Far Beyond Love and Hate
This one's for Shiny Tim!
Elsa applauded. Oscar Wilde was always good, this performance of Lady Windermere's fan was excellent…a woman who rebelled, who took a part in her own life rather then let it overwhelm her…yet knew when to do that and when not to.
She shook her head and turned to look at Tommy. Soon Thermospent would attack and freeze them – perhaps sometime during the entrees.
"Uh – so dinner now" Tommy said.
"Yes I remember" Elsa said quietly. He was ridiculously insecure.
Elsa rose and strode towards the door. Tommy caught up with her and offered her his arm. Elsa was about to dismiss him when she spotted the coat check girl. More precisely Calais. Elsa forced a smile and took Tommy's strong arm.
She should be concerned with her own mission, sneered Elsa.
Tommy escorted her down the street to the restaurant where he pulled her chair out for her and was polite and courteos. Old Elsa would have loved this – the new Mesogog Elsa didn't.
Did she?
"I used to be a race car driver" Tommy said. He'd reread the card the rangers had written for him - and yes that WAS under the topics column. "While I was in college in Angel Grove."
"How interesting" Elsa said. She knew this already. "Why race cars?"
"Why not?"
"Good point" she nodded. "Anything else I should know?"
"I was a martial arts champion"
"Well I was an Olympic gymnast" she snorted. She hadn't meant to say that, if he did a background check…no he wouldn't. "I took the gold when I was 16 years old"
"Wow" nodded Tommy. He smiled. "You've got hidden depths Ms Randall"
Elsa blinked and smiled. "I suppose we all do" she shrugged. "I suppose this is the part where we compare deep dark secrets?"
"I'll wait for the second date"
"You want another date?"
"Has it been that bad?"
Elsa paused for a moment, staring at the menu but not seeing it. "I…suppose not" she relented. He beamed and she couldn't suppress the smile. "Is the salad any good?"
Calais entered the old gardening centre; she strode along with Zeltrax in tow. "This is it, the perfect place" she laughed as she moved along the red stone paving flanked by the cast iron railings. There was a large fountain between two stair ways ahead and between her and that was an ornamental pond with a statue of Venus in the central isle. She smiled. "How nice – the goddess of love…"
Calais blew a cloud of dust off her palm into the water, immediately the dirt vanished and a glimmering quality appeared. Calais smiled as she climbed the steps to a large potting yard, she looked to Zeltrax. "Zelly – darling – hit the lights"
"Yes Calais" Zeltrax grunted, he blasted the lighting system, triggering them to clink back on. Calais smiled as she spread the seeds around. A huge blossom burst from the wall behind her and opened, the gigantic orchid formed a throne from its petals and roots.
"All I need now, is to sow my wild oats" she laughed. "And the rangers will be MINE"
Hayley smiled as she zoned in on Tommy. "So cute" she smiled as he and Elsa made their way through the park. That's when she saw Thermospent and the Tyrannodrones appear. "Man he really has bad luck!" She hit a button on the console. "Rangers we've got trouble!"
Tommy heard the laugh and knew immediately it was a monster. "What a lovely couple" the monster cackled. "But you really should have wrapped up – there's CHILL in the air." He unleashed a blast of blue light at Elsa and Tommy.
Elsa shoved Tommy and dived aside – the blast hit the ground and formed a gigantic ice mound. "Run!" Tommy shouted as he battled the T-Drones down. Elsa turned to run but the T-Drones got in her way, her eyes flashed green and they backed off a little. Elsa sighed and took a fighting stance.
She spun and the kick sent the T-drone flying.
"Time to put you in the cooler!" Thermospent hissed. He fired off another blast of blue liquid energy. Tommy threw a T-drone into it instead. The creature was frozen in a haze of glowing blue ice. Thermospent hissed in rage…the Ptera Grips slashed him heavily as Kira flew from the air and attacked.
"The power rangers!" exclaimed Elsa.
