POWER RANGERS: BREAKDOWN - Part 7: Return
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: Thanks for the reviews, keep 'em coming.
Kimberly Ann Hart had hoped that she wouldn't have to be dragged into this sort of thing again. She had hoped the whole invading alien rule wouldn't have applied to her if she retired from being an active Power Ranger. She had hoped that she could pass on the 'monster magnet' title to the newbie Rangers that would come after her while she could go on and live a seemingly normal life.
At times, she often thinks to herself, If that's the case, then what the hell am I doing here? Again?
Alongside her longtime friend, William Cranston, and the youngest retired Ranger, Justin Stewart, Kimberly looked on as the twenty Ranger Wraiths, twisted grunt soldiers with Ranger attributes, rushed at them. To the clone, they're twenty stronger Putties. To her, and quite possibly to the two beside her, they're twenty fully-powered Rangers, ready to unleash their full arsenal at a moment's notice. Soon enough, the two forces collided and the battle began.
Billy's years of inactivity had somewhat dulled his fighting techniques, but what he remembered was steadily enough to keep the three Ranger Wraiths off his back. A quick flip or two got him safely away from the Wraith's cumbersome maneuvers, but as he tried to block one blow, the pain was too much for him and he began to run, with the Wraiths, now joined by two others.
Kim managed to stay ahead of the Wraiths with her quickness and some backflips while Justin tried to delivered some quick (but worthless) kicks that hardly phased the Wraiths. When both of them realized nothing was working, both regrouped with Billy and soon the three were surrounded by the Wraiths, forming a circle around them. Just when things seemed bleak, two powerful explosions knocked several Ranger Wraiths out of the way and the cause of the explosions were two humans whom Billy and crew instantly recognized.
"Jason! Adam!" Billy called out, "How'd you guys know to find us here?"
"Alpha teleported us here from their ship," Jason replied as he joined the group, "The less said, the better."
"Brought you an early Christmas present, Billy," Adam called as he tossed the new Power Cannon to Billy, who caught it with both arms. "Sorry I broke into your house."
"If this works as well as I hoped," Billy commented, "I won't press charges, Adam."
Billy checked the Cannon for a moment before powering up. When he heard a slight hum originating from the weapon, he let out a mischievous grin and stared at the Wraiths. With a quick motion, Billy slung the cannon over his shoulder and fired a powered blast at the Wraiths. An explosion caused by the blast caused three Wraiths to get knocked down, and Billy glanced at his piece of hardware, impressed by its power. Regrouping together briefly, the former Rangers quickly found themselves surrounded by the Ranger Wraiths, including those slowly recovering from the two previous cannon attacks.
Instantaneous, Jason tackled down five Rangers Wraiths with both arms extended, clearing a path for Kimberly to run past them and head straight for the clone, but she was quickly cut off by another Wraith, who delivered a straight jab at her jaw. The blow momentarily stunned her, but she quickly recovered to dodge the Wraith's offense. Another Wraith snuck up on her in an attempt to attack, but she noticed and quickly landed the tip of her heel on the Wraith's helmeted head, cracking the protective headpiece.
Jason got back on his feet and quickly got into a melee with three Ranger Wraiths, surrounding him. Jason managed to hold his own against the superior opponents. While none of his attacks were having much effect on them, their counters weren't necessary quick in execution and Jason was able to dodge or block most of them.
Much to Billy's satisfaction, the new Power Cannon was working perfectly, holding off three Ranger Wraiths. Even at full power, the cannon's shots weren't enough to destroy the soldiers, but they did keep them at a distance and that's all he needed for now.
From the distance, the Space Rangers were recovering from their inflicted wounds suffered from their bout with Scorpina, who had left shortly before the Ranger Wraiths appeared. They stood there in awe as they saw these former Rangers handle the Wraiths with efficiency despite being powerless. Even without their powers, they were still able to--
"You guys going to stand there all night?!" Kim exclaimed to the Space Rangers as her kick struck a Ranger Wraith's chin, "Or are you actually going to help?!"
Andros nodded. "You heard her. Let's help them out."
On command, the Space Rangers summoned their weapons and leapt into action. In an instant, there were ten Rangers in action and each were squaring off against two Wraiths each. With the numbers increased, the former Rangers and the current Rangers were nowhere near winning the battle, but the odds were seemingly getting better and the chances of defeat was growing slimmer with each passing second.
Standing in front of the cathedral, the clone of Thomas Oliver looked on as the battle raged. The Space Rangers, whom he recognized through several news reports, were slowly getting the better of his Ranger Wraiths, but the advantage appeared to be waning. He looked around for the former Rangers, who were holding their own against his creatures, but knew that they would have to give way to fatigue. Soon enough, he thought, this battle would be over and the Ranger Wraiths would be victorious.
Confident that things would go as planned, he began taking several steps towards the giant doors of the cathedral, which slowly opened up on their own, revealing an elaborately designed interior. The clone continued onward until he was inside the main hall, upon which the doors slammed shut behind him. He continued his way up the main altar, but stopped midway as strange humming sounds echoed in the hall. The clone looked around for the source, but the sound surrounded him, not coming from any direction but rather all over.
