Chapter Ten
…
89th and Fairway
5:16 PM
Ransik stormed over to Celia as she lay on the ground trying to recover and planted his thick boot into the pit of her stomach, kicking so hard she came off the ground for a second; she was forced onto her back, and stared up at the sky breathlessly, vaguely hearing Ransik's laughter. Her ribs throbbed mercilessly, at least two were broken, and blood had run a line down from her forehead, into her eyes, and across her face. She had to give the Rangers credit... Ransik was one hell of a son of a bitch.
"I was expecting more from you," Ransik said, "They say you are a demon... one would think a demon would put up more of a fight!"
Believe me, buddy... he's trying. Celia gritted her teeth, struggling against all odds to restrain the demon rising up within her, his pride wounded due to the severe beat down they were both getting. Ransik saw the look on her face, but the meaning escaped him and he dismissed it, reaching down to grasp the collar of her shirt and pull her onto her unsteady legs. Her breath wheezed in and out raggedly, but she stared at him without fear in her eyes, managing to gasp out: "Think you're a tough guy for this?"
"This isn't about being tough," Ransik said, his voice surprisingly soft.
His fist swung forward and connected with Celia's cheek, knocking a back tooth loose and causing her to bite down and cut the inside of her cheek; blood flooded into her mouth. She snorted, then spit into Ransik's face; then smashed a fist into his throat and free herself from his grip as he struggled to catch his breath. He dropped her, and she nearly crumbled to the ground again, but somehow managed to stay on her feet. Everything hurt. Every muscle in her body quivered from the pain and exertion. Worst of all, she felt the demon within gaining strength and she lost her own.
"As much fun as I'm havin' here," she said, hoarsely and started to stalk backwards towards the parked Silverado "Why don't we call it a day? I mean... what've ya got against me anyway?"
"Are you begging for mercy?" Ransik grinned.
"Hell no." Celia's pride bristled. "I'm just sayin'... this whole thing ain't gonna get us anywhere. Shouldn't ya be off plottin' a way to get rid of those Rangers? Doing somethin'... useful?"
"But this is so much fun... " Ransik snickered, following her stiff retreat "I think you're just scared. You can see that your end is near."
Celia swallowed, wincing in pain and shaking her head slowly. "I may be afraid of some things... but one of them sure as Hell ain't you." It's me. "Now... I'm warnin' ya, end this now, or there's gonna be some major hurtin' in your future."
Ransik threw his head back and laughed. "You are threatening me?" he said, incredulously. "Are you delusional?"
"Maybe a little, feels like I got a concussion…" Celia miss stepped and her knees nearly buckled but she stayed up and kept retreating. The guy had a hundred pounds on her and she was struggling on two ends. She needed to fight smart, not hard.
And the Sixes were in her tool box.
Huffing with anger, Ransik thrust his open hand at Celia, producing an impressive looking beam that shot out toward her again; this time, she managed to dodge it enough so it didn't hit her straight on, but it still clipped her shoulder and she slammed back to the ground. She felt it dislocate from its socket and hissed against the sharp pain that followed, groaning aloud when she chanced a glance downward and saw the blood seeping from the gaping wound. Dude's got some firepower, that's for sure...she waited half a second, catching a breath then with a snarl rotated her arm and shoulder, popping the joint back into place and repressed a bark of pain as it pinched a nerve on the way. Celia flexed her hand, feeling the muscles get back to work.
"Still think you can threaten me?" Ransik snapped, walking forward slowly.
"It's not... a threat," Celia sighed, her chest was heaving with every breath. "I don't wanna... do this."
"You mean you don't want to die." A hand swung downward and slugged her in the jaw, popping out that tooth and sending even more blood into her mouth; she gagged on the bitter liquid, spitting onto the asphalt. She flicked a look up at Ransik out the corner of her eye, every breath being forced from her lungs and sounding like sandpaper on wood, raspy and harsh; the mutant leader was silhouetted up against the setting sun, but she could still see his face and the smile that was forming.
That is, until her entire world went black when his fist smashed into her face again...
. . .
The Silver Ring Inn, Room 34
5: 16 PM
Sam sprawled across his bed, trying to get the sleep he needed and knew he wasn't going to get later. He burrowed himself as deep into the comforter as he could from on top of all the covers; his side was hot, sweating, because of Buckshot curled tightly up against his ribcage.
