[See Profiles of A New Team for disclaimer]
Revenge of Dark Specter
By Crypt
By Crypt
Jenny sat in the Hull House living room, her mind burning with thoughts. She had thoughts of Elgar, Ecliptor, Darkonda…..and especially the Dark Specter. It has been a while since she and several other Spices had defeated him. She knew that the mighty Dark Specter wouldn't be happy with the idea of being beaten by a pathetic little girl. He would be back for revenge. Like every other woman, Jenny wanted to talk about this.
As Jenny thought, the Cryptkeeper came into the room and sat next to her.
"What's on your mind, honey?" he asked.
"Everything…..and everybody," Jenny replied. "I need to talk to some of you."
"Look, I'll select some people, then we can gossip at the Surf Spot, K?"
"Okay."
The Cryptkeeper started to the stairs. On the floor in front of the stairs was the puddle of the Tommy clone's internal organs. Only now there were worms swimming around in the black sludge. The Cryptkeeper hopped over it and raced upstairs. Jenny stood up and walked to the front door. The Cryptkeeper came back down a minute later. He again hopped over the sludge.
"Spinal and C.C. are coming," he said.
Another minute went by, and C.C. crashed through a door dragging Spinal behind her. Of course, Spinal couldn't keep up with the lightning-fast Speedy Spice, so he lost his footing. C.C. dragged him down the steps.
"Whoa, hey! Slow down, C.C.!" he cried. "Control yourself! STOP!!!!"
C.C. stopped at the last step. Spinal stopped slipping when his face hovered just inches over the organic sludge.
"Let's go!" C.C. cried.
Hallie peeked out of a curtain in the living room. "Where're y'all going?"
"Surf Spot," Jenny said.
"Can I come!?"
"Sure."
Together, they left the house, closing the door behind them.
Meanwhile, Astronema sat in the Dark Fortress. She had no particular plan in mind at the moment. Elgar and Darkonda were standing over the railing, looking down on the planet Earth.
"She's purrrty, ain't she?" Elgar asked.
"Yeah," replied Darkonda.
"I like the way the colors mix when the clouds are over the water," Elgar added.
Darkonda turned to him. "I'm sorry, but I thought you were referring to Tonfa Spice."
"Well, she's purrrty, too."
"Why don't you give it up?" Ecliptor suggested as he entered the room. "She doesn't want a coward like you."
"What are you people talking about?" Astronema asked.
"We were scheming to get rid of the Rangers and the Spices," Darkonda told her.
"Not without me you're not."
"Of course not."
Before they could continue the conversation, an image of the Dark Specter appeared in the sky.
"I need your attention, all of you!" he announced.
"Yes, Dark Specter?" Astronema asked.
"It is about time I came for my revenge on Tonfa Spice and her Spice fools," Dark Specter went on. "They must pay for their actions on Eltar."
"What is your plan, Dark Specter?" Astronema asked.
"I will come to Earth and challenge the Spices to a battle. I need you to get the Power Rangers out of the way."
"As you wish."
"The end of Tonfa Spice is at hand…."
With that, the Dark Specter disappeared.
"He…..hates Tonfa Spice," Elgar said to Darkonda. "She fought him by herself on Eltar, and she did a good job, too."
"She's remarkable," Darkonda said. "I almost hate to see her destroyed."
The Spices arrived at the Surf Spot and sat at a table.
"Well, Spices, long time no see," said Adelle.
"We're just here to carry on with our careless little ways," the Cryptkeeper told her.
"Fine. Just don't get too carried away."
Adelle went back to work. The Spices turned to Jenny.
"So, tell us what's up," the Cryptkeeper said.
Before Jenny could tell her story, Ashley ran up accompanied by an old woman.
"Hey, Spices, I'd like you to meet my grandmother, Mrs. Hammond," she said. "Grandma, meet the Spices."
"Hello. I hear you fight a lot," Mrs. Hammond said. "There's nothing to get your bodies in tip-top shape like an aerobic workout."
The Spices forced out a chuckle. Mrs. Hammond raced behind Spinal and massaged his shoulders.
"This one's cute. What's his name?"
"That's Spinal," Ashley replied.
