The Rangers got back to the Dino Lab, Shelby cradling what was left of the E-Tracer in her arms, like a parent rushing their child into a casualty ward. By the time they got there, Kendall had prepared a bench with a series of components and tools in the vain hope of salvaging their hard work.
"We picked up everything we could find there." Shelby rushed out, putting the charred wreckage of their invention down on the table. Chase and Riley dumped a few scrap odds and ends that had been scattered around it. As Shelby stepped away to let Kendall get to work, Tyler put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Shelby." Tyler told her. "We didn't have a choice."
"If there had been another way..." Chase started to say, but she just cut them, nodding her head.
"It's alright, really." She assured them. "I know it was too dangerous to let Fury get his hands on it."
"Kendall fix?" Koda asked as he stood over Kendall's shoulder, watching her open up the machine, inspecting the damage. She took one look at the damage and immediately let out a sigh, putting down her screwdriver, stepping away from it.
"I'm afraid it's far too badly damaged." Kendall told them, a note of disappointment in her voice. While she knew this was likely always going to be the result, she had hoped that they could save it. The E-Tracer wasn't just any other device, it was a pioneering effort. The majority of its components had been completely built from scratch, invented purely for its creation. Like the E-Tracer itself, a number of them were one-of-a-kind, some were literally irreplaceable. Seeing the charred mess of wires and circuit boards, she could see that it was completely destroyed. "It's beyond repair."
"Man, I'm sorry." Chase reiterated. "I tried to hit Fury's hands, to keep the damage to a minimum..."
"Its fine Chase, if there was another choice, we would have taken it." Riley comforted him. "The E-Tracer was a powerful tool. We've found two Zords with it inside a month, but anything that powerful was always going to be dangerous in anyone else's hands. Fury may have the location of the Ptera Zord now, but if he had the Tracer, we could have had a whole FLEET of Zords to face, not just one!"
"Besides, maybe if we're lucky, we won't even have to face that one." Chase answered. They all just looked to him. "The Ptera Charger was powering the E-Tracer right?"
"Yeah, so?" Tyler asked.
"Well, they just did a whole world search for the Pterazord!" Chase reminded them. "That has to have used a lot of juice right?"
They all looked to Kendall, who nodded to confirm the detail.
"It would have taken a lot of power, and without the Gold Energem, it needs to be recharged." She stated, before looking to Chase. "And this is the only lab with the technology to recharge it."
"So if this is the only place that can recharge the Ptera Charger..."
"Fury not use Ptera Zord, like...when my TV remote run out of batteries." Koda surmised, his face lighting up. "Even if have Ptera Zord..."
"It'd be useless." Riley concluded. "How...how much charge is left in the Ptera Charger?"
"I'm sure we'll find out when he finds the Ptera Zord." Shelby answered. "Let's just hope that search took a lot out of it."
It was then that they noticed Tyler was kind of quiet. He was just sitting in the corner, looking quite deep in thought. The team made their way over to him.
"Tyler..."
"I should have known those Rangers were clones." Tyler said, looking a little disappointed in himself.
"Tyler, you weren't the only one that was fooled." Riley assured him. "Hey, Poisandra said that monster was a counterfeiter...by the looks of it he was a pretty good one."
"We were all fooled." Shelby agreed.
"I still should have known." Tyler replied, smiling as he looked to them. "No one is like you guys."
"The E-Tracer was destroyed." Keeper announced as he arrived. "But you worked as a team, while Fury acted alone. If you had not, the E-Tracer would now be in Sledge's hands."
"Keeper's right. If Poisandra hadn't been trying to one-up Fury and he hadn't been trying to get the E-Tracer for himself, they'd have it now." Chase recalled, looking around the team. They'd had their bumpy patches along the way, but now, especially after today, they knew they really were a team. "We are united, they are divided."
"That's why we're going to win." Riley chipped in. "It's impossible to win at chess with only one piece, no matter how powerful that piece is. Maybe we won't win today, and without the E-Tracer it'll take longer, but it will happen."
"There...there was one other thing, something odd." Tyler told them. "When I was fighting Fury..."
"I...heard the transmissions." Kendall interrupted him. "I heard what he said."
"And while we didn't, we can probably guess what it was about." Shelby said sympathetically. "He did have something to do with what happened to your dad."
"He did say he was responsible, and I wanted to know what he did, but..."
"If he's getting the Ptera Zord, I doubt it'll be too long before we run into him again." Chase told him. "Like Riley said, no one piece can win the game. We will find Fury, and we'll get your answers together."
"I know, and I appreciate it, but...that's not what I was going to say." Tyler told them. "When I was fighting Fury today, he had me where he wanted me, and then, he kind of...froze up, like he wasn't in control."
"You mean like someone was controlling him?" Chase asked. "Like when Mindbender controlled me?"
