Thunder on the Horizon
by Jeremy Ray Logsdon

"Legal pad, tape recorder," Andre said, handing Heather the objects. He pulled something out from behind his ear and said, "And my lucky ink pen."

"Thanks," Heather grumbled, taking it from him. "This is very weird." She tapped the top of the blue hourglass on Andre's desk with the ink pen. Watching intently, she saw the last few grains of blue sand drop into the bottom.

"Times up," Jenga announced as she burned into being in the room. Heather shielded her eyes from the blue fire.

"You sure like the color blue, don't you?" Heather asked.

"Very much," Jenga agreed. "Shall we go to the Space Base?"

"All right," Heather grumbled. Before they teleported away, she shook an angry finger at Andre and said, "You owe me BIG."

~*~

"Take a look at that view," Jenga said, pointing Heather's gaze out into space. "At this moment, you are seeing the Earth from an angle that less than a handful of her residents have seen. Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's absolutely amazing," Heather murmured. From the balcony, the Earth hovered effortlessly against a never-ending backdrop of stars. It was both beautiful, awe-inspiring, and terrifying all in the same glance. She paused for a moment before turning to Jenga and saying, "Can I be candid?"

"Certainly."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I hadn't planned on it," Jenga returned. "Why?"

"I was just afraid you were going to kill me."

"Well, provided you don't say anything stupid, you'll be fine."

"What qualifies as stupid?"

"You're pushing it." Jenga couldn't stop the grin that followed. "I'm kidding, Heather. Geeze, you kill a few people, try to take over the planet, and suddenly everybody's all up in arms about you."

"Sorry," Heather apologized.

"It's okay, kid. Come, let's go make history."

~*~

Sigma's Universe

"I'm continually remembering things I would have liked to have done before I left home," Sydney complained. "I have friends I could have said goodbye to, I wish I had my mother's Bible, and oh! I had the neatest set of t-shirts! It was a set of fifty-six, and they were all either red or black, and printed on it in either black or red was a playing card. The whole deck."

"Don't you mean fifty-two?" Trini asked. The two girls, plus Justin and Jason, were driving to the local town to pick up some supplies.

"Fifty-two?" Sydney asked. "No, fifty-six."

"How many cards were in the decks of your world?" Jason asked.

"Am I the only one surprised that she had a set of fifty-six t-shirts?" Justin asked, mostly to himself.

"There were fifty-six," Sydney repeated. "There were four suits, hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades. The low card was ace, two through ten, the joker, the jack, the queen, and the king."

"You played with the joker?" Trini asked.

"We played with all four jokers," Sydney said. "I'm missing something here."

"Our universe, and this universe too, doesn't have a joker face card," Jason explained. "Ace through ten, jack, queen, and king."

"That is so strange," Sydney said thoughtfully. "Fifty-two cards. What a concept."

"You really had fifty-six t-shirts?" Justin asked.

"Match set," Sydney said. "I made them myself. I guess whenever we get to your world, I'll have to make myself another set." She paused then, and said, "Whenever I get to your world..."

"Something wrong?" Jason asked.

Sydney sighed as she took the cap Sabrina had given her many weeks ago off of her head. Her brightly colored hair swung free, glistening in the bright sunlight. "It's just now occurring to me," she said. "I mean... we're almost there."

"Isn't it great?!" Justin cried.

"It's terrifying," Sydney whined. "What if I can't be changed back in time? I'll have to stay fourteen! I can't support myself if I'm fourteen! What will happen to me then?!"

"See, that's all the more reason for her to be aged up instead of me aged down," Justin said, thumping his hand on the seat back for emphasis.

"No, Justin," Sydney said forcefully. "It isn't an option. You are going to be seriously screwed later on if you miss your teenage years."

"She's right," Jason agreed. "You're older than all of us now."

The quartet drove in silence for a few moments before Justin asked, "You really had fifty-six matching t-shirts?"

~*~

Jenga's Universe

Heather was absolutely dumb-founded. "Will that suffice?" Jenga asked. The two were slowly walking through the corridors of the Space Base. They had just left the Hangar where a variety of space ships were parked. "I'd really like to see this in all of the big name papers, if you can manage that. 'Time' and 'People' would be nice, too."

The young reporter grinned as she flipped through the dozens of pages of notes she had taken during her conversation/interview with the Space Demon. "I'm sure I won't have any problem getting in any newspaper or magazine I want to be in."

"Oh, a final quote," Jenga said. She raised her right hand and magically produced an envelope, held between her middle and index fingers. "Please don't open this until you've written the article. You can add this at the very end. And remember, if you open it before you write it, I will know, and I may kill you."

Heather's eyes flared open as she took the envelope from Jenga. "Really?" Heather asked. Jenga had been so friendly and open during the interview, the sudden death threat was startling.

"I would say you could find out for yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it," Jenga quipped. "So, any final questions."

"No, I think I've got everything," Heather said. Turning around from looking at the planet Earth, she extended her hand and said, "Jenga, it's been a real pleasure."

"Likewise," Jenga said, shaking her hand. Jenga leaned on the balcony and stared out into space. As if gathering her thoughts, she waited a moment before saying, "But before you go, I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" Heather asked.

"I've just given you the story that will make you the world's most famous mortal woman," Jenga said. She turned around and rested her back against the railing. "All I ask in return is a little bitty favor?"

"What's that?"

Jenga lifted her left hand up to reveal a glowing, green orb of light. "Ever wanted to be a Power Ranger, Heather?"

~*~

Tasha and DECA were walking and floating respectively toward the Galleria. "I gotta be honest with you, DECA," Tasha said, holding a print-out in her hand, "some of this stuff just doesn't exist on Earth."

"I had anticipated as much," DECA countered. "I suspect we will have to make many substitutions. Provided I can find six ounces of reforyl triklate or a decent substitute, we can make ourselves a Blue Senturion unit. It is a type of precious gem."

"Reforyl triklate?" Tasha asked. "Granted, I'm not really into jewels, but I've never heard of it."

"I have cross referenced reforyl triklate with all of my Earth knowledge, and I have not yet located either of these words. However, I'm sure a substitute can be found."

"What is it exactly?"

"It's a type of jewel," DECA answered. "Blue Senturion units use it to extract energy from the environment. It is in essence a never-ending battery."

"I gotta be honest with you, DECA," Tasha started. "I don't think anything like that exists on Earth."

"In that case, I will have to sacrifice myself."

"What do you mean by that?" Tasha asked.

"My power source is reforyl triklate," DECA said. "Although I do not particularly like the idea of turning myself off to complete our Blue Senturion unit, my sacrifice is a much smaller sacrifice than that of the entire planet." For the rest of the walk to the Galleria, the two new friends were deathly silent.

~*~

"Power Ranger?" Heather asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Very simple concept," Jenga said. "I'm making a team of evil Rangers, I need someone with the totem of a fierce cat to be the Green Ranger, and you just happen to be a Jaguar. Join me? I can make it worth your while..."

"You want me to be an evil Ranger? An evil GREEN Ranger, at that?" Heather said. She shifted her legal pad from one hand to the other and said, "Thanks, but no. Bad karma, all that stuff. Can I go home now?"

"I am gonna have to stop talking in rhetoric," Jenga said. Chuckling, she flipped her hair over her shoulders and said, "When I ask you to do something, I'm not giving you an option. Please reconsider."

Heather felt her stomach churning. She had never been so terrified in her entire life. _How could I have been so stupid!_ "Please let me go home," Heather said, not nearly as firmly as she had hoped.

"Certainly," Jenga said, standing up. She extended the glowing green orb. "Just take the power. It's delightfully wicked being evil. You can have any man on the planet, anything... Just touch this Green Thunder Orb, and the world is your oyster."

_Kill me or not, but..._ "No," Heather said defiantly.

"I'm in a generous mood today, so I'm going to give you a second chance to accept," Jenga announced. "There are two very easy ways out of this situation. One, accept the orb." After saying that, Jenga summoned Ioaeu Sjknth. The hilt was purple, angry. "Two, accept death. The choice is yours."

In a flash, Heather was off. She dropped the notepad and tape recorder as she bolted down the nearest corridor. Only one thought came to her as a means of survival. She knew it was a long shot, but as she saw it, she had nothing to lose.

She rounded the corner and ducked into the Hangar. _Get a little ship,_ she thought to herself. She hurried to the back of the room where she saw a small red ship, not much larger than an oversized car, a few ships over. It was floating effortlessly in the hangar. Heather glanced down and saw that the catwalk she was standing on was all that separated her from the oblivion of space. Getting to the small ship was going to require a leap of faith unlike any other.

Heather stretched out with her foot and tapped the nearest wing. It seemed stable. She had never been a particularly religious woman, but as she stepped off of the attached catwalk and onto the floating spaceship, she was praying harder than few humans had ever prayed. Every prayer, song, and Bible verse she had ever heard was whirling through her mind in a confusing mix.

Then, she pushed off with her other foot and landed on the ship. Falling to her knees, she grasped the shiny black surface of the craft. She waited just a few moments, and once satisfied that she was safe, she crawled across the dome-like bubble perched atop the ship. Upon crossing the peak, she slid down the slippery surface and landed chest-first on the other wing. Before getting to her feet, she tore her shoes off and tossed them aside. She reached up under her skirt and quickly removed both of her tan-colored stockings. "Much better," she muttered to herself. However, as she got into a kneeling position, she made the mistake of looking down and saw her shoes tumbling into the infinite reaches of space.