Soon the humming became louder but the sound was focused toward the entrance. The clone turned to look as several columns of light briefly lit and formed several metal warriors holding arcing blades, all of them surrounding a human female clad in battle armor of unearthly origin. The clone flinched for a moment to the study the female's face for a moment.
"Who in the hell are you?" he asked.
The female groaned in response. "Is there anybody on this wayward planet that has heard of Astronema?"
The clone shook his head in disappointment. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you're the so-called princess of evil that everyone is so scared of?" The clone followed his word with a almost-girlish giggle before returning to a serious tone. "Man, did evil take a downfall these past centuries or are you just reaching puberty?"
If the idea was to anger Astronema, it seemed to be working. The self-proclaimed princess was absolutely fuming and was almost about to attack when a strange presence stopped her. The clone, not surprisingly enough, felt the presence as well. His suspicious were eventually confirmed when he heard his own voice, but the words came from elsewhere.
"You shouldn't be here."
The voice echoed across the chamber. Astronema, her crew, and the clone looked around before they found its source standing before the altar; a human male in his twenties wearing a heavy trenchcoat. Underneath the charred heavy coat was a white jumpsuit with gold belt and a dusty, charred chestpiece bearing an insignia of a champion of justice long fallen. The clone almost immediately recognized this person; no doubt the new player of this board recognizing himself too.
Astronema almost groaned at the sight of the man, whose image was obscured in darkness. "Another Ranger? How many do you have on this world anyway?"
"More than you can count," the Ranger answered, "Who the hell are you?"
"Your destruction." Her answer was cold and her voice no longer bore the arrogance she had been suspect off. She just as soon held her staff with both hands and aimed its tip at the shadowed Ranger.
"This is a holy shrine, you know?" the clone stated, "Your power is useless."
Astronema grunted and extended her staff at the Ranger, who looked on unphased. The staff momentarily glowed purple for a moment and soon the glow faded. The Ranger smiled and shook his head as Astronema attempted to get something out of the staff to shoot; a beam of lightning or an energy ball. Much to her frustration, nothing happened. The Ranger continued to look on as Astronema tossed her staff aside and pulled out her boomerang. With much strength, she threw it at the Ranger, but her eyes widened when a bolt of white lightning from the ceiling destroyed the weapon.
"Told ya," the clone said smugly.
"Get him!" Astronema spat, snapping her fingers.
At the snap of her fingers, the twenty Quantrons that surrounded Astronema dashed past the clone and straight at the Ranger, who stood there with a determined look on his face. Pulling out an elegantly-crafted broadsword, the Ranger began swiping through Quantrons like they were nothing but tin foil. The clone watched as this Ranger effortlessly piled through Astronema's best soldiers, pieces of armor ripped and cut apart. He moved away from the lights of the hall and hid himself within the darkness, making sure that neither were aware of him. By the time he turned back to watch the fight, it was quickly over, with the Ranger standing triumphant.
"Hmph," the Ranger mused, "Putties were tougher than that."
A snarl formed on Astronema's face as she saw the havoc before. "You'll regret the day you--"
"'Regret the day you messed with me,'" the Ranger interrupted, "Considering you're still alive, I suggest you leave while you still have limbs to move. And don't try and pull anything, because one wrong move..." A snap of his fingers echoed, "will finish you quickly."
Astronema stood there, looking at this silhouette of a man who seemed to instill some form of strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. For the first time in her life, her cocky and arrogant attitude was replaced with a uncomfortable feeling of fear and anguish. Slowly, she took a step back as the figure shook his head and stepped closer. Astronema could feel a drop of sweat running down the side of her face as she slowly backed off from this approaching enemy. When she found herself outside standing before the large doors of the chapel, Astronema just as quickly teleported away in purple light, leaving the Ranger alone in the main hall standing above several unfortunate grunts whom have suffered his wrath.
All attention in the battle was now focused on the Ranger, emerging from the doors of the cathedral and surveying the participants. Some he recognized as his friends, others as his successors, and a select few he didn't recognize, but clearly knew they weren't friendly. Almost instantaneously, the Ranger Wraiths ran at him with great speed, but in his mind, they were slowly approaching him. He could glance at the various people, warning him to watch out, but their voices become muffled to the point where they are barely comprehensive.
With a quick motion, the Ranger extended his arms straight ahead and in flashes of white light, two spectral blasters, made of a transparent alloy and glimmering with light, materialized in his hands. This did not distract the Wraiths from their course. From the barrels of each blaster shot a blinding beam of white energy that flew at the Wraiths, piercing through any solid matter and turning it into dust. Each Wraith in contact with the beams literally blew apart from the intense power of the beams. When only three Wraiths remained, they thoughtfully teleported away in green light. When all was well, the blasters disappeared and so did the Ranger. What remained were ten silent individuals.
Kim broke the uneasy silence. "Would someone please tell me what the heck just happened?"
"He has grown much stronger than I had anticipated," the clone said, "This could pose a problem for us."
