The disclaimer saying that I don't own any Galaxy Rangers characters has taken off into the dust. Again, another mad fic from my mad mind.
Flashfire
"So much for this being a routine delivery mission," Shane Gooseman grunted as he looked over the crime scene.
They were standing in a run down bank in a small town on the northern continent of Granna. There had been a bank robbery at the time when the Rangers were assigned to drop off some new advanced gardening supplies in order to help the farmers through an unusually hard drought. When they landed they heard about a robbery at the small bank at the space port. So they decided to investigate.
Partially because the Series Five Rangers also had another assignment as well, breaking in two young rangers new to the force.
"Okay, okay I think I see the problem here," One tall male Ranger no more than twenty with brown hair spoke up. "What we have here was a robbery! And the robbers wanted credits…"
"Brilliant deduction Allen," A darker haired young ranger rolled his eyes. "Hey! Here's a newsflash, the criminals probably used blasters!"
"Look Mister Smarty Pants you have to follow logical procedure…" Allen began.
"Yeah logically you're a moron!" The other young ranger snapped.
"Charles! Allen! Quit clowning around and get statements from the witnesses!" Shane barked. There were several people that had witnessed the robbery. "Move it!"
"Go easy on them Goose. They are new rangers after all," Zach grinned. "Fresh out of the academy. This is their first assignment after all."
"Mentoring program my butt," Shane grunted. "Just Commander Cain's way of butting in on us."
"All the ranger teams are doing this," Zach gave him a look. "It's a good system. I hate to admit it but this will give new rangers valuable experience. Think of the things we can teach them."
"You mean things about our personal life and secrets?" Shane hissed under his breath. "Because it's a real good possibility that Cain stuck us with these two jokers to spy on us!"
"OW!" Both Allen and Charles had bent down to pick up something on the floor and hit their head at the same time.
"On the other hand Goose there is a possibility that they may not be spying on us," Zach blinked.
A wiry man in his fifties with a black beard and white suit walked up to them. "Thank you for coming Galaxy Rangers. Any help will be appreciated in helping crack down the bandits who stole from my bank."
"Your bank, Mister…?" Zach asked.
"Bill MacBrinely, but everyone calls me Bill," The man smiled. "I'm one of the main landowners on this side of Granna and I also have a ranch right next door to the space port. And since there ain't exactly too many fancy bankers I opened up a bank to help the locals here. It's a small place but at least it's some place where folks can store their savings and get a loan if they really need it."
"Looks like the bandits really needed it," Charles remarked.
"Charles get back to work," Shane barked. Charles scurried away.
"Do you know who might have done it?" Zach said.
"Well they ain't locals that's for sure," Bill grunted. "Everyone here knows everyone and they all know I've never turned away someone who needed money in times of need. And I'm a patient man when it comes to collection. I got enough money to cover a few debts and then some. I didn't start up this bank to make a lot of money, just to help my people out. Unfortunately if this keeps up I may have to close up if I get robbed one more time."
"This has happened before?" Shane asked.
"Yes and that idiot local Sheriff Glaston hasn't been able to do a dang thing about it," Bill snarled. "Three times in three months this bank's been robbed and all he does is grab a few of his lazy deputies to chase 'em down but he never catches them. I've even put armed men around the bank but they still manage to get through."
"Where's the Sheriff now?" Shane asked.
"Ran out after 'em like a dog after a raccoon not long after they robbed the place," Bill grunted. "He won't be back until nightfall. But there is one thing that's bothering me."
"What is it?" Zach asked.
"I hate to say this but one of my men, he had those gunmen in his sights and he did nothing," Bill grunted. "Just stood there while they ran by. And now he's missing."
"Who was he?" Zach asked.
"Some drifter I hired a few months back," Bill shrugged. "Calls himself Flash. Big guy, about his size," He pointed to Shane. "Red hair, red beard, green eyes. Real quiet. Never caused any trouble before. Just did the work and collected his pay."
"Think he might have been in on it?" Zach asked.
"Dunno but it just looked suspicious to me," Bill said. "This ain't an easy place to do business and I make sure all my men are armed just in case of circumstances like this."
