Part II. Special thanx: I left out a few thanks in part one, so here's a belated thanks to Kathy Lord, Pam Marks and Starfire, who kept me going when the details got a little fuddled:) Thank YOU:) and The title of this thing is from the title song of Enigma's The Screen Behind the Mirror. If you can find anymore references from this album kudos to ya;)
On their way back to the gift shop, Cassie and TJ heard a pain filled scream emanating from a nearby cave. "Did you hear that?" Cassie asked. The sound filled her ears and made her want to cry for the being whose pain was voiced so loudly. My God, what could make someone scream like that? She thought to herself. She looked at TJ for an answer, all he could do was nod.
The two stood there listening to the bloodcurdling scream as it continued without seeming to end. Snapping out of his shock TJ grabbed his new friend by the shoulder. "Come on, let's check it out. It might be that guy the Pink Ranger tried to rescue." He tried to sound brave but inside all he could do was shiver. Above all, he had no desire to find out what could make a man cry out like that, but his morbid sense of curiosity needed to be satisfied.
Being dragged along toward the entrance to the cave, Cassie voiced what the practical part of her brain was telling her. "Maybe we should just head to the gift shop and find someway of contacting the police or the Rangers or something. I don't think we should go in there." Silently another voice popped into her mind. Then why are you still allowing TJ to lead you into it? She had no answer other than hope that she could help whomever was in that cave.
As they entered the cave they noticed that the scream had stopped. It wasn't a sudden stop, no. It faded as if the being's strength had left with every second until it was too weak to voice such pain anymore. The duo huddled together closely, both at the ready to attack or flee at a moments notice. They could feel the evil in the place. The stalactites and stalagmites formed gruesome figures of grotesque proportions. Adding to the uneasiness of the place scones were placed at odd intervals and created monstrous shadows on the cave walls. Cassie looked at TJ, whom in the dimness of light could barely see. In the most quiet whisper she could manage she spoke. "I don't like this place."
"I'd have to agree with you on that one." TJ agreed in a soft whisper. Just then they came around a bend and saw a large cavern. In the center of the ominous chamber, a man stood bound with his hands above his head stretching him high. His feet were also bound tightly stretching him low. "That's him!" he hissed. His friend quickly pulled him back behind the bend. He looked back at her an obvious question on his face. She pointed up to a spot that was well out of view from those in the large chamber but they could get an uninterrupted view without having to worry too much about being caught.
Getting into place, they tried to hear what was going on, but the overlapping echoes was making it hard to understand what was being said. From this angle they could see that there were several of those things that had attacked them earlier along and a woman with a mask and a cape. It appeared that this woman was the leader. "What's she doing?" Cassie asked, mindful to keep her voice as quiet as possible.
There was a bright flash of light and another woman appeared. She looked older and it sounded as if she had called the first woman her daughter. The duo looked at each other and then to the scene that played before them, straining to hear what was being said.
"Mama D!" Divatox yelled.
A moment later a bright flash of light appeared and took the form of Mama D. "Daughter, must you yell so loudly?" The woman spoke as she tried to clear her ringing ears.
"Sorry mom. I forgot how well sound travels in these caves." She said mock sheepishly, momentarily forgetting her prey.
Looking at the young prisoner, Mama D looked him over with raised eyebrows. "New pet?"
Diva turned to the semiconscious Tommy. "Oh him? This is what is left of the once proud leader of the Rangers." So saying, she pulled out his Morpher. The device had been stripped from him when the evil villainess had him bound. "Remember this?" She held it up for him to see. He gazed at it with blank eyes. Slightly miffed that she could get no greater response from him she threw it into the ground and smashed it with her heel. "Where is your hope now?" she mocked. Still she got no response, just a blank emotionless gaze. Disgusted she turned back to her mother. "See Mamma? He won't do anything anymore. I think that last torture took too much out of him. I really wanted you to see how active he was. He screamed quite well when I gave him shock treatment."
Tommy wanted nothing more than to curl up into a tiny ball and weep in some dark corner. Unfortunately he was bound hand and foot partially suspended in a brightly lit, though ominous cave. Weeping was also out of the question. He'd die before he'd give into Divatox.
