A/N: See Ch. 1, 15, and 16 for information which does not belong to me.

Ch. 20-Plots Thickening

Friday, May 9

3:30 p.m. local time

Angel Grove High School

Angel Grove, CA

It had been two entire weeks after Kimberly's major attack on Angel Grove, and all had been quiet in that time.

The Rangers, glad as they were that things had been quiet, were taken by surprise that there had been neither hide nor hair from Kimberly, or any latest news from Squatt and Baboo on Zedd's plot to steal Kimberly from under their noses.

They'd all gone on with their lives in one place except for Sabrina, who on a regular routine had been staying at the underground, inside the mountains base that the Rangers had been calling home by day, and going to Adam's residence by night. She'd also, at Adam's urging, been by the Youth Center most days, preferring to get to know the rest of the team in a better way.

In the hallway outside Ms. Appleby's classroom, the two major groups of Power Rangers stood together. The teacher had been lenient on the two current groups of Rangers, knowing they had a city to protect and Kimberly to get back, but was still stern. The Rangers had also been keeping her, and Angel Grove High principal Mr. Caplan, up to date o what was happening. While they'd offered shelter to both at the new command base, both had declined, wishing to be with their families at this time.

The one who was absent was Rocky, who had taken a leave of absence to go visit Little Angel's Haven...there were rumors circulating through the Ranger group that he'd been able to meet and be friends with one of the young boys there.

"Man!" said Zack Taylor as he punched his hand into his fist. "That test was BRUTAL!" Rocky had taken the test earlier in the day, and had warned the rest of his Ranger friends to watch out for it, and yet they still were complaining afterwards.

"Yeah, but thank God it's over," said the white-clad boy, Tommy, who stood and looked over them all. "It actually wasn't THAT bad...not as brutal as some of her previous tests."

"Tell me about it," said Trini Kwan, decked out in all blue. "I've seen far worse from her."

"Tell you what," said Adam, "as soon as Sabrina's ready and as soon as Rocky gets out of that shelter, we can all meet at the Juice Bar. I'm in the mood for some of Ernie's smoothies."

"Yeah...what's she doing today?" said Trini. "Seems like she's doing something every day."

"From what I remember her telling me," said Adam as he lowered his voice and led the Rangers to a more secluded area, "she's working on a new little invention for you Turbo Rangers to use in battle. It's a surprise...that's all she's allowing me to tell you."

"Damn, I HATE it when we get surprised like that," said David Trueheart. "Man, I could go for one of Ernie's smoothies too. Tommy also is going to the reservation with me this weekend."

Same Time

Little Angel's Haven

Angel Grove, CA

"Man, I'm so glad you could come early this time! How in the world did you get out of your obligations?" 12 year-old Justin Stewart said to Rocky, who had been a growing friend for him.

A few weeks ago, Rocky had seen a story profiled in the local paper about how Justin had come to live at Little Angel's Haven...the house he had been living in was far too volatile and far too uncomfortable to be living, so the parents had sent him to Little Angel's Haven, hoping someone would pick him up.

He volunteered immediately to go to Little Angel's Haven, and the two had become friends in a hurry.

"I'm glad I could come too! Weekend came early for both of us!" Rocky said. "Let's just say that I'm honorable enough that those around me know this is for a good cause! Now, want to go-?"

But before Rocky could finish his sentence, Justin suddenly felt a shiver down his back.

"Um, Justin?" said Rocky.

"Do you-do you get the feeling we're being watched?" said Justin.

'This boy,' thought Rocky, 'is way too much like Billy for his own good. Not only do I get the feeling we're being watched, I think we're being watched intently!'

Nevertheless, Rocky tried to put on his best smile. "By what, the walls? Come on, let's go kick the ball around for a bit!"

Unknown Time

Moon Palace

Indeed, the two were correct...they were being watched, and not exactly by the being that they wanted to be watched by.

A pair of eyes was staring at them from Rita's Repulsascope...eyes which belonged to none other than Earth's first Pink Ranger.

She'd been idling her time getting to know Divatox and her crew, as well as training with Master Vile and Lady Chaos in the art of sword-fighting. She was becoming better and better by day, and the forces in the Lunar Palace believed it would be only a matter of time before she destroyed the Rangers for good.

