DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POWER RANGERS
Here I am and I have to apologize again for my stupidly long update times, so if you can find it in your hearts to forgive me, then that would be much appreciated! :p
Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the next chapter…
Chapter 16: Mysto's Magic
"And in other news, the Reefside Police Department have ended the robbing antics of a well-known group of teenagers in the area. The youngsters, who cannot be named, were previously wanted in connection with a string of burglary offences and have finally been brought to justice caught in possession of a stolen games console…"
"You see, we did nothing wrong!" the Rangers still maintained their story of exactly why they had ended up in jail a few days before, much to the amusement of Tommy.
"Whatever, guys", Tommy grinned; "You look way too guilty for me."
"Tommy Oliver!"
The man in question jumped nervously in his seat and craned his neck slowly towards the angry voice. He watched as Hayley's red hair came to rest on his shoulder, her face inches from his own and a wicked grin playing across it.
"I suggest that you take your feet off my table…" she indicated the paleontologists rather muddy shoes; "Unless you want me to set the Zords after you?"
Tommy quickly did as instructed and Hayley's face relaxed back into a smile. Satisfied, she stood up; "Thankyou", reaching over his head she collected a couple of empty glasses from the table and proceeded back to the counter.
"Anyway", Tommy turned back to the Rangers, ignoring the smirks coming his way; "I'm gonna have to start making sure that you guys are supervised at all times".
"Tommy…" Adam wore a disgusted look on his face, despite the joke; "I'm 26. And you're not much older".
For the rest of the group, it was quite entertaining to watch the battle of words between two old friends. Xander nudged Tori in the side; "Wanna see something funny?"
Tori noticed the mischievous twinkle in the Green Ranger's eyes and glanced down to see his Mystic Morpher open and pointing directly at Tommy, yet she couldn't help but grin; "Go for it".
He glanced around, to check that no-one was watching; "This is one Clare taught me", he winked before clearing his throat and reciting the incantation; "Corum Oviat Ditrum!" keeping his morpher trained on Tommy, the former Ranger disappeared in a flash of light.
"What the-…" Adam looked around as his friend vanished, completely bewildered.
"Where is he?" Tori whispered at Xander. The Green Ranger didn't answer, but merely nodded to behind the sofa.
"Baaaaaaaa!"
Tori snorted her laughter in a rather unrefined manner; whilst Kira looked up in time to spit her drink straight back out of her mouth.
"Doctor O?"
The Yellow Ranger tilted her head towards the rather woolly creature that now trotted up to them, unable to contain her laughter.
"Baaaa!"
Adam leaned over to Xander and whispered in his ear; "Can't we keep him like this?"
"Sure", the Green Ranger shrugged with a grin as the 'sheep' nosed his arm persistently, demanding to be transformed back.
With not much else to do, Hayley wandered over to them, in search of conversation, but instead, she nearly went headfirst over the new Doctor Oliver. Casting a curious glance at the looks on the Rangers' faces, coupled with the one person missing from the group…Hayley didn't need to be the genius she was to work out what had happened.
"Hmm…well it's a big improvement if you ask me", she commented with a smile, patting Tommy's head affectionately. The sheep raised its head and nipped her hand as he once more tried to convince her otherwise.
"Right, well I'd better get going – I promised I'd meet the guys in half an hour." Kira stepped carefully over Tommy to pick up her bag before walking away. "Oh, hang on…" she stopped in her tracks and took out her cell phone, using it to take a picture of Tommy.
"Baaaa!"
"Sorry, couldn't resist!" she grinned as the sheep showed its frustration and she exited the café.
"I'd might as well go and see how the shop's doing", Tori shrugged, not wanting to be left with nothing to do.
"And what about me?" Xander mocked a hurt look on his face; "I can't exactly shoot off back to Briarwood – it's way too far".
"OK, so come with me then", Tori suggested as if the answer was simple.
"What, to Blue Bay?"
"Yeah, why not."
"OK then, cool! Where's your van?"
"Oh, we're not driving…" a mischievous glint appeared in the Blue Ranger's eyes.
"So how on earth are we getting there?"
"The Ninja way."
"What?" Xander looked slightly scared now.