The first few moments after the electrocution were very hard for him. He barely knew who he was or how to control his body. But years of martial training and a strength and resolve hidden deep within him brought back his senses. He couldn't completely comprehend what was going on. All he knew was that an ugly woman was standing in front of him, taunting him, trying to get him to show some type of emotion. She flashed something in front of him, a device of some sort. It looked vaguely familiar and supposedly this woman thought it must anger him to see it. She was wrong, and so she smashed it under her heel. Again she looked for a reaction, and again, she received none. However when she smashed the device, a few sparks of energy were released. He felt a sudden loss of power, but at the same time he felt rejuvenated. The fog in his mind cleared he could once again understand what was going on. He immediately regretted it. How wonderful it was to be ignorant. It was easier to frustrate your captors if you had no clue what they were talking about.
"Obviously there's nothing I can do that will break you." Divatox spoke in his ear very seductively. In the distance a ways, he could see another woman standing there. He couldn't remember when she appeared, but it seemed like she was making a circle in the sand around him. "Me and Mamma D have a surprise for you." She paused just long enough to raise his curiosity before stepping back. "We're gonna throw you into the Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow, where you'll suffer a long long time." She cackled.
It took every ounce of control he had not to cringe at her glass shattering mouth. Guys! Where are you? I need you! I don't now how much longer I can hold out against this witch and her mother. He called out silently never expecting an answer.
Tommy! Hold onto the eye of the storm! A mysterious voice spoke to him from within.
Confused, he asked. Who are you? He received no answer. Must be losin' it Oliver! Get a hold of yourself! He decided that he should probably start paying attention to Divatox' prattle.
"My mother would like to see you scream. I told her it would be no where near as powerful as the first time, but she insists. What do you think?" Divatox spoke baiting him.
Tommy couldn't answer her even if he wanted to. His throat burned so horribly from the last "treatment" he received that it hurt to breath little lone speak. The best he could do was glare back at her. He had already begun to send his mind away from the pain in his body when the first torrents of water hit him. The storm raged around him, but he was at peace. He had found the eye and held his place within the maelstrom that surrounded him. Therefore, when the heavy jolts of electricity once again poured into his body, his mind felt nothing. His body however, was very much experiencing every watt of electricity being pelted at and through him.
Mamma D watched in pure delight as she watched the spectacle before her. From what her daughter had told her of the first electric torture the boy had went through, she seriously doubted the boy would do anymore than flop around a few times. She was quite surprised to see that despite a clearly bloody throat he still managed to vocally scream very well for at least a full minute and a half before his voice left him again, and the spasms from the currents of electricity burning through him were absolutely wild! His convulsions appeared as if he'd been turned into a human firecracker. But after another minute or so she saw that his eyes had rolled to the back of his head and a slight foaming of the mouth. "Daughter, I think that is enough. I don't think we want him to experience the vortex dead now do we?" She smiled. This was truly a great day to be evil.
Divatox visibly sighed almost dejected. She waved the Piranhatron at the controls for the electrical machine to cut the current. As soon as soon as the spasms decreased enough to approach her prisoner, she had another soldier check his vitals. Good she thought when it gave her its results. The prisoner was unconscious but still alive. She was extremely pleased with herself. "OK then. Let's get to it." Her smile just couldn't get any bigger. "Let's begin the spell!"
When the second bout with the electricity ran through the prisoner's body. Cassie and TJ shut their eyes tightly when they heard the man held captive in the center of the chamber's agonizing scream. Both of them could only sympathize with his pain. Soon the voice faded away again, and the duo opened their eyes to see the young man's body was still thrashing about in obvious pain. TJ began to rise from his crouched position in the small alcove they were hidden in. Cassie quickly grabbed him and pulled him back down. "Are you crazy?!" she hissed at him. "They could very easily to the same thing to us!"
"I can't just sit here and let them torture that guy to death!" TJ shot back angrily but quietly.
"I feel the same way! But look what rushing into a fight got us the last time?" Cassie pleaded for TJ to understand. "Those things captured that guy over there and now they're torturing him to death! There's too many of them TJ! We have to wait. An opening will happen. We just have to have faith that everything will work out. We just have to!" her voice rose slightly but she caught herself before they could be discovered.
Kat, Justin, Tanya, and Adam were having a hard time defeating Divatox's latest monster Torquatron. They managed to call Tommy's Zord with a remote that Alpha had quickly rigged enabling them to form the Turbo Mega Zord. The monster kept deflecting every shot they sent at it. Most of the time the deadly fire bounced off a twenty-foot shield the monster carried sending the energy careening into nearby buildings. This is not good! Adam thought to himself. He quickly reanalyzed the situation. Brute force is not the winner of battles. Adam smiled inwardly to himself as an idea struck him. "This isn't working. We need to separate the Zords. He's wide open when he deflects the shots. If one of us could sneak in while he's deflecting shots at the other three, we might be able to cripple him enough to take out his 'reflective personality'." Adam was definitely beginning to sound like a leader of the Power Rangers, bad puns and all. Kat, Tanya and Justin groaned collectively.
