"Divided, We Fall"
Somewhere in California..
In a tiny investment of twinkling energy, the White Dino Ranger summons his Dino ATV. Climbing aboard, he kicked it into life, opening the throttle wide. Popped it into higher gear, then with the back tires spinning, fading quickly into the distance. Bolting after the speeding Truck.
The Pickup was already a few car-lengths ahead of him, handling the tight curves with ease, but still in his sights. Trent's pulse was racing, switching gears as the winding road ahead grew steeper. The sky stretched above them, nearly cloudless.
The sun was riding high overhead, stretching its arms on the east horizon. The scene around him became greener as he forged through the fields at the base of the mountain. Houses dotted the landscape here and there. The mountain peaks surrounded valley, their tops covered in dirt.
He risked a look over his shoulder. Tenga Warriors swooped down from the sky, nearly grazing the head of him. "Kaw!"
The road took a sharp turn. The White Dino Ranger veered left, greedy branches grabbed at him from the right, making him grateful for the helmet protecting his face. "Whoa!" He ducked beneath an overarching branch seconds before it took his head off.
Hunkered down, he gives a sharp jerk on his handlebars, pushing the speed as far as it'll go the roar of engine filled the air. Pulling alongside the Pickup, positions himself by crouching onto the seat, ready to leap.
Angel Grove…
A lean figure, male, clad in a blue attire. His hair, a burnished gold swept messily back from his forehead. Billy Cranston turned his silvery eyes to Kimberly Hart, who met his gaze warmly. She stood there, in a shimmering gown of scarlet. Lustrous dark brown hair framed a face so elegant.
Kimberly laid a palm against his cheek, and he couldn't help leaning into it. Her dark eyes smoky. Smiling in that special way that was for him alone, she slipped her hand along the line of his jaw, stroking the curvature of his ear in a way that made him tremble.
Something seemed to build within him. He wanted to kiss those lips. He wanted to lose himself in the scent of her…
Realizing that their eyes have been locked for a half a beat too long. He was merely breathing; He didn't want to do anything to break the moment. As though sensing the tenor of his thoughts, Kim's mouth opened in response, her lips twitching as if it were life itself to her, her head tilting just so against him to give him freer access.
Billy crushed against her in a passionate embrace, that literally took her breath way. Feeling like every nerve ending was on fire. Basking in his warmth, one wet kiss begat another. Their mouths met hungrily, tasting each other out, her ardor fully equal of his own.
His pulse quickened, his senses swam as he lost himself in the unimaginable rapture of her ruby lips. Her mere presence, wrapped tightly in his arms affected him as powerfully as anything before.
He caressed the graceful contours of her back through thin fabric, stroking a feverish passion in her more intense than she had ever known. Straining muscles rippled beneath his skin.
Then impatiently he tore it off.
Her heart skipped a beat. Her loose gown slithered to the floor in crumpled heap, revealing nothing but a flawless youthful frame. Her under garments, he decided had rarely looked quite so fetching. Chest heaving, sweat glistened upon the ivory slopes of her bosom. Her skin the softest, smoothest surface.
His clothes stripped from him.
He lifted her, firmly, off of her feet, shifting his own stance just enough so that he supported her against the whole hard length of him. Her limber legs wrapped tightly about his waist while he supported her firm rump with both hands. Her nails raking the deep furrows of his back.
Matching his strength, she pushed off the wall and shoved him down onto the floor of the room, where strewn clothing cushioned their conjoined bodies. Kimberly was kissing his heaving chest…
Until, Billy's wrist communicator beeped a couple of times… Great timing as always.
At first, both Veteran Rangers tried to ignore it, but eventually, they gave in. Billy Cranston thought he was going to catch a break. The Big Brain, who always had to carry around his communicator.
Part of him wanted to pitch the stupid thing out of the flippin' window, but with a painful sigh, the man brought his wrist communicator up to his lips. "What—in god's name—do you want -"
"Shut up for a sec," His communicator crackled to life with the voice of Adam Park "Jason's gone, man."
"Gone?" Billy intoned, adjusting his glasses. A terrible suspicion struck him. "As-As in kidnapped?"
