Morph 1.2
Previously on Power Rangers: Going Medieval!
Two vast beings, almost incomprehensible in their scale.
'That dream again.'
Don't go to your locker
~Dispatch to all units. Cape fight ongoing between E88 and ABB at 9th and Palms Ledge. Divert to detour routes until further notice.~
"The moment of truth. Going Medieval! With noble intent and dragon's rage, Ranger Red!"
"Wait. Didn't the radio say this was a cape fight?"
---
An inhuman scream of rage caught Taylor's attention, and she turned in time to see a car go tumbling through a man in a black bodysuit, who proceeded to explode into a cloud of ash. An ogre of a man with a troll mask came stomping around the corner, only to be enveloped in a cloud of fire and smoke as the man in the black bodysuit appeared in front of him and exploded.
Taylor nodded. "Yeah, I'd say that's a cape fight." Taylor looked to her left and found herself staring mask to mask with a snarling demon face painted in red and green. The Red Ranger blinked as she recognized ABB second in command and teleporter Oni Lee. "Um, hi?"
Oni Lee merely stared at the Ranger for a long moment before collapsing into a pile of ash. Taylor scratched her helmet. "Okay? That was—" PAIN!
The world seemed to tumble before Taylor fell out of an upside-down, Ranger-shaped indent in the side of the bus. Taylor staggered to her feet, clutching her aching ribs. 'What the heck hit me?'
"RAGH! WHERE LITTLE FIREPLACE MAN GO?"
There, where Taylor had been standing just moments ago, before her impromptu flight, was the brute from before. He was a large man, breaking ten feet, at the least. His arms were grossly disproportionate, with one arm being unnaturally thick and muscled, and the other arm a misshapen monstrosity that nearly dragged its knuckles along the ground. His legs were bow-legged and disproportionately small compared to the rest of his body, and his face… Taylor blinked as she realized that, no, the bulbous nose, thick brow, gravelly skin, and tombstone teeth were not a mask, but rather his face.
"Day~amn, but they really beat you with the ugly stick, didn't they?"
The monstrous cape's head twisted around on its meaty neck, beady eyes glowing red in anger. "YOU MAKE FUN OF TROLL? TROLL KILL LITTLE RED MAN!"
Taylor blanched under her helmet. 'Oh, shit, did I say that out lou—MAN!?'
Empowered by feminine rage, Taylor swung her foot back and unleashed a vicious kick. Troll lifted into the air for a moment, then looked down at the Red Ranger. He stared at her for a long while, before his eyes slowly crossed. Taylor took a step to the side in time for Troll to topple forward like some great felled tree. The ground even shook some as the great brute left a crater where he fell.
The Ranger looked down at Troll before shrugging. "Eh, bigger they are, and all that."
Taylor looked around at the torn up streets and crumpled vehicles. "Well." The Ranger cocked her head as the wails of police and emergency response sirens slowly grew louder. "Oh, good, the cops are coming." Taylor let go of her sword, which promptly dissolved into motes of light, and put a hand to the side of her helmet. "Hey Alpha? You there?"
A tinny voice came on the radio. ~Loud and clear miss Taylor.~
A smile crawled over Taylor's face. "Awesome. So, my bus broke down, and I don't think I can make the connecting one in time."
~You want to test the teleporter and come to Ranger Ops?~
The red helmet bobbed. Troll wasn't going anywhere, and she wasn't ready to interact with the authorities just quite yet. "I do indeed. Ready?"
~Ready.~
Taylor snapped her left arm in front of her, like she was reading a watch. "Energize!"
"That was so~
BWORP
---
"~cool!"
Behind her visor, Taylor blinked, looked down, and blinked again. There, gripping the back of her tabard in grubby fingers, was a little blonde girl covered in dirt and grime. And her mouth was running like a motor.
"You came out of that bus and then it went boom and then you beat those guys up and then that man exploded and then the ugly guy punched you and then you kicked him in the badoingaloings," the girl's eyes grew absolutely huge as she took in her new surroundings, finishing her run on sentence breathily. "And then we were here~."
