Okay, so… I've already done some ret conning in this story by having Zordon's energy wave happen directly after Zeo instead of after PRiS. Now here's a little more: in Zyuranger, Goldar and Scorpina's counterparts were married, and in this story it's going to be as if they always were in MMPR, too. Enjoy, and sorry for the delay!

Preparations

"I'm sorry, man," Tommy said over the phone. "I'd like to help you, but somehow Divatox and her minions managed to escape when we defeated Maligore. I've got my hands full over here."

Jason sighed, then nodded, even though he knew Tommy couldn't see it. "Yeah, it's okay. I just… I was hoping you might know some good candidates, but if you're tied up you probably haven't done much recruiting, huh?"

"No. I wish I could. How easy would this be if we had an army of Power Rangers to fight these armies of bad guys?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Jason laughed. "Well, I'll figure something out, I guess. Let's get together again if you get a little free time."

"Totally, bro. Last night was a lot of fun."

Jason could hear the smile in Tommy's voice, and couldn't help but grin himself. "Yeah, it was. Dude, Rocky gets a little nuts after he has a few."

"Yeah, he's funny. Hey, I hate to do this to you, but I've gotta run. I just saw a bunch of Piranhatron run down the street."

"No, it's okay, I understand. Go to it, man." They said their goodbyes, and Jason hung up the phone. He stood there for a minute, staring off into space with his arms crossed over his chest. What was he going to do now?

"Any luck?"

Kim's voice brought him around, and he turned to face her, shaking his head.

"No," he said. "But I didn't expect anything."

Kimberly nodded once. "Okay, so… we're on our own with this."

"Yeah, I have a few people in mind. With it being Sunday, I don't wanna bother them, but I'll talk to them during my karate class tomorrow."

"Well, with the way Goldar looked, I think it'll be a while since he tries anything, anyway. Why don't we try to enjoy the quiet while it lasts?"

Upon hearing Kim's suggestion, Jason's face broke out in a huge grin. There was his usual, optimistic Kimmy. She hadn't been around much the last few days, and he was glad she was back.

"Well, what do you propose we do for fun?" he asked her.

Kim returned his grin as she replied, "Oh, I'm sure I can think of something."

…

Goldar reached the mountains outside of Angel Grove and came to a landing at the entrance to a large cave. The mouth of the cave was dark, but as he entered a series of torches along the wall sprang to life of their own accord. The entire inside of the mountain had been made into a sort of lair, with several rooms branching off the main tunnel. The other end of the tunnel opened into a depression, with concentric circles around the perimeter to form steps, which led to a stage the size of a basketball court. Goldar looked upon the empty meeting-room-slash-arena with pride. He hadn't been let down.

The eight-foot-tall monster turned back to the tunnel and entered the room closest to the entrance. As before, torches in the room burst aflame automatically, and this time the sight gave Goldar a start. Scorpions were everywhere. Thousands of them, all over the walls, floor, ceiling; their black bodies glistened in the torchlight, and their feet made little skittering sounds as the arachnids climbed over and around each other. It wouldn't have startled him normally, but he'd been away a long time, and he hadn't expected to come home to such a sight. While he watched, a few hundred of the scorpions swarmed together, forming a humanoid figure, then seemed to almost melt together, becoming flesh and blood and bone.

Scorpina smiled warmly at her husband. "My love, you've returned to us."

"Are the preparations complete?" Goldar asked.

"Yes, darling," she answered, "our forces are ready to move at your word."

"Then why didn't I see any minions?" he demanded, drawing his huge golden broadsword and shaking it at her. "I need an army if I'm to take my revenge on those wretched Power Rangers!"

"They are right here." Scorpina gestured to the scorpions still roaming about the room.

"These are not minions, these are pests!" Goldar's eyes flashed —appropriately— gold with anger. How could she have made such a grievous error in judgment? It didn't seem like her.

Scorpina threw him a hurt look. "Watch how you speak about my precious children, love."

With that, she made another gesture, and three of the scorpions began to grow in size. Their legs melded together until they only had two of each and two arms, and their chitinous torsos took on a shape similar to those a bodybuilder might sport. They kept their tails, but their heads were almost humanoid except for the enormous pairs of mandibles that jutted from their jaws. Their fingers ended in vicious claws, and the two toes on each foot possessed talons that looked even more deadly.

Goldar's black lips curled back in a wicked smile, and he shuffled forward, pushing aside waves of arachnids to get close to the warriors his wife had created. He reached a cautious hand out and curled it around a stinger that looked like it could puncture the hood of a car, drawing it close so he could inspect it clearly. "Excellent. I can imagine how potent their venom might be. What do you call them?"

"They do not have a name, but if you must give them one, call them what they are: Black Scorpions."

"Perfect. You have done well, my bride."

Scorpina beamed, proud of herself. Just then Goldar staggered, falling to one knee, a several of his minions-in-disguise crushing beneath his weight with a sickening crunch. Scorpina moved forward and knelt carefully before him.

"My love, are you all right?" she asked, concern showing on her face.

"Yes, I'll be fine, I'm just not fully regenerated." He lifted his sword and stuck the point into the ground, then leaned on the weapon as a crutch to help him rise to his feet again.

Scorpina stood with him. "Then rest, husband, and when you are well, we will take our revenge…"