"You heard me…Well, we'll see you guys later", she took a glance at Tommy; "Do you reckon you should turn him back?" the question was directed at Xander.
"I suppose", he reluctantly raised his morpher and uttered the reverse spell and moments later, Tommy Oliver stood back on two feet.
"So, whatever you do, don't let go".
"Right, got it".
Xander gripped hard onto Tori's arm as if she was the only thing keeping him alive and looked nervously ahead of him at the deserted alleyway behind the Cyberspace.
"Ready?" she looked to check he was okay.
"Yeah…"
And without warning, they literally shot off. A blazing blue and green streak passed the window of the Cyberspace and Xander gritted his teeth hard, clinging onto his only means of support. The world sped past in a blur, faster than he could register it in his head and the speed was incredible, even though his legs weren't moving. Thirty seconds later, they came to an abrupt stop and dizziness swept through the Green Ranger like a shot and Tori gripped him with both hands to keep him upright.
"You OK?"
"I think so", he blinked wildly as his eyes refocused and the nausea passed. She nodded and slowly let go of his shoulders and Xander thankfully stayed on his feet.
"How do you do that all the time without being sick?"
"Practice," Tori answered the question simply and Xander seemed satisfied with the reply.
The pair stepped out of the clump of trees they had landed within and onto the main street. The Green Ranger could smell the salt in the air and the roar of the waves was audible in his ears. "So this is Blue Bay Harbor, huh?"
"Yep…and this is my shop". No less than fifty yards away was a cheery blue sign hanging from one of the buildings and a collection of surf boards were visible through the window.
"Cool", Xander pushed the door open to see two men stood near the counter, a nice wad of money in one of their hands. The guy serving them took the bills and in return, walked around to hand them a brand-new board. Looking pleased with their uniquely designed purchase, they left the shop in high spirits, leaving just Tori and Xander with the shop assistant.
"Hey Tor!" The curly-haired assistant leapt the counter and hugged one of his best friends tightly.
"Hi Dustin…could you kinda let go a bit though," the Blue Ranger indicated as she struggled to draw breath and he instantly released her.
"Sorry," he ran a hand through his hair sheepishly and grinned; "So how's it going with the Rangers?"
"We may have to start getting more adventurous with our plans…more cunning…" High in his lair, Osirico pondered his next tactical move; Ammix stood obediently by his side.
"My Lord, I'm sure you have heard of Mysto, he resides within the Asteroid Belt…apparently he hates visitors," the serpentine Commander added as an afterthought.
"Yes…" Osirico's mind filtered through the memories; "Yes, I have. He is renowned for his controlling capabilities." He allowed an evil smirk to grace his scaly lips and turned to his second-in-command; "Bring him to me! And make sure that you are one visitor he will yield to."
An hour later, Adam had persuaded a reluctant Tommy to train against him. "You're going down, Oliver." He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet as Tommy stepped onto the sparring mat.
"Give me a break, man, I'm not used to this anymore." He relaxed back into his trademark fighting stance.
Adam snorted his disbelief, accompanied by a small grin. "Whatever."
Tommy's eyes glinted mischievously and he threw himself forward, throwing a series of flying kicks straight in the Black Ranger's direction. Adam swiftly rose to block them all using a knife-hand technique and counteracted with a powerful tornado kick.
Tommy ducked in suitable time and also managed to grab onto the sneaky fist that was heading for his jaw. Twisting Adam's hand around, he deftly flung him straight over his shoulder in a spinning motion. However, Adam managed to land solidly on his feet and the impact knocked him free of Tommy's grip. The Black Ranger twisted on the spot to avoid a fist from Tommy and set about unleashing his own combination of attacks.
The two fought hard for the next ten minutes and neither noticed when Hayley appeared in the room. "Err…guys?"
The two men were not listening and Tommy grinned in triumph when he successfully pinned Adam to the floor.
"Tommy!"
For the second time that day, the man in question jumped at the sound of her voice. Releasing his grip, he allowed Adam to cease his struggling and he looked up. "What's up, Hails?"
Hayley rolled her eyes; "I've been trying to contact you both – we've got trouble."
"In there!" Ammix growled and shoved the resistant alien into the Throne room.
