Far Beyond Love and Hate
Kira fell as the monster attacked her. Trent cried out as he took a powerful strike from a green stegosaurus mutant that had been aimed at Kira. They fell together, Trent covered Kira with his body…determined to save her.
Tommy blocked the yellow sabretooth mutants and threw them off balance…but the Pink coloured pterodactyl swooped, kicked him off balance and made him fall backwards. Conner was thrown backwards by a Tyrannosaurus. The monsters spewed blasts of energy and both rangers were flung to the ground as Ethan was hit by a blue triceratops pulsating with energy.
The demorphed rangers landed in a heap…defeated by the four or five dozen mutants.
Elsa glanced at the nervous students. "I've had enough of this" she declared. "I'm going out there!" she turned and headed for the door. "Who saves the heroes?"
The students looked at each other and rushed after her. Elsa stopped at the steps. Halyely leaned out of the cab of the truck she drove. "They're in trouble" she said.
"It involves mutants" elaborated Calypso from the passenger seat
"Let's roll" nodded Elsa as she climbed in the passenger door.
"Wait for us!" Cassidy shouted
The laughter rang out. The storm of green light condensed into the lithe form of Paris Scott, he strode forwards in his black pants, green silk shirt and biker boots. "Ah – how the might have fallen. It's the end of an era, the power rangers' era…yes this is pretty much how I imagined it" he paused and looked at Conner. "Except you were taller…go figure"
"You're not going to win" Conner said as he struggled to stand.
"Um…yes…I am" Paris said as he put a finger on Conner's chest and shoved him back. The black petals and purple smoke swirled around to form Calais who was gloating, dressed in an almost see-through green blouse and black silk trousers over high heeled boots.
"Well this almost seems anti-climactic" sighed Calais.
"It's a pity you must die rangers" Paris said as he bent his elbow and pulled a sword from it. "Goodbye" the bone blade glowed and he slashed down.
"Not So Fast!" the bone staff blocked the blade and a flash of green and white burst into the air. Calypso was standing there in black trousers, a white blouse and looking very annoyed. "I'm stopping you now Paris"
Paris twisted backwards. "Yeah? You and what army?"
The Transport screamed around the corner and skidded to a halt, spinning 180 degrees. The back burst open. "This army you pretty, vain, parasite" Elsa said as she stood, arms akimbo, in the opening with her students behind her dressed in sports pads and make shift armor wielding anything handy.
"What? A washed up sadist educator and her gang of barely-past-puberty social leeches? I'm terrified?" sneered Paris.
"At least they've passed puberty" Elsa smirked.
Paris raised his blade…and was kicked through a wall by his sister. Elsa leapt down and attacked Calais spinning and slashing, forcing the girl to backstep repeatedly and quickly.
Devin hit a Mastadon Monster with a hockey stick.
Alexei kicked a soccer ball into a Triceratops so hard it fell
Cassidy slapped a Sabretooth with a tennis racket
The rangers stood up.
Ethan and Conner marvelled as their girlfriends beat down a Tyrannosaurus.
A green stegosaurus was chased down the street by the cartwheeling cheerleaders whielding baseball bats.
The soccer team even pelted mutants with anything they could kick.
Suddenly there were more and more people, a gang of little old ladies hit a pterodactyl with their Zimmer frames and handbags! Conner even saw his mother wading into the frew against some T-Drones with her waffle iron.
Paris and Calypso battled furiously, knowing each others moves before they even made them. Paris slashed, Calypso slashed – both fell backwards. Using their cybernetic enhancement morphers they upped the ante and attacked again.
"You're forgetting that THEY killed father"
"No they didn't" Calypso snapped.
"Not directly – but they killed his soul right before his body!" Paris hurled his sister aside, she flipped and landed a spinning kick to her twin's torso.
Elsa and Calais kicked and punched each other. Calais hit Elsa with a burst of power but as she fell Elsa slashed Calais with her sword. They charged up their energy blasts and fired. Both were knocked down.
