Power Rangers are the property of Saban Entertainment and I lay no claim to them. Q is property of Paramount Pictures and Evi Q is a character in Adam Safran’s upcoming story Q-Counterstrike. The last names McKallister and Keller, and the name Okasa are the last names of characters on a shortlived NBC series called ‘The Master’ starring Lee Van Cleef as John Peter McAllister, Sho Kosugi as Okasa, and Timothy Van Patten as Max Keller-another thing I lay no claim to. Jeffrey Kincaid, Lord Stygian, and all other characters relating to them are mine. Should anyone wish to use my characters contact me at foi72@yahoo. com.
Special thanks to Adam Safran and Richard Carta whose ideas and sugestions have provided me with much inspiration to start this story. This story also occurs after Richard Carta’s story Awakening as well as their own respective Q-stories.
Resurrections
by John Chubb
by John Chubb
Somewhere in Angel Grove Police Department there is a file. A file that lists the names of several young people that shared a common bond with each other although that bond wasn’t apparent to everyone who knew them.
The file consisted of names of those who were Power Rangers.
But unfortunately it also consisted of rangers who were murdered by unknown assailants. All one would have to do is scroll down the names and they would see the same thing at the end of every file–assailants unknown.
The names in the file were those of well respected individuals in the community. Tommy Oliver-racing champion-killed by impalement. Jason Lee-Scott-U. S. Army-killed in the line of duty. Zack Taylor-alledged victim of hate crime. Kimberly Hart-gymnastics coach, Katherine Hillard-member of royal academy, Ashley Hammond and Cassie Chan-Astro Rangers-killed by alleged sex criminals. William Cranston-Freelance scientist-killed in alledged lab accident. Trini Kwan-Diplomat-killed in terrorist bombing. Aisha Campbell-Vetrinarian-killed in animal attack. Andros-Red Astro Ranger-mysterious circumstances.
The list went on and on describing deaths of rangers and the mysterious circumstances that occured with them.
Little did anyone know that the file was going to undergo MAJOR changes.
The Power cave became abuzz with activity as Alpha 6 became familiar with all the equipment around him. Then 27 flashes of light appeared in the center of the room.
“Ai, Yi, Yi, Yi Yi. Rangers you’re back!”, Alpha said as he went to hug the Galaxy and Blunder Rangers. All of them Alpha knew.
The Blunder and Galaxy Rangers all gave calls of “Hey Alpha. “, and “It’s great to see you!” while the Lightspeed and Night Rangers watched on. It was this time that Q brought out a bullhorn and shouted through it “May I have your attention please!” causing everyone to turn and face the powerful entity who had apparently filled the role of the ranger’s mentor.
“Thank you. “, Q said. “Now before I begin I think you should all get aquainted.” Q then teleported to where the Blunder Rangers stood. “These here in the even funnier costumes than yours. “, Q said making reference to the Galaxy and Lightspeed Rangers. “Are the Blunder Rangers.”
The Blunder Rangers then took off their helmets introducing themselves. “Farcus Bulkmeyer”, the ranger in the suit with the hamburger said.
“Eugene Skullovitch”, said the Ranger with the drooling dog on his chest.
“Poindexter Blastings”, the Nerd Ranger said introducing himself.
“Greenie Geektastrophe”, said Greenie the Geek Ranger.
“Bretta Powers”, Bretta the Pow Ranger said.
The Galaxy and Lightspeed Rangers nodded taking in the introductions and then turned to Q and said. “What do you mean by weird costumes?”, Damon asked. “What’s wrong with our ranger uniforms?”
Q stood looking all smug and superior. “Well for one thing, you Galaxy Rangers all look like you got your uniforms by raiding Charlie Brown’s closet. And you Lightspeeds look like you should be peppermint candies.”
“Hey wait a minute… “, Carter started to say but the arm of the Blue Night Ranger held him back. Carter looked at the ranger in black leather and blue spandex and asked. “Just who the blazes are you?”
The blue Night Ranger looked at Carter and kept her voice even. “You don’t want to know Carter.”
Carter looked on with confusion. “How do you know who I am?”
The red Night Ranger then stepped forward. “We don’t know you personally but we know of you Carter Grayson-Red Lightspeed Ranger.” He then went on naming the names of all the rangers there: Dana Mitchell-Pink Lightspeed, Ryan Mitchell-Titanium Lightspeed, Joel Rawlings-Sky Cowboy and Green Lightspeed, Kelsey Winslow-Yellow Lightspeed, Chad Lee-Blue Lightspeed, Leo Corbett-Red Galaxy, Kendrix Morgan-Pink Galaxy, Maya-Yellow Galaxy, Kai Chen-Blue Galaxy, and Damon Henderson-Green Galaxy.
Leo then stepped forward. “All right you know who we are. Why can’t we know who you are?”
The Yellow Night Ranger stepped forward. “There are certain people who are not too happy with us so we have to keep our presence a secret. Needless to say, there is good reason considering the evils we’ve had to face.”
Bulk then stepped forward. “Look. You don’t have to tell us your identities if you don’t want to. Skull and I gave that up years ago. Although we would like to call you by first names to make things easier.”
“Besides, if it’s the council you’re worried about, Leo said it before. Those guys are pushing up dasies now. “, Skull added.
The Red Night Ranger looked at his team and they all nodded. With that the red ranger removed his helmet revealing the face of one with very short brown hair and a scar running down half his face. “I’m Jeff Kincaid. “, he said.
“Jessica Stewart. “, the Blue Night Ranger and sister to Justin Stewart said.
“Alison Hammond. “, the twin sister of Ashley and Yellow Night Ranger said. All the rangers were taken in by the resemblence.
“Kenjiro Tanaka. “, the Night Ranger dressed in all black said.
“Kyle Hanorhan. “, the African-american White Night Ranger said.
“Michael Sorrero”, said the Green Night Ranger. “Partay animal extrordiaire.” he later added with a certain flair. The other Night Rangers rolled their eyes.
“Don’t mind Sorrero he has an impulse to be whimsy at times. I’m Kathy Hart. “, the Pink Night Ranger said. Skull looked at her and was reminded immediately of both Kimberly and Katherine.
“Karone.” the Purple Night Ranger said. “And no I have not come back to life. The Karone all of you knew is still dead.” This wiped the gasps many of the watching rangers had.
“Sarah McAllister-Keller. “, The Gold Night Ranger introduced herself as.
“David McAllister-Keller. “, said the Silver Night Ranger.
“Well now that that’s done… “, Q started to say when the Night Rangers suddenly all felt some sort of dizzy spell wave through them. “Are you okay?”, Dana asked looking over Kincaid.
“Yeah fine. “, Kincaid said. “But something’s wrong.”
No!!!No!!!!the souls cried out in two separate containers. Epyon and Vrellos fiddled with the devices to make them more docile, but they were proving too strong to resist.
“We must get this done soon. “, Vrellos said. “Destructor would be most upset if the robots are not ready soon.”
“Well they are ready in a way. “, Epyon retorted. “All the parts have fit together and the souls have been distributed easily.”
“I know. “, Vrellos said. “Except for that one soul. What do you suppose Evil Q wanted with him?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”, a voice from behind said as Destructor appeared behind the two scientists. “How is the special project.”
“Almost ready master. “, Tallorus said. “But the final components are being… difficult.”
“Destructor looked at the objects that held the rangers souls and smiled. “I wouldn’t worry. Someone will be coming to handle that soon enough.”
As Destructor and the scientists discussed their evil project one figure stood off to the side watching them skeptically. It’ll never work, Robert Harper thought.
Give up Evil Q. I don’t even know what you want!, the figure with grayish white skin and razor thin black hair said.
“I want you to relax Tommy just relax. “, Evil Q said as he looked down at the armored figure laying on the biobed. The soul of Tommy Oliver fit in well with the body, especially since he used Tommy’s original body to create the new vessel to house his soul.