"Let me guess. You're the one who's going to sneak in for the surprise attack." Kat was clearly ready to put up a standard argument on why he should not be the one to do it, when he surprised her by saying:
"Actually, I was thinking about Justin when I thought up the plan."
Everyone blinked at him. "Me?!" Justin didn't believe he'd heard correctly. Before Adam could reply Torquatron had delivered a viscous kick from the side to the MegaZord's torso region. The Zord tumbled to the ground, dazing everyone for a few seconds. Justin ran his fingers over his control panel assessing the damage. "Rerouting power couplings." After a few tense moments, Tanya was able to right the Zord back to a standing position. "Alright, we're at 80% max power. Are you sure you want to do this Adam?" Justin didn't want to doubt Adam's judgment, but he couldn't help it.
"I'm sure, Justin. Torquatron will probably figure you as the weakest link, but I know you're not. I have faith in you, Justin. We all do." Adam affirmed and the others nodded in agreement. Justin looked around uncertainly at them. He couldn't see their faces but the emotions were still there. " . . .Tommy believes in you." And that clenched it. Adam knew what he spoke was true and so did Justin.
Immediately the four Rangers separated their Zords. Tommy's empty Zord went back to the hangerbay near the Power Chamber.
Justin sat in his Zord with a look of pure determination on his face. I know I can do this. The others have put their faith in me. If I fail, it will mean that everybody in the city will die. Justin thought quietly to himself, pointedly ignoring the fact that if he failed his friends including himself would most likely be the first to meet their tragic ends. The others distracted Torquatron while he slipped up behind him. They were careful not to use anything but flares, lest more innocent lives were lost. I can't do this!!!! Justin screamed mentally. He had come up right behind the big creepazoid. The monster didn't seem to notice him at all.
He was about to chicken out when he saw a brilliant red flash of light dance across the sky above the mountains. Everyone stopped. The air seemed charged with an energy that had not been there previously. Justin felt as if he'd Morphed for the very first time. It was amazing and yet sad. He didn't know why the feeling of sadness would touch him so powerfully. It felt as if someone had made a great sacrifice and if he didn't do his part right now that sacrifice would have been wasted. So there he was, his Zord positioned directly behind Torquatron he'd already had his computer analyze the monster's weak point. All he had to do was shoot for dumb ol' creepazoid's hand holding on to the shield, then they could combine their fire and take'm down.
I have faith in you, Justin. We all do. . . .Tommy believes in you. The words echoed back into his mind. They all have faith in me. Why can't I have faith in me? Justin asked himself. His hand hovered over the trigger. Wait for it. The moment isn't right. He thought to himself. The moment is right! Go for it. This is your chance! Torquatron is distracted. Your target is locked into place. You can't fail! All you have to do is push a button! DO IT!!! a second voice yelled at him. Justin agreed with the second voice. Shutting his eyes and offering a silent prayer, he pushed the button.
All things told, everything was going quite well. The Rangers were actually helping him destroy the city. Torquatron was delighted to see that these young children posing as Power Rangers were such nincompoops. All too soon, however, he became bored and the Rangers were putting up a very pitiful resistance to his attacks. "You Rangers are such fools!" He said. "Do you really think you can defeat me with that pitiful Zord of yours?" Much to his surprise the Rangers split their ultimate battle machine into its separate components. Before he got a chance to question the little brats' sanity, a brilliant flash of red light exploded across the sky. It's power amazing and also blinding. So distracted was he by the light that he was completely unaware that one of the Zords had slipped behind him.
The last moment Torquatron ever experienced, was that of the Brilliant Red Power, then total darkness.
"Justin, you did it!" Adam yelled triumphantly over the comm channel. "I knew you could do it." Despite the satisfaction of the end of this battle, All Adam had to do was look around him and know that the price they paid for survival might have been very high. Many lives were lost this day. He couldn't help the eerie feeling that crept over him. It was a feeling of great foreboding. As he looked toward the direction of the mountains one more time, he could see the gently fading red that had covered the sky so powerfully only moments before. Tommy you can't die on us now! He silently pleaded. His instincts as a leader however, prevented him from expressing it on his face. Humph. A leader. What did he know about being a leader? Tommy was a leader. Jason was a leader. Adam? No, he was no leader. He didn't want nor did he need that particular responsibility.
