Chapter 26- Resurgence
"Ughlh A resounding belch echoed into the stillness of the early evening, bouncing off the silent walls in the Warehouse District near the Reefside docks and into the misty distance.
"Conner!"
"Sorry, that pizza's playing soccer with my stomach." Conner defended, backing away from the disgusted Yellow Ranger who looked about ready to Ptera-scream him into next week.
"Were you not listening when Dr. O said that we were going for secrecy?!" Kira hissed at the Red Ranger, hands on her slim hips. "It's not time yet!"
"You two are worse than an old married couple." Ethan tutted from his place in the shadows, and the two rounded on him, fixing him with equally dark looks. He held his hands up to quell them. "Okay, okay, chill! But if the baddies didn't hear Conner's gastric symphony then they'll sure as hell have heard your bickering." The Blue Ranger pointed out, quite pleased with himself as his team-mates looked sheepish.
The three were scoping out the docklands as part of Tommy's master plan, going along with the old adage of divide and conquer, hoping that by splitting Mesogog's forces it would weaken their opponents and give Tommy enough time to set his scheme in motion.
"Man, this is so cool though, did you see that major rainbow explosion in the lab…what was that word Billy used…?"
The three gladly thought back to just half an hour previously, when Tommy revealed their plan to save Kimberly.
Tommy looked round the assembled piercingly, knowing Kim's life rested on him and these nine people not giving up on her.
"This isn't going to be easy, but here's the plan. We need powers, this will be dangerous, and people could get hurt if we don't take the proper precautions. My team will be there to back you up, and each part of this is just as important as the rest. There is no I in team, or in Power Rangers, we do this together, even if we're apart…"
Jason Lee Scott looked around the park as twilight descended on Reefside. Many battles had been fought and won in Angel Grove park, and it was not without it's irony that here the first and last generations of the Power Legacy would face one of their greatest challenges, with the life of one of their own in the balance. He looked over to his companions, proud and honoured to be sharing this space with these two of all people. They had left the Ranger team together to pursue dreams of peace and hope in Switzerland, they had sacrificed together, lived together and grown together- remaining friends since preschool. Now they had the chance to make amends for their abrupt departure, and their years apart from their friends. They missed Tommy and Kimberly's dramatic break-up, and the fallout from the event, the emotional damage that two of their best and closest friends had suffered that they had not been there to support. They would not fail Kimberly, or Tommy now.
"Jason has his powers, and that means that Trini and Zack, you do too. Your power coins were copied to allow Rocky, Adam and Aisha to take the powers when you left for Switzerland, although you had no need of them and so the powers were forgotten and laid dormant. Perhaps Adam, Rocky and Aisha's powers obscured your own during that time, we'll never know, but after Zordon's death, and our incident on the moon I feel confident that you three should be able to call on your powers once more, if you still have the coins and the belief in yourself as Rangers?"
Trini withdrew her morpher and coin from her purse with a small smile. "It has acted as my good luck charm through the years, always a source of strength and encouragement when I have needed it."
Jason grinned and tapped his pocket. "You know I'm always ready bro."
Zack grabbed his leather travel bag and rooted around in it until his hand emerged with the shining disc of gold clutched firmly within it, morpher in the other. "I could never part with it, thought I'd bring it along just in case, like Tri' said, s'always been lucky for me." The dark skinned dancer smirked, twirling the coin between his fingers.
Tommy nodded with a warm smile and glanced to Rocky, Billy and Adam.-
The former Red, Blue and Black Rangers had the watch of the beach, the soothing sound of the waves crashing forcefully on to the sand the only company for their thoughts.
"Funny, this is kinda where it all started isn't it?" Rocky murmured, and his companions turned to face him questioningly.
"Well Kim's power coin got stolen by Kat when we were at the beach in Angel Grove. Then she got captured by Zedd making her lose her powers in the first place. Now we're gonna get her powers back and defeat the nasties and we're back by the sea."
"Guess you're right buddy, hey, that was almost philosophical for you." Adam quipped and Rocky clipped him in the knee with his booted foot in indignation.
"It is most pleasurable to be back in blue again, but I for one will be most relieved when this is all behind us." Billy commented.
"You're right there Bill, though I never thought we'd get the chance to be Rangers again." Rocky said in an awe filled tone.