"Maybe he just knew one of the guys?" Shane thought aloud. "I'll go ask around to see if anyone's seen him." He went to get the statements from the other two rangers.
"When did you notice Flash was missing?" Zach asked Bill.
"Just a few hours ago," Bill said. "I yelled at him for not doing anything and told him to wait for me. Turned my back a minute and then he disappeared. Checked his room and what little stuff he had was gone. Just plain took off."
"Anything else about the robbery you can remember?" Zach asked.
"Only what you've seen on the security cameras, a simple smash and grab," Bill shrugged. "And I know these are the same men each time even though they all wore masks."
"Thank you for your statement Bill. We'll see what we can do," Zach nodded. Bill went away. "Goose, you find anything?"
"Something pretty odd," Shane frowned as he returned. "According to all accounts the bandits went west out of town but this Flash guy went east. In the opposite direction."
"That is odd," Zach frowned. "Maybe this Flash guy did know the bandits? And maybe he was running from them?"
"Or he could have been part of the gang once and cut out," Shane thought. "It's not unheard of. So what do we do? Follow the sheriff and his posse and help them out? Or track down this Flash guy?"
"Technically this is a local affair and I don't want to step in the Sherriff's territory," Zach thought. "We'll send in Charles and Allen to assist and we'll track down this Flash. I have a hunch he may be wanted for something."
"Fine with me," Shane grinned. "Allen! Charles! Good news, gentlemen, you're about to get some real life experience."
"Really?" Allen bounded over excitedly.
"Yes," Zach said. "You and Charles take the rover and head west. See if you can assist the Sheriff in rounding up the bandits."
"You mean like a posse?" Allen's ears perked up. "A real posse?"
"Yes but don't step on the Sheriff's toes," Zach said. "You're to assist. And contact us the minute you find anything!"
"Oh yeah! Right!" Allen nodded excitedly.
"All right! Finally we get to shoot something!" Charles grinned. However both men in their excitement tried to get out the door of the bank at the same time and got stuck for a moment.
"You're in my way!" Charles snapped.
"No you're in my way!" Allen shouted. "OW! NO HITTING!"
"Oh boy…" Shane grumbled. "I'll say one thing. If they really are spies for Cain, he couldn't have picked two better actors."
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"Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow oh wow!" Allen nearly bounced in his seat with excitement as they rode. "I can't believe it! This is our very first mission and already we're chasing bank robbers! Just like in those old west shows! Real live honest to goodness bank robbers!"
"Yeah it's gonna be a blast," Charles grunted.
"And to think you were all depressed because all you thought we were going to do was deliver some garden supplies," Allen said cheerfully. "But I told you! I told you that anything can happen when you're with the Series Five Rangers! Delivering valuable tools to the farmers one minute, chasing bank robbers the next! Who knows! Maybe we'll tangle with some aliens who will blast us into an alternate universe?"
"Only if we are very lucky," Charles grunted. "Hey! It looks like we already caught up to the Sheriff!"
"Yeah and they're having some kind of camp fire," Allen said as the rover pulled down. He got out of the vehicle. "Yoo Hoo! Sheriff? Sheriff! Hello! I'm Ranger Allen and this is Ranger Charles and we're here to assist you in catching the bandits! Oh it looks like you caught them already! And you've got the money! And you've got everyone holding a bag of it so I guess it would be easy to carry…Even the bandits are carrying them…"
"Uh oh…" Charles realized what was going on.
"They're not having a campfire are they?" Allen realized.
"No, but we're going to get roasted instead of marshmallows!" Charles shouted as they ducked for cover.
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Meanwhile Zach and Shane had caught up with the missing cowhand. He had made camp for the night at a nearby stream. "Are you Flash?" Zach made his presence known.
The cowhand jerked to his feet. He was about seven feet tall and well built, but lean. He had long scraggly red hair hidden under a brown hat and had a scraggly red beard on his face. He wore a dust covered brown shirt and vest, and jeans with well worn boots. He had a blaster in his belt and his light green eyes were the eyes of a haunted man.
"All right who sent…" The man looked at Shane. "Oh for crying out loud…"
"You!" Shane gasped in shock. "But you're…You're…"
"Dead? I very nearly was…" Flash growled.
"You know each other?" Zach looked back and forth.
