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Chapter 03: Lightspeed Rescue Part 3
Mariner Bay
While the Rangers stared at the newly dubbed Lifeforce Max Atlan, the Slayer walked toward his new toy, soon getting beamed in.
Carter turned his head away from the Atlan and focused on his team. "Looks like he's got it covered, guys."
Ryan agreed. "Let's stop Banseera once and for all."
The Red Ranger led the charge. "We have to hurry!" The six Rangers sprinted through the streets, racing to the palace. Overhead, the sun grew even more blocked by the moon.
In a flash, the Slayer stepped foot in the cockpit. It was much more spacious than he expected.
From the room's speakers, Vega spoke. "The user's life force fuels all primary combat functions of this mecha. I'm sure that you will be satisfied with the results. Connecting to your Praetor Suit now." A robotic arm attached an antenna device to the Slayer's neck. "Connection complete." Instantly, the room lit up brighter than before, several screens reading diagnostic at optimal levels. "Booting simulator." A Hardlight hologram of Baphomet appeared before him along with the rest of the city. They mimicked the city and the enemy to scale to the Atlan. "Shadow Combat Activated. The Atlan will move as you do." Hearing that, a menacing smile grew underneath the Slayer's helmet. It was time to have some fun.
Outside, Baphomet reached out to the universe, searching for his master, only to find nothing. Dark Spectre lost his physical form. A deep seeded howl echoed throughout the Earth. That was impossible. Across from him, the strange bipedal machine cracked its knuckles. It was only until recently that the titan seemed to glow an ominous aura like his own. Above them, darkness fell, signaling the start of the battle.
From a distance, Ms. Fairweather and Captain Mitchell watched the two titans. "Captain, is that what I think it is?"
"If you mean parts of our Megazords, then yes."
She continued to observe the new design and the foreign pieces. "Do you think he'll be giving it back to us when this is over?"
"If Vega's friend saves this city and we end the Demonic threat, I won't bat an eye if he leaves with it. The Lord knows he'll do more with it than us."
Feeling the challenge to his dominance, Baphomet opened his mouth, crimson and black energy built up before releasing like a laser at his target.
The Atlan seemed not to move until the last instant. A tilt of its head caused the beam to soar past the city and into the ocean miles away, resulting in an explosion over the ocean. Noticing the demon's pause, the Atlan charged in, sword drawn. With tempered fluidity, the colossal blade swung out in a blur, cutting into the demon's chest in a flurry of blood and fire. The right arm came down, slamming against the flat of the sword. With a sickening rip, the sword cut from the chest down to where the kidney would be.
The demon cackled in pain, grabbing onto the enemy's weapon with his hand and pulling himself off of it. The parts of the body that were cut were cauterized shut. Back on the offensive, Baphomet flew upward and commanded the flames of the underworld to him, wrapping around its arms. After flying up, it clutched both hands together, swinging them downwards, hitting the Atlan's face.
The robot stood still as a statue from the attack. Now that his target was close-range, metal arms grabbed onto the beast. The Atlan picked the demon off the ground and then used a large portion of its body weight to drive Baphomet down to the Earth.
Suddenly, the twin cannons on the Atlan's shoulders lit up, aiming dead center at Baphomet's head. The demon was too close to dodge in time. It pulled away, taking several blasts to his shoulder and horn. Baphomet ran towards the mecha with extended arms out from the side of the body and parallel to the ground, hitting the robot in the chest, nearly knocking it over.
Not taking shit from anybody, the Lifeforce Max Atlan's right leg burned with fury. With a quick spin for momentum, the sole struck the demon's chin with a noticeable crack. Seeing the opening, the blade swung one more, cutting off several tendons in the left wing, effectively grounding the beast.
Raising his Lightspeed sword, it charged with the Slayer's Hell Energy. The weapon slashed and unleashed a devastating wave of energy, stunning and knocking the enemy back. The Atlan jumped up and kicked the Baphomet with the soles of both feet, landing back on the ground on its side.
