FicWad

Chapter 2

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful for the city of Angel Grove. Jason woke to bird song and sunlight filtering through his curtains. He lay there a moment, enjoying the simple peace brought about by the coming of a new day. This is the kind of thing he was fighting to preserve. The ability to wake up and enjoy the serenity of the morning, knowing that he was free. Free from everything but school work that was.

His moment of reflection was broken by the reminder that his writing assignment sat in it's earliest stages on his desk. It was going to eat away at any free time he would have had that weekend. The assignment was to pick a current event and write about the effects the event might have on the city, no matter how insignificant it may seem. He and his friends had brainstormed at the juice bar yesterday, creating a list that ranged from the rumors of war overseas, to a political scandal concerning a city official in Angel Grove.

He remembered that when he had parted ways with Zack last night, they had made plans to meet later and play basketball. When he had made those plans, he had hoped to accomplish more on his assignment the night before. As it was, all he had done was narrow down his topic list. He gave Zack a call, hoping that he wasn't waking him. Zack answered after three rings sounding, much to Jason's relief, wide awake.

"Hey man." Zack greeted.

"Hey, I got some bad news. I won't be able to make it out today. I got too much homework to do."

"That writing assignment?" Zack guessed.

"Yeah, I didn't get...well anything done on it really."

"No problem." Zack said, understanding. "Call me if you wanna meet up later today."

"Definitely." Jason agreed. "Catch you later."

"Later."

Jason glanced over at the assignment on the desk and decided to leave it alone at least until after breakfast.

**

"Finster!" Rita winced at the sound of her own voice. To say that she felt weak would have been an understatement. Her head pounded, her body refused to respond properly when she told it to move. It was a wonder that she had been motivated enough to drag herself from bed at all that morning. Summoning the power to create five hundred energon cubes had left her in a terrible state.

Finster hurried into the room, handing her a drink he had concocted from various herbs, magics and medicenes designed to restore her strength. She drank it down quickly, relieved that some of those herbs had been added to mask what would have otherwise been a horrible taste.

"Well, how's the monster coming?" Rita asked as she handed the glass back.

"Ready to be brought to life." Finster said, quite pleased with himself. He had begun with a model that he'd started months before. Halfway through the project he had lost any interest in completing it and had moved on to other designs. When considering his latest challenge last night he remembered the half finished creature and pulled it from storage, working through the night to have it ready by morning.

He held the model up for Rita's inspection. It was a large bull like creature with great horns jutting from either side of it's head, a ring pierced it's nose, and fangs protruded from it's lower jaw. The body was small, seeming almost incapable of supporting it's weight. It's hands were human while it's feet were hoofs.

"I call him Bullzeye. Strong and stubborn, and an expert shot. He has two laser guns for combat, and will have no trouble using the null rays when the time comes."

"Good." Rita closed her eyes. "Go ready him."

"Right away, my queen." Finster obeyed, eager to see his newest creation brought to life.

**
Starscream was not having a good day. He had just finished reporting his latest failed attempt to capture a new super fuel from the humans. For nearly half an hour he had endured Megatron's yelling and screaming and threatening all kinds of violence towards the Air Commander when next he saw him. Starscream had hoped to put a lot of time and perhaps a victory or two between such a meeting. Five minutes after the transmission ended Starscream remembered that was probably going to be impossible. He was supposed to go to Cybertron later that day.

A lot of equipment was being transferred from the Earth base back to Cybertron this past month. The more secure or sensitive the equipment, the higher the rank required to over see the transport. The Constructicons had spent the week gutting the undersea base's computer systems, readying them for transport to Cybertron. Starscream could only hope that Megatron would forget he was supposed to accompany the main computer system today. He spent the next hour with dread mounting in his systems as he made sure that everything was on schedule in the base, then taking the computer system to the space bridge. Then the dread compounded ten fold as he took the space bridge to Cybertron.

Starscream was met with an unusual sight when he stepped into the command center. Acquiring energon from Earth as well as various other planets, Megatron had finally collected enough to restore Cybertron to something of it's former glory. That done, the next step had been to establish their primary base of operations on their home planet again. Forces from abroad had been recalled and the core of their operation was being relocated from Earth. So the command center that for many years had been the quiet domain of Shockwave was now a bustle of activity. Starscream had to dodge past two of the three coneheads, step around a few cassettes and even press himself against a wall to avoid getting shoved aside by a couple of Stunticons. By the time he made it across the room and found Shockwave, his mood had soured even further.

