Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Next Generation
"The Return of the Blue Ranger" Part 2 By Christine Coulter
The streets were overrun with panicking people. Several buildings had been destroyed, and a cloud of smoke was issuing from an apartment complex being consumed by fire. Six Wolvenians had stationed themselves outside of Angel Grove Elementary and had trapped a young child up a tree. They were growling and snarling at the crying boy, their long claws shredding the base of the tree. Then the Wolvenians started to push on it, causing the roots to rip from the ground, as the child held on for dear life.
Just as the roots became completely free of the ground and the tree started to fall over, the Power Rangers appeared. The Pink Ranger saw the boy in the tree and ran over to him, just as he fell. She managed to catch him seconds before he hit the ground.
"Are you all right?" she asked, setting him on his feet. He did a quick nod of his head before running into the grateful arms of his watching mother.
"Thank you so much!" the mother said, then she ran off with her child cradled in her arms.
Samantha turned toward the Wolvenians, who were now bearing their teeth at the Rangers.
"Hey, remember us?" she said. She couldn't wait to try out her new powers and now was her chance.
The Wolvenians came at them quicker than they expected, and the Rangers were knocked off their feet. They stood up, and braced themselves for another attack. This time they were ready. The Rangers maintained their footing as the wolves charged into them, and instead of falling like before, they did a counterattack, managing to throw one Wolvenian ten feet into the air. Elnia had been right about being morphed. Samantha couldn't believe how strong she was, not even when she was able to send a Wolvenian flying back into the school's brick wall. It fell to the ground, stunned.
"This rocks, you guys!" Samantha stated, going after another wolf. She flipped over him and kicked him in the back of the head.
The Rangers had managed to knock out three of the Wolvenians when they suddenly disappeared.
"Hey, what's going on?" Christopher asked. "I was about to finish that one!"
"I don't know," Jesse said. "But whatever is happening, I'm betting it's not good."
"Well, let's not worry about that now," said Samantha. "We need to find Billy, remember?"
"She's right. Who knows what he's doing now?" The Rangers ran off toward where they had last seen Billy in the viewing globe.
Elnia was leaning over the control panel in the Command Center, trying to get the link to the Zords operational.
"Zeldon, are you sure you've got the Zords working? I just can't seem to make a connection."
"Don't worry, you will. For now, just try and contact Tommy, and tell him to locate Billy's other friends. We're going to need them as soon as the Rangers are able to apprehend him."
"Yes, Zeldon."
Elnia pressed a button on the control panel, and Tommy's voice came over the speaker.
"Tommy here."
"Tommy, this is Elnia. We have the Rangers looking for Billy at this very moment, and as soon as they can apprehend him, we're going to try and reverse the spell Alagor put on him. As I told you, we may need some of his old friends to help with the process, so could you contact Kimberly and the others then teleport here as soon as you can? Plus, I'm having a bit of trouble getting the Zords operational, so I could use your help on that."
"I'll get right on it."
"Thanks. Ending transmission."
Elnia was still trying to get the Zords online, while Zeldon was working on the power weapons for the Rangers when the alarm went off again.
"Great. Now what?" Elnia asked, setting down a tool she was using in frustration. "How am I ever expected to get this stuff done with that thing going off all the time?"
"I thought you'd be used to it having worked in the Command Center in the future," Zeldon said, finishing up the Black Ranger's Power Axe and walking over to the viewing globe.
"Hey, in my time there aren't any evil beings attacking earth anymore. I mainly just watch gymnastics on the viewing globe there."
On the screen was Billy, holding up someone by the collar of his shirt. It was Skull.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my little buddy Skull. And where's your friend Bulk. Pigging out as usual?"
"No. I'm right here," said Bulk, coming out of a doughnut shop, holding a large muffin, two boxes of doughnuts and a bag of some other type of pastry, looking the same as when Billy had last seen him. "Now why don't you just put my friend down, and you won't get hurt."
"Yeah, right. You, hurt me? Please!" Billy threw Skull aside. "Come on then, Big Guy, take me down."