For the better part of the last hour and a half, with practically no entertainment, the Rangers-- specifically Trip and Katie --had been trying to badger Dean into letting them go back across the street to the Clock Tower. The elder Winchester continued to refuse, too used to the sounds and attitudes of teenagers-- having dealt with Sam all through his most rebellious years --to give any kind of slack. Dean had finally dissolved the argument altogether by making a sharp remark that if the pack was so bold to kill in the daylight, to lure and attack the Rangers literally at high noon, when they were weakest, then how safe would they be at night?
The room had finally started to quiet down as the stresses and exhaustion of shock and revelation set into everyone, and Sam was trying to take advantage. He jumped out of his skin at the sound of a chair hitting the floor and splitting apart over a small siren sounding in the room from the mechanical owl, Circuit.
"What the hell!?" Dean snarled, he looked ready to butcher the machine for making him jump.
"Everybody! Ransik's in the city!" Circuit chattered in a high pitched, mechanical voice.
"Lets go!" Jen barked at her team. They lurched to their feet and rushed for the door. Eric pushed himself up off the other bed and started to follow.
"Whoa! Hold it!" Dean ordered, freezing everyone in the room. "You guys aren't seriously gonna just run off into public? We're trying to keep you alive, and frolicking off in your space suits is kind of an attention getter."
"This is what we're here for," Jen stated. "We can't just let him destroy the city!"
"What about your crew?" Dean motioned toward Eric. "They can handle it right?"
Pride slammed into Eric mercilessly. "Trained and experienced for it. They're probably already there."
"See? Let the Wakenhut handle it for once," Dean sighed.
"We're not going to abandon our mission." Jen looked ready to lunge at Dean and savage him. "Besides... Eric's pride be damned, his Guardians can't handle one of Ransik's mutants."
"Guys, I know this is hard... but if you really want to bring Ransik in, you have to stay alive to do it," Sam pleaded gently.
"We don't have time for this!" Jen launched at the door again, Dean reached out and snagged her arm.
Jen's eyes flashed dangerously, and Dean felt her body tense up. Her voice was tight. "Let me go."
"Rangers, hurry! Ransik's already in combat!" Circuit chattered.
That froze everyone in the room.
"The Guardians?" Eric questioned.
"No! With Celia!" The owl flapped his stiff wings.
"Now we go," Dean said, instantly.
Jen ripped herself from his grip with an annoyed growl and charged out of the door, Dean right behind her, closely followed by Sam and the Rangers. The door slammed shut in Buckshot and Valentine's faces, leaving them trapped in the room, baying to be let into the fight.
. . .
Ransik's Hideout-- The Prison Ship
5:20 PM
Nadira pushed her way past the vampires that had crowded the viewing screen, ignoring their angry snarls in favor of focusing her eyes on the image projected to her-- she smirked with satisfaction, her father was closing in on the woman, who appeared helpless against his attacks. She was as good as dead.
The vampires were confused, muttering amongst themselves even as the fight continued to play out; it was all very one-sided, Ransik was beating down the red head like she was any other human, she showed no signs of being possessed by an ancient demon. Dominique scowled, running a hand down his face and spinning away from the screen, clearly frustrated.
"It doesn't make any sense," Dante spoke, "She could demolish him with a flick of her hand!"
"Apparently not," Frax said, chuckling quietly.
"She's holding back…" Dominique growled, a nauseating wave of uncertainty bubbling in his chest. "Tell me why a demon would hold back…demons don't just roll over…she's letting him kill her."
Nadira quipped, "Aren't you supposed to be on my father's side? This should make you happy!" She placed her hands on her hips and stuck up her chin, her eyes narrowing in on Dominique. "If you think you can betray us... you're in for one rude awakening."
Dominique scoffed. "Do you have any idea what I've done to girls like you?"
"You think I'm like those other girls?"
"I don't see much of a difference."
"You didn't think my daddy stood a chance against your demon, either." Nadira shot a look at the screen, a smug smile appearing on her face again when she saw Ransik deliver another blow to Celia; she slumped to the ground, oblivious to the world. "... Shows how much you know." Before the vampire leader could respond, she snapped to Frax: "Frax! I need a mutant!"
