Golden Ecstasy | By : Dagmar Category: M through R > Power Rangers Views: 5661 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own The Power Rangers, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Author’s Note: This will contain scenes of an adult, sexual
nature. Most probably PG-17 or thereabouts. If you’re too young to read
this, GO BACK right NOW! In case someone’s wondering, yes, I did read Cheryl
Roberts’ "Destruction of the Pink Ranger"; lovely story, but this is NOT
intended as a rip-off; rather, it gave rise to every writer’s question
"What if...?" This is my imagination’s answer. Timeline -- after "Good
as Gold", but Billy has never left for Aquitar. Comments would be appreciated.
DB, 1998
Golden Ecstasy
by
Dagmar Buse
Klank, loyal servant of Mondo, the Machine King, muttered
to himself as he descended into the bowels of the Lunar palace left once
more by Rita and Zedd. It had taken over an Earth month to rebuild his
monarch and his queen, and there was no way to estimate how long it would
take to get the Machine Empire up to its once formidable strength. Accordingly,
Mondo was ... less than pleased. Klank needed to come up with something
to divert his more-than-usually irascible master’s attention from his own
efforts; after all, even a machine needed to recharge once in a while.
Having exhausted his other possibilities, he was now trying to find something
-- anything -- that might help him keep Mondo and Machina off his
overworked back, and scouting out the remnants of their former rivals was
as good as anything he could think of.
Descending even farther into the lower levels, Klank looked
into the various rooms which branched off the main staircase.
*Dungeon ... dungeon ... sleeping quarters ... storage
.... dungeon ... storage ...*
Klank hissed dismissively. He had no
use for putty clay or tenga feed; the Machine Empire had no use for organic
materials. Metal and ores were much more durable, even though even that
had not helped much against Zordon of Eltar’s accursed Rangers. Although,
why mere Humans, even super-powered ones, should so consistently be able
to defeat the mighty Mondo, Klank could not understand. Their technology
was about evenly matched; either side always had been able to come up with
defensive strategies against the other. Why the relentless logic of machines
alwaysled led was something the robot simply could not fathom. The thought
processes of organic beings were so chaotic and unnizenized!
Klank rounded a corner. He had reached almost the lowest
level, and was about to give up his search, when he suddenly noticed a
narrow doorway a bit further down. Debating shortly with himself, he approached
it cautiously and found it locked. The locking mechanism, however, posed
no problem; after making sure that there were no hidden traps, he dismantled
the lock and pushed the door open. Inside, Klank found another of Finster’s
smaller laboratories. It wasn’t large enough to have been used for monster-making
-- it seemed rather that his counterpart had used the room for research.
Klank respected Finster’s abilities; the little gnome had quite a reputation
among the Alliance of Evil as a valued operative, although his failures
to defeat Earth’s Power Rangers had done a lot to tarnish it. Still............
Mondo’s chief henchman started to go through the various
items left behind. There was nothing really of value to him, though. Shaking
his head in disgust, he turned to leave, when a cooling unit on one of
the back benches caught his attention.
*Now ... what is this?* Klank opened the lid. The
cooling unit was still operational, and a list of contents was pasted to
the lid. Klank struggled to make out Finster’s somewhat crabbed writing.
*Potions and ... exiles? No ... Elixirs?Bah!*
Klank
was about to shut the lid, having no use for and less understanding of
these things, when a thought occurred to him. Maybe ... just maybe this
could be a means of satisfying Mondo, even if it could not possibly destroy
the Rangers. Hopefully, it would keep them occupied long enough to rebuild
more of their army, and maybe it would even be amusing to experiment a
little bit. Lastly, it could conceivably bring better insight as to the
workings of the Humans’ bodies and minds for the future, and maybe even
show the Machine Empire some strategic weakness. Nodding decisively, Klank
repacked the unit and carefully lifted it from its bench. Creaking slightly
under its weight, Klank began the long way back to the throne room.
"You have found WHAT?" The Machine King stared unbelievingly
at his master builder.
"Potions and Elixirs, Yer Majesty."
"What possible use could we have for something like that?
That idiot Finster never did anything right anyway; I saw from his records
that he’d tried some of that stuff before, and it never worked! Now you
expect me to make use of his worthless efforts? What kind of an idiot do
you take me for?" Mondo was livid. He stamped around the palace main hall
and ranted on. Queen Machina sat against the back wall, watching her husband
dispassionately. Briefly she wished there had been time to rebuild her
fan, but right now there were other priorities. She waited patiently while
her husband vented more of his rage and frustration, turning things over
in her mind. Finally, when Mondo showed no sign of stopping, she decided
to intervene.
