Magi Ranger

by Tenstar12

Betrayed by the world he had given his all to save, Harry finds himself cast into the void. With some help Harry ends up in another dimension, but in classic Harry Potter fashion gets himself into trouble almost immediately. Can he make his way in this strange world he finds himself in where giant monster attacks are a daily occurrence and hardly anything is familiar? AU Harry, MOD

48. Chapter 48

Magi Ranger

By: Tenstar12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Power Rangers.

Chapter 48, or Fear the Bug!

As Zordon predicted, Kimberly was able to stand without aid and seemed more or less back to normal after around ten minutes. After that, the Rangers, and Tommy, merely did what they could to pass the time, knowing that the Stag Beetle would make another appearance sooner rather than later.

This led to Tommy, Jason, and Zack basically hanging out like they would in the Youth Center. Talking about whatever came to mind while they lounged as best they could by leaning against the computer consoles. Kimberly seemed content to sit nearby on the cot and listen, occasionally adding in her own comments while Billy spent his time working with Alpha on one of the computers.

Maybe they should keep some board games in the Command Center or something…

Harry, after listening to the other Rangers' conversation for a few minutes, had moved to his room with Trini following. Making sure to once more disillusion his own cot before Trini could spot it and leaving the door open to better hear the others, Harry settled down at his desk to disenchant a few more galleons while his girlfriend settled in on another chair he conjured for her to watch.

While the destabilization of his control had initially prevented him from working on this particular project, his reluctant return to control exercises had since brought Harry to a point where he could work on the coins again. Admittedly, being unable to use Grid powered Wizarding spells to basically force his way through some of the protective enchantments on the Galleons made the process take much longer than it once had, he was still able to get one or two done an hour. It wasn't even half his previous speed, but the entire thing was a work in progress, and each time he got another one done, he was that much closer to his current personal goal of moving out of what basically amounted to a large walk-in-closet in the Command Center.

And the irony of that coupled with his living conditions back with the Dursleys was not lost on him.

He was still trying to figure out how he was basically going to launder all of the gold without raising any red flags with the law, but disenchanting more gold in the meantime would only help him in the end.

He finished his first coin of this session after about 30 minutes while Trini watched and occasionally asked questions. The process couldn't be too terribly interesting for her as most of the work was on a purely magical level, showing no outward changes in the coin aside from the occasional spark of magic from his wand and flash of light from the coin as another layer of protection was stripped away, but her presence did make the time pass a bit faster during what was otherwise a tedious process.

Besides, who was he to complain if his girlfriend wanted to spend more time around him while he was doing his own thing?

About ten minutes into working on his second coin, Trini spoke to him again. "Look at that, Harry."

Blinking a few times to refocus his vision after staring intently at runes only he could see courtesy of his magic, Harry turned and followed Trini's gesture out the door to the Command Center proper. There he saw Kimberly, standing again, and basically cuddled into Tommy's side as she laughed along with the others at something Zack had said. It was a fairly familiar scene to be honest, though not one he had seen very recently.

"And you were worried that there was something wrong with them." Trini admonished with a chuckle and a playful shove to his shoulder. "They seem just fine to me."

Harry blinked a few more times as he processed Trini's words before his brow furrowed in thought. She had a point, those two really were acting just like they had before all this strange forgetfulness had stricken the core Rangers. But what had changed to do that? Harry couldn't see Zordon from his position, but he could bet that the old Wizard had spotted the same thing. He'd have to make sure to bring it up with him later on.

Before he could comment aloud on the topic, though that would probably only result in more admonishment from Trini if past trends were anything to go by, the Command Center's alarm went off. Harry shared a quick look with his girlfriend before the two sprang up and made their way back out of the smaller room to join the other Rangers and Tommy amidst the computer consoles facing Zordon.

"Rangers," Zordon said once everyone had gathered. "The Stag Beetle monster has reappeared in the industrial area of Angel Grove. It is making its way toward a power plant there."

Billy flinched as his eyes widened dramatically. "If its Power draining abilities can be applied to the generators there, it could gain immense strength, not to mention the damage it would to do the city's power grid."

