Chapter 24- Omnia revelantur, part i.
Jason and Kimberly stared at each other in shock. But before they could say anything, Jason's cell phone rang.
Jason quickly answered the call, which was from Billy.
" Jase, have you seen the news?"
"Yes, I have Billy. What the fuck is going on?"
"I'm not sure Jason. But Alpha has some information for us all. He is teleporting you all here immediately."
Jason heard Billy's voice break slightly as he spoke. He and Kimberly didn't even hesitate but prepared themselves for teleportation which happened in the following few seconds.
They didn't even realise it and they were inside Billy's lab. So were Zack and Trini, as well as Adam, Rocky and Tanya, the Zeo rangers did not look good at all.
They were sat against a wall, their faces covered in bruises and their bodies showing obvious signs of battle.
"Rangers. Finally you're here!" Alpha said, walking over to rangers as fast as his robotic legs could move. "The alarms went crazy a few hours ago and I tried to find you but I couldn't locate you! The grid could not find any sign of you. It was like you had vanished."
"We were transported to an alternate reality, Alpha." Jason said, guilt building up in his chest, hearing the panic in Alpha's voice and seeing the beaten faces of the Zeo rangers.
"I know Jason. Billy explained everything to me. It makes total sense now." Alpha responded.
"What's going on though?" Zack quizzed alpha.
"Around three hours ago, the alarms and the Morphin grid went crazy! I investigated and saw that six copies of the Mighty Morphin power rangers were in our midst. They were attacking Angel Grove. My poor mechanical heart broke as I thought it was you guys. I know you wouldn't do it." Alpha added, watching on as Jason opened his mouth to argue and stopping him with a hand in the air. "Of course it wasn't you, but I thought maybe Gasket had placed you under a spell. The imposter ranger's suits looked no different to our suits. I scanned the areas they were in and I could not infiltrate their suits to see who they were. But the morphin grid picked up on their behaviour and fighting patterns. Each ranger is an identical clone of each of the original power rangers."
Alpha walked over to the real power rangers and pressed a button on the control panel. It brought up a picture of six clone power rangers, different to the originals.
"I cannot bypass the suits to figure out their identity but I hesitantly called on the zeo rangers for help. Tommy and Kat are still in Boston and didn't respond, but this brave trio did." Alpha turned to the three beaten down zeo rangers on the floor and scanned them with a device.
"Your recovery is on track, rangers. I'm sorry I had to call on you."
"You don't need to be sorry Alpha. We're power rangers. We will always show up when the world needs us." Adam replied.
"But we were no match for them." Rocky said, slowly pulling himself up to address Jason. "I've sparred with both you and Tommy haven't I Jase. And I swear to you, they fight just like you guys. The way they move, the way they strike, their styles and technique, it was all identical. And we had half their numbers, we couldn't do anything."
"We were outnumbered, out-matched and out-thought. We tried our best. But they obviously had this planned." Tanya added.
"It's okay rangers. You guys rest up and heal okay. You have done your part." Jason said proudly. His heart swelling up. As long as there were some power rangers on earth, evil would always be faced with someone to stop them.
"The worst news is yet to come rangers. Even more so than the poor civilians they attacked, and the one they killed." Alpha said, moving closer to the rangers.
"What could be worse than that?" Trini questioned.
"I believe they have taken all of your parent's and are holding them hostage somewhere."
The five ranger's stomach's instantly tied up into knots.
"How do you know that?" Jason asked Alpha, his body now trembling, every other thought flying out of his mind.
"I did a scan on all of your loved ones and saw that all of your parents cannot be found. In the case of Kimberly, your mom is still safe and in France. Billy's parents along with his partner are missing. I have been attempting to locate them and I believe I am close to achieving that."
They could not believe their ears. Billy slumped into a nearby chair, the rest of them in total shock of what they had Just heard.
"I need to get out there and find them." Jason said, his eyes were watery just seconds ago, but were now piercing the floor as though all of their parents were underneath them.
"That would be suicide Jason. We don't know where they are yet, but I WILL locate them rangers, I promise you. Ninjor will be coming to help, he got back in touch with me moments before you arrived. We will rescue your families and deal with these clones." Alpha reassured the rangers, moving to pat Billy's back.
"Who's behind all of this? Gasket?" Zack asked, holding Trini's hand tightly.
"I'm not too sure Zack. Gasket and Archerina are not on earth but we have to assume they are behind this. It cannot be anyone else." Alpha replied, making his way back to the control panel and pressing a number of buttons.
"We can't just stand here. Where are the clones?" Jason asked, clenching his fists.
"They have mysteriously vanished Jason. We have no lock on where they are." Alpha said, continuing with his task at fiddling with the control panel.
"When you get even the slightest sign of them, let me know Alpha. They have to pay for this."
"Please calm down Jason." Alpha said, swivelling around to look at the red ranger through his visor.
"Calm down? How can I calm down? You won't understand Alpha, it's not your parents who have been taken." Jason retaliated.
"That may be true red ranger," Alpha said, moving closer towards Jason." But I never had parents to begin with. All I had, was King Lexian, Zordon and you power rangers who are like my very own siblings! Your parents may not be my family, and I may be just a robot to you, but I love you rangers deeply and I love and care for your families too, like they were my own." Alpha responded strongly.
"I'm sorry Alpha, I didn't mea-"
"Zordon is not with us any longer Jason. But I will try my best to step in his place, guide you and watch out for you. I will give you, my best!" Alpha's circuits began to fizz and sparkle after his last words, causing Jason to run over to the automation.
"Alpha are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. You are our family too. I was out of order." Jason said quickly, trying to avoid the sparkles coming out of Alpha but trying to care for him at the same time.
"Yes, I'm fine Jason. I can't cry so I sometimes start emitting little sparks." Alpha said with a little robotic laugh. "Stay strong Jason, Zordon always viewed you as our leader, you have to stay strong for us all." Alpha gently patted the red rangers' shoulders.
