Chapter 2: The Psychos Strike
Down at the Angel Grove Warehouse District, peace was in the air. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but the clouds in the air were just misty, airy clouds. They didn't seem full; they seemed etched in the sky. Almost as if they were carved in by God himself.
Gus the janitor was a simple man. He grew up in Arizona and moved to California when he was only a lad. He was a tall man, six foot-two, and he always had a tan no matter the season. Gus had a great beard on his face, properly maintained but never fully shaved.
His pride and joy was in taking care of this one warehouse in the District. When Gus got the job to clean it up, he didn't just take the job he took on a son. Never before had he loved or been loved, and as he grew older he realized he might never have his son. This warehouse, as sad is it might be, WAS his son. And he took care of it more than any other janitor could.
The warehouse was his home, as it was mostly abandoned but still used from time to time. It didn't really need a janitor, even Gus knew that, but the man needed a job and a home, and the owner of the place decided to give the poor guy a break. Gus was happy, and still did his job very well. It was one clean warehouse.
It was around noon, and Gus figured it wad time for his lunch break. He stepped outside into the cloudy day and walked a bit to get to a tree nearby. If the warehouse was his son, this was his wife. The tree was ALWAYS overseeing the warehouse, and protecting Gus from the sun, like a true mother and wife. He always had lunch here, so he could watch over the warehouse and make sure nothing happened to it. It was not so far away so that he couldn't stop a vandal, but enough distance so a hoodlum could think it was empty and wreck havoc. In a way, he wanted that to happen. It had happened a few times so far and every time was fun and exciting. He would call the cops, and in the meantime lock the criminal inside. The police would get there, and thank Gus for his services. For a day he'd be a famous hero, and sometimes he'd even take the rest of the day off.
Today was a quiet day, and he doubted he'd see any action. But he still enjoyed his lunch, and took his time while admiring his clean Warehouse. His pride and joy.
After finishing his lunch, Gus looked at the time and realized he still had a few minutes. He lied down and stretched out, looking at the sky peacefully. It was then he realized the clouds were no longer so airy and happy; they were breaking apart and starting to turn odd colors. Gus shook his head. it was probably just his imagination.
But Gus was now alert. He felt something could happen any moment, and as he watched the spot of this strange activity, balls of light began to take shape. There was a red one hurtling down first, with a yellow ball behind, followed by a blue one, then a pink one, and lastly a grayish one. It was definitely not his imagination, and he got up to phone the police. He wasn't sure what they could do, but they had to do something about this phenomenon.
But the spheres were getting closer and closer. Gus began to ran, ducking for cover as they shot out of the sky.
After running a few feet he heard a huge crash and a horrible explosion. It made him cringe as he thought what it might be. Some poor old lady's house? A children's daycare center?
No, it was much worse. He turned around to see, in horror, the warehouse now in flames.
Gus stood firmly for a few seconds, but then began running TOWARD the warehouse rather than away. Someone else could inform the police, but they would take several minutes. Not enough time if he wanted to save that polished wood, that clean floor.
He continued to run, full speed now. On the west side of the warehouse there was a fire hydrant. If he could just get to it.
Gus ran faster and faster. He ran around the front to the west side, panting but not stopping.
The fire hydrant was right there in front of him. That sweet red fire hydrant that could save his warehouse, his home. So close. so close.
Sweat trickled from his head as he grew closer to the flames. But just when he was about to take out a wrench to open it, a hand grasped his shoulders. Gus turned around instantly, ready to fight whoever it was. alien or not.
To his relief it was the Power Rangers. The Red Ranger in particular was grabbing him, but the others were behind him. But. there was something different about them. He couldn't quite place it, but they were certainly not the same. Gus didn't have time to think, though, and began talking quickly.
"Power Rangers," he gasped, "Did you see what happened? I'm so glad to see you! Something struck the Warehouse!" The Rangers stood there at first. Then they began to cackle. A horrible cackle that echoed inside the walls of his head. It was the laugh of pure evil. These were certainly not the Power Rangers.
"Oh, we're not the Power Rangers," the Red Ranger said in that evil echoing voice. It made Gus's insides squirm.
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU!?" Gus exclaimed, not screaming because he was angry but because he was frightened.
This horrible, deranged Red Ranger uttered one word.
"Psycho."
Gus saw a flash of red light. He was dead before he hit the ground.
* * *
Adelle stood washing a blue plate over and over. It was certainly clean, but she kept wiping it with that towel over it again and again. The perpetual motion continued, as if she was in a trance. And indeed she was. the greatest trance of all. the trance of thought.
