Retribution Part Three

"Maya, is that you?!" DJ shouted, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and disbelief. Maya's new tiger-like monstrous form growled menacingly, her eyes glowing with a feral intensity as she stretched her claws further apart, ready to strike. The air around them seemed to crackle with tension.

Ellie, wincing in pain, leaned heavily against a nearby lamp post to take the pressure off her injured leg. She fumbled with her phone, her fingers shaking as she activated a program, she had designed to sense any human life form using a radar. The screen lit up, displaying a grid where any detected life force would be marked by a white dot, while humanitors—humans turned into monsters—would appear as black dots.

As Ellie scanned the radar, her eyes widened in shock. "The readings… they don't make sense," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. DJ, noticing her distress, quickly moved to her side. "What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes darting between Ellie and the monstrous form of Maya.

"This can detect heat signatures, and it's color-coded to differentiate between human and monsters. White means human, and black means humanitor," Ellie explained, her voice trembling. "But Maya is showing up as a huge gray dot."

DJ's eyes widened in realization. "Which means…" he began, but his voice trailed off as Donnie, who had been silently observing, urged Ellie to continue.

Ellie looked up at the creature that was once her friend, her heart aching with a mix of hope and despair. "She's still in there," Ellie said, her voice filled with a desperate determination. "She hasn't completely given up her human existence, but her heart is still engulfed with evil."

"Her heart?" Bonnie looked over at Ellie. "If that's the case, wouldn't that make a good weak stop."

"Are you insane?!" Donnie screamed. "Wouldn't that kill her?"

"No," Uni replied. "It would more than likely release her. I have seen this before. The humanitors have used a distinct but powerful spell in order to capture a human who is in a vegetative or comatose state and fuse them with that of a humanitor."

The group stood in stunned silence, the weight of Uni's words sinking in as they faced the terrifying reality of their friend's transformation.

"Maya, I know you may look different, but we can help you," Bonnie recommended. The White Ranger took a few steps forward.

"Bonnie, watch out!" Donnie warned.

The White Ranger looked back, a digit over her mouth, silencing her brother. She then looked back at Tigress Maya. "Maya, look at me...I am your friend," she said softly, trying to appeal to Maya.

Maya tilted her head a bit as Bonnie continued toward her. She took a deep look through the White Ranger's visor and into Bonnie's glittering green eyes.

"What the hell is she doing," Ellie hissed.

"This is her specialty. She knows how to connect with people," Donnie answered. "There were times where she would use these tactics to manipulate others for her personal and selfish needs, but now she is trying to reach to Maya to get her to snap out of it."

"She may not be successful," Uni said, before pulling Ellie's arm. "Darling, we need to go. This is too dangerous for you!"

"But, Dad...OW!" Ellie tried to beckon, but the pain on her leg was becoming too much for her to bear. She only could hop on one foot as she and her father scurried away.

Bonnie continued to inch closer to Maya, her voice steady and calm. "Maya, I know you're still in there. Fight it. Remember who you are," she pleaded, her eyes never leaving Maya's. Maya's monstrous form hesitated, her claws retracting slightly. For a moment, it seemed like Bonnie's words were reaching her.

But then, with a roar, Maya lashed out, sending Bonnie flying backward.

"SIS!" Donnie cried out as his sister went flying before her back slammed against a bus stop.

The three boys rushed to Bonnie side. "Are you okay?" Max asked as DJ and Donnie helped Bonnie up.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You know if I had an ounce of humanity left in me, I would have found Bonnie's measly attempt to get through to me to be quite touching," Tigress Maya said bitterly, before a grin plastered on her face. "Too bad my humanity is long gone. I still have those precious moments we shared together locked in my brain, but they mean nothing to my cold and perpetually dark heart."

"Nothing? NOTHING?!" The Red Ranger screeched, his face seething with disbelief and anger. "You risked your life to protect us, not you want to destroy us! Are you insane?!"

"No, I'm not. I have just been reborn! Rejuvenated! With a new perspective, and a new purpose. I have spent my entire human life trying to appease others, especially those I have called my friends, and what have that left me? Nothing! Just a discovery that all those years were wasted, as well as realizing that my family wasn't as innocent as they seem. My wretched father was nothing more but a cheating bastard."

"Your father was a hero," The Blue Ranger exclaimed, his expression filled with disbelief and grief over what Maya had become.

Tigress Maya laughed. "That may be true, but for now, the only purpose I have is to take this world for what it's worth. After all, that's what I always dreamed of doing, even as a weakling hero who had ambitions that were completely pitiable. But for now..."

Suddenly, the tigress screeched loudly. The volume of its roar was so intense that it sent sonic waves toward the rangers, sending them through some rubble from the carnage that took place earlier.

Max tried to gather his bearings, pushing some of the bricks and debris off of him as he pulled himself away from the rubble, still clutching his abdomen with his right arm. His left gripping his blade. He breathed in and out as the Tigress just chuckled, approaching him slowly.

"You want another dose, boy!" She chastised.

The Red Ranger let out a loud, inhumane roar as he charged at Maya, charging up his blade.

"Air Gush!" He screeched, gripping his blade with both his hands and slashing downwards. But all it took was for Maya to skid to the left to dodge his attack. Max stumbled and his blade only made contact with the ground. Once he snapped his head to the side, Maya struck his chest, before slashing him repeatedly left and right with her paws. Maya then 360 degrees, adding more force to the final blow that sent Max away.

The Red Ranger skidded across the ground, crashing headfirst into the rear end of a worn-out, abandoned sedan.