"I will Alpha. I promise." Jason replied.
"I must continue searching for your loved ones. You guys relax and be ready to be called upon when the time comes."
Jason walked back over to Kimberly who took his hand into hers, and they joined up with Trini, Zack and Billy and marched over to the three Zeo rangers on the other side of the lab.
It felt like days that they were all sat on the immaculate floor of Billy's lab with one another, making sure each of them was okay and coming up with different plans and ideas. But in reality, it must have been only an hour or so when there was a loud pop and a large, blue being appeared inside the lab.
"Ninjor!" The rangers shouted in unison.
"Rangers, do not fear, for Ninjor is here." The blue ninja said in his trademark singy song voice.
"Where have you been Ninjor. I called on you over two hours ago!" Alpha 7 screeched in an obviously annoyed tone.
"I apologise profusely my dear Alpha. I was in the middle a very deep sleep, healing after my battle with Gasket. But I am here now and ready to defeat the forces of evil. Evil shall never triumph over the forces of good."
"It's about time. Now stop showing off and come help me locate the ranger's families. I am getting very close now."
Alpha wasn't wrong. With Ninjor's help, it took only another half hour or so for alpha to finally scream in success.
"I have found them, rangers!"
The power rangers all stood up and speedily gathered around Alpha and Ninjor.
"Where are they Alpha?"
"Are they okay?"
"Can we go get them."
"Calm down rangers." Ninjor said to the group of power rangers around him and Alpha. "Your families are all unharmed and there is a way we can get to them."
The applause from the rangers was drowned out by Ninjor's loud voice. "However, getting to the dimension in which your families are being kept captive, well, it's a bit too easy, if you get what I mean."
"Yes rangers. I am somehow unable to teleport your parents here but we are able to teleport you to this dimension and you'll have to morph, but teleporting you there will be too easy. There are no obstacles in place either." Alpha explained.
"So it is most likely a trap? Jason quizzed.
"Unfortunately so. We should form a plan of how we are going to complete this mission and bring everyone back safely." Ninjor responded.
"Our parents haven't been taken, so you guys can decide who goes, and who doesn't." Rocky suggested, pointing at the original power rangers.
"If you don't mind my suggestion, rangers. Because of the earlier battle" Ninjor stopped in mid sentence and turned to Alpha 7, bowing to him in a way that showed he knew about what had happened and was sorry he wasn't there. "I believe that the Zeo rangers should stay behind, and I accompany the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to this blasted dimension to recover their parents." Ninjor said with a clap of his hands.
"I don't know Ninjor. It may be a trap, a diversion so that the clones can return and finish off what they started. If that happens, the Zeo rangers will be outnumbered and overwhelmed." Jason said, walking around and stroking his chin. "Maybe you should stay here with the Zeo rangers Ninjor, they may need that extra help. The rest of us can go rescue our families."
Ninjor walked over to Jason and patted him on the shoulder. "I now see why Zordon chose you as the inaugural leader of the very first team of power rangers. You are very wise, young man."
Jason, however upset and stressed he was right now, gave Ninjor a wry smile.
"So it's settled then?" Alpha said, facing Jason and Ninjor. "Rocky, Adam, Tanya and Ninjor stay here to defend Angel Grove. And Trini, Zack, Billy, Kimberly and Jason go to the dimension and rescue your loved ones."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, everyone but Jason Lee Scott.
The red ranger turned to his fiancé by his side and plucked up huge amount of courage. "I know you're going to hate me right now, but you should stay here at Billy's lab with Alpha."
"What? Seriously?" Kimberly grimaced. "Just because we're together now, you're going to prevent me from going out there and-"
"No not because we're together. You know why! If it was Trini or Tanya, I would suggest the same thing."
A bit of Kim's initial anger waned and she looked up into Jason's eyes. "I know where you're coming from Jase, but I'm sorry, I can't. That's my dad out there." She placed a comforting hand onto Jason's broad shoulders. "I know you would all do everything in your power to get him and the rest of our families back safely, I trust you all," Kim added to the rest of the team. "But I'm sorry. I can't stay here."
There was a moment of silence. Everybody who was stood in Billy's lab were all aware that Kimberly was pregnant. Jason had made sure to tell them all, so that they would all keep an extra eye on her. But this was a very touchy subject. Both the red, and pink ranger had valid points. But it just seemed like a private conversation. Nobody wanted to intervene.
"But what if you get hurt Kim. What if something happens?" Jason said, the worst situations playing inside his mind like a video tape.
"There's a lot of what if's there Jase. I'll give you one, what if it's easy and we just go in and come back out like it's nothing?"
"Not likely. Like Alpha and Ninjor said, it's a little too easy. It's way too risky babe."
"It's risky to stay here too, in case of an attack."
Jason shook his head, "You wouldn't even have to leave the command- Billy's lab, you know what I mean."
"Oh, so now you're benching me?" Kimberly said a little angrily, folding her arms across her abdomen.
"I'm not benching you!"
"Alpha, you said that we could count on you for advice. What do you think Zordon would have said?" Kimberly twisted on the spot and spoke directly to their little robotic friend.
"Ummmm, Kimberly, this is a subject that never showed up before. It's hard to predict what Zordon would've said." Alpha responded.
"Well, we must make our decisions now then." Kimberly replied.
"Yes, however!" Alpha 7 stuck a finger up in the air and stared at Kim through his visor. "There was one thing that was of paramount importance to Zordon. It was your safety!" Alpha walked around and looked at each ranger directly in their faces. "He never told you, but whenever you were in trouble, he used to get so emotional, so scared for you, he often asked me to bring you back halfway through battles." Alpha stared at the shocked faces of the power rangers. "Yes, he wanted to save your planet, but he would rather your planet be destroyed than to lose any one of you. He always put on a brave face because he knew he had to be strong for you all. But your safety was the priority."
