Mayhem from Moon Palace

by Alexander Irvine

  That seemed to make Squatt feel better. Finster explained more. “Remember, Lord Zedd thinks we are all useless because Rita could not destroy the Power Rangers. We have to prove ourselves, yes?”

  Baboo and Squatt both nodded.

  “That’s what this machine will do. I will finish it, and Alpha 5 will be mine to control! I will force him to deactivate the Thunderzords, and then the Power Rangers will have to face Lord Zedd on their own. He will defeat them, and we will look good because we helped!” Finster waited for this to sink in. Then he added, “But it will only work if you keep quiet until I am done.”

  “We will,” Baboo said.

  “And steer clear of Lord Zedd. Do not give him any reason to be angry at you.”

  “Oh no, we won’t,” Squatt promised.

  “Good,” Finster said. “Now go hide somewhere else. I have work to do.”

  Chapter 5

  The Power Rangers morphed back into their regular clothes and looked around the parking lot. There was no trace of the Z-Putties, and no one near the school had noticed. Students from all over the Angel Grove area were bringing in their experiments. “It’s almost time for the fair to start,” Billy said. “We’d better get inside. I need a few minutes to get everything set up.”

  Jason nodded. “Okay. I’ll stay here, talk to Zordon, and make sure no more Z-Putties are coming. You guys go on in and help Billy set up.”

  “Got it.” Zack hefted his end of Billy’s experiment. “Come on, Billy.”

  Jason held up his wrist-communicator as the rest of the Rangers walked away toward the school. “Zordon,” he said. “We’re at the school for the science fair, but we also battled Goldar and a squad of Z-Putties.”

  “Yes! We were just about to check in,” Zordon answered. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Aye-yi-yi,” Alpha 5 said. “Why did Goldar run away?”

  “I was wondering about that, too,” Jason said. “Usually he puts up more of a fight.”

  “Lord Zedd is planning something,” Zordon said. “I am watching him, but I don’t know exactly what his plan is just yet. You must be prepared for him to attack again.”

  “We will be,” Jason promised.

  “I have scanned the area,” Zordon said, “but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps you should search to be sure.”

  “Okay,” Jason said. “I’ll take a look.”

  “Report back the moment you see anything,” Zordon said. “And tell Billy we’re wishing him the best in the science competition!”

  “I will.” Jason looked around the area. Behind the shed and the football stadium, low hills rose. There weren’t many houses out that way. A few miles into the hills was the secret location of Zordon’s Command Center.

  Jason decided to start with the area right around the school. He passed the shed and climbed the closest hill to get a better view. When he got to the top, he didn’t see anything, but Zordon was right. Lord Zedd could have created some kind of monster. He’d done it before. It could be anywhere, waiting for Lord Zedd to order it to attack.

  But if he couldn’t see it, he couldn’t fight it. Zordon would know if there was an active threat. Jason turned to head for the gym. He wanted to be there to support Billy.

  Chapter 6

  Inside the Angel Grove High School gym, dozens of students were setting up their experiments. Each had an assigned booth. There were four double rows of booths, stretching the whole length of the gym. The judges’ table was at the far end, near the door to the girls’ locker room.

  Zack and Tommy set down Billy’s experiment at his booth. There was a folding table, an easel, and two chairs, with space for displays on either side. Many of the teams had set up posters to explain what they were doing. “Let’s get it up on the table,” Billy said.

  When they had it centered on the table, Billy carefully lifted the sheet away and folded it. “Man,” Tommy said. “I don’t know what that thing is, but it sure looks cool.”

  Billy beamed. His experiment looked kind of like a computer and kind of like an airplane control panel. It had several screens, knobs and dials, and two antennas that Billy extended and arranged so they pointed up and out at an angle.

  “What does it do?” Zack asked.

  Billy was about to answer, but then he looked around and said, “Oh, I forgot. I left my posters in my car!”

  “I’ll get them,” Kimberly said. “Don’t explain until I get back.”

