Rebuilding

    Zordon activated the view screen and watched, horrified, as Master Vile’s ship shelled Angel Grove. "Finnan, Alpha, prepare a scan," Zordon sighed.
    "What are we scanning for?" Finnan asked, hands poised over a console.
Zordon turned haunted eyes to his apprentice. "Five teenagers with strength, wisdom, leadership, confidence, and resilience."
    "Zordon…" Alpha started, "you don’t mean…"
    "Yes, Alpha. We need five new Power Rangers."

    "There is no need to panic!" Bulk bellowed. "Skull, Carlos, Shawn, start leading people to the basement!"
    Carlos snagged Ashley to help him, and Shawn grabbed TJ, a fellow baseball player. Skull found a slender Asian girl with pink rosebuds embroidered on the hem of her black skirt and sweater, directing people towards the basement staircase.
    "What are you doing?" he hollered over the noise of another shelling. Idly, he wondered if there was anything left of the parking lot or the football field.
    "I’m helping!" she hollered back.
    "Get to the basement!"
    "You need all the help you can get! I’m Cassie."
    "Skull. Duck!" Skull flung himself at Cassie, covering her as a missile flew in through one of the shattered skylights, detonating in the far end of the gym.
    "Thanks."
    "Don’t mention it." Skull helped Cassie to her feet.
    TJ, Shawn and Carlos were at the far end of the gym, trying to move rubble to get at the people trapped underneath.
    "You three need any help?" Bulk called from across the room. He was helping someone whose leg had been wounded by a flying piece of debris.
    "No, we’ve got it under control," TJ called back, heaving a piece of bleacher away and lifting out an unconscious teenager.
    "Good."
    The teens worked steadily among the shelling, getting the attendees to the basement, originally intended as a World War II bomb shelter. Finally, only Bulk, Skull, TJ, Cassie, Carlos, Ashley and Shawn remained.
    "You two go on ahead and keep them calm downstairs. Continue the service if you have to. We’ll be down as soon as we make one more check." TJ glanced at the pile of rubble. "I just want to make sure we’ve got everyone out."
    "Gotcha." Bulk and Skull turned towards the stairs. The five others headed for the debris, but halfway there, were caught in five beams of colored light.