"As in abducted. Yes. Snatched. Whatever."
Suspicion began to take root in Kimberly's mind. "How'd you know?" She threw in.
"How would I—Kimberly? What the hell-"
"Focus." Billy shouted into the communicator. "Have you tried his communicator?"
"Uh, yeah." Adam filtered through. "Nothing but static."
Her mind racing, Kimberly knew that Jason always carried around his Power Morpher. "How's about tracking his power signature?"
"Did that. According to the readout, he's not on Earth."
"Bet that'll explain a lot." Billy sighed.
"The other day, I found his Harley abandoned on the side of the road. It took a good beating. Whoever took him, had caught him by surprise."
"Any other clues that could help us?"
"One thing. While searching his bike, I found a large black feather."
A silence fell upon the two Rangers while they sat in the dark. Without a word, Kimberly grabbed some clothes at random from a drawer, and as she did so, happened to glance at Billy. "No time for a cold shower." She told him as she tossed him his shirt. "Let's get a move on."
"Wh-Where are we going?"
"Time to pay the good doctor a visit."
Reefside…
"As plausible as your theory sounds, Doctor Oliver, I'm afraid we've got to find some other way."
Tommy gave him a pointed look. "There is no other way." He told him , plainly. "Look, there are lives at stake here and we don't have time to waste-"
"Be that as it may, given the nature of the damage such a machine could rage, we're going to err on the side of caution on this one." The investor said.
"But Mr. -"
"I'm sorry, Doctor. The decision is final." With that, the business man departed from Oliver's office.
A Geno-Randomizer, a tool that was used by Mesogog and Zeltrax to create monsters. Until both Tommy and Antoine Mercer reverse engineered it to cure everyday ailments. They considered it to be a breakthrough in medical science.
If successful, it will eliminate the need for medicine, doctors and hospitals. Possible investors who would normally considered this be a business venture, didn't trust it.
Later that day…
Conner, Kira and Tommy were enjoying a nice walk through Reefside.
Ethan approach them, a grin stretched across to both ears. "Okay, two guesses at who kicks ass at Crazy Taxi. Here's a hint – It's me."
"Language." Tommy said.
"My bad, Dr. O." Putting out a closed fist, Conner dapped his friend. "Dreamcast is where it's at."
"Doesn't anybody ever go home?" Tommy jests.
"You're here." Kira said.
"Exactly." He said. "Trust me, you don't want to model your social life after mine."
The White Dino Ranger relaxed his wrists and let the ATV come to a slow stop a good kilometer away from the rendezvous point.
Conner's brows knit. "Trent?"
"Last I looked."
"Hell're you doing here?"
"Saving your ass." He added. "Again."
"Language." Tommy stressed.
"My bad, Dr. O."
"Saving us from—what?" Conner asked.
The White Dino Ranger simply pointed in the direction behind them. "No uh, that."
A split second of silence before sudden movement, the sound of trampled earth and snapping twigs, feet moving away as the animals darted for safety. They heard harsh caws and the sounds of frantic wingbeats. Through the blur of dust and sweat, sensing deep within their souls an impending doom.
Slowly turning on their heels they came nearly eye-to-eye with a hunting party of Tenga Warriors.
The crew immediately leapt into fighting stance. "Don't suppose we can talk about this?"
The Tengas were upon them. There was no time for morphing, so they turned to take them on. All the rules for hand-to-hand that they studied were brought into play. Working on borrowed time, caught in high constricted corridors, economic moves gave way to sharp elbows and punches.
Each human found themselves tumbling across the grass.
"We need some wiggle room."
"Trent?"
"Way ahead of you." The White Dino Ranger unsheathe his Drago Sword and let loose thunderclap of energy. Tenga Warriors were sent tumbling backwards. "How's that?"
"Actually, I was hoping for a more subtle approach." Conner said. "But it'll do."
Alright guys," Tommy said. "Let's bring it together!"
The Tenga Warriors began to throw themselves about, flanking them from all sides. Conner's expression darkened, suggesting that him and his crew were ready for battle "You guy's ready?"
