China and Tia glanced at each other and stepped into the cold foundation that was the forgotten base. They were met with chills going down their spines and goosebumps appearing on their skin as cold mist crossed the feet of the two girls. Tia pointed the flashlight from her phone in front of her and saw some sort of pod standing at the end of the base. All of the mist that covered half of the base was coming from that pod which flashed blue every second it released smog.
Tia turned to China. "That has to be her, right?"
China licked her lips. "Only one way to find out." China began to walk towards the pod while Tia took her attention somewhere else.
She turned to her left and saw the GR (Galactic Ready) symbol printed on the wall, but three claw marks went across it. The marks were deep in the wall like a bear took its time clawing the wall for fun. Tia looked around again as if to make sure she was in the right base. Her phone buzzed in her hand alarming her that the battery was at twenty percent.
Tia had to find the ON switch quick or she would be stuck down her with only one light. She did the same method China did and ran her hands along the cold walls. She reached the other side of the base and stopped at the side of a power box. She grabbed the handle and opened it as she ran her hands along the wires until she found the ON switch. Tia felt it and flipped the switch as the lights turned on.
"Tia!!!" China shouted as she waved her hand. "It's her!!!"
_________________
Tia placed her hands on the glass case of the pod. She looked through the small section that was not frozen and saw a rainbow-colored alien sleeping peacefully. Tia grinned. "How do we wake her up?"
"Like this." China pressed her palm on the black part of the pod as the vessel scanned her hand and analyzed it. The scanner went away as the inside of the vessel began to turn red and defrost Alastair slowly. "When Alastair wakes up, she's gonna be confused and conflicted. Maybe keep you having visions, or whatever, to yourself until she settles in."
"But---" The pod flew open as Alastair made moaning sounds and began to fall into the arms of China. China dragged her to the small bunk bed and placed her on the stiff surface.
"She'll wake up soon." China said as she looked around the base. "Maybe you should look around here and see whose base this belonged to."
"An old NASADA branch." Tia answered bluntly.
"How do you know that?"
"Alastair explained it to me and HJ the first time we met her."
"In your vision, dream or whatever?"
"Yeah..." Tia looked at her phone and noticed the time. One hour before her next class, Mechanical Engineering, begins. "I have time to spare, I'll look around the base."
China nodded her head as she pulled up a chair and sat next to Alastair waiting for her to awaken.
Tia decided to check out the control panels first to see if they still work after a few years. The control panel was wrapped around a cracked holographic table with chairs flipped over. A red light flashed in Tia's eyes as she pressed the button and the blue control panel turned on like multiple lights at once. A red picture of the pod vessel with the word "open" going across the top appeared on the panel. Tia moved her finger downwards as the pod closed shut and the inside turned from red back to blue. The screen transitioned to a grid showing stabilization levels, but for what?
Tia looked back at China and Alastair as she was on the verge of waking up. Tia turned back around and and tapped on one of the charts as a container opened up beside a dark room. Tia walked over and looked inside as she widen her eyes. "Fusion Cores?" Four fusion cores laid in a black cushion with cords connecting to them from the container. Each were different colors with the first one being light orange, second was sky blue, and the third one was purple. These were different from the usual fusion cores as the outer rims were gold instead of black and the insides were a solid color with words and numbers on the side.
Alastair moaned as she opened her eyes. She blinked multiple times until her vision was clear as she looked around with the rainbow colors coming from her body lighting half of the base. She finally looked at China as China smiled. "Welcome back."
"China?" Alastair began to stammer. "Wher--where are we? Whe--where's the Doctor? Where's Nitsuaa?!!" Alastair tried to lay up, but half of her body was still asleep from the long slumber. She stumbled into the pillow as China glanced at Tia. "Tia!!" She shouted.
Tia stopped staring at the unusual fusion cores and walked over to the other side of the base. Tia cleared her throat. "Hi, Alastair."
Alastair turned around with a confused look on her face. "Who is this, China? Where are the others? We need to find the others!!!"
"Alastair, there is no others. It's just me and you."
Alastair raised her eyebrows in shock. "What?!!"
"You don't remember what happened?"
Alastair shook her head and touched her forehead afterwards. "No, I don't remember anything shortly before I got in the pod."
China glanced at Tia who seemed to wonder what happened as well. China exhaled. "Rumlar and his army discovered the coordinates of the base and attacked it immediately." China pointed to the markings and explosion prints on the walls.
"Wait, Rumlar found the base and attacked it?" Tia looked around. "I'm surprised it's still intact."
"They didn't do much damage because the Doctor ordered me to do a false self-destruct countdown." China sighed. "After Rumlar and his army left the base, the Doctor's proteges placed me into sleep mode until 2014 where I lived as regular teenage girl. I'm sure they're the same people who placed you into the pod."
"Ok, who is this Doctor guy?" Tia asked as she thought about the hit British tv show. "Because I swear if its who I think it is, I'm gonna fangirl like crazy."
"Who...are...you?!!" Alastair asked in a somewhat menacing voice that was also silent.
"Alastair, you might not know me, but I know you from a differe--" Tia glanced at China as she gave her a NO with a shake of her head. Tia rethought about what she was going to say and opened her mouth.
"---You DONT know me, but my name is Tia." Tia reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out the pink fusion core and showed it to Alastair. "And the Venus Fusion Core chose me."
Alastair's eyes went from half opened to fully opened as she laid up with her body being somewhat back to normal. "If the fusion cores have began choosing wielders, than that means--"
"The Earth is in danger, Alastair, and we need your help." China said.
