Time is like light. Depending on how you look at it, it changes. Sometimes
time runs in a straight progression, like the waters of a river. Other
times, from other directions, time is circular, and causality is lost.
Its movements are fluid, and can be manipulated. Different beings live
in different types of time, and meetings between the two can prove disastrous.
Humans, most of them, live in Chronos, ordinary, measured time, time that
moves in numbers, from cause and effect. A select few live in Kairos, true
time, which is not measured by human standards, and often flows into itself.
One place on Earth where Chronos and Kairos interconnect is Angel Grove,
home to the Power Rangers.
The timestream around Angel Grove was disturbed. Picture time as a cotton
thread, made up of many other threads. These threads are the Nexuses, the
events, people and things upon which history turns. At one point in Earth's
timestream, the thread was turned back on itself, creating a loop. Unfortunately,
a problem occurred with this loop. A Nexus entered it that never came out.
This Nexus was comprised of six golden coins, links to the power of the
Morphin Grid. The coins were destroyed during the loop, so that when the
Zeo Crystal returned the timestream to its original progression, a seamless
merging was prevented. It was almost as if one cotton thread that comprised
the many was severed. The result was a timesnarl.
Anywhere else in the universe, the timesnarl would have caused disastrous
repercussions. It might almost have led local time to collapse upon itself.
However, Angel Grove was different. The town was situated on a major groundstar,
a nexus of ley lines. These lines, which channeled the natural magic of
the planet, also lent resiliency to the space-time continuum. Instead of
a collapse, the snarl simply became a discontinuity, which the inhabitants
of Chronos dealt with as best they could. Their minds merged their timestreams
together, so that only one version of events existed in their minds. Meanwhile,
the few inhabitants of Kairos found themselves with no memory of the altered
timestream, protected from it by their exposure to magic. Only one of them
had any altered memories at all, but this is not her story.
There was one other consequence of the destruction of the coins. The power
within them was set free. In a normal time area, the power would have dissipated,
eventually being absorbed back into the Morphing Grid from whence it came.
In the loop, however, the power was contained and reflected around, building
until it could no longer be held. It then erupted into the timestream at
the place the barrier was weakest, where a suitable spirit was waiting
to receive it.
In the hills outside Angel Grove, the sounds of singing were setting birds
into panicked flight. It wasn't that the singer was so bad, it was simply
that he was loud. Rounding a hill, Skull grinned up at the incredibly blue
sky. "What a day," he sighed. "Too bad the others couldn't
come with me." As he hiked, Skull thought about his new friends, the
Power Rangers. They were the same people he had made fun of for years,
calling them "geeks" and "dweebs," mainly because he
was jealous. Jealous of their popularity and of their friendship. Now,
however, they had accepted him into their group, making him one of them.
Not only that, but he had finally gotten a date with Kimberly Hart.
"Yess!" Skull cried to no one in particular, pumping one fist
in the air. Not only had Kim agreed to go out with him, but the two of
them now were together, a couple, almost as close as Tommy and Kimberly
had once been.
Skull sighed. Tommy had been a great friend, and Skull was finding that
he rather enjoyed covering for his friends when they had a problem. It
was an exercise in creativity, and he was beginning to find that he was
rather good at it.
Suddenly a glimmer by his feet caught his eye. Looking down, he found a
crystal ball lying on the ground. He gingerly prodded it with one foot.
It didn't move. Squatting, he examined it more closely.
"It's the Orb of Doom," he realized suddenly. His hand reached
out to it, then he stopped. This thing had been atrociously bad news, he
remembered. Master Vile had used it to transform all of the world into
what it had been seven years before, making Skull, Bulk, and all of the
Rangers into ten year-old children. As he thought, his hand came to rest
on the crystal of its own accord.
Suddenly a surge of white energy ripped through him, knocking him back
several feet. "Ohhh," he groaned, shaking his head. "That
was really stupid!" As he rose, he suddenly realized that he was glowing
with white light. "I'd better talk to the head about this," Skull
gulped, reaching for his communicator. Looking at it, he realized that
the rainbow stripes that had decorated it were now all bleached to white.
Tapping the button, Skull teleported out.
Meanwhile, in a small Winnebago on the Moon, Rita Repulsa was pondering
recent events and discoveries, an evil smile on her face. "So Tommy
is my half-brother," she mused. "I don't know which one's worse,
my half-brother or my whole one." Outside, she could hear Rito and
Goldar arguing with each other as if there was no tomorrow. "It's
too bad that Tommy's come to terms with the evil in his spirit. I could
have used him on my side. Perhaps I still can."
In front of her sat her most recent discovery, a hand mirror with a wooden
frame carved into the shapes of various demons, and a mirror surface of
the purest obsidian. "Yessss," she purred. "The Mirror of
Night will serve me well. Goldar!" she shrieked. The golden-armored
warrior teleported before her instantly.
"Yes, Empress?" Goldar asked obsequiously.
"I want you to take the Mirror of Night to Earth. Pick a fight with
the Zeo Rangers, and make sure they don't have time to morph. Catch Tommy's
reflection in the glass and bring it back here. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, my Queen," Goldar bowed, teleporting out in a flash of
golden flame.
In the Power Chamber, Skull had finished telling Zordon his story, and
Zordon had then summoned the Morphin Warriors to the Chamber. Skull raised
his eyebrows when he realized that the Zeo Rangers were absent, but said
nothing.
"Skull, you have been infused with the powers of the Power Coins,
creating a link between you and the Morphin Grid. You are now the White
Morphin Warrior."
Skull's jaw dropped. "I'm WHAT?"
"When the coins were destroyed, the power of all six colors mixed,
making the power White, the color of light. When you approached the Orb
of Doom, you were drawn forward that you might receive the power, which
could no longer be contained in the timesnarl."
"Why me? Was I just in the right place at the right time?"
"No. You see, the power could have broken into our timestream at any
point. Time is meaningless for it. You were simply the White spirit closest
to the snarl in time."
"White spirit?"
"Your personality is that belonging to White Rangers. You are noble,
courageous of spirit, and understanding. In addition, you have the mental
powers that most White Rangers have."
Skull frowned. "Psychic. You mean like Christina?"
"Yes. Although you are not a healer, you have the same latent telepathic-telekinetic
powers that she has. This sensitivity is one of the reasons you have done
so well at your detecting."
Skull nodded thoughtfully. "I've always been good at reading people.
Does this mean I have to wear Spandex?"
Billy chuckled. "I don't know, Skull. As you can see, it's fifty-fifty
so far. Let me see if I can explain how the costumes work. The Power Rangers,
the original ones, drew their costume imagery from two sources. The first
was the needs of the power. That meant that whatever costume the power's
avatar wore, it had to allow freedom of movement, some protection, and
had to hide the avatar's identity. Also, it had to bear the stamp of the
power it stood for.
"The rest of the costume was determined by the collective unconscious
images of the team who would wield the power. For most of us, Spandex determines
the image of the superhero, so the outfits were skintight. Since humans
are extremely visually oriented, the outfits were mainly color-coded, with
only a slight stylistic variation to the helmets to identify the power
animal.
"The Power Rangers worked as a team, and therefore had to resemble
each other, hence drawing from the collective image. The Morphin Warriors
are different. In the first place, the identity is hidden by magic instead
of a helmet. Only those close to us or those who know our identities can
tell who we are. The costumes are also drawn from the individual image,
because the power is not so dependent on teamwork. It is still our greatest
strength, but it is no longer our only one."
