Meanwhile, on Lothor's ship…
"Marah, look, he's waking up!"
"Sweet! Oh, I'm so exciiiiteeed!"
The black-clad man winced at the high-pitched sound of the girls' voices and his eyes slowly opened all the way. Almost immediately, his aura of evil seemed to strengthen until it encompassed the small chamber. The effect on Marah and Kapri was that of an undiluted aphrodisiac. Their puppy eyes became almost impossibly large as they hovered over him with expressions of adoration.
The stranger ignored them. Instead he sat up on the cot and gave the bland and murky surroundings of the space ship's guest quarters a visual survey before his gaze came to rest on Marah and Kapri. His eyes were dark and utterly cold.
"Where am I? What has transpired here? This is not the realm of Ithrandar," he growled and the girls' grins wavered. Kapri glowered at her sister.
"Well, so much for 'love at first sight'. Great theory that was, sis." The pink-haired girl straightened her shoulders self-importantly as she regarded their visitor. "Uh, you're on our uncle Lothor's space ship," she said.
"Yeah, and we rescued you," Marah chimed in, but a moment later her face fell at the lack of appreciation her words evoked from the stranger, for the dark-haired man merely glanced between the girls with a thoughtful expression.
"Your uncle - he is the captain of this...ship?"
"Yeah, yeah! And not only is he this ship's captain, he's also the Ultimate Evil Space Ninja and soon-to-be-ruler of Earth!" Kapri beamed, first at the stranger, then at her sister. "Hey, that has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I never thought of it this way," Marah agreed with a grin of her own. "That would make us, like, First Ladies of Earth or something like that."
They both flinched when the stranger suddenly leapt up from the cot. He was a tall and imposing figure and the girls shrank under his penetrating cold gaze.
"I must seek council with him immediately!"
Kapri cocked her head. "Huh? Oh, you want to talk to him! Yeah, okay, but listen, if you're not doing anything later..." she chirped, but the handsome stranger merely strode by her and towards the door.
"I should like to talk to your uncle now, Miladies, if you would take me to him, please," he said with a curt bow, and despite the courteous wording it was a command rather than an inquiry. The authority in his voice left no room to argue and the girls scurried by him and through the door, leading the way to the bridge of the ship.
Lothor was in ready pose perched atop his throne when the double doors of the bridge swished open and the Dark Sorcerer strode in. The evil space ninja sat up a little straighter and gave his visitor his best haughty look.
"So, you're awake, I see."
The stranger came to a halt before the throne and fixed Lothor with a direct gaze. Lothor found his spine tingling. Those brown eyes had an almost hypnotic quality, and he could see even better now why his nieces were all but drooling over this man; he was tall and well-built with a hard-lined yet handsome face. Thick dark-brown hair fell down to between his shoulder blades and he stood with the proud, straight-backed posture of a man completely confident in his abilities. Lothor had every intention of finding out what those abilities could do. For him.
"My Lord Lothor of the Evil Space Ninjas, I presume?" the stranger inquired.
"You presume correctly."
"I am Luthien, son of queen Deshaara of the Dark Powers of Ithrandar and commander of her Evil Army. I have been told that I have you to thank for my rescue from the cursed slumber. For this you have my gratitude everlasting." The Dark Wizard executed a fluid and graceful sweeping bow and Lothor's expression turned smug.
"Well, I'm sure we can come up with some way for you to put that gratitude to use and repay me for my heroic deed. Now, I don't know what corner of the galaxy you came from or why you're here, but you're in my corner of the universe now and therefore you'd be best advised to throw in your lot with me. I do have a few problems I could use a hand with." While he spoke, the evil space ninja rose from his throne and descended the steps until he was eye to eye with his seemingly new ally. "I have a feeling that together we can do some serious damage."
The two men smirked at each other, then Lothor put a hand on Luthien's shoulder and steered him towards the bridge's viewing screen. "Let me show you the target, my friend."
Luthien stared silently at the blue/green globe on the screen while Lothor elaborated.
"This is Earth, my soon-to-be empire. But before I can extend complete control, I have to first defeat these pesky nuisances."
Lothor practically sneered the last two words while he punched some buttons and the screen switched to show a battle between a huge, hideous-looking pig monster and six warriors clad in strange, tight-fitting garments of half a dozen different colors. Their heads were encased by round contraptions and their faces concealed by darkened screens. Yet they apparently managed to see just fine, since they wielded their swords with obvious skills and power. The teamwork between the six fighters was fluid and seemingly effortless and the monster did not last the whole of five minutes before it exploded in a fireball of orange and red. The faceless figures touched their left wrists and the armor around them evaporated.
Luthien was surprised at how young these warriors were. With an expressionless face he watched the six teens laughing and slapping each other's palms, but Lothor scowled and stabbed a gloved finger at the screen.
