POWER RANGERS: BREAKDOWN - Part 1: Prologue
Written by DTM666
Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.
Note: For all intents and purposes, this could be classified as a continuation (a.k.a. sequel) to my earlier Zeo story, Shadow of the Dragon. While it's not necessary to read that story to enjoy this story, I'd highly recommend you do so.
On A Further Note: Any reviews would be greatly appreciated.
---
He remembers the scene vividly.
He and the White Ranger having fought off and defeated the Wizard's mutant rats, saving the villagers from the menace. White Ranger declared they should go home, but he decides to stay behind and do some good, much to the dismay of the Ranger. Then he materialized a hat out of thin air and placed it on his head, walking towards the villagers. A second later, the suited man gave a quick salute and vanished into thin air. That was the last that the tiny village of Angel Grove saw of the White Ranger.
That was the last he saw of his original.
Realizing that he could never fit in with the villagers despite their claiming otherwise because of his unique origin, he left Angel Grove and decided to travel the world round, hoping to do some good somewhere. But it took him several weeks before coming to the realization that no matter what he does, he'll never get over the fact that he can never live his own life or go his own way.
Based solely on the fact that he's nothing more than a clone...
A copy...
A fake...
For ten years, the clone had travel the better part of the fledgling North American countries and colonies until fate landed him on a secluded cavern, where he would spend the rest of his natural life there as a hermit until his eventual passing. However, over the twenty years of seclusion, the clone realized that he didn't age, nor did he lose an ounce of strength. The only thing noticeably different were few streaks of white hair and a beard, but other than that, he didn't have any symptoms of aging. The clone couldn't understand why until he remembered the words of the Wizard during his briefing:
"You're not a true human. You have certain properties that enable you to live longer than these humans. I believe the term is called immortality."
Immortality. The inability to die unless someone decapitates you. The clone found another reason to be considered an outsider; he had heard enough stories of the supposed immortals who get banished from villages because normal humans fear them. Not wanting to cause trouble, the clone worked feverishly on creating an explosive. When he created enough, he used to destroy the entrance of his cave and seal him from civilization forever, where he would spend an eternity of uninterrupted sleep.
What he hadn't counted on was the corrupt nature of the Green Power coin he possessed. Despite the control of the Wizard seemingly faded, he still hadn't completely let go of the darkness. In fact, over time he had learned to embrace the cold energies of the coin that were slowly but surely building up. What he gained from doing so was powers and abilities he never knew he had. Abilities he hadn't counted on.
So he laid low in his cave, his own lair. Learning to harness the full powers of the coin, taking down notes using stone chippers to write the information on the walls of his lair. He knew that without a working morpher, morphing into a Ranger and retaining stability in that form would be impossible. He wasn't concerned with that, because what he gets out of the learning process may prove to be more beneficial than morphing.
Then the day came when his lair was raided by a robot prince named Gasket, aided by a fem-bot named Archerina. They seem to noticed the clone's corpse, but thought it was merely a well-preserved human corpse. The clone didn't move a muscle, but knew that Gasket would want the green coin. He thought of fighting this intruder, but what would it accomplish? Besides, from his incisive rambling of global domination and machine empires, he's probably another in a long run of evil villains in failed battle with the Power Rangers.
Led by his original...
Then a thought came to mind. Let him take the coin and then you can take it back when it benefits you.
The clone resisted the urge to smile until Gasket and his female companion left, with the coin in hand. When the cave was sealed shut again, the clone let out a hollow laugh. Realizing the opportunity to strike is almost at hand, he approached a stone tablet and pulled it off with his enhanced strength, revealing a smaller tunnel. He entered the tunnel and navigated through the network of empty caverns until he found light. Following that light, he found himself staring at the blue sky in the middle of a desert wasteland.
It didn't take long before the clone noticed a wanderer wearing a red cloak passing by. The clone instinctively snuck up behind him without so much making a noise. With a slight tap, the clone pushed the stranger to the ground and pulled off his hood to review an green-skinned humanoid. Before the clone could question this alien, the alien screamed loudly in agony as smoke began to fume from his body. The body soon crumbled as the scream died out and soon there was nothing but ashes amidst a red cloak.
Picking up the cloak and wrapping it around his body, the clone wandered about until he noticed a small, peculiar spacecraft in the horizon; presumably belonging to the alien creature he killed. Once he got on board through the opened hatch, he had a look around. The interior of the vessel had a main cargo room, a small 'bridge' area, and a database area in the back, where the computer databanks are situated. The clone opted for the computer room and looked up information on how the ship worked. Three hours later, the clone took control of the ship and set a course for earth orbit, activating the specially-equipped stealth system as to avoid detection.
---
Several days have passed since the clone acquired a space shuttle. Under the guise of an alien privateer, he had come face to face with Gasket, the robot who stole his coin. For an hour, the two had been discussing business arrangements. By the end, the deal was settled. In exchange for his assistance in Gasket's war against the Rangers, Gasket would provide the clone with the basic codes required to create an army of bio-noids; beings created from the fusion of organic tissue with mechanical work, a science perfected by Gasket's father-in-law, Lord Aradon.
