The countdown reached zero and eight minions pressed the first button. Then, simultaneously, each one punched the second button. All eight vanished in a shimmery light.
* * Silver City * *
Wes stood beside Eric at the front of the church. "Eric. Stop fidgeting." The processional music began to play and Wes returned his attention to the back of the church. I never thought I'd see Eric married. Poor kid's been putting off women since before I can remember. But I so called this, that first mission against the Mut-Orgs. They were destined to be together.
The doors at the back opened and Nadira and Lucas made their way down the aisle. Nadira wore a pale pink dress that matched her pink hair and pink nails. Her husband of two years, Lucas Kendall, wore a tuxedo with a bright blue vest. His hair was carefully spiked - Wes knew he had probably spent hours gelling his hair that morning.
Next to come down the aisle were Katie and Max. Katie's dress swept the ground as she walked, the bright yellow fabric swirling around her feet. She carried a small spray of yellow roses and her black curls were pulled back from her face with a pale yellow ribbon. Max Cooper, like Lucas, wore a black tuxedo with a bright blue vest. A grin stretched across his face and he tossed a thumbs-up at Eric.
Following them were Jen and Danny. Wes almost wolf-whistled when he caught sight of his wife again. He was puzzled for a minute - she was wearing a different dress than when she had left the house. The dress was bright pink, not hot pink, but bright pink. Jen wore pink eyeshadow that enhanced her natural beauty - at least in Wes' opinion. Her brown hair was done up in an elegant bun and she giggled when Wes winked at her. Danny's tuxedo was complete with a black vest. Jen's arm was looped through his and he seemed to be taking the tiniest steps ever. Perhaps he doesn't want to leave her behind, Wes thought wryly.
After Jen and Danny came Princess Shayla and Merrick. Princess Shayla wore the white dress that she always wore - at least Wes had never seen her in anything else. White flowers adorned her dark hair and trailed from the hem of her dress. Merrick strode purposefully at her side, wearing a tuxedo with a silver vest. He didn't wear shoes and neither did Shayla. Wonder if they decided on that together?
Alyssa was next as the Maid of Honor. She wore a light pink gown and white and pink flowers in her hair. There wasn't a guy with her and Wes wondered if it had been planned that way. Come to think of it…where was Trip? Probably flaking again.
The flowergirl was the daughter of one of Taylor's Air Force buddies. Sky was the ringbearer. And then, after the two kids reached the front, Cole came down the aisle, Taylor on his arm. Cole wore a tuxedo that matched Wes', black with a red vest. Wes wasn't sure he'd ever get used to the other Red Ranger's severely close-cropped haircut. Taylor's dress was pale yellow, nearly white, just a hint at the color. Her blonde hair was swept up with yellow flowers. Her bouquet was yellow and red roses. Wes glanced over at Eric and saw an ear-to-ear grin splitting his face.
Taylor and Cole were halfway down the aisle when Taylor screamed. Wes watched, dumbfounded, as she fell to her knees, her scream unending. Then, even as he watched her, a wave of agony crashed through his own body. He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. His mouth opened in a wordless scream. He clamped his arms around his stomach, hoping to distill the pain. In a corner of his mind, he registered the sounds of more people screaming. With vain hope, Wes pulled his morpher to his face.
"Time for, Time Force!" he gasped.
His back arched as a new surge of pain, harsher than the last, swept through his very core. He struggled to regain control of his limbs but nothing doing. Gasping for breath, he forced his head up and looked around.
Eric lay on the ground beside him, limbs spazzing. Jen, Lucas, Alyssa, Katie, Max, Danny and Cole were all in various supine positions, all screaming. Wes didn't see Merrick before he returned his attention to himself. Princess Shayla stood over Cole.
"Cole, Cole, what's wrong?" she shouted. He didn't respond.
With no small degree of difficulty, Wes dragged himself to his knees and crawled to Jen. Her dress was ripped and her hair had fallen from its elegant bun. He reached out a shaking hand and touched her face. She looked up at him, fear and pain in her eyes.