"Adam?" It was Kat's voice coming through the commstat
He already knew the question she was about to ask. "I know Kat, I know. I just pray that Tommy's alright."
Switching channels quickly he contacted the others in Angel Grove. "Jase how are things holding up on your end?"
After a few moments of static, Jason's voice came through in quick hurried breaths. "We're getting our butts handed to us! How about you?"
"We just defeated Torquatron. We're headed your way now. We should be there in about two or three minutes." Adam shouted back at his commstat.
"Thanks, man!" There was a slight pause from Jason. "Adam? Did you see. . . ." Adam could tell that Jason didn't want to finish his sentence knowing that hope for their friend's safe return was all but washed away.
"Yea, I saw it Jase." Adam replied. "Look, Kat, Tanya, Justin, and I are on our way. After we defeat this last monster, we'll start looking for Tommy. Hopefully it's not too late."
It was the moment of victory for Divatox. After nearly six months, the thorn in her side known as the Tommy Oliver would cease to be a problem for her. A circle of Vesturian salt had been drawn around the boy to contain the width of the vortex. It wouldn't do for the vortex to suck everything into its dismal despair. The only thing left was to say the words that would spell the end for the little Power Puke. She felt it necessary to taunt him further. It was just too good a chance to pass up. One last taunt to wish him good-bye. "No last words?" Tommy only stared at her, consciousness just recently returning. "No? That's too bad. I was going to let you go if you begged me loud enough." From some unknown depth of reserve, that she could not fathom, a huge wad of spit and phlegm mixed with blood landed smack in the middle of her face.
Mamma D laughed. "The little thing still has some fight in him!"
Divatox spun around and looked like she was about to spout some major pout when, a Piranhatron walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. "It looks like the Rangers are giving my monsters more trouble than I thought. I need to get back to my ship and oversee the battle personally. Let's hurry up and get this party started!"
Divatox' mother shook her head slightly mumbling under her breath. "Kids these days. No patience at all!" she did a final walk around the circle to make sure it was unbroken and then began to chant.
The Pirate watched giddily as the circle started to glow. Its luminance continued to increase rising as a cylindrical column in the air completely surrounded her captive. Bright colors of red and white tinged with green swam around the wall of light until it settled down in a pool-like whirl on the floor. The ground surrounding the newly formed whirlpool jutted upward three feet creating a small lip around the vortex. Tommy's bound feet now hung mid air just inches above the swirling mass. The boulder that was attached to his feet was nowhere in sight. It was lost in the vortex below.
From the corner of her eye, Divatox noticed her mother stumble a bit. "You four!" She pointed to the four nearest Piranhatrons. "Guard the prisoner while I take my mother back to my ship." Then Diva and her mother disappeared.
"Guard the prisoner while I take my mother back to my ship."
Cassie and TJ looked at each other and hissed simultaneously to each other. "This is it!" They waited several moments after Divatox and her mother had gone before they decided to move.
"Let's go!" Cassie grabbed TJ by the the collar and they crept out of their hiding place and made their way down to the main floor.
Once the pair made it down to the main floor, they crept behind a large stalagmite. TJ stuck his head out from the rock to take a quick peak then ducked back down. "OK there's six of them in there all together. Two are standing right next to the guy that the Pink Ranger had tried to save. Three are over on the far side of the cave near some strange device. One is about ten feet right in front of us, and the other two are near the entrance." he paused for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to have a knife good enough to cut that rope, do you?"
Cassie looked at him exasperated. "NO!" she hissed as loud as she dared. "How the hell are we going to get him down?" TJ shrugged, not knowing what else to say. Suddenly Cassie jumped up surprising both TJ and the Piranhatron nearby. "Hey, I think I've got what you want right here." She spoke seductively. She quickly dashed behind the rock again when the Piranhatron gave chase. As soon as the foot soldier was out of site of the others, Cassie and TJ pounced on him. They quickly incapacitated it stealing the weapon in its possession in the process.
"Alright, miss 'we need a plan'" TJ spoke sarcastically.
"I had a plan, it came so suddenly I didn't have enough time to fill you in on all the details." She smiled. "Now we only have to worry about five of these things and try to figure out how to get our friend over there out of here."
"How..." TJ was about to continue when two Piranhatrons charged them. "Shit!" TJ grabbed the blaster they'd just stolen and fired blindly hoping to give them enough time to get away. They quickly hurled themselves out of immediate danger. TJ managed to knock out another Piranhatron and Cassie picked up its blaster. They both fired almost blindly while trying to find cover in another part of the cavern.
