Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything else. They belong to whichever company currently holds the copyright. This is a fan work and no money is being made from it.
Author's Note: This is a new story based on the Netflix special Once and Always. There will be changes from the show, the first of which is the circumstances of Rita's return and her new body. This is a much deadlier Rita Repulsa, not held back by the good person that was hidden away during her previous existence.
On a sunny August day in 1992, the evil space witch known as Rita Repulsa was released from her lunar prison to resume her campaign of conquest. After destroying her Space Dumpster so that it could never be used again, Rita directed her vengeance on the nearby planet Earth. To counter the threat she posed, Zordon recruited five teenagers with attitude and charged them with the sacred duty to protect the planet. Those teens began a legacy that still continued decades later.
For as the people of Earth rest easy and go on with their lives, it is with the knowledge that the Power Rangers protect them. But there came a day in 2022 when the unbelievable happened and the evil they had believed to be vanquished forever, returned...
APEX Experimental Facility 22E
If there was a group that would cause the destruction of the planet, then it would be APEX. Operating under the firm belief that humans should take back control from the aliens and monsters that invaded their world, they make it their mission to turn anything alien to the service of humanity and their profit margins.
Billy had warned them of the dangers, but they had ignored him. Despite the devastation caused by experimenting with Morph X, there were some that still believed that the power of the Morphin Grid could be used for such frivolous things as cheap energy. They had been told that their precautions were insufficient, that their understanding of the danger posed woefully underestimated the harm such power could cause. Still, the experiments had continued. A hole had been bored into the thin walls separating the Morphin Grid from the rest of the planet and the siphoning of Grid Energy had begun as they mined their precious fuel source. But just as the use of Morph X had allowed something dangerous to emerge, so their new energy left them vulnerable.
He had been there at the moment when they had opened the dimensional valves to bring the extraction unit to full power. He had sensed that something was awry even before he caught sight of the energy they were extracting. He had seen raw Grid Energy before, although he had been wise to never handle it without some sort of control device to regulate the potent energy. He had known at once that whatever they had tapped into was not the Morphin Grid; in their haste and ignorance they had bored through the boundaries of the Shadow World, the place where souls of those villains defeated by the Power Rangers were said to reside.
The operators had panicked when the energy had seeped through and broken free of their machinery. As if guided by a will of its own, the dark power ripped through the room, striking those that it encountered, reducing them to lifeless husks.
A young woman stumbled past him only to scream as she was surrounded by a dark cloud. She held her head in her hands as the pain intensified. Her expression went blank and she fell forward, only to recover moments later before she hit the ground. Her body glowed with dark energy as evil laughter filled the room.
"No, not her!"
Billy Cranston could only watch in horror as the woman before him was transformed into an enemy he had believed gone forever... Rita Repulsa was back. In the circumstances he realised that should she exit the facility, the innocents in the nearby city would suffer. And so he did the only thing he could think of at that moment and after grabbing her by the arm, teleported them both to somewhere less inhabited.
Angel Grove
Billy hated to admit it, but he was not a teenager anymore. Despite trying to stay in shape, the undeniable fact was that he had gotten old. Two decades ago it was unlikely he would have been caught off guard by a Putty - at least not at the time his career as an active Ranger had ended. But old age and a lack of fighting had dulled the skills he had mastered during his time as a protector of Earth. Now he found himself tired and out of breath. His body ached from the short and one-sided battle he had fought. Still, he would not allow himself to go down so easily as he wiped the blood from his face and forced himself to stand as the Putties regrouped and openly taunted him.
With a deep breath, Billy clenched his teeth and raised his fists, daring the Putties to attack him. He was exhausted and outnumbered, but he refused to let them think it was going to be easy. But, despite the show of bravery, he couldn't hide the fear he felt as his eyes locked upon the being that stood behind the throng of grey warriors. There was no doubt that she too had seen better days, days when she had possessed a real body and not just a stolen shell, but there was no question that Rita Repulsa was just as vile as he remembered her. She cackled, her evil laughter causing him to shudder. Fighting battle after battle against Rita and her army of monsters had given him many nightmares over the years and even now there was no mistaking that laugh.
Then the laughter stopped as she regarded her enemy. "Any last words?" she asked as she made a point of spinning her wand in her hands, delighting as despite his best efforts, previous experience had taught the human to be wary of that wand, especially when the red gem on the end crackled with dark energy. She chuckled with cruel delight as the wand moved across Billy's face, causing him to wince.