"Your oil pressure, dear."
Her calm tone stopped the ranting monarch. Consciously
calming himself, he marched back to his queen. His eyes glowered with even
more than his customary ruthlessness, and he muttered angrily about Klank’s
uselessness. Finally noticing Machina’s slight disapproval, he growled
at her.
"What?"
Deliberately, the Machine Queen stared her husband down.
"Now I know where Sprocket gets his temper," she said
calmly.
"Yes, well ... I just hope Klank gets him rebuilt soon.
I actually miss the little guy."
"So do I, dear, but there are more important things to
be done. Personal considerations will have to wait. All that aside, however,
I think that Klank actually has a point."
"WHAT?" Mondo screeched.
"Calmly, dear. You do agree that we need some time to
rebuild ourselves?"
Grudgingly, Mondo nodded.
"Well then, why not see whether we can keep the Rangers
from bothering us? If they are occupied with the effects of various potions,
they won’t have the time or inclination to look into what we are doing.
And in the meantime, we can restructure the skybase, build an even stronger
army of cogs and look into new ways of defeating them...."
Mondo thought that over for a while. Finally, he gave
his consent.
"All right then; maybe we can even amuse ourselves a little
bit. After all, " here the Machine King brightened somewhat -- "Somnibot
almost defeated them once. If his effect had been biological instead of
mechanical, that blasted Gold Ranger would not have been able to help them."
"That’s the spirit, dear." Machina nodded at her husband
and retired back to her corner. She could leave it to others to implement
the plan. Now that Mondo’s attention was on something new, maybe she could
get some more work of her own done. *Sometimes it’s more work to come
up with things for Mondo to do than to do them yourself. Robots!*
"Now, Klank, let’s see what Finster has come up with."
The Machine King and Klank rummaged through the various
vials and powders in the cooling unit.
"Punk Potion ... Sleeping Powder ... Burning Pollen ...
bah, been there, done that. Isn’t there anything more ... interesting?"
Mondo began to steam up again. Before he could start another of his tirades,
Klank pulled out a small flagon with a clear liquid and examined it carefully.
He cleaned the label and stared at it for some time, processing the information.
"Yer Majesty ... I think I’ve found something."
"You have? What is it?fontfont>
"I’m not quite sure; the potion is called "Ecstasy", and
I believe it has do with ... reproduction?" Klank grimaced.
"Reproduction? Klank, have your brain circuits totally
fried? The last thing we need is a potion which produces more Rangers!"
"Ah, but yer Majesty, it’s different with Humans ... or
most Organics, for that er. er. Ye see, with Organics it’s not a matter
of rational decision and selecting the best parts and constructing exactly
the kind of offspring ye want tae produce, but it’s more a process of blind
chance, having to do with biological imperatives and uncontrollable urges.
I believe they actually have to insert body parts into each other to reproduce,
and they can be quite incapacitated during and after the process."
Mondo made a grimace.
"Inserting body parts into each other? That’s disgusting!"
"I know, yer Majesty. It’s not at all what a truly civilized
being would do. However, I believe I know enough of Human physiology to
adapt this potion so that the Rangers would be quite overcome and could
do nothing but follow their bodies’ demands -- no matter how repulsive
that may seem to us. Of course, it would not last forever, but it would
definitely get us more time to rebuild."
"How would we get this to the Rangers, though? We’re not
strong enough yet to send down somebody to blast them with it."
Klank thought for a moment, then consulted Finster’s notations
once more. *Aha!*
"I think I know a way, yer Majesty ... Finster says here
that it’s best administered in either food or drink, since it is undetectable
to Humans. All we have to do is look for an opportunity where the Rangers
have victuals around ..."
***
It was a lovely Friday afternoon, and a group of teens
had decided to spend the day at the lake. Ever since Rita and Zedd had
blown up the Machine Empire’s leadership, things had been quiet in Angel
Grove, and the Power Rangers relished the chance to relax and just enjoy
the day. The group of six had picked out a spot right at the edge of the
beach, where the trees were casting some welcome shade and the teens were
in the process of spreading out their blankets, towels and a couple of
coolers with drinks and snacks.
"Okay, guys, let’s get into the water!", Rocky cried and
began stripping off his t-shirt and shorts. Leaving them in a crumpled
heap, he took off with a yell and headed into the water. The others laughed,
watching him indulgently. Rocky loved water sports, and had been as hyper
as a five-year-old all the way over to the park. The rest of the group
stripped in a more orderly fashion, laughing and joking among themselves.