"What for, Nadira?" Frax questioned.
"Those pesky Rangers are bound to show up any minute now," Nadira explained, rolling her eyes impatiently. "I don't want them getting in Daddy's way... make sure you pick out a mutant that we can depend on!" With a flourish of her hand and an excited squeak, she bounced out of the room.
. . .
89th and Fairway
5:23 PM
Celia gasped, consciousness floating back to her after only seconds of blissful unawareness. The pain rushed back into her system, but she forced herself onto her hands and knees, determining to get up again and take another beating... she wondered if Sam and Dean had any idea she was in trouble. "Could use a Winchester right now…" She muttered to herself.
"Why don't you just stay down?" Ransik's voice snarled over her and she was rewarded for her effort with another massive boot kicked deep into her gut.
Celia bit back a bark of pain, her teeth bared and shivering violently. "Nice... " she spat, "... kick a girl when she's down... "
"You don't get anywhere in life by showing mercy." Ransik raised one eyebrow. "I learned that long ago... I haven't shown mercy since then, and I won't give you any. Did you really think you could defeat me? I am more than human and better than any of the species." He twisted the sword in his hands, into angle fitting for an execution. "And now, in your death, I am more than demon. It's a pity, you could have been useful."
Ransik swung the blade down... and met resistance.
He blinked, staring down at blood red eyes, Celia's hands firmly locked on his wrists, arms locked and crouching to keep his arms well above her head. Immediately, he sensed something different in his opponent. Was she even the same woman?
"I'm done with ya," she snapped, her voice deeper, more of an animal growl than a human sound. A spark of uncertainty hit Ransik's eyes and he jerked back to break contact and regain his swing, Celia's grip tightened, and she used his retreat movement to haul herself to her feet. She twisted Ransik's hands with strength she hadn't possessed moments ago, breaking his grip and sending the blade clattering to the ground.
"Time for an anatomy class. The hand bone's connected to the wrist bone--" Celia kept his right arm trapped and wrenched his left hand around and the bones of his wrist snapped with a chorus of small
crackles and pops. Ransik gasped out, more from the shock of her actions than from the pain of his broken wrist.
"Wrist bone's connected to the arm bone--" She kept twisting, there was an ugly pop and a wet snap, forcing a bark of pain out of Ransik's mouth as the joint in his elbow dislocated, the tendons and sinews snapping and his muscles ripping away under his skin. He tried to pull away, but Celia planted herself firmly into the ground, a menacing smile dancing across her face as she continued.
"Arm bone's connected to the shoulder bone--" Celia jerked his arm sharply forward and down, there was a loud sucking pop and another series of snaps as she returned the favor of a dislocated shoulder. This time, Ransik felt more anger than pain, and he readied himself for one last attack.
"And the shoulder bone's connected to the collar bone--" Celia hiked up a boot, slammed it into his chest and shoved backwards, keeping a tight grip on his arm, the collar bone crackling loudly; she felt a pang of disappointment when she didn't feel his arm completely dislocate and hear him scream in agony. Must be that genetic enhancement shit. Shrugging it off, she released him, sending the mutant onto the pavement. Celia gave herself a short shake and snorted out of her nose. She kicked the sword back, it slid past her Desert Eagle and under the belly of the Silverado, well out of reach.
"Care to guess what the collar bones connected to?" Celia sniffed, almost comically. Ransik ground his teeth together to conceal the agonizing pain he felt shooting up his arm, he watched as Celia rolled her shoulders back and reached toward her calf, drawing her bone hilt buck knife away from the sheath.
"When I'm finished--" she growled, stalking toward the slowly rising mutant, "--yer goin' to look like a field dressed deer." She stalked forward a step just as Ransik got onto one knee, then slammed her boot into his throat, knocking him onto his back and pinning him with her weight as she knelt on top of him. "Only difference is... ya ain't goin' to have a head to mount."
Ransik wrenched his body around and slammed one of his knees deep into the back of Celia's calf, she staggered, jerking away and giving Ransik the chance to regain his feet and put room between them. He took the chance. Celia's unnaturally red-colored eyes locked on him, a predatory gaze, like a wolf looking at a wounded rabbit... for a split second they flooded black then faded into red again. A small, twisted smile played on her lips. A quiet chuckle escaped her throat. She pushed herself up and walked almost casually toward her offender.
