Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
"Wrath Of The Queen"
Original Air Date: 11/15/00		Based on: GoGo Five #48 - Kessenwa Saima Kyuuden (Showdown In The Saima Palace) Some Jinxer and Bansheera footage from: GoGo Five #47 - Meiou! Fukkatsu No Daishou (The Dark King! Compensating Revival)
*21st episode of 8th Regular Season (37th of the 8th Season by Series) *Official Fox Kids Show Number PR-1037 *37th episode of PRLR *375th total Power Rangers episode
Writers: John Fletcher & Jackie Marchand And Denise Skinner		Director: Judd Lynn
Starring Cast: Michael Chaturantabut _AS_ Chad Lee (Blue Ranger) Sean Cw Johnson _AS_ Carter Grayson (Red Ranger) Alison MacInnis _AS_ Dana Mitchell (Pink Ranger) Keith Robinson _AS_ Joel Rawlings (Green Ranger) Sasha Williams _AS_ Kelsey Winslow (Yellow Ranger) Ron Rogge _AS_ Captain William Mitchell Jennifer L. Yen _AS_ Vypra		Additional Cast: Christopher Glenn _AS_ Tech (credited, but doesn't appear!) Michael Forest _AS_ Olympius (voice) Neil Kaplan _AS_ Diabolico (voice) David Lodge _AS_ Loki (voice) Kim Strauss _AS_ Jinxer (voice) Diane Salinger _AS_ Queen Bansheera (voice)

SUMMARY:

[Villain stuff from "As Time Runs Out", "Olympius Unbound" & "Web War"]

Another direct camera-charge into the skeletal exterior of the demonic dwelling known as Skull Cavern. The camera pauses once it reaches the skull-face entrance to the main palace, showing Jinxer, as he wanders around up in the eye sockets. He speaks to himself, "Oh, my! I've got to find Vypra. Where is that venomous witch, anyway?!" Jinxer takes a glance at his surroundings, and then journeys deeper into the palace, walking down a flight of stairs with lit candles all around it. He stumbles to the end of the steps, finding himself standing in a sealed up, mist-filled room. Jinxer does his best Home Alone impression, putting his hands to his head and crying, "Oh, no! It's horrible! I'm locked out!" He walks over to the wall, which is apparently the main door, with all kinds of strange demonic symbols on it (some of which resemble those Ryan copied down in the tomb, really!), and begins to beat on it, screaming, "Let me in, you big.." Suddenly, his yelling & pitching a fit causes the weak ceiling to collapse, with rocky debris crumbling over him. The floor gives out under this, and Jinxer is sent falling down a long pit. He hits the bottom hard, but quickly recovers, groaning, "Oh, dear! Oh, my! I've fallen into Queen Bansheera's chamber!" He arises and spots a fiery red glow illuminating from down the dark tunnel. Jinxer wonders, "Huh?! What's going on?!" He hears a strange, low sound echoing off the walls, and exclaims, "Oh, no! Queen Bansheera!" Jinxer races down the tunnel, and, in footage used in the previous episode, gasps at the sight of the massive wall of fire before him. He remarks, "This is amazing!", and to cover the fact he's already seen it, he adds, "Oh, the transformation is coming along nicely!"

As he's staring into the mountain of flames, the female demon he was looking for approaches him from behind. Vypra asks, "Jinxer, why has the Queen summoned me?" Jinxer replies, "I don't know. But her transformation is nearly complete. She just needs ONE more burst of energy!" Bansheera's misshapen torso soon appears floating behind the sheet of heat, as she speaks, "Vypra, you have failed me too many times! As punishment, I will take your life energy! I should have done this long ago!" Vypra trembles in terror, her face displaying mortal fear, as she turns to Jinxer, who mentions, "Better you than me. Sorry!" She tries to run away, but she's snatched up by a bolt of purple energy, and lifted up into the air. Vypra drops her saber on the foggy floor, as she screams and struggles. Jinxer lifts his goggly glasses, and witnesses the event with a bit of fright. Vypra's pulled through the wall of fire by the Queen's purple electric grasp. She screams, "Noooo! Help!!", as her final words, as her body is sucked closer to Bansheera's being. Vypra is instantly turned into her spirit form, and absorbed totally as nothing but mere energy by Queen Bansheera. It's a shame to see her go, oh wait, no it's not. Hasta La Bye-bye, Vyp! The Queen then gloats, "Heheha! The transformation is working! My bodily form is finally returning to me!" That added boost of power formally known as Vypra is enough to finish what was started in "The Queen's Return", as her torso begins to morph into a more complete form under the light of the surrounding flames. Her face also changes to a much more menacing, sharp-toothed grin, with horns that extend backwards and sprout large wings over her back. She also now has arms, legs, and a much larger bust, not to mention fingernails long enough to change the TV without needing a remote. Bansheera howls with bloodcurdling laughter, as she twiddles her newly extended fingers, bathing in more energy than she's had in over 5000 years.

