It remained here undisturbed for millennia. An incredible construction, considering the resources and knowledge of the era in which it was built. Hidden right under their noses all along. The symbolic reminder of a people who sought to stare into the eyes of their god. Pseudo Ranger stood at the foundation, looking up, and still could not see the top; it felt the same sense of awe and wonder as it did around Arcanza. When it was able to feel, that is. The falcon was with its true master now and Pseudo was finally alone with its thoughts...and feelings.
"Babel," it called with its mechanized voice. "Ancient CarrierZord! Arise once more!"
The Tower of Babel, the legends named it, but none had ever come close to identifying it more than that. Its first floor had slightly less area than its base, its second less than its first, its third less than its second, and so forth until the uncompleted top floor. It looked not unlike a vertically-elongated pyramid, except it was solid black stone and buried beneath the Mariana Trench. Accurately it should have been called a Zord, because one person seated in the piloting chamber could use it to destroy a city in seconds. Only a Zord could have that much power.
A hatch opened up about fifteen levels up, roughly halfway up the Tower, and Pseudo Ranger teleported itself inside to discover a spacious cabin, complete with monitors and controls. A feminine voice was saying something in a language too difficult to understand. Quite impressive, having all this technology back then, almost as if Omnian society were here on Earth...
"Babel System online," the voice suddenly spoke in English. "Preparing to ascend to ground level. Please input a destination. Instructions on how to input a destination are available from the assistant consoles in the piloting subchamber."
Arcanza had told it what to do. Pseudo Ranger entered the eight coordinates—an Omnian coordinate system, accounting for all four dimensions, also peculiar—and instantly Babel was burrowing through its massive buried tomb. Before long the Zord was airborne and on route to Ivory Glade, Colorado, where by now Twilight Legion should rule and the Power Rangers should be ready to be destroyed.
"Twilight Legion rules this city now," laughed Sir Vesper, quivering as he lifted the long, curved blade of his sword and pointed it in the teenagers's direction. "And you should ready yourselves to be destroyed."
The unlikely group combined four of the powerless Omni Rangers—Alexander, Brittany, Rebecca, and Michael—with Patrick Manus and his sister Rachel. Together the group had fought their way through Ivory Glade, but only a few blocks from the edge of town they were caught and challenged by Vesper, an intergalactic conqueror with a short temper and no value for life. Additionally, this alien warrior held the Hypercoins, the source of the Rangers' powers, leaving them, in essence, totally defenseless to his evil ways. Rain still drizzled from the dark clouds above and street lights were casting errie shadows on the ground. Still they could see Vesper's fiery red eyes burning with an all-consuming hatred.
"We won't go down without a fight," Alex assured his enemy. Suddenly, the Lifeblade in his hands—usually an ordinary sword hilt and handle—sprang to life, a pure white blade of light completing the sword. A similar weapon appeared in Michael's hand.
Sir Vesper laugh the sick laugh of the insane and charged forward, thrusting and slashing for the kill. Michael skillfully parried each attack while Alex concentrated on dodging them and going in for the offensive himself. The light energy blade never came in contact with its target, though. "I have seen younger children do much better," the villain taunted.
Becky whispered, "Follow me," into Patrick's ear and, following her orders, joined Brittany and Rachel in crouching and sneaking past the scene of the raging battle. Alex was panting and calling out strange words as he fought; Michael chose swear words and deep breaths. The stealth group reached the other side and turned to make sure Sir Vesper could not see them.
But apparently he did. The warrior fell back from the conflict and seized Rachel with a powerful hand, lifting her up and holding her, kicking and screaming, in mid-air. "No!" Patrick screamed, but Brittany and Becky were holding him back as he tried to scramble forward.
"Remember this moment," growled Vesper, directly to Patrick. "Think back between now and the time you lay in your grave about the exact minute, indeed, the very second itself, when the Fallen Star Conqueror conquered this girl's life." He moved the sword up to Rachel's throat...
A series of canine reverberated through the air, mere heartbeats before multiple beams of black-tinted energy bombarded Sir Vesper from the sky. The weapon was knocked from his hand as the warrior fell back with a curse. Patrick surged ahead to grab Rachel and embrace her, assuring her, "It's okay, you're safe," as she sobbed on his shoulder.
"Would you look at that!" Brittany exclaimed in a single breath.
Rebecca replied, "Impossible. And incredible."