Jason clenched his fists and nearly growled as he spoke. "We've gotta stop that thing guys."

"Right!" The others chanted while Harry's attention drifted to a morose looking Tommy.

Almost as if he could sense Harry's thoughts, Zordon addressed the former Green Ranger next. "Tommy, with your involvement in the monster's first appearance, I feel it best if you stay in the Command Center for the time being. At least until the other Rangers manage to defeat the Stag Beetle. For your own safety as well as that of others around you if the monster decides to come after you personally."

Tommy nodded solemnly, looking resigned. "Alright, Zordon, if you think that's best. I know I definitely won't be of much help against this bug in a straight fight as I am now."

Zordon nodded before shifting his focus back to the rest of them. "Go now Rangers, and may the Power protect you."

"Alright, guys," Jason shouted, stepping up as normal. "It's Morphin' Time!"

"MASTODON!" "PTERODACTYL!" "TRICERATOPS!" "SABER-TOOTH TIGER!" "TYRANNOSAURUS!" "MAGI RANGER, POWER UP!"

-MR-

Appearing in the Industrial area of Angel Grove was a bit of a shocker for Harry. He'd never actually been here before, mostly seeing it from a distance during other monster battles, but it almost seemed a world away from the rest of the city. The large smokestacks from the nearby factories and the like almost gave the area a grey haze as the exhaust blocked out part of the sunlight. It was really rather unsettling.

What was even more unsettling was the Stag Beetle nearly skipping its way towards them down an otherwise empty street. "Oh, look! It's the Power Rangers again! And the Pink Ranger! Are you here to give me another snack?"

Kimberly recoiled slightly at the monster before shouting back. "You caught me off guard last time, bug brain, that won't happen again!"

"We'll see, Ranger, we'll see…"

"Harry, Trini, Kim," Jason said, almost out of the blue. "You guys faced this monster before, any tips?"

Harry felt this was a rather bad time to be asking this, seeing as the monster was standing a mere twenty feet away, but responded anyway. "We really didn't actually fight this guy much to be honest. It kept us distracted with putties while he went for Kimberly."

Trini merely nodded while Kimberly shuddered slightly at the memory. "Yeah, definitely don't let it grab you."

"Probably a good idea," Zack responded with a chuckle as the Stag Beetle broke into a sudden charge. "Look out!"

Almost as one, the Rangers split up. Jason and Zack leapt into the air and flipped over the monster while Billy and Harry dove and rolled to the left and the girls did the same to the right, easily avoiding the monster's charge. It was the follow-up wave of putties that caught them off guard.

Rising from his dive, Harry found himself bowled over by a charging Z-putty. Using the momentum, Harry rolled backwards and back onto his feet, rising unsteadily just in time to deflect a punch from that same putty.

"Stick together!" Jason shouted while fighting his own putty patroller. "Don't let them get you alone for the Stag Beetle to drain!"

Sound advice, Harry thought with a roll of his eyes. Deciding getting knocked down once was enough for him, Harry summoned up his staff with a flourish, using his spinning weapon to deflect another punch from his opponent, spinning the golem around before he delivered a solid kick to its back and sent it sprawling.

It didn't immediately disintegrate, but Harry still took the time to check on Billy, who he assumed was his partner for their whole "stick together" plan. The Blue Ranger was faring admirably against his putty opponent. They were apparently using the same avoidance strategy as the earlier batch of putties had, delaying the Rangers as opposed to trying to do them harm. It only stood to reason that the Stag Beetle was going to try and sneak up on one of them to try and drain them as it had Kimberly.

So where was the Stag Beetle?

Harry's question was answered when he felt an abnormally strong grip clamp down on his arms from behind. Looking to either side, Harry saw the red tipped claws from the Stag Beetle holding him in place just before he felt its mandibles snap into place around his helmet. "Ah crap…"

"Got you now, Magi Ranger!" The monster taunted.

