Streaks of Purple Saga Volume Three by Heather Ray (books for students to read txt) 📖

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After his brisk run, he noticed the ball sitting beside a stone statue of a hand, one of the many local artisan works that spotted the lush public park. He jogged to the statue, slowly catching his breath as he leaned forward to pick up the ball.

He grimaced in disgust when his skin made contact with the oddly slimy surface. Slowly, he lifted the ball to eye level, examining the faintly green ooze that now greased his hand.

"Major funky," he breathed, his jaw slackening as he realized the green slime covered the entire base of the statue.

His face folded with concern, and he quickly kneeled on the grass to wipe the goop from his palms. He then took a quick look around, and finding no one in eyesight, he activated his the Command Center call button on his communicator.

"What's the deal?" he muttered, after waiting several seconds. There was no response.

He sighed heavily, taking another look behind him to make sure his cousin hadn't followed him. Then, he hit the red button.

^Jason here.^

"Jase, it's Zack. Where are you?"

^In the Youth Center locker room. I'm getting changed, then we're all coming to meet you.^

"Then get the lead out, Jay. I'm by the Granite Fist, and something shady's goin' down."
Chapter Seven

"NO!" Lord Zedd growled, pounding his fist into the steel edge of his balcony. His empowered hand dug a brutal dent into the once-perfect steel, but the Emperor didn't notice.

"It's too soon," he reflected, taking a deep breath to quell the raging fury, "If the Rangers do anything to disturb my spell, then Nimrod will not awaken!"

His visor flashed as he gripped his trusted scepter once again. "A distraction is in order."

Chapter Eight

It took less than a minute for six beams of light to appear in a row beside Zack.

"Fill us in," Jason commanded, instantly shifting into Leader-Mode.

Zack gestured toward the green slime pooling around the Granite Fist sculpture.

"Ew!" Kim moaned, taking a step away. She quickly scanned her white Keds to make sure she hadn't stepped in any of the mysterious substance.

"What is it?" Alexis wondered.

Ever the inquisitive scientist, Billy squatted beside the statue, leaning as close to the goop as possible. "It's too liquid to be any variety of moss or mildew," he analyzed. He then held is hand out about an inch above the substance, palm down. "It seems to be emitting heat," he revealed.

"It's also spreading," Zack added.

Suddenly, two dozen members of Lord Zedd's Putty Patrol materialized in a circle around the Power Rangers.

Alexis jumped in surprise, backing closer into the center of the ring. "What are those?"

"Putties," Trini answered, raising her hands as she unconsciously took a fighting posture, "They're stronger than the average human, but not too quick. Aim for the 'Z' plate until they crumble."

Alexis nodded, setting her jaw as she slid into the aikido stance she had been practicing. Then, the five veteran Rangers leapt into action, leaving their newest recruit to catch up.

Jason stepped forward, dark eyes sliding warily to note the four Putties that had selected him as their target. Not wasting any time, he engaged the nearest Putty, crushing his foot toward the creature's Z target. The Putty managed to move enough to save himself, and Jason seamlessly dodged the creature's counterattack, rolling along the grass to avoid two other Putties' attempt to blindside him. Leaping back to his feet, he deftly blocked all the blows aimed for his torso, and jumped over two kicks aimed for his legs. He landed about a foot back, and launched a devastating roundhouse that connected with the jaws of both Putties. He leapt back toward the remaining one, firing a front kick that it its mark perfectly. The leader of the Power Rangers permitted a grim smile as the Putty crumbled to dust on impact.

Zack swerved out of the way of a forceful punch, a cold smirk on his lips as he caught the arm of the offending Putty. Counterbalancing his body with the weight of his opponent, Zack pushed off the ground, both feet plowing into the Z plate and throwing the beast backwards. Zack fell to the ground, jerking his head to keep his lengthening braids out of his eyes as he jumped back to his feet, prepared to engage the next Putty to catch his eye.

Kimberly flew through the air in a series of swift handsprings, pushing her to the edge of the fray. Once she felt she had made enough space between herself and her allies, she stretched her arms out, just in time to block a Putty's snap-kick aimed at her stomach. She expertly blocked the Putty's follow-up blows, finally knocking the Putty's arm hard enough to throw off the creature's balance. She immediately struck the Putty in the back of the knee with her heel, sending it sprawling to her side facedown. One more kick wedged beneath it forced the creature to its back, and a heel dug heavily into its chest rendered the beast a pile of magical dust.