"Ready." The motley crew flashed as one. *Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!* in a dazzling burst of light, each brightened into luminous forms of Dino Thunder. "Dino Power, Hyah!"
In rallying roar they force their way through the wall of Tengas like a bowling ball meets tenpins, slashing out, punching and kicking 'til their heart's content. "Hyah!" Feathers flew as Tengas were cut down like weeds. "Is that all you got?"
"Hey look! Over there!"
The Rangers whirled around, clenching their fists as they turned, ready for anything.
A sonic boom thundered above the area. A fiery glow enveloped it as it entered the atmosphere like a falling star.
A shadowy form came screaming down out of the sky and banked hard to the right, shooting across the side of the truck, did a kamikaze dive and touched down and blew a crater in the ground.
Swirls of green light grew so intense, that the Rangers had to glance away briefly. When they looked again, there was something loomed out of the sizzling and smoky ruins. The Rangers braced themselves.
They then blinked at it, belatedly realizing that some sort of… amber-eyed creature, it appeared to be... prehistoric, spat up from whatever hell it came from. Limber and tinted purple, her eyes a deep murky crimson and a beak that bared in a murderous grin.
The dark feather clan gave a wide berth to their Queen as she strode forward with animal surety. More slender than most of her brethren, but still imposing. Conner's heart sank.
Perched on the rim of dawn stood straight and tall, glancing right and left as if searching for new worm food. Then her attention fell upon the Dino Rangers, a gaze sparkling with wrath that sent a chill down their necks. "Dino Warriors. We meet at last."
"Don't think we've had the pleasure."
"Yeah." Conner joined. "What in the hell are you?"
"I am the Queen." She said proudly. "And it seems that you have alluded my warriors."
"Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that."
"I'm quite surprised you're still alive."
She sent her sense coursing upward, taken hold of the formless powers and drawing them into patterns of raw energy. Her anger supercharging the air around her.
Queen Tenga made a fist and the particles of energy coalesced into three flashing, flaring spheres, each the size of a basketball.
The spheres began to move, hovering small orbits over her upheld palm.
In the distance, Bulk's hazel eyes widened at the appalling sight. "Guys, is that what I think it is? You know what—Have fun." He clamored away, his tail between his legs.
With a predatory cast in her eyes, the Tenga Queen was wreathed in pulsating dark energy, swelling and rising within her like an invisible muscle. Flexing her will, it swirled out of her talons in a crimson torrent, engulfing the Dino Rangers in a thunderstorm of sound and fury.
Tommy sighed. "Shit."
Fear pumps adrenaline into their bodies. Pain births insanity within their minds as crimson light pierced the settling dust. "Augh!" Pulverized rock flew in the air, and waves of concussion blasted through the rocky ridges with a stabbing clarity.
Having looked on in shock at the ongoing chaos, two young men abruptly fled from their vehicle as the energy wave from the attack swept through the vehicle. It jackknifed, shattering the windows to shards.
Explosion boiled up through the area, throwing the Rangers apart. The butchered edifice collapsed around them.
Bulk soon found himself sailing through a glass window. Glass exploding from the impact, shards flying everywhere. He sailed across the cafe and smashed a pillar on the far side slumping to the floor like a sack of floor.
The Rangers were smashed through layers of brick and mortar before sliding to a stop in the lobby of a ruined office building. Soon, panicked patrons were fleeing in all directions as Tenga Warriors pick them off one by one.
Smoke and flames wafted up from the downtown sector, strewn with rubble and trashed vehicles.
"Whoa! This guy for real?" Ethan posed.
"This guy's a Queen." Kira said.
"Queen of the Tenga Warriors, if I'm not mistaken."
"So that's a thing."
"Any ideas, Dr. O?" Kira asked. "Lay it on me."
"Since when do you care about what I think?" Tommy asked.
"Now's not the time for that. For realsies."
"You'll have to fight her as best you can." Tommy told them. "That's all I got."
"Well that seems—incredibly unfair." Kira voiced.
"So are we gonna do this or what?" Queen cawed.
"Time to get this underway." Conner said.