"What's happening?" she whispered.
"I don't know." Wes replied, his mind focusing on Jen and not on his pain. "I just-"
At that moment, before the words were out of his mouth, the pain vanished. Wes' body still felt as if it had been run through the wringer but the searing pain was gone. Wes looked at Eric, who stared back at him.
"Wow. That was crazy." After a moment of trying to get to his feet, Wes decided it was useless and settled for rising to his knees.
"Yeah, but what was it?" Eric asked.
"I have…no idea." Wes admitted. "Whatever it was, I'm just glad it's over."
Eric scowled. "Or is it?"
* * Sky * *
Sky didn't know why his stomach was killing him but it had hurt so bad, he'd run out of the church and to the bathroom. Then, when everyone started screaming, he'd been scared, so he'd hidden right where he was.
But then one of the minions showed up and told Sky he'd make the pain go away. Sky, grateful for the promise, went with the minion and they left the church together.
** Miranoi * *
Leo sat behind the counter of Galaxy Bike Repair Shop when the door opened and Mike and Kai came in. Both men wore Terra Venture uniforms and sidearms holstered at their hips. A lazy smile stretched across Kai's face.
"How's the repair business coming along?" Kai asked.
"Fine," Leo shrugged. "We've repaired six bikes so far. Damon and his team are doing a great job back there. Terra Venture's loss is my gain, that's for sure." He squinted at Kai. "What brings you two out here anyway?"
"Commander Stanton wants you and Damon to consider-" Mike broke off as a grimace contorted his face. "Oh, wow. Man, that hurt."
"What's wrong? Don't you dare blow chunks in here, pal." Leo stood to move towards his brother when a torrent of pain drove him to his knees. He groaned and bit his lip to keep from screaming. His teeth punched straight through the softness of his lips, producing a stream of blood. A scream filled his eardrums and he turned his head to see Kai, twisting and jerking on the floor, literally foaming at the mouth.
Then, as suddenly as the pain had come, it vanished. Leo's lip still bled as he climbed shakily to his feet and blood still gushed from a gash on Kai's forehead and Leo still felt as if he'd been run over by a truck, but the excruciating pain was gone. Mike remained on his hands and knees up against the counter. Leo's sides heaved as he tried to catch his breath.
"What…the heck…was that?" Leo asked.
Kai shook his head. "No idea. Whatever it was, it got us both. Something to do with Ranger stuff, you think?"
"Could be." Mike grunted through clenched teeth.
"Can't be. We put the Sabers back years ago. I haven't touched mine since the Forever Red mission." Before Leo could say anything else, his phone rang. He checked the readout. "It's Kendrix."
Kai sat back and cupped his chin in his hands and Mike forced himself to his feet as Leo answered the phone. Leo spoke slowly, trying not to sound pained. "Hey, babe, what's up? Uh-huh," he shot the other two an incredulous stare, "Really? You and Maya? Are you guys okay?" Pause. "Hit me too. And Mike and Kai…no, I don't know, he's in the garage. Okay, see you in a bit."
He hung up and walked to the garage bay door. Opening it, he called, "Damon! Hey, Damon! You okay in there?" There was no answer. Leo looked around, "Damon?" Still no reply.
Kai moved to stand behind Leo. "Maybe he went for lunch or something. So, what did Kendrix say?"
Leo shut the door. "She and Maya felt the same things. Intense pain. They're on their way here."
"So it must be Ranger related." Mike said.
"I don't know, Kai. I simply don't know." Leo whispered.
* *Lila & Jessie * *
Lila and Jessie were in school when they both got stomachaches. Luckily, the minion was there and picked them up early, promising to make the ache go away…
* * Mariner Bay * *
Carter Grayson had been promoted. The promotion ceremony was short, truth be told, but that was okay with him. He didn't like to have a big deal made out of him. Although, he mused, if it had taken longer there might not have been any time for this stupid party.
