Chapter 9 - Feminine Mystique

Dr. Lark Walker led several workers to a large ornate greenhouse not far from the Citadel. It hadn't been maintained in several millennia, so what few plants still thrived were running wild. The dirt was dry and in hospital to anything that wasn't some alien weed. Gardening was low on the list of things to do on Sky Base. But Gore had decided this one, at least, he and Tempest would maintain themselves as part of their Earth training.

He'd ordered supplies, soil and seeds and it all came in today. He, however, was nowhere to be seen. Tempest was the only one in the greenhouse when she entered. They'd started with a small section with what they could quickly buy from a store in the city. "Where's Gore?" she asked, looking around.

Tempest stood and brushed her hands off. "Good question. This was his idea," she declared. Though she had to admit it was kind of fun and she understood how working with the soil helped them.

"I'm here," Gore said as he jogged. He rubbed his shoulder, but the truth of the matter was that everything hurt. "I knew that hitting the surface of water at high speeds could be like hitting concrete. I even kind of get how that happens. I had no idea that an invisible wall of air could feel the same way," he complained. He'd discovered what it meant to be Taylor's "new Kane". For Gore it basically meant trying to defend himself with dirt against the crazy things Taylor could do with wind.

"Did you somehow forget the part where Taylor landed half an airplane?" Tempest asked with a slight giggle. It was still a horrifying memory of being in that airplane at the time. She could now laugh at it a little bit. A very little bit.

"That should have been my first warning," he said. "I'll take over here," he said.

Lark gave him the tablet with the list of supplies. "Fine by me. I have better things to do anyway," she said.

"You sure? I can stay," Tempest said to Gore.

"Thanks, but I got it," he assured her.

Tempe shrugged. She and the Doc left the green house. She stretched her muscles She'd been working on her little patch of garden for a while. "Hey, why don't I wash up and we'll go down to the city and get a treat," she suggested. "You can't say no, I don't care what else is going on," she warned the other girl.

Lark nodded slightly. "Fine. I won't refuse a treat. Especially if it's of the frozen and sweet variety," she agreed. "I'll wait for you in the lab," she said.

"It's a date," Tempest said with a grin. They entered the Citadel and split up.

Ram was working in the Lab while Taylor was once again watching surveillance footage from around the city. "What's going on?" she asked as she removed her lab coat. "Any luck?" she asked both of them.

"None here. Not sure why I'm still bothering," Taylor said and flicked off the screens. "He's been quiet for a while," he said jutting his chin toward where Ram was pensively and quickly typing on a keyboard.

Sin popped into the Lab. "Yo. Ram. Nia called, she said we can meet with the Masters if we have time," he said. "I got the time. You?" he asked.

That was the first time Ram glanced up from his station since Taylor had come into the Lab. He blinked several times. "No. I don't. I have a lead and if I lose this trail--"

"Say no more. If you're chasing something that'll help us, keep at it. I'll make sure the Masters know you aren't just blowing them off," he said as he headed for the teleporter.

"Thanks," Ram said absently, his fingers already flying over the keys again.

By now, Lark knew better than to ask what he looking for or if he needed help. He'd tell her when he had something concrete.

"Looks like everyone is doing their own thing today," Taylor said. "What're you up to, Doc?" he asked.

"She and I are going for something ice creamy," Tempest announced coming into the Lab.

"Is this a girls only thing or can anyone join?" Taylor asked.

Tempe and Lark shared a look. "I guess you're pretty enough to join us," Tempe assured him. Lark suppressed a laugh. Taylor's expression was priceless.

He rubbed jaw thoughtfully. "Really? I don't at least a need a powder before you guys let me be seen in public with you?" he asked. "Maybe a little eyeliner surely? Lip gloss?"

"Come on before the joke starts wearing thin," Tempe said and turned him toward the teleporter. She and Lark each hooked one of his arms and pulled him along with them. They left Ram alone to chase down his quarry.

--/-\--

Devourer

Sylon was in his quarters and glaring daggers at the body housing Azula. Azula was at the helm at the moment, but her control slips were becoming a nuisance. "Do you know how difficult it is to find a compatible body to house your spirit? Why can't you keep control of it?" he demanded with a snarl.

Azula pouted, unafraid of his bluster. "I don't know. I just know it has something to do with the Red Ranger," she said sullenly. "Plus I'm so bored. All I get to do anymore is sit around making Ooze for you to give to these hideous Warstar creatures," she added.

