Trigger
Part 2
One hour later
The flat-line monitor is one of the most unsettling sounds to exist. Yet, it continues to sound off despite the desperate attempts of the Doctors working to get a pulse back. Friends and Family wait eagerly outside in the E.R.
"No!" Kimberly's agonizing cries echo throughout Angel Grove Memorial Hospital as two nurses try to hold her back.
"Let us see our friend!" Zack says, trying to push his way through.
"Your friend is in critical condition!" One of the Nurses says, "There is nothing you can do right now. Our doctors are trying their hardest to figure out what happened. You're not helping anyone by trying to fight us!" Rationally, her words made sense, but disaster doesn't accommodate a rational mindset.
"Hey! Knock it off!" A security guard comes blazing through the E.R. doors. "You can either sit quietly or I will be escorting you both off of the premises! Your choice," Zack scoffs at his threat but takes a step back and grabs Kimberly's hand.
"C'mon, Kim. Let's go and wait..." Zack says but Kimberly doesn't move and warm tears trickle down her face.
"Fine..." She sniffles.
"Good choice," The security guard says arrogantly and Zack rolls his eyes. He pulls Kim to the waiting area and forces her to sit down. At this point she's not only still crying but physically shaking. Zack places an arm around her and she buries her face into his side.
"Hey, it'll be okay, Kim. I promise," Zack whispers and he isn't completely sure it will. But he knows she needs to hear comforting words right now.
"Zack? Kimberly?" Billy rounds the corner into the waiting area, stunned to see the two of them. Trini rounds the corner after him and they both sit down next to each other.
"How's Daniel and Brent?" Zack asks.
"They're fine," Trini responds. "Daniel was critical, but nothing major - thank goodness and Brent's okay too."
"I'm just glad you two are alright," Zack responds and Trini nods her head. Her attention then goes to Kimberly who is still in a state of distress.
"Kimberly, what's wrong? And what are the two of you doing here anyway?" Trini asks. Kimberly doesn't say anything and Zack keeps quiet as well. Finally, though, Kimberly sits up and opens her book bag, taking out Jason's damaged Power Morpher. Trini and Billy's eyes widen with shock and Trini quickly puts it back into Kimberly's book bag before anyone would see it.
"What happened to his morpher?" Billy exclaims.
"What happened to Jason?" Trini adds.
Rita sits on her throne, her head tilted and resting on her closed fist. Starring idly at the stars and the planet Earth, her minions start to worry about her.
"Empress Rita?" Baboo reluctantly speaks up but she doesn't say anything. He turns his head and looks to Squat who appears even more anxious than himself.
"Should we try again?" Squat says.
"We? You're not any help!" Baboo retorts before smacking Squat on the back of his head.
"Did you tell her?" Goldar appears behind them, startling them both.
"About that…" Squat begins, looking down at the ground and Goldar grunts.
"Useless, both of you," Goldar scolds them and pushes Baboo out of his way. He moves to place himself directly in front of Rita, blocking her view of the stars. Her eyes meet Goldars, "My Queen," Goldar bows his head in respect.
"What," she says flatly, clearly not in the mood to deal with her minions.
"The Dragon coin," Goldar's voice is low and Rita immediately senses bad news and stops him by standing up and grabbing her scepter.
"This better not be bad news, Goldar," she warns, but a part of her knows it will be anyway.
"It's complicated, my Queen," Goldar says. "The Power that Zordon placed over it is far too strong," Rita screams at the top of her lungs and throws her arms in the in the air; Baboo and Squat duck beneath a table as if to escape her wrath.
"Of course it is. Of course Zordon would make my life a living hell each and every day!" she scowls loudly. "Finster!" Mere seconds after she beckons him, he arrives and bows his head.
"Yes, my Queen?"
"Finster! The Dragon Coin isn't receptive to the will of darkness. What can be done?" His eyes widen and he looks away to ponder the thought.
"Receptive? Aren't the Power Coins neutral?" Baboo asks, slowly standing up.
"That's one way of putting it," Finster agrees. "It's a little more complicated, but with the Dragon Coin in particular, Zordon knew Rita had gotten ahold of it and before we were all locked away, he put a veil of light over it, protecting it from darkness."
"I won't have it, Finster!" Rita yells, "We have all the darkness in the world at our disposal and there isn't a way get around a centuries old spell, is that what you're telling me?"