At first, Gasket balked at the idea of the process called bio-automation, but soon gave it when it was discovered that he couldn't used his acquired power coin in his current mechanical form. So at the request of Aradon, Gasket transferred his consciousness to a prototype bio-noid and used it against the Rangers, gaining access to the Dragon Dagger and subsequently the Dragonzord; all the while his original body underwent bio-automation. During all of this, the clone would stay secluded in Earth's orbit on board the shuttle, hiding comfortably behind the ship's stealth shield.
---
During Gasket's mind-games against his original, the clone had chosen to lay low for the moment. He took some time to get some rest; not necessary given the amount of time in his life he spent sleeping, but it did calm his nerves to a point. Despite hearing a strange sound in the back, the clone had managed six hours of uninterrupted sleep.
When he woke up, he noticed one bio-mechanical lifeform on the moon's surface. Setting the appropriate co-ordinates for his whereabouts proved easy considering the clone's lacking experience in spaceship operation, but his time with Gasket incognito proved rather beneficial, as he had learn much about the happenings on Earth and beyond, including Gasket's mind games with his original, Thomas Oliver.
The clone smiled at the thought of his original's look when they will eventually meet face to face, but quickly shook the thought away and proceeded towards the main database room in the back. When he got there, he noticed the damaged screens and circular datadisks scattered about in the room.
As suspected, he thought, Gasket blew out all the memory banks while I was sleeping. Luckily I have this.
He pulled a small, delicate cylindrical piece of metal with glowing blue lines and stared at it for a moment. From what the clone understood, it was a high-capacity memory rod that held more than its fair share of computer data; practically the comparative capacity of twenty DVD discs. It was more than enough for the clone to make a copy of the shuttle's database, including the 'bio-noid' information as well as starmaps and other miscellaneous bits of information that may prove useful in the future.
Putting away the metal piece, he lifted his hood over his head and opened the main door. The first thing he saw was the original (albeit modified) figure of the former prince Gasket, whose father had recently been branded a traitor within the Machine Empire, or so reports have said.
"It's about time you got here." Gasket said. "You'll be happy to know that the coin still works, much better than I anticipated. However, the Dragon Dagger has been destroyed by the Red Ranger and so the Dragonzord is inaccessible. As agreed, in exchange for your services, I will give you the information you need to create your 'secret army.'"
Sure you will, the clone thought. From the backpocket of his cloak, he pulled out the damaged datadisk and showed it to Gasket, who seemed oblivious to it until his eyes laid upon it. He took two steps towards the cloaked figure before pausing to raise a hand over his head. The clone, unsure of what was causing it, pulled out a small, sleekly-designed hand blaster and aimed it point blank at Gasket's chest. When Gasket became aware, the clone fired a shot and watched as the son of Mondo staggered back and forth, then crumbled to the ground. The clone grinned and walked over to Gasket, removing his hood as he did so. Kneeling down, he punched through Gasket's damaged chest piece, kept it there for a few minutes, pulled it out when he felt something smooth and round. He examined the oil-covered coin, which had a footprint and tucked it in his pocket.
"This was on loan so you could challenge my 'original'." he told Gasket, "My being there would have aroused suspicion, but they never would have suspected you. And they didn't. As far as they're concerned, they think you stole the coin when you found my 'grave' somewhere... out there. You thought that my body was well preserved because of the increasing powers of the coin, so you took it and allowed me to rot in the tomb.
"But you didn't count on me being alive, did you? The fact didn't compute that this clone, sent several hundred years to the past because he couldn't co-exist with his 'original', was still alive and in healthy condition. It never occurred to you that the person you were dealing with to offer you safe haven to Earth was the man whose tomb you've raided. Admittingly, I thought of surprising you when you raided my tomb, but since you were so insistent on fighting my original, I let you keep it for the time being. But not permanently, I assure you. And now, my friend, as a once-almighty tyrant used to say, 'it's time to pay the piper.'"
The clone waited for Gasket to respond. After a few seconds, Gasket shook his head nervously, his mouth muttering what he recognized were naughty words, but no voice came out. The clone merely sighed as he aimed the blaster directly over Gasket's forehead and pulled the trigger. While it wasn't enough to blow a hole through the former Prince's head, it was enough to cause some momentary twitching of the limbs before freezing. The clone watched as the robot twitched until it laid there motionless. Satisfied with the turn of events, the clone allowed himself a grin.
He took a moment longer before he turned and walked back to his shuttle, leaving behind the inactive Gasket. Even with an inactive database, the clone could still access his memory rod with the only other working computer terminal not dedicated to a working system. He promptly pulled out the rod and inserted into a small circular slot. After a few seconds, the screen showed a status meter slowly filling.
"This plan is going to take some time," he said to himself as he worked the navigation controls of the shuttle, "so I better find a safe haven where I can work the kinks uninterrupted."
The clone walked back to the bridge and worked the controls, lifting off the shuttle and activating the stealth shield. He did a quick pass-by of the Lunar Palace controlled by Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa; no doubt they will be genuinely surprised to see his face again. Again, the thought was quickly replaced, as the clone told himself to stick with the goal at hand. He began devising a plan in his own mind that will eventually lead to a fight with his original and once he's there, he will do what should have been done long ago...
To be continued...