But there was still something missing. Something to make the recreation perfect. And that was why the Evil Zanzibar stood with Evil Q.
“He’s all yours. “, Evil Q said as Zanzibar walked up to where the body lay and used his power to see into Tommy’s soul. Zanzibar raised his hands chanting one of the many spells he had in his arsenal. “Ackton Dakor Vlatu bring the darkness fore to view.”
The spell brought up the dark times in the life of Tommy Oliver as he saw the time as the Green Ranger where he was powerless to break a spell that Rita Repulsa put on him that caused him to destroy much of Angel Grove as well as almost destroy the Power Rangers and kill Zordon.
“Jason had to destroy the sword to break the spell. You couldn’t even save your self. “, Zanzibar taunted.
No! I tried to fight her. I tried to!, Tommy said fighting back.
“Tried and failed. “, Zanzibar emphasized. “Just as you failed to keep the woman you loved.”
Zanzibar saw Kimberly, the young woman Tommy loved with all his heart and soul leave him for another and in a letter-not face to face.
“And you couldn’t even save her from Evil Q either. What happened to her? Oh yes. She was killed in one of Finster’s ‘experiments’. “, Zanzibar smiled evilly at the thought of what Finster did in his ‘spare time’ when he wasn’t making monsters. It’s always the quiet ones., he thought.
The torture for Tommy continued as the loss of the Thunder Powers and Ninja Powers appeared to him. All that was dark, all that was sad, swirled in the soul of Tommy Oliver so that darkness was all that he saw while Zanzibar kept the good at bay. Anything resembling the light or goodness was supressed deep within a pocket of Tommy’s soul cut off the greater whole.
No memories of friends at the Youth Center, no happy times with Kimberly or Kat. Not even brotherly bonding with Jason. Anger was nurtured within him. Anger for failures. For giving in to despair so easily. For not being strong enough or good enough to break the spell on his own, or to be smart enough to figure out how to keep the Ninja powers and Thunder Powers.
No!!! I will not give in!!!!, Tommy screamed defiantly. Zanzibar just smiled as Tommy continued to resist. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Zanzibar then closed his eyes and focused his mind on all the evil warriors in Stygian’s lair. He reached out and touched their souls and the evil that they carried. Titanar, Goldar, Epyon, Vrellos, Galvatron and the Destron Alliance, Zedd, Rita, Divatox, Mondo, Malligore, Dark Specter and the rest of the UAE whose names are too numerous to mention here. Zanzibar touched the evil hearts and power of all of them as he drew their evil forth and brought it to bear on Tommy’s soul. As the bombardment came Tommy felt himself drowning in a sea of darkness, sadness, and hate. His very being was lost in the insanity and all that was good was being buried as darkness fused with his soul.
As the evil continued to overflow into Tommy Zanzibar moved in for the kill. You know the smartest thing to do there was to pull out before Master Vile turned back time., Zanzibar said to Tommy. That way you would still have had your powers, you wouldn’t have been reverted back to children and you could have mounted an offensive strike after you regrouped.
If this was pointed out to Tommy in the past he would have said, “But we couldn’t leave Earth defenseless. Powers or no powers.” But now with outside evil infecting him as well as being a part of Evil Q’s creation the response was different.
“You are corect Zanzibar. “, the eerie voice came from the creation. It rose from the biobed all in black armor with a silver EQ(short for Evil Q) on the right side of his chest.
“And it is a mistake I shall not repeat again. For I now serve the Order of Destruction. “
Evil Q smiled looking at the warrior before him. “Welcome to the fold Tommy. “, he said.
“Tommy Oliver is dead. “, the warrior said. “I am now the Wraith Ranger.Letting out a kiyaahh Wraith Ranger got into a fighting stance indicating that he was ready for combat. Zanzibar then turned to Evil Q and said. “Next?”
Evil Q then tok Zanzibar to where Epyon and Vrellos had the remaining ranger souls. The Wraith Ranger followed.
But somewhere within the darkness that was the Wraith Ranger’s soul, a speck of light managed to shine through. A speck that screamed for freedom only to go unheard.
The Night Rangers stood mezmerized by what the Night aura had relayed to them. The rangers of good, that Evil Q had killed, had been brought back from their eternal rest and their souls were being perverted to serve their murderer. All the other rangers were shocked when Kincaid said what Evil Q had done.
“But the geeks were killed. “, Bulk said calling the rangers by the name he and Skull had given them since High School. As time went by he had a lot more respect for the former rangers, but old habits were still hard to break even though the Hamburger Ranger used it as a term of respect now.
Kincaid looked Bulk in the eye and said straight out, “I’ve been dead before. Hasn’t stopped me.”
Looks of confusion were around the room until Jessica and Karone explained the story of how Kincaid was killed. They also told of how the rangers all offered their souls to bring back Kincaid and the higher powers decided to resurrect him to finish the final battle against Lord Crucible.
“Wait. “, Skull said. “If these higher powers brought back your leader couldn’t they arragnge it so the geeks could come back too?”
“Yeah. “, Carter said. “With Eltare and Kerova destroyed and the loss of Terra Venture this whole galaxy is ripe for the pickings by Destructor and the Order. We could use all the help we can get.”
The Blunder, Lightspeed and Galaxy rangers all thought the idea was great, but it was Karone who shot it down. “No we can’t. These rangers were killed, of which I was one. Their souls were taken from their eternal rest forcibly and they must return.”
“But you can do it. “, Leo said eagerly. “Jeffrey can tell the spirits to resurrect them. I mean he has an ‘in’ with the higher powers right?”
Kincaid turned to look at Leo with a look of intense rage mixed with disbelief. He then went over to Leo and gave him a right hook across the face sending the Red Galaxy Ranger sprawling on the floor. As Leo cradled his jaw Kincaid stood over him ready to speak.
“Listen Leo, I’m only going to say this once. There are certain rules that cannot be broken even with the Night Powers! DON’T EVER ASK ME TO DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!”
After calming down Kincaid spoke again keeping his voice even. “The only reason I was allowed back was because the rangers present were willing to give their lives for me. All of them risked themselves for one person which made such an impact that they allowed me to come back without someone having to die in exchange.”
There was stunned silence in the room as Kincaid continued to speak. “The only way one can come back from the dead is if someone else offers themself in exchange. A life for a life.”
“Can’t we all offer ourselves like the other rangers did?”, Kendrix asked.
“No. “, Maya said. “I see it now. The reason you were allowed to come back was because the rangers sincerely cared for one person and offered themselves selflessly. But if we offered ourselves for twenty people then the wrong message would be sent and the ‘life for a life’ rule would apply.”
“So all we can do is free the souls and allow them to go back to their final resting place?”, Kyle asked. Kincaid nodded.
“Well that kind of sucks. “, Michael said. Everyone agreed with his sentiments.
“Maybe but it’s all we can do. “, Kincaid said. “Let’s see if we can get a plan together. “, and with that all the rangers put their heads together discussing what the Night Rangers saw and what to do about it.
“Oh and Leo. Call me Kincaid. “, Leo nodded as he cradled his bruised jaw.
“No! No! Let us go!”, the souls screamed as Zanzibar stood over one of the soul containers doing the voodoo he did so well.
“Esa attande aero tor. Bring their evil to the fore. “, Zanzibar said chanting another of his incantations.
Converting a multitude of souls was a chalenge in itself. It would be easier if all the people listening had even a slight interest in what he’d have to say. But the souls he had with him now were all united in one cause, not to give in to the evil that Zanzibar was infusing them with in the container.
He probed for embers grief, doubt, desires for revenge, pleasure in hurting others, anything to work with. His efforts were not sucessful despite two souls within that had knowledge of evil. One had been able to shake it off while another within had been raised that way with no other choice. Zanzibar tried to focused on those two souls and he saw all the evil deeds they had done. Bringing up the lessons of evil being taught. The pleasure they had taken(real or influenced) when those lessons were used to subjugate or destroy enemies who opposed the rule of darkness. All of it to no avail. We will not let you corrupt us!, the two souls said.