Sylon banged his fist into a wall. Not hard, just out of frustration. "Because when you aren't, the host fights her way to consciousness," he reminded her patiently.

"You said you were working on something to help me keep control of her but all I've seen you do is the bidding of your dear Captain Drage. Careful, love, I'm beginning to think you're going native in this hideous blue exoskeleton," she said and patted what seemed to be a cheek.

Sylon slapped her hand away. "I told you not to touch me with that filthy human hand," he warned her.

Electricity crackled in the air as her temper flared. "At least humans bathe," she spat.

They glared at each other for a long tense moment. "The Power Rangers keep disrupting my plans to help you," he finally said. "And I am not going native. The sooner we find the island, the sooner we can be rid of the humans and the Warstars once and for all," he said in a placating tone. "Then I will reproduce your beautiful body and you'll be yourself once again," he added.

Azula twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "From what I recall, this body isn't far removed from how I used to look. Are you sure you can't just pretend for a while?" she asked him and attempted to touch him again.

He reeled back out of her reach. "Which of us is going native?" he sneered and walked to the door. "The Captain has been idle too long," he said. "You should leave before you're discovered," he added, slightly less abrasive than before.

"I am not afraid of these aliens. If one were to find me, he might find himself, I don't know. Fried. Atomized. It would depend on my mood," she said flippantly.

Sylon gave her another piercing look and left his quarters to go to the bridge. He was rather surprised to find the captain entertaining what appeared to be a lady friend. He recoiled in disgust at the creature pressing herself against the captain. "What the devil is that?" he asked Kragar, who also appeared more green than his usual red.

The creature turned toward him. She was a very feminine bee-like creature complete with a silvery tiara and black leather corset. She had a whip-like stinger attached to one hand a flogger attached to the other. "Captain Drage, these two are your right hand men?" she asked in a dusky voice. She left his side and trailed the tip of her stinger across Kragar's chest. "A violet fool," Kragar growled and knocked her away. She ignored him and sashayed over to Sylon and touched his face with her actual hand. "And a sullen man of mystery," she declared and let out a throaty laugh.

"Who are you calling a fool, you tarted up--"

"Silence!" she shouted, cutting off Kragar's insult. She sprayed a purple liquid out of her stinger that Kragar just managed to dodge. "I am Mistress B and men do my bidding. Even violent fools if I so wish," she added with a warning purr.

"Mistress B has kindly offered to use her unique talents to help us with the Ranger problem." Drage explained.

"I see," Sylon said, barely able to keep his composure. His skin was crawling and he felt like he needed to upheave his last meal.

"Yes. She has quite the way with the opposite sex," Drage said, nodding.

Mistress B sauntered back to him. "If you keep complimenting me like that, it'll make me so joyous that my poisons will shoot out on their own," she said and stroked the end of her poisonous stinger down his face and neck.

"First, I will take the males of Earth and make them my slaves," she explained thoughtfully and moved away from him. She gravitated toward Sylon again. "Please watch," she added on a purr.

Sylon was so disgusted, Kragar was too busy hiding, and Captain Drage was too captivated to notice the electric crackle that crept through the computer systems a moment before a bright flash of light. If Mistress B noticed, she dismissed it as nothing to be concerned about, after all she currently had a captive audience of male admirers.

--/-\--

There was a lot more involved in a girl's day than Taylor realized. It wasn't just stopping by the gourmet gelato shop they liked so much. Before he actually knew what was happening he was whisked off for to be the bag holder at a few boutiques before it all culminated in going for a mani-pedi and a facial. The girls seemed to be bonding over laughing at him, so he actually didn't mind that much.

"No pictures. I do have a reputation to uphold," he warned them. He never realized how uncomfortable it was to do this kind of thing. The spacers between his toes were a new form of torture he'd never experienced before and the green stuff on his face his face was starting to itch. Even the lady finishing up the work on his hands was having a hard time keeping her expression neutral.

"Quit being a big baby. Just think. Women go through this kind of thing all the time just to look good for their men. Maybe if you experience it, you'll appreciate it more," Tempe told him.

"Also, it's becoming less taboo for men to do this type of thing for themselves," Lark added.