"Spinal, huh? So…..Spinal, how old are you?" Mrs. Hammond asked.
"Uh….. I don't know," Spinal replied.
"That's nice. I try to forget how old I am, too. Say, are you married?"
"No!"
"Then would you go on a date with me? We'll do lunch!"
"Uh…..no offense, Mrs. Hammond, but I'm already dating C.C."
"Oh, that's all right. I really like your honesty and sensitivity. Well, I'll talk to you later," Mrs. Hammond said. "Ciao."
She and Ashley returned to their own table. Spinal started bawling.
"What's the matter with you?" the Cryptkeeper asked.
"Don't these people realize anything!? I am a skeleton, nothing more!" Spinal explained. "I'm just a pile of bones, a bunch of toothpicks……a complex 200-piece puzzle! But no, Astronema and every other female in the universe, for reasons I'll never understand, have all conspired to humiliate me!!!"
"Well, Spinal, it's just that you're so cute," C.C. told him. "Girls will just DIE for you."
"That'd be neat though," the Cryptkeeper said. " 'Hey, ladies, let's all get together and humiliate Spinal!' "
"Very funny, C.K.," Spinal muttered.
"Oh, Spinal, I love you!" C.C. gushed, kissing Spinal. "You set my soul on fire! 'Tis true. It is a flame……..a big roaring flame. I can feel it now….."
"Actually, this whole love thing is bothering me," Jenny said. "We all know that Elgar and Darkonda both supposedly love me. I remember them both fighting over me once. Then Darkonda and Ecliptor fight all the time. It almost makes me feel sorry for Astronema………almost."
"You went on a dinner date with Darkonda," C.C. said. "Do you really like him?"
"Of course I like Darkonda," Jenny told her. "And I like Elgar……and Ecliptor….. You know, the best way to defeat the enemy is to love them. That's why Astronema's so tough. They all love us, too."
"Makes sense to me," the Cryptkeeper said.
"Hey, Sis, tell us more about your dinner date," Hallie pleaded.
Jenny chuckled. "Well, as we ate, the creature who had accused me of cheating came in and shot me in the arm without warning. I had to go to this little old man for help. He put these glowing blue rocks on my arm, which hurt like hell. While I was in there, Ecliptor gave me this strength potion to give to Darkonda." Suddenly, she gasped.
"What's wrong?" Spinal asked.
"Speaking of which, I forgot to give it to him!" Jenny replied. "But perhaps it's better this way for all of us. Once I gave it to him, he'd use it to kill us. And knowing Ecliptor's hatred toward Darkonda, there's no telling what he did to the potion, so Darkonda would end up dead, too. Then Astronema would probably kill Ecliptor….."
"Wow. Giving him the potion would cause a massacre," C.C. said.
"I say just get rid of it," Spinal suggested.
"I say you're right," Jenny said. "But how?"
"Throw it in a black hole," Spinal said.
"Throw it in a volcano," C.C. added.
"Maybe I will. There's another thing that I've been wondering," Jenny continued. "Astronema is our mother, but she was supposedly killed in that car crash. So the question is, is she really alive, or is she dead like us?"
"I dunno," the others admitted.
"At least there's one guy who's not in love with you," C.C. said. "The Dark Specter."
"The Dark Specter hates me," Jenny said. "He keeps calling me a little bitch. I know that he's not happy about being beaten by a little girl. He's going to want revenge."
"Hmm……"
The Spices pondered…….
Meanwhile, the Rangers were walking through the park together.
"I'm a little concerned about Jenny," Andros said. "She likes Elgar, Ecliptor, and Darkonda. I heard her say that to the other Spices."
"Well, I heard her say that the best way to defeat an enemy is to love them," Cassie said.
"I can't believe my grandmother fell for Spinal like that," Ashley said out of nowhere.
"Spinal actually believes that every female in the universe is out to humiliate him," Carlos added.
Suddenly, Ecliptor and the Quantrons appeared.
"Heads up, Rangers," Ecliptor called.
The Rangers gasped and looked up. Ecliptor held his sword high and emitted green lightning streaks into the air. The streaks surrounded the Rangers. Before they knew what was happening, they were trapped inside a crystal ball.
