Invasion of the Ranger Snatchers
Rocky, Tanya, and Emma walked around the film set that was set up in downtown Angel Grove. The girls were beaming with excitement at the fact they were cast as extras in an upcoming science-fiction movie. Rocky on the other hand, not so much. All three of them were wearing SciFy-esqu clothes in their respective Ranger colors, with the girls wearing dresses made of soft fabric and their male companion wore a deep blue tank top, covered with a toga-like piece of fabric that covered half his chest and reached the tops of his feet.
"Invasion of Blue Face." Emma grinned, gripping Tanya's hand. "I can't believe we're extras in a Biff Starr movie!"
"I know!" Tanya squealed, both girls giggling as the aforementioned actor walked past them, arguing with the film director.
"He blocked my punch." the actor huffed.
"And your point being?!" shouted the director through a megaphone.
"He can't block my punch, he's just an alien!" Biff shouted back. The director just raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "I may have sprained my pinky." The actor held up his finger for emphasis.
The second actor who was playing the sidekick role in the film walked up to the director and handed him the mask. "I trained at the Royal Academy. I can't work like this!" he then stormed off to his trailer. Biff did the same, flipping his cape in a dramatic fashion.
Rocky rolled his eyes as the lead actor walked past them. "Hate to break it to ya ladies, but he doesn't look like a real superhero to me." He folded his arms over his chest.
Tanya and Emma exchanged a glance and stood on either side of Rocky. "Am I detecting the slightest hint of jealousy?" the dark skinned girl asked.
"And here I thought that green was Adam's color." Emma chuckled, folding her arms across her chest.
Rocky scoffed, "Please, this acting stuff is easy." he noted. "I can do it with my eyes closed."
As he said that, a set worker walked past them carrying a large column, which nearly whacked the three teens in the back of their heads. "Maybe you should keep your eyes open so you won't get hurt." the yellow-clad female chuckled.
Unknown to the three Ranger teens, Prince Sprocket, Klank, and Orbus were observing the movie set. "Talk about rank amateurs." Klank shook his head. "Your film will be much better."
"Whoa, they've got some good monsters." the prince noted. "My movie won't be any good without monsters. Klank, I want those monsters!" Sprocket ordered, turning to the robotic-humanoid servant.
"The monsters?" Klank questioned. "What about the Power Rangers?"
"Video Vulture will capture them." Sprocket informed, as the monster resembling a vulture with a camera head took off from the rooftop. "And they'll be the stars of my new movie 'Invasion of the Ranger Snatchers'." he chuckled darkly. "It'll be the Power Rangers' final performance."
Rocky stood off to the side as he watched the film crew set up for the next scene. His two female friends stood on either side of him, resting their hands on his shoulders. "I'm tellin you girls, I could be a much more believable actor than this Biff Starr guy." the blue clad teen scoffed.
"Unfortunately Rocky, we're just extras." Emma reminded with a small smile.
"Yeah." Rocky agreed with a shrug. "But if I could just get close enough for them to see my...potential." Tanya and Emma exchanged a glance and shook their heads while Rocky straightened his back and walked with a hint of swagger.
Meanwhile, the other half of the Ranger team was busy working out at the Youth Center. Billy was in the middle of explaining his new workout algorithm to Tommy and Adam.
"But doesn't it look a little to easy?" Adam questioned.
"Only at first." Billy chuckled. "But towards the end, you'll both reach your maximum strength and endurance levels."
Tommy shrugged his shoulders, "I'm game if you are." he looked to Adam, who nodded. The two boys slapped a high-five and grinned.
Billy walked off to the side and sat on the bleachers, pulling a device from his backpack. "I'll monitor your energy output from over here." he told them. "Ready...begin."
Tommy and Adam followed the routine as Billy suggested earlier, trading blows and kicks at a steady rate. The picked up the pace about halfway through before eventually peaking and slamming eachother onto the mat. "Well Billy?" Adam asked.
The former Ranger studied the energy readings and shook his head. "Not quite the readings I had calculated." he informed. "Mind trying it one more time?"
Back at the film set...