“No problem. “, Zanzibar smiled as he dove into the endless well of evil that he hed tapped into so many times and spread it throughout the containers latching on to whatever dark feelings were within them. If they felt a moment of hate, jealousy or envy Zanzibar made sure his evil built onto it. The souls tried to resist but Zanzibar was persistent in his efforts pulling no punches as he was twisting the memories and emotions of the souls to his specifications.
Then when all was said and done the souls in the container let out a cry of mourning. Mourning for themselves since they were defeated by a true master of evil in a batttle of wills.
Zanzibar turned to Evil Q, Destructor, Vrellos and Epyon who were watching the conversion process. “The female rangers are all yours. “, the founder of the Luciferian Empire had said.
“And what of the male ones?”, Destructor asked. “What shall be done with them?”
Zanzibar cast a look at Vrellos and Epyon who took the container and hooked it up to the soul container holding the male rangers soul. “I don’t have to do anything. “, Zanzibar said with an evil smile. “The ladies will do it for me.”
The evil warlords then turned to look at the two robots that stood in the hangar bay. One silver and the other gold both stood at 15 feet ready for the final components to go into battle.
“My masters. I present to you Cold Soul and Dark Avenger. “, Vrellos announced. “The weapons that will spell the rangers doom.”
“They had better. Considering that the souls driving them will be rangers themselves. “, Destructor said.
“Led by me., the voice of the Wraith Ranger said as he appeared in the doorway. “The Blunder Rangers will feel our power and be crushed by it.
“Ah but what about the Night Rangers Wraith Ranger?”, Zanzibar asked. “What shall be done about them?”
Wraith Ranger looked and smiled. “They shall not prevail. They may dance with the devil but they do not KNOW the devil. “
The souls of the male rangers then echoed Wraith Ranger’s sentiments as they announced that they were ready for battle by way of an angry roar throughout the room. Epyon then took the two containers and loaded them into the robots. The female rangers into the gold robot while the men took the silver robot. Their eyes then glowed white and black respectively as life flowed through the mechanical shells. Both robots stood at attention.
“Excellent. “, Evil Q smiled. “Now go and destroy the rangers.”
“Rangerbots! Prepare for battle., Wraith Ranger ordered and the Wraith Ranger and Rangerbots teleported out of the lab.
All the evil creatures in the lab smiled at what they believed would come, but Zanzibar’s mind was already racing ahead. Perhaps I’d better cover the bases in case Evil Q’s plan fails.
Harper stood off to the corner looking smugly. They’ll fail. They can’t beat Kincaid. Only I can.
“Rangers I’ve just had a brainstorm. “, Q said as a thundercloud appeared over his head. After snapping his fingers the cloud dissapeared and he resumed his speech.
“Wraith Ranger was created with the power of Q, and the souls of the former rangers were stolen by Evil Q so it would stand to reason that Evil Q would have some means of protection for them right?”
“Get to the point man. We ain’t patient people. “, Kyle said.
Q cast a scowl then a wicked smirk. “There is one weapon that can stop the Wraith Ranger and his creation. May I present Baba the Ranger Sword.”
After a heard of trumpets blared the sword appeared in Evil Q’s hand which looked like a gold version of Saba. The Rangers looked on in awe as it floated around and looked like it was going to land in Michael Sorerro’s hand. Q then called the rangers together to discuss Baba a little better.
“Baba was created when a Q was trapped within it. His power was used to augment the sword and is regarded as the only thing that can stop a Q or destroy him. “, Q explained.
Sorerro turned away and looked at the sword while the others listened. Doesn’t look to special., he thought then something happened to take Sorerro by surprise.
The sword started singing “Everybody do the Michigan Rag” before a stunned Green Night Ranger. “Hey guys look at this!”, Sorerro called out.
Just as the rangers turned to see what got Sorerro hot and bothered the sword stopped singing and went back to being a plain old sword.
“What?”, Kyle asked.
“It was singing. I swear it was. “, Sorerro commented.
“A singing sword?”, Kendrix asked grabbing it. “That’s a riot. “, she said as if ready to laugh. Then it went into a number of “Hello my baby Hello my honey. “, and Kendrix screamed as she dropped it.
“Owww. “, Baba said as the hilt his head was on hit the ground. “Can’t a Q have any fun without getting a headache?”
“What is that?”, Dana asked. “And how can it talk like that?”
Baba then raised his head up and gave a ‘Bugs Bunny’ type kiss on her lips. Carter moved the sword away from Dana and looked at it meanacingly. “What do you think you are huh?”
Baba tilted his head to Dana then looked at Carter. “Aren’t you a little young for her?”
“What are you talking about?”, Carter asked when the next second Carter had transformed into a five year old with oversized clothes. “Change me back. Now!”, the toddler ranger screamed.
“You know I’ve heard some people never grow up. “, Baba said with a smirk. The other Lightspeeds looked at what Baba had done to Carter and Dana spoke her outrage. “Change him back. Now!!!”, she demanded.
Baba thought for a moment then said, “Did anyone ever tell you that you two make a cute couple?”
Dana was confused by the question. “Yeah but what does this have to do with Carter?” A flash then answered her question as Dana was transformed into a little girl about Carter’s age. “I’d hate to break up a perfectly good set. “, Baba said.
Kelsey looked at Carter and Dana and stormed over to the sword. “Why you little… “, she said in rage to what was done to her friends.
“Wow what a dog!”, he said and where Kelsey stood was now a golden retriever that barked. When Chad looked at Baba did to Carter, Dana and Kelsey he looked at the sword meanacingly. Baba studied the Blue Ranger and said, “Naw. There’s no humor in it.”
Joel couldn’t resist doing a coochie-coo to Carter and Dana’s chin’s and petted Kelsey. “Aww ain’t they cute?” Chad shot Joel a look of distain, but Joel didn’t pick up on it.
“You like that huh?”, Baba asked. Joel said. “Yeah, it’s kind of funny.”
Ryan shook his head and Chad rolled his eyes at what Joel was saying. I swear he’s one big baby, the Blue Ranger thought.
“You know you’re right. “, Baba said as with a single thought teenage Joel was turned into baby Joel and whined non-stop. Chad looked on shocked then chuckled a little as Joel got ‘his’.
“Okay let’s have some order around here. “, Kai said. Baba looked on and saw the Blue Galaxy Ranger. “Oh the pilot of the blue Ape Galactabeast. Does this make you the Ape Child?” Kai nodded no.
“It does now. “, Baba said as Kai was turned into a monkey with a blue GSA uniform. Maya steamed forward and grabbed Baba. Her face contorted into a mask of rage.
“Wow a cave girl. “, Baba said. “You sure don’t look savage.” A flash transformed Maya into a babboon who jumped around looking for a rope to swing. “But you do now.”
The other rangers were getting steamed at Baba’s antics. “Okay fun’s over. “, Karone said as she took action and called forth an intense cold storm that formed around Baba encasing him in a block of ice but leaving the hilt exposed. “B… b. . b. . boy i. . i. . i. . t sh. sh. . sure got cold all of… a… s. . s. . sudden.”
“That’s my primal force. “, Karone said. “Cold.” She then picked up the sword and a surge of power chilled Baba to the center of his being as his soul felt colder and colder as the mischievousness within was blanketed over as the cold wave came through.
Karone let go of Baba and tossed the sword to Ken then picked him up and shattered the ice around it by hitting it onto the floor. “Now change them back. And if you try any of those stunts on me or any of my friends again–well. Let’s just say Night Rangers can be very inventive when it comes to payback.”
“I’d do it Baba if I were you. “, Q said. “Night Rangers aren’t known for humor.”
“All right. All right. “, Baba said not wanting another sample of Night power so he transformed Carter, Dana and Joel back to their actual ages. And Kai and Maya were restored to human forms. But while Carter and Dana were back in their Lightspeed uniforms Joel was in an overgrown diaper and bib. Chuckles came from the other rangers.
