Back to the beginning.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or people in this story apart from the original ones I have created. This work is not profit.
Chapter 22 – MMPR pt 3.
"Scorpina. You! Here?" Jason stuttered, coming to grasps with what was happening.
"Yes, red ranger. I am here and I am here to end you once and for all." Scorpina stayed in her fighting position, her beautiful yet destructive gold dagger raised menacingly in her hand.
"Guys, this is a joke, right? This has to be the actress that plays Scorpina... Right?" Kimberly pleaded with her teammates.
"She must be." Billy answered, not entirely sure if he was correct or not.
"She's a really good actress then." Zack said, taking a step back and attempting to figure it out.
The rangers did not know what to do. What if they attacked her and she just ended up being an innocent civilian, an actress that simply just plays the character of Scorpina. On the other hand, what if they didn't attack and it really was the Scorpina from their universe. None of the rangers wanted to even think about the repercussions of that. But, they would recieve their answer, in a most terrifying and harrowing way.
"Excuse me? Aren't you the Japanese actress that plays the part of Scorpina?"
The director, Robert, saw Scorpina's bright golden armour reflect stunningly off the darkness of the phony command center that she was stood in. As soon as he saw her, he came running over.
"DO. YOU. SPEAK ENGLISH?" He asked her as though she was illiterate and mute.
Scorpina eyed the director but quickly turned her face away from him. "I have no business with you. Be gone." She answered in a shrill, impatient manner.
"Excuse me madame." Robert waved a finger dangerously in Scorpina's direction. "I am the director of this production. I will not be spoken to in that manner. It does not matter if you are a alumni of super sentai back in Japan. You have no business here. Toei are well aware that we don't require any of the actors from Japan. So, I ask again, what are you doing-"
His little rant was cut off, literally.
With one swift flick of the dagger, Scorpina had slashed at the directors' throat, but instead of causing blood to gush out from a gaping wound, it barely left a scratch. It still shocked Robert, and he tumbled onto the floor looking almost traumatised. The crew now all looking at the scene unfolding in front of them.
"Huh. What's happening?" Scorpina muttered under her breath, bringing up her trusty dagger closer to her face and examining it. Why didn't her blade slice this annoying man's throat?
The evil alien from outer space, placed her nimble fingers along the blade of her weapon and gave it a little pinch. Instead of her fingers being bounced off due to the strength of the metal, her fingers sunk into the blade as if it was made of marshmallow.
"What is the meaning of this!" Scorpina screamed.
"You can't hurt us here Scorpina." Zack quietly said to the monster, aware that the director was still present.
Scorpina's gaze left her weapon as she sheathed it and glared at Zack dangerously. "Oh, you think so?"
"Right, the joke is over! Can you please leave the premesis, or do I have to call the police?" Robert the director said, standing back up, finding his courage once again.
"Sorry sir, we were just messing about. Please don't take it seriously." Scorpina lied, moving closer to Robert and straightening a cap on his head that had nearly fallen off. "I was in the area and well, I know these guys very well. I was over enthusiastic and I must apologise."
Scorpina knew she had somewhat fixed the damage as Robert began to blush, especially when Scorpina gently stroked his cheek.
"You, umm, you know English?" Robert asked, stuttering a tad.
"Why, yes of course. I studied here in America, hence why I am here right now." Again, Scorpina lied through her teeth. The rangers knew but what could they say?
"Aaah right. But umm, please if you don't mind. We have filming to get on with. We can't be doing with this disturbance." The director said, shaking off his momentary fixation with Scorpina and finding his voice once again.
"But of course. I will go now, and please, forgive my immature behaviour. Being on this set just brought out the child in me." Scorpina glanced at the rangers with a smirk on her pretty face, you could not tell that she wasn't from earth, she looked every bit a human. Well, until she changed into her monster form of course, and her more than noticeable attire.
"I bid farewell rangers, I expect we'll be seeing each other soon. Take care Mr. Director."
And with that, the golden clad warrior turned on her heel and nonchalantly walked to the back of the room and out of sight, walking past a confused Shuki Levy who had just entered the building.
"Well, that was strange wasn't it." Robert turned to the rangers and clasped his hands. "So, you know the original actress that played Scorpina I take it?"
Jason glanced around at his friends for the quickest second. "Yes, we've known her for quite a long time."
"Aah right. She's very umm, very interesting." The director said, peering back over to the exit before turning back to the rangers. "Well, let's get this show on the road shall we. I expect that you're prepared today?" He asked expectantly, glancing back at Shuki who was walking over to them.
"Yes sir, though I must confess, we all unfortunately have the stomach flu. We must have eaten something rather dubious the other night. That's why we were all over the place yesterday." Billy explained.
"That makes sense." Robert replied, taking a few steps backwards. "Just, just don't get close too close to anyone else and it'll be all right."
"But sir, shouldn't we take at least a day off to ensure we don't infect anyone else?" Billy retorted.
"If it was up to me kid, I would but umm, Mr. Saban wouldn't be too happy. We're already running late with this episode and he would probably fire us all if we did anything else to hinder the production."