Tia shook her head. "You're the only one who knows the origins of the fusion cores. You can help me figure out----"
"TIA!!" China grabbed Tia's arm, but that didn't stop her from talking.
"--Why the fusion core is giving me visions or placing me in a different reality or whatever the hell it's doing to me?" Tia's grave expression placed Alastair into some sort of fear state. She glanced at the fusion core and back at China who's face was glowing with anger.
"China, calm down. The girl deserves the truth."
China let go of Tia's arm as Alastair pulled herself up and got off the bed. She walked over to the table and placed her hand on the control panel. "You need to know the truth about the fusion cores...but there's more important things to discuss."
"Like the alien threat." China said as she walked over to the control panel. She picked up a chair and sat in it as Tia crossed her arms and puffed away angrily for not solving her issue.
"You're talking about Rumlar, right?" She asked.
China nodded her head. "I'm not sure if it's Rumlar. If it was, the sky would be red and humanity would be enslaved."
"Then what has happened to him and what is this alien threat you speak of?" Alastair asked.
China shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Like I said, the researchers placed me in sleep mode quickly after Rumlar attacked the base. I don't know if he's dead or resuscitating, but I do have a feeling that the alien threat or threats are his comrades."
"Kroekan...." Tia muttered.
"Yeah and the other alien dweebs."
"If that is true then that means they will be looking for a way to find the other fusion cores and resurrect Rumlar. We must stop them." Alastair said.
"That's why we need your help, Alastair. You have a strong connection to the power that surges through the fusion cores. Can you track them down?" China asked.
"Yes, probably, but it will take time. I must meditate and fully regain my strength." Alastair walked back over to the beds and sat down on the floor. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes as the colors coming from her body slowly died.
Tia's phone buzzed as the alarm for her next class, Mechanical Engineering, went off. She turned it off and placed it in her pocket. "I gotta get to class."
"Ok, my next class doesn't start until 10 so i'll stay down here with Alastair."
Tia nodded her head. "Oh and by the way, I found these weird fusion cores in that container over there. I don't know what they do....maybe the people who worked here tried to replicate the actual cores."
"Mhmm, I'll look into it."
"Ok!" Tia glanced at Alastair who was silent as night. Tia sighed and walked out the base and into the dark tunnel. China glanced at Alastair wondering how long it would take for her to get back to full strength. She's been in hyper sleep for thirty years and now her best friend was sitting right in front of her. China was conflicted on whether or not she wanted to tell Alastair the truth about what actually happened on the night that Rumlar invaded the base or retain the tragic truth.
China shook her head and decided to shift her attention to the crowd of containers that sat right next to the experiment room. She walked towards one medium sized crate that sat on a table and noticed the fingerprint password that was on the outer rim. China grinned and closed her eyes. The fingerprint password went from blue to red with a clicking sound pleasing China. She opened her eyes and opened the case at the same time. "Huh, What are you?"
________________
The room was barely lit with the walls being wet and mold growing in-between the stone bricks. Torches were placed on each walls with the flame flakes flying on top of a test tube that stood beside the table that had multiple DNA samples, equipments, utensils, and even animal body parts. A hand slid down the side of the test tube as Amir's half closed eyes stared at the table and than at the multiple people in hazard suits who stood around the tube staring at him.
Some were with boards jotting down anything and all things while the others were creating some sort of chemical compound by combining that of chemicals and two ingredients like dirt and some sort of stone material. One of the hazard suits walked over to a large container that could hold a human body and poured the compound into the already filled water vessel. Another hazard suit placed on large gloves and grabbed a claw grabber. She walked onto a stage and pulled down a lever as half of the room lit up with purple and a section of the stage opened up. The woman quickly dived in and grabbed what she wanted as she quickly closed whatever it was back up.
Amir tried to make out what she had, but the object was too dark or too black to see. The hazards backed away as she walked over to the container and slowly placed the dark object in. The water and chemical compound slowly turned from green to purple as they nodded their heads to each other. One of the hazards turned around and nodded his head as Amir could see something move in the corner of the room.
The large tubed alien came out of the shadows and revealed himself to Amir. Querro began to laugh as he walked down the stairs with his staff swinging from up and down. He walked over to the tube Amir was held in and rubbed his chin. "Don't be afraid. You're being used for a greater purpose."
Querro snapped his fingers as a hazard grabbed a ladder and the other grabbed a large rigid. "The data we gain from you will be used to help improve future experiments." Querro nodded his head as the hazard placed the ladder behind the tube as the other hazard used it to connect the rigid to the top.
Amir looked at what they were doing and let out a small whimper. Querro continued to rub his chin and tightened the grip on his staff. "Hm, what else can I say? Good luck?"
Amir stared at Querro. "What?!!"
Querro chuckled. "What? This is my first time experimenting on a human being."
"WHAT?!!!" Gas released from the rigid and entered the tube. The steam turned out to be knockout gas that slowly made Amir fall asleep. Querro moved his staff to the other hand and waved it as the tube went away and Amir tumbled.
The hazards gathered around Amir and picked him up as they carried him to the container and placed him in the chemical compound. A hazard grabbed a mask and placed it on Amir's face and closed the vessel. "Call me when he's ready, I have something to attend to." The hazards nodded their heads as Querro vanished into thin air.
___________
HJ stomped into the beautiful courtyard that had cool blue decorations that hanged along the buildings of the boy dormitories that belonged to the Mercury House. HJ looked around searching for the douche who started the rumor that revolved around the championship. He locked eyes on the target who sat on the round table talking to his band of goons who surrounded him like he was a celebrity. HJ walked up with his hands closed tightly forming two fists as the goons took their attention away from Kraven and to him.
