When people used to tell Mark they were having a rollercoaster of a day, he used to laugh them off but not after today. He started the today clearing out the possession of his supposedly deceased fiancée, only to find that she was actually alive and under the control of the enemy he had been fighting for five months. Sandwiched between those events, he was nearly sacrificed to a demon, something that wasn't on his to do list for that day.
After the emotional high of discovering Adrienne was alive and free of Vyglass control came the rapid descent, her psychotic alter ego was firmly back and trying to kill him. The red ranger was frozen to the spot as Lena's blade flew towards him, hoping desperately that Adrienne would regain control and stop before removing his head. Realising that wasn't going to happen, he rolled out the way just in time. The blade nicked his shirt, tearing the fabric and drawing blood from his shoulder.
He crouched on the ground, holding a hand against his wound. Lena grunted, flicked her head towards Mark, snarled viciously and pounced again. Once again the red ranger was forced to take evasive action, rolling in the other direction to avoid the razor sharp blade, "Stop moving and fight back," Lena growled.
"I'm not going to fight you Adrienne," Mark said firmly.
"That's not my name," Lena charged towards Mark again, this time the red ranger used her momentum against her pushed her into a tree. She hissed in pain before turning towards Mark with fury burning in her eyes, "If you won't stay still, I'll have to make you," her blade quickly changed into a whip and with a snap of her wrist, it coiled itself around Mark.
An electrical charge surged down the whip, forcing Mark to his knees. His face twisted into a grimace as Lena stalked towards her prey, "Why don't you just give up red ranger," she smirked, "you're not match for me."
Mark's featured hardened, "I'll never give up on you Adrienne," despite the energy charge pulsing through the whip, her grabbed it with his hands and tugged hard. The Vyglass Princess yelped in surprise and came along for the ride with her weapon. She crashed into Mark, landing directly on top of him with her legs straddling his chest, "You need to remember, fight this," he pleaded.
There was a brief softening of her features before the familiar angry snarl of Lena returned. She wrapped both hands around his throat and began to squeeze, "Your woman is gone," she snapped, "when will you accept that."
"Never," Mark managed to gurgle, his vision beginning to go dark, "I guess I'll have to fight for both of us." He chopped Lena hard in the side of her neck, stunning the Princess into releasing her grip. With his other hand he used all his strength to push her away, sending her sprawling across the dirt. He pulled his legs up to his chin and nipped up to a standing position, grabbing Lena's discarded weapon.
Lena glared angrily at the red ranger, specifically the weapon in his hand, "Give it back," she ordered.
Mark eyed the blade and drew back as if to throw the weapon at her but at the last second, he changed direction and threw it at Trivium and Kane. The Vyglass duo ducked as the blade flew over their heads and embedded itself in a tree, "Go and get it," Mark began, "or you can complete the mission." Lena frowned at the red ranger's words, "You want to fight me so badly, come and get me," he added whilst backing away in the direction of the river.
Lena briefly looked at Trivium who merely stared vacantly at the Princess. She scrambled to her feet and chased after the red ranger, "This is fabulous entertainment," Trivium grinned.
"I would not know," Kane said blankly, "you did not install a pleasure protocol into my system." Trivium rolled his eyes and was about to follow Lena and Mark but the cyborg stopped him, "My systems have been monitoring the demons fight against the other Rangers, it seems the Rangers have managed to severely injure the brothers."
"And how is that my problem?" Trivium frowned.
"This could be the opportune time to strike at the Rangers," Kane continued, "with their leader distracted, it weakens the rest of the team."
"They still managed to defeat two demons without the red ranger," Trivium shrugged, "that doesn't strike me as weak."
"Perhaps they need a little assistance" Kane suggested.
Trivium considered this for a moment, "For once Kane you have proven useful, very well open a portal to their current position," he heard the fading footsteps of Lena and Mark amongst the undergrowth, "keep an eye on Lena, just in case," he added. Kane nodded as Trivium disappeared, stalking off in the direction of the red ranger and the Vyglass Princess.
Out in the desert the Kurgan brothers were leaning weakly against a cliff face trying to soak up as much of the suns rays as they could. The Rangers water attack had caused their skin to blister horribly and they barely had enough strength to remain upright, "Curse those Rangers," Rozo hissed, "even if we dry out, we still need to feed to regain our full strength."
"But the Rangers would be waiting for us," Nozo replied, "in our weakened state, surely we would be defeated."
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Trivium smiled as he approached the pair, "I am Count Trivium of the Vyglass, we share a common enemy in the Power Rangers."
