Power Rangers Literati
"Spirited Beginnings"
'Part Four, Spirits Together'
By J.T. Magnus, "Turbo"
According to some beliefs, there is a great power within each of us, waiting to be set free. People that believe that would probably be surprised to learn how right they are.
It was supposed to be a simple date-night. If there is such a thing. She, Amanda mused, was supposed to be out with Daniel: Alone. Not the two of them along with Justin all gathered at Yolanda's watching the news. She hated the news. But then, seeing a giant metal scorpion and an equally large humanoid spider laying waste to the city DID give the news some redeeming qualities. However, that still left Amanda with one very important question...
"Where the hell are J.T. and Jessica?"
The door opened to reveal two uniformed and armored figures, one in black the other in green, standing in the doorway, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you... Then again, you're convinced Aragorn and Legolas are married and are the voices in your head, so you might..."
"What the...?"
The one in black reached up to his neck to release the clasps before lifting his helmet off and shaking his head, "You know, if ten years ago, when the first Power Rangers appeared in Angel Grove, someone had said that a decade later it would be highly likely that I'd be one myself... I would have thrown cafeteria food at them."
Nearly everyone in the room blinked as one.
"You... You're... What?'
J.T. rolled his eyes while Jessica took off her own helmet, "As near as I can gather, I, we are Power Rangers."
Jessica pointed to the TV, "Unless I miss my guess, that's Dark Ranger... He was trying to kill us earlier."
"Great," Yolanda said with a wave of her hand, "Go fight him."
"Actually," J.T. shrugged, "I think you guys are the rest of the team."
Amanda glared at him, "No. I am not running around in pink spandex with a miniskirt."
"It's not spandex."
"It's spandex."
"It's not spandex."
"What is it then, Lycra?"
Jessica groaned, then reached over and hit J.T. on the back of the head, "Didn't we go through this already?"
Daniel looked at J.T., "Okay, if we're Power Rangers, where are our morphers?"
J.T. met his eyes, "You know all those barriers you've put up over your life? The ones to hide your real self, the ones to keep from doing things you might regret?"
"Yeah?"
"Forget 'em."
Justin shook his head, "You know, the city IS being destroyed, people."
Redonning his helmet, J.T. looked at the others, "When you're ready... I'm pretty sure we'll need the help."
"And how do we get there?" Jessica asked, putting on her own helmet.
"How are you at the cross-town dash?"
"You know, from the times I saw them on the news, most groups of Rangers have some kind of bikes or teleportation."
Jessica shook her head as they ran, "Great, I'm sure you'd get a discount at the Suzuki store if you explained that you were a Power Ranger!"
Reaching downtown, the two almost skidded to a stop.
"That thing's at least twenty stories tall... How the hell do we fight it?"
"With a little bit of help!"
Turning to face the voice, they smiled when they saw the others charging up.
"Justin?"
The Red Ranger nodded, his own triangular chest-shield a gleaming gold, "Took us about five seconds after you guys left before we decided we couldn't let you do this alone."
"Besides," The Yellow Ranger added, trying to adjust her silver torso armor, "I'm not gonna let anyone else kill you before I can."
"Amanda..." J.T. began, "You're wearing... yellow."
Crossing her arms, Amanda glared at J.T. through her visor.
"Hey, at least you got out of the miniskirt... Yolanda's the only girl stuck with one."
"I like it, it's pink," Yolanda countered, wearing her own silver armor.
Unconsciously copying his girlfriend, Daniel crossed his blue-clad arms over his gold chestplate, "You would."
"Uh, guys? Giant things on a rampage? Remember?" There were times Justin couldn't believe his friends.
"Amanda, you, Jessica and I are gonna take on Dark Ranger. Everyone else, squash the spider."
"You know," Amanda said, swinging her katana-like sword and trying to avoid the scorpion's claws and stinger, "When I said I wanted more exercise, this isn't exactly what I meant!"
Jessica was trying to jam the joints with her arrows, "Hey, don't tell us that, we were on a date, remember?"
J.T., for his part, was trying to hack open the zord to get to Dark Ranger himself, "Less talking, more destroying!"
"Do you know Peter Parker?" Daniel asked, taking a swing at one of the spider's legs with his Axe.
Justin groaned, "Leave the bad jokes for J.T."
His own sword and Yolanda's daggers were doing about as much damage as Daniel's axe, which wasn't much, unfortunately. This went on for both groups for a time, until Justin reached a conclusion...
"We're not powerful enough to do anything!"
Over trying to subdue the scorpion, J.T. heard the comment through his helmet's communication system, "So what you're saying is, 'We need bigger guns'?"
"Very funneee!" Daniel tried to say before one of the spider's legs hit him just right to send him flying through the air.
"DANIEL!"
Amanda's cry proved needless as a large blue robot caught Daniel in its even larger right hand. At the same time, the scorpion and spider succeeded in knocking the other five Rangers off and onto the ground.
"Umph!" J.T. winced as he hit, then stood up, "You know what I just said about bigger guns?"
"There they are?"
"Exactly, Yellow."
