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<I><P>See my original fic, "'Welcome to the Saga', for disclaimer. This story takes place in early March, about a week after the events of "'A New Power'. As to the rewrite, well, for a start I wanted a better title, and second, some things I introduced in the story were very, very important, and I feel that I should have done them better. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.</P></I>

<h5><center>Animalia<br>Chapter One<BR>By Peter J. Smith</center></h5>

<P>"You're doing well Peter," complimented Zordon, keenly watching me from his high vantage point. "Now see if you can try that boulder over there next to Alpha."</P> <P>I nodded, and I turned around the Command Centre to the large grey rock that rested near several control panels. As Alpha quickly got out of the way, I hesitantly turned back to Zordon.</P> <P>"I don't know Zordon. It looks a little bit <I>too</I> big for me," I said, apprehensively.</P> <P>Zordon shook his head. "I think you're up to it," he said, encouragingly, "go on, give it a try."</P> <P>I turned back to the boulder, and raising my arm and pointing my index finger at the rock, I shut my eyes in deep concentration. Both Zordon and Torlus had told me that the key to mastering my powers was concentration and focus, so I focused on summoning as much energy as I could from within, and I concentrated on my rocky foe.</P> <P>Suddenly, a small beam of orange light shot from my finger, and an ethereal orange glow surrounded the boulder. Then, miracle of miracles, it began to lift. I began to raise my arm and, slowly, centimetre by centimetre, the boulder rose as well. It was about three feet off the ground when I suddenly felt weak – my concentration was broken, and the boulder fell to the floor with a great thundering crash that echoed through the room, down the hallway and reverberated into the lower levels of the building.</P> <P>"Oops," I said, turning past the rocks and boulders that I'd been practicing my telekinesis on and back to Zordon. "Sorry, I guess I over-exerted myself."</P> <P>Zordon shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about it. It took quite a tremendous effort to focus your power that way and I'm proud of you. You're using your powers very effectively. Alpha, can you please teleport the boulders and rocks out of the Command Centre."</P> <P>"Right away Zordon," replied the little robot, and while I sat down and wiped the sweat from my brow, the stones and rocks in the room disappeared into thin air.</P> <P>"Have you been getting any practice outside of our lessons?" asked Zordon.</P> <P>I nodded. "Yeah, if you count blasting the school bullies with lightning bolts every time they get too unbearable. And you know," I smiled darkly, confiding in my mentor, "I'm kinda enjoying it. A little. But don't worry, I can promise you that I won't make a habit out of torturing my fellow students. Only if they <I>really</I> deserve it." I looked up to see if Zordon's expression had changed, but it hadn't, so I continued. "I <I>have</I> been trying my telekinesis out more at home these days, but the other day, I tried to "'lift' a chair, and I ended up shorting out power to the whole suburb."</P> <P>Zordon smiled, before glancing down to the control panels in front of him. "Oh, I didn't realise the time. Peter, it's very late. You should probably return before you're missed."</P> <P>"Nah, my mum is working late and dad is out doing who knows what. They won't miss me if they get home early. And it's not like I have any places I need to be."</P> <P>A keen "'reader' of people, Zordon detected a change in the tone of my voice, and suddenly was quite aware of the depth of sadness in my words, but despite his genuine concern, he realised that it was not his place and he quickly decided to change the subject.</P> <P>"How have things been in school lately?" he asked, sounding uncommonly like an average human parent. "Are things any easier these days?"</P> <P>"A little," I replied sadly. "I mean, a problem like this doesn't just suddenly go away. They <I>are</I> starting to realise that it just doesn't pay." To illustrate my point, a shot a little flame burst from my fingertip. "But no-one else has the advantage that I do. And I think that, for all the other kids like me, things are getting worse. Plus, we're getting a new kid tomorrow. New blood, I think they call it at Currimundi."