Taylor looked down on the girl with bemusement as she took in the spacious room that was Ranger Ops. "Yes, we are. And who are you?"
The girl looked down shyly, a ratty sneaker tracing circles on the steel floor plating. "I'm Riley."
A smile crept unbidden across Taylor's face. "I'm the Red Ranger. I'm the leader of the Rangers."
Riley gasped, her eyes wide and mouth agape. "There's more of you?" It was almost a whisper.
Taylor couldn't help but grin as she shook her head. "No, not yet."
Riley seemed almost indignant. "Why not~?"
"I just haven't found the right people to help me yet," Taylor answered patiently.
"Oh."
The Red Ranger shook her head again before turning to the main entrance to Ranger Ops. "Alpha, can you come in to Ranger Ops please? We've got a guest."
A tinny voice drifted into the room. "A guest? Aiyaiyaiyaiyai!"
Into the room came a robot. Riley took in the red and black bodywork, the golden UFO saucer for a head, and the led-lights shaped like a lightning bolt that indicated his mood. As the girl gave a delighted gasp, Taylor smiled. All that effort making sure Alpha's design was nonthreatening had paid off, it seemed.
"Riley, this is Alpha. Alpha this is Riley." Taylor smiled as Riley stared in awe at the android in front of her.
The girl's jaw flapped silently for a moment. "Are…are you a robot?"
"Indeed I am, Miss Riley," Alpha answered proudly. "And might I say, it is a pleasure to meet you."
The girl gave a little squee of joy. "So cool~!"
Behind her helmet, Taylor smiled at Riley before turning to Alpha. "Alpha, can you keep an eye on Riley, get her a snack or something? I'm going to see if I can't find out where she lives, her parents must be worried about her. Riley, what's your last…name…?" Taylor's question trailed off as she saw the depressed expression upon her face. "Riley, what's wrong?"
Riley's bangs covered her eyes as the little girl spoke softly. "Monsters came to our house one night. They k-killed Daddy and Andy…One of the monsters came for me, but Mommy hit him." Riley looked up with tears in her eyes. "Mo-mommy told me to run. I-I heard Mommy screaming. I kept running, because Mommy told me not to stop."
Taylor knelt down and gently took the blonde girl into a firm hug. "I am so sorry. Why didn't you go to the police?"
A sniffle and a hiccup preceeded Riley's answer. "I was scared. The knife monster was dressed up like a police man. What if the others were like him?"
'The knife monster.' Taylor had frozen when she heard that. There were several capes in the country known for serial killings and mass murder, but only one was known by his knife. If who Taylor feared had visited Riley's family… She squeezed Riley tighter. "Riley, I…I'm so sorry." She broke the hug and put her hands on Riley's shoulders. "But you're safe now. You don't have to run anymore."
Before Riley could respond, the Ranger Ops lighting turned red as a klaxon went off. Taylor shot to her feet and the Red Ranger hurried to Alpha. She looked over his shoulder as the red and gold robot worked a console. "What's going on Alpha?"
"Aiyaiyaiyaiyai!" The lights running the length of Alpha's 'saucer' blinked rapidly. "That brute you took down at 9th and Palms has broken loose. The PRT is there, but he's tearing through them like paper!"
"Put it on the screen!"
Following Taylor's order, Alpha brought up the feed from a traffic camera onto a large plasma screen taking up one wall.
Static resolved, and the feed from the surprisingly high definition camera lit up the screen. The PRT had apparently foamed Troll upon arrival at the scene, only for the brute to break his way out when he woke up, if the shattered chunks of hardened foam scattered across the intersection were any indication. The PRT was trying to subdue the hulking cape, but currently Troll was using a masked man in red armor as a human club. The police scanner came to life, frantic calls for backup and heavy weapons coming from the speakers.
Taylor's fist clenched as an agent, knocked into the air by Troll's impromptu weapon, crashed into a lamppost and bent in half, the wrong way. Another agent was slammed into a PRT truck hard enough to leave him hanging from the impression he made. The man being used as a bludgeon managed to punch Troll hard enough in the ear to make the brute stagger, only for the ogre to throw the man into the sky.