_Stop it, stop it, stop it!_ Placing one hand behind her for stability, she slowly got into a half-kneeling position. Her bare feet were already providing better traction than her slippery shoes had. Summoning up another burst of courage, she leapt onto the next ship over. Landing effortlessly, Heather's nerve was starting to build up. This time, she didn't pause. She ran from the end of one wing to the next. The small red ship was just a few feet away. It was shaped a bit like a Stealth Bomber, only there was a round dome covering the cockpit. Standing up to her full height, Heather looked again. She had to jump about four feet, and she would be there. She took a step back, and then she leapt.

She slammed into the dome, but she had made it. "I hope I can fly this thing," she muttered. She ran her hands across the dome, looking for a way in. Before she could dedicate much time to that, however, her weight overbalanced the ship and it tipped over. "NO!" She felt herself falling, and in a panic, latched on to anything she could. Her arms jerked, and the next thing she realized, she was hanging onto the inverted craft by one hand, holding on to one of the wings with a death grip. However, the surface was slippery, and her fingers were sliding. There was absolutely nothing she could grab onto, and as soon as her grip was gone, she would end up plummeting through space. Once she fell past the protective atmosphere of the Space Base, she would enter the cold vacuum of space and explode, dying instantly.

Jenga floated by, riding Ioaeu Sjknth like a stereotypical Halloween witch rides a broom, side-saddle. "Quite a predicament you've gotten yourself into," Jenga smirked.

~*~

"So this is the Galleria?" DECA asked.

"The one and only," Tasha said. "What do we need to buy first?"

"I would like to build the Blue Senturion's mental processing unit so that it can download information from the UDAB's data files while we are building his body," DECA said.

"So we need to buy computer parts first, right?" Tasha asked.

"Correct. Do you know of a place?"

"Cynthia's Computer Shack," Tasha announced. "That's the best place in Angel Grove to go for computer stuff." Tasha headed toward the escalator with DECA hovering behind her. She stepped on the up escalator and began her slow descent to the second floor. "Will Earth computers really suffice?"

"I will no doubt need to make modifications, but you have to work with what you've got," DECA said. "I must admit, Tasha, I expect more people to take notice of my unconformity."

"This is Angel Grove," Tasha sighed. "We could have a golden flying monkey attached to an organ grinder and nobody would blink an eye."

Tasha stepped off of the escalator while DECA surveyed the mall. "A rather impressive layout," DECA commented. "For an Earthian design."

"Of course. It's over here."

"Tasha, none of these computers are attempting to contact me," DECA complained. "Cynthia doesn't seem to have any sentiency machines running."

"That's because we don't have sentient computers," Tasha said. "Problem?"

"I should have known better than to even attempt to build a Blue Senturion unit on this still-water berg of a planet," DECA griped. "Well, let's get busy."

"Hi, can I help y-?" Cynthia started. She spied the blue object hovering behind the young girl.

"Yes you can," Tasha said. "We need to buy a lot of computer stuff."

"A lot," DECA repeated.

"As in probably everything you have," Tasha said. "Of course, we'll pay, but if you'll help us out and not ask any questions, we can give you a little bonus."

"Will twenty thousand suffice?" DECA asked as she extended a robotic arm with a thick wad of bills in her grasp.

~*~

"Cynthia?" one of the mall security guards asked. He knocked on the back door to her shop.

"Hi Daniel," Cynthia smiled. "Problem?"

"Well, I was wondering why you are closed early. Is there a problem?"

"No problem," Cynthia answered. "Just decided to close early. You take care, Daniel." Smiling again, she closed the door, leaving the man to ponder why she had closed her store during the peak shopping hours.

"Where are we going to get the metal to build the Blue Senturion unit?" Tasha asked as she took the cover off of yet another computer.

"The metal store?" DECA suggested.

"The metal store," Tasha repeated incredulously.

"Is there any shop in the mall that sells raw ore?"

"'Fraid not," Cynthia answered.

"What is the purpose of being on this useless planet?" DECA snapped. "You can't buy anything you need!"

"What kind of metal do you need?" Tasha asked with a sigh. "Maybe Lowe's or some place like that will have enough."

"Any type of steel or tin that I can reinforce," DECA said. "Do you know of a source?"

Tasha lifted the computer cover and pointed at the thin sheet of metal inside. "How about this?"

One of DECA's eyes turned red as she scanned the metal. "I would need approximately five hundred thousand sheets of metal at that density to compose a Blue Senturion unit," she said.

"But this kind of stuff would do?" Tasha asked. "How will you shape it into a robot?"

"The welding process is no problem," DECA said. "In my body cavity, I have a micro-laboratory that can manipulate metal far better than any of your supposed Earth technology."

"Then give me some money," Tasha suggested. "I'll run to the Toy Store and bit some die-cast metal cars."

"How much money will you need?" DECA asked.

~*~

"This is a lot of cars," Lucas, owner of Lucas' Lazer-Tag Palace, said. The gaming arcade was unique in that it also had a fair amount of toys for sale. Tasha currently had all of their die-cast cars stacked up on the counter, trying to buy them.

"Is there a limit?" Tasha asked, peeking around the massive stack of boxes. "I have money."

"Well...," he said slowly.

"Here's twenty-thousand," Tasha sighed as she handed over a wad of bills. "Keep the change."

"Do you need any help getting those out of the store?" Lucas asked.

~*~

"I have hard drives of many different sizes," Cynthia said. "The largest I have is five gig."

"Five gigabytes?!" DECA cried. "That's it?!"

"That's it. That's about the biggest they make."

DECA actually groaned as she took in the information. "Just downloading the Blue Senturion unit records will require forty-five terabytes."

"Terabyte?"

"One thousand gigabytes makes up one terabyte," DECA said. "I suppose I could make modifications... And perhaps place these 'hard drives' all throughout the body cavity... Please gather all of the hard drives that you have." DECA's top opened and two robotic arms extended, each holding a very alien tool. "I shall see if I can increase the performance of this five gigabyte drive."

"I got all kinds of metal now," Tasha announced. "Over five thousand dollars worth of model cars."

"You just have money rolling out of your ears today, don't you?" Cynthia asked as she began bringing boxes full of computer components out to DECA.

"Wait!" DECA cried. One of her optical scanners pointed its gaze at Cynthia's hand. "Reforyl triklate!"

"Excuse me?" Cynthia asked. DECA abandoned her current job and darted over to the young woman. She withdrew both of her arms only to pop one back out, this time with an empty hand. DECA delicately took Cynthia's left hand by the wrist and stared at the ring perched there.

"What is this stone called?" DECA asked.

"That's a moonstone."

"DECA?" Tasha asked.

"Moonstones are not rare on Earth," DECA realized. "Tasha, go purchase as many moonstones as you can."

"Sure," Tasha said as DECA handed her money. "Why?"

"I may be able to use it to make reforyl triklate."

~*~

Jenga literally danced down the hallways of the Space Base. She had five evil Rangers, and better yet, they had all agreed of their own volition to serve her. Granted, their only other option was death, but it still pleased her that they had all agreed to serve her. The Thunder Orbs wouldn't have worked for her otherwise.

"I can't wait until dawn," she purred. However, she paused when a realization came to her. "DECA."

From where she was standing, she turned and shot blue beams of light from her eyes to gaze upon the Earth. "You're building a Blue Senturion," she grumped. Shaking her head, she said to no one in particular, "Fine. If we want to involve the Senturion units, then we will." She disappeared in her customary teleport sequence of blue flames.

~*~

"I got us all kinds of rings," Tasha said proudly.

"Gold as well," DECA observed. "Excellent, Tasha. I can use the gold to rewire these hard drives back at the Hilton. It will make them run much faster."

"How exactly will this Blue Senturion unit work?" Tasha asked. "I mean... locomotion. Won't we need to have an engine of some type?"

"I can devise the parts from metal," DECA said. "However, I will need to observe an Earth machine to study the principles of locomotion, factoring this planet's gravity in, of course. Do you know of such a machine we could buy?"

~*~

"You want to buy a car?"

"Yes sir," Tasha answered. "Something expensive, of course."

"Of course. I'm sorry, but I can't sell a car to anyone who isn't old enough to drive."

"I don't want to drive it. I just want to buy it," she insisted.

"How will you get it off the lot?"

"I can pay somebody to drive to the Hilton for me," Tasha said with a shrug. "I don't know! Just let me buy a car! I've got the money!"

"I'm sorry, miss, I-"

With a thump, Tasha sat a large stack of green notes on the counter. "Is this real?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Tasha said proudly.

"Do you mind if I check?" he asked smugly.

Tasha's eyes widened as he took one of the bills off of the stack. He removed a brown ink pen from a drawer and drew a mark on the five hundred dollar bill. His eyes got even wider than Tasha's when the brown mark turned blue, a sign of quality. He rummaged through the stack and pulled a bill from the middle, drawing a quick mark on it with the counterfeit pen. He began to mark on the bills at random, a slight chuckling at first turning into a near-hysterical laughter when he realized the bills were real.