"Harry!" Trini's cry was really the first thing to alert the other Rangers to Harry's predicament. Just at the edge of his helmeted vision, Harry could see Billy redouble his efforts to get past his two putty opponents, Harry's having apparently switched targets to allow the Stag Beetle time to do its thing.

Of the others, he could see Kimberly and Trini who had been taken off guard by her putty in her distraction and was now fighting off the back foot. Kimberly appeared to be doing alright, but she had a few scorch marks on her suit, showing that her own slightly lower Power supply was costing her. As for Jason and Zack, Harry could hear the two fighting, but they were out of sight.

"Now, let's see what kind of Power you have, Magi Ranger!"

Deep within himself, near his Power core, Harry felt an intrusion as the monster basically started sucking at his Power. Teasing a strand of Power up, the monster then latched onto it and pulled, leading to arcs of purple lightning streaking up his suit and through the monster's mandibles, much like it had with Kimberly's pink.

The difference here was that Harry had a closer connection to his internal Power than Kimberly did, so he wasn't quite as helpless. First things first, Harry's mental hands grabbed the same strand the Beetle had been pulling on and pulled back, effectively halting the drain on his personal energies before it began in earnest. Then, he called up and released a burst of kinetic energy, essentially driving a telekinetic fist into the Stag Beetle's stomach. The hit was rather effective, if only because it was unexpected, as Harry felt the monster's grip shift as it nearly doubled over from the blow. What the attack had accomplished though, was to break the monster's concentration, letting Harry call up his Wizarding magic and twist in place ever so slightly.

The resulting crack was ear splitting in volume as Harry side-along apparated away from the Stag Beetle, taking its clamped on hands and half of its mantis-like claws with him.

The monster's scream of agony brought a stop to the other battles where the crack of apparition had not. The unexpected cry caused the Z-putties to actually disengage from their opponents, although Jason still managed to destroy his in its distraction, and regroup around the inured Stag Beetle while the Rangers regrouped around Harry.

"Woah…" Zack commented on seeing the maimed monster while Harry almost casually removed the severed limbs from himself. "Nice trick, Harry."

"Good job, Harry." Jason complimented in his usual half-yell before completely disregarding it as he rushed on ahead. "Now we just have to finish this thing off!"

The five remaining putties were bobbing and weaving around the injured monster in a mockery of a defensive formation while the monster itself was loudly bemoaning the loss of its limbs. "I'll make you pay for that, Magi Ranger!"

"And how are you gonna do that?" Jason shouted back. "Just face it, bug, your time is up!"

"Oh, is that so?" The monster spoke in a smug tone before its upper body shot forward quickly, clamping its mandibles around the head of one of the putties.

For a moment, the construct froze, then when grayish bolts of energy began draining from it into the Stag Beetle, it began thrashing and flailing wildly. After several seconds wherein the putty was unable to break free and the Rangers watched in stunned silence, the putty finally crumbled into dust as the monster drained away the last of the Power animating it.

Laughing smugly, the monster held up its arms, where the freshly drained Power visibly gathered before, in a sudden burst, a new pair of clawed hands grew, these ones clearly differentiated from the rest of its body by being the uniform grey color of the putty patrollers.

The remaining four putties seemed especially unnerved by the monster's laugh as they all moved further away from the monster, out of its easy reach.

"If you think something like that is going to keep me down, then you've got another thing coming, Rangers!" The monster taunted.

"I have to say," Harry quipped grasping his staff tightly as he took his fighting stance again. "I wasn't expecting that."

"I know," Kimberly responded. "I mean, I know they're just putties, but that was harsh."

"It just means that we can't hold back on this one." Jason responded, not taking his eyes off of the still gloating monster. "Harry, can you hold off the putties while we focus on the Stag Beetle? We have to beat it before Zedd can grow it. It could do a massive amount of damage if it gets big here."

Harry nodded, calling up his magic as he did. "I've got just the spell in mind, Jason. Ready when you are."

With a nod in return, Jason led the other Rangers in a charge, each of them summoning up their weapons as they went. The stag beetle met their charges with its own claws, blocking Jason's first strike from his sword and following up with a slash from its other arm that sent the Ranger spinning.