The duo somehow managed to get themselves trapped in the main cavern with no cover. Cassie barely managed to duck a blast at her head. "We've got to do something!"
"Yeah! Stay alive!" TJ shot back. OK, Einstein. We've got to get the attention off of us. Think fast. He thought to himself. Then he spotted the strange equipment that he saw earlier. He aimed his blaster at it and fired. The machine exploded taking out two more Piranhatrons. Four down, two to go. "Alright! there's only two left. Let's split up and draw their . . ." He had to duck and roll to avoid being hit."Fire." He finished. Cassie nodded and headed back toward their second hiding place, while he edged his way toward the prisoner.
Upon seeing his condition, TJ inwardly winced. The captive's face was a swollen and bloody mess, and the rest of his naked form was in much the same condition. Even though the young man was still unconscious, his body still twitched uncontrollably. TJ shook his head in sympathy. As a last ditch effort, he decided to rush the Piranhatron after him. The drone was momentarily startled by this bold move and thereby hesitating just long enough for TJ to get in under his guard. The Piranhatron managed to fire but TJ succeeded in deflecting the shot. He quickly disarmed it and took it out. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction that Cassie had gone and saw that she too had taken care of Piranhatron after her.
TJ turned his attention back to the young man they'd come to rescue. He heard a ripping sound and looked up to see the rope keeping the guy from falling into the vortex below. "Oh No!" Even as he exclaimed, the roped frayed quickly and he dashed forward to save the young man. Just before he reached him, the rope snapped and the young man plummeted toward the vortex. "NO!" TJ screamed and just barely managed to grab the end of the rope as the young man disappeared into the bright swirls of the vortex. Quickly wrapping the rope around his hand before the slack disappeared, TJ was unprepared for the sudden jerk that nearly sent him into the pit as well when the rope at last went taunt. Cassie grabbed on to his waist, preventing him from going over.
A few seconds after a bright red energy erupted from the vortex. It was so powerful, that Cassie and TJ were nearly wrenched away from the pit that contained the vortex. It's power was so great that it knocked a hole in the ceiling of the cavern clear to the sky above. They both screamed in pain as they fought to hang on to the rope. The blazing energy was so intense that they had to shut their eyes tightly, and still it was too bright. After what seemed like an eternity, the color changed to a less intense white but still the power was nearly all consuming. As the power continued to fade it changed to green and began to sputter out. The cave was almost pitch black except for the faint light emanating from the now calm vortex.
Amazingly the rope held, and the two continued to hold on to it for dear life. Without warning, the duo were thrown back a bit from a sudden lack of weight. For a moment they thought that the rope had snapped, yet they could still fill weight on the rope. Quickly they began to pull on the rope. Their hope rose when they saw a pair of hands bound to the rope. They continued to pull and then they saw a head and a neck and yes he was all there! Cassie and TJ pulled him over the edge. In the faint light TJ checked to see if the teen was still alive. He sighed with relief when he found a faint yet steady pulse. "We don't have time!" Cassie yelled at him. "That lady is going to be back and she's going to be mighty pissed off when she sees that we've ruined her plans. We have to get out of here!"
"We need a torch or something or else we'll get lost." TJ said absently as he searched around for a torch. Finding one on not too far a way that was still lit, he went back and helped Cassie carry the young man out of the cave. With TJ on one side holding the torch and Cassie on the other side of the former captive they made their way out of the cave and into the waning light of day.
Trey, Rocky, Jason, and David arrived in downtown Angel Grove to absolute pandemonium. Flamite was terrorizing the people on the street by setting their cars on fire. Many citizens were trapped in burning cars. The monster had even gone as far as setting some directly on fire. "Damnit! Doesn't this creep know when enough is enough?" Jason spoke as the quartet tried to rescue the burning people.
For every person they saved, three more were torched by Flamite's flame thrower. "This strategy is proving most ineffective" Trey grunted while knocking out the back window of a burning car to get at the trapped people inside.
"You're right," Jason shouted back after rescuing a child from the same car moments before it exploded. He thought quickly. "Rocky, you and Trey distract Flamite while David and I try and get these people out of here."
"Sure thing, boss." Rocky saluted before he and Trey dashed off.
"Stay frosty!" Jason yelled back. He turned to David. "Come on. We have to find a way to get these people out of here." Surveying the destruction around him he cried out. "Where the hell is the fire department?!" He was mildly surprised when the little girl he'd just rescued answered him.