A long silence followed this statement by Alpha. They always loved Zordon, they knew that the wise sage cared about them but they didn't know he cared to this extent. He was always strong for them, whenever they were in a spot of trouble, Zordon always stayed calm no matter what. But this revelation showed them another side of their mentor.
Kimberly wiped away a tear and broke the silence. "I really wish he was here." She said, wiping away another tear. "But we still have you Alpha and I'm grateful for that."
"I feel like there's a but coming." Alpha replied.
"But," Kimberly smiled. "That's my dad out there. I need to go see him. To make sure he's okay. I know what the risks are, but I have to do this."
Jason sighed, knowing that he was defeated and there was no way anyone could change Kimberly's mind.
"I'm strong Jase. I can do this." She said, placing her hand into his.
"I know you are. You're very strong, and stubborn." He added with a little smirk.
"And don't for a minute, think that we won't look out for her." Zack stated.
"We won't allow anyone to even get close to Kim." Trini said
"I definitely concur. I would put my safety at risk for her." Billy added.
"I really appreciate that guys. But please, don't put me before yourselves okay." Kimberly responded to her teammates who hesitantly agreed, at least to her.
"I'm not happy about this. But let's get going guys. We don't know how long our families have been there and if anything has changed." Jason said.
"I'm inputting the coordinates now, Jason." Alpha said.
"Thanks Alpha." Jason replied, nodding at the automaton. "Ninjor, you stay safe here okay. Contact us if you get overwhelmed."
"I will do, you contact us if YOU are in danger. I shall appear immediately and defeat any evil which is causing you pain."
"Umm, thanks. Are you ready rangers?" Jason turned to his four teammates, slightly amused by Ninjor's way of talking.
"Mmhmm"
"Affirmative"
"One hundred percent"
"Yeah, let's go get our loved ones."
"Go ahead alpha." Jason said.
"Good luck guys." Adam shouted to the rangers, over the sound of the buzzing control panel that alpha had activated.
"Bring them back." Rocky shouted after his best friend.
"Safe and sound!" Tanya added.
"Now, if I notice any danger, I shall notify you at once." Alpha said, turning to face the rangers. "If things get rough, just get close to your families and I will hopefully be able to teleport you all back. It seems like an easy mission rangers, but we are all too experienced to know that that is not always the case."
"Too right. We'll be okay." Jason said to Alpha who nodded his head.
"It's morphin time!"
"Mastodon"
"Pterodactyl"
"Triceratops"
"Sabre toothed tiger"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
"Contact me as soon you get there. Before you go any further, I need to see if I am able to teleport you back here." Alpha explained.
"You got it." Jason said, looking down at the red suit which he was now wrapped in.
"I shall see you soon rangers. May the power protect you!"
With those final words from Alpha 7, the rangers watched as the lab disappeared and felt the familiar sensation of teleportation. They watched on as the scene around them blurred into a colourful, beautiful mess and before they knew it, their feet touched the ground somewhere new.
"Alpha, come in alpha. We're here." Jason said, immediately into his communicator.
"I hear you, Jason. I can see you all in the viewing globe... or television... or whatever it is. And I have a lock on you. That should enable me to get a lock on your families too. There's only one problem." Alpha replied.
"What's that?" Jason asked.
"Well, the information I am reading is telling me that if I teleport you back, whichever life force you are touching, will come back with you. It's like someone has tampered with the teleportation and configured it to their needs."
"That's weird. How is that even possible?" Jason asked.
"Either it's totally circumstantial or someone has purposely done this. But it would take some really powerful magic to achieve this."
"Well, that does seem terribly fishy, does it not?" Billy addressed the rangers and Alpha 7.
"It does rangers. Just be very careful, okay." Alpha replied, caution evident in his robotic voice.
"We will Alpha. Just don't teleport us back prematurely. It's of paramount importance that we get our families back safe and sound." Jason explained.
"I understand. Your loved ones are right in front of you in a little building. It appears safe in there, but still, be careful rangers."
"Thank you. Be ready for my signal, we may need you to act quickly." Jason told the automaton before letting go of the communicator. The news was concerning, but rescuing their families was the number one priority.
"Why is it so dark?" Zack asked as he looked around through the visor of his helmet.
"I don't know." Jason replied, taking his attention away from the communicator and looking straight ahead.
"Maybe you should turn on the light on your helmet, Trini." Billy said.
"What light?" Trini quizzed, Jason and Zack also confused.
"When you guys left for the world peace summit, Zordon made some minor adjustments to the suits." Billy explained.
"That's so not fair!" Zack said, slapping his leg.
"He gave us all special little perks." Kimberly added with a little smirk behind her helmet.
"I repeat, that's so not fair!" Zack replied.
"How do we turn them on?" Trini asked the blue ranger.
"Well, I think yours and Jason's abilities will be most useful right now. Trini, you just say, Activate power beam, and Jason you say activate scope. And your abilities will automatically be triggered."
Both Jason and Trini followed Billy's advice and activated their special abilities.
It was a great bit of advice too as this action yielded the results the rangers required.
The light shining from Trini's helmet allowed the rangers to finally see the environment they were in.
It was still eerily dark and they could not see too far ahead. The ground was solid, it appeared to be made out of some form of rock. There was an eerie mist hanging around the air and that was accompanied by a very weird odour. Not a nasty odour per se, but definitely a strange one.
In front of them, roughly, twenty feet away was what looked like a large shack. Something that you would see in an old abandoned house, in the gardens or yard. Jason's scanner that he had activated, showed that there was life forms inside the shack.
Jason could see green outlines of a large number of bodies inside this building.
"They're in there!" Jason said, pointing at the little building. "Man this is so cool. It's like X-ray vision!"
"Cool! Can you see through our suits?" Zack asked.
"Yeah, but I can't see our muscles or bones or anything. You know how predator sees things through his helmet in the movies, well it's like that but everything is just green."
"Wow."