When the putties tried to move in from either side, Harry released his gathered magic, causing arms transfigured from the blacktop beneath their feet to spring up and grab each of the putties' legs, anchoring them in place and keeping them out of the fight. Seeing no reason not to, Harry then created another four arms, these ones much longer and with the sole purpose of punching the emblem on the putties' chests, causing their destruction.

Meanwhile, the other Rangers had been repelled by the Stag Beetle monster similarly to Jason. They were not to be denied, however, as each time the Rangers were knocked down, they just sprang back up again and rejoined the battle.

Kimberly was doing the worst. This made sense as her Power had already been weakened by the Stag Beetle earlier and her weapon was more long-range oriented, but beyond that, the monster was almost dismissive of her presence. A few times, it took snaps at Jason or Zack with its mandibles, trying to catch one of them in its Power draining grip, but despite having similar opportunities with the Pink Ranger, no attempt was made.

This was somewhat confusing, though could perhaps be explained by the Pink Ranger's already drained state. It was possible that, while it may be easier to catch the Pink Ranger, the monster chose not to since she simply didn't have as much Power left to drain as the others did. Going for a "juicier" target as opposed to an easier one.

This also wasn't really important at the moment as Harry began drawing up his Power again, focusing it into his staff even as he sent a mental call to Hedwig, causing his mechanical familiar to appear atop the Magi Staff and take in the gathered Power.

"Alright, Hedwig," Harry said, drawing his staff back as Hedwig's body took on a purple aura. "Let's squash this bug."

-Ready, Harry/Wizard.-

"Guys!" Harry shouted. "Incoming!" With that, Harry thrust his staff forward, launching Hedwig like an overcharged, feathery, ballistic missile toward the Stag Beatle. At Harry's shout, the Rangers and the Monster had all turned their attention toward him. The Rangers, seeing what he was doing, had leapt back and out of the way, while the monster just stood there in confusion.

That all changed, however, when Hedwig came flying at it. The monster shifted its stance and actually caught Hedwig mere inches from impact. To make matters worse, it caught her between its Power draining mandibles.

"Ah hah!" The monster cheered. "Thanks for the snack, Magi Ranger!"

"Hedwig!" Harry's cry of distress was echoed in his familiar as she flapped her wings uselessly, arcs of purple energy draining from her and into the monster.

With Hedwig held so close to the monster, there wasn't much Harry and the others could do to attack it. To make matters worse, every second they delayed, the monster grew stronger as it drained the Power of what was supposed to be Harry's finishing move out of his familiar. Even worse still, after that, it would probably start on Hedwig's own internal Power, which was effectively her life force in her mini-Zord body.

Luckily, Hedwig took any further decisions out of the Rangers' hands.

-You want my Power bug-thing?- Hedwig's strained voice echoed in Harry's head as her flailing stopped. –Then TAKE IT!-

With a fierce cry, Hedwig unleashed what was left of Harry's Power within her, as well as a portion of her own Power in a focused blast from the Resurrection Stone atop her head. The blast of Power hit the Stag Beetle right between its mandibles, in what was questionably its face, and caused it to release Hedwig and stagger backwards, crying out in pain and surprise as it was engulfed in a small explosion and a resulting cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, the Stag Beetle was treated to the sight of the core Rangers throwing their weapons skyward while Harry held an exhausted Hedwig off to the side.

"POWER AXE!" "POWER BOW!" "POWER DAGGERS!" "POWER LANCE!" "POWER SWORD!"

"POWER BLASTER!" The Rangers chanted as the Stag Beetle, its head quite badly scorched from Hedwig's attack, merely staggered backwards in surprise. "FIRE!" As expected, the beam of destructive energy lanced from the Power Blaster and destroyed the Stag Beetle in a massive and overly dramatic explosion leaving the battle won yet again, though this time with Harry feeling rather annoyed with himself.