  She jogged through the crowd and out of the gym. As she crossed the parking lot toward Billy’s car, she looked around for Jason. He wasn’t anywhere in sight. She thought about calling him, but he was probably still standing guard against the Z-Putties. He would be back soon.

  The poster boards were in the back seat of Billy’s car. She collected them and walked toward the school. It was kind of hard to jog holding poster boards.

  When she was almost to the door, her wrist-communicator chirped. When she answered, Zordon said, “Rangers! The Morphin Grid has detected a threat somewhere inside the school. I am not certain what it is, but you must search the whole building immediately!”

  Uh-oh, Kimberly thought. She started running, holding the poster board awkwardly out in front of her.

  She got to Billy’s booth and saw that the rest of the team had heard Zordon’s call. They looked nervous because they couldn’t answer inside the gym. No one could know the secret of the Power Rangers. Quickly Kimberly filled them in.

  “We’re going to have to split up and search the school,” Trini said.

  “Let’s go,” Zack said.

  Kimberly looked back toward the door. “Without Jason?”

  “He would have heard Zordon just like we did,” Trini pointed out. “He’ll be here.”

  “Unless . . .” Billy hesitated as they all looked at him.

  “Unless what?” Tommy prompted him.

  “Unless he can’t get back,” Billy said.

  They looked at one another for a long, nervous moment. Then Tommy said, “Jason can take care of himself. We should follow Zordon’s orders. Let’s get looking.”

  “Okay,” Billy said. “But the fair’s about to start. Let’s move fast.”

  They headed out as a group, splitting up when they got to the gym doors. Trini and Billy went left, toward the auditorium and the swimming pool. The other three headed for the classroom wings. They all were worried about Jason, but they had to trust Zordon.

  Chapter 7

  Jason heard Zordon’s warning and started running. He was at the edge of the stadium, and he made it back to the shed at the far end of the parking lot quickly. He was raising his wrist-communicator to ask the rest of the Power Rangers where he should meet them, when suddenly he skidded to a halt.

  Goldar was there, next to Jason’s car. Good thing they’d parked way out there, far from any other cars or people. “You are alone, Red Ranger! Right where I want you!”

  Waiting for him.

  “Tyrannosaurus!” Jason called out. He felt the flash of energy around him as the power of the Morphin Grid changed him from ordinary Angel Grove teenager Jason Scott to the Red Power Ranger, defender of Earth. Flushed with the feeling of power, he stepped toward Goldar.

  “You’re between me and my friends,” he said. “That is not a good place to be.”

  Goldar raised his sword and spread his wings as Jason came at him. He rang a punch off Goldar’s armor and followed it with a kick to Goldar’s midsection. But Goldar recovered quickly, and Jason barely dodged back in time to avoid a wild swing from Goldar’s sword. Then he had to keep backpedaling as Goldar kept swinging.

  “Lord Zedd will rule this world, Power Ranger! I fight for him!”

  Tell me something I don’t know, Jason thought. He ducked behind a car, and Goldar smashed his sword down on its hood. The car’s front tires blew out.


  Jason came around the back of the car and launched a spinning split kick into Goldar’s back. He squared up, and as Goldar turned around, Jason caught him with a chop to the side of the neck. Goldar roared and flapped his massive wings forward. They slapped Jason in the face. His Power Ranger helmet protected him, but the impact still sent him flying backward.

  Jason reached out and caught one of Goldar’s wings, flinging him aside into the wrecked car. He wanted to call the other Power Rangers, but if they were still inside the school, someone would hear. He couldn’t take the chance. That meant he was on his own.

  “Zordon!” he called out, through the helmet comm link. “Goldar is in the school parking lot!”

  “I see you, Red Ranger,” came Zordon’s voice.

  In the background, Jason could hear Alpha 5 fretting. “Aye-yi-yi, Jason should have the rest of the Power Rangers with him!”

  “You must keep Goldar from getting to the school,” Zordon warned.

  “I don’t think he wants to.” Jason dodged back as Goldar rushed at him again. “He seems pretty focused on me.”

