Highway to Hell
Part V: Something Old, Something New, Something Pink, Something Blue
by MegaSilver

“Oh, no! Say it isn’t so!” cried Alpha.

“I wish it weren’t,” said Billy, tapping through the files on the stolen disc in a futile attempt to discover otherwise. “Wait—hold on. These instructions mention an emergency reversal of the portal flow.”

“What does it say?”

“You can reverse the direction of the portal I have if you feed it life energy,” came Billy’s voice over the communicator. “I’d have to throw you a channeling device to draw it out, but it’s possible.”

“What? Our powers?” asked Tommy.

“No, Tommy. We need… a human. And you guys won’t cut it; something about the Ranger powers inhibits the drain of life energy. We’d need someone else.”

“But we can’t do that!”

“I know,” said Billy. “I’ll have to get back on the SubCraft and find another way. Just—”

All of a sudden, the radar screen began to blink. “Hostile forces approaching at six o’clock!” cried Tommy. He stepped on the gas and tried to outrun them.

“Billy, we don’t have time!” said Jason. “Divatox is on our tail with… what are those things?” he asked as he glanced up at the rear view mirror.

“They look like demons!” exclaimed Tanya.

“Well, whatever they are, they look like they’ve got us beat in size by about two trillion tons each!” Adam noticed on the motion detector screen. “At the rate they’re going, we’ll be cornered in less than eight minutes—and it looks like they’re speeding up!”

“Billy, there has to be another way!” cried Kimberly. “We’re gonna run out of room to run away sooner or later, and there’s no way we can fight those things!”

“There’s no other way,” came a female voice from behind the Rangers. They turned around to see Katherine standing in the doorway to the enlarged cockpit. She had heard the whole thing. “I’ll go.”

“Katherine, no!” protested Tommy.

“It’ll kill you!” said Kimberly.

“Maybe not. Not if…” Katherine dashed over to the communication link device. “Billy, it’s Katherine. Is there any way to split the energy between two humans?”

“I don’t know. Maybe if… wait. Are you saying… you and I?”

“If it’s possible.”

“Okay. I can’t guarantee it’ll happen just right, but we’ll risk it. Listen, if I use a powerful enough wench, I think I can get you about halfway through the portal against the current without risking pulling your molecules apart.”

The thought of being ripped to pieces—literally—caused Katherine to shudder, but she tossed it aside. She’d simply have to bear it.

As though he could read her thoughts, Tommy interjected. “You guys can’t do this!” he insisted. “There’s too much of a risk that something’ll go wrong.”

“It’s what we have to do, Tommy,” Katherine objected “If we can save people, we must. It’s our job.”

“No, it’s not. It's ours.”

Katherine flinched at the harsh reminder that she was no longer a Power Ranger, but there was no time to make a scene. She’d have to address this objectively. “Then I suppose you’d like to jump in there and do it? You heard Billy; your powers shield your life energy. As a Power Ranger, it’s your job to help us save the world when we’re needed. We’re doing this whether you like it or not.”

Tommy gripped the steering wheel harder. He knew Katherine was right, but he was irritated with the sudden animosity in her voice. Alas, he realized, it was his own fault.

“No, it’s not. It's ours.”

Dear God, why did I say that? he thought. The harshness of even the thought ate away at him.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, and though he was sincere, he wasn't sure it sounded that way. “You're right. Billy, what do you need us to do?”

“Keep driving,” Billy instructed. I’m looking on the radar and you can outrun Divatox for at least another three miles. That’ll buy us some time. I’m going to generate a portal into the dimension where you stop and throw Katherine a lifeline, then pull you in a little ways. I’ll jump into the portal myself and meet you midway. I’ll have the device ready to feed off us, and as soon as we feel the flow reverse, we’ll have to stop, or we’ll risk draining too much of our energy. Alpha’ll monitor the flow and let you guys know as soon as it’s safe. Okay?”

“Got it!” agreed Tommy as he hit the gas pedal.

When they had gone three miles, they came to a stop, and a tunnel of energy opened before them.

Tanya handed Katherine a utility belt to tie the rope with. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I don’t have a choice,” Katherine insisted as she secured the belt and prepared to leave the Zord.

“Wait!” called Tommy. He tossed Katherine his communicator. “Take this. You’ll need it.”

Katherine slapped the device onto her wrist. “Thank you,” she said. With that, she exited the cockpit, slid down the emergency escape pole, dashed out the door, and stood before the portal. “Billy, I’m ready,” she spoke into the communicator.