Trent and Kira went right at the monster…there was a crack and puff and the black flower petals swirled around the glowing violet dust. Calais stepped forwards. "Oh look, they're meddling again"
Calais was dressed in a dress of crimson and jade ivy leaves, the left side flowed down over her leg, white the other was a mini skirt. Her high heels were strapped with the same flora and the creepers were even wound around her arms, studded with rubies and jade. "Exol's! KILL THEM" the exols gave their war cry and attacked.
Calais laughed and advanced. Conner rushed her, she swung her hand out, a blossom of light opened in the air around her fist and a blast of power sent him flying backwards. Calais smiled and gestured, a vine spun around Conner's waist and bashed him off the ground repeatedly.
Ethan leapt forwards and knocked Calais down. "Party's over Plant Girl"
"That's the best you can do?" she laughed and attacked, Ethan blocked her kicks and slashes but she caught his arm and twisted him into a lock. She kissed his helmet and then shoved him down a flight of stairs. The glowing lip mark flickered for a few minutes then vanished.
Kira attacked Calais but was on the receiving end of a series of vine lashes. Calais advanced on Trent, her vines garrotted him, dragged him away from Thermospent and landed him at her feet on his knees. She placed a foot on his chest and shoved him off balance. "Here's a kiss from me to you" she purred. She kissed his forehead and the lip marks vanished after a few seconds of glowing.
Kira went into super dino mode and thrashed Calais. Calais shrieked in rage and unleashed a sonic scream. Kira flipped away. "Get your own man"
"Get a clue" spat Calais.
She blocked Conner's punch and dragged him towards her with his own momentum. A kiss later and she laughed victoriously, striding away. "I think that's enough of a distraction" she cackled. "NOW!"
Thermospent hit Tommy and Elsa with a Cryoblast freezing them both. Calais blew a kiss at the rangers as they charged, the explosion of violet smoke knocked them away. When the smoke cleared – the villains and Tommy were gone.
"No" gasped Conner.
"She didn't – no way – she got Tommy" Kira murmured.
Calypso sat at the console. "I can't risk trying to use my empathy link to Paris to find them, I'm sorry, we'd risk getting caught out if he read my mind" she explained. The distressed Rangers sat about the control room. Haley was working endlessly at her other computer stations, trying every trick she could think of. Calypso was helping as best she could but after an hour they'd not found any sign of the ranger.
"What's the deal with the Calais chick anyway?" Conner asked. "She was at the garden centre that first time Paris attacked."
"Yes" nodded Calypso. "Calais is an ecologist – she's an old friend of Paris' and mine – we were in Angel Grove together, her real name is Corinne Calais. When Paris went mad Corinne thought he had every right to be angry and the little style diva fell into his way of thinking". Calypso shrugged. "We'll find Tommy – we just need time"
"Question is…do we have it" Trent murmured.
Calypso abstained from answering.
Tommy landed heavily in the cell, the dimly lit concrete box had a toilet, a sink, a mirror and a flat bed chained to the wall. Tommy struggled to prop himself up, he was chattering and bedraggled, his clothes were shredded a bit but he maintained his composure.
"Welcome to the luxury suite" Paris sneered from the doorway. Behind him Mesogog and Zeltrax watched, gloating. "Page room service at any t- oh wait…we don't HAVE room service." He blew a kiss to Tommy and slammed the door.
Tommy locked eyes with Mesogog and the monster gave a ghastly toothy smile of some sort as the door slammed shut and hissed as the lock sealed.
Calais gave a dark laugh and closed her eyes. The purple light drifted up and spread through the sky…
"I can't believe the bitch kissed you" muttered Kira.
"Neither can I" Ethan muttered. He touched the spot he'd been kissed. "Um…anyway what about Dr O?"
Calypso and Hailey were still at work.
Ethan stopped he looked up. "Uh – I'm going to go and – uh – patrol…y'know…and be back…soon…" he blinked, a purple haze had filled the room. Calais beckoned to him.