"Don't call me 'Yellow'."
"That doesn't sound right."
Jessica shook her head, "I swear, sometimes you two fight like brother and sister."
"Hey, no need to be insulting!"
"What IS it with you guys? We've got a robot scorpion and a giant spider attacking the town and you're busy arguing with each other!"
Amanda and J.T. both shrugged, then she answered, "It's what we do."
"Look!"
Their eyes following the direction of Yolanda's finger, the new Rangers smiled. Standing alongside the blue demon zord that had caught Daniel were a yellow zord with a metal 'skirt' and staff, pink siren, red knight with a sword, and a large black dragon with a green phoenix perched on it. Behind their visors, the Rangers' eyes flashed again as new knowledge filled their minds. Except for Jessica, who was lifted up by the dragon to her own phoenix, each of the rangers were picked up in the hand or claw of their respective zord and brought to the cockpit.
"Demon Spiritzord, it looks like Hellboy," Daniel commented over the communicators.
"Witch Spiritzord... Doesn't look like it. Where's the pointy hat?" Amanda said.
"Knight Spiritzord, I'm... awfully high up..." Justin winced.
"Siren Spiritzord, I've got a pink robot," Yolanda giggled.
"She scares me. Phoenix Spiritzord, ready for takeoff," Jessica groaned.
"Dragon Spiritzord... Beware my wrath!" J.T. growled, "Now that the playing field's even, let's take 'em apart; target that spider and squash it."
In her own zord, Yolanda was looking at the controls, "What does this button do?"
Pressing it, the Siren Spiritzord released a blast of sonic energy at the spider. Following suit, the others pressed random buttons in their own zords, causing the Witch Spiritzord's staff to fire a beam of ice at the spider, which the Demon followed up by smashing it with its right hand.
"That was easy," Daniel remarked.
"I will not be so easy," Dark Ranger cut in, "Scorpion Spiritzord... BATTLE MODE!"
The bottom half of the Scorpion Spiritzord dropped and shifted into legs, raising the rest up as it changed into a torso, the arms and tail rotated to match as a head rose out of the torso. Two barrels folded out from the tail and fired at the other Spiritzords.
"AHHH!"
Justin blinked, "J.T... What was that for?"
The Dragon turned to face the Knight, "I don't know, I just thought it fit."
The Scorpion opened its claw, "And my claw will fit around your neck," Dark Ranger said as he lunged at the Dragon.
That's when the Witch Spiritzord's staff hit the Scorpion on its Battle Mode head, "Hey, no one kills him but me!"
Then the Scorpion's tail hit the Witch, knocking it backwards.
"Amanda!" Daniel shouted.
"Daniel, you check on Amanda. The rest of us are gonna play exterminator... on that pest."
"Who made you leader?"
"You need two things to be in charge, Justin; no sanity and a complete inability to grasp the gravity of a situation - I have both," J.T. explained.
"You've got a point, you are nuts."
"Thanks... I think - Woah!" J.T. barely moved the Dragon in time to avoid more laser fire from the Scorpion, "Do you mind? I just GOT this thing!"
"You always have been an idiot," Dark Ranger replied, flezing the Scorpion's claws.
Jessica cocked her head to the side, "You talk like you know us..."
It was often stated that amongst them, Justin was the smart one. He proved it again by figuring it out before anyone else, and drawing the Knight's sword when he did.
"He DOES know us! Don't you... Jon?"
"I prefer Dark Ranger, actually. Of course, that won't matter soon, Justin, since you won't be alive to call me anything."
The Scorpion's arm came up in time to block the Knight's sword, leaving an opening that Yolanda and the Siren Spiritzord took advantage of by launching a sonic blast at the Scorpion's back. While the Scorpion was reeling from the attacks, the Phoenix came spiraling in to catch the Scorpion in its undefended front side. Spinning around, the Dragon caught the Scorpion with its tail, knocking it to the ground. Moments after the Scorpion hit, there was a hand at its throat and a much larger hand pulled back menaceingly above it.
"Jon... I get really annoyed when people try to hurt my girlfriend... No, I mean REALLY annoyed... Put one of J.T.'s moods to shame annoyed..."
Inside the Dragon's cockpit, J.T. gulped, "Oh, man... He's dead."
Preparing to prove J.T.'s prediction wrong, the Scorpion's tail stiffened and thrusters extended from the legs.
"Like I told you earlier," Dark Ranger countered, "I have better things to do."
Igniting its thrusters, the Scorpion began to take flight, forcing the Demon to let go or have its arm ripped off. In mid-air, the Scorpion again changed form...
"Now its a jet! Why does he have a freakin' triple-changer?" J.T. barely kept from swearing.
"More importantly, why does Jon get purple? I wanted purple! I'm stuck being yellow!" Amanda complained, bringing the Witch to its feet.
"Because it's DARK purple and black, which is a color combo more suited for a bad guy, Amanda," Jessica groaned.
While the other two girls argued, Yolanda looked around the Siren's cockpit, "Does anyone know what we're supposed to do with these when we're done with them?"