Disclaimer: While I don't own the overall concept of Power Rangers, Zords, and all else that goes with it, I, along with the friends that are involved with the story, do own Power Rangers Literati itself and its own componants. If you're just joining us... I have to ask why?
Power Rangers Literati
"The Kruger Syndrome"
By J.T. Magnus, "Turbo"
"U-G-L-Y," The Black Ranger said, punching the Hardshell he was fighting with every letter, "You ain't got no alibi..."
Spinning around, he summoned the Dragon Sword and split the Hardshell in two, tilted his head to the side and finished with a nod, "You ugly."
"And you are still a smart-mouthed fool," Dark Ranger said, swinging his halbard out to one side.
Black Ranger swung his sword in an X motion in front of him before resting it on his shoulder and turning to face his new opponent.
"Dark Ranger... Shut up and fight."
What followed was a battle that took the two Rangers, good and evil, across Scenic City with a combination of weaponship, martial arts and old-style street fighting, all of it enhanced by the Power they both drew on. The Black Ranger was taken by surprise when one of Dark Ranger's blows sent his Dragon Sword flying out of his hands.
"What! No!"
"Yes!" Dark Ranger countered, "At long last I will destroy you, and then the rest of the Literati Rangers will follow. But I think I'll save your precious Green Ranger for last, I have special plans for her..."
With purple energy crackling around the blade, Dark Ranger brought his halbard down to behead the Black Ranger...
In his apartment, J.T. woke up sweating.
"Oh, God... Kella..."
The next day, at Highway 2, as Z looked at his employees he decided that a vampire convention would have more life then they were showing. Amanda and Daniel were clinging to each other as though for dear life, J.T. was eating more sour gummi worms than the quirky-teen usually did while working, even the normally hyperactive Yolanda was moving slower than a mastrodon.
"What's wrong with you guys today?" Z finally asked.
"Didn't sleep, so it's either sugar or dead on my feet," J.T. managed to get out, downing more of the two-liter diet cola he had brought with him.
"It wasn't anything fun," Amanda muttered.
"You don't want to know," Jessica said, dragging herself in the front door, "J.T... Johnnie?"
Looking at the girl he loved looking like hell, J.T.'s voice was a whisper, "Yeah?"
"Outside?"
Nodding and stepping over to wrap his arms around her, he looked back at the others, "Give us a moment..."
Minutes later, in the area behind Highway 2, J.T. and Jessica had collapsed in each others' arms, much like Amanda and Daniel were inside.
"I was so scared... I was so, so scared..."
"Shh," Jessica rubbed J.T.'s back, comforting him, "It's okay, Johnnie, it's okay..."
The Black Ranger lifted his Dragon Sword to his shoulder.
"Goodbye."
Turning away from the Green Ranger, he walked off into darkness.
"NO!"
"NO!" Jessica woke up screaming.
"No..."
Fumbling in the dark, she reached over for her phone and dialed a number she knew by heart, needing to know he would still be there.
"Johnnie?"
When morning came, J.T. and Jessica walked into Highway 2 together, the Black Ranger having picked the Green Ranger up at her house earlier. Inside the store, they saw Justin and Yolanda both fighting to stay awake.
"You two as well?"
Justin nodded, "Can't sleep, if we sleep, the nightmares come. Think it has to do with... you know?"
Shaking his head, J.T. sighed, "I don't know. I've spent a lot of the past month studying... the place, but there's still so much that's unknown."
Reaching the counter, Jessica boosted herself up onto it as J.T. leaned against it, putting a hand against his forehead.
"Maybe if that... person that left all those... tutorials or whatever they are in the place's computer was still around, we could ask them," he said, slowly, "But I'm afraid that right now it's more than I can do there."
Groaning, Justin crossed his arms, "So there's a chance we'll never get to sleep again? Great, and I had been having these great dreams lately..."
Even with different personalities and attitudes, the four Literati Rangers reacted as one and glared when the door slammed shut behind a way-too-happy Daniel and Amanda.
"Hey, everyone!"
"J.T.," Yolanda whispered, "Right now, if you want to hurt Amanda, I won't stop you."
"What in the name of Kim Hart are you two so happy for?" Jessica glowered, referencing one of her gymnastics idols.
