MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE
EIGHTH COIN - Part 3
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.
Here's the next one. Enjoy and review.
---
For the past hour, the hunter surveyed the city of Angel Grove. The more she had traveled around the city, the more she had grown to appreciate the lush beauty and innocence of the town that she hadn't encountered all her life of traveling. The hunter had seen the various people and thought them to be a good-natured folk as opposed to the dredges of the universe she had to deal with in past years.
She took a quick look at herself and sighed. Her current attire would obviously attract a crowd and she didn't really need the attention, so she went to the cheapest clothing shop and brought herself more appropriate attire. In the end, she settled for a white shirt and black pants, with the coin hanging around her neck on a cord. A single piece of rubber band tied her shoulder-length black hair together, completing the look.
Next door to the clothing shop was a small tavern. The hunter preferred to get a quick drink before she could go any further, so she went insde. The interior of the bar had a fresh, almost futuristic look to it that made the hunter appreciate the design. Most bars she had gone to were dirty and full of filth, but this place was clean, almost spotless. Satisfied with the establishment, she approached a barstool and sat on it. On cue, a tall, slender man in his mid-40s emerged from the back, wearing a buttoned-shirt and sweatpants.
"What can I getcha, honey?" The waiter's bellow was loud but pleasing. "I don't have any beer anymore, since the city passed the ban on alcoholic products three days ago."
The hunter merely smiled. "Just a tall cup of black coffee will do fine. Thanks."
The bartender nodded and prepared a brew via coffee-maker. "You new around here?"
"I guess you could call me a visitor of these parts," she replied, "I'm only here for a couple of days on business."
The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Really? What do you do for a living?"
"I'm a bounty hunter." The girl had expected the bartender to go into shock, but he wasn't too startled about the announcement, although she couldn't help but noticed the surprise on his face.
The bartender took the prepared pot from the coffee-maker and began pouring a cup. "Bounty hunter? Really?"
The girl nodded. "Some people find the job revolting, but it pays the bills, I suppose."
"Hey, I'm not complaining," the bartender said, placing the cup of coffee before the girl, "My brother used to bounty hunt around the world for a couple years, but he messed up his leg real bad an' had to retire. Nasty business, this is."
"True." The girl nodded as she took a quick sip of the coffee. The strong concentration of caffeine aside, she thought it was an excellent beverage and took small sips, so that she could savor the flavor.
"By the way," the bartender said, "the name's Anthony. What's yours?"
The girl smiled. "Mine's Gillian."
---
The Command Center was filled with more activity as the trusted robot known as Alpha 5 bounced from one control console to the other, checking on various readings of each. After some time, six beams of light and the six Ranger teens emerged in the middle of the Command Center circle.
"What's going on, Zordon?" Tommy asked, "What did Zedd send us this time?"
"Ayaiyaiyaiyai, Tommy! It's not Zedd!" Alpha shrieked, "It's much more powerful than anything we've ever encountered!!"
Billy checked through the reports printouts from the computer console. He squinted his eyes to see if the readings were playing tricks on him, but he confirmed they weren't. He shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was reading. His disbelieving look didn't escape the Rangers' notice.
"What is it, Billy?" Rocky asked, "What's wrong?"
"Whatever it is, it must be a powerful being." Billy turned towards the other Rangers. "According to these readings, the power signature is rather similar to our own Power Coins, if not moreso."
Tommy looked ahead. "Could this be another Power coin, Zordon?"
Zordon hesitated for a moment before he gave an answer, his voice rather unsettled and unsure. "I was hoping this day would never come. Whoever this intruder is, she may have possession of the Eighth Power Coin."
"Eighth coin?" Billy repeated, perplexed. "I don't understand, Zordon."
"According to ancient legends," Zordon explained, trying to keep a calm voice, "there were eight Power Coins created in a circle of colors; red, yellow, blue, pink, black, green, white, and a colorless coin. The coins were not originally intended to be used for morphing powers. They were powerful devices that bore powers far beyond those you know them to possess. They were either a wondrous tool or a malevolent destructive force.
"When I originally found the five power coins originally, I've studied the ancient texts that came along with them. I've learned the history of previous holders of the coins using them for their own purposes, both noble and otherwise. Seldom few could control the full power of the coins, others grew insane as the power of the coins corrupted their minds, and in some cases, let us just say that they should have never bothered."
"Ouch" was Kimberly's honest reply.
"To prevent future users of the coins from tapping the coin's full power," Zordon continued, "I had discovered that several of these coins had morphigenic properties and that their power could be harnessed safely through morphing technology. After several decades of research, the Power Morphers were created. As we gathered more information, we've learned the existence of three other coins; the green coin that was in Rita's possession, the white coin of which was discovered in recent times, and the Eighth coin, which was considered mythical because no one was ever willing to confirm its existence.
"While the seven coins you now hold allow you to morph into Power Rangers due to the unique morphigenic properties, the Eighth coin has no such properties, making morphing impossible. According to myths, the coin serves as a connector source of the other seven and its power levels dwarf those of the other coins."
The blaring klaxon sounded, cutting off Zordon's speech. Alpha punched up an image on the Viewing Globe, showing a teenaged girl having a cup of coffee in a bar. At first, Billy found nothing peculiar about that, except that her body was letting off a faint purple glow thanks to the Viewing Globe's extra sensory modes.
"That girl must have the coin," Alpha concluded. "It's the only reason the alarm is triggered."
Tommy nodded and turned towards the others. "Let's do this, guys."
