|
|
I know I said I wouldn't write anything new until September, but I couldn't help myself! Its short, though, so it won't disturb my writing plans for the rest of the summer. This fanfic is something I decided to write on a spur of the moment basis. It takes place at the end of July, 1995, just before Lord Zedd appears and takes over the Moon Palace. This story is named after William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, and there's a similar kind of insanity prevalent in this piece.
by: Rachel Dawson
"Its eleven-thirty PM," Billy said into his hand-held audio recorder, "and I'm nearly finished with this formula. I've spent this summer studying human emotion, and I believe I've created a potion that can actually alter emotions' intensity. This particular formula is designed to increase a rather weak sentiment, although it needs further testing. For example, it can increase a person's fear of the dark, of dislike of a certain food, or anything else. I'm not certain exactly whether or not this will work, but I am about to test the first attempt on Jack, my lab assistant."
Billy turned off his recorder, and released a stifled yawn while he placed a small white lab rat into a large cage. Then, he placed a small cup with water laced with the formula into the cage, and activated the computer programmed to monitor Jack's heartbeat. Once Jack drank the water, Billy brought his family's cat, Amethyst, into the lab, and placed her on the lab table.
"I'm now monitoring Jack's reaction to the presence of Amethyst, my family's ten year old feline. Jack is in no immediate danger, since he's safe inside the cage, and usually Jack doesn't show much fear of Amethyst, because the latter has never shown interest in chasing mice. Jack's fear reaction is minimal under control circumstances, but in a few minutes, the elixir should kick in, and then we'll see Jack's intensified reaction." Billy watched intently, forcing his eyes to stay open.
At first, Jack didn't show any fear reaction at all, but after about half an hour, Jack became suddenly terrified, and froze in place completely. Billy was already sleeping, leaning against his lab table. Amethyst stretched and leapt off the lab table, and began scratching the closed door. After a few minutes of scratching and meowing softly, someone heard her, and opened the door gingerly, allowing the cat room to leave.
Stephanie Mitchell, Billy's twelve year old sister, crept into the room, and grinned conspiratorially when she saw her slumbering brother. She snuck around the room, studying Billy's newest experiment intently. She then saw Jack, still frozen stiff in fear. She opened the cage, and picked up the terrified rat in her palm. She pet him gingerly, trying to calm him down, but Jack bit her fiercely, acting out an innate defense mechanism. She cried out in pain, waking up her brother, and dropping the poor rat. Jack ran like the wind across the lab table, knocking over the Erlenmeyer Flask containing Billy's experimental potion.
Billy yelled out in anger when the flask shattered, pouring the chemical all around the lab table. Billy frowned and glared at his sister, who was cradling her hand painfully. Billy sighed and walked over to the cabinet, and searched for the hydrogen peroxide, and a bandage.
"What did you think you were doing, Steph?" he scolded, "If I told you once, I told you a millions times-- don't touch my experiments!"
"I didn't know you were conducting an experiment," she protested, "You fell asleep, and I opened the door because Amethyst was scratching, and I wanted to let her out."
"I guess its my fault," he sighed, wiping her cut with a cotton ball, "I should've locked the door. But I admit, I didn't think anyone was awake at this time of night. Fish, my serum is all over the place!"
He looked at the puddle on the lab table, and some of it began to drip on the floor. He sighed again, and began to search for a mop. Stephanie grabbed some paper towel, and began wiping up the chemical on the table. Soon, the paper towel was completely saturated with the potion, and Stephanie's hands got wet. Billy brought the mop, and saw her throw the dripping paper towel into the garbage can beside the lab table.
"Steph, I told you to never touch these chemicals with your bare hands!" he shrieked, "I don't even know if the chemical can be absorbed through the epidermis!"
"Sorry," she moaned, "I'll go wash my hands." Stephanie hurried out of the lab, leaving Billy to mop up the mess. He then cleaned up the remainder with a towel, and he wore a pair of rubber gloves.
Once the mess was cleaned up, he washed his hands carefully, and threw the contaminated towel and shards of glass into a special re-enforced plastic bag, and laid it against the garage door. He then stretched out and yawned. "I'll dispose of the contaminated materials properly tomorrow," he yawned, walking out of the lab, "Well, this experiment's down the drain. It took me the whole summer to perfect the serum, and judging from Jack's reaction, I think it was working. I'll have to start from scratch."
Billy sighed and turned off the lights, and locked the lab door behind him. He slowly strolled up the stairs to his bedroom, unaware that someone was watching him from afar.
As soon as the lab was silent and dark, a rather short, goat-like creature with glasses appeared in the room. He looked around cautiously, and listened for any sounds. "Magnificent," he said, rubbing his hands in anticipation, "Billy's gone. Now, I can find the serum." Finster grabbed the plastic bag, and examined its contents. "Its a shame Billy had to destroy this chemical," he sighed, "But I think I can find enough drops of the chemical to create more. This serum will greatly help me in my study of human emotions. I've been trying to perfect my love potion for eons, to no avail. This Billy Mitchell is absolutely brilliant! His little midsummer project will help me comprehend human emotion. All I need to do is study the potion, and then test it."
Finster teleported back to his own lab in the Moon Palace, bringing the entire garbage bag with him. Once he appeared in his lab, he immediately began examining each piece of glass and cloth, using a special machine to extract every last drop of serum from the materials. The process took the better part of an hour, but Finster was a very patient creature. After an hour, he had about two ounces of potion, and he began studying its concentration. "This is a very concentrated formula," he said, "About two glasses full would infect an entire city! Also, it can take effect in about twenty minutes, and it can be absorbed through the skin or ingested. Fantastic! What I need to do is create more of the serum. I hope I can duplicate it exactly." Finster immediately began working, analyzing the precise chemical makeup of Billy's emotion potion, and copying as best he could. Soon, he had exactly two glasses of potion, exactly like Billy's.
