The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 3 - Heather Ray (chapter books to read to 5 year olds .txt) 📗

at everything that moved, and even managed to destroy a few Viper Putties with the deadly rays. But for the most part, they only held back the army of alien creations.

"Will?!" shrieked Natasha.

"Guys!" called Will, wiping sweat from his brow. "Come here! Quick!"

Both young astronauts made a break for it, and joined Will in the back of the laboratory. Then, Will activated a sequence of buttons, and an invisible screen surrounded the trio like a bubble. Natasha and James watched in amazement as the Putties' venom was blocked by an unseen force. Will just smiled.

"There is no way I can fix the teleporter," he explained. "It will never be reliable enough to attempt so delicate a transport as three humans all the way to Earth. So, I broadened the spectrum of the energy current, and it now surrounds us, warping the molecules in a two yard radius --"

"Creating an energy field!" cried James with understanding. "You are a genius, Will!"

"Maybe," he said, "but the field won't last for much longer. Our only hope is the Power Rangers now."

"You got that right," said a frightening voice. "It won't last much longer!"

The trio looked towards the melted remains of the door, and saw the foreboding Lord Zedd stepping into the ransacked laboratory. Immediately, the Viper Putties stepped back, leaving Lord Zedd alone with his three hostages.

"You really have been up to something!" he declared, approaching the force field. "You've managed to hide yourself from me and my queen for nearly an entire day, Billy. Not too shabby! But, the jig is up, my boy! You have nowhere to run!"

Zedd began to laugh, and fired a bolt of white energy at Will from his staff. But the force field repelled the blast, sending it back to Zedd. Zedd dodged the blast, and stared at Will curiously.

"Ah," he said, touching the field, "I see. You've somehow created a shield around you and your friends. You never cease to amaze me. But you're still mine!"

With that, Zedd pointed his staff at the bubble, and fired a continuous stream of white energy at the bubble. He began to laugh maniacally as his energy beam slowly pushed through the field.
Chapter Thirty

"It's time to finish this!" declared Tom. "We'll use the Terra Sword!"

"Which energy should we charge the sword with?" asked Kimberly, controlling the hand of the Megazord.

"We'll give him a blast of electricity," Tom decided. "It worked before."

The Terra Megazord formed the mighty Terra Sword, whose silver blade crackled with electrical energy. With one mighty swing, the hot steel carved its way through Verdus' tough hide, separating the monster down the middle. The monster released the magical energy that created him in a powerful explosion of light, leaving the Megazord standing beside the White House.

"Now that that's over with," said Katherine, turning on the communications relay, "let's check up on Trini and Rocky, and see what's going on with Will. Trini? Rocky? Can you read?"

^I read,^

said Rocky's voice through the speaker.

"Did you have any luck?" asked Adam.

^No. Trini's been trying to use that Portal-Com to create a portal leading to the Moon, but she can't get it to focus. Also, we're having trouble scanning the Moon Palace with the sensors. We don't know where Will is exactly.^

"Then there's only one solution," said Tom. "We're going up to the Moon."

^Wait!^

called Trini's voice, ^I'm coming with you!^

"Trini," said Jason, "I know you're worried about Will, but --"

Just then, two columns of light pierced the relative darkness of the cockpit of the Terra Megazord, heralding the arrival of Rocky DeSantos and Trini Kwan. Rocky was still wearing his special navy blue uniform, and Trini wore her yellow T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Listen," said Trini, "Zedd and Rita won't expect us! Rocky and I can infiltrate the palace, while you guys keep them busy."

"Trini," said Zack, standing up from his station. "You can get yourself killed! Zedd and Rita are dangerous, and you don't have the Power to protect you!"

"Once a ranger, always a ranger," she said sternly, "I know how to take care of myself, and so does Rocky."

"Martial arts won't help you much against Zedd's magic," said Kimberly.

"Well, I won't let that stop me."

"At least take my uniform," said Kim, standing up. She raised her arms to the sky, and in a flash of yellow light, she was wearing the yellow leotard she designed, with silver shield, armbands, and metallic boots. The two women left the cockpit, and in a few minutes, Trini returned, dressed in Kimberly's uniform, and beside her was the Yellow Terran Ranger.

"How does it fit?" asked Rocky.

"It's a little small," said Trini, tugging on the sleeves of the uniform, "but it'll do. Let's get going! We don't have much time!"

"Jason," said Tom, turning back to the front, "set a course for the Moon."