Kraven turned to HJ and grinned. "Well well, If isn't the hound that cost us the championship." Kraven got off of the table and stood directly in front of HJ. "A lot of people are mad at you."
"Yeah, no thanks to you." HJ glanced at his goons and saw them cracked their knuckles and look menacing for HJ's sake. "Out of anyone, you know what actually went down at the ring."
"Do I?" Kraven's ignorant smirk made HJ even more mad than he already was. "Look HJ, If you're looking for the person who started these rumors, you got the wrong guy."
"Summer admitted that you told her that we lost the championship---"
"Well, we did...because you."
HJ exhaled sharply. "Alright, I'm sick and tired of you blaming a stadium's mistake on me."
"Was it really a stadium mistake?" Kraven reached for his bag and placed it on. "Because I heard someone on our team privately paid a stage employee to rig the match."
HJ unfolded his hands. "How the hell did you find that out?"
"The employee came to me one practice during the summer and admitted to the crime. He told me what happened, but didn't give me a name or a face."
"Maybe it was you who did it."
"Please!!!" Kraven puffed. "I'm not stupid enough to waste money on a match that I know you could easily win."
HJ was shocked by Kraven's compliment. "Thanks, I guess. But that does not explain why you started this stupid rumor."
"I need the culprit to know that the students thinks it's you so he or she can think the heat's off of them. And now that I know that you're not the lawbreaker or whatever." Kraven placed his hand on HJ's shoulder. "You can help me find the criminal."
"So you want me to be your Joe Hardy?" HJ asked.
Kraven raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea who that is, but if it means partner than yes." Kraven snapped his fingers as his goons grabbed their belongings. They gave HJ a lot of dense stares which he rubbed off easily as they headed for the exit. "You can start by looking into the past of all the teammates. Figure out who has a connection to Fauna University."
"And what the hell are you gonna do?"
"You don't want to know..." Kraven grinned as he walked away and headed for the exit leaving HJ to wonder what he said was actually true or was he actually setting him up to get kicked off the team or even expelled.
________________
Mechanical Engineering class was a bore with the teacher being as boring as teachers can be and the students were either deceased or seeing how long they could hold their breath, but at least the classroom looked cool with natural light lighting the room, the tools, and even spare parts beautifully. The only person who was excited and answering every teacher's question was the boy in the green shirt sitting next to Tia. They both sat in the middle row of tables and the boy wore round glasses that were too big for his face and his brown hair was messy as though he stayed up all night studying for a test.
The boy grinned and raised his hand as the teacher nodded his head. "The Dynamic Friction is the friction experienced by a body, when in motion."
"Right again, Mr. Jones."
The boy smiled tap the table with the back of his pen in excitement. The teacher continued to teach the lesson while Tia continued to draw the planet Venus and a gun shape like a solar dish. The boy glanced at Tia and smiled as he extended his hand. "The names Omar." He said.
"I didn't ask..." Tia continued shading in Venus and thinking about how she was feeding for more carrot slices.
Omar twisted the cap on his pen. "This is my favorite class so far."
"Cool..." Tia was not listening. In high school, Tia was cool with everyone from geeks to the populars. She's smart and at the same time athletic which gave her the ability to fall in the middle of the high school spectrum. She wouldn't even dare be caught hanging out with the lames around the populars and wouldn't hang out with the populars around the geeks, but college was different. She could care less about cliques after experiencing an alien takeover.
Omar stared at her notebook. "Whatcha drawing?"
"My boredom..." Tia thought this class would be the most interesting one out of all of them. She thought the class would be about creating things not learning different frictions and being bored out of her mind. The great god answered her prayers when HJ showed up in the large mechanical room searching for something or someone.
"Coach..." HJ stared at the teacher.
"Mr. Williams, what the hell are doing here? Aren't you suppose to be in class?" Coach asked.
"This is my free period. I want to talk to you about something."
Coach eyeballed him trying to figure out what exactly HJ wanted with him. He slowly nodded his head and pointed to the seat next to Tia. "Take a seat, we'll talk after class."
HJ nodded his head and quickly made his way to the seat. He sat his bag down and sat in the chair not realizing Tia was sitting on the right side. She stared at him waiting for him to noticed her, but he kept looking at the clock and back at Coach. Tia noticed something was troubling HJ so she decided to be the first one to start the conversation. "HJ!" Tia loudly whispered.
HJ finally turned and placed on a small smile, but his face quickly turned back into the serious and more earnest look as Omar peaked from behind Tia's shoulder. "Mr. Hermas Trism Williams, it's nice to see you again--"
"Shut up, poindexter!!" HJ loudly whispered. Omar didn't say anything as a comeback, but just grinned and went back to writing down notes.
"HJ, what are you doing here?" Tia asked.
"I have to talk to coach about something."
"Care to elaborate?"
"When I figure it out first then i'll tell you."
Tia was about to push on and make HJ tell her, but she could tell just from his face that it was something that he had to take care of himself. Tia remembered the base, Alastair, and China and soon she wanted to tell HJ the truth. "HJ, I need to tell you something after class."
"Sorry, I have to talk to coach after class. Maybe later in Mercury's courtyard."
"Mercury's courtyard?" Tia was confused. She obviously knew what a courtyard was, but where the hell was this place? "Um, where is that?" She asked.
"It's in the Mercury House section of the campus. The only buildings that are blue on the campus, you can't miss them."