"Yeah, powering up all the equipment isn't cheap." Shuki said, having reached the place where they were all standing. "And kids are clamoring for more episodes. They absolutely loved no clowning around, and the next two episodes will be up this week. We've got five more episodes in the bank but we're running out of time. We really need to get on with the rest of them."
"We didn't expect MMPR to be this successful. Or we would have just filmed the whole season before releasing it." Robert gave them an apologetic smile. "So you'll just have to tough it out kids."
And with that, both of them turned around and went back to their spots, whispering away, no doubt talking about Scorpina and what the rangers had just told them.
"Nice try Billy." Trini said, consoling her friend, placing a hand on his forearm.
"Man, They're so cheap!" Zack said through gritted teeth, clearly frustrated.
"Forget that, what's Scorpina doing here?"
But the rangers didn't have time to reply to Jason's indirect question, for the director was now signalling for filming to begin.
The rangers had spent sometime last night in bed, reading and rehearsing their lines, so they believed that they would be ready for today's task.
Zack suggested they just walk out and get back to working out how to get back to their own world. His suggestion was contemplated by everyone but ultimately, they decided to just play their roles, literally, and try and get off earlier.
Today's filming was better than yesterday. They had to cut quite a few times but not as much as the nightmare the day before. It was a bonus that Robert was less irritated. Maybe Billy's plea softened him up a tad.
A couple of hours later, still reeling from spending some time with this world's Tommy, they had completed the episode in time for lunch. They were glad for a break because this whole experience was just so surreal. They had to hold up any talk of getting back to Angel Grove as Tommy decided to join them for lunch. It was a good thing really, since the filming company didn't provide catering. Tommy, or JDF as he was known in this universe, was more than happy to suggest a place nearby that did "The best sandwiches in LA." So off to lunch they went, happy that at least Scorpina had no powers in this world.
Scorpina.
Scorpina was more than aware that she was sent here to finish off the rangers, on the direct orders of Prince Gasket and Princess archerina. After the fiasco with Aisha and the rangers recently, Prince Gasket was doubting Scorpina's loyalty. They felt as though Scorpina had grown too close to Aisha and didn't want to be a part of this war anymore. But Scorpina begged her metallic leader for a chance to show her true allegiance.
So, Master had used his copius amount of magic to send her here to annihilate the rangers, but they didn't warn her about the loss of powers that she would encounter. The gold-plated warrior glanced down at her dagger, heartbroken.
Throughout the thousands of years roaming countless planets and galaxies, one thing stuck by her side, her trusty dagger. But it was no longer a weapon she could use. It looked just like her dagger, the blade that was so loyal to her. But it was useless, it was not real, it was softer than the skin of Aisha who she kept in the moon Palace dungeons for weeks. Scorpina knew, since she had beaten on the former yellow ranger so much that her once soft skin, became battered, bruised and full of cuts. Why am I thinking of her? Scorpina thought to herself.
She glanced at her own reflection in a window of a small cafè that she was passing by. Her armour made her stand out but at least she looked human-like in this form, she could use that to her advantage. But it wouldn't be easy, since so many fellow pedestrians were gawping at her as though she was an alien, well, they weren't wrong, but they didn't have to know the truth, did they?
Humans didn't bother scorpina as much as they did a few years ago when she first stepped foot onto earth. Visiting restaurants and stores for Aisha had exposed her to the true nature of humans. Yes, some humans could be cruel. But they could actually be really nice too.
The number of times she snuck around to find human food for the prisoner, struggling at times because of the strict laws around stealing, she couldn't just kill everyone she came across, could she? That would inevitably come back to haunt her.
But one day, a week or so before Aisha died, Scorpina was on earth in some city that was rather colder than Angel Grove. She was on the lookout for provisions to keep the prisoner alive. She tried to steal some food but everytime she got close, a human would walk right into her path and thwart her plans. Scorpina came very close to just giving up and slicing off someone's head and taking the ghastly earth food that her prisoner was in dire need of. But finally, she found success without resorting to murder. Around midnight, she had snuck into the kitchen of a diner to steal an order of food intended for someone else, she came across a human who caught her red handed, snatching up a big, juicy burger. He didn't shout at her, he didn't threaten her. He got over the initial shock and softened his expression. He had asked Scorpina a few questions, but scorpina stayed silent. What he did next, shocked the alien to her core. This stranger, this man that didn't know scorpina from a hole in the wall, literally handed scorpina some food, feeling sorry for her. Even asking her, exactly what she wanted.
It was something that Scorpina was not accustomed to. Powerful Kings, Queens, Lords and empresses in outer space were nothing but pure, unadulterated evil. She had never experienced this level of kindness before. Finding food in the dark, distant corners of the galaxy was at times, impossible. That's what she was used to. Selfishness, depravity, savagery. Not strangers being kind and gracious, offering her food and money which she gladly accepted that night and put into her coat pocket.
"The coat!" Scorpina gasped under her breath.
She once stole a piece of clothing called a trench coat on the recommendation of Aisha who told her that it would hide her armoured body and stop people from staring at her, allowing her to walk around much more stealthily. That's what she needed right now, before she moved on to the next part of the plan.
