MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS
PLAGUE
Written by DTM666
Chapter One
Originally Published On : May 2004 to August 2004
Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by Saban Brands and not the author.
-o-
Atop the clouds, the empress sat in her personal chamber looking at several burnt documents. On each document, there are various diagrams, graphs, and some text written in a language completely foreign to modern times. The empress seemed genuinely interested in some of these documents and made quick notes of them. After several hours of studying, the empress tucked the documents into a cabinet and stood up to stare out her pothole to observe the gleaming blue planet that for the past few months, she has been unable to conquer. Her ultimate weapon has been completed. It's all about waiting for the right time.
It has been weeks since the empress was stripped of her powers and imprisoned in a floating dumpster in space. However, rather than ponder her fate, she planned. She plotted. She worked on her revenge. Remembering the significant research she had done prior to imprisonment, she focused her energies and efforts on her ultimate weapon. The weapon which would cause agony, pain, and bring forth death after a period of time. But only one flaw remained: she had no method of delivering this weapon.
Fortunately for her, two dimwitted, incompetent humans managed to free her from her prison, which had conveniently landed on the planet in question. A slight purple steam spewed forth when she pushed open the top of the canister, although neither human managed to see this steam, which last momentarily before fading away. Instead, all they managed to see was the empress in her shrunken form before passing out in fear. The empress laughed in victory, only to look up and see her arch-enemies once again, as they trap her in her prison and send it off into space.
Although her enemies think that she is gone for good, the empress smiles. Although she would much rather be around, she knows that her ultimate weapon has been planted and when she returns, she will be the only one left standing on the Dead Earth and she will have gained her revenge on those who have wronged her.
-o-
"Damn." Thomas Oliver, the White Ranger thought to himself. "This is what I really need."
It had seemed like a typical Friday gone smoothly until the call into action. According to Zordon, a monster was causing trouble in the park. So Tommy called the other Rangers and they encountered the creature, a giant minotaur with an axe and a bad temper. After taking care of Zedd's usual supply of Putty Patrol, which seemed to precede every battle with the actual monster, the Rangers approached towards the monster, but kept their distance.
"Careful, Rangers." Tommy bellowed, "we don't want to cause more damage than there is."
The minotaur rushed towards the Rangers with his axe. All six Rangers managed to avoid the quick swipe of the weapon, either by rolling or jumping away. Jason attempted a sidekick to the chest of the monster, but was blocked and subsequently tripped, hitting the pavement with a sickening thud. The minotaur felt a stunning pain on his back and turned to see Zack firing several bolts of energy from the tip of his Power Axe. The minotaur went to a crouching position and jumped at the Black Ranger, tackling him to the ground.
It took a moment for the minotaur monster to stand up, a moment Kimberly capitalized upon by firing a couple of flaming arrows from her Power Bow. Sensing the oncoming projectiles, the minotaur blocked the shots with the handle of his axe and fired a couple of bolts at the Pink Ranger. The bolts missed their target, hitting pieces of pavement. Kim did not stand still, and by the time the smoke cleared, she was gone.
The minotaur continued its relentless attack with its powerful charges and energy beams, which the Rangers have managed to either recover from or dodge completely. It took a well-placed fist from Red Ranger to the side of the minotaur's face to halt its advances.
The monster, as it was about to attack, covered its face and screamed in agony. White Ranger noticed hints of purple energy bolts surging around his body. Dropping to one knee, the monster let out a powerful howl before crashing to the ground and exploding, emitting a powerful violet shockwave that knocked down all the Rangers.
Tommy recovered slowly and Jason got back to his feet in a short time. However, the others were still down. When the White and Red Rangers approached their friends, upon closer inspection, they realized their friends weren't moving. Heavy breathing was heard. Tommy felt his heart stop for a short instant. His senses went numb. Beneath his mask, his lips moved yet no voice came out. Jason, noticing his friend in shock of the situation, raised his own right arm to his face and spoke.
"Alpha!" he cried, "Get us to the Command Center! Now!"
Soon enough, Jason, Tommy, and their unconscious friends were enveloped in colored light before disappearing, leaving behind the burnt grass on which the monster had died in.
-o-
Something is wrong.