"Well," Finster said, "Now that I'm done, I can distribute this potion to the masses, and see what happens. Now, how do I get the people to consume it?" Finster remembered Billy's experiment, and how Billy got his lab rat to partake of the potion.
"The water supply!" Finster shrieked, "I'll put it in the water supply of Angel Grove, and by mid morning tomorrow, everyone in the city will be under the spell of this potion, so I can study its affects on humans on a massive scale." Finster smiled to himself, and teleported to the Angel Grove Reservoir with the vial of potion.
Billy slept soundly until about noon, since he didn't get to sleep until about one-thirty last night. He stretched out, and yawned. He got up, and grabbed his blue plaid robe, headed to the bathroom. But, before he could reach the bathroom to take a shower, his father spotted him in the hallway, and called him.
"Son!" he called, "Come here!"
Billy sighed and walked to his father, expecting a lecture about not properly cleaning up after his experiment last night, or for leaving Jack out of his cage. However, Billy was shocked when his father gave him a huge hug, and kissed his forehead. Mr. Mitchell then smiled down at his son, while Billy stared at his father in utter confusion.
"How's my sleepy-headed genius?" he said happily, "Go down and have some breakfast! Its getting cold!"
Mr. Mitchell then hugged his son again, and strolled to his room. Billy followed his father with his eyes for a minute, and then walked down the stairs. Am I in the Twilight Zone or something? he pondered, My dad has never been very affectionate, especially once my mother died. And he NEVER cooks! What's going on here?
Billy shrugged and sat down at the table, where he saw his sister drinking a glass of orange juice. Billy looked at the large spread of breakfast foods: French toast, pancakes, sausage, oatmeal, toast and jelly, bacon, eggs, coffee, and orange juice. He blinked, as if expecting all this food to vanish, and then began to serve himself. He glanced up at Stephanie, who was watching him and smiling widely.
"What's your problem?" he asked her. She just smiled wider.
"Billy," she said in an exceptionally sweet voice, "did I ever tell you I love you?"
"Excuse me?" he asked, nearly choking on a mouthful of pancake.
"I mean, you're the best big brother a girl could have! You're nice, smart, considerate, caring, and you know how to have fun! You really are the best, Billy!"
With that, she stood up and walked over to him. She hugged him tightly, and then skipped out of the room. Billy stopped eating as he watched her go. "Something is definitely wrong," he said, standing up. He rubbed his chin, and then snapped his fingers excitedly.
Of course! Stephanie must be under the emotion potion! But, what about Dad? Billy frowned and hurried over to his lab. He turned on the light, and scanned the room.
"Maybe Dad came across a shard of contaminated glass or something," he said while he looked around. To his shock, the plastic bag with the contaminated glass and towels was gone.
"Impossible," he whispered, running up the stairs, "The bag was there last night! I distinctly remember leaving it beside the garage door!"
Billy huffed as he knocked on his father's bedroom door. "Come in!" sang his father's voice. Billy took a deep breath and steeled himself for more of his father's love.
"Dad, did you see a ten gallon white reinforced plastic garbage bag in my lab, by any chance?"
"No, Son," said Mr. Mitchell, tying his black and blue tie, "I haven't been in your lab at all today. A young man like yourself is entitled to a little privacy. Well, I'm off to the office."
"Aren't you four hours late?" asked Billy.
Mr. Mitchell chuckled. "Well, I suppose I am, but I couldn't leave without making sure my babies get a proper breakfast. Maybe I'll come home early today, and the three of us can go out to dinner! We haven't done that in a while." Mr. Mitchell turned to his son and gave him another warm hug. He then picked up his briefcase and strolled out his bedroom.
"Stephanie!" he called, "Come here and give your father a kiss good-bye, Pumpkin!"
Billy sighed audibly, and began polishing the lenses of his glasses as a nervous reaction. "I just know my father is under the influence of that potion," he whispered, "Unless he's under the influence of a narcotic. But, I doubt it. The question is, where is the garbage bag?" Billy searched the house for his sister, who was busy brushing out Amethyst's fur.
"Steph," he said, sitting beside her on the floor, "what kind of mood was Dad in when he woke up?"
"Well, he was upset, because he hates Mondays, ya know," she started, thinking hard, "Um, he yelled something about Jack running around the house, and then he went to take a shower. Um, then he went in his room, to get dressed, and then he decided to stay home from work, and fix breakfast."
"Uh, thanks Steph," he said, standing up, "I'm going to my lab, okay?"
"Okay," sang Stephanie sweetly, "I won't bother you this time!"
Billy nodded, and went into his lab. He leaned on the lab table, thinking about what his sister said.
"Dad was acting fine, until he took a shower," he said aloud, "Could the shower have anything to do with it?"
Billy grabbed a test tube, and raced up to the shower. He filled the tube with water, and then brought it to his lab for analysis. "This water is contaminated!" he shrieked, "The trace amounts are hard to pick up, but my emotion potion is definitely in the plumbing. But, how did it get here? Oh... oh my God! Rita!" Billy ran up to his bedroom as quickly as he could.
Could Rita have poured my potion into the entire town's water supply? Then, if someone drinks, or even touches tap water, they're under the influence of the potion. I don't have a cure, nor do I even know how long it lasts, or if there are any dangerous side-effects!
Billy grabbed his communicator, and contacted his friend Jason, the Red Ranger.
Meanwhile, not too far away, Jason Scott Lee is strolling down the street with his hands in his denim shorts pockets, humming to himself. A broad smile is on his face, and he basked in the sun happily.
"Man," he said aloud, "I can't remember a day this beautiful! The birds are singing, the breeze is cool, and the air is fresh! Aaaahh! Makes me glad to live in good ole Angel Grove, California!"