Skull nodded. "So what you're basically saying is that I won't know
until I transform."
Billy grinned. "Exactly."
Sighing, Skull shrugged. "Well, here goes nothing. Tigerzord!"
In a flash of bright white light, Skull found himself clad in a pair of
white jeans, rather like the blue ones he always wore, and a white tunic
top. Experimentally, he tried a few kicks, and found that the jeans were
just loose enough to allow freedom of movement, but not loose enough to
interfere. They were slightly less roomy than the pants to his gi. In the
chest of the tunic was set a golden coin with the symbol of the tiger.
"Not bad," he grinned. "Let's see what I have for a weapon."
Concentrating, he felt a surge of energy flow through him. Suddenly, the
energy coalesced into a long silver saber. It was a cavalry saber, approximately
two and a half feet long, made of purest silver. Skull had a feeling, however,
that it was enchanted to be a lot harder than steel. He tested its weight
and heft with a few practice swings and thrusts, letting out a delighted
laugh. "It's perfect!" he grinned. "Perfectly balanced.
Makes sense, I guess."
The other Morphin Warriors laughed at his obvious enjoyment. In a flash,
Skull morphed back into civvies. Just then, the alarm went off, drawing
everyone's attention to the viewing globe.
"Oof!" Tommy cried, as another Tenga hit him in the gut. The
birds were attacking far more ruthlessly than usual, and as a result, he
was taking quite a beating. Goldar and the Tengas had attacked him as he
was walking in the park, throwing up a forcefield which made it impossible
for the Zeo Rangers to teleport in. Tommy had to handle things alone, and
was severely outnumbered. "Chew on this," he snarled, flinging
a fireball at a Tenga unlucky enough to get too close. The bird teleported
out in a hail of charred feathers.
"Very impressive, Tommy," Goldar growled. "However you will
not stop us from procuring what we came for." Holding up the Mirror
of Night, Goldar turned the glass so that the struggling Tommy was reflected
in its black depths. There was a flash, and suddenly Tommy sank to his
knees.
"Farewell, Red Ranger. I have my prize." Turning casually to
the Tenga on his left, Goldar gestured at Tommy dismissively. "Kill
him," he growled, disappearing in a flash of golden flame. Squawking
evilly, the Tengas closed in on the fallen Ranger, who was desperately
trying to get to his feet.
Suddenly six columns of light appeared, and the Tenga advancing on Tommy
was thrown away from him violently. Looking up, Tommy saw the Morphin Warriors
battling the Tengas. Six? he thought, confused. There are only five Morphin
Warriors. Who's in White? Squinting, he examined the White one carefully.
He gasped. "Skull?"
Skull grinned at his astonished friend. "In the flesh. You want to
give us a hand here?"
"Yeah, okay. Zeo Ranger V, Red!" In a flash, Tommy became the
Red Ranger. Springing to his feet, he threw himself into the fight.
Trini and Zack were fighting Tengas back to back, enjoying themselves immensely.
The tall Asian girl wore a skin-tight yellow bodysuit with a gauzy, flowing
robe over it. The robe did nothing to hinder her movements, however, or
hide the gold coin set into the center of her chest, bearing the symbol
of the bear. Currently, she was cutting a very nasty swath through the
Tengas with a pair of jeweled daggers.
Zack, on the other hand, was wearing a loose black top, somewhat reminiscent
of the outfits worn by the Ninja Rangers, and a pair of loose pants. The
coin set into his chest bore the symbol of the Lion. In one hand was an
ax, somewhat like the one he had wielded as the Black Ranger.
Meanwhile, Jason had led a number of Tengas to attack him, drawing them
away from his friends. Jason's red armor slowed him down some, but it provided
him with more than enough protection to make up for it. Also, he was certainly
strong enough to stand up to the punches they threw at him. He was carving
his way through them so efficiently with his fists that he didn't even
need the broadsword he wore by his side. Gleaming from the center of his
breastplate was the symbol of the Tyrannosaurus.
On the other side of the field, Kimberly and Billy were side by side, in
the team they had perfected many years before. Kimberly wore her long sleeved,
long legged pink Spandex leotard and ankle boots, and shot her bow and
arrows at the Tengas with pinpoint accuracy. Set into her chest was the
symbol of the Firebird.
Billy was also firing his laser pistol at the Tengas, freezing them into
place with his well-aimed shots. His blue visor displayed a cross-hairs,
allowing him to pick his shots with pinpoint accuracy. He wore a blue bodysuit,
rather like his Blue Ranger one, except that this was solid blue. His boots,
gloves, and vest were of a darker blue, and in the center of the vest was
the coin of the Wolf.
Meanwhile, Skull and Red Ranger were fighting back-to-back, sending Tengas
in all directions. Finally, the last of the birds was sent packing, and
the seven teens demorphed. Tommy staggered suddenly as the Red energy ceased
to course through his system. Jason and Zack quickly caught him. "Tommy,
are you all right?" Jason asked, concerned.
"I don't know. That mirror of Goldar's seemed to suck the energy right
out of me. I think we'd better go back to the Power Chamber and talk to
Zordon about this." In seven flashes of light, the teens teleported
out.
* * *
"Excellent!" Rita gloated, taking the mirror from Goldar with
great care. "Now get out of here, Monkeyboy! The next section of this
spell takes a lot of concentration, and I don't need you bugging me."
Goldar left, and Rita turned her attention the mirror on the table.
"I think it's time for a change of look," she mused. Heading
into her little bedroom, she shucked out of her gown and pulled her hair
out of the cones it had been styled in for the past twelve millennia. Sighing,
she examined herself in the full length mirror. The outfit that she had
worn had been traditional for witches of her planet for untold stretches
of time. However, just before the final battle with Zordon's forces, some
of the girls had switched to another style, claiming that it was more comfortable
and more frightening than the traditional getup. Her father had never approved,
of course.
"But he's gone," she grinned at herself. She was finally free
of that old tyrant, who had made her childhood so miserable with all his
bellowing and blustering. "Time for me to change."
Going to her wardrobe, she removed a long black caftan. It was covered
with silver embroidery in symbols that made one ill if examined too closely.
She pulled it in at the waist with a belt of silver cord. Then she turned
her attention to her hair. It was far too long and unmanageable to leave
down, but she certainly didn't want to put it up in the cones again. After
several attempts, she found a combination of combs and pins that she liked.
It highlighted the cruel beauty of her features, instead of drawing the
attention away.
Once Rita had reshaped her appearance to her liking, she rose and re-entered
her workroom. Drawing various symbols on the floor, she placed the mirror
on a table in the middle of the design. Then she began to chant in a language
far older than the planet below. It was a language spoken by evil beings
long before Earth had even begun to develop civilization, a language old
as time itself, and reeking with the blackest evil.
Suddenly the mirror began to pulse with a red light. The light began to
change, fading to a strange green color, and suddenly a perfect replica
of Tommy Oliver stood in the center of the room. Perfect, that is, until
he raised his eyes and smiled. The smile was cold, totally devoid of emotion.
A thrill ran through Rita. She had succeeded in creating a completely evil
version of Tommy. No spells, no clones, simply a solidification of all
the darkness within him, a twisting of all that resided within his soul.
