Chapter 36 – Hidden Deep

A simple act of kindness? Just one act of kindness? It really shouldn't be this hard.

Chad Lee glanced up at the sun and sighed. They had been at this for hours now and they hadn't found a single person who would let them help. Even with Trevor and Daggeron tagging along, none of the citizens of the Mish Mash Town wanted anything to do with the Rangers. They had tried helping with clean up, with building, even just holding the ladder for a guy trying to hang a sign. Every time they were turned away, sometimes rudely, sometimes not.

Chad now knew what it felt like to be a fish out of water. He didn't like it. It made his shoulders feel heavy, it made him want to hunch over, it made him feel like hiding even more. He had always been pretty comfortable around people but this strange new feeling was dampening his spirits.

The other Rangers had split up a while ago, ignoring Trevor's advice in an attempt to see if people would open up to them one on one. He walked alone down the main street, total silence around him, feeling the stares of the people around him even though they avoided meeting his eyes and stopped talking anytime he went near them. He mentally relaxed his shoulders from tensing forward. He randomly took a turn down an alley, wanting to avoid the main street and it's unnerving silence.

The alley was wide and seemed to be the unnatural intersection of two of the Rangers hometowns. The buildings didn't match, one was a made form a deep red brick while the other seemed to be a glass office building. A large, jagged piece of sidewalk was propped up against the side of a building like it had been dropped.

Chad ducked under the tent like structure this created and kept walking.

The alley opened up a few yards later into a wide, spacious courtyard. The broken concrete gave way to a tiled terrazzo made of dirty, unpolished pieces of multicolored marble. He couldn't make out the pattern through the thick mud that covered most of the tiles. The tall stone pedestal of a broken fountain rose from the center of the courtyard, its pieces laying around it in a circle. Three soaring buildings enclosed the courtyard on all sides, giving this place an open but hidden feeling.

In one corner, a lone teen with dark black hair worked with a broom, sweeping dirt into a pile.

Chad could see a head and possibly a hand among the rubble surrounding the fountain. He wondered if it had been a person. He took a few steps towards the fountain.

The teen looked up, hearing steps echo on the loud marble. His eyes widened. "You're one of them," he said, his voice squeaking.

Chad just nodded, that wasn't the first time he'd gotten that reaction today. Or the thirtieth. He kept walking, finally stopping at the first piece of stone that had once been part of the fountain. He picked it up. It was a morpher, In Space, if he remembered correctly. He scanned the rest of the wreckage and found the other five morphers. This had been a fountain dedicated to the In Space Rangers. Had the impact of the worlds colliding done this? Or had it been a intentional act of destruction?

He tossed the morpher back on the pile and nodded. This is what he would fix. This little area would be beautiful once he got through with it, he would clean the tile and fix the fountain.. But, he thought, moving quickly to the teen and gently but firmly taking his broom, with one slight change. He began to brush the rubble to the side, including the pieces of the In Space Rangers. The last thing these people wanted, he reasoned, was a statue of the Rangers. The courtyard, yes, the Rangers, no.

He wasn't surprised when the teen left, slipping quickly and quietly past him and sprinting down the alleyway. He was surprised, however, when the teen came back. And he brought a tall, brown headed friend with him. The pair were each holding a the long handle of a broom. They silently joined Chad in pushing the mud and rubble to the side of the courtyard. Chad pushed his broom with a little more enthusiasm, having people simply willing to be near him meant more than he had thought it would. He hadn't realized how much his friends meant to him until they weren't here anymore and no one else seemed willing to fill the void.

The courtyard was cleared. In one corner, a tall pile of mud was pushed against the wall and would remain there until they could find some way to carry them out. They began working on the fountain itself. Still in complete silence.

One of the teens mutely handed Chad a wrench he had brought from somewhere. In a small hatch beneath the fountain, Chad used it to tighten a replacement pipe that the other teen had somehow found. He hoped there wasn't a bathroom somewhere missing a few key pipes.

He was almost finished. Plumbing wasn't his specialty but most of the waterworks underneath the pedestal were undamaged. Over the past hour, he had found only three pipes that had needed replacement and checked the others he could reach for rust or cracks. He hadn't found any. Whoever had built this had done a wonderful job. It was sturdy and easily fixed. They had probably built it to be repaired quickly if it was damaged in a monster attack, a wise design in a world full of such happenings.

With one last grunt, the last bolt tightened around the pipe. He wiped the sweat off his head and nodded. That was done. He looked up at the two boys, who looked right back at him. He decided to take a chance, "Do you know the main line is? If we want this place looking nice, we're going to need water."

One teen glanced at the other, who nodded. "I know," the brunet one said in a deep voice that didn't match his thin exterior. "I'll be right back." He ran off, ducking under the sidewalk ledge.

Chad pulled himself out of the hatch and closed the metal door shut behind him. He rolled his shoulders to loosen them.

"Who are you?"

Chad turned and looked at the black haired teen. "My name's Chad," he said, surprisingly glad the teen had broken the nervous but comfortable silence. "Chad Lee."