Kat and Tanya took their time to rub in some sunscreen before they joined
the boys, and were enjoying the warmth of the sun, when a voice hailed
them from behind.
"Hi guys!"
Both girls turned.
"Jason!" They grinned delightedly at the former Gold Ranger.
Jason had withdrawn somewhat after he’d lost the Power, but now his strength
was almost completely back to normal, and he took a greater part in their
activities. He approached them with a gym bag over his shoulder.
"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?"
"Not anyone, but you certainly can," Tanya reassured him,
giving her former teammate an affectionate hug. She had liked the handsome
boy almost from the start, sensing his innate strength and honor. She had
known, when she had entrusted him with the keys to Auric’s tiki, that he
was fully capable of carrying the responsibility, and was aware that he
would always be there for the team and his friends, whenever they needed
him. That he could no longer serve as a Ranger was really a shame; he and
Tommy worked well together, and their trust in each other had strengthened
the whole team.
"Yeah; it’s great that you could come," Kat added. "Where’s
Emily, though?" She grinned.
Jason blushed slightly at her mentioning his girlfriend.
"She’s out of town for next week; one of her relatives
just had a baby, and she’s going to be the godmother."
"Oh, that’s so sweet! Boy or girl?" Kat and Tanya perked
up with interest.
"Girl, I think." Observing the two girls, Jason lifted
his hands defensively.
"Now, don’t you two get all mushy on me! I don’t know
anything more about it, and I’ll be hearing all kinds of baby stories for
days when Emily comes back. Sheesh, what is it with girls and babies?"
"That’s so typically male!" Kat protested, but
smiled when she said it. She’d had almost the same kind of reaction when
she and Tommy had worked on their "Family Life" project and she had conned
him into a weekend of babysitting little Joey. Her boyfriend hadn’t let
her live the whole incident down for quite some time, and the other Rangers’
teasing certainly hadn’t helped matters.
"Guys -- don’t start this! Today is much too nice to get
into that argument -- not that I don’t agree with Kat!" Tanya scolded them
playfully, rubbing sunscreen on her legs.
"Okay, okay -- truce?" Jason smiled and held out his hand
to Kat. She shook with him, and gave him a playful peck on the cheek. "Truce."
"So -- are you coming ie wae water with us?"
"Sure. I may have to get out a bit earlier than the other
guys, but I’m game." Jason deposited his bag next to the coolers and began
unlacing his sneakers.
"Why would you have to get out early?", Tanya wondered.
"Much as I hate it, I still get tired a lot. Billy said
it’ll take me another couple of weeks to get back to full strength, and
I certainly don’t want that to last any longer."
The girls nodded in understanding.
"Well, that’s certainly more mature than some others I
could name!" Kat cast a telling glance at the four boys already splashing
in the lake, and the other two grinned.
"Well I’m not saying that I never would have ignored advice
like that before..." Jason wiggled his eyebrows, his eyes laughing, as
he unbuttoned his shirt. "But, you know what they say: With age, there
comes wisdom ..." He had been the first of the group to turn eighteen and
therefore legally adult, this summer; sometimes, he couldn’t resist rubbing
that in a little bit.
"Yeah, right! Grandpa!"
All laughed, and then Kat asked Tanya to put sunscreen
on her back. While the girls were occupied, Jason took off the rest of
his clothing, folded them haphazardly and turned towards the lake. Over
his shoulder, he asked, "You guys coming, or what?"
"In a minute," Kat said, and heard the crunch of sand
under bare feet as the teen walked off. Then, she noticed that Tanya’s
hands had stopped rubbing in the lotion. "Tanya?"
"Oh ...my ..." The dark-skinned girl’s voice sounded slightly
breathless, and Kat turned to look at her friend questioningly. Tanya was
looking away from her, and Kat shifted slightly to follow her gaze.
"Oh ...wow!"
Both girls stood, transfixed. Jason was walking purposefully
towards the water, and both dark and blue eyes were fastened on his broad
back. Muscles rippled, and moved almost sinuously under the tanned skin
of his back and legs, and what was between caused the girls to catch their
breath. Whereas Tommy, Adam, Rocky and Billy favored their usual baggy
swimshorts, Jason was wearing skintight lycra briefs in black, not skimpy
Speedoes, but of a cut to reach from his narrow waist just to the tops
of his thighs. Somehow, that only served to emphasize the breadth of his
shoulders, and Kat and Tanya looked appreciatively at the way all
of his impressive musculature moved as he waded into the lake. Jason stopped
as soon as the water reached his hips, splashed some over his chest and
arms, and dove under, swimming strongly to join the other guys.
