Disclaimer: I do not own either "Swamp Thing" or "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" Both are property of their respective owners. No profit is being made from this story.

Author's Note: This story follows the "Swamp Thing" cartoon which is a separate continuity from the comics and as such some things are different. Please keep this in mind if you are only familiar with the comic version.

Up on the Moon, in the lunar palace of Lord Zedd, Finster was in his workshop intently studying an ancient scroll of yellowed parchment. His excitement was steadily growing as he translated more and more of the text.

Since Lord Zedd had taken over the palace and banished Rita to deep space Finster had been at a loose end as Zedd preferred to create his own monsters and Putties. Determined to get back in his master's good graces the terrier-like alien had turned his attention to his collection of arcane lore. Surely there was something there that would be of use in defeating the Power Rangers.

And now he had found it.

He picked up the scroll and hurried to the throne room where, as usual, Lord Zedd was sitting upon his throne and brooding over his latest defeat at the Power Rangers hands. The sight of the ominous figure momentarily quelled Finster's eagerness to speak. He summoned up his courage and called, "Excuse me Lord Zedd. I believe I have found the means to conquer the Earth."

The Emperor of Evil turned his head and snapped, "I am not interested in any more of your weak monsters you fool!"

Finster bristled at having his creations insulted but kept his focus. "Not that my lord. I have uncovered the location of the Sword of Power."

Now Zedd was interested. "The Sword of Power?" he repeated. "That was lost centuries ago."

"Indeed my lord. After the Forces of Good managed to acquire the sword it was decreed by Zordon himself that it was too powerful to be used." He held up the scroll. "According to this scroll it was brought to the planet Earth and entrusted to a native tribe who buried it on their sacred land. I've managed to determine the burial site is located in swampland in the region the humans call Louisiana."

"Good work Finster" said Zedd as he took the scroll and marched to the balcony. After studying the scroll for a moment a beam of red light shone from his visor as he used his telescopic vision to study the Earth. In just a few moments he found what he was seeking.

"Yes! With the Sword of Power I will at last destroy the Power Rangers and rule the Earth!" Zedd laughed triumphantly.

The humid air of the swamp carried the faint sound of buzzing insects and bird cries. The trees towered overhead, casting giant shadows on the ground below. Sunlight gleamed on damp grass and still puddles of water. Small animals scurried through the undergrowth.

The peaceful calm was interrupted by several alien forms abruptly materialising in flashes of lightning. When the lightning cleared Lord Zedd, Baboo, Squatt and a squad of Z-Putties were standing in an open space not far from the tree-line. Except for Zedd all of them were holding shovels. At their appearance nearby animals stopped their foraging and fled.

"I don't like it here. It's too green and wet" Baboo whined.

"Silence you fools!" Zedd snapped. "The Sword of Power is somewhere here on this burial site. You and the Putties will dig up this area until you find the sword and bring it to me. Surely even you pea-brains can't mess that up!"

"Yes Lord Zedd. Just leave it to us" said Squatt enthusiastically. Zedd glowered at him and teleported away.

"Well let's get to it. That sword's not going to dig itself up" said Squatt. He, Baboo and the Puttties started digging, completely unaware that they were being watched.

Hiding in a nearby bush was a scrawny, hairless figure with shrivelled white skin and large pointed ears. His eyes were huge, with tiny pupils, no irises and green sclera. He wore a pair of tattered blue shorts and a scrap of blue cloth went around his shoulders.

His name was Skinman and he was one of the henchmen of Dr. Anton Arcane, an evil scientist obsessed with attaining immortality. He had heard voices and come to take a look, arriving just after Zedd had teleported away.

"What are those things?" he wondered aloud. "Dr. Arcane didn't make them. I must tell him about this right away."

Soon afterwards Dr. Arcane listened as Skinman reported what he had seen. They were in the mad scientist's underground laboratory, a sinister, dungeon-like place with a stone floor and walls. In the centre of the room was a set of steps leading up to the transducer, a machine that resembled a metal coffin attached to a canister of green fluid.

