"It's Morphin Time!" Tommy shouted, holding his Morpher out. "Tigerzord!"
"Pterodactyl!" Kimberly yelled, holding her Morpher out.
"Triceratops!" Billy yelled, holding his Morpher out.
"Sabertooth Tiger!" Trini yelled, holding her Morpher out.
"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason yelled, holding his Morpher out.
As the Rangers materialized in the park, they could see a pink starfish-shaped monster shooting out metallic bolts of lightning at trees, rocks, and picnic tables. They quickly ran towards it.
"Your party of destruction is over!" Jason shouted as they faced off with the Clingy Star.
The Clingy Star cackled and shot bolts of lightning at the Rangers, all of them just barely missing their targets, "DARN IT!" it shouted in a whiny voice. "I WANTED PEOPLE, NOT POWER RANGERS!"
The sound of thunder brought Malcolm to his feet and he gazed around his room of isolation, deeply confused about where the thunder had originated from. Suddenly, there was a loud cackle.
"Is isolation getting to you, Malcolm?" Goldar's voice suddenly rang out. "Do you need entertainment?"
There was a loud boom and Malcolm saw a wall panel slide open, "Perhaps you need a reminder of how vulnerable a lonely human can become," Goldar spoke. "Behold, the Dark Rangers of Evil."
Fear seeped into Malcolm's heart as Zedison, who was clad in a red body suit, led five beings out of the wall, all of them carrying hand weapons; the figures were clad in yellow, blue, gray, black, and green body suits and looked as if they were ready for a good fight. Malcolm quickly got into fighting stance.
"Dark Yellow, reveal your power," Zedison said in a gruff tone. "Defeat this helpless civilian."
As the Dark Yellow Ranger stepped forward brandishing a forked sword, Malcolm suddenly had a vision of Aisha being brainwashed by Rita while an already brainwashed Rocky, Adam, and Zack watched.
"Aisha?" Malcolm asked, taking a step back from the Dark Yellow Ranger. "Aisha, it's Malcolm."
There was silence and then the Dark Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Black Rangers removed their helmets one by one, revealing Rocky, Adam, Zack, and Skull; all of their eyes were glowing red as they leered at him.
"I can't fight," Malcolm said, not wanting anyone to get hurt. "I don't want to hurt any of you."
Goldar's voice rang out in a cackle, "Dark Rangers, ATTACK!" he shouted in a menacing tone.
Putting their helmets back on, the six Dark Rangers advanced on Malcolm, determined to destroy him.
"Take that!" Billy yelled as he delivered a jumpkick to the Clingy Star, knocking it over.
The Clingy Star was immediately thrown off balance, but did not fall over, "NO FAIR!" it shouted in a whiny voice. "THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT, BLUE RANGER! NOW LET ME SHOW YOU ONE OF MINE!"
"I don't think so," Trini replied as she threw two kata punches at the Star, pushing it back a bit.
"That Star's getting its points handed to him, Zeddy!" Rita whined as she observed the battle between the Rangers and the Clingy Star through her telescope. "The Power Rangers are going to beat it!"
Zedd growled, "NOT IN THIS LIFETIME!" he roared as he pulled out a grenade and threw it to Earth.
"Master and Mistress, there is a disturbance in the Isolation Chamber," Goldar said as he suddenly hurried out of the darkness. "Malcolm is refusing to fight the Dark Rangers and they are hesitating."
Rita turned from the telescope with an enraged look on her face, "WHAT ARE YOU STANDING THERE FOR, GOLDAR?" she roared angrily. "GO AND FORCE MY DARK RANGERS TO DESTROY HIM!"
"Are you ready to give up and join us, Malcolm?" the Black Knight asked as kicked Malcolm in the chest, sending him to the floor in front of where the Dark Red Knight was standing. "You're ALL alone!"
Even though he was now hurting, Malcolm quickly got to his feet and assumed fighting stance, "You want to go one on one with me?" the Dark Red Ranger taunted as he brandished a dagger at Malcolm.
For what seemed like several minutes, Malcolm and the Dark Red Ranger fought against each other in hand-to-hand combat, most of the damage being inflicted on Malcolm due to his lack of strength.
"Tag out!" the Dark Gray Ranger yelled in an eager voice. "I want a shot at him!"