~Assault is down, repeat Assault is down!~
~Technically, I'm up, but—oh God crashing! *Krack*bang*shatter*ksssshhhhh~
~This is Beta squad. Assault is down, and I got several wounded! Where the hell is the Protectorate?~
~Beta squad, Dispatch. All available Protectorate assets are dealing with a fight between Lung and Kaiser uptown. Charlie and Delta squads are on the way, ETA fifteen minutes.~
~Dammit, I've got men down out here!~
Jaw clenched so tight it hurt, Taylor ground out a command. "Alpha, power up the teleporter."
Alpha turned to Taylor in shock. "B-but Ta—Red Ranger, you said it yourself, you're not ready to—"
"I know!" Taylor snapped. "I know what I said. But I'm not about to let people get hurt just because I'm uncomfortable!"
"Aye aye!" Alpha snapped a quick salute and turned back to the console. After a few moments of working the settings, a glowing circle lit up on the floor. "Ready!"
Taylor stepped into the circle and turned to address Riley. "Stay here. I'll be back before you know it." She snapped her arm up. "Energize!"
BWORP
---
Private Henderson of the Parahuman Response Taskforce was seriously starting to regret rejecting his uncle's offer to work for him. Sure, the old man was crazy, and the lawn gnomes were really…really creepy, but crazy and creepy beat death by cape by a long shot.
Henderson grit his teeth. Henry was stuck in the side of one of the vans. Vanessa was down with a broken back. Jackson was stuck on a roof with a broken leg. Sergeant Mahmoud was on the radio screaming vulgarities at the oh-so-helpful dispatchers. And their only cape support had last been seen flying over the skyline thanks to the brute that had been using him as a weapon.
"RAGH! RED TALKY MAN HURT TROLL! TROLL HATE RED!"
Speaking of, nothing they had was working on this 'Troll.' Tranquilizers simply bounced off his skin and containment foam just seemed to make him angrier. And punching him…well, that hadn't worked out so well for Assault, and he had a brute rating. Henderson wasn't so lucky.
And to think, the day had started out so well, too.
The PRT private froze as the burnt-out car he was huddled behind suddenly lifted into the air. Turning in trepidation, Henderson whimpered as he saw Troll holding the multi-ton wreck that had been his sanctuary in one hand. As the hulking brute brought the car down on the cowering PRT agent, Henderson squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head in vain.
Swoosh*SMASH!
After feeling the world lurch around him and hearing the car sound of shattering concrete and tearing metal, Henderson opened his eyes in confusion. Finding himself suspended just off the ground, the PRT agent looked up and over his shoulder. His eyes met a black visor set into a red knight-inspired helmet.
"You alright?" The cape asked, her definitely feminine voice filled with concern.
Henderson nodded and got to his feet, the cape in red knight regalia letting go of the one-handed grip she had on the back of his tactical vest. "Yeah, yeah thanks. I-, you- …thank you, miss…?"
"Red Ranger," replied the woman. She turned her head at an angry roar and gestured with one hand palm out. "Stay here. I'll handle this."
"Good luck," called Henderson. The PRT agent sat on the curb before his shaking legs could give out on him. "Hoo-boy. Gonna need a new pair of pants."
---
Riley watched the viewscreen as Taylor took on the massive Troll. Sparks flew from the brute's rocky flesh every time the Red Ranger struck with her sword while avoiding the larger man's wild swings. Unfortunately, it appeared that Troll was one of those capes that got stronger the angrier they got. The sword strikes just made the angry villain angrier. And the angrier Troll got, the bigger he grew. He towered over the Red Ranger now, dwarfing the girl by a good several feet.
Gasping as the Red Ranger was sent tumbling from a lucky clip, Riley grabbed Alpha's arm. "She's in trouble. I gotta help her!"