Tia nodded her head as HJ pulled out his phone to signal the end of their small conversation. Tia had hoped HJ will believe her, but now she was having second thoughts. Power Rangers, aliens, robot, and a secret base...who would believe her? She wouldn't even believe herself, but if telling the truth to China made her wake up, maybe it would work for HJ and awaken him from this realistic illusion or whatever.
A lot of thoughts where going through her mind, but they slowly died down from the vibration coming from her left pocket. Tia looked down and saw the Venus Fusion Core glowing pink inside of her skirt. She quickly looked at the students sitting behind her and at HJ. They all seemed to either not care or didn't notice the twinkling light coming from her pocket. The Fusion Core had never done this before around Tia so she didn't know what was happening, but she wanted it stop before it caught anyone's attention.
___________________
"HAAAAAAA!!!!" Amir yelled from the container that quickly turned from purple to green. Amir's veins slowly glowed green as he opened his eyes and purple replaced the current color in his pupils. Amir began to shake so fast that it seemed like he was vibrating out of existence. The hazards gathered around the container as they prepared for the experiment to complete its first stage of the test. Amir's body glowed purple enormously, but it didn't make any of the hazards cover their eyes with caution. His body slowly transformed into a monstrous form as one of the hazards took out their phones and dialed a number.
He placed the phone to his ear without taking his mask off as two rings went by before someone finally picked up the phone. "What?" A deep voice asked. The voice was modulated with the caller id being read as, "Unknown Number."
"Subject A is ready for deployment."
"Good release it on the campus and then migrate him to the town. Do not call again, I will be there shortly."
"Yes sir." The caller hung up as the hazard nodded his head at the others. The hazards grabbed their large tasers and slowly opened the container, releasing their first abomination into the world.
___________
China placed one of the four weird fusion cores onto the control panel. A new hud showing the energy capacity levels and the power that's within the core appeared on the panel. Across from China was the mysterious object that Tia would know as her morpher hooked up to power generator. A fainted water symbol appeared on the control panel with the fusion core beginning to glow. "Interesting..."
"What is?" Alastair stood up. She walked over to China and stared at the fusion core. "That is impossible."
"What, Alastair do you know what these are?"
"Yes, these are the sub fusion cores. The last thing I remember is that the Doctor and his team were working on a way to store the essence of minor planets into fusion plates. I wasn't aware that they completed them."
"Only four I believe, but if we can figure out how they got the essence of minor planets into their possession, maybe Tia could use them in battle." China took the fusion core and walked over to the morpher.
Alastair shook her head. "I do not know China, I believe they created these cores to purposely weaponize them and use them in their own foolish wars."
"Of course, Galactic Ready is a NASADA branch and I'm sure they were gonna use them to fend off Rumlar's invaders." China placed the core on top of the morpher. She was satisfied and happy that it fitted perfectly. She figured the morpher was some sort of transformation device that harness
"It seems wrong to use them. What if they were not only making them for NASADA, but also the government and you know how the government feels about aliens."
China's happiness turned into fear and sorrow of the past. "Alastair, we have no choice. We don't know who and where Rumlar's forces are and we don't even know what type of powers that they have. Tia is gonna need all the help that she can get to hold the aliens until the full Power Rangers' team is assembled."
Alastair stared down at the controller panel. "Why do you trust this Tia girl?"
"She has the Venus fusion core and she seems like a nice person.. I mean...if you can get behind her tough persona." China grabbed the core and the morpher and walked back over to the control panel.
"She could have taken the Venus core from someone or have found it. I read her aura."
China rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."
Alastair crossed her arms. "She's a person who can easily be emotionally corrupted. She can not be trusted."
"Really? That's the only thing you read about her?" China placed the core back onto the control panel. "What about how smart she is? You should've saw her in Astronomy. When I walked past her class, she was answering every single question and got all of them right."
"I do not see your point."
"My point is---" China placed the morpher on top of a machine that was the size of a regular printer. "Her knowledge of space is and will be useful, she was a cheerleader in high school before she had to quiet in order to focus on her grades so she's physically fit, and her determination to protect the world is what makes her a perfect fit for a Power Ranger."
Alastair pursed her lips, knowing that China was right and that she would have to start seeing things in a different perspective. Alastair sighed at the same time the graphic table began to ring and turn red in the perception of danger. China tapped a button and a holographic map of Summer Grove appeared.
"What's happening?" Alastair asked.
"The system is sensing alien activity around this area." China sat down and began typing on the control panel. "The Doctor must've upgraded the program after I was put to sleep."
"Can you track it?"
"Yeah." China continued typing with numerous of numbers and letter appearing on the hud. The map began zooming in on the campus until it fully stopped on a red dot.
"Oh no...." Alastair closed her eyes.
"I have to tell Tia!!" China got up.
"Don't worry--" Alastair opened her eyes. "The fusion core is guiding her to the alien."
"What?!!!" China grabbed the sub fusion core and the morpher. "If Tia faces off with those aliens, she's gonna die. I have to get this to her." China jogged out of the base and into the tunnel leaving Alastair alone in the base and giving her an opportunity to get a message out.
__________________
The school bell rung as the students grabbed their belongings and quickly headed out the classroom as HJ stayed behind watching the last student, Tia, leave the room in a hurry. Coach slammed histextbook and papers on his desk and sat in his chair.
"Coach!!!"
Coach stopped reaching for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket and sighed. "HJ....I forgot about you. What do you need?"