The Dark Reflection's gaze came to rest on Rita, and he suddenly sank down
on one knee. "My Empress. How may I serve you?"
"Tell me your name," Rita commanded.
"I am a reflection of the person known as Thomas Tyler Oliver. Therefore,
I will be known as Tyler Oliver."
Rita nodded. "You have all of his powers. You are the Green Morphin
Warrior, and a mighty mage in your own right. Do not forget, though, that
we will need each other to defeat the Power Rangers. Neither of us is capable
of doing so alone."
Tyler nodded. "I understand, my queen. What would you have me do?"
Smiling evilly, Rita began to outline what she wanted of her new warrior.
* * *
"And then Goldar just disappeared," Tommy finished. He stared
up at Zordon expectantly. "Can you tell us anything about it?"
Zordon frowned. "I'm afraid so, Rangers. The object that Goldar held
is known as the Mirror of Night. It has the power to create warped, twisted
reflections of whatever is caught in its glass."
"Another evil Tommy?" Jason cried, exasperated. "Rita's
stuck in a rut here!"
"No doubt she wishes to make use of Tommy's Green Warrior powers,
not to mention his phenomenal magical ability. This Dark Reflection contains
none of the light in Tommy's heart. He is a being of pure evil."
Tommy swallowed. "How can he use my Morphin Warrior powers? He's never
held a Power Coin."
"The powers are bonded to you physically. As your physical duplicate,
he possesses all your powers, although his animal spirit is most likely
different."
"Isn't it about time you explained these powers in detail?" Skull
asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Indeed. The power of the Morphin Grid is divided, as you all know,
into eight colors, red, yellow, blue, black, pink, green, white, and purple.
What you may not know is that it is also divided into three levels. The
three types of coins correspond to these levels. The Dinocoins are the
coins of the Body level. Dinosaur spirits are strong, with a tendency to
push directly through a problem. Jason, this is your type of spirit. The
Dinosaur animals are Red Tyrannosaurus, Yellow Saber-toothed Tiger, Blue
Triceratops, Black Mastodon, Pink Pterodactyl, Green Dragon, White Velociraptor,
and Purple Wyvern.
"Next is the level of Mind, the Thundercoins. The mind level is energetic.
While the body is often hotheaded, the mind prefers to work around a problem.
The Thunder animals are Red Dragon, Yellow Griffin, Blue Unicorn, Black
Lion, Pink Firebird, Green Basilisk, White Tiger, and Purple Medusa. Zack,
Kimberly, and Skull, these are your powers.
"Finally, the Ninjacoins are the coins of spirit. Spirit prefers to
let its enemies approach, and completely understand them before it attacks.
Tommy, Billy, Trini, you are Spirit. The Ninja spirits are the Red Ape,
Yellow Bear, Blue Wolf, Black Frog, Pink Crane, Green Panther, White Falcon,
and Purple Chameleon.
"Were the other Rangers to call on their Morphin Warrior powers, Rocky
would most likely be a Red Dragon, while Adam would be a Black Frog, Katherine
a Pink Crane, and Aisha a Yellow Griffin."
Just then the alarm went off. The seven teens turned to see a duplicate
of Tommy in the park, dressed in the uniform of a Green Warrior. Set into
the chest of the outfit was a gold coin emblazoned with the symbol of the
Dragon.
"We've got trouble," Skull sighed.
"More than that," replied Zordon. "There appears to be a
barrier against Zeo Power around the park. The Rangers cannot teleport
in to confront this new menace."
"Just Zeo Power?" Jason asked thoughtfully.
"Yes. Rita could not block Morphin energy, as the same energy powers
her magic."
"Then let's go kick some butt!" Zack cried.
"Be very careful, Rangers. You are not as strong as you once were,"
Zordon cautioned.
"We understand, Zordon," Jason reassured him. "It's morphin'
time!"
"Tigerzord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!" The Morphin Warriors teleported out in six flashes
of light, leaving Tommy and Zordon behind, each remembering what had gone
before.
"Hey you! We're here to stop you!" Jason cried, pointing his
sword at Tyler. The green-clad warrior simply chuckled.
"The Morphin Warriors. How nice of you to stop by, especially since
I wasn't expecting you. Tengas! Make our guests feel welcome." The
oily birds attacked the six teens, and suddenly a free-for-all had broken
loose.
Thrusting, parrying, and generally causing chaos with his saber, Skull
suddenly found himself face to face with Tyler. In the back of his mind,
Skull began to panic, but quickly squashed it with the training he had
received from Jason and Tommy over the past few months. Luckily, the battle
had moved to swords, rather than fists. Although Tommy, and by extension
Tyler, was deadly with a katana, Skull was in his element as a fencer.
It was perhaps the one area of the fighting arts in which he surpassed
any of the Rangers and Morphin Warriors.
"You fight well, White Warrior," Tyler grunted.
"Yeah, you too," Skull shot back, not letting up for a moment.
"Hey, what's your name, anyway? I can't just call you "hey, you"
while I'm kicking your butt."
Tyler chuckled. "I am called Tyler Oliver, and I seriously doubt that
you'll defeat me."
"Yeah, well, anything's possible." The two men fenced for a while,
neither one gaining the upper hand. Meanwhile, the other Morphin Warriors
had managed to defeat the last of the Tengas, and now came to Skull's aid.
Realizing that he was now outnumbered, Tyler broke off the attack.
"You are a worthy opponent," he told Skull, bowing. "We
shall finish this another day." His gaze swept across the other Morphin
Warriors, coming to rest on Kimberly. "My lady," he smiled evilly.
"I would not destroy you. Will you join me?"
"No way!" Kimberly shot back, taking Skull's hand in her own.
Tyler shrugged.
"Perhaps we'll talk about this later."
Skull stepped forward, putting himself between his girlfriend and Tyler.
"Don't even think about it," he growled, sounding very tiger-like.
Tyler just chuckled, teleporting out in a rush of green flame.
"Let's go, guys," Jason sighed. "The fight's over, at least
for now." In six streaks of light, they disappeared.
* * *
The next morning, Skull woke up stiff and sore. As a Morphin Warrior, he
had the same accelerated healing facility that the others had, but it simply
healed the major damage. Bruises and stiffness still lingered, but the
ribs that a Tenga had shattered were as good as new. Hopping out of bed
and stretching, he headed downstairs to check the mail.
"Hmm, bill, bill, Bill Clinton, Ed McMahon, letter from Aunt Edna,
fruitcake from Aunt Millie- what, does she think it's Christmas? Newsweek,
Biker Monthly, letter from- Bulk!" Hurriedly, Skull tore open the
letter from the man who had been, until recently, his best and only friend.
Quickly perusing its contents, his jaw hit the floor.
"Bulk's coming back for a visit? Tomorrow! Oh brother," Skull
groaned. Normally he would have been ecstatic to hear that his friend was
coming for a visit, but not at the moment. "What am I going to do?