The clone had seen the remainder of the battle and its fateful conclusion through Rita Repulsa's old telescope. Behind him, Lord Zedd used his telescopic vision to observe what his ally had witnessed and almost seemed relieved when three of his Ranger Wraiths escaped utter destruction. He saw the remaining Rangers converging together for a moment and then going on their separate ways. Zedd turned away from the balcony and slumped on his throne.
"Even I don't know where he got this power," the fleshman said, "but I have a feeling his rage must have something to do with this."
"Indeed," the clone replied in agreement, "I think we should invite him here."
"Are you out of your mind?" Zedd almost barked, "You know he'll never agree to join us. He's too good for that."
"True," the clone said, "but at this point, he wants to get to the one who got him to the state that he's in. So we should bait him with 'information' that he would want. He accepts, he comes here, we finish him off, mercenaries are paid off, you go your way, and I'll go mine. We'll all sleep happier knowing our common enemy is dead and the maggots will eat his rotting flesh."
"I'd stay and help, but at this point, I have to go," Zedd's voice faltered, "I must check on Rita and make sure she didn't mess anything up to get on Dark Specter's side. Again."
"I've anticipated this turn of events, Lord Zedd," the clone said confidently, "but you needn't worry about leaving, because I have prepared for such an occasion."
With a snap of his fingers, the entire chamber of command grew dark, with only the stars outside the balcony being the only source of illumination. A low humming sound echoed throughout the chamber and a column of red light formed directly in front of Zedd. In a flash of blinding light, the lights of the chamber restored and in the middle of the chamber, standing before Lord Zedd was a fleshman of similar stature and similar build to the dark lord. After a moment of studying the fleshman that stood before him, Zedd came to a realization.
"A stunning recreation of me," Zedd declared, "I'm almost impressed."
The clone nodded. "This is Flinn, a master impersonator who can take any shape, impersonate any one's attitude and voice without so much as a hitch. Putting the two of you side by side, I doubt anyone would be able to tell the two of you apart."
"Then how do you know which is which?" Zedd asked.
Flinn decided to answer, in Zedd's voice no less. "I have a special compound encoded into my DNA that very few people will notice, Shapeshifters of my kind are extremely rare in this universe and it is correct to presume that no one would. But this clone was created with special abilities that enable him to see that compound. That is how he is able to tell."
Zedd nodded. "You sound like me too. Now I'm really impressed."
A smile crept up the clone's face as he heard Zedd's compliment. "So while Flinn is dealing with your nagging wife-servant and the pacifist monarch of the Alliance, you can stay here and deal with your enemy. Deal with our common enemy and get on with our own lives."
The clone turned to face Flinn and said, "I don't know how long this will take us. Chances are you'll have to stay put for weeks, maybe even months. But I will ensure you get paid the agreed amount as well as an additional 75%."
"No worries," Flinn said, "I've always wanted to impersonate a monarch as great as Lord Zedd."
Zedd allowed himself a smile, but it faded as he faced his doppelganger. "I hope, for your sake, that you have a high tolerance level. Rita can and will get on your nerves with her incesive
Flinn smiled. "Your concern is duly noted, Lord Zedd. But completely unnecessary as my previous assignments had all been completed properly." With that, he teleported.
Zedd turned to face the clone. "Flinn, Scorpina, the freighter. Where in the name of all that is evil do you get the funding?"
"I have my sources, Zedd," the clone answered smugly, "and speaking of which, it's time to begin our contingency plan."
Three weeks passed since the battle in front of the cathedral and the supposed sighting of the missing Thomas Oliver. Other than hearing of the Space Rangers' battles with evil, twisted Rangers, nothing of note has happened as far as Jason Lee Scott was concerned. Billy had decided to postpone Project Prodigy for another month so that he can work out the final kinks, leaving Jason with plenty of time to contemplate on what to do next. In his bedroom of his parents' house, he meditated in peace. Only several candles lit the room, which was still dark.
Jason's line of thought was interrupted when, by the corner of his eye, he noticed the candles' flames extinguished. He knew better than to pass it off as just wind from an open window. He got off his bed and took a quick scan of the room. When he looked towards the closet door, he saw a silhouette of the Ranger who had appeared three weeks ago.
"Tommy? Is that you, bro?" He had to ask.
The Ranger made no movement and didn't answer. Jason took a step closer to see if it was him, but the Ranger took a step back. Jason decided not to push it, although in his heart, he knew that it was him.
"Give this to Billy," the Ranger said as he pulled out a minidisk from his jacket, his voice void of emotion. "He'll know what it is."
Jason took this disk with a bit of reservation and studied the Ranger's eyes for a moment. What he saw in those eyes scared him, almost causing him to freeze in place. The Ranger stared back into Jason's eyes and could see the fear. He lowered his head and turned his back to the Red Ranger.
"Don't try and follow me," the Ranger ordered, "when the time comes, I'll find you."
Before Jason could respond, the Ranger vanished without a trace, without a customary flash of light. He simply faded away as if he wasn't there. Jason stood alone in his room looking down at the spot on the floor where the Ranger stood. He stared at that spot for five minute straight before he uttered two words.
"Now what?"
To be continued...