“I know. The line’s coming through.”

True to Billy’s word, moments later, a metal rope with a hook came out of the portal. Katherine had to duck to avoid being hit, but when she had regained her footing, she wrapped the rope around herself and fastened it in place on the utility belt. She took a moment to look up behind the Red Lightning TurboZord, and in the distance, she could just barely make out several figures approaching.

Divatox…

“Billy, pull me in!” Within seconds, Katherine found herself thrust forward, swimming against winds that would overpower those of the strongest cyclones, and though she knew she was traveling at crawling speeds, she felt as though she’d passed through a sonic barrier. Around her, energy bolts seemed to threaten her with the wrath of God and nature.

After about a minute of being towed, Katherine felt herself screech to a halt and saw a familiar figure coming toward her at fairly fast speeds. Billy stopped just in front of her, waved, and said something she couldn’t hear. She just nodded when he pointed down to the metallic black orb in his hands. She reached out and held the orb with him.

The orb began to glow as Katherine and Billy felt themselves grow weaker every moment, and Billy was suddenly plagued by a frightening flashback of Lord Zedd’s blue candle.

Around them, the flow of energy began to slow until it halted, then began to creep in the other direction. As soon as they saw it reverse, Billy and Katherine let go of the orb and fell into each other’s arms.

At last, they felt themselves being thrust out of the portal.

Back on Earth, Billy and Katherine, weakened from the energy-drain, tumbled out of the portal in the California desert. Almost instantly upon landing, Billy mustered up whatever breath he could and yelled in a hoarse but audible voice, “ROLL!” They got out of the way just in time to make way for the monstrous red sports car that shot through the portal and screeched to a halt. Before the portal closed, out followed Divatox, Elgar, and seven gigantic balls of fire. Within seconds, they had burned up completely, leaving only the chariot with Divatox and her nephew.

“What the hell happened?” Divatox screamed. She grabbed Elgar’s cell phone and called Porto. “Where the hell are my demons??”

“I… I’m sorry, your highness,” Porto apologized. “Apparently, the physical side of this dimension has been somewhat… consecrated ever since the Crucifixion. Demons can only enter from the astral plane. Any corporeal demon coming from another physical plane is instantly incinerated.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”

Billy and Katherine lay on the hard, crusty ground next to each other, their hands clasped together, both of them breathing deeply. “You okay?” Billy whispered.

Katherine nodded. “You?”

Billy nodded.

The Red Ranger dashed over to his friends. “Guys, are you all right? Can you get up?”

Billy nodded. “Just… give us a minute.”

Tommy’s communicator beeped. Katherine took it off wearily and handed it back to its owner.

“What is it?” the Red Ranger spoke.

It was Jason. “Tommy, we’ve got to get Rocky to the hospital right now! I don’t know how much longer he’ll last like this.”

“Right.” Tommy called Alpha. “Alpha, can you get an ambulance here? Rocky’s hurt and I can only drive the Zord as far as the outskirts with everyone in it.”

“I’m sending the call now,” confirmed Alpha. “I’ve also contacted the school district to send buses to pick up the students and get them back to the high school where their cars are.”

“Thanks, Alpha.” Tommy looked at Katherine and Billy. “Alpha, you should probably examine Kat and Billy. Just in case.”

“Right away!” In an instant, the former Blue and Pink Rangers were teleported away to the Power Chamber.

On the Cimmarian Planet, Divatox and Rygog entered their boss’ office. It was huge—of course, it had to be, to accommodate a creature as large as Dark Specter. The evil monarch and emperor of the United Alliance of Evil stood at the back of the room behind a podium, in front of which were four seats. As Divatox approached, however, she noticed that they were occupied by Zedd, Rita, Rito, and Goldar. Bearing a sultry face, she gripped Rito by the ear and pulled him up to a standing position.

“OW!” Rito howled. “Geez, what’d ya do that for?”

“Excuse you; you’re in my seat,” Divatox snarled.

“HEY! That’s my brother, you two-faced bitch!” snapped Rita.

“Shut up!”

“Silence!” ordered Dark Specter. “Rito, Goldar, and Rygog… leave.” Not wanting to displease their senior master, the three obeyed. “Divatox, sit. I suppose you’re all wondering why you’re here.”