"And what assistance do you offer?" Nozo said cautiously.
"A way to defeat the Rangers," Trivium began, "but first, you look weak and hungry." He snapped his fingers and a human body appeared in front of the Count, "A peace offering to our new alliance."
The Kurgans were apprehensive but in their weakened state, a free meal was hard to resist. Their feeding tentacle quickly attached themselves to the body and quickly they realised their mistake, "This is no human," Rozo snarled. He tried to retract his feeder but found it was stuck, "What is this?" he cried as energy began to flow between the body and the two demons.
"Something of my own creation," Trivium smiled evilly as a Bio Bug crawled out from the mouth of the body, adding itself to the energy field engulfing the brothers.
"How is this helping us?" Nozo pleaded with the Count.
Trivium chuckled dryly, "Who said I was helping you," he laughed as the brothers cried in pain. The light around grew brighter, only adding to the maniacal laughter of the Count. The ball of energy flared and a single body began to grow from the light, "Perfect," Trivium smiled, "now, destroy the city and the Power Rangers."
At the Air Base, the monster attack alarm sounded for the second time that day. Four weary Rangers trudged into the control room with Harley in the lead, "This is the second time today my lunch has been interrupted," he groaned with half a cheeseburger in his hand, "what's the drama?"
"A giant something heading for the city," Jazz pointed at the main screen. The monster looked vaguely similar to the Kurgan brothers but this one had four giant serpents protruding from its head. It's skin looked a horrible patchwork of blistered flesh and stitched together skin, "Looks like the Kurgan's have been watching too many horror films," the Scot shuddered at the sight.
"Proper Frankenmess," Stevie added, "is it still a demon?"
"Its giving off similar reading but with something else," Jazz frowned, "looks like the Vyglass gave them an upgrade."
"That's an upgrade?" Harley scoffed, "could've fooled me," he added whilst hastily finishing his lunch.
"Will the water cannon modifications still work?" Ricky asked.
"Unsure," Major Earhardt replied whilst checking, "I wouldn't rely on it, you might have to resort to standard weaponry and without Mark, you can't call on the Jet Force Megazord."
"Still haven't found him?" Rachel asked.
Taylor shook her head, "Negative, the magical interference is getting stronger in that area."
"We've beaten them once without him and we can do it again," Harley nodded towards the door, "let's mosey people," he added as the team charged out the room in the direction of the Zord hangar.
By now the Kurgan had reached the city limits and was destroying everything in sight. Several buildings crumbled under relentless attack, the serpent heads firing energy bolts in all directions whilst the main body of the demon crushed everything with brute force. The onslaught was halted by the Garuda Zord kicking the Kurgan away, "We really must stop meeting like this," Harley called from the lead seat in the cockpit. The demon snarled in response and charged towards the Megazord, "No witty come back this time?" he taunted.
"Looks like they've upped his power at the expense of its intelligence," Ricky mused.
"Bigger they are, the harder they fall," Harley muttered and selected an input on the console, "try this on." The Garuda's claws slashed at the serpent heads, slicing two off them clean off the body. To everyone's horror they immediately grew back, "Give us a break," the black ranger grumbled.
The regrown snake heads fired lasers towards the Garuda Zord and the mythical bird responded with a sonic cry from its beak. The two attacks crashed into each other and the resulting shockwaves sending the Garuda Megazord spiralling to the ground. The Rangers pulled up on their control columns to narrowly avoid crashing into the city, "Maybe its time to go toe to toe with this demon," Rachel suggested, "let's convert to Megazord mode."
"Good idea," Harley replied but he could only stare blankly at the console, "any idea how to do that?"
There was silence in the cockpit, "No idea, Mark usually does that," Stevie shrugged, "try pushing buttons and see what happens."
"This is a Megazord, not a microwave," Harley grumbled before looking at the cockpit roof, "you're meant to be sentient, can't you help us out?" The Ranger heard what they thought was a sigh from the Garuda but to their relief, the transformation sequence behind, "See, we don't need Captain Sensible," Harley cracked his knuckles, "now lets see what you can do."
The Garuda Megazord swung at Kurgan, rocking the mutant demon but it wasn't enough to knock it down. The two locked up together and began wrestling for dominance, "It's trying to drain our power," Ricky called out as his console sparked.
"Like hell it will," Harley's hand traced across various buttons, eventually settling on a large red one. The Megazord responded by kicking Kurgan around its waistline, "Must be the emergency button," he shrugged.
"Guys you're too evenly matched," Jazz called over the radio, "time to see your creation in action Ricky."