"Hey, you try getting to SLEEP and not be happy," Amanda told her.
Having been without sleep for the past three days, that comment immediately drew the attention of the other Rangers.
"What... did you say?" Justin asked.
Over the years, Amanda and I have disagreed on everything from politics to anime couples. One of the things we have agreed on, however, is that we're both stronger with our respective other than without. In Amanda's case, Daniel gives her the courage to fight when otherwise she'd be overwhelmed by life. For me, Jessica is my reason. I'm not afraid to fight, the opposite in fact. Jessica reminds me of what I want to fight for, the kind of person I want to be - someone's knight, like a dragon knight...
What that has to do with it is the fact that Daniel and Amanda together were able to conquer the nightmares.
"Mars. Mars and Dark Ranger," J.T. said, "It's the only explanation. They disappear and we start having nightmares about being Rangers making our worst fears come true."
"Yeah," Jessica nodded, seeing where he was headed, "But when two of us are together..."
"We overcome," Daniel finished.
"What now?" Amanda asked.
"Hm..." Justin thought, "J.T., you figure out how to work the Command Center's scanners?"
"Yeah, Why? Wait... They've got to have something entering our dreams, don't they?"
"Right," Justin nodded.
J.T. sighed deeply, knowing what he had to ask wasn't gonna be taken well, "Who's gonna be bait so I can find... whatever it is?"
Jessica closed her eyes and took a step forward, "I'll do it."
"Jessica..."
"Johnnie... I'll do it."
That night, in the Command Center, Jessica laid down on a cot that one of the others had found and brought and closed her eyes.
"Okay, here we go, " J.T. said lowly.
After over an hour, the computer started to go crazy and J.T and Justin started moving back and forth between the two consoles trying to lock down the source of the energy that was being transmitted into Jessica's thoughts. Minutes passed before Justin let out an exclaimation.
"Got it! The signal's coming from Green Park! Unleash-"
"No," J.T. said, grabbing Justin's wrist before he could morph, "This one's mine..."
He looked down at Jessica, "You stay here and keep an eye on her."
Justin turned to look at the Viewing Globe that was showing Green Park, not understanding why J.T. was so fired-up to do this alone.
Stepping out of the ring formed by the two consoles, J.T. shouted, "Unleash that within... DRAGON SPIRIT!"
Black light flared up around him and as it died down it left J.T. in the black uniform and gold armor of the Black Literati Ranger. Quickly, the Black Ranger ran to the lift that would take him to the hanger where his Literati Rider was waiting. Revving the engine of the black bike, it shot out the hanger door into the woods. After a moment, J.T. reached over to his left wrist and activated the teleporter, focusing on Green Park. Due to the limits of the teleportation system, he was a mile short of his target. That, though, was what the Literati Riders were for.
He was lucky the cops didn't know who he was, J.T. thought, since they would probably give him one expensive ticket for riding a dirtbike across a bridge that had been reclassified for pedestrians only some years back.
Jumping the Rider over the steps that led from street-level down to the park beneath the bridge was dangerous, but the same Power that protected J.T. as the Black Ranger now also protected the bike. Tearing up grass, he rode under the bridge until he came to the animal fountains that formed a circle on the other side of the park. Turning the Rider sideways and dropping the kickstand, J.T walked into the center of the fountains. Dispite the carapace and other additions, he recognized the person standing there. He recognized them too well.
"It's been a long time, Starr."
The changed girl looked at him, "That's all you have to say to an old girlfriend."
"An EX-girlfriend," He replied, "You left me, remember?"
"That's in the past, isn't it?"
"So are you. Now leave me, my friends, and most especially my girlfriend alone," Behind his visor, J.T.'s eyes narrowed, "First and final warning."
"You can call me Dreamweaver for now," she replied, the tips of the twin spike-like protrusions curling over her shoulders beginning to glow, "And sorry, but that's not part of the deal."
"You know," J.T. answered, smirking and summoning the Dragon Sword, "I was actually hoping you'd say that."
A swing of the Dragon Sword blocked the beam of energy and sent it into a nearby small tree, causing it to be burned through and fall to the ground.
"It doesn't have to be this way."
