Disclaimers
All characters appearing in IDW comics and Hasbro are property of their respective owners. No infringements of these copyrights are intended and are not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters and concepts are the property of Celgress.
Special thanks to my creative consultant Gaara King of the Sands who helped me flesh out this premise.
And to SpecialK92 who has enthusiastically embraced this idea. Thanks to SpecialK92, I've expanded my concept for the original premise extensively enriching what I have planned for this story.
Power Rangers Upended Fate – Chapter Three: Rangers In Reverse Part One
By
Celgress
A Fairground outside of Angel Grove, afternoon
"Best birthday ever, thanks, guys," Kat said to Tommy and Kimberly. She was sharing some cotton candy with her boyfriend Billy while Aisha and Rocky did likewise.
"We thought you deserved an official welcome to the team," Tommy said. "It was Kim's idea."
"What can I say, team building rocks." Laughing happily Kim gave Kat a high-five.
"You know it, girl," Kat said with a broad smile.
Kim's joyous mood did not last long, however. She spied Adam who was sitting off by himself away from the festivities. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."
"Is something wrong?" Tommy asked his fiancee to be.
"Nothing a little pep talk can't handle, I hope," Kim said tilting her head in the direction of Adam as she slowly walked that way.
"Oh," Tommy said. Adam had been moping around for days. The Black Ranger seemed profoundly unhappy about something or other but refused to tell anyone what was troubling him. Perhaps Kim could pry the truth out of him Tommy thought.
"Adam, you've been kind of standoffish lately. Are you okay?" Kim asked her friend.
"It's nothing." Adam insisted.
"That's not true. It's something or you wouldn't be acting so out of sorts." Kim said. "Adam we're worried about you, me, and the others. We're your friends. If something is wrong we want to know. We can't help you unless we know what's wrong."
A long pause followed before Adam would reply. "I feel like a jerk because I'm jealous. Everyone else in our group has found love. You've all paired up, but me. I'm a senior in high school, Kim. I should have a steady girlfriend by now yet here I am having only been on a handful of dates. I'm pathetic." He turned away from Kim as he angrily threw a small stone at a distant bush.
"Adam you're not pathetic. You're a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you." Kim said.
"Yeah, well, in that case, why am I alone?" Adam bemoaned.
"Simple, the right girl hasn't come along. I'm sure in time you'll find her." Kim said.
"I hope so," Adam mumbled.
"Hey, guys something is happening you should see," Aisha said rushing over with Rocky by her side.
"The sky has gone crazy," Rocky said.
Kim sighed. "And here I was hoping for a peaceful day of celebration."
The Moon
"Why won't she answer my summons?" Lord Zedd raged. His staff fired one last bolt of energy at Earth without effect. "Finster, what is the meaning of this!? Answer me you or I'm turning you into monster food!?" Zedd grabbed Finister by the smaller being's neck with his free hand hoisting him to eye level.
"Begging your pardon Lord Zedd, exalted one. I suspect something is interfering with our control." Finster said.
"I know that, fool! How do we overcome the interference?" Lord Zedd demanded.
"I'm not sure, my Lord. I beg your pardon." Finster whimpered fearfully.
"We do not require your pitiful plan, not that it would work anyway." Master Vile boomed. "Rito has placed my Orb of Doom near Angel Grove." Vile had recently returned to fulfill his months-long promise of finally defeating the Power Rangers
"Bah," Lord Zedd said. "Creating a new evil Ranger is a far better scheme than your idiotic idea. We tried to turn back time so we could defeat the Rangers a year ago, and failed miserably."
"Amateurs typically fail," Master Vile said. He waved his staff and spoke the words of command.
"How dare you call me an amateur you over-inflated old fool!" Lord Zedd yelled at his father-in-law.
"Zeddy, calm down, remember your blood pressure." Rita Repulsa urged.
"Oh shut up, can't you see I'm working here, boy?" Master Vile said after finishing his spell. "Ah, there we go. Those Power Rangers are as good as defeated. Even your woefully inadequate forces can surely deal with the tots they've become." Master Vile waved his staff at Baboo, Squatt, and Mordant. "You three; Bat Boy, Monkey Face, Ham Head, time to earn your keep by being useful for a change. Prove you are not totally incompetent. The Power Rangers are helpless, it's time to strike. It'll be like taking candy from babies, literally. I want those Power Coins, now go get them!"