Both metallic arms were raised. From the wrists, barrels extended out. With a resounding click, a hailstorm of bullets as rockets fired.
The Icon felt the explosions and the burning pieces of metal embed themselves in its hide. Taking the pain, he focused. Slowly, bone plated armor emerged from the body. Growling in rage, the Icon of Sin crossed its arms before disappearing. The next moment, it fell from above, latching onto the Atlan's back, scraping its unholy claws against the hull. Volcanic chains materialized, burning at the metal and wrapping around the neck.
Strong hands quickly grappled the demon, and it dropped fast, impacting against the mecha's knee with a surge of pain and broken bones. Its left arm wrapped around Baphomet's neck, driving the beast into the pavement in a Side Headlock Takedown. Before the demon could pull itself up, it felt its left arm restrained back upward. With no pity, the Atlan glowed in hellish energy before stomping its metal foot into the back of the demon skull repeatedly. It was a literal curb stomp.
With each strike to the head, Baphomet seethed. Soon its body broke apart into ash and reformed in a ready position, charging at the Slayer. Quickly, it grabbed the Atlan by the head and thigh, lifting it into the air before spinning and driving its weight onto the mecha. The Atlan slammed it into the sidewalk as well.
Both demonic claws raised, and tens of flaming pentagrams appeared. Brimstone stalactites rained down on the mecha, sparking with each hit.
Despite the constant attack, the Atlan didn't seem to care. With firm steps, it charged through the rain. Using its left shoulder block, it rammed the demon to the ground. Not finished yet, the Atlan lifted Baphomet by the neck and brought it down with a Chokeslam.
The demon rolled away to cooperate. Taking a breath, Baphomet unleashed hellfire onto the downed opponent. After a full minute of burning, the flames receded. The demon expected the opponent to be melted slag, but it was wrong.
Unfortunately for him, the smoke cleared, revealing the Atlan to be no worse for wear. Its chest was shining brightly. 'Had the robot absorbed its attack,' Baphomet thought.
Without missing a beat, the Atlan dashed to him and grabbed Baphomet by the neck. It reared its right fist back. The foreign hell flames merged with the Slayer's Hell Essence and the Wraith Energy. Like a punch unlike any before, it slammed into the Demon's gut, exploding out the other side in a mist of glory.
Back in the cockpit, the Slayer dusted his hands at the hologram of a demon flashing orange. The large-scale fight was something to enjoy. He had his fun, but now it was time to finish it.
Within his grip, Baphomet continued to growl and hiss, persistent even near death.
"You may be interested in a new 'finisher' involving the BFG 9000," stated Vega. The Slayer paused to hear more. Soon, the front of the Atlan opened up. The twin shoulder guns shifted and appeared in the chest, forming a familiar structure. "This magnifying array of lenses and rings will pump a constant stream of gaseous Argent through the barrel. This will produce a comparable effect to the previous BFG Model 10,000." Before Vega finished his sentence, the Slayer already had the weapon ready. A monitor focussed back on the Icon. "Sensors indicate a rapid accumulation of energy building within its core. Possibly detonation within a minute."
To prepare for the final attack, the Atlan grabbed the crippled body and started spinning. The resulting Seismic Toss sent the demonic explosive into the atmosphere. The land below was well out of the estimated blast range. The cockpit platform lowered the Slayer to the chest at the beginning of the array. Seeing an open slot in front of him, the Slayer knew what to do. The BFG engaged the mechanism, and everything glowed green. Aiming, the Slayer pulled the trigger.
In seconds, the Argent Plasma was fired into the series of reactive lensing rings, becoming a massive particle cannon. A green laser of death soared through the sky, piercing Baphomet's heart. As soon as it made contact, the last thing the hell-born felt was his insides intensely burning. Its skin boiled along with everything else. Almost everyone in the city saw the giant creature explode in a shower of green lightning and red mist. Remnants of Baphomet's power rained down, absorbed into the Lifeforce Max Megazord and the Slayer.
