Hi all. Things are coming to a head. The White Ranger clone has been causing Jason headaches since his creation, and now, the final battle has arrived. And just a reminder based on last chapter and the comments about Tommy’s speech, as usual, please note that chunks of the original script/dialog from the show is incorporated in my work, so I can’t take credit for all the dialog. Just how I weave it in with my own. And now, to the story…

Legends and Heroes

By Jeannine Trevizo

-x-

Chapter 20: Torn

“We have to do something. I know Mesogog, and he won’t put up with our defeats much longer,” insisted Elsa as she carried one of the cylinders from Mesogog’s shelves in the monster making room of the island lair to where the White Ranger clone waited for her.

“I will show him that I am a worthy soldier,” he stated simply, taking the item from her and moving around the workbench when a shock like electricity jarred him, making him drop the cylinder. “Ahh! Something’s wrong, I feel so weak. What’s happening to me?”

Elsa sighed and moved to hoist the fallen evil ranger up.

“You’re losing power. I’m not surprised really. It was only a matter of time.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When Zeltraz created you, it caused a glitch in the morphing grid. Two white rangers can’t exist simultaneously. Eventually, one has to go,” she stated matter of factly.

“Then Jason Scott must be eliminated. And the other rangers with him.”

As he staggered off, Elsa watched him, smirking slightly with the thought that perhaps he could actually accomplish his task, and thereby make her life easier.

-x-

“Come on,” Ethan said under his breath as he piloted his spaceship through the computer generated star field on his laptop as he sat at the ranger’s table at the Cyberspace.

Then suddenly, Ethan’s screen was replaced with an image of the White Ranger. And it was talking to him.

“Hello Blue Ranger,” said the streaming video.

“Okay, maybe I have been sitting too close to the screen. Jason, is that you?

“Don’t insult me. I’m the one and only White Ranger.”

“Guys, you gotta see this,” Ethan called out, rousting Conner and Kira from where they’d been on the other side of the table, working on their class work.

“I have a challenge for you and your ranger friends. Meet me at the seaside for our final battle.”

“And what if we have something better to do,” remarked Conner bitingly.

“Then the consequences will be on your head.”

With that, the video connection closed, leaving the three rangers staring at a starry screen.

“This dude never heard of e-mail,” complained Ethan as he finally got his computer screen back.

“Come on guys, let’s go.”

“What about Jason? He went back to Angel Grove for the day, something about his business…” Kira pointed out, knowing that the real White Ranger had been waiting for a rematch with the cloned ranger for weeks.

“We can take this guy ourselves.”

“Well I vote for getting Dr. O and Kim as a little back up,” Ethan stated, and Conner and Kira nodded before the three of them hurried off, Ethan snapping his laptop under his arm as they raced for the door.

In no time they had made it to Dr. O’s house and banged on the front door. Moments later, Kim swung it open and stared at them.

“Trouble?” she asked, knowing exactly what answer to expect.

-x-

Later, the five members of the ranger team in town at the time drove up to the designated spot along Reefside’s shoreline. The raptor bikes kicked up sand as they skidded to a halt in a line of color. Quickly, Conner, Kira and Ethan were off their bikes, boots in the sand.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” called Ethan.

“Are you sure this is where we’re supposed to meet him,” asked Tommy as he got off his ATV and walked towards the shoreline.

Suddenly the group was sent reeling as something with super speed whizzed around them, making them dizzy. Then as they were on the ropes, they were in pain, energy lashing in strokes across their torsos, sending them flying.

“Miss me?” asked the White Ranger clone as he stood before the rangers, who now lay in a huddled mass not twenty feet from where he’d finally stopped.

“Do you really have to ask,” snipped Kira as she pushed herself up from the sandy beach.

“Where is the White Ranger?”

“It’s already five against one. I don’t know why you’d want to make it six,” remarked Conner.

Conner’s comment seemed to anger the clone, as he pulled his dagger and pointed it at the rangers, blasting them with a surge of lighting bolts, sending them flying once again.

“I’m glad you could made it. Are you ready for the next phase?”

“Name your game,” Conner said defiantly as he and the others slowly got up again.

“My challenge, my rules. Let’s take it to the zords.”

With that, he leapt to the air, heading for the Dragozord. Before they could call their own zords, the clone had usurped the controls on the Stegosaur once again, and Kim swore.