Jason continued to walk, until he reached his destination. He knocked on a hark oak door, and waited patiently for someone to answer. "Oh," said Tommy, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "What're ya doing here, Jay?"
"Its great to see ya, Bro!" said Jason happily, wrapping Tommy in a bear hug. Tommy gasped aloud as Jason nearly squeezed the life out of the rather slim Green Ranger. When Jason let go, Tommy just stared at him in utter confusion.
"Are you feeling okay, Jason?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. Jason smiled even wider.
"Never better, Bro. Say, why aren't you dressed yet? You and me were supposed to go to the park and play basketball with the guys, remember?" "Oh, man!" groaned Tommy, slapping his forehead, "I knew I forgot something! Darn it, Bro..."
"You, forgot?" asked Jason, his smile quickly falling.
"Yeah, man," said Tommy sheepishly, "I forgot. Look, I'm sorry. I'll go shower and get ready--"
"You FORGOT?!" roared Jason, this time his voice filled with rage, "How co&2
<YZ Op\6;\dW1ۊ܊"~8`!U܍m1
IZ;t-j;be/i
/|{: <=N ?JFQ yJi712 '3,(a9,*@> IG# 1.40~
Vz93
Fc@2-$b
# ??-/8<+39'GK1S<>DhBE[[8z9OY Y -L, NLQ,*+n@d?WRWII''&(~(b;;BB57O?@LBDL n * Q 2F}KGEK 9Aj9Be:_Dv6*@ Q*\1bT 3l70`3$&
-.L,1.+-*-9%('*AP'J)`!s"c*P*EC-?LE@3(.n .<6Y*n%9# NgM#*#k%h'^57=f>!!!0.73
Z8ñH/]ėS$AH@a|Kߧ|Y!<˘ϒڵù M{ ,^ٺ*Bɱ@YΓ'~ x!d N$))q P_ 2$:-D " *U% 9!#hx)l0 9AC8(??0 y Z!q$D(-0A:CD%& >?BUVx $ 1&4=@9=U-1s #5:<
ChJ#x,,k6P(30z=6D;
K --">h#3V8`H#2b 0
Tommy nearly jumped when Jason screamed at him. Tommy began to ring his fingers nervously.
"Cool it, Man," he said timidly, not knowing how to react to Jason's explosive temper, "I'm really sorry."
"Well, sorry doesn't cut it!!" Jason yelled in a fit of anger, "I guess that shows what kind of friend you are! You're really dependable, Tommy. I surprised you even remember my name!"
With that, Jason delivered a ferocious right hook to Tommy's jaw, knocking the shocked Green Ranger to the ground, and nearly dislocating the bone. He then stormed off, still fuming with rage. About a minute later, his communicator began to ring. He lifted the wrist device to his mouth, his anger still raging.
"Look," he said bitterly, "Whoever it is, I don't feel like talking. Okay?"
"Jason! Wait, its me, Billy! Are you okay, Jason?"
Jason's mood immediately changed back to friendly, and a smile crossed his face.
"Hey, Billy! What's up? Are you at the park?"
"No, I'm in my lab. Listen, Jason, did you take a shower today, or a bath, or in any other way touch tap water."
"Now, that's a silly question!" said Jason with a laugh, "Of course I did! Why?"
"Um... just asking. It's... part of my project. I'll talk to ya later."
Meanwhile, inside the Oliver house, Tommy touched his jaw in disbelief, and picked himself off the ground. He walked over to the mirror, and examined his face.
What the heck was that about? he thought, Man, Jason's in a bad mood. But he was so happy a few minutes ago. Something must be wrong...
He went into the bathroom, ready to wash his face off, when his communicator chimed.
"What?" he said angrily.
"Oh, no,^ Billy whispered, ^Not you too..."
"What?" he said in a more concerned voice, "Billy, what's wrong?"
"Uh, Tommy, this may sound like an odd question, but did you take a shower yet today?"
"No."
"Did you brush your teeth? Wash your face? Drink tap water? Wash your hands?"
"Is this a hygiene quiz?" asked Tommy with a small laugh, "No, no, no, and no. I just woke up like two minutes ago, when Jason came over."
"You saw Jason? Was he acting in an abnormal fashion?"
"Well, he just punched me in the face, because I wasn't dressed to go play basketball!" Tommy snarled, "And before that, he was in a like super-happy mood. Something's not right with Jason."
"And you're feeling fine? No odd mood swings, no out of control emotions?"
"No! Billy, what's going on?"
"Tommy, could you please come to my house immediately? Its an emergency."
"Let me get dressed. I'm on my way."
"Okay, but remember not to touch any tap water at all! You hear?"
"Okay."
In about five minutes, a column of green light heralded the arrival of Tommy Oliver, the recently re-instated Green Ranger. He looked around Billy's work room, and found the young genius at his lab table, studying something in his high-powered microscope.
"What's the emergency, Billy?" he asked, looking over the Blue Ranger's shoulder. Billy looked up and stared Tommy straight in the eye.
"Somehow, a powerful elixir I created got into the water system," Billy explained, "All someone has to do is touch faucet water, and the serum takes effect. I pray its not too late for the others. I contacted Jason, and he's definitely under the influence. Tommy, why don't you check up on Kimberly, while I contact Zack and Trini."
Tommy nodded, and tried to page Kimberly. But, she didn't answer her communicator. And neither did Trini and Zack.
"I'll go to her house," Tommy offered, activating his teleporter. He was gone in a flash of green light. Then, Billy picked up the telephone, and called the Taylor residence.
"Good morning!" sang a cheery adult woman's voice.
"Uh, hi Mrs. Taylor. It's Billy. Is Zack in?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear, but Zack's in the shower. I'll tell him to call you later, okay?"