"Anyway, let's go ahead guys, we don't have time to waste." Jason said, ushering everyone forward.
The rangers edged forwards, their blade blasters raised, ready for any form of attack or threat.
But as they arrived at the door leading to the inside of the shack, no threat emerged.
"Be ready guys. We may be entering a trap for all we know." Jason told his team whilst he placed a hand on the door, ready to push it open.
The rest of the power rangers nodded their heads and eagerly stared at the door which didn't open when Jason attempted to push it.
"Well, it was worth a shot." The red ranger mentioned, knowing that his teammates were all looking at him. "I can't see a lock or anything."
Rather than waiting to form a plan, Zack lunged at the door with his leg and kicked it open.
They were met with a good and a bad thing after kicking the door open and slowly making their way inside.
The good thing was, that they had successfully located their families and friends, the bad thing was, they were all screaming as loud as their lungs would allow them to.
"Dude, you should've waited. There's a reason why I didn't kick the door down." Jason explained to his friend who was stood to the ted rangers right.
"And why is that?" Zack asked.
"So, you've come to finish us off now have you?" A deep and powerful, yet equally fragile voice spoke from the far end of this room, a room that didn't look too dissimilar to a barn. It was Mason Scott. The father of the red ranger.
"That's why." Jason said, pointing at his father. "They think the power rangers have turned evil. Kicking down the door would not be a great way to introduce the real rangers now would it?".
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry man." Zack replied over the numerous screams and wails of fear.
"It's okay bro. We're inside now, let's try and prove to them that we're not the evil ones." The red ranger replied, getting a nod of approval from the rest of the team.
"But how are we going to do that? Look." Kimberly pointed out at the group of people who were backing up against the farthest wall. Through the darkness, the rangers could barely see the faces of their families, but whatever they could see, it was nothing but fear.
"Guys, look." Jason stepped forward very slowly to the group still huddled together. "I know you have been through a lot, but you have to trust us."
"Why should we trust you? You have destroyed our city and hurt so many of our citizens." Came another voice from the darkness. A voice that Trini recognised as her father's.
"That wasn't us sir, we weren't even on this planet when all of that happened." Jason responded, not moving any further forward.
"And you expect us to believe that?" another voice spoke, this one belonging to Zack's mother.
"I don't blame you. The crap that those phoney rangers have done is absolutely vile." Jason said.
"When we saw it, it made us sick to our stomachs." Kimberly added.
"Of course you'd say that." Jason's father replied.
"Please sir, you have to believe us. How many years have we stood by Angel Grove and protected it and its people?" Jason said.
"Yeah that may be true. But anyone can become evil can't they? You probably got sick of protecting us and became the bad guys!" Mason Scott implied.
"Seriously?" Zack said with an air of surprise.
"I have to tell you with all due respect sir, that evaluation is wide off the mark." Billy added.
"We don't even know who you are!"
Billy peered through the darkness and caught the face of his boyfriend to whom this voice belonged to.
"Yeah, nobody has ever figured out who you even are."
Kimberly's heart jolted as she heard her fathers voice.
"You probably aren't even human!" Mason shouted, gaining support from the rest of the abductees. "There's a lot of us here, if we band together, we can take em!" Mason addressed the others in their group.
"I'm sorry Mason, but try and fight the power rangers? That has to be the most absurd idea you've ever had my friend."
"Well what do you suggest then Cranston?"
Billy's dad stayed quiet. He knew there was no way to fight and defeat the power rangers, he also knew that they were stranded here and had no idea of where here was.
"You won't need to fight us, even if you do. You'll win, because there's no way any of us are going to hurt you!" Jason spoke up.
"Yeah, maybe that way you'll see that we're the real power rangers and those assholes who attacked our city were nothing but phonies." Kimberly added.
"Mason, we have to believe them. The rangers have stood by us for years." Jean Scott told her husband.
"Maybe they're not our power rangers though. They could be evil clones." Mr Cranston suggested, filling Billy's heart with pride at how accurate his father was.
"This gentleman is right." Jason said, drawing out shouts of anger from their families. "But!". He shouted over their loud voices, "We are not the clones, the clones are the ones who attacked Angel Grove. When we realised what happened, we acted immediately to save the city and come rescue you guys."
"And how will you prove that you're not the evil clones?" Mr Hart asked.
"You just have to trust us, sir." Jason answered.
"Look red ranger, put yourself in our shoes. Would you trust you guys after what we've seen?" Jeanette asked the red ranger, not aware that she was speaking to her own son.
"I guess not." Jason conceded.
"But there has to be a way for you to believe us!" Trini begged.
"There is, you take off your masks and reveal who you are!" Mason suggested, taking the rangers by surprise.
"No, we can't do that, sir." Jason replied.
"Why not?"
"Oh, come on Scott. Does batman ever take off his mask? It's to keep their identities a secret, it's a superhero thing." Mr. Hart explained, drawing out a silent giggle from Kimberly.
"Well, that's the only way I'll believe them." Mason retorted.
"Me too." Zack's dad spoke for the first time, adjusting his glasses and peering through the darkness, accidently nudging the arm of the kid next to him.
More shouts of agreement came from everyone else, they evidently wanted the rangers to take off their helmets.
"But hold on." Daniel spoke up after remaining quiet for most of these talks. "Let's say that they do remove their helmets, what is it going to achieve if they are aliens or even if they're humans and we don't recognise them from Adam."
There it was, finally, a few moments of silence to calm everyone down a notch. Dan's words were wise and the rangers could see why Billy was drawn to him.
Though Daniel's words indeed calmed everyone down, it wasn't long before the families began feeling unsettled once again.
They began to debate with each other about what to do, leaving the rangers stood there, anxiously waiting for a decision. The mouldy stench of this room invading their helmets and noses.
The rangers did not want to butt in and make matters worse, but they couldn't stand here much longer. They didn't know where here even was.