"Hey, what's happening!" T.J. screamed.
"We're trapped in here," Andros told him.
"Well, that was easy enough," Ecliptor said. "Let's go."
He and the Quantrons vanished, taking the Rangers with them. They tossed the Rangers into another dimension, still inside the crystal ball. An image of Astronema appeared to greet them.
"Hello, Rangers," she said sweetly.
"What do you want with us, Astronema?" Andros demanded.
"I just want you out of the way so that the Dark Specter can have his revenge on the Spices," Astronema told him. "But since I'm feeling generous, I'll let you see the battle and you can watch the Spices go down in defeat. Goodbye, Rangers."
She disappeared.
"What are we going to do?" Ashley asked.
"We have to get out of here, or the Spices are toast," T.J. said.
Andros was punching uselessly at the crystal.
"Andros, I don't think that that's going to get us out of here," Carlos said.
All the Rangers could do right now was ponder about their escape……..
The Spices had left the surf Spot and were now walking through the park. Most of them were still humiliated.
"I can't believe how Ashley's grandmother was being all sweet on me," Spinal said.
"I know; poor Ashley," the Cryptkeeper added. "I'd be embarrassed to have a grandmother like that."
"Yeah, it's love that keeps us going," Jenny said. "But it's love that hurts us, too."
Suddenly, Darkonda appeared, doing his own curtsy.
"What are you doing here?" Jenny asked.
"I came to warn you; the Dark Specter is heading this way, and he wants his revenge," Darkonda replied. "Astronema has already put the Rangers on the shelf."
"Why would you warn us?" C.C. asked.
"Astronema told me to warn you. Also, I wanted to make a proposal before you get destroyed. Tonfa Spice…….will you marry me?"
The Spices froze as total silence filled the park.
"Why?" Jenny finally asked.
"Because you set my soul on fire," Darkonda told her.
"Well……the fire station's down the street."
"I don't want the fire station. I want you!" Darkonda suddenly took Jenny into a bear hug.
"Oh brother, here we go again," she muttered. "This, my friends, proves my point!"
"What point?" Darkonda asked, releasing her.
"That love keeps us going, but it hurts us, too. Let the records show."
"Hmm….." Darkonda turned to the other Spices. "Do you guys mind?"
"Are we going to just stand by while you kidnap this young woman?" the Cryptkeeper asked. "I think not."
"Besides, how can I marry you if the Dark Specter is going to kill us any minute now?" Jenny asked.
"Well, I've heard how you've defeated him in the past. Deep inside, I feel confident that you will defeat him again. But I've decided to ask you before, just in case you don't survive."
"Oh, we'll survive. We may be torn limb from limb, but we'll survive."
"Hey, I'll marry the Candyman!" Hallie yelled out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry, Candy Spice, but Ecliptor has not shown the least bit of interest," Darkonda told her. "Well, see you later, Spices."
With that, he disappeared.
"Yikes," the Spices mumbled.
"What do we do?" Spinal asked.
"I guess we wait," Jenny said calmly.
To their surprise, they didn't have to wait very long. The same orange shooting star zoomed down towards Earth. When it reached the ground, it transformed into the Dark Specter. He stared down at the Spices, emitting a low growl. In response to his entrance, Hallie and Spinal screamed and hid behind their friends.
"Spices, I am here to exact my revenge," the Dark Specter announced. "I will not tolerate being defeated by a bunch of pitiful clowns. I'm giving you all a sporting chance to save yourselves."
Jenny looked back at the others. "What do you guys think? Astro Megazord?"
"I thought you said that you'd never use the Megazord again," the Cryptkeeper told her.
"Well……I lied," Jenny snapped. "We need Astro Megazord power!!"
C.C. opened up her ring. "Calling all Spices; we need you all at Angel Grove right away. The Dark Specter's back in town and he's hopping mad!"
Meanwhile, the Astro Megazord charged into the Earth's atmosphere and landed on the ground. Jenny, the Cryptkeeper, and C.C. raced up to the cockpit, dragging Spinal behind them. They each took their seats quickly.
"We need one more Megazord pilot," Jenny said.
"I volunteer," Lexington called. "Maybe I can figure this thing out."