Paris and Calypso slammed their swords together, Paris twisted as did Calypso, they slashed…for a moment all was still. Then the burst of sparks forced both to return to their human shapes. Paris stood up. "R-Retreat" he snapped. He glanced up at the shape flying overhead. "Hm…later darlings" he sneered. He blew a kiss at them and teleported away with Calais close behind, laughing at them…
Elsa looked up. "Oh no" she gasped.
"How do we get up there?" Ethan moaned.
"No idea" Calypso winced. "But I'd suggest we do it soon…ouch by the way" Conner and Ethan helped support her. "I'll heal in a few minutes – now how do we get up there?"
"We could open an invisiportal" Hayley said as she slipped out of the cab. "If we had the access codes to Mesogogs network – that's where he's got an invisiportal generator"
"Then we can do it, I memorized all his codes" Elsa said.
Mesogog hissed as the genetic rehabilitation began, he felt Mercer truly leave his system. Paris' Exol's were at their stations while Calais and Paris finished the treatment finally taking Mercer from his body.
"What…I'm me…" Mercer whispered from inside the glass cube he was held in.
"Yes…not much fun I'd imagine" Calais sneered. Mesogog gave a growl, his body was changing, Stegosaurus plates burst from his back, a tail lashed the ground, the triceratops plate extended on his head to curve around the spiky plate across the back of his skull. His eyes flared with greater yellow and his claws lengthened as spikes popped out of his arms and elbows.
"Yesssssssss" he hissed. "Fully Dinosaur at lassssssst"
"Yeah we're all happy for you" sighed Paris. "Can we get to warping the world into a paradise without humans? Or rangers?"
"Of course…Mercer may yet prove usssssseful…keep him incase the rangerssssss turn up" hissed Mesogog.
The inivisiportal spat the team out on the top of the ship. Elsa pointed to a vent and used her sword to cut it open. They dropped into the narrow maintenance corridor. "Can you morph yet?" she asked.
"We're nearly at full power" confirmed Ethan.
"Okay, Mesogog was undergoing treatments to have Anton Mercer removed from his system, Paris set that up in the lab down that way" Elsa said, pointing down one hall.
"Dad?" murmured Trent. "Free?"
"Hopefully – or maybe hopefully not, Mesogog will be twice as powerful if Mercer's free" Calpsyo said quietly.
Elsa shuddered at the thought of a more powerful Mesogog.
"The generator is supplying power to the mutation gun that's going to be fired with the heat ray…it's the other end of the ship and it's set up in the glass panelled room of generators down there" she then pointed ahead. "The control rooms up here"
"Okay, Trent and Kira should go to find Mercer, Calypso, Ethan and Conner – you guys take out the mutation gun and heat ray…Elsa…you and me to the control room?"
"Oh, that's how you romance a girl, wine her, dine her, destroy her ex-boss" Elsa smirked. "And they say true love is dead" she head off. The rangers split up.
Trent and Kira moved along the walkway into the lab slowly. "Trent! Trent!" Mercer was banging on the containment cube's glass. "It's a trap!" he was suspended up in the air and could see the waiting Exols and Triptoids.
The mutants leapt down around the rangers. "Ah nuts" Kira said. The door hissed shut behind them. There was a flash of light. Calais materialized in on the roof of the cube suspended at the top of the room.
"Oh!" she laughed. "I'm just a sucker for happy reunions! Hey…say hello and goodbye to daddy dearest" she smiled as her briar whip materialised in her hand. "Because he needs a bath!" the floor beneath the cage opened to reveal a pool of bubbling acid. "Have to clean all that badness off him" she cackled.
"You psychotic -"
"Oh don't bother I've heard it all before" Calais sneered. She leapt off the cage. "Any last words?"
"Yeah…AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH" the sonic waves left Kira's mouth and blew the creatures around them away, some into the acid even…
Dino Thunder! Power Up!
White Dino Ranger!
The explosions of light cleared to reveal the Yellow and White rangers.
"Ah…that's more like it…KILL THE GIRL! THE WHITE IS MINE!" Calais spat. She cracked her whip, the purple energy on it knocked Trent to the gound. He leapt to his feet and attacked.
Kira spun and took on the Exols and Triptoids with her Ptera Grips.