"Come on, Carter! This is a party! Dance, have fun!" Joel Rawlings, erstwhile Sky Cowboy, pulled on Carter's arm. Joel's wife, Angela Fairweather-Rawlings, was dancing without him in the middle of the room. Carter sighed.
"I don't want to, Joel. I don't dance." Carter scowled. He looked around for Dana and his daughter but they were nowhere to be seen. "Hey," he turned back to Joel, "you seen Dana and Ryan? My Ryan?"
Joel pointed behind him. "Dana's over there, with Kelsey. I think Ryan Mitchell took Ryan Grayson outside for a minute. At least, they were together the last time I saw them."
Carter clapped Joel on the back. "Thanks, man. Now you go dance with your wife." He moved off towards Dana and made it about three steps before searing pain filled his every cell and dropped him to the ground like a load of bricks.
Despite himself, Carter screamed. His head bashed again and again against the floor as he found he couldn't control the spasms of his limbs. Something wet trickled down his face but he couldn't bring his hands up to see what it was, though he had a pretty good idea. Fog fell over his brain and he couldn't think but that didn't block out the other screams in the room, the other sounds.
"Joel, Joel, what is it? What's going on?" Mrs. Fairweather-Rawlings' voice rose higher and higher.
"Dana, sweetheart, what's wrong? Someone do something!" Captain Mitchell shouted. Something crashed.
Long undulating screams filled the whole room. Carter couldn't hold on to his coherent thought. He closed his eyes and just tried, desperately, to keep from injuring himself too much.
Then, before Carter could pass out, the agony was gone. He had a killer headache and, now that he put his fingers to his face, blood covering the left side of his forehead, but the pain that had threatened to burst his cells open was gone. It left behind but a shadow of what had been.
Carter dragged himself to his knees. His vision swam and he swayed. Using all his firefighter and Ranger training, he forced himself to focus on the other people in the room. Joel lay on the floor, his cowboy hat twisted in his hands. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Kelsey was curled into a fetal position near the buffet table, her fingers scrabbling uselessly against the floor. Dana sat cross-legged beside the DJ, her arms clamped around her stomach, tears running down her face. Captain Mitchell ran here and there, shouting for answers. Angela Fairweather-Rawlings knelt beside Joel, offering him a glass of punch.
Slowly, with every inch costing him a pint of blood - or so it seemed, - Carter crawled over to Dana. "You okay, babe?" he asked.
She looked up at him, fear evident in her eyes. "What was that?"
Kelsey had pulled herself over to them as well. "Yeah, Mr. Fire Chief," she gasped, "what the heck was that? Ranger stuff? Bansheera can't be back, can she?"
Carter shook his head, flinging droplets of blood onto the white tablecloth nearby. "No, can't be."
Joel spoke up from across the room. "Well, we better figure it out quick. I ain't never felt that much pain before and I don't ever want to feel it again."
* * Ryan * *
Ryan Grayson wasn't prone to headaches and so when this one came on, she thought she might die. For a four-year-old, that wasn't such a crazy idea. Her head had never hurt so bad!
So when the minion offered to take her to her parents, she grabbed his hand and only asked one thing - could he make the pain go away?
* * Blue Bay Harbor * *
Hunter hadn't wanted any part of the fake blood battle that Tori and Blake were having and so had left about five minutes ago.
"Blake, do you ever miss being a Ranger?" Tori asked, blood dripping from her fingers. She lay back on the floor and rested her head in her husband's lap. Reaching up, she smeared some blood across his face. "I mean, really. Do you miss it? The battles, the suits, the weapons, all that?"
It took him a minute to respond. "Kinda, sometimes, I guess. I mean, we were the heroes back then, Tor. Everyone looked to us to save Blue Bay Harbor. But it's kinda nice to be able to just do what we want to do. Motocross, surfing, running the shop, keeping up with a five-year-old kid." Blake rubbed his fingers through Tori's hair, leaving a red streak behind.