[opening credits.]

Up in the main column-filled room of Skull Cavern, Loki enters, holding a pillow in his hand, and approaches his buddy Diabolico, stating with evil glee, "Good news! The Queen has transformed and gotten her bodily form back! I'm gonna ask her to let me destroy the Rangers!" No mention of Vypra, though i'm sure if they knew about this sudden betrayal, they might be outraged. Diabolico, an old hand at trying to take down the Lightspeed Rangers, facetiously says, "I wish you luck." Loki lifts up the green pillow in his hand, and mentions, "Uhh, before I go, I want to give you this. For being my loyal friend throughout the millenniums." It's a strange scorpion-shaped amulet, with a large glowing red orb located where its ass, or stinger, would be. He attaches it to the hole where Diabolico's Star Power used to be, and it latches on perfectly. Loki tosses the pillow aside and says, "Ah, there! May it bring you luck! Huh haha!" Loki departs, as Diabolico replies and bows in respect, "Thank you, Loki. Be careful, old friend." Soon, in the lower chamber, Loki meets with the Queen. Bansheera never ceases twitching her newly restored fingers around, while sitting on her new throne in the extremely dark chamber (lit mostly by that blue neon orb seen in nearly every Sentai villain homebase). Loki bows before her, asking, "So, uhh, mighty Queen Bansheera. What do you think?" The Queen replies, "You have always been my favorite, Loki. Therefore I grant your request! You may destroy the Rangers." He nods and says, "Ohh, thank you!" Bansheera adds, "I am confident you will make me proud!" He bows again, claiming, "I promise that I will, my queen. You can count on me. Thank you for your trust!" Loki stands and rushes off to attempt the task assigned to him. Jinxer emerges from the shadows, and asks, "My queen, did I hear correctly? You're REALLY going to trust Loki?!" Bansheera growls, "Of course not, you fool! I'm just going to use him to trap the Power Rangers. He's expendable, just like ALL of you!" Jinxer squeals in horror for a moment, before bowing and trying to play off the fact that even he could end up dead at any moment. Queen Bansheera laughs evilly, not knowing that behind a darkened pillar in the corner, Diabolico has been eavesdropping. He remarks to himself, "Expendable, are we? We'll see."

In the outskirts of Mariner Bay, Carter is on one of his routine jogs. He's in his sweatsuit, the same type he wore in "A Face From The Past", as he runs along a trail near the mountain range. He throws a few punches into the wind, causally keeping in tip top shape. Carter's jog comes to an abrupt halt, when he spots Jinxer down the path! He quickly hides behind a bush and listens as Jinxer exclaims, "Oh, boy! Oh, such news! I've got to tell him, right away!" Jinxer rushes by him, and Carter follows, making sure no other demons are in the area first. He keeps low, and far enough behind not to be seen. Meanwhile, in the Lightspeed Aquabase, Rescue Ops to be precise, a monitor shows a computer animated scan of the city. It pinpoints an odd tornado like vortex atop the bleachers at the local stadium. Captain Mitchell points this out to the four remaining Ranger Recruits, saying, "There, THAT'S the source." Joel gives the monitor a surprised look, mentioning, "That's Mariner Stadium! What is that?!" Mitchell explains, "It's an energy flux. Definitely not man-made. I want you to check it out." The Captain presses his headset and speaks into the microphone on it, saying, "Carter!" Just outside of the former Orion Cave, Carter has followed Jinxer to its entrance. His Rescue Morpher beeps, as he stays behind cover of plants, and answers, "Go ahead." Mitchell speaks, "There's a problem at Mariner Stadium. We need you, now!" Carter replies, "I'm on my way!", and is about to leave, when he's encountered by the bladed end of Olympius' blade-staff! Olympius, who no longer is bandaged but somehow has the Star Power gem on his chest again (perhaps it healed itself?), asks, "Can I help you, Ranger?" Carter's jaw drops when he sees the demon, saying in shock, "Olympius.... you're alive."