Lord Zedd, the master of evil, sensed it when he viewed his eventual Minotaurau suffering and eventually exploding to nothingness, sending out a shockwave that knocked down the Power Rangers and rendered them semi-unconscious. Zedd saw them teleport out of the waste scene. Zedd turned away from the balcony and stomped to his throne, with Goldar confused.
"My lord," the titan said, trying to cheer up his master, "the Minotaurau's self-destruction has caused a crippling blow to the..."
"You fool!" Zedd screamed, "the Minotaurau didn't self-destruct!"
Goldar scratched his head in confusion, "But the Rangers didn't destroy him either!"
"Exactly," the dark lord responded, "which means there is a third party at work here." He sat slowly to his throne and extended his right hand. Materializing out of a red haze, a small battered hardcover book formed on the palm of Zedd's hand. He opened and flipped through the pages. For every few pages he glanced through, his visor and some portions of his flesh body would glow a crimson red. After finishing flipping through the book, he threw it towards the farthest wall with such ferocity that the book exploded upon impact.
"GOLDAR!" he called angrily towards the titan, "I want you to search the archives! Look for anything that may explain that incident!"
Goldar wanted to ask what he was looking for, but didn't want to agitate Zedd any further. So he bowed slowly and left Zedd alone in the chamber of command. Maybe I shouldn't have destroyed that book, he thought, it would have been helped me with the fuel problem.
-o-
The caverns on the moon were used as a shelter for the aliens who had inhabited the surface during the Ancient Wars. Many of the skeletal remains of these aliens still exist, some corpses have even been preserved to look as though they've been around for a short while. One of the caverns seemed artificially crafted; straight stone surfaces on the walls, ceiling, and floor. A long, narrow passageway leading into a circular chamber. The chamber is plain and simple in its architect, with no columns or inscriptions of any kind. The only notable feature was the circular pond of purple liquid, which was letting off a faint glow.
From the purple pond, a humanoid 'hand' emerges. The hand extends its four fingers, each with a sharp, metallic claw about 2 inches long and half a centimeter thick. Another 'hand' grabs on to the ledge of the pool, this one similar to the other, but with a longer bone claw originating from the back of his wrist. The head - shaped somewhat like crumbled paper with a short beak sticking out - of... whatever this is... soon emerged from the oozing pit. The hissing sound it produced filled the empty chamber and can be heard miles away.
When it emerged to the barren surface of the moon, it was met with a shadowed man whose only notable feature was his glowing red eye and several spikes. The creature stood for a moment and walked past the shadowed man, who let out a small chuckle. The creature continued, uninterrupted, towards the Lunar Palace where Lord Zedd held his base of operations.
-o-
The six helmets of the Power Rangers rested on a control panel in the Command Center, each of them placed facing the viewing globe rather than towards the console area, as they would typically be placed. Jason and Tommy, the only two Rangers standing, looked on as Alpha 5 tended to the four unconscious Rangers, who were all in color-coordinated beds and wrapped in heavy blankets. Jason tried to fight the urge of breaking in tears while Tommy held his forehead with both elbows resting on a control panel.
"Ay yai yai!" the little robot squeaked, "this is terrible. They're burning up!"
"What could it be, Zordon?" Jason asked, "A spell?"
Zordon shook his head. "No, Jason. My scans are telling me that the Rangers have been infected with a powerful viral property that is slowly but surely spreading. I fear that if the infection continues to run its course, the Rangers will not survive."
Jason, at a loss for words, hung his head. Tommy, trying to maintain composure, stepped past his friend. "Is there anything we can do, Zordon?" he asked.
"Unfortunately," Alpha jumped in, "we cannot do anything without thoroughly analyzing the contagion and learning its properties."
"I don't understand." Tommy heard Jason say, noticing a hint of anger and anxiety in his voice. "Tommy and I were closer to the monster when it exploded. Why are we still standing? How come we're still feeling fine?"
"We need to know the answers these questions and soon, Rangers," the sage said gravely, "If Zedd has managed to produce a disease as damaging as this, we must find a way to counteract the virus before it is too late."
Neither Jason nor Tommy replied, as both were looking towards their friends.
TO BE CONTINUED...