"There it is" Ethan breathed as they stared at the massive double barrelled blaster under the glass. "Wow…"
"That Glass shifts around, it lets the blasts be directed more efficiently and it amplifies it…my brother's design" Calypso said. "Ethan. You should take out the glass, Conner and I will handle the mutation gun"
"Hey, for you, I'd take on your brother" Conner smiled as he followed Calypso down the steps to the lower platform near the gun. The girl ignored his flirtations.
"Oh would you?" she snorted.
"Let him prove it sister dear"
Paris landed on the walkway and hurled a pair of bone blades at Calypso, she leapt and arched her back, the first passed just over her chest, the other narrowly missed her heels.
"Dino Thunder! Power Up!" exclaimed Conner.
"White DNA! Full Power!"
"Green DNA! Full Power"
The twins attacked each other – Conner froze for a second…he didn't want to risk hitting Calypso. Paris landed a kick on her face and knocked her down onto the generator room floor.
"Pity sister – we could have fixed the world"
"Hey – why fix it if you're just gonna break it again?" snorted Conner as he swung his Tyranno-Spear. Paris caught it and sent an electric charge up the shaft.
Conner fell backwards. He blocked the kick from the morphed Paris…and focused. "Shield of Triumph!"
Elsa and Tommy raced down the corridor. Tommy had already morphed and they were cutting down enemies left, right and centre. The energy blast halted them in their tracks. Zeltrax advanced, his sword glowing.
"For Mesogog" he rasped.
"Smitty!" exclaimed Tommy. "But you were destroyed"
"For Mesogog" droned the machine.
"He's been fully mechanized!" gasped Elsa.
It took both Tommy and Elsa's swords to block the slash but they managed it. Barely.
Zeltrax was a full robot now…he unleashed a blast from his visor and knocked them both down the hall and into a storeage room. "For Mesogog" he repeated and advanced.
The mutant was no bother to Ethan, he delivered two quick slashes to its torso and kicked it off the airship. "Okay…time to get to work" Ethan sighed he fired his blaster but the glass deflected the blast. "Okay…let's rehash THAT idea" he sighed.
He kneeled by a panel and set to work.
Paris and the Triassic Ranger fought furiously. Calypso leapt five floors straight up and landed on the walkway. She glanced at the battle then turned back to the mutant gun. "What's it like up there Ethan?" she called.
"Windy…can you make the heat beam fire in 23 seconds?"
"What!"
"I need you to do that"
"That's 20 seconds more than I need, I trust you blue boy" Calypso called.
Paris and Conner leapt onto the alternate dimension platform and battled. "You're angry, sad, hurt and just pissed off…but you don't have to commit genocide!" Conner shouted.
"Do you know what it's like? Hiding parts of yourself away? Hiding what you are? When you can't even defend yourself against the bullies because you have too much power? DO YOU?" Paris performed a cartwheel and ended with both feet in Conenrs torso. "I'm what I'm supposed to be! Not what I AM!"
"Is this what you are? A megalomaniac with human hating tendancies?"
"No…Yes…SHUT UP" Paris blasted Conner.
"Why are you so angry with the rangers?"
"Because YOU NEVER STOPPED! My farther couldn't stop because YOU DIDN'T STOP EXISTING" Paris slashed Conner with a bone broad sword and unleashed a mental burst from his forehead beneath the visor.
Paris spun and kicked; Conner blocked and punched him to the ground. Paris leapt up and hurled a power blast. Conner swung his sword and blasted it back at him.
"You just can't get over the fact it was an accident" Conner said.
"If it wasn't your fault then it was mine" Paris gasped, staring at the ground as reality faded back in, he slumped down. "I was supposed to protect him…I failed…go ahead and kill me…"
"I don't kill people"
"They don't Paris…" Calypso said as she demorphed. "Come on…let's go…things are about to get a little hotter if what Ethan tells me is correct."
Paris reached up and touched the tear on his left cheek. "I've become a monster"
"No…you stopped being the monster" Conner said. He helped Paris up
"Smitty…STOP" Elsa pleaded as Tommy leaned back over a crate trying to fend off Zeltrax who was putting his full body weight behind his sword.
"Terrence…stop" Tommy grunted. "You're still in there…you have to…stop and think for yourself. Is revenge really what you want?"