"Yes! This will CERTAINLY be a blow to the Rangers!" smirked Kimberly as she raised an evil looking pink and black sword skyward.

"What is your plan, Princess?" said Lady Chaos.

"Just come take a look at this," said Kimberly. "Look at this boy...he walks with as much confidence as he can...despite the fact that this particular human is HOMELESS! And he's friends with one of those pathetic Rangers! Those runty Rangers would NEVER expect us to take this boy! We can capture him, and I can claim him as my protégé in the ways of evil!"

"It is said around those stupid Rangers," continued Kimberly, "that that silly Black Ranger has taught that rookie Yellow Turbo Ranger what honor is. If I can teach that pathetic human how to really be evil at an early age..."

"I like it, Kimberly. This would be a person they'd never expect to work against them!" said Lady Chaos.

"Yes. But we must wait for the right time to strike," said Kimberly. "As long as he's with that pathetic Red Ranger, we can't strike at them. Let's wait till he leaves, and then we can strike. GOLDAR! RYGOG!"

"Yes, Princess?" said the two warriors as they came running into the throne room.

"Here is what you are going to do..."

20 minutes later...

Goldar was looking for Lord Zedd throughout the palace, and finally found him somewhere in the northermost part of the palace, near his regeneration chamber.

"My Lord..." said Goldar.

"How dare you interrupt me, Goldar? Do you not see that I'm busy???" roared Zedd.

"Maybe you should know, my lord, that Kimberly has something planned."

"What is it?"

"She is planning on attacking Little Angel's Haven, my lord. To capture a certain genius boy that the Red Ninjetti has drawn very close to."

"The kid, Justin, correct?"

"Yes, my lord. How should we go about this?"

"Follow what she's ordered for you. Want to look at what I have in store for her, and the Rangers? Come right in, Goldar, and look at this beautiful contraption."

Goldar gasped in awe at what appeared to be a room with lots of wires and places where Zedd would use his magic.

"This is where I'm going to take her when the time is right, Goldar. I'm going to put her to sleep for 24 hours on one certain day, and when she wakes up..."

"She'll have the same powers as you and will be completely open to you, my lord," said Goldar.

"YES! I knew there was a reason I kept you around, my loyal warrior!"

"When do you plan on striking, my lord?"

"When it hurts them the most...their graduation date...one month from now. On that day, those stupid Ninjetti Rangers, save for that one, will all have their powers REVOKED! And then the universe...shall be mine! Now go, and do what Kimberly asks of you, my loyal warrior!"

But just like before, none of them had noticed the figure that had followed Goldar...a figure who knew that when Goldar had left the throne room, he knew would be looking for Zedd. He gasped in horror.

'Got to get Squatt and Baboo to the Chamber!' thought Jason Scott as he waited till the right moment, and then swiftly headed back to the throne room. 'The Rangers will certainly want to know about these developments!'

Divatox's subcraft

Same Time

"So they're planning on taking that little blue kid, huh?" said Divatox.

"Yes, my darling," said Maligore.

"Why don't we give them some help?" said Divatox.

"Great idea, darling," said Maligore "PORTO! Make us a monster to assist Goldar and Rygog!"

"I've got just the monster, my queen," said the marshmallow scientist. "Presenting...the Bomblinator."

Porto stepped back to reveal a monster in red and black, complete with a cannon on his head, a bomb launcher on his left side, and some other kind of weapons on his left side.

"Are you sure this one's going to be better than our previous losers, you marshmallow moron?" shouted Divatox.

"Bomblinator is a rather nasty monster, my queen," said Porto. "He can shoot blasts from cannons, he can throw explosive bombs, and he can throw explosive grenades as well. He can handle the Rangers or their allies with ease."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Prepare to send him!" shouted Divatox.

4:15 local time

Underground Power Chamber

Angel Grove, CA

"Well, that should finish that up!" said Sabrina as she looked at her new invention...a black jet-like structure. "The Turbo Rangers are going to be so excited when they receive this! I can barely wait myself!"

Zordon was about to respond when two flashes of light revealed Squatt and Baboo.