"Ranger sir, we heard on the radio that that monster guy set fire to Mercy Hospital a few blocks away. All the fire trucks in the county are trying to keep it under control. The radio also said something about Stone Canyon but we didn't get to hear what was said cuz that's when that monster set fire to my mom's car." The little girl said in a rush. "Where's my mommy?" She asked when she looked around and didn't see her.
Even though Jason knew the little girl couldn't see his face, he averted his eyes and looked away. When he'd crawled into the vehicle via the back window that Trey had broken, he saw a woman behind the steering wheel first, he checked his visor for her vitals and they came back negative. He had been about to crawl back out when he spotted the little girl curled up on the floor of the passenger's side. She was still conscious and quickly grabbed her and passed her on to Trey before the car exploded. How did he tell this girl that her mother was dead?
"She didn't make it did she?" the little girl asked trying to be brave and not cry. She only half succeeded.
Jason looked at down at her with a heavy heart. "I'm so sorry." He was about to say more when David spoke up.
"Boss, I think I see a tour bus we can get all these people in." David said softly.
Jason turned to him and nodded then turned back to the little girl. "Can you do me a favor?" he asked. She nodded wordlessly. "You see that bus over there?" He pointed to the tour bus parked on the side of the street. It was one of the few remaining vehicles still unscorched by Flamite's rampage. "I want you to get on that bus and help as many people get on as you can on your way there OK?"
"You can count on me Mr. Ranger." She said enthusiastically and ran off to the bus.
David and Jason found as many people as they could and quickly got them to the bus. "Is there anyone here who can drive this bus?" David asked the crowd.
A teen who looked to be just a few years younger himself dressed in a pink outfit stood up. "I can do it."
David waved her over, while Jason helped more people onto the bus. "OK, what's your name?" He asked when she got up to the driver's seat.
"My name's Ashley Hammond."
"OK Ashley, I need you to get these people to St. Vincent's Hospital on the other side of town. Can you get there without heading back into the center of town?"
Ashley nodded. "Not a problem."
David thanked her before grabbing Jason and stepped off the bus. They checked a few more cars and some of the buildings that had caught fire to make sure there were no stragglers. The ground suddenly shook beneath them as the comm units in their heads went off. "Jason! Flamite's just gone building size. Help, would be nice!" Rocky's excited voice came through.
"Alright, we're on our way." Jason answered back. He looked at David and he nodded. They called upon SuperZeo Zords 2 and 5 and quickly joined Rocky and Trey in the battle against the enlarged Flamite.
Trey and Rocky went about trying to distract Flamite from causing more damage. "This guy was a lot easier to fight when no one else was around to get hurt." Rocky said after he used a trash can he found on the street to deflect a direct blast from the monster in question. The flame consumed it almost instantaneously making him drop it before it burned his gloved hand.
"You've met this creature before?" Trey inquired, while dodging said monster's flame.
"The real Power Ranger's didn't wanna come out and face me? They had to send in the substitutes?" Flamite taunted.
"Oh we're the real thing alright 'Little Flame that Couldn't!'" Rocky shouted.
Trey and Rocky continued to distract Flamite, while David and Jason got the civilians to safety. "If only we had some sort of freezing device." Trey said aloud.
"Well why didn't you say so?" Rocky said stopping in his tracks.
"I did say so." Trey replied not realizing that Rocky was being sarcastic.
"Hey Alpha?" Rocky spoke into the comm located in his helmet.
'Yes Rocky' Alpha responded.
"Do we still have that freeze gun that Billy designed awhile back?" Rocky asked.
'I believe we do. I'll will teleport it to you momentarily." Alpha replied, cutting off the link.
A minute later, Alpha teleported the freeze gun to Trey and Rocky. It looked like a slightly modified blaster, which it was. "Alright halitosis mouth! Here's a tic tac!" Rocky yelled as he fired the gun at at Flamite. The monster chose that moment however, to grow to city stomping heights.
Craning his neck to see the top of the monster Trey uttered calmly. "I think we need a bigger gun."
"Ha ha funny." Rocky said sardonically.
"Maybe we should . . . what do you Earthers say? Call in the Calvary?" Trey spoke as he dodged being a pancake in the street by an inch from the flaming foot of Flamite.
"I think you may be right." Rocky made the call. "Jason! Flamite's just gone building size. Help, would be nice!"
"Alright we're on our way." Jason's voice come through the commlink.