HJ grabbed his phone and bag and walked over to his desk. "I need to ask you a question."
Coach slumped in his chair. "If this is about the extra practice sessions--"
"No, it's not."
Coach closed his textbook and began organizing his papers. "Then shot away..."
"Are you aware of what actually happened at last year's championship?" HJ asked.
Coach stopped and looked up at HJ with a guilty face. "Yeah...you lost the match and cost us the championship. It the first lost we've had in years." Coach said without thinking about HJ's feelings about the whole situation.
HJ sighed. "No....about the game being rigged."
Coach stared at HJ and then laughed. "What, rigged? Nonsense!!"
HJ placed his hands on Coach's desk. "Someone on the team payed one of the people on the stage staff to mess with the stadium lights...that's how I lost the match."
"Where the hell are getting this baloney from?"
"What? I didn't bring any baloney."
Coach sighed. "What I mean is.....who told you this foolishness?"
HJ gulped. "Kraven..." He muttered.
Coach sighed and chuckled at the same time. He glanced at HJ and laid back in his chair. "It's true..."
HJ's eyes widen with anger. "What?" HJ slammed his fist on the textbook which made Coach jump. "You knew it all along and you still pinned the lost on me!!!"
"For a long time, me and the principal thought it was you. We couldn't kick you out until we had evidence....the headlines about the school kicking out a student for something he didn't do....would be in every newspaper outlet. It wouldn't look good for the college."
"So you two decide to pin the lose on me and make me a target for everyone's rumors!!!"
Coach decided to take out a cigarette and took out his lighter as well. "Rumors are rumors...that's all. People outside of the school will never believe them."
"That's bull-crap!!!"
Coach lit the cigarette and inhaled. He slowly exhaled the smoke as HJ backed away a little. "Look Williams, until we figure out who rigged the game, you're gonna have to deal with the heat. It's not like you're getting kicked out of school."
HJ balled his other hand trying to control his anger and not kill Coach on the spot. "What if I find the culprit who's behind it?"
"Then obviously the rumors will stop and your name would be cleared, but I don't know how you're gonna find him or her."
HJ placed on his bag with a determined outlook. "I have my ways...."
______________________
Tia was being dragged through the halls by her own book-bag. The Venus fusion core glowed pink in her bag and people turned to stare at her acting like a mad woman. "What the hell is going on?!!" Tia reached the doors and kicked them opened. Her book-bag began moving up and down like it was smelling the air like a dog would.
"Alright, THAT'S IT!!!" Tia punched the bag with all her might and slammed it onto the ground. She placed her foot on top of the bag and chuckled. "I'm in control!!"
"Tia!!!" HJ began jogging towards Tia.
"Tia!!!" China began jogging towards Tia holding a black case.
Before Tia could answer any of them, an explosion erupted at the park where students roamed. The park was the college's spot for human enjoyment and relaxation. It was a comfort spot for stressed students, but now it was place that was destroyed and had everyone running away. Tia, China, and HJ glanced at each other as they all ran towards the park without hesitation or a second thought.
_____________
When the three college students arrived at the scene, they saw monsters roaming and terrorizing the students. HJ didn't know what the hell these things were, but Tia and China knew exactly what they were. They were metaphors but these were different as these were merged with different objects such as books, utensils, and electronics. China noticed how artificially made they looked...like they were created in a lab of some sorts.
Tia wasn't worried about the metaphors and how they looked. What frightened her the most was the monstrous figure that stood between the two groups of metaphors. It's body color was rusty gold and its grey face was position on a large chest full of junk that acted as its neck.
"What the hell is going on?" HJ asked, but Tia and China didn't answer. HJ heard stomping coming from behind them as he turned and saw all the security guards making their way towards the park with assault rifles in their hands.
China yanked Tia's arm. "We should leave." She flashed the black briefcase at her as Tia nodded her head.
"AHHHH!!!!" China and Tia turned to see HJ throwing down his bag and running towards a group of metaphors who were holding a group of students captive.
"HJ, DONT!!!"
It was too late. HJ reached the metaphors and punched one, who seemed to have merged with a red book, in the face. The book-faced metaphor growled with anger as HJ did a jab and then an uppercut which sent the metaphor tumbling backwards. A skull-head metaphor swung its bone sword as HJ dodged it and did an overhead punch. A disk-faced metaphor grabbed HJ's shoulder as HJ grabbed its hand and flipped it over his shoulder. He kicked it so hard in the side that the disk-faced metaphor flew into another metaphor.
"RUN!!" He told the students as a metaphor grabbed him. They got up and ran off past the security guards who finally showed up. A security guard with a chief's hat rose from the group and raised her hand in the air.
"ON MY GO!!!" She yelled as the guards readied their rifles.
"AIM!!" She commanded. HJ shoved the metaphor off and jumped behind the fountain and used it as cover. The guards aimed their guns at the chest monster and the group of metaphors. China pulled Tia to the side as the commander thrusted her hand downwards. "FIRE!!" The guards fired as the metaphors took their position in front of the monster to shield it from the oncoming projectiles.
One by one, metaphors fell and reversed back into the items that they were created from while the boss alien began to charge up his chest for a large attack on the guards. The last metaphor fell down with an small explosion erupting in the middle of the park. Through the mist of the explosion, came the unstoppable monster as he took the guards by surprise. He grabbed one of them and transformed one of his hands into a large hammer. The alien threw down the guard and began slamming him with the hammer until he dropped the assault rifle and went unconscious. The guards and the commander were now afraid to fire. The alien began walking towards them, but was shortly stopped by an incoming large buzzing sound in his head.
