"Rocky!" Hey, Rocky, over here!" Tommy called to his
friend. Rocky made his way to the group and carefully sat down.
"How much longer do you have to wear the back brace?" Justin
asked.
"A few more weeks," Rocky replied. "I can't wait to get
it off. I feel like I've been wearing it forever. It's a real pain not
being able to do all the stuff I used to."
"I know what you mean," Kat said. "When I hit my head diving,
it was a pain having to stay in the hospital when everyone else was out
having fun."
Tommy listened to everyone talking about past injuries. He'd never had
anything really serious, and knew that when it came to injuries, he'd been
lucky. In fact, most of the group had had extreme luck these past few years
since becoming Power Rangers. In all their battles, none of them had gotten
seriously hurt. Rocky's fall from the ring had been like a wake up call
to him. We're not invulnerable, had been running through his mind
for the past few weeks, popping up when least expected--or wanted. Like
when he was sparring with Adam or during the last few Cog fights. Thinking
about that while sparring just caused embarrassment. If he kept thinking
this way during battle, however, he knew he could get hurt. As if his thinking
caused it, his communicator beeped. The teens looked at each other.
"Are you going to be all right here, Rocky?" Kat asked.
"I'll be fine. Go save the world," Rocky replied, smiling a little
smile.
"Okay. We'll be right back," she said. The five went into the
hallway where Tommy answered the communicator.
"Tommy here. What's up?" he asked.
"Rangers, King Mondo has sent a battalion of Cogs to Angel Grove
Park. You must stop them right away," Zordon's voice informed them.
"We're on it. Shift into Turbo!" Tommy called out. Inside, however,
he was thinking, What if today's the day we don't get it right? The five Rangers activated their Turbo Morphers.
"Desert Thunder!"
"Wind Chaser!"
"Dune Star!"
"Mountain Blaster!"
"Red Lightning!"
In a flash, they were at the park, confronting the Cogs. The Cogs looked
different to Tommy; more aggressive somehow. Maybe he was just noticing
for the first time that they were stronger than normal humans. In the past,
knowing that he was morphed had given him a sense of security. He wondered
now if maybe it was false security.
"Oomph!" he exclaimed as a Cog hit him from behind, knocking
him over.
"Tommy!" Kat called out. "Are you all right?"
"Fine!" he called back, hitting the Cog hard. "It just took
me by surprise." That's not like you, Tommy, Kat thought.
What's going on?
On the moon, a solitary figure was wondering the same
thing. Hmm, the figure thought. Tommy used to be the best fighter
on the team. Confident, strong, sure of his abilities. Why is he letting
a simple Cog get the better of him? The figure watched the battle more
intently. He noticed that the rest of the Rangers, except for the new Blue
Ranger, were also fighting with none of their usual flair and joking. Adam
just barely dodged one Cog while the girls seemed more hesitant than usual.
Only the Blue Ranger, Justin, seemed to be fighting with the reckless headlong
intent the Rangers had been known for, dispatching Cogs right and left.
Lord Zedd turned from Earth and went back into the Winnebago. Searching
through a small pile of books, he found what he was looking for: Finster's
Book of Monsters. He then patched a call through to the Machine Empire.
On the Machine Base, Klank informed King Mondo that Lord Zedd wished to
speak with him.
"I'll take the call in my throne room, Klank," King Mondo said.
"Very good, sire, I shall patch it through immediately." Klank
hurried off to do just that. The vidscreen in the throne room sparked and
sputtered to life.
"King Mondo!" Lord Zedd addressed the metal monarch. "Have
you been observing the battle on Earth?"
"Of course I have, Zedd. Why are you calling, to gloat because the
Power Rangers are defeating my Cogs once again?" Mondo asked, irritated.
"No, not this time. Have you noticed that the Power Rangers aren't
performing to their usual standards?"
King Mondo took a closer look at the battle. "You are right, Zedd,
they do seem to be hesitating slightly in their retaliation."
"King Mondo, I called to propose a truce between us. If we combine
our forces, we may be finally able to finish of these Power Rangers."
Lord Zedd waited for King Mondo's answer.
"Hmm. I shall have to discuss this with my wife and my advisors. I
shall let you know in one Earth hour." King Mondo cut off communications
and called an emergency meeting.
Lord Zedd paced in the Winnebago. Rita was napping and he was hesitant
to wake her and tell her of his plans. He knew that even though she was
an annoyance, he would need her help to make this plan work. He called
Goldar to him.
