The Terran Ranger/The Spectrum Force - The Preliminaries Volume 2 by Heather Ray (most difficult books to read txt) 📖

In the Command Center, the Power Rangers, minus Kimberly and Billy, tell Zordon what's been happening. Matthew waits impatiently, leaning on a console, and Jocelyn looked around the Command Center with great interest.

"Wow, this place is really amazing!" said Jocelyn, "I can't even tell what half of these computers do. It's so 'Star Trek'

!"

"Who cares," mumbled Matt, "I just wanna go home, and incidentally, I don't trust these 'Power Rangers' further than I can throw 'em. Celea sent us here for a reason, and I wanna know why."

"Maybe it was an accident," whispered Jocelyn.

"Or maybe this is some kind of trap!" snapped Matthew.

The Power Rangers finish talking to Zordon and turn their attention to their guests. A little robot busily types on one of the many computer consoles.

"Alpha," said Zordon, "can you locate either Billy or Kimberly?"

"Aie yi yi! They're not registering on any of my scans!"

"What does that mean, Zordon?" asked Zack.

"It means that either Zed is blocking my scans, or they aren't within range of our systems."

"What about Jocelyn and Matthew?" asked Trini. "How do they fit into this puzzle?"

"If they truly are from another dimension, that suggests that Kimberly and Billy may also have been strewn across the Multiverse, and may now be in an alternate reality."

"If they are, can we locate them?" asked Tommy.

"It may take some time, but we can," said Zordon. "The only problem is that there is an infinite number of alternate realities. Since there is no way to know which reality Kimberly and Billy may be in, we will have to search them one by one."

"How long will that take?" asked Zack.

"There is no way of knowing," said Alpha, immediately starting the Multiverse Scanning System, "but if we can home in on the radio emissions of the communicators, we can find them."

"But, the communicator's have only a limited range!" said Trini.

"True, emissions will be very weak, unless Kimberly and Billy manage to send us a beacon. If so, we will have a much better chance of finding them soon."

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" asked Tommy.

"Well," said Jocelyn, deciding to join in on the conversation, "we could try to figure our just how Matt and I got here. That just might help you find your friends."

"If you ask me," muttered Jason, "they're just some kind of trick of Zed's to throw us off track! How can we TRUST

them?"

"That's it!" said Matt, losing his temper, "I've HAD IT

with this 'Dragnet'

rerun! We're the good guys here! If we wanted to, we could Spectrum Sync and kick your sorry--"

"Matt!" scolded Jocelyn, "Calm down. Threats aren't gonna help anyone. Our only chance of getting home is to trust them. Zordon," she said, looking towards the floating green head. "We'll cooperate to the best of our ability."

Suddenly, the alarm sounded.

"Power Rangers, two unidentified monsters have appeared at the rock quarry!"

"Let's go, Rangers," said Tommy, reaching for his morpher. "It's MORPHIN TIME! TIGERZORD!!"

"MASTODON!"

"SABRE-TOOTHED TIGER!!"

"TYRANNOSAURUS!!"

"PURPLE RANGER POWER!!"

The Power Rangers teleported to the rock quarry, leaving Matt and Jocelyn in the Command Center.

"Wow," said Matt. "Nice costumes."

"Zordon," said Jocelyn, "what can we do?"

"The Power Rangers should be able to handle this threat. Alpha, please scan our guests thoroughly. I would like to know as much as possible about the nature of their super powers."

The Power Rangers arrived in the rock quarry, ready to combat Lord Zedd's latest creation. They are surprised to see the quarry empty.

"Zordon said the rock quarry, right?" said Zack.

"Yes," said Trini, "but this place seems completely deserted!"

"Could Zordon have been wrong about the monsters?" asked Alexis. Since she is the newest Power Ranger, she doesn't have the infallible confidence in Zordon that the others have.

"No," said Jason sternly, "Zordon is never wrong. If he says something's wrong here, then--"

Jason was interrupted by an unearthly growl.

"What was that?!" said Trini.

As if in answer, the Power Rangers see a huge green lizard-like beast approaching them. It's eyes glowed blood-red, and its enormous yellow fangs dripped with saliva.

"What in God's name is that?" whispered Alexis.

"One thing's for sure," answered Tommy. "God certainly had nothing to do with it."

"This isn't one of Zed's typical retarded monsters," said Zack. "This is a cross between Godzilla and Aliens!"

The monster came nearer, and stopped next to a cliff. The Power Rangers looked up at it. Since the monster was much closer, the Rangers could see it more clearly. "Okay, guys," said Jason. "We need the Thunderzords!"

"Wait!" said Tommy, peering at the monster. "That--thing's

--got something in its hand--er, claw

. And there's someone on his right shoulder!"

"I can't tell!" said Zack, following Tommy's gaze.

"Then, let's get a better look!" said Alexis, the eagle-wings on her boots starting to flap. She quickly sailed into the air, and the other Power Rangers leapt to the cliff above them. They all got a better look at the person on the monster's shoulder.