A fainted voice told him to head towards Summer Grove and cause havoc. The monster turned his other hand into a hammer and slammed the ground causing a small quake that took the guards and the surrounding students by surprise. Dirt burst into the air as the monster began digging underground and heading towards the town. HJ peaked around the fountain and saw the guards surrounding the unconscious guard, and Tia in her car with China driving away from the scene.
_________________
Tia and China were on a mission to stop the monstrosity before it reached the town. They followed the cracks in the road that the monster left behind while digging underground. The pink car passed the "Leaving NGRAA," sign as Tia was driving the car, of course, and China was in the passenger seat with the black briefcase sitting on her thighs.
"Can this thing go any faster?" China asked.
"Yeah, if I use the rocket boosters that I installed." Tia sarcastically said.
"Then what are you waiting for---"
"Except I don't have them!!" Tia increased the pressure on the gas as she accelerated down the road. Tia glanced at the black case. "What's in there?" She asked.
China grinned and unlocked the case. She opened it and Tia glanced at the object inside as she swerved off of the road. Tia and China's eyes widen as she gripped the wheel and quickly got back on the road.
"TIA---"
"Is that what I think it is?" The galactic morpher sat in the black cushion of the case, but this one was different from the one Greg made in her first life. This one was colorless with black and grey covering the exterior and interior of the transformation device. "Why does it look so different."
"Different? Have you saw this device before?"
"Yeah, its the galactic morpher. Greg made it in my first life, its the device me and HJ used to morph into Power Rangers."
China blinked. "Wait, HJ is a Power Ranger?"
"Yes--No. He may not know about the aliens and the other stuff. But yeah, he was a ranger."
"So he might have a fusion core...."
"Yeah...maybe. I don't want to explain all of this to him..he might think I'm crazy." Tia thought about HJ's sudden meeting with coach. "And plus it seems that he already has so much on his plate with the rumor and boxing and all." Tia and China were reaching the town as they saw the buildings were becoming clearer.
China nodded her head. "And who is this Greg person?"
"OH!!! When we get back to the base, I want you to search for Gregory Davis in the database. His name should be in there since he worked for Galactic Ready for a short period of time."
"Yes, but who is he?"
"He was the one that created our morphers and our arsenal." Tia explained. "He will be useful in our fight against the aliens."
"You sure we can trust him?" China asked.
Tia was about to say YES, but thought about her time with Gregory. Besides working together, she didn't really know that much about him. He was intelligent and skilled with technology, but he was also awkward and emotionless with a dark past. "I don't know, but if he is the same as he is..WAS in my first life...then we can definitely trust him."
Tia and China reached the entrance to the town. The "Welcome to Summer Grove," sign was placed over the entrance. Tia drove through the town, seeing the damage that the alien had done and the chaos that it had caused. Cars were flipped over, light poles were laying on the ground, windows were broken, and civilians were helping others with their minor injuries.
"So glad my parents are out of town." Tia muttered. "But we need to defeat the alien before it reaches the neighborhoods."
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Tia and China parked the car in the parking lot of the kids' playground. They saw the alien chopping down trees with its two hand-chainsaws while heading for the kids and their parents. The kids were too busy having fun to not notice the scary alien heading towards them, but the parents were the ones that saw it. They tried their best to grab their children and run, but the kids kept running away from them.
Tia and China ran down the dirt path that lead to the playground as Tia quickly took out her pink fusion core and extended her hand. "China, give me the morpher!!!"
China unlocked the case and hesitated. "Tia, I just found this device. I'm not sure if it works."
"I thought you programmed it!!"
China shook her head. "No, I didn't."
"Then what were you doing at the base then?" Tia asked.
"I don't know....watching Alastair and researching those fusion cores you found!!!" China slammed the morpher into Tia's hand. "You shouldn't use it unless you need to."
"Well, I need to now!!" Tia slammed the morpher on her left wrist as it spawned a black strap that wrapped around her wrist. She grinned and glanced at China. "If I use this, will there be any undesirable effects?"
China widen her eyes and tilted her head. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes--No!!" Tia gulped as she noticed the alien was done being satisfied with chopping down trees as he turned his attention to the civilians. Tia was ready to run towards the extraterrestrial, but was stopped by China's hand on her shoulder.
"Tia, I hate to say this, but you can't do this." She said. "Leave it up to the officers and the government to stop it."
"I'm sorry...but I can't wait for someone to save them. I have to do it myself. It's my duty as a Power Ranger!!"
"But the side effects of an technological device like that, that hasn't been programmed, can be dangerous--the life threatening type."
Tia adjusted her morpher. "I saw my friends die right in front of me because I didn't know what to do." Tia chuckled as she rolled her shoulders. "I blew myself up....what can be worse than that?"
China swallowed her fear and tried to stop agonizing as Tia ripped the two sides of her silver skirt and ran towards the playground.
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The alien flipped a yellow-seahorse spring rider over in anger as it slowly walked towards a small dark-skinned boy. The boy was busy scooping up sand that he didn't hear the sound of large feet coming towards him. The alien stopped behind the boy and transformed his right hand into a hammer.
"Condigger!!!" It yelled its name as it raised the hammer slowly and thrusted it downwards. Tia rushed in and yanked the kid out of the sandbox as the alien slammed the hammer in the shallow box, scattering the sand everywhere.
Tia placed the boy down in front of his mom. "Get out of here!!!" Tia shouted as the parents grabbed their children and ran off as quickly as they could. Tia and the alien faced each other as they had a showdown of the year. Tia flashed her pink fusion core at the alien to see if it would react, but nothing happened. It just stood there waiting for her to make a move.