Despite the stylish blue evening suit he wore Dr. Arcane was a frightening sight. He had once been splashed with his own mutagen, leaving him horribly disfigured. A ridge of bumps ran up his hairless head, his ears were pointed and two pointed canines gleamed faintly, giving him the look of a vampire. His skin was a pale purplish tint. Like his henchman his eyes had green sclera and no irises. In one hand he held a twisted wooden cane tipped with a skull.

Also present were Dr. Arcane's other two henchmen. The first was Weed Killer, a blue-skinned man wearing a gas mask, grey gloves and boots and the sleeveless, tattered remains of an orange jumpsuit. He wore a backpack connected by a hose to a large spray gun he held.

The second was Dr. Deemo. His eyes were solid yellow, without a pupil or iris, his pale brown skin was covered in scales and a pair of fangs jutted from his upper jaw. He wore a sleeveless black vest, black boots, red trousers and a black top hat.

"If someone else is creating mutants then I want to know more about it" said Arcane. "Come on, we're going to confront these intruders directly."

"Yeah! We'll teach them to try and muscle in on our turf!" Weed Killer exclaimed. Noticing his master's pointed look he hastily added "uh, I mean your turf boss."

"And don't forget it" said Arcane darkly.

Meanwhile at Ernie's Gym and Juice Bar Jason and Tommy were sparring together to hone their karate skills. Kimberly, Trini, Billy and Zack were all watching with interest, as were most of the customers. While it was just a friendly training session it was still a highly impressive display of skill.

Eventually they both wound down and finally stopped. Both guys were breathing heavily and had sweat on their brows as they bowed to each other.

"That was morphinomenal!" Kimberly exclaimed when Tommy and Jason joined them at their table after showering and changing. The others had already gotten them drinks which they gratefully accepted.

"Thanks Kim" said Tommy. "Too bad it was another draw."

"Yeah" Jason agreed. "I don't think we'll ever really know which of us is best."

"Now guys come on" Trini gently chided. "You're both on the same side and you know we're all stronger together."

"Yeah man. Remember what happened when Rita sent those Super-Putties down?" Zack pointed out.

"We know" Jason reassured them. "We just want to be the best martial artists we can be. Don't worry me and Tommy are bros and nothing will change that."

"You said it" Tommy agreed.

Just then the familiar beeping sound issued from their communicators. Jason glanced around to check no-one was listening and then tapped his communicator.

"Zordon, we read you" he said quietly.

"RANGERS, YOU MUST TELEPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTRE IMMEDIATELY" their mentor replied.

The Rangers went into the main corridor and after a quick check that the coast was clear they teleported to the Command Centre.

"AI-YI-YI-YI-YI" Alpha 5 exclaimed as they appeared. "Rangers we have a situation here!"

"RANGERS, OBSERVE THE VIEWING GLOBE" said Zordon.

They did so. The globe depicted a group of Putties digging up a patch of earth.

"THESE IMAGES ARE FROM A SWAMP IN LOUISIANA. LORD ZEDD HAS DISCOVERED THE LOCATION OF THE SWORD OF POWER, AN ANCIENT WEAPON TOO POWERFUL FOR ANY WARRIOR TO WIELD WITHOUT BEING CONSUMED BY ITS POWER" Zordon explained. "CENTURIES AGO A TRIBE OF NATIVE PEOPLE WERE ENTRUSTED WITH THE SWORD. FOR SAFEKEEPING THEY HID IT ON THEIR SACRED BURIAL GROUND. NOW ZEDD HAS SENT HIS PUTTIES TO UNEARTH IT."

"That's disgusting" said Trini. "How can Zedd disturb people's graves like that?"

"Yeah, that's just wrong" Zack agreed.

"INDEED POWER RANGERS. YOU MUST STOP THEM BEFORE THEY LOCATE THE SWORD."