The teen eyed his suit, "You're a… Power Ranger?"

Chad nodded, "Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger. What's your name?"

The teen didn't answer.

A few seconds later, there was a rumbling in the fountain. Water gushed from the mountain, arching upward five feet before splashing back into the fountain's basin. They heard a loud creak then something sparkled in the water stream. It hit the fountain's stone with a dull thunk.

Chad blinked. He went to the fountain but the other teen beat him there.

"What's this," the teen asked, holding something up to the light. It was small and shiny, obviously made of metal. It had a square at one end with two prongs sticking out of it. There was a block number two carved into it.

Chad grabbed it, examining it closely, "No way…"

"Hey," the teen protested, his voice squeaking again, "…what is it?"

Chad's face flickered between a wide grin and trying to hide it, "Where does this water come from?"

The brown headed teen returned, "The lake."

Chad's lost control of his face, it broke into a wide, wide grin, "Ooooh, this is going to be fun." He closed his hand around the mystery object and turned to his two companions, "How would you guys like to take a field trip?"

The black headed teen turned to the brown headed one, "Well, Devin?"

Devin shrugged, "Spike?"

Spike grinned, "Let's go for a walk."

Alex kept his eyes moving quickly from one screen to another if he stopped for too long he felt Circuits gaze. In his mind it was an accusing gaze, begging for freedom. So he kept his eyes moving and his mind off his shame.

What really kept his attention was the blank screen, the one that supposedly didn't show anything. If Circuit was showing it, it was important.

"See anything interesting," Colonel Mason asked as he opened the door.

"Not yet," Alex said dryly, "But I could probably get more accomplished if you stopped barging in every ten minutes."

"I doubt that," Mason replied with more a than a little amusement, "We watched those things for weeks and never found out much. What makes you think you will find something?"

Alex didn't answer. Instead, he leaned a little closer to the screen. After a few long seconds, he grinned, "Because I also spent weeks watching screens like this, except I was watching my team mates battle a mutant criminal for the fate of the future. Which means…" He tapped the screen with his pencil, "I know what to look for."

Mason walked over and leaned down so he could see the screen. It looked the same, just a dark room. "What?"

Alex pointed his pencil at the top left corner of the screen, "This."

Mason squinted and leaned even closer. "I still don't see it."

Alex sighed and put his finger on the screen, right against the edge "This."

Mason stared for a few seconds then tiled his head to the side, "It's a beam of light?" Well, it was a single pixel on the screen that was marginally lighter than the rest.

"Yup."

Mason shook his head, "So what? It's not like it's the plans to a secret base, it's a beam of light."

Alex conceded that point, "But it's not nothing. And I bet if we watch it long enough, we'll see something important."

Mason had to admire the Rangers patience and persistence, "If you say so kid. I'll go get us some chairs."

Devin led the way. Or tried to lead the way. Chad quickly learned that Devin was easily distracted and could walk in a circle without realizing it. He tried to let Spike lead then but found he had the same problem.

So Chad had to lead the way even though he had no real idea where he was going. On the positive side, the lake he was heading towards was huge and kind of hard to miss.

They reached the edge of the seemingly endless lake almost an hour after they left the city. Chad couldn't help but smile as he looked out on the rippling waves, it felt so familiar and comforting.

"So, like, what are we looking for, Ranger-man" Devin asked.

Chad scanned the shore line, "The escape pods my friends used to get out of the Aquabase."

"You mean those," Spike asked in his nasally voice, pointing to a sandy beach a hundred yards around the lake.

Chad looked and saw a half dozen submarines sitting half way out of the water. "Yeah, those."

"We're not going in the Aquabase, are we," Devin asked, feeling nervous as he watched different colored fishes swim by their submerged sub. "'cause I heard it was completely flooded."

Chad shook his head, hands moving quickly over the controls, checking fuel and air supplies. "I don't think it will be flooded where we're going. It's triple reinforced and the safest place on the base."

"Hey," Spike yelled, pointing out the porthole and making both Chad and Devin jump.

Chad dove from the controls to look out the small window, "What?"

Spike beamed at him, "I think I saw a shark!"

Chad sighed, using all his self control to not rub his hand across his face. The sub pitched rapidly with a loud creaking sound and he ran back to the controls. They had hit the Aquabase. "Wonderful," Chad muttered, twisting the control wheel to move the submarine away from the structure. It did so but some of the warning lights on the consol came to life. They were losing air. He took the submarine to a fair distance from the base to get a good look at its condition.

His eyes drooped. The four columns that surrounded the interior of the base all had sizeable holes in them, most of the connecting walkways were gone. The five spaceship domed buildings, including Rescue Ops, had fallen to the bottom of the lake floor, their roofs completely torn off. There were no lights on. He felt his chest contract in sudden realization, there was no way everyone got off of there alive. Whatever had happened to his home had been sudden and violent. His eyes scanned the area on auto-pilot, looking for a particular building. He found it not far from where it should be and in better condition than the rest of the base.