_That was too close,_ Tasha groaned. "Well, since you aren't interested in selling me a vehicle, I'll take the *two hundred and twenty thousand* I was going to give you in addition to the sticker price and leave."

~*~

"Any type of car you are looking for?" he asked as he escorted the young girl through the lot. "Sports car?"

"I want something really, really fancy," Tasha told him. "What's the most expensive car you've got?"

"Well... How about a Lexus?"

"What colors?"

"Black with gold trim?"

"Perfect."

~*~

Planet Thurmoth in M-51 Galaxy

Jenga couldn't help but smile as the Thurmothians leapt to their feet and bowed as she walked past. It was definitely nice to have a reputation that proceeded you. She walked up to the main desk of the Senturion Dealership. The man, his face highlighted with feline-like qualities, behind the counter stood up as she approached him. He took her hand in his, turned it over, and licked her palm.

"I love this royal treatment," Jenga smiled. "I'm here to buy some Senturion units."

"What type? And I must say, I could never charge anyone as beautiful as you."

"That's so sweet of you to say," Jenga returned. "And I'm looking to buy a Red Senturion unit. Three of them, actually."

~*~

Earth

"Heather?" Andre asked.

The attractive blonde stood with her back to him. She pulled a pair of sunglasses out of her coat pocket and slipped them over her faintly glowing green eyes. Turning back to him, she asked in a sweet voice, "Yes?"

"Your interview. How did it go?"

"Remarkably well," Heather answered. "I've got quite an article to write."

"Do you know where you are going to submit it?"

"Time, Newsweek, People, here and there, everywhere," Heather said. Her voice was strikingly normal, giving no hint to the evil coursing through her veins. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get started on writing it."

"Do you need any help?" he asked. "I mean, you're t.v."

"I'm so new I'm hardly anything," Heather quipped. "I'm sure I can do fine."

~*~

Sigma's Universe

"Geeze, Sydney," Jason laughed. "You're as bad as Rocky."

"Can I help it that I have a healthy appetite?" Sydney asked as she polished off her third order of chili cheese fries.

A short distance away, an attractive black woman, dressed normally, watched the quartet. Smiling wickedly, she produced a quartet of her own, four teenage thugs dressed in leather. Then, she summoned a quarter, walked over to the pay phone, and dialed a quick number. "Hello? Police? There's a big fight at the Sonic! You had better get out here before these four kids beat up these nice old Senior Citizens!"

~*~

Jenga's Universe

"Tasha, I am going to teleport you to our room at the Hilton," DECA said. "Please rearrange the furniture in an attempt to make room for all of our belongings. Including the Lexus. I will teleport you back here in exactly fifteen minutes."

"The Lexus."

"Yes."

Tasha had already realized that the simplest thing to do was just go along with DECA; she certainly seemed to know what she was doing. "Go for it," Tasha said. Her body began to glow, her form a swirling mass of white light. However, rather than streak up into the sky, she merely faded away.

~*~

Sigma's Universe

With a battle cry, Sydney leapt off of the table, only to have Justin catch her in mid-leap. "Lemme go!" she demanded as he held her with only one arm by the waist effortlessly.

"Sydney," Justin complained, "we're being arrested."

"I'm fourteen years old," Sydney said as she stopped struggling. Even so, Justin continued to hold her. "I can't be arrested."

"No, but you can be detained," Jason quipped as he was led past them by a police officer, his hands cuffed behind his back.

"I'm a peaceful person," Trini complained as she was escorted into the back of a cruiser. "Yet I've still managed to be arrested twice this summer!"

"I think it's kinda cool," Justin remarked as he handed Sydney over to a uniformed officer.

"Shut up, Justin," Sydney groaned as he was cuffed, and they were both pointed in the direction of the police car.

~*~

Jenga's Universe

Red Senturion Units One, Two, and Three walked into the Galleria with the utmost of ease. Their mechanical joints were as silent as organic ones, but they could move with more ease and considerably faster. Each possessed an incredible internal radio system that allowed them to stay in continuous contact with one another. In a sense, they were all extensions of the same Red Senturion unit. When one had gone as far as he could, another would promptly pick up the chase.

(I do not believe Tasha Young is at the Galleria,) Three said.

(You stay here,) Two thought at neither of them in particular. (I will go to the Hilton where she is recorded as staying.)

(I will check the Shelter,) Three announced.

(I will continue searching here for DECA,) One finished. Red Senturion units Two and Three disappeared with nary a teleport sequence. They just vanished. Red Senturion One, a gleaming red humanoid six feet tall with broad shoulders and black highlights, walked through the crowd of people, attracting remarkably little attention.

~*~

Red Senturion Three walked past a group of young children playing in front of Little Angel's Haven. They all stopped their game and looked up at the red robot walking toward the doors. He scanned their faces, vital information on each child becoming known to him. Realizing that none of them was Tasha Young, he continued into the shelter.

He stood in the center of the downstairs main room, scanning through the floors and rooms.

"Can I help you?" one of the shelter workers asked, no hint of amusement in her voice.

Red Senturion Three looked at her, information on the young woman filing across his field of vision. First name Akiko, worked at the shelter for several years... Negative match, not Tasha Young. "No," he answered simply as he turned and walked away.

~*~

With a grunt, Tasha got the couch out of the way. "Finally," she groaned as she flopped down onto it. She had pretty much emptied three of the rooms in their suite. She made a mental note to talk to DECA about the weight of the car on the floor, but there was certainly room for their Lexus otherwise. A knock on the door snapped her out of her reverie, and with a groan, she sat up. "I'm coming," she muttered.

Opening the door, she found a red robot standing before her. _Robocop._ It was identical in body to the Blue Senturion she and DECA were building, but it was red and black instead of blue and silver. "What are you?" Tasha found herself asking.

"I am Red Senturion Two under the charge of Jenga Xett," he answered. "My objectives are the assassination of Tasha Young and DECA."

He reached for the red and black pistol on his hip. With a yell, Tasha slammed the door in his face and darted into the suite. Red Senturion Two twisted the door knob, discovering it automatically locked. With a simple yank, he pulled the gilded knob and locking mechanism out of the door. As the door swung open, he removed the pistol from its holster and calmly walked into the room.

"Oh crap," Tasha muttered as she entered the side door of the bathroom. Pausing for a moment, she could just barely hear Red Senturion's near-silent footsteps on the carpet. Walking on the balls of her feet, keeping her heels away from the ground. Suddenly, the mirror over the sink exploded, causing Tasha to scream. She bolted from the bathroom, running through the second door and into the living area. Tasha darted through the now empty rooms and out the door, pulling it shut behind her.

Breathing hard, she leaned against the door only long enough to formulate a plan. "C'mon DECA," Tasha pleaded. Groaning, she ran a short distance down the hall to the stairwell. "Stupid, psychopathic robot."

~*~

DECA turned one optical receptor away from the hard drives she was currently dismantling. Switching to infrared, she scanned the area all around her. Nothing but the steady stream of humans past the store lit up as red in her vision.

"DECA?" Cynthia asked as she brought yet another box of computer components out from the storage area. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," DECA answered. She switched her vision back to normal. "It was nothing."

~*~

"Generic penthouse," Tasha puffed as she finally made it to the lobby. She had taken no more than a few steps, however, when Red Senturion Two stepped out from behind a column. With a tiny eep of alarm, Tasha darted out of sight, dropping to her knees behind a large potted plant. _So far, so good,_ she thought to herself. She crawl-walked across the lobby, darting behind a luggage cart. Peering over the luggage, she saw the shiny red robot slowly scanning the room.

"Now what," she muttered. She spared another glance back over the luggage. This time, the first thing she saw was a tiny red dot on the top of the cowhide baggage. Throwing her eyes up quickly, she saw him standing with his left arm outstretched, his laser pistol in his grasp. Silently, Tasha hurled herself to the side, a mere second before the luggage exploded. Cries of alarm rose up all over the lobby, but Tasha paid them no mind. She was already running by the time she made it to her feet.

Red Senturion Two calmly lowered his left arm and began to follow her, stalking her with the calm of a seasoned veteran or, in his case, a machine. He stopped again to raise the gun. However, his target disappeared into a swinging door before he could fire.

Tasha, headed for the Hilton's indoor pool, collided with a young girl in a purple swimsuit. Both girls went flying to the ground, Tasha going further with her momentum. "Hey," the other girl complained.

"You have to get out of here," Tasha warned.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. The girl wasn't but a year or so younger than Tasha.

"Somebody is wanting to kill me," Tasha answered. "Get out of here so he won't kill you, too!" Tasha ran off, leaving the young girl to stand there confused.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Red Senturion Two stepped in. He glanced at the young girl before him, information on her instantly filing across his vision. Kris Thomas, 12 years old, Negative match, not Tasha Young. "Excuse me," Red Senturion Two said calmly as he walked past her.

"Who are you looking for?" Kris asked. "A young African American girl?"

"Yes," Red Senturion Two answered simply.

"She went that way," Kris lied, pointing in the opposite direction of the pool.

Kris Thomas, 12 years old, accelerated heart beat, increased epidermal temperature, false statement. "No she didn't," Red Senturion Two told her as he strode toward the pool.