I have that Green Warrior nut to deal with, trying to steal my girlfriend,
I have my new psychic powers to get used to, and I do not have time to
deal with this!" To punctuate his statement, a book fell from one
of the shelves onto the floor with a definitive thump. "Oh, shut up,"
he sighed. His telepathic powers could be a pain, but at least he had some
control over them. Even when he lost control, he usually wound up picking
up on thoughts that were so close to the surface, they might as well have
been spoken aloud. His telekinetic powers, on the other hand, were harder
to get a hold of. They had a tendency to break free when he lost control
of his temper, or when he was exasperated. In addition, they drew far more
attention than his telepathic powers did. Sighing, Skull concentrated,
picking the book back up and putting it on its shelf with a mental effort.
The only thing to do about his problem was to tell the rest of the team
about it, and hope that they could cover for him. In Skull's case, "the
rest of the team" meant the other Morphin Warriors. Not that the Zeo
Rangers weren't his friends, but there was an almost indefinable separation
between them. Different powers, different teams, different ways of looking
at things. Besides, they'd had their hands full with Mondo's goons lately.
It was better for the Morphin Warriors to take on Rita, as their powers
were better equipped to handle her.
As Skull dressed and headed to the youth center, he thought idly about
the strain of the recent battles. All the Zeos looked tired, but Tommy
seemed to be the worst. He had barely managed to rebuild the energy the
Mirror of Night had stolen from him when Mondo launched an almost constant
stream of monsters. The Rangers were already discussing forcing Tommy to
take a vacation from active duty while David handled the Red Ranger duties.
The only thing stopping them at the moment was that Tommy wasn't likely
to get any more rest off the team than on, due to his intense desire to
be in the middle of things.
Entering the youth center, Skull saw with no surprise that the Zeo Rangers
were once again battling Mondo's latest monster downtown. "What's
that?" he asked Jason in a low tone, coming to sit next to the other
boy at the juice bar.
"That," Jason sighed, "is called Kirinizer. It's based on
the ancient Chinese unicorn, the Kirin."
"Looks more like a dragon to me," Zack added, coming up behind
them.
Skull did not respond, watching the TV and wincing as the Red Battlezord
took another hit. "Tommy's moving really slowly out there," he
sighed. "I think the exhaustion is getting to him."
"No kidding," Kimberly agreed. "If this keeps up, we're
going to have to put David in for him."
"Then we'll have to pack him off to Lita to have him deal with his
feelings of failure," Billy snorted. The others regarded him curiously.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't think Tommy's being melodramatic or a
prima donna. I understand that this is very real, and it's not his fault.
Its just that he's so delicate! Its hard to believe."
"Rita and Zedd have both stomped all over his self-esteem numerous
times," Trini reminded her friend. "If it weren't for Lita, Tommy'd
probably be a raving lunatic by now. As it is, the therapy is gonna take
a long time to make him better."
"And Tyler isn't helping anything, either," Skull grumbled. Although
the newest member of the team, Skull had quickly understood the way Tommy's
dark side affected him. It was a very scary thing for the other boy to
confront, because it was so dangerous. Even though Tommy had come to terms
with the evil in himself, he was still frightened of it, and its capacity
for destruction.
"Oh, man, I almost forgot. I got a letter this morning. Bulk is coming
to Angel Grove for a visit tomorrow. He's still one of my best friends.
I have to spend time with him." Skull grimaced.
Jason nodded understandingly. "Hey, we understand. We'll do our best
to handle Tyler if he shows up. We'll only call you if it's a major emergency,
okay?"
Skull smiled at his friend. "Thanks, Jase. That would be a big help."
* * *
The next day, Skull was waiting at Gate 59 at Angel Grove International.
Leaning against a pillar, he scanned the people coming off the plane for
Bulk's unmistakable silhouette. Finally he caught sight of his friend and
began waving frantically. Bulk headed through the crowd of people with
very little effort. When someone is the size of Bulk, crowds let them pass.
"Man, look at you," Skull grinned, giving his friend the once-over.
Bulk had dropped a number of pounds since arriving in France, and Skull
now realized that the weight loss had continued since he left. Having also
put on a great deal of muscle, the larger boy looked more like a football
player than the football he had once resembled. Also, his hair was longer
than he had worn it as a detective, but not as long as it had been when
he was a punk. All in all, Bulk looked good.
"Yeah, you look pretty good yourself, buddy," Bulk grinned back,
gripping Skull by the shoulder. The two had kept in touch, but Bulk had
somehow missed his friend growing muscles. Skull had always been in better
shape than he looked, mainly from the fencing, but now he was toned and
fit all over. "So, shall we go get my luggage?"
The two headed for the baggage claim, talking of nothing in particular,
making jokes about luggage ending up in Cleveland, and generally enjoying
themselves. After collecting Bulk's luggage (and winding up in an argument
with a 90 year-old woman), they headed out to the car.
"Man," Skull sighed, shaking his head. "Can you believe
that woman was a luggage thief?"
"Or that there was a 60 year-old warrant on her head for the same
thing? I tell you, Skull, this kind of thing could only happen to us. Remember
how it used to be? We couldn't turn around without winding up in the middle
of a monster attack."
"Well, we weren't always blameless in that regard."
"No, we did go looking for trouble way more often than we should have,
but some of it was just plain bad luck. You have to agree to that."
Bulk suddenly stopped dead. "That's your car?" he asked, dumbfounded.
He had expected their old police motorcycle, he had expected Skull's father's
rattletrap, he had expected a lot of things. A 1976 white Mustang in mint
condition was not one of them.
"Yeah," Skull grinned with unmistakable pride. "Ain't she
a beaut?"
"Skull, how did you afford her? These things go for twice what your
house is worth."
"I got her at a junkyard for two hundred bucks. She was dead. Nobody
thought she'd ever run again. I got her towed home, and Billy, Tommy and
I fixed her up."
Bulk turned to look at his friend, astonishment written all over his features.
"Billy, Tommy, and you?"
"Yeah. Didn't you get that letter? The guys all came home when Jason
got sick, and when I wound up apologizing, I sort of got adopted by the
group." Skull suddenly grinned. "Gee, Bulky, if you didn't get
that letter I sent you, then you didn't hear about my girlfriend."
Bulk raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend? Who in her right mind would date
you?"
Skull grinned, not insulted in the least. "Well, she's pretty, she's
smart, she's very short, and she can kick butt like nobody's business."
"The Pink Ranger?"
"She's not short anymore, remember? No, actually, it's someone even
more unlikely. Kimberly Hart."
Bulk started spluttering. "Kimberly Hart? The same Kimberly Hart that
turned you down for a date every day of your life? The same one that started
dating Tommy, who then threw you into trash cans for pestering his girlfriend
for a date? That Kimberly Hart?"
"Yup. That's the one. She broke up with Tommy, and I was there as
a shoulder to cry on. Things kind of evolved from there."
Bulk shook his head in wonder. "Kimberly Hart. Man, you've come up
in the world. Is it serious?"
"Very serious. I'd die for her." Let's just hope I don't have
to, Skull thought grimly. The specter of Tyler Oliver was still hanging
in the back of his mind.
Marveling at the change in his friend, Bulk shook his head again. Who would
have thought that Skull and Kimberly would wind up in love? Bulk could
tell by the look on his best friend's face that this was far beyond an
adolescent crush. He wondered idly what could have drawn them so tightly
together in such a short time.
* * *
Up on the Moon, Rita was gloating over her latest accomplishment. Although
her Green Warrior had been unable to carry the day, Rita had still realized
that he was a valuable asset to her forces. "Divide and conquer,"
she mused.
