The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII by Heather Ray (summer beach reads txt) 📕

ask me to marry him," Kim corrected, "he just wanted to make sure I realized how much he loves me."

"And I'll bet you didn't realize how much you loved him, until that battle against Solar," said Alexis with a knowing smile.

"You're right," Kim agreed. Boy,

she thought, they don't even know the half of it! Only Tommy, Billy and I know the whole truth -- that Annie was actually me, in some alternate future! Seeing an older version of me married to someone else probably scared him. It sure as heck scared me!

"I guess he realized that he won't live forever," Katherine said, "I mean, Solar nearly killed him! Tommy had to face the fact that he doesn't have forever to tell you exactly how he feels. Being thrown in mortal peril is the only way to wake some guys up."

"So, maybe I should inflict some life-altering damage to Zack?" sighed Aisha.

"What happened?" asked Kim, her euphoric smile falling.

"He asked me how to get Angela to go out with him," she muttered. "Honestly, he's putting me in an awkward position. I don't know what to do --"

"Maybe you should ask him out," suggested Alexis.

"Nah," said Aisha, "he's in love with Angela. I know I'm not the one he really wants to be with, and if I did ask him, it would makes things weird between us. I mean, we're friends. I don't want to make him uncomfortable around me."

"Give him time," said Kimberly, placing her hand on Aisha's shoulder. "One of these days, Zack will realize that Angela isn't the right girl for him. Now, let's get going! We have to go to class!"

The group of girls split up, and hurried to their respective classrooms. Not long after, the bell rang, signaling the start of second period.

Chapter Two

Meanwhile, on the Moon, Goldar was busy sharpening his golden sword carefully. He was a bitter mood, because the war against Earth had taken a drastic turn. Not quite a week ago, the extremely powerful being Solar attacked the palace, and with but a passing thought, managed to get rid of both Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, by throwing them into the endless void of the Multiverse. Although both villains had previously shown the ability to manipulate the Multiverse, it was unlikely they will find their way home. At least not for a while. Although Goldar had many times dreamt of finally being the leader, he was now overwhelmed with uncertainty, All his life, he had been a follower. Now, he had to establish himself as the superior being, and decide what his ultimate goal is. The latter was easy, but the former was harder.

Rito is an idiot,

Goldar reasoned. Even though, being Rita's brother, he is the most likely successor, he doesn't have the qualifications to order anyone around! Finster is a genius, but even though he is never one to crumble under the weight of authority, he is not a leader. And Squatt and Baboo don't even enter into the picture...

Goldar sheathed his sharpened sword, and quickly marched to the throne room, where all the other villains who served Rita and Zedd were. He walked passed them, and stood upon the balcony, looking out upon the Earth circling below.

"Well?" asked Finster. "Why did you ask us all here?"

"It's been days," Goldar's deep voice rumbled, "and Zedd and Rita are still gone. Also, we must assume Solar himself has been destroyed since we can find no trace of him. It is safe for us to remain in the palace, and continue to attack Earth."

"But, why?" asked Baboo. "Can't we just all go home?"

"Go home where?!" Goldar roared. "We have been in the service of Lord Zedd for centuries! None of us are welcome in our home worlds, since we all betrayed our friends and family when Zedd took over. Well, all except Rito and Finster. Rito, will you be a traitor to your family by giving up the fight against justice?"

"Uhh..." Rito said, rubbing his chin.

"And you, Finster," said Goldar, turning to the old scientist, "where will you go? Your home planet was destroyed."

Finster bowed his head solemnly. His planet was indeed destroyed, by volcanic eruptions that tore the planet apart. He is the only member of his race to survive, because he was away from the planet on a scientific expedition when the destruction occured. There was nowhere for him to go. "So, what are you suggesting?" asked Finster.

"If we work together, we can destroy the Power Rangers, and then make our own kingdom. Here on Earth."

"Good idea!" said Rito. "Can I be the leader?"

"Let's worry about who leads after the Power Rangers have been dealt with. Any ideas, anyone?"

"Nope," said Rito, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't have a...ah...ah...CHOOOO

!!"

Rito sneezed right into Goldar's face. Goldar's eyes flashed as he wiped the moisture from his snout.

"Sheesh," Rito sniffled, "sorry about that, Goldie. I guess I'm coming down with a Space Flu."

Goldar's eyes widened, and a frown crossed his face. "IDIOT!!"

he roared. "Space Viruses are highly contagious!"