~*~

Tasha eyed the pool nervously. The only other place she could run that wouldn't take her through the entrance were the two saunas, and she seriously doubted that either of them had an exit. A few people, mostly Senior Citizens and a few kids, dotted the pool area. _The pool._ Tasha ran to the deep end and slipped into the water, pressing herself tightly into one of the corners. She kept as much of her body below water as he could, hoping with all of her soul that the Red Senturion wouldn't find her.

Then, she saw it. Red light glanced off of the water. Looking up, she saw him standing on the other side of the pool, his laser pistol pointed at her. One metallic finger rested against the trigger. "Please," Tasha pleaded, pressing herself even harder against the pool wall.

"I am not programmed to feel sympathy," he informed her. Then, he squeezed the trigger. Debris and water exploded up into the air as the corner of the pool was obliterated.

"NO!" Tasha screamed as she landed on the ground along with a rush of water. With a frightened gasp, she looked around.

"Tasha?" DECA asked, hovering near her. "Why are you wet?"

"Thank God," Tasha groaned as she stretched out on the floor. "DECA, if you had waited another second to teleport me..."

"What happened?"

"This thing that called itself a Red Senturion tried to kill me," Tasha answered. "Almost did, too. He said his two objectives were to kill the two of us."

"A Red Senturion?" DECA asked, her voice tinted with alarm. "Things just got a lot more dangerous, Tasha."

~*~

Sigma's Universe

"I don't like that one," Sgt. Mooney quipped.

"What a coincidence," Sydney smarted back.

"Put her with the new guy."

"Guy?" Sydney asked. "I'm a girl. Aren't you required to put me with the women."

"Eh," Mooney shrugged. "Nobody cares what we do in this town."

"Figures," Sydney griped as she was led to her cell. "Hey, this place is actually pretty nice."

"Hey Duke!" Mooney shouted. "We got yourself a cell mate."

Sydney's soon-to-be cellmate was a gargantuan bald man. His head was shaved, and he actually had a spiked dog collar around his neck. A big barrel chest was just barely contained in a black leather vest, and his blue jeans were purposely torn and ripped. "How old is she?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"How old are you?" Sydney returned with a sneer.

"She's just gonna be here for an hour or two," Mooney said as he opened the cell door. Unlocking Sydney's handcuffs, he urged her into the cell.

"So you're Duke."

"Yep."

"My name is Sydney," she said extending her hand. "I'm a 20 year old woman trapped in the body of a fourteen year old."

"Whatever," he grumped as he ignored her hand and returned to his bunk.

"Oh, we're just gonna have scads of fun together."

~*~

"Loose! Footloose!" Sydney sang, lying on her back on the top bunk. "Kick off your Sunday shoes..." She paused, trying to gather her thoughts. "I have no idea what the rest of the lyrics are."

"Oh no, does that mean you're going to stop singing?" Duke asked in a monotone.

"She's got it!" she sang again. "Yeah baby, she's got it! I'm your Venus, I am your fire, At your desire... Well, I'm your Venus, I'm your fire, at your desire..."

"You have a very beautiful voice, but your taste in music really sucks."

"Hey!" Sydney protested. "I love songs from the eighties. Bananarama is awesome!"

"If you're going to sing, could you at least sing something I enjoy?" he asked.

"Well, what do you like?"

"Country."

"Yeah, well the joke's on you pal!" Sydney shouted as she leaned over the bed. He looked up to see her upside face staring at him. Her hair, all five colors of it, streamed down like a curtain. "It so happens I love country. Any preferences?"

"Something quiet?"

"How about the Dixie Chicks?"

"How about Bocephus?"

"Never mind. I won't sing."

The two sat in silence a bit longer before Duke said, "Go ahead and sing."

In a deep, sultry bass, Sydney belted, "Unchain my heart, baby set me free. Unchain my heart, 'cause you don't care about me."

"No."

She paused only briefly before singing, "Somewhere between like and love, much more than one not quite the other! How-"

"Sing country, dammit!"

In a hideous drawl, she began, "There's a tear in my beer 'cause I'm cryin' for ya dear!"

"Sydney, I could kill you without breaking a sweat," Duke threatened in that same monotone. "I suggest you take me seriously."

"All right, all right," she said. "Give me a song title. What do you want to hear?"

"Do you know any ballads?"

"Born on a mountaintop in Tenneeessee, killed him a b'ar, when he was only three. Davy! Davy Crockett! King of the wild fr-!"

"You're going to burn in hell for this," Duke warned.

In a sing-song, Sydney taunted, "You MUST be RE-ligious." She paused, thinking hard, before she finally said, "Well, if you don't want me to sing, are you willing to do anything?"

"I have a deck of cards," he offered.

~*~

Jenga's Universe

"Tasha, it is an impossibility to build a Blue Senturion unit while running for our lives," DECA said.

"Well, we have to do something!" Tasha cried. "I don't know about you, but I have no desire to be killed."

"I have no desire to be deactivated myself," DECA agreed. "Is there any way to get in contact with the Power Rangers?"

"None that I know of," Tasha groaned. "Maybe if I alerted the press? Called 911?"

"Try anything," DECA said. Opening her lid, she extended a metallic hand and dropped a few quarters into Tasha's hand. "And be careful. Keep an eye out. Red Senturions are capable of instantaneous teleportation." Tasha nodded as she ran from the store.

~*~

"Dammit, I'm not kidding!" Tasha yelled. With an angry scowl, she threw the receiver at the phone, splintering the plastic handset. So far, her calls to 911 had been met with ridicule. Apparently, they received more than a few requests for the Power Rangers.

With a heavy groan, Tasha all but collapsed against the public telephone. She looked up, suddenly catching a glimpse of red metal. In a shiny, glass store-front, she saw one of the red robots walking through the now slightly-thinned throng of people. It was late afternoon, and the lunch crowd had dissipated. However, there was more than enough people for some stray shots to produce disaster.

Immediately, the telephone she had just been on exploded. Tasha screamed and scrambled away as plastic, metal, and change scattered all around her. She shielded her eyes instinctively, but a split second later when she dropped her hand, she saw one of the Red Senturions standing there. He pointed his laser pistol at her, never saying a word.

Tasha, likewise, rolled away. His fired shot struck the floor, digging up a considerable crater in the tile. By the time he fired his second shock, she was already to her feet and running.

She turned the corner of the mall, grateful that the Galleria at times was almost like a labyrinth. Its unique design had prompted numerous articles in various architectures magazines. Today, Tasha counted on it to save her life. However, she had taken no more than a few steps when she saw another Red Senturion. She gasped and ducked into the nearest store.

"Hi, and welcome to Dimension X," someone said. Tasha turned to see a young woman, probably a Generation X'er, standing behind the counter. She was stacking beanie babies. "My name is Katie, and we've just got a shipment of beanie babies, including the Finster beanie baby, based on the actual Finster from the Dynasty of the Apocalypse."

"I'm just hiding," Tasha commented as she disappeared into an aisle of comics.

"Thank you for shopping Dimension X," Katie commented as she returned her attention to the task at hand.

Tasha crept through the store. Being one of the interior stores, it could be entered from one of two directions. It lay in the midline of one of the mall's corridors. The escalator to the second deck lay just a short run away.

Ducking around one of the aisles, she leaned against the shelf, obscured from view. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't know if she could do it. Just to run out into the mall could be committing suicide.

She waited, listening intently. She heard no mechanical sounds of any type, no footsteps, nothing... Praying one quick, desperate prayer, she ran out of Dimension X. As she rounded the corner, she looked back and saw no hint of a Red Senturion unit.

Tasha slowed to a normal walk, still glancing behind her. _Did they give up?_ She turned her attention forward, just as she walked into Red Senturion Three.

~*~

With a loud whir, one of DECA's "eyes" whipped toward the closed storefront of Cynthia's Computer Shack. Switching into infrared, she saw it. Red Senturion One was walked past.

_It's times likes these I wish I hadn't been blessed with sentiency,_ DECA thought to herself, not really all that sarcastically. There were Red Senturion units out there, and there was only three things to stop them once they had been assigned a goal.

Completion of the goal, deactivation, or instructions from Jenga Xett. DECA only foresaw one of the three possibilities being completed, and she didn't like it.

She instantly lowered her temperature, dropping to zero degrees Celsius. It wouldn't keep her invisible, but it might buy her time if the Red Senturions relied on infrared. "Cynthia," she whispered. She dropped to the ground, hovering only an inch or so above the carpeting. "Cynthia," she repeated again. She darted into the backroom, looking around.

"DECA?" Cynthia asked, still getting boxes out of storage.

"Is there a back way out of here?" DECA asked. "I'm being stalked."

"Stalked?"

"There's no time to talk. How can I get out?"

"There's a back door, straight through," Cynthia answered, pointing.

"Thank you," DECA said in a hushed whisper as she glided away, silently.

~*~

Tasha backed up a step. There was no running now. "I am Red Senturion Three under the charge of Jenga Xett," he told her. "My objectives are the assassination of Tasha Young and DECA."

"Why are you going to kill me?" Tasha asked, fighting hard to keep back the tears. "Because you were told to?"

"Yes," Red Senturion Three said, pulling his laser pistol from his hip.

"Please don't," Tasha pleaded. "You have no reason to murder me. I'm just a worthless kid."

"I am not programmed to make judgment calls," Red Senturion Three answered, leveling his gun at her chest. "I am only programmed to serve Jenga Xett's every order."

