Episode 269: Power Rangers Dino Thunder: Thunderstorm: Part I

At a construction site in a large field, one of the workers says, "Well, that's it." He goes over to another man, tossing a tool aside. "The lines down here are fine, couldn't find a problem."

"That's weird," the other man says as they continue walking. He calls something to the others and they all head back to their vehicles, someone shouting, "See ya," as they go and the two keep on. He gestures behind him at the ground they've been working. "We'll fill them back in tomorrow."

"Sure," he answers. They walk off.

As they leave, the ground starts to rumble and shake slightly, getting worse and worse, then a beam of light shines through and it cracks open. Then a hand reaches out of it, and a familiar voice groans as another hand grabs the side of the cliff. He pulls himself up slowly, and finally comes to the top, and we see the once-feared evil space ninja, Lothor. Purple electricity crackles all around him, and Lothor laughs as he looks around.

At CyberSpace, Kira and Trent sit on the small sofa with their school books open. Kira looks up as a voice across the room says "Hey there".

"Trent, does that guy at the bar look familiar to you?" Kira asked as Trent looks up.

"You mean the one in the blue hat?" Trent asks. "Not really. Why?"

Kira stares intently at the man. "I'm sure I've seen him before."

"Well, go ask," Trent says.

"I'm not just gonna go up to some guy I don't know," Kira says

"Okay," he says impatiently. "Can we get back to studying?" He turns back to his book but Kira is still distracted as the man turns and says something. "It's driving you crazy, isn't it?" Trent asks.

She nods.

Trent rolls his eyes slightly and looks at her. "Go ask."

Kira looks at him a moment, then stands, walking off, and Trent watches her silently. She approaches the counter, where the man and another guy are talking.

"Hey," she says. "Do we, know each other?"

He turns, looking at her carefully, but friendly. "I don't think so," he says. Then he offers a hand. "I'm Blake." She shakes his hand and he gestures to his friend. "This is Jesse."

"How's it going?" Jesse says.

Kira frowns as she looks at Blake. "Blake, you just look, so familiar to me."

He pauses, then takes off his cap and tosses it on the counter. "Do you follow motocross?"

"No," she says slowly. "Why, is that what you do?"

Just then a young man comes over, holding out a pen and paper to Blake. "Hey," Blake says. The guy says something and he answers, "Yeah, sure." He takes the pen and picks up his cap, signing it and handing it to him. "Here." The guy gapes in awe and walks off excitedly.

"Okay," Kira says. "So you're famous for, riding a motorcycle?"

Blake laughs a little, looking back at Jesse. He puts a hand on Kira's arm as he starts to walk passed her. "Don't be so surprised."

"Oh, no," she says quickly, following him. "I just, didn't know you could be famous for that."

Blake turns back to her. "Well, why don't you come see for yourself?" Trent looks up in obvious annoyance as Blake continues. "The nationals are this week at Reefside MX park. Bring some friends, I'll get you passes."

Kira pauses, smiling a little. "Are you asking me out?" Trent shakes his head in obvious jealousy.

Blake laughs a little. "No, it's nothing like that. Look, part of being a rider is spreading the word of our sport, you know, getting people to come out who never would and all. I promise you, you'll totally be into it."

Kira nods a little. "Okay."

"Here you go," Jesse says, handing her a slip of paper.

"Thanks," Kira says.

"Cool," Blake says. Kira walks away and he turns, looking after her as she leaves.

At the Wind Ninja Academy, a group on ninjas prepare to fight three masked ninjas. They take off their masks to reveal that they are Shane, Dustin, and Tori. They get into stance and as the other ninjas run at them they begin to fight easily wipe the floor with the others. They finish together and as the ninjas prepare to fight again

Shane says, "Stand down." They straighten and he takes a breath. "All right. How do you guys think that went?"

"Dude, we totally kicked their butts!" Dustin exclaims excitedly.

Shane gives him a look and Tori can't hold back a smile. "I believe he was talking to them, Sensei Dustin."