Another Zord suddenly appeared on the battlefield, it was smaller than either of their primary Megazord, predominantly blue with red accents on its chest and helmet. Its smaller size meant that it was more agile than Kurgan, punching it repeatedly in the stomach followed by a strong uppercut that launched the demon high into the air. As the demon crashed to the ground, the new Zord bounced around like a boxer waiting to strike, "Meet the Jet Battlezord," Ricky said to the others, "a fully autonomous fighting machine."
"Certainly packs a punch," Rachel nodded in approval.
"One question," Harley began, "why's it movin' like a child that needs the bathroom?"
"That's its battle stance," Ricky replied defensively, "it looked cooler in my head than it does in real life I'll admit."
The Jet Battlezord bounced and pounced on Kurgan, unleashing a devastating knee combo that staggered the demon. It paused before landing a straight crescent kick on the jaw of the monster, "Now that's some chin music," Stevie clapped her hands together.
Kurgan wasn't impressed though, intercepting the Jet Battlezord's punch and hoisting it up onto its shoulders. It slammed the Zord down onto a pile of rubble, sending sparks flying into the air, "It might not be physically the strongest Zord but it does have a party piece," Ricky tapped a command into his console which initiated a transformation in the Jet Battlezord.
The Zord's head tucked into its chest compartment and it folded over at the waist to reveal four cannon barrels where the hands and feet were. The new weapon hovered over to the Garuda Megazord and sat on its shoulder, "Battle Blaster powered up," the yellow ranger called and hit another button on his console, "fire!" he cried.
Four balls of energy shot out the barrels, combined into one large energy blast and slammed into the Kurgan demon. There was a large flash of heat and light followed by an unnatural calm. Their hopes of victory were soon dashed when the Kurgan slowly got to its feet, "I don't understand," Ricky gasped, "that should've been enough."
"This is one tough demon," Stevie sighed, "we're going to need all the power we've got."
Harley shook his head, "Mark better be face down in a ditch somewhere, only excuse acceptable to be missin' this."
The black ranger wasn't too far off, the red ranger was currently laying on his side at the edge of the Salt River nursing several bruises. He wiped some blood from his nose before standing to face his opponent, "You're weak," Lena jeered, "surrender and I'll go easy on you."
Mark assumed a fighting stance, "Bring it on," he beckoned, a small smirk flashed across Lena's face and she gleefully obliged. A series of heavy blow came his way but the red ranger blocked them easily, "I remember this combo," he said, "I taught it to you."
"You keep insisting I'm this Adrienne person," Lena groaned whilst aiming a kick at Mark's head. The red ranger ducked easily, "Do I have to beat some sense into you?"
"You're not doing a very good job so far," Mark intercepted another punch by grabbing and twisting Lena's arm. The Princess cried with pain which instinctively made Mark release the hold. Instead he applied a choke hold to Lena, "Sorry about that Adrienne," he whispered into her ear.
"Don't," Lena chewed her lip, "this is finally getting interesting," she slammed her head backwards, striking Mark in the face with an attack that almost certainly broke his nose. She applied her own choke hold to Mark, "I'm a little jealous of Adrienne tell you the truth," she said before running her tongue down his neck, "really getting me going if you catch my drift." Mark's eyes widened and he Judo tossed Lena over his shoulder, "Don't be afraid, I won't bite," Lena added coyly, "much."
"Princess," Kane shouted, making his presence known, "stop playing with your food and finish him."
Lena rolled her eyes, "He's so bossy," she sighed, "but sadly correct," she kicked at the back of Mark's leg, sending him crashing to the ground. She stood over his prone body, "Sorry Loverboy, time's up," she said coldly.
Mark didn't want to know what she had planned, taking a leaf out of Harley's playbook he grabbed a handful of dirt and through it into Lena's face. Her hands immediately went to her face, blinded, she stumbled towards the edge of a small waterfall. It was easily twenty to thirty feet to the water below.
With a resigned sigh, Mark slowly got to his feet, "I'm sorry Adrienne," he mumbled, "I love you." He ran full speed towards Lena, driving his shoulder into her abdomen and sent them both flying over the ledge and into the water below.
"Princess," Kane cried in shock as the pair disappeared out of sight. The cyborg ran to the edge of the cliff but couldn't see Lena or the red ranger.
Minutes passed without any signs of life, Kane was about to climb down but his descent was interrupted by the return of Trivium, "Kane," he said cautiously, "where is Lena and the red ranger?" The cyborg looked over the edge of the drop, "What happened to them?" Trivium said slowly and dangerously, "If any harm has come to Lena-"
"I didn't know you cared," Lena's voice said from nowhere. A hand appeared on the cliff edge followed up another, finally the damp red hair of the Princess came into view, "a little help," she said impatiently to the pair.
