Disclaimer: Not mine. I've re-written and re-formatted the story so it should be easier and also a better read. Hope you all enjoy it. Angel Mouse. May 2009.
Shattered Mind.
By Angel Mouse.
It had been a rather quiet few days for the cadets of B Squad at SPD and they were taking advantage of it to do some catching up on various things that they had gotten behind on over the past few weeks due to the sometimes never ending attacks by Grumm. So the five of them had split up to do the various tasks they had gotten behind on.
Sky and Sydney were busily signing off on cadet evaluations they had conducted a few weeks beforehand, hoping to get them finished in the morning so they could have a rare afternoon off with the other Rangers. There were a rather lot of them though, but they hoped to get them done.
Jack and Z were off doing some more of the community service that they had to do as part of their punishment for their previous crimes, but Kruger had taken pity on them for once and said they could have the afternoon off as well, but only if they finished up their stint early. They were powering through their tasks, determined to have the afternoon off.
Kat and Boom were working on some new weapons for the Rangers and Commander Kruger was busy updating his files on Grumm's latest activities.
And then that left Bridge to his own devices, so he was taking the chance for some much needed peace and quiet for the young man. The last few weeks of constant monster attacks, cadet evaluations and training drills had left them all feeling tired and a bit stressed, but Bridge more than any of the others.
The empathic and physic Ranger not only felt the same physical exhaustion the other Rangers felt, but he also felt the mental aspects of everything they all went through as well.
So, he was looking forward to spending the afternoon with his friends, but he was enjoying the pure freedom of spending a morning totally alone so he could relax, meditate and try and regain some emotional and mental stability once more.
Commander Kruger had specifically told him to take the entire day off to rest up, so obviously Bridge hadn't been as good as hiding his mental exhaustion as he thought he had been. And that little talking to by the Commander hadn't been fun that was for sure. He took the possible weakness of any of his Rangers seriously.
So that led Bridge to getting a first for the B-Squad Rangers, a full day off to himself.
So, he had dressed himself in some civilian clothes - dark blue jeans and a long sleeved dark green t-shirt - and headed out of the base. He had his morpher with him; naturally, he was too much a Ranger to leave the base without it.
Besides, leaving the SPD base without his morpher was a major violation of the regulations. He'd been Sky's roommate long enough to know that one off by heart.
He had wandered down town for a little while; grabbing a coffee and some sandwiches and then he headed for the New Tech City Park. He found it was one of the few places he could be truly alone with his thoughts and let his mental barriers relax a little bit.
As the park was scarcely populated at most times, there were very few distractions and other people around for him to pick up on.
When he had first come to SPD and New Tech City he had found a secluded spot by the pond when he had been exploring the city and he had found a large oak tree to sit by. He frequented the spot as much as he could, when he could. It was like a little home away from home so to speak.
He sat himself down on the soft, green grass and leaned back against the tree with a relieved sigh as he began to make himself comfortable. He sipped his coffee and sighed in contentment as the peacefulness of the park began to sink in to his battered psyche.
He normally didn't drink coffee but lately he had been finding that the stimulating drink had been helping him keep his focus and get through a long, hard day. He glanced around and didn't see anyone about, and didn't sense anyone close by either.
Of course there was the constant background presence of Grumm he could sense all the time, but he could tune that out most days. It was just the constant mental noise from everyone around him that he kept picking up on that was wearing him down day by day.
So with a soft sigh, Bridge sat down his coffee on the grass and then took off his gloves and relaxed his mental barriers slightly, feeling the softness and quietness of the natural environment around him, letting its natural energy flow into him, settle his mind.
He placed his hand against the grass and gave a soft smile as he felt it's softness against his skin. He always had to hide behind his gloves, his clothes, his goofy smile, he could never risk taking his gloves off around anyone in case he accidentally touched someone and his full abilities come into play.
