Fish in Troubled Water Read online

  PENGUIN YOUNG READERS LICENSES

  An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

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  ™ and © 2017 SCG Power Rangers LLC. Power Rangers and all related logos, characters, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are the exclusive property of SCG Power Rangers LLC. All Rights Reserved. Used Under Authorization. Published by Penguin Young Readers Licenses, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  Cover illustration by Dan Panosian

  Ebook ISBN 9781524786595

  Version_1

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 1

  Despite all the flashing lights along the Command Center’s computer panels, Billy Cranston, the sandy-haired Blue Ranger, remained completely focused on his work. The wrist-communicators he was trying to adjust were terribly important.

  And he should know—he’d invented them!

  The communicators not only allowed the five Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to contact one another at any time, but they also linked them to the Command Center’s teleporter. That way, they could fight any monstrous attacks from the evil witch Rita Repulsa and her minions on a moment’s notice, anywhere on Earth. Without the communicators, they’d have to wait for Zordon’s robotic assistant, Alpha 5, to operate the teleporter for them.

  Billy’s invention had worked reliably until that morning, when a large storm began on the surface of the sun. Solar storms were common, but the flares they produced interfered with everything from radio signals to auto engines to Internet transmissions. Now they prevented the communicators from working. The storm would pass, sooner or later. In the meantime, Billy hoped he could get them up and running, in case there was an emergency.

  So far, it wasn’t looking good.

  Much as his fellow Power Rangers wanted to get back to Angel Grove and enjoy some rare downtime, they knew not to hover while Billy worked. Alpha 5, who looked like a human except for his saucerlike head, was incredibly curious about anything humans did. The robot couldn’t keep from asking questions.

  “Why are you boosting the frequency instead of checking the circuits, Billy?” Alpha 5 asked.

  Billy usually didn’t mind. “I checked them before we got here,” he answered.

  Zordon, their guide and mentor, spoke up. “Alpha 5, let’s let Billy concentrate while you work on tracking the solar flares. A solar storm of this magnitude could interfere with the teleporter itself! If he can figure out a way around that, it could be crucial in case of an attack!”

  Billy knew the wise sage himself would love to do more. After all, Zordon had fought Rita Repulsa ten thousand years ago, sealing her and her evil minions in a space Dumpster on the moon. Unfortunately, a last-ditch spell from the wicked witch had trapped Zordon in a time warp. With Rita free again, Zordon had to direct the battle from a special energy tube that maintained his delicate connection to this dimension and allowed him to communicate with the Power Rangers.

  The tube also made him look like a big floating head. But his words, and his wisdom, were vital.

  Billy’s technical wizardry seemed like magic to some, but it was really just science. While he was good at it, there was only so much he could do. After two hours, he was about to call it quits when his phone alarm beeped, reminding him of another important responsibility.

  Wiping his hands, he took a plastic bottle labeled FOOD from his pocket and sprinkled a few dried flakes into a small bowl he’d left on the Command Center workbench.

  The goldfish inside munched away.

  Alpha 5 turned his metal head. “You’re taking a break to feed your pet?” he asked.

  As he answered, Billy studied the fish. “Goo Fish Junior isn’t just a pet. He’s part of an experiment.”

  Surprised to hear the name he’d given his fish, the other Power Rangers immediately stopped what they were doing. Kimberly Ann Hart, the Pink Ranger, froze in mid stretch and asked the question they were all thinking: “Isn’t Goo Fish the name of a monster we fought?”

  Billy nodded. “Yes. Specifically, it’s the monster Goldar summoned when Rita Repulsa heard about my ichthyophobia.”

  Kimberly, Jason, and Zack looked at one another, puzzled.

  Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger, completed the martial arts maneuver she’d been practicing and explained, “Fear of fish.”

  She was used to translating Billy’s bigger words for the others.

  Screwing the cap back on the bottle, Billy faced his friends. “It’s thanks to that battle that I got over my fear and can work with fish. So Goo Fish Junior seemed appropriate,” he said.

  Alpha 5 leaned in for a closer look at the bowl. “An experiment?” he asked.

  Billy adjusted his glasses and shrugged. “I’ve been so focused on the communicators, I forgot to mention that I’ve been selected to spend a week, starting tomorrow, with thirty other high-school students at the Marine Island Research Center. We’ll get to use the best scientific equipment in the world to work on our own special projects.”

  The others clapped and hooted. Alpha 5 spun happily in a circle.

  Zack Taylor, the bighearted Black Ranger, slapped Billy on the shoulder. “Wow! Good for you, man!” he said.

  Jason Lee Scott, the Red Ranger and their team leader, asked, “So, what’s your experiment?”

  Billy grinned proudly. “Using electroencephalography to image the brain waves of Carassius auratus for interspecies communication,” he announced.