Rocky sat down with a heavy sigh, "Man, this Biff guy is brutal." he muttered, his two female friends sitting down on either side of him.
The assistant director walked by the trio and stopped suddenly, her eyes going straight to Rocky. "Hey you." she pointed at him. "How tall are you?"
"Uh..." the blue-clad teen jumped to his feet, "I'm 5'10"." he answered.
"Perfect." the assistant director smiled. "Biff's sidekick just got a gig on a soap. He's out. Think you can handle it?"
A grin spread across Rocky's face. "Are you kidding?" he laughed, before clearing his throat. "I mean...yeah. Of course." He followed the assistant director to the costume trailer, while Tanya and Emma just sat their with wide eyes and jaws slightly agape.
While Rocky was going over his lines for his upcoming scene, a squadron of Cogs snuck onto the set to steal all the monster costumes for Prince Sprocket's film. A pair of them were mistaken as extras and dragged to the filming area by the assistant director.
"Great costumes." grinned the director as he spotted the two Cogs.
Rocky's jaw dropped when he saw the two Machine Empire foot soldiers. "Uh, sir." he tried to get the director's attention. "There's something you-"
"Kid." the director cut off, draping his arm around Rocky's shoulders. "We don't have time to talk about your motivation. Just walk on camera, say your lines, and exit." He patted the teen's back and yelled "Places!" into his megaphone as he sat in his chair.
The pair of Cogs stood off to the side, playing along with what was going on. Once the director yelled "Action!" they marched in front of the camera, facing off against Biff Starr and Rocky. The ranger teen took a step forward, only to be blocked by Biff, "I'll handle this kid." the actor said his lines heroically. He strolled up to the pair of machines and prepared a fighting stance, before throwing his arms forward and punching their chests, which only injured him and not the Cogs.
The two foot soldiers looked to eachother, then grabbed the actor by his shoulders and lifted him into the air, despite his screams of terror. However, before they could attack back, Rocky grabbed their arms, "I don't think so." he scoffed, bashing their heads together, which forced them to drop Biff, then flipped them over, knocking them to the ground.
"Wow." Biff blinked in amazement. "You're pretty good kid."
The director was less than impressed, ranting about how none of that was in the script. That's when he realized that the film's monster costumes were being stolen by more Cogs. Rocky tried to whistle to get the girls' attention, but ultimately decided on calling out for them. "Hey Em! Tanya!" he shouted, the two female Rangers emerging from the crowd of extras. "Come on, let's go!"
The three teens ran off after the Cogs, getting their Zeonizers ready. "Alright girls...looks like the coast is clear." Rocky panted as they ran further away from town. "It's Morphin Time!"
"Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue!"
The three Zeo Rangers ceased the chasing and stopped, seeing more Cogs waiting for them. "Talk about your cast of thousands." noted the Yellow Ranger.
"Zordon..." the Blue Ranger hailed, "...something really strange is going on. Can you send the others to back us up?"
"Places everyone!" Klank ordered, standing on a hill overlooking the area.
"Time to get the camera rolling." Prince Sprocket chuckled. "It's beginning of the Power Rangers' final performance."
After running through their workout for the fifth or sixth time, Adam and Tommy were ready to take a break. Just as they sat down, their wrist communicators went off. "Should've seen that coming." Adam rolled his eyes.
They grabbed their bags and exited out the back, staying out of sight. "We read you, Zordon." Tommy relayed into his communicator.
"Rangers..." their mentor's voice came through. "...Prince Sprocket has stolen some movie costumes and has lured Emma, Tanya, and Rocky away from town."
"I'll teleport to the Power Chamber." Billy informed. "There's got to be more to this."
"Good idea Billy." Adam agreed. The former Ranger teleported away in a flash of white light, leaving the other two alone.
"Zeo Ranger IV, Green!"
"Zeo Ranger V, Red!"
After teleporting to their friends' location, the five Rangers stood together, ready for action. The Cogs made the first move the Zeo Rangers met them in battle. Since they were wildly outnumbered, each Ranger took on at least ten Cogs on their own. To even the playing field a little, they summoned their weapons.
