Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie by Heather Ray (beach read book .TXT) 📕

This is so incredible...!

She'd never gone scuba-diving at sunrise. At first, she'd wondered what Jason was thinking when he rented a boat at four-thirty in the morning. What was there to see in a dark ocean?

But as she watched the sun's gold rays sear into the water in streaks, reflecting off tiny fish and large bodies of coral, she understood.

After nearly a year of Coach Schmidt's brutal seven a.m. workouts, she'd gotten used to the sunrise. As a consequence of living on the west coast, before going to Florida she'd never seen the sun rise over the ocean. In Miami, she'd seen that unique miracle daily.

Yet, seeing the sunrise below

the ocean...that was an experience.

She breathed steadily, letting her body just float. Under the ocean waves, gravity had no hold on her. She just hung, weightless and carefree, as the sun vitalized the ocean surrounding her.

A blissful smile pulled her lip. This is exactly what I needed. To escape from the real world. To just float...take stock of my life from a different perspective. Jase, you're the best...

Her reverie was broken when suddenly, a large object floated out of the distant depths. She blinked in surprise, heart catching as the shadow approached.

Panic deadened into confusion when the shadow reached a streak of sunlight.

Bronze? It can't be a shark...

She didn't see the approaching fishnet until she was already entangled.

"Okay, whatever idiot got us confused with Chicken of the Sea has some major

explaining to do!"

Jason glanced at Kim, who continued pacing on the waterlogged floor. Slowly, he turned full circle, taking in the dark, wet, metal room in which they found themselves, once they regained consciousness.

"Kim... this isn't a fishing boat." He pointed to his wrist-mounted dive computer. "We're still under water. Deep

under water."

Kim's eyebrow rose. "Wait...I did see something weird in the water. It almost looked like a submarine."

Just then, a hatch pulled open. Jason instinctively crept closer to Kim, and the two former Power Rangers stood ready to face their kidnapper.

Both were visibly surprised when they saw a tall, leather-clad woman step through the hatch.

Her face (the half that was visible beneath her gold mask)

wrinkled the moment her spiked thigh-high black heels touched the floor.

"Elgar!" she hissed, "You couldn't flush the bilge? These are designer

boots!"

A white-faced mutant cringed at the rebuke before scurrying away. "Piranhatrons! Flush the bilge!" he hollered.

Kim and Jason heard a flushing sound, and suddenly, the ankle-deep water began to drain.

The woman's blood red lips pulled into a satisfied smile. "Much better." She then fully entered the dark chamber, and approached the two teens.

As soon as the strange woman met his gaze, Jason slid into a defensive stance.

The woman smirked disdainfully at the human's reaction. "Cute. Very cute." She then called over her shoulder "Piranhatrons!"

Four bronze-plated creatures with fish-shaped heads raced into the chamber, each grabbing the arm of one of the prisoners.

Years of battle ingrained into his mind, Jason responded to the threat with immediate action. With a deep cry, he wrenched his right arm free, and greeted the opposite Piranhatron with a fist in his face.

Surprisingly, the woman reacted with a deep, mocking laugh. "You've got spirit, Human!"

Kim watched in fascination as Jason pounded the two Piranhatrons that tried in vain to keep their hold. A cold grin pulled her lip when she noticed the two creatures holding her were also paying Jason their full attention.

Leveraging her weight on their grip, she thrust her legs out, kicking both Piranhatrons simultaneously. Her months of training lent her body added strength and agility, allowing her kicks to stun both attackers.

Falling back to her feet, a subsequent roundhouse sent the Piranhatrons reeling.

She turned to Jason, who threw her a grin. The lifelong friends inched closer together, muscles tensed and senses fully alert for additional threats.

Finally, Jason leveled his obsidian stare on the leather-clad woman. "Who are you? What do you want with us?"

The woman sauntered deeper into the chamber. Jason backed away from her approach, fists clenched for battle.

The woman's gaze shifted from the two unusually powerful humans, to the four Piranhatrons that struggled to regain their footing after the brutal pummeling they'd experienced.

A terrifying glint lit her eye. "I am Divatox, the Pirate Queen. And you... you aren't your run-of-the-mill humans, are you?"

Neither Jason nor Kimberly said a word.

