Power Rangers Zeo: Venusian Encounter, Heather Ray [books that read to you .txt] 📗

teammates. An honorable and powerful man, but a man nonetheless -- and therefore susceptible to my unique charms."

As Syren spoke, her gray eyes shimmered with unearthly golden light. Tommy's struggles against Syren's grip slowly died out, and soon he hung from her mighty grip limply. Syren cackled and turned her gaze towards the remaining Zeo Rangers, who stood helplessly and watched.

"Tommy!!" cried Katherine, touching her fingers to her mouthplate, "NO!"

"If you want your leader back, my dear," said Syren, "take him!"

Syren threw Tommy's limp body like a rag doll, bowling over the other rangers. Katherine hastily pulled Tommy's helmet off, and saw his eyes wide open and glowing gold.

"Kat!" ordered Adam, "Get Tommy to the Power Chamber and get your shoulder checked out! We'll do what we can here!"

Katherine nodded mutely as she and Tommy vanished in two columns of colored light. The Yellow, Green, and Blue Zeo Rangers all summoned their Zeo Weapons and rushed Syren. Syren managed to battle all three at once, and delivered a mightly tornado kick to Rocky's head, knocking him off his feet. She threw a sphere of golden light at the Yellow and Green Rangers as she approached Rocky, who was shaking off the last attack. She gingerly took off his helmet and smiled down at him. Rocky blushed furiously at her gaze.

"You think I'm beautiful, do you not, Blue Ranger?" asked Syren sweetly.

"Yes," answered Rocky dully, his eyes glowing gold.

"And you would do anything I ask of you?"

"Yes, my fair Queen," he answered again. Syren helped him stand up and kissed him on the cheek. She then handed him back his helmet.

"Go then, by brave blue knight, and protect your queen from these attackers," she commanded, pointing her blade at Tanya and Adam. Rocky put on his helmet and lunged at Adam, while Syren attacked Tanya.

"Rocky, snap out of it!" cried Adam, blocking each of Rocky's attacks, but never countering, "I don't want to hurt you! We're best friends!"

"Any enemy of my beloved queen is an enemy of mine!" declared Rocky, "Now fight me or DIE

!"

Meanwhile, Tanya desperately defended herself against Syren's superior strength and speed. Syren smiled gleefully as she savagely struck Tanya in the gut. Tanya doubled over and fell to the ground in pain.

"You are a better fighter than the Pink Ranger," said Syren, "But you are not of Venusian blood either. You too are too slow and weak. Still, I had a good work-out. It is almost a pity to dispatch of you..."

With that, Syren slowly raised her sword in a ceremonial final strike. Adam's eyes widened as he saw Tanya sprawled out on the grass, defenseless against Syren' oncoming attack. Adam immediately delivered a mighty kick to Rocky's head, rendering the Blue Ranger unconscious. Adam then ran at Syren at full speed.

Sorry, Rocko, but I can't let anything happen to Tanya!

he thought as he plowed into Syren's back. Tanya leapt to her feet to help Adam, but by the time she collected her bearings Adam was standing beside Syren, his fists clenched tightly. Tanya's eyes narrowed as she struck a defensive pose.

"Looks like you're the only one left," said Syren , approaching the lone ranger, "Who shall step in and save you now?"

As if in answer, a white owl floated down from the sky and landed on the grass between Tanya and Syren. Syren scowled angrily and readied her blade and Tanya stared in shock as the small owl transformed into a beautiful woman wearing a green bikini. The woman held a long stick and approached Syren menacingly.

"Hello, traitor," said the woman angrily, "I see you are still in command of Venus Island."

"Of course I am, Dulcea," said Syren, "After all, I destroyed the resistance. I do not know if you were aware of this, but I killed Naya and her followers a century ago. Are you on Earth to celebrate the anniversary of your sister's demise?"

Dulcea's lips curled into a snarl, but she managed to remain calm. "Yellow Zeo Ranger," she said without turning her head from her opponent, "Return to the Power Chamber, and take you enchanted companions with you. I shall deal with Syren."

"That's Queen Syren to you, Ninjetti Priestess!" cried Syren, leaping at Dulcea. The two women warriors clashed weapons furiously while Tanya spoke into her wrist communicator.

"Alpha, can you teleport Rocky and Adam to the Power Chamber?"

^Aye yi yi! Teleporting all three of you now!^

Instantly, Tanya, Rocky, and Adam vanished from the park, and rematerialized inside the Power Chamber. Tanya removed her helmet and looked at Rocky, Adam, and Tommy, who all lay still on cots. She then saw Katherine, whose shoulder was bandaged up. Tanya turned to Zordon with confusion etched on her dark face.

"Zordon, who is that woman out there fighting Syren?"

"SHE IS DULCEA, THE KEEPER OF THE POWER OF NINJETTI," explained Zordon, "JASON AND ALPHA CONTACTED HER WHILE THE ZEO RANGERS WERE FIGHTING THE VENUSIAN QUEEN. AS I HAD FEARED, SYREN HAS ENTRANCED TOMMY, ADAM, AND ROCKY."

"How do we break the spell?" asked Katherine, glancing at Tommy worriedly.

"I AM NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH VENUSIAN SPELLS, KATHERINE. I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO REVERSE THE SPELL -- PROVIDED THE SPELL CAN BE REVERSED."