  Jason, Zack, and Kimberly nodded. Then they looked to Trini.

  “It’s a way to get goldfish and people to talk to each other by reading their brain waves,” she explained.

  “Fantastic!” Kimberly said.

  “Hey, that’s what Trini does for you!” Zack joked.

  Billy laughed along with them. Much as he loved his friends, he had to admit there were times he wished he didn’t need any translator.

  “I hate to step on your good news, Billy,” Jason said, “but is there any hope for the communicators?”

  Billy shook his head an
d began handing back the devices. “I’ve done everything I can, but until the storm passes, our contact with one another will be bad to none. In 1859 the biggest solar storm on record, called the Carrington Event, peaked for only a few days, so this should pass soon.” He looked up at the sage’s benevolent face. “Zordon, do you think I should cancel?”

  “Your selflessness is appreciated, Billy,” Zordon said. “But I’m confident Rita is still licking her wounds from her last battle with the Power Rangers. Your work on fish communication will help advance humanity’s connection to the seas, and that is just as important.”

  Even Jason, who was the most serious about the Rangers, agreed. “I’m sure we can manage for a few days,” he said.

  “If we had to, we could walk!” Zack added.

  Appreciating the support, Billy looked at Goo Fish Junior. “Guess we’re going on a trip, little guy. What do you think of that? Hey, maybe soon I can actually ask you, and you’ll be able to answer me!”

  Goo Fish Junior only bubbled in response.

  Chapter 2

  In the ancient, multi-towered Moon Palace, 238,900 miles away, Rita Repulsa, the evil witch who wanted to dominate the galaxy, was very angry. She stomped around the workshop set aside for her monster-making minion Finster. Whenever she whirled, her flowing gown and crescent–moon–tipped wand sent alchemical potions, supplies, and notebooks flying. Finster, a short, furry, pointy-eared alien inventor, raced about behind her, catching his tumbling things when he could.

  I have to wonder, Finster thought, if she’s doing all this damage on purpose!

  He knew better than to ask, though.

  Finster had been loyally serving Rita for ages and still faithfully believed in her evil dreams. Ever since some unwitting astronauts from Earth released them from the cramped space Dumpster Zordon had trapped them in, they’d lived there in the Moon Palace. There’d been good times and bad—mostly bad, thanks to the Power Rangers.

  Today, though, Rita was in a particularly lousy mood.

  “I’m sick of it, Finster! Sick of losing!” she shrieked. “I mean, how am I supposed to dominate an entire galaxy if I can’t beat five putrid power punks? So what if my worst enemy, Zordon, helps them out? There’s not much he can do, trapped in that time warp!”

  When Finster didn’t answer fast enough, she gave the biggest thing in the workshop, his Monster-Matic, a kick. Finster winced as if he’d been kicked himself. The Monster-Matic was his greatest invention. It allowed him to create everything from the faceless Putty Patrol to all manner of monsters, using his special clay.

  Rita had a point, though. To date, they’d all been defeated by the Power Rangers.

  Angry, she shook her wand at him and said, “You and this contraption better come up with something new and powerful that will take Zordon’s ridiculous Rangers out once and for all!”

  Like any good evil queen, Rita tended to be extreme. She was either laughing hysterically or getting enraged. Sometimes it was very hard for Finster to tell which was coming next. It did keep Finster and her other minions, Goldar, Squatt, and Baboo, on their toes, though.

  She waited for a response. Finster knew he had to say something, but all the drama left him mumbling.

  “Well, your wickedness,” he said softly. “I do have this idea I’ve been working on.”

  She wheeled toward him so fast that her dual-horned hairdo tipped over and nearly threw her off balance. Crouching like a stalking tigress, she pointed at her ear. “What’d you say? Speak up!”

  Finster cleared his throat. “I said, I have an idea.”

  She rubbed her hands together. “An idea? Is it a new monster? An even bigger monster?” she asked excitedly. “A monster-size monster? I like it already!”

  “Not exactly, my queen. It’s a . . . device,” Finster said. Instead of describing a terrifying creature, he held up a small rectangular gadget. It was full of buttons and lights. It looked so harmless, a human might mistake it for a TV remote.

  Seeing it, her face dropped.

  “I call it the Enhancifier,” Finster said hopefully.

  She grabbed it and turned it over. Then she made a face.

  “The what? The fancy-liar? The pants-on-fire?” she asked.

  “Enhancifier, your dreadfulness,” he said. “With it, I can take any living creature, meld it with a preselected monster clay, and quintuple its power.”

  From the puzzled look on her face, Finster realized she didn’t know the word.

  “It’s like double, only . . . more. Err . . . twice more and add one, your malevolence,” Finster explained.

