Down The Rabbit Hole
"You know I'm pretty sure that I'm safe from being mugged in broad daylight," Karen Maken, the brown haired schoolteacher of Frontier smiled. She was wearing her hair up in a bun and wore a clean long blue dress.
"I know but you can never take any chances," Sheriff Ladd smiled as he held her hand. "Frontier still can be a wild town."
"Really? Since I've been here the wildest thing that's happened is that farmer that got drunk and tried to milk a bull," Karen laughed.
"Yeah that bull was not too happy with me after either," Ladd groaned. "Still got the bruises to prove it."
"It's still sweet of you to walk me," Karen said.
"Well you're my girl aren't you?" Ladd smiled.
"Oh am I?" Karen asked teasingly. "Is that your way of asking me?"
"Sorry, it's been a long time…" Ladd sighed. "I'm a bit rusty at this. I haven't dated since…Well since Amy was born. I mean before she was born. You know what I mean. She's been the only girl for me. Until now."
"I do like Amy," Karen said. "You think if we do start something serious she might get jealous of the 'other woman' in your life?"
"Jealous? She's been dropping hints for weeks," Ladd groaned.
"Well if Amy doesn't have a problem with it, then I don't see why not?" Karen smiled as they stopped in front of the sheriff's office and kissed.
"Well isn't this a pleasant sight," A southern drawl interrupted them.
"Daddy! This man says he wants to talk to you," Amy ran to her father as they entered his office.
"Hello Sherriff," Slade smirked as they came in. He had his blaster drawn. "Mightly nice town you got here. Mighty nice."
"I know you! You're Lazarus Slade! You're wanted in seven galaxies!" Ladd snapped.
"Eight actually," Slade shrugged. "Got into a bit of trouble near the Aquian border recently. But that's neither here nor there. I know who you are too, Doc."
"Sir I believe you have me confused with someone else," Ladd growled.
"You know, I was always a great fan of your work," Slade said casually as he leaned on the desk. "You did such marvelous genetic engineering in those days. And made many ingenious breakthroughs. I was greatly saddened when I learned of your passing. You can imagine my joy when I learned that you were still alive."
"No…" Ladd gasped. "You don't know anything."
"I know enough Dahl," Slade grinned a predatory grin at Amy. "And I know quality genetic work when I see it."
"Bob? What's he talking about?" Karen asked.
"Haven't told your girlfriend your little family secret?" Slade smirked. "Can't say I blame you. Guess not too many people would appreciate knowing a Supertrooper was in their midst."
Two silver and black androids appeared behind them. They blocked their escape. "Now if you don't mind me and my little playmates here want to take a look at your little girl here and…" Slade grabbed Amy by the arm.
"NO!" Amy yelled and kicked hard on Slade's knee. "LET ME GO!"
"YEOW! YOU STUPID LOUSLY LITTLE…" Slade yelled in agony. He yelled even harder when Amy gave him another kick in the breadbasket.
"Run Amy! Run!" Ladd shouted as he tackled Slade. "Just run as fast as you can!" Amy took off with Pinkwing behind her.
"Why didn't you grab her?" Slade shouted at his android companions as he shoved Ladd off him.
"You didn't order us too, sir," One of them said.
"Well I'm ordering now! Get that girl you stupid simple minded scrap metals!" Slade yelled at his two androids. The androids followed Amy. He glared at Ladd. "I'll be back for you later!" He chased after Amy.
"Bob what's going on?" Karen asked. "What was all that about?"
"Karen, I've kept something from you…" Ladd sighed. "From everyone, even Amy. I have a past. I've done something I'm not proud of. And I've been running from it ever since…But that isn't important now. Right now I have to go save my daughter! Stay here!"
Ladd ran after Amy, leaving a bewildered Karen behind. To his horror Slade had caught up to Amy and she was cornered by three more androids. "Got you now!" Slade snorted.
BLAST! ZAP!
Two of the androids were destroyed by a single thunderbolt and a third was shot by a laser. "Get away from her slime ball!" Shane roared as the Galaxy Rangers rode into town.
"You heard the man!" Ladd shouted as he shot at Slade.
"Daddy!" Amy yelled as she ran to her father.
Slade made for cover behind his two remaining androids. Which were immediately destroyed thanks to Shane and Ladd's shooting. "Oh come on! I just bought those!"
"Galaxy Rangers I'm glad to see you," Ladd told them as the Rangers dismounted.
"Are you two all right?" Shane asked.
"We're okay," Amy nodded her head.
"Amy you stay behind me!" Ladd ordered and his daughter did so.
"It's over Slade!" Shane growled. "You're not getting your slimy hands on them!"
"Don't be so sure Ranger Gooseman."
Suddenly a dozen large metal spiders the size of monster trucks appeared in town. On top of one of them was the General. People screamed and fled as one spider trashed a small house and another one wrecked a store. "How do you like my new pets? The Spider Slayers?"