"Out of my way, gearheads." ordered Zeo Ranger III, as he flew through the group of Cogs he was fighting, brandishing his weapons, which resembled blue tonfas with a pointed triangle-bladed edge. The Blue Ranger swung and slashed at each Cog, causing them to spark and eventually collapse.
"Try these on for size." giggled Zeo Ranger II, as she summoned her club like weapons that resembled nunchucks. The Cogs chaged ahead, only to be met with hard hits from the Yellow Rangers weapon as she gracefully dodged her enemies.
Zeo Ranger IV summoned his weapons, which appeared to be small hatchets. He used them to cut down two Cogs then destroy a few of their weapons. The hatchets rippled with energy as the Green Ranger charged through the squadron he fought, short circuiting the mechanical foot soldiers with ease.
Zeo Ranger I summoned her Power Disc, blocking the spears her enemies threw her way. She jumped into the air and spun around, torpedoing through the Cogs at a high speed, knocking them out. She struck a pose and flexed her right hand, creating a chilling wind, which in turn, caused ice to grow on the remaining Cogs. Eventually they froze solid and shattered.
Taking on the Cogs that were left, Zeo Ranger V powered up his sword and slashed at the remaining mechanical footsoldiers. He delivered blow after blow, and due to the energy surge radiating from his weapon, the Cogs overloaded and exploded in clouds of red.
After defeating the mechanical footsoldiers, the Zeo Rangers regrouped. Their celebrated victory was short lived, however. "What on Earth is that?" questioned the Green Ranger as he pointed up at the bird monster heading their way.
"Hey there Power Rangers." squawked the mechanical monster. "Ever wonder what it would be like to be in the movies?" A light shone from the camera lens on Video Vultures head, which enveloped the Rangers and transported them to a surreal-looking waiting room.
"Is everybody okay?" asked Zeo Ranger V. The other four rangers let out small groans and grunts, as they replied with a yes.
"Where are we?" questioned Zeo Ranger III as he looked around. The waiting area they were in appeared to be in the middle of some field on the outskirts of Angel Grove.
"Power Rangers." Klank's voice addressed, getting their attention. "May I have your attention, please?" The humanoid robot appeared on the small television. "Your dreams are about to come true, thank to me of course." he chuckled. "You all have been given starring roles in Prince Sprocket's latest movie extravaganza, Invasion of the Ranger Snatchers."
"Not interested." the Pink and Yellow Rangers rebuffed.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice." Klank informed.
"We'll see about that." the Red Ranger muttered, punching the palm of his hand with his fist.
"Let's get outta here." voted the Green Ranger. Him and his red-clad teammate moved to leave the area, only to be blocked by the force-field surrounding them. They tried to escape by punching their way out, which only ended up distorting their surrounding.
"Now you've gone and caused a disruption in the production audio track." Klank scolded, shaking his head.
The Rangers held onto their helmets as the distortion became too unbearable. "Maybe if you hit it again it'll knock the force-field back in sync." suggested the Pink Ranger, her hands clutching the sides of her helmet.
Gathering up all his strength, that's just what Zeo Ranger IV did. With one good punch, the distortion stopped and the Rangers shook off their dizziness. "Maybe the Zeo Laser Pistol is strong enough the break through." the Green Ranger noted.
"It's worth a shot." agreed the Red Ranger. He pulled his weapon from the sheath on his belt and fired a few shots, which only exploded on contact with the force-field and made no change whatsoever.
"Ha-ha." Klank laughed, tauntingly. "That was a good try Rangers, but not even your mighty Zords can save you this time. Prince Sprocket is writing the script and he demands complete, creative control. Now sit back and relax." the footman advised, "We'll call ya to the set when we're ready."
Meanwhile, in the Power Chamber...
Billy was scanning the entire city for any signs of the Zeo Rangers. An image came up on the Viewing Globe, showing the five Rangers trapped in the waiting-room on the outskirts of the city.
"Have you been able to get through to the Rangers yet?" Alpha asked, standing next to Billy as he tried to contact his friends.