Bulk carefully sat down his food, as delicate as one would a newborn child, and puffed up his already large chest. He then ran straight at Billy-only to be knocked off his feet, Billy having not moved an inch.
"Oh, that hurt-Not! Now, to teach you about real pain!"
"I don't think so." It was the Power Rangers.
"You guys all right?" Jesse asked. Bulk and Skull, who had run into each other's arms, hastily nodded their heads.
"They won't be. I was wondering when you Power Punks were going to show up."
"Billy, you don't know what you're doing." Samantha said, hoping to get through to him. "Alagor has brainwashed you, put you under a spell."
"I know exactly what I'm doing, girly. And that is destroying you." Billy pulled out the power lance. "New and improved," he said, waving it around. "Time to put it to the test."
Billy went after the Pink Ranger first, sending sparks flying when it hit her in the stomach. Angela doubled over in pain.
"Angela!" the Yellow Ranger gasped, running over to her friend, only to have Billy strike her on the back.
"God, it's great to be back!" Billy said in glee, blocking a punch by the Black Ranger. "It's so much more fun being bad."
Samantha didn't want to attack Billy. She knew it wasn't his fault that he was acting like this, but she couldn't just watch her fellow Rangers get destroyed, either.
"Zeldon, you got those weapons ready, yet?" she asked through her communicator.
"Just finished. I'm teleporting them now."
Weapons appeared in all of their hands, Samantha's being a purple glowing whip.
"Sorry about this Billy," she said, lashing the whip out and pulling Billy's feet out from under him. Samantha was about to walk over to him and take off his helmet to try and talk to him when the ground started shaking.
"What the...?" the Black Ranger said, trying not to fall as the ground shook.
"Master Alagor," Billy said, starting to laugh. "You are too late! Master Alagor has finished his monsters!" And just as he said this, the ground around them split open, and out sprang several snake-like creatures with feathers lining the center of their heads like Mohawks.
"Oh no!" Zeldon said from the Command Center. "He has sent basilisks. Rangers, you must avoid looking into their eyes at all cost, for if you look in their eyes only for a second, you will instantly be killed."
"How are we not supposed to look at them if we're fighting them?" the Red Ranger said to his communicator.
"Face it, Rangers," Billy said, getting to his feet. "You're through. Master Alagor has won!"
Alagor's voice spoke through Billy's communicator.
"William, return to my ship immediately. I have discovered something you may want to see."
"Yes, Master Alagor. So sorry to leave so soon, but I assure you I will be back!" He teleported to Alagor's ship.
"What are we going to do, you guys?" Trisha asked. Both she and Angela had gotten to their feet, though Angela was still in pain."Angela needs to return to the Command Center to heal her wound."
"All right. Rangers, let's teleport back. Let's just hope Zeldon will find away for us to fight these things without looking at them."
The Rangers touched a button on their communicators and teleported to the Command Center. As soon as they were there, they removed their helmets.
"What are we going to do, Zeldon?" Christopher asked.
"Yeah. Those snakes look pretty strong," Jesse stated, setting his helmet down on the control panel, which was still open with wires hanging out. "Problem here?" he asked, seeing this.
"I can't connect you to your Zords," Elnia said as she helped Angela down onto a table beneath the machine that would heal her.
"Maybe I can help," Samantha said, looking at the wires. "Billy taught me a few things about electronics, before he was all evil and junk."
"Billy was who taught me about this stuff, too, but I've just never gotten the hang of it."
She pushed some bottoms on the "healer" and within seconds, Angela sat up, good as new.
"You knew, er, know Billy?" Samantha asked, looking away from the wires she was trying to untangle.
"She should. He's her dad."
"What?" Samantha said, shocked. "Why didn't you tell me?" Elnia just shrugged her shoulders.
Angela hopped down off the table. "Alagor put a lot of power into that lance of Billy's. It felt like my whole stomach was on fire."
"Yeah. I'm surprised I didn't get hurt worse than I did," said Trisha.