"Empress?" Tyler asked, entering the room. He had morphed back
into civvies, and resembled Tommy a great deal. Only the frosty expression
on his face was different.
"I have decided on how we shall carry out this campaign, Tyler,"
Rita announced, turning to face him. "You will concentrate your attacks
on the Morphin Warriors."
Tyler cocked his head. "I'm afraid I do not understand, Empress. Isn't
the greater threat that of the Zeo Rangers?"
"Yes, but remember. Time is on our side. They will never launch an
attack on us; it's against their code. Therefore, we pick the time and
place of the battles. There are three major advantages to launching the
attack against the Morphin Warriors instead of the Zeo Rangers. One, the
Zeos are constantly under attack by Mondo and Gasket's forces. They're
almost exhausted. If we destroy them, then the Morphin Warriors take their
places, and they'll be completely rested. Take out the Warriors, and we're
left with the tired, inefficient Rangers. Two, destroying the Morphin Warriors
will incapacitate at least three of the Zeo Rangers. Jason Scott's death
will break Jamie Zedden, Billy Cranston's demise will destroy Christina
Collins, and the death of Kimberly Hart will certainly break Tommy Oliver
in half. If you go the other way, only two of the Warriors will be incapacitated.
Kimberly is far stronger than Tommy, especially since she doesn't feel
protective of him, the way he feels for her. Third, always remember the
Cardinal Rule of Villainy. Six heroes are a lot easier to kill than ten.
It will be good practice for you."
Tyler nodded. "I would like to spare the Pink Warrior, if I may. I
have- other plans for her."
Chuckling evilly, Rita acquiesced with a wave of her hand. "By all
means. I'm sure you can handle her. We won't be taking them all on at once
anyway. I want you to take them one at a time. Start with the White Warrior.
He's had the least training and the least time to become accustomed to
his powers."
"Of course, my Empress. He's a nasty fighter with a sword, though.
I'll just have to make sure he doesn't have the chance to use it."
An evil smile crossed Tyler's face as he teleported out in a gout of green
flame.
* * *
"Morphin what?" Bulk asked incredulously. He and Skull were taking
a walk through the park, and Skull was filling Bulk in on all the changes
that had occurred in the ranks of the Power Rangers, third-hand, of course.
Informing someone of your membership in the Power Rangers had gone from
being a definite no-no to being on a need-to-know basis. As the old joke
went, however, Bulk didn't need to know.
"Morphin Warriors. There's six of them, and their powers seem to be
based on the old versions, the ones with the White Ranger."
"So you're saying there are ten Zeo Rangers, and all four of the new
ones are girls, and there are now these six Morphin Whatsits?"
"Warriors. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Unfortunately, Angel Grove's
under attack from three sources now. There's the Machine Empire, like always,
and then there's Prince Gasket. Remember him? He was the one that ordered
us thrown in the dungeon."
"Oh yeah, where we met Tritor. I remember. Sheesh, what a ride."
"You're telling me. Well, Gasket apparently is also trying to take
over the world on his own. Then there's Rita. Remember her? Well, she's
back in business, too."
"Geez, should we be in the park? If I remember correctly, that's where
we always ran into those goons."
"You two certainly do have the worst luck," a cold voice said
behind them. Bulk and Skull turned to see Tyler, clad in his Green Warrior
costume.
"Bulk, that is a Morphin Warrior. Rita's evil Green Warrior, to be
exact," Skull said slowly.
"Deja vu," Bulk murmured. "All we need now is a bus."
Skull chuckled, remembering how he and Bulk had nearly wound up being smashed
up in a bus, thanks to Goldar, during the attack of the Evil Green Ranger.
"Bulk, go back to the youth center. You'll be safe there," said
Skull in a calm, level tone.
"What about you?"
"I'll be right behind you. Go!" Bulk took off, and Skull, watching
him go, was almost bowled over by the ferocity of Tyler's attack. _He's
trying to keep me from morphing,_ Skull thought breathlessly, dodging a
strike from Tyler's katana. _Doing a pretty good job of it, too. I hope
I can hold out until the others get here._
* * *
Bulk dashed into the youth center and stopped. He couldn't just yell out
that there was a monster in the park, or he'd cause a panic. Suddenly,
his eye fell on Jason and Trini, sitting at the juice bar making small
talk and watching the Zeo Rangers battling a monster. Bulk squinted as
the TV suddenly drew his attention. "Is that a giant walkie-talkie?"
he asked, coming up behind the two teens.
"Unfortunately," Jason sighed. "It's firing sonic blasts
at the Rangers. Causing some major damage to downtown, too." Looking
more closely at the person behind him, Jason gaped. "Bulk? Where's
Skull? I thought he was hanging out with you."
"He was. We were in the park and we got attacked by a monster. Actually,
it wasn't a monster. It looked human, and wore a green outfit with a big
gold coin in the chest."
Jason and Trini traded grim looks. "Where's Skull?" Trini asked
this time.
"He said he was right behind me, but when I stopped running, he wasn't
there. I think he might still be back there."
Jason cursed. "Look, Bulk, stay here. We're going to go look for Skull.
You stay here in case he comes here." The two teens rose and hurried
out of the bar. Bulk sat down on a stool, thinking hard. Something was
very familiar about the present situation, but he couldn't quite tell what
it was.
* * *
Skull was fighting a desperate battle, but he was definitely getting the
worst of it. He was battered, bruised, and his body ached like nobody's
business. Ripping up a handful of grass, he threw it at his enemy's eyes,
temporarily blinding the other boy. Then he attacked with a flurry of punches
and kicks. It might not have been the most honorable move, but Skull was
beyond worrying about fighting dirty. His only concern now was keeping
his hide intact. He was too out of breath to morph, and Tyler wasn't giving
him any time to catch it.
"Hey you!" A voice called. Skull and Tyler looked up to see Jason
and Trini, both morphed, standing atop a nearby hill. "Leave our friend
alone!" Jason continued. "If you want a fight, take us on."
"With pleasure," Tyler snarled.
Skull didn't think twice. The second Tyler's attention left him, he took
a deep breath and called "Tigerzord!" In a flash, he was dressed
as the White Warrior.
"Another time," Tyler shrugged, bowing. In a burst of green light,
he disappeared.
"Skull, are you all right?" Jason asked, coming over to his friend.
"Bulk's worried sick about you."
"I'm- fine," the exhausted teen panted. "I'll tell- Bulk
that- we just- got separated." The three Morphin Warriors demorphed
and headed back towards the youth center.
* * *
Kimberly sighed, clutching her diary to her chest. She knew it was a move
straight out of a '50's "chick flick," but she didn't care. She
was so happy about the way her life was going. Even though she had broken
up with Tommy, there were no hard feelings between them. Despite the pain
both had felt at the end of their relationship, they had both realized
that there was no true romance left between them. Now she was dating Skull,
of all people, and she had never felt so wonderful. Even in the first days
of her relationship with Tommy, she hadn't felt this bubbly, this full
of life. Skull was just the type of person she was best suited for. He
was not so protective as Tommy, never having felt truly responsible for
her well-being. The fact that Kimberly had always been more than able to
kick his butt in a fight had contributed to it. Instead, Skull trusted
in the fact that she could protect herself. He was always there for her,
but didn't consider her helpless.