The process of transferring everything from Earth to Cybertron should have been a chaotic nightmare. However Shockwave had been given full command of the operation, which meant everything was running in an organized fashion. Currently he was filing reports from three different transfers, making sure that all the equipment, down to the last screw was accounted for.

"The computer's over there." Starscream said, tossing his report onto the tabletop. "Hurry up and sign off on it so I can go."

Shockwave picked up the data file and tapped a finger against it, imprinting his energy signature. "First you need to make sure that all of your equipment is accounted for."

"I don't have time for that."

"It is required." Shockwave informed him, filing Starscream's report away, then handing another one to him.

Starscream started away, referring to the data pad to see where his belongings had been left. Everything was in storage bay three. According to the procedure checklist on the data pad, Shockwave expected him to make sure that everything was accounted for then arrange for it all to be transported to where it belonged. That was guaranteed to take up several hours. Several hours in which he might encounter Megatron. Instead he decided to simply make certain that everything was accounted for and be gone. That he could accomplish in under an hour.

He ran through the list quickly, then regretted his haste when he came up short by a few items. He ran through the checklist again, taking the time to make sure it was done right this time...and came up short.

"This can't be right." Starscream muttered to himself, going through a third inspection of the equipment. He was certain that everything had been here on the trip up. When his third attempt yielded the same results, he scrolled through the data pad to see who had been in charge of unloading these peticular items.

Combaticons. He was missing weaponry and Swindle had been involved in unloading the boxes. The expression 'things go from bad to worse' was the perfect way to describe his day thus far. He left the storage bay to find Shockwave again, thrusting the data pad towards him when he did.

"Finished?"

"Not yet. I just needed to confirm that this information was correct. The Combaticons were responsible for this load of equipment?"

"Correct." Shockwave confirmed without even looking at the data pad. "My records are flawless."

"What idiot decided to put Swindle anywhere near this equipment!? " Starscream raged.

"Something is missing then." It was not a question. Shockwave knew that was the only logical explanation for Starscream's behavior.

"No, of course not." Starscream said quickly. "But it could be. And Megatron would hold me responsible if it was."

"Illogical. Onslaught was the one in charge of that equipment. Anything missing would fall to him. It would also be illogical to leave Swindle alone with any of the equipment being transferred. Onslaught is a capable commander and quite aware of his comrade's behavior."

"Capable my afterburner...." Starscream muttered to himself and headed back to storage bay three, abruptly ending the conversation. He paced for a time, wondering what he should do. With the mood Megatron was in when he last spoke to him, Starscream would be held responsible for this incident for certain. So, the only thing to do was to get the equipment back before Megatron found out.

As he paced and pondered, he realized that Shockwave was perhaps right. No one in their right mind would leave Swindle in a position where he could get his hands on any of the equipment. Onslaught wouldn't have been so stupid. But what other explanation could there be? He scrolled through the information on the data pad, hoping that he would find some clue in the meticulously kept records. Discovering that another load of equipment had been taken to storage bay three at around the same time, Starscream decided to start an investigation. If Swindle had stolen his weapons, then it was possible that he sold them off as quickly as he could to avoid being caught with them. So if he was lucky he could find the buyer here on Cybertron. And if the weapons were missing for some other reason, he should be able to uncover exactly what had become of them.

**

"Ai yi yi yi yi!"

"What's wrong Alpha?" Zordon asked, seeing his companion worry over the viewing globe.

"Theres a monster attacking Angel Grove!" Alpha 5 informed him. "Some kind of bull creature."

"Summon the Power Rangers at once."

"Right away, Zordon."

As Alpha went about his task, Zordon took the time to find out what he could about the monster. It was a new creation, or at least something that was not in his data files about Rita Repulsa's past creatures. The only thing the computer could tell him is that the monster was strong, but such an observation could have been made by simply looking at the thing. The guns at it's sides were an unusual addition that Zordon took note of. When the Rangers arrived, Zordon dismayed that he had little information to arm them with.

"Rangers, Rita has summoned forth a new monster. I cannot tell you much, except to be wary of it's strength and the weapons it carries. Go, and may the power protect you."

"Don't worry Zordon." Jason assured him confidently. "We can handle that thing. It's morphin' time! Tyrannosaurus!"