"Good work," Osirico's eyes looked towards his Commander as he acknowledged the completion of the task he had set him. Ammix merely bowed deeply and stood aside whilst his Master took over proceedings. The alien watched Osirico's movements and turned defensively towards him, unsure of his intentions.
"So you must be Mysto," the question was rhetorical as Osirico paced around him patiently.
"Who wants to know?" the alien growled back; "I hope you've got a good reason for this!"
"You're a feisty one…" Osirico leered, drawing his face level with Mysto's. "Your 'talent' is no secret to me, so I have a simple proposition for you."
"I'm not for hire," the monster crossed his arms defiantly.
Osirico was silent for a few seconds before he replied. "This planet has quite a number of dangerous creatures…these fish stripped the last person who said 'no' to me, down to the bone in minutes," he lit up his viewing screen with video footage showing the exact process.
Mysto winced audibly and glanced at Osirico, who stared right back at him, waiting for the inevitable answer. He was outnumbered, out-maneuvered and out-gunned…"What do you want from me?"
Osirico smiled evilly in recognition of his triumph; "I don't care how you do it, but I want those Power Rangers and anyone who associates with them, destroyed!"
Mysto's mouth twitched into a satisfied grin; "Not a problem."
Dustin chatted away animatedly for the best part of an hour as Tori checked the records and went through heaps of mail that had arrived in her name.
"Tor!"
Xander yelled over from the other side of the shop and the Blue Ranger looked up; "Yeah?"
"We gotta go, there's trouble back in Reefside."
Tori groaned inwardly and looked apologetically at her old friend. "Sorry Dustin, but you know how it is."
"Yeah, it's cool," he gave a lop-sided grin in response; "Hey, maybe I could, like, come over to Reefside and visit…I haven't had a vacation in years! We could all hang out and I'm sure Kelly would look after the shop - it would be totally awesome!"
"Sure!" she hugged him before making to leave. "Just call ahead, and i'll be ready."
"Sweet! I'll drop by and tell Shane." He bounded back to the counter excitedly; "Later, dudes! Kick some ass for me!"
"What took you so long?" Tori looked around as Adam sprinted towards the rest of the Rangers.
"Just got a little held up," he shrugged it off and decided to catch up, seeing that the others were already morphed. "IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!"
"Bring it!" the enraged form of Mysto growled and sat back into a comfortable fighting stance, securely behind the Hornets that had accompanied him.
"With pleasure!" The Rangers charged and made contact with the inferior Grunts, swatting the first few aside like flies and taking their weapons to the rest.
Adam broke free of a crowd and made a beeline for Mysto…who was waiting for him.
"Adam! Don't go near him!" Xander yelled as he spotted the Black Ranger's movements.
"Power Axe!" Adam wasn't listening and continued to power towards his target, unaware of the unique talent he possessed. Xander watched on, helpless as he battled the Hornets. If Adam had arrived sooner, then he would have witnessed the demonstration of Mysto's power…
The Black Ranger raised the axe high above his head and swung it downwards…
"I don't think so."
The creature shot a hand forwards, but instead of reaching to block the attack, it remained stock still before him, emitting an invisible, yet evidently highly powerful force.
"What's happening?!" the axe hung in mid-air, with Adam unable to move it any further. It was an unnerving sensation, almost as if he had no control over his own body. The Black Ranger's eyes widened however, when his wrist slowly began to turn, completely out of his control and the large weapon now faced its owner.
"Quite talented, aren't I?" Mysto's eyes bored into Adam's as he effortlessly kept control over him.
"Adam!" Tori charged forwards, quickly followed by Kira in an attempt to help their teammate.
"No, don't!" Xander wasn't quick enough to stop them and looked on helplessly.
Mysto turned to see the Blue and Yellow Rangers bearing down; "Oh, please!" he stared at them for a few seconds and before they knew it, their legs had stopped moving and they ground to a dead halt.
"Hey!" Tori tried hard to will her feet to pick themselves up, yet with no success. She looked over at Kira, who was evidently having the same problem. They were rooted to the ground…literally.
"Mind control is a wonderful thing…" Mysto mused as he surveyed the stranded trio. Moving away slightly, his gaze came to rest on Xander; "Now it's your turn…"
"No…" the Green Ranger shuffled backwards, muttering something inaudible as he briefly closed his eyes. Opening them again, he slowly reached down for his Magistaff and like lightning, unleashed a blast of energy towards Mysto.