Looking after Aisha had changed Scorpina. She no longer murdered people in cold blood in order to gain something she required. It was better to steal than to mercilessly kill someone, so that's what she did now.
Scorpina snuck into a store and stole a long, beige trench coat not dissimilar to the one she had before, which she quickly wrapped around herself and slid out without anyone noticing her, making sure to take off any tags that would alert the security. Another tip she had recently come to know.
Taking the knife was just as easy. She had seen it as soon as she entered the hunting store and knew immediately that it was the weapon that she had needed. Long, durable and sharp enough for an earthly blade. That knife was inside the jacket of her trench coat before anyone could even blink. All that she needed to do now, was to go back to the building in which those pesky power rangers were currently hiding away. Scorpina had to go finish them off, and prove her loyalty to her masters once and for all, shedding any of the doubt her employers had.
It was now early evening. The entire day was spent filming the command center scenes to this five-part special episode titled, Green with evil.
Tomorrow, they would be moving to another location to film the scenes at Ernie's Juice bar and at Angel Grove High. In all honesty, the rangers were actually curious to see what their old school and the youth center looked like in this world, but they knew, they had to find a way to get back to their world, and soon.
Zack's desire to try out his hand at acting was now nothing but completely and utterly diminished. Acting was tough. Whether it was all acting in general or just filming MMPR, the rangers found it extremely difficult. Early mornings, late evenings, six and sometimes, seven days a week (so they were told), it was demanding and strenuous, even though (as the rangers found out with shock) half of the scenes were ripped off of a Japanese show called Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger.
Kimberly had expressed her and Jason's worries to Billy and the rest of the group about her pregnancy. Billy expressed that he was not surprised at all, since they had physically reverted back to their teenage years. He was sure that once they were back in their own world, everything would return back to normal, though he couldn't be a hundred percent sure of it. Jason and Kimberly were desparate to get back, they had even contemplated walking out and just putting their heads down to find a way back, so even the curiosity of finding out what the youth center would look like, was the last thing on their mind.
Billy had agreed though that tomorrow, they would not turn up to work. It may impact them in this world and their own, but it was a risk they had to take.
They simply HAD to find a way back, and with how time consuming this acting gig was, they simply couldn't do it and find a way back at the same time. All they knew, was that no matter what, no matter what it took, they had to leave here tonight and put their heads together and focus solely on getting back to their own, beautifully normal lives.
The scene that was coming up now was very, very, surreal indeed. The rangers clearly remembered this like it was yesterday, and Jason's words were etched into their heads ever since that day.
Each ranger was leaning against the command center control panels, acting like they were defeated since the script showed that their Zords were absolutely decimated by the evil green ranger and Goldar, a real memory that they clearly remembered, but would rather forget.
Kimberly slowly moved away from the panel and walked away, towards Jason, Kimberly trying her hardest to exhibit a defeated demeanour.
"The power rangers are history." She said.
"It's over!" Trini claimed, throwing her arms up in the air. "Rita's won."
"Rangers, we can't give up!" Jason said hopefully.
"Why shouldn't we?" Kimberly replied, turning on the spot to face the team's leader. "Zordon's gone the megazords have been destroyed. We're outmatched."
Jason didn't reply, he remembered this moment very well, not wanting to argue with the girl he knew deep down that he loved. He never really debated much with his teammates, but especially Kimberly.
Sandi, inside of Alpha's costume turned to Billy to tell him something. Robert Hughes had decided, in order to help the flow of the scene, that Sandi would mutter the lines and the team would edit in the real voice actor's lines during post production.
"Billy, what are the chances of bringing Zordon back on-line?" She asked him.
"Less than ten percent." Billy replied, sounding fully defeated.
Jason remembered this moment more than any other during the fight with the evil green ranger. He had looked around at each team member's face and saw that each one of them looked totally defeated, and had given up. Jason remembered that this had put a fire in his belly. One that made him say these next words that were so easy to repeat now.
"Isn't the smallest chance of victory, enough of a reason for us to keep on fighting?" He said sternly, with conviction in his voice. "The world needs us rangers!"
Zack walked over to him. "Let's face it. The green ranger was Rita's trump card. She played it. She won."
This was another moment Jason and the rest of the team remembered so much, Zack had given up. The most spirited member of the group.
Jason put his hands up and walked away from his best friend. Shocked that he had given up.
"No rangers. I cannot accept that." Sandi said, trying her best to mimic Richard Horvitz's voice as Alpha 5. "Zordon would not accept that."
"But Zordon's not here." Trini said, sadness in her voice.
"No, but I am!"
This was not a part of the script, everyone turned to the source or the voice and somehow, Scorpina had managed to slip inside and was now walking on to the stage set, taking off a beige trench coat, revealing her golden armour.
"CUT! Excuse me! Excuse me! We are filming here!" Robert Hughes said. "I let you off earlier, but this cannot keep happening. This was such a nicely acted scene. Could you please move away from the set or I shall be forced to call the police."