"Like me better this way?" she taunted, coolly.
Ransik grumbled as he straightened up to his full height, once again towering over the petite Celia. "It's going to take more... than demonic strength to defeat me," he replied.
"Trust me, son. There's plenty more." Ransik backed away ever-so-slightly as she continued her approach. She laughed aloud. "What's the matter, huh? Ya were beatin' the shit out of me a minute ago. What's wrong? Spooked? All the sudden the little girl's got some moves and now ya don't want to play anymore."
"If you think... that you are the toughest opponent I've fought," Ransik spoke very carefully, disguising any emotions he felt that would give her an advantage, "Then you have severely over-estimated yourself."
"Oh, my apologies. Let me make my place clear." Celia snorted, twisting the buck knife, light catching the engraved designs running along the blade.
Without another word, he threw himself at Celia, his fist burying itself in her gut and doubling her over for a second; he brought his knee up and smashed it into her ribs, laughing viciously when he heard a few more snap under the pressure. She snarled angrily, one arm snapped back, then flew forward, her punch smacking him in the face; surprisingly, this time it took more of a toll on him than her previous attempts. He spun around, his back briefly facing her. Celia slammed and elbow into the back of his neck, in the same move burying the blade into his side, twisting and lodging the blade between his ribs. Ransik barked in pain, it felt like electricity was crackling and burning the new wound. He jerked away, his back to her a second time. She slammed her heel in the small of his back and kicked, he stumbled forward, but stayed on his feet and whirled around to meet her again; the laser that shot out from the palm of his enormous hand nearly caught Celia off-guard, and while she jumped out of the way, it still sliced her thigh as it went by. She hissed, glaring at him, her face twisted, teeth bared and showing the wolf like canines. The sound was foreign to Ransik, a rattling hiss that belonged in the belly of a bull alligator.
"Who are you?" Ransik demanded.
Black flooded Celia's eyes for a moment. "You wouldn't know if I told you." The black disappeared. "But I know what you are, Ransik... ya think yer a big bad man, yer nothin'." Celia stalked closer. "An' afterthought in the cosmos. The gods spat and there was Ransik, yer so useless a bunch of teenagers, babes in the woods, have ya hidin' in corners and behind dumpsters. Now come here, I want my knife back." She motioned towards the blade wedged in his ribcage. Every time he moved or breathed it felt like a spark of lightening crossed the wound.
Rage flooded into Ransik, he moved to pull the blade free but fire shocked across his side when his fingers touched it. His eyes flashed back to the red head, he bared his own teeth back at her. That same small, wolfish smile played on Celia's lips.
"Hurt yer feelings?" she said, mocking a concerned tone.
"The day I am insulted by a demon," Ransik said, "Is the day Hell freezes over... what is it you take so much pride in? You are scum! Lucifer's whores and God's bastards." He smirked. "So low to the ground that you have to possession of a human body just to be seen. And--" he laughed then, and a deep sound rumbled within Celia's chest "--you're so pathetic, you let a tiny woman control you! Big, bad, dangerous demon... made a bitch to a human girl."
Ransik's blood chilled then heated in rage when Celia's face split into a grin and let out a low, snorted laugh. A look that could only be described as demonic locked in her molten eyes. "Shakespeare, brother, Shakespeare, 'She is little, but she is fierce'."
Celia lunged at him, Ransik bent his knees slightly, fully prepared for her assault... he nearly jumped when Celia was suddenly tackled clean out of the air by a blur of brown color. She made a pained sound as she was slammed into the nearest wall, then shoved back again and pinned into the brick, a forearm pressed against her throat, another hand trapping her wrists together against her stomach. Two hundred pounds pressed against her frame and crushed her against the wall.
"Christo," the deep voice-- coming from the young man who held her still --growled.
Celia flinched, writhing under his weight and actually cringing back as if trying to get away from him. Black eyes cracked open and she bared her teeth, snarling in the assailant's face, the eyes flickered and drained to red in an instant.
"Dean," Celia rasped, her voice breaking and eyes becoming wet.
Dean felt her slump against him. He breathed a sigh of relief, sending Sam a look from over his shoulder; the younger brother left his hand fall, within it he clasped a clear bottle of water. Holy water. Dean turned his attention back to Celia, never seeing the gigantic mutant that set his eyes on Sam and pulled a glistening sword out from his back, clearly intending to use it on the youngest Winchester.