"Nevermind, Mrs. Taylor. I'll try back some other time."
Billy sighed and touched his forehead.
"Great," he moaned, "Its too late to save Zack. Maybe Trini's still okay."
Billy dialed the Kwan household, but got no answer. Billy slammed down the phone in aggravation, and activated his teleporter.
"I've got to try and save her," he said, vanishing from his lab.
In seconds, he appeared at the front door of the Kwan family's rather large house. He knocked several times, and then decided to go around to the backyard. When he rounded the corner, he heard a splash from the pool. He jogged over to the Olympic size in-ground swimming pool, and watched as Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger, continued to perform elegant freestyle laps across the pool. Billy called out to her, getting her attention.
"Oh," she said, startled, "Hey Billy. What's up?"
"Um, can you come out for a minute," he said, "There's an emergency."
"Okay," she said, swimming over to the edge and climbing out. She wrung out her long, ebony hair, and wrapped a pale orange towel over her yellow and green one piece swimsuit.
"Trini," he began, rather uncomfortably, "Did you take a shower, or wash your hands, or in any other way touch tap water this morning?"
Trini blinked and studied Billy's face, expecting to see him smile. But Billy wasn't joking.
"Not here," she said, wiping some pool water from her forehead, "I had visited my aunt and uncle yesterday, and I stayed at their house in Los Angeles. I only got back here about an hour ago, and I came straight to the pool. Why?"
"Trini, has your family been acting strange today?"
"Not that I can recall," she said, "We all just got back from my uncle's house."
"Trini, the water system of Angel Grove has been contaminated by a powerful chemical."
"What chemical?"
"It... it intensifies emotions, Trini. And it somehow got into the water supply."
"You mean your special project?" she gasped, "The one you've been working on all summer?"
"That's the one. Look, we have to go back to my lab and regroup. Tommy's okay, but Zack and Jason are under the effect of the potion. I don't know yet about Kimberly."
Meanwhile, Tommy appears at the door to the Hart residence, and takes a deep breath.
Okay, he thought, I have to be ready for the worst. If Kim's under the spell, then she'll either be in an overly-bubbly mood, or she'll be very angry. I think I can handle this.
Tommy rang the doorbell, and waited. Above him, Kimberly looked out through her bedroom window, and hurried down to open the door. She opened the door, and smiled up at him.
"Hello, Tommy," she said in a rather deep voice, leaning against the door, "What's up?"
Tommy's eyes widened, and a lump rose in his throat. Kim was wearing a pink silk nightgown, with matching pink robe. But, her robe was hanging loosely off her shoulders, and she stood in a rather provocative pose. Tommy cleared his throat, half-expecting his voice to give out, and then immediately took his eyes of Kim, staring down at his feet.
"Um, hey Kimberly," he said quietly, "Uh, how are you?"
"Fine," she said, throwing her head back. She then grabbed Tommy's hand, and dragged him through the door. "Why don't you come in?"
Tommy just continued to stare at his feet, and allowed Kimberly to lead him to the couch. She sat down, and patted the seat beside her invitingly.
"Uh, I think I'll stand, if that's okay with you," he said quietly, "Uh, Kim, are you feeling okay?"
"I feel just fine," she said, running her hands through her golden brown hair.
"Uh, right. Listen Kim, I think I'd better get going," Tommy said, bringing his communicator up. Kimberly stood up and walked over to him, her pink robe flowing behind her.
"So soon?" she pouted, "Are you sure? You just got here!"
Oh, I'm sure! he thought in partial panic, "I, I really gotta get going. Um, see you later, Kim."
"Bye Tommy," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him squarely on the lips. Tommy was too surprised by her forward action to respond. Once Kim let go, Tommy couldn't help but stare at her in utter shock for a moment. She smiled slyly, and placed her hands on her hips. Tommy opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head and instantly teleported back to Billy's garage. Once he appeared there, he released the breath he was holding, and shook his head in disbelief.
"It sure took you a long time," said Trini, "Where's Kim?"
"I... I'm pretty sure she's under the influence. So, you okay, Trini?"
"I'm fine," she said, "So, its just the three of us?"
"Just the three of us," said Billy, walking into the lab, "I think we'd better get to the Command Center, and find out how badly this epidemic has spread."
"Right," said Trini and Tommy in unison, and the three Power Rangers vanished from Billy's lab.
In Angel Grove Park, three of the Power Rangers, Jason Lee, Zack Taylor, and Kimberly Hart, play a game of basketball. Usually, the friends enjoy themselves, and only play for amusement and exercise. But today isn't a typical day, since all three youths are under the influence of a power emotion potion, which distorts and intensifies whatever emotion they are feeling at any given moment. At this point in time, the potion is intensifying Jason and Zack's aggression, and that can only mean trouble.
"Okay," said Kimberly, who was busy filing her fingernails, "Um, Jason's basket counts for two points."
"Are you nuts?!" shouts Jason angrily, "I was at least three inches beyond the three-point line!"
"No you weren't!" yells Zack, "Your feet were on the line, and that's not far enough! Now, give me the ball!"
Jason grunts and tosses Zack the ball. Hard. Zack manages to catch the ball, and throws Jason a look of disgust as he makes his way to the edge of the court. Jason continues to mutter under his breath, and follows Zack. The two young men frown at each other.
"Check," said Zack, throwing Jason the ball. Jason returns the ball to Zack, and Zack immediately begins dribbling. Jason stays right with Zack as the latter makes a break for the basket, intending to dunk the basketball and tie the game. But Jason knows Zack's game, and when Zack stops to leap into the air, Jason strips the ball from Zack by slapping Zack's shooting arm. Zack loses his balance, and falls hard to the court, while Jason grabs the ball and makes a break for the other basket. Jason makes the wide open shot, and throws his hands up in victory.