“Come on this is embarassing. “, the Sky Cowboy pouted shaking the rattle he held in his hand. “Jees. Try to get people to laugh a little and they want to hang you.” Baba said as he transformed Joel’s clothes to his uniform.
“All of them. “, Karone said pointing to Kelsey the dog who was scratching herself for fleas. A blue light came from Karone’s hand saying ‘I have another cold blast and I’m not afraid to use it. ‘ Baba then shook his head and changed Kelsey back to human form as she was still scratching herself as was evident with the leg being behind her ear and on her hands. The other rangers couldn’t help but to stifle a chuckle but Kincaid kept his statement neutral as he turned towards Baba and said his peace.
“Look, We don’t care for your pranks and I don’t have time for a lecture so I’ll make this quick. One of your own named Evil Q…”
“EVIL Q?!!!”, Baba said in shock. “I thought he was taken care of.”
“No. “, Q nodded sadly. “He’s back and is adding to the list of his crimes. He’s resurected the former rangers he had killed.”
If Baba had hands he would certainly have punched them into a wall. “No Q has ever tampered with the souls of the dead. He had no right to do what he did.”
“He’s using the souls to create robots for battle. They also have a third ranger. “, Alison said.
“Who?”, Baba asked curious. An interruption from Alpha indicated that he would get their answer.
“Ai, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi. Rangers look. “, Alpha said as he motioned for the rangers to look at the viewing screen. There were two robots and one black armored figure that no one could make out due to smoke.
“Kincaid, it’s them. “, Kathy said. “The souls of the murdered rangers. Nods from all the Night Rangers confirmed what Kathy had said.
“Who’s that?”, Damon asked pointing to the black armored figure reigning destruction upon downtown Angel Grove. The figure soon came into view as the face of the Wraith Ranger came into view.
“Well. “, Baba said looking at the image of the Wraith Ranger Tommy Oliver. “If it isn’t my old friend Tommy. This ought to be fun. “
The Wraith Ranger led the charge across Angel Grove as he used his fighting skills to take out the police who were deployed to stop the onslaught. Dark Avenger and Cold Soul were using their collected knowledge and power to destroy everything around them.
Cold Soul drew out his blade and slashed it across a telephone pole like an angry savage causing the lines to fall to the ground and sparks to erupt from the damaged lines. A mother and her two children were kept at bay as the lines sparked around them like snakes ready to strike. The mother holding her children as all were paralyzed with fear. But Cold Soul was too far lost in rage and anger to notice.
“Mommy?”, the mother’s daughter asked. Why are the robots hurting us?” The mother tried to grab her courage together telling her daughter that she didn’t know. Officers rushed to her aid as they moved the lines out of the way with a rod. When the mother and her children were out of the way a sonic scream drove the officers to their knees knocking them out as the sound became unbearable.
The scream from Dark Avenger was deafening but in it was a wail of pain as well, a pain that comes from despair and doom. But none of the officers noticed this as they were knocked down by the deafening sound.
Wraith Ranger finished the job by striking the remaining officers down causing them to fall back and call for more help. Wraith Ranger then looked at the retreating officers and laughed. “Ha ha ha! Nobody messes with us. Okay, Who’s next?”
The sound of ten Harleys, jet jammers, a humvee and a clown car coming down the road answered the Wraith Ranger’s question.
“Our creations are about to meet the rangers. “, Vrellos said making reference between him and Epyon. “Now we shall see the end of the rangers.”
“We had better Vrellos. “, Evil Q said. “We had better.”
Harper stood in the doorway watching the battle that would take place. It’ll fail., he thought.
The rangerbots and the Wraith Ranger pulled out and ran down the street. The Lightspeed got out to to take care of the cops and civilians left injured. “You guys go. We’ll handle the rescues here.”
Leo, Kincaid and Bulk noded as the ranger teams went on in pursuit of their targets. “Yo Kincaid!”, Kyle said from his Harley. “It’s mid afternoon and sunset isn’t for another three hours. You know we can’t call on the full Night Powers.”
“I know Kyle. “, Kincaid said. “We still have our primal forces as well as the bikes. That should be enough.”
“What if it’s not?”, Ken asked.
“Then we’ll make it up as we go. “, Kincaid then ordered his team to transform their motorcycles into armor that covered the Night Rangers bodies. They soon started flying at low level height above the street.
Sorrero looked over at Kyle. “Wow Kyle! This seems like a cool gig. Being a Night Ranger and all.”
Kyle sighed and said that he wasn’t sure about it. Sorerro did a double take and asked what was wrong with it.
After pausing Kyle spoke to his friend. “You know I like being a hero and all. “, Sorrero nodded as Kyle continued to speak. “I guess in a way I always wanted to be one-minus the times in juvi. But we hardly know this Kincaid guy, and I don’t think he knows much about us either, only from what this ‘Book of Zordon’ told him. And we really don’t know much about anyone else here either. It’s scary how much we all don’t know each other.”
Michael nodded then turned as he had an idea. “You know what we need? A party.” Kyle seemed to like the idea but decided now wasn’t the good time for it.
“Maybe later Michael. “, Kyle said. Right now we have a job to do.” Kyle then called Kincaid and asked, “Any ideas yet fearless leader?”
“One. We go No-Holds-Barred on them. “, the rangers looked on speechless at Kincaid’s response. Maya raised a voice saying, “But these are former rangers. They helped save the universe countless times.”
“Right now they’re enemies. “, Kincaid said bluntly. “They’ll attack us any way possible, and we can’t let the reverence we feel towards them stand in the way of the job we have to do.”
“But what if we can snap them out of it?”, Jessica asked.
“Hey, what about me?”, a flash of light said as it solidified into the form of Baba. “I can help.”
“Really?”, Leo asked skeptically. “What will you do. Slip a bananna peel under the Wraith Ranger and his friends?”
Baba paused as if thinking about that then shook his head. “No, but I do know something about Tommy that you might find interesting.”
“Really?”, Kincaid asked skeptically. “What?”
The rangers could make out a small smile on Baba’s lips. “Have I got a story for you.”
The Wraith Ranger stood with the two rangerbots at his side. He saw the Blunder, Galaxy and Night Rangers coming at him then stop as they kept a distance like wild west gunfighters.
“So, you are the Power Rangers that will try to stop us. “, Wraith Ranger boasted. “And how pray tell will you do that?”
The rangers then turned and went into a huddle. “All right. Who’ll face the Wraith Ranger?” Bulk asked.
“I’ll do it. “, Kyle said. “I may have the best chance of bringing him out of whatever Evil Q did to him.
Bulk turned to Kincaid and he nodded. “All right Kyle. Wraith Ranger is all yours. “, Bulk said hoping they both knew what they were doing.
“Gee I feel so privileged. “, Kyle said sarcastically. After a few pats on the back from his teamates Kyle went to face the Wraith Ranger. “So, you’re Tommy Oliver huh? You give new definition to the term ‘being a white boy’. “, Kyle said.
“Tommy’s dead. Only the Wraith Ranger lives now. “, Wraith Ranger boasted. He seemed ready to fight when he suddenly felt his underwear go over his head.
“ATOMIC WEDGIE!!!!”, Baba said laughing as he stuck his blade through the Wraith Ranger’s shorts and pulled them over his head. Baba then flew into Kyle’s hand as Wraith Ranger stumbled around trying to get his underwear off the top of his head.
Finally Wraith Ranger ripped the garments off and his face was contorted in an image of rage. “I guess he never forgave me for those wedgies I gave him as the Green Ranger huh?”
“Or as the White Ranger, or red Zeo, or as red Turbo I’ll bet. “, Kyle said as Wraith Ranger charged at Kyle and Baba like a raging bull. But Baba took to the sky with Kyle holding on for dear life. Wraith Ranger however wasn’t so lucky as he slammed his head into a postage box spewing letters all over the place and wrecking the box itself.
