In a hospital in central Harwood, a doctor was working frantically with a patient. The recent heat wave meant that admissions had been higher anyway, between those with sunburn, heat stroke, those who'd had a little too much to drink, and just in general people being more active increasing the number of accidents and sporting injuries, but this was something else. Within only the six hours since her shift had begun, Dr Mitchell had seen the number of people being rushed into the place in ambulances skyrocket!
She didn't know what was going on, but it was clear it wasn't natural. Normally, whenever an epidemic started, it started gradually. A few people would get sick at first, then a few more, then a whole wing of the hospital would be full...then...the fact was that for a day when she should have reasonably expected to see maybe thirty to forty admissions, the city had descended into a state of emergency.
"Alright, get him on a saline drip, he's dangerously dehydrated." She instructed one of the nurses. "I want an update every hour."
"Um...Dr Mitchell?" A young Asian man asked as he arrived. She barely even registered him as she started walking towards the changing room.
"Everyone calls me Dana." She informed him. "Now, I've been on shift for twelve hours, there's another twelve before I can even think about going home, so make it fast!"
"I'm Terry, Terry Watanabe?" He asked her. "I was sent over by Panorama Med School..."
"Well, make yourself useful and find a set of scrubs." She told him. "I have nearly six hundred patients and staff to cover about half that. If you want to prove you're up to a career in medicine, now's the time."
"I'm on it." He assured her. Dana watched him go and took a bottle of water from the desk taking a long drink. Whatever was going on, she was in a losing battle. Until they figured out what the plague was, it was only a matter of time until the first fatalities.
The Rangers all got teleported to the command centre, landing rather unceremoniously in a heap. It had been a long time since he had snatched them from their lives like that, so they knew it had to be serious.
"Jeez Gosei, how about a bit of warning next time?" Jake grumbled as he got up, rubbing his ass to get some feeling back in it.
"I am afraid we do not have the luxury of such niceties." He told them. "The city is facing a huge threat."
"Tell us something we don't know." Gia replied. "We have been fighting..."
"I am afraid this threat is something even more serious, something that we never anticipated." He began to explain. "The city's hospitals have reported a huge spike in admissions. People have been struck down by a mystery illness, one that is taking hold unnaturally quickly."
"So...you called us here because people are getting sick?" Jake asked him. "No offence Gosei, but..."
"The incubation period of most viruses can be measured in days." Gosei interrupted him. "The fact that the first reported casualties came within the last couple of hours..."
"Wait, what?" Emma asked. "Casualties? As in..."
"Some patients are already dead." Tensou confirmed sadly. "The elderly and children mainly, the most vulnerable, but things will only get worse."
"OK, what do we know?" Noah replied as he made his way to the console. He started to pull up some records. "Wait, these symptoms...this...this can't be right."
"What is it?" Troy asked him. Noah just looked to him.
"The symptoms make no sense." Noah told him. "Bubonic plague, smallpox, scarletina..."
"Wait, aren't all those things extinct?" Jake asked him. Noah just nodded.
"Until today, I'd have agreed with you they are!" Noah told him. "This plague...it bears hallmarks of all of them!"
"How is that even possible?" Gia asked.
"Damned if I know." Noah replied, mopping some sweat from his brow. "But I can't argue with the data!"
"This can't be natural." Troy put down flatly. "Gosei, what could have done this?"
"I believe it may be some form of biological weapon." Gosei told him. "I believe it is possible that the Warstar..."
"No, not them." Noah cut him off. "Think about it, where would they get access to terrestrial viruses? I think it's more likely it's down to the mutants."
Noah swayed a little on his feet, before steadying himself on a bench. He looked to the others.
"If it is down to the mutants, it might be worth questioning Spider." He told them. "I know he wasn't with them long, but he might have heard something while he was being held..."
"I'll bring him round." Tensou replied as he whizzed away. Noah, just leaned against the console as Troy gathered the others around him.
"Biological warfare?" He asked. "This is a new low, even for the mutants."
"So what do you think we're looking for?" Jordan asked. Just then, an alarm went off. Jake pointed to a view screen.
"I'm going out on a limb and saying it probably has something to do with that." Jake replied.
"Alright whoever these guys are, let's take them down fast!" Troy replied. "The hospital isn't far from there, if people are getting sick, the last thing they need is a mutant attack."
In a park, a couple of streets from the central hospital, people were enjoying the weather when the Brotherhood arrived. A kid playing with a Frisbee inadvertently threw it so that it landed at his feet. Priest bent down picking it up.
"Ah...these conditions are perfect for our glorious plague." He stated. "Rejoice, for you will all receive the blessing of the power of our blessed sickness! Kneel before us as we spread our decay!"
As his brothers pulled down their hoods, revealing their faces, the people in the park started to run. Priest just turned to one of them.
"Brother Swarm, if you would be so kind." He instructed one of his brothers. The mutant in question threw open his robe, which unleashed a plague of insects flying out. A shot rang out, scorching many of the insects as the Rangers arrived. Troy put his blaster back in his pocket.
"You would deny the people my gift?" Priest asked.
"Gift?" Jake asked judgementally. "You call this a gift?"
"Of course, the one true power is the power of decay." Priest told him. "The one true power is disease. It brings the mightiest of foes to their knees within hours. Why, we only infected this city hours ago."
"You did this?" Noah asked. "You're nothing but glorified plague rats!"
"Ah, but you will find we are so much more than that." Priest replied, drawing a long, rusty blade from his tattered robes. "Brothers, perhaps it is time they learned the strength of our creed."
With that, the Brotherhood rushed forward. Jordan headed instinctually straight for the largest of the mutants, aiming to take down the most obvious threat. It was only as he received a hard shot from one of its massive fists that his vision blurred and he realised how deceptively strong it was. It was tall, perhaps twelve feet from its nose to the tip of its tail, and had filthy, brown fur. It snarled as it rounded on him, pulling out two long, curved daggers.