The other rangers followed their leader's battle cry with their own, donning their Power Ranger identies and teleporting into battle.

xxx

'In the event of a monster attack, citizens are to stay in their homes, lock their doors and stay away from doors and windows. If caught outside during an attack, citizens are to head to the nearest safety bunker (the bunker locations are broadcast on the news each night, and run as special emergency scrolls at various times throughout the week.) Citizens are then to stay where they are until it is announced that it is safe to venture outside again.'

These safety procedures were adopted by the city of Angel Grove several months ago when their town became the target of alien attack. So, by the time the Power Rangers appeared in downtown Angel Grove the streets were bare. The monster was left to take his rage out on various business establishments in the downtown area rather than innocent people. The Rangers arrived to see the monster throw a chair through the window of a sandwich shop, then kick over the table the chair had accompanied.

"Aaah, Rangers!" The monster sounded pleased. "Bout time ya'll showed up! I'm Bullzeye, your destroyer!"

"I don't think so!" Black Ranger countered. "We're here to put an end to your rampaging!"

"That so?" Bullzeye scoffed. "Let's see how you handle these guys before ya'll even consider tanglin' with me!" As he spoke at least a dozen putties appeared around him. They ran towards the Rangers, each knowing only one purpose...to destroy.

Red Ranger ducked a fist aimed at his jaw, spun in a half circle to block a kick from a putty on his far left then lowered himself, performing a sweeping kick that knocked both putties off of their feet. Bouncing up, he turned and rammed an elbow into the neck of a putty who tried to catch him from behind.

Green Ranger leapt into the air, avoiding a low kick and executing one of his own at the same time. His foot hit the puttie's jaw and knocked it off it's feet onto it's back. It flopped for a moment before leaping back into the battle. Three more putties had joined the fight against Green Ranger now. The puttie's brains were too primitive to form any real strategy, so it was pure coincidence when they managed to surround him. They did recognize the opportunity they had created for themselves however, and all tried to rush him at the same time. Green Ranger waited, timing their attacks. At the exact moment when the four putties would have struck, he leapt into the air and back flipped over his opponents. The putties continued their rush, unaware that their target had escaped until their attacks connected with one another and they all fell into a heap on the ground.

Yellow and Blue Rangers fought back to back against five putties. Yellow Ranger ducked a blow then slammed her fist into the puttie's chest. She followed the attack with a kick to it's stomach that sent it flying backwards. Blue Ranger was forced on the offensive as three putties attacked him at once. He blocked the onslaught, all the while attempting to find an opening in their attack. He spotted an opportunity as the putty on his left delivered a punch that Blue Ranger blocked, knocking the arm high and ramming his elbow into it's unprotected side. The putty stumbled slightly before Yellow Ranger took hold of it's arm and swung it in an arc until it stood facing her. She defeated it with a solid punch to the face. The Blue Ranger was gaining the upper hand with his two remaining opponents. He attacked the one on the left. The one on the right attacked when it thought it saw an opening in Blue Ranger's defense. Blue Ranger suddenly shifted his attack, grabbing the right puttie's arm and throwing it forward. It crashed into a tree and did not get back up. The remaining putty found itself kicked away soon after.

Rather than deflect the blows aimed at him, Black Ranger made himself a difficult target by dodging around the attacks. The putties ended up chasing him in circles, unaware that they were leaving themselves vulnerable. Their folly became apparent when Pink Ranger took advantage of the openings her team mate created. She flipped into a handstand and wrapped her legs around a puttie's neck then threw her body forward, sending the putty flying. Black Ranger dodged smoothly to one side to avoid an attack and spun around to position himself alongside his opponent. He kicked the puttie's feet out from under it, and followed that with another kick before the creature hit the ground. A second putty attacked the Black Ranger, launching a furious series of punches and kicks. He blocked a kick, stopping his attacker's leg with his own, then wrapped his leg around the puttie's and kicked out, driving it off it's feet.

The six Rangers stood victorious, watching as the fallen putty patrolers began to convulse and finally disappear as their bodies disintegrated into clay.

"Oooh, impressive." Bullzeye's words dripped sarcasm. "But you won't find me so easy to defeat!"