That was something he avoided at all costs unless he had no choice to do. So to be able to run his bare hands over soft grass and feel the touch of the warm coffee cup in his hand was something of a novelty that he fully intended to enjoy to the maximum.
Sighing softly, he leaned back against the tree and just let himself go for a few moments, enjoying the chance to just be alone and be himself for once. Slowly, his eyes closed as he relaxed slowly, letting himself relax finally.
Grumm's Ship
Mora sighed, she was feeling extremely bored today. Grumm was in a bad mood and had been yelling and screaming all morning, so she was staying out of his way.
She waved her hand and began to search the planet below to find the Rangers, thinking perhaps she could disrupt their day and thus distract Grumm as well before he did something stupid or angry against her.
She quickly found the Pink and Blue Rangers after a few moments. They were at a shopping centre, laughing, obviously having fun together. The Red and Yellow Rangers joined those moments later and the four of them headed towards an eatery.
She watched them for a few minutes, sitting down and ordering food, laughing and joking with each other. She got out her sketch book and began to draw, an idea forming in the back of her mind as she watched them. It was then she realised that the fifth ranger was missing, the Green one.
She wondered where he was as she finished putting the last of the touches to her monster she was drawing. She waved her hand at the screen and it began searching for the Green Ranger. After a few minutes it found him away from the others.
Mora suppressed a twinge of envy as she saw how relaxed and peaceful he looked sitting surrounded by the lushness of the park. It had been a long time, a very long time she'd felt that kind of peace that he was obviously feeling right now. She studied him a moment, seeing how at peace he looked.
But then unfortunate reality asserted itself and she finished her drawing with an overstated flourish. With a wave of her hand, the monster appeared before her, leaping off the page. He stood before her, bowing with respect.
"Mistress, I am Screamer, command me." Mora gestured to the sight on her screen, the Green Ranger relaxing by the pond in the park.
"I want you to destroy the Power Rangers Screamer, starting with that one. He looks like he's having a day off; I don't want him to have a day off." The monster nodded, bowing again, which wasn't easy as he looked like a mouth with legs and huge elephant like ears. He had some sort of gun instead of an arm on his right side and a long looking blade on his left side.
"Your wish is my command Mistress." With that, he disappeared and Mora settled down to watch eagerly, her doll in her lap. This should be good.
New Tech City Park
Bridge felt the monster appear nearby long before he saw him. The feeling of evil from this monster was stronger than anything he had felt for a long time and had appeared so suddenly that it hurt, really hurt.
He struggled for a few moments to put up the barriers he had in place around his mind. Having his barriers down like he had and then having that monster appear so suddenly, had caused his head to begin to pound in pain already.
With a long sigh, he slipped his gloves back on, making sure they were secure before standing up, steadying himself a moment against the tree. The evil he was sensing, pulsing the pounding in his head, made him feel dizzy for a moment. He then took a few steps and disposed of his rubbish absently as he looked around, trying to see the monster.
His hand was already reaching for his morpher when he saw it and he winced in pain slightly. Seeing the monster up close made the physic signature he was getting from it even stronger and more painful. He brought up his morpher and activated the communicator function. It was time, more than time, to call for help.
He hated to bother the others but there was something about this monster that made him realise that he was going to need help to defeat it. He pressed the button and spoke quickly, his tone clipped as he suddenly realised he was getting more and more evil vibes off the monster the closer it got to him. His head began to pound even more as he tried to keep the evil out.
"Hey guys, hate to bother you today. I'm in the park; Grumm's sent a guest down to interrupt our afternoon off." Jack's voice came back practically straight away and was strong, calming Bridge down for a moment.
"We're on the way, Bridge. Hold on, we'll be there as quick as we can."
"I'll try." Bridge frowned; involuntarily taking a few steps backwards, away from the monster, the evil was getting more and more intense. "Hurry will you please Jack. There's something about this monster, something bad." Bridge backed up a few steps more, his free hand rubbing his temple. The pounding in his head was getting worse.