He leaped from the top of a skyscraper where the other Spices would watch the fight. Lexington spread his wings out, glided over to the cockpit, and took his seat next to Jenny. They all stared at the Dark Specter, who was laughing.
"What makes you think that you can fight me in that overgrown toy?" he asked.
"You don't think we can fight? Okay, then we won't." Jenny pulled her hands away from the joystick and sat back in her seat.
"This is foolishness," the Dark Specter growled. "At least make an attempt to defend yourself."
He slowly stomped closer to them. The Spices all flexed their muscles.
"Oh, what are you going to do? Stomp us in?" Jenny asked. "Kill a group of defenseless creatures who sit here in this toy, harmless as butterflies? Oh, that would be a display of power. I'm sure you'll call all your loyal followers and tell the tale of how, despite all odds, you made the perilous journey across twenty feet, exerted monstrous strength in lifting your foot, and let gravity take its course in crushing an opponent who exhibited the challenge of a tin can. You know something, Dark Specter? I think you're more of a politician than a fighter."
"Well, you think WRONG!!!" The Dark Specter blew a massive flame at the Megazord. The Spices controlled it to cover the face with the arms. Taking advantage of the Spices' temporary blindness, the Dark Specter charged at them and rammed his shoulder into them. The Megazord was knocked back quite a ways. Before the Spices could get the Megazord back on its feet, the Dark Specter grabbed it and lifted it above his head. The Spices screamed in response.
"Hey! Put us down!!" Jenny screamed.
"With pleasure," Dark Specter replied. He tossed the Megazord, causing it to knock over several buildings. The Spices screamed again.
"Damn! We can't fight him in this thing!" C.C. cried.
"We really do exhibit the challenge of a tin can," the Cryptkeeper added.
"Why did I have to sit in the front?" Spinal asked.
"Well, we can't give up," Jenny said. "No matter how badly we're losing, there's always a chance of victory. Let's get this thing back on its feet."
However, before the Spices could do anything, the Dark Specter extended his claw, causing the Megazord to levitate onto its feet. The Spices gasped, wondering what was going on.
"Now, I'm going to give you a little embarrassment before I annihilate you," he announced.
He closed his claw, which caused the Megazord to start dancing, completely against the Spices' will. The Spices standing on the skyscraper gasped.
"What are you guys doing!?" Hanim cried.
"It's not us, it's him!" Jenny told her.
As the Megazord continued dancing, several small explosions blew all over its body. Then the Megazord collapsed. The Spices screamed yet again, not necessarily from fear or pain, but from excitement. Then they let out a sigh of relief.
"You know…..we could do this better," Jenny said.
The Cryptkeeper leaned toward Spinal. "She's either the bravest girl I know, or the craziest."
"I'd say crazy," Spinal whispered back.
Jenny looked back at both of them and smiled. Whether she was brave or crazy, she was definitely proud of it.
Then the Spices' break ended. The Dark Specter grasped the Megazord by its shoulders and pulled it to its feet. Then he opened up the top and stuck his claw inside the cockpit.
"Look out!!!" C.C. screamed.
The Spices scrambled to avoid the Dark Specter's claw, but there simply wasn't enough room to hide.
"Oh no!" Jenny cried suddenly. "He's got me!!"
The Dark Specter laughed as he pulled her out of the Megazord. The other Spices tried to reach out for her, but it was too late. The Dark Specter held her high above the street and let out a breath at her. Jenny covered her face in response to the hot breath, her eyes watering from irritation.
"Now, do you have anything to say before I send you to your doom?" Dark Specter asked.
"Yeah," Jenny replied. "Let me go!!"
"Hmm…..that's an excellent idea!"
"Oh shit……." Realizing the mistake she had just made, Jenny did her best to grab Dark Specter's fingers with her arms. When Dark Specter released her, she held on tightly. Dark Specter just used his other claw and poked her waist, which is one of her ticklish spots. She let out a shriek, but also let go of his fingers. She dropped into the street below. The Spices gasped and stood up. Jenny hit the ground roughly, but amazingly, she was still conscious. She rolled onto her back.
"And now to make sure she never fights again," Dark Specter announced.