"No. There is a way," Finster walks over to a cabinet and pulls out an old, tattered book. He wipes the dust off of it and begins flipping through the pages, "Ahh, here it is!" He says and turns it over to show Rita, "In order to cancel out the force of light, we need to invoke an absolute darkness. A sacrifice."
"Take Squat! I've been here longer!" Baboo says, pushing Squat in front of him. Squat retorts with a high scream and tries to push Baboo forward.
"Silence before I sacrifice you both for sport!" Goldar threatens.
"I'm intrigued, Finster," Rita says. "A sacrifice you say?"
"Yes, one that has a pure heart," Finster replies.
"One of the Rangers?" Rita asks
"No, they're protected by their own Power Coins. But it shouldn't be too hard to find someone pure of heart on Earth. And if we can make it someone the Rangers know, it'll hurt them tremendously!" Finster says and Rita laughs gleefully.
"I nominate myself to take the sacrifices life, my Queen," Goldar says.
"No," Finster interrupts. "I have a better idea. We can turn him into a monster. And slowly but surely take his life force away making the Dragon Coin stronger. Eventually, the chosen sacrifice will die. This sacrifice will be trigger to unlocking the Dragon Coin. And it's power will be yours, my Queen." Rita cackles and begins dancing around her minions.
"Get started Finster! I'll start looking for a sacrifice!" Rita walks over to her telescope and begins scanning the Earth, searching for her victim.
One hour earlier
"Trini! Trini!" Billy's panicked voice fills the hallways with despair. She remains silent and simply stares at the blood in her hands. "Trini, come on, say something. Stay with me!"
"Billy, I'm okay…" Trini says and Billy's hysteria calms suddenly, "It's not my blood," her response sends a chill down Billy's spine and he looks to Daniel who is all but on top of her, unmoving as well. "Daniel? D-Daniel?"
"I-I" James stares at Daniel in disbelief of his actions; his eyes travel between Daniel and the gun in his trembling hand.
"What did you do?!" Brent yells. Taking advantage of James' vulnerability, Brent tries to rush forward and take the gun out of his hands, however this only spooks James further and another shot is made. Billy turns his head is horror.
"Ahh, son of bitch!" Brent curses and grabs his arm as warm blood begins to trickle down.
"Brent!" James says in disbelief, "I-I'm sorry man, I-I…" Not able to face his old friend any longer he immediately takes off down the hallway.
"God dammit!" Brent curses again and shakes his head in shame as James flees down the hallway.
"I'll be right there!" Billy calls out to Brent; Billy helps Trini out from under Daniel and manage to turn him on his back; he's unconscious and he has a wound on the left side of his abdomen.
"Oh, Daniel…" Trini sighs, tears forming in her eyes.
"Keep his head elevated," Billy suggests and they prop him up on top of their book-bags. This movements causes him to wince and regain slight consciousness.
"Daniel?" Trini's voice is shaky.
"So, about Homecoming, is that a yes?" Daniel says, his reaction catches Trini off guard and she manages to laugh.
"Yes, of course I'll go," Trini says.
"Good, I think I'm going to pass out again now." Daniel smiles and his eyes roll into the back of his eyes.
"Daniel! Daniel!" Trini begins to panic, "Stay with me Daniel, we're going to get help!" Brent walks over, his hand still placed over his arm.
"I said I'd be right there! You've been shot, movement will make the blood come faster," Billy's voice is irate and he places his fingers on Daniel's neck, feeling for a pulse. "He'll be okay, Trini. We just have to get some help," he scoots his body around to face Brent and meets direct eye contact with his wound. "Are you okay?" Billy asks.
"Yeah, I think the bullet just grazed my arm. Luckily, I'll be fine," Brent says reassuringly.
"Going after someone with a loaded gun is idiotic," Billy says as he folds part of Brent's sleeve up and uses it to push down on the wound; Brent grunts loudly in pain.
"Dammit!" he curses.
"It needs to pressure," Billy says matter-of-factly.
"Look! Trini is okay!" In the Command Center, Kimberly sighs in relief and places her hand over her chest. "But Daniel doesn't look too good."
"And it looks like Brent took a shot for Billy," Jason observes. "But, James…he's still loose out there, he could still be a problem and hurt somebody."