"-Our Morphin coins were destroyed, but as Kim has demonstrated, the power of Ninja can never be taken away. You three and Aisha can still harness the power that's inside of you, the powers of your inner selves, your spirit animals. This will be slightly more dangerous for you than the others, Ninja tricks like sliding, teleporting and energy attacks will drain you if used excessively and you may feel dizzy or weakened for a while afterwards. But if you're willing to take the risk, our Spirit Animals will be there to help us, and help the Crane get back to her rightful partner."
The three remaining Ninja Rangers glanced at each other with matching smiles and nodded in unison, knowing Kim needed them more than ever now.
Tommy smiled in satisfaction and opened his hands in a beckoning gesture. "Let's do this then."
Jason stepped forward with his hand behind his back, Trini and Zack right beside him.
"It's Morphin' Time! Tyrannosaurus!"
"Sabre-tooth Tiger!"
"Mastodon!"
Rocky, Billy and Adam came straight after them, whipping their arms into the familiar morphing positions.
"Ninja Ranger Power! The Ape!"
"The Wolf!"
"The Frog!"
Tommy then nodded at his own protégés who stepped forward, still looking overwhelmed at who they were sharing breathing space with. Conner glanced back to his team-mates and grinned infectiously.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Dino Thunder, Power up! Ha!"
"Dino Thunder, Power up! Black Ranger Power!" Tommy morphed last as all the Rangers completed their transformations causing the room to glow with multicoloured light, though the familiar warm glow of pink was conspicuously absent.
Billy moved forward to take Trini's hand, admiring his partner in her trademark yellow once more. He pulled down his hood to make his beam obvious as the ten inspected each other excitedly. He voiced what all the others were thinking, perfectly summed up… "Morphinominal!"
Trent Fernandez hung his coat up on the ornate rack by the door and walked through into his father's office.
"Dad?" Anton Mercer was apparently still absent from the mansion. "What's going on around here?" Lately his adoptive father had been acting unusually, and was especially more moody. Trent shrugged and went further into the room. As he neared Anton's desk, there was a strange wind-like sound and a small bang, and a swirling green entity appeared in mid air. Trent jumped back in surprise and when the green light didn't disappear he stepped towards it curiously, fingers outstretched cautiously as he went to touch it. His hand felt hot and cold all at once as he made contact, and he felt like he was being forcibly pulled through space.
He arrived in a clinical and unfamiliar room, full of multicoloured jars on shelves and mean looking machines, like something out of Star Trek. He felt a strange pull in his stomach, and turned, his glance coming to rest on something glowing white and pulsating with energy. He felt the strongest urge come over him to approach the thing, so he slowly started towards it, his arm shaking with nervous energy, and when he was near enough he put his hand out to grasp his destiny. There was a flash of light, then he knew nothing.
With a flash of green light and a roar, a mess of Tyrannodrones and a typically unattractive monster -that resembled a cross between a car and an elephant- exploded onto the Reefside docks.
Conner spoke into his wrist communicator instantaneously. "We've got contact, a monster and about a dozen drones on our end."
"Right." Hayley and Tommy's voices both responded.
"Careful guys, don't be too cocky." Tommy warned from his position, and the three Rangers nodded before striking offensive stances and rushing at the mindless horde.
"Tyranno Staff!"
"Ptera Grips!"
"Tricera Shield, yes!"
Kira backflipped away from a 'drone following her before scissor-kicking two on either side of her in the chest, causing them to fall back. She rammed her fist into the stomach of a third and swept the feet out from under a fourth.
"Tyrannodrone, meet floor. You two make a great couple!" She smirked.
"'Drone on a stick anyone?" Conner offered, catching a Tyrannodrone on his Staff and tossing it over his head, before spinning it around and hitting another three in the heads. He then dashed towards the monster who was taking lumbering steps towards Kira while her back was turned and Power Kicked the beast in its bulbous head.
"Guys, I think we need the Z-Rex Blaster!"
Ethan was blocking blows from a couple of 'drones with his shield before he shot an energy bolt from the spike on the end of his weapon and effectively blew them away. He heard Conner's shout and was beside his team-mates in a second.
"Let's put 'em together." Conner commanded and the three combined their weapons and levelled the result at the monster.