"I AM DECA!" a loud voice yelled. "DECA STANDS FOR DIDACTIC ELECTRONIC COMPUTERIZED AMALGAMATION!!!"

Tasha and Red Senturion Three both looked up. DECA was hovering at the edge of the second deck's "balcony." Red Senturion Three pointed his gun at DECA and fired. The blue object darted to the side, safely missing the blast. "Run Tasha, run!" DECA shouted.

As soon as the second blast at DECA was fired, pandemonium erupted. Screams filled the air, and general chaos ensued. Tasha bolted for the escalator.

DECA dropped down behind the railing and grabbed a rack of clothing, swiped from the closest clothing store. Seizing it with both hands, she hurled it over to the bottom deck. It hit Red Senturion Three, knocking him to the ground. His red and black laser gun hit the ground and clattered away.

Tasha ran up the moving escalator. It was empty, unlike the escalator going down. Everyone was desperate to get out of the Galleria. Suddenly, Red Senturion Two stepped into the spacious walkways. Raising his gun, he fired at the escalator. Tasha couldn't help but scream as plastic shrapnel belched out of the escalator's railing. Another shot, this one directly on target, destroyed the escalator's motor, and Tasha tumbled to her hands and knees.

The sharp edge of the steps cut into her knees and the fleshy heels of her hand, producing no pain but the first sticky bubbles of blood. However, she ignored that and crawled up the final steps. Another shot streaked past her, striking the gargantuan skylight above her. She put her arms up around her face as she ran through the shower of glass raining down.

She ran to DECA, only to have another Red Senturion unit appear before her instantly. Screaming in shock, she backpedaled several feet. "I am Red Senturion One under the charge of Jenga Xett," he said. "My objectives are the assassination of Tasha Young and DECA."

~*~

"Ma'am, we have to get everyone away from the Galleria," the policewoman said.

"There is a young girl still in there," Cynthia said. Glancing at the badge on the policewoman's chest, she said, "Elizabeth, her name is Tasha Young. She's African American, and she's about 13 or 14 years old."

"I'll make sure she gets out," Elizabeth promised. "Now you get away from here as quickly as you can."

Elizabeth turned to go into the Galleria when a young girl approached her. "Hi," the young girl said. "My name is Tasha Young. Can you point me in the direction of the Monster Shelters?"

"Certainly," Elizabeth said, relieved. She gave the girl directions. She vanished from Elizabeth's gaze in the crowd of people. Tasha stopped moving. Then, in a white flicker, she disappeared. A floating red marble was all that remained. It darted back into the mall, inconspicuously merging back into Red Senturion Two.

~*~

Tasha cringed as Red Senturion One raised his laser pistol. "Here I am, Red Senturion!" DECA yelled. Blue flashed before Tasha as DECA flew between them. She cried and jumped back as Red Senturion One yanked his aim from Tasha to DECA. The blue sentient computerized being flew across the Galleria, sailing high above the open roof of the lower deck. She dodged and weaved as shots from Red Senturions One and Three streaked past her.

"What are you doing?!" Tasha yelled as Red Senturion One ran along the balcony, trying to hit DECA.

"I'm their number one priority!" DECA answered. "Get out of here, Tasha!"

She started for the escalators, only to see Red Senturion Two running up them. Tasha looked down to the bottom deck and saw the elaborate fountain at the other end of the balcony. She tore off for it, hunkering down to avoid a stray shot. The lasers from the Red Senturion units were invisible. The only sign that DECA was being shot at was the fact that every time a laser struck something, whether it was stone, tile, marble, or brick, it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.

Tasha reached the pinnacle of the oval-shaped opening of the second deck's floor. About ten feet below, the very utmost layer of the fountain bubbled merrily. Placing her knee against the railing, she hauled herself up to the top.

Far below, DECA was flying in rapid circles, going fast enough to avoid death but slow enough to keep the Red Senturion units' interest.

Holding herself essentially by her hands, Tasha looked at the fountain. The top of the fountain wasn't very deep, probably not more than a foot or two. However, as she turned to see a Red Senturion getting ever closer, she let go off all her fears and leapt.

She plunged beneath the water, sliding to her back as the water covered her face. Sputtering, she sat up and glanced behind her. The spray from the center obstructed her view of one side, but she didn't see a Red Senturion too close by where she could see. She trudged over to the edge of the top layer and stepped down into thigh-deep water.

The fountain was essentially a series of layers, water from the top trickling to the bottom. However, there was a smaller fountain in the center of each, sending water high. Coins lined the bottom, making it a bit more tricky to walk than she would have guessed.

Just as she hopped down to the next layer, she looked up to see Red Senturion Two jump onto the top of the fountain. "Crap!" Tasha cried, wasting no time in getting to the next lowest level.

Red Senturion Two pointed his gun at her and fired. However, just as he fired, one of the random founts spurted, deflecting the laser. It broke up into numerous beams, all of which traveled in wildly varying directions. A wide swath of minor damage was inflicted as it struck all around the mall. Windows broke, tile chipped out of the floor, and plaster fell from the ceiling.

Tasha finally made it to the bottom level. She hurried through the knee deep water and jumped out of the fountain, soaking wet. As she took off running, she glanced up behind her to see Red Senturion Two calmly walking through the water.

DECA whizzed up to Red Senturion Three, turning sideways and passing through his legs in mid-stride. He turned his gun and fired, hitting the ground.

"Come and get me, Red Boys!" DECA taunted. Floating about a foot off of the ground, she tore through the already greatly damaged Galleria's food court. She continually whipped around tables and chairs, producing plenty of plastic shrapnel. If not for the fact that they were machines, Red Senturion One and Three would have been seeing red in their attempts to destroy the elusive DECA.

She took a right turn into Sears, disappearing in the maze-like women's clothing department. Resting her base against the carpeted floor, she changed her temperature to that of her surroundings and she switched her vision to infra-red.

Tasha ran to what she hoped was the nearest exit. Red Senturion Two, the unit from the Hilton, was calmly following her, his laser pistol drawn and ready to kill. _Oh no..._ Tasha found herself facing a dead end. Rather than run into a lobby that would lead out of the Galleria, she was in the corridor that ended only in the restrooms.

She turned, hoping she could backtrack. However, the long shadow of Red Senturion Two was already creeping toward her. "Oh God," she groaned, panicked. She ran to the end of the corridor, hoping and praying that there was an exit, an exit she couldn't see it.

Nothing.

She stepped to the side, patting the wall, just as a shot from Red Senturion Two's laser pistol hit the wall. Screaming, she ran into the men's restroom. She slammed the door shut, hoping to find a lock but not surprised that there wasn't one. The Galleria's restrooms were gargantuan, holding twenty stalls.

She ran to the very back of the room and entered the back stall on her left, locking it. Tasha crouched on the back of the toilet. Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard the door open and Red Senturion Two's metallic feet click against the tiles. _You are dead meat if you don't run!_

Tasha got off of the toilet and got on her stomach in the stall. The fact that her stomach was rubbing against the tiles of the mens' room didn't occur to her. Survival was the only thing she could think about. She saw his red and black feet at the far end of the restroom. He was definitely looking for her, but he wasn't moving.

She suddenly got an idea. She stretched one arm up, pausing it near the handle. Her hand quivered nervously. Then, in a lightning quick jab, she flushed the toilet. She bit her lips hard in an effort to remain silent as she crawled on her stomach, pulling herself along with her elbows, beneath the tiles. She heard his feet moving toward the back of the restroom. Tasha crawled as quickly as she could, passing by toilet after toilet.

After crawling through about ten stalls, she heard him kick the stall door open. Biting on her lip hard, she kept moving. Then, she heard him open the next stall door. _He's going to find you!_ her mind screamed. The sensible part of her mind insisted she wasn't going to live, but she still didn't stop crawling.

Suddenly, the door to the restroom crashed open and DECA flew into the room. "It's me, Red Senturion!" DECA shouted.

_DECA!_ Tasha cried gratefully in the silence of her mind. She heard one of the laser pistol's shots hit the brick wall, and DECA darted out of the restroom. Red Senturion Two was close behind.

Shaking, Tasha climbed to her feet and sat down on the toilet. She knew she should be running, but she was shaking too much. Gasping for breath, she buried her face in her hands. _Stop it. You still aren't safe._

She wiped her cheeks, even though she wasn't crying. _Right._ Standing up, she cautiously pushed the stall door open. The restroom seemed to be empty. On her tiptoes, she hurried over to the main door of the restroom. _Please God, just one break._ She stepped out into the Galleria, breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the immediate area devoid of Red Senturion units. Keeping her back to the wall, she hurried to the main area of the mall.

Wherever DECA was, Tasha assumed the Red Senturions were as well. The mall was totally deserted; destruction was everywhere. At the moment, the only sound was that of the fountain. The water still rolled and bubbled merrily. She walked off, just as an explosion sounded behind her. She felt the bits of the wall hit her in the back, and as she spun around, she saw a blackened hole in the granite.

Glancing up, she noticed Red Senturion One walking out of Dimension X. Unable to keep from screaming in a mixture of fear and rage, Tasha tore off as fast as she could. He pointed his gun and fired, striking a glass case filled with various gadgets from Spencer's. The glass collapsed, tinkling as it struck the floor.