"Bridge, what do you mean? Bridge!" Bridge didn't answer as he was trying to stop the evil invading his mind. Jack's insistent voice finally got through to him after a long few minutes, where Bridge had been fighting mentally with everything he had. "Bridge, answer me!"
"Sorry Jack. The evil, it's… it's really strong. I'm having trouble… can't stop it…. "Suddenly the monster charged at Bridge, not giving him a chance to morph or even finish his sentence and as the monsters bladed arm connected with Bridge's up raised hands to block the blow, Bridge let out a scream of agony.
~*~
Jack raced along with the others, frantic with worry over the call from Bridge, then when Bridge had said there was something about the monster it made it worse. After Bridge had suddenly dropped out Sky and Sydney had exchanged glances and he had caught the worry in that look between them.
Jack had naturally asked what was going on and after a moment where they had looked at each other as they ran along the street, Sky had nodded and Sydney spoke softly as they ran into the park.
She had quickly explained to Jack and Z how sometimes when Bridge was mentally stressed and exhausted, he liked to go off to the park and relax, regaining his sense of self so to speak.
Sky had then explained to Jack and Z how that with their particular powers they only suffered physical setbacks and exhaustion, but Bridge, Bridge's powers was both mentally and physically exhausting. And sometimes it just got too much for the sensitive Ranger and he needed to get away.
Jack had understood suddenly then, as he had been wondering why Bridge wasn't with them for their rare afternoon off. And then when Bridge had said the evil was really strong, he had finally realised what he meant. All he could do was hope that the Green Ranger would be able to hold it off until they got there.
They all arrived at the park and headed towards the pond off to one corner. Sky had said this was where Bridge went when he needed to relax and centre himself. They were unable to help skidding to a halt at the scene before them.
They saw Bridge backing away; fear clearly on his face and that was unusual, he never showed anything other than a smile or a grin. The monster lashed out to attack him and Bridge blocked it. What happened then as the monsters arms connected with Bridge's upraised hands shocked them all.
Bridge suddenly screamed in agony, clutching at his head with his hands and falling to the ground, not moving what so ever.
Sky didn't even think, he reacted and ran forward, taking his morpher out as he went Sydney right on his heels. Moments later Jack and Z shook themselves out of their shock and joined them, morphing as they went.
The monster raised his bladed arm again to strike at the stricken Ranger but he was suddenly barrelled out of the way by one very angry, extremely focussed Blue Ranger.
It wasn't widely known amongst the SPD personal that Bridge and Sky were best of friends. Everyone thought Sky had a stick up his arse and was so strict and rule bound he didn't know how to have fun, or friends. There was even a secret pool going on amongst the lower level cadets that Sky never, ever smiled.
It was the consensus of the majority of SPD personal that Sky Tate was focussed, cocksure, brilliant and an excellent officer but he needed to learn to relax. The consensus opinion on Bridge Carson though was almost the opposite.
Everyone saw Bridge as a happy go lucky person that sometimes wasn't quite all their in the brains department. That he never stopped babbling about anything and everything that came into his head, empty as it was. So people tended to avoid him at all times if possible, especially when it became known he was a physic.
But what people didn't know was that Sky and Bridge had been very good friends for a long time. From when they first started together at the SPD Academy over two years ago, they soon discovered that their perceived strengths and weaknesses actually complemented each other well and they bonded because of those strengths and weaknesses.
And then Sydney had come along and completed their trio; her lively outlook on life, sunny nature and pure spirit had been a blessing for both of them and soon the three of them were practically inseparable. But with Sky and Bridge it was something more, almost something akin to brothers.
Ever since Sky had lost his best friend Drew to the other Academy and he had been assigned to the same squad as Bridge, they had grown closer and when room assignments had come up, they had requested to be roomed together.
Sky's focus and single-minded determination had been soothing for Bridge's psyche, helping him sometimes when things became overwhelming for the younger man. It had allowed Bridge to have a stable mental environment of a night time by focussing on Sky's mind before he slept, something Sky was happy to help his friend with. So when Bridge had screamed out in agony, Sky knew he had to act.