Adelle thought a lot. Sometimes she thought about her own life, but mostly about other. Like those five teens that came in now and then, or how the world was lucky to have the Power Rangers protecting it. She thought about how the world was good because of them, and the Rangers would always be there.
She was in a good mood, and smiled at the thought of how lucky she was. As the plate continued to be washed, those happy, nice five teens walked in, laughing and talking as always. Adelle put on a toothy grin.
"Well there you guys are," she said happily, "I haven't seen you guys in ages!" She stood there smirking as those young faces looked at her cheerfully.
"Hey Adelle," T.J. greeted, "Long time, no see."
"You guys just take a seat at the normal table, and I'll be with you in a moment." Adelle winked, and the group of five took a seat at a booth toward a window.
Adelle continued to watch them, while scrubbing that plate still. She was a lucky, lucky woman.
* * *
Astronema paced the ship. She was quite nervous indeed. Dark Specter had wanted to see her, and would come in contact with her any moment. Had he already found out about the power draining? Had he somehow traced it back to her?
She shivered. What if it all ended right now? It couldn't, not after she had come so far.
Astronema tried to calm herself down. Several Quantrons walked in, as she had requested. She wasn't sure why she wanted them there, but having a small army behind her made her feel safe. No, that wasn't it. It made her feel powerful. That was all she really wanted. power.
The minutes ticked by. Dark Specter should've contacted her by now. Had he forgotten? No, because at last he appeared on the monitor.
Dark Specter stood there in all his glory. His eyes looked quite angry, but considering he always looked the same, atrocious way it was hard to tell if it was just her imagination. Those orange eyes stared at her, piercing her soul, cornering her. At last the demon spoke.
"Astronema," he bellowed, "I wanted to inform you that Zordon's life capacity is now 75% drained." Astronema sighed in relief.
"That is excellent, my lord," she said in a solemn voice, and with that she turned off the monitor quickly. She was still breathing heavily. But it was okay. she was safe.
For now.
* * *
The five Power Rangers relaxed in their little booth. Looking outside, Cassie noticed it was a moderately cloudy day, but a peaceful day too. The misty clouds hovered over Angel Grove, and she happily daydreamed. Cassie didn't get a chance to daydream much anymore, but when she did get to, she dreamed of her old life. her family, her friends. or even her lost love. That mysterious stranger, the Phantom Ranger, so clever and willful. She missed him.
Suddenly, she realized she was being talked to and quickly snapped out of her little dream.
"What, what?" Cassie said, still sounding dreamy but not meaning to.
"For the third time, do you want a breadstick!?" Carlos half-shouted. The group laughed, and Cassie took one anyway. Carlos looked at her longingly. He marveled at her beauty, that long, flowing, black hair, those fantastic eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, but he could never tell anyone. It was a secret he was content on keeping, but he would not resist being around her whenever the chance appeared.
On the other side of the table were Andros, Ashley, and T.J. Ashley watched Andros, as he sat quietly and wondered more about Karone. He didn't say anything, but she was sure that's what was on his mind. Ashley tried to cheer him up, but to no avail. The only thing that might take his mind off the subject would be a nice, lengthy battle. Some action just might be the one thing to cheer him up. She never thought she'd say it, but for once she wished for some evil.
T.J. sat silently watching everybody. Cassie was talking to Carlos (or was it the other way around?) and Ashley was still trying to get Andros to cheer up. So T.J. just sat there. nothing much to think about, no monster on the loose, no villainy in awhile.
Actually. there hadn't been a lot a villainy in awhile, had there? The more he thought about it, he realized there hadn't been any major attack since Dark Specter captured Karone again. How odd. unless they were planning something.
He then realized he was probably the only one thinking about battle on a day like this. T.J. sighed and went back to thinking of nothing in particular.
The innocent group chattered, thought, and brooded away. It was such a nice day, nothing could go wrong. Absolutely nothing!
* * *
The scene was horrible. At least half of the entire warehouse was on fire by now, with beams of wood falling left and right. The fire department was working on it, the police were searching the area, and even the news was there, setting up for a live feed.
Psycho Red watched the scene. He surveyed the land. Still no sign of the Power Rangers! He figured the only way to get those Rangers out to play was to reveal themselves live on camera. Maybe even make a victim out of an innocent news reporter.
"Come on, Psycho Rangers," Psycho Red happily told the other anxious Psychos, "It's time to have some fun."