  “Then Lord Zedd must have sent him after you specifically,” Zordon said. “He might have another plan to attack the rest of the Rangers. I will warn them.”

  “It might take them a minute to answer. They’re in the school with a lot of people around,” Jason said. Then he was too busy to talk because Goldar was hacking at him with the sword again. He ducked and parried by striking at Goldar’s arms to deflect his sword strokes.

  But Goldar was strong. If they weren’t so close to the school, Jason would have kept trying to handle Goldar on his own, but Zordon was right. He couldn’t risk someone at the school getting hurt.

  Then Lord Zedd upped the stakes. One of his grenades fell from the sky and surrounded Goldar in a flash of light. When the light faded, Goldar had grown to his full enormous size, looming over Jason and raising his sword, which was suddenly as long as a bus. At that size, Goldar was a real danger to the school and everyone in it. He had escalated the fight, and Jason had to answer.

  It was time to call in his Thunderzord.

  Jason raised his arms and called out, “Tyrannosaurus Red Dragon Thunderzord Power!”

  A roar echoed over the hills, and Jason disappeared just as Goldar’s sword cut through the space where he had been. The sword buried itself in the asphalt parking lot. Goldar pulled it free and looked up into the sky.

  The Tyrannosaurus Red Dragon Thunderzord swooped over the hills as Jason piloted it down toward Goldar. As Jason dove at him, Goldar struck at the Thunderzord and crashed his blade against its side. The Thunderzord wrapped its tail around Goldar’s legs, and its claws hooked into his armor. Jason leaned back, and the Thunderzord lifted Goldar off the ground.

  “There are rules against fighting on school grounds, Goldar,” Jason said.

  He carried Goldar over the first ridge of hills and let him fall. Goldar flailed and smashed down into the brush in a canyon, a mile from the school. His sword bounced away among the rocks. For a moment he was stunned, but he got up quickly and looked for his sword as Jason swung around to come after him again. The Thunderzord swept its tail across the earth, raising a storm of dust around Goldar. He wanted to keep Goldar from finding his sword while he figured out what to do next. Should he keep trying to delay Goldar out here? What if the rest of the Power Rangers hadn’t talked to Zordon because they were inside the school?

  Jason didn’t have any more time to think about his options because at that moment, Goldar jumped up out of the dust cloud and grabbed on to the Thunderzord’s tail, swinging it down to smash against the canyon wall. The impact caused a colossal rockslide. Boulders fell around Goldar, and some hit him. He staggered back and let go of the Thunderzord.

  Jason saw his chance and took it. He switched the Thunderzord to Warrior Mode and spun the warrior’s staff in a series of strikes that staggered Goldar. Then Goldar struck back, his sword clashing against the Thunderzord’s armor and stopping Jason’s attack. Jason braced the Thunderzord against the far canyon wall and launched it toward Goldar, putting all its weight into a flying tackle that crushed Goldar against the other wall of the canyon.

  Goldar stumbled and sank to his knees. He dropped his sword and fell over, stunned. Jason waited, but Goldar didn’t get up.

  “Zordon,” he said. “Did you talk to the rest of the team?”

  “Communications are difficult,” Zordon said. “There has been periodic interference with signals. I am unable to reach them.”

  “I’m headed that way once I take care of our good friend Goldar,” Jason said. “I’ll find out what’s going on soon enough.”

  Chapter 8

  Tommy, Kimberly, and Zack made a long loop around the classroom wings without seeing anything out of the ordinary. Just shut classroom doors and rows and rows of lockers. Even the janitorial closets were closed up tight, except for one. Its door was wedged open with a mop bucket. They looked into it, but all they saw were big jugs of cleaning fluids and a couple of brooms.

  “Zordon wouldn’t have sent us out if something wasn’t going on,” Kimberly said. “What did we miss?”

  “Let’s go back and look again,” Tommy said. They doubled back, passing the computer lab and the math classrooms.

  Up ahead were the science classrooms. Light flashed under one of the doors. “There,” Zack said. “Did you guys see that?”