"Sam, look out!" Jen shouted, bringing her blaster up from her hip and squeezing the trigger before Ransik had time to attack. The beam hit him, but at an angle, not causing much damage at all, angering him more than anything; he swore at her, now directing all his attention at the unmorphed Pink Ranger.
"Ready, guys?" Jen called out, taking a step back as the rest of her team stepped up beside her. They nodded. As one, the team-- excluding Eric --called out: "Time for Time Force!" and morphed into their suits; Eric watched them, then shouted into his morpher: "Quantum Power!" and joined his fellow Rangers, ready to fight.
"You okay?" Dean asked Celia, his eyes wide with worry, his hands running up-and-down her body, searching for injuries. He was wary though, and kept glancing at her eyes.
"I'll be fine," Celia muttered, casting her eyes in the direction of the Rangers as they took on Ransik. "They're gonna need some help."
"Not from you," Dean insisted, "Get out of here... take a second to catch your breath. Get yourself under control."
"Dean--"
"Now."
Leaving no room for argument, Dean gently shoved her even further away from the fight, then turned around and raced to stand beside the others; Jen was charging Ransik, her Chrono Saber extended, each step she took full of determination and without hesitation. She slashed Ransik across the chest with the saber, but he barely seemed to feel it, and responded with a massive blow to the side of her helmet, temporarily disorienting her. Wes took her place as she fell back; he bent low to the ground and swung one leg out in a circular motion, upsetting Ransik's balance as his feet came out from under him. Wes tried to take advantage of the situation by jumping back up and calling on his own saber, then bringing it down on Ransik. But Ransik had recovered too quickly; he braced himself back on his hands-- outstretched above his head --and kicked Wes away with his feet before righting himself.
"Ransik!"
The gravelly voice belonged to the dark gray figure that was running down the street -- he was at least nine feet tall, armored from head-to-toe, and unmistakably not human. In one large hand he gripped a chain gun of sorts, eight thin barrels forming a circle at the end of the weapon and seeming to glower at the Rangers and Hunters. On the other arm, a miniature gun was positioned on top of his forearm. The mutant laughed, his expressionless face remaining impassive.
"What are you doing here?" Ransik demanded.
"Nadira sent me," the mutant replied, "She didn't want you distracted by the Rangers... when they showed up."
Ransik looked around, searching for Celia, but the demon/woman/whatever the hell she was... was leaning heavily against the brick wall. She was gasping for air and shivering, looking like she had just experienced a severe heart attack. Her eyes flicked up and met his, she bared her teeth and let out the same warning hiss. Ransik moved to step towards he but balked when the blade twisted in his ribs. Grumbling under his breath, he turned, muttering to the mutant: "Finish this. I don't want to see the Rangers popping up ever again." With that, he flickered and disappeared, teleporting off to his hideout; Sam and Dean's mouths fell open with surprise, and they exchanged a look of utter confusion.
"Are we stuck in an episode of 'Star Trek' or what?" Dean joked.
Jen turned slightly and shot him a look from over her shoulder, the expression was hidden behind her visor, so Dean never knew that in that instant, if looks could kill, he would have dropped dead. Her voice tipped him off though: "This isn't a joke. Let's go!" She took on the mutant first, as usual, jumping into a hitch-kick, the flat of her boot striking him in the chest and knocking him back a foot or two; she braced herself by bending her knees at nearly a 45 degree angle, then rapidly straightened them and leapt into the air. The spin kick caught the mutant in the side of his face, and he growled in pain as she landed back on the ground and Lucas jumped up, not giving their opponent a moment to breathe; the Blue Ranger delivered two quick punches to the mutant's rock hard abdomen, then a snap kick to his left knee that forced him to the ground.
Sam and Dean had been watching for the whole encounter-- which had lasted only about twenty seconds --trying to get a feel for how the mutant moved, what sort of power he possessed. The Rangers didn't seem incredibly phased by him though, so the brothers moved in to join the fight. Sam lashed out with a punch to the mutant's face, but instantly recoiled when his knuckles met what felt like pure metal; Dean drew his 1911 Colt and leveled it at the mutant, shouting a harsh "Down!" before squeezing off a round as the Rangers and Sam ducked close to the ground. The .45 whizzed through the air... and clinked off the breastplate the mutant had formed to his skin.