"I don't know man. I think he looked genuinely spooked…" Zack disagrees. "I don't know if he's gonna hurt anyone anymore."
"That's not a risk I'm willing to take," Kimberly says.
"Agreed," Jason says. "Zordon," Jason turns around to face his mentor, "This could have been worse. I know there were evils like this before the Power Rangers, but we're here now. There is no reason we shouldn't also be able to help in these situations. Those are our friends in there. Our classmates. Our job is to protect them. And Billy and Trini are two of our own, we almost lost them. I'm sorry, but human evils, supernatural evils, there's no distinction when it comes down to one of our own."
"Jason, your conviction and your passion is in the right place. But interfering in human matters too much will bring unnecessary attention to us. Our job is to protect humanity from Rita. And in time, I believe humanity will come to accept and support our cause," Zordon says.
"With all due respect, I feel like helping out against a school shooting wouldn't be bad press for us either," Zack adds.
"Zordon, we have to do something. Trini and Billy almost did die. We'll be quick. We need to get Trini, Billy, Daniel and Brent to a hospital. Daniel really needs medical care. The police aren't going to enter the facility right now - not when they think an active shooter is running around. But the time they enter it could be too late," Jason says.
"Ayiyiyi…So much conflict!" Alpha shouts.
"Rangers, let this be the only time this happens," Zordon says slowly, he voice somehow more serious than usual. "Your mission, rescue Billy and Trini and your fallen comrades. Deal with the threat using minimal aggression and return to your classroom before you are discovered. Try to avoid direct contact with the authorities. We don't need people asking questions and drawing conclusions that the Power Rangers might be linked to Angel Grove High School."
"Thank you, Zordon," Jason says. "I understand."
"Go now, and may the power protect you," Zordon beckons.
"It's Morphin Time!" Jason says as he, Zack and Kimberly raise their morphers above them.
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
Once the three of them are transformed, Alpha teleports them to the school hallway where Billy and Trini are; their expressions shocked to their teammates transformed before them.
"No way…" Brent says, shocked.
"The Power Rangers," Billy tries to match Brent's surprise, but Trini gives him an expression that tells him it's a little forced. Jason approaches Brent and places his hand on his shoulder and touches his helmet with his other hand, making communication with the Command Center.
"The Red Ranger…" Brent says again in disbelief.
"Alpha, teleport!" Jason's voice is extremely low, disguising it from Brent. In a few seconds, Brent is teleported from the hallway to outside of the school where ambulances are.
"He's unconscious, don't worry," Trini says, implying they don't need to act anymore. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We were in Ms. Appleby's class when it happened and we locked ourselves in the science closet, morphed to the command center. We thought maybe Rita was behind it initially," Kimberly explains.
"We thought you were dead," Jason says to Trini.
"I'm fine. Daniel, though…he's lost a lot of blood," Trini responds, cradling his head in her arms.
"And James is still out there. We should get Daniel out of here and come join you guys," Billy says.
"No," Jason shakes his head. "Brent is conscious. He'll say you two were with him while being debriefed. We're teleporting all three of you out of here. Be discreet with details. We'll handle James and teleport back to Ms. Appleby's class and everything will be okay."
"Sounds like a plan," Trini agrees. "Do you guys want to meet us at the hospital? Or?"
"No, Youth Center by 6," Jason instructs.
"Got it. James ran that way, I think towards the school auditorium" Billy says. "Be careful guys."
"Alpha, teleport!" bright lights surround the three of them and seconds later, they're gone. "Alright, let's make this quick guys. Billy said the auditorium, so let's check there." Jason runs down the hallway with Kim and Zack close behind.
On the way to the auditorium they pass the gymnasium, which they decide to check as well – no signs of him. They check around the pool and no signs of him either. When they finally get to the auditorium entrance, they do notice the door cracked open.
"This is it…" Jason says. "There are three entrances here, the front, the back and the backstage. We need to isolate him."
"Agreed," Kim replies.
"Kim you go around the back, Zack you go through the front and I'll come in through the back stage entrance," They all agree and Jason and Kim take off towards their entrances. Zack quietly pulls the door open and barely closes it. He takes his steps very carefully and enters the auditorium, which is pitch black.