In Mariner Stadium, the other four Lightspeed Rangers are already Morphed, and on the scene. They enter the empty structure, taking a long look at the thousands of vacant seats before them. Green Ranger says, "C'mon, guys. Let's check it out!" They walk a few feet, and continue searching. Pink Ranger mentions, "The Captain said it's right here, but I don't see anything!" Yellow Ranger has an idea, "Let's look on TOP of the stadium!" They follow her idea, and begin to head up the steps. Loki is already on the highest level, standing above our heroes with a large demonic bazooka in his hand! Think of it, in reference to the Galaxy Launchers, as the Malicey Launcher! He calls out, "Welcome, Rangers!" They stop, and Blue Ranger impatiently replies, "We don't have time for your games, Loki! What do you think you're doing?!" Loki informs him, "Oh. This!" He lifts the Malicey Launcher, and blasts its monstrous cannon at the Rangers, sending them into the air upon getting struck by the explosive blast. All four end up landing wearily on the rows of seats, as Loki snickers sinisterly, and Chad loses consciousness, while trying to cry out in protest, "No..!" Loki walks closer, and aims the Launcher point-blankly at the knocked-out Rangers, remarking, "Oh, this is even easier than I thought!" He's just about to blast them all to kingdom come, when Chad reaches up and grabs his leg, knocking the gullible demon over onto his back. Our heroes stand up, all perfectly awake, and surround him, Blue Ranger standing closest, with his Rescue Blaster aimed right for Loki's face. Joel comments, "Whoa, that was smooth, Chad!" Chad demands, "Tell us what's going on?!" He gets informed, when Diabolico appears on the scene, far behind them. He fires a burst of power at them, striking Blue Ranger in the chest and sending him falling over onto the cemented floor of the bleachers. His teammates rush to his side, with Kelsey screaming, "Chad!" He's unharmed, and manages to ask, "What are YOU doing here?" Diabolico hops over to his demonic eternity parter and says, "I'm here to help Loki!" Loki is unappreciative, stating, "I don't NEED your help! I can take care of them on my own!" Diabolico is a bit surprised by Loki's sudden greediness, as the slow blue creature lunges towards the Rangers with his Launcher drawn. Suddenly, before Loki can fire any shots off, Queen Bansheera makes a horrible screaming sound. It screeches all the way from Skull Cavern to the Stadium, causing the entire complex to rattle like in an earthquake. The four Power Rangers, along with Loki & Diabolico, are shooken by surprise. Without warning, all six of them vanish into thin air. They end up falling out of the bottom of a swirling purple vortex in the sky somewhere, each one dropping to the ground in a dazed heap.

[commercials]

The four Lightspeed Rangers recover from their reluctant fall, arise, and take a look at their new, non-stadium surroundings. It's a dark, cloudy wasteland, with black gravel everywhere, and no real sign of vegetation at all. Joel comments, "Man! This is freaky!" Dana looks up and asks, "Where in the world are we?!" Kelsey mentions, "You mean, if it IS our world." Pink Ranger says, "Let's look around. Come on." The team begins to scour the area, Joel shouting, "Hello?! Anybody here?!", but getting no answer. Near their location is a small dark pond of water, with four white ruined columns sticking out of it. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Carter is having some fun with Olympius. At least, if you call getting skidded on your back across the dirt fun. Carter is tossed to the ground, as Olympius readies his blade-staff, with Jinxer standing behind him. With the Ranger Recruit down, the former head demon prepares to slash him to ribbons. Back in the other dimension, the four Rangers continue searching. Yellow Ranger spots something in the distance, and shouts, "Huh? Look!" They do so, none of them noticing Diabolico & Loki wandering around through the fog nearby. The demons don't appear to see them either, as they stop in the tracks and Diabolico says, "I don't understand." Blue Ranger is stunned as he looks up at what Kelsey pointed out, gasping, "Whoa! What is that?!" Kelsey replies breathlessly, "I have no idea." What they see is the Skull Cavern palace, poised extremely high atop a mountain in the middle of horizon. Hundreds of other smaller hills surround it, as mist rolls by, and the sky gleams awful shades of many different colors, like a decaying aurora. Diabolico asks Loki, "Why'd the Queen bring us to the cavern?" Chad overhears him, and realizes, "The cavern?! We're in the Queen's lair?!" The Rangers continue looking up at the skull-faced building in the distance, at a loss for a plan of action. Kelsey says, "We need help. BIG time." Dana presses her helmet calls out, "Carter, this is an emergency! Do you copy?" Her loud speaking alerts Diabolico to their presence. Pink Ranger tells her teammates, "Guys, I can't get ahold of Carter!" Green Ranger mentions, "Then it looks like we'll have to get out of this mess, on our own!" He makes a fist, Dana agrees with a, "Right!", and Chad says, "Let's go!" The four are about to race up to the Skull Cavern palace, when Queen Bansheera's voice begins to echo all around them. She says, "You're not going anywhere EVER again, Rangers. You've foiled my plans for the last time! And with you out of the way, i'll destroy your pathetic city!" Blue Ranger replies, "Never!", but she ignores him from the comfort of her throneroom.