The Dark Red Ranger stepped back and was amused that the Dark Gray Ranger did nothing more than wear Malcolm down with unskilled maneuvers. Unable to let the Dark Gray Ranger falter any longer, the Dark Yellow Ranger stepped in and quickly delivered several cuts to Malcolm's face with a brass knuckle.
"This is all very amusing, but it's going too slowly," Zedison said, watching as the other Dark Rangers delivered simple attacks to Malcolm that rendered only the simplest of injuries. "Dark Rangers, stop."
Not daring to disobey Zedison, as Zedd and Rita would find out if they did, the other Dark Rangers put away their weapons and gathered in a half-circle behind Zedison. Zedison approached Malcolm.
"I will finish you off myself," Zedison said as he walked a circle around Malcolm. "It is my right."
Malcolm took a deep breath and, despite the trembling in his entire body, kept in fighting stance.
"You should have made friends with the Dark Rangers in their civilian forms when you had the chance, Malcolm," Zedison said as he lunged at Malcolm and barely missed hitting him. "Now suffer freely."
Malcolm gritted his teeth, "I was never forgotten by anyone," he replied. "I knew that all along."
"Nobody cares about you," Zedison continued as a large scythe appeared in his hands. "Now die."
Even though he knew it would hurt him further, Malcolm promptly dropped and rolled away from Zedison and into an unoccupied corner, "I'm not ready to die yet," Malcolm said in a tired voice.
"So you want to play with your hands and feet, do you?" Zedison snapped, throwing the scythe to the ground where it smashed. "Be a man and we'll finish this with old-fashioned combat then."
Malcolm quickly got to his feet and assumed fighting stance as Zedison approached, "Unfortunately for you, I don't play by any rules," Zedison growled as he quickly delivered a drop-kick to Malcolm's chest.
Unable to stand any longer, as he was exhausted from fighting the Dark Rangers, Malcolm fell to the floor hard and stared at the ceiling. His heart wanted to fight back, but his body lacked the strength.
"Now you will die at my hand," Zedison said as he threw a fire dagger towards Malcolm's body.
As he felt the dagger's fire sear him before landing several yards away, Malcolm reached up and touched his forehead to try and think of a solution; he could feel blood on his sweaty forehead.
"Your heart will save you," Malcolm suddenly heard a faint voice say as Zedison approached him.
The grenade landed in front of the Clingy Star, much to the horror of the Rangers on the ground.
With a single kick at it, the Clingy Star suddenly found itself high enough to touch the sky, "We need our Zords!" Tommy yelled in an anxious voice. "We need the extra power from them to destroy this!"
"We need MORE POWER!" Jason yelled, summoning the Zords from their hiding places.
It didn't take long for the Red Dragon, Unicorn, Griffin, Firebird, and White Tiger Thunderzord to arrive at where the Rangers were gathered. The Rangers quickly jumped into their Zords, determined to win.
"OOH!" the giant Clingy Star yelled as it approached the Thunderzords. "NEW TOYS TO CUDDLE!"
Cackling madly, the Clingy Star shot forked red bolts at the Dragon, Unicorn, Griffin, Firebird, and White Tigerzords and pulled them towards itself. All five of the Rangers immediately fell to the ground hard.
"I NEED TO SHINE UP MY NEW TOYS!" the Clingy Star yelled as it electrocuted the five Thunderzords.
"Your heart will save you," the soft voice suddenly echoed throughout the chamber as a Power Coin materialized in Malcolm's shaking hand.
Even though he was laying on the ground bruised and bleeding from the attacks that the Dark Rangers had administered, Malcolm stared at the Coin in his hand with wide eyes, "WHAT IS THIS?" Goldar suddenly howled. "The Black Power was destroyed and there are no more Coins!"
"You know what to do," a soft voice echoed throughout the chamber. "If you wish the freedom to act, speak the desire now. If you lack the strength to speak, speak it in your mind and it shall happen."
Ignoring the pain in his arms and chest, Malcolm lifted the Coin above his head and was shocked when light suddenly emanated from it, temporarily freezing the Dark Rangers in their current positions. Exhausted and in pain, Malcolm slowly sank to the ground semi-conscious.