-MR-

Back at the Command Center, post debriefing, Zordon was congratulating the Rangers while Tommy stood off to one side with Alpha. "Well done, Power Rangers. You have once more defeated one of Zedd's evil creations and defended Angel Grove. You should be proud of what you have accomplished and continue to accomplish."

Jason probably would've been preening after Zordon's words if he hadn't been shooting Harry not-so-secret glares. Apparently, it was time for him to say his piece. "It would have been even easier if Harry was more careful. He put not only the team, but his own familiar in danger when he fired off his finisher. We had the monster handled, but he tried to take the win for himself."

Harry just blinked. He was standing off to one side, the still weakened Hedwig perched on his forearm in her natural looking form while he stroked her feathers with his free hand. "Excuse me?" Harry said after finally finding his voice.

"You heard what I said, Harry." Jason replied. "You put all of us in danger just do you could showboat. So you could feel important. So you could try and make yourself more important to the team."

Harry blinked again. It seemed as though Jason's animosity toward him was not only back, but out in the open again, not to mention seemingly more intense than before.

Well, he wasn't just going to take that lying down, now was he?

"Now hold on just a minute here," Harry started, meeting Jason's narrow-eyed gaze with his own. "I know that I messed up, but how could I have possibly known that the monster would even be able to catch Hedwig like that? As far as you guys having the monster handled, yes you had it contained, but you yourself said that we needed to defeat it before Zedd could grow it, so I was trying to expedite that."

Harry forced his anger back behind a wall of Occlumency and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "Look, my idea may not have been the best one in the end, but I wasn't trying to 'steal the glory.' I would hope that by now, Jason, you'd know that I'm not that kind of person."

The other Rangers looked rather uncomfortable, but Jason just soldiered on. "Oh really? I doubt I'm the only one who noticed that you weren't really vital to our last few fights, Harry. We beat Zedd's last three attacks without you really even touching the monsters. While I won't deny that you were necessary when it came to escaping Venus Island, that's about it."

Harry nodded, trying to keep his voice calm as he spoke. "You have a point Jason. You all haven't really needed me there these last few battles. But the fact remains that I was there and I'm only trying to help."

Zordon cut in before Jason could level further accusations. "And that, Red Ranger, is all that need be said on the subject." The floating head actually sounded more stern that Harry had ever heard him before, but the hard look in his eyes quickly softened. "Harry has admitted to making a mistake, perhaps he didn't think out his plan as much as he should have, but I sincerely doubt he will do such a thing again. As for your other accusation, I feel that your frustration over the near disaster might be speaking for you. You have had an eventful day, Rangers, perhaps you should go home and get some rest."

Jason looked about to argue before taking a calming breath of his own. "You're right, Zordon. Maybe I do need to cool off some." And without another word, Jason triggered his communicator and teleported out of the Command Center in a column of Red.

The other core Rangers shuffled uncomfortably for several moments before Kimberly stepped over to speak with Tommy in a quiet voice. The former Ranger looked slightly surprised at first, but quickly smiled and nodded before the two shared a quick kiss and Kimberly teleported away herself.

Similarly, Trini made her way over to Harry. "You know that Jason doesn't mean any of those things he's saying, right?"

Harry sighed as he wrapped Trini in his arms. "I want to believe that, Trini. I really do. But you know this isn't the first time he's done this kind of thing. After a while, it doesn't matter nearly as much whether he really means it or if he's just lashing out."

Trini gave a sigh of her own, reluctantly nodding at her boyfriend's response to her attempt to protect her longtime friend. After several more seconds, Trini broke their hug and offered him a smile. "Well, I'm gonna head back to the Youth Center for a few hours, maybe grab a bite to eat. You wanna join me?"

Harry returned her smile. The thought of a relaxing dinner with his girlfriend, assuming that Bulk and Skull didn't butt in as they tended to do around the Youth Center, was an appealing one. Unfortunately he had something to take care of first.

Kissing her on the cheek, Harry responded. "I'll meet you there in a bit. I want to talk to Zordon for a bit first. Save me a seat?"

Trini stuck her tongue out teasingly at him. "Don't keep me waiting." Then she was gone in a column of yellow.

