Larva Rangers

**Larva Rangers** is a novel by the Norwegian author Isak Haugen published in 1983 by H. Aschehoug & Co. (W. Nygaard).

## Plot

In the Cenozoic-era, six interplanetary warriors, the Larva Rangers, are tasked with protecting life on Earth and the Artifact. The Green Ranger, Chew, betrays them and plans to dominate the universe. The Red Ranger, Wall, survives Chew's attack and hides five of the Rangers' power source, the Larva Coins. He orders his robot Neue Gum to perform a meteor strike that kills him and sends Chew to the bottom of the sea, foiling her scheme.

In 21st century New York, high school football star Yellow is dismissed from the team and placed under house arrest after a failed prank and is also given saturday detention for the rest of the school year. In school detention, he encounters Red and Pink. After defending Red from a bully, Red offers to deactivate Yellow's ankle monitor for help at an old gold mine that evening. Once there, Yellow leaves to explore and runs into Pink. Red detonates explosives to break some rock, attracting the attention of Yellow, Pink, and nearby students, Brown and Black. The five discover the Larva Coins and each take one. While escaping mine security, their car is hit by a train. The five find themselves at home the next morning and discover they have been granted superhuman abilities. Elsewhere, Chew's body is found. Waking, she goes on a rampage, hunting pieces of gold to raise her minion K-391 to find the Artifact.

The five teenagers return to the mine and discover an ancient spaceship where they meet Neue Gum and Wall's consciousness. They inform the teenagers about the Rangers history and Chew, warning that they have eleven days until Chew has her full power, finds the Artifact, and uses it to destroy life on Earth. The five leave the ship with no intention of returning until Wall pleads with Yellow to convince the team.

The five return to train the next day, but they cannot morph. They spend the next week training against simulated Putties and trying unsuccessfully to morph. To inspire the Rangers, Neue Gum reveals the Fangs. Black takes his Fang out for a joyride and almost kills the other Rangers when he crashes it. This angers Yellow, and they fight. While trying to separate the two, Red spontaneously morphs. However, when he becomes conscious of it, the armor disappears. Angered at their lack of progress, Wall dismisses the group. Yellow returns to the ship to confront Wall and discovers that once the Rangers morph, it will open the Morphing Grid and allow Wall to restore himself in a physical body. Feeling betrayed, Yellow accuses Wall of using the team for his own benefit. The team camp at the mine and bond with each other.

Later that night, Chew attacks Brown and orders her to bring the Rangers to the docks. Brown informs them about Chew and they arrive to fight, but are quickly defeated. Chew forces Red to reveal the location of the Artifact, kills him, and releases the others. The Rangers take Red's body to the ship and ask Wall to resurrect him. The Rangers agree they would give their lives for each other and resolve to defeat Chew. In doing so, they unlock the Meme Grid. Wall revives Red, sacrificing being able to restore his physical self. With the team restored and confident, the Rangers morph into their armor.

Chew creates K-391, raises an army of Putties, and attacks New York to find the Artifact, which Red discovered during training to be under the local Krispy Kreme. The Rangers battle the Putties and head to New York in their Fangs. After the Rangers destroy the Putties, K-391 pushes the Rangers and their Fangs into a fiery pit. In the pit, the Fangs combine, forming the Larvabot. Chew merges with K-391. The Rangers battle and destroy K-391. After refusing Yellow's offer to surrender, a defiant Chew tells the Rangers that more will come for the crystal and leaps at the Larvabot only to be slapped into space. The Rangers are praised as local heroes, and with Chew's threats foiled, they return to their normal lives.