Taylor attempted to scratch at the paste on his face. He got scolded for it by one of the workers and she roughly decided to take it off. Afterwards, his face shiny and raw, he shook his head. "First of all, Tempe, don't do this for some guy. We're not worth it," he said. "Second of all, I don't think I'm progressive enough to make this a regular thing," he added.

Lark and Tempest shared another look and fell out laughing. Even the spa ladies couldn't hold back their laughter.

Their Morphers began to beep. "Okay, ladies. Time to the settle the tab and go," he said.

"Right," they agreed.

--/-\--

An afternoon amateur soccer match in Starkweather was heating up. The league was mostly comprised of young professional men. They didn't have a care in the world at the moment except to beat the other team and the celebratory trip to the bar afterward. Losers had to treat and neither team wanted to be the losers.

They never expected the Oozers that seeped up from the ground to join the game. One of them swooped in and stole the ball and kicked it to another one. Other attacked and neutralized the players as they tried to get away.

Mistress B appeared in front some of the men trying to get away. She knocked them back. "Round them up, boys. These pretties are all mine," she said. She whipped her stinger through the air and purple poison flew out, landing on the men.

"You guys get to be my servants. You'll do my bidding until you die. Doesn't that sound fun?" she asked with a throaty laugh. Oozers began gathering up the now unconscious men.

Oblivious of their boss's arrival, the Oozer with the ball and another rushed forward and did a crazy acrobatic kick and sent the ball flying into the goal.

"I can't even...that Oozer just bent it like Beckham," Gore said to Sin as they were the first to arrive.

"Maybe if Oozers played, America might actually start watching soccer," Sin suggested.

Gore shook his head. "If Beckham couldn't, walking green snot can't," he disagreed. "But, um, what is that?" he gestured toward Mistress B.

The alien femme fatale turned toward them. "Oh my, what fine specimens we have here," she cooed delightedly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mistress B. You will end up as my pets as well!" she said and snapped her flog toward them. Tails of purple energy whipped toward them and they rolled out of the way.

They flipped out their Morph cards. "DynaMorpher!"

"Blue Ranger Power!"

"Black ranger Power!"

They morphed and rushed toward her. In synchronous movements they attacked her. She evaded and blocked them with surprising ease.

"She's tougher than she looks," Blue complained. He was rewarded for his observation with a slash to the middle that sent up a shower of sparks and sent him stumbling back.

She blocked a punch from Black, kicked him in the middle and slashed at him as well. He fell back smoking. "Gore!" Blue stumbled over and helped him to his feet. Mistress B didn't give them anytime to formulate a new attack. She sprayed them with her purple poison. The poison shorted their suits, sending electricity arcing over them. "What is this?" Blue demanded as he basically lost control of his own body.

"Augh! I'm going numb," Black complained. Their Morphs failed and they crumpled to the ground. They were unable to do much more than twitch.

Mistress B smirked. "I've kindly allowed you remain conscious so that you can continue to admire my wondrous beauty," she said. "You should be grateful," she told them severely.

Blasts of energy knocked her back as Dynamic Rangers Red, Pink and Yellow arrived on the scene. They ran to check on their fallen members. "Gore?" Yellow said.

"Sin?" Pink tried to check on him.

"Oh. Women. How utterly disgusting," Mistress B said with a shudder. She spat a blast of purple-ish energy at them.

"Sky Sword!" Red jumped through the flames. "I might have been enjoying a girl's day out, but I'm no woman," he declared as he charged her. He fenced with her for a few moments.

"Oh, a man, eh? All men will bow to me and be my servants," Mistress B stated aggressively.

"No, thanks. I'm not an M," he denied as his sword strained against her stinger. He kicked out and she stumbled back and twirled as he slashed again. He slashed again. She whirled once more and managed to skim him with the tip of her stinger. He jumped, preparing a downward slash, but she tossed her poison at him.

It hit him full on and he dropped like a stone, his morph failing as he lost feeling and control of his body.

Pink and Yellow had shielded their defenseless comrades from the earlier energy attack, but they rushed forward when Taylor fell to the ground. "Taylor!" Yellow cried out.

Pink flipped a card from her belt. "Sky Shooter!" She swiped the card and her weapon appeared.

"Land Claw!" Yellow summoned her weapon as well.

They rushed forward.

"Phoenix Shot!"

"Tiger Shock!"

