Authors' note: Finally an update! We have had real rotten luck trying to get his chapter out. TiC has been having real problems with his car and has to get a new one. Because of this car, he hadn't been able to get to the fic like he and I wanted. Sorry for such the long delay. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out as soon as we can get it to you. Enjoy!
Chapter 10: Clipped Wings
Then:
Elizabeth Adler was a goddess. Her hair, her eyes, her scent, everything about her was perfect. Yet she ignored him. Why couldn't she see that he adored her? He would make her see. He would become a God among men. That pathetic husband of her's couldn't hold a candle to him then. Did Richard really think that he couldn't see the ways that he would try to undermine him by calling the Master Org research foolish and a child's fairy tale?
It was real. If there was one thing Viktor that was sure of, it was that Master Org was no fairy tale. The overwhelming ecstasy he felt as the power coursed through him was proof enough of that. The vines grew out from his every pore and were like an extension of his body. He could feel the snapping of bones as the grip of the vines tightened around Richard's neck. And that filthy cow had the nerve to bare his demon seed. So be it. Victor would have to come to grips with the fact that she would never realize his love. He now realized that Elizabeth was never good enough for him anyway. No one possibly could be. The last thing that she would feel would be Master Org's undeniable strength.
Viktor never got to the ungodly spawn. So be it. It didn't matter. Spare the rod, spoil the child.
God, was that really already over twenty years ago? Twenty years of absolute power becoming one with him. Twenty years of sitting patiently in the Nexus, letting his human body rot away while the Master Org seeds took over and converted that fragile husk into something far more superior that would match his unbelievable intellect. Twenty years of his mind becoming one with the Org population and twenty years of gaining it all while forgetting what was left behind.
He refused to wait any longer.
"Jindrax and Toxica should have returned by now." He spoke to no one but himself. No one else could carry on a proper conversation with him anyway. But still, they were the two highest ranking Duke Orgs so they should have been the first to hear his call; drawing them back to the Nexus. Yet they still had not returned. He was going to the surface to find them. His plans would not be put on hold any longer.
A God among men is one who is unwilling to acknowledge their own shortcomings. As long as you have the mind set with a goal of total perfection, then you can achieve it. That was the one thing his weak human form of Viktor Adler had gotten right. As Master Org, he would refuse to let any human stand in his way.
The vines wrapped around each other beneath him, forming a makeshift chair as they grew and carried him up and out of the cavern that led to the Nexus. The daylight stung. The ozone layer had become far too depleted. The surface world was detestable. It stank of the human infestation. Why hadn't he ever noticed this in the past? The noxious stench dominated his senses. How could –
You are the one that was once known as Dr. Adler, correct?
The voice in his head was startling. The dank evil tone frightened even the Master. He tried to compose himself, rising from the chair. "I went by that name at one time. But Viktor Adler is dead now. There is only Master Org. Who dares force an audience with me?"
Now, now Doctor. Let's slow down and collect ourselves. I'm only vaguely familiar with your story. Your goal is to rid the Earth of humans in favor of Orgs as the master race, correct?
"The Orgs ARE the master race " He spat with as much impudence as was meeting him. "It is only a matter of time before that fact is realized by all." Master Org clenched his staff tightly, eyeing the land around him. Still no signs of the mystery person... in fact, there were no signs of any life at all.
"Over here, Dr. Adler." Master Org flipping his head upwards. A human form was kneeling on the cliff above him. A female clad in dark blue and white robes - her head seemed abnormally large - was studying him. Long blonde hair cascaded at the sides of her face. The voice that came out of the body was far deeper than any woman's should be. Much like her glowing blue eyes, it was of alien origin. She leapt down and stood almost face to face with the slightly taller Master Org.
"What are you, girl?" He stood tall but still it felt like her mere presence engulfed him. "I will not ask you again."
She giggled. The treble in her voice was maddening. Without notice she was back, camping inside of his mind. I know you've been underground for quite some time now, but I'm sure you've still heard of me. Quite frankly - and I don't like to toot my own horn - but I don't know of any who haven't. My name is Zordon. This planet already belongs to me.
"Zordon?" Master Org sneered and began to relax. "You must be joking, girl. You're claiming to be the Emperor? I expected more but clearly you're just a very stupid, stupid girl. Most likely you're crazy. And if you were - by chance - the Emperor... then I would have to kill you. So which one of these two people do you want to be?"
She approached him more readily than ever, placing her hand gently on his shoulder and jumping back into his mind.
I've actually gotten pretty good at this telepathic communication thing. This form is not my typical one. Truthfully, I don't have a permanent form in the physical sense, just corporally. This body once belonged to an Aquitian woman. The Aquitian people are stronger than humans. I assume that's because they live underwater and have to deal with extreme pressure. She was actually rather important; leading a team of so-called heroes that made a valiant attempt to oppose my will a few months ago. I've already burnt through all of their bodies. I decided to save her for last.