Scorpina acted as though she had not even heard the director speaking. "Let's get this over with rangers." She said, not taking her eyes away from the the five of them who were scattered around this command center set, Alpha's actress trying to hide behind a control panel.
What were they meant to do? Fight her here? Without her powers, they could take her, couldn't they? Did their counterparts in this world even know how to fight?
But they didn't have time to contemplate that, as Scorpina charged at them at full speed.
Billy recieved a punch to his face which knocked him backwards into a control panel which was luckily not real. He was shocked that he couldn't even defend a simple punch, it came out of nowhere and nearly knocked him out cold.
Trini stepped forward and attempted to connect with a roundhouse kick, but she was caught off balance whilst turning and crashed onto the floor. Why didn't her body do what her mind was thinking? She couldn't think for too long though, as Scorpina didn't waste any time and kicked the yellow ranger on the side of her head.
"That's my wife!"
Zack roared with rage and charged at Scorpina, throwing a couple of punches which were easily dodged by the gold-plated warrior. She countered with a punch combination that was avoided by the speedy black ranger. Zack dodged out of the way of a vicious high kick and countered with his own kick to the alien's midriff.
Scorpina screamed in frustration and immediately launched another attack at the black ranger, fists, elbows, knees, kicks, Zack couldn't defend them all, and an elbow eventually crashed into his jaw, sending him sprawling into a control panel, shocked that he was hit by an elbow that he should've seen coming.
Kimberly didn't have time to protect herself, Scorpina had glided across the floor and found the pink ranger with incredible speed. She promptly attacked her after having dealt with Zack and an attack had found itself to the side of Kimberly's head. If it wasn't for Jason catching her, the pink ranger would have hit the hard floor and be dealt with a hell of a lot more pain.
"You're going to pay for this." Jason said, giving Scorpina no time, barging towards her, launching a quick combination of kicks and punches.
"Aaah, finally. A challenge." Scorpina replied, dodging and blocking. "It appears as though your counterpart in this world knows how to fight."
"You're right about that. And I'm going to kick your alien ass all the way back to whichever crappy planet you came from." Jason said, guiding an absolutely terrified Sandi away from them.
"We shall see about that Red ranger." Scorpina replied, circling around Jason.
They both charged at each other, attempting furious combinations of kicks, punches and every other part of their bodies that they could use as a weapon.
Jason had faced Scorpina before, she was a formidable opponent but he had never lost to her one on one. Though, he probably did need to morph at one point. It appeared as this world's Jason knew martial arts. Though he was better at taekwondo, and not as good at karate. Taekwondo wasn't as effective in close combat when compared to karate. His body just couldn't execute the attacks that Jason's mind was thinking.
It took an enormous amount of effort from the red ranger to block and dodge every attack that Scorpina sent his way, but he saw something that he had never seen before in this alien warrior. He saw her slow down and begin to breathe heavy. She was human after all, at least in this world. He could defeat her, he knew it.
Jason immediately took advantage and launched his own series of attacks, finally connecting with a hard spinning back kick to Scorpina's temple.
Scorpina hit the ground hard, panting deeply as pain cut through her body. She had never experienced such pain from a kick before. How could this be happening.
"It's over Scorpina." Jason said as the rest of his teammates recovered, stood up and moved to stand next to their leader.
Scorpina got to one knee and looked up at the annoying faces of the five people who had given her so much grief over the years. Hateful venom soared throughout her entire body.
"It's not over yet." Scorpina said, getting to her feet.
"It is over. The police are on their way." Shuki said, him along with the director, Tommy and the rest of the crew were standing in front of the exit, creating a wall that Scorpina couldn't penetrate.
"Nothing is over until I say it's over!" Scorpina screamed, putting her towards the scabbard in which she carried her dagger.
"It ain't gonna work here Scorpina." Zack pointed out.
"I know it won't." Scorpina snapped, pulling out a knife that wasn't her dagger. It was a large, kukri knife. The type that farmers used to cut down their crops. It wasn't as large and jagged as Scorpina'a signature blade, but it was just as dangerous.
The rangers took a few steps backwards. They knew from their recent encounter with Scorpina, that their counterparts in this world were evidently not as skilled in combat as they were in their own universe. They had to be careful.
"JDF, haven't you trained in weapon defense?" Shuki asked a horrified JDF.
"Yes, I should be able to deal with this." This world's Tommy replied, watching on as Scorpina raised her blade threateningly.
"Then police should be here any minute now. We should just leave it to them." Robert said.
"We can't wait for them. This crazy lady looks ready to kill." JDF replied.
"What are you going to do?" the director asked.
"Well, Austin has practiced a bit of escrima too I believe, so if we work together. We should be able to hold her off until the cops get here." JDF replied.
"What's escrima?" Shuki asked.
"It's a martial art designed for these situations basically." JDF responded in a hurry, eyeing up the back of Scorpina who was edging closer to the rangers
.
"I have been waiting for this moment for years. I can't believe it is finally here. Goldar would be so proud of me." Scorpina whispered, almost to her self.
"Jase, what are we going to do?" Zack asked his friend.
"Guys, we know how to defend weapons. We can do this." Jason answered.