He maneuvered the craft into the docking bay, pressing a few buttons to close the doors to the outside water and drain the chamber. "Ok, you two stay here. I should be back in the next few minutes."

"Oh no," Devin said, "There's no way you're leaving us in this death trap! You brought us down here and we're sticking with you!"

"Just a few minutes!" He turned to get Spike's opinion but found the teen already sprinting down the exit ramp. "Spike!"

Spike skidded to a stop, actually skidding since there were still sizable puddles of water on the floor. "What?"

"Get back here," Chad demanded exiting the submarine himself, "It's dangerous out here! I…think I'm wrong about this place being safe." He gestured to the thick doors leading to the inside of the building, "We don't know what's past there! I might be able to handle it but you two…you'd get taken out within a heartbeat!"

Spike shrugged, "Well, there's only one way to find out." He slapped a red button next to the door, grinning.

The doors creaked, then inched open then stopped. Water rushed in instantly. The brutal surge of water forced its way through the narrow space knocked Spike back, carrying him to the sub.

Chad snarled, forcing his way against the raging torrent, "Get back in the sub and get out of here!"

"We don't know how to drive it," Devin frantically called back, pulling Spike onto the ramp.

"You'll just have to learn," Chad yelled, reaching the doors and forcing the small crack a open even more. "Press the green button to open the doors. But wait until its completely flooded or you can't get out!"

"But," Spike practically screamed, "You'll die!"

Chad grinned a little, "It's only water and I can handle the water." Taking a calm, deep breath, he pulled his weight through the crack then pushed against the current with his powerful feet. He used the separated tiles along the sides of the walls to pull himself away from the strong current until he disappeared from Spike and Devin's sight.

"See," Devin said to Spike, nudging him with his elbow in delight, "I told you they were all badass!"

Spike scowled, "Let's just get out of here."

Devin hesitated, "Um, are you sure he'll be ok?"

It was Spikes turn to grin, "My old man used to tell me stories about the original few teams of Power Rangers and if this one is anything like the others, he'll find some way to survive even though it should be impossible."

Devin glanced one last time at the door where the water was still rushing out the nodded and shut the door. A few minutes later, after accidently setting the self destruct on the sub and then just as accidently turning it off, the wide bay doors opened and water completely filled the room. Chad hadn't come back.

Alex jumped up, "Look!"

Colonel Mason started awake, "Huh?"

Alex pointed excitedly at the screen they had been watching for the last hour, "Look!"

The small pixel of light grew until it covered half of the screen. It illuminated something they had not been able to see before.

Alex's jaw dropped, "No way."

Colonel Mason followed suit, "Is that…"

Alex sped to the door and threw it open, "I've got to go!"

Mason followed suit, calling for his men to gather their arms and amass outside.

"What's going on sir," one of the soldiers asked nervously.

Mason frowned, "It's about to get… complicated around here." He looked down at the solder, "How fast can you run, son?"

The soldier smiled in pride, "Fastest man in the army sir."

"Good, I need you and anyone else you think can move quickly to find out where Trevor is and report back to me. Don't let him see you."

The soldier saluted and ran off.

The little sub broke the surface of the lake, its two occupants now frantic.

"We shouldn't have left, man!" Devin had his face pressed against one of the portholes on the right side of the sub, "We've just killed a Power Ranger!"

Spike was watching the other side, "I know! Aw, Uncle Bulk is going to kill me!"

"Wait, wait," Devin said, pointing out his window, "Look!"

Spike ran to that side of the sub and gasped, "What in all things samurai, is that?"

About half way between them and the shore, bubbles were surfacing, a lot of bubbles. In the middle of this disturbance a long, tall black and blue rectangular box rose from the depths and started floating slowly towards the shore.

Wanting to get a better look, Devin found the button that would open the top hatch and pressed it. The pair clambered out and stood on the rocking submarine's slippery roof, watching in confusion and more than a little fear. What new horror was this?

Once the box reached the beach, there was a loud hiss and more water poured from the container. Then, with a dramatic pause after the last wave of water, a bright blue and silver vehicle rolled triumphantly from inside the box. Long and with a giant nozzled cannon on top, the vehicle stopped and a hatched opened on the top.

Chad climbed out and waved at them, "Hey guys, I would like to introduce you to someone! This is the Aqua Rescue Zord! That thing I found was its key!"

"That's a Zord," Devin asked in awe.

Spike laughed, repeating Chad's earlier statement, "Ooooh…this is going to get fun."

*AN*

Oh, yeeeeaaaaah… You see the Power Rangers are known for driving these giant mechanical vehicles/animals/robots things that help them fight the monsters when they suddenly grow ten stories tall. I guess Chad found his. It does make one wonder where the rest of them are…

*CL*

Chad Lee – Blue Lightspeed Rescue Ranger

Alex – first Red Time Force Ranger

Colonel Mason – leader of Corinth's self defense force – RPM

Devin – school mate of the Dino Thunder Rangers.

Spike – Skull's son from Samurai. Calls Bulk, Uncle Bulk.

Chad's Zord – Aqua Rescue Zord and the big box is Rail Rescue 2.