_Let's face it, Kimberly, when Tommy knew you, you *were* helpless,_ she
thought wryly. She had never really been a fighter. She had been good at
self-defense all her life, but in a real fight, she tended to rely on Trini
and the guys to take the front. When they had become Rangers, she had let
them run interference, preferring to pick her attacks when and where they
would do the most damage. The pattern had continued throughout her time
as a Ranger. All her life, she had had either Jason or Tommy to protect
her.
Then had come Florida. Suddenly she was fighting a very different kind
of battle. Her enemies were homesickness and the confusion she felt at
being away from Tommy. He had always been an emotional crutch for her,
a support, just as Billy had been before him. With both of them gone, Kimberly
had needed to rapidly reinvent herself to survive. That new toughness had
moved into the physical aspect of her life, and now she could truly hold
her own in a fight.
The sound of teleportation behind her suddenly drew her out of her reverie.
Turning, she saw Tyler teleport into her room. He was in civvies, and she
would have thought he was Tommy except for the cold expression on his face,
and the fact that his shirt was green, not red. Swallowing hard, she took
a fighting stance. "What do you want?" she asked, with more bravado
than she felt.
"I want you," he smiled, advancing on her slowly. "You and
I were made for each other, beautiful. You know it and I know it."
"I know that I'm not even in love with Tommy anymore. I certainly
have no feelings for you."
"Perhaps I ought to change your mind." With that, he lunged for
her, intending to knock her back onto her bed. However, Kimberly realized
what he was doing and dodged, using her agility to get him between the
bed and her. Frantically, she wished that she wasn't home alone.
_If only I could morph! But I can't escalate a battle,_ she thought frantically.
Up until that moment, she hadn't realized how deeply the promises that
she had made to Zordon had seeped into her soul. Instead of morphing, she
picked up a table lamp and held it as if it were a baseball bat. "You
might be stronger than I am, buddy, but you're not going to get what you're
after without some serious pain," she panted, never taking her eyes
off him. Tyler merely chuckled. He approached slowly, dodging a swing of
the lamp as he got too close. Moving into her quickly, he stripped the
lamp out of her grasp, and got a knee to the groin for his pains. He doubled
over, but quickly came upright again, having Tommy's capacity to ignore
pain. All the amusement was gone from his expression, however. A powerful
backhand caught her across the face, splitting her lip and knocking her
into the wall. As he advanced on her, murder in his features, Kimberly
looked up with her blurred vision and lashed out with a foot, catching
him in the same spot she had earlier. That was too much for him, and he
teleported out.
Struggling to her feet, Kimberly fought to stay conscious. She had hit
her head on the wall hard, and knew she would be passing out soon. She
had to get somewhere safe, so he couldn't come after her again. Staggering
out of her room, she stumbled down the stairs and out the front door, heading
for the only destination her muddled mind could think of.
* * *
"So then the lady tried to pay us with a live chicken!" Skull
grinned. Bulk whooped with laughter.
"What did you do?"
"Well, Detective Stone was polite about it, but he told her we didn't
accept poultry as currency. She said fine, she'd pay us the price of the
chicken if we'd buy it off her, but she didn't have any money right then.
So we wound up accepting the chicken and selling it to somebody else for
the same amount of money."
Bulk shook his head. He and Skull had been swapping stories of their various
vocations for an hour, and they had laughed so hard that they had almost
fallen out of their chairs. Suddenly a knock at the door interrupted them.
Frowning, Skull rose to his feet. "Now who could that be?" he
wondered.
Opening the door, he was shocked to see Kimberly outside, practically falling
into his arms the minute he opened the door. He bit back a gasp at her
face. It was swollen and puffy, and one of her lips was split. Also, she
was sporting a bruise that would turn into one heck of a shiner soon.
"Kim, what happened?" he asked, helping her over to the couch.
"Tyler- my room. Tried to- I fought him-" Her voice faded in
and out, worrying Skull, who couldn't get the whole story. He understood
just enough to frighten him badly. Looking up, he saw Bulk standing in
the kitchen doorway, a thunderstruck expression on his face.
"Don't just stand there, get a cold compress!" Skull barked.
His friend scurried to obey, and Skull turned back to the badly beaten
girl lying on his couch. "Come on, Kim, talk to me. Don't fall asleep.
I don't know much about first aid, but somewhere I heard that sleeping
on a concussion is bad."
"Don't have a concussion," she muttered.
"Yeah, right. I have to get you to the Power Chamber," he muttered.
"The what?" Bulk asked, bringing out the compress. "Why
not the hospital?"
Skull shook his head. "Too vulnerable." _Besides,_ he thought
privately, _she'll heal fast enough that the doctors will become suspicious._
"I don't think it's as bad as it looks. I'm gonna take her to a friend
of mine. You wait here."
"When you get back, will you tell me what's going on?" Bulk asked
seriously.
"When I figure it out, Bulky, you'll be the first to know." Picking
Kimberly up in his arms, he carried her outside, checked for onlookers,
and teleported out.
* * *
"Zordon, I need a table or something!" Skull shouted, appearing
in the Power Chamber.
"Ai yi yi!" Alpha cried, teleporting one out of the storage chamber.
"What happened to Kimberly?"
"I don't know, Alpha," Skull said grimly, laying Kim down on
the table, "but I intend to find out."
After running a scanner across Kimberly's still form, Alpha determined
that she needed only rest, and would wake up soon, thanks to her enhanced
healing. After almost ten minutes, she began to stir. "Mm, where am
I?" she asked groggily, struggling to sit up.
"You're in the Power Chamber," Skull replied, helping her. "You
think you can tell me what happened to you now?"
Kimberly looked at him. His eyes were warm and concerned, and there was
an expression in them that said that he had an idea of what he was going
to hear. "He didn't get the chance," she assured him. "I
kneed him once and kicked him a second time. He got pissed off and knocked
me into a wall. That's all. He didn't really hurt me."
"Well, we have another problem," Skull told her. "Bulk saw
you stagger into my house. He saw your face and how bad off you were. He's
waiting for an explanation, and your face is already healing. What do we
tell him?"
Kimberly bowed her head. "The truth? I can't think of a story that
he'll buy."
Skull sighed, nodding. "Zordon?"
"It is at your discretion, Kimberly, Skull. If you believe that Bulk
can be trusted with your secret, then I have no objections."
"We can trust Bulk," Skull said with conviction. "We've
both grown up. He'll keep the secret."
"Okay," Kim sighed. "Let's go." In two flashes of light,
they teleported out.
As it turned out, they didn't have to tell Bulk much of anything. As the
two of them walked through the front door, the other boy was waiting for
them, sitting calmly on a couch with his arms folded. "Kimberly, you're
looking much better," Bulk nodded. The bruises on her face would take
time to fade completely, but the split lip had almost totally healed.
"Um, yeah. Listen, Bulk, you're probably wondering what happened to
me, right?"
"Just what monster did that to you. The two of you are Power Rangers,
right?" As Skull and Kimberly gaped at their friend, Bulk continued.
"I used to be a detective too, remember. Skull, when we got separated,
Jason and Trini ran out of there like bats out of hell. I figured the three
of you probably took care of that goon in the park. I can't think of any
other reason you wouldn't want to take Kimberly to the hospital, and I've
suspected for a long time that the Power Rangers had the ability to heal
quickly. This just confirms it. Now, seeing as the Zeo Rangers have been
on TV when you've been around me, I'm willing to bet you two are some of
those Morphin Whatevers."