Down at the Angel Grove Warehouse District, peace was in the air. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but the clouds in the air were just misty, airy clouds. They didn't seem full; they seemed etched in the sky. Almost as if they were carved in by God himself.
Gus the janitor was a simple man. He grew up in Arizona and moved to California when he was only a lad. He was a tall man, six foot-two, and he always had a tan no matter the season. Gus had a great beard on his face, properly maintained but never fully shaved.
His pride and joy was in taking care of this one warehouse in the District. When Gus got the job to clean it up, he didn't just take the job he took on a son. Never before had he loved or been loved, and as he grew older he realized he might never have his son. This warehouse, as sad is it might be, WAS his son. And he took care of it more than any other janitor could.
The warehouse was his home, as it was mostly abandoned but still used from time to time. It didn't really need a janitor, even Gus knew that, but the man needed a job and a home, and the owner of the place decided to give the poor guy a break. Gus was happy, and still did his job very well. It was one clean warehouse.
It was around noon, and Gus figured it wad time for his lunch break. He stepped outside into the cloudy day and walked a bit to get to a tree nearby. If the warehouse was his son, this was his wife. The tree was ALWAYS overseeing the warehouse, and protecting Gus from the sun, like a true mother and wife. He always had lunch here, so he could watch over the warehouse and make sure nothing happened to it. It was not so far away so that he couldn't stop a vandal, but enough distance so a hoodlum could think it was empty and wreck havoc. In a way, he wanted that to happen. It had happened a few times so far and every time was fun and exciting. He would call the cops, and in the meantime lock the criminal inside. The police would get there, and thank Gus for his services. For a day he'd be a famous hero, and sometimes he'd even take the rest of the day off.
Today was a quiet day, and he doubted he'd see any action. But he still enjoyed his lunch, and took his time while admiring his clean Warehouse. His pride and joy.
After finishing his lunch, Gus looked at the time and realized he still had a few minutes. He lied down and stretched out, looking at the sky peacefully. It was then he realized the clouds were no longer so airy and happy; they were breaking apart and starting to turn odd colors. Gus shook his head. it was probably just his imagination.
But Gus was now alert. He felt something could happen any moment, and as he watched the spot of this strange activity, balls of light began to take shape. There was a red one hurtling down first, with a yellow ball behind, followed by a blue one, then a pink one, and lastly a grayish one. It was definitely not his imagination, and he got up to phone the police. He wasn't sure what they could do, but they had to do something about this phenomenon.
But the spheres were getting closer and closer. Gus began to ran, ducking for cover as they shot out of the sky.
After running a few feet he heard a huge crash and a horrible explosion. It made him cringe as he thought what it might be. Some poor old lady's house? A children's daycare center?
No, it was much worse. He turned around to see, in horror, the warehouse now in flames.
Gus stood firmly for a few seconds, but then began running TOWARD the warehouse rather than away. Someone else could inform the police, but they would take several minutes. Not enough time if he wanted to save that polished wood, that clean floor.
He continued to run, full speed now. On the west side of the warehouse there was a fire hydrant. If he could just get to it.
Gus ran faster and faster. He ran around the front to the west side, panting but not stopping.
The fire hydrant was right there in front of him. That sweet red fire hydrant that could save his warehouse, his home. So close. so close.
Sweat trickled from his head as he grew closer to the flames. But just when he was about to take out a wrench to open it, a hand grasped his shoulders. Gus turned around instantly, ready to fight whoever it was. alien or not.
To his relief it was the Power Rangers. The Red Ranger in particular was grabbing him, but the others were behind him. But. there was something different about them. He couldn't quite place it, but they were certainly not the same. Gus didn't have time to think, though, and began talking quickly.
"Power Rangers," he gasped, "Did you see what happened? I'm so glad to see you! Something struck the Warehouse!" The Rangers stood there at first. Then they began to cackle. A horrible cackle that echoed inside the walls of his head. It was the laugh of pure evil. These were certainly not the Power Rangers.
"Oh, we're not the Power Rangers," the Red Ranger said in that evil echoing voice. It made Gus's insides squirm.
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU!?" Gus exclaimed, not screaming because he was angry but because he was frightened.
This horrible, deranged Red Ranger uttered one word.
"Psycho."
Gus saw a flash of red light. He was dead before he hit the ground.
* * *
Adelle stood washing a blue plate over and over. It was certainly clean, but she kept wiping it with that towel over it again and again. The perpetual motion continued, as if she was in a trance. And indeed she was. the greatest trance of all. the trance of thought.