</P> <P>Zordon smiled. "Are students at your school told about new students?" he asked, intrigued.</P> <P>I shook my head, running my hand through my hair. "No," I said, but then added with a sly grin, "but I have my sources." I paused, glancing over to a digital clock mounted on the control panel beneath Zordon's tube. "Oh well, it is getting pretty late. Guess I better get going."</P> <P>I raised my arm and reached for the button on my communicator that would send me streaking back towards Caloundra. "Tomorrow afternoon we can do a little more telekinesis work, okay?" I asked.</P> <P>Zordon nodded. "That would be good. Oh, and by the way, good luck tomorrow with the new student."</P> <P>"Thanks," I replied, before pressing my communicator and teleporting away in a flash of orange light.</P> <p><center>~*~</center></p> <P>Gee it must suck to be the new kid. I mean think about it – you're coming in to this totally alien culture, not knowing anything about the customs or trends. You hope that the people you are meeting won't make any judgments about you and yet you also hope that they judge you to be a cool enough person. I've personally had the good fortune of only once being a new kid (grade one doesn't really count) – back in 1991, when my family went to live in Duluth, Minnesota for six months, I had to go to school for about four months. Luckily, the kids were too interested in Australia in general for me to become too embarrassed.</P> <P>But it's twice as worse at Currimundi. Because the teachers are mostly too busy to show the new kids around, most just get told to follow around someone else. Usually, the boy or girl that the new kid is first introduced to is very popular, if for all the wrong reasons, and so the new kid is more or less straight away known by the greater school population. And if you make the wrong first impression, you will never live it down.</P> <P>Anyway, it was almost morning tea when the boy arrived at the door to our classroom.</P> <P>"Hi," called Mr Di Certo, as he crossed the room and went to the door. "Everyone, this is Brendan Watts. Brendan, welcome to 6D." We all stopped our conversations and turned to look. Brendan had on a typical school uniform, green shirt with grey shorts, that surprisingly enough actually fitted him. He was shorter than average, and he had twinkling brown eyes, curly dark brown hair and a grin that seemed permanently fixed in place.</P> <P>Ever the gracious host, Mr Di Certo ushered the boy into the room and scanned for a spare desk. </P> <P>"You'll have to take the spare desk next to Peter," he said, pointing to me. Almost immediately, I heard some soft-spoken insults from the guys in the front row, but Brendan either didn't hear or completely ignored them as he made his way towards me.</P> <P>"Hi," he said with a smile, extending his hand. "Brendan Watts."</P> <P>I shook his hand amiably. "Peter Smith," I replied.</P> <P>Mr Di Certo smiled. "Peter, it's almost morning tea, why don't you show Brendan around?"</P> <P>I nodded. "Sure thing Mr Di Certo," I said, as Brendan slid into the seat. "I think you should probably know that I'm the resident freak around here."</P> <P>"You are?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't have picked it."</P> <P>"Really?" I asked. "I like you already Brendan Watts," I grinned.</P> <P>The next fifteen minutes passed surprisingly quickly. Brendan and I got talking, and soon, the bell rang, and everyone filed outside.</P> <P>"Now, how about the ten cent tour?" I asked, waving my arm around for effect.</P> <P>"Not such a good idea, Smith," growled a voice from behind us. Brendan and I both turned to find Joel and Nathan standing behind us. "Why don't you go and read a book or something," sneered Joel, "and we'll show Brendan around."</P> <P>I had learnt when to avoid a situation, and I didn't really want Brendan becoming an outcast on his first day. "Sure, go ahead," I said, placing my hands up in defeat. Brendan looked from me to Joel, and was about to protest when Joel grabbed his elbow and steered him away.</P> <P>"You don't want to hang around with <I>him</I>," Joel said, as he, Brendan and Nathan walked off. "That's like suicide around here."</P> <P>I poked my tongue out at his back and considered zapping him with a lightning bolt. Then, once the moment of indecision had passed, I smiled evilly, pointed my finger at Joel and, after quickly checking that no-one was looking, sent a quick zap in his direction. I smiled briefly when I heard a loud "'yelp'.