"And that's what happens every time I send one of my monsters to Earth." He fixed the sorcerer with a hard look. "Any ideas as to what to do about that?"
Luthien merely smirked at him. "So your plans of world domination are repeatedly being thwarted by an army of...six youths?" he observed wryly.
Lothor folded his arms across his chest and scowled at the sorcerer. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in, will ya?"
Chuckling, Luthien turned from the monitor. "Fear not, my newfound friend; I shall attend to your problem."
"By yourself?" Lothor frowned suspiciously. "At least let me send a few dozen of my kelzaks with you."
"I need no aid for this."
"Aren't you a little overconfident? The Rangers are tougher than they look." Lothor indicated the viewing screen. "You've seen the tape, you've seen what they can do." The evil space ninja scratched his leather-swathed chin. "It's too bad there…uh...wasn't enough time to save your friend. I probably could have brainwashed him and turned him to our side. The more the better, I always say."
Luthien narrowed his eyes. "Friend?"
"Yeah, the other guy in the crate with you, the one all dressed in white. I was about to rescue him, too, but before I could, the Power Rangers showed up and..."
Lothor all but flinched when all of a sudden the Dark Sorcerer was within an inch from his masked face.
"This white-clad man," Luthien said urgently. "Describe him to me."
"Heck, I didn't look that closely at him, but he was about your height and age, I guess - and way too blond. Why?"
"Was there a tattoo drawn across his brow?"
Lothor thought for a moment. "There was something there, yeah. Could have been a tattoo or a smudge of dirt, I don't know."
Luthien turned away, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "Could it be?" he muttered under his breath and balled his hand into a tight fist. "Mithrandos! You just won't die, will you?"
Lothor cast the sorcerer a scrutinizing look but something in the dark stranger's glowering expression told him it was probably not a good idea to ask for a more in-depth explanation.
With his eyes still fixed on his white-knuckled fist, Luthien asked, "The Guardian – do you know his whereabouts?"
"I think he's with them." Lothor inclined his head towards the display monitor. "With the Rangers."
Luthien turned to him again. "It was folly to leave him behind, but it matters not. I have beaten him before, I can do so again."
Not his friend, then. Okay. Lothor shrugged. "Good attitude. Now, let's talk plans here..." He motioned towards a long, rectangular conference table, but Luthien didn't move. He remained motionless, staring, thinking, for another long moment. When his head finally lifted again, his face was once again blank and he looked around as if seeing the room he stood in for the first time.
"Your dwelling…it is dark, bland, and cheerless."
Lothor blinked at the abrupt change of topic. "Yeah, well, I'm not exactly the 'multicolored paper party lanterns' kind of guy," he began, but Luthien waved him off with a smirk.
"It suits you. And it appeals to me," he said. "It reminds me of my mother's abode; the Black Mountain." He fixed Lothor with an intense gaze. "I sense the malice surrounding you, Lothor Lord of evil ninjas, and it soothes my soul, for it tells me that you are a brethren of the Dark Powers as am I. We might not be kindred of blood, but we surely are kindred of minds." The sorcerer strode towards his host until the two men were less than a foot apart. Then his voice dropped to a conspiratorial tone.
"Your wenches also spoke of this realm of Earth." Luthien nodded towards the screen. "You desire to be its ultimate ruler? I will help you." The sorcerer's deep brown eyes seemed to stare right into Lothor's mind. "I shall dispose of the Guardian and those child-warriors and then…"
"…Earth will be mine for the taking!" Lothor roared triumphantly.
"No."
"What?" Lothor spun around and found Luthien's eyes on him, cold and hard.
"It will be ours for the taking!"
"Oh, yeah…sure. Ours." Lothor forced a smile. "Of course. Partner."
Luthien held up his fist. "Fear shall flood the land and all creatures, man or beast, shall bow before us. If I cannot rule my own world, then -" here he paused for the briefest of instants, for he had almost slipped and said I, "- we will rule this one!"
Lothor barked a gleeful laugh. "Now you're talking!"
"And spells of ruin I shall cast upon the lands where the rabble opposes us."
"Just remember not to underestimate the Rangers," Lothor felt the need to remind him.
Luthien gave a dismissive snort. "Six children, no matter what their pitiful powers might be, are no match for me." He grinned. "You have not yet seen what I am capable of, my friend."
He bent down and, to Lothor's surprise, pulled off his right boot. He pulled out something that looked vaguely like a glass shard and for the first time since his arrival on the bridge Lothor saw the Dark Sorcerer's expression soften as he gazed at the crystal in his hand.
"The oh-so-righteous High Wizards might have condemned me to eternal sleep, yet they did not see it fit to search me thoroughly enough before the sarcophagus-prison became my home." He held up the shard. "An oversight that the Guardian will now pay for dearly."