"Yeah…" Shane let out a breath.
"Goose…" Flash growled reaching for his weapon.
"No! It's all right!" Shane held up his hand. "Flashfire! Don't! We can trust him! He won't tell!"
"I can't take that chance…" Flash whipped out his weapon.
"Damn it Flashfire! Everyone thinks you're dead! I thought you were dead!" Shane shouted. "This isn't like Kilbane and the others!"
"Kilbane…?" Zach realized. "He's from Wolf Den isn't he? He's a Supertrooper too."
"Until the incident happened I was the only one to ever escape from Wolf Den," Flash admitted. "And I am not going back!"
"You won't have to go back as long as you don't do anything stupid!" Shane told him. "Flash you trusted me before. You can trust me now!"
"I don't know if I can," Flash growled. "I've heard about you…Why they made you a Galaxy Ranger." His hand seemed to shake as he held the weapon.
"Flash I wouldn't do that to you," Shane said. "Just please put the weapon down! If not for me, for Max! Don't let his sacrifice be for nothing! Please!"
"How do I know about him?" Flash pointed the weapon at Zach. "How do I know he won't turn me in?"
"As long as you haven't committed a crime I won't," Zach said honestly. "You have my word."
"Well then we have a problem because technically I'm a deserter!" Flash snorted.
"Did you run because you were put on the list?" Zach asked.
"How do you know about…?" Flash realized. "You told him?"
"There were…special circumstances," Shane let out a breath. "Flash please put the weapon down. Don't do this! I don't want to fight you too. Please…"
"Listen Flash," Zach said. "I admit I don't know everything that went on at Wolf Den but I know enough to realize it wasn't a vacation spot. And it sounds like you were in a very bad situation."
"That's putting it mildly…" Flash snorted.
"How did you get out?" Zach asked.
"Simple, Max Sawyer faked my death on the target range and smuggled me out shortly before he got the ax from Wolf Den," Flash told him. "Since then I've been going from planet to planet. Never staying in one place very long. I kept the first part of my name. I mean Flash is pretty common for someone with red hair. Just been going from place to place…Looking for work. Plenty of it for those who want it and people who don't want to ask questions."
"Flash please just trust me," Shane said softly. "You know if you fight us we'll have to take you in and there will be no escape for you. And you know deep down you can't beat me in a shoot out."
"No…" Flash seemed resigned as he put the gun down. "I can't." He handed his weapon over to Shane. "Even if I wanted to."
"It's not even charged…" Shane realized as he looked at the blaster. "Wait then…"
"Yeah…" Flash started to laugh hysterically. "I still have it Gooseman. I thought once I was on my own away from that damned place I could get over it. But I couldn't. It takes all I've got just to hold a blaster that doesn't work!"
"Flash…" Shane said softly.
"What? What are you saying?" Zach asked.
"I'm saying this is the reason I had to flee Wolf Den," Flash told him. "Something happened to me during training…A real bad accident. After that…I couldn't pick up a blaster or go near one again without getting the shakes. And let's face it. What good is a super solider that can't fire a weapon?"
"You're gun shy?" Zach was stunned.
"The correct term is hoplophobia," Flash mocked. "An abnormal fear of guns and firearms. In other words I'm a coward."
"You're not a coward," Shane told him.
"Yeah right," Flash snorted. "The only reason I carry that is because Bill said I needed to have a weapon in case of emergencies. So I just made sure I found the most useless thing I could find. Appropriate isn't it?"
"You had the guts to fight your destiny and win," Shane said. "That doesn't sound like a coward to me."
"Fighting? I ran away Goose," Flash said. "That's not fighting! You were always the brave one. I was always jealous of you."
"If that's true then you couldn't have had anything to do with the robbery," Zach frowned.
"But if I stayed not only would people find out that I'm a coward they'd know I was a genetic mutant," Flash snorted. "Not exactly much of a choice. So I did the only thing a coward could do. I ran."
"Obviously we have to come up with something so people won't find out what you are," Zach said. "Flash, is there anything you can tell us about the robbery? Anything at all?"
"Just what everyone else saw," Flash shrugged. "But I do know for a fact that at least one of the men worked for Sheriff Glaston at one time."