But Billy was a Power Ranger and Rangers never gave up. His connection to the Morphin Grid was not the same as it had once been - for the Rangers had managed to use the residual energies of the Dino Zords to recover some of their original powers, but in truth, he missed the ability to call upon the Power of Ninja. Still, he retained the ability to morph and even up the score. Against Rita, he was not certain it would make a difference, but the Putties at least were going to regret making an appearance.
"Just a few," he replied as he reached out and summoned his Morpher. At once he felt the connection and his confidence and confidence was renewed. He thrust the Morpher forward, concentrating on the connection between himself and the Morphin Grid. "It's Morphin Time!"
And there it was, the link to his former powers renewed and enhanced as blue energy lit up the surrounding area.
"Triceratops!"
The power of the Morphin Grid flowed through him, directed by the Power Coin and regulated by the Power Morpher. Light blue energy engulfed him as he was transformed into the Blue Morphin Ranger. For the first time since the Morphin Masters had aided the original Rangers to rebuild the morphers, he transformed. And as he did so, it was as if he had never been away. The Power renewed him and strengthened him in body and mind. It was just like the old days.
A look of fury crossed Rita's face and she growled at the sight of one of those that had denied her of her prize time and time again. In truth, she was not surprised to find that the Rangers had discovered a way to restore their powers - for it seemed that the Rangers of Earth had an uncanny knack for accomplishing such miracles. Still, she remembered the sensation of being ripped from her body by Zordon's wave and was well aware that the only way he had been able to unleash such a powerful weapon was with the help of one of his precious Rangers.
"Putties!" She cried, drawing the attention of her minions. "Grind him into blue dust!"
The Putty Patrol were not the strongest soldiers she had encountered, but they had been simple to conjure with her new power and most importantly: they were loyal and obedient. The putties responded to her command and leapt into action. They attacked the Blue Ranger in force, relying upon superior numbers to take down their more powerful foe. However, with the Power flowing through him, Billy was more than capable of dealing with them and easily fended them off. With a series of punches and kicks, he scattered the Putty Patrol, knocking them aside as he made his way toward Rita. And once he had cleared a path, he took a swing at the old witch herself.
His punch was deflected by her wand, which she swung around to catch him on the wrist. With his blow countered, she struck him in the side, knocking him to his knees and causing him to grunt in pain.
Rita was on the attack, proving that despite rarely getting involved in battle, she was a skilled combatant. The blunt end of her wand connected with his arms and knees before catching him in the ribs. And when he stumbled, the putties took it at their opportunity and pressed the attack. Despite his best efforts, the Blue Ranger was thrown to the ground and looked up in time to find himself on the receiving end of a blast from Rita's wand. The yellow energy struck him in the chest and threw him across the ground to the edge of a cliff.
"Is this the best you can do Billy?" Rita asked. "Did you really think that this would end in any other way, or did you just want to die in the fresh sea breeze?" Despite her mocking tone, he could detect a hint of genuine curiosity. In truth, their battle could have taken place anywhere, which begged the question: why did he lead her to this place?
"No, I just wanted to buy a little time," came the response as the area was lit with columns of light.
In an instant, Rita realised that she had been tricked and that their battle had allowed the Blue Ranger time to summon his comrades. Before her stood the Red, Green, Yellow, Pink and Black Rangers - Jason Lee-Scott, Tommy Oliver, Trini Kwan, Kimberly Hart and Zack Taylor - all morphed ready for action, and fresh to the fight.
The look of anger that crossed Rita's face vanished as she looked positively gleeful at this turn of events. At one time she would have drawn back when confronted by more than one Ranger, but since her return, she had grown in power and scoffed at the thought that they could challenge her.
"Oh, you brought friends," she crowed, readying her wand. "Now, it's a reunion!" Her face took on a deranged look as she anticipated the fight to come.
"Got your distress call," Black Ranger declared, reaching out to help Blue Ranger off the ground. Pink Ranger stood on Blue Ranger's other side, helping him back to his feet. "And we zipped here as fast as we could."
"Thanks, Zack," Blue Ranger replied. The group turned to face Rita once more.
"Is that really Rita Repulsa?" Pink Ranger asked.
"Man, I can't believe she's back," Black Ranger commented.
"Is it me or did she used to be taller?"
"To be fair, I think she was more worried about destroying be than checking her new body was an accurate representation of her former self," Blue Ranger told them.
"Well one way or another, we have to take her down," Green Ranger declared.