Wraith Ranger looked up at Kyle and Baba as they stood on top of a building. “You know you really should wear a helmet. It’s the law in California. “, Baba said laughingly. Kyle surprisingly found himself going along with Baba’s jokes.
Wraith Ranger however was screaming in anger over his humiliation and took off after Kyle and Baba like a shot.
“Boys against boys, and girls against girls?”, Jessica asked looking down at the rangerbots.
“You got it. “, Kincaid said. “All out gender gangbang. Break!”, and the boy rangers went to take on Cold Soul while the girls had Dark Avenger. Bulk looked at the male robot that contained the souls of the former male rangers. “Okay, there’s only one of him and eleven of us. “, Greenie said. “How much trouble can that be?”
The answer came in Cold Soul drawing out his swords and attacking the rangers in a berserker rage tearing through all the male rangers from Night to Blunder to Galaxy. Kincaid managed to duck away as Cold Soul made his berserker swipe, and called up his primal force as he made ready to torch the souls of the male rangers. This should snap them out of it. , he thought.
Kincaid brought his hand up and made contact with Cold Soul as he sent his Soul fires into the Rangerbot. The fires filled every circuit of the metal robot that would have burned all the darkness in the collected souls that had been brought up by Zanzibar and probably reverted back to their good natures.
Unfortunately the fires didn’t work as no howl eminated from Cold Soul. Only his fist which sent Kincaid flying back towards a wall with his motor armor absorbing the impact.
He didn’t even have time to gather up his wits as the rangerbot bore down on him.
“HA!!HA!!!SUCCESS!!!”, Epyon screamed as he saw the soul fires have no effect on Dark Avenger. “The circuit blockers worked perfectly.”
“Augmented by the power of Q. “, Evil Q said. “My power makes your technology unbeatable.”
“Yes Evil Q. Thank you. “, Vrellos said. Harper however stood off to the corner still skeptical, and with good reason.
For while Evil Q would not allow his minions to see it, since his powers were used to protect the Rangerbots from Kincaid’s soul fires, they did however effect him as an ember within started to bring some of his sins to recollection as it burned within him.
“Kincaid!!”, Karone shouted as she was locked in combat with Dark Avenger. The female Rangerbot knocked Karone out of it’s path sending her tumbling down to the ground. The other female rangers were also knocked out of the fight by the scream of despair eminating from Dark Avenger. Taking a megaleap Dark Avenger jumped up to where Karone lay, but Karone was quick to roll out of the way. Quickly getting to her feet she brought up her right hand with her cold primal force ready to go.
“Dark Avenger. COOL OFF!!!”, she howled as her hand made contact with the robot. The cold power feeding into it’s circuits as Karone hoped it would chill into the rangers souls and help them come out of whatever spell they were in.
But no howl came and the female Rangerbot swatted Karone away like a fly like Kincaid was swatted. “How can this be happening?”, she asked.
“How can this be happening Princess?”, Vrellos asked mocking Karone’s question. “Anything is possible with the power of Q.”
Evil Q smiled with pride over what the creations were doing. But he would not let on as to what cost he was paying for their invulnerability to the Night Ranger Primal Froces. For while the henchmen cheered, Evil Q was struggling to make sure he kept his composure.
I can’t let them see how the primal forces are affecting me, Evil Q thought. I will show no weakness.
The Wraith Ranger was hot on the scent. Hatred filling his veins. It didn’t matter if he was Tommy Oliver or not. He would destroy the Baba sword.
The humiliation I suffered at Baba’s hands. All those wedgies he had given me. NO ONE GIVES ME WEDGIES!!!NO ONE!!!, was all Wraith Ranger was thinking. No reason, no strategy, just destroy the sword.
Wraith Ranger then stopped in the middle of an intersection wondering which way to go. “Where are you Baba? Show yourself so I can destroy you!!!”
If Wraith Ranger was thinking clearly then he would have noticed the pair of Hanes underwear outside his armor that magically appeared. But he didn’t as he was the recipient of another wedgie from Baba. Wraith Ranger ripped those underpants off and looked around seething for where the sword was now.
“Looking for this?”, Kyle Hanorhan said holding out the sword. Wraith Ranger’s face took on a contorted look of glee as he saw the thing he hated most in the hands of his next target.
“Yes. “, Wraith Ranger said evilly. “And I will destroy you to do it as well. “
Kyle looked on unimpressed. “Bring it on white boy. Bring it on!!!”
Baba then asked Kyle if he knew how to fight with a sword. Kyle said, “No, do you?”
Baba’s thought as Wraith Ranger’s sword came down was Uh-oh!
Vrellos and Epyon looked on at the ranger battle as they were having too much fun as their creations had the rangers on the ropes. “Let’s up the stakes a little. “, Epyon recommended.
Both the male and female rangers were getting back to their feet and regrouped as Cold Soul and Dark Avenger stood ready for further battle.
“Man I wonder how Kyle is doing with the Wraith Ranger. “, Ken said.
“I think we have problems of our own. “, Sarah answered. “Look.”
Liquid started to pour from the chest plates of the rangerbots. When it hit the floor it started to take shape. They formed something resembling humanoid form but the metal color was evident in them. When they solidified, all the rangers were in shock.
The liquid metal formed robot versions of the original rangers. The Dino, Zeo, Astro and Turbo all stood before their opponents in morphed metal uniforms. Their opponents realized that the odds had changed.
“This just isn’t our day. “, David said mixing truth with humor.
Q looked on from the Power Cave monitor along with Alpha. “Ai, Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi. The rangers are in trouble. “, the robot said.
“I know you walking Christmas tree light. What I can’t figure out is how. “, Q said distressed as to what was happening and was using his vast knowledge to figure out what went wrong.
The only life forms that could stand against those flames are souless ones. But those robots have souls, I know that’s true. A device couldn’t work as protection either.
Q paused for a moment as the answer hit him. “Unless it was augmented by the power of Q. Which means it would have an effect of some kind.” Q quickly teleported to the battle where the Blunder, Galaxy, and Night Rangers made ready to fight the rangerbots and animated rangers.
“Kincaid. The power that’s making them immune to your flams is Evil Q. But even though the rangers are immune for now, the flames are feeding towards Evil Q. So while you’re not affecting the rangers you are effecting Evil Q.”
Kincaid considered Q’s words. “Got any ideas?”
Q smiled. “I have at least one.”
Wraith Ranger quickly was gaining the upper hand over Kyle in terms of sword fighting. Kyle fought hard and bravely but when one who had the swordfighting experience of Tommy Oliver, who was a master swordsman, one had to be outmatched.
Wait a minute.Kyle thought. He’s been doing his best to pass himself off as another person instead of who he was. Perhaps that’s who I need to reach.
“You know, for someone who thinks he’s someone else, you sure fight like someone else. “, Kyle said. Wraith Ranger was confused by the remark. “What do you mean by that?”, he asked Kyle.
“I’m saying for someone who is a brand new man, you sure have a lot of Tommy’s reactions. “, Kyle said.
“I assure you I am not Tommy Oliver anymore. I am the Wraith Ranger. I bear no guilt for anything I have done. I do not show any remorse or pity for anything I do. “
“But you do have feelings towards Baba here. “, Kyle said. “Tommy’s feelings. Up until now the Wraith Ranger didn’t care about Baba, or shouldn’t have since Wraith Ranger is a ‘whole new person’. So what’s your beef?”
“I AM NOT TOMMY OLIVER!!!”, Wraith Ranger screamed and he went on a more aggressivwe offensive than his last one. Kyle went back on the defensive but he saw his plan working. “Come on Tommy, keep coming.”
“TOMMY’S DEAD!!!”Wraith Ranger screamed in a fit of rage as he made ready to deliver a killing blow to Kyle… only to stop in midair.
NO!,a voice spoke in the Wraith Ranger’s mind. He tried to drop the blade down again but couldn’t since the voice said NO!, again.