"Lock and load!" The three chorused together, and the weapon let out a powerful burst of energy to destroy the creature, it exploded into a thousand bits on the ground and the docks were silent once more.
Zeltrax leapt from the portal surrounded by Tyrannodrones and landed behind the three Rangers who were patrolling the park thinking they surely had the upper hand here.
"Red, Black and Yellow…three little unwelcome Rangers, but not who I expected." The cyborg snapped and the three spun round, already in a defensive stance, well oiled and quick to respond as if they had been waiting for him.
"Expect the unexpected Zeltrax!" Jason retorted, drawing his Power Sword. "Let's show this metal-head how we do it guys." Jason commanded, as if he had never left the ranks of Rangers. Trini and Zack nodded, brandishing their own weapons without ceremony or fuss, and spurring into action with deadly accuracy.
Trini weaved gracefully between the ranks of bumbling 'drones, expending little effort as she knocked them from their feet and sent them crashing to the ground with precise kicks and jabs, using their weight and momentum against them. Her Power Daggers twirled in her fingers as she lashed out at the mindless henchmen neatly.
Zack bounced around jive-kicking and back-flipping through the Tyrannodrones, sending one sprawling to the floor after a flying roundhouse kick, then dropping to the ground in a push-up stance on his hands and the balls of his feet to avoid flying punches from two- who instead knocked each other out- before pushing himself back up and kicking another in the stomach. He spared a moment to contact Hayley through the comms. "We've got a Zeltrax and a bunch of uglies with us, we're dealin'."
"Great." Came Hayley's response, and Zack was back to action.
Jason went straight for Zeltrax, lunging at him with the Power Sword. "You ready for round two tin-face?"
"It will be a pleasure to destroy you Red Ranger, where so many others have failed."
"Don't get too cocky, I've been doing this longer than you!" Jason returned, swiping his blade down. Zeltrax blocked then kicked Jason in the stomach to disentangle their blades.
"Dr. Oliver sent his second-stringers to defeat me? Disgraceful."
"Hey, Power Rangers are all equal when we're kicking your butt. Can't take Tommy, you sure as hell can't take me!"
Jason slashed Zeltrax across the chest and the robot staggered back with a shower of sparks. Jason pushed the advantage leaping from the ground and delivering a two-footed kick straight to his opponent's stomach, sending Mesogog's right-hand man to the ground.
Elsa and her contingent of 'drones arrived on the beach to a ready and waiting trio of Ninja Rangers, dressed in the same garb as the erstwhile Kimberly.
"More of you, I wonder if Lord Mesogog would find any benefit in squeezing the life from you as he did that pitiful Pink pinhead. I will ask him once I've knocked you into next week." The female cyborg taunted.
"Like to see you try Robo-slut." Rocky rejoined tetchily.
"Very well. Attack!" She screeched at the Tyrannodrones, and went straight for Rocky, he was the Red Ranger there after all.
"Whoah!" Rocky blocked her feral swipes- her nails looked mighty sharp- and knocked her away with a well aimed shove.
"I'm sorry, I can't hit a lady." Elsa smirked at this then Rocky launched in and delivered a kick to her midsection, sending her sprawling back. "-Lucky you're not a lady!"
Billy somersaulted over a rock that a Tyrannodrone tripped over, and caught a second as it flew towards him, he spun and used it's momentum to propel it into the sea. "You certainly make quite a splash." He called, before ducking another attack and punching the 'drone on its way over him.
"Happy landings!" It crashed into the sand with an audible crunch, and Billy dusted off his gloved hands and went back into the thick of things.
"Now you see me-" Adam waved to a Tyrannodrone as it punched at him, "-Now you don't!" He called from behind the creature having Ninja-slid behind the henchman in order to punch it in the nose when it turned.
"That'll leave a bruise!" He smirked, though staggering slightly at the energy expenditure. "Oh yeah, not allowed to do that anymore." He gulped, glad that Billy was beside him in a moment, kicking an approaching 'drone away so that he could catch his breath. "Thanks Bill."
"Not a problem Adam." The Blue clad Ninja patted him on the shoulder before back flipping away, and Adam shrugged and followed him.