"This could be a problem," Doc gulped.
"The General! Why am I not surprised you're part of this too?" Shane growled.
"Citizens of Frontier! I am the General! Meet my demands and my spiders won't harm you!" The General spoke to the frightened crowd in the streets.
"Your spiders! They're mine!" Slade shouted from his spider. "I designed them!"
"What is all of this about? Why are you here?" Aiden shouted.
The General did a double take. "Jackie Subtract? What are you doing here?"
"That's not Jackie," Slade sighed. "That's his goody, goody twin brother."
"Oh," The General said. "Anyway we are here for your Sherriff and his daughter!"
"What do you want them for? What did the sheriff do to you?" A townsman shouted. "Did he arrest you for driving without your glasses or something?"
"Your sheriff is a man of many talents," The General told the townsfolk. "His real name is Doctor Robert Dahl. He's a geneticist whose talents were greatly valued, until he got too attached to his project."
"Doctor?" Amy looked at her father. "My Dad is a doctor?"
"I heard about that guy," A townsman said. "But he died years ago!"
"No, he merely faked his death and then stole the Eve 13 Project," Slade laughed. "And we've come to collect!"
"Eve 13? What is the Eve 13 Project?" Aiden asked.
"Why she's standing right in front of you," Slade gave Amy a look. "I must admit she is quite lovely, for a Supertrooper."
"A what?" Karen gasped.
"Are you telling me the Sheriff's daughter is one of those genetic mutants?" Another townsman shouted. "That's impossible!"
"Daddy…" Amy was stunned. "What does this mean?"
"Oh Amy, I'm so sorry…" Ladd knelt down next to her. "I never wanted you to find out. Not like this."
He let out a breath. "Please understand. I couldn't let them turn you into a weapon. I loved you before you were born. I had to fake our deaths so you could have a normal life. To protect you from criminals like them!"
"Why do you want her? She doesn't even have active bio-defenses!" Shane shouted. "She's not a Supertrooper!"
"Well not a fully activated one but we can fix that," Slade smirked.
"You have a choice," The General snarled. "Give us the girl and the Sheriff and we'll leave. If you don't my army will tear this town to pieces!"
"No way!" Shane stood in front of them. "You're not getting your slimy hands on them!"
"If you insist," Slade smirked. "Slade Spiders! Attack!"
"Everyone get back!" Zach ordered. People fled for their lives from the metal monstrosities while Ladd and the Rangers used their weapons to try and destroy them.
"They're impervious to lasers!" Niko shouted as she fired.
Zach got two with his thunderbolt. "Funny, my thunderbolt can do the job. But I don't think I can use my thunderbolt too many more times, enhanced powers or not!" Zach shouted.
"If I can just figure out a way to override their programming…" Doc grumbled with his powers. "Damn! They've got a ton of security protocol that is tighter than Fort Knox!"
"A fine time to live in a town that doesn't let it's citizens carry weapons!" A man screamed as he ran from a spider. Only to fall and narrowly get trampled upon.
Fortunately Shane changed into his metal form and caught the spider. "Keep your tentacles to yourself!" Shane roared as he managed to use his enhanced strength to toss the spider onto it's back. Then he jumped on it's belly and used his metal hand to smash through to the controls, putting it out of commission.
"Three down, nine to go!" Shane shouted.
"Yeah but it's still nine too many!" Doc yelled.
"Yes! Flee! Flee in terror!" Slade laughed as his spider tossed a wagon into a barbershop window.
"Stop you fool! You might damage Ladd and the girl if you continue on your reckless attack! Besides I think they got the point," The General snapped. He turned to the townspeople. "You have two hours to comply with our demands. Otherwise we will destroy your town!"
"And don't bother calling for help," Slade said as the spiders moved out of the street. "We've jammed your radio signals. Ta!"
They moved far enough out of town to block the road coming in. "Sheriff! There's about six more spiders on the other side of town!" A man shouted.
"We're surrounded!" Shane spat.
"Slade was right," Doc said. "We're being jammed. I can't contact BETA."
"In other words we can't get out and we can't call for help," Zach grumbled.
"This is all your fault Ladd!" A townsman shouted. "Or whatever the hell your name is!"
"I can't believe we had a Supertrooper in this town all these years and we didn't even know about it!" A woman shouted.
"You think we forgot what their kind did a few years back?" A man shouted. "All the trouble they caused! One of them burned my farm down!"
"Mine too!" An alien farmer shouted.
"That has nothing to do with Amy!" Aiden shouted. "Besides that Laramie was the real culprit causing all the trouble! He's in jail!"
Ladd added, "And if I recall correctly there were a lot of humans and aliens on Laramie's payroll too! They did more than their share of damage! Hell they terrorized this town long before that fire eyed Supertrooper showed up!"
"That Supertrooper can't use his powers against anyone any more," Shane spoke evenly. "He's been rehabilitated and is willing to make reparations."