As soon as he disappeared from sight, the Pink and Yellow
Rangers simultaneously released breaths they hadn’t been aware they’d been
holding, and looked at each other.
"When did he turn into such a hunk?" Tanya murmured.
"Tanya!" Kat sounded shocked, but a slight blush on her
fair skin gave her away.
"Well, it’s true, isn’t it?" Tanya said defensively.
"Yes, but ..." Kat blushed even more.
"Come on, girl; don’t deny that you’ve been drooling over
him as much as I was!"
"I wasn’t drooling!"
Tanya raised a mocking eyebrow, signalling quite clearly
Oh,
really? to her friend.
Kat shrugged sheepishly and busied herself with putting
away the sunscreen lotion.
"Okay, so maybe I was. After all, I may be dating Tommy,
but I’m not dead, you know?"
Tanya grinned.
"Neither am I. Tell you what: You don’t tell Adam, and
I won’t tell Tommy, okay?"
"Deal. Now, let’s go swimming!"
"Yeah; I need a cold shower, anyway!"
"Tanya!"
Laughing, Kat swatted slightly at her friend. Tanya dodged,
and both girls dashed off to join the male Rangers in the water. Behind
them, a purplish light briefly flashed around the coolers, but nobody noticed.
***
"Okay, guys, that’s it; it’s time I took a break!" Jason
came up for air and brushed the water out of his hair breathlessly.
"Are you okay?" Concernedly, Tommy looked at his friend.
Jason only laughed.
"Yeah, I’m fine. Mother here --" he pointed at Billy,
who scowled playfully, "--tells me I get better sooner if I don’t overdo
it, and for once I think he’s right. Besides, Rocky has dunked me so often,
I need a drink to get all the lakewater out of my mouth."
"Aw, if you can’t take it ..." Rocky grinned, pleased
that he’d been able to have the upper hand over the taller and stronger
former Gold Ranger for once.
"Watch it, DeSantos; tomorrow you’re scheduled for a workout
with me!" Jason tried his best to look menacing. He and Rocky had had a
somewhat bumpy start, but now they were becoming close friends.
"Ooohh, I’m really scared!" Rocky backed away hastily,
tripped over a submerged stone, and went under with a splash.
The rest of the group doubled over with laughter. Rocky
came up again, sputtering. He took a look at his friends and splashed them
with his hands. "Fine friends you are! I almost drown, and all you can
do is laugh!" The other Rangers laughed ehardharder. Rocky splashed them
once more, and a general water war broke out, with lots of squealing, tickling
and dunking. Jason grinned, and backed away, slowly making his way back
to the beach. He hated having to go back, but he knew that his total recovery
would be faster if he didn’t tire himself out. *Still sucks, though!*
The black-haired teen made his way over to the blankets
and dried himself off. Settling down in the sun for a few minutes, he opened
one of the coolers and took out a can of soda. Slowly sipping the cold
liquid, he relaxed as he watched his friends cavorting in the water. Suddenly,
Tommy came halfway towards the beach.
"Hey, Jase! Could you throw us the ball? It’s in my bag!"
"Sure!" Jason put the almost-empty can next to the blanket
on the grass and got up. Turning towards Tommy’s gym bag, he accidentally
kicked over his can of soda. Shrugging, he retrieved the ball and made
his way over to the water.
"Where do you want this?", he asked, spinning the red
globe on his right forefinger.
"Where do you think I want it, blockhead?"
"Oh, there -- of course!" Grinning devilishly, Jason took
aim and accurately bounced the ball off Tommy’s head.
"Ow!"
Laughter erupted from the lake.
"Way to go, Jase!" -- "Right on target!" -- "Field goal!"
Tommy opened his mouth to blast his friend, but a look
at the laughing faces of his friends dissipated his anger before it could
fully form.
"Thanks, bro!" His tone was sarcastic, but Jason knew
that it wasn’t meant as it sounded. Laughing now, he gave a mock salute
and turned back to the blankets, throwing a parting remark over his shoulder.
"Anytime!"
The two girls watched Jason walk across the sand appreciatively.
Tanya sighed longingly, and Kat smiled a secretive little smile.
"What’s up with you?", Rocky asked suspiciously. He had
seen the looks they had cast towards the beach, but couldn’t for the life
of him figure out why they would act so weird. The girls looked at each
other, at Rocky, at the other three boys and back at each other.
"Oh......nothing!" They both burst out laughing.
