Bridge Carson: The Secret War

Disclaimer: Steven the Elemental Magic Shadow Ranger is property of Elemental Shadow Ranger. I use his character with his WRITTEN consent. Power Rangers is Property of Disney.

Chronicle One: One of the Three Unique Ones

It was supposed to be a rescue mission. Sydney Drew was dispatched by Sky Tate, Commander of Earth's SPD forces, to track down a dangerous criminal that had escaped to the past. However, after she had been gone too long, Sky sent Bridge Carson, his red Ranger, to rescue her. However, Bridge had found himself face to face with a Mysterious figure that guards the timeline. This figure had previously sent him off to a more distant future, only to pull him out yet again. Now, Bridge is at the end of his rope. His patience has run out. His friend's life may be in danger, and he needs to save her. The only thing standing in his way is the figure, Chronos.

"Tell Me!! Who the Hell are you!!!?? Why are you in my way!!??"- Bridge cries out in righteous fury towards Chronos, Keeper of the Sands of Time. "You are naught more than one of billions. Losing you, or Sydney Drew, is of no consequence to the greater scheme of things. You can be replaced. So can she. In the end, all lives are expendable. All but three."- Replied the towering figure that was Chronos.

"How dare you consider lives to be expandable!!? Just because there may be billions of people LIKE me, does not mean there are billions of ME!! I am unique, and so is Syd!!! Her life may mean nothing for you, but she means a lot to ME!!! I WILL SAVE HER, AND YOU WILL GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"- said Bridge.

Just then, a radiant light had shined from above the darkness of the End of Time and Space. A beautiful, ethereal figure had descended from the light source, and faced Bridge. The ethereal figure was as large as Chronos, who itself was as large as a mountain. "I am Eva, Bringer of Life. Chronos, this one speaks the truth. Though there may be billions of Bridge Carsons, each of them is unique. All lives are unique, in spite of the fact that the Timelines make several billions of copies of said lives. And, sad to say, there is one tiny creature that is becoming an untold threat."- said Eva the ethereal. Chronos looked at it, and said- " Then, mayhaps we should send this one to take care of this 'threat' as you call it. How big a threat are we talking about?" Eva looked at Chronos, and said- "I wish to test the boy first. I will send him on three of the most perilous timelines."

Chronos' eyes widened, and said "Very well. I can see that this is serious. Bridge Carson of Timeline 2 Version 3! You are hereby ordered to assist us in this new struggle!! Your reward shall be… Sydney Drew of your same timeline, safe and sound." Bridge let out a sigh of relief, and said- "Fine, I will help."

Eva looked at him, and with a wave of Chronos' hand, a giant whirlpool appeared. "This is Timeline 98 Version 300. You will defeat the monster known as Shadow Carnage. Can you do this? You will find him harder to defeat than any Alien you have ever faced before."- said Eva. And off Bridge went.

Bridge was surrounded by the ruins of what had once been a bustling city. The sky was red, like blood. The trees, well, there were no trees. There was plenty of fire, smoke and ashes. The screams of thousands filled the air as in a chorus of woe and despair. "What is this place?"- Bridge asked himself. He walked along what had at one time been a road. He looked on, ever ready in case he was attacked. He had no doubt, this place, if not this Earth, was NOT a safe place to be.

Bridge kept walking, until he saw a giant skyscraper building in a reclining position. He climbed its surface, to get a better view of this world. The building was slanted, so it made traversing its surface on foot no daunting task. As Bridge traversed its surface, he looked on to the horizon. He saw… Black Lance, of the Ten Terrors, was being served by what looked to be… people. It was too far for Bridge to tell, but he knew… the Mystic Force of this world had failed their mission. Octomus, master of Dark Magic, had won.

Bridge surveyed the area. There were signs of many struggles. Some buildings still had the markings of human blood on them. There was something n the ground. A helmet. The Red Light speed Ranger's helmet. Cracked and broken beyond repair. Bridge knew…it was not just the Mystic Force that could not stop Octomus. Other teams had tried. And all have failed.

Bridge had no time to spare. He was alert, expecting ANYTHING to jump at him. He stayed in the shadows, knowing that being out in the open may not only jeopardize the mission, but put his life at risk as well. He could only imagine, how many people have already lost their lives? How many Rangers are now K.I.A?