"Max!" DJ called out, before his attention shifting toward the tigress.

"Guys, power up your staffs!" DJ said. He pulled out his blade and charged it up. The twins each stood by the Blue Ranger, powering up their weapons as per requested.

"Hydro-slash!"

"Shimmering Ray!"

"Frost Bite!"

Their swung their weapons, releasing the raw energy from it. It traveled toward Maya. To their shock, Maya was above to hold back the energy with her eyes.

"What?!" DJ was in total shock.

Bonnie gasped and dropped her staff.

"No way!" Donnie spat out.

But Maya was not done. She focused on the ball of energy she formed with the other Rangers attempted attack.

"You know, this used to be quite fun when we were friends, but now I realize just how pathetic it truly was. Now, let me send it back along with a small dose of my own power," she giggled a little bit of her own energy before finally tossing it back at the three.

The huge wad of power hurled at DJ and the twins, igniting nearby barrels and sending them flying. DJ was slammed against a dumpster before tumbling to the ground. He shut his eyes tightly, nearly squealing from the pain.

Donnie was knocked out as his head slammed against a lamp post. Though his helmet protected his neck from snapping, the force was enough to send him into a slumber, leaving a gash on the back of his head as he demorphed.

The White Ranger, thankfully, found herself be tossed into the overflowing dumpster. The cushioning from the full garbage bags softened her fall, but she stumbled out and hit the ground.

Bonnie struggled to her feet, her vision blurred and her body aching from the impact. She looked around, seeing her friends scattered and injured. Maya, or what was left of her, stood tall and menacing, her eyes glowing with a mix of triumph and sorrow.

"Bonnie, we have to retreat!" DJ shouted, his voice barely cutting through the ringing in her ears. "We can't win this fight. We can't take on Maya."

Bonnie's heart pounded as she stared at Maya, her friend turned monstrous enemy. "Maya, please," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "Remember who you are. We're your friends, your family. We've trained together, fought together, even taken bullets for each other…please remember us."

For a moment, Maya's eyes flickered with recognition. Bonnie's heart leapt with hope. Is she coming back? But the flicker was quickly replaced by a cold, unfeeling stare. "It's too late for that," Maya growled, her voice a haunting echo of the girl they once knew.

DJ shook his head and got to his feet. He spotted Donnie's frail, unconscious body by the lamp post. He nudged Bonnie's shoulder.

"Get your brother out of here," He ordered.

"But—" Bonnie began to protest, but DJ cut her off.

"BONNIE, NOW!"

Biting her lip, Bonnie nodded her head. "Power down!" She demorphed and rushed to her brother. She squealed as she struggled to lift Donnie over her shoulder. Once she managed, she grunted under his weight but used her gem to open a portal, leading them both to safety.

"Dad, can't we just use a portal," Ellie complained as her father held her in his arms.

"Yes, dear, but we are too out in the open," Uni interjected, frantically searching for a secluded area to teleport back to Karate Operations.

The sudden noises of explosions were heard from where the Rangers were left behind. Ellie looked over from her father's shoulder before desperately trying to shake away from his grasp. "Dad, they need help! We have to help them!"

"Darling, we can't right now! You are hurt! I need to get you out of here."

"Let me go, Dad!" Ellie finally managed to get free herself from her dad's embrace. Uni tried to grab his daughter, but Ellie managed to take long hops on her one good leg back toward the other direction, but unfortunately tripped over a piece of debris. As she fell, her hand brushed against something hard and smooth. She looked down and saw a faint glow emanating from the ground.

Curiosity piqued, Ellie dug through the rubble and uncovered a small, radiant gem. It was the Yellow Gem, pulsing with energy. She could feel its power coursing through her fingers.

"Dad! I found it! The yellow gem!" she shouted, holding it up triumphantly.

Uni hurried over toward Ellie and sure enough, she was correct. "Thank goodness, but it seems to be emanating light too rapidly."

Ellie raised an eyebrow and started to think. "Yeah, it only seems to glow light that if..." her eyes widened as the realization struck her. "Dad, the gems only seem to work if it is used by someone with good intentions. Since Maya had been engulfed with evil, it abandoned her, and it is now open for anyone with good and pure hearts to use and embrace in its powers."

The prophecy...it was correct this whole time. Uni thought. If he looked over at his daughter and realized that perhaps her time had come. Even with an injured leg, Ellie could achieve so much and would become a valuable member of rangers both at the command center...and in combat.

Ellie took a deep breath and reached out to the gem. As her fingers closed around it, a warm, radiant light enveloped her. She felt a surge of energy coursing through her body, and to her amazement, the pain in her injured leg began to fade. She looked down to see the wound healing before her eyes. The gem had chosen her.

"Dad, look!" Ellie exclaimed, her voice filled with awe and determination. "The gem… it healed me. It chose me!"

Uni's eyes widened in disbelief and pride. He had always known his daughter had a pure heart, but seeing the gem's power affirm it was overwhelming.

"Dad, please," Ellie pleaded, her eyes shining with resolve. "Let me take the gem and help the other rangers. They need me."

Uni hesitated, his protective instincts warring with the knowledge that Ellie was destined for this. Finally, he nodded, his voice filled with a mix of caution and encouragement. "Alright, Ellie. But promise me you'll be careful."

Ellie smiled, her heart swelling with gratitude and determination. "I promise, Dad. I'll make you proud." She was ecstatic. And nervous. Oh darn, she was nervous, but she knew she had to move.

With the gem in hand, Ellie set off to join the other rangers, ready to embrace her destiny and protect those in need.

To be continued...