Bansheera continues, "Very soon my palace shall SHINE amongst the ruins of Mariner Bay. Loki, finish them!" Loki hears her command and obeys, "At once!" He's about to lift his Malicey Launcher to fire at the Power Rangers, when Diabolico halts him. He cautions his pal, "Wait, Loki. She's using you!" Loki ignores his advice, saying, "No! She told me I was her favorite warrior! I'd better destroy them! Now let go of me!" He pushes Diabolico off, and rushes after the Rangers, with his big gold buddy protesting, "No, Loki! Wait!" The four Rangers do nothing but stand around, as Loki lifts his bazooka and fires at them. They're hit by one blast, then another, sparks flying all over the desolate area. Our heroes fall, and Loki marches their way, laughing deeply and loudly. Joel begins to recover, noting, "Aw, man! This guy's really tough!" Chad's been in a cocky mood all day, as he slams his hand against the ground and says, "Well so are we!" Blue Ranger stands up, and boasts, "It'll take a lot more than that to defeat us!" As prompted, Loki replies, "Okay", and fires the Malicey Launcher yet again. The explosion engulfs them, and causes the blacked smoke to shroud their location. Loki asks, "How's that?" The four Power Rangers race out of the smoke, all unharmed, with Chad shouting the charge for Rescue Blaster usage. They begin to fire them at Loki, all at once. He's taken by surprise, and struck by multiple laserblasts. He loses his grip on the Malicey Launcher, which is flung away from him in the resulting bursts. Loki turns to chase after it, when the four Rangers all grab him at once, restraining the henchdemon as best they can. He starts to whip around, attempting to pitch them off him, but while he is able to knock Joel & Dana away, the others remain held tightly. Diabolico, knowing where this is leading to, shouts, "Loki, stop!" Queen Bansheera calls out to him, "The Rangers are RIGHT where we want them! Diabolico, destroy them!" With the flick of her fingers, the Malicey Launcher leaps up into Diabolico's arms. He aims it at the Rangers, making note of the fact they're all over his best demon friend, he says, "I can't! Loki will be destroyed too if I shoot now!" The Queen orders, "Do as you're told!" Diabolico holds the bazooka ready to blast, but changes his mind as he lowers the barrel, proclaiming, "I won't! He's my comrade! We're not pawns in your wicked game."

Loki is covered with Power Rangers, as they all pin him tightly in one spot. They seem to have forgotten that Diabolico is there too, and by bunching together they're making an easy target. Or perhaps that's their plan, and they're wagering big D won't hurt his blue buddy. Queen Bansheera replies to Diabolico's pawn remark, "Oh, but you ARE! And if you won't do as your told, then I will MAKE you do it!" She motions her elongated fingers, and like a puppeteer, begins to pull on Diabolico's unseen strings. Diabolico is helpless as he reluctantly raises the Malicey Launcher, and begins to pull the trigger of his unfree will. He screams, "Huh?! No! Loki, look out!" Just then, Loki manages to knock all four of the Rangers off himself. Bansheera excitedly wiggles her fingers, while commanding, "Destroy them now!" Diabolico struggles as best he can, attempting to fight the Queen's control, but unable to, instead grunting, "Loki, out of the way! I can't stop her!" Loki doesn't hear him, too busy dealing with the Rangers as they start to latch onto him again. Bansheera shouts, "Fire!", Diabolico shouts, "Nooo!", and the trigger is pulled. The bazooka unloads a blast aimed directly at Loki. The explosion is intense, blasting each of the Lightspeed Rangers clear of any damage, but not being so kind to Loki. When the smoke clears, the four Rangers lie unconscious on the ground near the pond, with Loki's dying body a few feet away. Diabolico rushes to his side, crying, "No. NO! Loki!" He lies there, his body still charred and smoking. Loki groans, asking, "Why would our queen do this?" Diabolico answers angrily, "She has no heart!" Loki coughs, and says, "But, all I ever wanted was to serve her faithfully. I may not have been the smartest... monster in her arsenal, but none was ever more loyal. Now it seems it was all a... big waste. It's too late for me. But not for you, Diabolico... uhhh..." He lifts his hand, and Diabolico clutches it between his own, telling him, "Conserve your strength, old friend." Loki speaks his last words, gasping out, "Goodbye" He grunts, his head falls back, and his hand slips out of Diabolico's grasp. Diabolico screams, "Loki... NOOOO!", as Loki's body erupts into a huge explosion at his feet. He's engulfed in the flames, too lost in his own fiery agony to move.