Adam and Tommy exchanged gls. Ts. Then, Adam shrugged
helplessly. Both of them had given up on understanding some of their girlfriends’
cryptic behaviour a long time ago. Tommy turned to Rocky.
"It’s a girl thing, I guess."
More laughter from Kat and Tanya.
"Do you have any idea what this is about, Bill?" Rocky
asked the last member of the group. The blond had seen the looks the girls
had given his former team leader, and tried hard to suppress a grin. He
had always admired Jason’s splendid physique himself, wishing he could
one day emulate him. Just as he was about to explain things to Rocky, he
happened to intercept a Look from Tanya. That look made him rapidly reassess
his priorities. Tanya could be quite formidable if angered, so ...
"What makes you think I’m more knowledgeable about the
workings of the female mind than the rest of you?" A surreptitious glance
in the girls’ direction confirmed Billy’s suspicion that, indeed, discretion
had been the better part of valor.
"Hey, you’re our resident genius arounde! Ie! I just thought
..."
"Rocky, you thought? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?"
Tanya asked sweetly.
"Hey, I resent that!"
"Ooohh, isn’t that too bad!" Tanya grinned at her friend.
Rocky, however, was not going to take that quietly --
not when he was in his element.
ys, ys, that means war! Who’s with me?" He advanced menacingly
towards the girls. Kat splashed him and tried to get away, but Rocky just
dove and went for her legs. With a shriek of "Tommy. help!", she went under,
and almost immediately, a free-for-all was underway -- Tanya, Kat and Tommy
against Rocky, Adam and Billy.
***
Jason had reached the blankets and stood for a moment,
stretching his back muscles. He watched his friends for a while longer,
then returned to his spot. Before he sat down again, he bent to pick up
the can of soda he had kicked over earlier. As he lifted the now-empty
can, he suddenly saw that the grass underneath, where the dregs had spilled,
had taken on a sickly purplish-brown hue. All around the grass was a perfectly
healthy green. The implications of that slowly penetrated, and Jason sank
to his knees, stunned. Obviously, there had been something in the soda,
but what?
*I didn’t taste anything! Anything at all!*
He carefully picked up the can and sniffed at the opening.
Nothing. A few drops had collected at the rim, and shrugging mentally,
he tasted them with his tongue. Again, nothing.
*Now what?*
Kat and Tanya had decided that enough was enough and waded
back on land. Panting and still laughing, they ran towards their towels
and began drying off.
"We could really have used your help, Jason," Tanya gasped,
still out of breath. She got no answer.
"Hey, Jason! Pity you couldn’t have helped us!" Silence.
Tanya turned around to look at the boy. He was kneeling next to the cooler,
staring at a soda can and not moving. Suddenly, a cold feeling crept over
Tanya’s skin.
"Jason?"
Kat let her towel drop at the concerned tone in Tanya’s
voice. She saw her friend walk over to the teen and put a hand on the broad
shoulder.
"Is something wrong?" Her question seemed to bring Jason
out of his almost-trance. He looked up at the two girls, a slightly dazed
look in his eyes.
"The soda ..." His voice was hoarse.
"What about it?"
"I ... I took it out of the cooler and had almost finished
it when Tommy wanted me to get the ball. I must have kicked it over when
I got up and spilled the rest. When ... when I came back just now, I found
... this." He pointed to the patch of sick-looking grass. "It’s almost
exactly where the soda would have spilled ..."
Both girls looked at the dying plants, then at each other.
A horrifying thought rose in their minds, but both were loathe to voice
it.
Tanya broke out of her paralysis first.
"I’ll get Billy." She sprinted off towards the lake and
called out for the boys to join them. Kat approached Jason hesitantly;
he seemed to have shut himself off from his surroundings. She touched his
shoulder.
"Jason, don’t ..."
"Don’t what? Don’t worry? Don’t panic? Are you aware what
this could mean?" He almost exploded.
"Yes, I am, the there’s no sense in buying trouble. Maybe
there’s a perfectly harmless explanation ..."
"What if there’s not?"
Kat had no answers for that. She slowly began to massage
Jason’s shoulders, trying to ease the tension she could sense under her
fingertips.
"No matter what, we’ll try to find a way if ... if it’s
really something bad. We’re your friends, and we’re here to help you, all
the way. You know that, don’t you?" She tried hard not to let her fear
come through in her voice. Jason’s muscles were hard with strain, and he
took deep breaths to try and relax them. He would not look at her, but
he nodded, once.
"Yeah. I know."
The others ran up to the beach and skidded to a halt.