Katherine sat down on a chair beside Tommy and buried her face in her palms. Tanya began pacing around the Power Chamber angrily, muttering to herself. She stopped when she saw the mannequines of the original Power Ranger costumes. Her focus turned towards the statue of the Pink Power Ranger.

"Zordon," she said, "Syren said something about the Pink Ranger being a Venusian descendent. Do you know anything about that?"

"I DO KNOW THAT SOME OF THE VENUSIAN REBELS LEFT DESCENDENTS. HOWEVER, SINCE THEY WOULD ONLY BE PART VENUSIAN, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE THE FULL POWER OF VENUSIANS. AS THE LINE PROGRESSES, EACH GENERATION WOULD HAVE LESS AND LESS VENUSIAN BLOOD, AND THEREFORE LESS AND LESS OF THEIR POWERS. I SUPPOSE KATHERINE COULD BE A VENUSIAN, THOUGH. BUT IF SHE WERE, THEN THE ATTACKS SYREN INFLICTED WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO SERIOUS."

"But, Syren said that I wasn't a Venusian," said Kat.

"But, you weren't always the Pink Ranger!" said Jason excitedly, "Maybe she meant Kimberly! After all, Venusians are supposed to be really agile, and Kim is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time!"

"IF KIMBERLY IS A VENUSIAN, AND SYREN KNOWS THIS, THEN SHE IS IN GREAT DANGER,"

said Zordon, "WE SHOULD INFORM HER OF THE SITUATION."

Just then, Dulcea appeared in the Power Chamber. She rested her staff against the computer consol and began pressing buttons furiously.

"What happened?" asked Jason.

"Syren decided to retreat," explained Dulcea, "She was never a match for me one-on-one. However, she said something about the anniversary of Naya's assassination and the descendents of Avagone, Naya, Leila, and Erwina. I haven't contacted them since I left for Phaedos, so I do not know if any still live."

"AVAGONE, NAYA, AND ERWINA WERE ALL KILLED, DULCEA."

said Zordon quietly. Dulcea bowed her head in remorse.

"Then Syren spoke the truth. My sister the Queen is truly dead. There is no hope for Venus Island now. What of Leila?"

"LEILA STILL LIVES, BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHERE SHE IS. SHE LIVES AS A HUMAN, IN HIDING FROM SYREN AND HER FOLLOWERS."

"Syren is probably trying to capture Leila now. I can think of no other reason why she has come here. But why did she attack the Power Rangers? What could they possibly mean to her plan?"

"Syren said something about the Pink Ranger being a Venusian," explained Tanya, "Maybe she wanted to kill her."

Dulcea looked at Tanya in surprise, and then glanced at Katherine.

"I did not know that she knew the Pink Power Ranger is of Venusian blood," said Dulcea quietly, "Then she probably knows the identities of all the descendents of Naya and the others. This does not bode well for the rebellion."

"Aye yi yi!" cried Alpha, "You knew Kimberly was a Venusian?!"

"I did indeed. I knew it when I gave her the power of the Crane Ninjetti. The Ninjetti powers were created on Venus, and so they are most powerful with Venusians. Whereas the other Power Rangers needed the coin to become Ninjetti, Kimberly does not. She shall always be the Pink Ninjetti."

"But, when she gave me her coin, I became Ninjetti as well," said Katherine.

"You did wear the costume, but the Ninjetti powers were weak with you. Your animal guide is not the Crane, so the power wasn't with you as it was with Kimberly. You weren't able to call on the Crane for guidance, and you wouldn't have been able to pilot the Crane Ninjazord."

"What kind of Ninjetti power does Kim still have?" asked Jason.

"She can still summon the Crane to guide her, and she can transform into a Crane, just as I transform into a Snow Owl. The Snow Owl is my Ninjetti animal, and since I am Venusian, I can become an owl."

"Does Kim know she still has the Power?" asked Katherine.

"I do not think so. Although I immediately knew she was of Venusian blood, I did not tell her. I felt that the knowledge may be a burden, because if she knew, she would have used her Venusian powers, and then Syren could detect her. And since Kimberly was a Power Ranger, she would no doubt come face to face with Scorpina, and then Scorpina would inform her queen of Kimberly's existence. Apparenly though, my attempts to hide the descendent of my sister were in vain. Syren knows of Kimberly, and since Kim is a Ninjetti, she possesses powers comparable to full-blooded Venusians, even though the blood line is thinned. We must find her, as well as all the other descendents of Venus Island. They are all in life-threatening danger."

Chapter Six

In a small town called Hillsdale New Jersey, a tall beautiful woman with auburn hair and twinkling eyes is putting away groceries. As she busily goes about her business, she watches a taped recording of that afternoon's Oprah Winfrey show. The woman smiled as she heard the voice and saw the dazzling smile of her only child--Renee Ryan, the champion gymnast. The woman is so busy with the groceries and the television program that she doesn't hear the stealth approach of a sinister assassin. Just as the assassin was about to reveal herself from the shadows, the telephone rings, and the woman hurries to answer it.

"Hello?" she asks into the receiver, still watching the program, "Hi, Ron! How are you, Honey? Yes, I taped the show. I'm watching it now. I'm so proud of our little girl! Yes, I'm fine here. When will you