"Ooh," Alpha exclaimed anxiously. "Mistress Tay—Red Ranger told you to stay here. It's too dangerous."
"But she needs help!" Riley waved her arms impatiently. "I—everyone's ignored me since Mommy and Daddy died. She's the first one to look at me in forever!" Tears began to form in her eyes. "I can't let her get hurt, I have to help her!"
"You, I…oh~." Alpha threw his hands up in defeat. "Oh, I know I'm going to regret this."
The automaton scuttled over to the command console and entered a code into a keypad. With a hiss, a small container rose out of the console. Delicately, Alpha removed the contents and hurried back to Riley. He opened his hand to reveal a watch-like shield device with pink accents.
"Miss Riley, this," stated Alpha gravely. "Is the pink morpher. With it, you can become the Pink Ranger and help out Mistress Red." He held out the device to Riley. "Are you sure you want this?"
Riley took the morpher and nodded, stubbornness written on her face. "Yes, I want to help."
Alpha sighed. "Okay. To use the morpher, press the two buttons on the top and bottom and say 'Going Medieval.'"
Putting the device on her wrist, Riley fumbled with the shield until she found the two buttons. "Going Medieval!"
There was a flash of pink light—
---
Riley walked down a corridor made of grey stone, the hall lit by candles and sunlight shining through arrowslits down low and stain-glass windows up high. At the end of the hall was an archway filled with white light. Behind the teen, a pink wind blew around the corner. Riley walked on, her steps airy as the pink breeze coiled and spun around her. Where the winds passed, Riley's body was covered in a gunmetal grey bodysuit that shone bright with a small hexagonal pattern. As she continued to walk, her forearms and lower legs were surrounded in spinning pink funnels of cloud that condensed into pink, greave-like boots and pink, gauntlet-like gloves with white trim. The winds moved on from Riley's torso, leaving behind a short, pink tabard with a white rearing unicorn coat-of-arms and secured around the waist with a white belt. The cloud reared up and formed the head of a galloping unicorn that came charging down on Riley. As the head enveloped hers, the cloud exploded into scraps of vapor, revealing a black-visored pink helmet reminiscent of an Armet. With a final step, Riley stepped out of the corridor and into the light.
---
—and Riley squealed with delight as she found herself in a pink outfit. "Ohmygosh! This is so cool~!"
Alpha scuttled over to the main console. "Okay Miss Riley, I am setting the teleporter coordinates. Hold your left arm like this," the android held his arm up in demonstration. "And say 'energize' to activate the transit."
Riley nodded. "Okay!" Snapping her arm out and in front, Riley yelled the activation phrase. "Energize!"
BWORP
A pink light consumed Riley and vanished, leaving no trace of the fledgling Pink Ranger. Alpha wrung his hands in worry. "Oh, do be careful please, Miss Riley."
---
Taylor struggled to breathe as Troll tightened his grip around her neck. As she struggled for air, striking Troll's forearm and kicking at him in futility, Taylor could feel the darkness creeping in on her vision.
Troll, sensing that his enemy was nearing her demise, tightened his grip. Two police officers arrived on the scene had started shooting the brute with their service pistols, but the villainous cape ignored his stinging hide to focus on crushing the life out of his opponent.
"YAH!"
With a bloodcurdling (for a twelve-year old anyways) yell, the Pink Ranger leapt at Troll, quite literally from out of nowhere. Her sword came down on the brute's arm, throwing up a spray of sparks from the blade and causing him to drop the Red Ranger. Roaring in rage, Troll turned to attack Riley, only to be sent flying into a building across the street by a surprisingly strong double flying kick from the preteen.
Scrambling to her feet, Riley helped Taylor up. Gasping for air, Taylor turned to the girl in pink. "R-riley? What are you doing here?" She coughed. "I thought I told you to stay put, it's too dangerous!"
"No!" Riley stomped her foot. "No, I'm tired of running all the time. You're the first person to talk to me in years, and-and—" The girl shrunk in on herself. "I had to help you."