"I win!" he shouts, "Fifty to forty-six. I believe that's game."
"Not in your life!!" yells Zack, rising to his feet, "That was a foul! And you did it on purpose! I deserve two shots, and possession! That was real low, Jason."
"What the @%!# are you talking about?! I won that game fair and square! You're just upset because you're not as amazing a ball player as you like to think you are!"
"Guys!" called Kimberly from the sidelines, this time applying a base coat of nail enamel to her fingernails, "What's going on?"
"Okay, Kim, you call it," said Zack, "Jason slammed my arm and grabbed the ball while I was making a shot!"
"Well, if that's so, then I guess that's a foul. Right?"
"What do you mean 'if that's so'?!" shouted Zack, "Weren't you watching?!"
"Of course not!" Kim giggled, "Why should I waste my time watching you two play basketball? I mean, how important is it?"
"More important than polishing your nails!" Jason yelled, "You're supposed to be the ref!"
"And why should I be?" she shouted back, glaring up at the much taller Jason, "I'm only here because Tommy was supposed to play with you guys. But, he bailed on us, and I'm outta here!"
With that, Kimberly turned on her heels and started walking back to the grass to pick up her purse. Jason then picked up the basketball.
"Hey!" called Zack, "Where do you think you are going? The game isn't over!"
"Oh, yes it is," said Jason smugly, "I won. Deal with it."
"Why you... oh, it's on!!" shrieked Zack, jabbing Jason in the face. Jason was completely unprepared for the assault, and therefore he couldn't react before he was already on the ground. Jason then leapt to his feet and glared at Zack. Jason took a fighting stance, and Zack did the same. They circled each other for a moment, until Jason took the first move, and nearly pummeled Zack with a ferocious kick. Zack managed to block the kick, but it hurt nonetheless. Then, the fight began in earnest, while Kimberly was packing her purse with all her cosmetics.
"Boys will be boys," she sighed nonchalantly.
"IS SOMETHING WRONG, POWER RANGERS?" asked Zordon when Tommy Oliver, Trini Kwan, and Billy Mitchell materialized in the dark Command Center.
"You got that right," said Tommy, "Zordon, the whole city's under a spell!"
"Its not a spell," objected Billy, "Its a chemical potion. I was created by science, not magic."
"Aye yi yi!" shrieked Alpha 5, "What does the potion do?"
"It increases the intensity of a person's emotions," explained Billy, "I created the chemical as my summer project, to keep me occupied during my free time. I was working on it all summer, and last night, I tested it for the first time. It seemed to work on my lab rat, but it mysteriously vanished from my lab! The flask containing the chemical was shattered during an unfortunate incident in my laboratory, and I cleaned up the fragments of glass and potion, and placed it in a reinforced plastic receptacle. But when I woke up this morning, the receptacle was gone, and my family was acting in a strange manner."
"What do you mean 'strange'?" asked Alpha.
"I mean, they were affectionate," Billy said, "My sister and father have never been very affectionate, especially the latter of the two. But this morning, my father actually missed work in order to prepare breakfast for me and Stephanie. Normally, my father wouldn't cook, nor would he worry about us getting proper nutrition. Its just not his way."
"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ANGEL GROVE IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A DRUG YOU CREATED, BUT ALSO DESTROYED LAST NIGHT? YOU SAID THE ONLY VIAL CONTAINING THE POTION WAS SHATTERED."
"True, but there is no other explanation. Somehow, the potion got into the water system, and so anyone who came in contact with faucet water this morning is under the chemical's influence."
"Its got to be Rita," said Tommy, clenching his fist, "Who else could it be? She probably wanted to create chaos in Angel Grove, and then conquer it while the Power Rangers are incapacitated."
"Where are the other rangers?" asked Alpha 5 worriedly, "Are they okay?"
"I'm afraid they're all under the influence," said Trini.
"WE SHOULD LOCATE THEM. THEY COULD BE IN GRAVE DANGER, ESPECIALLY IF RITA DOES DECIDE TO ATTACK NOW."
"They should be in the park playing basketball," said Tommy as he and Alpha approached the Viewing Globe, "We all were supposed to shoot some hoops today."
"I'll check," said Alpha, pressing a few buttons. The image appeared of Jason and Zack fighting each other fiercely, with Kimberly in the background, packing her belongings.
"They'll kill each other!" said Tommy, "I'd better break this up."
"BE CAREFUL, GREEN RANGER," said Zordon, "YOUR FRIENDS ARE UNDER A POWERFUL AND UNPREDICTABLE INFLUENCE. THERE IS NO WAY TO BE CERTAIN THEY WILL NOT DECIDE TO TEAM UP AGAINST YOU."
"If that happens, then I'll morph," said Tommy, touching his wrist communicator, "See you."
Once Tommy vanished in a streak of green light, Zordon turned to Billy.
"BILLY, HOW LONG DOES YOUR POTION LAST BEFORE IT'S AFFECTS FADE?"
"I... I don't know," admitted Billy, "I don't even know if it does fade on its own! I didn't get a chance to complete the test.
"THEN I TAKE IT YOU DON'T HAVE AN ANTIDOTE EITHER?"
"No."
"Well," said Trini, "maybe Billy and I can make one!"
"I doubt it," said Billy glumly, "Creating an antidote could take weeks!"
"NOT NECESSARILY," said Zordon, "WE HAVE THE EQUIPMENT NECESSARY IN THE COMMAND CENTER TO CREATE AN ANTIDOTE FOR ANY DRUG. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS ANALYZE A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF THE POTION."
"But, there is no more potion!" said Billy.
"Are you sure every last trace of the potion is gone?"
"Absolutely, Trini. Nevertheless, we can attempt to create an antidote using the notes I took while first creating the original potion. Hopefully, that will be enough."
"Then, let's go!"