Each strike hit home. causing some sparks but Mistress B was relatively unharmed. "Can we put them together?" Yellow asked as she held her weapon towards Pink's.

"It doesn't appear to be the case," Pink said and they spent a few moments attempting to ascertain whether it was possible to combine their weapons.

"Oh, well. Let's just go for it the usual way," Yellow said.

"Right!" Pink agreed and the two of them charged again, but Mistress B was prepared. She deflected their jabs and strikes and knocked them back. She used her whip on them, then spun around and kicked toward them with a streak of devastating energy that send them flying across the soccer pitch. They crashed into the ground, their Morphs failing them.

"Oozers, take these lovely boys away with the rest of them," Mistress B said. The girls could only watch helplessly as Oozers grabbed the immobilized boys before they lost consciousness.

It wasn't a long blackness as Tempe came to as someone called her name and shook her urgently. "Tempest. Wake up," the voice drew her out of the blackness that had overcome her. She blinked and glanced up into the deep golden eyes of a girl she'd only seen in brief snatches.

"Rena Hart?" she asked. She suddenly gasped and scrambled to her feet, looking around for the boys or any sign of the alien.

"For the moment anyway," Rena answered grimly as she turned her attention to shaking Lark. She tapped her on the cheek. "Come on. The boys need you," she said.

Lark came awake with a gasp. She rolled away from Rena and sprang lightly to her feet, ready to protect herself if need be.

"I guess I shouldn't have expected the red carpet treatment," Rena said wryly. "At the moment I am me. She let he have control so I can help you take out that alien. She is not a fan. Call your tech guy. Ram, right? He should be able to help us find her. She didn't go back to the Devourer. Azula's sure of that much," she said urgently.

The other girls were looking at her with a mixture of amazement and apprehension. "You're you, right now. How do we know that?" Tempest asked.

"This could be some sort of elaborate hoax intended to lure us into a false sense of security," Lark agreed.

Rena sighed and nodded. "Yes, it could. There's nothing I can say to convince you, but that freaky alien has Taylor and your friends. I'm going to do what I can to get him back while I'm at the wheel. The two of you can either help me or get out of my way," she stated.

Lark took a deep breath. "Okay. We'll chance it. Anything to free the guys and those other poor men," she finally agreed.

Tempest nodded. "Right," she said. She tapped her Morpher. "Ram, sweetie, we have a problem down here," she said.

"I know. I'm already working on a way to see if I can't track the alien," Ram answered. "This might be the only time I'm glad my Morpher blew up," he added.

While the others were talking to Ram, Rena was exploring the area where she last saw them before they faded away. "You'd think giant green slime balls would leave some sort of trail. Like slugs. Big ugly green slugs," she said and made a face.

"How much are you aware of things while you're being controlled?" Lark asked. Scientifically she didn't know how someone could be possessed by a spirit. She was beginning to realize that science wasn't the only truth in the world after all.

"Not much. It wasn't until you and Taylor used my voice to fight off that weird musical alien that I woke up and realized that several months of my life had just disappeared. I can't even imagine what Rex has been telling our parents," she said thoughtfully, a slight catch in her voice. She cleared her throat. "Azula hasn't been able to fully put me back to sleep since," she grinned at that.

"What do you know about her and the alien known as Sylon?" Lark asked.

"Azula keeps herself as separate from me as I do from her. The only things I can glean are when she gets to emotional and things seep through or I wake enough to be aware of my surroundings even if I can't fully regain control. Azula makes the Ooze. She and Sylon are a thing but he hates humans. They disgust him. I've never been so grateful to be human in my entire life," she said.

Tempest shuddered at the implications of that statement. "How are you in control now?" she asked.

"I think she let me. She doesn't seem to like this alien. I think she's jealous and is afraid it'll use its poison on Sylon. Frankly, if she didn't have Taylor and innocent humans, I'd say let her at him," she added, a faint smile, some of her usual humor surfacing.

"All right! I've remotely reprogrammed your Morphers to follow a pheromone trail the alien left behind. Just follow the beeps and good luck," Ram finally said.

The communicators began to emit low beeps, rather like sonar. "Let's go," Rena said. Lark and Tempest fell in with her as they headed into the mysterious Starkweather Game Reserve.