"Warriors," Skull corrected automatically. "Yes, we are."
Quickly he outlined the events of his power infusion and of the struggle
with Tyler Oliver. Bulk was appalled.
"He's an evil version of Tommy? With these Morphin Warrior powers?
Man, that's bad news."
Kimberly snorted. "You're telling me. The creep practically beat the
snot out of me. He's not going to give up, either." She shivered,
thinking of the expression in Tyler's eyes. Skull put an arm around her
shoulders and drew her close.
"I won't let him hurt you, Kimberly. I'll take him apart with my bare
hands first," he promised. He sounded so sincere that both his friends
believed him implicitly.
* * *
A few days later, the entire group was hanging out in the juice bar, watching
the Zeo Rangers battle yet another of Mondo's creations. This one, called
Soapatron, fired bursts of a soapy liquid at the Rangers, making it difficult
for them to keep their footing. As Red Ranger absorbed yet another solid
hit, all seven teens winced.
"Man, Tommy's taking a real beating," Bulk said quietly.
Billy nodded. He was still having a little trouble adjusting to the new
Bulk and Skull, but he tried hard not to show it. "Yeah, he's really
slowing down. I think we're going to have to pull him out."
"You're right, Billy," Jason sighed. "Is it unanimous with
the Morphin Warriors?" The entire group nodded reluctantly. "Then
we'll talk to the others after this battle and see what they say."
Suddenly, his communicator toned. The six Morphin Warriors and Bulk moved
out into the hall, where they answered the page.
"Yes, Zordon?" Jason asked.
"Rita has sent down her latest monster, an animated skeleton known
as Skeletiger."
"Skele-tiger?" Skull swallowed hard. The thought of facing a
perversion of his spirit animal made him decidedly uncomfortable.
"I am afraid so, Skull. Also, a number of Tengas have accompanied
it. You must hurry, before they destroy the warehouse district."
"We're on it," Jason responded. "Bulk, wait for us here,
okay?" Bulk nodded. "It's morphin time!"
"Tigerzord!"
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops!"
"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!" In a flash, the six teenagers disappeared. Bulk
turned to re-enter the juice bar and stopped dead. Ernie was watching them
go with a concerned look on his face.
"You knew?" Bulk asked, astounded.
"Oh, sure. I've known for a long time. Remember Zack's birthday? Well,
while we were setting up, I mentioned the Power Rangers, and Jason told
me that he'd heard they were aliens from space. Jason's hardly the type
to spread rumors like that, or to believe them, so he must have been covering
for someone. Once I realized that, I noticed how often they'd race out
of here without eating what they'd paid for, and I followed them into the
hall one day. I saw them morph. Yeah, I've known ever since- oh, I'd say
since Tommy became Green Ranger. I'm not *that* oblivious to what goes
on in my juice bar." Grinning, Ernie headed back to his work, leaving
Bulk to stare in thunderstruck silence.
* * *
"Look at this place!" Jason exclaimed, surveying the damage that
the Tengas had already inflicted. "Come on, guys, let's stop these
birdbrains from making any more of a mess."
The six Morphin Warriors threw themselves into the fight, knocking Tengas
in every direction. Billy and Skull, working together, were so caught up
in the battle that they didn't notice that they were being herded away
from the group and into an old abandoned warehouse. Suddenly, Skull looked
up from his fight. "Billy, we've got to get out of here! One false
move, and this place will supply Angel Grove with toothpicks for the rest
of the century!"
"Too late, Warriors," Skeletiger growled, appearing at the door.
Skull saw with a sick feeling that the tiger skeleton was composed of bleached
white bones that were themselves striped with black.
"Rita deliberately made a mockery of my spirit animal," he muttered.
"This is personal."
"White Tiger Thunderbolt!" Skeletiger roared. A ball of energy
left its empty ribcage, shattering the main supports for the warehouse.
Skull and Billy heard the floor groaning beneath them. They exchanged a
glance.
"Uh-oh," they groaned in unison. Then the floor dropped out beneath
them and they crashed into darkness, most of the warehouse following them.
* * *
"Billy?" Skull called, swimming slowly to consciousness. "You
alive, man?"
"I don't think dead people have headaches."
"I know they don't wear plaid," Skull smiled back, pulling himself
out from under a few timbers. By incredible chance and his Morphin Warrior
healing abilities, he had survived the fall, mainly because the majority
of the timbers had not hit him. A cursory glance in the gloom of the cellar
showed that Billy had been as lucky.
"Holy shit," Billy whistled, looking up. Skull had to admit that
it was an impressive sight. Timbers were twisted around one another, forming
an impenetrable cap over the cellar where they were. A few holes allowed
light and air in, but were too far above them to offer an escape route.
"I've got some bad news. We can't teleport out. All the timbers are
blocking the signal. The wood kind of interferes.
"This is not good," Skull cried, gingerly sitting on a nearby
timber. Billy sank down next to him. The two sat in silence for a while,
listening to the sounds of battle going on above them. "Billy?"
Skull asked suddenly. "I want to apologize for all the rotten things
I did to you when we were younger. I was a total jerk. I'm really sorry."
Billy waved Skull's apology away with the back of his hand. "Don't
mention it. It's forgotten."
"Is it? I wouldn't forget. I remember being seven years old and being
picked on by everybody. Well, everybody except you. I was skinny, I was
awkward, and I had a funny name. Then I met Bulk. He was actually nice
to me, probably because he understood what I was going through. He was
fat and clumsy, and his name was Farkas, for Pete's sake. We formed a friendship,
and started picking on other people to feel bigger. It was stupid, I know.
I guess my point is that I never have forgotten what people did to me.
I'm finally able to forgive them, and put it behind me, but I haven't forgotten,
and I never will. I find it hard to believe that you've forgotten, either."
Billy regarded the other with astonishment. "I guess you're right.
I have forgiven you and Bulk, I really have. I'm not bitter or anything
anymore. It's just- I'm having a hard time adjusting to the fact that you're
not like that anymore. I keep waiting for the two of you to pull one of
your old tricks, even though I know that you won't."
"I want to tell you something, Billy. The reason I always picked on
you as a kid wasn't just because you were the only person who couldn't
beat me to a pulp. I was also jealous, very jealous of you. I mean, you
were a klutz, you were a bit of a nerd- no offense, and you had no idea
how to relate to people. I was better at that stuff than you were. Still,
you had the friends, Jason and Trini, and as time went on, there was Kim
and Zack, too. I was so jealous. The main reason I picked on you was that
I wanted to be you."
"You did?" Billy could hardly believe his ears. No one had ever
really wanted to be in his shoes before. It was a new experience for the
shy young man.
"Oh, yeah. That's one of the reasons I've been so glad to have you
as a friend. I thought I'd never fit in, but I do. I'm glad we've been
friends, even if it does end like this."
"I'm glad I've been your friend too, Skull." They sat in silence
for a while longer, then Skull got to his feet.
"Billy, you see that one hole? Do you think it's big enough for a
man?"
"I guess so. Why?"
"If we could climb some of these timbers, we could get out."
"Skull, we'd need all sorts of gear to climb these timbers. We can't
do it."