The clouds had begun to swirl and part, allowing some rays of late afternoon sunlight to stream into the city, illuminating a gigantic mechanical beast of mythology. Its anatomy was similar to that of a ragged and ferocious dog, except for its three distinct heads, and its enormous size. If it did not surpass, it at least matched the mass of the OmniZords. And speaking of the Omni Ranger vehicles, standing at the side of the new arrival was the familiar form of the Titan, the Red Ranger's signature Zord.
Sir Vesper struggled to climb to his feet and roared, "Trinity seize and burn your souls for eternity!" Then, laughing, he added, "You may defeat me, but my defeat will not be without purpose. I will destroy these!" Vesper lifted the Hypercoins to the sky and cried out, "Arcanza! You failed your first attempt, but I allow you another. Strike me with lightning, retched deceiver, and show your true power to all!"
"Silhouette Steal!"
The voice came from nowhere, and abruptly the strange ground shadows began to merge together into one giant shadow and lift up, becoming three-dimensional beings. Vesper stared in amazement as the solid shades surrounded him, spiraling up and around his body, his extended arm, and wrapping around the four coins in his hand. They condensed there into a dark black ball that suddenly floated through the air toward the two Zords.
Before the shadow ball flew too far, a human form raised up from the ground and caught it with both hands. The newcomer wore a costume exactly like the Omni Rangers' in every way except the dominant color was black. Slowly the orb melted into liquid, then dripped away and became regular shadows once again.
In the only light in Ivory Glade, dying and sparse, the Black Omni Ranger lifted the four retrieved Hypercoins and showered them in illumination. Quickly the figure moved from teenager to teenager—Michael, Alexander, Rebecca, then Brittany—returning their source of power. Finally stopping before Patrick, it extended two hands to help him and Rachel to their feet, then pointed to a safe location, close enough to see what was happening and far enough to be safe.
"Thank you," Patrick said as he escorted his sister to safety.
Black Ranger turned back to Sir Vesper and fell into a martial arts stance.
"Zenith Aura!" A layer of shifting-colored energy sprang up around the new Ranger, hovering so close to the body and so perfectly in tune that as it moved the aura moved with it. Vesper stampeded forward with the intent to bowl his opponent over. A spinning kick, precisely timed and executed, knocked the self-proclaimed conqueror off to the side, then another series of attacks followed up right away. Soon Vesper had no choice but to crawl away in defeat; the person in black would not attack him while he was down.
"Omni Rangers reassemble!" Alex was ordering nearby. "Four...three...two...one..." They lifted Omni Morphers simultaneously and inserted the Hypercoins. "It's morphin' time!"
"Omni Dragon!" called Alex.
"Omni Pegasus!" Brittany summoned.
"Omni Hydra!" growled Michael.
"Omni Sphinx!" Brittany finished.
Now morphed and energized with the power of OmniTech, the Rangers split up to surround Sir Vesper, their weapons materializing in their hands as they moved.
The ground trembled violently. All around the black clouds were dissipating and allowing more and more dim sunlight into the city. In the distance, and approaching quickly, they could all see a towering construction moving with incredible speed. They looked to the Black Ranger, who shook its head as though to say it had nothing to do with it. Nothing could be done, however, as the strange tower progressed toward Ivory Glade.
"Pathetic...Rangers..." gasped Sir Vesper, reaching into the folds of his tattered cape and producing a small light blue crystal. "You...you deserve...any—ahhh!—anything you...get." Then, with a hissing echo of a laugh, Vesper vanished in a teleportation beam.
Just as the alien was escaping, Patrick noticed Alexander was tilting his head as if listening to something, although everything was deathly quiet. He slowly straightened and announced sadly, "Cecil has some bad news."
The Titan OmniZord had been the least damaged of the five Zords during the battle with Pseudo Ranger and its minions. Cecil, seated in the main chamber, switched the communication system on and began speaking. "Alex, listen closely and tell the others. Black Ranger is a friend, and so is the Cerberus OmniZord, but that thing coming toward the city is definitely not. My Analysis names it the Babel CarrierZord and our favorite anti-Ranger is at the controls. We have to form a plan before it reaches us."
He heard Alex's voice report to his companions.
"Cecil, what's going on?" Becky's worried voice spoke into his head thanks to Alpha System. "How are we going to stop Pseudo Ranger in that thing?"