"You see," her lips began to move again. "I can only possess another body until I use up all of it's resources. Then the body dies and I must move on. It's easier than you'd think. Most of my servants consider it an honor to die as my host. But you see, the only problem with Aquitians is that they are so dependant on water. They can't stay away from it for very long without completely exhausting themselves." Her grip on his shoulder tightened.
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
Her white teeth flashed. "Simple, Dr. Adler. I've got a proposition for you since this body is nearly gone.."
"...unless you happen to have some Gatorade... you can either join me or become my next host."
Now:
"You know Tommy Oliver?" Ethan was squealing like a girl.
"Know him? No. I don't really know him; at least not now. I used to know of him at one time." The man's face sank in as he talked. He had pulled the group into an empty break room, locked the door and pulled down a small curtain just in case. The group sat around the same standard issue, cool steel table that seemed to be common place around the ship. Adam sported a five o'clock shadow and stringy, black hair. The bags under his eyes sent chills through Conner; wondering just what sort of life this man had been leading and how long he had been enduring that private, personal hell. Yet Adam still managed to maintain a confidence that radiated and let rays of hope through to those around him.
Trent quickly cut to the bone. "So what can you tell us about him?"
Adam nodded. The boy meant business. He respected that. "Not much, quite frankly. I know that he worked with the original team of Power Rangers when they still fought for a greater good. He may have been a ranger himself. Back then their identities were still a closely guarded secret. If you knew who one was, that didn't mean you knew who any of the others were. I only briefly met the man. But that was about ten years ago. I'm sorry I can't be of anymore help, but honestly that's all I know."
Ethan drooped back down, disheartened. Kira tried to perk up. "So why are you on this ship anyway? You obviously don't work for Zordon. So why would you be heading to the Animarium?"
"Well, ma'am. To be honest, I've been following you since you all first came through that portal. I was on my way to the Dark Fortress' docking point when I saw a flash of light appear about a quarter of a mile away from me. It could have just as easily been some of Zordon's soldiers so I had to go check it out and instead, I found the four of you. Then you looked at that hologram thing and I wasn't sure what to make of you until you said something about finding the Wild Force Rangers. But like I said, it was my intention to board the Dark Fortress anyway. Clearly you already knew that this thing is heading for the Animarium."
Taylor's words: "Animarium Invasion Fleet" still rang through the rangers' ears.
Adam continued. "They've sent scouting ships before and I've snuck on them in the past. I know the Wild Force Rangers fairly well and bring them information and supplies. I guess you could say I'm part of the resistence." Kira smiled. "When this thing lands I plan to meet up with them and prepare for battle..."
"Battle?" Trent noticed the dough-eyed look on Kira's face as she looked at Adam. He scoffed. "No offense - I understand that you're connected to the rangers - but you're not one yourself. What's one guy supposed to do against a full scale invasion on an island?"
Conner shot Trent a stare but Adam held up his hands and begged both men off of each other. "I can understand the apprehension. But trust me, I can take care of myself."
"So if you know the Wild Force Rangers," Conner gestured behind him, out towards the rest of the ship. "What's the deal with this Taylor anyway? Shouldn't she be helping them instead of hunting them down? According to our intel, she's supposed to be their Yellow Ranger."
Adam let out an extended exhale. "She still IS the Yellow Ranger."
Then:
She was the most beautiful woman Taylor had ever seen. That chestnut brown hair provided an interesting contrast to the clean, white satin dress. Taylor had lost contact with the rest of her aerial unit and ended up landing on an island. But it was surrounding by so much fog she couldn't even see the ocean; let alone get her bearings. Only when she got to the edge did she realize that there was no water to see. After that, it wasn't asking too much for her to believe that this all had to be a dream. Maybe she was dead. Taylor wasn't big on religion. Maybe God was a woman that appeared from a pool of water.
'God' spoke. "My name is Princess Shayla. And you - Taylor Ernhardt - have been chosen to be one of the guardians of the Earth."
"You're a princess?" Taylor's apprehension was audible. She tried to laugh off her fear.
Princess Shayla walked as if she was gliding on some secret current of air. "Yes. I am the princess of the floating island that you are now on; the Animarium. Thanks to that yellow animal crystal that you wear around your neck, you have been allowed to find me so that you can fulfill your destiny."
Taylor's hand immediately clutched her necklace. She looked up defensively but the princess' hands were not outstretched to grab it. Instead they were already holding out two other items. The first was a jacket. It was yellow - Taylor's favorite color. She read the words "Soaring Eagle" embroidered on the back. The second item appeared to be a golden cell phone.