"Oh yes we can. Look, Billy. You guys treat your Morphin Warrior powers
as half-strength Ranger Powers, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, there's more to them than that. When you had your coins, you
tapped the power filtered through two sources, your coin and your spirit
animal. Now you have the power directly, with only the spirit animal to
give it shape. The powers are different! We can become our spirit animal,
at least for a time."
"How do you know all this?" Billy asked warily.
"I'm not sure; I just know. I think it has something to do with a
cross between my psychic powers and the fact that I've never been a full
Ranger. I'm not used to thinking of it that way. Look, you're a telepath
too, right?"
"Right."
"Look into my head. We'll do this together."
Sighing, Billy closed his eyes and reached out a tendril of thought to
Skull's mind. Once there, he read what Skull was trying to get across.
It was hard to describe in words, but in thoughts it was crystal clear.
Reaching down into themselves, the two boys opened doors that had until
that time remained locked. Suddenly a howl burst from Billy's throat, followed
by a tiger's roar from Skull. Their forms were swallowed up in flares of
bright light. Billy glowed blue, while Skull shone white. In the center
of the lights, you could see the black outlines of their bodies. Suddenly
the outline began to change, and when the light cleared, a silver-blue
wolf and a white tiger stood in the basement.
_Pretty cool, huh?_ Skull sent to his friend.
_Most definitely,_ Billy returned. _Come on, let's go._ With their new
agility and claws, the two scrambled up timbers that now made a makeshift
ladder. Reaching the hole in the cap, they surveyed the battlefield. The
Morphin Warriors were pinned down by Tengas, while Skeletiger headed off
towards the city proper.
_Oh no you don't!_ Skull called mentally, forgetting that the monster could
not hear him. He took off towards the retreating monster, Billy close at
his heels. Catching up with it, he launched himself at the skeletal tiger,
catching it a nasty swipe to the side of the face. Soon the two were going
at it tooth and nail, literally.
Billy shook his head. _Skull! Back off, and let's take him together. Strategy,
remember? We're not animals!_
_Right Billy,_ Skull responded, pulling off. _I just got carried away for
a moment._ The two of them began circling their adversary, darting in for
a swipe there, a bite there. Skeletiger was definitely fighting a losing
battle. Suddenly the sound of teleportation drew Skull's attention. Tyler,
in Green Warrior guise, had teleported into the battlefield and was heading
toward Kimberly.
_I don't think so, creep!_ he thought viciously. _Billy, can you finish
things here? I need to go take care of Tyler!_
_Don't worry about me,_ the wolf responded. _I've got things under control
here._
Assured that his friend was taking care of things, Skull took off after
Tyler, moving at a tiger's fastest pace. Tyler, intent on taking Kimberly
by surprise, never saw him coming. 160 pounds of angry tiger slammed directly
into the small of his back, knocking him flat on his face. As Tyler rolled
to face his assailant, Skull morphed back into his White Warrior form,
summoning his saber as he did so. "Get up and fight," he said
coldly. "We've got a score to settle."
Summoning his katana, Tyler leapt to his feet and bowed. "As you wish."
The two of them moved into their attack, and the air was instantly filled
with the sounds of clashing steel.
Meanwhile, Billy was having a few problems of his own. Skeletiger was much
better able to hold its own against one attacker, and Billy had taken a
few nasty blows. In addition, nothing he dished out seemed to faze the
tiger for a minute. _Maybe I should just bury it under about a hundred
different trees,_ he mused wryly.
Suddenly an image flashed into his head. He saw the six Ninja Rangers in
a strange forest. They were clad in multi-colored versions of Tommy's Green
Warrior uniform. Ninjetti, a voice in his mind whispered. _There's
that word again,_ he frowned. _What the hell is a "Ninjetti?"_
In his vision, Tommy was perched on the back of a living skeleton rather
like this one, except that one was a large dinosaur. Reaching out, Tommy
pulled a bone from the creature's neck, causing the entire thing to fall
apart. The vision faded, but it left Billy with an idea.
_Worth a shot,_ he mused. Launching himself up into the air, he wound up
landing on the back of the Skeletiger. Reaching down, he grasped the vertebrae
in his jaws, and pulled. Sure enough, the minute the spine was severed,
all the magical life went out of Skeletiger. The bones collapsed to the
ground and disappeared.
Morphing back into Blue Warrior form, he scanned the battlefield. Skull
seemed to be holding his own against Tyler, so Billy reluctantly threw
himself back into the battle with the Tengas. Slowly but surely, the Morphin
Warriors were turning the tide.
For his part, Skull's battle was turning quickly. He was filled with anger
over what Tyler had tried to do, to Kimberly and to the rest of the team.
He was also angry with the Dark Reflection for existing, for screwing up
his visit with Bulk, and adding one more stress to the pile weighing Tommy
down. He was fighting like a berserker, and Tyler had no defense against
him.
With a powerful strike, Skull knocked Tyler's katana out of his hand. A
swift kick knocked the other boy down onto his back. Looking up at Skull,
Tyler saw the tip of Skull's saber presented at his throat.
"I should skewer you right here," Skull said, his voice shaking
with anger. "There's no good in you, not the way there was in Tommy.
And what you tried to do to Kim-" He cut off, shaking his head. "I
should kill you, but I won't. I'm not like you. Go back to Rita and tell
her she's failed again. Tell her she'll keep failing until she gives up
and goes away." Stepping back, he allowed Tyler to get to his feet.
Retrieving his katana, the other boy bowed. "This is not forgotten,
White Warrior. We will meet again." In a rush of green flame, he teleported
out.
Sending his sword back into its dimensional pocket, Skull sighed. Turning,
he saw Jason and the other Morphin Warriors watching him seriously. "How
long were you guys there?" he asked quietly.
"Long enough," Jason replied, clapping him on the shoulder. "Good
choice, man."
Skull shook his head. "Whatever. Let's go." The six of them teleported
out.
* * *
"I have failed you, my Empress," Tyler admitted, bowing his head.
"Not at all," Rita responded, looking at the Earth. "You
are still alive, and I still have the Mirror of Night. The game is not
over, not by a long shot."
* * *
"I'm really going to miss you, Bulk," Skull sighed. The seven
teens were at the gate for Bulk's plane, waiting for the boarding call.
"Yeah, right. Look at all the friends you've got here," Bulk
grinned. "Seriously, I'm going to miss you too, buddy. We'll keep
in touch, though. I promise."
"We're all going to miss you, Bulk," interjected Jason. "I'm
sorry the other guys couldn't be here to see you off, but they're working.
You know how it is."
"Oh, yeah, Jason, I know," Bulk grinned. "You make sure
Tommy doesn't burn himself out, all right?"
"We'll be taking him off duty after this battle," Jason replied.
"It's gotten too bad for him."
Bulk sighed. "Well, I'm going to miss you all, too. You be careful.
The world needs you." He looked up as the stewardess announced the
boarding call. "Oops, that's me, gotta go." Flashing one last
grin at them, he hurried for the door.
"Skull, you okay?" Kimberly asked, slipping her hand into his.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, Kim, I'm fine. I'm just remembering, that's all. I'm
just so glad to have had so many great friends, and not to have to choose
between them."
"Come on," Jason smiled, "let's go to the park. I feel like
a picnic." The six of them headed out of the airport, Skull turning
back to wave at the loading plane once more before they left.