This time, Tasha followed the sunlight. However, as she darted down the final corridor leading to the exit, she realized something was wrong. Numerous police cruisers were parked on the sidewalk in front of the doors, their red and blue lights flashing. Chains were stretched across the door handles to keep a curious onlooker, or reporter, from sneaking in. Unfortunately, it was also going to keep Tasha in.

"NO!" she screamed, slamming into the door. She looked behind her and saw the shadow of Red Senturion One creeping around the corner. "Let me out!" Tasha yelled, jangling the door. She beat her fists against the glass. A quick idea occurred to her, and she dropped to the ground. Sitting down and leaning back on her hands, she kicked out with both feet. The glass, however, was safety glass, technically unbreakable.

"Please break," Tasha pleaded as she lashed out again, slamming both heels into the pane of glass stretched across the lower half of the door. The glass bent with her force, but it didn't even make an attempt to break. It just sent shock vibrations shaking up her legs.

Turning around, she slowly got to her feet, pressing herself against the door. Red Senturion One was in full view, slowly walking toward her. Tasha scurried from door to door, still finding them locked.

"Come on," Tasha taunted. "Shoot me." It was a simple plan, but as she saw it, it was her only chance. He would shoot at her, she would dodge, and the door would be blown to shreds.

Unfortunately for her, Red Senturion One wasn't stupid. His mechanical brain realized that, and he was going to wait until he could press the gun to her forehead to pull the trigger.

Tasha's legs gave out beneath her, and she slumped to the floor. "DECA, please," she moaned.

Suddenly, what sounded like the world exploding filled Tasha's ears. She screamed and ducked down as glass and metal burst out of the front wall of the Galleria. Tasha looked up just in time to see a pink truck land inside the mall, sliding to a stop. It slammed into Red Senturion One, sending the red killer robot flying.

The Pink Turbo Ranger was behind the wheel, and the Yellow Turbo Ranger was in the tailbed. Hopping out of the truck, Ashley hurried over to her. "Are you all right?" she asked, quickly examining Tasha for any injuries.

"I'm okay," Tasha breathed, disbelieving.

"Yellow Ranger, get her out of here!" Cassie cried as she leapt out of the truck and took a defensive stance.

"Right!" Ashley agreed. "Where to?"

"Monster shelter," Cassie said, placing herself between Red Senturion One and Tasha. Ashley wrapped an arm around Tasha's shoulders, and the two disappeared in a flash of yellow and white.

Red Senturion One casually climbed to his feet, staring at the Pink Turbo Ranger before him. "You can't teleport into the Monster Shelter," Cassie said defiantly. "If you want to get her, YOU have to go through me."

"You are not in my objectives," Red Senturion One said calmly, "but the assassination of Tasha Young is. If I must go through you, then so be it."

"You gotta go through us, too," Carlos said as he and TJ ran up.

Blue light streaked down through the ceiling, producing the broad-shouldered Blue Turbo Ranger. "And me," Bulk affirmed.

"Don't forget me," Ashley quipped as she reappeared in the Galleria.

"That is an acceptable proposal," Red Senturion One decided before he launched an all-out attack.

~*~

Sigma's Universe

"I'm sorry, but those big eyes scare the hell out of me," Duke said. "My girl loves Sailor Moon, but... ungh." He was reclined on his bottom bunk, while Sydney sat on the ground beside him.

"You know, most men like the idea of women trotting around in sailor fukus."

"I'll have none of that, thank you," Duke muttered. "I'll just take my women naked."

"That explains the playing cards," Sydney said with a grin. Each card had a buck naked woman in a variety of positions with the same vacant stare. "Now, it's ten, jack, queen, king, right?"

"I've never seen anyone have a hard time understanding the concept of a deck of cards," Duke grunted.

Sydney raised her eyebrows as she took in her hand. "So, it just goes, ten, jack, queen, king?"

"Right," he said.

"All right," she said as she rummaged through her cards. There..."

"Why is your hair so..."

"Metallic?"

"Yeah."

Sydney brushed her fingers through the silken, colored locks of hair. "It's dyed," she lied. "I just got some good hair dye. But the grey is real." They played cards in silence for a while longer, before Sydney asked, "What're you in for?"

"Same as always. I had to protect my smart-mouthed teenage daughter. You?"

"Public brawl," she said. "We won. Did you?"

"I ain't dead, am I?"

"I still find it very strange that they put a 14-year old girl in the same jail cell as a hardened criminal."

"Hardened?"

"Aren't you?"

"I wish. No, I'm strictly a misdemeanor kind of guy."

"I once kidnapped a member of the royal family," Sydney said.

"You did not."

"I could if I was twenty," Sydney griped.

"What is it with you and the obsession with being twenty?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

~*~

"I can't believe they got arrested," Tara griped as she parked in front of the jail.

"I can't believe Sigma won't just teleport them out," I added. "I mean, it was Sheila's fault!"

"He said he'll wipe everybody afterwards," Katherine commented. "Apparently, disembodied mentors like to jerk their students around."

"I'll go jerk Mooney around," Tara complained.

"He's her uncle," I told Katherine as Tara stormed up the sidewalk.

"Mooney!" Tara yelled as soon as she entered the building. "Get your sheriff hiney out here!"

"Tara, please don't get us arrested again," I pleaded. "I'm not a fan of community toilets."

"You hush," she threatened sternly, pointing a finger.

"See how she treats me?"

"What- oh," Mooney said as he came out front. "It's you."

"You can just see the love in the air, can't you?" Katherine asked.

"You arrested four of our friends, one of which is a minor? Why did you do that?" Tara snarled

"They were in a public brawl!" Mooney shouted.

Tara ran right up to him and stared him directly in the eye. "They were just defending themselves!"

"Mr. Mooney, sir, we're just here to pay their bail," I sighed.

"And who are you?"

"I'm Garland's boy," I muttered.

"Oh yeah!" he realized. "How's your daddy doin', son?"

"He's doing just fine," I said, attempting a smile. "He'll be back in town next week."

"Stop talking to him," Tara snarled, slapping me on the arm.

"Come on," Mooney said, stepping away from his angry niece. "We'll go get 'em out. You stay here." Tara sneered at him as the rest of us went to the back.

~*~

Jenga's Universe

TJ grunted as Red Senturion One kicked him in the ribs. As he stumbled away, Bulk and Ashley jumped at the robot. Each struck home on the beast, only to have it whirl around and simultaneously spin-kick both of them.

"Thunder Cannon!" Carlos shouted, stancing himself as he called on his Power Weapon. A burning green ball of energy shot out of the cannon, striking him in the stomach. With an oomph, Red Senturion One stumbled backwards, his metallic feet clanging against the floor.

Cassie jumped in next with Wind Fire, shooting a continual stream of pink lasers into Red Senturion One's body. Bulk followed suit, summoning his Hand Blasters and firing them in one fluid movement.

"Star Chargers!" Ashley cried.

"Lightning Sword!" TJ shouted.

"No you guys!" Bulk yelled. "Turbo RAM! That'll finish this guy off!"

"Right!" the others agreed. They quickly lined up and touched their weapons together. In a bright white flash, the Turbo RAM assembled. Ashley and Cassie knelt beside it and grabbed the handles there. Bulk took his place behind Cassie, with Carlos behind Ashley. Lastly, TJ stood behind the object.

"Turbo RAM!" they all shouted. "FIRE!" A giant, gleaming burst of energy shot out of the cannon, streaking the short distance to Red Senturion One. It hit him in the chest, and he exploded, gleaming red parts flying everywhere.

"We did it!" TJ yelled. "I love being a Ranger!"

"Awesome!" Cassie agreed.

"Were there any others?" Carlos asked.

With a flick of her wrist, a Turbo Navigator appeared in Ashley's hands. "Two more," she said quickly. "Maybe three... They are all in the... that way. There is something else in here, but... It's not registering as hostile."

"Let's go take back the Galleria!" TJ shouted happily as he ran off.

~*~

In Angel Grove Park, a bizarre assembly of people were walking down one of the few sidewalks. Molly Brown Hammond, wearing a bright yellow shirt, walked directly in front of David Alan Trueheart, dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt. At his side was Margaret Tobin Hammond, better known as Maggie, in a pair of pink short shorts and a white tank top. Her long blonde hair was tied back with a pink scrunchie. In the lead was Marjorie Carol Lubbock, known to more as Marge, in red dress shorts and red blouse. She was positioned in the midline of the group. Each and every one of them had on a park of dark black sunglasses. There was a curiously empty space in front of Maggie.

Just then, a woman in a green business suit walked toward the group. She, too, was wearing the same black sunglasses. She effortlessly stepped in front of Maggie and began to march with them, not causing the group to break form.

They walked in perfect unison, each stepping forward with their right foot at the exact same time. Their arms swayed in unison, and the distance between them was equal. The group walked off of the sidewalk, heading into a nearby cove of trees. There, they broke form, making a circle. In perfect unison, they removed their sunglasses, reveal ten glowing eyes.

"Why are you the leader?" David asked, turning his blue eyes onto Marge's red ones.

"Our Queen selected me," Marge answered, cocking her head arrogantly. "She must have had her reasons."

"I am the oldest," Heather announced. "I should be the leader. Just because you are wearing red doesn't mean anything."