Even with Malcolm barely coherent, the Coin was still active; it filled the chamber with light and finally teleported Malcolm from the dirt floor.
"NO!" Goldar yelled angrily, having seen the whole thing through the invisible windows. "HOW COULD THAT HAVE HAPPENED?"
"…Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi, I hope he forgives us for this,"
"…My instincts tell me that Malcolm will be confused at first, but will express gratitude through his actions…"
Feeling something cold under his back, Malcolm slowly opened his eyes and saw a gold face hovering over him, "Don't be alarmed, Malcolm," Alpha quickly said, seeing the expression on his face. "You're in the Command Center and you were brought here because of your Power Coin."
Ignoring his sudden headache, Malcolm slowly sat up and his eyes locked on Zordon immediately, "I couldn't fight any of them because I didn't want to hurt them," he said in a groggy voice, suddenly realizing that he was still holding the Coin. "What is this thing in my hand?"
"It's a Power Coin," Alpha replied in as gentle a voice as he could muster in his state of shock. "How did you come to get one?"
Malcolm took a deep breath and suddenly winced; his injuries at the hands of the Dark Rangers were catching up with him and he had no choice but to hunch over to try and alleviate some of the pain, "Where am I?" he asked in a pain-filled voice. "Are you going to hurt me?"
"HELP!" several voices suddenly shouted, alarming Malcolm and causing him to sit up and gaze around at the consoles and back at Zordon.
Alpha whimpered and hurried over to the Viewing Globe, "Zordon, the Rangers are in trouble!" he shouted in a frantic voice.
Ignoring the pain radiating throughout his body, Malcolm slowly stood and limped over to the Viewing Globe. He looked into it and saw five large machines being surrounded by an electric forcefield while on the ground, a huge star shot lightning bolts at five people in uniforms.
"Those are the Power Rangers," Malcolm whispered, unsure of how he knew who they were so easily. "What's happening to them?"
Alpha flailed his arms in panic and hurried back towards the computer consoles, "Rita and Zedd's Clingy Star has trapped the Power Rangers' Zords in an electric forcefield," Zordon explained as Malcolm turned to face him. "The Rangers are powerless against the Star's attack."
"Wouldn't encasing that star in a block of ice make it useless?" Malcolm asked, remembering back to what he learned in science class.
Alpha thought for a moment and nodded, "It won't take long to create a cannon," he replied. "How are they going to get it, though?"
"I'll take the ice cannon to the Power Rangers," Malcolm replied in a faint voice even though he was in pain and feeling very weak.
Seeing that Malcolm was hurting, Alpha hurried over to him and helped him to sit on the cot, "You don't have the strength to take the weapon to the Rangers and get yourself out of danger," the robot said in a worried tone. "The Clingy Star would hurt you badly in your current state."
"I don't care," Malcolm replied in a toneless voice. "The Power Rangers are good and they need help. I'll help them even if it hurts me."
Zordon sighed, "You have great determination and courage, Malcolm," he said in a strong voice. "Raise that Power Coin above your head."
Swallowing hard, Malcolm raised the Coin above his head and silently prayed that his shaking arms and hands wouldn't drop it, "I am about to bestow on you a temporary power that will enable you to rescue the Power Rangers from their current predicament," Zordon said as light suddenly emanated from his tube. "Your recent experiences and your reactions to them have proven you worthy of this power."
Light filled the Command Center and when it faded, Malcolm found himself wearing in a black bodysuit similar to that of the other Power Rangers. The Coin was now on the chest of his uniform and had a Mastodon symbol on it. He looked up at Zordon questioningly.
"With the creation of this Power Coin, the Black Ranger powers have been restored to the Command Center," Zordon explained as Alpha hurried into a darker area of the Command Center. "The powers are only temporary, but they should last long enough for you to assist the Rangers in their trouble."
Alpha suddenly came running into the controls area with a machine resembling a grenade launcher in his robotic arms, "It's all I could put together in such a short time," he said as he offered the cannon to Malcolm. "It should be enough to free the Thunder Zords so that the Rangers can destroy the Star."
"Malcolm, holding this power includes the privilege of controlling the Lion Thunderzord," Zordon suddenly spoke up as Malcolm took the cannon in his hands. "It is there only if you need to use it."