“No, I will not be stopped!”, Wraith Ranger said. “I will not be stopped!!” Kyle saw Wraith Ranger backing away realizing that his gambit was finally paying off.
Wraith Ranger however had other things in mind as he made ready for a final strike. He then jumped into the air ready to drive a sword through Kyle’s armor and heart. But at the last second a flash of light eminated from Kyle and spread out enveloping the Wraith Ranger. As it passed through him he started to change. The sword dissapeared, and the armor changed from all black to a white t-shirt with jeans. The pale white skin took on a more pinkish hue and the eyes faded from red to brown.
Kyle rolled out of the way as the sword strike from the Wraith Ranger turned into a fall from the ground as Tommy Oliver hit the ground face first. Breath filling his lungs as the former green, white, Red Zeo, and Red Turbo ranger was alive again.
It’s a good thing light is my primal force., Kyle thought as he made his way to help Tommy up. Kyle extended his hand which Tommy took and he stood up realizing that he now had a new lease on life.
Taking Kyle’s hand he shook it and said, “Thank You.”
“Anytime. “, Kyle said and he turned to check on how the other rangers were doing. Tommy followed along to see if anything could be done.
The Rangerbots stood waiting for their opponents to come and attack
“All right gang. Pick your targets. “, Kincaid ordered. Then the rangers all went into battle against the many rangerbots while Kincaid and Karone held back.
Skull, Sorrero, and Maya went behind a corner with the Jason, Zack, and Kimberly robots following. When the three robots went behind the same corner they saw Skull playing a piano with Maya standing next to it watching Skull play.
“Ah, the maestro awaits you. “, Sorrero said as he led the Jason, Zack and Kimberly bots to the piano. Skull turned to look at the incoming robots. “That’s my brother George. “, he said in his best Liberace voice.
“Come over here George. “, Skull motioned for Jason to come and the other two followed. “Take these candelabras to mother.” And Maya and Sorrero handed three candelabras with lit sticks of dynamite on them to the three bots. As they walked away with the candelabras they realized too late that they were carrying explosives as the candellabra’s exploded and the bots fell back.
Maya looked at Skull coyly by the piano coyly and said “Play it again Sam. “, and Skull played another classical piece. Sorrero smiled and said in his own Liberace voice and smile “I wish my brother George was here.”
Bulk, Jessica, Alison and David were faced with Ashley, Andros, Justin, and Zhane bots. They came on the attack and Bulk took out a magic hole where the other rangers could slip through. When Androsbot and Zhanebot tried to follow they couldn’t go through the hole and would have broken their jaws if they weren’t made of metal.
Ashleybot however saw a hole emerge close by and went over to it. As David came up the hole Ashleybot slammed her fist into his head ringing his bell. “I knew we should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque. “, Bulk said and worried when the Astro Rangerbots came.
Alison however called on her Primal force and Lightning streaked down from the sky striking the robots causing their circuits to overheat. “Sorry sis. “, Alison said as she looked down at the smoking remains of the rangerbots.
As for the rest of the bots, well they all received packages from Tim E. Bomb, and as Paul Harvey would say, “That my friends is the rest of the story.”
“You sure this will work?”, Karone asked Q as the rangers fought.
“I have augmented your primal forces with as much of the power of Q as the continuem will allow. “, Q said from behind the building. “The rest is up to you.”
Kincaid nodded then he and Karone then jumped up high into the air doing a ranger sommersault over the combatants till they landed in front of the main robots. Their primal forces ready for bear.
“Okay now we have to put everything we have into this or it won’t work. “, Kincaid said. Karone nodded and the two Night Rangers touched the robots sending in waves of heat and cold into them hoping to jar some souls.
“Ha! Ha! Won’t they ever learn?”, Vrellos gloated as he saw Kincaid and Karone try their primal forces again. “Nothing can stop our creations.”
“With the power of Q anything is possible!”, Epyon boasted. “Isn’t that right Evil Q?” As Epyon turned his head, and Vrellos followed suit they saw with shockthat the primal forces of Karone and Kincaid were having an effect after all as they saw Evil Q struggling to retain control.
The combined forces of intense heat and cold was more than Evil Q could bear as he felt his knees buckle and collapse as gravity dragged his body down to the floor. “I am Q. They can’t harm me!”, Evil Q said but the power was taking its toll.
“They… cannot… harm…. me…. “, Evil Q’s resolve was quickly breaking down as tears of pain crossed his features, and his connection to the rangerbots was weakining. Then when it got too much for him Evil Q screamed a scream of pain so loud that it reverberated throughout the cosmos. All the way to the continuem itself where the Q present heard the scream of agony and bowed their heads in sorrow for one of their own who was finally suffering for his petty wants.
“Uh oh. We’ve got trouble. “, Epyon said. Vrellos turned to look at the problem.
“We’re getting ready to lose the blocker chip. “, Vrellos said. “They’ll be feeling the effects of the primal forces soon enough.”
Sure enough, the primal forces were working their way to the blocker chips as the power began to overload them. In Cold Soul the fires burned like an inferno until the chip burst into flames as well as the servos smoking. In Dark Avenger the intense cold was causing the chip to become brittle and crack as well as the rest of the robot. As Kincaid’s and Karone’s primal forces reached the souls of the deceased rangers the screams of pain as the evil within them either froze or burned filled the air.
The souls themselves went back to the master container within the soulbots. Those same containers fell out of the inert hulks of the Rangerbots and Karone could hear the wails of despair and sadness from the souls. Her namesake’s, along with her brother’s and boyfriend’s namesakes, among them.
Please help us., the souls said in unison. and Karone went over to the containers trying to comfort them.
“May the power forgive me for what I’ve done. “, Karone said. Kincaid stood behind her looking at the containers wishing that he had another choice. Then the idea hit him as he asked where Kyle was.
“Right here. “, the White Night Ranger said by his side was a face that no one expected to see again–Tommy Oliver. “T-T–T–T—Tommy?”, Bulk and Skull stammered in unison.
“Yeah guys it’s me. “, Tommy said. “You can thank Kyle for that. He used his primal force to return me back to life and my normal form.
“Hey what about me?”, Baba said from the inside of Tommy’s shirt. Tommy looked in and said, “I’ll get back to you on that. I still haven’t forgotten all the wedgies you have given me, and I aim to pay you back for that.”
Baba just gave a humph as if scowling. “No sense of humor that’s your trouble.
“Kyle, can you pull it off with your primal force?”, Kincaid asked.
“No problem Kincaid. “, Kyle said as he energized his hand which activated his own primal force–light. He then touched his hand on the container that held the souls that drove Cold Soul and the other which held Dark Avenger. Inside the containers the rangers felt the light withing bathe their verry essences as joyous memories came to the surface. Of dates, loves, good times, and happiness of all levels rose again. Feelings that would make evil cringe in fear, which was one reason why the White Night Ranger was always feared the most by evil.
Soon the touch was finished and waves of joy filled the containers. “It is done. They are fine. “, Kyle said as rangers jumped for joy over the news. Just in time for the Lightspeeds to show up.
“Hey guys, did we miss anything?”, Joel asked. All the rangers rolled their heads back and laughed at his remark. Even those rangers on his own team.
Evil Q sat catatonic as the bombardment of heat and cold filled his being. He would recover but it would still be a while. Epyon and Vrellos tended to him as Destructor stood and watched.
All Powerful he says. He sure wasn’t all powerful now., Destructor mentallly gloated. And in the doorway Harper stood looking at the action taking place before them.
I knew it wasn’t going to work., he thought smugly.
Back at the Power Cave Dana was going over the newly resurrected Tommy Oliver with a medical scanner as he lay on the biobed. “Well. I can’t find any presence of Evil Q’s handiwork within you. You are 100% human again and you have a clean bill of health.”
“Thanks. “, Tommy said appreciatingly. “I guess I should thank that guy Kyle as well. If it wasn’t for his purifying light I’d still be the Wraith Ranger.” Tommy paused for a second then looked at Dana. “I guess I should be thanking all of you rangers for trying to help my friends and me.”