    The teens appeared in the Power Chamber. "What’s going on? Where are we?" Ashley asked, looking around the strange room.
    TJ looked up at the destroyed transwarp tube. "I think we’re in some kind of control room."
    "Not quite," came a soft voice behind them. The teens turned to see a young man dressed in white leggings, tan boots, a white tunic and a tan vest. His white-blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his bright blue eyes gazed steadily at them.
    "Who are you?" Carlos demanded.
    "I am Finnan. And to answer one of your questions, Ashley Hammond, you are in the Power Chamber."
    "Why are we here?" Cassie asked.
    "You will know in time, Cassandra Chan."
    "The five of you have been chosen for your unique abilities," a tinny voice announced. A small red and gold robot appeared behind Finnan. "I am Alpha 6. You may call me Alpha."
    "Chosen for what?" Shawn asked. "What ‘special abilities’?"
    "Thomas James Russell, you have shown natural leadership in the face of adversity. Cassandra Chan, you have great reserves of inner strength. Shawn Reynolds, you have confidence in yourself and others, even when times are rough. Ashley Hammond, you are resilient, always springing back after a crisis. And finally, Carlos Lopez, you are wise, not only in textbooks, but also in life," a rich baritone voice resonated from the shadows. The teens stared as an older man stepped from the shadows. His wavy silver hair flowed freely past his shoulders. He was clad in long white robes, and carried an unfamiliar staff-like weapon with twin curved blades gracing the top.
    "My name is Zordon," the man told them. "Welcome to the Power Chamber. As Finnan and Alpha have told you, you have been chosen."
    "You still haven’t said for what," Shawn said.
    "For this." Zordon waved, and five sets of wristbands appeared in front of the teens. Ashley held out her hands, and the set in front of her clicked around her wrists.
    "We’ve been chosen to wear funky bracelets?" Carlos asked.
    "No. You five have been chosen to become the new Power Rangers."
    Cassie’s hands stopped halfway to the wristbands. "New Power Rangers? What happened to the old ones?"
    Finnan and Zordon exchanged a brief glance. How much should we tell them? was the unspoken message. "They have moved on," Zordon replied. "During the last siege, Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, and the Machine Empire were destroyed. That is why Master Vile has returned to attack Angel Grove. Rita was his daughter, and Zedd his son-in-law. Goldar and Rito escaped during the siege, and apparently reported directly to Vile."
    "So why not get the other Rangers back in duty? Why call us in?" Shawn asked.
    "The previous Rangers severed for several years. They protected their world admirably. However, once they gave up their powers, they became unable to receive them again. You must step up to take their place in defending Earth. Observe the view screen." Zordon gestured and the screen flared to life, showing the destruction zone around Angel Grove High. "As you can see, the destruction is great." The view switched to an aerial shot, and the teens gasped as they saw the familiar ship hovering above the school. "Master Vile will not stop until Earth is destroyed. We need a team of Power Rangers to defeat him."
    TJ took in the sight of the vessel bombarding Angel Grove. "You want us to defeat that? How? We’re just teenagers!"
    "So were the first Power Rangers. Age does not matter. It is what is inside that matters!" Alpha told them.
    "There is not much time," Zordon told them. "Master Vile is only in the first stage of his attack. Please, accept the morphers and become the Power Rangers."
    Cassie reached out and felt the morphers fasten around her wrists. Carlos and TJ followed. "Come on, Shawn. It’s for the good of the earth," TJ prodded.
    Hesitantly, Shawn extended his arms and felt the morphers lock around his wrists.
    "To call on your powers, use the following calls," Zordon told them.
    "Red Lightening Turbo Power
    "Desert Thunder Turbo Power
    "Dune Star Turbo Power
    "Mountain Blaster Turbo Power
    "Wind Chaser Turbo Power
    "You also use these to call on your Zords. When the time comes, you will know what to do." Zordon looked at his new team of Rangers. "May the Power protect you."
    TJ looked at his friends. "Let’s shift into Turbo!" he exclaimed. "Red Lightening Turbo Power!"
    Carlos held his arms up and locked the key in. "Desert Thunder Turbo Power!"
    Ashley barely waited for Carlos to finish before turning her key. "Dune Star Turbo Power!"
    Cassie activated hers next. "Wind Chaser Turbo Power!"
    Shawn looked dubiously at the others who had transformed, then at the Turbo key in his right hand.
    "Shawn, what are you waiting for?" Cassie asked.
    He inserted the Turbo key and closed his eyes. "Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!"
    The five Turbo Rangers stood in the center of the Power Chamber. Shawn looked down at his blue clad body, then     unbuckled his helmet. "You want us to fight that dressed like this?"
    "The costumes are armor woven from the Morphin grid. They will protect you far more than any conventional earth armor."
    "We can’t stand around talking about this all day," TJ interrupted. "Let’s go kick some butt."