The monster's hoofs kicked at the ground, like a bull preparing to charge. The Rangers all waited for the inevitable attack. Bullzeye lowered his head and ran towards them. They dodged, leapt and rolled out of the way. Zordon's warning about the creature's strength was fresh in all their minds. Pink and Blue Rangers were the unfortunate two hit by the attack. The other Rangers could do nothing but watch as Bullzeye sent their team mates flying. There was a terrible sound of breaking glass as the two Rangers crashed through a shoe store on the opposite side of the street. The scene played out in seconds, but for the Rangers watching those they cared about bare the brunt of the attack, it seemed like so much longer. Each turned a murderous glare towards the monster as it's laughter mocked them. He turned away from the damage that had once been Shoe Time, putting himself between the Rangers and their fallen comrades.

The Rangers tensed as the monster kicked at the ground again. They clustered together as the head lowered, speaking in hushed voices. When the monster charged they evaded in separate directions. Bullzeye rammed himself into a park bench, tripped over it then sprawled out on the ground. The Rangers had fanned around him in a semi circle. Red Ranger nodded to Green Ranger. He returned the gesture then took off running towards Shoe Time.

"Confounded Power Rangers..." Bullzeye muttered to himself as he kicked the broken pieces of park bench away and got to his feet. He turned to find three Rangers with weapons aimed at him and took a step backwards, then kicked at the ground again. This time the gesture seemed more out of frustration than preparation for an attack.

"So that's how you want to play it?" Bullzeye screamed, kicking at the ground again. "Fine, I'n do that too you know!" He drew the guns from their holsters and twirled them in his hands.

"Fire."

At Red Ranger's command they all pulled out their Blade Blasters and opened fire. Bullzeye returned in kind, his laser pistols letting loose an explosive force.

Meanwhile the Green Ranger stepped through the broken store front in time to see Pink and Blue Rangers picking themselves up. Pink Ranger put a hand to her helmet woozily. Blue Ranger shook glass from his sleeve.

"Are you guys alright?" Green Ranger asked.

"A little shaken up I guess." Pink Ranger replied.

"Our Ranger suits prevented us from sustaining too much damage." Blue Ranger informed.

"Good." The relief in Green Ranger's voice was evident. "If you guys feel up to it, we've got a battle to finish."

"Like that thing's gonna ram me and ruin a shoe store and get away with it." Pink Ranger proclaimed. "Let's go."

Bullzeye was proving himself an expert marksman...or marksmonster as the case may be. His laser blasts found their targets again and again. The Rangers were hitting their marks as well, but it wasn't doing them much good. The large beast simply shrugged off the attacks and continued his barrage. The Rangers would have fared better by seeking cover, but they couldn't afford to break formation until they were certain the others were safe. The plan was to keep Bullzeye trapped here so he wouldn't make a target of one of their downed comrades.

Red Ranger leapt to the side, letting loose three shots from his blaster as laser fire scorched the ground he had just occupied. He managed another two shots before he was forced to dodge aside again. Four of his five shots hit Bullzeye, but the monster barely seemed to notice. In fact the monster seemed to be having fun judging by the way he laughed every time he pulled the trigger. After a few minutes of exchanging fire with the monster Red Ranger finally saw the others heading towards the alley where they had agreed to meet up. Relief flooded through him seeing the others unharmed.

"Alright, let's get to cover."

The team was quick to obey their leader's command, breaking off their 'V' formation and running towards the others to take refuge around the side of a strip mall.

"That bull is unbelievable." Black Ranger said.

"We can't get close to him, or he'll ram us." Yellow Ranger reasoned. "But at a distance, he's got the advantage as well."

"We'll use the Power Blaster." Red Ranger decided, calling his Power Sword into his hand. "The power of our weapons combined has got to be enough to take that thing down."

The other Rangers nodded in agreement, calling their weapons forth and uniting them. They moved into the open, standing in position behind their weapon.

"Hey, Bull!" Green Ranger called to get the monster's attention.

"What in tarnation..." Bullzeye said to himself as he saw the Ranger's weapon. He leveled his own laser pistols and his finger tightened on the trigger. This was contest of speed now. Whoever fired their weapon first would be the winner. Multi colored blasts of energy shot from the Ranger's weapon just as he squeezed the trigger on his. The energy blasts impacted with one another for a moment before Bullzeye's laser fire was overpowered. The blast from the Power Blaster hit and sent him flying backwards several feet where he landed on the pavement with a thud.

xxx

"Oh no you don't!"

Rita had moved her spyglass near her chair in order to watch the battle. When Bullzeye fell she found the energy to leap from her seat. Her hand closed around her wand and charged it with magical energy. She tossed the wand and the magic carried it to the planet below where it impaled itself firmly into the ground.