"I'm not too sure Jason. It appears as though we are just ordinary people in this world. It's evident we do not possess the martial arts skills that we utilise in our own world." Billy said.
"Shall we morph?" Kimberly asked.
"If scorpina's powers don't work here, it's most likely that ours won't either. I am convinced that there is no morphing grid in this universe." Billy answered, keeping a watchful eye on the murderous monster in front of them.
"It won't hurt to try right?" Zack asked.
"What in God's name are they doing?" Robert said, staring at the five actors in front of him.
The rangers reached for their morphers that accompanied them on their trip here and pushed them high up in the air and shouted their cries for metamorphosis. But it didn't work, as Billy had predicted.
"Is this a joke?" Shuki asked, his eyes threatening to burst from their sockets in surprise.
"Well, she is an actress from the Japanese version. Maybe it's all just practice or something." Robert said.
"Practice? Practice for what? The zyuranger episodes were done years ago. What will they need to practice for." Shuki replied.
"It's probably a prank, you know." Robert said.
"It looks like it."
"But why is she attacking them then? Look that knife is real." Shuki said.
"We can't just stand here. We need to do something." JDF said defiantly.
Jason had just managed to dodge out of the way of a knife attack, and pull most of his teammates away from danger. He knew what he needed to do in order to get the blade from out of Scorpina's hands, he just had to wait for the right moment.
There wasn't much time though as Scorpina lunged again, this time, lightly scraping the red ranger's forearm. The sharpness of the blade was revealed as bright crimson blood seeped of of the cut caused by the alien.
"That's just a taster for you power punks. I think I could have a lot of fun with you." Scorpina sneered.
The rangers had to do something. They glanced around at the set of the command center to find a weapon or antything that could deflect or catch the blade, but there was nothing there.
It seemed like a dire situation and it was made even more complicated as JDF began to slowly creep behind Scorpina. Jason's eyes met JDF's and for a split second, even in this world, it felt as though they had a strong connection. It's why they always worked so well as a team. Jason and Tommy connected in a very powerful way. But this wasn't Tommy, this was an actor, a stuntman, whatever the hell he was and Jason wanted him to go back to safety. But, he didn't want to alert Scorpina either.
The red ranger opened his eyes to warn JDF not to come closer, but he didn't heed the warning. He was now a few feet away from Scorpina and began to nod his head at the alien.
He wanted a diversion. He wanted the rangers to grab her attention.
"You know you'll ever win, right, Scorpina?" Jason finally said.
"Yeah, there's five of us and only one of you." Zack added, knowing what was needed of them, allowing JDF to silently creep closer.
"Yet, you are the ones who are retreating." Scorpina replied smugly.
"That's because we utilise our brain power and not just brawn." Billy retorted, keeping his eyes on Scorpina but watching JDF from the corner of his eyes, now directly behind the evil alien, a few inches away, ready to swipe the kukri knife from out of her grasp.
"It won't help you here." Scorpina said, turning on the spot with grace and thrusting her right arm forward.
JDF attempted to swat away the blade but Scorpina was just too quick. The blade penetrated the actor's abdomen. His eyes widened with shock as screams filled the room.
Jason hesitated for a moment but knew he had to act now. So, he did. The red ranger moved with velocity and landed a high kick into the back of Scorpina's head, forcing her to drop the knife which Trini kicked away to the far corner of room.
Jason and Zack wrestled a dazed Scorpina to the floor and pinned her there. They were much stronger than her in this world so they kept her pinned to the floor. To their surprise, Shuki Levy joined them and put all his weight onto the alien.
"The police should be here any minute guys. Let's keep her here until they arrive." He stated the obvious.
The director, Robert Hughes, rushed to check on Jason David Frank who was being comforted by Billy and Kimberly. He was clutching his abdomen, his green tank top stained with a steady flow of fresh blood.
"First aiders! Get here, now!" the director screamed, eyeing the gash in his new star's abdomen.
It felt like hours until the police and an ambulance arrived on the scene. In reality, it was only a few minutes but JDF's situation required prompt care.
The policemen handcuffed a helpless Scorpina and carried her away, no doubt to the police station.
The EMT's immediately began to work on JDF, controlling the blood flow and telling the worried people surrounding the actor that JDF needed immediate care and surgery. The good news was, they were sure that JDF would make it, but only if they reached the hospital immediately. So off they went, Scorpina and JDF taken away, leaving the cast and crew of MMPR to clean up.
Nobody could believe what had transpired. Robert questioned the ranger's claims that Scorpina was an old friend of theirs. Billy came up with a brilliant explanation by telling Robert that scorpina suffered from psychosis. She began to feel that MMPR was real, and Robert bought it.
When everything was cleaned and people had time to process what had happened, Shuki announced that filming for the rest of the day would be canceled, a direct order from Haim Saban, the creator of MMPR. Everyone should go home, gather themselves and they would meet back here the day after tomorrow to see if everyone was okay to continue with filming.