"Hunter is a handful, isn't she?" Tori laughed. "But we wouldn't trade her for the world, would we?"
Before Blake could respond, pain like he had never felt before raced through his veins. It felt like he was going to explode. His body jerked and convulsed and Tori fell off his lap onto the floor.
"Hey, what-" she started to shout before her angry reply became a bloodcurdling scream. Her head slammed into the low table in the center of Ninja Ops but Blake didn't have the spare brain cells to worry about his wife. All his attention was focused on himself. His nerve endings were on fire.
Moving as little as he could, he crawled to the small, locked cabinet beneath the computer and input the code. He screamed, unable to hold it in any longer. His scream went on and on as he pulled the door open. Inside rested six morphers. As quickly as he was able, he grabbed his Thunder Morpher and brought it to his mouth.
"Thunder Storm, Ranger form." He called and new agonies surged through his body. New pain welled up inside his very core. The morpher fell from his twitching hand and clattered to the ground.
And then. It was over. The pain simply vanished. Blake grabbed hold of the table and pulled himself shakily to his knees. Tori did the same and Blake noticed real blood mingling with the fake blood in her hair.
"What…was…that?" Tori asked, gasping for breath.
As Blake opened his mouth to respond, Tori's cell phone rang. She answered it and said, sides still heaving, "Hello?"
A moment later, she went on. "Yeah, me and Blake. Real bad. Not fun at all. I don't know, he left. Yeah, see you in a few."
She turned to Blake and pushed her hair out of her face with a weary hand. "That was Shane. He and Dustin were at the shop. Hit them too. They're coming here."
Blake had picked up his morpher and was staring at it. Slowly, he raised his head to look at Tori. "Tor, my morpher didn't work. It made it worse."
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
"I don't know. I wish I did. Something tells me we're going to need them, real soon."
* * Hunter * *
Hunter Hanson-Bradley was a good swimmer. She surfed all the time with her Mommy. But, when the stomachache came on all of a sudden, she lost her grip on the small surfboard and hit her head on the board as it floated past her. Next thing she knew, she was caught in the tide, floating away from the beach.
The minion was watching though, jumped in and swam after her, saving her. He brought her back to the shore and promised to make it all better. She collapsed into his arms, exhausted and didn't even put up a fight when he carried her away from her little board.
* * Ocean Bluff * *
Casey and Lily entered the sparring arena of the Pai Zhuq Academy. The only other one present in the room was Dominic. A few years ago, after he and Fran had finished backpacking through Europe, he had returned to teach the Rhino technique at the Academy. He would be helping Casey and Lily to test Jon and Luke.
"Hey, Dom. What's up?" Lily asked as she gave him a quick hug. Casey clapped the jokester on the back.
"Nothin' much. Your kids ready for this?" Dom chuckled. "You guys, married and with kids. I can't say I ever saw that one coming. Always thought you guys were more like brother and sister than anything else."
Casey rolled his eyes. "I know. You've told us that multiple times. So has Theo and RJ. Speaking of RJ," he looked around, "have you seen him? He's supposed to be here to help with the testing."
Dominic shook his head. "I haven't. But shouldn't this-"
He cut off abruptly and screamed. Pain contorted his features and Casey stared, dumbfounded for a split second, as his friend collapsed to the ground. Then, agony struck his own body, tormented his own cells and he didn't have the energy to spare for Dom, or for Lily as he saw her fall to the ground. His heels slammed again and again into the ground as his legs flailed around, seemingly with a mind of their own. Casey clapped his hands around his head, trying to stop the ringing in his ears, the waves of pain crashing through his head.