  She stiffened. “Math?” she asked, insulted. “You want me to do math? Oh, just listening to you is giving me a headache! Baboo makes the gadgets; you stick to your clay!”

  She threw the Enhancifier into the air.

  Finster gasped then caught it. “But, your nastiness—” he said.

  “No!” she said, cutting him off. “I’ve had enough of your big words and fancy arithmetic! I’m going to take a nap!”

  As she stormed off, Finster started moping. Yes, of course his clay and the Monster-Matic were wonderful, but he knew he was also every bit as good with gadgets as that silly cross between a monkey and a bat, Baboo. Pouting, he started to clean up the mess Rita had made in his workshop.

  Why, even Rita herself says she only keeps Baboo around so there’ll be someone to blame when something goes wrong! Finster thought. And I know the Enhancifier is a perfectly good idea. If only I could get her terrible-ness to pay attention long enough to understand!

  Then, as if to prove to himself that he was an excellent inventor, he came up with a new idea.

  I’ve got it! he thought. I can use the Enhancifier to create something Rita does understand—that new, monstrous monster she wants, a great brute that’s certain to squash the Power Rangers. All I need is the right animal. Then she’ll see what I mean!

  Determined, Finster tiptoed out of his workshop. After making sure the wicked queen had indeed gone to sleep, he crept onto the observation balcony on the upper floor of the palace. There he found Rita’s extreme long-range telescope and aimed it toward the distant blue-green Earth.

  “There are so many different kinds of animals down there,” he mused. “What sort would impress Rita the most? It has to be large and powerful to begin with, so my Enhancifier can make it even stronger. The humans keep some large animals in zoos, like elephants, but I want something even more spectacular.”

  And then he saw it, just off the California coast, in the Pacific Ocean: the Marine Island Research Center. It was the perfect place to begin his search.

  “Whales, megasharks, giant squids!” he squealed. “There are plenty of powerful, frightening creatures out there!”

  Chapter 3

  The next morning the solar storm had gotten so bad, Zordon warned that, aside from Billy, the others should stick together since the communicators would be ineffective. But the solar flares didn’t make the weather in Angel Grove any less sunny and beautiful. His notes and belongings packed, Billy said goodbye to his fellow Power Rangers and boarded a sleek water shuttle for the journey to the research center.

  As the shuttle pulled out from the dock, they all waved. Trini called out, “Don’t be afraid to make new friends!”

  Billy waved back. She was only half kidding. He tended to be quiet around people he didn’t know, and his fellow contest winners, from all over the country, would be strangers. But he could worry about that when he got there. In the meantime, the ocean ride was so bumpy, he was plenty busy trying to keep Goo Fish Junior’s bowl from spilling over.

  Two hours later, when Billy finally stepped off the shuttle and had his first up-close look at the Marine Island Research Center, he realized it was worth being shaken up a little. The research center was bigger than it had seemed in the pictures and even more amazing than he
’d imagined.

  There was a beautiful mountain at the far end of the island, with freshwater falls and a large, peaceful palm-tree forest. Closer to the docks, there were state-of-the-art buildings where the world’s top marine biologists studied the ocean and all its creatures. A plaza had open-air pools for smaller species, but the five-story, 150-foot-tall main building, where Billy and the other students would live and work, had more than ten huge tanks for the bigger specimens.

  Not just specimens, Billy reminded himself. The living creatures the scientists studied there were called “guests” and treated that way. They were always returned, unharmed, to their ocean homes. Billy loved the care and respect the scientists showed. He thought even the environmentally conscious Trini would approve.

  Carrying the fishbowl and his belongings, Billy followed the welcome signs. As he got closer to the entrance to the main building, he had to stop and marvel. A member of the Pseudorca crassidens species, the fourth-largest type of dolphin, was sweeping gracefully along on the other side of a clear Plexiglas wall that formed part of one of the gigantic tanks inside.

  Looking down at another fellow “guest,” Billy said, “Don’t worry, Goo Fish Junior. Big isn’t the same as important.”

  The registration table was just around the curved Plexiglas. Seeing all the teens gathered there, Billy gulped. He hoped they hadn’t heard him talking to Goo Fish Junior. Without a proper explanation, that might seem a bit strange, and he wanted to make a good first impression. He wasn’t Zack, after all, who could walk into any room, tell a joke, and make friends.

  But the students seemed too busy gawking at their new surroundings to have noticed. They weren’t very talkative, either. They were probably tired and woozy from their own journeys. Making an effort, Billy smiled and nodded nervously at a few. He tried to think of something to say other than hello. But, smart as he was, he couldn’t.

  Finally, a thin redheaded boy, who seemed pretty nervous himself, came closer and squinted at his name tag.