“No, I’m not wondering at all,” contradicted Zedd. “We’re here because this young woman, claiming to be some ‘diva of evil,’ abandoned us in our struggle against the Power Rangers!”

Divatox smiled smugly. “Actually, sweetheart, I believe it’s to discuss my takeover of your assets.” She turned to Dark Specter. “Hi, dearie. You ever read the Bible? Of course not. But see, I do sometimes; after all, it is good to keep up with one’s enemies. Anyway, I seem to recall this passage where Jesus tells about three servants who got these talents, see, and two of them were faithful and multiplied theirs, but one of them didn’t develop his, so his master locked him up and gave his talent to—”

“SILENCE!” thundered Dark Specter. “We are here because both of your fleets, after repeated attempts, have failed to destroy Zordon and the Power Rangers. For most of UAE history, you have all had excellent track records, presiding over your allotted territories with iron cruelty. Nothing slipped past you. More recently, however, far too much time has been spent attempting to conquer the Earth. Nevertheless, it is a critical spot, for the Morphing Grid’s most powerful crossroads exist in the Milky Way galaxy.

“First I shall review what has happened over the last few millennia. Zedd, you were assigned the area near the Milky Way galaxy, and at first, you were wise. You sent part of your fleet—that is, Rita Repulsa—to conquer the Milky Way while you kept the rest of your territory at bay.

“Meanwhile, Rita was thrown into a dumpster by Zordon and his pathetic Power Rangers, and emerged only by an error on the part of the Earthlings. After repeated failure on her part to conquer the Earth, Zedd returned to help finish the job, and was no more successful.

“In this time, Zedd neglected his chain of galaxies, and in doing so allowed the rebellious Machine Empire to invade them with great ease.” The Grand Monarch of Evil cast a fiery glare upon the red governor before him. “However, I suppose some credit is due, as you eventually took the traitors out completely. As we speak, they are being rebuilt, and this time, their loyalty shall never stray from me again. Even so, you failed to reconquer the chain of galaxies that was previously lost to the Machine Empire, and as such they were allowed to go free.

“In the end, one thing is clear. Zedd and Rita have sent hundreds of hellbeasts and trickeries to Earth, and each one ultimately failed to weaken its defenses. This, coupled with their inability to multitask and hold on to what theyalready have, demonstrates an incapacity for executing their jobs.”

Divatox snickered.

“Don’t be so smug, Divatox!” Dark Specter snapped. “You’re next.

“Up until the last few years, Divatox raided her allotted section of galaxies with considerable success. Then, she impulsively gave that up to prepare for a wedding—with, of all people, my brother! You knew how irresponsible he was! Never following up on his assignments, always pining after more recognition, content to sit around being worshipped by a bunch of primitive humans… why did you think I threw him off the board years ago? You abandoned your duty to the royal treasury—”

“In an attempt to get even more!” Divatox interjected.

“SILENCE! Whatever your intentions, you failed! And if the marriage had succeeded, there’s still much question as to how much useful energy Maligore would have contributed. And now you’ve moved to Earth to take revenge on the Power Rangers. Your approaches, though generally more subtle and sophisticated than your predecessors’, still fall short of my standards. Far short.

“The point is, we must capture the Milky Way. As it stands, neither one of your forces is qualified to do so. However, I’m sorry to say that until the Machine Empire is rebuilt, I have no governing agents who as potent as the three of you, and even then, I’ll need them for other places. Therefore, you will work on Earth together until I call for an evaluation.”

“Great!” Rita rolled her eyes. “What happens then?”

“One party will be assigned to the Milky Way and get the resources of both parties. The other will be reassigned… or eliminated. And in the event that no progress is being made, you run the risk of being replaced altogether.”

“Oh, yeah?” Zedd challenged. “Pardon me, but if you will recall, you have no governing agents who have proven to be as potent as we have!”

“We shall see. Now, leave!”

Divatox and Rygog stomped into the elevator down to their saucer craft. Just as the door was about to close, Rita’s hand blocked it. “Care to ride in Serpentera? More comfortable!”

“Thanks for the offer,” muttered Divatox. “We’ve got our own ship.” She pressed the button to close the doors, but Rita shoved her way in. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Rita shut the door. “Listen to me. One of us is going down unless we show him that we aren’t going to be bullied around. The only way out of this is up, and the only way up is together.”

Divatox thought for a moment. Then she opened the elevator doors and smiled. “Perhaps so.”

“Welcome back, roomie!” Rita laughed, hugging her old friend.