"I should be the leader," David said firmly. "I have the greatest physical strength and fighting ability."

"I am the leader, and I am justified in being the leader," Marge informed them. "I have the greatest intellect."

"It doesn't matter who is the leader," Maggie snapped, fixing her pink eyes on the three squabbling Rangers. "We're serving Jenga Xett. There is no greater honor."

Marge slid her sunglasses back on and said, "I agree completely. We avoid each other until the fight."

"That's kind of hard for some of us," Molly smirked.

"Other than the twins, of course," Marge snapped. "This is important to Jenga. We aren't going to fail her."

"Stop talking to us like we're stupid," David growled. He put hisng blue bead behind. It darted over to DECA and flew inside her.

"Is this a satisfactory replication?" DECA asked.

Tasha b

"She should have gotten five women," Heather quipped, leaving as well.

Maggie, Molly, and Marge stared at each other. "Don't forget whose team this is," Marge threatened, walking off.

"Some people turn into total ego-maniacs when they receive a world of power and become evil," Maggie realized.

"Oh, I know," Molly agreed. She put her glasses on over glowing yellow eyes. "I'm glad we didn't."

"Totally," Maggie agreed, covering her pink eyes and walking off with her sister.

~*~

"Somebody help me!" DECA yelled as she streaked through the mall.

"What was that?!" Carlos cried, spinning around to look at the blue object which whizzed past them.

"I don't know, but here come some Red Senturions!" TJ shouted.

"The Turbo RAM worked before," Bulk said. "Let's use it again!"

"Right!" the others agreed. Quickly, they reformed the Turbo Ram and took their positions. "Fire!" Red Senturion Three looked at them just as his death-blast came hurtling for him. He tossed his laser pistol at Red Senturion Two, just before he was struck and exploded.

"Aim for the other one!" TJ cried.

However, before they could fire, Red Senturion Two raised both guns at chest level and fired at the Turbo Ram. "Abandon ship!" Bulk shouted. Carlos was struck in the chest, blasting him to the other side of the corridor. The Turbo Rangers leapt aside as a barrage of laser shots struck the Turbo RAM, sending into oblivion, at least temporarily.

"Now what?!" Ashley yelled.

"We take this guy out with brute strength," Bulk replied as he dropped into a kneeling position. He unholstered his Auto Blaster, turned it full force, and let loose with a string of blue lasers. Each bounced effortlessly off of Red Senturion's body, doing no more damage than a few dings.

"HI-YAAH!" a female voice yelled. Looking up, the Rangers saw the White Ranger standing on the second deck. "Go get him, Saba!" Aisha yelled as she threw her enchanted saber at Red Senturion Two.

The saber flew, straight as an arrow, at the robot. It quickly circled his body repeatedly, disorienting him. Then, Saba hit the guns in his double grip, knocking them both away.

With a yell, Aisha flipped off of the second deck and caught Saba as she flew back to her. "Good job!" Aisha complimented her sword.

"I aim to please," Saba said.

"You guys need a hand?" Adam asked as he ran up to the group in his Green Zeo Ranger garb.

"I've got two," Tanya added, morphed as well as Zeo Ranger II.

"Don't forget us!" Tommy shouted. He and Zack were close behind as Zeo Ranger V and the Black Morphin Ranger.

"I'm always ready for a rumble," Crystal remarked, their visitor from another dimension. She stood ready and gleaming in her shiny red armor with the Tyrannosaurus on the helmet. In her hands, she held the Senturion Pistols that Saba had knocked away.

"I am Red Senturion Two," Red Senturion Two said. "My sole objectives were the assassination of Tasha Young and DECA. Do you all stand in my path?"

"You better believe it," Zack growled as he summoned his Power Axe.

In a golden glimmer, Bulk as the Blue Turbo Ranger morphed into the Gold Zeo Ranger. He crossed his left arm across his chest and produced the Golden Power Staff. "Pistols up!" TJ shouted. The four Turbo Rangers unholstered their Auto Blasters.

"Cosmic Cannon!" Zack yelled as he turned his weapon around.

"Zeo Cannon!" Tommy, Tanya, and Adam cried, producing the weapon with Alpha's assistance to override Rocky and Katherine's presence.

"Saba!" Aisha yelled as she pointed the saber out before her, the tiger's eyes ready to fire.

"It's time for a Gold Rush!" Bulk shouted.

Crystal spun the pistols in her hand as she took a wide stance. "I always wanted to have a gun with these powers," Crystal growled.

"FIRE!" TJ yelled. The Galleria was lit up with a rainbow of colors as all of the weapons let loose at once. Red Senturion Two covered his face with his arms, but it was futile. In a loud explosion, he disintegrated, a black puff of smoke rising up in his spot.

"We did it!" Aisha cried.

Suddenly, a white wash of light covered the mall. The automatic spell that dictated all Ranger-related battles removed all evil influence of the fight, returning the mall to near perfect condition. The only sign that the Rangers had been there was from where Wind Chariot had plowed through the lobby.

"Back to the Command Center," Tommy called. In a dazzling display of lights, the Rangers teleported away, just as the All Clear siren began to sound.

~*~

Sigma's Universe

"Hey jailbirds," Katherine taunted, leaning on the cell bars.

"Took you all long enough," Justin complained.

"We looked at the video," I said. "It really does look like you all were beating up on Senior Citizens. Remarkably disturbing."

"Where's Sydney?" Kat asked, just seeing Jason, Trini, and Justin in the cell.

~*~

"Aw," Sydney complained. "I was just starting to have a good time."

"Isn't that always how it works?" Duke quipped. "Anybody here to let me out?"

"Not yet," Mooney said as he opened the cell. "C'mon, kid."

"I'm only gonna be in town for like more two days," Sydney told Duke. "Any chance I'll get to see you around again?"

"Who knows?" Duke remarked as he stood up. "Can I have a hug?"

"I wouldn't leave without one," Sydney told him as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled him tight against his chest.

As he released her, he cuffed her chin and said, "Keep yer nose clean, little lady."

Standing on tip-toe, she planted a kiss on his cheek. "You too," she said, smiling as Duke blushed. She then walked out of the cell, leaving with Mooney. "I liked him," she commented, much to her jailor's chagrin.

~*~

Jenga's Universe

Tasha stood on the sidewalk in front of one of many of Angel Grove's Monster Shelters. "DECA, please be alive," Tasha muttered.

"Looking for someone?"

"DECA!" Tasha cried. The blue contraption hovered complacently by Tasha's shoulder. "You survived!"

"The Power Rangers came to my aid," DECA said. "And the Red Senturions have been destroyed."

"What's to keep Jenga from sending more?"

"Twenty-four hour grace period," DECA said. "As Earth is under the guard of UDAB, it can't have more than three evil Senturions on it in any twenty-four hour period. By the same token, any planet under the guard of the UAE can't have more than three good Senturions on it in any one of their rotations."

"Infodump, DECA," Tasha sighed. "Now what do we do?"

"Let's head back to the Galleria and finish getting our supplies," DECA said calmly.

~*~

On the outskirts of Angel Grove lies a very small school of martial arts, known simply as Yoshi's Dojo. It was a small business, and most of the classes were owned by the ancient Yoshi himself. Except for his adult classes, he had only three assistants, all young college-age students.

David Trueheart walked into the dojo, still wearing pitch-black sunglasses. "Dave's here," Julia, one of the three assistants, said with a nod.

"About time," the other, Ellen, remarked. "Hey David, what's holding you up today?"

"I'm busy," he answered coolly. As the third and senior assistant, he had a set of keys to open Yoshi's office. "Do you know if Yoshi has a dagger?"

"Dagger?" Julia asked, glancing at Ellen.

"Yes," David said. "I need to practice."

"Probably," Ellen said with a shrug. "Practice for what?"

A moment later, he stepped out of the office with a dagger in his hand. Using the sharp point, he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "Found it," he said as he turned to leave.

~*~

"I've got one in front each wheel, DECA," Tasha said. "Now what?"

"Do you know how to drive?"

"Not really. What do you need me to do?"

"We just need to drive the car onto the floating props," DECA said. Each floating prop was shaped much like a fish bowl. It was spherical but the top was sawed off, providing a flat surface for the wheels to rest on. Each was bronze in color, and they could all levitate up to ten tons each.

"I'll give it a shot," Tasha smiled as she got behind the wheel.

~*~

It took a few attempts, but eventually, the two managed to get the Lexus on the floating props. It hovered simply about two inches above the ground. "This should keep it from crashing through the floor," Tasha said thankfully.

"I believe we have everything," DECA said, smiling if she had had a face.

"We bought out every computer place in the mall," Tasha said, looking at the numerous boxes stacked all around them. After DECA had purchased every computer hardware Cynthia had, they had been forced to move on, ending up in Radio Shack.

"Now we teleport to our suite," DECA announced. "Hang on tight." In a suppressed white glow, the Lexus, DECA, Tasha, and all of their boxes vanished.

~*~

Sigma's Universe
5:03 p.m.

"I think I've got it figured out," Rocky said. Billy, Skull, Rocky, and Kimberly had decided to wash my car in an attempt to get some sun and play with the waterhose. That, and everyone else was either in jail or trying to bail people out of jail.