"Hey guys!" said Sabrina. "Haven't seen you in a while! You have news, don't you?"

"Oh, do we ever!" said Baboo. "Where's Rocky?"

"I don't know what this has to do with the news, but I can find out where he is."

Sabrina activated the main television to find Rocky leaving Little Angel's Haven...seemingly tired after playing a kickball game with Justin.

"He needs to get back there," said Squatt. "Kimberly's going after his little friend."

"Justin? No way!" said Sabrina.

"Kimberly thinks she can turn him into her apprentice," said Baboo. "We hear that Divatox is also sending a monster!"

"We're not letting them take him without a fight," said the Gold Ranger as she rushed to a console. "Rocky! Rocky, come in!"

"This is Rocky, I read you," he responded.

"You can't leave yet. Kimberly's going after Justin."

"What could she want with him?"

"Tell you later. You need to morph and get to wherever Justin is! I'll call the others and join you in a minute!"

Got it," said Rocky as the communications channel closed.

Little Angel's Haven

Same Time

"Oh, man," said Rocky, eyes blazing with fury. "If they get Justin, I'm going to be devastated. It's Morphin Time! RED RANGER POWER!" shouted Rocky.

Meanwhile, across the shelter, Justin was going in for dinner in a very happy-go-lucky mood.

'Man, how great can this day get?' said Justin. 'Rocky shows up early, and we get to play kickball for over 40 minutes. My day was made right there.'

That was when his day began to get turned upside down, as he was suddenly grabbed by several fierce hands...belonging to Goldar and Rygog, and Divatox's newest monster.

"Let me go, you overgrown morons!" shouted Justin. "I have had a fun day, and I don't need to see terrorizing monsters that I've heard about on the news ruin it!"

"You may have had a fun day with Rocky, pipsqueak," said Goldar, "but you're our property now! It's time to leave!"

And that's when numerous blasts hit the ground in front of the two villains, smashing them back into the wall of the shelter. One and all, the villains and Justin turned, shockingly, to see Ninjetti Rangers, Turbo Rangers, Aquitar Rangers, Dex and Archerina, fully ready for battle.

"You're not going anywhere, cretins, except back to the moon when you face your defeat!" shouted Rocky.

"That's right!" added Archerina.

"Can't you stay out of our business just once, Power Brats?" shouted Goldar.

"Not until we're dead, in cold blood, Goldilocks!" shouted Tommy. "Give that young one back to us, now!"

"In your dreams, Power Morons!" shouted Bomblinator.

With that, Bomblinator fired explosives from his launching weapon, Rygog fired his skull blasts, and Goldar fired energy from his sword, all of which the Rangers managed to dodge.

"Gold Ranger, and Masked Rider!" shouted Tommy. "Get him inside that shelter! We'll join you later!"

"Right!" said Sabrina, and she immediately took Justin's hand, with the three heading off. Tommy then ducked just in time to avoid the oncoming fire blast from Goldar.

"Come on, Goldilocks. You can surely do better than that," Tommy growled as he clenched his fists.

"Believe me, White Ranger, I will!" rasped Goldar as he charged forward, sword drawn. As the two long time rivals exchanged swordstrokes, the Alien Rangers and the rest of the Ninjetti Rangers were engaging Bomblinator, while the Turbo Rangers and Archerina engaged Rygog.

Archerina went first, as she morphed her bow into a sword, and clanged it against Rygog's staff.

"Return to the side of evil, and we may let you live, traitor!" shouted Rygog.

"The day I return to evil is the day my circuits rot in hell, you poor excuse for a skeleton," she responded.

"THAT can be arranged!" said Rygog as he fired his skull blasts at her. Archerina dodged, then engaged him again, with help from Kat's Windfire and Tanya's Star Chargers.

Meanwhile, the other Rangers were engaging Bomblinator...and finding him very difficult to handle.

Adam went first, firing several blasts from his Power Axe...and had a stunned look on his face when the blasts didn't even faze him.

"Man! That didn't even touch him!"

"That's right, puny Ranger! Your weapons are no match for mine! Now, try my version of firepower!" he shouted as he drew several explosive bombs, and tossed them against Adam's suit. When he pressed a button, the explosives detonated, throwing Adam to the ground...hard.