Accepting that crap almost two full months ago was her first mistake. "Four others," Shayla kept promising her. Her legend swore that there were five warriors to battle the Orgs. Taylor tried to laugh at herself but only spit up blood as she leaned against the crumbling wall. They were words and nothing more. Shayla had to tend her wounds on a daily basis. Words wouldn't heal a broken bone or crushed spirit. Scratch that. They weren't just words. They were more than that. They were false hope; they were lies. There weren't any Orgs. None of the monsters she battled had horns. This was Zordon's army. A damned army.
At least when she was a pilot there was job security. It wasn't so much a secret as it was the Air Force wanting to believe that they were working towards the betterment of America despite their paychecks coming from Zordon's forces. The government is probably not always going to fundamentally agree with her, but at least it felt legitimate. Who was to say some raving lunatic on a floating island with magical animals should have any more authority?
Where was her backup? A pilot has wingmen. Taylor didn't see the so-called princess ever leaving the island offer backup. She was alone. The fragmenting wall spread dust and debris off of the top of her helmet. She was alone.
"I've gotta fight..." The sword clanked against the rubble in her shaking hand. Justice was such a noble ideal. Was it also a pipe dream?
"This is it, Yellow Ranger " She recognized the deep, robotic voice immediately as belonging to one of Zordon's lead field commanders. "You're surrounded " The stark, black being waved off the Quantrons and Piranatrons with a motion from his own sword. He liked to make the final blow himself. "It's your move, girl. You can surrender and I will kill you now or you can fight and I'll kill you like a pathetic, exhausted dog. Either way, the choice belongs to you. I can have fun both ways."
"I've got a better idea." A gush of wind ripped across Ecliptor's face as the Yellow Wild Force Ranger shot into the air and suddenly descended on him, her wings fluttering gracefully. He tried to regain his bearings but the dust she had kicked up had his eyes. The mistake was his own. He had waited too long and wasn't surprised to feel his arm being twisted behind his back. He made an attempt to lean forward but found the prick of her white-gloved talons at his throat.
"So now what are you going to do, girl?" He refused to struggle. "You've got me dead to rights. I must say that's impressive. In all my years, only one other enemy was able to get the drop on me. He's dead now. But still, there's no way that you can make it out of here alive." His red eyes glowed as in a sign of victory.
"I disagree," a smile briefly formed under Taylor's helmet. Her hand dropped from around his neck and in one clean motion she shoved Ecliptor away, and held her arms up as a sign of surrender. "Power down."
Now:
"So," Adam paused to notice the facial expressions of the eclectic group around him. "I've told you all exactly why I'm here. Why do you care so much about Tommy Oliver and the Wild Force Rangers anyway?"
Conner nodded at Ethan who produced the holo-drome from his pocket. Adam immediately recognized it from earlier. "This is why."
Adam watched in amazement as Ethan pressed a button and the image of Jen Scotts appeared to show him an alternate world. He noticed the same four people that were in front of him, but they all looked slightly different. Conner, Kira and Ethan fidgeted in their seats when they saw their other selves. Trent was disgusted with what he saw.
"Wow," was all Adam could muster.
"That's not all," Ethan pressed another key and the video cut to the same images the teens had been viewing earlier; including the group of five Wild Force Rangers together.
After it was over Adam exhaled and Kira spoke up. "We're from two years in the future. That's when we found this. As you can see, this Tommy Oliver guy is supposed to be the fifth member of our team - but where we're from - he doesn't exist to the best of our knowledge." Kira noticed his silence. "I know it's hard to believe."
"No." For the first time since they had met him, Adam smiled. "No, it's not that it's hard to believe. I'm just excited."
Kira raised her eyebrow. "Excited?"
"Kira, I haven't had a moment's peace in ten years. That's what I've been fighting for without any end in sight. Wouldn't you be excited too if you finally found hope that the impossible peace would come?"
The white-clad boy stood up in front of Adam and looked him over from top to bottom. Conner and Ethan were ready to jump forward and hold him back. Trent extended his hand which was met with a firm shake. "Adam?" He flicked his hair back with his free hand. "I think you just finally made yourself useful."
The ship shook, knocking the four teenagers to their feet. Adam braced himself on the steel table and pulled him body towards the window. "We'll be landing soon. That means we don't have much time to beat them to the punch. If we're going to get to Cole and the others before anyone else we have to leave now before anyone else so we won't be spotted. I can get us out of her safely and take you straight to them but we've gotta get out of here."
----------
The man clenched his white-gloved fist that had been trembling in anticipation. It provided a stark contrast to the ebony fabric around his arms. The two curved tusks on either side of his visor gleamed much like the fangs on Brigadier General Kwan's yellow helmet. While she favored the more feral and sleek Sabertooth Tiger, he embodied the more no nonsense, powerful force of the Mastadon. A smirk ran across the man's face as he peered into the helmet that was sitting upon his knee as if it had a soul to call it's own. A sharp rapping at the door broke his trance.