Without a word Baboo, Squatt, and Mordant turned to Zedd and Rita seeking instruction. "Do as Daddy says," Rita said to which Zedd growled in displeasure. The trio of lesser Space Monsters hastily transported themselves to earth.
"What about me, Master Vile? What should I do?" Goldar asked.
Goldar was itching for a fight after the loss of his hand which had been replaced with a mechanical one by Finster. Next to Goldar stood his recently revived partner Scorpina a malicious expression on her face. As with Goldar, Scorpina desired to avenge her partner's disgrace by the White and Pink Rangers.
"I'll hold you in reserve for now. Rito, the Tengus, and those morons I sent should get the job done. But if they fail and those tikes somehow escapes, I'll send you Scorpina to attack Angel Grove. If we place their home in danger they'll no doubt come running to defend it, no matter how reduced in strength or stature they are, ha." Master Vile answered repeatedly smacking his staff into his free hand.
"You'll fail! The Rangers will defeat you again! You'll see!" Lord Zedd fumed.
"Doubtful, this time they are finished and you know they are, boy," Master Vile countered.
"Arrggh," Lord Zedd said slamming his fist through the nearest wall in frustration after dropping Finster roughly, all the while Vile laughed and Rita tried to comfort Zedd.
Fairground outside of Angel Grove
"What happened?" Billy asked examining his body.
"We're kids," Rocky said in dismay.
"Except for Kat," Kim said looking up at Kat who for some reason was not de-aged.
Other than a wave of dizziness Kat was unaffected by whatever this was. "Guys maybe we should head to the Command Center. Zordon and Alpha will know what to do." She said her voice low.
"There they are!" Mordant exclaimed. The trio of Space Monsters was muscling their way through the crowd of children. The crowd screamed in terror fleeing before them.
"Master Vile was right, this will be easy," Baboo said clicking his clawed hands together with delight.
"Yeah, it'll be fun too, They're just kids," Squatt said.
"Guys, run, meet me outside in the parking lot. I'll be there as soon as I can." Kat said.
"We should stay and help," Tommy said.
"We don't know if you even can morph or if it'd be safe. I've got this, go!" Kat said pushing her suddenly young friends aside who reluctantly followed her instructions.
"Velociraptor power!" Kat shouted using her Morpher to become the Purple Ranger.
The Purple Ranger stumbled for a moment. A small surged of purple-grey energy was expelled from her Power Coin. Having recovered an instant later she gave it no further thought.
"You won't stop us, bimbo," Mordant said. "There is one of you and three of us."
"Yeah, those Power Coins are ours." Squatt boasted.
"If you want a Power Coin so badly, come take mine, if any of you are monster enough to try your luck." Purple Ranger said flashing them a just bring it hand sign.
Mordant bellowed angrily. He charged at Purple Ranger who jumped over his attack. She landed between Squatt and Baboo after striking each in their head by way of a splits kick. She pushed her two foes into Mordant when he tried to charge her again knocking all three off their feet. Purple Ranger then sped off to find her friends.
"After her, we can't let her get away!" Mordant said a few moments later when he was back on his feet. He pulled Squatt and Baboo up.
Parking Lot, a few minutes later
"What if Kat got defeated?" Adam said giving voice to their collective fear. "How long should we wait?"
"Adam is right. We aren't safe here. We're sitting ducks." Aisha said.
"We could try to morph?" Rocky offered.
"I don't think we should. doing so might hurt us." Kim said shaking her head.
"Kim has a point. Our Coins weren't designed for children. We don't know what might happen if we attempt to use them at our current age." Billy said adjusting the glasses he found himself with.
"How old are we do you suppose?" Tommy asked.
"Eight, nine, ten tops," Billy said giving himself and his companions a quick once over.
"Found you," Rito laughed. Around him was gathered a group of eight Tengu Warriors. "Hand over the Power Coins and we might let you live, brats."
"Give our Power Coins willing to the likes of you, Rito, never," Tommy said.
"I was hoping you'd say that. I love picking on those smaller and weaker than me." Rito said cracking his bony knuckles.
"Touch them you die!" Purple Ranger yelled landing between the Space Monsters and our diminished heroes. She drew forth her signature weapon the Warhammer. Raptors were known for their deadly cunning and no weapon says cunning more than a multi-use Warhammer.