</P> <P>The three of them came back in fifteen minutes, and Brendan was surprisingly enough laughing and joking along with them. Once they all parted company, Brendan walked back over to the bag racks, where I was standing, and got his lunch out of his bag.</P> <P>"You know," he said suddenly looking at me, "it's really quite tragic."</P> <P>I looked up sharply. "It is?" I asked self-consciously. "Uh, what is?"</P> <P>"Joel," Brendan answered. "The poor boy was born without a personality. It's so sad."</P> <P>I laughed, relieved. "Unimpressed?"</P> <P>"Are you kidding? If he had one original thought, his head would cave in."</P> <P>I smiled. "Well listen, I'm…" when suddenly, my communicator beeped.</P> <P>"What was that?" he asked, glancing down at my wrist.</P> <P>"Uh, nothing. I just have to go," I said, subtly covering up my communicator. "I'll be back real soon. Promise." Walking away from a confused Brendan, I stepped into the classroom, into the storeroom and shut the door behind me. Seeing that I was alone, I raised my communicator to my mouth and spoke.</P> <P>"Peter here," I said.</P> <P>"Peter," came Zordon's voice, "are the other rangers with you?"</P> <P>"Well, they're not here with me in the room, but I can go and get them."</P> <P>"Please do. We have just received a report that Rita Repulsa has been seen at Queensland University," he told me. "Could you all morph and teleport there immediately? I've already sent Jason and the others."</P> <P>"We'll be there as soon as we can," I finished, and the transmission ended. I immediately walked out of the building and turned right along the path. As I passed by the music room, I guessed that the others would be all down on the oval talking or playing sport. Beyond the music room lay the oval, and luckily, I could see Teresa, Scott, Aaron and Sarah all sitting in one of the wooden gazebos.</P> <P>"Hey you guys," I called, and they all turned to look up at me.</P> <P>"Hey yourself," smiled Scott. "Where have you been all day?"</P> <P>"No time," and I tapped lightly on my communicator. "Bat-signal."</P> <P>"Great," muttered Sarah light-heartedly, as everyone got up. "What are we killing today?"</P> <P>I shook my head. "Wrong deal. Rita just attacked another university."</P> <P>"Another one?" asked Aaron. I nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for," he asked, enthusiastically, and we all turned and quickly jogged back up towards the cluster of buildings, scanning for any empty rooms.</P> <p><center>~*~</center></p> <P>"Have we got everything?" asked Scorpina, as she crossed Queensland University's main zoological laboratory, carrying numerous bottles and beakers.</P> <P>"Not yet," replied Rita, looking through a large freezer. Behind her, one of the terrified lab assistants sneezed. Furious at the interruption, Rita swung around angrily.</P> <P>"Will you be quiet!?!" she screeched. Then, she found what she was looking for, and she triumphantly pulled a vile of reddish liquid out of the freezer. On the side of the thin glass vile was a tag with the words <I>talpa europaea</I> in the sides. "The common mole," she said. "Perfect, just what I need."</P> <P>"Doing some shopping Rita?" came a voice. Recognising the voice, Rita spun around on the spot, her grip tensing up so much that the glass vile almost shattered.</P> <P>"You," she spat out, facing Jason, myself and the rest of the rangers.</P> <P>"Really Rita," said Jason, "if you're going to put putties on guard, could you at least make them moderately challenging."</P> <P>"My," she replied in her scratchy voice. "Aren't we cocky? I bet you won't be laughing when I complete Animalia. Scorpina, have you got everything?"</P> <P>"Ani-what?" asked Sarah.</P> <P>Ignoring Sarah, Rita turned briefly to Scorpina, and happy that she did have all their supplies, Rita turned back to us.</P> <P>"I'd just love to stay and chat," she said, "well actually, I wouldn't, but I've got work to do. Cheers," and with that, she and Scorpina teleported away.</P> <P>Jason turned back to us. "This isn't good."</P> <P>"I'll say," mumbled Aaron. "We've really got to work on our timing."</P> <P>"I'm more worried about that Animalia thing Rita mentioned. It sounds like trouble."</P> <P>Tommy nodded. "I agree. Why don't we stay here and help these people? Peter, take your team back to the Command Centre and tell Zordon what happened."