Tanya had filled them in on what they’d seen, and Billy immediately bent
down to inspect the grass where the soda had spilled. Tommy put a reassuring
hand on his best friend’s arm, squeezing gently. The sick knot of dread
that had settled in his stomach would not let him find his voice, however.
The others also were silent, trying not to think about ever more frightening
possibilities. Finally, Billy addressed Jason.
"How much of the soda did you drink?"
Jason calmed himself with an effort.
"Almost the whole can; maybe three-fourths."
"Did it taste differently?"
"No; I even tasted the few drops still on the rim when
I found this, and it was perfectly normal."
Billy shook his head. "How could you ..."
"Listen -- I had most of it before; how much difference
could a few more drops make?"
Grudgingly, Billy conceded the point.
"Do you feel differently"
Jason drew another calming breath and finally straightened
from his crouch. He tried to assess his physical condition, then frowned.
"No ... I feel just like before."
"Well, I think we can almost certainly rule out poison,
then."
The group of teens exchanged relieved glances. That had
been their greatest worry. Adam, however, was not convinced.
"How can you be sure, Billy? There are slow-working toxins,
you know ..."
"Call it ... a ... gut feeling, if you will. All slow-working
poisons I know of leave a residual taste, and they certainly would not
act on plant life like this. One more question ... did you specifically
select this can?"
Jason thought for a moment.
"Actuallo. To. There are more of that in the cooler, I
just grabbed one from the top."
"Then there are two options: One, the substance which
affected the grass was only in this can -- please pack it right side up
in the cooler, along with a grass sample, will you, Adam? -- or two, this
was aimed specifically at all of us and there may be more in the other
cans. In any case, we’d better take the cooler and its contents to the
Power Chamber so I can analyze it; Jason, I want you to come along so Alpha
can run a bioscan on you." Almost effortlessly, Billy fell into command
mode, as he had done so often during the Zeo Quest. Even though the Rangers
were no longer trapped in their younger bodies, they realized that right
now their quiet, often self-effacing friend was the best person for the
job. Quickly, they put on their clothes and collected their belongings.
Then they took off for a copse of trees, out of sight, and teleported to
the Power Chamber.
Billy at once began to issue orders left and right. Grinning
ruefully, the others did what he told them to, preparing samples for analysis,
scanning the cooler, the cans, the grass sample and other things. Alpha,
meanwhile, tugged on Jason’s arm and led him to one of the diagnostic medbeds.
Jason eyed the apparatus disgustedly.
"Not another full bioscan, Alpha? Billy?"
"I’m sorry, Jason; but it’s the only way to determine
what exactly you have ingested with the soda." Billy was adamant, although
he was already bent over a computer console, typing in parameters for analysis.
Jason shook his head.
"Man, I’ve had enough of those to last me a lifetime!"
Tommy laughed in full sympathy. He’d been caught in enough
spells and potions over the time to know exactly what Jason was feeling.
The two exchanged rueful glances. Jason climbed up on the medbed, grumbling
under his breath.
"I hear you, bro!"
"Yeah, well ..."
The exchange brought some much-needed relief to the whole
group. They all fell to their tasks then, and the only sounds were the
quiet issuing of orders from Zordon, Alpha and Billy.
***
After a couple of hours, the results began to come in.
The teens gathered around their mentor’s warp tube and waited for Billy
to skim the results. The young scientist finally drew a deep breath and
looked up from the printouts.
"Well?" Jason could barely contain himself. Waiting had
never been his strong suit, and since Billy had not wanted him to overexert
himself in case physical activity aggravated whatever effects the mysterious
substance might have, he’d been relegated to sitting in a corner out of
the others’ way. He had *not* liked it.
Billy looked at his oldest friend with a mixture of reassurance,
compassion and dismay. He definitely did not relish to have to be the one
to tell Jason his findings, but he knew he had to. Inhaling deeply, he
began to speak.
"Well -- there’s good news, and bad news. The good news
is, it was definitely NOT poison." A collective sigh of relief went through
the group, anson’son’s shoulders sagged as some of the tension left him.
"Another piece of good news is that, although there was
indeed some potion added to the soda, it won’t have any harmful lasting
aftereffects, and it will only be in effect for a period of thirty-six
to forty-eight hours at most."
"Hey, that’s great!" Rocky clapped Jason’s shoulder enthusiastically.
He got only a slightly strained smile in return.
"What?" He looked around at the others.
Billy cleared his throat.
Jason drew himself up as he prepared to pose the question
he knew he had to ask. Squaring his shoulders, he looked directly at Billy.
"What’s the bad news?"
