Prism

Sorry about the length of time between updates! Thanks for being so patient.

Disclaimer: see previous chapters. The short version: they aren't mine!

Adam exhaled slowly, continuing to regard the young man with extreme wariness. "What's your name?" he inquired finally.

"They call me Tommy. Yours?"

Adam still didn't completely trust him, and found himself unwilling to volunteer the information. Instead he covered with another question. "Why?" Genuinely curious, Adam studied Tommy's expression. He knew if Tommy told the soldiers or one of the foremen about the discovery, Tommy would likely receive a reward. That the tall youth hadn't done so tempted Adam to trust him, but an inner core of reticence wouldn't let it happen just yet.

Tommy's face clouded and Adam had the strange feeling of being evaluated for something. Finally, Tommy glanced around surreptitiously. The two men both had reputations as loners, and the few others that were in the barracks were ignoring them entirely, most of them engrossed in some sort of a game using chips of rock in varying sizes as counters. Finally, he spoke. "I can't live like this any more. Not under the control of this so-called Empress."

Adam raised his eyebrows. There were many, he was certain, that despised the Empress, but almost none that would face the penalty of death by torture by voicing their opinions aloud. Especially not to what amounted to an almost perfect stranger. Caught up in his musing, he barely noticed his companion's eyes hardening.

Tommy observed a look of doubt cross the youth's face. A small bubble of apprehension rose in his chest. Perhaps he had been too hasty in revealing his purpose, but Tommy was a man of action and little suited to mincing words or dancing around the issue. In a burst of fear, Tommy spoke again, his voice dropping even lower than previously. "You couldn't tell anyone I what I said even if you wanted to," he hissed. "I know your secret, and if you choose to try to expose me, I'll just reveal what you've been hiding and claim that you're lying. And they'll believe me because I have hard evidence."

Adam took a step backward, and then, reconsidering, went against every internal warning and stepped up to challenge the other. "Oh?" he sneered, covering his fear with a veneer of anger, "Really? Are you so sure about that? I could simply claim the book is yours and you planted it."

Surprisingly, Tommy took a step backward. Instinctively, he knew he'd pressed far too hard. "Is that what it's called? A book?" The honest curiosity in Tommy's question took Adam entirely off guard, tearing down Adam's defenses in those few words.

Still unwilling to completely trust, Adam continued to challenge Tommy, standing deliberately, uncomfortably close. Finally, he came to an abrupt decision. With Tommy knowing his secret, he had to trust him at least somewhat. "Yes, it's called a book. They", he motioned to the general population of the barracks, "call me Parker. I call myself Adam."

Tommy nodded. "May I call you that? Adam, I mean."

Adam gave a motion of assent. "Listen," he muttered. "We better quit talking before someone gets suspicious and reports us for the pittance they'll get for doing so. When is your next shift?"

"Tonight at fourth watch."

"So is mine. Meet me by the Do'an entrance during the shift change. The soldiers and foremen will be busy counting the workers coming in."

~*~

"What is it, Jason?" asked Kim, eagerly abandoning her book. Her head ached, and it felt wonderful simply to stand up and walk over to where the former Red and Gold ranger sat.

Billy joined them silently. Jason glanced at the other two, then flipped the page of his book, drawing twin gasps from Billy and Kim. "No." said Kim flatly. "That's just impossible."

Billy shook his head. "I'd concur, but I think we ought to consult Zordon."

Jason hefted the book up, and groaned as his cramping legs protested his sudden attempt to use them. He glanced over at Billy. The genius was clearly absorbed in thought, and Jason decided against speaking to him. Making their way to the main chamber slowly, they finally climbed the last set of stairs and blinked against the brighter lights of the room.

"Ai-yi-yi!" cried Alpha at their disheveled, dusty appearance. Billy's normally blonde hair was now a soft grey, and Kim's had white highlights, plus a dust streak on her cheek.

"Where's Zordon?" asked Billy unceremoniously, noticing the warp tube was empty.

Almost immediately, Zordon appeared. "What is it, Rangers?" he asked gravely.

"We found this." Jason held up the book, open to the picture. "It looks like Rita Repulsa." The picture actually showed a woman quite a bit younger and prettier than the adversary the rangers had faced, but the features were unmistakeable.