The Lightspeed Rangers awoke during his speech, and watch as this happens. Chad notices, "He's gone!" Diabolico rises from the ashes, his body smoking, as he looks around at the burning remains of Loki, scattered about the area (go get Jinxer and have his meaty chunks come back to life!). Diabolico says somberly, "Goodbye, Loki, my friend. I shall avenge your destruction. I SWEAR it!" Queen Bansheera gets a major kick out of this, laughing maniacally in her throneroom. Diabolico looks toward Skull Cavern and vows, "Queen Bansheera, I curse your name! I will never again lift a FINGER for you. I am no longer your warrior!" Bansheera replies, "You can't walk away from ME. You are MINE, and mine alone, forever!" Diabolico is shocked, asking, "What?!" She tells him, "Loki may be gone, but YOU still have powers that are useful to me. And, like it or not, I will use those powers as I see fit to destroy the Rangers!" Our heroes stagger as they stand, waiting patiently and watching Diabolico's attempt to quit his job. He exclaims, "I will NEVER give my powers to the likes of you!", while clenching his fist. Queen Bansheera remarks, "Of course you won't GIVE them. Which is why i'll just TAKE them!" Diabolico screams, "No!", as Bansheera laughs evilly, and fires a beam of pink electricity down from the Skull Cavern. It strikes Diabolico perfectly, causing him to explode into a ball of raging flames. The Rangers view this stunned. Kelsey notes, "I don't believe it! She's gone mad!", Joel mentions, "She'll do anything to try and destroy us!", Dana asks, "What can we do?", and Chad answers, "I don't know!" Diabolico collapses, as his power-force takes shape in the form of a massive surge of fire around him, with a spark of that flickering off and landing against the four Rangers. They're taken by surprise, and engulfed in flames as well. Surrounded by a circle of fire, they scream in pain while hopping around, trying to get away from the heat to no avail. The Queen exclaims, "At last, the end of the Power Rangers!" Pink Ranger whines, "Ahh! The flames are too hot!", and Blue Ranger says the obvious, "We've got to get out of here!"

Meanwhile on Earth, Carter continues to get his butt whomped by Olympius. Another flip over onto his back helps remind Carter that he sucks when it comes to fight unmorphed. He clutches his stomach, as Olympius laughs maniacally, and Jinxer claps his hands. Suddenly, something is heard swooping down from the air. It's the Red Mobile Armored Vehicle, back after an extended absence! Must have been deployed by Fairweather or someone, as the only device which could reach him out there in time. Olympius unloads another flame-ball attack on Carter, who spots the RMAV and rolls out of the line of fire. Blast after blast is tossed by the demon, which each one dodged by the rolling Red Recruit. He's flipping over the explosions as well, eventually launching himself up into the air off of a rock and shouting, "Lightspeed Rescue!" He morphs in midair, and lands with his feet planted perfectly in the cockpit of the Mobile Armored Vehicle. Red Ranger slips into it, grabs the controls, accelerates the thrusters, and takes off into the sky. Olympius, rubbing his chest from an injury either sustained in this fight (doubtful) or from the last, watches as Carter gets going while the getting is good. He vows, "We're not through with this, Ranger!" Since he's still recovering, he's unable to take the air to follow, and lets the Red Ranger flee. Back in the Skull Cavern dimension, Blue, Green, Yellow, & Pink Rangers all try to leap through the surrounding flames. The heat is far too intense, especially when every time they manage to reach the edge of the fire, more sparks flicker off and continue the burning wherever they move. Why not lead the flames over to that pond, I wonder? Knowing the demons, it's probably Battery Acid Bay. Queen Bansheera boasts, "Behold my powers! Ahahahahaha!", as the Rangers continue to roast & toast. The queen laughs some more, wiggles her fingers some more, and the nonstop flaming causes the four Rangers' morphed bodies to crackle with green electricity, and spark. The spontaneous explosions knocking them to the ground.