Meanwhile, inside the solitary palace upon the surface of the Moon, the evil witch Rita Repulsa watches the fight between Jason and Zack through her Repulsascope. She frowns in confusion, and once again peers through the telescope.
"Now, this doesn't make sense," she said to Goldar, who was standing behind her.
"What, your Majesty?" asked the golden armored warrior.
"The Red and Black Rangers are fighting in the park."
"But they always do that!" said Squatt, "What do they call it... parring? Jarring?"
"Sparring, Lunk-Head!" shrieked Rita, smacking the short blue alien over the head with her magic wand, "But that's not it. They are fighting with anger in their eyes. And they're playing... for keeps. Something is wrong with this picture."
Rita stepped away from the telescope, and paced on the balcony, thinking. She then grinned, and turned to Goldar.
"It doesn't matter!" she declared, "I know I didn't cast a spell, but something is affecting those three rangers! I'll take advantage of the situation, and destroy them with a squad of Putty Patrollers! Finster! GET IN HERE!!"
Moments later, the short white alien with glasses scampered into the room, and bowed before the Queen.
I hope this doesn't take long he thought glumly, I'm trying to survey the results of that potion I created last night.
"Finster," shrieked the Empress of Evil, still looking through her Repulsascope, "I want two dozen Putties to destroy the Pink, Black, and Red Rangers, while they're still under the spell!"
"Spell?"
"Yes! Somehow, those three rangers are under a hate spell or something! Send down those Putties, and they'll destroy the rangers before they can even blink! Ha ha!"
"Yes, my Queen," said Finster, bowing and leaving. Once he was out of ear-shot, he began to think out loud.
"I doubt this particular plan will work," he said, "Their emotions are intensified! They may attack the Putties with an unnatural anger. Well, nonetheless, it shall be an interesting display of human emotion."
With that, Finster continued to his lab, and immediately began preparing a large batch of Putties.
Zack landed with a thud onto the cold concrete that is the Angel Grove Park's basketball court. His nose was bleeding profusely, and one of his eyes was black and blue. Zack pulled himself to his feet, ignoring the pain, and forced his aching body into a battle stance. He glared coldly at his opponent-- his best friend since grade school, Jason Lee.
"So, you a glutton for punishment?" said Jason, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. Even though Jason wasn't as injured as Zack, he too was in extreme pain, with bleeding nose, scrapes on his face, bruises on his arms from blocking Zack's powerful kicks, and finally blood dripping from his mouth. Jason remained on his feet, and launched his powerful body at Zack with a powerful leap kick, which Zack barely managed to dodge.
"Is that the best you can do?" Zack chided, smacking Jason's chin with the heel of his open palm, causing the tall red-clad young man to fall backwards.
Not far away, Kimberly was skipping through the park, humming to herself. She stopped before a bed of wildflowers, and began giggling and picking a few of the pink ones. A flash of green light grasped her attention, and she dropped the flowers she was holding and looked up.
"Tommy!" she shrieked, leaping up and wrapping her arms around his neck. Tommy managed to pry Kim off him, and placed her on the ground. He looked around urgently.
"What's wrong?" she asked, "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Where are Zack and Jason?"
"At the court," she said, "But--"
Before she could finish, Tommy was running at full speed towards the basketball court. Kimberly frowned and ran after him, as quickly as her shorter legs could carry her. In a few seconds, Tommy had reached the court, and tackled Jason to the ground. Jason was about to step on Zack, who was lying on his back on the court.
"What are you DOING?!?!" shrieked Jason, struggling against Tommy. But Tommy had managed to pin the larger man to the ground, and looked down on him with a frown.
"Calm down, Bro," Tommy said in an authoritative tone, "Take it easy..."
"Who the %@&! do you think you are, telling ME what to do?!" roared Jason, "I'm the leader!!"
"Not if you keep this up!" yelled Tommy, "Kim, is Zack okay?"
Kim kneeled beside Zack, and helped him sit up. She pulled a small package of tissues from her purse, and she wiped the blood off his face. Zack glared at her, and pushed her aside.
"I don't need to be babied!" he yelled, forcing himself to his feet, "I can take care of myself!"
"Well, that's gratitude for ya!" shrieked Kim, standing up and rolling her eyes, "As if!"
"Everyone needs to calm down," said Tommy, struggling to keep Jason pinned, "You're letting your anger get the best of you! We're all friends here!"
Suddenly, in a flash of light, two dozen Putties appeared in the park, and ran at the four rangers.
"AIEE!" shrieked Kimberly, "Putties!"
Both Zack and Tommy turned to see the Putties approaching, and Tommy stood up and extended Jason his hand.
"I can get up by myself," Jason grunted, standing up. He then frowned at Tommy and Zack, and then he glared at the oncoming Putties. "Let's cream these Clay-Brains!"
Both Jason and Zack ran at the Putties, fighting with all their might. But both were exhausted from their fight, and were barely holding their own. Tommy was about to join the battle, but then he caught a glimpse of Kimberly, hiding behind a tree. Tommy ran after her.
"Kim, are you okay?"
"I... I don't know," she admitted, her entire body shaking, "I... I'm just... terrified!"
The potion must be intensifying her fear of the Putties! he thought, hugging her, "Its okay Kim," he said quietly, "You just wait here. We'll handle this."
Kim nodded, and Tommy joined the fight. The three rangers did their best against the overwhelming amount of Rita's Putties, but they couldn't gain the advantage. Things only got worse when Goldar appeared in a flash of golden light.
"Goldar!" shrieked Jason, whipping out his morpher, "Its Morphin Time!"
"DRAGONZORD!!" cried Tommy, holding his morpher at arms length.
"MASTODON!!"
"TYRANNOSAURUS!!"
The three Power Rangers split up, with Jason fighting Goldar, and Tommy and Zack battling the nineteen remaining Putty Patrollers.