The four morphed Rangers attacked furiously, pushing the monster back, away from Bridge's prone form on the ground. As they pushed him back, Sky led the attack, fear for Bridge gnawing at him but he knew he had to focus, put those fears out of his mind least he make Bridge's condition worse. They had the monster pushed back away from Bridge before Sky finally spoke.
"Syd, make sure Bridge is okay."
"On it Sky." The Pink Ranger backed away and ran over to Bridge's prone form, kneeling down and reaching out with a tentative hand, but being careful to not touch him. She didn't want to make his condition worse. "Bridge, Bridge, can you hear me."
Bridge was so still, and his eyes were screwed tightly shut. His face was just a visage of pain and he gave a soft moan. Syd felt her heart breaking as she saw one of her dearest friends in pain. "Bridge. Come on, talk to me." After a moment he groaned again and his eyes flicked opened and caught hers for a brief second before he shut them again.
"It hurts Syd, really bad." Syd winced, not sure what to do. But one thing was sure; they couldn't leave Bridge here where the monster was, making his condition worse.
"It will be alright Bridge. We'll get you out of here okay? But I'm going to give that monster a piece of my mind first. And then Sky and I will take care of you." Bridge managed a tiny nod, curling up into a little ball and Syd got to her feet, racing back to the fight. Jack glanced at her.
"How's he doing?"
"Really badly Jack, really badly. This monster must have some sort of psychic powers that are attacking Bridge. We need to destroy him, now." Jack nodded, dodging a blow that had been aimed at his head.
"Understood, alright guys, let's take this loud mouth down." The next few minutes were intense as they fought harder than they normally did to fight this monster. They combined their weapons to some effect and after a few minutes, the monster shimmered and faded away, retreating as he was called back to where ever he had come from.
They quickly demorphed and ran over to Bridge's prone form. Sky and Syd knelt down next to him, gently reaching out to their friend.
"Bridge, it's me." Syd let Sky touch Bridge, as she knew that Sky's focussed mind wouldn't be as distressing to Bridge as the others. Bridge moaned softly and opened his eyes, latching onto Sky's worried one's. "Bridge, he's gone, are you okay?" Bridge frowned, wincing at feeling the others worry for him.
He shut his eyes, the pain in his head was becoming over whelming. Sky immediately figured out why Bridge wasn't coming around just by looking up and glancing at his fellow Ranger's faces. "Guys, can you give us a few minutes please? Bridge just needs a few minutes to centre his mind." Jack looked ready to protest by Syd got to her feet and grabbed the other two. She'd explain it to them once they were away from him.
"Okay. Call us if you need us." Syd dragged them away and Sky looked down at Bridge, reaching out and putting his hand on Bridge's shoulder.
"It's okay now Bridge, they've gone." Bridge groaned and opened his eyes again, latching onto Sky's deep blue ones. Bridge took his hand from his head and reached over, grasping Sky's hand in his.
"Sky it hurts, it hurts a lot." Sky's heart broke to hear Bridge in so much pain, and admitting it even. Bridge rarely, if ever, expressed the sometimes-severe physical pain his powers sometimes caused him to be in.
"How did he manage to?" Sky let the rest of the question go unsaid, knowing the Bridge would know what he meant. Bridge held Sky's hand tight, like a lifeline and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to marshal his thoughts.
"I had let most of my barriers down for just a moment, and then he came out of no where too fast. He was too evil and I couldn't put my barriers back up quickly enough." Bridge let go of Sky's hand and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position.
Bridge reached up with unsteady hands and massaged his temples. His head was pounding with the physic aftermath of the monsters presence. Sky watched him a moment and then asked his next question gently.