"What about Tommy?" Kimberly asked.

"It's alright Kim" he replied. "I can handle some Putties without needing to use my powers."

"All right then. Power Rangers let's teach these guys a lesson" said Jason.

The Rangers teleported to the swamp. They materialised just as Squatt and Baboo were dragging an ornately carved box out of the ground.

"Hold it right there!" Jason yelled. Startled, the two monsters dropped the box which clattered as it hit the ground.

"Get them Putties" Baboo called before he and Squatt teleported away. The Putties dropped their shovels and charged. The Rangers met them head-on.

Jason and Tommy led the way. Despite being tired from their earlier sparring match they moved and fought expertly, blocking attacks and countering with solid punches and kicks aimed at the large 'Z' carved onto the Putties chests. With each successful hit the Putties glowed and exploded.

Zack, Billy and Trini were more than holding their own, with Zack employing his trademark 'hip-hop-kido' to distract and set up the creatures, and Trini fighting with her usual skill and grace.

Kimberly did a series of tumbles to gain room and when a Putty rushed her she leaped up and landed a kick to its chest right on the 'Z.' It exploded, but her triumphant grin disappeared as she noticed her hands were covered in mud and slime.

"GROSS!"

Within just a few moments the Putties were all destroyed. Zack grinned gleefully. "Yeah! We kicked their clay butts!"

"Yes, we achieved an impressive victory especially given our tactical disadvantage of being in unfamiliar surroundings and the additional disadvantage of Tommy and Jason's level of fatigue from their prior exertions" Billy agreed.

Tommy chuckled softly as he took out a handkerchief and helped Kim wipe her hands. "Here let me help."

"Thank you Tommy" she replied, grinning at him. He grinned back.

"Alright guys, let's see what they were after" said Jason.

They gathered around as he opened the box. Inside was a black and silver long-sword with a double-edged blade, a diamond-shaped pommel and rhombus-shaped guards.

"That's an awesome sword" said Tommy.

"A remarkable example of metalworking" Billy added.

"Let's get it back to the Command Centre" said Jason.

"You're not going anywhere!"

The Rangers all spun around to see a bright red vehicle drive out into the clearing. It resembled an airboat, with a large back-mounted propeller, but it also had caterpillar tracks. Mounted on the bow were three serrated blades and behind them was a torpedo launcher. This was Arcane's Bayou Blaster. Aboard it were Arcane and his three henchmen. The Rangers stared in astonishment.

"Now what do we have here?" the evil scientist asked with a fiendish smile. "Six fine new guinea pigs for my experiments."

"It's Morphin time!" Jason yelled.

But it was too late. Before the Rangers could pull out their morphers Arcane hit a button and fired a torpedo. It exploded overhead, dousing the Rangers in a cloud of mutagenic gas. They cried out in pain and gripped their heads as the chemicals took effect.

Jason, Tommy and Billy took on a similar appearance to Dr. Deemo. Their hair fell out and scales covered their skin, coloured red, green and blue respectively. Their eyes turned red.

Trini and Zack by contrast sprouted coverings of light fur, sandy brown for Trini and dark brown for Zack. Their ears also turned pointed and their eyes became yellow.

Kimberly's skin grew a thin coat of white feathers. Her nose and mouth fused together to form a stubby beak.

Finally the gas dispersed. The mutated Rangers fell silent and stopped moving. They stood still, awaiting Arcane's commands.

"Much better" he said as he examined his handiwork with a sick smile. "With these new creatures I will finally be able to capture Swamp Thing."

"It was no help what they pulled from the hole, now they are under Dr. Arcane's control" said Deemo, talking in rhyme as usual.

"Return to my lab" said Arcane. "And bring that sword with us. I suspect it's something more than a mere weapon."

"You heard him. Move it rookies" Skinman cackled.

The Rangers obeyed. Tommy picked up the box that contained the Sword of Power and all of them followed the Bayou Blaster as it drove away.