"Take her out!" Rito ordered.
The Tengus swarmed Purple Ranger who skillfully used her Warhammer to bash her way through their ranks cracking through their armored chest plates with one blow. She also used the hook on the back of its head to trip some finishing them with a kick or stomp. In short order, she stood panting victoriously over her fallen foes.
"Think fast," Rito said trying to blindside her with a swing from his sword while she was dispatching the final Tengu.
Purple Ranger raised her Warhammer barely in time to save herself. Worse yet while she was fending off Rito's sneaky attack, Mordant, Squatt, and Baboo appeared ready for more action. Things were looking grave for our violent heroine.
"Give up, we've won." Rito snarled pushing forward with the weapon locking causing Purple Ranger to fall on one knee.
"Hand over the Power Coins," Mordant said.
Fresh out of other options, Kim acted on an impulse. She used her wrist-mounted communicator to contact the Command Center. Precious seconds tick by with nothing but then finally Alpha's distinctive voice answered.
"Rangers, thank goodness you're alright. Zordon and I were so worried." Alpha said.
"We won't be for long Alpha unless you transport us to the Command Center pronto," Kim said.
"Ay-Ay-Ay, prepare for emergency transport," Alpha said. The Power Rangers vanished in a wash of multicolored lights.
"Aw, no, they got away again and we were so close this time." Rito lamented kicking the sand. The other Space Monsters simply groaned. All four dreaded the punishment that would surely come their way upon their return to the Moon.
Not Far Away
Gunther Schmidt could not remember why he was in Angel Grove. The last thing he recalled was slapping the shit out of a disrespectful mouthy student in Florida, then he was here. Schmidt was about to leave when a blob of what looked like glowing purple snort clung to his left foot.
"What the hell is this?" Gunther Schmidt said in disgust.
"I'm your new best friend, Gunther." The voice of Ivan Ooze said.
Gunther Schmidt screamed in horror. He tried to shake the thing off but it clung to him tightly. The blob crawled swiftly up his body and forced open his mouth disappearing inside. Gunther's eyes flash with crackling purple energy. A few moments later Gunther Schmidt morphed painfully into Ivan Ooze.
"A new body I can fully control, at last," Ivan said smiling.
A small portion of the energy he stole from Purple Power Coin combined with that from Master Vile's spell had rejuvenated him when be blocked its de-aging effect. The final ingratiate in his restriction was Gunther Schmidt's hatred. While that cute blonde girl might have been a stronger host she would have never made as malleable a vessel as old Gunther. Ivan was evil to his rotten core and evil could never co-exist with good. Kat's spirit would have resisted him forever not so Gunther's. The man possessed many vices with few if any counterbalancing virtues.
"Don't fret Gunther. I'll see that the Pink Power Ranger pays for her disrespect along with her comrades. They'll rue the day they crossed us." Ivan said patting his chest. Walking off he laughed at the thought of all the misery he would unleash. There would be no saving the world from his glorious wrath, not this time.
Command Center
"How can we reserve Master Vile's spell?" Tommy asked after being informed by Zordon and Alpha about the cause of their crisis.
"Rangers, the only thing I know of that might restore you and the world to normal is the Zeo Crystal. With it, I can use the Morphing Grid to restore Earth to its proper place in time." Zordon said.
"Where do we find this Zeo Crustal?" Aisha asked urgently. The sooner everything was back to normal the better she would feel.
"For some time Alpha and I have been considering a quest for the Zeo Crystal, especially since Kat joined our ranks. Seven active Power Rangers have placed great strain on our existing energy source." Zordon said.
"With the Zeo Crystal, we could make the Morphing Gird stronger than ever. We could give you each enhanced abilities, stronger armor, better Zords, and support two more Power Rangers and perhaps add more in the future." Alpha said excitedly.
Alpha brought up a display on one of the many monitors akin to a test pattern. It showed vertical bars of White, Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, Pink, and Purple. Alongside these stripes of vibrant colors ran two lines one of Orange the other of Aquamarine that faded in and out.
Before Zordon or Alpha could say anymore, an alarm sounded. Enlarged forms of Goldar and Scorpina appeared on the monitor. They were attacking Angel Grove!
"Oh, no," Kat still in her Purple Ranger form said. "How am I going to stop them on my own without the Mega Zord?" At that moment, no one knew the answer. This terrible day was far from over.
To Be Continued