Dustin looks at her, his smile fading, then he nods and takes a breath, composing himself. "Oh, right. Sorry." He puts on a stern face and faces the students. "Proceed."

"Thank you," Shane says flatly. "All right, before your next lesson I want you guys to think about what just happened here. You all need to consider your commitment to ninja training." He stares at them a moment. "Class dismissed." He turns and walks away and Dustin and Tori follow him through the woods.

Tori looks over at Shane as she ducks under a tree branch. "Shane, you kinda sounded like Sensei back there."

"Yeah, well speaking of Sensei," Shane says "Wasn't he supposed to meet us here?"

"Think he forgot?" Dustin asks.

Tori pauses. "When has he ever forgotten anything, ever?"

"Hey, check it out," Dustin says, pointing.

They walk over to a large scroll hanging from a tree and Shane reads the strange writing. "Tori, Shane, Dustin. Go to the highest point at Blue Bay Harbor." He pauses. "Meet me there at sunset."

Dustin continues. "Do not speak of this matter, until I have spoken to you."

At the Dino Lab, Tommy and Haley are at the main computer, and Tommy looks over her shoulder, leaning on the table. "How's the new system going?"

Haley sighs. "I don't think it's working right. I've checked the routines, the sub-routines, every line of code, it just doesn't make any sense." Tommy looks lost as she pulls up an image onscreen. "This is a map of California. If this reading were accurate, we'd have a blanket of evil spreading over the entire state."

"You sure it's a computer problem?" Tommy asks.

She shakes her head slightly. "It'd better be. Or we've got some major trouble."

Sensei is standing on a high cliff in Blue Bay Harbor as Shane, Dustin, and Tori approach

"Sensei," Tori says "Is everything all right?"

"No, Tori," Sensei says solemnly. "I'm afraid it's not."

"You don't look so hot." Dustin comments. "I mean- no offense."

Sensei smiles a little. "None taken, Dustin."

"So what's up?" Shane asks.

"He's back," Sensei answers, staring out at the ocean again. They all stare at him quietly and finally he turns. "Lothor is back."

They all look at each other a moment. "Wait, Lothor can't be back," Dustin says.

"Yeah," Shane agrees. "No way."

"We saw him disappear into the Abyss of Evil," Tori states.

"If Lothor's really back," Dustin says. "How are we gonna fight him with no powers?"

"Cam has been saving these for just such an occasion," Sensei says. He holds out his hands and a box appears in them. "Shane. Tori. Dustin. It is with a heavy heart that I must give you new Power Discs." He opens the box and they each take their Power Discs and put them on their Morphers. "A dark cloud has descended upon us. And it is time for you to resume your duties as Power Rangers."

They all strap on their Wind Morphers and raise their fists. "We won't let you down, Sensei," Shane says. "Let's do it!" They press their morphers and are immediately engulfed in purple electricity.

It passes after a moment and they all look up at Sensei. "Well," he says, his voice changing slightly. "How do you feel?"

"Like Blue Bay Harbor must be destroyed," Shane says in a low voice.

"Why stop there?" Tori asks, smirking a little. "I want the whole country."

"And then the world," Dustin adds.

Sensei tosses the box aside and grins. "That's what I was hoping you'd say!" he says in a much different, accented voice. He waves an arm and transforms into Lothor. "I never thought I'd say this, but it's a pleasure to see y'all!"

"And it's our pleasure to serve under you," Shane says.

"Music to my ears!" Lothor shouts happily. He laughs and the camera pans over the cliff, to where the true Kanoi is lying, bound and gagged out of sight.

At the Wind Ninja Academy, Cam is walking through the gates. "Cam!" a voice shouts, and he stops, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Hey!" Kapri calls as Marah and her run to his side, all smiles as they hang on his arms. "Who're you looking for?"

"Don't you guys have ninja homework?" Cam asks.

"Yeah, well we finished cause it was like, really easy," Marah explains.

"Yeah," Kapri confirms.

"Look," Cam says, backing away. "Just go and practice." He starts to walk away.

They follow. "Hey, you wanna talk about this?" Kapri asks. "We're family, remember?"