"We can help you! Please listen to us Smitty" Elsa exclaimed. "We can help you – make you whole again"
"No…on…noooonnoonnnn---does not…aahhhh – mesmemsmemsmemesmmesmes - - - - - oh – o h- owowowowowowohohohoho- gggggggghhhhaaaaahhh AAAAAAGGGHHHH" the cyborg staggered backwards his body twitching, sparks flying. "I – I – I – No – Kill Tommy Olivvvvvvvvvvv". Smitty crashed to his knees. "Urrrrrrr…" he fell to the ground.
"Oh…Smitty" gasped Elsa.
"Damn it…" Tommy gasped. "We lost him!"
"The ships coming down" Calypso stated as she strode forwards. "Where are Kira and Trent?"
"Still in the lab…we have to get Mesogog" Tommy exclaimed.
"This ship's going to go critical…like NOW" Calypso said. "Come on!" she tapped on her morpher and the ring of white light surrounded Zeltrax's body, Elsa and tommy, they turned into white light and pigments vanishing in a crash of silver lightening.
Calais flogged Trent mercilessly and hit him with a burst of black energy petals. He cried out as he fell back but still got up. "You can't be serious" sneered Calais as she slashed her whip at him again.
"I am" Trent said. "Get my point?" he slashed the arrows at her. She cried out as they hit. He leapt over her as she rolled to her feet, she kicked. He blocked and swung her around. Kira leapt through the air and landed both feet in Calais' face.
"Ah!" yelped Calais as she fell to her knees. "Damn it!"
"Enough Calais" Paris said. He entered the room slowly, looking shorter then before, as though humbled. His eyes were a little tear stained. "It's over…come on – we have to go" he hurled a power blast at the cage that held Anton Mercer. The bottom fell out and Mercer dropped.
"NO!" Trent shouted.
Paris leapt through the air and caught Mercer. "I lost my father…I wouldn't wish it on anyone else…we have to leave the others are waiting" Paris said. "Come on Calais…" he tapped the teleporter and before Kira or Trent could react – they vanished.
The wreath of flames rose around the ship as it plunged towards the sea. Before it even disturbed the water it exploded into a haze of red light and splashed down crumbling into nothingness…
The rangers blinked, teleportation obviously disorientated but this time it was beyond belief… they had to close their eyes to think. "You'll get used to that if you do it long enough" Calais said. She had changed her clothes again somehow. This time she was dressed in a beautiful green cashmere sweater, black jeans and a black leather jacket with stylish black boots. Her hair was tied back into a bun by a strand of ivy.
"I'm sorry" Paris said. "I've done so much"
"You freed me" Mercer said. "I owe you for that"
"But all I did can't be undone by…that one thing"
"Then we'll work at it – like the mutants in the city" Calypso said.
"They'll be easy enough, the explosion had reversed polarity energy in it – they'll revert to humans in a few seconds. Unharmed but drained" Calais explained.
Paris wiped his eyes. "I'll make this up to you all"
"Just don't go evil again" Ethan suggested.
"I've been down the road of evil – the road to redemption isn't as hard as you'd think after the first step" Trent said slowly.
"How sssssssssssssssweeeeet" the long pink tongue snared Paris throat and forced him to his knees. Mesogog stomped forwards.
Calypso slashed the tongue and Calais hurled a small pin from the lapel of her jacket at the monster. He fell back with a hiss. "I'll desssssssssssstory you all."
"No…you won't" a metal gauntlet grabbed Mesogog's ankle. "I destroyed myself with hatred and you rebuilt me for it – time and again. You prolonged my spite – it destroyed me…let me return the favour" Zeltrax rasped.
The cyborg grabbed the monster. "Now! Use your powers together!"
Elsa charged her sword
Tommy swung his sword
Trent slashed the air into arrows
Calais opened an energy blossom in her palms
Calypso and Paris powered Bone Sabres
Kira, Ethan and Conner combined their weapons.
The blasts of energy hit Mesogog as he spewed a haze of power, at first there was resistance…then the cloud parted and Mesogog and Zeltrax were engulfed in energy. There was an explosion of green light. Zeltrax's body was hurled backwards – it hit a girder with a crunch and bent it into a curve.