Malcolm nodded, "I understand," he replied softly. "I will not tell the others who I am, right?"
"They will figure it out soon enough," Zordon replied. "For now, focus on what you need to do."
Alpha hurried over to the teleporter console, "I will teleport you to where the Rangers are," he said in a concerned, yet soothing voice. "Be careful to preserve your energy, as you are already very weak."
"I understand," Malcolm replied, hoping this contribution would be enough to help the Power Rangers.
Alpha sighed and teleported Malcolm from the Command Center in a flurry of black light.
"AH, A NEW PLAYER FOR MY GAME!" the Clingy Star yelled as Malcolm materialized in front of it.
Suddenly realizing that they were no longer alone, the five Rangers got to their feet and immediately were shocked at the figure in the Black Ranger uniform, "Is that Zack?" Trini asked in a quiet voice.
"It can't be," Billy replied in an uncertain voice as they watched stranger lift a large cannon towards the Clingy Star as it electrified the Zords. "Alpha and Zordon would have told us if Zack had come back."
Gritting his teeth, Malcolm pressed the firing mechanism and the Rangers watched as a ray of bluish-white light sped out of the cannon and hit the Clingy Star. A sudden block of ice formed around the Star, rendering it immobile and unable to speak. The electric field around the Zords quickly faded away.
The five Rangers wasted no time in returning to their Zords, "Mega Tigerzord!" Tommy yelled, uncertain if the Black Ranger could even summon a Zord. "Let's finish this star on ice off!"
Malcolm silently watched as the Thunder Zords combined and destroyed the Clingy Star with a simple swipe to the cube in which it was trapped. The Rangers then jumped out of their Zords and joined him on the ground as the Zords quickly returned to wherever their hiding places were.
Fortunately, before anyone could discern who the Black Ranger was, all six of the Rangers were teleported from the battle sight in beams of light. It was obvious that Zordon wanted to see them.
As the six Rangers materialized in the Command Center, Malcolm promptly collapsed to the floor; he was in so much pain, exhausted, and overheated from the heavy uniform. He promptly heard gasps.
"Jason, help me get his helmet off," Malcolm heard Billy say as hands touched either side of his helmet.
It was easy for Jason and Billy to remove the helmet, "Malcolm?" Jason asked, shocked that his battered cousin had been the one to don Ranger powers and rescue them. "I thought you had been captured!"
"I don't know how to explain it," Malcolm replied as Jason helped him to sit up. "Jason, is that you?"
Jason sighed and removed his helmet, prompting the others to quickly remove theirs, "I can't believe it," Malcolm said in a shocked voice as he gazed at Jason, Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, and Trini. "Wow."
"Did Alpha and Zordon make you a Power Ranger after they rescued you from Rita and Zedd?" Billy asked in an awed voice, wincing at the bruises and cuts on Malcolm's face. "You're hurt."
Alpha sighed and hurried over to Malcolm, "We have adequate medical care for you here," he said in a concerned tone as he helped the exhausted young man stand and walk over to the cot. "Just sit."
"While I was in isolation, the Dark Rangers visited me," Malcolm said as he lay down on the cot. "I was ready to use all my strength to fight them, but then I had a vision of who they all really are."
Resisting the urge to show anxiety, Alpha began to use simple disinfectant wipes to clean the cuts on Malcolm's face, "What do you mean, Malcolm?" Kimberly asked, confused. "Who are they?"
"They took their helmets off before I fought them," Malcolm replied as Alpha quickly bandaged the nasty gash across his forehead. "The Dark Rangers are Aisha, Rocky, Adam, Zack, and Skull. Their leader is a man named Zedison who is apparently the son of some monsters named Zedd and Rita."
Alpha gently cut off Malcolm's shirt, revealing bruises and burns on Malcolm's torso, "Zordon gave me enough powers to help you guys out," Malcolm said as Alpha retrieved some gel from a nearby cupboard and began applying it to the burns. "We have to save the five of them somehow."
"We need a plan before we go up against this Zedison," Tommy interjected as Alpha helped Malcolm to lie down for further examination and treatment. "Zordon, can you help us figure out a plan to rescue them?"
Zordon sighed, "It will require teamwork and sacrifice," he replied. "However, I believe there is a way."
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