The former ranger shook his head, "There must be a forcefield around them that's blocking anything visual or audible from getting through." he sighed and lowered his head, "I'm afraid they're trapped."
"You must keep trying, Billy." Zordon urged. "The Rangers are in grave danger as long as they remain in Prince Sprocket's backlot, and unfortunately, movies like his don't have happy endings."
Billy nodded in agreement, knowing full well the galactic being was right. He cleared his mind of any doubts and continued to try and find a way to contact his cousin and the rest of the Rangers before Sprocket's plan came to fruition.
The Rangers stayed close together in the waiting area, trying to get in touch with their Power Chamber, and having no luck. "If only we could use this phone to call Zordon and Billy." groaned the Green Ranger as he looked over the antique phone on the small table.
"Yeah, I hear ya." agreed the Yellow Ranger.
Klank's voice came over some kind of intercom system, that made the Rangers tense up on their feet. "Zeo Rangers II and V, please report to the set at once." he instructed.
"Well, are you ready for your debut, Tanya?" Tommy asked, placing his hand on the Yellow Ranger's shoulder.
"I guess so." Tanya replied, her voice laced with uncertainty.
"Maybe we should go with you." Rocky suggested.
The Red Ranger shook his head, "Right now, it's safer to play by Sprocket's rules." he noted.
"We'll stay here and keep trying to get through to Billy and Zordon." Adam informed as his two friends approached the door with a sign that read 'To Set' hanging on it.
"Hopefully, with any luck, we'll be outta here soon." Emma sighed, trying to sound optimistic even though she was feeling the opposite. "Be careful." She clasped her hands together as she watched Tommy and Tanya step over the threshold, disappearing from view.
After stepping through the purple vortex, the two Rangers landed in a lot of somesort that looked like an abandoned train lot. "Where are we?" Tanya muttered as she looked around, keeping her guard up.
In a flash of swirling bright light appeared the Leaky Faucet monster, which resembled a horse-like monster with a hose snout and wearing a yellow raincoat and construction hat. The two Zeo Rangers prepared a fighting stance, ready for anything the monster threw their way.
"A flower for the lady?" questioned the monster, as he pulled a single stemmed rose from his snout and tossed it at Tanya, which exploded on impact. Leaky Faucet chuckled to himself as he turned the knob on top of his head, sending a surging blast of water towards the Rangers, knocking them across the lot.
In the Power Chamber, Billy was working on hacking into the closed circuit systems on Sprocket's backlot, therefore being able to communicate with his ranger friends. "There, I just finished the hack." he smiled to himself. "Hope this works." the former ranger muttered under his breath as he moved to stand next to Alpha-5.
The Viewing Globe switched on, indicating it had worked. A clear image of the three Zeo Rangers appeared on the screen, and Billy and Alpha slapped a high-five in excitement. "Guys!" Billy called out to the Rangers. "Guys, can you hear me?"
Emma's head lifted at the sound of her cousin's voice. "Billy?" she questioned, looking around the waiting area. She spotted the television screen, which showed Billy and Alpha clearly, and she leapt off the couch she was sitting on. "Rocky. Adam." she motioned for her two friends to join her.
"Whoa." Adam gaped.
"How'd you do it, Billy?" Rocky asked, staring right into the television screen.
"Modern technology I guess." the former ranger chuckled. "You guys alright?"
"We will be as soon as we put an end to Sprocket's low-budget disaster." Emma replied.
"And the sooner, the better." Adam added.
Billy tapped his fingers on the Power Chamber's main consol, before looking up at the plasma tube. "Zordon, I've been thinking about what you said earlier, about movie's like Sprocket's not having happy endings." he reminded.
"What are you thinking Billy?" Alpha asked, his curiosity peaked.
Billy smiled down at the robot, "I'm thinking, what if the Rangers change that?" he answered, turning back to Zordon.
The intergalactic being quickly caught onto his former ranger's theory, "By significantly altering the course of his movie, the Rangers might be able to recover their powers." he noted.