"Here is how," Seraide's voice broke into the conversation. Cecil swore to himself for forgetting to establish a direct communication rather than an open one; Craig would not make that kind of mistake. "You four draw Pseudo out of Babel. Play on his hatred for you, or do what you have to do. Cecil will then sneak on-board the CarrierZord and I will give him directions on how to reconfigure the computer. The Black Ranger will keep any outside factors occupied."
Cecil tapped the panel and moved Titan forward. "Sounds like a reasonable plan," he thought out loud. "Is everyone in agreement?"
"Yeah," answered Rebecca, and the others' agreements followed close behind.
Reaching out to the OmniTech flowing through him, Cecil teleported down to his friends and stood in his best commanding pose. Brittany laughed. "You did well," he addressed them.
"We owe it to Patrick," the Green Ranger replied.
Cecil nodded. "Well, if all goes according to Seraide's plan, this is it. I am kind of upset that I am not the one who is going to be defeating Pseudo Ranger, but that is the way it works out best. Good luck, Rangers."
"Luck to you, too," offered Rebecca. Then, lifting his fist to the sky, Cecil Mercuric teleported back inside his Zord and began mentally preparing himself for his mission.
Pseudo Ranger, gliding two fingers across a black panel embedded in the main driving controls, moved Babel steadily toward the outskirts of Ivory Glade. It could recognize Alpha Complex positioned just so, but its main focus of attention was the navigation system informing him that the Omni Rangers were standing around a couple blocks into the city.
"This will be magnificent," the evil Ranger told itself. "After I destroy the Rangers, Arcanza will reward me well, and I will proclaim myself heir to the Empires of Earth and New Omnis."
Slowly the Zord progressed, until at last it halted at the edge of town. "Clear a path," ordered Pseudo. Cannons emerged from various locations around the CarrierZord and began destroying houses and small buildings. Babel moved forward, crushing the debris under its massive base. Finally the Tower stopped. The Ranger looked down and saw the forms of five Power Rangers, just as expected, looking up in his direction.
"Pseudo Ranger is a sissy!" the pink one taunted.
The green added, "A true coward who hides behind machines because he is unable to defeat us in honorable battle."
"Sissy!" continued the pink.
"Couldn't defeat us on his own," the yellow was saying to the others.
Those sharp remarks, it knew, were supposed to enrage it. For some reason they wanted their enemy on the ground. Tapping the sides of its piloting console, Pseudo decided it would be a fun waste of time seeing what they had cooked up to challenge it this time. And, in addition, it would have the satisfaction of destroying them with its own hands.
Laying a hand across the Twilight Legion black sun symbol, Pseudo Ranger teleported down to the ground to finish the job it had started earlier: the elimination of the Omni Rangers.
At a quick jogging pace, Cecil reached the base of Babel on the back side, away from his allies and his enemy, and pressed his back up against the Zord. He was in his street clothes, a solid red shirt tucked into black slacks with a dark coat, just in case Pseudo could detect him with active powers. Carefully he slid along the wall, turning his head from side to side, as he looked for a secret entrance or another way in. Nothing. Solid and sturdy.
"The door is hidden," came Seraide's directions. "See if you can find a black panel like those we use in Alpha Complex to open doors, but don't touch it."
He continued the slow but throughout examination. Several intense minutes passed before, finally, almost near the end of the base, Cecil found the panel. "It is here," he reported.
"The TGP panel recognizes and registers your fingerprints, genetic code, and body temperature," explained Seraide. "Somehow Arcanza modified the program to identify the Pseudo Ranger."
"So I need Pseudo Ranger's body temperature, genes, and fingerprints?" wondered Cecil. "Oh, piece of cake," he added sarcastically.
Seraide's lack of response worried him. Eventually she spoke again. "No, but that fact Babel thinks as Alpha System thinks is valuable. Your talent is affecting thinking. You used it once on a Twilight Legionnaire, then again on Pseudo Ranger."
"I cannot use my powers!" Cecil hissed.
"Rest assured that Pseudo Ranger is occupied. Regardless, we can utilize a little trick Soleron used to be fond of. Draw upon OmniTech, but don't think of yourself drawing on it as you usually do, think of your friends drawing on your power and draw it from your friends."
Cecil sighed. Saving the world would have to be this complicated. "And routing it to and from the others will not give me away? Does it have to be all of them? Do they have to do anything?"