Shortly afterwards, Zack and Billy gave their own goodbyes and teleported away, leaving Harry, Tommy, Alpha, and Zordon as the sole occupants of the Command Center.

"So," Harry said as he and Tommy met amidst the computers. "What put that goofy smile on your face?"

Tommy snorted a laugh. "Probably the same thing that put the smile on yours. Kim reminded me about our date later tonight. Said she was gonna go home to get changed and meet me in town."

Harry nodded. "You have guessed correctly, my friend. Trini set up a little dinner date for us later on too. I'm heading out to meet her after I talk to Zordon."

"Which brings us nicely to our present situation, Harry." Zordon said, bringing Tommy and Harry's attention to him. "I took the liberty of giving Tommy more information on our investigations, Harry. He is now fully caught up with what we know of what is wrong with the other Rangers."

Harry nodded. "That's good, maybe he'll see something that we won't."

"That is precisely my thought, Harry. Unfortunately, there is another symptom that we might have overlooked."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that, Zordon?"

Zordon looked rather solemn as he spoke. "I believe that whatever has caused this change in the Rangers may also be elevating Jason's emotional responses. While I know that the two of you have never had a close friendship and he can sometimes be… confrontational towards you." Harry snorted briefly, but Zordon continued speaking. "But I think we can all agree that Jason's attitude after this latest battle was quite beyond the pale."

Harry thought for a moment before nodding. "You do have a point, Zordon. He's never liked me, but he's never tried to accuse me of putting others at risk just to make myself look better. That's a bit of a big leap of logic there."

Tommy nodded as well. "Yeah, and he was doing better for a while. You two at least seemed to get along fairly well up until Zedd showed up."

"Which ties in with one of the working theories we have about Zedd being responsible for the entire situation. However, today's events may have sparked a new, potentially even more distressing theory…" Zordon trailed off, his eyes distant as he pondered whatever was on his mind.

After nearly a full minute, during which Harry exchanged looks with both Tommy and Alpha, he finally spoke up. "Any chance you'd be willing to share, Zordon?"

This seemed to snap him out of his trance as Zordon blinked several times before shaking his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I don't feel comfortable sharing this theory just yet. If this is true, or even possible… well, it may be quite disastrous if we cannot work out a counter for it. I'm afraid I cannot say any more until I have more information."

There were several more moments of silence after that. It was clear that Zordon intended to keep his theory entirely to himself for the time being, but Harry then had another thought. "I actually do have a question about the Stag Beetle monster, Zordon."

Zordon seemed to snap out of his thoughts with a small start before focusing on his apprentice. "What is it, Harry?"

"Well," Harry started. "When it drained that Putty to heal itself. Why did it have to? I mean, it only took it a few seconds to drain the Putty, and it had ahold of Kimberly for longer than that, so I'd imagine that it would've gotten more Power from her. So why didn't it just use her Power to regenerate some pink claws or whatever? I know that her stolen Power wouldn't have faded on its own, and we didn't get any reports of the monster using it to attack somewhere else, so…"

Zordon paused for a moment before responding. "That… is an interesting point, Harry… And one that may present an even more dire explanation… I will think on this, Harry. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."

And that was about it. After that point, the conversation broke apart and Harry and Tommy both went their separate ways to meet their respective girlfriends.

-MR-

A few days later, the Angel Grove Sweepers faced off against the (arguably) undefeated Stone Canyon Beetles in the (maybe) noble sport of Broom Ball. The crowd was unexpectedly large, all things considered, as teens and parents came from all over the area to watch the home team face off against the arrogant challengers.

Bulk and Skull had showed up as well, though that wasn't as much of a surprise, and they had some kind of giant, pig-like nose attached to a machine that they were using to, apparently, get a sample of everyone's unique scent so they could try and match those to the Power Rangers. Because obviously they'd be able to do the same to the Rangers. Never mind that they only really showed up when there was a monster to fight, which usually meant explosions and danger everywhere.

A very well thought out plan, and a pair of certifiable geniuses that Farkas Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch.