"Yes it does, I made a promise. I keep my promises," J.T. rushed at his opponent, spinning around at the last second to add more force to his sword's impact.
Although the armor-like carapace protected her from much damage, the mutated girl was still sent flying.
"Besides, I didn't think it was possible... but you're even uglier that you used to be."
"You'll PAY for that!"
"I've already paid my dues," J.T. snapped back, lifting the Dragon Sword to his shoulder.
Again running, he used the Dragon Sword as a vaulting pole to lift him into the air. As he reached Dreamweaver, he unleashed a three-kick 'bicycle kick' before swinging his sword around to cut off one of the spikes.
Standing over her as she fell to the ground, he scoffed, "How someone like you can share a name with someone like her... I will never know."
As J.T. was speaking, a small crystal appeared in Dreamweaver's hand and began to glow. Suddenly, the Black Ranger was thrown into the air and hit the ground hard when Dreamweaver began to grow in size.
"Great, now she's got enough room for her ego," J.T. muttered, putting his hand to the symbol on his chestplate to summon the Dragon Spiritzord.
Like an avenging dark-angel, the Dragon flew overhead with wings widespread. Tucking them in, it dived under the bridge and scooped J.T. up in its mouth and flew up above Dreamweaver before transforming into Battle Mode. As the Dragon took its fighting stance, sihouletted against the moon in the night sky, inside the cockpit J.T. shook his head.
"I knew you were a serpent after the way you treated not just me, but Amanda and even Yolanda... But giving yourself over to Mars to become this... If anything... I pity you," J.T. said.
"You think it was that fool? You know nothing," Dreamweaver snapped, firing her spike-beams.
"Dragon Burner!"
The flame from the dragon head-hand met the energy in midair and the night sky lit up as blue energy beams and red dragon's fire clashed. Then J.T. added more power to his blast and overpowered Dreamweaver's, sending her backwards into the river.
The Black Ranger lifted his Dragon Sword to his shoulder.
"Goodbye."
"'Goodbye' yourself," Jessica said, pulling back the 'string' of the Phoenix Bow and letting fly a bolt of energy at her boyfriend's doppelganger. This she followed by two more bolts, causing the duplicate's Dragon Sword to fly out of his hand and into the air. Reaching up, Jessica summoned it to her own hand.
"What? How?" The dream Black Ranger said.
Mimicing J.T.'s own stance with the dream Dragon Sword, Jessica looked at the dream Black Ranger, "Interesting thing. I don't have to be afraid of Johnnie leaving me because he's afraid of causing me to be hurt."
There was a pause before Jessica continued, "Dragon and Phoenix, two creatures that live in fire..."
Placing the dream Dragon Sword on the Phoenix Bow like an arrow, Jessica drew it back, whispering as it charged with energy before she released it. As it went on its way towards the dream Black Ranger, it took the form of a green phoenix and a black dragon, flying around each other as they flew towards their target. At the same time as the dream Black Ranger was destroyed...
Dreamweaver fell to the ground and faded back into the girl known as Jessica Starr.
"Mars! Jon! You and anyone else you've got with you better listen up," J.T. shouted from the Dragon's cockpit, "You want to fight us? Fight US! Don't cast spells on people with nothing to do with it all and send them after us! You hear me? Fight us yourselves!"
"You'll soon get your wish, Black Ranger," Malleus Maleficarum said, his throne turning around to let him face the forms of Mars and Dark Ranger.
"Very soon."
In the Command Center, J.T., helmet tucked under his arm, rode the lift up from the hanger to the operations area where Jessica was still asleep on the cot, Justin watching her.
"It's done... Why don't you head on home, Justin? I can watch her until she wakes up," J.T. said, setting his helmet on one of the consoles.
"You sure, J.T.?"
The helmetless Black Ranger nodded, "I'm sure. I'm a night person anyway."
"Okay," Justin said, shrugging, "Who knows, the cause of it all's been beat and there's still a few hours left in the night, maybe I'll even be able to get some sleep."
After Justin had ridden the lift down to the hanger and his truck that he had parked there, J.T. leaned over Jessica to kiss her before returning her whispered words...
"I love you, too, Kella," he whispered before sitting down and leaning against the cot to fall asleep, still morphed.