A flash of dark light shot from his hand and a moment later he was grasping the hilt of a large, wicked-looking sword. The black steel of the serrated blade shone faintly in the dim light of the spaceship's bridge and when Luthien held it up, Lothor could see strange markings and symbols carved into the steel as well as into the silver material of the hilt. The pommel had been fashioned in the shape of a dragon's head. A beautiful yet menacing weapon.
Luthien was staring at his sword as if mesmerized. "The Cursed Blade of Ithrandar once again thirsts for pain." He grinned. It was not a pretty sight "Now…" His gaze settled back on Lothor again. "How do I find these…Power Rangers?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Lothor smirked and pointed towards the view screen once again. "Once you wreak enough havoc among the people down there, they will find you! And I'm pretty sure that your Guardian will be right along with them."
Luthien hefted his sword. "Then watch and be entertained as you witness your enemies' demise."
And the bridge of the space ship echoed with the sounds of their dual cackles.
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The next day, the Wind and Thunder ninjas showed up at their underground headquarters extra early, doubtlessly pulled back more by their curiosity about the other-dimensional stranger than their desire for Ranger training.
They found Cam in his customary position at the computer, still working on the calculations of the reverse energy beam, while Mithrandos was crouched by the mobile guinea pig habitat where Sensei was showing him the mechanics of his miniature television set. The blond Guardian was flipping through channels with an expression somewhere between incredulity and amusement when the ninjas arrived.
"I take it there weren't any sightings of the sorcerer yet, Cam?" Shane inquired.
Cam shook his head in negation without looking up from the latest algorithm on his screen. "No, and that's a good thing, considering how bogged down my system still is with all those calculations."
"So what should we do in the meantime?" Blake asked. The question was directed at no one in particular. "Do some more sparring?"
"We could take Mithrandos to the track, show him how to ride a 250," Hunter suggested and the proposal earned him several wry looks.
Dustin suddenly turned to Mithrandos. "Hey, I have an idea. You want to check out the town, Mith?" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "Better than hanging around down here all day."
Mithrandos inclined his head thoughtfully. "I must admit I am curious to see your world," he said.
Tori joined the group around Sensei's habitat, her face splitting into a grin. "I think that's a great idea! I'll drive," she offered.
The blond Guardian returned the TV remote to Sensei with a bow and rose, fixing the Water ninja with his bright green gaze and a smile. "I would be honored to have you accompany us, Milady."
A few feet away Blake's face transformed into a scowl; one that Hunter picked up on and reacted to promptly. "Hey, you wanna come along, bro?" he asked quickly.
"I wish I could," the Navy Ranger replied and his eyes said 'believe me, I do!' "but I've got to be at Storm Chargers. My shift starts in half an hour." He did not look happy about that and Hunter clapped him on the shoulder with a look that said 'don't worry, I'll make sure that no lines get crossed'.
"What about you, Shane?" Dustin asked. "You coming?"
"Yeah, Dude, I'd love to."
"...but it's his ZBM day," Cam injected and fixed the Red Ranger with a stern look from his computer chair.
Shane groaned. "Man, I was hoping you'd forget."
The others grimaced in sympathy. None of them liked Zord Bay Maintenance day, a task Cam came up with a few months ago after the Thunder Rangers had joined them and the technician's workload increased from three to five zords. Not long after Cam had presented them with a drawn-up work schedule for each of them to assist him in 'light repair and other maintenance duties', which pretty much came out to the chosen Ranger of the day handing Cam assorted tools during repairs, washing the zords and helping out with general cleaning duties in the Zord Bay.
The Air ninja cast Sensei Watanabe an imploring look, but the guinea pig only raised his shoulders in a shrug as if to say 'Down here, Cam rules.'
"Guess it's just us then, guys," Dustin said to Tori and Hunter, then jerked his head towards the stairs with a grin. "Let's hit the town!"
"Hold up." Hunter held them back. "We should swing by Blake's and my place first."
Dustin and Tori threw him inquiring looks and Hunter directed his gaze at Mithrandos. "Hey, this might be California, but even for around there, this may be pushing it a little," he quipped, indicating their visitor's flowing white garments. "Besides, we don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."
Mithrandos looked down onto his Guardian uniform, then back at the ninjas, a self-conscious expression on his face. He cast Cam a look and the technician inclined his head. "Hunter's got a point."
"Don't worry," the Thunder ninja said. "We're pretty much the same height. I'm sure I have some stuff that'll fit you."
"Very well, then," Mithrandos conceded. "I shall adhere to the clothing customs of your realm."
With bows on the Guardian's part and cries of "see ya'll later" from Dustin, Tori and Hunter, the little group ascended the stairs and Hunter's voice floated back into the command center just before the trapdoor above fell shut.
"Hope you like crimson."
TBC…