Taylor sighed as Troll tore free from the building he was in with a bellow. Sparing the brute a glance, the Red Ranger turned back to Pink. "Alright, but you have to do everything I say, got it?"
Riley nodded. "Uh-huh."
The Red Ranger nodded and picked up her sword. "Good. Follow my lead."
The two Rangers charged Troll. Against only Red Ranger, Troll had no problem fighting, his opponent forced close and unable to do damage fast enough for Troll to notice. But now, with two opponents, Troll was unable to keep up. Where before Troll took no notice of the Red Ranger's strikes, the two Rangers attacking together was enough to overcome Troll's thick skin.
Troll staggered as a pair of simultaneous sword strikes hamstrung him, painful muscle spasms causing the brute to collapse to all fours.
"RAGH! TROLL CRUSH TINY PEOPLE OF MANY COLORS! TROLL HATE HATE HATE!" With a scream of inarticulate rage, Troll began to punch the asphalt with every repetition of his anger filled mantra.
Red and Pink Ranger met a distance from the raging cape as he threw a tantrum. Riley wrung her hands around her sword in uncertainty. "Wow…he's mad."
"I know," Taylor acknowledged. "We need to finish this before he can get back up."
Riley looked up at Taylor. "How?"
Taylor held her sword out. "You know that feeling you got when you morphed?"
"Uh-huh."
"Push that feeling into your sword."
The Pink Ranger did what she was told, and to her delight, her sword began to glow pink as the Red Ranger's glowed red. Putting their swords together, both Rangers faced the raging Troll. Swinging their swords two-handed, they let out a cry.
"Final Slash!"
Two arcs of energy flew from the swords at Troll. The brute stiffened as he saw the two arcs coming at him. The two arcs hit the brute, causing a massive explosion. Just before the two energy attacks hit though, witnesses would swear they had seen a red dragon and a pink unicorn in the moment before impact.
As the smoke and fire of the explosion cleared, Troll could be seen teetering on his feet. A moment later found Troll collapsing on his face, private Henderson standing there with the butt of his gun still brandished from bashing the brute over his thick skull from behind.
The agent sighed in relief, looking at the Rangers as he lowered his gun. "Thanks. You two can go, just please stop by PRT HQ sometime this week to answer some questions concerning your part in this."
The two capes nodded before the one in red made as if to look at a watch, while the short one in pink threw her arms up in the air. "WHOO! No one beats the Power Rangers! Whoohoo!"
As the two capes vanished with a BWORP and a pair of red and pink flashes of light, Henderson scratched his chin. 'Power Rangers, huh?'
A groan jolted Henderson into action. With the rest of his squad WIA, Assault MIA, and Sergeant Mahmoud in the midst of having a fit, it was up to him to secure the scene. Thankfully, the two BBPD police officers were taking care of the unconscious gangers, so that left him with securing Troll.
Joy.
---
"I am very disappointed in you two."
Taylor, helmet off now that Riley was part of the team, was pacing back and forth in Ranger Ops. "Alpha, what were you thinking, letting a twelve-year-old go into that. And you, missy," Taylor turned on Riley. "I told you very specifically to stay here."
Seeing the dejected look on Riley's face and Alpha's contrite body posture, Taylor sighed deeply. "I can't stay mad, you two likely saved my life doing that. And I'd be a hypocrite if I yelled at you for putting yourselves in harm's way."
"So," hedged Riley meekly. "I can…stay?"
Taylor sighed again. "Yes."
Riley glomped Taylor around the waist. "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
Smiling, Taylor put an arm around the exuberant blonde's shoulders. "C'mon, let's get changed, then see about taking care of you. I think my dad would like you."
As the two girls walked out of the room, Alpha went back to manning the console. "Well, that went better than expected."
"Oh, and Alpha?" Taylor poked her head back into the room. "We will be having a talk later."
Alpha would have paled if he could. "Oh…yay."
Well, sorry for the wait. College finals and all. Passed everything with flying colors. Yay! Anyways, I've been watching a lot of Power Rangers to make sure I got the right amount of campyness in here. Enjoy.