</P> <P>"Good idea," I said. "See ya round." And the five of us pressed the buttons on our communicators and disappeared from view.</P> <p><center>~*~</center></p> <P>The senior team finished up pretty soon, and before long, they had all teleported back to the Command Centre, Billy carrying a notebook.</P> <P>"That was quick," remarked Sarah, as the six rangers materialised beside us.</P> <P>Tommy nodded. "Everyone was pretty cooperative."</P> <P>"Welcome back, rangers," began Zordon, as everyone turned to look up at him. "Firstly, were you able to determine what Rita and Scorpina stole?"</P> <P>Jason nodded. "Like Tommy said, all the scientists and professors were really helpful. We managed to jot down a quick list of everything that Rita took. Take it away Billy…"</P> <P>Billy stepped forward, reading from the notebook that he carried. "A computer program on the genetic make-up of an African elephant," said Billy, "frozen hormonal extracts from the common European mole, a couple of frozen scorpions and several hormones from <I>electrophorus electricus</I>."</P> <P>"The electric eel," I murmured, as Billy turned back to us.</P> <P>"But what could Rita want with animal hormones?" asked Kimberly.</P> <P>"Yeah," nodded Trini. "This is getting really strange."</P> <P>"And it wasn't to begin with?" joked Zac.</P> <P>"Well, we normally have a limit on strange," shrugged Trini, as if describing an everyday occurrence.</P> <P>Tommy turned to Teresa. "Were you able to find anything on that Animalia thing that Rita mentioned?"</P> <P>Teresa shook her head. "Nope. We're still battin' zero."</P> <P>"But we've run it through the computers," continued Alpha, "and from the information we downloaded into our own databanks the day Rita's castle moved to downtown Caloundra, we should be able to find something. The computers will keep searching, but it will probably take some time. We'll call you the minute something comes up. Oh aye-yi-yi-yi-yi!"</P> <P>"Well, whatever Rita is up to," said Sarah, "it can't be good."</P> <P>Zordon nodded. "I agree. This "'Animalia' is the key factor, but I'm not sure what it means," he replied. "It's tempting to put the whole escapade down to a particular spell of Rita's which needs certain ingredients, but that just doesn't sound right."</P> <P>"No, not with so many incidents," agreed Aaron. "What was this, the fourth attack?"</P> <P>"The fifth," replied Scott. "I'm looking at a list of what she and Scorpina have stolen from various scientific labs all around the country. Crocodile teeth, tiger organs, eagles, snakes, bugs, you should see some of the animal that are on this list."</P> <P>"What <I>could</I> she be up to?" I wondered.</P> <P>Jason shook his head. "If only we knew what to expect. Hey, you guys had better get back to class. It's past eleven."</P> <P>"Oh, you're right," said Sarah, grabbing my arm. "They're gonna wonder where we are." I nodded, and with that, we both teleported out of the Command Centre and back to the school.</P> <P>As a precaution, Zordon and Alpha always made sure that we teleported back to empty stalls in the toilets on stealth mode so our teleportation trails couldn't be seen. Disgusting as it was, at least it offered a fair amount of privacy. Plus, once the bell goes, there are heaps of people going in and out. But as I was exiting toilet block, I felt a tap on the arm, and turning, I found Brendan staring at me.</P> <P>"So," he asked curiously, "where the heck did you disappear off to?"</P> <p><center>~*~</center></p> <P>In the lunar palace, just back from Rita Repulsa's observatory and throne room is Finster's laboratory, which is split into a monster-sculpting room and a scientific lab, the latter currently a hive of activity. Goldar and Scorpina stood over different control panels, putties continually entered and left, carrying different pieces of equipment, Squatt and Baboo were getting in everyone's way and Finster was scribbling down notes.</P> <P>The only one in the lab not moving was Rita, who was standing by a large blue tube that looked remarkably like Zordon's plasma tube. The only difference was that, inside this tube was not just a face but a whole body. And despite the activity in the lab, Rita was content to stare into the tube, watching mesmerized as the thing inside floated motionlessly.</P> <P>"Rest now, my little Animalia," she crooned. "You will have your time very, very soon…"</P>

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