"Aww, what the--?" Dean didn't have time to finish his sentence. His words cut off abruptly when he felt a searing pain in his right thigh; a bright laser had shot out from the gun on the mutant's arm and struck him with the force of a bullet. He fell, cracking the back of his head on the pavement. Blood spurted from the wound on his leg. "Shit!" he sputtered, clumsily fumbling with the injury as the mutant started toward him, chuckling threateningly.
"Dean!" Sam cried, panic rushing through his body as he perceived the threat against his only family. He ran full force at the mutant, not pausing for a second and using his momentum to take the enemy down; he placed his boot on the side of the mutant's knee and kicked savagely, an action that would have destroyed any normal opponent's knee and taken them down. Instead, it hurt him. It was like kicking a brick wall. The mutant stumbled only slightly, then whirled around with his arm in the air; Sam barely had time to duck, and still caught a heavy fist to his temple. He dropped to his knees as nausea and dizziness overwhelmed him, and the sounds of Katie and Trip taking on the mutant only faintly registered in his ears.
"Hold him, Katie!"
"Got him!"
A punch-- or a kick --some kind of impact. The mutant muttered grumpily. Then someone... Katie? ... cried out in pain. Sam blinked slowly, trying to clear his foggy vision enough to rejoin the engagement; a blur of yellow went by as Katie fell to the ground, then green as Trip helped her back to her feet. Wildly, he searched for Dean -- his brother was still down, but Celia was already at his side, trying to heft his weight back to his feet without collapsing herself.
"Hey-- you okay?"
Sam's eyes finally cleared, and he looked up to see Eric standing next to him, a gloved hand extended to help him up. The young Hunter nodded, accepting the offer and using Eric as leverage to pull himself to his feet; he quickly muttered "Just needed a second", then drew his own gun-- a Berette 92fs 9x19 Parabellum --and fired off four well-aimed shots, hoping quantity would do what Dean's quality couldn't. The shots went where he wanted them to, two in the chest, one in the stomach, and one in the head. Again, the shots were ineffective. The mutant raised the same gun he'd shot down Dean with earlier, the laser raced toward Sam, but fell short; it hit the ground near him, kicking up concrete and expoding upon impact. Sam was flung into the air and backwards, landing a yard from his brother.
"Your little toys are useless!" the mutant laughed.
Eric spun around, his leg coming up in a windmill motion and the side of his booted foot hitting the mutant in his thick neck. "Quantum Defender!" he shouted, drawing on his blaster and pressing it into the mutant's chest, shooting it at point-blank range. Sparks flew. The mutant cried out and fell, clutching his injured chest.
"Sam!"
The younger Winchester's head twisted around to look at her, Celia dug into her pocket with one hand.
"Sam! The Sixes! Go!" She tossed the Silverado keys. The younger Winchester caught them mid stride, racing towards the Chevrolet truck, aiming to jump right into the bed from the street. Fiddling with the keys to find the one for the tool box at the same time. Five steps short of the truck Sam was bowled completely off his feet when Lucas' thrown frame slammed into him. The keys clattered to the earth while Sam and the Blue Ranger tired to untangle themselves and get back to their feet.
Dean and Celia were up, and together they took on the mutant. Celia snarled and punched the mutant in the face just as he got back on his feet, his large head flew back with the force, but before she could do more, Dean sharply pulled her back. "Take it easy," he snapped.
"Dean, I--"
"I don't wanna take any chances," Dean interrupted, and turned his attention back to the fight. Grunting, he pulled his arm back, then pushed it forward, his fist colliding with the mutant's throat; it hurt like hell, and blood started running down his hand from his knuckles, but the mutant seemed to feel it this time. Still, he responded by lashing out with a punch of his own, digging his fist into Dean's gut twice, then kicking him aside, breaking a rib. Dean gasped. Celia lunged forward, snapping her leg up and out, hitting the mutant under his jaw; he reached out, his giant hands gripping each of her arms, and raised her into the air, then threw her aside like a rag doll. Helpless to stop him, Celia felt herself flying through the air, a moment later crashing into the wall of a nearby building, and slumping to the ground, exhausted. Dean bit back the pain in his ribs and got back up. He didn't even have a chance to launch an attack before the mutant kicked him in the chest and he was done on the ground again.