"Who's that?" asked Trini, landing on the cliff.

"I'll take an even closer look," said Alexis, flying past the cliff and approaching the figure on the shoulder.

"Greetings, Power Rangers," said the person, "I am Celea, and I have a proposition for you."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" said Alexis, hovering a few yards below Celea, "There's no WAY

we'll strike a deal with low-life scum like you!"

"Well, if you don't want to hear me out, get out of my face!" yelled Celea, leaping off Dracola's shoulder at the Purple Ranger. She kicked Alexis mightily, and used the push-off momentum to leap gracefully to the cliff where the other Power Rangers waited.

"LEX!"

cried Jason, "Zordon," he said into his communicator, "do something!"

Alexis plummeted to the ground, but right before impact, she vanished in a flash of purple light.

"Thank goodness Zordon and Alpha were watching!" said Trini in relief.

"Now, Power Rangers," said Celea, "are you ready to hear what I have to say?"

"Let's take her!" ordered Tommy, unsheathing his trusty sabre Saba.

"MOVE AND ME CRUSH PINK GIRL!"

growled the hideous monster above them. The Power Rangers halt in mid attack, and stare in disbelief as Dracola opened his claw, revealing Kimberly within.

"Kim..." whispered Tommy, turning towards Celea. "What do you want, Celea?"

"I want Jocelyn Armand and Matthew O'Conner," demanded Celea. "Now, I know two lives usually outweigh one life, but Kimmy is a close friend of yours, while the others are total strangers to you. Also, if I don't get those Spectrum Enforcers, Dracola and I shall take your fair city apart brick by brick!"

"Our only chance against Dracola is the Megazord," whispered Jason to Tommy.

"Yeah, but without Kim and Billy, we can't form the Megazord. Also, without Lex, we don't have back-up from the Eaglezord. And to top it off, if we attack Dracola, we'll be putting Kim's life in jeopardy. We need a plan, and fast. We're running out of time."

Meanwhile, at the Command Center, Matthew and Alpha tended to Alexis, who was stretched out on an emergency cot. Jocelyn watched the battle through the Viewing Globe.

"She has a severe head injury," said Matt, taking off Alexis' helmet, "and these cuts have to be treated." Matt brushed her short red hair off her face and looked around. "Don't you guys have any alcohol or hydrogen peroxide?"

"How do you know so much about medicine?" asked Alpha, getting the emergency medical kit.

"I'm a pre-med student," answered Matt, gently opening Alexis' green eyes with his fingers. "She's showing pupilatory response, so she's not in a coma. I guess Celea is super strong! That was some kick!"

"She is super strong," said Jocelyn, turning to Matt, "but she also had gravity on her side. She jumped down at Alexis, so she was in free-fall. Her acceleration was -9.8 meters per second, so on contact, a severe amount of force hit Alexis..."

"Whatever," said Matt, bandaging the last of Alexis' wounds. "What's important is, she ought to be fine. In fact, she should be waking up any minute now."

"What about the other Power Rangers?" asked Jocelyn. "They've reached a stand-still! That monster has a hostage, and...she looks exactly like ME

!"

"That is Kimberly Hart," said Alpha, "the Pink Ranger."

"So, she's one of the missing Rangers?" asked Matt. "So, where's the other one?"

"I still haven't located him, nor have we found the communicator signal through the Multiverse."

"Well, that's Celea right there, and she can take us home! After all, she brought us here! Let's go, Jocelyn!"

Matthew and Jocelyn stood side by side, and in unison, they raised their right hands to the sky. Their Spectrum Stones twinkled slightly. Zordon and Alpha 5 watched their guests in curiosity.

"Spectrum Sync... ORANGE!" cried Jocelyn.

"Spectrum Sync... GREEN!" yelled Matthew.

When they called upon their individual sources of power, rings of light in their respective colors formed from the gemstone, and bathed the Spectrum Enforcer with blinding light. When the light faded, the Orange and Green Spectrum Enforcers stood ready for action. Jocelyn's costume was an orange bodysuit, resembling biker shorts and a sleeveless top. She also had black leggings and arm's length black sleeves, with white boots and gloves. She had a face mask of orange, leaving her nose and mouth exposed, with a blue visor covering her eyes. Her golden-brown hair framed her face, and a golden belt reflected the light in the Command Center. A white "V"

decorated her chest. The Green Spectrum Enforcer's costume was generally the same, except in green rather than orange. His mask covered his whole head but for the mouth area and the very top, and his curly red hair hung freely.

"Zordon," said Jocelyn, "please teleport us about a half a mile from the battle. We'll fly in and surprise everyone!"

Alpha pushed a few buttons, and the Spectrum Enforcers vanished in beams of green and orange light.

At the rock quarry, the Black, White, Yellow, and Red Rangers stood helpless on the cliff as Celea and Dracola waited for their answer. Dracola still clutched Kimberly in his claw, who started to regain consciousness.