“Well don’t be so sure about your friends. “, Dana said. Tommy looked on confused. “While we still have their souls Kincaid hasn’t decided to help resurect them yet, In fact he’s thinking about releasing them so they can head back to the afterlife.”
Tommy looked on stunned. He gets to come back while the other rangers don’t? “Where can I find him?”
Dana took Tommy’s arm. “Come on I’ll take you there.”
As Tommy left with Dana a flash of light revealed a sword as Baba hung from the air. “I’ll see ya soon pal. “, was all he said before he teleported out.
Kincaid looked at the two container before him containing the souls of former rangers. Rangers he himself had known, or at the very least, versions of rangers he had known. Rangers that were murdered by evil forces cruely and unjustly as some rangers had said. But Kincaid didn’t care. Our time comes when it comes., he thought. I don’t like it but that’s how it is.
He heard their voices. Voices that were wondering what their fate would be. Are we back? Are we still dead? What are we?. Kincaid was so entranced by the voices that he didn’t notice Jessica and Karone coming in behind him.
“Kincaid. Got a minute?”, Jessica asked.
Kincaid didn’t turn to face the two young women. “You know where I stand. My decision is final.”
“But this world needs them. “, Karone said. “All the worlds will if Evil Q and Destructor have their way. We need help and if we can bring these rangers back we can have plenty of it.”
“It’s not that easy and you know it. “, Kincaid said remembering his own resurrection.
“You’re right Kincaid. I do know it. “, Jessica said in a confrontational manner. “I was there when you died fighting Lord Crucible. We all gave ourselves to bring you back from the dead.”
“Only because you all spoke in one voice to the higher powers. If you hadn’t Mackenzie would have offered herself to save me. “, Kincaid said. “A life for a life.”
“Jessica knows the drill Kincaid and so do I. “, Karone said. “But maybe in this case it doesn’t have to be.”
“What do you mean?”, Kincaid asked.
“All those rangers there were willing to give their lives so they could have you back. Can you not do the same for their counterparts?”, Karone asked.
Kincaid stood speechless contemplating what Karone had said when Tommy came barging in with Dana. “What are you going to do to my friends?”, he asked.
Kincaid turned towadrs the souls staring at them then spoke. “All right. We’ll try at least once to bring them back.” Jessica, Dana, and Karone all jumped for joy while Tommy smiled.
“Not so fast guys there are a few things we need to do. “, Kincaid continued to speak. “After that we set corse for Hades.”
“Why there?”, Tommy asked.
“Because that’s the place where the connection with the higher powers is strongest. “, Kincaid said. “On the planet of the dead.”
Flashes of Q teleportation appeared across the bleak landscape of Hades as Q, Tommy, the Galaxy, Lightspeed, Night and Blunder Rangers all appeared on one of the many plateaus.
“All right people. “, Q said. I teleported their bodies from their graves. And I will say that I do not want to do that again. The prospect of grave robbing, even for a Q, is abhorrant to say the least.”
“Don’t worry Q. “, Carter said. “We’re not taking anything from them. If all goes well, we’ll be giving something back.”
Kincaid then scanned the area as he opened his senses to the spirits that dwelled on the planet. Picking up the highest concentration of them he made way to the spot with the other rangers in tow. Just before he reached the spot however, he held a hand back stopping the other rangers in their tracks.
“The next step I must take alone. “, Kincaid said. “Bring the bodies and containers to the top of the plateau then stand away.”
All the rangers, Tommy, and Q obeyed as they carried the bodies to the top where Kincaid stood alone. The rangers and Q went back to the bottom watching with interest as to what would happen next. Q especially, since supernatural power was always a curiosity of his and there were few people in the universes who could tap into that. No other Q dared to look into it due to fear of what they might find.
Kincaid raised his arms into the sky beginning the incantation to call forth the spirits of Hades. “Spirits of the night. Heed my call. Appeal to the needs of one and all.”
The air swirled around as ghostly manifestations appeared around him. Why do you summon us?, one spirit asked.
Kincaid kept his voice even. “A grave injustice was done. The young people I have here were taken from this world and their souls were used for great evil.”
Have you come to return them to us?another spirit asked.
“No. “, Kincaid said. “Instead I have come to ask…. for their ressurection.”
That is not possible!, the spirits cried out. You know the rules to that!
“I do, but these might be special circumstances. “, Kincaid started to explain how their namesakes helped offer their souls in order to bring his back from the dead, and to save the soul of Mackenzie Dekalb from offering her soul in exchange for his. Thus saving both of them.
“I owe those rangers a debt. I believe in this regard I can repay it. “, Kincaid said. Karone then stepped forward to say her peace.
“I was one of those rangers that offered her soul in exchange for Kincaid’s. I know these souls would do the same.” The spirits contemplated all that was said, then they gave their single answer.
NO!!!
The rangers looking on below were shocked by the answer said. Tommy and Jessica ran up the plateau and Jessica asked “Why?”
These are not the same rangers that saved him. They are only namesakes. He has no debt of honor to them.
“But the universe is a stake. Don’t you care about that?”, Tommy protested. “Or are you anxious to have billions upon billions of lives join you in some supernatural free for all?”
The spirits started to get annoyed with Tommy. The rule is simple. If one is to come back then another goes in exchange. And we know that Evil Q had stolen you from the realm. By all rights and intents you should return.
“I know. “, Tommy said. “But something inside me says that my time isn’t here yet, and neither is that of the other rangers. There is still much for us to do.”
The spirits swirled around in contemplation again. Q tried to listen in to what they were saying but for some reason he couldn’t hear them. How can they block me?, he asked himself.
Soon the spirits stopped their mediations and addressed Kincaid, Jessica, Karone and Tommy. We shall allow it. The rangers jumped for joy at the spirits decree, but Kincaid stood wondering what the catch would be.
There is a sacrifice to be made however., the spirits said. We will ask for Jeffrey Kincaid to join us.
“But he isn’t of this universe. “, Bulk said coming forward with the Blunder Rangers in tow. “Why do you want him?”
We have our reasons. Now Jeffrey Kincaid, are you ready to join us?
Kincaid stood ready to go but then a thought crossed his mind. His fiancee’ Mackenzie standing holding her stomach indicating that she was pregnant with Kincaid’s child. The family that he had always wanted within his reach, and if he sacrificed himself would never get to have.
“I’d like to go but what about my family?”, Kincaid asked.
The spirits were silent before they spoke again. They will endure without you.
“Will they? How?”, Kincaid asked.
We shall show you.the spirits said as the clouds swirled and they showed Mackenzie down on the floor bleeding. A figure standing over her with their boot standing hard on her back. A screaming infant echoing in pain and sadness as its mother lay dying. The image swirled to reveal the face of Imperator Harper smiling at the broken body of the White Astro laying beneath his foot and holding his self-appointed heir high above.
The image then changed to the Astro Rangers and others attacking Harper and his guards trying to get to the baby. They won but the child was corrupted by evil and soon grew up to be a terrible force of evil itself. Spreading fear and terror throughout known space.
The image faded and the rangers looked on outraged. “You can’t do that!!”, Leo shouted. “You can’t take Kincaid just so that future can exist!”
The spirits looked on in bewilderment. What would you have us do?, they asked.
Leo then stood making his statement as stern as Kincaid’s and voice just as even. “If you want a soul. Take mine!”
The rangers looked on in shock as the spirits contemplated again. Acceptable!, they said.
“No!!”, Kendrix said running up the plateau. “I can’t let you do this Leo. I love you.”
Leo nodded solumnly. “I love you too Kendrix. But these spirits demand a sacrifice of some kind. I have to be it.”
“No Leo. “, Kendrix said. “We will.” Leo looked on stunned as Kendrix explained. “If you go it will be like a living death for me without you. If we go together then at least I’ll be with you.”