The rangers knew that this wasn't the real Tommy from their world, but seeing him attacked and left in a helpless heap, definitely had an effect on them. The cab ride back to their house was very quiet indeed. And so was the next hour where the ranger's sat in the living room, allowing time to help heal the horror they witnessed.
"You know what we need to do?" Jason asked his team, finally bringing back a bit of normality. "We need to figure out how the hell to get back."
"How are we going to do that Jase?" Trini pleaded, almost expecting an answer from the red ranger. "We have no idea how we got here and what we need to do in order to get back."
"Yeah, I mean, nothing is real in this world. There are no rangers, no aliens, no powers, no morphing grid. We're stuck." Zack added.
"But you know what guys, we've been in worse situations. I have faith that we'll find a way." Jason responded.
"Zack is correct in what he is saying." Billy chimed in, adjusting his glasses and stroking his chin. "However, science is still available. Science is what helped us out in situations before, science is what can help us out now."
"Yeah, but we're all pathetic with science apart from you and Trini." Kimberly said.
"And that's more than enough. I will need to get a few things in order to build them though." Billy said, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Build what?" Kimberly asked.
"Build the molecular decoders of course." Billy replied.
"What on earth are molecular whatevers?" The pink ranger questioned.
"Remember those big staff things that me and Alpha built in order to gain access to the dark dimension and procure the green candle?"
The rangers all nodded their heads.
"But alpha found the molecular patterns of the putties when they teleported to and from the dark dimension... We don't have that now... Ooooh." Trini's face lit up as though she just had an epiphany. "The radbug!"
"Precisely!" Billy gleamed. "The radbug should contain the molecules we require in order to tune in the molecular decoders."
"But we need the radbug for that." Jason said.
"We know where it is. I can easily gain access into that building and attain the molecules I require."
"And what about the equipment?" Trini asked.
"I trust you know the items we require?" Billy queried.
"Yes, I do." The yellow ranger revealed.
"Excellent. So I will go back to the studio or whatever it and you can go get the tools required to build the molecular decoders."
"Me and Kim will go with you." Jason said.
Billy shook his head. "This will be a reconnaissance mission that will only be hampered by more people."
"Okay. So Trini and Zack, go get the materials we need. Billy, you go get whatever you need from the radbug and Me and Kimberly, what can we do to help?"
"Well, in order to build the device and potentially get back home, we'll need some more space." Billy said, looking around at the dingy living room.
"Are you sure Billy? Don't you want me to go to the studio instead?" Jason affirmed.
"Not unless you know what to look for when finding the molecules?"
"Fair point." Jason said with a wry smile.
So off they all went. The team were used to having Billy around, counting on him to do the impossible but they never undervalued him. He once again pulled off a miracle and managed to figure out the pin codes for each of the ranger's bank card. When they asked how on earth, he did that, the explanation flew straight over their heads, nobody besides Trini understood what he meant. They returned from the ATM machines with as much money as they could withdraw from their accounts (There wasn't much), and each went their separate ways.
Billy took a cab back towards the building which acted as a studio and the husband and wife team of Trini and Zack decided to walk over to a Kroger superstore which they caught gmilpse of on their travels. It wasn't very far away and Trini was sure that the store would have the tools they needed, since it also stocked school supplies along with many other items. That left Jason and Kimberly alone at the house. They didn't feel too good about this, since they were dealt with the easiest and most mundane of chores. But they were thankful that they had a bit of time alone. It felt like months since they were last at their apartments, getting ready to go the Taylor's house for dinner. So they worked at the job they needed to do, but also used the time alone to flirt around a little and have some fun.
"I've caught you a few times ya know." Kimberly said, carrying the final couch into the kitchen with Jason doing most of the lifting. The other couch was pushed up against the wall with everything else backed up against walls too, leaving a surprisingly large space in the middle of the room.
"Caught me doing what?" Jason asked, peering past the side of the couch at his fiancé. They had spent the last hour or so, constantly teasing each other.
"Checking me out." Kimberly stated plainly.
Jason chuckled as he bent his knees and placed the couch in front of the back door of the kitchen. "It's not my fault you look so hot."
"Hey. What are you saying?" Kimberly said, placing her hands on her waist and blowing her hair away from in front of her eyes. "I don't look good anymore? In '02?"
"What. No! That's not what I meant." Jason quickly replied. "It's just, it's just so weird being back in time. It was around this age that I fell in love with you Kim."
"This age? Wow Jase." Kimberly said, moving closer to Jason. "I told you I loved you first. I loved you way before we became power rangers."
"No, I loved you before too. It's just that, this is when I realised, I loved you." Jason looked at Kim who was stood there, her hands still on her hips. "Wow I'm really screwing this up, aren't I?"
"You are, but I'm only teasing you." Kimberly edged even closer, smirking at her partner. "You look really hot too."
"No I don't. I look like a virgin." Jason chuckled, seeing his reflection on the microwave door. It was so strange seeing himself looking so vastly different. Young, full faced, innocent.
"You were a virgin at this age." Kimberly replied, taking Jason's hand into her, winking at him.
"How can you be so sure?" Jason teased, moving his head lower. "I didn't tell you everything ya know."