The force was deflected by the villain into a nearby building, causing the windows to shatter, glass falling noisily to the ground. "Nice try."
"Mind control?" Tommy looked at Hayley with a disbelieving eye. "It doesn't exist." He said flatly.
"Really?"
"Course it doesn't…it's a ridiculous idea."
"Don't you try and tell me that you've never been under mind control..."
Tommy opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it. "Okay, so how are we meant to defeat this guy?"
"I don't know…you're the expert, it's not like this is a new problem to you".
"Yeah, but one of us always managed to avoid getting controlled…the monster would have to look into your eyes or have contact of some kind to establish control...but he doesn't have to at all, he just focuses his mind and…bam!"
Hayley frowned and looked back at the surveillance screen…this wasn't looking good.
"My Lord…" Mysto tapped a small device that was attached to the wrist guard that he wore; "The Rangers have been taken care of".
An unpleasant voice echoed back; "Excellent! Ammix, get down there and finish the job!"
"Right away."
Mysto smirked and turned to face the four immobile Rangers. "I'm afraid your end is near…" he approached Adam, who's axe was still staring him in the face. "It's a shame about the suits," his gaze focused on the Black Ranger's helmet; "Personally, i'd want to look into the eyes of whoever I destroyed."
"You haven't won yet!"
"In a few moments, you'll want to take that statement back-…"
Meanwhile, a frustrated Xander watched the scene unfold…just one tiny move would alert Mysto and his advantage would be swiftly realized…
Flashback
"Mind control is a wonderful thing…" Mysto mused as he surveyed the stranded trio. Moving away slightly, his gaze came to rest on Xander; "Now it's your turn…"
"No…" the Green Ranger shuffled backwards, he needed just a few seconds to focus his mind… "Protego Mentis!" he uttered the spell that he hoped would save him, hoping it was inaudible enough for Mysto not to suspect anything. He briefly closed his eyes. Opening them again, he slowly reached down for his Magistaff and like lightning, unleashed a blast of energy towards Mysto.
The force was deflected by the villain into a nearby building, causing the windows to shatter, glass falling noisily to the ground. "Nice try."
End flashback
Pretending to be under a powerful spell was harder than it looked, yet Xander inched his hand closer to the Magistaff tucked into his belt, his eyes never moving from Mysto as he continued to taunt Adam.
"Well, well, well…what have we got here?" the low hiss of Ammix drifted towards them and Xander looked up to see the Serpentine Commander fast approaching. Rapidly ceasing movement on his part, the Green Ranger waited until Ammix' visual inspection of the Rangers had passed. "Such an effective method, if I ever saw one".
"Thankyou." Mysto bowed to show his appreciation at the compliment.
Yes! Xander's hand finally touched upon his Magistaff, but he was now faced with two villains rather than one.
"Let us go you freaks!" Kira shouted angrily, powerless to do anything else.
"You're not going anywhere fast…unless you believe in the afterlife?" Ammix leered over her, his forked tongue flickering inches from her face.
All he had to do was free the other Rangers from Mysto's spell, which probably meant either hurting him or causing a significant distraction. Xander waited as patiently as he dared – Ammix was the problem here, not Mysto. The serpent was the one who would react the fastest, so it was vital that he was as far away as possible when Xander attacked. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to disappear in a hurry and the Green Ranger waited until he was as far away as he was going to get before making his move…
"Ha!" Mysto's eyes widened in shock as a green, gloved hand came out of nowhere, brandishing a lethal-looking weapon. The Magistaff swept straight across his chest plate, leaving a deep, smoldering crack. Mysto growled and staggered backwards, his attention drawn to the injury.
Ammix wheeled just in time to see the three captured Rangers suddenly released from Mysto's hold, their frames immediately relaxing as they took back control over their own bodies. Xander wasted no time in conjuring the same spell he had used on himself over his three teammates; preventing a repeat of Mysto's power.
"How did you do that?!" the creature looked outraged.
"You're not the only one who knows some magic," Xander wagged his finger disapprovingly as he joined up with the rest of the team, ready for the final leg of the battle.