Seeing the live broadcast, people and their cheers sounded throughout the country at the victory. This task was done, but the fight was not over. Little did he know that this battle caused an uptick in wrestling fanatics worldwide.
Earlier
Skull Cavern
Inside the Skull Cavern palace, Queen Bansheera took the Golden Key and inserted it into a large hole in the forehead of a skull of a coffin. She proclaimed, "Let the ceremony begin!" The slot glowed red, and Bansheera started to recite an incantation, "Forces of evil, heed my call! Gather now, as darkness falls!" She looked towards the key, whipping her lengthy fingers around gleefully as the eclipse began to approach full fruition.
The sun grew black, and the light across the city faded as the moon's shadow shrouded the area. Batlings filled with dread as a beam of purple energy was cast out from the eclipsed star in the sky. The beam struck the skull-faced palace directly at the Golden Key. The key glowed gold and turned under the force of magical power. The lid to the tomb started to come alive.
"Yes!" Without warning, she's struck on the back of the head with a laser blast. She and her Batlings turned to see who it was that dared intrude, and surprise, it was the Power Rangers.
The Red Ranger had his Rescue Blaster drawn and aimed. "The ceremony's over, Bansheera!"
The Batlings grew restless, readying their bat blades as they watched the heroes pass through the mist pouring down from the ceiling.
The Pink Ranger walked up as well. "We're here to make SURE of that!"
Bansheera remarked, "You're too late. NOTHING can stop me now!"
Wanting to deal with it personally, Carter reholstered his blaster and clenched his gloved fist. "Nothing except us. And that's JUST what we're gonna do!"
Queen ordered her drones to attack. The Batlings obeyed and charged toward the Rangers.
Carter charged in, with the rest following behind. "Let's do it!" The six Rangers flip and kick into battle with the Batlings.
Queen Bansheera stood around furious, demanding, "Stop them!"
Pink Ranger spun herself off one of the columns, foot sweeping a Batling, and then did one of the impossible leaps into the air. She held her own with the drones, beating them down with some swift kicks.
Nearby, the Yellow Ranger rolled around on the foggy floor before jumping up into the air and kicking two Batlings at once.
The Red Ranger relieved a couple of Batlings of their Bat-blades and proceeded to strike them back in return.
The Blue Ranger high kicked, pinning a Batling to a pillar. Slipping out, his foot swept another so that he fell backward into two more, knocking all three of them down into a collection of columns that collapsed around them.
The Green Ranger did a spinning leap into the air, landing with his feet extended out behind him, kicking some Batlings on the way down. Joel then launched himself off a Batling he kicked, flipping backward and landing perfectly poised.
The Titanium Ranger was throwing punches left and right into the Batlings. He grabbed one's arm, tossed it to the floor, and then dropped it with his leg.
Carter enjoyed using the Bat-blades on the Batlings, slashing a few down sparkily.
Queen Bansheera watched the fight for a moment before returning to the coffin and incanting, "Just as darkness conquers light, let evil triumph over right!" The brim of the coffin glowed purple, and the lid rattled, disturbed with energy.
Carter ditched the blades and stomped on a Batling's chest. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Queen's work. "Oh, no! She's opening the tomb!"
The lid to the coffin lifted in purple light while Bansheera laughed maniacally. The lid raised far above her, revealing within a puff of fire that inside the tomb was a vast army of demons! They're the majority of those deceased monsters residing in Shadow World. There are so many monsters here that they all stretch into the horizon. Bansheera peered into the opened tomb and stared down at the horde of howling & moaning zombies. "Demons arise!"
The channeled power of the eclipse continued to unload energy toward the palace. The purple beam is lighting directly down with rings of fire cast onto the site. The rings landed perfectly on the circle of surrounding stones, turning each of the six tips into conduits for more power. They surged more purple electricity into the castle from all sides and recharged after each ring lands.
The Titanium Ranger downed another Batling, but his hands were full. "Carter, get Bansheera!"
The Red Ranger batted away a Batlings he was busy with two super powerful punches that sent the drones flying into the air.