"I'm guessing you're not much of a talker." Jordan replied, pulling out his Robo Blade. "Trust me, that suits me just fine!"
Back at Cerberus, the CDC team had arrived, and were getting to work trying to stabilise the first of the plague victims. Eric had laid Louise out on a boardroom table as a makeshift bed while a medical team worked on her.
"She needs fluids, set up an IV of saline." The doctor replied.
"What's wrong with her?" Eric demanded.
"If I knew that, trust me, I'd be a happy man." The doctor replied. "Now, give us some room to work."
"She's one of my best friends!" Eric snapped at him. "I'm not going anywhere!"
"Well at least try and think of anything that might tell us what caused this." The doctor replied. "Is there anything she's done today, that the others have done today that you haven't?"
"I...I don't know, it's been a pretty standard day." Eric replied. "I mean, Wayne and I went for lunch, but most of the guys in the office ate from the snack cart. If it was anything they ate...surely more people would be affected."
He took a long swig from his bottle of Evian, before turning to Louise.
"How bad is it?"
"She's relatively healthy, so her odds are good." The doctor assured him. "But until we know what caused this, we're just making people comfortable."
Eric just sat by Louise's side and held her hand tenderly.
"Don't you die on me Louise." He said tearfully as he looked to his long-time friend. "I need you."
Back at the park, the Rangers found themselves quickly under pressure. The Brotherhood were individually as powerful as any opponents they'd ever faced, but together, they formed a formidable force. Jordan was slammed into the concrete, smashing it by his opponent as The Brotherhood assembled before them.
"So, you are the famed Power Rangers." Priest snorted dismissively. "Given how Bluefur speaks of you, I would have expected more."
"You want to see more, we've got plenty!" Gia snapped as she got to her feet. It was as the Rangers started to regroup that Priest's eyes were drawn to the Blue Ranger. He smiled.
"Ah, you say that, but it appears that you are not as strong as you believed." He answered, seeing a distinctive wobble in Noah's stance. "I believe one of you has already felt our blessing."
Noah could barely stand, and his vision was blurring in and out of focus as he stood before him. His Shark Bowgun, a weapon he'd wielded what felt like a million times now felt like it weighed several tons.
"Like I said, the true power is the power of plague." Priest stated. The Rangers all turned as Noah fell to his knees, and de-morphed. Sweat ran down his face at an unnatural rate, and he couldn't focus on anything. He started to vomit, and then fell forward to the ground. "Brother Swarm, if you would be so kind."
Brother Swarm threw open his robes, covering the area in a thick cloud of insects. By the time they could see, the Brotherhood were gone. Emma ran to Noah's side, falling to her knees.
"Noah?" She asked in a panic. She didn't get an answer though, he was completely out of it. "Noah, talk to me!"
"Emma, stay back..."
"NOAH!" She screamed, tears starting to run down her face.
"Emma, we don't even know what's wrong!" Troy reminded her. "If you touch him..."
"We've all been around him, we're all probably exposed." Jake reminded him. He reached down, picking Noah up. "We'll take him back to the command centre. If anyone can help him, it's Tensou."
With that, they teleported back to the command centre.
Back at Cerberus, Eric was pacing frantically in the hall. The doctors had insisted he give them room to work on Louise and the other casualties. Wayne came to him, carrying a cup of coffee.
"I thought you could use this." He responded. Eric just tossed it in the trash.
"I could use something stronger, but I doubt that would help." He answered. "What's taking them so long?"
"They're the best in the country, if anyone can help her, they can." Wayne reminded him. Eric just shook his head, at which Wayne closed the door. "This...this isn't just a friendship thing is it?"
"I swear to God Wayne, if this ever leaves this room..." Eric stated, but he cut himself off. Wayne had been his best friend ever since their tour of duty in Afghanistan. He had trusted Wayne with his life more times than anyone on the planet. "Fine, she...she is more than a friend to me."
"Eric..."
"About a month after Eleanor died...I was in a really bad place. I got really drunk, and I called Louise." He told him. "She came over, and something...happened."
"Wait...you mean..." Wayne asked him.
"It's not something I'm proud of." Eric told him. "We both had a lot to drink, we were both in a mess over Eleanor, and...Louise knew right away that it was a mistake. She was still in love with Gerald."
"I'm guessing you don't really see it that way." Wayne replied. Eric just nodded.
"Eleanor was the love of my life, that'll never change." He assured him. "I can't lose her Wayne, I can't!"
"Just let them do their job." Wayne replied. "Then, when this is over, maybe you might try telling Louise what you just told me."
Eric just nodded as he raised his Evian to his lips. It was then, as Wayne was about to take his first sip of coffee that something occurred to him. He slapped the cup out of Wayne's hand.
"HEY!" Wayne snapped.
"Wayne, we've been drinking bottled water and soda." He told him. "Louise...she fell sick after having coffee."
"But..."
"We fill the kettles from the tap!" Eric told him. He ran to one of the doctors. "It's the water Wayne, it's in the water!"
At the command centre, Emma was sitting by the side of the bench Noah was lying on, watching Tensou work over him. He eventually rolled back away from him, lowering his head.
"I've made him comfortable." He replied. "That's all I can do for now."
"What?" She whimpered. "Surely there's something..."
"The virus they're using..."
"I don't CARE what they're using Tensou, you have to cure him!" She screamed at him.
"Emma, I..."
"You have to do something!" She screamed at him.
"I'll...I'll do what I can." He told her, before heading off to continue his research. Emma just sat by his side, holding his hand.
"I'm sorry Noah." She sobbed. "I'm sorry for everything."