"Get up there and finish them!" Ammix ordered, thrusting his finger skyward.
"By the power of the demons, arise!"
Hayley sent the Zords without being asked and Xander also took the hint; immediately transformed into his Titan Mode.
"Retroforce Megazord, now!"
"Do not come back unless they are defeated!" Ammix turned swiftly on his heel and disappeared in a crack of lightning, his threat lingering in the air.
"Let's get this over with; then I can finally get back to doing something worthwhile!" the giant form of Mysto clasped his hands together in anticipation.
"That's fine by us…Mystic Sword!"
The Axe in the Megazord's right hand hovered for a few seconds as the components swapped and rearranged themselves to form the desired weapon, before cementing itself back into the Rangers' grasp. The Megazord charged and a giant hand swung around its back to reach for the large, diamond-shaped shield that was held there. Drawing it to the front, the mighty Zord lunged, its full weight behind the Sword as it made harsh contact with Mysto's shoulder.
The monster howled in pain and instinctively drew its injured arm backwards, out of the line of attack, but the Rangers persisted and struck again, this time aiming on the opposite side of his body, hoping to catch him off-guard.
However, the enraged creature was obviously in a decent enough frame of mind to sidestep the huge sword as it swiped through the air and in turn, he sent a harsh backhand straight towards the Megazord's head. The Rangers reacted a fraction too slowly and the shield was too late to block the blow as the Rangers were shaken about the cockpit.
Grabbing a hold on their telepathically activated consoles, the four managed to stay upright, but the experience was no less irritating.
"We've had enough of you!" Xander clenched a fist and stared back at the creature that had caused them so much trouble.
"Seeing that you're all fired up, how about you try a new technique?" Hayley's voice floated through the communication systems.
"We're listening…"
"It's not a new weapon, but it works just as good," Tommy replied this time. "Those thrusters you've got…you can use them in more than one way you know." He stated as if it should be obvious; "They kick out quite a bit of heat…"
"Haha, nice one Dr. O!" the proverbial lightbulb flicked on in Kira's head as she grinned in realization at the others.
"Huh?"
"What? Oh come on…it's obvious." Kira stared disbelievingly at her teammates.
"Uh, hello? 'Fire' plus 'monster' equals 'Boom!'"
"Ohhhhh…"
If the Rangers could have seen Tommy and Hayley then they would have witnessed the pair banging their heads against the nearest wall. But there was no time to think about it when the Megazord was abruptly pulled from its feet only to find the earth just as quickly with a loud crash.
"I got bored waiting!" Mysto leered over them as the giant machine lay beneath the creature's feet.
"Yeah? Well it won't be long now." The Megazord rapidly raised its large fists as smashed them straight into Mysto's kneecaps. The creature's legs buckled and gave way underneath him, effectively reversing the combatants' positions with seconds. "How d'you like that?"
"Get off me!" Mysto struggled, but the sheer weight of the Megazord pinning him down was enough to keep him at bay.
"Fine…" the Megazord picked him up and launched him straight into the air. The monster crashed back down to Earth with a definitive rumble and staggered uneasily to his feet. The Rangers stood triumphant, but their enemy was not yet giving up. "…Goodbye Mysto." The Megazord struck a new pose. "Inferno Spin!" the Zord flipped onto the horizontal at lined itself up, feet first, before Mysto and started to spin rapidly.
"This is weird…" Xander gestured to the fact that the cockpit was now pointing in completely the opposite direction to their target.
"Thrusters, ignite!"
The flames rocketed out of the soles of the Megazord's feet and the machine surged towards Mysto, the fire twirling menacingly until it finally engulfed the monster…the Rangers felt the Megazord physically connect with him and the creature rapidly combusted, exploding into a thousand red-hot chunks.
"I feel ill…" Xander moaned as the Rangers descended the stairs to the lair after another successful outing.
"Stop complaining…you do loop-the-loops in the sky on your Racer, but you puke when the Megazord goes backwards?" Tori questioned his logic.
"Yeah…it's the whole 'backwards' thing, it really doesn't do it for me."
Adam shook his head in disbelief and grinned, patting the Green Ranger on the back. "Get used to it buddy."