"No, it wasn't like that. There was something glowing, in his chest." Tyler explained. "It was like something was inside him trying to get out."
"Maybe...it was his fun side trying to get out." Chase suggested weakly, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone just glared at him. "OK, not the time for jokes."
"Whatever it is, we face together." Koda answered. They all just smiled. Shelby just noticed Tyler rubbing his wrist.
"What's the matter?" Shelby asked him. He just looked up at her.
"When I was fighting Fury, I...I lost my dad's bracelet." He informed her. Shelby had seen him wearing it. Hell, everyone had, he never took it off. With the exception of the journals, it was one of the few things he had with him that belonged to Neil. "I had to run off before I had a chance to get it back...I'm kind of bummed about it."
Shelby couldn't think of anything to say. She just put her arm around him, holding him. She could guess how upset he'd have to be about it.
"Alright, it's been a long day, and like it or not Fury has got the location of the Ptera Zord." Kendall sighed, looking to the team. "We need to figure out what we're doing next. But...I doubt it's going to matter if we leave it until tomorrow. You should all go and get some rest."
"I guess we could go somewhere to relax." Riley suggested. "Koda, I heard golf wasn't your thing...I think I have an idea that might be more up your alley."
Koda just looked at him as Riley produced a flyer.
"There's a bowling alley a little way from here, they do two for one on Thursday nights." Riley explained.
"Bowling?" He asked. "What...bowling?"
"My brother Matt and I used to go to the next town once a month to the local alley!" Riley told him. "You're going to love it, I promise!"
"Well, I guess I have nothing better to do." Chase answered. "And since that golf trip cleaned me out...I guess a free entry is about all I can afford."
"I guess it could be fun." Tyler agreed. "Ms Morgan...?" She just looked at him for a moment, before gesturing to her cast with one of her crutches.
"Are you kidding? You think I can go bowling on this thing?" She asked him sceptically. "Besides, I've got a few things to do here before I head home. You have a good time though."
"Shelby, what about it?" Tyler asked her.
"I'm sorry but...I really should be going." She answered, backing away from him. "I've really got to be getting home, and...you guys have a great time alright?"
She gathered up her jacket and left, almost at a sprint.
"Wow, guess she really wants to get home." Chase commented. "So, I guess it's just us guys then!"
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Riley chirped in cheerfully. Kendall watched them all file out, before looking sadly back to the E-Tracer. She picked it up, inspecting it one last time before dumping it on the desk.
"Recycling it is." She sighed. "I'll strip it in the morning."
As she was about to just gather her things to leave, the phone rang. She just groaned loudly.
"It never bloody fails." She muttered, picking up the phone. "Whatever it is, it can wait until morning."
"Ms Morgan...there's someone here to see you." One of the other workers said over the phone. Kendall just took off her glasses.
"Look, I've been here all day, I have a headache and I really just want to go home and put my foot up." Kendall told him. "Just...schedule an appointment and send him on his way."
"I'm afraid he's very insistent on wanting to see you." The worker told her. She groaned loudly.
"Great, it must be a sponsor." She muttered. The museum, while owned by Anton, still accepted outside donations to put on special exhibits. Whether someone donated artefacts or just money to help set up special events, it meant that regardless of whether or not it was convenient, they really had to pay attention when one of them decided they wanted to talk. Some though almost took their donations as almost a direct purchase of the museum and expected to be seen and heard...any time...day or night...whenever they damn well felt like it. Needless to say it could be a real pain in the ass when she actually had work to do, such as saving the world...or just wanted to go home and relax after doing so!
"I...don't think he's a sponsor." The museum worker told her. "He said something about you offering to show him around the city."
This made Kendall pause for a moment. She offered to show him around the city? When did she offer anyone a guided tour? A thought crossed her mind, just as a smile crossed her face.
"What does this guy look like?" She asked him.
"Cowboy hat, flannel shirt, bit of an accent..." The worker replied. This was all Kendall needed.
"Tell him I'll be right up!" Kendall rushed out, hanging up the phone. She quickly stopped by a mirror, straightened out her hair as much as she could, and headed for the stairs as quickly as her crutches would allow.
She stopped by the door leading into the museum, taking a look around the edge of it. She couldn't help grinning as she saw Matt Griffin, Riley's older brother, standing by one of the exhibits, staring at it. She took a moment to take a deep breath and tried to act as casually as possible as she made her way out.
"That is the only complete skeleton of a Neanderthal discovered in the state." She informed him as he turned to see her. "Most people erroneously think the terms caveman and Neanderthal are interchangeable, but there were many species at different stages of evolution that fall under the blanket term cave man, including our own."
"Really?" He asked. Matt didn't claim to be an expert, or even to have much of an interest in the field, he was just taking a look at the unusual skeleton.