Behind the tree a few yards from the fight, Kimberly watched the fight, still too terrified to move.
"Oh, what's wrong with me? I've fought those things dozens of times before! The guys can't defeat Goldar and all those Putties without backup!"
Kimberly turned away from the fight, and looked around, making sure no one was watching. She then brought her communicator up to her mouth.
"It's no use!" yelled Billy frustratedly, throwing down a binder filled with notes, "I can't recreate a potion in an hour that took me months to perfect! I don't even have the proper chemicals here to create the potion!"
"Calm down, Billy," said Trini, looking up from a drawer filled with notes, "We need at least a tablespoon of the emotion potion to run through the scanners at the Command Center. Zordon and Alpha have the technology necessary to analyze the potion, and formulate a cure!"
"Well, it will take days to make more of the potion," said Billy, folding his hands over his chest, "I had to boil the serum over the Bunsen burner for three hours for the solid chemicals to dissolve, anyway. And my notes are so disorganized... I kept adding different minerals and--"
"Okay, Billy, okay," said Trini, closing the drawer and leaning against the lab table, "Maybe recreating the formula is a bad idea. Do you think we can extract enough of the potion from the tap water?"
"We could separate the solid particles from the water easy enough," he said, rubbing his chin, "but that would take forever! We need a whole tablespoon of the potion, and its so concentrated that it would take barrels full of water to extract that amount! We don't have the time, nor the equipment, to undertake that task."
"And you're sure you don't have another supply of the chemical, right?"
"Right. I had one Erlenmeyer Flask full of the potion, but it spilled last night..."
"Do you have any towels wet with the potion? How did you clean up the mess?"
"I used towels and sponges, but I threw them all away into a white plastic bag. The bag had vanished last night."
"This is so frustrating!" Trini sighed, touching her forehead, "Who knows what Rita has planned?"
Suddenly, Trini's wrist communicator beeped. Trini jumped a bit in surprise, and then answered the summons.
"Zordon?" she said, "Is that you?"
"No, it me, Kim!"
"Kim!" said Billy into Trini's communicator, "Where are you?"
"We're all at the park, and we've been attacked by, like, tons of Putties! And now, Goldar's here too!"
Both Trini and Billy could hear the panic in Kimberly's voice. "Take it easy, Kim," said Billy.
"But, Jason and Zack are still hurt from fighting before, and Tommy's powers are getting weaker! They need HELP!"
"We'll be there as quickly as we can," said Trini, "but we've got a problem here!"
"You go ahead, Trini," said Billy, "I'll think of something. They need help!"
Trini thought about it for a moment, and then reactivated her communicator. "Kim, I'll be there in a moment."
Trini then pulled her morpher from behind her back, and held it at arm's length.
"Take care, Billy. It's Morphin Time! SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!!"
In a flash of yellow light, Trini was clad in the yellow and white form-fitting armor of the Yellow Ranger. She touched her morpher, and vanished in a streak of yellow light. Once she was gone, Billy began pacing around the lab table.
"I've got to figure something out!" he cried, "This is all my fault! It's my duty to repair the damage!"
Billy wasn't paying attention where he was walking, and he tripped on the small metal garbage can beside the lab table. The lid fell off, and scraps of paper and wet paper towel tumbled out. Billy rose to his feet, and stared at the fallen bin curiously. He then smiled, and ran to his cabinet, and put on a pair of rubber gloves. While he searched through the garbage, images of the events of the previous night flew through his head.
"I guess its my fault," he sighed, wiping her cut with a cotton ball, "I should've locked the door. But I admit, I didn't think anyone was awake at this time of night. Fish, my serum is all over the place!
He looked at the puddle on the lab table, and some of it began to drip on the floor. He sighed again, and began to search for a mop. Stephanie grabbed some paper towel, and began wiping up the chemical on the table. Soon, the paper towel was completely saturated with the potion, and Stephanie's hands got wet. Billy brought the mop, and saw her throw the dripping paper towel into the garbage can beside the lab table.
"Bingo!" he said, holding up a wad of matted paper towel, "I've got it! Since the garbage can was sealed, the potion didn't completely evaporate. There should be enough serum absorbed by the paper towel for the Command Center's analysis."
Billy squeezed the paper towel over a small test tube, and wrung out every last drop of potion he could. Once he was done, he sealed the tube with a cork, washed and put away the rubber gloves, and activated his communicator.
"Zordon," he said, "I believe I have a sufficient sample of the serum for analysis."
"EXCELLENT, BILLY. REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY, AND ALPHA 5 CAN BEGIN RUNNING THE ANALYSIS TO MANUFACTURE AN ANTIDOTE."
"This just isn't working!" panted Trini, unsheathing her Power Daggers and blocking the Putties' attacks with them, "They just won't die!"
No one responded to Trini's statement. Tommy was too busy dueling with Goldar a few yards away, and both Jason and Zack were both oblivious to anything but fighting the Putties. Kimberly, who still couldn't bring herself to join the fight, watched as both Zack and Jason began slowing down, and making weak, unbalanced punches and kicks.
"They're really tiring out," she said, peeking out from behind the tree. She then leaned against the tree, and sank down the trunk into a sitting position. She drew her knees in to her chin, and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Tommy's weakening, she thought silently, I can tell. He's really slowing down, and Goldar's giving him a good fight. And Zack and Jason are still exhausted from fighting each other. Not even morphin has restored their energy to full, and their wounds are probably bothering them too. Poor Trini is basically trying to protect everyone out there, and she can't do it alone. Who knows how long Billy will take to show up. They need me...
Kim looked up, and rose to her feet. But a shiver ran up her spine, and her hands shook as they reached behind her back to reach her morpher.