Bomblinator felt something hit him in the back, and turned around to see Rocky and Aisha holding their Power Weapons.

"You'll pay for hurting our friend, you overgrown detonator!" shouted Rocky.

"I may be overgrown, but I can overpower any one of you any day!" shouted Bomblinator as he swung his leg at them both, scattering Rocky and Aisha. "Besides, I'm not doing this alone!" He stepped back to reveal Kimberly and Jason, along with a batch of Tengas.

"Oh man! This thing just got escalated by a thousand!" shouted Billy.

"That's right!" said Jason. "We came here for that Blue Boy, and we're not leaving till we find him, Power Punks! Tengas, destroy them!"

After receiving instructions from Kimberly, Jason began to engage Tommy along with Goldar, and Kimberly took off for the other side of the building.

Same Time...

After traversing around the other side of the building, Gold Ranger Sabrina set Justin down and said, "This is where you can go in, right?"

"Yes," said Justin.

"Good. We should be safe...for the time being. Just get inside...I'll keep watch."

"OK," said Justin.

But as Justin ran for the doorway, he, Dex and Sabrina were thrown back by numerous blasts. They turned to find Kimberly, fully dressed in battle gear, and Gasket, who had his sword pointed at them both.

"Don't even think about it, Little Boy Blue," Kimberly growled. "You're coming with ME!"

"I don't think so!" said Sabrina as she pointed her saber at Kimberly and Gasket both. "If you two want to get him, you have to go through Masked Rider and me!"

"I can arrange for that!" shouted Kimberly as she slashed her sword at Sabrina's gold-plated chest. Sabrina ducked, and then summoned her own saber, and swung it at Kimberly, who blocked it with two of her weapons.

Meanwhile, Gasket and Dex were circling each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Surrender now, Masked Rider," said Gasket, "and I will make your death much quicker!"

"Never, Gasket!" he shouted. With that, Gasket charged him.

With the foursome locked in battle, Justin managed to sneak inside the shelter.

"Aggghhh!" shouted Kimberly. "I'll get you for this, Gold Ranger! That boy is supposed to come with me! You either surrender him to me, or we tear this place apart!"

"Don't test my patience, Kimberly," said Sabrina calmly. "And we're not giving him back until we're powerless and dead."

Meanwhile...

Tommy kicked Goldar in the leg, then activated his communicator.

"Sabrina, how's Justin?"

"We got him in," she said over the frequency.

"Good. May want to get him some protection inside, though."

"Agreed." With that, the channel closed.

Tommy whirled around and stopped Jason's powerful sword stroke, then banged Goldar and Jason's heads together. He looked over to see the group going against Bomblinator was starting to handle him a bit better, and while most of the group facing Rygog had never faced him beforehand, they were doing as well as could be expected.

On Justin's side of the shelter...

Justin was just inside Little Angel's Haven, still watching outside as the foursome of Gasket, Kimberly, Sabrina and Dex continued to duel.

'I've always wanted to see a battle between the Power Rangers and the forces of evil,' thought Justin, 'but I never imagined those insane lunatics would try to make me their target.'

He was still watching, when he heard noises behind him.

"Who's there?" he said.

He then found he could say no more, as a hand covered his mouth. He looked up to see Rito, who Master Vile had sent to Earth to help out Kimberly.

"Ha! Thought you could get away, did you? Well, thanks to my daddy, you were wrong. Enjoy this trip to the moon, blue boy!" said Rito.

And that's when five blasts hit the floor in front of Rito, sending him spiraling back.

A siren could be heard outside, as a metallic hand clamped down on Rito.

"Attention, attention," a voice said. "You are in violation of galaxy-wide law. You are under arrest. Surrender or face instant destruction!"

"I don't think so!" shouted Rito, who charged his sword with lightning and prepared to send it into the being, when Justin came up from behind Rito and grabbed him in a headlock, forcing him to drop the sword. The being then fired cuffs from his wrists around Rito, dragged him to the door, released him, and then said,

"Be warned, creature. Next time you attack there will be further consequences. Have a nice day," he said, and threw Rito outside the shelter, causing him to collide with Gasket. The being then shut the door.