"Alright alien. Prepare to be annihilated---" Tia quickly regretted saying that cheesy line. "--It's morphing time!!" Tia raised her morpher and slammed the fusion core on top. "VENUS FUSION CORE!!!"
Pink and white lights flickered from both sides of the morpher. "GET READY!"
"Wha--WHAT?!!!" Tia stared at the morpher angrily while Condigger transformed his left hand into a handsaw. The alien slowly walked towards her as the morpher began to count down.
"3"
Condigger reached Tia as it swung the handsaw over Tia's head. She kicked the alien's left leg and went under him as Condigger tried to grab her before she had a chance to make another move. "2"
Tia got behind him and tried to buy some time until the morpher was ready. "Can this thing go any faster?!!"
Condigger ran towards her as Tia did a spin move and kicked him in the chest. "1! GALACTIC READY!!"
"Finally!!" Tia pointed the morpher towards the alien. "GO GALACTIC!!" Tia spun the fusion core as pink sparkles and electricity swirled around Tia starting the morphing sequence.
A pink hexagon appeared over Tia and it slowly came down on her with electricity following. The hexagon slammed down on her body and made her glow white. The glow went away to reveal her in a silver suit with a belt buckle and colorful boots. It was a regular suit until color appeared on it. Pink accents appeared on Tia's silver suit. Gauntlets and neck cuffs with turtle necks appeared next on her body. Electricity came and struck her across her chest, but it didn't hurt her. It placed a medium sized striking gold "S" on the right side of the upper body with a belt buckle attaching to it and going around the back. Her suit now looked somewhat similar to an astronaut suit, all that was left was the helmet. The helmet formed around her head with the Venus symbol at the top of her visor. Now, the morphing sequence was complete.
"Beautiful and strong like the planet Venus!!" The scenery behind Tia changed to the planet Venus as a rose appeared in her hand. She crumbled it with her hands and threw it into the air as the remaining pieces of the rose turned into pink sparkles that dazzled around her. "Pink Galactic Ranger!!!" The scenery changed back to normal and Condigger blinked twice surprised at what just happened as Tia stood there in a playground waiting for the force of fusion core to stop possessing her body.
She took control of her body and looked down at the suit. "It feels good to be back!!"
Condigger roared as his patience reached its peek. Tia immediately got into her fighting pose and glanced at China who was amazed that the device actually worked, but she was still worried about the side effects.
"Alright Gravedigger or whatever. Lets dance!!!" Tia ran towards the alien as Condigger swung his handsaw. Tia quickly dodged the attack and crawled between his legs again. Condigger wasn't gonna fall for that trick again. His face disappeared from the front of his body and reappeared in the back as his hands and arms turned around. Tia got up as Condigger slashed the handsaw across her chest.
Luckily, the suit protected her and only sparks flew from the sweeping move, but the attack still hurt like hell. The attack pushed Tia backed as she went on the ground and rolled next to the water fountain.
"Tia--Tia, can you hear me?" China's voiced filled the inside of Tia's helmet.
Tia panted and groaned as she touched her helmet. "China?" Tia glanced at China who smiled and gave a thumbs up. "How can I hear you?!!"
"I hacked into your coms. Now, you can hear me at all times. China explained.
"Ok, what do I do?" Tia asked.
"Well telling from its fighting style, its an alien who's tactical concept involves psychical confrontation." China explained.
"Ok...and?" Tia got up while Condigger was repeatedly hitting his head like he was trying to get something out of it.
"You have to face him long-range style."
"Great!! Really could use my solar blaster right about now!!" Tia muttered.
Condigger faced Tia and began charging up for a final attack. Tia stood there with her fists raised and her legs shaking. She didn't know what to do and now it began to feel like the situation before. Without HJ and Greg to help her, she was about to get destroyed by the third alien she's faced.
China, on the other hand, felt as though Tia could easily defeat it, but she was missing something other than her weapon like a piece of data that can be used. China patted her left pocket as her eyes widen. "Yes!!!" China took out the odd fusion core as she remembered the data that she read at the base. It was a fusion core powered by the essence of a minor planet and the powers of water. China squinted her eyes activating the magnifier and examined the alien's body. It was made of mud as she suspected just like the chest that sat on the back of its neck. China blinked and her eyes turned back to normal as she ran towards the playground.
Tia pointed her morpher at Condigger as she thought about using the rocket attack as a way to push it back until she could think of a plan. I have to do something She thought. I can't die today. The world needs me!!
"TIA!!!" China reached the playground. "Use this!!" China threw the dark blue fusion core as Tia fired her morpher at Condigger and extended her hand out. The morpher hit Condigger in the chest, but barely did any damage to him. Tia caught the core just in time for her morpher to fly back onto her forearm.
She glanced at the fusion core noticing the words and numbers on the rim reading, "Kepler-30c." She muttered as she took the Venus fusion core off and placed Kepler-30c on top.
The morpher read the fusion core. Kepler Hydro!!
Condigger roared and ran towards the pink ranger. Tia pointed the morpher and spun the fusion core. Water burst out the tip of the morpher and hit Condigger in the face as China thrusted her fist in the air. The water seemed to liquify Condigger's face, but the alien was far from being stopped.
"TIA!!!" China yelled. "Spin the fusion core three times to do a final attack!!!"
"Alright!!" Tia did what China said and spun the core three times.
KEPLER HYDRO!!