"You called, sire?" Goldar asked, kneeling.
"Goldar, wake my wife carefully and tell her gently that I wish to
confer with her," Lord Zedd instructed Goldar.
Goldar looked at Lord Zedd with disbelief. Lord Zedd wished to confer
with Rita? Not yell at her, argue with her or berate her? He shrugged and
went to follow orders.
"Rita? Rita, wake up. Lord Zedd wishes to confer with you," Goldar
told Rita who sat up groggily.
"Huh? Whatta you mean, confer?" Rita asked.
"I don't know. He just told me to wake you and tell you that he wished
to confer with you."
Rita grumbled and straightened her cones of hair. "Tell him I'll be
right out."
"Yes, Rita." Goldar went and did so. When Rita finally emerged
from her room, Lord Zedd was waiting patiently.
"What is it, Zedd?" she asked, irritated.
"Rita, look at the battle on Earth." She did so through her telescope.
"What's so great that you had to wake me up? The Power Rangers are
just fighting Cogs again."
"Look at how they're fighting. Hesitantly, as if they're unsure of
themselves."
"Zeddikins, did you cast a spell on them?"
"No, Rita, I did not. Their hesitancy is their own. I have a plan,
Rita, but I need your full cooperation to make it work."
"What is it?"
"We need to form an alliance with the Machine Empire. If we combine
our forces, we may be able to finally defeat the Power Rangers and conquer
Earth. King Mondo is to contact us in an hour with his decision."
"All right, Zedd, I'll cooperate. For some reason, I think this plan
of yours will work!"
King Mondo sat in the throne room with Queen Machina and the two princes.
"Well, my royal family, what do you make of Lord Zedd's offer of a
truce?"
"It seems very sporting of him," Queen Machina said, fanning
herself.
"I don't get it," Prince Sprocket whined. "Why is he offering
a truce now?"
"Perhaps, brother, he feels that we'll be stronger as allies than
as enemies," Prince Gasket replied, batting his brother on the head.
"But what if he double-crosses us like he did before?"
"I don't think that is what Lord Zedd has in mind, my son. He seems
to be genuine in his offer of the truce. I say we take him up on it and
see what he has to offer," King Mondo decided.
"That's a wonderful idea, my love," Queen Machina cooed. "Call
him up and tell him your decision."
The vidscreen in the Winnebago flared to life. "Lord Zedd!" King
Mondo boomed. "I have come to a decision concerning the truce!"
"King Mondo! What is your decision?"
"My family and I have decided to accept the truce. You may have safe
passage back to your castle."
"Thank you, King Mondo. My wife and I shall be needing its facilities
for what I propose. As you have noticed, the Power Rangers are hesitant
in battle. I feel that if we combine the strongest points of our creations,
we may be able to create a monster capable of destroying the Power Rangers
in their current states."
"I like your thinking, Lord Zedd. I suggest we start work on this
creature right away."
"In my wife's chief monster-maker's texts, I found a description of
a creature that would suit our needs well." Zedd held up the book,
open to the description he wanted. "It is called the Mantiscore; part
mantis, part manticore. If I had known of this section of the book earlier,
I would have suggested the truce earlier. This section requires the creatures
to be built of metal, like your monsters, but infused with magic, like
Rita's and my monsters. It would be an ideal monster to test the Power
Rangers with."
King Mondo looked thoughtful. "I believe you are right, Zedd. If you
could provide me a copy of the monster blueprints, I shall have my servants
start work on it right away."
"I shall see that you receive a copy of the text, King Mondo. For
now, goodbye. We shall talk again soon."
"Guys, I don't like this. We haven't heard anything from Zedd or from
Mondo in over a week," Tommy said as he stirred a fruit smoothie.
"Maybe they're on break," Justin suggested. "I don't think
we have anything to worry about, really."
"I don't know. Maybe Tommy's right. Usually when Zedd or Mondo take
a break, they're planning something really nasty. We should be on our guard,"
Adam replied.
"Finally!" Lord Zedd exclaimed. "Our plan is coming to fruition!
Mondo's servants have completed the metal shell of the Mantiscore. Rita,
it is now our turn."
"Right, Zeddikins," Rita replied. She and Lord Zedd lifted their
staves and began the incantation: Ancient Powers of Evil, hear us now!
Follow our bidding, and breathe your life into this metal skeleton.
In the names of all that is evil,
Be done! A swirl of dark, malicious energy left the crossed staves and flowed
into the monster. It glowed darkly, creaking to life. "What is your
bidding?" it croaked, bowing before the assembled evil persons.
