Title: Behind the Curtain
Author: Hieiko
Category: Power Rangers Ninja Steel
Characters: Odius, Galvanax, mentions of Brody, Mick, Levi
Disclaimer: I don’t own Power Rangers Ninja Steel or any of its characters.
Word Count: 904
Notes: Some of the dialogue are direct quotes from Ninja Steel episodes.
Summary: Odius wants the Ninja Steel and the Power Stars for herself, but they couldn't be removed from the Nexus Prism. Until she realizes there was another way.
The legendary power of the Ninja Power Stars was useless as long as they lay dormant within the Nexus Prism.
Hundreds of monsters from Galaxy Warriors have tried. Hundreds of Odius's own secret experiments have failed. Every single attempt that had been made to extract the Power Stars had come to naught.
In over a decade, Odius knew of only one being that had been successful in taking a Power Star-- the famed Ninja Nexus Star when it was still whole-- from the Prism. A human being from Earth.
*
Odius did not need to watch that day's battle to know the outcome.
Galvanax growled in frustration. “Ten years, and no one has been able to pull out a Power Star. I can’t wait any longer!”
In her own mind, Odius echoed the sentiment. Even her patience had its limits.
Galvanax continued his tirade. “There must be a way to get those Stars out.”
Odius took that as her cue to approach. “You can build new Stars.”
“Build new Stars? That’s impossible,” Ripcon said with derision. “You can’t trust Madame Odius, Champ.”
Galvanax ignored him, and turned his attention to Odius. “How?”
“My spies have learned that when the Prism landed on Earth, it was covered in Ninja Steel, which can be melted down to create new Power Stars.”
Galvanax’s laughter rang out in the corridor. “Set a course for Earth. We’re going after that Steel.”
*
“We have got to stop them. Do you know where it is?” Mick, the mechanic, asked.
“I don’t,” was the response from the human prisoner called Brody. “But my brother Aiden might.”
The recorded conversation ended there.
“Interesting,” Odius murmured. “Was there anything else?”
“Nothing more, Madame Odius,” her spy said. “They did not discuss the Ninja Steel further. Should we take any action about their plan to escape?”
“No,” Odius replied. She was, in fact, counting on their success.
*
Timing was everything, and luck was on Odius's side this time.
One of her trackers identified the location of the Nexus Prism at the precise moment a human had pulled out one of the Power Stars. Wasting no time, she acquired the Gold Power Star and abducted the human who would have been the Gold Ranger.
Odius could feel the energy emanating from the Gold Power Star, but she knew she could not utilize it in its current form.
“Bring in my robot,” she commanded. Her latest creation was built to appear like a human on the surface, though underneath it was all machine.
The robot picked up the Gold Power Star, and lifted it like a miniature shield. As soon as it did so, one of her Kudabots fired an energy blast at the robot, sending it flying across the laboratory.
The process was repeated nine more times, with variations on the robot’s position and the blast intensity. All yielded similar results, with the only differences found in the degree of damage to the robot.
“This is not working! Even though this was how the humans became Power Rangers, why does it not work for my robot?”
Odius eyed the human prisoner, whose head was still covered and limbs still bound. Why did the Gold Power Star choose this human to be its bearer?
“Bind the prisoner to the mind machine.”
The machine hummed as it scanned the human’s mind for any information related to the Nexus Prism.
“What’s this?” Odius muttered to herself as she reviewed the partial output. “This human boy is the one called Aiden, the missing brother of that prisoner Brody.”
“Adjust the parameters of the scan! Focus on the location of the Ninja Steel,” she ordered.
*
“For ten years, no monster could pull out the Ninja Power Stars, but three human teenagers did it, no problem at all? How?!” Galvanax demanded.
“I’m sorry, Champ. I can’t explain it,” Odius answered truthfully. She had no explanation yet, but she intended to find out. After she obtained the Ninja Steel.
*
“The scan has been completed.”
Odius received the updated results as soon as she stepped into her secret laboratory. The Ninja Steel was hidden in a trophy, stored in a place called Summer Cove High School where humans educated their youth. Odius was about to send someone to retrieve it, when one of her spies appeared before her.
“Madame Odius, one of the Buzzcams has spotted the prisoner Brody,” the spy reported. “They’ve discovered the whereabouts of the Ninja Steel.”
“What? Tell me.”
The spy provided the rest of the information, which matched the results from her machine’s scan.
Odius knew she would not get to the Ninja Steel before Cosmo Royale’s latest monster. A change of plan was in order.
*
At the next opportunity, Odius returned to her secret laboratory, and took stock of the information available to her.
All six Power Stars had been removed from the Nexus Prism. Five were in the possession of humans who had become Power Rangers. One of whom was Brody, who had become the Red Ranger like his father had once been. Brody's brother, her prisoner, almost became the Gold Ranger. There must be a connection.
Nevertheless, the prisoner would be useful because of his importance to the Red Ranger. If her robot could not become the Gold Ranger, she still had a backup plan.
After verifying that her new instructions for the mind machine were followed, she gave the approval to proceed.
“Start the memory transfer.”