The response made him smile. "Just follow my instructions, toothpick boy!"
Bracing himself for anything, he extended his thoughts, focusing on Rebecca and the others, willing them to summon power from his OmniTech, then procuring energy from them. Something sent a shiver through him; an image of Michael laughing over a body on the ground suddenly exploded in front of his face; something began siphoning the trail of power away from him and back toward the Rangers. With a fierce mental grab, putting both mind and heart into the effort, Cecil ripped the Omni Power away from its detour, flooding himself with vitality.
"Pppsssyyyccchhhiiiccc Ssstttrrreeeaaammm!"
Every fiber of his body could feel itself rip apart and reassemble, pulsing in tune with a torrent of electric life coursing his veins where blood should be. Red lights wavered at the edges of his vision, but his head hurt far too much to notice anything except the stabbing pains. Frantically, desperately, Cecil Mercuric released an immense psychic field. Suddenly he fell, landing on one knee, disoriented and breathing heavily. He paused to gather his senses and lifted his head to find the secret compartment to Babel opened and stairs leading up.
"What happened?" he asked in a whisper as he pulled himself to his feet. He groaned as the thought of walking up flights of stairs occurred to him.
Seraide answered slowly, "You tell us. You completely vanished off our sensors, no brain wave activity, no physical presence either, then reappeared with an incredible energy level. Residual energy is still covering a wide radius, too...Twilight Legionnaires are sobering up all around the city and breaking away from Arcanza's control. I think you have mentally expelled the pseudoine, but that would mean..."
"The door is open," muttered Cecil as he took the first step.
Pseudo Ranger blocked the high kick with crossed forearms, then retaliated by grabbing hold of the Green Ranger's leg and swinging him around to slam him on the ground. The Yellow Ranger thrust her saber but it danced out of the way, silently summoning its Pseudo Saber at the same time, and delivered a blow to her helmet that definitely made her ears ring.
"Your amateur attacks are becoming repetitive and uninteresting," it said with a generic hand gesture. "I am afraid if you do not come up with something new, I will be forced to destroy you without having an intense battle first."
Blue Ranger cried, "Hail Cannon!" and lifted his two-handed weapon to aim. "Blow it out your..." he said to Pseudo as his final words were drowned by the explosion of icy fire.
"Pseudo Shield!" The attack was absorbed by the protective armor.
The Pink Ranger approached and took aim with her Laser Bow, then looked up, oblivious to the battle raging in front of her. Each of the others were relaxing their assaults, too, and the blue one began screaming angrily. Taking the stalled moment, Pseudo moved in for the kill, only to find itself being thrown back. When it regained its footing, it recognized the features of another Omni Ranger, wrapped in the color of shadow. "Another one?" it spat.
An unintelligible scream pierced the air, but it was difficult to locate where it came from. The Black Ranger seemed astonished too. For a long while they both ignored hearing it, standing face to face, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
Behind the new blood, the other four Rangers were assembling and talking amongst themselves, they must have been caught unawares as well. Just then an explosion rocked the battleground and a nearby building, already half destroyed, burst into flames. The familiar outline of Sir Vesper emerged from the fire, his deadly gaze encompassing everyone. "When I fought my nemesis Sir Torran in the final battle at Fallen Star, he thought me defeated several times, but each and every time I came back to finish what I started." The warrior reached over his shoulders to where his cape no longer was and drew two large axes. "Now Torran burns in the venom pits of the afterlife, tortured for eternity by the Trinity, and Vesper bears his revered title. Prepare to join him, cretins."
"Damn," the Blue Ranger swore.
Pink Ranger shook her head sadly. "Things could not get worse."
"Wrong," corrected the Green Ranger, pointing up.
Pseudo Ranger, the mysterious Black Ranger, four unsettled Omni Rangers, two frightened children close by, and an enraged Sir Vesper all looked up into the sky. Lightning forked overhead, even through the cloudless twilight sky, as he descended. Dressed in his Twilight Legion command uniform. Falcon gliding in circles around him. Eyes sparkling with untapped power of the ages. Quiet smile that sent shivers down the spine, even that of the evil Ranger.
"Quite an exciting day we have had," Arcanza spoke in his smooth tone. Then, landing gently on the ground, he added, "I promise, before the day is over, things will be even more exhilarating."
Original Publication Date: 28 September 1999