  Tommy nodded. “Yeah. Let’s take a look.”

  They gathered around the door. Kimberly and Zack stayed off to one side while Tommy got ready to open the door. “Okay,” Zack said. “Go.”

  Tommy jerked the door open, and all three Rangers crowded through the doorway.

  The science lab had long worktables arranged in a grid around the central lab table. There were beakers and burners everywhere. Along one wall was a row of aquariums and terrariums where the students kept small animals to study.

  There they saw the source of the flashing light.

  One of the small tanks held several earthworms, so students could see their tiny tunnels through its glass walls. They made observations about how the worms ate and how fast they could dig. But this morning, something bizarre was happening in that tank.

  A worm was crawling up the side, and it was glowing with bluish energy. “Worms can’t crawl up glass, can they?” Tommy wondered.

  “I don’t think so. That’s why there’s no lid on that tank, right?” Kimberly asked.

  The worm got to the rim of the tank. As it poked its head out, it started to grow—and change. One second it was about five inches long and as thick as a pencil. The next second it suddenly stood on the classroom floor, ten feet tall and as big around as a trash barrel. It sprouted arms and legs that were more like tentacles, ending in flaps instead of hands and feet. Its head changed, growing eyes and a mouth.

  “Oh, Power Rangers!” it said in a voice that was like someone trying to gargle a mouthful of mud. “Class is in session!”

  Tommy’s eyes popped. “And it can talk?”

  The three Power Rangers morphed and squared off against the monster, spreading out and waiting to see what it would do. They had seen Lord Zedd do this before. He had the power to take an animal and turn it into an intelligent monster. But . . .

  “A worm?” Tommy said. “Seriously? I mean, I can see a piranha or an octopus. But an earthworm?”

  “That’s Wormazam to you!” the monster sneered.

  One of its arms lashed out and stretched all the way across the room to knock Tommy sprawling. He banged into a supply cabinet and bounced back to his feet. Kimberly ran to help him up, blocking another swipe from Wormazam’s arm. A slime coating from the monster was smeared across her Ranger suit.

  Wormazam rushed toward them, but Zack knocked it off balance with a double-footed flying pile driver. He landed on the lab table and danced out of the way whe
n Wormazam tried to slap his legs out from under him with its tail.

  Kimberly and Tommy joined in, ducking away from Wormazam’s swiping arms and trying to get close enough to attack.

  “We have to keep it in here,” Kimberly said. “Who knows what it will do if it gets out?”

  “Man, we should take it to the reservoir. Wonder what kind of fish we could catch with a worm that big!” Zack was still making cracks even as he did a backflip off the table to avoid a swipe from Wormazam’s tail. Beakers smashed on the floor.

  But Wormazam was fast, and even when they did hit it, their blows just seemed to bounce off. Kimberly and Tommy jumped back and joined Zack near the door.

  “Punches don’t even touch it,” Tommy said, panting. “It’s like it’s made out of rubber.”

  “Time to take things to another level,” Zack said. He raised his hands and said, “Power Axe!”

  The Power Axe appeared in his hands.

  “Power Bow!” Kimberly said, flexing her arms. Her Power Bow appeared, and she drew it taut. “Come on, Tommy!”

  Tommy raised a hand, and the Dragon Dagger appeared in a blaze of energy.

  They all struck at once. Tommy’s dagger slashed through one of Wormazam’s arms. Zack swung his Power Axe low, cutting off one of Wormazam’s legs and a long piece of its tail. And an arrow from Kimberly’s Power Bow exploded when it hit Wormazam’s other arm, blasting it off.

  Standing on one leg, Wormazam looked with demented glee at its arms and leg and tail wriggling on the floor of the classroom.

  “Ahhhh-ha-ha-ha-ha, Rangers!” it cackled. “You know what happens when a worm gets cut in half, don’t you?”

  “Uh-oh,” Kimberly said.

  The four separated pieces of Wormazam twisted around and started to change shape. Within a few seconds, they were no longer just an arm or a tail or a leg . . . They were four new, complete Wormazams wriggling about.