Lily was screaming and Casey wanted to help her, wanted to go to her, but he couldn't force his limbs to move like he wanted them to. Then, like the sun breaking from behind the clouds, the pain was gone. Heaving deep breaths, gasping for air, Casey dragged himself to his knees. He looked around. Dominic lay on his side, his fingers raking through his hair. Lily sat against the far wall, her head in her hands. Casey thought he saw tears pouring down her face and wasn't surprised. He thought maybe he had tears on his own cheeks.
"You two okay?" he managed to ask in between sucking in deep breaths.
"Could be better," Dom muttered. He threw in some choice words. "What was that?"
Casey shook his head. "I don't have the foggiest idea."
Lily looked up and at the two men. "Well, we better figure it out and quick. Who knows when that might happen again?"
* * Jon and Luke * *
Jon and Luke were busy meditating and getting ready for their trials when intense pain hit them. It was gone in less than thirty seconds but the lingering effects had them wondering if they'd be able to focus enough to do their best in their individual tests.
So when the minion came in and told them it was time and he would help them focus before the trials, they eagerly took him up on it and left with him.
* * Reefside * *
Trent had offered to take Lee, Nick and Madison's son, into the back room to Hayley so that the adults could enjoy the music that Kira and her band were going to play. He said he'd be right back and so Kira didn't worry about him as much as she was worrying about her band and where the heck they were. Tommy and Sky and Syd were busy talking about different Ranger techniques and Tommy was trying to get them to tell him about their genetic powers. Connor, Kelly, Nick and Madison were engaged in a heated discussion about some sports team. And Xander and Kira were busy talking about upcoming shows.
"I think we should do another tour," Xander took a sip of his smoothie. "Only without any kind of headline band."
Kira frowned. "No headline? What kind of tour is that?"
"One where you, Tanya and Kim would all be equal. The other two are already signed on. We just-"
A high scream cut him off. He and Kira whipped around to see Madison plummet from her high chair to the ground, screaming all the while. Before she even hit the ground, Nick shouted in pain as well and also fell to the ground.
"Wha-" Kira started to say before the pain hit her as well. She felt as if she had stuck her finger into an electrical socket, or maybe her tongue. She gripped the tabletop, trying to keep herself in her seat. Vaguely, she noticed that Xander was vibrating in his seat, his mouth open in a wordless scream.
Sky and Syd were in pain too. Sky's forcefield hovered in the air in front of him, crackling and flickering. Syd's hand went from diamond to flesh to diamond to flesh. Both had their teeth clenched, refusing to scream.
Tommy, using all the strength given him by his years as a Power Ranger, stayed upright in his seat. The tightness of his face, the paleness of his cheeks and the whiteness of his knuckles were all that belied his inner torment.
Kelly leaned over Connor. "Connor! What's going on?"
Syd, in a moment of clarity, reached for her Delta Morpher. "SPD, emergency!" she gasped. Her back arched as new winds of pain erupted in gales from every cell of her body. "Sky!" she screamed, "Make it stop!"
No sooner did "stop" emerge from her mouth than the pain was gone. The eight former Power Rangers sat or lay gasping for breath. Tommy looked around. No one seemed badly hurt, though nearly all sported gashes and cuts.
"Tommy." Kira looked up at her old professor. "What was that?"
Tommy shook his head. "I wish I could tell you, Kira. I really do."
* * Lee, Connor, Paul, Collin & Kari * *
Six-month-old Lee screamed when a sudden pain clenched his stomach. Connor, in her three-year-old way, tried to make the baby feel better but soon cried out herself when a wicked headache hit her full-force. Paul, Connor's son, did his best to soothe both younger kids but nothin' doing. Plus, he felt like he was going to throw up anyway. The two newcomers, Collin and Kari, didn't know what to do but their stomachs had never hurt so much either.
The two minions and the leader entered the back of the Cyberspace Café and promised to make the pain go away. All five kids eagerly took them up on their offer and followed them from the room. Connor took the hand of the shortest minion.
* * Elsewhere * *
She watched, as her plan unfolded perfectly. "And so it begins," she whispered.