[commercials]

Up in the air, the Red Ranger flies around in his Mobile Armored Vehicle. He wonders, "Guys, where are you?", as he does a scan of the area and tries contacting him on the commlink. Captain Mitchell answers for them, saying, "They've been sucked into a vortex on top of the stadium." Carter replies, "On my way!", and glides the RMAV through the stadium, eventually reaching the location of the energy flux. It's atop a large tower, and consists of a swirling circle of purple power. Red Ranger hovers the Mobile Armored Vehicle above it, stands up, and contacts Mitchell, telling him, "Over the vortex. I'm going in!" The Captain replies, "Be careful, Carter!" He then leaps off the RMAV, and drops into the purple portal. He has his Rescue Blaster drawn, as he does a few backflips while falling into it, similar to the end of Evil Dead 2. Carter plummets through the vortex, and ends up plopping with a thud right down near where the other Rangers are. The moment he lands he spots their scorching bodies, and he stands up, quickly shout, "Oh no! Guys!" They're in constant torture, flooded with fire on all sides. The flames arc over the top of their location as well, prevent them from doing any burning leaps. Dana cries, "Carter!", and he screams, "I'm coming!" Red Ranger tries racing over to their side, but is struck in the gut with a burst of stray fire. He rolls on the ground and recovers, lifting his helmeted head up and spotting that the flames which attacked him have now landed a few feet away. Inside them, Diabolico clings to as much of his remaining power as he can. He staggers toward Carter with the fires around him, calling out, "Red Ranger!" Carter stands up, and shouts, "Out of my way, Diabolico!" Diabolico cautions his enemy, stating, "Listen to me!" Carter replies, "I don't have time!", as he begins to pulls out his Rescue Blaster. Diabolico tells him, "You must! I can help you save your friends!" Carter leaves his Blaster holstered, and asks, "What are you talking about?" Diabolico speaks from within the inferno, informing him, "You have to strike Queen Bansheera exactly where her heart SHOULD be! That is the only way to save them." The flames grow taller, and Diabolico is covered completely by them, letting out a pained, "Uhhh!" as he drops out of view.

Red Ranger is confused, remarking, "Diabolico helping us?!" He suddenly hears Bansheera's eerie laughter echoing from the Skull Cavern palace, and realizes her location, deciding to heed Diabolico's words. Carter tells his friends, "Just hold on a little longer, guys. I'll stop Queen Bansheera!" If the other four Rangers weren't screaming in agony as they stumble around in slow motion dramatically in the flames, i'm sure they'd tell him to get his slow butt in gear. Red Ranger races through the dark demonic dwelling as fast as his feet will take him, though the dramatic slow motion hinders some of his speed. The other four Rangers collapse to the ground, with Yellow Ranger being the first to speak, shouting, "Carter, hurry" when he's about a mile away from them. Red Ranger rushes up the side of the mountain where the palace is located, braving the treacherously harsh winds. He finally gets inside the skull-face of the cavern, and begins to dart through the mist-filled column-packed halls, shouting, "Where are you?!" The only thing that answers is a horde of Batlings, who screech as they head towards him with their bat-blades drawn. He has a small, time-wasting American-footage skirmish with them, as they try holding him back. Carter kicks and chops a few down, before pulling out his Blaster and zapping the lot of them. With the Batlings out of his way, Carter says, "Time to find the Queen!" He continues searching, until he ends up in the main hall of the building. He hears Bansheera's laughing echoing out of that demonic gargoyle statue they're always tossing the cards into. Yes, the old, never-named, but always called by me and others, hell-mouth. Red Ranger takes a long look at the flashing lights coming from within it, and figures, "That's GOTTA be it!" He charges towards it, and takes the plunge, leaping right through the hellmouth. Elsewhere, Kelsey whines, "I can't take much more!", as she lays around inside the flame pool.

Back up in the Skull Cavern, Red Ranger winds up inside of the Queen's hidden chamber. He rushes around, shouting, "Bansheera! Show yourself!" Outside of the palace, his teammates continue baking thoroughly, with Joel being the one to say "Carter, hurry!" this time. Copycat! Kelsey just said that same thing a few minutes ago! Make up your own cry, Green boy! Anyway, it's a LONG run through more dark passageways, before Red Ranger finds the throne-room of Queen Bansheera. He stands before her, as she chuckles evilly, saying, "Welcome to my lair, Red Ranger!" Carter returns the welcome, "At last we meet, Queen Bansheera!" She agrees, "Yes! I've been wishing for this day." Red Ranger holds his Rescue Baton and threatens her, "Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it!" The Queen removes the thin veil that was covering her throne, crosses her lengthy fingers, and comments, "Oh, i'll get what I wish for. Wish you could say that same!" He lunges forth, his Baton swinging. Bansheera lifts a hand, and releases a burst of air so strong, it causes Carter to be flung across the room. He slams against a pillar, and drops against the floor. She gloats, "Your puny Ranger powers are no match for the glory of Queen Bansheera!" Red Ranger rubs his helmeted head, and struggles to get up. Speaking of getting up, Bansheera arises from her throne, and begins to walk closer to him, mentioning, "The other four Rangers are already in my grip. Leaving only one other ridiculous Ranger to deal with: You!" The Queen lifts her other hand and aims it at him, unleashing a burst of pink electricity. They, like was done to Vypra earlier, lift him up in the air, dangling helplessly. Carter sparks painfully as he hangs there, with Bansheera stating, "The Rangers' end is near! I shall rule supreme!" Red Ranger grunts, "You'll never beat us, Bansheera!", despite evidence to the contrary occurring. Elsewhere, Dana cries, "Carter, hurry!" Hey! That's three in a row who've said that! Some kind of "Carter, Hurry" motif going? I demand to see the footage of Chad crying, "Carter, hurry!" now, because i'm just not understanding what they want him to do. Anywho, Yellow Ranger whines, "I can't breathe", despite having that oxygen thingy in her helmet. Green Ranger quotes disco music, "It's too hot!" See, they're on fire. We needed a reminder.