One good thing was that they hadn't heard anything from Alpha so far, so at least it seemed to be going okay back in Angel Grove.
"Look, I agree with Mason and Mr Kwan, I think they should take off their masks." Mr. Taylor said, his wife and many of the others agreeing with him.
It seemed like only Daniel, Mr. Cranston and Mrs. Scott were the only ones against it.
"There you have it rangers. Take off the masks and then we may believe you." Mr Scott spoke up.
"They're helmets sir." Billy corrected the red ranger's father, getting a nasty grimace in return.
"Nevertheless, we are sworn to secrecy never to reveal our identities." Jason retorted, feeling Kimberly tug his arm.
"I know but taking revealing who we are will definitely make them come with us and we can get out of this dangerous situation." Kimberly whispered quietly as Jason bent down.
"But doing that will put them in even more danger. The bad guys will know who our loved ones are and target them." Jason replied.
"Seriously? Then why did they take our parents in the first place. They know who we are."
"Oh yeah." Jason chuckled slightly at his stupidity, but another thought came to mind. "What about Zordon? We swore to him, never to reveal our identities."
"But he's not here anymore Jason. And I'm sure he would advise us to do what it takes to get our families to safety." Kimberly responded.
Jason looked around at the other rangers who voiced their support for Kimberly's plan. It had to be done.
"What if the helmets are what is keeping us breathing in here?" Jason asked Billy.
"I don't think so. It seems like we're either still on earth, or there's enough oxygen present here." Billy replied, pointing at the abductees who were obviously breathing without any difficulty.
"Okay sir, we agree to your terms." Jason addressed his father. "But once we reveal our identities, you have to promise, you will come with us so we can get you back to safety. We don't know our current location. So it's important we get out of here quickly."
"What makes you so sure that we'll trust you?" Mason asked.
"Just you wait." Jason replied with a smirk under his helmet.
After years and years of keeping this secret from their families, all of the rangers couldn't help but feel a little excited about this.
They looked at each other and all followed Jason's lead who unclipped the helmet from the sides. A tiny hiss followed by a smoky steam trickled out of the base of the helmet, four more hisses and releases of steam behind him.
Jason slowly lifted up the helmet, followed by the rest of the rangers. The red ranger lifted the helmet until it was completely off his head, and slowly lowered it down to his abdomen.
There was a collective gasp of utter shock as each ranger lowered their helmets and the crowd of people in front of them were the first civilians of Angel Grove to see the faces of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
"I told you!" Jeanette Scott smacked her husbands arm. "I told you he sounded like our Jason. I told you!" She screamed.
Before they knew it, the crowd had come to life and ran towards the rangers, each parent running to their child, staring at them in shock and hugging them as tightly as they could.
"You Kimberly? You're the pink ranger! Wow!" Mr. Hart whispered as he wrapped his arms around his daughter.
"Our Billy, Martha! Our Billy is a power ranger!" Mr. Cranston proclaimed to his wife and to Daniel who stood there in shock, staring at his boyfriend in disbelief. Billy was glad he had introduced Dan to his parents a couple of weeks ago. That was a huge revelation in of itself, but it was because of that, that this moment was not marred by confusion. As three sets of arms surrounded the blue ranger, Billy's heart finally filled with freedom, something he had not felt in weeks.
"It's our boy! Our boy is a power ranger?" Zack's mother told her husband, both of them wrapping their son in a tight hug. "And why didn't you tell me this years ago Zachary?"
"Con gái của chúng tôi, OUR daughter is a power ranger? This cannot be!" Mr. Kwan shouted in glee to his wife, running over to his daughter and staring at her face, tears streaming from his eyes.
This was one of those rare moments when it felt like time stood still. One of them moments when everything was set aside except for what was occurring right there, in front of your very eyes.
Shock, disbelief, realisation, years of rumours, suspicions. A whirlwind of emotions spiralling out of control.
The rangers and their loved ones completely forgot that they were in a place that they didn't recognise, a place which may not be safe, but they didn't care about that right now.
The mothers were telling their kids about how they had their suspicions that their child was a power ranger. Most of the dads pretending to know all along. But nobody downplayed this. It was an absolutely monumental moment.
"You know, now it makes total sense when I look around and see who was kidnapped by those dollar store rangers." Mason said, turning around and looking at everyone in the room. "But who's the kid?"
"Which kid?" Jason asked his father.
"That one!" Mason pointed to the back of the room.
It was very dark as Jason could not see clearly, but sure enough, there was a young boy crouching on the floor accompanied by a woman stood next to him.
"Sensei Scott?"
The youngster took a step forward, his face finally hitting the light from Trini's helmet which was now on the floor.
"Luke?" Jason squinted and through the darkness, and finally saw the face of his newest student.
Luke stared at his sensei in absolute shock. But he didn't move, didn't say anything else, the youngster just stood rooted on the spot, staring at his sensei.
"Remember, he may not be who we think he is."
Kimberly had moved next to Jason and quietly spoke so that only he could hear her.
She was right, after what Scorpina had told them in the other universe, Luke may not be a normal child, and the woman who was crouched on the floor, hidden in the darkness may actually be Scorpina.
Though they could blatantly tell this kid that they knew he wasn't Luke, or that he wasn't a human. But there were two negatives to that.
They would be breaking the promise to Scorpina and putting her in the firing line, and they could be totally wrong and Luke WAS just a normal boy.
The rest of the rangers knew what was going on but they couldn't say or do anything. They just looked at their leader, waiting for orders on what to do.
"Sensei Scott, you're the red power ranger?" Like finally found the courage to speak once again.
Jason quickly and nervously glanced at Kimberly next to him. "I-I am, Luke. Yes."
"Whoah. That's so cool. My sense is a power ranger!"
"But you must make sure Luke, this stays between everyone in this room. Do you promise that you'll never, ever tell a single soul?" Jason asked, staring into Luke's seemingly innocent eyes.