He lifted his foot. Jenny looked up and gasped. "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Fortunately, she managed to get on her feet and leap out of the way as the Dark Specter's foot pounded the ground. Dark Specter raised his foot again, and Jenny avoided the stomp again. This time, she leaped onto the Dark Specter's foot so that he could try to stomp her again.
"What's going on down there?" Spinal asked.
"Whatever's happening, she's all right," the Cryptkeeper replied.
"But why are we just standing here!?" C.C. cried, jumping up and down.
"She's right; Jenny needs our help," Lexington said.
"Hold still, you little bitch!" Dark Specter demanded.
"Let's nail him while he's distracted!" the Cryptkeeper declared.
The Spices got back in their seats. Then the Megazord threw a punch to the Dark Specter's face, causing him to fall back. It also caused Jenny to catapult from the Dark Specter's foot back up to the Megazord's shoulder. She got back into the Megazord.
"Are you okay?" the Cryptkeeper asked.
"I'm fine," Jenny said. "Especially now that I'm back in here."
"What do we do now?" Spinal asked.
"We're going to do exactly what he did to us," Jenny replied. "We're going to beat the shit out of him, then humiliate him."
The Dark Specter charged at the Spices. They countered with a well-timed punch to the face, knocking him over. When the Dark Specter got up again, the Megazord gave him an uppercut to the chin, then a heel palm thrust to the stomach. Finally, the Megazord picked up the Dark Specter and threw him away, knocking over some more buildings. The Dark Specter stood up, completely stunned.
"Okay, this is it," Jenny said. "We need to concentrate together to get this done. On three, ready? One…….two……..three!!!"
"Dance!!!" the Spices announced in unison.
The Dark Specter began to dance uncontrollably. The Spices laughed at his bizarre moves. When the Dark Specter moved his knees in and out, the Spices were screaming with laughter. The dancing didn't last long, as the Spices decided that it was simply too much. They prepared to take off back into space.
"Well, Dark Specter, see you in hell!" Jenny shouted as the Megazord ascended into the air.
The Dark Specter stared at them. "I'll get you for this!! You haven't seen the last of Dark Specter!!"
With that vow, he disappeared.
Meanwhile, in the weird, alternate dimension, the Rangers were still trapped inside the crystal ball. They had seen the battle between the Spices and the Dark Specter, and they were relieved that the Spices were able to defend themselves.
"Wow, the Spices beat the Dark Specter again," Ashley said.
"Now we really have to worry about getting out of here," T.J. added.
"I have an idea," Andros announced. "We'll try the Quadroblaster."
The Rangers combined their individual weapons to form the Quadroblaster. Once it was fully assembled, they aimed it at the crystal wall and fired. The ball shattered, and the Rangers were set free. Instantly, they teleported back to the Astro Megaship.
As soon as the Rangers reached the Megaship, they had to begin repairing the damage that the Dark Specter has done. The Spices sat around because they knew nothing about repairing.
"You guys fought Dark Specter?" asked Andros.
"Yeah. You could say that the Dark Specter got his revenge," Jenny said.
"But we only got revenge on him for his revenge on us," the Cryptkeeper added.
"Okay," Andros said. "That makes sense…..I guess."
"Is the ship too badly damaged to get anywhere?" Jenny asked.
"Or do we have to pay with our allowance?" the Cryptkeeper added.
"Nah, the Megaship should be fine after we tighten a few bolts," Andros said. "See ya."
He stepped out of the bridge. The Cryptkeeper sat silently for a few seconds, then stood up.
"Well, I don't know about you, honey, but I'm off to dreamland," he said.
"G'night," Jenny said softly.
The Cryptkeeper left the bridge, leaving Jenny alone. She whistled to herself to get some sound into the room.
"Incoming transmission," Deca announced without warning.
"Hey, baby!" a familiar, maniacal voice called.
Jenny smiled as she turned to the screen. "Elgar, long time no see. We were beginning to get worried about you."
"Really? Worried about me?" Elgar asked. "Why?"
"I don't know."
"Well, I need to keep it short. Hey, I heard you beat the Dark Specter again. Congrats, and see you later, baby!!" a