Once again, back in Bansheera's lair, Red Ranger proclaims, "It's not over yet!" The Queen laughs, and continues letting him dangle there by the pink surge of her power. Say! From the looks of how her body is shaped and all, and this pink power, she's nearly a dead ringer for Psycho Pink's monster form! More of that energy is charged into Carter, frying him in her grasp. He responds to the pain by exclaiming, "I know what your only weakness is! And it's my greatest strength!" Bansheera asks, "What?!" Carter switches over to Blaster mode and shoots a few blasts into the Queen's chest, causing her to spark and cease her pink power pulsing. Red Ranger drops the ground, his suit smoking a bit, and his body a bit weary. Queen Bansheera demands, "I must have this strength of yours!" Carter gets heroic on us, standing tall and proclaiming, "You'll never possess what I have. My strength comes from within. I have a heart!" The Queen scoffs, "Heart!?", obviously meaning the metaphysical heart, not the blood-pumping organ. Carter readies his Battle Booster, charging his fist up and shouting, "Time to end this, once and for all!" Red Ranger leaps into the air with his Battle Boosted fist extended, as Queen Bansheera begins to fire off bolts of pink energy at him. He's unscathed by the attacks, landing directly at her feet, with his powered-up arm slamming directly into Bansheera's ample bosom. Her body explodes with sparks, she screams in agony, and the place erupts in flames. The explosion rips out through the hell-mouth, and begins to shatter the entire Skull Cavern! The skeletal structure begins to crumble, and the whole mountain it's rested on starts to fall apart. The remaining four Rangers, still surrounded by flame, witness the Skull Cavern begin to blow up. Pink Ranger, her visor reflecting the explosive mountain in the distance, gasps, "He did it!" Suddenly, without warning or explanation, all four Rangers suddenly turn into streaks of teleportational energy! They zip out just as a burst of fire is about to strike them. The skull-face of the Skull Cavern explodes, turning it into ruins in a matter of moments.

The four Lightspeed Rangers land out in a loading dock of some garage in Mariner Bay. They recover from the drop to the cement with only minor bruising, as Dana notes, "We made it! But where's Carter?" Joel stands up and calls out, "Huh? Aw man, Carter! Where are you?!" The four Rangers, all still Morphed despite the major stress they'd been going through today, take a quick look around and fear the worst. Chad drops to his knees, slams his fist to the ground and yells, "We survived, but he didn't!" Apparently, Blue Ranger totally forgot the sheer volume of times this series that a Ranger, usually Carter, has been presumed dead and turned up alive less than ten seconds later. Because, oh look! There's Red Ranger, atop a building nearby, waving his hands and shouting, "Hey guys! I made it!" Kelsey points out, "There he is! Alright!" As he leaps down and the team rushes over to join him. Dana jumps on him and gives him a deep hug, exclaiming, "Carter! Am I glad to see you!" Carter sets her down and says, "You too!" She giggled giddily, and he shakes Chad & Kelsey's hands. Red Ranger makes the mistake of saying, "I think that's the last time we'll see Queen Bansheera." Suddenly, her loud booming voice shouts from above, "I wouldn't bet on it!" Bansheera, her bodily form now grown massive in the middle of the city, stomps her foot down near where the Rangers are. The Queen laughs hysterically, as pink energy courses between her lengthy fingertips. She leans up towards the sky, and shoots off bolts of power, causing it to go from clear and blue, to dark & thunder-cloudy in an instant! Carter cries, "Oh no!", as he and his team look up at her in horror. The giant Queen Bansheera informs them, "You've only destroyed by Skull Cavern. So i'll just return the favorite, and destroy your city!" Bansheera has already started the carnage offscreen, as we see pockets of fire around her. She also unleashes some more pink bolts of energy, prompting stock footage of the same few exploding buildings to run. Red Ranger shouts, "Rail Rescues, On track!" the Supertrain rolls out, and before you know it, the Lightspeed Rescuezords come together to create the Lightspeed Megazord. Don't ask the logic in sending their first, and obviously least powerful, Megazord against the mother demon of them.