"Time Strike!"
The voice was Wes', and came as he jumped up, raising his Chrono Saber as it powered up; as he came down, the saber cut across the mutant's front, causing awesome sparks to fly around the both of them. Jen jumped into a tornado kick, the impact of her foot against the mutant forcing him to the ground; Eric kicked him in the face, knocking him onto his back.
"All right... let's finish him off," Jen said.
"Vortex Blaster!" Wes called.
The five Rangers stood close to each other with their personal weapons in hand, then combined them together to create one large weapon, one resembling a cannon. It took only a second for it to charge, then as Wes shouted "Fire!" a brilliant flash of light shot out and hit the mutant head-on as he struggled back to his feet. The explosion that followed forced the Winchesters and Celia to look away, expecting blood and body parts to rain down on them at any moment; to their shock, what was left behind from the explosion was a mini-version of the mutant.
"That's no bigger than Ken doll," Dean mumbled, wincing painfully.
"What... the hell is going?" Celia wondered, quietly, letting her head fall back against the brick.
"Nice job, guys." Jen walked up to the miniature mutant, producing her badge and hovering it over him; the mutant was transported, materializing again in a tiny case. The Pink Ranger glanced at Dean: "We have to get this into the Clock Tower."
"First things first, Jen," Wes told her, gently helping Sam to his feet with Lucas' help.
Jen looked around... Dean was sitting up only slightly, one arm wrapped around his middle and his leg still bleeding badly; Celia looked dead tired, bruised and bloody, breathing as heavy as a runner at the end of a marathon; Sam was unsteady, leaning almost entirely on Wes, blood running down the side of his face. They were beat to Hell. She knew the feeling.
"Get them back to the motel," she ordered, "I'm going back to the Tower... Wes, you come with me. We've gotta lock this guy up."
"Be careful," Dean said, clearly unhappy with the plan.
"We'll bring back some First Aid kits, too," Jen went on, then looked directly at Celia. "And I want to know what the hell we walked in on earlier-- " Celia flinched, whether it was from the pain she was obviously in or the embarrassment of her situation, Jen didn't know. Or care. "I need to know if you're going to be a threat to my team."
"You don't gotta worry about that, Butch" Celia growled harshly.
"We'll see." Jen's eyes narrowed slightly, she didn't bother to try to hard her suspicion. "Come on, Wes." Together, they turned and started walking in the direction of the Tower.
Eric demorphed and knelt by Dean's side, reaching into the cargo pocket of his pants and getting out a roll of bandages. "Better take care of that... it's at least a mile to the motel." Dean only grunted slightly in response, then gritted his teeth as the Quantum Ranger went about bandaging up his leg; to his side, Lucas was inspecting the gash on the side of Sam's head.
Trip nervously approached Celia, who was still sitting against the wall she had slammed into earlier; she looked like a half stuffed rag doll, legs stretched out stiffly, her arms tightly wrapped around her stomach. She was shaking. Concern overwhelmed the young Xybrian, and he timidly asked: "Are y-you okay?"
"Leave me alone, kid."
Trip licked his lips and shifted his weight awkwardly. "Do you need... any help?" he continued, somehow unable to leave her as she wanted him to.
"I'm serious, Greenhorn... now is not a good time."
"Trip," Katie said, taking his arm, "Come on... let's give Eric a hand."
"Shouldn't bother…" Dean muttered. "It's going to need stitches."
"Stuffs in the truck." Celia muttered quietly. She flinched in pain, twisting and stretching to grab the fallen keys from the side walk and held them like they weighed a hundred pounds. Then started to push herself to her feet, failed and slid back down the wall.
"Will you sit on you're butt for a second 'til I get over there?" Dean growled.
"Sam?" Celia sighed and offered the keys.
The younger brother gave a tiny head shake and nearly fell over, Lucas grabbing his arm before he hit the asphalt. "I got a concussion."
"Dean?" Celia asked, rolling her eyes towards the elder Winchester.
"No can do…maybe the Impala but the truck's to big, I'll roll it." Dean rasped.