Random stupidity from school bullies with delusions of fame and fortune aside, Harry found himself getting drawn into the same fervor as the rest of the crowd while the Beetles and Sweepers faced off. Ernie had decided that, as the assistant coach, Harry should be down on the sidelines with Ernie himself and so Richie was left behind the snack bar. The fact that that meant the only partially trained teen had to scramble to keep things running properly and thus was in a worse condition than Harry had been in during the practice sessions for this match brought a certain amount of vindictive pleasure to him.

Hey, they guy was trying to steal his girlfriend, so he was allowed to take pleasure in his suffering from time to time.

In any case, the game was actually surprisingly even. It seemed that the natural skill and prowess of the Sweepers, not all brought about by their Rangers Powers as evidenced by Tommy's own stellar performance as their lead scorer, was matched by the Beetles experience at the game. They may have gotten that experience beating underprepared teams, but they had it all the same.

The Sweepers had started off rather poorly, this being their first actual game so they had to adjust to having actual opposition instead of their practice sessions. The Beetles had pulled off to an early 5 to 2 lead. Then, once they got into form, the Sweepers managed to catch up, even overcoming an unexpected rally by the Beetles to bring the game to a tie at 8 to 8 with only 6 seconds left on the clock.

Ernie called a time out and waved the active part of his team over to the bench where the slightly overweight man finally sat down, panting a bit from his excited cheering. As they were limited by the size of the play area, the teams had agreed to only 4 players on the field at any given time: a goalie and three others. Each of the Sweepers had fallen into specific roles, with Billy being their goalie and the others rotating through the other spots as Ernie thought up new plays and the like.

Most of the time, Kimberly and Trini, being arguably more nimble than the others, were put in where speed was required. Jason ended up playing more defensively, surprisingly enough, using his karate trained reflexes to help Billy keep the goal protected, and his strength to help ensure the ball reached whoever he was passing it to. This was easier said than done as the brooms tended to not hit the balls too solidly, ending up with more of a bouncing roll than anything else, so the extra strong hits helped. Zack was basically there to throw the other team off. He had a habit of throwing random dance moves into his movement, which, while not necessarily unexpected to those who knew him, certainly did serve to throw off his opponent's predictions as to where he would go.

The real surprise was Tommy. The former Ranger was everywhere! And he was performing at a level that Harry actually found somewhat surprising. He knew that the teen was in shape, but he almost felt there was something else going on with how well Tommy was doing overall…

"Alright guys," Ernie said once everyone had gathered and he had recovered, his face flushed from the fun he was having. "We've almost got this in the bag. Here's what I want to do. Kimberly, you're fastest on the swing, so I want you in the face off. Get the ball to Jason, who'll set up Tommy for a power shot. We've gotta move fast with only 6 seconds left, but I know you guys can do it!"

With nods given all around while Harry just smiled in support (this was all Ernie's show, he was really just there for the better seat), the three named teens jogged with Billy to their starting positions for what would probably be the final face off of the match.

It went much as could be expected.

Kimberly moved exceptionally fast on this one, Harry more than suspecting that her excitement had caused her Power to rise within her, much like it had to Jason when he was sparring with Tommy before the Elder battle. In any case, she swiped the ball to Jason who caught it on his broom, glanced at Tommy's position, and hit the ball so it would make its bouncy way between one of the Beetle's player's feet and then pass a few feet in front of Tommy's current position.

Seeing where the ball was going, Tommy tucked his broom handle under his right arm, gripping it tightly in his hand, and dove. He planted his left hand on the ground before swinging the broom from underneath the ball on a bounce. The resulting hit gave the ball enough lift that it actually caught the top corner of the net, flying close enough to the Beetle goalie's face that he flinched away, too surprised to put much effort into stopping the shot. Meanwhile, Tommy completed his one-handed handspring, flipping back to his feet with a kiai that was quickly followed by the buzzer as the game ended with the Sweepers up by 1.

Harry just blinked. Alright, he knew that Tommy was doing exceptionally good, but that was a bit over the top, right?