The ancient mentor closed his eyes briefly. "I have feared this day since Master Vile and Lord Zedd conspired to enslave her."

"Whoa!" cried Kimberly. "What are you talking about? Rita enslaved?"

Zordon heaved a gusty sigh. "I think you had better hear the whole story."

Billy bit his lip. "No kidding," he muttered sarcastically to himself. It was the only outlet for his pure frustration and rage. Why does Zordon never tell us anything up front? He mused. He found himself unable to control his thoughts as they spun around. Zordon never told us Lord Zedd existed until he showed up on our doorstep and wreaked havoc we were entirely unprepared for. Dumb luck that we were able to wrest the zords out of his control that first time and that when they were destroyed, Alpha managed to rescue enough components to create the new ones. Then the entire Ivan Ooze disaster. None of us knew of Ivan's existence, but Zordon did. Damn it, Alpha and I were even working to modify Command Center security only a week previous to Ivan's release. If Zordon had told us about Ivan's existence, we could have worked on securing the Command Center against a creature like Ivan. But no! And of course, how can I forget the Machine Empire? Why didn't Zordon tell us about them – I know from my research that they began building their empire centuries ago. Zordon ought to have warned us about threats like them before they came so we could prepare for the advent of their onslaught! Now one of them has conquered the world we worked so hard to defend! Would it have been so hard to warn us that Rita was more than she seemed? NO! Struggling, the former Blue Ranger curbed his feelings. This was not the time.

"Born almost 57,000 years ago on a planet called Ter, Rita showed herself a specially gifted child. Most beings who harness the Power – the vast force from which you all derived your powers – must use objects such as the ones you are familiar with: morphers, power coins, and crystals. For them, it is an outside force they may assume given enough strength and the right attributes. However, on rare occasions, one is born with an immense amount of sheer innate power that the being can use without the aid of mechanical devices and can never give up or lose. In addition, the sheer volume of the innate power is so great that often these beings can even bestow enough power upon devices like power coins to create their own rangers. There is no discrimination among races – it is certainly possible that a human could be born one. Billy and Kimberly, you met one of these exceptional beings once: Dulcea of Phaedos."

"Master Warriors?" asked Jason, having heard a number of stories about Dulcea, particularly about her knocking Tommy flat on his butt. He knew, all the good-natured ribbing the rangers had given Tommy aside, she was no one to be trifled with.

"That is one form a being such as that may take. In addition, some become Morphin' Masters and sit on the council, others create and mentor their own teams. Collectively, they are known as the Lei'risins - it's an Eltarian term that means "Long Lived", but also venerates their great powers."

"Are you one of those?" asked Kim.

If it were possible for a projection to blush, Zordon would have. "Yes," he confessed. "Rita was born almost three millennia after me. Only one other Lei'risin was born in the interim."

"Oh."

"Rita's father Celithein – or Master Vile as you know him – was a great intellectual, highly respected, who bore ranger powers and was in close contact with the Morphin' Council. For many years, he served faithfully."

Jason, Billy and Kim waited. Zordon, for some reason, seemed reluctant to continue.

"The power Celithein bore had an odd effect upon his genetic structure. While he did not achieve an internalization of the power, it greatly extended his life-span to be comparable to the millenniums-long span of a Lei'risin. However, before any knew of this effect, Celithein married a lovely girl named Elina. They lived quite happily for years, bearing one child they were overjoyed to discover had Lei'risin powers, until the couple noticed that while Elina aged, Celithein remained the same. Celithein ran tests on himself and discovered the mutation."

"Celithein was beside himself at the idea of living so long without his beloved Elina. He put before the Council a petition to infuse her with specialized powers he had begun creating to keep her alive. I sat on the Council at that time. All of us loved Elina greatly, and none wanted to see her die, but what Celithein requested was an abuse of the powers we had. I have admonished you never to use the power for personal gain, and when the matter came before the Council, we abided by the stricture. Keeping Elina alive was clearly using the power for personal gain." Zordon's voice quavered ever so slightly, causing the trio before him to surreptitiously exchange looks.

Rushing on, Zordon appeared to be attempting to blunt his emotions. "We voted, all of us heavy-hearted. When we denied Celithein's petition, he turned and walked out of the Council chambers without so much as a look back. He abandoned his quarters, housed in the same compound as the Council, taking his wife and child. We did not hear of him again for many years."