"Damnit, Eric." She tossed the keys and Eric caught them instinctively, he turned the keys over in his hand. "Ya hurt my truck and I'll do to ya what that bitch did to me."
Dean let a small laugh escape his lips and flinched when his ribs shifted. Eric looked at him then at Celia who'd slumped back against the wall. He slipped the keys in his pocket and went back to work on Dean's leg.
"Oh and yer ugly friend's sword thing is under the frame…kicked it there…"
"You got Ransik's sword?" Lucas choked. Celia nodded her head stiffly.
"Guess its fair trade…" She muttered, sounding like she was going to fall asleep.
"Why?" Dean asked.
Celia rolled her eyes towards him and swallowed stiffly. "That bastard's got my Dad's knife."
Dean looked startled, "Which one?"
"That buck he took off a witch in Canada in '76." Celia muttered.
"Awe God…" Dean lifted a hand and scrubbed his face. "How?"
Celia blinked heavily then her lips pulled slightly into a smile, "Its in his ribs."
She and Dean both let out stiff chuckles of laughter that didn't last very long before they faded to pants for breath, but their smiles stayed.
"That... thing," Sam gasped, swaying on his feet, "We didn't stand a chance against him... "
"Hey," Lucas said, "To be fair... we ended up even worse after we met those vampires."
"Bullets didn't even scratch him," Dean muttered, "How's that possible?" He swore as Eric tightened the bandage. "I had a friggin' .45, too, not some shitty 9mm." He shook his head. "We've seen... things before, that couldn't be hurt with bullets. But not like this."
"They're mutants from the Thirty-First Century," Katie said, "Weapons from a thousand years before their time are bound to be a little... inadequate. Don't you think?"
"Depends on what kind…got to start carryin' one of the Sixes on hip…" Celia mumbled.
"When I hit him... he felt like iron," Sam said, "You guys didn't seem to have any problem."
"It's our suits," Lucas explained, "They come with some advantages. Protection, strength, the works... if we weren't morphed, we probably wouldn't last a minute one-on-one with a mutant, either. You three held your own pretty well." One brow quickly raised as a thought flickered through his mind. "That guy wasn't actually that bad though... "
Dean blinked. "Oh really?"
"It's true," Trip chimed, "Usually... when we blow them up like that, they grow to be about one hundred feet, and we have to call on the Megazord to come fight them." He shrugged. "Sometimes not."
"One hundred... " Dean's voice trailed off. He raised a hand to his aching head. "Just keeps getting weirder and weirder... "
Eric stood up, wiping his hands on his pants, then tucking what was left of the bandages away. "All right, fixed up for now. Let's get out of here." He helped Dean up, and the eldest Winchester limped over to Celia as she climbed to her feet.
"What the fuck happened there?" he asked, softly.
Celia pressed her lips together. "You know what happened, Dean." She moved on her own steam, the short rest against the wall building enough that she could walk on her own.
Dean closed his eyes briefly, letting out a deep sigh. There was nothing left to say, no words of comfort or encouragement he could offer, so he turned his attention to his younger brother, who was holding onto Lucas for support. Sam's face was covered with tiny scratches, the skin around one eye was turning a nasty blue-purple color, he was so out of it that he dragged his feet instead of picking them up. Dean's heart constricted with worry.
"Dude," he said, attempting a laugh, "You look like crap."
"Yeah, well... right back at ya." Sam smirked, then grimaced.
"Need a hand?" Katie asked, noting how Dean struggled with his leg, hardly able to put any weight on it at all.
He looked at her tall, skinny frame dubiously. "From you?"
Katie laughed. "You'd be surprised... " she looped an arm under Dean's shoulders, allowing him to use her in place of his leg.
"I'm fine-- " he tried to pull away, but stumbled and nearly fell. Then he scowled, displeased with having to rely on anyone for support, no matter how badly he needed it. His pride was in for a world of hurt, too. We got our asses handed to us, he admitted to himself, something he would never admit aloud.
So maybe Sam was right. Maybe, just maybe, they could learn a thing or two from the colorful group of teenagers.
The thought bothered him more than he wanted to acknowledge as he limped along the street, and a quick glance toward a shuddering, arms-crossed Celia didn't help matters. An hour ago, they had too many problems to know how to deal with... and he had an unsettling feeling they'd just added to the list.
TBC