"Bridge, when he touched you, you screamed in agony. I've never heard anything like it before. I thought your gloves would have protected you from anything physical?" Bridge sighed, opening his eyes and looking at Sky, lowering his hands and moment and putting them in his lap. Sky remained kneeling on the grass in front of him, offering his unspoken support.
"As soon as he touched me, it was like a knife going through my shields. It hurt Sky; it hurt more than it should have." Sky felt his heart break even more for Bridge.
"You're in a lot of pain right now, aren't you?" Bridge just sighed, glancing away, not wanting to admit his weakness but knowing he had no choice. The only thing that made it any way bearable was that it was to Sky. He trusted Sky more than life itself, he knew Sky wouldn't hold it against him.
"Yes. Too much, it's too much pain Sky. I… I'm having trouble keeping myself…. Myself." Bridge was trying hard to put his feelings into words but it wasn't easy. Thankfully Sky understood some of what he was going through.
"How about we get you back to base and get Dr Manx to look at you? Give you something for that whopper of a headache I know you've probably got right now." Bridge gave another sigh and looked back at Sky.
"All right Sky. But just you, the others I can't cope with right now." Bridge's smile and genial manner was completely gone right now. Sky stood and held out his hand to help Bridge to his feet. Bridge took it and staggered to his feet and would have fallen had not Sky caught him. "Thanks Sky."
Bridge's voice was a shade of its former self and Sky pushed his worry to the back of his mind. He concentrated on keeping his mind calm, focussed, knowing that was the best thing he could do for Bridge. He wrapped his arm around Bridge and got out his communicator with the other.
"Syd, I'm taking Bridge to see Dr Manx. I'll come find you guys once he's set, okay?"
"Okay Sky. Tell him to take care and we'll see him later." Syd closed the channel and Sky looked at Bridge.
Sky put the communicator away and the two friends began walking slowly towards SPD headquarters. Bridge leaned heavily against his friend, trying his best to keep his equilibrium but he was having a hard time of it.
"Thanks Sky. For, you know." Sky gave his friend a tiny smile as he glanced over and caught Bridge's eyes.
"Hey, anything for you Bridge, you know that." Bridge just nodded, leaning a little harder against Sky.
"It's not easy sometimes Sky."
"What isn't?" Sky had the feeling he knew what Bridge was talking about.
"Being me. It's so hard all the time Sky. So hard that I loose myself easily in everything and everyone's emotions and minds and… it's just hard."
"I know. But as long as you have me, I'll always be here to help you." Bridge sighed and ran a shaky hand through his hair.
"Thanks Sky. You have no idea how much that means to me." They fell into silence as they kept walking. Unfortunately Sky thought he did know how much it meant to Bridge. For someone with Bridge's genetic powers, life would have been terribly isolating for the young man, and it had become painfully obvious to Sky not long after they met that Bridge's babbling and seeming randomness was nothing more than a defence mechanism.
So as much as Bridge had filled the gaps in his life, he and Syd endeavoured to fill the gaps in Bridge's. Sky took heart in the knowledge that he was able to help Bridge in this way, by being the stable person he was. But he also wished that his gentle friend didn't have to suffer the pain like he was.
Obviously this monster was strong in some way that they didn't realise. When Bridge was resting comfortably, Sky vowed to sit down with Dr Manx and the records of the fight and try and figure out just what it was about this monster that affected Bridge so much. Maybe that would help next time it showed up; because there would be no doubt in Sky's mind, there would be a next time.
Grumm's Ship
Mora looked at the monster she called Screamer and then she watched the replay of the fight once more. For some reason Screamer adversely affected the Green Ranger when they had fought.
Frowning, Mora tried to think of why it would be like that but after a little while, she gave up and just smiled. It had hurt the Green Ranger a lot by the looks of it so perhaps that was the way to stop the Rangers. Take them out one at a time. She smiled and skipped happily around her room before stopping in front of Screamer.
"Yes Mistress?"
"Come with me Screamer. There's someone I want you to meet. And I think he's going to be very happy to meet you."