Queen Bansheera faces the Lightspeed Megazord in the pitch black, the area only lit by the raging fires she created. She does... guess what? She laughs evilly! Boy, does she laugh evilly, nearly nonstop this episode. Anyway, Carter boasts, "We won't let you destroy our city!" Bansheera replies, "You don't have any choice in the matter!" Carter says, "We'll see about that!" He then activates the Flip Kick, slamming the Megazord's ladder arms down and flipping the main body of it around in the air in between. Two rotations, and both smash against the Queen, causing her sparking pain. Carter initiates the Ladder Arms Power Punch, and the rapid fire of the sock-it-to-her action begin to beat her in the boobs. She only takes so much of it before lifting her tangly fingers, grasping the Megazord's hands in her palms. Bansheera leads the Megazord around like they were dancing from an absurdly long distance, remarking, "Your pathetic Megazord is useless against me! Hahaha!" It's true, since with her holding its hands, they're unable to do anything by stand there. The Queen sends a surge of pink power through its metal arms, frying the Megazord and rocking around all the Rangers within. There's a burst of sparks, and the Ladder Arms are let go by the Queen, and allowed to retracted into the Lightspeed Megazord. Bansheera stands across from them, ha-ha-ha-hawing. Carter activates Lasers, locking them on and firing away. The small canon atop the left arm of the Megazord shoots at her, but she merely stands there and smiles as the blast explodes around her, doing no real harm. Queen Bansheera becomes engulfs with the after-sparks, and when they clear, she's vanished from sight. Kelsey notes, "Huh? She's gone!" Carter tempts fate by mentioning, "That was way too easy, guys." He hits a button and calls on Full Scan Mode. The Megazord takes a look around, with its yellow eyes blinking and running a full scan on the entire darkened area. It turns up nothing, so Red Ranger calls into base, saying, "Captain, it looks like she got away." The Lightspeed Megazord walks cautiously around the slightly damaged streets of Mariner Bay, the skies still darkened overhead. They wait, but no sign of the Queen shows up. Bansheera has left the building! Hopefully the skies clear up sometime later.

[commercials]

Over near the cave hideaway, apparently after witnessing the battle, Olympius clutches his stomach and drops to his knees in the bushes. With Jinxer stands behind him, he vows, "Those Rangers will pay! I WILL have revenge for my mother!" Jinxer, who should be reminding him of how mommy demonest left him to die in Shadow World, instead notes, "She just vanished into thin air, Olympius. Maybe she's all right!" Their answer is heard echoing throughout the mountain range, as Queen Bansheera's laughter picks up again. Olympius stands tall (still not explaining how his Star Power got fixed) and proclaims, "YES! My mother's alive! Ha! She's still alive!" Meanwhile, inside the ruins of Skull Cavern, amid falling debris, collapsed columns, and random spots of fire, we find his mother. Bansheera laughs some more, and quickly turns to the camera, showing us her terrifying face. She's back to normal size, evilly remarking, "Sleep well, while you can, Rangers! You fools can't destroy me! Haha! You'll soon feel the true magnificence of the mighty powers of Queen Bansheera! Hahahahaha!" She stands in the misty-floors of what used to be one of the halls of the Skull Cavern palace, whipping her hands around, as the flames rise before her (notice, her skirt has the faces, ala Hexuba's final form, of several old monsters. I only recognize Fireor, Arachnor, and Mr. Skullhead). The laughter continues, echoing into the (now fully bright) city of Mariner Bay. Atop one of the buildings, we find there whereabouts of Diabolico! His body shows very little charring, but from what we can tell, he managed to escape the flaming use of his own power against him, likely through the vortex (perhaps he's behind the teleporting out of the Rangers?). Diabolico, still wearing the insect amulet his best friend Loki gave him, hears Bansheera's laughter, and throws his staff down in anger. He vows, "Queen Bansheera will PAY for what she did to Loki! I will have revenge for him if it's the last thing I do!" Diabolico marches across the rooftop, leaving his staff laying on the floor, as he walks off towards the sunset.

[Scenes from "Rise Of The Super Demons"; end credits]