"How could you tell?" Zach asked.
"Recognized his voice and his scent," Flash touched his nose. "I have a pretty good sense of smell. Even better than a lot of other Supertroopers."
"We're taking you back to town," Zach said. "We'll say that you recognized someone and got nervous. Which is the truth."
"Zach…" Shane began. "If there's a shot that Sheriff Glaston is in on this…"
"I'm on it," Zach nodded. He touched his communicator. "Charles! Allen! Can you read me? Over?"
"Uh hello Sir?" Allen's voice was heard along with the sound of gunfire. "Sorry! I know I should have called you earlier but we kind of have a little bit of a situation here! You'll never guess it!"
"Sheriff Glaston is in with the bandits?" Zach took a wild guess. "And they've discovered your position and are firing on you?"
"Wow, you really are good sir!" Allen's voice was filled with awe.
BLAM!
"Uh Sir, we're kind of in a pickle here…" Allen spoke. "HEY! YOU SHOT MY HAT!"
"We're on our way," Zach grunted. "Damn it! According to my sensors they're at least a three hour ride away from here! We'll never get to them in time!"
"We're just going to have to make time," Shane growled. "Get on your horse Flash! We gotta ride!"
"All right," Flash sighed as he did so. "Although I don't see what use I'll be."
"We can drop you off in town on the way," Zach told him. "I just hope we won't be too late!"
However when they got to the small town they saw an odd sight. Several bandits and members of the posse were being bandaged by people. "What happened?" Shane yelled. "It looks like a triage exploded!"
"Oh no! More rangers!" One bandit screamed in fear. "Keep those maniacs away from us!"
"What the devil…?" Zach looked around.
"It appears your boys are a bit trigger happy," Bill sauntered up to them. "They told us the whole story. Glaston got away but your men did a real job on his gang. And Flash where the hell have you been? Could have used your help!"
"Flash recognized one of the bankers as one of the Sheriff's men and got a bit antsy," Shane said quickly. "Hold on a second, Rangers Allen and Charles did this?"
"I had to sir," Ranger Allen walked up to them. "They shot my hat. It was a real nice hat."
"You should have seen what he did to someone back at the academy when his shoes got scuffed," Charles smiled.
"Let me take a wild guess," Shane gave them a look. "The two of you blew up a few target ranges didn't you?"
"No, where near your record at the Academy sir!" Charles said proudly. "Only five. Sir, did you know that you're my hero? You're everything I would like to be?"
"I think I've just figured out the real reason we got stuck with these two…" Zach groaned.
"I gotta admit, they're starting to grow on me," Shane grinned.
"Goose why don't you interview…uh the witness while I have a little talk with Allen and Charles here?" Zach sighed as he led the young rangers away.
Shane snickered as he took Flash alone into a nearby bar. It was empty so they had the place to themselves. "Such is the life of a Ranger. You think Supertroopers are crazy, you ought to hang out with the Rangers sometime."
"No thanks," Flash sat down at a nearby chair. "I've had enough bad experiences with fighting to last me a lifetime."
"You're not the only one who regrets things they've done back at Wolf Den…" Shane said softly.
"I know I shouldn't have run but I just freaked out. Everything's been falling apart lately," Flash sighed. "And on top of it all I can barely sleep because of these damn dreams I've been having."
"Dreams?" Shane asked as he sat down. "What kind of dreams?"
"It doesn't matter," Flash snapped. "It's stupid."
Shane took a chance. "It wouldn't happen to be about a mermaid would they?"
"How the hell do you…?" Flash did a double take.
"Flash, they're not dreams! That means Cheyenne was trying to talk to you!" Shane said.
"Who the hell is Cheyenne and how the hell do you know about this?" Flash asked.
"That is a long story," Shane sighed.
"I got time," Flash admitted. So Shane told him.
"Let me get this straight…" Flash looked at Shane when he finished. "You found out that one of our donors is actually alive and she wants you to go around and unite the Supertroopers?"
"That's about it," Shane nodded.
"Gooseman that's insane!" Flash snapped.