"Yeah," says Marah. "We're totally here for you, Cousin."

"Fine," Cam relents, stopping. "Look, my father hasn't come back yet and I'm…" he shrugs slightly. "A little worried. Ever since that whole guinea pig thing… I like to know where he is."

"Cam," Marah says. "Your father's like a really great sensei, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Yeah," Kapri says. "And hey, you got us in the meantime!"

Cam smiles, almost laughing. "Very comforting," he says. He backs off and gestures behind him. "Now if you'll excuse me."

He walks away and Marah turns to Kapri. "You know what, he's so gonna get those worry lines!"

"Totally," Kapri says.

"Ew, gross." said Marah

"Yeah." said Kapri

Elsewhere, Conner, Ethan, and Kira watch Blake win a motocross race

Meanwhile, Cam walks through the forests looking very worried as he looks for his father. "Dad!" he calls. "Tori? Dustin! Shane! Are you out here?" He sees a torn scroll hanging from a tree and goes to it slowly, then kneels and looks at some purple slime on the ground. "What's this?" he asks quietly, fingering it. Then a look of realization comes over him. "This was at the Abyss of Evil," he says. He pauses a moment, then looks up. "The school!"

A huge explosion goes off at the Wind Academy, and the students look on as Lothor and two followers walk forward. Marah and Kapri look at each other in horror and the rest of the ninjas pull out their weapons, yelling as they prepare to battle them.

"So nice of you all to be here to greet us," Lothor says, approaching them.

"Uh-oh," Kapri says.

"I thought you were—" Marah begins.

"Gone?" Lothor cuts in. "Destroyed? History?"

"Well… yeah," she admits.

"Sorry to disappoint, girls," he says. "But I'm back in black. And needless to say, I'm in a mood."

"Yeah, like that would have changed," Kapri jokes.

"Never could keep your mouth shut, could ya?" Lothor says, and her smile fades.

"Who are they?" Marah asks, looking at the two monsters beside him.

"New friends I made down in the depths of the Abyss," he says. "They don't say much, but they fight like the dickens." There is a huge blast and the three Wind Ninjas appear, kneeling before the crowd. They look up, then stand slowly and walk steadily to the others.

Marah and Kapri smile in relief and run up to them. "Thank goodness you're here!" Marah exclaims. "Look… Lothor!" She takes Dustin's arm and Kapri takes Shane's, but the Rangers brush by them.

"We know," Shane says, stepping up on the platform with Lothor and the others. "Isn't it great?"

"Huh?" Kapri asks. Marah and her stop and stare as the rangers stand beside Lothor.

"Capture them!" Lothor orders.

"Gladly," Shane says. "Ready?"

"Ready," the other two answer.

"NINJA STORM, RANGER FORM!" said Shane "POWER OF AIR!"

"EARTH!" said Dustin

"WATER!" said Tori

"Ninja Swords" said Shane "Let's get 'em"

They run at the students and begin to fight, and Marah and Kapri run away quickly.

The Rangers fight off the students easily, and Lothor's new friends join in, firing blasts and causing explosions to go off everywhere. The group of ninja students stagger together and face Lothor, who brings out a container. "Time to bottle up my troubles once and for all," he says, taking the cork out. He laughs as the students are enveloped in a cloud of smoke and disappear into the container.

"Ninja Form" Shane says, and they demorph.

"Going someplace, girls?" Lothor asks as Marah and Kapri sneak by.

They start to protest quickly and rush forward. "We're family," Marah says.

"Only by marriage," Lothor says.

"Y-y-yeah, but… we can help!" Kapri says.

"Yeah," Marah agrees.

"Like you did last time?" he asks.

"Yeah," Marah says with a smile.

"No!" Kapri cuts in. "No, no. Seriously, uh, we're ninjas now and we can, totally kick butt." She raises her fists and Marah strikes a pose, hitting her. "Ow."

"Well," Lothor muses. "You might have a point there. All right, you're in." They transform into their old clothes. "But only on a trial basis. One screw-up, and you're gone." They nod and he turns to the Rangers. "Well, now that that's taken care of, on to bigger things."