"Oh, trust me, I know!" Kimberly pushed up on her tiptoes and caught Jason's lips with hers.
It felt fantastic, there wasn't anything else like this on planet earth or any other planet they had visited. All of the day's horrific events seem to melt away as their tongues entwined together. Kimberly bit Jason's bottom lip when she felt his hand move onto her flowery skirt and squeeze her buttocks.
"Ouch."
Jason had shouted a little, but his fiancé more than happily kissed his lip better. "You've always liked this butt, haven't you?" she whispered.
"Definitely. It's so juicy and firm" Jason gave it another squeeze.
"Oh, so it's not firm anymore? You prefer this Kim's body to your own Ki-" her words the stolen from her mouth as Jason squeezes both of her buttocks, picked her up and gently placed her onto a kitchen counter.
"Shhh. You really need to stop teasing me." He whispered, causing her to gasp a little as his deep, yet ever so soft voice, made her entire body tingle. She absolutely loved it when he became domineering in these situations. It was a stark contrast to his normal, everyday behaviour.
The petite brunette moaned loudly as her partner's hand began to move somewhere more sensitive.
Both of them had only ever dreamed to be in this situation back in 1993. But here they were, making the most of it. It was a chance that nobody could ever dream to have. To travel back in time and rectify a moment that they missed... Who could say that they had accomplished that?
Their mouthes met in a scorching, furious embrace as Jason parted Kimberly's legs, her skirt allowing things to go smoothly.
Kimberly reached down as they continued kissing, and pulled Jason closer by his belt buckle, quickly unzipping his jeans. They didn't fight for control, ever. They just relented when they felt the other person push a bit. And Jason was allowing Kimberly to take the lead now. He was ready, he didn't even need preparing. Their eyes met as Kimberly took a hold of Jason's stiff member and pulled it towards her eager, separated legs.
"Jason. Kim?"
They were so wrapped up in their passion, that the red and pink ranger hadn't even heard the front door open. Jason quickly pulled away and zipped up his jeans, whilst Kimberly adjusted her skirt and looked innocently at a bare fruit bowl next to the microwave.
"Oh, you're here. We got everything, and more." Zack said, beaming and bursting into the kitchen, carrying three large bags.
Trini frowned as she noticed the awkward body language of her two friends and she winced apologetically at Kimberly. Zack was oblivious.
"That's great. We've just finished, uh, moving this couch into here." Jason replied, not doing himself any favours.
"It took you this long to move a few bits of furniture?"
"They were heavier than we thought."
"They don't look that heavy." Zack said, looking at the sofa and then back at his two friends, a light bulb clicking somewhere in his brain. "Oh damn, you two were-"
"Shut UP Zack!" Trini said through gritted teeth, giving her husband daggers. Trini could be very scary when she wanted to be, and Zack knew when to not mess with her.
"We just need Billy and then we should be ready." Jason said, acting as though nothing had happened.
"But where is Billy?" Kimberly asked, jumping down from the counter, avoiding Jason's eyes and taking care not to stand too close to him.
"The studio is further away from where we had to go. And it's a stealthier job. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Trini said.
They didn't have to wait too long for Billy to join them. The four of them moved into the living room where they turned out the bags and examined what they had brought, it included some snacks that Zack had brought along too, they realised just how hungry they were. And that's when Billy came bursting through the door.
"Everything Okay?" Jason asked, shifting slightly.
"Yes. Though I must admit." Billy wiped his brow and inhaled deeply. "It was very nerve wracking." Billy joined his friends on the floor and took out two glass sample tubes with lids on them.
They decided to quickly eat something before cracking on with the task at hand, Zack had brought along some sandwiches, chips and sodas, a meal that felt like a bit of fine dining right now.
It took about an hour for Billy and Trini to build the two weird-looking molecular decoders with their friend's help. Billy fiddled about with it until he was happy with how they looked.
"We just need to line them up, they have to be perfectly paralell." Billy said, moving one of the devices with Kimberly and Jason's help to one side of the room.
Zack and Trini carried the other device and held it directly opposite to the other molecular decoder.
"Now, these aren't time travel devices, they simply teleport matter to another point in time or space." Billy explained. "I have managed to gather the molecules from the radbug which were more than likely, directly from 2002. So, if these decoders are going to take us anywhere, it will be back to our world. The best thing is, if they take us elsewhere, we can simply walk back through the portal they create and back to this point in the universe. So, there's not much risk involved."
"How likely is it that they transport us to a place where we don't want to go?" Trini asked the blue ranger.
"Less than twenty-five percent. If they transport us anywhere else besides our universe, it'll be back to that faux command center." Billy answered.
"I think I should go first, just to make sure." Jason said, holding up a finger at Kimberly who was ready to protest. "Billy says there's hardly any risk, right?"
"Affirmative."
"Then, I'm sure I'll be safe. But I want to go first just to make sure. It'll give us away if all five of us pop back into that fake command center." Jason explained.
"You sure bro?" Zack asked.
"Yeah. I've done this before haven't I? Back when we tried to get the green candle from that dark dimension. I'll be fine."