"Get back in there and fight! Make my monster grow!"

**
The ground moving under their feet filled each Ranger with a familiar sense of dread. They had seen it happen enough to know what was coming. Still the sight never ceased to amaze. The alien monster who had seemed so soundly defeated moments before was rising. First to his feet, then growing, up and up several stories high. He laughed, reveling in his new size and power.

"Looks like I'm gonna come out on top after all!" Bullzeye gloated.

The Rangers reaction was almost automatic after so many battles. Their hands stretched towards the sky and as one and they called out

"We need Dinozord power, NOW!"

From their various hiding spots the powerful fighting machines rose to answer the summons of the Power Rangers. The Rangers leapt into their zords with praticed ease, inserting their Power Crystals into the controls. The zords began to transform and combine, joining together to create the mighty Megazord. The familiar tune of Green Ranger's flute filled the air. Soon Megazord and Dragonzord stood together, ready for combat.

"You think that'll scare me?" Bullzeye laughed. Lightning flashed down from a clear sky and enveloped the monster. It glowed with brilliant intensity for a moment, then died down. It was clear that the lightning had been Rita's doing, leaving new weapons attached to her monster's arms. "I got just the thing to take care'a those toys you got there."

Warning bells went off in Blue Ranger's head. Something about these weapons bothered him. After a moment he realized what it was. If the monster had weapons powerful enough to take on the Megazord, it would have been more than enough to destroy them in a one on one battle. There was no reason to wait until now to use them...unless...

"We need to be careful." Blue Ranger warned. "Whatever those weapons are, I think that they are somehow meant to specifically target the zords."

"Right. We can't let those things hit us, even once." Bullzeye had already proven himself to be a dangerous opponent. Now there were mysterious weapons added to his arsenal. Red Ranger didn't want to take any chances. "We need the Power Sword, now!"

Megazord caught the Power Sword as it penetrated the cloud cover and descended from the sky. The Megazord started forward, raising the sword for a strike when Bullzeye fired his new weapons. The Power Sword swung into a defensive position to act as a shield against the energy from the rays. The energy deflected harmlessly off of the sword's surface. Encouraged by their success they endeavored to move forward, blocking the energy blasts with their sword. They only had a small distance to cover before they made it in striking range of the enemy. Dragonzord meanwhile began to maneuver around the monster so an attack could be mounted from both sides.

The Power Sword bit into the monster's side, penetrating it's tough hide. The attack was not as powerful as it should have been. The Ranger's need to bring the sword quickly back into a defensive position hindered it's effectiveness. Still, the blow had at least knocked the monster to the ground, momentarily winning the Power Rangers the advantage. Red Ranger knew better than to hope the powerful opponent was anything more than temporarily stunned by the blow, but even he did not anticipate the speed of the creature's recovery. Before they could complete another strike, Bullzeye fired the rays. The blast hit the Megazord dead center, causing the lights to dim then flicker once before dying. The Megazord had completely lost power.

Bullzeye picked himself up from the ground and let loose a rain fire from his lasers. The inert Megazord was rocked back and forth violently from the blasts. Inside the cockpit Blue Ranger instructed the others to do everything he could think of to try and bring their power back, to no avail.

Green Ranger played a symphony of commands to his Dragonzord, hurrying to his friend's rescue. Missiles fired from Dragonzord's fingertips. With his victory over the Megazord, Bullzeye had all but forgotten his other opponent. The missiles caught him off guard, sending him staggering backwards. Dragonzord whirled, knocking Bullzeye over with it's tail. It drove onward, stepping on the monster's right arm to prevent the use of at least one of the rays. The other he took care of with another round of missiles.

"We need to get out of here. Red Ranger decided.

"We're just going to abandon the Megazord?" Pink Ranger worried.

"We can't get the systems back online, what choice do we have?" Although Black Ranger supported Red's decision, it was obvious that he was not happy about it. The sentiment was shared by the others. They teleported from the Megazord and resigned themselves to their role as mere spectators in the battle.

The monster screamed, thrashing about on the ground as it attempted to escape Dragonzord's fury. He managed to escape being pinned but his arm was knocked violently away by Dragonzord's tail as he tried to bring his weapons around. Green Ranger fought with a righteous fury fueled by concern for his friends and his city. Another barrage of missiles hit their mark. The monster fell flat on his back, struggling with the pain of it's wounds.

"This is nuts. I'm outta here!" Bullzeye proclaimed and teleported away.