"Sir " A thin older gentleman spoke from behind his white NASADA lab coat.
"Enter " the Black Ranger turned slightly in his chair. The scientist was flanked by two Orgs holding chains in one hand and electric cattle prods in the other. The chains were attached to the wrists and neck of a hairy, humanoid creature.
"Sir " the scientist continued. "Landing procedures are right on schedule but as some of the men were preparing for docking they were attacked and, um, mauled by this thing that appears to be of the Canis Lupus family."
"English, please," the Black Ranger maneuvered his helmet under his arm and stood to approach the creature in utter fascination.
"Um, he's a wolf, sir. Some cross between a human and a wolf."
"Then this must be the infamous Zen-Aku, I presume…" the Black Ranger circled the beast, examining him from head to toe before pausing in where he had started from. "Pathetic!" A quick kick landed squarely in the wolfman's chest. A few more kicks finally placed him on the ground. The Orgs picked him back up to his knees where the Black Ranger bent down to meet him face to face. "What were you doing sneaking on board this ship and attacking my men? Were you trying to sabotage this operation?"
Zen-Aku lowered his eyes in disgust.
"Perhaps you had me confused with a man of patience which I can assure you, I am not. Now answer me " The Ranger drove the bottom of his foot with precision once again into the wolf creature's torso until he heard the sickening crack associated with broken ribs.
"We'll stop you..." Zen-Aku spoke with a faint growl and every breath he could muster.
"From capturing your precious Animarium?" the Black Ranger scoffed in his face. "You honestly believe that your little band of misfits can actually do anything to stop us? Emperor Zordon has had his sights set on the resources that island can provide for a while now. Once the master chooses a target there is nothing you can do but sit back and wait for the inevitable."
"Major General, sir " a woman cleared her throat, hoping to gain the attention of her superior as she entered the room.
"What is it, Ernhardt?"
"Traitor!" Zen-Aku forced himself to his feet and sprung towards Taylor only to be met with laser fire in the small of his back, sending him crashing to the floor once again. The Black Ranger smiled as the smoke trailed off from the handle of his axe.
"My dear boy," He placed the flat of his foot on the creature's neck and turned towards Taylor. "Now what was it you had to report before you were so rudely interrupted by our friend here?"
"The Black Astro Morpher is missing from the cryogenics lab, sir " her lips quivered. The Major General paused, unresponsive. "I'm sorry, sir….but…"
"But….." The Black Ranger took his foot off of Zen-Aku's throat and calmly walked to within an inch of Taylor's face. He grabbed her by the hair and slammed her into the wall. A dull twing of metal shook the room. "'But' is an excuse. I'm not looking for excuses. Excuses get people killed So instead of coming up with 'buts," you should spend your time finding the Master's lost property "
The scientist tried to lift Taylor to her feet. She pushed him off with one arm and clutched her head with the other. She nodded and quickly stumbled out of the room.
"Cell Phone Org " The Black Ranger directed his attention to one of the Orgs restraining Zen-Aku. "Have the Black Psycho Ranger report to me immediately. I have a little bit of a hunting expedition in mind for him. His one-track mind will finally prove useful." Cell Phone Org nodded and rushed off.
"Camera Org, take Zen-Aku to the interrogation room. I'm going to make this dog speak."
"Right away, sir " Camera Org bowed and pulled Zen-Aku out of the room. The scientist followed leaving the Black Ranger alone. The visor cracked as he slammed the helmet to the floor. "Park, what are you up to this time...?"
----------
Adam had silently motioned the rangers passed a unit of soldiers waiting in the hanger. He gestured towards the emergency evacuation tube that he had described to the rangers in their meeting room. One by one they had all dashed towards it and dove in. Kira and Ethan jumped into together. She forced him not to scream by clamping her hand over his mouth as they slid out through the bowels of the ship towards the lush canopies of the forest.
"OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod..." Conner cried out as he rapidly approached the trees. "Adam! I thought you had a plan..." The wind left Conner's lanky frame thanks to a jolt from his sudden stop. His eyes refused to open. "Are we dead yet?"
Trent scoffed. "Honestly?" Conner slowly peered out of his left eye only at first. Trent was casually sitting Indian-style with his arms crossed as well, not even bothering to glance back. "Someone want to remind me why exactly this guy got the red suit again?"
"Where are we?" Conner spun around. Adam placed his hand gently on the Red Ranger's shoulder.
"Don't worry, man." He gestured around him. All five of them were safely on a giant red bird that was soaring just below the tree line. "The Falcon Wild Zord picked us up. We'll be there in no time and you can ask Cole about Tommy." Adam and Kira exchanged pleasant grins.
"Well," she chimed. "We couldn't have asked for a better taxi."
To be continued...