That calmed even Rocky down again. The others all drew
closer to their friend, and y any and Kat each touched Jason in sympathy
and encouragement.
"The bad news is that this is one of Rita’s potions.."
"Rita’s?" w inw in the world ..." "Billy, are you sure
..." The Rangers all burst out with shocked questions, and it took Zordon’s
intervention to calm them down enough for Billy to continue.
"I would speculate
that someone, most likely remnants of the Machine Empire, found this potion
on the moon and decided to make use of it."
Alpha piped up then.
"Billy, sensors indicate that the Machine Empire is in
the process of rebuilding itself ..."
The Rangers groaned collectively at that.
"Well, anyways, this was indeed aimed at all of us. All
the other cans, and some of the foodstuffs, have been contaminated with
doses of this potion, varying in strength from very small to quite strong.
Unfortunately, the dose Jason unwittingly ingested was among the strongest;
that is why the vegetation on the ground was destroyed by the spillage."
"What is this potion
you have identified, Billy?" Zordon’s
deep, calm voice interrupted the former Blue Ranger.
Billy swallowed.
"It’s ... it’s called Ecstasy, Zordon."
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi!"
Jason looked sharply at the little android. That exclamation
had even more of a distressed tone than usual. Another glance at Billy
and Zordon made him blanch slightly. Billy was trying very hard to hang
on to his detachment, and their ancient mentor looked -- embarrassed? *Nah!*
Jason made himself voice his biggest concern.
"It’s not related to that drug shit they’re selling on
the streets, is it?"
"No, it’s not; however ..."
"However what? Billy, you’re scaring me!"
"I almost wish it were. Because then it would be easier
to find a counteragent than for this."
"There is no counteragent."
The quiet pronouncement from Zordon stunned the group
of teens into speechlessness.
Jason closed his eyes momentarily. Then, drawing on the
inner strength which had made him such an excellent leader, he asked to
know the rest.
"Alright. What does this stuff do, and how do I get out
of it?"
Billy felt his face colour up. He looked at Zordon beseechingly,
but he could see that he would get no help from that quarter. Reaching
desperately for his scientific training, he made himself tell his friend
what lay in store for him.
"Basically, what it does is cause a pronounced state of
satyriasis in humans. As I said, it will run its course within forty-eight
hours, maximum, like a viral infection, and there will be no lasting aftereffects.
What’s more, it needs to be triggered. Unfortunately, we do not know what
this trigger or catalyst will be."
"What’s satire ... saty ... whatever?" Rocky asked, not
understanding. The others shrugged their shoulders, clearly as much in
the dark.
Billy blushed even more, then made himself explain it
in layman’s terms.
"A person who has consumed this potion becomes painfully
aroused, to the point where he or she is incapacitated. The only way to
rid the body’s system of the potion is to engage in prolongued sexual intercourse
with one or preferably more partners, since penetration is necessary for
a male to successfully expel bodily fluids which will collect the active
agents within the victim. These fluids will not harm the partners, but
it would be deleterious to let them accumulate within the afflicted body.
In that case, the condition would most likely become permanent. Also, the
imperative to cleanse the body of this potion is ... quite strong."
The Rangers looked at each other, confused.
"Billy ... what exactly are you telling us?" Tanya asked,
dry-mouthed. She couldn’t have understood Billy correctly, could she?
Jason had blanched as the full implications sank in. He
looked at his friend, hoping to find he was wrong, but the misery in Billy’s
eyes gave him the answer he was *not* wanting to hear. He glanced
at the stunned faces of his friends, the fiery blush on Adam’s face, the
confusion in Rocky and Kat, and the disbelief in Tommy. He swallowed hard.
"He’s saying that, once I or someone has triggered this,
I must have sex constantly for two days to get rid of it; otherwise, it’ll
become chronic. Also, once it’s triggered, I’ll stop at nothing to get
the relief I need. Including rape." His own face was as red as Tommy’s
shirt by the time he’d finished.
There was a stunned silence among the group of young people
as they tried to take it all in. Jason could hardly look into his friends’
eyes, Billy took refuge in his printouts, although he knew full well that
he wouldn’t find another answer in there, Tommy, Adam and Rocky stared
disbelievingly at Jason, and the girls simply looked sick. Finally, Rocky
burst out with the first thought that shot through his mind.
"Oh man ... what a way to go!"
The guys vainly tried to control embarrassed snickers,
but Kat and Tanya nearly decked the hapless Blue Ranger.
"Rocky, you jerk!"
"Haven’t you got anything else on your brain but sex?"