Trent and Conner were seeing much the same, making their excuses the three guys headed for the door. Kira frowned and went to help Hailey and Calypso.
Conner moved through the garden centre, the curtains of flowers and foliage parted and he walked towards a bed of roses, a large bloom opened out revealing Calais. She was wearing a flowing red gown of red rose petals with a bouquet of the flowers in her hair. She beckoned.
"You called to me" Conner murmured – the world was spinning, he couldn't even remember arriving here. "Why?"
"We were meant to be Conner" she purred. "Your powers and mine…we could be famous – loved by all, feared by those who stood against us. You'd be famous and undisputed" Conner was unmorphed, totally defenceless… but all he cared about was getting to Calais through the parting rose bushes.
"I – I don't know how to act"
"Just put yourself in my hands" Calais smiled. Her bright red lips glowed and she swung her foot around to push it against Conners chest. He followed the red ribbons of the high heels up to her hip.
"What about - Paris"
"I want to be with you…come here…let me tell you his plan"
Conner nodded. He took her hand and she tugged him in. Her lips met his…red energy jolted from his dino gem through his body and into Calais. He struggled as best he could but his strength was failing. The large gem on the gauntlet under Calais wide sleeve glowed and turned red. Conner groaned and shoved away.
"What did you do?" he exclaimed.
"Oh – drained your morphing energy – the usual" she shrugged.
Conner moved at superhuman speed but Calais lashed out with a kick and he stumbled back – dazed and drained. "Sorry darling, but my garden has a crush on you" she snapped her fingers… Conner looked up and stared in shock.
The vines whipped down, tangling his limbs, dragging him upwards, constricting and holding him within a brilliant red orchid.
"Now…where's the blue one?" she mused, she closed her eyes, her telepathic link with the boys had just boosted – Trent was nearby but Ethan was in the immediate vicinity. She ran down a path, her clothes morphing…
Ethan walked along the catwalk. The glass overhead was glowing with the moonlight, casting silver shadows all around him. "Hello Ethan" he looked around. Hanging blue flowers parted away from a door, two giant cerulean petals parted like curtains and Calais stepped forwards. She was dressed in a shimmering blue dress, it was off the shoulder with a gap at the stomach, then it flowed out behind her, not a sign of her feet was visible.
The gap in the catwalk parted them but as she stepped forwards large blue dragon flies came from holes in the wall, giving her stepping stones to use. "Ethan" she smiled.
"You – you sent for me? Didn't you?"
"Of course I did! A smart, handsome boy…someone I can connect with – I want to be good – I think you can help me" she touched his cheek. "Let me help you and you can help me"
"You want to be a good guy?"
"Good gal. Yes, all I want is what's best for the earth" she said. Her blue lips glistened and Ethan licked his own lips as she leaned in. "Let me help you become what you've always wanted, together we'll have recognition and appreciation" she kissed him. The morphing energy zipped through into her gem and turned the red stone purple. Ethan stumbled away and looked at his dimmed jewel.
"No! You didn't!"
"Fraid so dear" Sighed Calais. She squeezed a large orchid, the burst of pollen hit Ethan and he collapsed. "Two down, one to go…God this is not as fun as I expected I don't even get to fight them"
Kira looked around. "Where are the guys?" she asked.
Calypso shrugged. "Where did they say they were going?"
"I have a bad feeling – something has happened to Trent" Kira said.
"Well…Calais is a pretty tricky gal" Hayley said.
"I'll lock onto their signatures" Calypso said as she worked away at the console…her eyes widened. "Oh no…they're flickering"
Kira blinked. "What – who?"
"Their energy signatures are flickering…something's weakened their gem energy…"
Kira looked at her morpher. "Where are they?"
Next time: Elsa and Tommy get into a scrap. Kira and Calais throw it down. Mesogog and Paris prepare for world domination. Stuff hits fans.