To their credit, the Dino Rangers did not stare in stunned horror at the sight, but whirled about immediately into action. "C'mon!" Uttering their battle cries as they charged headlong, their Thundermax Sabers burning brightly.
Once they were in range, the Queen had gathered herself to a graceful pounce, wielding a staff that glowed and sparked at her will. "Hyah!" Wind rustled around them, as sparks flared from tempered steel in a balance of power and grace that generated shockwaves across the plains.
The battle surged around her as she moved in startling performance: crouched, sprang, swung and struck the ground with a heart-stopping force, becoming an abstract being with graceful abandon.
MegaTenga flapped her wings. As the gusts of wind whipped up further and further into a savage circle a thousand knives of dust and leaves slashing against their body armor.
It took everything they had to hold their ground.
Never slackened in his dogged determination to take her down, the Red Dino Ranger drove himself into the air, using a branch as a springboard, launching himself high into a scarlet missile on course for the Tenga Warrior. "Hyah! Tyranno Staff!"
A burst of lightning arced from the Queen's staff sending the Red Dino Ranger flying backwards arms-a-wheeling through one side of the house and out the other. Breath escaped the Tyranno Ranger in a whoosh. "Augh!"
Impossibly thin, impossibly fast Ptera Grips shot out from the hands of the Yellow Dino Ranger. They were easily blocked by the Tenga Warrior in mere moments. "Dammit!"
Vicious kicks and jabs, delivered with Herculean force. A powerhouse punch sent the Yellow Dino ranger skipping across the river like a stone.
"Enough of this!" Fed up, the White Dino Ranger whipped around, lancing off dazzling arrows from his Drago Sword, flew true, but Queen Tenga whirled around just in time to pluck them from the air, only inches from her beak.
"No way!"
Each Ranger grunted in surprise as they fell under her jarring assault, stars dancing in their visions. Bits of light faded from their luminous forms as they found themselves once again in civilian attire. Injured and bruised.
Put simply, they felt naked, but not in a fun way. "Well, that was fun."
Unharmed, Queen Warrior touched down nimbly on a rugged ledge. "Consider that a warning: Either leave now or be destroyed."
"Is that an ultimatum? I love those." Conner said.
"No. It's a statement of fact." She retorted. "I want to confide in you for a sec? Can I do that? Your skills are sorely lacking."
Screwing his resolve solidly into place, Conner sucked in a hiss of pain as he pulled himself together. His entire body quivered with hurt and rage. Breathless and swaying on feet a little, his unwavering gaze revealed a powerful inner purpose. "Don't mock my skills, bro," he said, there was a feint catch to his voice. "Whoever you are, whatever you are - we're not through yet."
"Is that right."
A painful sigh escapes his lips. In the history of bad ideas, Connor thought, this is light-years ahead of everything. He propped up his chin and gazed at her doe-eyed. "This is between us," he told her. "nobody else needs to get hurt."
"I must be hearing things." Ethan shrieked. "You're plan is to take her on by yourself?"
"Yes by myself." Conner snapped. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me. Especially not you guys."
"Ballsy," The Queen Warrior admitted. "Standing up to a Queen like me. By yourself. You're either very brave or very dumb."
"No argument there." Kira said.
"Either way," The Queen continued. "You're world is doomed. And your Tyranno Power will be mine."
Seized by a sudden inspiration, his motley crew winced and gathered their legs beneath them. Their backs on fire, as were their legs. In fact, their whole body felt as if they went twelve rounds in the ring with Tyson.
But desire stirred in their hearts once more. And fear stirred in them too, dark and unpleasant, but something that must be faced. "With courage and might, ready to fight."
The injuries staggered Tommy. He reached out to steady himself on a moss-covered tree trunk. If the love for his crew is power, then no one is stronger. The grief reflected in his eyes drives him. "Conner. Don't."
Conner ignored him. His fists were clenched at his sides, his sharpened nails digging into his palms. Fury erupted inside of him. Chest heaving, Connor threw himself at the monster one last time.
The savage creature grabbed him by the throat and lifted him high into the air. She gripped his throat even tighter, cutting off her wind.
NEXT CHAPTER: QUANTUM CRISIS
A/N: Please leave a comment if you can.