Carter darted for the Queen, but she quickly noticed him and fired her left hand at him. A red laser blast struck the Ranger in the chest. He hurtled into one of the columns so hard that he knocked it over. When the dust cleared, it was revealed that the attack broke the helmet off his head and smashed the visor. Carter shook his head to regain his composure, blood dripping down the sides of his face.
Bansheera remarks, "Lose something, Red Ranger?"
He angrily clenched his fist, summoning his Battle Booster. After typing in a quick command, he grabbed the helmet. He pitched at the Queen, but she smacked it aside before it could hit her. She fired another hand-beam blast at Carter. The helmetless Ranger rolled on the floor, dodging the bolt. After advancing closer and closer, Carter's hand glowed brighter and brighter. At the apex of its charge, he leaped into the air, dodging another shot and explosion mere inches from where he was. With the added momentum, he soared through the air at full speed, socking the Queen square in the face at max power. An explosion rocked Bansheera's body over and into the opened tomb. She screamed in agony as she plummeted into the Shadow World.
Carter rushed over and looked in, watching her fall.
Ryan knocked some more Batlings down. "Carter! Are you alright?" The helmetless Red Ranger turns around, breathing a sigh of relief, before giving Ryan a smile and a positive thumbs up. Even though the other Rangers are still busy fighting Batlings, Ryan returned a thumbs up, shouting, "We did it!"
Carter's continued thumbs up came to a sudden closure. One of Bansheera's lengthy fingers whipped up from the coffin and wrapped around his arm! Carter was yanked into the tomb, falling in backward.
"No!" Ryan rushed over to look in, spotting Carter holding onto the side of the wall with the Queen dangling from her fingers around him. "Carter! Give me your hand! I'll pull you up!"
Carter struggled to hold onto the rocky wall, grunting, "I can't reach you!" He turned and looked down over his shoulder, watching as Queen Bansheera hung around, laughing psychotically with the Shadow World entrance just below her. Carter refused to give up as he reached up and tried grabbing onto another rock. It crumbled at his touch, causing him almost to lose his grip and fall.
"Don't let go!" The falling rocks ended up dropping into the Shadow World, where the hands of the dead demons are shown grasping for the fresh meat dangling above them.
Queen Bansheera continues tugging her fingers. "If I go, you're coming with me!" As this continues, the eclipse's unleashing of power runs rampant as the purple beam of energy slips over into the tomb, blasting into the convergence of deceased monsters in the Shadow World.
Carter, with Bansheera's vine-fingers tied all over his neck and chest. "Close the lid!"
"We're NOT going to let you go!" The other four Rangers finished the Batlings and rushed to Ryan's side. They reached into the tomb after him, to no avail.
"Close it!"
Joel reached in. "Not without you!"
Queen Bansheera wouldn't let up from her hold on Carter. "You're not leaving this tomb, Ranger! I'm taking you down into the Shadow World with me!"
Unknown to them, heavy footsteps entered the room. Noticing only five of the Rangers gathered around the coffin, the slayer could assume what had happened. Reaching behind his back, he readied the new battle axe and charged in.
The Ranger's eyes widened as their earlier ally just appeared before them and lept into the coffin without hesitation.
Seeing the Slayer and feeling the immense hatred behind the helmet, Bansheera screamed in protest. "Nooo!"
The Doom Slayer leaped down. In a flash, the axe severed all the tendrils, freeing Carter. Not wasting time, the Slayer tackled the once mighty Queen back into the Shadow World forever. When both landed on the ground, it didn't take long for the sound of gunfire to echo through the realm. The armada of zombies and demons began to center on the Warrior. The Slayer responded in kind by shooting and tearing them apart. The Queen would be next in line for his wrath.
The eclipse finally began to subside, and Carter continued watching the Slayer's wrath as he hung onto the side of the cliff.
Dana managed to find something to help. "Carter, grab the rope!"