"So?" asked Rito with another shrug. "Space Viruses only cause sneezing and stuffy noses."

"Not necessarily," said Finster. "Space Viruses are notorious for their unpredictability. Each species has different symptoms, varying in seriousness. Your species suffers sneezing and congestion, while in my species, the symptoms include fatigue and dizziness."

"And you, Goldie?" asked Rito.

"We get an itch," muttered Goldar, "A chronic, debilitating itch."

"Cool," said Rito. "Hey, it could be worse! In some species, Space Viruses are fatal."

Goldar's sneer suddenly turned into a chilling grin, and he turned to Finster. "Do you know how a Space Virus affects humans?"

"No," said Finster, "I don't believe humans have ever been inflicted with Space Viruses. The germs originated from another galaxy, and they cannot survive in the Earth's atmosphere. If they somehow managed to get through the upper atmosphere, it would only survive a matter of minutes in the air. But, if a human were to contract the Space Flu, the symptoms would most likely be extreme, since humans are extremely fragile."

"So, all we have to do is get the virus down to Earth, so it can infect the Power Rangers!" said Goldar excitedly. "At the very least, it'll keep them incapacitated for awhile, and they will be helpless to prevent us from conquering the planet!!"

"How do we get the rangers infected?" asked Squatt.

"I could create a monster with the virus," said Finster. "He may not last long in Earth's atmosphere, but he will be strong enough to deliver the disease, All the rangers have to do is breathe his breath to be exposed to the virus."

"I guess you're assuming they won't morph," said Rito. Goldar grumbled.

"You're right, the rangers' helmets would protect them from breathing contaminated air. We must expose them to the virus before they'd be able to morph! But, how do we stop them from morphin?"

"If we attack in a well-populated area, there will be too many spectators," said Finster.

"Excellent!" cried Goldar. "The rangers all gather at the Youth Center for lunch daily! If the monster attacks them there, they will need time to evacuate the bystanders before morphin! Even though the monster probably won't last long in the battle, the rangers will come down with the Space Flu!! Finster, its already nine-thirty in Angel Grove. Can you complete the monster by noon?"

"All I need is a sample of the Space Virus."

"Its coming!" shouted Rito. "Ah...ah...ah --!"

Everyone stepped back except Finster, who held out his palm in front of Rito's nose and mouth.

"Ah...CHOOO

!!"

"That'll do," said Finster, walking to his lab. "Thank you, Rito."

"No prob," he said. "Just make sure you wash your hands before eating."

Chapter Three

At the Youth Center, Tommy Oliver, Kimberly Hart, Aisha Campbell, Tanya Sloan, Adam Park, Rocky DeSantos, Alexis Darling, Katherine Hillard, Billy Mitchell, Zack Taylor, and Jason Lee sat at a round table, eating lunch and talking about various topics.

"So," said Alexis. "Why were you in Africa, Tanya?"

"Well, after the fight against Sandman, that I'm sure everyone else told you about, my parents were freed from ten years of captivity. We had to go back to their home city in Kenya to collect what was left of their things, contact family members, apply for Visas to come here, and even look into buying a house here. That kind of stuff takes a while. We got a house right on the border of Angel Grove and Stone Canyon."

"Really?" asked Alexis. "Which street?"

"Spruce."

"Wow, I live on Elmwood! That's like two blocks away! We can walk to school together."

"Sounds good to me," said Tanya. "So, what have you guys been up to? Other than expanding your roster with a Purple Ranger, of course."

"Don't ask," sighed Tommy, "A week ago, we had to fight this super-being called Solar. It was a pretty bad experience."

"Yeah," said Aisha, "and Solar's henchman Holocaust was one tough warrior! Those injuries were painful. And serious."

"Thank goodness there haven't been any monster attacks since then," said Kimberly. "We could all use the break."

"Speaking of break," said Zack, dipping a French fry in some ketchup. "What have you been up to during the silent period, Billy? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, I've taken the opportunity given by Rita and Zedd's recent disappearance to catch up on my reading."

"What are you reading?" asked Adam.

"The data on file in the CAC," he said. "There is a wealth of information from across the universe in the computers. Zordon left us very well prepared for any possibility. Just yesterday, I found a file listing all the known intelligent races in the universe. Did you know there are over twenty one million planets that support animal life? It's phenomenal."

"I'd say," said Rocky.

"I also found files of all manner of plant life and micro-organisms. So, we have at our disposal information on an innumerable