Return of an Old Evil

Disclaimer: Same as before.

A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed the story so far. It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate your feedback. Same pairings as stated before. I decided it was time to have someone else enter the story. Read to find out who! Also, Adam appears at the end.

Chapter 5

Andros immediately knelt down next to her to check for a pulse.

"Is she breathing?" TJ asked

"Yes, and her pulse is strong," he replied. "She's just unconscious."

"We better get her back to the medical bay on the megaship," Zhane said.

"Zhane's right. We need to go now," Carlos put in.

Andros activated his communicator. "DECA, teleport us to the medical bay, now!"

"Teleporting now." In a flash, they disappeared from the planet and reappeared in the medical bay of the megaship.

Andros carefully laid Ashley down on one of the two beds in the bay and undid her morph. There appeared to be no physical external damage, but that didn't necessarily mean much. "DECA, run a full scan on her entire body," he commanded the ship's AI.

"Running full scan now," the AI replied in her monotone.

"Ay, yi yi, rangers! What happened?" Alpha 6 asked as he hurried into the room.

"She was injured in the fight with Ivan Ooze," Cassie explained.

"He's one freaking powerful being!" TJ exclaimed.

"Ay, yi yi! Did you say Ivan Ooze?" Alpha 6 asked, sounding completely shocked.

"Yeah, do you know anything about him?" Carlos asked hopefully.

"Just that he ruled the Earth six thousand years ago with an iron hand. And that he was stopped by six teenage warriors much like you guys. They lured him into some kind of Hyperlock chamber and trapped him there."

"That's it? That's all you know?" Zhane asked.

"I'm afraid so, rangers,"

"But he said something about his being released again and almost destroyed." T J told him.

"Now that you said it, I do remember something along those lines. I don't know any details, though," He replied.

Just then Ashley groaned, and their attention returned to their injured friend. "How is she? TJ asked Andros, who had remained by her side throughout hid friends' discussion of their newest enemy.

"DECA says she has a concussion and two slightly bruised ribs. She'll be fine in a few hours." The others sighed in relief upon hearing this.

"That's great. We'll need the team at full strength to beat this Ivan Ooze monster," Zhane said.

"I hate to say this, but even that may not be enough," Andros said grimly.

"What makes you think that?" Carlos asked him.

"Look at how easily he beat us," Andros pointed out. "We may have beaten the ooze soldiers he made and threw at us, but we couldn't even get close to him. He tossed us around like rag dolls."

"But who can we ask to help us?" Ashley asked. They were all silent for several moments as they all thought about who they could ask for help. Finally Carlos spoke up.

"What about Adam Park? He was once a ranger."

"Yeah, but he doesn't have his powers anymore," TJ reminded him.

"Even so, maybe he can tell us more about this Ivan Ooze." Carlos replied.

"You know, I think that's a good idea," Andros said. "Can you get in touch with him, Carlos?"

"I can, but not in Kerova System. We need to get back to Earth."

"Good, then that's what we'll do. I will call Rakor and let him and the others know what's going on and where we're headed. After that, we'll head straight back to Earth and contact Adam Park," Andros told them. He gave Ashley a quick kiss and headed for the bridge to make his call.

Zhane told DECA plot course back to Earth and to leave as soon as Andros finished talking to Rakor.

Less than ten minutes later, they were on their way back to Earth.

Inside his asteroid base, Ivan had put his captives to work in the factory areas, building his new creations of destruction. When finished, they would be far more powerful then his previous Ectomorpicon Titans. They would pack double the firepower, close to triple the armor, and even have energy shields to protect against enemy firepower and missiles.

He couldn't wait for them to be finished. For when all four were done, no one will be able to stop him from getting his revenge and taking over the Earth and then the universe. Not Zordon, not Dark Specter, and not even pesky idiotic teenagers. It shouldn't be more than a week. If it did drag out, he would simply go out and get more captives to help.

Ivan threw his head back and laughed evilly. "Enjoy yourselves now, everyone on Earth, while you still can. Because in a very short while, all hell's going to break loose!"

On the Dark Fortress Ecliptor rushed to Astronema's quarters. Disturbing reports had been coming in about a new threat that had recently resurfaced. When he reached her quarters, he saw that the door was open and entered without knocking.

"My Princess," he began without preamble. "These reports have just come in, and I think you'd better take a look at them. They're very disturbing."

Astronema got up from her couch where she'd been reclining and strode over to Ecliptor. "This had better be good," she warned him impatiently as she took the datapad he was holding out. Her expression changed to shock however, as she read the reports. "Ivan Ooze? Are you sure about this? He was destroyed over Earth by a comet over two years ago."

"I am sure, My Princess. I double and triple-checked the reports myself. He must have somehow escaped destruction by the comet."

"Or maybe it's a fraud. Or someone pretending to be him," Astronema pointed out.

"I already thought of that. I ran a long-range bioscan of him myself when he was on KO-35."

"So that's where you disappeared to the other day," Astronema said.

"Yes, I wanted to be sure if it was really him or not before I told you all this," Ecliptor replied honestly.

Astronema nodded. "I don't like this one bit. Ivan Ooze is very powerful. There have even been rumors that he's powerful enough to challenge Dark Specter."

"So what do we do?"

"Nothing yet. He no doubt will go after the rangers first for revenge, and after he destroys them, he'll be tired and weakened. That's we destroy them!"

"Yes, My Princess," Ecliptor bowed and headed for the door.

"Thank you, Ecliptor, for bringing this to my attention. I shall immediately contact Dark Specter and inform him of all this. If anything about the plan changes, you'll be the first to know," Astronema called after him.

Ecliptor bowed again and left the room. Astronema went to her desk to call Dark Specter. As she sat down, her eyes landed on the slightly wrinkled picture of the Silver Ranger with his helmet off that she tended to carry around with her in secret.

She felt a longing in her heart as she gazed at his handsome face for several moments. She brushed it off quickly; she didn't have time for this right now. She had a very important call to make.

"Well, home sweet home," Said TJ when they reached Earth. The journey had taken nearly a day and a half. Andros had spent most of it by Ashley's side, first in the medical bay, then in her room, where he slept on the floor while she slept in her bed. They had all gotten some sleep as a matter of fact. They knew they needed all the rest they could get before they faced Ivan again. They were now all gathered on the bridge as they entered Earth's atmosphere.

Andros turned to Carlos. "Have you reached him yet?" He asked.

"I'm trying," he replied as he continued to frantically push buttons at the com station.

"If we can't reach Adam, maybe we should call Tommy," TJ spoke up.

"Do you know how to get a hold of him, TJ," Ashley asked him. Because I sure don't."

"Never mind," Carlos interrupted them. "I've reached Adam." A moment later the image of the former Black ranger and Green Zeo Ranger appeared on the main viewscreen.

"Carlos, what's going on?" he asked slightly younger Hispanic man.

"We are in a very grave situation and we need your help," Carlos answered, his voice very serious.

"What happened? I can tell by your face that it's bad." Adam asked.

"It's not a what, it's a who," Carlos replied. "Ivan Ooze."

A/N: What do you think? I would to hear your feedback and comments. Please review!!!!