Kat was almost in tears. She hadn’t been intimate with
Tommy very often yet, and although it had been a mutual decision, she was
still somewhat uncomfortable about the whole situation. It was a very private,
personal thing, and she knew it would take her some time to come to terms
with her own sexuality and the feelings Tommy engendered in her. Tanya
was more open about her activities with Adam; she had confided in her best
friend almost as soon as they had taken the step into intimacy, but both
girls treated it as a big confidence, and would not willingly share anything
about their sex lives with others. For Jason to have his own -- or lack
thereof; nobody knew whether he’d even taken that step with his girlfriend
yet, or anyone else, for that matter -- spread out so publicly was mortifying
in the extreme for the two girls. Besides, they knew that Jason would be
absolutely horrified at the thought of possibly forcing someone to serve
his own personal needs; they suspected that he would rather die than coerce
another person to do something like that.
Rocky had the grace to blush. He knew that the girls were
right, and he could have kicked himself for his big mouth.
"I’m sorry, Kat, Tanya;" he gulped, but went on. "I didn’t
mean it like that, honestly. I ... I guess I just didn’t think."
"It’s not Kat or me you should be apologizing to," Tanya
scolded him, her eyes hot with anger. Really, sometimes Rocky was too much!
"Huh?" Rocky was bewildered, then caught sight of Jason.
The older boy’s face had taken on a stony facade, and he was staring off
into the distance. His whole posture was rigid, but at the same time there
was a dejected slump to his shoulders. Tommy went up to his friend and
put a reassuring arm around his shoulders.
"Hang in there, bro; we’ll find a way, I promise." His
voice was raw; the Red Ranger had been under enough compulsions by their
alien enemies to empathize with Jason, but it had never been on such a
personal level. Still, he could very well imagine what must be going through
Jason’s mind right now.
Jason looked at his friend and briefly touched the hand
on his shoulder. He managed a feeble grin, but it didn’t take hold.
"I know you will; don’t you always?" He turned away from
the others, shutting himself off. Right now, he couldn’t take any more
holleasseassurances and empty promises -- he understood all too well what
was in store for him, should his condition be triggered. Since no one knew
what form the catalyst would take, he felt like a walking timebomb; chances
were that he would succumb to this 'satyriasis' when none of his friends
were around to help him. Besides, who would help him with this? Emily was
out of town; furthermore, their relationship was still too new to have
progressed to intimacy, and from what Emily had let slip, it was unlikely
that she would be able to help him anyway. He knew he could have gone to
Trini or Kimberly with his problem, but they weren’t available, and he
really felt that going to a stranger was not for him. Suddenly, it all
became too much.
"I’m going outside."
Without waiting for an acknowledgement, he turned and
walked
quickly to the bulkhead which would lead him to the rocks outside the Power
Chamber. Before the doorway opened, however, Tanya stopped him.
"Jason , wait."
She came up to him.
"I know you don’t believe in it right now, but Tommy’s
correct: We will find a way to help you. You just have to believe -- you’re
still one of us, even if you don’t hold the Power anymore. The Rangers
don’t leave their own. You’re not alone in this!" Her eyes shone with conviction
and compassion, and Jason felt a tiny sliver of hope settle in his heart
as he managed to meet his friends’ eyes at last, and saw the reaffirming
nods every one of them gave him. He looked back into Tanya’s large dark
eyes and produced a more genuine smile.
"I believe you."
"That’s the spirit!" She laughed softly and on impulse
hugged the former Gold Ranger and kissed him on the lips affectionately.
Both girls often did that with all of the guys, and everybody took these
signs of affection in the spirit they were given. This time, however, Jason
recoiled with a sharp hiss and nearly threw Tanya across the room. Adam
just barely managed to catch his girlfriend before she slammed into a console.
The young people looked at a shocked Tanya and Jason, who had thrown back
his head, closed his eyes and held his hands tightly clenched into fists
at his side. His whole body had gone rigid, as if he could only barely
hold himself in check.
"What’s with you, Jase? Are you out of your mind? All
Tanya wanted to do was ..." Adam started in an enraged tone.
Jason slowly lowered his head and opened his eyes. Shaking
himself once, he visibly forced himself to relax and looked at Billy. He
could see that his genius friend had drawn the correct conclusion to his
reaction, and shook his head in negation. Drawing a much-needed breath,
Jason made himself look at the dark-skinned girl who still looked stunned
by what he’d done. Managing a humorless smile, Jason dropped his bombshell.
"I think Tanya just found the trigger."
With that, he turned on his heels and walked out of the
Power Chamber.
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