"Your back is still smoking, though," Christopher pointed out.
"Look, how are we supposed to deal with those basilisks?" Jesse asked, getting back to the subject at hand. "I mean, it's going to be kind of hard fighting something we can't look at."
"I was hoping Samantha might be able to help me with that," Zeldon said, who was leaning over a bunch of tiny plastic and metal pieces, trying to fit them together. "You're good at inventing stuff, right?"
"I'm okay. But the only things I've ever made have just been simple weapons. If only Billy were here and on our side, instead of up on Alagor's ship. He'd be able to figure something out," Samantha said, feeling herself grow sad at what Billy was doing. She wanted to help him so badly. Angela sensed what was going on inside Samantha's head and put her arm around her.
"Look, it's not your fault Billy's been brainwashed. We'll find away to reverse the process. I know we will."
"I hope so," Samantha said, continuing to get the wires in order. "It looks like a tornado's been through these things. What were you doing, Elnia? Trying to cause a short and set this whole place on fire?"
"Very funny," Elnia retorted. "Look, why don't you just help Zeldon come up with something to help with the basilisks? Tommy's supposed to be teleporting here at any time, so he can help me out."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'll figure it out eventually."
Samantha went over to the table that Zeldon had covered with the tiny electrical pieces and tried to think of what could be used. It was clear that he had brought a lot of these things from the future, because she didn't know what half of the stuff was. At one point, she placed two items that looked compatible together, and caused a small explosion that filled the whole place with smoke.
"T-thanks a lot, Samantha!" everyone choked, waving the smoke out of their faces.
"Sorry!" Samantha sputtered. When the smoke cleared and everyone could see clearly again, they looked at Samantha and started laughing.
"What?" she asked, not knowing what was so funny.
"Your face-It's all black from the explosion. You look like you've had your face up a chimney," Randy said, almost crying from laughing so hard.
"What?!"
"Here, look!" Jennifer took a small mirror out of her pocket and showed Samantha her reflection.
"Omigod! Is there a bathroom in this place I can use?" she asked, trying to wipe of her face.
"Just down there, around the corner," Elnia told her.
When Samantha had washed up, she came back out to see that Randy was still laughing. She punched him in his arm, when made him whine like a baby.
"Ouch! What did you do that for?" he said, rubbing his arm. For being a surfer who does martial arts, he sure is a wimp, Samantha thought.
Just then, Tommy teleported into the Command Center.
"Sorry it took so long," he said. "It's a school day and I had to wait for my class to be over."
"Were you able to contact Billy's other friends?" Zeldon asked.
"I was able to get a hold of Kimberly, Jason and Zack. Unfortunately I was unable to locate Trini or the others. Here is the location of Kim and the guys. They're waiting to be teleported," Tommy said, handing Zeldon a piece of paper, who went over to the control panel and pressed in some buttons. Within seconds, Kimberly, Jason, and Zack were there.
"Hi you guys," Kimberly said. She saw Samantha and ran to give her a hug. "I am so sorry I lost contact with you. What you must have been through in all these years. And now with Billy!"
"Yeah, Zeldon," Jason said. "What's the situation? All Tommy had time to tell us was that Billy had been brainwashed by some guy named Alagor."
Zeldon quickly told them what was going on, knowing he didn't have the time to go into full detail, and leaving out the fact that the Rangers from the future were in fact their kids.
"And now, Alagor has created things called basilisks, creatures that if you make eye contact with them you'll be killed instantly," Trisha said.
"Whoa. That sounds bad," Kimberly said.
"So what are we going to do?" Zack asked.
"And where's Billy right now?"
"Billy was called to Alagor's ship for some reason, and we're still trying to figure out what to do about the snakes," Samantha said, sitting back down at the table with Zeldon.
"Can we help?"
"If you can think of someway we can look at them without being killed."
Everyone said brainstorming for what seemed like a very long time, before Samantha finally thought of something. She stood up lightening fast, startling everyone.
"I've got it!" she shouted.
"What? What is it?"
