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 components. If you haven't read the preceding stories in the series…

Have you been spending the last ten thousand years in a TUBE?


Power Rangers Literati
"Fun With Holographic Recordings"
By J.T. Magnus, "Turbo"


Zack found his newest accessory ironic since he already had one almost like it, there was only two differences: a slightly different frequency… and the communicator he now wore was pure silver instead of the silver with black details of his original communicator. With a smile, he realized that some of the spare communicators Billy had made must have been sent by Zordon to the second Command Center that the Literati Rangers were using as their base.

He was, by nature, a normally calm man, but Zack was angry at his deceased mentor for keeping so many secrets – the White Ranger project, the existence of other Ranger teams, other villains who would try to take over or destroy the Earth, the existence of the Ninja Temple of Power, the Sword of Power, the Zeo Crystal and so many other things that could have helped them over the years. Now that list also included the Command Center underneath the woods outside Scenic City and the powers and Spiritzords now used by the Literati Rangers.

The former-Black Ranger had to admit, he was impressed at the newest team of Rangers, they didn't have anyone to show them what to do and they were still proving themselves the equals of almost any of the other teams. Through a combination of skill and luck, J.T. and Justin had managed to figure out most of the Command Center's computer system, J.T. had been the one to buy, paint and now maintained the dirt bikes the team called their 'Literati Riders', Daniel managed to juggle school, work and Ranger duties, a feat few were successful at, and in under a month they had saved the city time after time. Somehow, he felt Zordon would be proud of them…

That, or be utterly annoyed by their complete lack of respect.

"Oh, man," Zack groaned, realization setting in, "I'm even getting used to THAT…"

As he shook his head in amusement, the six notes sounded from his communicator before J.T.'s voice came over it, "All Rangers to the Command Center."

The memories of the past he was bringing up caused Zack to reach for his communicator before he caught himself, remembering that HE wasn't the Black Ranger of this team, J.T. was.


"You guys remember Jessica and I telling you about the recordings we saw when we first discovered the Command Center, right?"

Amanda scoffed, "How could we forget?"

J.T. glared at her for a moment before he continued, "Well, Justin and I were fixing parts of the computer system that were damaged simply because of age and we found that there were other… tutorials, for lack of a better word, in the computer that hadn't activated."

"Yay," the blonde Yellow Ranger remarked in a bored tone.

"You're in a mouthy mood today, Skipper," J.T. answered, "Good."

"Huh?" Yolanda said, holding a Kurama plushie that actually belonged to Amanda.

"That Zordon guy who created all of this? He makes Charles look like Father Mulcahy… looks like Charles too, or he would if he had a body."

"J.T…." Jessica began, "Why did you have us come here?"

Finally Justin, the other party to the plot, spoke up, "We thought you should see these things… I feel sorry for the Rangers who had to deal with Zordon directly…"

"This is the first one we saw…" J.T. activated the Viewing Globe.

"Greetings, Rangers. I am Zordon."

"Hello, Zordon," Daniel said, like in an AA meeting.

"If you are seeing this, then I am no more. Ten thousand years ago, a powerful sorceress named Rita Repulsa threatened this and many other worlds. I was the only one powerful enough to oppose her, but I became trapped in a dimensional warp. Because of this, I selected six youths and granted them access to the energy source known as the Power Grid. Although the Power Coin for the Green Dragonzord was lost…"

Justin's eyes rolled, "REAL responsible of them…"

"These Power Rangers succeeded in locking Rita and her minions away. However, there were other great powers of evil in the universe, and though the Power Coins were locked away in the event that Rita might return, I, along with other great wizards and warriors…"

"Is that any relation to Dungeons and Dragons," Jessica asked.

"Not that I know of, and being the Dragon Spirit, I would know," J.T. responded.

"Created other means to access the Power Grid to combat these other evils. Among these other means were the Ninja Morphers left in the care of the Wind and Thunder Ninja Academies on Earth, the Zeo and Super Zeo crystals along with the Gold Power Staff, the Staff being given to the royal family of Triforia, and the five Dinogems…"

"Translation: You apparently had a LOT of free time… NEXT!" J.T. remarked.

Amanda snorted, "You know, I was almost starting to miss that…"

"And the powers you now wield, Rangers. Unlike with the other means, your morphing ability lies inside yourselves. It was chosen to do it this way to protect you from losing your powers – as long as you live, your powers are yours."

"Could you imagine us as seventy-year-old Power Rangers?" Justin asked.

"Yes," Amanda, J.T., Daniel and Jessica all responded simultaneously.

"Although I regret that I cannot be there to guide you, Rangers, I bid you to use your new powers and the Spiritzords, along with this Command Center in your fight against evil. Good luck, Rangers, and May The Power Protect You."

"And may the Bird of Paradise fly up your nose," J.T. said.

"May an elephant caress you with its toes," Amanda continued.

"May your wife be plagued with runs in her hose," Jessica finished.

"Do you guys HAVE to make country music jokes?" Daniel groaned.

"Do you even have to ask?" J.T. replied, "Then there's this one, it's one of the new ones we found…"

J.T. pressed several buttons, then the image on the Viewing Globe changed to another recording of Zordon.

"By now, Rangers, you have most likely been involved in your first battle against the forces of evil…"

"More like, what? Eight, ten?" Daniel commented.

"Therefore it is also time to inform you of the three rules governing Power Rangers:"

"Oh, good," J.T. quipped, "Now we'll know what to break."

"One; Never use your powers for personal gain. Two; Never reveal your identities."

"That one's been broken so much it's irreparable," Justin said.

"And finally, never escalate a battle unless your enemy forces you to."

"What?" Amanda asked, "So we can't just call out the Spiritzords and step on Hardshells and the like?"

"Apparently."

"That's stupid."

Yolanda shrugged, "He's a powerful wizard who created the first Power Rangers… but nobody said he was smart."

The rest of the day continued much the same way, with Zordon's recordings making several references to the team as 'Spirit Rangers'.

As he said it at the end of the last recording, J.T. spoke up, "Not 'Spirit Rangers', Literati Rangers…"

Turning to Daniel, he cocked his head to one side, "What does Literati mean, anyway, Daniel? It was your idea…"

The dark-skinned Blue Ranger shrugged and almost blushed, "'People of the word'."

J.T. smiled and gave a quick nod, "Yeah, lots of words, most of them smart-mouthed."

J.T. could act friendly to almost anyone, but there were very few people he was willing to call 'friend'…

Four of the other five Literati Rangers had earned that title…

One was something more.


Late that night, J.T. stood in the center of the console ring facing the Viewing Globe, reaching over to tap a control, he began to speak…

"Ten thousand years ago, a wizard named Zordon began a legacy, that of the Power Rangers. My name is J.T. Magnus… and I'm the Black Literati Dragon Ranger…"