"Then that's exactly what we'll do." Emma stated, exchanging a look with Adam and Rocky. "Thanks Billy. Thanks Zordon."
Rocky punched his right fist into his left palm, "Alright." he cheered. "Looks like it's time for a major rewrite."
"Let's go and find Tanya and Tommy." Adam voted.
"I'll try to contact them from here and give 'em a heads up." Billy added.
"Great." the three Rangers replied in unison. "You're the best Billy." the Pink Ranger added before she and the other two Rangers entered the portal which took them directly to their teammates.
The Red and Yellow Zeo Rangers were watching a smaller television screen when their three teammates joined them. "Hey you guys." the Green Ranger called out, as they all joined together. "We just talked to Billy and-"
"-we know." the Red Ranger cut off. "And I think I found our opportunity for a happy ending." He pointed to the screen, which showed a bus drive around a curve of a mountainside road. "We just gotta stop that bus."
As soon as he said those words, the bus began speeding up and the passengers could be heard screaming in terror. "How are we gonna-" the Blue Ranger began to say, only to cut his sentence short when a few chickens appeared around them.
"What the...where did they come from?" Zeo Ranger II asked.
The team leader looked around and spotted one more chicken pop up out of an old chimney. "Over there!" he pointed, him and the others crowding around it. "This must be a passageway to the movie world."
"So..." the Pink Ranger spoke up. "...in theory, if they can come through, we should be able to go back in the same manner." she proposed. The five Rangers exchanged a look and nodded, before jumping through the passageway.
Now the Zeo Rangers were chasing the runaway bus on horseback. "Alright you guys, let's head 'em off at the pass." said Zeo Ranger III. "I've always wanted to say that." he added with a light chuckle.
"Yee-haw!" cheered Zeo Ranger IV and he tapped his horse's side with his boot.
"Ride 'em cowgirls!" Zeo Rangers I and II giggled as their own horses sped up as well.
Within a few minutes, the Rangers had caught up with the bus. Tommy got his horse right up to the side and climbed in through an open window near the front, while the others quickly followed suit. The Red Ranger checked on the bus driver, who turned out to be just a mechanical mannequin, which short circuited upon contact and burst into flames.
"We've gotta get these people off the bus." Rocky suggested.
"And fast too." Adam added. "Look. The road's a dead end." The five Rangers looked out the front windshield and saw that the bus they were on was heading straight for a cliff. With time running out, the Zeo Rangers grabbed hold of the passengers and jumped out the open windows just before the bus went over the cliff's edge.
"Is everybody okay?" Zeo Ranger II asked as she looked out at the crowd. The passengers all nodded before disappearing in glowing lights.
"What just happened?" questioned Zeo Ranger III, as he rubbed the back of his helmet.
"Don't you see? We did it you guys." Zeo Ranger I grinned under her helmet. "We changed the end of Sprocket's movie."
"Saving the passengers was the happy ending we needed." added Zeo Ranger V.
"And now we're back to our own reality." noted Zeo Ranger IV.
The five Rangers jumped up and down in excitement slapped eachother with high-fives. "Now I hope Prince Sprocket is done with his less than brilliant film career." the Pink Ranger giggled.
Sitting in his studio, the young mechanical prince threw the script pages into the air. "A happy ending? That wasn't my directorial vision." he whined, shaking his fists. "That bus was supposed to go over the cliff with the Power Rangers and passengers on it." he huffed.
"Excuse me, young sire." Klank cleared his throat as he approached the tantruming kid, "I know you're upset, but I took the liberty of drawing up some new storyboards of my own." He showed the young prince his work, "I think this is more what you had in mind for the demise of the Power Rangers."
"Brilliant!" Sprocket exclaimed as he took the stack of pages. "It's perfect. I'm so glad I thought of it."
The costumes that the Cogs stole from the movie set appeared as full blown monsters, that used their attacks on the Zeo Rangers, before all of them merged together to form Bucket of Bolts, a monster resembling a two-legged locomotive with a large, singular eye.
"Man, he's ugly." the Blue Ranger shuddered.