A few moments later, Jason and David arrived in their Zords. Rocky and Trey had already called in theirs, trying to fend off the flaming monster until the others arrived.
Their combined efforts were still no match for Flamite. The best they could do was keep Flamite from completely burning down the city. There were two shelters nearby and Flamite had come close several times to annihilating them.
All fighting stopped as a bright red light filled the sky above the mountains in the distance. Jason felt a sudden emptiness inside. No! It can't be. He realized that Tommy had been where that emptiness. Ever since Tommy gave him the Green Power Coin that fateful day when Rita used the Green Candle to try and steal the Power back, he and Tommy had been psychically connected. It was a tenuous bond, but every once and awhile they would be able to call to each other and the other would answer. Jason felt his focus slipping. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't take advantage of the situation. He just sat there transfixed by the light in the distance.
"That isn't what I think it is?" Trey and Rocky both said through the commlink at the same time.
Jason pushed the button to reply when his Zord was knocked flat by a flame burst from Flamite. His vision swam in and out of focus. Get focused Jason! One thing at a time. First, Defeat the monster, then we can worry about Tommy. Jason thought to himself. He checked his energy readings and rerouted them to the essential areas. His comm unit went off. It was Adam. "Jase how are things holding up on your end?"
Jason spoke in quick hurried breaths while he struggled to right his Zord. "We're getting our butts handed to us! How about you?"
"We just defeated Torquatron. We're headed your way now. We should be there in about two or three minutes." Adam shouted.
"Thanks, man!" Jason replied. He paused a moment. He didn't really want to voice his concern. "Adam? Did you see. . . ." He was unable to finish the sentence.
"Yea, I saw it Jase." Adam replied. "Look, Kat, Tanya, Justin, and I are on our way. After we defeat this last monster, we'll start looking for Tommy. Hopefully it's not too late."
Divatox sat in her sub fuming over that events of the past few hours. The Rangers had managed to do it again. They had foiled her perfect plan. Not only had they managed to rescue two cities, they also managed to rescue their leader before he the Vortex of Eternal Doom and Sorrow swallowed him whole. She turned to her mother who was resting on a nearby chair on the bridge of the sub. "And what do you have to say for yourself, mother?"
Mamma D raised her eyebrow in disdain. "You act as if we lost daughter."
The pirate looked at her mother incredulously, "And you think we didn't?" her voice rose to screeching proportions. "Hello! Torquatron is ashes, Flamite might as well be, and they snatched their leader back right from under our noses! How can you say that we didn't lose?!"
Divatox' mother waited calmly until her over zealous daughter was finished ranting. "They may have rescued his body but they'll find out soon enough, that is all they have rescued."
Divatox looked questioningly at her mother. "What do you mean?"
Mamma D answered with an enigmatic smile. "You'll see."
Adam, Kat, Tanya, and Justin were greeted to the site of a burning Angel Grove. "Dear God," someone gasped. No one could say for sure who said it, but it was something that they all felt. The visage before them showed the Zeos taking turns fighting Flamite one on one in their Zords while the others desperately tried to contain the fires raging around them.
Adam was the first to recover from his shock. He opened a channel to Jason's Zord. "Jase! We're I've got you on visual. We're just south-southwest of your position and closing in." He shook his head, "Man this looks bad."
Jason's comm was dead for a few minutes. "Welcome to Hell's Kitchen. It looks better than it feels."
Adam replied over the comm. "Jase this isn't the time for joking around."
"I don't believe he was joking, Adam." Trey inserted. "From the descriptions I have heard about your people's version of hell. I believe Jason was not exaggerating. Agghhh!" At that moment Adam saw Trey take a bad hit from Flamite.
"Trey are you alright?!" Adam couldn't believe that this was happening. His whole world was crashing, literally, down around him. "Trey! Can you hear me?" There was no response..
"Trey!" The others chimed in immensely concerned that their new found friend did not answer.
A heart-stopping moment later, a very shaken Trey answered over his comm. "I am all right. Just a little shaken. There has to be a better way to fight this thing."
Suddenly Tanya came up with an idea. "Hey Adam! Remember that game we were playing a few weeks ago, on your computer?"
"Tanya this isn't the time to get nostalgic." Adam said trying to sound as nice as he could. He was fighting to stay in control of his emotions that were threatening to run wild. He had to keep it together for the team's sake. Now I understand what Tommy and Jason were talking about when they said that it's a lot easier to follow than lead because everyone else expects you to stay calm even though you want to break down right with them.