"All right," Dustin says.

"What about the others," Shane says. "Cam will be looking for us."

"Exactly," Lothor says. "And when he finds you, it won't be very pretty, will it?"

Tori smirks. "No, it won't." They all laugh a little, and Marah and Kapri join in nervously.

Haley sits in front of the computer at the lab, as usual, typing away. Tommy comes over. "Haley, it's late. You should go home and get some rest."

"There it is again," Haley says, staring at the screen. She points to a place on the map of California shown. "The energy is radiating from this point here."

"Blue Bay Harbor," Tommy says. "That's where the Wind Ninja Academy is."

Haley shakes her head slightly. "I've had some correspondence with Cam Watanabe. But they discontinued the Ranger program after Lothor was sealed away."

Cam bursts through the burning gate of the Wind Academy and looks around. "This is not good." He takes out a small device and speaks into it. "It's happened. We need to meet."

Later, Cam is standing in the middle of an empty street, and Hunter ninja streaks in beside him. "Hunter," Cam says.

"Good to see you," Hunter says.

They clasp hands and hug briefly, then start to walk down the street. "Thanks for coming," Cam says. "Sorry to call you away from your students."

"No, I thought it must be important," Hunter says. "I was hoping we'd never have to use these." He looks down at the communicator. "So, you think it's Lothor?"

"It has to be," Cam says. "Who else leaves purple slime in his wake?"

"You reach the others?" Hunter asks.

"They're not responding" said Cam

Elsewhere, Blake and Kira walk together at the park, Ethan and Conner behind them. "So," Blake says, nudging Kira a little. "What'd you think?"

"It was awesome," Kira says.

Blake smiles. "Don't say I didn't warn you." She smiles back.

"Thanks for hooking us up, man," Conner says.

"No problem, guys," Blake says easily. They get to the factory blue van and apparently Blake's locker, and he tosses his helmet to someone. "Listen, what are you guys doing now? You wanna grab a bite?" There is a high beep and he turns to the locker, taking out a communicator like Hunter's and Cam's and looking at it. "Uh, I take that back. Looks like we're gonna have to reschedule."

Kira pauses. "Is, everything okay?"

"Yeah, I hope so," Blake says. He looks at the others. "Listen, it was really nice meeting you. I'll see you guys later." He walks off.

Kira frowns as she watches him go, then turns to the other two. "That was, kinda weird."

Their Dino Morphers go off and they look at them. "Not so weird," Ethan says.

"Let's go," says Conner. They leave.

At the Dino Lab, on the computer screen, the Wind Ranger are walking through the streets as people run away.

"I thought they lost their Powers," Kira says.

"So did we," Haley says. "There's been an evil energy surge over the past twenty-four hours. We think the Abyss of Evil has been opened up."

There is a silence, then Kira looks at Tommy. "Dr. O, you said Lothor's back?"

"Unfortunately," he says. "But there's only one way to find out."

Conner straightens. "Let's deal with these fakes."

"Trent, you stay here with us," Tommy says. "This is just the kind of opportunity Mesogog would take advantage of."

Trent nods. "Right."

The other three step back. "You guys ready?" Conner asks.

"Ready," said Ethan and Kira

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP!" said Conner "TYRANNO!"

"TRICERA!" said Ethan

"PTERA!" said Kira

The Wind Rangers walk slowly through the street, others behind them, and the Dino Rangers leap onscreen. "That's far enough!" Conner says. The ninjas stop.

"You must be lost," Shane says. "Cause I know we didn't invite you."

"Maybe you forgot," Ethan says. "You're supposed to beat the bad guys, not be the bad guys."

"Good, bad," says Tori. "What's the difference? It's all about Power."

"I guess we're gonna have to fight them," Conner says. They take out their weapons.

The ninjas stand still as a group of Kelzacks run at the others, and slowly walk towards them. Then they join the fight. Kira pauses during a slight break in her fight with Tori.

"I don't want to hurt you!" Kira says.