The rest of the rangers looked around at each other, and nodded their heads, even Kimberly.
"Ready when you are, Jason." Billy said.
Kimberly walked up to her fiancé and wrapped her arms around his midriff. "I love you baby."
Jason smiled and allowed her to sink into him, giving him a boost of confidence. "I love you too. Don't worry, I'll be absolutely fine."
Kimberly looked up, not caring that they were not alone, she went up onto her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on Jason's lips.
Jason instantly felt a surge of energy, course up his body like a current, he was ready.
Billy pressed something on the device he was in front of, "The first decoder is activated."
Trini did the same to the other device. "So is the second."
As soon as Trini turned the device on, a stream of purple light that looked like electricity ran from one device to another, causing a multi-coloured portal to open up in the gap between the two odd devices.
Kimberly allowed Jason to walk away and face the portal. He slowly walked up the portal, knowing that he was going to be fine, he had done this before.
"Good luck, Jason. We shall keep the portal open so you can walk straight back through if you don't reach our universe." Billy said.
"Okay, that's fine Bill." Jason replied, glancing at Kimberly, giving her a wink and a smile and pushing on through the portal.
The best way to describe how it felt, was that Jason felt as though he had just walked through a dry waterfall. His body tingled slightly, it wasn't a bad feeling, it was quite nice if Jason was being honest.
A mass of light surrounded Jason's body, forcing him to shield his eyes with his hand, but in a matter of seconds, darkness replaced it. The red ranger lowered his arm and looked around.
He was back at the fake command center, surely.
Jason looked around very carefully at all of the details, to make sure it was the place where the filming was taking place. There it was, the huge wall at the back of the command center that was taken out, leading to the area where the crew usually sat, the only difference was, the lights were all off and it was difficult to see.
It was a bust. All that effort and the decoders didn't work.
"Why is it taking so long?" Kimberly asked, staring a hole into the portal.
"Time works slightly differently when traveling through portals and multiverses. Just give it a few minutes, I'm sure Jason will be back." Billy explained.
They didn't have to wait long, for the red ranger came walking back through the portal, looking dejected. "It didn't work." He said plainly, answering the burning question the rest of rangers were dying to ask.
"Did it take you back to the studio?" Billy asked.
Jason nodded his head, walking over to Kimberly who ran a couple of feet, resting her head on Jason's chest.
"Billy, what happened?" Trini asked the brains of the group.
"It appears that when we were thrown into this universe, all trace of how we got here was erased or lost. The molecules that I attained from the radbug were more than likely the molecules we required. There's a chance that they were the wrong ones, but without my lab instruments. It will be hard to prove." Billy said, almost to himself.
"We're stuck here, aren't we?" Zack asked nobody in particular.
"Not necessarily Zack. There are more molecules in the rad bug that we could test. I don't believe we are stuck here, but it may take longer than we thought." Billy replied.
"What if these decoders are not the answer?" Jason said, saying what the rest of the team were thinking.
"They very well may not be. But that doesn't mean we can't find a way back." Billy said, walking around the living room, stroking his chin and thinking very deeply. "If we find the instrument that brought us here, we may potentially be able to use that instrument to do the reverse and get back to our world."
"But that was the car, wasn't it?" Kimberly asked.
"Negative Kimberly. The radbug was just the carrier. Something else was the trigger." Billy answered.
The rangers didn't rearrange the living room, in case the decoders would be of use again. It wasn't early, and though they didn't have to do any filming tomorrow, the rangers were physically and mentally exhausted. The days events were draining on all of them.
They couldn't go to sleep though, they just couldn't focus on anything else besides trying to get back now. It was becoming an obsession for Billy.
Trini, Zack, Jason and Kimberly went to the bedroom and laid on the beds, discussing ideas and theories of how they got here and how they could go back.
Billy was laid on the bedroom floor with pieces of paper, scribbling away problematic diagrams, charts and symbols that even Trini had no idea what they were.
They stayed like that for longer than the rangers could count, until they were ousted out of their contemplation.
BOOM BOOM
The entire room shook with vibrations coming from the noise originating from downstairs.
The rangers looked up immediately, getting off the beds and standing up onto the floor. Someone, or some thing was forcing its way into their home.
The rangers each grabbed something they could use as a weapon, lamps, mugs, Billy even picked up his pencils to use as a stabbing device.
The shocking bangs from downstairs didn't stop, so the rangers cautiously made their way downstairs, prepared for anything.
They reached the living room just in time to see the front door burst open, a slender figure emerging into the light of the room.
"What the hell are you doing here Scorpina!" Jason said, lifting up a table lamp, ready to finish this fight, the memory of Tommy being punctured by a blade, now flashing in his mind.
"I'm not here to fight rangers, I'm here to help us escape this torrid universe!"
To be continued...
What is scorpina playing at?
I hope you liked the chapter guys. Please, message me if you don't understand something specific. I'm using real people and real names and meshing it with the power rangers universe. I hope that I have made you laugh a few times and also made you worry for the rangers. After all, that's my job right? :)
Please, RR , there's more to come yet. Thank you for reading.
Peace out, RedDragon.