--/-\--

Somewhere deep in the forest, Mistress B had found a nice cave and furnished it with pretty men. Under her direction, they either singularly or joined with others, formed lamps, tables, chairs and whatever else she could think of. Since she had absolute control of them, they stood in these positions no matter how their bodies might protest.

She strode around her living room appreciatively. "What a lovely vase," she said, referring to one guy bent over backwards with a bouquet of flowers in his mouth. She hummed to herself in satisfaction and sat in her arm chair. Taylor made up one arm of the chair. Even though she'd "allowed" them keep their consciousness, he couldn't feel his body and was thankful. "Arm rest, compliment me on my beauty," she cooed and ran her fingers through the hair of the man who comprised the other armrest.

"You are very beautiful, Mistress," the man intoned monotonously.

"You remind me of the bugs I clean off my helmet visor after I get through riding around on my bike," Tay said in a pleasant tone.

He was rewarded for his cheek by a sharp tug of his hair. "I can always take away what allowed you to keep," she warned him. He grunted in reply.

Gore and Sin were bent over as part of a table. "Given the get-up, this isn't really what I'd expected us to be doing," Sin stated conversationally.

"And never complain. Thank God, Buddha, Allah, Zeus and Bo Jackson," Gore said.

"Amen," Sin agreed.

--/-\--

The three women followed the beeps through the forests. Rena suddenly gave a light laugh. "Billie would have had that alien pinpointed and teleported us there ages ago," she said. She wasn't complaining, just remembering better times.

"You really know her? Dr. Davis-Doyle?" Lark asked.

Rena laughed again at the awe and admiration in the other girl's voice. "Oh, yes. Billie is...one of a kind," she said.

"I still don't know who that's supposed to be," Tempest said. "What's the deal with you and Taylor?" she asked.

Rena wasn't surprised by this sudden question. They were probably dying of curiosity. She was only surprised it'd taken this long to be asked. "Our relationship can be summed up in two words: bad timing," she answered. "Bad timing the first time we met. Bad timing the second time. Bad timing this time," she said with a sigh. "I'm tired of letting bad timing get me down. Once I get rid of this witch, I'm not wasting any more time," she said firmly.

Tempest smiled. "I don't think you'll get an argument out of him. He's been going crazy looking for you," she said. "He even yelled at a few people from what I understand," she said.

"Probably just Kane. I can't imagine even Taylor yelling at Tai or Rex," she said, knowing they would be first two contacts he'd have made when he found out about her. "It's not their fault. No one else really knew about our plans to meet up after I finished my training," she said.

"Training?" Lark asked.

"Thunder training. I'm a ninja, too," she said. "Since I was able to electronically use MojiKara to control light and lightning, I was recruited by a Thunder Ninja after we saved the world from being flooded by the Sanzu River," she explained as if that wasn't some big deal.

Tempe and Lark shared another look and smothered laughs. Of course, Taylor Hicks wouldn't have some ordinary girl.

The beeping of the Morphers intensified, sobering them. "We're close. Let's go," Rena said. She began rushing in the direction the beeps indicated. Plus, she could just sense the lingering presence of the Oozers. She really hoped that would go away with the witch.

Tempe and Lark ran to catch up with her, but they didn't have nearly the kind of training she had.

--/-\--

Mistress B sat a glass of blood red wine on her "table" after taking a dainty sip. She stroked a finger down Sin's cheek. He fought back a gag reflex. "Hmm. Aren't I most amazing queen you could ask for?" she asked and twirled slightly.

"I thought Widow Repulsa was the reigning queen of evil space bugs," Taylor said.

Mistress B sucked in a hissing breath. "Don't even mention that eight-legged witch to me," she spat. "You are an irritating man," she said scathingly.

"Try working with him," Gore interjected.

Sin snorted.

"You three don't seem to grasp the situation you currently find yourselves in. Are all human males as senseless?" she demanded.

"We're not the ones who don't grasp the situation," Sin said. "You see, you think because you saw the girls go down that once, you've won," he said.

"The fact is, you just made them kind of peeved," Gore added.

"Now they're coming for you," Tay finished up.

"How insulting! My poisons are coming out with rage!" she cried dramatically. She raised her arm to take it out on Taylor, the major irritant.

A crack of gold and blue electricity erupted between them before she could. She stumbled back and turned toward the entrance of the cave.

"Don't even think about, Missy," Rena said. Arcs of electricity thrummed around her.