And with that said, the other Rangers nodded before they grew serious and positioned themselves ready to attack. There was a brief standoff as both sides waited for the other to make the first move. But Rita was not known for her patience and ordered her troops into action.
"Destroy them all!" she screeched.
And then the fight was on as the Power Rangers charged toward their opponents. While Red, Green, Yellow, Black and Pink cut their way through the putties, demonstrating that despite the many years since they had last taken an active role in the fight against evil, they were just as capable as they had always been; if anything Green Red and Yellow Rangers looked better than ever as they took out Putty after Putty. Meanwhile, Pink Ranger showed that despite her age she was as athletic as always, flipping around the battlefield and taking out putties with ease.
While the others handled the putties and evened the odds, Blue Ranger directed his efforts toward Rita. There had been very few times when the Rangers had found themselves locked in combat against the witch. Lord Zedd, Prince Gasket and even King Mondo had fought them on occasion, but Rita had rarely entered the fight personally. However, with the enhanced power of her new form, she was proving that just because she had chosen not to fight them in the past did not mean that she was incapable of holding her own. She had clearly been trained to use her wand for more than unleashing magical energy as she used it to deflect his blows, rarely presenting him with an opening.
Finally, he saw an opportunity after a blow from her wand lifted him off his feet. He twisted in the air, using the momentum to his advantage as he drove a power-enhanced elbow into her face. There was a satisfying crunch as he heard the breaking of her jaw. A pulse of energy smacked him aside, his anger sending a shockwave that battered his arm. He suspected that despite the protection of his suit, he had managed to break a bone.
"Ow, my face!" Rita cried. She ran her hands over her damaged jaw, wincing as she realised that he had likely broken her nose as well. And despite its increased power, her new body was unlikely to heal from such damage. Where before she had been playful and mocking, Blue Ranger suddenly found himself on the receiving end of Rita Repulsa's anger. "I was having fun drawing this little fight out a bit, but you want to get serious?" Her wand started to glow, responding to rage. "Come on, let's get deadly serious!"
"Ugh," Blue Ranger groaned as he was thrown back by the energy blast.
"You know I loved that face," Rita told him, "and you had to go and ruin it. But it doesn't matter because I still have the power of my new body." Her wand glowed again as she charged a new spell. Bright red energy with a dark red centre formed at her command, fuelled by her rage. "Allow me to demonstrate my new power with a spell that kills! Ever wonder how Zordon ended up without a body?"
With that she unleashed her power, letting loose a devastating beam of destructive energy that raced toward Blue Ranger while Rita chanted incoherently.
"Billy!" Yellow Ranger cried, realising that her teammate was unable to move out of the way.
Blue Ranger struggled to stand, but the fight had taken too much out of him. He could only raise his uninjured arm in what he knew would be a futile attempt to defend himself, turn his head aside and accept the inevitable. He braced himself for the impact and the pain and waited... and waited.
The impact never came. Yellow Ranger had seen her comrade in peril and had moved to protect him. She positioned herself in the path of the blast, shielding her friend with her body.
Blue Ranger turned his head and opened his eyes in time to see the blast strike the Yellow Ranger. It lifted her into the air, her body trapped inside the swirling vortex of red and black energy.
"Trini!" Blue Ranger cried, drawing the attention of the others, but it was too late.
As the swirling ball threw his friend off the cliff, Billy could only watch as it exploded, shredding its way through the Yellow Ranger's powers, ripping her body apart and scattering her atoms on the wind. The backlash ripped across the area, knocking the Rangers off their feet and obliterating some of the nearby putties that had lacked the sense to get clear.
"NO!" somebody screamed. It took a moment for Billy to realise that it was him.
For an eternity, the Rangers found themselves unable to move against the massive wave of raw power. When the pressure wave eased enough for them to stand, the Rangers struggled back to their feet and raced to Blue Ranger's side. Billy took off his helmet, as he frantically searched for any sign of Trini. The other Rangers joined him, scanning the area in the hope that their friend was not truly gone.
"No…" Kimberly's knees gave out under her as she grasped the scorched ground. Tommy was beside her, his head bowed as he clenched and unclenched his fist. Zack shook his head in disbelief. The unbelievable had happened and despite knowing how dangerous their mission was, the realisation that one of their team had been brutally killed was devastating.
"Goodbye Trini Kwan," Rita cried, drawing the attention of the shell-shocked Rangers. She was still nursing her shattered face. "If anybody needs me, I'll be plotting my revenge."
And with that she teleported away, leaving the Rangers standing on the cliff, not knowing what to do next.
End of Part.