"You know those things people use to be able to look at eclipses? You know, the really dark glass? Well, what if we used some of that, just a lot more powerful?"
"But you can't see anything in those, except bright light."
"Zeldon, is there someway you can make it to where we can see through it but the snakes can't see in? Because I heard that the only way a basilisk can kill you is if they look into your eyes, not if the person just looks into theirs, and if the snakes can't see our eyes, they can't exactly make eye contact."
"That's right. And isn't there an observatory here? They probably have some of this glass. Kimberly, Zack, Jason. I will teleport you inside the observatory. Find as much of it as you can, then come straight back here. We haven't much time." Zeldon once again went to the control panel and teleported them.
While Kim, Jason and Zack were gone, the alarm went off once again. Everyone watched as basilisks caused even more chaos in the streets than the Wolvenians. Samantha hated to watch all this happening and not being able to do anything. It was the same feeling she had gotten when she had encountered Billy hours before. She was a Ranger and was still useless. She stood up in frustration.
"I can't take this anymore! I can't just sit around why these things kill everyone. I'm going back out there."
"You can't! You'll die!"
"I don't care. It's bad enough I can't do anything about Billy. I've trained most of my life to help people, and right now, I'm not helping anyone. I'm going." She was about to push the button on her communicator that would teleport her to the city, but before she could, Jason, Kimberly and Zack reappeared in the Command Center. They had two boxes full of helmets and goggles with lenses made of the black glass.
"Will this do, Zeldon?" Zack asked as he and the others sat down the boxes. We couldn't find any of the glass by itself, so we brought these."
"Yes, this will do fine. But first-Samantha, now that we have what we need, it will only tale a little while for me to modify this glass and replace it with the lenses in your helmets. Will you stay long enough for that?"
Samantha looked back at the viewing globe in frustration, then sat back down
"Just hurry, okay?"
The basilisks were closing in on several teens, their long tongues lashing out of their fang-filled mouths. Luckily the teens were too repulsed by the creatures appearance to look them in their eyes, which were yellow and glowing within their scale-covered heads.
The snakes had backed the teens up against a brick wall, and just they were about to turn toward the snakes to see if they could push past them somehow and get way, the Power Rangers appeared, blocking them form the snakes deadly stare.
"We're back!" Christopher taunted.
"Oh, we're sssoo ssscared," hissed one of the snakes.
Samantha turned toward the teens. "Get out of here, and whatever you do, don't look into the snakes' eyes." They did as she said.
"Alright, Scales-for-Brains, where's Billy?" Jesse asked.
"Billy? We don't know no Billy."
"Really? Well, maybe a few kicks to your heads will make you remember!"
The Rangers attacked, as did the snakes. Trisha was barely able to avoid being bit by one on the basilisk's razor-sharp fangs, which she knew were just as deadly as their gaze. Samantha got a sharp cut across her arm from one of their claws, but she didn't let it faze her. She was glad she had thought about the eclipse glass, for it was working perfectly to keep the snakes from making eye contact.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of fighting, the Rangers managed to knock all of the snakes unconscious. Just as Jesse pulled out a laser gun to finish the snakes off completely, Billy appeared behind them.
"Help me, Rangers! I am fighting the spell Alagor placed on me, but I don't know how long I can. You have to help me!"
"Billy? Is it really you?" Samantha asked, walking slowly toward him. Jesse grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Wait. It could be a trick," he said, but then Billy fell to the ground grabbing his head.
"Guys, he's trying to take over again. You've got to stop him!"
Everyone ran towards Billy. Just as they got to him, something happened. A large bolt of lightening came from the sky and struck the basilisks. As it did, Billy sat up, laughing cruelly.
"You fools. You should have listened to Jesse, but now it's too late." He pointed to where the basilisks had been, and everyone whipped around when they heard a furious roar.
Standing there was no longer the human-sized basilisks. Instead, there was one sixty-foot tall snake, with eight-foot long fangs.
"Goodbye Power Rangers."
TO BE CONTINUED....