"When Celithein left, Rita was still quite young. Celithein's anger against the Morphin' Council grew as he dwelt, and he began working to pervert his daughter's character. He wished for revenge upon the Council he perceived as having 'murdered', in his words, his wife. His daughter's Lei'risin powers were his only chance, because for all his intelligence, he knew he could not defeat the Council and their Master Warriors, Mentors, and Ranger teams. With Rita and her powers, though, he possessed a powerful weapon. He taught her all he could about weapons and nurtured her intellectual genius."

"Rita was a genius?" Kim asked doubtfully. Pictures of the bumbling sorceress shrieking after her inept attempts on the Rangers filled the girl's mind.

"Indeed, one of amazing mental capacity. She also excelled in weapons training and hand-to-hand combat. However, her main resource was her incredible gifting in military strategy. Celithein taught her to hate the Council and all it stood for with a passion. By this time, he was no longer Celithein, but called himself Master Vile."

"Rita began to show her might across the galaxy, conquering several planets in a very short time. Her mastery of spells and manipulation of dimensions and time were renowned. It does not surprise me to find she is the one who captured Orotron. I did not know it was her until now, but her quick finding of the weakness in the Rangers there is a testimony to her intelligence and strength."

"Vile became jealous of his daughter's power. He knew he could not control her. So he entered into an alliance with the only Lei'risin born between myself and Rita: a young man from the dark planet Zaniar. The forces of evil had conquered Zaniar long ago, and the Lei'risin grew up fighting for his very survival. Unfortunately, he learned many dark arts including sorcery during that time, and he became as evil a being as existed, eventually defeating the initial conqueror of Zarian to replace that evil lord with himself. He had gained a taste for blood during his fighting days, and inflicted horrific acts upon the people of Zarian, and began to extend his rule to other planets he conquered mercilessly, inflicting maximum casualties. Joined with a rogue Gold ranger as his foot-servant, Vile recognized the Zarian's potential. I do not think I have to tell you that the Zarianan was none other than Lord Zedd, and his servant, Goldar."

"Vile promised if Zedd would use sorcery to grant him great powers, he would allow Zedd to take control of his daughter and her powers. The only other thing Vile wanted out of the bargain was Zedd's oath that he would do all in his power to bring the downfall of the Morphin' Council. Zedd, already vengeful against the Council for not acknowledging his as the rightful leadership of Zarian, agreed readily. Infusing Vile with great powers, he and Vile then proceeded to craft a spell to enslave Rita."

"To make her subject to them, Vile and Zedd were forced to blunt Rita's keen intelligence. She became no more than the flunky you knew her as. And yet, she was still extremely dangerous even in her enspelled state. Only 10,000 years ago were I, Dulcea, and a team of young rangers able to capture her. For more than 40,000 years after the spell was placed on her, she remained undefeated."

"She eventually escaped and found the Earth. There, she created the Green Power Coin from her Lei'risin powers, and subjected Tommy to the same spell she herself lived under. She had forgotten that in casting spells, eventually, the true character of the entity under the spell will break through. Tommy is a noble youth, and thus, we were able to break the spell on him because the spell went against his true character."

"So how did Rita suddenly break the spell on herself? Why didn't she do it sooner?" asked Jason.

"I assume," said Zordon, "that either Zedd or Vile has been destroyed. In eliminating one of the original casters, it would weaken the spell enough to allow Rita's true character to break through and for her to recognize its presence. Once alerted to it, she could quickly finish the rest. The reason she did not break it before this is because it would have taken an outside source to undo it. None, save for Vile and Zedd, could ever have gotten close enough to give the necessary antidote. They certainly weren't going to undo their own spell, and all of us on the Council decided against undoing it because that would have given Rita more power. She already gave us enough of a challenge without being fully powered."

"I can't believe Master Vile had a wife," muttered Kim, her exhausted mind dwelling on the trivial.

"Well, he did," said Zordon.

"Did Rita ever know her mother?" Asked Jason suddenly. "I'm sure Elina would have wished her to be a force for good."

"Elina was a woman of great character. She would have been furious to see what happened to her daughter and husband over her death."

"You knew her well, then?" said Billy.

Zordon averted his eyes from them. "She was my daughter."

To Be Continued