    The Rangers teleported to just outside the AGHS gymnasium. "Man, look at this," TJ said, lightly kicking the bronze school seal that once graced the entryway.
    "We’d better hope we can stop this, or there won’t be much left to look at!" Ashley exclaimed.
    "So what are we supposed to do, just stand here and look menacing?" Shawn asked.
    "Zordon said something about Zords. That must be what they call those giant robots," Carlos said. "Maybe if we called them, we could attack the ship."
    "Good idea." TJ raised his arm, and the others followed. They took their places in the Zords, and TJ instinctively initiated the Turbo Megazord sequence.
    On the deck of the ship, Master Vile watched the Megazord start to assemble. "Rito! Target the green. Goldar, target the blue. Squatt, you get the pink, and Baboo, the yellow." Vile’s lips spread in an oily smile. "I’ll target the red."
    Five laser shots left the ship as the Rangers started to assemble the Zords. In that moment of weakness, the shots hit.     "Abandon Zords!" TJ ordered. The Rangers ejected, parachuting to the ground.
    "Now what?" Shawn demanded, crossing his arms. "Want us to throw stones at it?"
    "That won’t be necessary!" a voice thundered. In a golden whirlwind, Master Vile appeared before them.
    The power weapons appeared in the Rangers’ hands. "We’re not letting you have this planet, Vile!" TJ said, brandishing his sword.
    "How cute. Only been a Ranger for a few minutes, and you already have the trite patter down. Your threats mean nothing to me!" Vile waved his hand, sending a beam of gold light into TJ’s chest, knocking him back into the other Rangers. The Turbo sword flew out of TJ’s hand and into Vile’s grip.
    Goldar and Rito transported down to flank Vile. "Master, allow us to play with these new Rangers," Goldar requested. "Let’s find out if they’re anything like their predecessors."
    Shawn brandished his blasters. "Let’s go, fuzz-face!"
    Carlos helped TJ to his feet. "I’ll distract Vile; you get your sword back."
    "Right."
    Cassie had her WindFire bow ready, and loosed a volley of energy bolts toward Goldar and Rito. Ashley clapped her Star Charges together, releasing a yellow blast. Rito stumbled, but drew his blaster and started shooting.
    Carlos aimed his cannon at Vile, hitting him in the shoulder. The Turbo sword went flying; TJ vaulted into the air and caught it, landing in front of the other Rangers. "Let’s form the RAM!" TJ called, the unfamiliar term coming easily. The Rangers joined their weapons and released the blast of energy, knocking Vile into the air.
    "Retreat!" he called, his voice fading into the distance. Goldar and Rito disappeared.

    "You have done well, my Rangers," Zordon told them. They were back in the Power Chamber, detransformed.
    "The Zords were destroyed," TJ said. "We didn’t even get a chance to use them."
    Finnan pulled up a set of schematics, keying them to the view screen. "Fortunately, we have a set of reserves, the Turbo Rescue Zords."
    "Your morphers were automatically keyed to each zord when the previous ones were destroyed." Zordon looked at his new team. "For a first battle, this was not a poor showing. You must now return to Angel Grove, however. Someone may have noticed your absence."
    "Right." The five transported back to the gym.
    Bulk and Skull had just started to lead people out of the basement. Angel Grove fire department and paramedics were arriving to take care of the wounded. "Where’d you five disappear to?" Bulk asked.
    Cassie and Ashley looked at each other. TJ offered, "We got down after you, and just were at a different part of the basement."
    Skull gingerly touched a forming bruise on Cassie’s forehead. "Are you okay?"
    "I’m fine," she told him, clasping his fingers in hers and smiling at him.

    Sirens started blaring in Divatox’s sub. "What’s going on out there?" she demanded, stomping into the control room.
    "Something just landed right outside!" Porto informed her. "It has the approximate mass of a person."
    "Periscope!" She pulled the scope down and started scanning the area. Spotting the motionless body, she instructed her piranhatrons to retrieve it. Soon, the form was reviving.
    "Where am I?" it demanded, struggling to its feet.
    "You’re on the private submarine of Divatox, the pirate queen," Elgar said, reading off a small laminated card.
    "Divatox, eh? Where is she?"
    "Busy."
    "Too busy for Master Vile?"
    Behind her screen, Divatox dropped her nail file. "Master Vile? Oh, what a catch he’d be!" She straightened her bodice and entered the control room. "Master Vile! I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you!"
    "Divatox! The last time I saw you, you were only knee-high. I must say, you’ve certainly grown." He gave her an appreciative look.
    Divatox preened at the compliment. "And I swear, you get handsomer by the century. What brings you back to this side of the galaxy?"
    "Bad news, I’m afraid." He filled her in on the deaths of Rita and Zedd. "If my baby girl hadn’t married that low-life, she might still be alive today!"
    "So you’re looking to take out Zordon?" Divatox’s mind whirled. This certainly had possibilities. Vile had aerial attack capabilities, while she had land and sea forces. "Viley, I have a proposition for you…"

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