"Be careful, Power Rangers," Zordon warned, "You are not dealing with another monster. The bearer of this coin has the ability to manipulate the Morphing Grid itself and if provoked, she will not hesitate to unleash the awesome power of the coin. Her power far exceeds anything Rita and Zedd have ever devised."
Tommy nodded. "Right. It's morphin time!"
---
Anthony the bartender enjoyed the company of the bounty hunter Gillian, who told grand stories of her previous adventures. Of course, Gillian was using Earth-based locations as cover-ups, when in fact, her adventuring days took her far beyond this blue planet. Gillian noticed Anthony's face suddenly shift from joyful to fearful as he saw something past her that absolutely startled him. Gillian didn't move, but made a quick glance at the large windows behind her, noticing six costumed characters standing outside.
"Holy crap!" Anthony shouted in terror, "Power Rangers?!"
Anthony scuttled to the back in fear of what might happen. Gillian, however, didn't move, but instead just sat there calmly, continuing to sip down her coffee. The Rangers entered the bar, but kept their distance from Gillian, who continued to not face them, as if she didn't care or wasn't interested.
"So," she said, her tone disinterested at best, "you're the Power Rangers. I'm hardly impressed."
The Rangers looked among themselves as this girl addressed them, not believing the tone and tact that she was pulling on them.
"That's right," White Ranger replied as he would to any other threat, "And whatever you're up, we're here to stop you!"
Gillian thought for a moment and smiled. The smile soon turned into an amused laugh. She couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably, which got the Rangers grimacing in embarrassment. "Stop me? From doing what?" She winced in realization, her amused mood not spoiled. "Oh, I get it. You like to eavesdrop on other people's conversations and you overheard that I was a bounty hunter. So you came to stop me from drinking the dreaded coffee of doom." She paused to drink up the last bit of coffee remaining in her cup. "Well, you're too late. I drank all of it and now I'm going to rule the world."
"I don't think so," White Ranger said, "There's no way we'll let Rita and Zedd take over."
Gillian raised an eyebrow, as if she realized she was dealing with idiots. She smiled at the thought. "Wow, you must really have a one-track mind. And I thought the leader of the most elite force was supposed show some sign of intelligence."
Tommy groaned in response. Much to the dismay of White Ranger, Blue Ranger stepped forward to address Gillian. "Do you know anything about the coin you're wearing?"
The coin? she thought to herself. Is that what they're here for?
"As a matter of fact," she spoke calmly, "I do. I had my suspicions about it, but yes, I know I possess the Eighth Power coin."
The White Ranger stepped ahead, pushing Blue Ranger aside. "Hand it over, then!" he commanded, a hint of authority dominating his tone. "It doesn't belong to you!"
The hunter extended her right fisted and opened it. A beam of red energy shot from her palm and blasted the White Ranger in the chest, pushing him back. The others rushed towards the leader to check on him, who slowly got back on his feet. The White Ranger tried again and dashed at Gillian, but Gillian simply backhanded him on the side of the head, causing the Ranger to tumble over and crash through the table. The table shattered on impact and White Ranger seemed to be half-buried in it.
"This coin doesn't belong to you anymore than it does me," Gillian said, "I've been holding on to this coin for far longer than you've been doing this."
Gillian looked at the one table that was destroyed and sighed. She half-stood on one leg and reached for something her pocket. Believing that she might be pulling out a weapon, the remaining Rangers summoned their own Power Weapons and went into their standard poses. To their amazement and disbelief, Gillian did not pull out a weapon, but rather a sizeable summon of hundred dollar bills. She rolled several bills and wrapped a rubber band around it, but before she could do anything with it, she noticed the armed Rangers.
"It's just money, kids," Gillian mused, "I was going to pay poor Anthony over there for the coffee and the damage you caused."
"Wh-What?!" Black Ranger spouted, "You smacked him through the table!"
Gillian smiled and raised an accusing finger at the Rangers. "And it wouldn't have happened if you had waited until I was finished with my coffee and we could have met in a rock quarry or something, where nothing was in harm's way. It's not that hard a concept to grasp, guys. I may kill people for a living, but I'm not that cruel."
She tossed the roll of money to the backdoor and waited for Anthony to grab the money and give a thumbs up. Gillian finally stood from her stool and walked towards the exit, pushing the various Rangers aside. Before she went any further, she stopped and took a quick stroll towards the White Ranger, who was still lying on his back with pieces of table over him. She went on her knees.
"I could be your best friend," Gillian whispered to the Ranger's ear, "Or I could be your worst nightmare. But if you really want a fight, let's do this in an endless desert or something."
Again, Gillian walked past the Rangers and out the door. Before the Rangers could react, Gillian vanished in a flash of light. After a long time of being idle, White Ranger finally mustered the strength to get on his feet, although it would take more time to regain his composure.
---
Lord Zedd had witnessed the events that had occurred. He had gotten a good look at the human female who took down the White Ranger with a single blow. He had especially gotten a close look at the coin around her neck. Red energy was practically bleeding from his vision beam and when he turned away, his visor continued to bleed energy. Goldar had never seen Zedd like this before, possibly because he had never seen Zedd this anxious.
Zedd stomped towards the winged titan, his body glowing red brighter than before. "Goldar, I want that accursed coin. And I want it NOW!"
Goldar trembled as Zedd stormed out of the chamber of command. He had been accustomed to Zedd in anger, but he hadn't expected Zedd to lash out the way he did. It took a moment for Goldar to regain his composure and stared at the emerald planet outside the balcony of the palace. Letting out a silent growl, Goldar shook his head lightly.
To be continued...