"You got it, Bro."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Zack.

"The CAC's sensors couldn't pick up anything," said Trini, sitting down on the bench in the back of the cockpit, "but maybe the Megazord's scanners will have better luck, once we're close to the Palace. Once we pick up human life readings, Rocky and I will go in, get Will and the others, and get out. You guys must keep Zedd and Rita occupied."

"Of course, you realize that the Palace may be filled with their henchmen," said Katherine. "Or at least a few squads of Putties."

"Its a chance we'll have to take," said Trini, staring out at outer space. "We're Will's only chance, and I refuse to let him down."

Chapter Thirty-One

"Will," said Natasha quietly, "what do we do now?"

For once, William Mitchell, the world-renowned scientist, didn't have an answer. Slowly but surely, Lord Zedd's powerful focused beam of magical energy was cutting through the force field encasing the three American astronauts. There was nowhere to run now. James frowned angrily, and turned to his friends.

"I'm not giving up now!" he declared, clutching his laser gun tighter. "Not when we're so close!"

Will studied his friend, and his eyes focused on the laser gun.

"Quick," whispered Will, "give me the gun."

James obliged, and Will grasped the pistol. It reminded him of the laser pistols he built just a few years ago, when Jason had convinced him to create weapons in case Zedd and Rita would return. He studied the pistol, and then looked around.

"I need a piece of extremely durable metal," he said. "Or any other durable material."

"How large?" asked Natasha.

"Large enough to block the barrel of this gun," Will said, holding up the gun. The barrel had a relatively narrow opening.

"I think I have the answer," said Natasha, taking off the glove on her left hand. She took off a gold engagement ring, with a rather large diamond.

"I didn't know you were getting married," said Will, jamming the gem into the barrel.

"We're lucky Tasha has a rich fiance!" said James.

Will nodded in agreement, and pointed the weapon at Lord Zedd. Zedd stopped trying to destroy the shield, and looked at Will curiously.

"That little pop-gun won't stop me!" Zedd declared.

"Stand down, Zedd," said Will calmly, "or else I fire this blaster. In case you didn't notice, the barrel has been blocked. I calculate four seconds of firing, until the weapon overloads, and explodes. An explosion of that magnitude will destroy a good portion of your palace, and it may even put an end to your days of terror. Tell me, Zedd...are we worth it?"

"You wouldn't," said Zedd. "You'll die too!"

"But if we surrender to you," said James, "we'd be as good as dead anyway. At least this way, we'll take you with us!"

Zedd took a step back, and glared at the three humans angrily. But before he could say or do anything, the entire palace began to shake violently. Zedd balanced himself on Finster's lab table, and looked up to the ceiling.

"What the devil--?!"

Meanwhile, Rita Repulsa sat on Zedd's throne, frowning.

"That no good Zedd," she muttered angrily. "Not too long ago, this was my throne! My palace!! But now, he's the emperor, and I'm just his wife. I get absolutely no respect, either from Zedd, or his idiotic henchmen. And now, all he does is yell at me, because Goldar's not here for him to vent his anger..."

Suddenly, the palace began to shake. Rita fell from the throne, and looks toward the balcony in shock. Standing only yards from the Palace was the mighty Terra Megazord. The Megazord easily towered above the palace, and stood defiantly on the cold dirt of the lunar surface. Rita muttered something under her breath, and rose to her feet. She marched to the balcony, and looked up at the face of the zord. She could easily see all six Terran Power Rangers inside the cockpit.

"What the devil are you doing here?!" she yelled.

^What do you think, Repulsa,^

said Jason's voice. ^We're here to take care of business. Where's Will?^

"How do you know he isn't dead already?" she smirked.

^If he is, you'll regret it,^

said Kimberly.

"What are you gonna do about it?" she laughed. "Huff, puff, and blow my Palace down?"

^Something like that,^

said Adam. ^But much worse, I assure you.^

Rita's smile fell as she saw the right arm of the Megazord rise. It swung down, and knocked the peak of the palace right off. Rita once again fell to the ground, and struggled to get up.

"I thought Zordon taught you not to escalate a battle!" she shrieked. "How dare you attack my palace?! You're breaking every rule you stand for!"

^Is that a fact?^

called Tommy's voice. ^You're the one who escalated the battle by sending that cheap Godzilla knock-off to attack Washington. We're not escalating the battle, we're just finishing it. You're going down, Repulsa! You and Lord