Adelle thought a lot. Sometimes she thought about her own life, but mostly about other. Like those five teens that came in now and then, or how the world was lucky to have the Power Rangers protecting it. She thought about how the world was good because of them, and the Rangers would always be there.
She was in a good mood, and smiled at the thought of how lucky she was. As the plate continued to be washed, those happy, nice five teens walked in, laughing and talking as always. Adelle put on a toothy grin.
"Well there you guys are," she said happily, "I haven't seen you guys in ages!" She stood there smirking as those young faces looked at her cheerfully.
"Hey Adelle," T.J. greeted, "Long time, no see."
"You guys just take a seat at the normal table, and I'll be with you in a moment." Adelle winked, and the group of five took a seat at a booth toward a window.
Adelle continued to watch them, while scrubbing that plate still. She was a lucky, lucky woman.
* * *
Astronema paced the ship. She was quite nervous indeed. Dark Specter had wanted to see her, and would come in contact with her any moment. Had he already found out about the power draining? Had he somehow traced it back to her?
She shivered. What if it all ended right now? It couldn't, not after she had come so far.
Astronema tried to calm herself down. Several Quantrons walked in, as she had requested. She wasn't sure why she wanted them there, but having a small army behind her made her feel safe. No, that wasn't it. It made her feel powerful. That was all she really wanted. power.
The minutes ticked by. Dark Specter should've contacted her by now. Had he forgotten? No, because at last he appeared on the monitor.
Dark Specter stood there in all his glory. His eyes looked quite angry, but considering he always looked the same, atrocious way it was hard to tell if it was just her imagination. Those orange eyes stared at her, piercing her soul, cornering her. At last the demon spoke.
"Astronema," he bellowed, "I wanted to inform you that Zordon's life capacity is now 75% drained." Astronema sighed in relief.
"That is excellent, my lord," she said in a solemn voice, and with that she turned off the monitor quickly. She was still breathing heavily. But it was okay. she was safe.
For now.
* * *
The five Power Rangers relaxed in their little booth. Looking outside, Cassie noticed it was a moderately cloudy day, but a peaceful day too. The misty clouds hovered over Angel Grove, and she happily daydreamed. Cassie didn't get a chance to daydream much anymore, but when she did get to, she dreamed of her old life. her family, her friends. or even her lost love. That mysterious stranger, the Phantom Ranger, so clever and willful. She missed him.
Suddenly, she realized she was being talked to and quickly snapped out of her little dream.
"What, what?" Cassie said, still sounding dreamy but not meaning to.
"For the third time, do you want a breadstick!?" Carlos half-shouted. The group laughed, and Cassie took one anyway. Carlos looked at her longingly. He marveled at her beauty, that long, flowing, black hair, those fantastic eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, but he could never tell anyone. It was a secret he was content on keeping, but he would not resist being around her whenever the chance appeared.
On the other side of the table were Andros, Ashley, and T.J. Ashley watched Andros, as he sat quietly and wondered more about Karone. He didn't say anything, but she was sure that's what was on his mind. Ashley tried to cheer him up, but to no avail. The only thing that might take his mind off the subject would be a nice, lengthy battle. Some action just might be the one thing to cheer him up. She never thought she'd say it, but for once she wished for some evil.
T.J. sat silently watching everybody. Cassie was talking to Carlos (or was it the other way around?) and Ashley was still trying to get Andros to cheer up. So T.J. just sat there. nothing much to think about, no monster on the loose, no villainy in awhile.
Actually. there hadn't been a lot a villainy in awhile, had there? The more he thought about it, he realized there hadn't been any major attack since Dark Specter captured Karone again. How odd. unless they were planning something.
He then realized he was probably the only one thinking about battle on a day like this. T.J. sighed and went back to thinking of nothing in particular.
The innocent group chattered, thought, and brooded away. It was such a nice day, nothing could go wrong. Absolutely nothing!
* * *
The scene was horrible. At least half of the entire warehouse was on fire by now, with beams of wood falling left and right. The fire department was working on it, the police were searching the area, and even the news was there, setting up for a live feed.
Psycho Red watched the scene. He surveyed the land. Still no sign of the Power Rangers! He figured the only way to get those Rangers out to play was to reveal themselves live on camera. Maybe even make a victim out of an innocent news reporter.
"Come on, Psycho Rangers," Psycho Red happily told the other anxious Psychos, "It's time to have some fun."