"Go to Earth, find the Power Rangers, and destroy them!" Rita,
Lord Zedd and King Mondo chorused.
"As you wish." In another swirl of darkness, the Mantiscore left
for Earth.
At the youth center, Tommy's communicator beeped insistently. He looked
around, saw no one, and answered it. "What is it, Zordon?" he
asked.
"Tommy, Lord Zedd and King Mondo have combined their attacks. There
is a mass of Tengas and Cogs at the quarry! You must morph and hurry there.
There is not much time. I sense something truly evil afoot," Zordon's
unusually worried voice told him.
"I'm on it. Shift into Turbo! Red Lightning!" In a flash, Tommy
was at the quarry as Red Turbo Ranger. The others gathered around him.
"Tommy, what's going on here?" Tanya asked. "I've never
seen Cogs and Tengas in the same place before."
"Zordon says that Zedd and Mondo have joined forces," Tommy told
them.
"I knew that last week was too quiet!" Adam exclaimed. "Let's
get working on these critters."
The Rangers plunged into battle. Tommy once again was having doubts. He
could tell that the others were too, except for Justin. Nothing seemed
to phase that kid. After what seemed like an eternity to Tommy, the Cogs
and Tengas were taken care of. The Rangers were about to teleport out when
a noise made them stop and turn.
"Hello, Power Rangers," a rusty, gravelly voice said. The voice
came from a monster. "I am Mantiscore." Mantiscore was seven
feet tall and metal. Its body was that of a manticore, but its head was
a mantis head.
"Oh shit," Tommy whispered. The others nodded, echoing his statement.
"Let's get 'em!" Justin hollered, running towards Mantiscore.
"Justin! No!" the others screamed. "Wait!"
Justin kept running. Mantiscore growled and leapt for Justin. Somehow,
Mantiscore knocked off Justin's Turbo morpher, causing Justin to demorph.
With a loud clang of metal, Mantiscore's metal mandibles clamped around
Justin's waist. His scream was one of pure agony cut short. Mantiscore
then smacked Justin with its heavy iron tail. Again Justin screamed. The
rest of the Power Rangers were powerless to do anything but watch, rooted
to the ground in fear and horror as Mantiscore kept beating Justin, over
and over, again and again, switching from tail to forelegs to mandibles.
Finally, Tommy's rage was enough to spur him forward.
"Turbo Sword!" he exclaimed, pulling out his weapon. "Haaaaaaah!"
he screamed, whacking Mantiscore hard enough that it forgot about Justin.
"So, you want some, too?" it hissed, turning towards Tommy. Tommy
swung his sword at precisely the right moment when Mantiscore didn't have
a full view of Tommy. The monster's metal head screamed to the ground and
rolled several feet, circuitry sparking. The dark evil energy dissipated
from the metal shell, leaving only the sparking remains. Tommy demorphed,
as did the others, and went to check on Justin. The four gathered in a
small circle around the fallen boy. Tommy knelt to check his pulse. It
wasn't there. He tried another spot. Still nothing. He placed his head
to Justin's chest. There was nothing. No breath, no heartbeat. Tommy looked
at his friends with tears in his eyes.
"He's gone." It was all Tommy could say. The others fell to their
knees as well at this.
"No. No!" Kat exclaimed, burying her head in Tommy's shoulder.
"He was too young!" Tanya exclaimed. Adam couldn't say anything,
he just put his arms around Tanya and held her tight.
Taking the news of Justin's death to his father was the hardest thing any
of them had ever had to do. How do you tell a man who just lost his wife
and his business that his only child, his twelve year old son, has just
died?
"Rangers, I know that Justin's death has affected you deeply,"
Zordon said to the small gathering in the Power Chamber. "However,
this new strain of monsters requires that the team operate in full strength.
Therefore, I have chosen Justin's replacement." In a shimmer of blue
light, a figure appeared in the Power Chamber.
"Hi, guys," Rocky said somberly .
"It didn't work! The Power Rangers still defeated our monster!"
Rita exclaimed.
"Yes, but! We managed to do something we've never been able to do
before! We have killed a Power Ranger! Mantiscore was not the strongest
monster in the book. The next one, Tigeron, is purported to be much stronger.
King Mondo, if you're still willing to go along with this..." Lord
Zedd said.
"We shall start work on Tigeron immediately. Tonight, we drink to the
first victory of our joined empires!" King Mondo saluted.