Rocky grabbed Elsa by the arm and spun as if playing a game, whirling them both round and round in a circle until he let go and Elsa crashed to the sand with an "Oof!" and an angry hiss. She staggered to her feet, head spinning, and stroked her fingers through her now sand filled hair.
"Why you - my hair!"
"Lady, that's the least of your problems." Rocky quipped, kicking her in the knee so her legs gave way from under her.
"Wow that sand, slippery huh?" He sniggered from above her, until she sprang back up, scratching across his robes with her long nails and leaving a light gash in his arm.
"Yowch, this dog's got claws!" Rocky grasped his arm, before Elsa launched herself at him once more, knocking him off his feet with a brutal high kick to the chin. He flew to the floor but his partners were at his side to yank him to his feet quickly. The three took up an offensive stance together and then ran at the cyborg to beat her back as a team.
"Now that I have devised a weapon…to use this energy for the destruction… of mankind, nothing shall stand in my way. The world…will bow…at my feet."
Tommy didn't resist the urge to roll his eyes as he stood hidden behind a wall in Mesogog's main chamber, while the megalomaniac rattled on. Still on a pedestal in the middle of the room was the glowing jar of Pink energy, in the form of a slumbering Crane floating like a flame in the middle of the container. Tommy's plan seemed to be working so far, three teams of three Rangers would split Mesogog's forces and keep them and him distracted while Tommy snuck into Mesogog's fortress to retrieve Kim's energy and get it back into her. It was risky, but it was the best they had.
I'm close Kim, don't worry, we're gonna get you back soon.
As Mesogog left the chamber to 'complete the master design' Tommy made his move, creeping stealthily from his hiding place towards the key to his lover's recovery. As he reached out a hand to grasp the energy a white blur zipped out from the opposite wall and snatched the jar away. An alarm began to sound and Tommy was so surprised he let his power of invisibility slip off as he came face to face- or rather face to helmet- with a White Ranger.
"We need DinoZord Power, now!" The three Dino Thunder Rangers called on their Zords as the reanimated monster crashed its large foot through a thankfully abandoned warehouse.
"Were we expecting this?" Ethan asked as they readied the Ptera-rang.
"C'mon its one of Mesogog's monsters, he's nothing if not predictable." Kira reasoned.
"Don't say that, he might have some surprises up his sleeve!" Conner warned, glancing around nervously.
"Does he even have sleeves?" Ethan raised a brow.
"C'mon, let's do this!" Conner commanded.
"Ptera-rang, go!" They shouted, whipping Kira's part of the Zord back and letting it fly at the monster. It staggered back with a roar, sparks flying from the hit.
"He's on the ropes, let's finish him. Tyranno-drill, full power!"
The monster crashed backwards as the drill connected, pushing it back with staggering lumbers towards the water where it toppled off the docks and into the sea, rocking the area with a large explosion as it was destroyed for good, submerged in the water.
The three leapt from their Zords and sent them back to their hiding places. They demorphed in unison and Kira glanced to her partners.
"Well that's our mission accomplished, but what about Dr. O?"
"Give me the jar." Tommy spoke evenly over the squalls of the security alarms in the chamber. The White Ranger regarded him with the soulless gaze of his red visor, and Tommy did not get a vibe that this particular Ranger was on his side.
"I don't think so." The mystery Ranger replied in an unrecognisable voice.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but you need to hand it over. Now." Tommy said with slightly more urgency, if this Ranger wasn't part of the solution, he was part of the problem, and he could just as easily be working for Mesogog. The palaeontologist was confused as to how they hadn't been aware of another Dino Gem, as this was certainly another Dino Thunder Ranger, his garb similar to his teams'.
"I think I might hold on to it, never know what it could be useful for…" The White stranger mused, his grip tightening on the jar and starting to pull away.
"I don't want to have to fight you man, but I can't let you take that energy." Tommy warned.
"Dr. Oliver, I don't think you have much choice." The White Ranger said, the smirk evident in his voice.
Tommy frowned, his fists coming up in a defensive stance at the sinister inference and the familiarity of his name. "Who are you?"
"You'll know soon enough." The Ranger turned to leave and Tommy ran straight after him, not willing to sacrifice that energy to anyone, even a Ranger, god knows he knew about the possibilities of an evil Ranger.