"Why, of course Sensei. I cross my heart and hope to die." Luke replied, forming a cross over his little chest.
"Thank you Luke." Jason said, smiling at the youngster before whispering to his father, "Dad, distract the kid will ya. I need a few seconds."
Mason looked into his sons eyes and gave him a curt nod.
"Hey kid, would you like to see a picture of Jason when he was around your age?" Mason said, taking out his wallet from his coat pocket.
"Boy, would I ever!" Luke replied ecstatically as Mason approached him.
"Right guys, this is my plan." Jason said as he walked over to the rest of rangers. "We'll grab our parents, and notify Alpha to teleport us back to the lab. We'll ask him to keep an eye on this place and we'll find out if that really is Luke."
"And if it is Luke?" Kimberly asked.
"Then I'll just come back and get him." Jason replied, glancing over at Luke who was laughing away at the picture in Mason's wallet, seemingly enjoying the story that he was being told.
"And if it isn't Luke?" Zack whispered.
"Then I guess we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it." The red ranger replied.
"Okay, sounds a fair plan." Billy said. Aware that they didn't exactly have a plethora of options.
"Quickly tell your loved ones the plan and make sure they're ready for teleportation."
The rangers nodded their heads and hurried over to their families.
"What's going on?"
Jason turned around as he heard Luke's voice. He was no longer looking at the photo, but at all of the rangers in front of him. His eyes squinted slightly, apparently confused at the situation.
"Well, I think it's about time we got out of this wretched place, don't you think?" Jason replied.
"Yes, I agree sensei. Mom, are you ready?" Luke turned to his mother behind him, seemingly excited.
Luke's mother was still sat behind them, against the wall at the back. The darkness and shadows almost draped over her like a veil. But Jason saw her nod her head and he could've sworn that she had given him a little smile. Or was it a grimace.
"How do we do it sensei?"
"How do we do what?" Jason asked.
"Escape from here." Luke answered.
Jason didn't like the tone of Luke's voice. He sounded happy, almost happy... Too happy. "You leave that up to the power rangers, ey kid." Jason winked at the youngster.
"You think I'm stupid, don't you sensei?"
"No, why would I think that?" Jason stared at Luke in a bit of confusion.
"I know what you were all doing." Luke replied.
"What were we doing?" Jason gave the kid a dismissive smile.
"Planning to get out of here and leave me behind. That's what you were doing." Luke answered, as still as a statue, staring into his sensei's eyes.
Jason had his answer. He knew this wasn't Luke. Or even if it was Luke, he was no normal boy.
Jason signalled for his father to move away from Luke, but it was too late.
Either Luke wasn't human or he was the strongest child in the world. For he lunged at Mason and took control of him as though he was as light as a feather.
"Let him go Luke!" Jason said, trying to stay calm, hearing a sharp intake of breath from his mom behind him.
"I will. But only if you don't leave me behind, you have to take me with you sensei."
"I'm not your sensei."
"Yes you are sensei Scott."
"Well if that's the case, follow by instructions. Let go of him, and we can all get out of here."
Luke tripped Mason so that he was on his knees, and placed an arm around his neck. "Do you really think I'm that stupid sensei? I'll let go of him when you teleport us all back. Safe and sound back in Angel Grove."
If Jason needed any confirmation, well, he had it now. "I never said anything about teleporting. How did you know that Luke?"
"Oh, everyone knows that the power rangers use teleportation." Luke sniggered, smiling even more at Mason who was struggling against Luke's firm grip but not getting anywhere. Luke was too strong.
"Okay, enough of the games. Who are you? What are you?" Jason said, glancing at his father.
"Oh dammit. I thought it was going pretty well." Luke replied with a massive grin etched on his face. The seemingly innocent face that belonged to Luke, didn't look so innocent anymore. That smile was pure evil, inhuman. "I guess the game is over. No need to pretend anymore"
And in a split second, Luke had twisted in the air and replaced with something a lot larger, a lot less human.
The ranger's eyes widened in shock as they gazed upon something they hadn't seen in a very long time.
The entity that was holding Luke was so grotesque, so inhuman. He was around 7 feet tall. His body was a bluey grey. It was a humanoid body. Two large arms, two huge legs, a torso, covered by a spiky, metallic armour of sorts. The parts of his body that weren't covered by the armour, were very muscular and throbbing with thick, blue veins.
The head is what was familiar with the rangers. They had seen it years ago during their battles with Rita.
It was something straight out of a horror movie. His scarred face looked rather humanoid, apart from the fact that it was a bluey grey like the rest of big body. His eyes were small, narrow, and it looked like he was about to cry tears of blood, since the eyelids were bright red and appeared inflamed, the whites of the eyes weren't even white. They were laced with red veins, adding more danger to his appearance.
Perhaps the most unsettling thing about this creature was the fact that his face was encased in a mane of what appeared to be long, deadly looking spikes.
"Lokar?" Billy muttered, his eyes wide open as Lokar stood before him and the rest of the rangers, fully transformed into the monster that he was.
They had only ever seen the head of Lokar. Years ago, Rita had enlisted Lokar's help a number of times. He certainly brought the fight to the rangers then, and that was just his floating head, now that he was here in his true form, it could only bad news for the power rangers.
"B-but how? Didn't we defeat you?" Jason said, fully aware that Lokar still had a grip on Jason's father.
"Defeat me? You think it that easy to defeat Lokar the terrible?" the alien replied with a most sinister snigger. His voice was also different. Much deeper in this true form of his. Much more menacing. "You merely managed to lay a finger on my head. Granted, I required time to recover. But you must count yourselves lucky, you were never faced with the true power I possess. You only tasted a small sample of what I am capable of."
"And Zordon's energy wave when he perished. It didn't touch you?" Billy enquired.