Trini managed to face four Putties at once, swift hands blocking all the lumbering blows without much difficulty. She ducked low when one Putty dove at her, catching it with her arms and using its own momentum to send it hurtling into the Putty directly in front of it. The two fell into a disoriented pile, leaving her a moment to tangle the other two. A fist in the face of the Putty behind her dazed it, and the follow-up elbow into the chest was enough to annihilate it.

Billy managed to flip over a Putty who had attempted a sweep, landing just behind it. He glanced over his shoulder, and immediately plowed his heel into the Putty's back with a back kick. The Putty sprawled to the ground, but before Billy could deliver a follow-up blow two more Putties grabbed him by the arms, leaving the Blue Ranger to struggle in their grip. Billy managed to hook his legs around one leg of each Putty, pulling them off balance enough to force them to loosen their hold. With a grunt of effort, Billy pulled one arm free, and floored that Putty with an elbow to its jaw. The remaining Putty received a kick to the face, dazing it enough to be disintegrated by a series of swift punches to the Z.

Alexis found herself stunned at the precision and ferocity of her fellow Rangers' attacks. After only minutes of battle, her teammates managed to pare the original two dozen Putties in half. The Rangers had instinctively separated, each one adopting a few yards of area as their "zone," bringing them to face off any Putty who came to close.

She bit her lip to hold back a wave of panic as two Putties slipped past the defensive wall of the core Rangers, approaching her menacingly.

Okay, calm down,

she reflected, holding her left leg out and her arms forward in a careful aikido stance, I can do this. This is what I've been training for!

She exhaled slowly, waiting for the Putties to make the first move.

The pair separated, each one moving toward one side of the Purple Ranger. She stepped back, making a little more room between them, and edging closer to the Putty on her right.

Using her right arm, she blocked the monster's first swing, and turned around to fully face it. Two more quick blocks kept the beast's heavy arms from making contact with her face, and she fired her first front kick the moment she had the smallest opening.

"Bingo!" she declared, grinning fiercely when her sneaker connected with the Z plate. But the blow was only strong enough to knock the Putty onto its back... and in her distraction, she failed to note the other Putty, who got close enough raise both hands in the air, thick fingers entwined to club the Purple Ranger at the base of her neck.

The blow never landed.

Instead, Alexis felt herself pushed to one side. She stumbled slightly, pivoting to see the Putty fall forward, fists digging into the soft earth where she was just standing.

She then saw Jason's powerful legs pound the creature while it still lay disoriented. "Get the other one!" he commanded.

Alexis hurried to the final Putty, who was backing away awkwardly as it realized the rapidly-decreasing odds of victory. She approached it cautiously, hands clenching into fists as she closed the gap.

Apparently recognizing the only way out was through her, the Putty stopped his retreat, and launched himself toward her.

An aptly-timed sidestep made the Putty stumble. An elbow to the base of its neck dropped it toward the ground. When it stood up, a punch in the stomach made the creature bend forward, and finally, her knee jerked toward it, slamming into the silver plate.

She blinked, watching in fascination as the being before her dissolved into amorphous clay, crumbling into harmless dust particles.

She jumped in surprise as a hand grasped her shoulder. "Nice job," Jason noted, "but it's always important to keep tabs on just how many Putties you're up against. One on one, the Putties have no chance, so they usually attack in groups."

Alexis breathed slowly. "Why exactly didn't we Morph? That blow could've really hurt

if it landed!"

The leader smirked. "We used to, back when we first started. But we figured out that we didn't need the speed and strength of Morphin' to deal with a few Putties. We try to Morph in public places as little as possible, to make sure we aren't seen." He then jerked his thumb toward the other Rangers, and Alexis gaped when she saw Zack talking to a young man she didn't recognize.

"Who's that guy?"

"Curtis, Zack's cousin," Jason explained, "He followed Zack here, and when he saw us fighting, he tried to help. Now, if he had walked in on us hastily Morphin', we could've jeopardized our identities."

Alexis nodded solemnly, watching Curtis nod, and race back over the hill. Then, the