FINAL ATTACK!!
HYDRO PUMP!!
Tia aimed the morpher at Condigger as the tip of the device and the core began to charge up. The alien growled from the pain as its face was redder than the sun.
"AH!!!" Tia cocked the morpher back as a beam of water burst out and hit Condigger's whole body. The impact of the water melted his body like lava would with a human and Tia tried her best to keep her morpher steady by holding onto it, but the water pressure was too much for this small device to handle.
"AHHHHHH!!!" Tia's hand got tired as the water instantly went up into the air as soon as she let go of the morpher. The hydro core was too powerful for a person to control and China was sure this was also because of the non-tested transformation device.
"Now I understand why those fusion cores were locked up." China muttered.
Tia quickly yanked the Kepler-30c off of the morpher as the water disappeared and her arm dangled like it was asleep, but it was actually due to the overwhelming power of the core and the morpher. The power demorphed her instantly and the alien slowly melted into a puddle of black goo with sprinkles of moving purple lights.
"Tia!!" China jogged to her side and quickly examined her arm. "Your arm is good...its just a little bit bruised."
"Yeah.." Tia began rubbing her left arm. "Maybe we should search the database for a way to control the exo cores, or whatever, without it placing marks on my body or doing damage to it."
"Yeah...and--" China quickly grabbed the morpher. "I'll actually program this thing so it wont hurt you either." The two girls smiled as China turned her attention to the puddle of goo. Her eyes flashed green signaling her quick scan. "That's weird..."
"What is?"
"The puddle of goo seems to be made of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus." China listed.
"So the same stuff the human body is made of?"
"Yes...but how is that possibl---" A human hand popped out of the puddle as Tia and China jumped. They slowly walked towards the small pool of liquid and the hand tried to grab on to something, but had no luck as China grabbed the hand.
"China, what the hell are doing?"
"Don't worry, there aren't any alien readings on the puddle. Now help me before the police get here." Tia grabbed ahold of China as they both pulled until a head was visible. China let go as the human was able to pull himself out. Amir stood in front of China and Tia with black goo scattered over the white scrubs he was wearing.
China's eyes widen. "Amir?"
Amir looked at the two. "China?" He then looked around the area. "Whe--where am I?"
"You're at Summer Grove playground." Tia answered.
"How is that possible?" Amir asked. "I was just talking to my dad at the parking lot of the school and then---" Amir squinted his eyes as a sudden headache came in.
China glanced at Tia who was lost for words. "Try not to think about it." China walked over and placed her arm around him. "Come on, lets get you to a hospital." China guided Amir down the dirt path leaving Tia in the now destroyed playground and a puddle of slimy substance.
Suddenly, an orb of light arose from the puddle and hovered towards Tia. Tia quickly covered her face until the orb of light disappeared and what hovered in its place was purplish essence.
"The hell?" Tia quickly looked around and grabbed a toy bucket as she placed it under the essence and it instantaneously dropped into the bucket. She gazed at the substance and then at the playground. "This has been a weird day."
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A hazard was raised from the ground by none other than Querro himself who was more pissed off than the Hulk could be. The hazard grabbed ahold of Querro rough left hand which held him by his throat. The tubed alien growled menacingly even scaring the other hazards who stood by the vessel watching.
"You dare disobey my orders!!" Querro tighten his grip and the hazard's legs began to shake. "I specifically gave orders to call me when he was ready. I never received a call and then there I saw...my beautiful monster causing chaos on the campus and in the town!!"
Querro glanced at the others who stared at each other nervously wondering what their boss were going to do to them. Querro sighed. "I have no choice but to kill. You're not even worthy of my experimentation." Querro threw the hazard to the other side of the room and aimed his staff. The edge of the staff began to glow and so did the tube on top of Querro's head. "Let this be a lesson to the others never to disobey me!!"
"Calm down, Querro!!" Both the hazards and Querro panted from the sudden voice that came from the staircase. A large monstrous figure jumped over the railing and landed on the ground causing the room to shake a little. The large figure stepped into the light to reveal himself to be Kroekan with his heavy armor and bug eyes staring the hazard down. "I told him to call me instead."
Querro sighed angrily and lowered his staff as his power faded. "Kroekan, you idiot, do realize what you've done. Not only have caused the campus to be on its high heels, but also brought attention to us!!"
Kroekan waved his hands. "Calm down." Kroekan walked over to the male hazard and helped him up. He patted him on the back and shoved him to the others. "Thanks to our first Cosmark, the Mercury fusion core has been awakened."
Querro rubbed his face. "Are you stupid? Did you not see what that pink ranger did to my alien?"
"Nah..." Kroekan leaned on the railing. "I was too busy."
"She destroyed it single handedly and now with two rangers on the field, they're gonna stop our plans before we even get to phase three!!!"
Kroekan raised his hands. "Hey hey hey!!" He walked over to Querro and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Remember our goal. In order for us to get closer to it, we have to help the rangers evolve and then we'll take the fusion cores right from them."
"Yeah..." Querro shoved his hand off. "And there's a problem with that!!"
"Which is?"
"When they begin to evolve, they'll become stronger and faster leaving us to be the ones who are incapacitated. We will be the weak ones in this game."
Kroekan sighed and walked up the stairs and onto the stage. He pulled down the lever and opened the stage. "Don't worry." Kroekan bent down and grabbed a piece of the unknown purple substance. "When we unlock the secrets of the dark energy, we will be the most powerful beings in the universe." The purple substance glowed enormously revealing the human eyes behind Kroekan's bug pupils.