Divatox's smirk only stretched wider. "Yes...I can feel that tingle. The tingle of great power...but faded. So tell me: where do humans get such power from

?"

They made no response.

The Pirate Queen frowned at their stubborn silence. "Want to play games?" she growled, balling her fists. "Fine, we'll play."

She marched passed them, and threw open a porthole. "Hey! You in there!"

Kim heard a rustling in what appeared to be a neighboring cell. Then, two faces appeared at the opening.

"Ohmigosh..." she breathed.

Bulk and Skull.

The two punks-turned-police stared blankly into space. Their hair was oddly gray, and their skin was eerily pale.

What had that maniac done to them?

Divatox smirked at the horror on their faces. "Don't worry...they're a little confused, but they're unharmed. For now."

She then began circling the chamber, keeping her cold scrutiny on her captives. "See, Kiddies... I only need two pure hearts to sacrifice to Maligore, my husband-to-be. That pure energy will awaken him from his eternal slumber, and together we can wreak havoc across the galaxy!"

She planted her hands on her hips. "My idiot nephew found these

two first. Some minor scanning has proven they're not pure enough to feed my fiancée. That means they're completely expendable."

She shouted over her shoulder. "Rygog! Seal off that chamber and flood it. No use keeping those two useless humans around!"

Kim and Jason traded urgent glances.

Finally, Jason released a long, weary sigh. "All right, Divatox. We'll cooperate."

The Power Chamber was flooded with a foreboding silence. Tanya and Adam worked at the communications console, searching for any clue as to what could have brought Lerigot, famed wizard of Liaria, across light-years to seek refuge on Earth. Until the diminutive wizard regained consciousness, the Power Rangers simply had no idea what they were up against.

Meanwhile, Katherine helped Alpha monitor Lerigot's recovery. The harsh heat of the African sun had taken it's toll upon the alien, and despite the timely appearance of the Pink and Red Zeo Rangers, Lerigot had expended far too much of his strength.

As his team kept busy, Tommy stood in silence in the back corner of the chamber. He ran his hands through his unruly hair, still damp from the swim he and Katherine had taken in an African river, and contemplated the situation his team faced.

This is real bad timing,

he realized, Rocky's in no shape to help out, and from the looks of it, we're about to face a big challenge. Only a really formidable villain could have chased Lerigot halfway across the galaxy.

The leader of the Power Rangers folded his arms, body trembling slightly. Was it due to the cold, or perhaps...frustration

?

We need a Blue Ranger, and fast. Once Lerigot wakes up, the Zeo Rangers will have to be prepared to handle whatever has followed him to Earth. We've got to be at full strength if we're gonna stand a chance. And there's only one person we can approach at the last minute.

He sighed deeply. "I'm going to contact Jason."

Everyone looked up from their respective tasks. "What was that?" Tanya wondered.

"We need a Blue Ranger to stand in for Rocky," Tommy explained. "Given the short notice, Jason's our best bet."

Zordon nodded. "A WISE DECISION, TOMMY. HOPEFULLY, HE WILL BE ABLE TO ACCEPT THE BLUE ZEO POWER DESPITE THE TRAUMA HE SUFFERED DUE TO THE GOLD RANGER POWERS."

Tommy nodded slowly, anxiety written all over his face.

Katherine touched his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure Zordon and Alpha will run every test possible to make sure Jason can use the Blue Zeonizer without complications."

Tommy offered a half-smile at Kat's support...though in reality, his concerns were focused in an entirely different direction. The others didn't know about the awful suspicions that knotted the Red Ranger's stomach.

God help me...I can't trust him!

Tommy realized in dismay, I wanted to talk to him about it...get his side of it. But it'll have to wait until the battle's over.

It was sickening, yet undeniably true. Despite three years of friendship, despite the dozens of times they'd risked their lives for one another...Tommy knew he couldn't bring himself to rely on Jason. He wouldn't be able to look his best friend in the eye.

Even brothers have been torn apart for love of the same woman.

Nothing's been proven, Tommy reminded himself, in a last-ditch effort to listen to reason, Until we talk about what's really going on between him and Kim, I can afford to give Jason the benefit of the doubt. After all he's done for me...how he trusted me after I nearly killed him as Rita's Green Ranger, the least I can do is offer him that same chance.

So easily said...but so difficult to adopt.

Finally, after silently wrestling with his dilemma