From the sidelines, Klank launched Orbus onto the new monster, making him grow to a size that towered over the five Rangers. "And now our problems just got a whole lot bigger." muttered the Yellow Ranger as she shook her head.
"Time to call in the heavy artliery." said the Red Ranger.
"We need Zeozord power!" the five Rangers summoned their zords and wasted no time in bringing them together to form their Zeo Megazord.
Bucket of Bolts made the first move, firing a laser beam from his eye, which hit the Megazord, giving him an opening for another strike. Regaining their composure, the Rangers fought back against the locomotive monster, punching him right in his face. "Zeo Megazord Saber, power up!" the five Rangers shouted, as their weapon materalized in the Megazord's arm.
"It's the end of the line, Power Rangers." the locomotive monster laughed manically, as he shifted into a more train-like form. Steam billowed from the top of his head as he charged forward at full speed.
Lightning crackled in the sky as the Zeo Megazord powered up its saber, before bringing it down and slicing Bucket of Bolts right down the middle, destroying him instantly.
Up on the Machine Sky Base...
King Mondo and Queen Machina watched the entire battle on their Viewing Mirror. "That didn't turn out so well." the mechanical queen sighed. "Our poor, little Sprocket. The showbusiness world can be so cruel."
"Yes...but there is a dark side to this." noted the machine king. "The movie bug is out of his system." he chuckled.
Back down on Earth...
Rocky, Tanya, and Emma returned to the film set, with Rocky wearing the costume of Biff Starr's sidekick. Rocky was practically bursting with excitement over what could be a break-out for him.
"Break and leg, Rocky." Tanya encouraged, patting her friend's shoulder.
"Thanks." the short-haired male grinned. "Man, I wish Tommy and the guys were here to see this."
Emma nodded, "Yeah, but Tommy and Adam have to practice." she reminded. "And Billy's got them on a tight schedule."
"Rocky!" the director called, getting the excited teen' attention. He approached the trio, "We're going to shoot the climax with the aliens first." he informed.
"Great." Rocky beamed. "Where do you want me?"
"Oh no, you don't have to do anything." the director answered. "We have a stand in to do it for you." He chuckled and took his seat as the crew prepped to film.
As soon as the director said action, someone else in the sidekick costume flipped onto the set, standing off against two of the alien minions. One of them sprayed the stand-in with a blue slime and the director yelled cut. The stand-in removed his mask and it was revealed to be Skull. "Man, I love showbiz!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms out in excitement.
The sudden gesture hit a stage-hand, who then fell into another crewmember carrying a large jug of water, which spilled over a the director and his assistant, as well as the three Ranger teens. In the midst of the chaos, Tanya and Rocky helped Emma to some bushes nearby, where she fell onto the grass as she transformed.
Rocky winced as his mermaid friend hit the ground, "You okay, Em?" he asked as Tanya knelt down beside her.
Emma blew her damp hair out of her face as she braced her weight on her hands. "Yeah." she replied. "Although, I'm beginning to take this as sign that show-business is not the right thing for me." The three teens shared a small laugh as they worked to dry off the mermaid's tail before someone saw them.
A/N: And here's another chapter! It took a little longer than I planned to get this out because I was sick for a couple days and didn't feel up to writing. But, that at least gave me some time to plan out future installments involving the two Ninja Steel seasons! Anyways, hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter, even though it doesn't have as many tweaks as previous ones.
Next time: Graduation Blues.
Now for comments and/or questions:
grapejuice101: So glad you liked the last chapter, and hope you like this one too. I know there's not much of some Tommy and Emma interactions, but don't worry, there will be some in the coming chapters.
pterapink21: Thank you so much for being patient with these updates. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't the best, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same. In regards yo your questions, I sent you a PM answering them so I hope it helps. Anyway, I'll try to update more on this series since I have so much planned that I want to share.
DemonGirl123: I'm so happy you liked the last chapter. I know there's not much Tommy and Emma in this one, but you know there will some serious moments coming up. Thanks for your support sis! Love you!
Guest: The romance between Tommy and Emma will be coming to the forefront very soon. There are a few more chapters before that becomes the main focus.