"No, I'm serious. Remember those flame thrower guys were very effective against tanks and single marines but a group of marines and tanks could take them out really quick. Maybe if we all spread out and concentrated our weapons on Flamite we could take him out. He can only concentrate his flame throwers on two of us at the most."
Adam's face lit up. "That's a great plan Tanya! If we rotate positions we should be able to minimize damage." He opened his comm channel to everyone. "Alright guys, we're following Tanya's plan. Everybody fan out and center on Flamite. If you get too damaged, rotate around so that you aren't too seriously damaged by Flamite's fire." He cut the connection and silently prayed. God, I hope this works.
"What do you little brats think you're doing?" Flamite asked, obviously very agitated.
"Just getting rid of the trash." Adam said smugly. "FIRE!" The SuperZeo and TurboZords aligned themselves in a semicircle around Flamite and opened fire simultaneously.
Try as he might, Flamite was unable to get a fix on a single Zord. Every time he picked one out, another took its place to cover for it. "This can't be happ--" Flamite never got to finish his statement, for he disintegrate into flaming ashes.
The Rangers then aided the fire department in containing the more hazardous fires. The sun was two hours set before they managed to make it back to the Power Chamber.
Dimitria felt a great surge of power emanating from the nearby mountains. The scanners identified the Power as Red Turbo Power but that was all they were useful for. Whatever devices Divatox had in place to keep Dimitria and the Rangers from finding the Red Ranger were very strong. "Alpha, are you able to isolate the signal?"
"Ai yai yai Dimitria, I cannot!" Alpha ran it's mechanical fingers across several counsels.
"Please keep trying Alpha, I fear time is running out." Dimitria hung her head and silently prayed for the safe return of her Ranger.
After endless searching, Alpha finally managed to get a lock. "Dimitria! The computer has a lock on Tommy's DNA."
"Are you able to teleport him, Alpha?" Dimitria inquired extremely concerned.
"Attempting now." Alpha's mechanical hands flew across the teleportation counsel.
Cassie, TJ, and Tommy emerged from the cave and into the waning light of day. And were immediately greeting with a group of approximately twenty Piranhatrons. They tried turning around but they could hear the footsteps of more coming from inside the cave. "Great, from the frying pan into the fire." TJ sardonically as he and Cassie went on the defensive.
The Piranhatrons were about to make their move when suddenly a light flashed in-between the pair. Tommy was being teleported away, or rather it seemed that way. When a red teleportation beam came to collect the young teen, he suddenly screamed out as his body began to disappear into the bright light. Cassie and TJ were so shocked that they let go of him. The beam appeared to change to a slightly lighter shade of red then to white and flashed green before it finally disappeared. Only, Tommy was still there, crumpled on the ground, sweating profusely small tremors reverberating across his frame.
"Ai yai yai, Dimitria! The computer doesn't recognize Tommy's energy signature! It's sending the computer into a continuous feedback loop. I can't teleport him!
"Are you able to put an image of him on the viewscreen?" Dimitria questioned.
"Yes, I believe so." Alpha said as it quickly placed an image of TJ, Cassie and Tommy on the view screen.
Without hesitation, Dimitria commanded. "Lower the shielding and teleport Tommy and his two companions here immediately."
"But we don't know what Divatox has done to him." Alpha replied.
"Please teleport him directly to the infirmary and his two rescuers in the main chamber. Time is of the essence we haven't a moment to lose." Dimitria commanded.
"Lowering shields now." Alpha spoke as it went about its tasks as quickly as it could. "Shields are down, attempting to teleport now." A few moments later, the familiar hum of the teleportation beams filled the air. Double beams of white formed within the main chamber and coalesced into the two distinct beings of Cassie and TJ.
"What just happened?!" Cassie exclaimed after seeing Tommy nearly teleported away. She didn't have a chance to have her question answered, however, the shock of the moment had worn off the Piranhatrons and they began advancing on the trio of teens.
They were grossly out numbered. TJ knew the deck was stacked against him, but he'd be damned if he didn't go down without a fight. He saw the look in Cassie's eyes and saw the same determination in her as well. The first group of Piranhatrons advanced on them and suddenly TJ felt a strange sensation and found himself enveloped in a white light.
When his vision cleared he found Cassie and himself in a large room that looked right out of Star Trek.
"Where's that guy?" Cassie asked when she noticed that the young teen was not with them.
"He is safe, as are you." a feminine voice echoed in the large chamber. "Welcome to the Power Chamber, home of the Power Rangers."
****
To be continued...