He managed to grab the rope and get pulled up by his teammates. He ripped off the finger tendrils of Bansheera's that she left on him and climbed out of the coffin with a little encouragement from his friends. They helped hoist and heaved him out of hell, all six collapsing into a heap on the fog-covered floor.
Titanium Ranger looked up to the sky. "The lid! We've got to seal it!"
Joel's eyes went wide in realization. "Wait. What about the Green dude?!"
"He's still down there," exclaimed Dana.
Suddenly, their comms went live with Vega. "You need to close the portal now. Rest assured that the Doom Marine will prevail."
While the others seemed apprehensive, Carter made the final call. "Do it! He'll be fine." That soldier had saved his life. During the brief moment, he saw past the helmet and into his soul. It burned not only with fury but passion for protecting the innocent from evil. Just as Carter would run into a burning building to save a life, so would this man run into hell to save him. He would not disgrace his act and allow the demons to escape.
Ryan took the Golden Key from the skull slot. Upon pulling the key out, the lid to the tomb slams down from the ceiling, sealing tightly with the purple energy which opened it. "Whoa!" The Shadow World was shut for good.
Our heroes looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief again.
Carter grinned. "We did it... I think."
Kelsey exclaimed, "Right on!"
Chad shouted, "Alright! Yeah!"
Carter & Ryan shake hands, and Dana cries, "This is great!"
Suddenly, the whole place begins to shake, debris falling and columns tipping over. They realized they had to get out of there and were quick to get moving. The Lightspeed Rangers raced out of the Skull Cavern palace just as it began to fall apart.
All six of our heroes removed their helmets and watched in awe as the Skull Cavern palace and all six stones surrounding it began to crumble into dust!
Ms. Fairweather and Captain Mitchell join their side. "Rangers!"
The eight of them stood silently, witnessing the last remnants of Queen Bansheera's reign on Mariner Bay turn into nothing but large piles of sand in the middle of the street. The sun came out of the eclipse totally, and the danger passed.
Angela tapped Joel on the shoulder, and the two smiled. Fairweather raised a brow. "I told ya so!"
Carter and Ryan laughed happily at their success in this battle.
Chad and Kelsey high-fived before he put his arm around her.
Captain Mitchell smiled at Dana as the two hugged and continued staring at the fires ravaging the city. The destruction of the Megazords, several buildings, and countless other items are but a small price to pay for victory over the demons once and for all.
Days Later
The city had already re-started what seemed to be the last demonic reconstruction effort. For a long time, people could rest easy. The mayor commissioned statues of the Lightspeed Rescue team, their last-minute helper, and the emergency services to much praise.
At the park overlooking the docks of Mariner Bay, an era was ending. All six Ranger Recruits are standing before Captain William Mitchell, preparing to return from Lightspeed Rescue permanently.
Carter Grayson slipped off his Rescue Morpher, grinned, and approached Captain Mitchell. "I'm sorry about the Aquabase, Captain." Carter handed Mitchell his Morpher.
Captain nodded. "Thanks to Vega and the Marine, we can rebuild. When we returned to the Aquabase to oversee the salvage, Vega was gone, but he left a parting gift in the form of numerous files. When Miss Fairweather got her hands on them, she refused to leave her office for a while until coming out with a smile. I have high hopes.
"Queen Bansheera and her demons are gone forever, and Mariner Bay is safe again. The Doom Marine...
"We will be ready for the next threat that comes."
Dana slipped in between her father and brother, putting an arm around each one gleefully. "Now we finally have time to be a NORMAL family." She then handed in her Rescue Morpher.
Ryan smiled "Sounds great to me!" Chad agrees, "Yeah, now I'll have a chance to return to my surfing!"
Kelsey noted, "And there's this extreme sports competition that I gotta start training for." They unstrapped their velcroed Rescue Morphers and hand them over to Captain Mitchell.
Joel, who had a new cowboy hat on, and was wearing a nice white dress shirt, handed the final Rescue Morpher over, stating, "Here you go, Cap'n." Mitchell looked down at the five Morphers in his possession bittersweetly.