Kane obliged and offered his hand to the Princess and she hauled herself over the edge, water dripping off her body, "Where is the red ranger?" Trivium asked.
"Gone," Lena said simply, "he knocked us off the edge, when I surfaced he had disappeared."
"Disappointing," Trivium's eyes glared at Lena, "are you sure he didn't have help escaping?"
"Careful," Lena said coldly, "debating the word and honour of a Princess is treasonous."
Trivium snorted, "If you were a true Princess maybe but you are my creation," he walked closer to Lena, "maybe you need another session to remind you of this."
Lena stalked towards Trivium and without warning and with tremendous speed, kicked his hard below the belt. Immediately Trivium doubled over in agony, made worse when Lena roughly pulled his headpiece back to force him to look at her, "I am Princess Lena of the Vyglass," she said slowly and deliberately, "touch me or threaten me again and I will stuff you in the nearest airlock and blast you out into space," she warned.
"You wouldn't dare," Trivium groaned.
"Try me," Lena spat before looking at Kane, "as official bodyguard to the Royal Family, consider that an order."
Kane paused before slowly bowing, "You wish is my command, Princess."
Lena smirked and slammed Trivium's face into the ground, making sure to grind his face into the dirt in the process, "This is your only warning Trivium, no more games," she opened a portal and stepped through, closely followed by Kane. Trivium struggled to his knees and crawled towards the portal only to find that it closed in his face. He flopped onto his side, trying to regain a small slither of dignity before returning to the ship.
Back in the city, the Garuda Megazord and Jet Battlezord were being worn down by Kurgan. The demon grabbed the Battlezord by the leg and tossed it casually into the Megazord, knocking both machines to the ground, "Shields down to thirty eight percent," Rachel called, "the Battlezord isn't looking so hot either," pointing to some missing panels and exposed wiring on the Zord.
"My poor baby," Ricky sighed.
They were just getting to their feet when a burst of laser fire grabbed their attention. They looked to the sky and spotted something, "Is that the Hawk Zord?" Stevie said.
"Red ranger reporting," Mark called over the radio, "sorry I'm late."
"This is beyond late," Harley grumbled, "you owe us big time."
A figure jumped out the Hawk Zord and landed on the Garuda Megazord, seconds later the cockpit door opened and Mark entered, "Long story," he winced slightly and grabbed his ribs, "I'll tell you about it later." Harley stood up and was about to vacate the command seat when Mark stopped him, "Stay, only fair," he slipped passed and sat down in Harley's usual position.
"It's a start," Harley replied reluctantly, "now the gang's all here, how about sending the rest of the Zords," he added into the radio.
"On their way," Jazz replied and the Condor, Swan, Swallow and Owl Zords appeared overhead.
"Activating Avian Megazord formation," Harley slammed his hand down on the console, initiating the transformation into their most powerful formation. The Battlezord turning back into blaster mode, adding even more bulk to the giant Megazord, "How's this for power," the black ranger smirked, "lock on and fire everything."
The Battlezord fired from each of its barrels, forming a ball of energy in front of the Avian Megazord. The clawed hands of the Megazord gathered blue energy between its palm, combined it with the power from the Battlezord. With a thrust of its hands, the huge ball of energy flew towards Kurgan, vaporising the demon almost instantly, "Job done," Harley leaned back in his seat, "I say cheeseburgers all round," the other Rangers laughed, except Mark who sat quiet and thoughtful in his seat.
The following day, Mark entered the veteran cemetery in Aaronsdale clutching a bunch of white roses. He was barely out his car when his phone rang, "Morning Major," the red ranger accepted the video call, "can we make this quick, I'm on a personal errand."
"I'm sorry Mark, I didn't realise you were going to the cemetery this early," Taylor responded, "I can call back later."
"No let's get this over with, I probably won't feel like talking much later," Mark sighed.
"Understandable," Taylor responded, "I didn't get your report yesterday, General Harkness asked me to fill in a few blanks."
Mark shifted uncomfortably, "Not much to add, Lena tried to use me as a demon sacrifice, we fought, I got my butt kicked but managed to escape."
Taylor frowned, "I gathered that much from the bruising on your face, anything broken?"
"My nose," the red ranger pointed, "Doctor Carter managed to reset it so should heal nicely. Otherwise a few nasty bruises but they should heal soon enough."
Major Earhardt nodded slowly, "Is that all Mark?" she asked, "you were really quiet yesterday, anything else on your mind?"