"I recognize you. You were on the Devourer," Mistress B said slowly.

"Technically. But you aren't dealing with Azula right now. And that," she pointed toward Taylor, who bemusedly waved at her since the poison was wearing off a little, "is my future boyfriend. So back off!" she said, crossing her arms over her chest with index and pinky finger of each hand sticking out.

"Close your eyes!" Taylor warned his friends just in the nick of time.

Lightning crackled around the girl and static raised her hair. "Supreme Lightning!"  She uncrossed her arms and spun, tossing a giant ball of lightning at the alien. The lightning storm was blinding. The men were nearly blinded even through their eyelids.

Mistress B screeched, smoking and sparking. She retaliated by flinging her flog toward the mouth of the cave, causing part of the opening to cave in.

Rena back flipped out of the way. "You're lucky. A similar attack took out one of the most powerful creatures I'd ever seen," she said.

"I'll show you lucky, you little brat," Mistress B said. Rena rand forward and jump kicked her. The alien stumbled back, but Rena was already attacking again. Kicking out and throwing fists. The alien managed to block those. She stopped a punch and pushed back, striking back with her whip, catching Rena and sending her tumbling backwards.

"So that's the girl for Taylor Hicks, huh?" Gore said musingly.

Tay grinned. "Yeah. Isn't she great?"

"They have a spark," Sin told Gore deadpan. Gore couldn't help but laugh at that ridiculously bad joke.

The Dynamic Pink and Yellow Rangers ran up behind Rena has she sprang to her feet. "We'll handle this now," Yellow said and pulled a card from her belt. "Micro DynaZords!" She swiped her card. "Summon Core Earth DynaZords!"

Three miniature versions of the BearZord, RhinoZord and BeetleZord appeared and zoomed through the air and crashed into the alien and circled back to hover around Yellow. She drew her Blaster and grabbed the BeetleZord and attached it to the muzzle. "Beetle Bullet!"

She fired beams of yellow energy at Mistress B who fended them of by whipping out with her energy flogs. "Oh, you think you bad, huh?" Yellow muttered and replaced BeetleZord with RhinoZord and took to her knee. "Rhino Bullet!" She fired again. This time a stronger blast of yellow energy hit the alien knocking her back.

She and Pink started to rush forward and engaged but Pink was stopped. "Don't move!" Ram said. "Just give me a few minutes," he warned.

"What are you doing?" Rena asked. She had a rather nasty looking welt across the ghost image of wings that wrapped around her upper chest. She knew it was time for her step back but why wasn't the other girl moving forward?

Yellow was fighting with Mistress B alone. At one point the alien got the upper hand and wrapped her lashes around the Ranger and lifted her off the ground.

Pink clenched her fist. "It'll be okay. Tempe can handle this. Ram is about to perform a miracle," she said. "For some reason he likes to dramatically wait 'til the last moment," she added.

"I do not appreciate that. But you're right. Miracle achieved," Ram said somewhat smugly.

Pink flipped a new Card out of her belt. "Micro DynaZords!" she swiped her newly minted card. "Summon Sky High DynaZords!" Three red, gold and white miniature DynaZords appeared. One resembled the head of a crane, one resembled the head of a hawk, and the other the head of a raven. They hovered around her.

She drew her sidearm and snatched at the RavenZord and connected it to the Blaster. "Raven Bullet!" She fired. Red-pink energy shot forward and multiplied, hitting each lash. Mistress B cried out in pain and gripped her arm as Yellow was released.

Pink didn't waste time switching things up. She replaced RavenZord with HawkZord. "Hawk Bullet!" She took careful aim and fired. The HawkZord shot upward, gaining momentum, size and energy before correcting and nosediving into the alien and exploding in an impressive and devastating mass of energy that send her flying and crashing into the ground like a meteorite.

Yellow rolled to her feet and ran over to Pink. "Dang, girl, that was kind of amazing," she said approvingly.

Mistress B got to her feet, pulling fretfully on her flog. "You, complete and utterly worthless little--"

"Don't finish that sentence," Yellow said as she and Pink rushed in together and teamed up against her, dodging her attempts to hot them while they connected with theirs. They stood side-by-side and kicked her in the middle.

"That's our girls," Gore said approvingly.

"Well, we did warn her," Sin said.

