Grumm's Black Mercy
Episode 1: A death in the family
Bridge Carson sits on a barstool, a mug of frosty beer in his hand. The alcoholic drink's coldness is felt through his gloves. Bridge sighs, lifting the cold, fizzy drink to his lips. It feels refreshing to his parched throat. He looks at his watch.
"She should be here any second now..." Bridge gulps. He starts scratching his head while tapping his foot rapidly.
"Nervous, boy?" The Xybrian bartender begins cleaning some glasses while keeping an eye on Bridge.
"I'm waiting for someone." Bridge chuckles lightly.
"Hot date? Don't tell me it's Syd." The bartender sighs. "She's turned you down time and again. You'd think by now you'd gotten a clue."
"Well...she said this time she would come." Bridge finishes his beer.
"Did she say 'maybe' or 'certainly'?" The bartender puts down the glass. He places his hands on the table and watches Bridge intently.
"She...said maybe..." Bridge looks sad for a second, but perks up inmediately. "But...you know, that's not a no!"
"In guy talk. But in girl talk, maybe is just a more polite way to say no." The bartender sighs and shakes his head.
"You never know..." Bridge looks at his watch.
"Let me guess. She should have been here by now?" The bartender sighs as he watches Bridge's expression fall. "She's not coming, son. Forget it, and forget her. Look, there are plenty of women in this city, and I can guarantee you that a good deal of them are lonely and are waiting for a good man like you to come talk to them."
"But..." Bridge picks up his ringing phone. There is a message from Syd. Upon reading it, Bridge's expression turns to one of dissapointment. "You're right. She's not coming."
"Cancelation via text? How low can a girl get?" The bartender whips his cloth on the bar table. "Forget her, Bridge, she's not worth your time. Look, see that hot blonde over there? How about I get her a drink and tell her it's from you?"
"No thanks..." Bridge wipes a small tear from his eye.
"Kid..." The bartender is at a loss for words. That was when Sky entered the bar. "The usual, Sky?"
"Sure. But today, add some ginger root." Sky sits down next to Bridge. "How you holding up, Bridge?"
Bridge does not answer. He merely looks at his empty beer glass.
"Drinking beer? You know that crap's bad for you." Sky sighs, the looks at the bar stool next to him. "Tino...a beer too, please."
The bartender, Tino, takes out a mug and, on instinct, fills it with some Medalla Dark Beer. "Here you go..."
"This one's for you, Jack." Sky places the beer in front of the stool next to him. "We miss you, buddy."
"I still can't believe he's dead." Tino shakes his head. "I know it's been a month, but I still always expect him to enter through that door, smiling like always before asking for his favorite beer."
"A fucking Black Mercy..." Sky sneers. "We've been investigating this for over a month now. No leads, no clues, nothing."
"I thought Black Mercies only grew in areas that were destroyed by Baal during the Darkest Day..." Tino seemed to be pondering something.
"I know..." Sky slams his bionic arm on the table, leaving a dent. "Sorry, send me the bill for table repairs."
"Forget it, kid." Tino hands Sky his drink, a vegetable juice with ginger root for added flavor. "Just catch the bastard that killed Jack."
"That's the idea." Sky drinks up his juice. "Bridge, we continue tomorrow. Get some rest."
Sky leaves the bar. Bridge, however, merely spends his time looking at his glass.
"Can I have another, please?"
"Kid...you have a lot of work tomorrow. I don't think you need a hangover." Tino sighs. "Kid...it's not your fault."
"My powers are useless on Black Mercy victims. I don't know why, but they are." Tears stream down Bridge's face. "I can't find the perp, I can't locate where the Black Mercy came from, I don't know why anyone killed Jack..."
"It's not your fault, kid. You're doing the best you can."
"Then how come it's not enough? How come I try, and I try and still get nothing?" Bridge's tears fall onto the table. "How come I keep on failing?"
"Kid..."
"If I had gone to his apartment sooner, would I have been able to save him?" Bridge wipes away his tears.
"I don't know." Tino sighs. "The past is the past. There is only the future."
"Why didn't I see him sooner? Black Mercies take a while to manifest..."
"Unless you're alergic to them." Tino taps his fingers on the table. "If someone is allergic to Black Mercies, they manifest more quickly."
"How do you know?"
"I'm a bartender. I've served a few medics, and they sure do talk about these things a lot." Tino picks up Bridge' glass and starts cleaning it. "It's possible that Jack was allergic too."
"I don't know..." Bridge sighs. "I need to go..."
"Kid...try and ask Sky to give you a day off, OK?" Tino takes Jack's beer. "You're looking like you're gonna get depression."
"I...I'm fine." Bridge gets up and leaves. Tino sighs and pours Jack's drink into the sink.
Bridge walked back to his apartment. He opens his door and walks in. He turns on the light, and finds his loyal parrot, Toasty, waiting for him.
"Hey Toasty." Bridge tickles his parrot a bit.
"Sydney!" Toasty squacks.
"No...she canceled...I was so sure she would come today." Bridge falls to his sofa. "I guess I should just quit."
"Emergency! SPD Emergency!" Toasty squacks while flapping her wings.
"I suck...A whole month gone, and nothing." Bridge starts crying. "Why aren't I good enough, Toasty? Why do I suck so badly?"
Toasty looks at Bridge.
"I mean, I'm a horrible Red Ranger. I can't compare to Sky or Jack, I can't catch the guy who killed Jack...and I can't get the girl I like." Bridge covers his eyes with his hand as tears fall down his cheeks. "No wonder Syd doesn't like me. I'm not good enough for her, because I'm not good enough to be the Red Ranger. I'm a waste of space."
Toasty began to gently nuzzle her owner. Bridge touches her little head in gratitude. Suddenly, he grabs his chest,
"I...don't feel too good." Bridge gets up, stumbling towards his phone. "My...chest hurts..."
Bridge falls to the floor, hacking and coughing as he reaches for his telephone. He then goes unconscious as his parrot desperately squacks. Toasty, as if on instinct, flies out the window and towards SPD Headquarters. The flight takes her an hour, but she finally makes it. She waits for the door to open, and once it does, she instinctly goes towards the Command Base where Sky was working. She lands on the Command Module.
"Toasty?" Sky picks up the parrot, who seemed quite fatigued. "Something's wrong with Bridge!"
Bridge woke with a fright, sweating and panting. He grabs his head and looks around.
"Where am I?" Bridge looks around the room. He turns to his side where Sydney lay asleep still. "Syd?"
"No honey, it's Saturday. Let me sleep, OK?" Sydney stirs on her side of the bed. Astounded, Bridge gets up and inspects the room more closely. He notices a photo. In it, he and Syd were smiling happily. It is a wedding photo...