Carter breathed a sigh. "I bet we're ALL ready to return to normal life."
Joel agreed. "I heard THAT!"
Chad nodded, and Kelsey giggled, with Ryan & Dana giving wide toothy smiles.
Speaking of hearing things, the sound of a horn honking suddenly sounds out. A black convertible sports car pulled up and parked on the road next to the park. The former Rangers stared at the driver, confused, with Joel being the first to give a recognizant expression. The driver stepped out, revealing herself to be Ms. Fairweather, with her hair done up and without a lab coat. She was in a predominantly pink outfit. Let's go, cowboy!"
Carter and Chad are visibly stunned.
Joel pats them on the shoulder and gloats, "Excuse me. That must be my date!" He walks tall past them, causing Angela to chuckle.
Carter turned to Captain Mitchell. "Sir? It's been a pleasure." He then salutes him, with the Captain returning the gesture.
The former Lightspeed Rangers walk off their separate ways, with Carter, Chad & Kelsey departing the Mitchell family and Joel heading down and closing the car door for Angela. "Let me get that for you." He walked around to the other side of the car and exclaims, "FINALLY! Just you and I!" Before they could drive off into the sunset, the sound of a siren began to grow louder.
Carter, Chad & Kelsey stopped in their tracks and stared at the firetruck which came blaring by them. All eyes turn to the firetruck, which is heading off to a blazing inferno down the road.
Joel worriedly looks over across the park.
Dana and Ryan turned to look at Carter, who had a heroic expression. He patted Chad on the shoulder and raced off after the firetruck. After all, he is still a firefighter!
Chad looks at Kelsey, she smiles, and the two race off after him.
Dana and Ryan also exchanged glances before rushing down the hill to join their teammates.
Joel snatched his hat off his head. "MAN!" His frustration amused Angela. Joel turned to her and put his cowboy hat on her head. "Don't go anywhere! I'll be right back!" She nodded and then took the hat off, smiling lovingly as he headed to rejoin his team.
Captain Mitchell, still standing atop the hill, looked at the pile of Rescue Morphers in his arms. "Hey! You forgot these!" They didn't seem to mind as the six Lightspeed Rescue Recruits jogged through the street together. You can take their power, but they will still be Rangers. Their duty to protect this city may be ongoing, but they won't be doing it alone.
Later
The Demon Realm
What seemed like an endless wasteland was now littered with the corpses of demons and other underworld creatures. The Doom Slayer walked up to a familiar demon crucified over a boulder. The Queen of Demons coughed up blood and glared at her exterminator. "Do you think this will stop us? We are but fragments of a greater evil that will return, and once we do, I will repay your brutality on humanity a thousandfold."
Ignoring her words, a bloody Chainsaw materialized in his hands. A pull of the chain, and it was ready to go. Without mercy, he pierced her abdomen. Cries of pain and suffering left her body as the light faded from her physical form. The rotating blades ran up and through her shoulder. All the while, her last screams echoed through this now empty world. When the deed was done, the ethereal form of the Queen left the body.
In an unadulterated rage, she tried to curse this warrior with her full will. However, nothing left her hands. She had not noticed before, but the spiritual essence of all those slain around her did not return to the Dark as she expected. Instead, she felt a pull toward the object of her hated, the Slayer. She attempted to pull away, but nothing seemed to stop the mysterious force. As soon as she interacted with the Slayer's life force, a pain unlike any other channeled through. Unbeknownst to her, she was breaking down on an existential level. As her life force was absorbed into the warrior, her consciousness faded into nothing.
It had taken longer than he liked, but that's what he lived by. Rip and Tear until it was done. This realm was now empty. With a flick of the chainsaw, the excess blood splattered onto the sand. After tapping the gem on his gauntlet, he waited.
A blue portal opened in the Underworld. Walking through, the Slayer appeared back in his fortress, specifically the garage. A glance around showed that Vega and his drones had been busy while he was away. The Lifeforce Max Atlan stood tall and proud like those before it.
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