Tommy ran to his old colleagues side. The face plate had fallen away on the left side of Terrence's face revealing a human part of Zeltrax. "Still with organics" Paris said. "Nanno-integration?"
"We have fundamental Genetic markers to work from" agreed Calypso.
"I'd suggest a basice reconnaissance scan first" Calais said.
Calypso gripped Zeltrax's right hand and placed her palm on the left side of his face, on the human side. Paris lifted Zeltrax up as he took the left hand and placed his fingers to the cold metal of the right side of the face.
The white and green lightening danced over Zeltrax.
There was a flash. Zeltrax fell to his knees with a gasp. More correctly Terrence Smith fell to his knees. He was naked and Calais hurriedly turned her leather jacket into a loin clothe to keep him decent. He blinked in surprise…the rangers demorphed as did a drained looking Calais and Paris.
"What happened? What…am…I?" he stared at his finger tips.
"We reconfigured the cybernetics" Calypso explained.
"Like Elsa your only a cyborg on the inside now…and even then…you're more human than that" smiled Paris.
"Thank you" whimpered Smitty. He collapsed, crying, to the ground able to feel the gravel under his skin...
The Cyberspace was pumping out tunes as it organized a repair committee for dealing with the aftermath.
Anton Mercer was funding it – he'd already added to Trent that it was the least he could do for causing it by creating Mesogog. That was seconds before he'd added that he'd also sent the cheque to Trent's art school.
Paris was serving drinks with Calais and had already signed up to repair the damage with a detachment of his left over Exols. Calais was dealing with boys chatting her up.
Calypso and Hailey were reviewing astrophysics books…
Kira and Trent were in the corner. Cosy.
Ethan was talking to a girl he'd met in the queue for a movie.
They were all…normal for a while…because normal is subjective…it's not a fixed thing…
Conner looked at Paris. "You know…you're not the only one with responsibility and stuff to worry about" he said.
"yeah I know"
Conner extended his hand. Paris accepted. "I hope you can be yourself someday" Paris added.
"Ditto…" they smiled.
"I might suddenly be a fan of red" Paris laughed.
"Hey guys" Cassidy and Devin said as they strode over. "You know we don't think it was a coincidence you guys were there, at the mutant fight – because you definitely weren't at school…"
Cassidy winked. "But that's our secret – right?"
Devin held up the video camera to show the demorphed rangers helping Smitty up
"See – of all the places to go my reporters instinct lead me to that warehouse"
"You sure about this Cass?"
"Do it Devin?"
Devin sighed and hit a button. "End of the tape…deleted"
"I think seeing the rangers and their friends defeat a dinosaur man should be enough for the viewers" smiled Cassidy. She linked arms with Devin. "Come on camera man I'll buy you a smoothie"
"YOU buy ME a smoothie?"
Elsa and Tommy sat on Tommy's porch. "So…the school board decided that a cyborg is a good type of headmistress" Elsa said as she listened to Tommy's heart beat. He stroked her back slowly.
"I love you" Tommy said.
Elsa looked up at him. "Even if I'm a cyborg?"
"It's not an issue…" he leaned in and kissed her. She reciprocated and time stood still. Just a moment of perfect quiet bliss.
"I wonder what the future holds…"
"Whatever it is…I doubt it'll be as exciting as this…" laughed Tommy. He held Elsa close. "The Dinozords are safely tucked away – Mesogogs dead…"
"Smitty's the new Vice Principal…pity Mr Kwan had that nervous breakdown from all the mutant attacks" Elsa sighed.
"And I've got you…it's all good"
It is and better, Elsa thought. She snuggled up contently, wrapped in the blanket from Tommy's living room…content at last.
THE END
Well that's all he wrote. I want to hear how that was for you, any questions or comments about the whole fic are more thatn welcome. Warning: My slash happy friend has suggested a Paris/Conner slash fic...I'm not entirely against the idea but I felt I should give you a heads up. Warn you about that...heh...I hope more people write Tommy Elsa and I've seen a few out there so don't give up.
Anything you want to say...SAY IT...catch you on the flipside