The White Ranger turned and caught the teacher by the throat. "Back off, or I'll be forced to do something you'll regret." His red visor glinted almost maliciously in the flashing security lights. Tommy gripped the other's wrist and kicked out at him determinedly pulling away enough to give him the room he needed.
"Oh yeah? Dino Thunder, Power Up!" He morphed hastily, this guy seemed seriously unstable.
"Now, do I have to ask you again?" Tommy snapped, still feeling vulnerable without his Staff.
"Looks that way." With his spare hand, the White Ranger withdrew a weapon from his holster that looked like a feather quill pen. He swiftly drew a large number of objects in the air, which appeared in glowing yellow energy.
"White Drago Sword, Laser arrows. Fire." The evil Ranger commanded lazily, and the energy arrows pointed themselves threateningly towards the Black Ranger, before launching themselves at him in a blur of light.
Tommy cried out as dozens of shots of burning energy made contact, and he fell back, clutching his smoking chest.
"That was a warning, don't make it worse for yourself."
"I won't let you take that energy!" Tommy growled, pulling himself back up.
"Neither will I!" Mesogog was standing in the doorway, and neither Rangers knew how long he had been present, but it was enough of a distraction to allow the White Ranger to glance between them, mutter, "Very well," and then disappear in a blur of white into a seemingly invisible portal at the far wall.
"No!" Tommy bellowed angrily, and realised Mesogog had hissed it too. The Black Ranger took one look at the evil mutant and shook his head, before he too vanished into thin air.
"Grh!" Mesogog snarled frustratedly to no-one. His adversary, some powerful new Ranger and the Pink Ranger's energy had all disappeared and he was left with nothing! Clearly this new White Ranger was not on Oliver's side or this dispute would not have happened, and that could work to his advantage. He just had to get the White Ranger on to his side, or the Pink Power could be lost for good.
"And that…is not an option."
Elsa flipped away from the three approaching Ninja Rangers with an angry snarl.
"Think you can defeat me Rangers? Guess again!" She drew the Black Ranger's Brachio Staff from behind her and twisted the handle before slamming it into the ground. It took a bit more effort and did not respond as easily to her as it did to the Black Ranger, but no matter.
"Wind strike, full power!" She cackled as a fierce gust of wind blew the Rangers across the beach in a flurry of sand and water. The three struggled up, having been warned that this particular adversary could use Tommy's weapon against them.
"Earthquake, strike now!" The ground shook ominously and rocked the three Rangers from their regained feet, bouncing them along the ground with painful blows.
"Guys, abort the mission, head back to base, we've got a problem!" Hayley's voice echoed through their communication system.
"Easier said than done." Adam gasped, staggering to his feet and helping pull Rocky and Billy up.
"Energy orb, power up!" Elsa announced gleefully as she brought the Staff around full circle, drawling a massive glowing ball of energy in front of her.
"Now would be an excellent time to break that rule of using our Ninja Powers!" Billy announced somewhat urgently.
"Ninja Slide Teleport!" The three chorused, just as Elsa screeched, "Fire!"
All that remained of the three when the energy orb hit their position were the fading streaks of Red, Black and Blue in their wake.
Jason Power-kicked Zeltrax in the chest once more as the cyborg crashed into a park bench, shattering it beneath him. Trini and Zack- who had been helping their leader keep the henchman at bay- stood beside him in a determined stance.
"Guys, abort the mission, head back to base, we've got a problem!" Hayley's message resounded through their helmets insistently.
"Run off back to your master Zeltrax, we'll be waiting." Jason looked down derisively at the crumpled robot as he staggered to his feet.
"This is not over Red Ranger." Zeltrax vowed, before jumping into a swirling green portal that appeared above his head.
"C'mon guys, something must've happened." Jason glanced to his team-mates and nodded as they teleported back to base to see what went wrong.
For now, the fate of the Pink energy, and Ranger, seemed uncertain.
Ugh, clichéd and choppy, I'm totally sorry that I missed last week's update and am a day late with this one, but I started college last week so had no time to write, and have been utterly exhausted and ill to boot! But you don't want my excuses, you want chapters, and next week's should be less choppy, more focused and just as actiony, this was really the set up for the main event as it were, and I should imagine this story will be over in about 4 more chapters, but we'll see! Sorry for making you wait, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
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