"With respect Major I was nearly fed to a demon and was beaten seven ways to Sunday, I wasn't in a chatty mood," Mark grumbled.
There was a long silence, to the point that Mark thought the connection had frozen. Finally Taylor said, "Very well, take the rest of today off, Harley will lead the team through training today."
"He stepped up well Major," Mark praised the black ranger, "the team responded well to his commands."
"Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day," Taylor smiled, "a very pleasing surprise. Get some rest Mark, I don't want to see you at training or at the gym today, understood?"
"Yes Major," Mark nodded and terminated the call.
He pocketed his phone and followed a very familiar path. He pushed open the gate and quickly found the gravestone he was looking for. He removed a wilted bunch of flowers and replaced them with the fresh white roses. He was still crouched over the grave when someone approached from behind, "They're beautiful," the voice called.
Mark smiled and slowly got to his feet, "Adrienne," he greeted, "you managed to get away."
A warm smile flashed across her face which quickly turned to a frown, "Did I do that?" she pointed at the bruising and swelling around his nose and cheek.
"Technically Lena did this," Mark sighed.
"Semantics," Adrienne scoffed, "we're the same person, Lena is just me but without any morals or apparently any filter." She shuddered slightly, "She was really turned on by our fight, kinda grossed me out."
Mark chuckled softly, "Any idea what broke the programming this time?"
Adrienne shook her head, "No idea, the shock of falling off a cliff, maybe the blow to my head," she pointed at the bruise on the side of her head, "I don't think Trivium will be trying a reprogramming any time soon."
"Why?" Mark asked.
"I kicked him in the balls," Adrienne said flatly, the dryness of her delivery nearly reduced Mark to hysterics, "quickest way to get a man's attention," she shrugged.
"You're going to get along very well with Harley," Mark shook his head. He managed to regain some self-control before continuing, "Are you sure you want to do this? Being a spy amongst the Vyglass is going to be extremely dangerous."
Adrienne nodded, "I know but I need to do something, you're forgetting I was chosen to be a Power Ranger, I can handle myself."
"I'm not denying that," Mark sighed, "I'm just worried, you're going to have to act like nothing's changed. One hint that you're pretending to be Princess Lena and they'll kill you."
"Don't you think I know that," Adrienne huffed, "I can do this Mark, I need you to trust me."
Mark nodded firmly, "I do, completely," he said before changing the subject, "you're not keeping Lena's bodysuit?"
Adrienne glanced down briefly, she had retained the black leggings and white boots but this was supplemented with a black leather top which was zipped up to just below her neckline and a pair of white fingerless gloves, "I'm keeping with the Vyglass colour scheme but with a more comfortable and human touch," she shrugged, "can't have you distracted with my rocking body, can we Lieutenant Atkins," she teased.
"Not at all Lieutenant Becton," Mark winked in response, "that would be very unprofessional."
"Can't have me corrupting you," Adrienne strutted over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Instantly Mark winced in pain, "Oh God I'm so sorry," she gasped, "was that from tripping you up."
"Could be from spearing you off a cliff," Mark rolled his shoulders, "how are you not more beaten up?"
"Because you barely landed a punch," Adrienne sighed, "you should've stood up for yourself."
"I couldn't do it," Mark shook his head, "I just couldn't separate you from Lena."
"And now you're paying for your nobility," Adrienne grumbled, "if this is going to work you can't do that again. I'm going to have to fight you again and you're going to have to treat me like Princess Lena, otherwise our plan will never work."
"I know," Mark said reluctantly, "it's still going to be hard."
Adrienne chewed her lip nervously before adding, "If they manage to take control again, I want you to promise me you'll finish me."
"No Adrienne," Mark stalked away, "I couldn't do that."
"I don't want to live like that Mark," Adrienne said resolutely, "promise me you'll kill me before I hurt too many innocent people."
Mark held his hands behind his head, "I'll find another way to stop you," he let out a loud sigh, "but yes, if I have no other choice I'll do it."
"Thank you," Adrienne walked over slowly and kissed Mark gently, "I'd better go, can't be hanging around my own grave for too long."
Mark nodded reluctantly, "That means you'll need to wear the mask again, I'm sure Major Earhardt and Jazz will recognise you."
Adrienne nodded, "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing," Mark replied, "the less people that know about this, the better protected you are."
"Thank you," Adrienne smiled and opened a portal back to the Vyglass ship, "I'll send you a communicator, we'll keep in touch," with that she disappeared, leaving Mark alone in the cemetery with his thoughts.