"Their bone structure, the skull especially was significantly different from Homo Sapien." Kendall continued, pointing out the differences. "A lot of people mistakenly believe that we were at war with each other since members of both species have been found to have died violently at each other's hands, but those disputes were so few and far between, they were more likely territory disputes or fights over resources or hunting prizes. The reality is, with our more developed brains we were just more suited to surviving shifting..."
She realised Matt was just staring at her with a little smirk on her face, and realised what she was saying. He had come here to see her, to get his guided tour of the city, and here she was, having once again slipping into tour guide mode. She had to sound like a complete dork to him prattling on about an exhibit he likely didn't even care about.
"...climates." She concluded uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you didn't come here to get a lecture on my exhibits."
He just looked back to the skeleton.
"Actually, I just thought he looked kind of like my uncle Bill." Matt joked. Kendall forced a small chuckle, realising he was just trying to let her off the hook. "Last time I was here, you did offer to give me a guided tour."
"I'm not sure how much of a tour I can really manage on these things." Kendall admitted, indicating her crutches. "But if this is one of the few free moments you have, I guess I can give you a short tour of the area..."
"As long as one of the spots on that tour is somewhere to eat, I'll be happy." Matt replied with a smile. "We only really have the tavern and the diner back in Millport."
"Oh...right." Kendall said, thinking about this for a moment. Did Matt want to go to dinner with her? Or was he just curious about local cuisine? Was this...was he taking this as a date? "Well, what would you like?"
"I kind of like the chilli at the diner back home, so...something spicy, but different." He said, considering it for a moment. "I hear a lot of good things about Indian."
"I think I know a place." Kendall answered. "Come with me, we can take the route through the park."
With that, she started on her way, with Matt at her side, feeling herself tense up.
Meanwhile, in another part of town, Shelby was wandering through the streets, heading back in the direction of the mall. In particular, she was searching the streets surrounding the mall. She didn't know exactly where Tyler had been attacked by Fury, all she knew was that he had been ambushed before he got to the mall, but that once he returned their call after breaking off from Fury, he arrived within a few minutes. That narrowed the area down to a couple of blocks. From there, she was sure there would be tell-tale signs that would let her know where he had fought him. There always were. She eventually found what she was looking for.
Coming into a street, she found a patrol car, and some street sweepers. There was quite a bit of clearing up to do after a Ranger battle. While it was regrettable, it was also unavoidable. One of the cops was just winding up the safety tape cordoning off the area, meaning they were obviously satisfied they had found all the evidence they were going to...not that these incidents were really investigated too deeply. It was pretty simple really; a monster attacked, smashed the place up and left. It wasn't like there was going to be a court case.
Shelby knew it was a long shot. Even if the bracelet wasn't found by one of the cops or one of the street sweepers, it was a small thing, only a black leather thong with a small metal tag. It would be easy to miss.
As she looked around the scene, she noticed that on the hood of one of the cruisers was a towel, on which a few items were littered, probably things that were found that they wanted to look at more closely. She used a back alley to get as close as she could without drawing attention to herself.
As she got close enough, she could see what they had picked up. Most things had been cleared away, but a few things had been kept. A couple of wallets, a shoe, a purse, a toy doll...personal items, the kind of thing that someone might come back for or ask after at the police station. Things that may have been dropped as people ran off in a panic. It made sense that they would keep them. If anyone came back for them, then they could take a witness statement as to what they had seen.
She strained her eyes to see, she smiled as right there, next to the doll, was Tyler's bracelet.
She considered her options. She could walk up and ask for the bracelet, but then she'd have to come up with an explanation how she lost it there. She would be asked what she had seen; he would need to come up with a statement, which she couldn't because she wasn't actually there. If she gave a statement and others came up with conflicting stories, it would bring her a lot of unwanted attention. Not to mention she figured her folks would hardly be thrilled with the idea of police cars bringing their daughter home.
She made her choice, and checking around, she waited until no one was looking at the cruiser, before running out, and snatching the bracelet. One of the cleaners turned, hearing the footsteps and saw her as she turned away.
"Hey, you there!" He called out, attracting the attention of the cops. "Hey! She just swiped something from the car!"
One of the cops took off after Shelby, leaving her to run like hell. She was grateful for all the training she had been doing recently. She vaulted over a high fence, crouching down behind it. She could see the cop through the space between two planks. He gave the alley a cursory glance, before obviously deciding that it was unlikely someone could climb that fence so quickly. It was about ten feet high! He turned and started back towards the crime scene, clearly deciding that the perp was long gone. Shelby looked to the bracelet and smiled. Running from the cops and risking being taken home in a patrol car was hardly what she considered a good idea, but knowing how upset Tyler was about losing his bracelet, and imagining how happy he'd be getting it back made it worth the risk.
