because she's that strong.
"Hate doing it from behind" she was talking about killing opponents from behind 'cos it's sneaky and dishonourable….the first one of you to make it filth gets your kneecaps stolen.
Of course there was gonna be a Megazord fight and unlike other arcs, I can promise you more of them this time.
Well the distraction's in place, now onto the main event.
Look the whole "Ragtag group of mismatched allies" thing is one of my favourite tropes, it's why I liked Beyond the Grid so much and "Pink Lightspeed Ranger using her brothers' Morpher, the former Lord Zedd, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger and the Duke Org she fought against and the former Blue Astro Ranger" is a pretty ragtag bunch.
Here you go, have a giant bug monster with a hastily decided name….no sign of that weapon though is there.
Shayla was mentioned to be a potential ally back in the prologue and I can promise that information will become relevant.
Master Watanabe is Cameron….which implies that the rest of the Ninja Storm Rangers are gone; also I'll say right now that Tommy definitely went to the Ninja Academies for reinforcement. It won't be a major point but I'm also gonna say that there are other Ninja Academies who had their own teams of Power Rangers in the twenty years since Acheron.
Yeah no messing around, go straight to Megazord.
And there's that collateral damage that we expect.
In a shocking, possibly unprecedented turn of events; the sword was not the answer.
You know that glowing punch that Andros had, TJ can do it now.
Slapped the Titanium Ranger out of the way and saw the whole Aegis Team with the big gun ready; it was at that moment Beetalion knew, he fucked up.
Zebidiah Lord is not to be fucked with when he starts using magic in a fight.
"Back to action!" had to work it in.
The attack that Mercy was told her parents died in was one of the last direct attacks on Earth that involved a Megazord and giant monster and she was a baby at the time, so it's been between 15 and 17 years; there might have been a few smaller incursions but it's been pretty damn safe.
I just liked the idea of Piggy and others who weren't on Earth when Rita attacked thinking that the talk about Putties is hyperbole and propaganda.
Look let's be real, people love talking about community and stuff but when you get jumped then your own and those same people will watch it happen from the safety of their bedroom window.
So that's a teaser for some very impressive fighting.
I'm sure I don't need to tell you exactly who this character is and why they're important.
Also I'll come out and confirm it right now, Kay is non-binary and will be using they/them pronouns. They were given the name Kai as a small homage to Zyuranger.
As for their appearance, firstly they just have an oddly 'uncanny valley' feel to them that people tend to pick up on, hence the 'default human' comment.
More specifically though get a picture of Ryan Potter (Beast Boy in Titans) and Annie Lennox (Singer of Eurhythmics) and imagine if they had a kid, then give them some distinctly not human traits like gradient hair and slightly glowing pink eyes with black sclera….But since there's aliens on Earth anyway and hybrids exist because apparently humans can fuck some other species just not to the extent of Acheron.
Thank you to RyuRanger for their comment on the last chapter.
I've got plenty more world building to do, you'll see a good scoop of it in this arc.
Glad you're caught up, glad you're enjoying things.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.