"I always knew they had it in them," Taylor said. He was trying to keep an eye on Rena as well, who was on the other side of the battle unable to help much further. As if feeling his gaze, she turned her head. She gave him a sad smile as her deep golden gaze began to turn pale again.

Azula smirked in satisfaction. The alien skank was going down and she had plausible deniability. Her job was done. She disappeared in a crack of lightning.

Pink and Yellow stood with their six Micros floating around them. "Let's do this, Tempest," Pink said.

Yellow nodded. "I'm with you, babe," she said.

Pink grabbed the CraneZord and put it on her Blaster. Yellow grabbed the BearZord and put it on her Blaster.

Mistress B scrambled to her feet.

The Rangers took aim. "Ultimate Opposite Trick!" They fired. Beams of powerful pink and yellow energy swirled around each other and exploded into Mistress B. She sparked and smoked. They turned away from her, standing back to back as the alien fell over and exploded.

With the defeat of the alien her poison immediately wore off the men she held captive and many of them fell over as exhaustion caught up with their strained bodies. Taylor, Gore and Sin got to their feet and stretched their aches and pains. "Ram send an extraction team to help the victims," Gore ordered over his communicator.

"Those two are pretty good together," Sin said with a smile.

"Yep. But it's not over yet," Taylor said, flipping out his Morph Card. "You guys ready?"

"Yes!" they agreed and flipped out their Morph Cards.

--/-\--
Devourer

Captain Drage was furious. "They defeated Mistress B! How did this happen? That woman who helped them! Who was she! Someone is going to pay for this!" he raged.

"I can't imagine what just happened, Captain," Sylon said thinly. Of course he knew exactly who the Rangers' mysterious helper was and she had a lot to answer for.

Kragar watched him suspiciously. "Doesn't her defeat bother you?" he asked.

Sylon banged a fist on the button to launch the Ooze and didn't bother to answer.

--/-\--

Ooze splattered over Mistress B and revived her and she grew to giant size. "Let me show the terror that occurs when you anger a beauty!"

Rangers Red, Blue, and Black joined Pink and Yellow. "I'm pretty tired of her at this point. "Let's finish it now," Red said and flipped out his Macro DragonZord Card.

"Right!" The other flipped out their Macro DynaZord Cards as well. In unison they swiped their Cards.

"Dragon DynaZord!"

"Phoenix DynaZord!"

"Snake DynaZord!"

"Tiger DynaZord!"

"Shark DynaZord!"

The Zords appeared and teleported their pilots aboard where they each flipped out new Cards and swiped them.

"Dynamic Megazord!"

The Zords combined to form the Dynamic Megazord with wings and a dragon's tail for a sword. They appeared in the combined cockpit. The Megazord strode forward.

Mistress B's poisonous had turned into a rigid spear and she ran toward the Megazord and jabbed at it, hitting it several times. The Megazord finally knocked her weapon away and hit her with the other arm. She staggered back. "Relying on power for the win will be your undoing," she said and whipped her flog forward. The energy lashes expanded outward and wrapped around the Megazord. "Drown in my poisons and die!" She thrust out her stinger and sprayed the Megazord.

The Megazord did not react well to this. It sparked and smoked and shuddered. The cockpit sparked wildly in places. "We're not going down for you," Red declared grimly. He flipped a Card out of his belt. "Let's use another Ram miracle," he declared and swiped the cards. "Summon Sky High DynaZords!"

The three full-sized DynaZord heads appeared in the sky and zoomed around, crashing into the alien and using their beaks to break her lashes, freeing the Megazord from her grip. The HawkZord opened into three pieces and each one opened its beak and fired it at Mistress B. She sparked and stumbled back.

"All right! Let's go!" Red flipped out another Card and swiped it. The Megazord jumped into the sky and its head flipped under to be replaced by the HawkZord with its three parts fanned out. CraneZord and RavenZord settled on its shoulders. "Sky High Megazord!" It spread its wings.

Pink accelerated making everyone jerk unexpectedly. Mistress B kept trying to spray her poison at them, but quick reactions form Red and Pink kept them from getting hit.

Yellow gripped at her mouthpiece. "I still don't like flying," she said, beginning to feel a bit nauseated.

"I never used to have a problem with it," Black said, holding his middle as the Megazord banked hard again.

"Going in," Red warned them.

