Rhian continued to stare in awe at her hands, she had no idea where that power had come from. It didn't feel like magic, there was something controlled about the ball of fire, almost like it was a natural extension of her body. She was soon snapped back to reality as more of the black bird monsters closed in, "Now would be a good time to break out your new trick" Osgood gave Rhian a nudge in the shoulder.
Rhian nodded and thrust her arm forward but this time nothing happened. She tried again but there wasn't even a hint of flame, "Any time ", Telos hissed.
"I'm trying", Rhian replied, "but I don't even know what I did the first time". The weird creatures continued to move towards them, buoyed by the fact that Rhian couldn't replicate her previous attack.
Just when they thought the day couldn't get stranger, there was a animalistic shriek from the skies above them. Descending through the clouds was a giant red dragon but it wasn't like any they had seen before. At first glance, it appeared to be a Chinese dragon with red skin and a few black patches around the legs, however, instead of the usual scales, the dragon's skin looked like it was made of metal. Its eyes glowed bright yellow as it swooped down towards the teens. They braced for impact but to their surprise the dragon went straight for the creatures chasing them.
"I've never seen a dragon like it", Rhian gasped, "Zeke would love this".
"It almost looks like a robot", Osgood frowned, "but that doesn't make any sense". The dragon opened its mouth and incinerated the creatures with a powerful jet of fire. With the danger passed, the dragon turned towards the teens. Almost automatically they pulled out their blasters, even though they knew it would be largely futile. The dragon's eyes shone brightly again, bathing them in a yellow beam of light. Before they could blink, they had disappeared from the cliff before landing with a hard thump on a solid stone surface.
Their arrival hadn't been the smoothest, their bodies were tangled together making it difficult to stand up, "Ah well this is unexpected", a kindly and familiar voice called out. It took them a few moments to recognise where they were, they had landed in a office.
After much pushing they untangled themselves and slowly got to their feet. They looked over and saw Anubis Doggie Kruger sitting behind his desk. He gave them a small smile as three comfy looking chairs appeared. Doggie paused and took a couple of deep breathes as a pained expression briefly appeared on his face. The trio frowned, one of SPD's supreme commander exuded a powerful presence. The look of pain soon passed, "Sit down please", he continued, "we have got a lot to talk about".
Cautiously the teens took a seat and waited for the dog alien to speak, "Before I explain what happened today, I need to give you a history lesson", Doggie began, " do any of know what the morphin grid is ?"
Rhian, Telos and Phiro's heads immediately snapped towards Osgood but even he was stumped, "I thought not", Doggie continued, "it's a fascinating story but as time is for the essence I will give you the short version". He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, "Centuries ago a sage named Zordon tapped into a ancient universal force called the Morphn grid".
"I thought Grid was just a myth", Rhian asked, "ancient superstitions".
"To be fair, you didn't know you could shoot fire till about six minutes ago", Telos smiled.
Doggie ignored this exchange and continued his story, "For reasons that have been lost to history, Master Vile attacked Eltar and threatened to destroy them. That was until five warriors with incredible Grid power defeated Master Vile and sealed his daughter Rita Replusa away". Doggie paused for a moment before continuing, "The forces of good and sometimes evil have found ways to tap into this grid".
"Sorry to interrupt", Rhian began, "but what does this have to do with black bird creatures and metal dragons?"
Doggie chuckled, "The creatures that attacked you are called Tengu and they are the footsoldiers of Master Vile". Doggie paused for a moment, "It would seem that Master Vile is after the powers here".
The four looked amongst themselves nervously for a moment, "With proper training you will be able to call on these powers without too much effort". Doggie said
"Are you going to train us Sir?" Osgood asked.
A broad smile appeared on Doggie's face and he broke out into laughter, "No unfortunately I do not have the required time to teach you. Until then, these will help harness the grid's power". He opened the box to reveal five pairs of technology. One half of the devices had a black screen with a golden motif around the edges. The other half of the device was coloured differently on each piece, either red, blue, yellow, green or pink. At one end was a small metal ring, "These are your Mana Morphers", Doggie Continued, "they will enable you to morph into Power Rangers".
"Power Rangers?" Rhian spluttered, "like the various teams seen across the galaxy".
"Indeed", Doggie smiled. He gave the blue morpher to Osgood, green to Telos, Yellow to Phiro and finally the red one to Rhian. "I'm sorry to burden you with this", the legendary ranger continued, "but unfortunately the red dragon has chosen you to lead the team. I believe you met him today so you know how scary he can be".
Rhian gulped and looked at the weird device in her hand. "What about the pink morpher?" She asked Doggie.
"Excellent question, but sadly those answers will have to wait until tomorrow", Doggie replied. "You have been trusted with a great responsibility, I trust that you will not misuse your new powers". He stood up and walked towards the door, "We will go through how the morphers work tomorrow. Now I suggest that you go and get cleaned up, today has been a long day".
The group shuffled out the office, giving their new morphers curious looks. All of them were having the same thought simultaneously, what had they gotten themselves into now?