"No, no it isn't," Shane told her. "Cheyenne can sense things. She sensed that there were other Supertroopers out there besides the ones who escaped Wolf Den and she was right! There were others I found…There was this other secret base. A handful of children survived. They're living on Andor now, safe and away from Earth. And now I found you."
"So you lucked out and found a few kids and a deserter! Big deal!" Flash snorted. "That doesn't prove anything!"
"It proves that there are more of us out there than we thought!" Shane told him. "Maybe, maybe if I find all the pieces and at least know where they are…"
"What Gooseman? What? You gonna lead us all to some promised land?" Flash snapped. "That we won't be used and hunted any more? That's nothing but a stupid dream! The Board of Leaders will freeze us all, if they don't kill us first."
"Not if we get them first," Shane said. "I've been biding my time. Gathering evidence. Hell I even arrested two of the senators that oversaw the Supertrooper Project myself!"
"Which two?" Flash asked.
"Drake and Gann," Shane said. "And three of them died of natural causes…"
"Five down, forty to go…" Flash shook his head. "You're really gonna take on the whole Board of Leaders all by yourself huh?"
"No, the Galaxy Rangers are going to take them on," Shane pointed out. "I can't do it alone."
"So what the hell do you want me to do Gooseman?" Flash snapped. "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing! I…" Shane sighed. "I just…missed you that's all. All these years I thought you were dead and now just knowing you're alive! Do you know what that means?"
"What?"
"It means that maybe Max might have smuggled other Supertroopers out of Wolf Den!" Shane threw up his hands. "That there are more of us out there! Think hard, did he ever say anything about other Supertroopers?"
"If he did, he didn't tell me," Flash grunted. "I'm sorry Goose, but I got a feeling in my gut that I'm the only one. The only reason he did it for me was that he just felt guilty and couldn't take it any more."
"I remember," Shane sighed. "Three days after you 'died'…The Board of Leaders removed Max from the program."
"I know," Flash looked at him. "Max told me what happened. He stashed me someplace until he started to be on the run. Then he managed to get me to Mars where we parted ways. Did you know he had a family?"
"Yeah…" Shane said softly. "Except for his son, they're dead now. The boy's name is Billy and he…"
The sound of an explosion stopped him. "What the hell?" Shane shouted as the two men raced outside. "Oh you gotta be kidding me!"
A giant metal tank like object was thundering through the town, firing randomly. Behind it was several men with blasters firing wildly. The townspeople scattered.
"BILL YOU RAT! I SWEAR I'LL RUN YOU OUT OF TOWN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" The Sheriff's voice shouted through the microphone of the tank. "THEN THIS TOWN WILL TRULY BE MINE! HA HA HA HA!"
"Some people just don't know when to quit," Zach grumbled as he readied his thunderbolt.
"I always knew that dang Sheriff was nuts but I had no idea how nuts!" Bill yelled as he pulled out his blaster. "Fire men!" He called out to his workers.
"I don't even want to know where that sheriff got something like that!" Zach snarled as he powered up his thunderbolt. "But I hope for his sake he doesn't have too many payments on it!"
BOOOOOOOM!
The thunderbolt tore a huge hole in it. The sheriff's men, Bill's men and the Galaxy Rangers blasted at each other. "WHOOO HAAAA! I LOVE THIS JOB!" Ranger Charles screamed in delight as he stunned one bad guy then blasted apart a nearby sign to hit another one square on the head.
"DANCE MISTER BAD MAN! DANCE!" Ranger Allen laughed hysterically as he fired.
"FLASH WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?" Bill yelled.
Shane whirled around and his eyes widened in horror as he saw Flash just standing there, barely able to hold a blaster. He guessed Bill must have shoved it in his hands. Flash seemed to be in another world, completely in shock.
"FLASH!" Shane moved with the speed of a panther and knocked Flash out of the way. At the same time he whipped out his blaster and knocked the weapons out of the men firing on him.
Shane was hit on the shoulder with a stray blast but with a touch of his badge he absorbed the energy and changed his form to a golden metal version. To everyone's surprise he tackled the remaining shooters and knocked them down almost instantly.
"Now that's a real hero!" Bill whooped as the fight was soon over.
"Sheriff, you're under arrest," Zach snarled as he dragged the sheriff out of the broken tank with his bionic arm. "For a whole lot of things. Mostly for annoying the hell out of me."