"Hide and go seek in the dark was always my favorite game," He muses to himself. Zack taps the side of his helmet and a night-vision screen pops up over his visor. There are hundreds of empty seats, but no signs of a person yet. When Kimberly enters from her entrance he gives her a thumbs up sign and when she responds, he knows she activated her night-vision as well.
"Any luck?" she whispers into her communicator.
"None…" Zack responds. Both of them slowly begin to survey the auditorium but stop when a loud clap-like sound fills the room. They look around see nothing until a spotlight shines from the ceiling and James appears center stage.
"What an entrance," Kimberly whispers. She studies his demeanor and becomes worried. It's clear he's unstable and his body, most notably his hand isn't able to stop shaking.
"S-s-so, a school sh-shooter warrants a v-v-visit from the P-power Rangers?" James says out-loud. "I-it wasn't supposed t-to b-be like th-this." He points the gun towards Zack and then slowly moves to Kimberly and then slowly begins to alternate between them. "One mistake," he says.
"Set the gun down," Zack says.
"Or what? You'll blast me into ob-obli-oblivion? I'm not a monster!" he screams.
"We know that," Kimberly says, her voice more calm than Zack's.
"St-stop. Stay where you are. I don't want to hurt you, I've hurt too many people," James voice is cracking and it's obvious how choked up he is. "I can only hurt myself now…" he raises the gun up to his head.
"No! Stop!" Kimberly shouts.
"You don't want to do this!" Jason appears from stage-left and slowly begins to approach James, who – out of shock – raises the gun towards Jason.
"Where did you come from?" James asks.
"James…" Jason begins.
"How do you know my name?!" James yells.
"Set the gun down – it's okay. Just set the gun down. No one else has to get hurt today," Jason says calmly.
"No one else," James agrees. "No one else…" James turns the gun around and points it towards his head again.
"Don't do it!" Jason jumps forward to stop it and – out of reflex – James gains control of the gun correctly and fires a shot at Jason, hitting his Power Morpher and Jason to fall onto the ground.
"No!" Zack leaps onto the stage and kicks the gun out of James his hand and grabs James by the arm. "Meet ya'll you know where," he says. "Alpha, teleport!" And both Zack and James are gone seconds later. Kimberly runs to Jason who is unresponsive.
"Jason! Come on! We have to go!" she manages to flip him over and sees the damage done to his morpher immediately as red energy begins to emit from it. "Jason?" His armor powers down and the red energy begins to surge around him, causing his body to shake uncontrollably. "Jason, oh my god, Jason!" Kimberly tries to grab him but is immediately electrocuted. "Alpha! Something's wrong with Jason. He's not waking up and his morpher was damaged."
"Ayiyiyi! We know, for whatever reason we're unable to teleport him," Alpha replies frantically.
"What, what do you mean?" Kimberly replies. The sounds of doors opening and voices filling the hallway tells Kimberly that the Police Department has entered the premises and time is running out. Kimberly grabs onto his morpher and she is instantly shocked again but doesn't let go. "Come on you stupid thing!" after another few seconds of wrestling with it, she manages to take it off and Jason's body is still – which freaks her out even more.
"Jason?!" she calls out again and places her head against his chest – no sound. "I don't, I don't hear a – oh my god."
"Kimberly," Zordon's voice plays loud and clear in her helmet, "You must take him away from the auditorium and let the authorities find him. For some reason Alpha and I are unable to bring him to us, so we have to rely on human medicine to restore him."
"No! He won't –I"
"Kimberly, this is not a request. You must do this to save his life," Zordon commands. Kimberly stands up and grabs both of his hands and begins to drag him from the stage, through the back-stage exit, and leads his body just outside the gymnasium. "Kimberly, get out of there!"
"Jason, I'm so sorry!" Just as footsteps approach, Kimberly activates her teleportation device and teleports back into the storage closet and finds Zack, powered down.
"Thank god!" Zack says and points to the door handle, which is shaking back and forth. Kimberly quickly powers down but is still inconsolable. "What's wrong?" Kimberly raises Jason's damaged morpher and sniffles. "Where's Jason?"
"He's…next to the gymnasium. I had to leave him, I –I" before she could continue, the door opens and Zack takes the morpher and shoves it in his pocket.
"Oh, there you two are," Ms. Appleby says with relief and an officer shines his flashlight into the small room to see if there is anyone else in there.
"Is it over?" Zack says.
"Yes," she nods her head and smiles, "But…where is Jason?"