Leo was about to agree when Maya made her way up the plateau. “No Kendrix, I don’t want you and Leo to go. I love you guys too much.”
Kendrix took Maya in her arms and held her in a farewell hug. “Maya, we have to do this. Not only for the universe but for a family as well.”
“Then I guess I have to go with you. “, Maya said. “I don’t want to be separated from either of you again.”
“Not so fast. “, Damon said as he and Kai stepped forward. “If you’re going then I’m going.”
“So am I. “, Kai said. “We’ll all stick together.”
“No you won’t. “, echoed Bulk as he and his fellow Blunder Rangers came forward. “We’ll go.”
All the rangers looked on surprised at what Bulk said. No one ever expected him to sacrifice himself for the good of a whole. “Why?”, Karone asked.
“The geeks are more important. They were true heroes when they were Power Rangers. “, Bulk said.
“We’re just some ex-punks and a few other oddballs who lucked out when the rangers were killed. No one will miss us if we go. “, Skull said. Bretta, Greenie and Poindexter nodded in agreement.
“No we will go. “, Carter said as the Lightspeeds came forth including Joel. “We will offer ourselves.”
“All of us. “, Joel said. This got a few raised eyebrows and Joel answered, “There are some things more important in life. Having the rangers back is one.”
“This is getting so old. “, Kyle said tired of all the sacrificing the rangers were doing. “If anyone is going to sacrifice himself it’s me. Because I am sick of everyone volunteering to go.”
“You said it bro. “, Sorrero said placing his arm around Kyle. “And I’ll be right by your side when you do it.” Kyle looked at Sorerro and cast a glare as he said, “Get your arm off me. You ain’t going.”
“Yes he is. “, Sarah said. “In fact I think we all will. “, as the Night Rangers came forward. “People are scared of us anyway.”
WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE A DECISION!!!, the spirits called out. Q then decided to come forward and say his peace.
“I believe these people are saying that they are willing to give their lives for those who were destroyed by evil. They can’t choose one, because they all believe in the ranger cause-to bring light to the darkness.”
And you., the spirits said looking down at Q. Would you be willing to make the sacrifice?
Q thought for a moment as he weighed in the possibilities of what would happen if the spirits decided to take him as well as the other rangers. But if there was a chance that it would help stop Evil Q, and motivate the continuem to do something about him then it was a risk worth taking. Besides, I might just get to see his friend Quinn again., he thought. “Yes!. I would make the sacrifice. “, Q then answered.
The spirits all smiled. Congratulations. You have all passed the test.
“Huh?”, Carter asked. “What are you talking about?”
We had to see if you were worthy of being Power Rangers. Rangers are of one family. Of one heart and cause. Not only willing to sacrfice themselves for the universe. But for one another as well. You all have proven that you are willing to do that to help the other. And now for your reward.
The soul containers then burst open as the souls of the deceased rangers were set free hovering about in the air. Each one looking for where their body lay then as they hovered ofer where their respective vessels stood energy ceme from the caskets grabbing the souls and bringing them inside.
When the light faded the caskets opened. Inside was the face of a former ranger. A ranger who opened his or her eyes as life came back to their bodies.
They were all alive again. Jason Lee-Scott, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan, Billy Cranston, Kimberly Hart, Adam Park, Aisha Campbell, Rocky De Santos, Katherine Hillard, Tanya Sloane, Justin Stewart, Ashley Hammond, Cassie Chan, Carlos Vallerte, T. J. Johnson, Andros, Karone, Zhane, even the mysterious Phantom Ranger drew breath in his body again. Tommy went over to Katherine’s casket and looked down at her beautiful face. “Time to wake up sleeping beauty.”
Kat looked up and smiled as she saw Tommy’s face. “I’m so glad to see you. “, she said as she got up and held Tommy in her arms. Soon all the rangers got out of their coffins and reveled in their new lease on life. Ashley and Andros quickly found each other and shared an embrace. Ashley was stunned when she saw Alison for the first time. They first shook hands then embraced like sisters would.
Karone quickly found Zhane and hugged her love as they were together again. It was awkward for a minute when she saw her double looking back. “Got one at home. “, Night Ranger Karone said referring to Zhane. The other Karone just smiled.
Billy found Trini. Adam found Tanya. Kim and Rocky met up as Skull looked on glad that Kim was back among the living. Bulk patted his friend on the shoulder saying that he understood what Skull was feeling.
Aisha and Zack found each other. Cassie saw Phantom. Only T. J. Carlos, Jason and Justin stood off by the side as they watched their friends back amoung the living.
Andros then turned toward the Lightspeeds, Night, Galaxy and Blunder Rangers. “Thanks for everything you’ve done.” The smiles from the resurrected rangers reflected Andros’s sentiment.
“No problem. “. Kincaid said. “We are rangers.”
“We are one. “, Bulk said.
“We are family. “, Carter finished.
Kimberly smiled at Bulk and Skull in their Blunder Ranger uniforms. “Nice outfits boys.”
“Gee thanks. “, Skull said blushing a cartoon blush.
Billy found Kendrix and they shared a friendly hug. “So how was your conversation with Einstein?”, she asked.
“Kendrix, I can’t wait to share with you what Albert and I discussed. We could be in the lab all day discussing it. “, Billy said eagerly. Trini stood behind him with her arms crossed.
“Is this someone I should know?”, she asked sarcastically.
“Trini hi. “, Billy said stumbling over his words. “This is Kendrix Morgan. She’s… my cousin.”
Trini gave Kendrix a look over as if judging her then broke into a smile and shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you. “, she said. Billy let out a sigh and both girls let out a giggle at Billy’s apprehension. Trini looked at Billy and said, “She had to be your cousin. The line is so cliche that it has to be believable sooner or later.”
“All right we’re back!!”, Jason shouted. And smiles came from every ranger whether former, Blunder, Lightspeed, Galaxy, or Night. “So what do we do now?”
Kyle was the first to speak up and decided to offer Sorrero’s sugesstion. “Anyone for a party?”
All the rangers were back. The original Dino Rangers cramed into Billy’s old hovering VW. Aisha still had her old truck which had Tanya, Adam and Rocky riding in the hatchback. Kat and Tommy rode together in Tommy’s old truck. Ashley’s yellow convertable held Andros and the Space Rangers except for T. J. who was back behind the wheel of Lightning Cruiser and Justin behind Storm Blaster’s wheel, both were unmorphed. The Lightspeeds rode in their humvee while the Galaxy Rangers bummed rides with the Night Ranger Motorcade. Leo rode on the back of Karone’s Harley while Kendrix rode on Ken’s bike. Damon rode with Sarah, while Kai rode on Jessica’s bike. Maya rode behind Alison on her Harley. Phantom Ranger had some ‘personal business’ to take care of so he didn’t join the motorcade.
And bringing up the rear were the Blunder Rangers in their Blundermobile which was pretty much an old clown car. The convoy was riding hard and riding strong.
“How far is this place?”, Kincaid asked.
“Not far away. “, Jason said. “In fact we’re almost there.” Billy drove the Volkswagon into the Youth Center parking lot and all the other vehicles followed as they found places to park. Everyone either dismounted or got out of their cars just in time to see the Blunder Rangers get out of their Blunder mobile like clowns at the circus.
“You know I think Bulk and Skull have found their niche. “, Kimberly said with a smile. The other original five agreed. Ernie came behind them and was surprised to see all the rangers there alive and well.
“Oh my god!!”, Ernie said surprised as he was trying to get the words out. Soon every ranger who was dead before hugged Ernie as he welcomed them back to the land of the living.
“How did you do it?”, Ernie asked. “How did you get back?”
“You can thank these guys here. “, Zack said making reference to the Rangers they travelled with. Ernie’s smile then faded as he said. “I wish other things could come back like you have.”
“Ernie what’s wrong?”, Billy asked.
Ernie held up a sign which he was placing on the Youth Center wall underneath the symbol. The sign said: “GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. “