Shane ignored the whoops and cheers as he went over to Flash. He was sitting down with his head on his knees. "Flash…?" Shane knelt down. "Are you all right?"
"I still couldn't beat it Goose…" Flash looked broken.
"Well if you had you would have spoiled my fun," Shane made a sad smirk. "You just knew I would have been ticked off if you had."
"You don't have to make excuses for me Goose…" Flash gave him a hard look. "I've accepted the fact that I was a failure a long time ago. Unlike you…You were always the best of us. We were all second rate compared to you."
Shane stood there and watched as Flash got up and walked away.
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"Now that was a mission!" Ranger Allen squealed happily as he nearly bounced in his seat in Ranger One. "That was a mission! It had shoot outs and bank robbers and corrupt sheriffs and a big big tank and an explosion and more shooting and more explosions and…"
"So are all your missions usually this quiet or do they get interesting from time to time?" Charles smiled at Zach.
"Actually this was rather tame for us," Zach admitted.
"I guess so," Charles said. "Where's Ranger Gooseman? Aren't we taking off soon?"
"Ranger Gooseman is taking care of one final matter before we leave," Zach told him with a sad smile.
At a nearby space port Flash had his knapsack on his back as he and Shane walked to a space ship getting ready to take off. "You don't have to leave you know?" Shane said. "You've been cleared of any wrong doing."
"Doesn't matter, I lost my job," Flash sighed. "Bill said he had no use for a cowhand that can't fire a blaster."
"I'm sorry I…" Shane began.
"Don't apologize," Flash waved. "It ain't your fault I'm weak. At least I know I ain't going to the Cryocrypt."
"Where are you going?" Shane asked.
"I wouldn't tell you even if I did know," Flash gave him a look.
"You're right," Shane sighed. "Do you need anything?"
"I don't need charity if that's what you're implying," Flash growled.
"I wasn't! I was just…" Shane began.
"You were just acting like a human," Flash interrupted. "Ain't we a pair? We're both defects. I'm useless and you're…Well…You just don't have that killer instinct anymore."
"I don't need it," Shane growled. "I don't want it. I don't want to be anything like I was. And neither should you."
Flash gave him a sad look. "I dunno Goose. Maybe you can live with what you've become. Out of the both of us you've always been the stronger. All I can do is go from place to place, hiding what I am. What I was…Knowing I'll never get it back. Sometimes I think this is even worse than the Cryocrypt. Living with my shame…"
"I'll never be ashamed of you," Shane said softly.
"That's because your heart is the only thing that's weak about you," Flash said. "You were always too soft hearted for your own good."
"Compassion is not a weakness Flash," Shane told him.
"Maybe not in your world," Flash told him. "With all your Galaxy Ranger morality…"
"That same Galaxy Ranger morality is what's letting you live," Shane interrupted bitterly.
Flash closed his eyes in shame. "I know…The truth is Shane, I'm too scared to die. I just don't…I don't want to end up like the others that died as target practice or got stuffed into a freezer. No matter how worthless I am."
"You don't deserve that," Shane said. "No matter how you feel about it. Can I give you one piece of advice?"
"What?"
"Next time Cheyenne contacts you," Shane said. "Don't fight her. Let her talk to you. She understands you more than you know. She's had to hide for years too. She helped me feel better about myself. She can help you too."
"Maybe…" Flash sighed. "See ya around Gooseman. For what it's worth…You did all right for yourself."
"Take care my friend," Shane said softly before Flash climbed on board the starship heading further into the frontier.
A familar bitterness welled up in Shane's heart. Again he was reminded about Wolf Den and how many lives had been ruined because of it. Walsh and Nagata may have had run the place but at least they tried to make the training as humane as possible. No, it was Wheiner and forty four other members of the Board of Leaders that ran the project were the ones that had made their lives hell. They were the ones that forced the hunts and the tests on them. They were the ones that made the lives of all the Supertroopers worthless.
And once again Shane made a silent vow that they would all pay for their crimes. But right now someone else needed something more.
"Cheyenne…" Shane whispered a silent prayer as the starship left for parts unknown. "Please watch over him. And help him find himself…"