"Figured what out?" Kimberly asked. They were all dressed in the barest necessities, seeing as it was a smoldering hot day. Kimberly wore shorts and a bikini top, Rocky bare to the waist, and Billy and Skull in thin tank tops.

"He likes Katherine best, right?" Rocky asked.

"Right," Billy agreed.

"So that means he would want her to be happy, and it was obvious from all that stuff on the show when she was evil that she wanted Tommy," Rocky continued. "Therefore, for Katherine to be happy, he would want her to be with Tommy. That's why he likes Tommy and Katherine so well together."

"I wonder if meeting some of us in person has changed his opinion on us?" Kimberly mused.

"He'll probably think he imagined it all because of those painkillers he's been taking all summer for his arm," Billy suggested.

"Allison said he has been looser this summer," Skull agreed, reaching for the water hose. He was standing in the bed of the truck, washing the top of the cab.

"I wonder how much longer we'll be here?" Kimberly asked, handing the hose to her boyfriend. "I'm really anxious to get home."

"We all are, Kimberly," Billy said. "Maybe we'll get lucky, and we can go home just as soon as Crystal gets back here."

"The ex-cons are home!" Rocky called, pointing to the blazer pulling into the driveway.

"So help me," Trini said as she got out of the vehicle, "if I get arrested one more time, I'm going to do something worth getting arrested for."

"I, for one, had fun," Sydney commented. "Learned to play cards with your flictated decks, met a very nice criminal by the name of Duke- I've just got to make sure that Sigma doesn't wipe his memory of me. That man was awesome."

"And made an enemy of my uncle," Tara smiled. "That's always a plus."

"No offense, you all, but it gets really boring around here," Kimberly complained. "What is there to do?"

"We're doing it," I said. "It is boring around here."

"Gregory's Place," Tara realized. "It's a non-alcoholic bar in Bowling Green," she said for those who had yet to go.

"I love Gregory's Place!" Kimberly squealed. "Dancing, mechanical bulls, it'll be a blast."

"Then let's go," Sydney said.

"Maybe I can pick up some chicks!" Justin shouted happily.

"We gotta keep an eye on him," Rocky muttered.

~*~

Jenga's Universe
6:28 p.m.

"Supper!" Ruby yelled. Dinner time at the Hammond House was an event worthy of full media coverage, but as was Ruby's experience, it was fairly thankless. She didn't mind, though. This was her family, her large family, and their smiles were thanks enough. Usually.

Children began streaming in from everywhere. Her husband, Samuel, already had the youngest set of twin, two-year-old terrors Harmony and Melody locked in their high chairs. He also had their very youngest, seven-month old Wyatt, balanced in the crook of his arm. Four-year old Autumn stood beside the table, resting her chin on the very edge. "Daddy?" Autumn was the only of the Hammond daughters to inherit their mother's light auburn hair.

"Sorry," Samuel said. He pulled the heavy oak chair that was reserved for Autumn out from the table.

"Thank you," she said politely as she climbed up into it.

Ashley, the only child in the family to share their parents love of history, came downstairs with six-year old Andrew Jackson on her back. He wasn't the only Hammond child to have as a middle name the last name of someone famous from history. Andrew possessed the other set of red hair in the family, something that delighted his father no end, given that the original Andrew Jackson also had red hair. "Siddown, rugrat," Ashley teased as she knocked Andrew off of her back.

In a screaming whirlwind of giggles, the three brown-haired triplet girls known collectively as Randi, Sandi, and Kandi, streaked into the kitchen, making several laps around the mammoth oblong table before taking their seats. They continued to chatter endlessly, talking faster than most people could follow.

Jesse James, the eleven year-old already obsessed with girls, sauntered into the kitchen, talking on a cordless phone. "Say goodbye to Missy, Jesse," his father said sternly.

"Dad, this is Lauren," Jesse sighed.

"Lauren? What happened to Missy?"

"She was last week."

"Just what I need, another air-head sibling," Ashley smarted, snatching the phone from his hand. "Lauren, Jesse'll call you back later."

"Ashley! You big geek!" Jesse cried. "I can't believe you did that!"

"She does it every night," Ruby commented. "I figured you'd be used to it by now."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten," Samuel counted off. "Who's missing?"

"The two who think they're too good to watch us," Sandi complained.

"Be nice to your sisters," Ruby chided.

"All of 'em?" Kandi whined.

"Margaret Tobin! Molly Brown! Get down here!" Samuel yelled.

"Sorry we're late," Maggie said calmly as she stepped into the kitchen from the backyard. Samuel turned around from the stairs to see his twin daughters walk into the kitchen.

"Thank you for joining us," he said. "Care to remove the glasses, girls?"

"Not especially," Molly commented as she took her seat by her father's left hand at the head of the table.

"We just bought these at the Sunglasses Hut," Maggie said, taking her seat between Ashley and Samuel. She sat opposite her twin. "We intend to get our money's worth."

At the far end of the table, the three triplets simultaneously pressed the back of their hands to their foreheads, thumb stuck out and forefinger straight up in 'Loser' pose. Ruby, at the foot of the table, flashed them a stern glare. Autumn and the two-year olds promptly imitated them. "See what you started," Ruby complained, trying to get the other three children to stop.

"Can you remove them for our prayer?" he asked.

Maggie and Molly were already bending their heads as they slipped their glasses off. With their eyes shut tight, they folded their sunglasses and set them on their plates in an eerie mirror reflection of each other. "You two get weirder every day," Ashley commented.

"Ashley," Samuel said. Glancing at the rest of his family, everyone slowly bowed their heads. "Dear heavenly Father, we thank you for this meal we are about to partake. We thank you for giving us good health, a happy home, and a free country to live in. We also thank you for giving us the Power Rangers to protect us from Satan's armies in whatever form they may take."

Suddenly, to Ashley's horror, she heard Maggie snort, as though biting back a laugh. "What's wrong with you?" Ashley snapped in a whisper.

"Sorry," Maggie apologized. "I inhaled wrong." Jesse, opposite Ashley, crinkled his nose and looked at his eldest sister in disbelief.

"In your name WE pray," Samuel said firmly, his patience stretched to the limit, "Amen."

"Amen," everyone but Maggie and Molly said in unison.

The twins lifted their heads with their eyes still closed. As they slipped their sunglasses on, they muttered in closing for the prayer, "Whatever."

~*~

Sigma's Universe

"Duke!" Sydney cried happily.

"Sydney?" the bartender asked, turning around. His eyes actually lit up as he realized his former cellmate was standing before him. "Sydney!" Leaning across the bar, he hugged her tightly.

"Is this your bar?"

"I just work here," he answered. "My wife owns this place."

"I see she bailed you out of jail," Sydney smiled. "Somehow, you don't seem to be the type to be a bartender in a bar for teenagers."

"Gotta make a living."

"Hurry up, Sydney!" Kimberly called from across the room.

"Hey, before you go," Duke started. Leaning across the bar, he whispered in Sydney's ear, "In exactly three minutes we're going to start a Bladder Blast. If you need to go the bathroom, go now."

"Thanks Duke," Sydney smiled. As she walked back to their large table in a corner of the darkened room, she passed the mechanical bull. A blonde girl who would have had a noticeable accent had she not been squealing was being shook into a state of numbness on it. Jason and Rocky were goading her on from the sidelines.

"You guys, there's about to be a Bladder Blast," Sydney whispered.

"Bathroom time," I agreed, jumping to my feet. Dana, Tara, and Allison were close behind.

"What's a Bladder Blast?" Trini asked.

"The drinks are free until somebody either pees or leaves," Sydney answered. "You best hurry."

"I don't have to be told twice," Skull said.

"I'll go warn Jason and Rocky," Billy offered.

I had no more than entered the restroom when Jason, Rocky, Skull, and Billy threw the door open in a hurry. "The girls are panicked. They've still got two minutes," Jason said.

"Think about what you just said," Skull quipped. Then, he stopped, taking in the mens' room. The bathroom at Gregory's Place is an experience unlike any other. There were only two stalls at the very far end, but lining both walls were about fifty urinals. The bathroom is purposely kept dark, and neon tubing of varying colors lines each of the white urinals. There is also a red light perched at the top of each, casting a bulls-eye onto the bottom. "This is the coolest bathroom I have ever seen," he sighed.

"Wait until you activate the motion sensor," Rocky commented, waving at a nearby urinal. The purple glow around it brightened.

"Kinda makes you wonder what the women's room is like, doesn't it?" Billy asked.

~*~

"Oh my gosh," Katherine groaned as Justin helped her stand. "I can't stand up."

"You stayed on for the whole time!" Justin laughed. "C'mon, let's get you to the table." He was practically dragging the giggling Pink Zeo Ranger to their table. He had just set her down in her chair when a loud siren went off.

"What's that?" Katherine asked.

"The Bladder Blast has started," Allison announced as she returned to the table.

"It did?" Katherine asked. "Great. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom."

"If you pee before ten o'clock, you'll be roasted," Tara told her.

"I don't have to pee," Katherine whispered. "I just need to go to the bathroom."

"Why?" Justin asked, perplexed.

"If you must now, that mechanical bull has my underwear so far up my bum I'm surprised I'm not walking on my tippy-toes," she snapped.

"Bum?" Beth asked as Katherine hurried off.

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