Lokar let out a huge howl of laughter so deep that it made the floor shake, causing everyone to grab on to each other for balance. "My home is far, far away from Zordon's reach. Hence why only my head had manifested here on this miniscule planet of yours. Scorpina, you may come forward now." Lokar added, looking back into the dark corner of the room.
"Yes master." Scorpina replied, stepping into the light, fully transformed back into her usual form. Not looking at any of the rangers, but looking at the ground beneath her feet.
So this was the master that Scorpina had referred to back in the alternate universe. It was Lokar.
"Oh, I have been waiting a long, long time for this moment." Lokar turned back around and glared at the rangers. "You see, back in the Talos dimension where I reside, I am a conqueror. I have conquered every single planet in that galaxy and in the next galaxy, and the next, and the one after that. So, you see, I am not used to not winning. And when I failed to defeat you rangers, I bade my time. Waiting for another opportunity to finally end you once and for all. I knew it would be possible when I encountered Scorpina, Gasket and Archerina. They also shared my goal to defeat the power rangers and well, the perfect opportunity presented itself." Lokar tightened his grip on Mason who was staring at Lokar in horrifying shock.
"I do not take kindly to being made a fool of, power rangers. You have felt my wrath before, but it is nothing compared to what I am capable at full power. My head alone, caused you so much peril, imagine what I am capable of now with my true form opposing you." Lokar stood facing the rangers, studying them. His wicked eyes dancing in their sockets. "I do however, possesses the godly ability of mercy. I shall offer you the chance to yield. Allow me a clear pathway to take over your planet, and I shall not harm anyone in the process. Apart from any resistance, of course." He finished with a sly grin.
The rangers glanced at one another. They had never given up, ever. Sure, they had contemplated it a couple of times, but they had never gone ahead with it and given up. It wasn't in their nature.
But with Lokar, holding Mr. Scott tightly in his right hand, they had to ensure to go about this in a clever way. This Lokar was way more arrogant in person. Likening himself to God. Maybe he would believe the rangers if they decided to play along.
Now, the rangers hadn't spoken a single word to each other, but as usual, they had an almost telepathic connection. They were all on the same page regarding this and simply nodded at Jason to go ahead, carefully.
"If we yield, and allow that, you promise to let us go?" Jason said, cautiously looking up at hideous face of the evil Lokar.
"I accept that proposal. As long as there's no resistance, of course." Lokar replied, his wicked grin only getting wider.
"Then let my father go, and allow us to depart. We shall leave peacefully." Jason watched as his dad stopped struggling against Lokar's vise-like grip, understanding the situation.
"I shall allow that. But I will require a trade in return, I simply cannot let all of the rangers go." Lokar's evil, bloodshot eyes fixed on Jason like he was a big juicy steak.
"The trade has already been agreed. We shall not fight you, we'll get out of here and out of your way." Jason replied, his comfort levels diminishing with each second.
"That's a good deal, but I have to take one of the rangers. You know, set an example for the rest of you. This is what happens when you cross Lokar the terrible."
Was there a way out of this. Lokar wouldn't let go of Mason, unless he had one of the rangers. Jason could get Alpha to teleport them out of here, but could he get a lock on everyone, Mason was at huge risk here. As soon as Jason would notify Alpha, Lokar would know and he may finish Jason's dad once and for all. But Alpha's earlier warning echoed in Jason's head. Whoever was touching someone who was being teleported, would also be teleported along with them. Without even being locked on as a target. There was just too much risk. Jason had to keep everyone safe.
"So, what do you say, red ranger?"
Lokar's prompt brought Jason back to earth, or wherever the hell they were.
"Okay Lokar, let go of my dad, and you can have me."
"No son!" Mason shouted, catching his sons eye. "You have so much more to live for. Don't worry about me."
"Dad, I can't. I just can't." Jason said, looking into his father's eyes before turning his attention to Lokar again, glancing at Scorpina stood near to him. "There you have it Lokar. Swap my dad with me. That's a great deal. You won't get a better one than that."
"No Jase, please don't. I need you." Kimberly shouted from behind him.
Jason's heart halted at the sound of his pregnant fiancé's voice. He didn't want this either. But what choice did he have. Once everyone was safely out of here, he could fight back. There was a way out of this.
"I'll take his place." Billy shouted, drawing out screams from his parents and boyfriend.
Lokar seemed to be enjoying himself, watching with the largest smile that had ever materialised on ghastly face as Jason shot down Billy's idea.
Jason's mother was in tears, not able to look at her husband or son.
"Just let him go and you can have me!" Jason shouted loudly, but calmly.
"Deal." Lokar growled, clicking his fingers and before anyone knew it, Jason and his father switched places. Jason was now in the firm clutches of Lokar and his father was where Jason had just stood a second earlier.
"Noooooo!" Kimberly screamed, running forward to Jason who stopped her by putting up his hand.
"Kim, I'll see you again baby. I promise."
He didn't know why he promised this to Kimberly. But he had a good feeling that he WOULD see her again. He didn't know why, but he did.
"Alpha, get a lock on everyone here except me, and teleport them back." Jason said, raising the communicator up to his face. He knew that Alpha was aware of the situation, he was certain that Alpha was keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
"But Jason."
"No Alpha. Please do as I say." Jason shouted into his communicator. "And keep an eye on me." He added in an almost inaudible whisper.
"What did you say red ranger?" Lokar enquired, having obviously noticed Jason's extra words.
"I just said goodbye to my friend, that's all. "Jason replied, looking up at the face of the being who held him so securely in his large hand.
"Jase."
Jason looked up at the sound of the voice. He looked into the visor of the pink ranger who had put back the helmet on her head. "I love you, Kim. I'll see you again. Trust me."
And those were the last words spoken before everyone in the room vanished with a flash of light and there were only three people left in the room.
"So, you were Luke all along?" Jason addressed the evil alien. The room now eerily quiet.
"That is correct, you know, I think I bonded with you quite a bit. I don't think destroying any of the other power punks would have meant this much to me." Lokar beamed with glee.