"I... I have no choice," she said, taking deep breaths to calm herself down, "I'm a Power Ranger! I can't let a little fear get in my way!"
She held her morpher out in front of her, and then turned to face the battle.
"PTERODACTYL!!" she cried. Her body was bathed in pink light, and when it faded, she was dressed in her Pink Ranger uniform. She immediately began a series of hand-springs, and she built momentum as she approached the Green Ranger and Goldar. Tommy ducked out of the way, leaving Goldar wide open for Kimberly's attack.
"Hya!" Kim cried, plowing her heels into Goldar's chest plate. Goldar was thrown onto his back by the force of Kim's kick, and Kim had pushed off Goldar, somersaulting in the air, and landing on her feet.
"I did it!' she shrieked, raising her fists in victory. She then ran to Tommy, who was on the ground not too far.
"Are you okay?" she asked, helping him to his feet.
"I'll live," he groaned, "But, my powers..."
"Get to the Command Center," she said, "I think we can handle it from here."
"Okay," he said, touching his belt, "Good luck, Kim."
With that, Tommy vanished in a streak of green light. Kim turned around, just in time to catch Goldar charging at her.
"Aaah!" she shrieked, leaping out of the way just in time. She tumbled on the grass, rolling out of Goldar's way.
"Good job, Kim," said Trini, standing over her with her Power Daggers in hand, "I'll hold him off!"
"You go, Trini!" said Kim, giving her best friend a thumbs up. Trini leapt at Goldar, deflecting his sword thrusts with her twin daggers.
"You can't stop me, Girl!" roared Goldar, "I'm too strong for you!"
"But your not smart enough," said Trini, side-kicking him in the face, "nor quick enough," she said, knocking his sword from his hand with her dagger, "to beat the Power Rangers!"
She punctuated her last statement by sweeping Goldar off his feet. But Goldar quickly recovered, and crawled on the grass to where his sword landed. But a blue and white boot was standing on the blade, and Goldar looked up to see a Power Lance pointed at his face.
"Game over," said Billy, "You lose!"
Goldar grunted and vanished in a streak of golden light.
At the same time, the Putties that Kim, Zack, and Jason were fighting had all vanished as well. Kim leapt into the air in excitement, and the team all traded high-fives.
"When did you get here, Billy?" asked Jason.
"Only moments ago," Billy said, his lance vanishing from his hands, "I decided to join the fray once I gave Alpha the vile of potion."
"Potion?" asked Jason curiously, "What potion?"
"Its a long story," said Trini, "but I'm glad this nightmare is over."
"Not quite," said Billy, "Once Alpha finishes creating the antidote, we have to make sure everyone in Angel Grove who was exposed to the emotion potion partakes of the antidote. Alpha has already confirmed that the potion doesn't fade for over seventy-two hours, and three days of insanity is more that I can bear!"
Jason, Zack, and Kimberly immediately broke into a fit of laughter. Billy and Trini only shook their heads in disbelief.
"I think they'd laugh at anything," said Billy.
"True," said Trini, starting to giggle, "but I think its contagious!"
Suddenly, Jason's communicator beeped.
"What's up?" said Jason, still laughing.
"Hey guys!" said Tommy's voice, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," said Billy, "Did Alpha finish the antidote?"
"Yep. We have exactly two cups of antidote. That's the dosage Alpha's calculations call for to null the effects of your potion. All we need to do is spread it."
"We'll be right there," said Billy, and the five Power Rangers vanished in streaks of colored light. Moments later, they appeared in the Command Center, where Tommy was holding a large flask full of a light blue potion.
"Here it is," he said, handing it to Billy.
"Prodigious," he said quietly, looking at the flask, "Now, I'll dump it into the reservoir, and hopefully by this time tomorrow, everything will be in order. But first... Alpha, could I have a pitcher of water? And three glasses?"
"Okay," said Alpha, hurrying out of the main chamber. He returned moments later with about a gallon of water, and three clear plastic cups. Billy put one drop of the antidote into the water, and poured out three glasses of water. He then handed one to Kim, Jason, and Zack.
"What's this?" asked Kimberly.
"Trust me," said Billy, "Its for your own good."
The three rangers shrugged and drank the water Billy gave them.
"Well?" said Tommy, "Are they okay?"
"IT SHALL TAKE ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES FOR THE FORMULA TO TAKE AFFECT. IN THE MEANTIME, THE REST OF ANGEL GROVE IS STILL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE POTION."
"We'll take care of that right now," said Trini, strapping her helmet back on, "Right Billy?"
"Right," he said, and the Blue and Yellow Rangers disappeared from the Command Center.
That evening, the six Power Rangers meet at the Youth Center for dinner.
"I must admit," said Billy, "This was not one of my best experiments."
"Oh Billy, its not your fault!" said Kim, putting her hand on his, "There's no way you could've known Rita would be interested in your summertime project."
"True, but if I had properly disposed of the chemical--"
"It doesn't matter now," said Zack, biting his hamburger, "What's done is done. Besides, at least you weren't infected! Sheesh, how embarrassing!"
"It was more than embarrassing," said Jason, "It was a nightmare! I mean, I was totally out of control! Tommy, I'm really sorry I clocked ya this morning."
"Its forgotten Bro," said Tommy with a smile, "I know you didn't mean it."
"And I'm sorry too, for the way I acted when you came to my house," said Kim, blushing a little, "I... I don't know what came over me..."
"Guys, you don't need to apologize!" said Tommy, "I've been under enough spells to know what its like when you can't control yourself!"
"Still," said Zack, "we did some pretty bad stuff today. Jason, I'm sorry we fought over a basketball game!"
"Me too," said Jason, "But, I still won."
"No you didn't!" yelled Zack incredulously.
"Yes I did."
"Okay, you and me, right now," said Zack, standing up.
"You guys aren't gonna fight," said