Nobody else seemed to think so as Ernie, Zack, and Trini rushed the field as soon as the buzzer went off, swarming Tommy with the rest of the team as they celebrated their underdog victory.

Harry just hung back, not really wanting to get into the middle of the crowd of overly excited people, some of the fans having joined the mob too as everyone high-fived and congratulated each other. If he had been more involved in the practice sessions, he might have joined them, but as it was, he really wasn't a part of things enough to feel comfortable.

The Magi Ranger was, however, more than a little satisfied to see the Beetles slinking off through the crowd, most likely attempting to reach the locker rooms before anyone noticed. The captain of the team, the same boy who had issued the challenge to Ernie and who Harry had called out, glanced back over his shoulder and caught Harry's eye. The Magi Ranger just gave him a smile and an exaggerated wave, prompting the teen's face to flush in fury before he wheeled around again and stomped out.

Harry chuckled to himself before something else caught his eye. Bulk and Skull had been making the circuit of the room with the mechanical nose thing, but they had stopped short and were edging around a group of five teens that were standing near the entrance to the Youth Center, not taking their eyes off of them. Harry couldn't get a good look at them from where he was, but they didn't really look like the friendliest lot based on how they were glaring at the two bumbling bullies.

As he looked on, Bulk and Skull, apparently trying to reach the exit that the teens were standing by, had nearly reached their goal when one of five, wearing black pants and a red tank top, feinted towards the two, one hand drawn back as if to punch them. Bulk and Skull quickly broke and ran, dropping their device and scrambling over each other in an attempt to get away. Harry just narrowed his eyes as the five teens started high-fiving each other and laughing before they moved over to the snack bar.

Well, that certainly wasn't something you saw every day. While Bulk and Skull had been cowed on more than one occasion after their interactions with the Rangers, he had never seen them so weary of anyone without some kind of confrontation first. They usually managed to bluster their way into a precarious position before they cut and ran like that, typically after something had randomly been spilled on them.

Odd…

In any case, now wasn't the time for pondering the insanity that was Bulk and Skull. And this was made even clearer to him when Trini extracted herself from the crowd, rolled her eyes at him, and grabbed his arm, dragging Harry with her right back into the middle of the group where Ernie, Tommy, and the other Rangers were still celebrating.

Well, just because he hadn't been involved with the team directly until today didn't mean he couldn't still enjoy the celebration, right? Especially when Trini was so insistent, and who was he to deny her?

-MR-

AN: Chapter title brought to you courtesy of me watching Kung Fu Panda 2 before working on this chapter. FEAR THE BUG! Lol

I can just imagine board games in the Command Center. They do spend an inordinate amount of time waiting around there after all. I can see the Rangers sitting around a Monopoly board when the alarm goes off. "Rangers, the monster has returned to Angel Grove!" "In a minute, Zordon, it's my turn." Even better if they were in morph at the time with their helmets off. lol

Ok, so I'll admit that when I was describing the industrial area of Angel Grove, I was really thinking of the episode in Season 1 where Jason and Tommy get the little Blade Blaster slingshot enhancer thingies from Titanus to beat Rita's first batch of Super Putties. The area where the Rangers fight the Super Putties, though it looks a bit more like a junkyard in my memory, was just really grey when compared to the other fight scenes I remember. It sticks out to me, so I decided to use it.

That little broomball bit grew out of proportion too. Hope it wasn't too boring as I was basically just stream of consciousness-ing the entire thing and then cleaning it up afterwards…

Ending was… kinda weak in my mind, but it is what it is. Life conspired to keep me from finishing it in one session and the ending was fighting me when I tried to sit back down and work it out.

Another thought for you all. Don't be afraid to ask questions in your reviews. I can't guarantee that I'll answer everything, but as those who have reviewed could tell you, any time there is a question, I ALWAYS message back, even if it's just to say that I don't want to reveal that particular bit of info just yet.

Similarly on the overarching bits I've got going now. I wanna hear some theories, people! lol

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review,

Tenstar12