He snapped to attention upon hearing a low growling sound, as well as a crunch. A girl's scream is heard across the tunnel of what had once been a subway station. Bridge ran towards the source of the sound. He passed what can only be described as an abandoned tent village. A tent village underground…a sign of the times. He finally found the source of the scream: A young girl being held by a Hidiac while three more were…eating a young woman's corpse. "Mommy!!! Mommy!!!!"- screamed the girl.

Bridge was just about to morph, when he heard someone say- "Mystic Element, Empower!!!" Suddenly, a Black Ranger had arrived on the scene. This ranger wielded a one handed axe, with a double blade. He slashed one of the Hidiacs with his axe, chopping its head off. Another charged at him, but he kicked it in the chest, knocking it back a few inches. The Ranger then jumped, and kicked that Hidiac again in the head, ending the combo with a swing of his axe, aimed right for the offender's chest. Only one Hidiac left. It began to retreat, but the Ranger cried out- "Shadow Boomerang!!!" and threw his axe at the Hidiac, slicing it in half. The axe, like a boomerang, simply flew back to its owner's hand.

The little girl approached the corpse, eyes all red with tears, and her body shaking uncontrollably. "Mommy…"- was all she could say. Bridge felt awful. "What happened here? How could the entire world end up like THIS?"- was all he could say. The Ranger just looked at him, still morphed, and said- 'You been living under a rock!?" Bridge said- "Yes!! I've been living under a rock!!!!!" The Ranger shook both his hands defensively, and said- "Whoa!! C'mon, the world don't need us fighting each other. C'mon, let's get this kid back to that shanty town over there." He points in the direction Bridge came from. Bridge shakes his head, and says- "If you are talking about that tent village over there, forget it. It's been abandoned." The ranger simply sighs, defeated. "Damn- he says- the next town is a three hour walk away from here." Bridge says- "Point me in the right direction, and I will take the girl there." The ranger says- "You out of your mind? We're going together! Power Down!"- He removes his Suit, revealing a young, auburn haired youth.- "Name's Steven. I'm the Elemental Shadow Mystic Ranger." Bridge says- "I'm Bridge. C'mon, let's go." Bridge takes the young girl with him. He doesn't notice that Steven's morpher has four tentacles that were wriggling. Steven looks at his morpher worriedly.

"It's been 23 years since Octomus ravaged the world.- said Steven- I was just a newborn, but my dad remembers that day rather clearly. The Mystic Force Rangers tried to stop him, but he was too much. Many say that, because the Red Ranger was not there, that THAT is the reason they lost. But, we all believe nowadays that he would never have made a difference. For Two whole years, Earth was Hell. Then, on Year 2 After Octomus, this Sorceress named Clare used up her magic combined with the Animal Spirits of over 100 Pai Zhuq students. That didn't kill Octomus, but it split him up in six pieces. These things."- He points to his (now inert) Morpher. Bridge is stunned. Steven continues- "Clare and the rest died that day. However, Octomus' underlings were still around. The Eight Terrors, the Fours Beasts, the Hidiacs… the world was spared the Devil, but not Hell. Those Rangers who managed to survive the two Years served as guardians of shanty towns, like the one you passed. But, many of them were driven mad, and committed suicide. Now, aside from us, there's only like 3 rangers that are still alive…" Bridge interrupts- "Who's us?" Steven then says- "The Elemental Magic Rangers. There's six of us- Caleb, Rominas, Panjit, Suzette, Kwame and myself. We morph using these, the E-Magic Changer. They hold a tremendous power!" bridge then says- 'Those things are made from Octomus. Are they safe?" Steven then says- "…No. If we overuse them, something bad happens. We can only do 2 morphs per day. We can do three, but…we don't like how our morphers act after our second morph."

Suddenly, the three were attacked by a monster. It looked like a horned yeti with a pair of horns on its head. It roared, and charged at the little girl. However, Bridge reacted quickly- "SPD, EMERGENCY!!!" He quickly donned the Red SPD suit. He took his twin blasters, and shot at the beast. But, it was not enough. A barrier was deflecting the shots Steven stood in awe, he had never seen this Ranger suit before. He hoped Bridge would be able to handle the monster. That he would not have to morph. He was in for a disappointment…