Jason glanced up at Scorpina once again who caught his eye for a split second before returning her gaze back to the floor.
Jason felt a piercing pain on the side of his face, Lokar had just punched him. The red ranger felt dizzy from just that one single blow.
"Are you just going to toy with me or what Lokar? Am I your prisoner? Or are you not going to even give me a fighting chance?" Jason asked the evil magician who still had a tight grip around the red rangers shoulders, forcing them together, acting like a rope or a chain of restraint. Why was he so damn strong. Jason had to get his helmet back on if he wanted to survive this, but it was about three feet away from him on his right. Lokar's grip was just too strong to get to it.
"Well red ranger. That's totally up to you. We can have ourselves a little battle, though it won't be much of a fight really. Or we can get this over with quickly, and we can always take you as our prisoner. That would be rather satisfying." Lokar chuckled, once again, tightening his grip. "Or you can just teleport out of here like a coward. We won't stop you. But we will come back for you, just so you understand. We will finish the power rangers once and for all."
Jason wasn't a schmuck. He knew what was going on, it was pretty obvious now and everything was adding up together.
Lokar was holding Jason very tightly. Not letting go at all. He has also held Jason's dad really tightly. Lokar was evidently hoping to be teleported back with Jason and the rest of the rangers. Billy's lab was very secure from nearly everyone. Alpha had made sure that only those who were good could be teleported into it. But there was no power coin protection. Lokar most likely wanted to infiltrate the ranger's base and take control. Jason wasn't going to teleport, not with Lokar gripping him tightly.
"I'm not going to run Lokar, and I'm not going to be your prisoner." Jason told the alien.
"Well then, you have two options left. A fight to the death, or we can just get this over with once and for all." Lokar replied, his bloodshot, menacing eyes staring into Jason's.
Jason didn't shy away, he matched Lokar's stare with his own intense glare. "What, two against one. I don't have much of a chance, do I?"
"Not really, red ranger. But at least you go down with a sliver of respect." Lokar chuckled. He seemed to be enjoying every second of this.
Jason had a plan though. It was something he had thought about as soon as Lokar and Scorpina revealed themselves. "Okay, well I think we should just get this over and done with now." Jason made his body relax and he placed his palms on the floor as if he was offering himself up as a sacrifice.
"A wise choice red ranger. Though it is not the one I hoped for. But I will respect your decision nonetheless." Lokar growled, un-sheathing a large silver sword from a scabbard at the side of his torso. It was a very large, frightening weapon. Jason gulped as he saw the blade shine with the minimal light in the room they were in.
Jason could smell the dampness from the earthy floor he was kneeled on, pressure being applied to his back by Lokar's huge hand. It couldn't end like this. He had to speak up. It was now or never.
"Hold on Lokar." Jason said loudly at the same time that Lokar lifted up his mighty sword. "I want it to be Scorpina who ends this."
Lokar brought the sword down to his side with a puzzled expression plastered on his grim face. "Scorpina? Why is that?" Lokar asked, peering at his comrade from the corner of his eyes.
"Well, she's played a big part in all of this, hasn't she? Carrying out your orders for the last few weeks like a loyal servant." Jason looked over at Scorpina, who's gaze had not left from the ground. "She's the reason why you have been successful in your plot to defeat us rangers and take earth from us. I have fought her many times in the last decade or so. It should be her to finally takes me down."
And for the first time in this shack, or cabin, whatever it was. Scorpina's eyes truly met Jason's. It wasn't for long, merely a second or two. But Jason just knew he was making the right choice.
"Interesting." Lokar muttered, rubbing his chin with the handle of his sword, before placing it back in the scabbard. "You have certainly deserved this Scorpina. Gasket will no longer doubt you my fearless warrior. Take the red ranger and we shall have one hand on that miserable little planet. Will you do the honours?"
"Yes master." Scorpina said short and sweetly. Looking at her master now.
"And what do they say here on earth... Aaah yes. Any last words red ranger?" Lokar chuckled, staring into Jason's eyes.
"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do." Jason answered, looking at the aliens stood tall above him. "You may kill me. And you may even defeat the power rangers. But earth will stand united. It's people will be even closer after this. You may take our planet, but you will never break our bond."
Once Jason had finished his words, Lokar simply laughed, filling the room with his loud, booming voice. "Okay, okay, enough of this. Finish him, Scorpina.
The golden alien nodded her head and moved to stand over Jason. She drew out her trusty, pointy, golden dagger and lifted it up into the air. Jason's heartbeat raced, his lips as dry as the sand of a desert. He prayed that his calculation was right. But what if it wasn't. He would never see Kimberly again. His child would be born without a father. All he had ever wanted, ever since he knew his true feelings about Kimberly, was to spend his life with her. To start a family with her. And now, fulfilment of that dream, all rested on one of his oldest foes.
"Goodbye, red ranger!" Lokar growled, laughter no longer present in his voice, but an evil, sinister tone now very much at the forefront.
Scorpina raised her dagger higher, right above Jason's head and began to bring it down towards the back of his neck.
Jason fought to not close his eyes, he quickly looked to the side and caught Scorpina's eyes once again.
And then it happened.
Scorpina hesitated. Her dagger stopping unceremoniously midway in the air. It was perfect timing because in that split second of hesitation, Lokar had let go of Jason and Jason took his shot.
He rolled out of the way and grabbed his helmet. "Alpha. Now! Quickly!" he shouted, rapidly putting his helmet back on.
Within seconds, he saw the familiar red glow wrap around his body. The last thing he saw was Scorpina looking both surprised and frightened. Staring at her master who was rushing towards Jason, a malevolent scream ringing in his ears, before the two aliens and that dreadful cabin disappeared. Wrapping Jason in the red beam he knew so well, on his way back home.
Close call right there!!
Bit of a long chapter but I think it's needed since it took a while to get out. Enjoy.
RedDragonJimberly... Peace out .