"Your mistake!" Tori says, taking out her sword and hitting Kira with it, sending her flying. Dustin and Ethan fight atop a car, Dustin avoiding every swing, and it isn't long before Ethan flies back too, hitting Kira. Conner and Shane go at it, and one of Lothor's "friends" shoots a blast at them, nearly hitting them both, but they jump out of the way and don't miss a beat as they continue battling. Conner holds out for a while, but Shane gets a blow in and Conner flies back, hitting a cart and landing on the ground with a grunt. Shane laughs as he watches, then readies his sword and runs at him again.

Cam and Hunter are watching the fight intently, and Blake ninja streaks in beside them. Hunter smiles as they clasp hands. "Blake. Am I glad to see you!"

"I got here as fast as I could," Blake says. "What's up?"

"We got trouble," Cam says. "Big trouble." They all step up to the railing and watch silently as the Rangers fight each other.

The Dino rangers group together tiredly. "They're too strong," Conner says.

"We need to regroup," Ethan says. Kira nods and they turn, running off.

The ninjas laugh as they watch. "That's right," Shane says. "You'd better run!"

Back at the Dino Lab, the Rangers sit helmet-less on the steps, with Tommy before them. "The important thing is, that you guys are okay," Tommy says. "And that we learned something."

"What it's like having our butts kicked?" Conner asks.

"No," Tommy answers. "That it's gonna take a lot more than what we have to defeat them."

"More?" Kira asks. "Like what?"

"I don't know, Kira," he says. "That's what we need to figure out."

Mesogog and Elsa are watching the Wind Rangers on the screen at their base. "Evil Power Rangers," Mesogog says slowly.

"Where do they come from, my lord?" Elsa asks.

"An excellent question, Elsa," he says. "Wait. Freeze that picture." She does so. "Kelzacks." said Mesogog

"Who brought them to the party?" Elsa asks.

"Lothor," Mesogog states.

"Lothor? He's a fool. A buffoon." said Elsa

"Yes," Mesogog agrees. "But one that could prove most useful. Find him, and bring him to me."

"Yes, my lord," Elsa says, standing and walking away.

"Reefside," Mesogog says. "Is about to get a whole lot more interesting."

Back at the Dino Lab, Conner stands and walks to Tommy. "Why don't we just, use our Dinozords and kick their ninja butts?" The others follow him past Tommy. "I don't get it."

"Never escalate a battle unless your opponent forces you to" said Tommy

"I'm with Conner on this one," Ethan says.

"Me too," Kira states.

Tommy stands. "Look, they're people who were once good. But something has happened to them. Until we figure that out, we defend ourselves, but we don't kill them."

In a cave somewhere, Lothor sits on a stone throne, fires burning all over in the dimly lit room. "Well," he says. "That was quite a sight."

"It was brilliant," Shane says.

"You truly are a strategic genius," Tori says.

Dustin comes over, smiling. "I can't wait to face the Dino Rangers again."

Lothor turns to his nieces. "What about you girls?" They start babbling and he cuts them off, silencing them. "Now I have to take a power nap," he says. "Leave me." They nod and run off.

Elsa walks in slowly. "You're gonna need more than a nap to beat the Power Rangers. Lucky for you, my master is willing to help out."

Shane stands behind her and leans into her ear. "How did you get in here?"

"This is a private lair," Dustin says.

"Back off, buddy!" Elsa shouts in his face. "If you know what's good for you." He steps back slightly and she turns to Lothor. "Mesogog doesn't mess around with amateurs."

"You don't know who you're messing with," Tori says.

Lothor holds up a hand. "Wait, Tori." He stands and walks up to Elsa. "Mesogog has sent us his messenger. The least we can do, is listen to the message."

To be continued…

Next time on Power Rangers Dino Thunder:

The Wind Rangers and the Dino Rangers are ready to face each other for one last showdown while Mesogog and Lothor consider an alliance. Will the Dino Rangers be able to save the Wind Rangers before it's too late? Find out next time on Power Rangers Dino Thunder!