The Megazord zoomed into Mistress B, using the SharkZord as a fist as they settled their feet on the ground again. Then began an onslaught of blows that Mistress B had a hard time blocking. She tried to jab them with her stinger but it broke. She was knocked back.

Pink flipped a card out of her belt. "Bird Call Boom!" she swiped it and the three Sky High DynaZords blasted her with sonic energy.

"That was pretty awesome. How about we finish her now?" Blue suggested.

"Right!" The others agreed and flipped cards out of their belts. "Victory Charge!" They swiped the cards. The Megazord lifted off the ground again and did a loop-de-loop and headed toward the alien again. The three parts of the HawkZord closed up. "Sky High Crash!" The Megazord seemed to catch fire and crash through the alien. It landed and returned to normal as she sparked wildly.

"Oh, my Captain. Love no other but me!" Mistress B called out dramatically just before she exploded.

--/-\--

Sylon gripped Azula by her frail human throat and lifted her off the ground. "What did you do?" he demanded.

"It wasn't me," she gasped. "It was the host. She fought to save the Red Ranger," she explained and pulled at his fingers. It wasn't that he could kill her but the host could die and she'd be formless and powerless again until she could find a suitable match.

Sylon growled and released her. "It was a ridiculous plan anyway," he conceded. "Drage obviously wasn't thinking with his brain to let his lover play her little games on Earth," he said. He made a face and wiped his hand on his clothes. "Disgusting," he complained.

Azula rubbed her neck. The injuries she'd sustained earlier were already beginning to heal, but now the bruises on her neck would be glaring for a while. She glared at his back and pouted. "I don't know what else I can do to maintain my control of her," she said.

"Just do your best. I have go back before these idiotic aliens realized I'm gone. They've seen you now. You cannot come back to the Devourer. You'll be in danger," he warned her.

"I'm not afraid, but I'll keep my distance to protect you," she assured him.

He nodded and disappeared, leaving her alone. Again.

--/-\--

The Rangers sat around the Lab. "So how did it feel being the damsels in distress?" Tempest asked the guys.

"It kinda sucked," Sin said.

"But we knew our princesses would rescue us. Especially with the help of their randomly talking non-human sidekick," Taylor said.

"I suppose I'm the randomly talking, non-human sidekick?" Ram asked. "I can dig that," he agreed, nodding.

Lark and Tempest laughed. "It does make one wonder, however, what we'll do once you're able to be out in the field. No one else can get around the Caervinian systems quite like you," Lark said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, who'll save us just as the timer counts down to one?" Gore asked.

Ram tried not to grin too much. He was pleased to be able to help however he could. "May not have to worry about that if the Morpher never gets fixed," he said.

"Well, I'll just have to see what I can do about that, won't I?" a stranger had entered the Lab. A tall blond woman in a navy pantsuit and a lab coat. Her hair was pulled back into a sloppily braided bun. She carried a tablet in her lab coat pocket, held a large silver case in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. Blue eyes returned their flabbergasted stares through silver-rimmed glasses.

"How did you get here?" Gore asked, coming to his feet. Base security was his gig and somehow this woman slipped through.

"Was it supposed to be difficult?" she asked, genuinely unsure. "It's quite simple really. Monitoring the air traffic through the Nodroz satellites gave me the approximate location of the island. Then it was merely a matter of recording the area with the correct filters. Analyzing the heat signatures over several days told me this was the central area. Not only did it have the highest concentration of computer equipment but also the most body signatures. From there it was only a matter of calculating the exact longitudinal, latitudinal, and altitudinal minutes and imputing them into my teleport network and activating it to arrive now." she explained easily.

"But I had to do it quickly. Things have been hectic. My husband is pregnant and making sure that was going well has been taking up a considerable amount of my time lately. I did send a drone first to make sure the coordinates were correct. Nothing worse than teleported into a wall or something."

Holding back a laugh, Taylor cleared his throat. "Everyone, this is Dr. Billie," he said.

"Of course it is," Lark stated in awe. She scrambled toward the woman. "It is amazing to meet you," she said. "I'm--"

"Lark Walker. I know who you are. I know who all of you are. Don't blame Taylor. I have my own ways. Your father and I came to an agreement for my help here. From now on, Sky Base will be jointly an Astral Dynamics and Nodroz Corporation enterprise," she announced, leaving everyone surprised and unsure what that would mean for their futures.

--/-End 09-\--           

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