"Hey, thanks," said a voice behind him. He turned around to see Justin. "But who are you?"

"I am a friend...I am called the Blue Senturion," said the being. "I am an intergalactic police officer who travels around the universe with the mission of keeping the forces of good safe from beings of evil. I was summoned by numerous beings within the structure of Earth's Rangers, namely Sabrina of Eltar..."

Justin's mouth dropped wide open at hearing the identity of one of the Rangers, at which the Blue Senturion banged his hand against his head.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. As I'm sure you've noticed before, the Rangers of Earth like keeping their identities secret."

"No, don't worry," said Justin. "I'm innocent, and I don't mind keeping secrets."

Back outside, Kimberly, Gasket and Rito were still locked in separate duels with Ninjor, Dex and Sabrina. Sabrina smacked Kimberly in the face, then whistled to her battle partners.

"Guys! Fall back! I have an idea!" she said.

"You're going to use your new weapon," said Ninjor.

"Yeah. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I don't see we have a choice. We need to force these bad guys to retreat. Turbine Laser Power, now!"

At her command, a sleek black jet with streaks of red rocketed into the sky, heading straight for Little Angel's Haven. When it reached Sabrina, it folded straight down, forming some kind of cannon.

Just then, Sabrina saw Tommy and Adam coming up behind her, and shouted, "Tommy, Adam, help me hold this up!"

"Right!" he said. With that, Ninjor and Dex took their places in front, Tommy and Adam stood on the side, and Sabrina stood in back.

"Time to send you into retreat mode!" said Sabrina. "FIRE!" she shouted as she released a powerful red energy beam, sending the three villains sprawling. Both Rangers and villains all joined the battle in that spot.

"It's all over, Kimberly. You and your cohorts are finished!" said Tommy, as he pointed Saba directly at Kimberly.

"Yeah, right, White Ranger. It's never over until we decide it is. I'll be back, Rangers! Bet on it!" shouted Kimberly.

With that, the villains disappeared.

"All right! Good work, guys!" said Sabrina, as she pumped her fist.

"You didn't do so bad yourself," said Tommy. "But what is this thing?"

"I'll explain when we get to the Chamber. We have much to discuss," she said.

"Yes, but first things first," said Blue Senturion, "We have to take Justin to the Chamber..."

"You blew it, didn't you?" said Sabrina.

"Kind of. I revealed your identity..."

"But not the rest. That's OK. He'll need to know who we are anyways with these goons coming after him...besides, he could use a home. Squatt and Baboo said he was some kind of supergenius...maybe he could help us at the Chamber. I'll contact Daddy."

"I'll go in and get him," said Blue Senturion.

A few minutes later, Senturion returned with Justin, and the Gold Ranger had finished contacting her father.

"Let's get to our base," said Sabrina. "Buckle up, Justin...this is going to be a bit wild."

"Let's go, guys," said Tommy, and they teleported out.

Lunar Palace

Unknown Time

"DAMN!" shouted Kimberly. "DAMN it all to hell! That daughter of Zordon just tortures us to no end!"

"It's not our fault that the Rangers somehow knew we were going to attack," said Jason.

"Yes, you are right. We need to find a way to get rid of those White and Gold Rangers...somehow. With them there, we have no chance against them...they'd be able to thwart any surprise attack" said Kimberly. "Worse yet, they have that blue boy in their protective custody. Knowing them, they won't let him out of their sight. I'd better go to my quarters to think things over."

With that, Kimberly huffed off to her quarters to make grandiose plans.

Lord Zedd, if he had a face, would have been smiling at that point.

'Once you belong to me, young Kimberly,' thought Zedd, 'then that won't be a problem. Leave that to me and my little contraption...just wait one more month and you'll have your wish.

Jason, meanwhile, had gone over to see Squatt and Baboo and conference with them.

"Did you tell them about the contraption Zedd's got, as well as his plans for graduation weekend?" he said.

"Yes. We did," said Baboo.

"Now, all we can do is bide our time and wait," said Jason, as he separated from Rita's two henchmen.

And so, the villains went their separate ways, not knowing there were traitors in their midst.

TBC...