“I really hate when he does that.”

“Shouldn’t you have the ability to block him?” asked Kira.

“The Dragozord is the dominant zord in that combo, so… no,” she said sourly, looking to Tommy. “We really need to fix that.”

“Later… right now, it looks like we have trouble.”

The five of them looked up at the combined Dino Stegazord.

“This guy doesn’t waste any time,” remarked Conner as he pulled the Shield of Triumph from its place in between space.

“Triassic power!”

“Mezodon Rover,” called Conner, as the group looked up and over to see the zord rushing towards them.

As it appeared, the three core members of the team moved to jump into the cockpit, each taking their designated spot. As soon as they were inside, Conner threw the shield down into the slot before him made of the weapon, engaging the extra power of the shield into the zord.

“Shield of Triumph, full power!”

“Mezodon Megazord!”

While the Mezodon Megazord built itself, Tommy looked to Kim briefly before Tommy turned back towards business.

“Auxilury zords, activate!”

The extra zords appeared and added onto the already impressive zord facing the White Ranger clone.

“Who’s tough now?” called out Conner as he piloted the Mezodon Megazord into battle, leaving Kim and Tommy below to watch and hope.

-x-

In Angel Grove, Jason had just finished his last meeting and was getting ready to head back to his truck for the long drive back to Reefside when his gut felt like it was on fire, and he doubled over. Pinpricks of energy danced along his nerves and he nearly collapsed, but he fought off the sensation.

When the episode seemed over, he took a deep breath and stood up straight. Something was going on, and he knew he had to get back to Reefside…now.

-x-

“I was afraid of this,” Hayley said as she turned from the console to look at the assembled rangers around her. “The white dino gem can’t sustain being cloned. The energies have to be contained by one White Ranger.”

“Well, if anyone is taking votes, mines on Jason,” said Kira.

“We need to contact him,” Tommy noted urgently. “Kim, Hayley, were you able to reach him?”

“Trini said he was already on the road,” commented Kim unhappily.

“And I tried his cell but was getting his voicemail.”

“That’s probably because I lose reception outside of Surfside,” announced Jason as he walked in, letting the others sigh slightly in relief. “So, I guess there’s something up…”

“Yeah…” began Tommy before the alarm began to sound in the command center.

Everyone looked to see a new monster heading into the downtown.

“Like that wasn’t going to happen. Let’s go guys.”

In moments, the room filled with heroes and legends was once again populated with uniformed rangers. As one, they headed for the back entrance of the cave with one thing in mind – stop the monster.

“Wait! Jason, come back!” Hayley called out.

“You go,” Jason yelled to the other before sprinting to Hayley’s side. “What?”

“I think you have other fish to fry,” she remarked, pointing to the screen where the White Ranger clone had materialized by the lake.

“I better go see what he wants,” joked Jason as he rushed out the door to meet his doppelganger.

-x-

“Hello there, fancy meeting you here,” said Jason as he arrived at the lake, moving to face his adversary. “Let me guess, you’d like to fight?”

“I’m tired of living in your shadow,” commented the ranger clone. “After this, there will only be one White Ranger.”

“Fine with me.”

“Super Dino mode!” the clone called out, his arms extending as the power filled him, his spines growing from his uniform as he fell into a fighting crouch.

Then he launched himself at Jason, and the fight was on. Jason blocked the first few blows, and then kicked high to snap the clone’s next move. Using the long blades from his super dino mode, the clone had a longer reach, and as he swiped at Jason, he quickly rolled to avoid the dark weapon. Leaping up, Jason saw the clone advancing on him, and hurriedly moved to block the next few strikes, trying to use his feet to keep the long reach of his opponent from him, but the clone slipped past his guard and struck him across the chest with the blade, sending up sparks and throwing Jason across the grass.

Without giving him a moment, the White Ranger clone was pursuing Jason, who found his footing and proceeded to block the next few strikes sent his way. Pulling his Drago dagger, Jason began to use the weapon to more easily block the blades protruding from the clones’ arms, making the fight a little more even.

Until a well placed blow knocked Jason on his ass. As he sat up slowly, he watched the clone come to a stop before him.

“You can feel it to, can’t you? Only one of us will survive.”

“I guess it’s gonna come down to who wants it more,” Jason remarked with a biting edge to his voice.

As Jason forced himself up, pulling on the reserves of his power, the clone before him cried out and fell to his knees as a backlash of power ripped through his body, dark lighting and flames surrounding him.

“Now who’s feelin’ it?”

“You wish. Yah!” the clone yelled as he rushed Jason.

Renewed, Jason used his dagger to take the fight to the clone. They fought with fists and feet, their aerial acrobatics only comparable to a high wire act as they continued to kick and punch one another. Finally Jason landed a hard roundhouse kick to the clone’s helmet, sending him reeling.

“I feel your weakness, it won’t be long now,” the clone stated, and Jason laughed.

“Better villains have tried. Come on, bring it.”

And the fight continued.

-x-

On the other front, things had see sawed back and forth. Kim had been delighted when she’d been able to wrest the controls of the Stegozord from the White Ranger clone, and when the Dragozord had flown in, she and Tommy had quickly moved to take the Dino Stegazord into the fight.

As the demorphed rangers watched Dr. O and Kim take down one of the three monsters they were facing down, they cheered.

Then when Kim and Dr. O ended up getting kicked out of their zord after a horrific assault, demorphing in the process, they were more than justly concerned.

“Dr. O, Kim,” called Conner as the group raced to the Black and Purple ranger’s spot, the teens aiding the older rangers up.

“How are we gonna defeat this thing?”

As they looked up at the looming monster, Ethan heard something approaching in the woods, and swung his head to look.

“Guys, look,” he said, focusing everyone’s attention to the White Ranger walking slowly through the forest towards them.

“It’s the White Ranger,” said Kim under her breath.

Hurriedly they swung to stand defensively in a line, waiting to see if the ranger before them was friend or foe.

“But which one is he?” asked Kira as he continued to come closer. “Jason?”

He came to a halt and moved to his morpher, “power down.”

As he demorphed, Jason gave everyone a wry smile.

“Who were you guys expecting?”

Kim and Tommy gave one another a smile and moved to greet their friend, followed by the rest of the team.

“Good timing Jase,” Tommy said as he waited for Kim to release his best friend before grasping his hand in greeting. He waited a moment to let everyone impart their welcome on Jason before focusing back on the matter at hand. “You guys ready to do this?”

Five nods met him, and Tommy smiled grimly.

They were back in it.

-x-

Later that afternoon, the team had all met back at the Cyberspace, where Jason, Kim and Tommy all lounged on the sofa at the front of the café. As the three older rangers watched, Trent moved to meet his dad, who had just come in the door, and they spoke briefly before Anton left again.

Kira moved to the counter where Trent still stood, and the two of them talked. From her spot at the couch, Kim frowned.

“What’s the matter?” Jason asked, noting Kim’s face from where he sat across the way from his friends.

“I just wish things were easier for them,” Kim commented vaguely.

“Who?” Tommy asked, confused.

“Conner and Kira.

“They’ll be fine. They don’t have the same kinds of pressures…” began Tommy, before she cut him off.

“That we had, you mean?”

Tommy grimaced at Kim’s tone and wondered if maybe she had a point that he wasn’t aware of. He looked to see where Trent had walked away from Kira, and Conner had moved to join his girlfriend, the Yellow Ranger.

“You okay?” he asked as one of the other serving staff pushed at tray full of sweet drinks and iced coffees at the two teens.

“Trent has been acting strangely,” Kira commented worriedly.

“More strangely than normal? This is the guy that tried to break us up.”

“Allegedly.”

“Where else would Krista have gotten that idea that we weren’t seeing each other anymore. And you told me yourself that he wants you…” Conner argued vehemently. “Look, if he needs help, he can come to us, Dr. O, etc. But until then, let’s leave him be.”

Kira nodded and looked up to smile at Conner before he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

“Okay, enough of the PDA. I get enough of that mental scaring watching Dr. O and Kim,” spoke up Ethan as he sidled up beside the two lovers and reached past them for the tray of drinks. “Come on, drinks are on Hayley and there’s celebrating to do!”

With that, Ethan headed off to the couch, with Conner and Kira in tow to join the others in their post-win revelry.

-End-

Well, that’s another chapter done. Thanks to everyone who’s still reading. See you next chapter. J.