"Rehabilitated? You can't rehabilitate those monsters!" A man shouted. The majority of the crowd agreed.
To this Amy made a cry and ran off. "Now look what you've done!" Aiden shouted.
"Amy wait!" Pinkwing followed his owner.
"Amy!" Ladd called out.
"I'll talk to her," Dea said as she followed Amy.
"You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Aiden whirled on the crowd. "Blaming an innocent little girl for something she didn't even do! How could you treat her like that?" A shameful hush fell on the crowd.
"You have all known my daughter since she was a baby," Ladd shook his head. "I don't blame you for being angry at me. I deserve it. But don't take your frustration out on Amy! She had no idea!"
"As for Supertroopers being monsters, Ranger Gooseman is a Supertrooper and he's saved thousands of lives!" Zach spoke out. "Supertroopers are people. There's good and bad in everyone. And sometimes people make mistakes."
Shane stood before the crowd. "I'm not saying what Stingray and Darkstar did wasn't wrong. But there is something you don't know. They were infected with an illegal drug in their system that was put in there against their will. It doesn't excuse their actions but they've recently recovered their sanity and are free of the drug. They've been pardoned by the government because of what they did during the Civil War and are currently working off their debt."
"We've seen the news reports from Earth," An alien said. "We know what the old Earth government did."
"Then you know that they were forced to become soldiers since they were children," Zach said. "Turned into weapons because they had no choice by a government that treated them like garbage. Supertroopers were considered property, used for cruel experiments and hunted like animals for sport."
Shane let out a breath. "I don't expect any of you to forgive them for what they've done. But please try to understand the circumstances. And I'm not saying every Supertrooper deserves a chance. There are some that are beyond saving, but these Supertroopers are working hard to change. They want a chance to come back and undo some of the damage they did."
"All I know is that you shouldn't judge Amy by the actions of other people," Aiden said. "I mean take a look at who my twin brother is! He's a mob boss and I don't want anything to do with him or his life!"
"There's a difference between your situation and the Supertroopers," Karen spoke. "You both chose your paths. Supertroopers can't choose. They're born weapons." She gave Ladd a harsh look.
"That's not true anymore," Shane looked her in the eye. "Now we have a choice and some of us choose to be law abiding citizens. Amy has just as much rights as anyone else in the League of Planets."
"Last I checked, Nebraska is a colony planet and not independent," Doc nodded. "Meaning you guys follow Earth laws. And rehabilitated Supertroopers are now legal citizens."
"Amy was never a weapon," Ladd said. "I couldn't let them do that to her. I had to take drastic action so that she could have a life. I regret the way I brought her into the world, but I don't regret having her in my life."
"At least Sheriff Ladd did the right thing in the end by putting his daughter's safety before his own," Zach said. "That's more than some other people have done."
Shane knew that was a statement against Walsh but didn't say anything. A few other people in the crowd picked that up but wisely kept silent.
But they still weren't convinced as a whole.
This mission just got a whole lot harder, Shane thought to himself. And I don't just mean Slade and the General…
Amy ran with tears streaming down her eyes. She ran to her room and flung herself onto her bed, crying. "Oh Amy…" Pinkwing twittered. "Don't cry…"
"Why is this happening to me?" Amy sniffed. "Why was everyone so mean to me? I'd never hurt anyone!"
"I don't think you would either," Dea had tracked Amy to her room.
"Who are you?" Amy blinked.
"I'm Dea. Well my real name is Medea. But I don't like being called that," Dea said. "I'm a Supertrooper. Like you. Instead I've been trained. You haven't."
"Trained? For what?" Amy asked.
"To kill," Dea said simply. Amy's eyes widened. "That is what I was supposed to be until…Until they thought I was worthless, the people who created me. Then they decided that my only use would be as target practice for stronger Supertroopers until…Let's just say things happened. A lot of them not so good."
Amy was stunned. "I thought you should know," Dea said as she turned her head away. "Know what your life would have been if your father had not done what he did. You would have ended up…Like me. A soulless weapon."
"But you're not soulless," Amy told her. "I can see it in your eyes."
"Not now, but I was once," Dea said. "It was only because of Goose and my family that I was able to become…Well not completely human but more than what I used to be."
"Oh," Amy hugged herself.
"It's not that bad being a Supertrooper though," Dea said. "I mean…Not a crazy one anyway. I mean it's not just being stronger or faster or healing yourself. It's that I have a family that cares about me. We're all different but that is who we are. I'm not making any sense am I?"
"I'm not sure," Amy said. "This is all…confusing. I mean how can I not be human? I've never felt like…"
"How do you know that humans and Supertroopers don't feel the same things?" Dea pointed out. "Besides your father suppressed your Supertrooper side so you're not supposed to feel…That's not a bad thing. The truth is, he chose your life over his. He's made a lot of changes because of you. He even changed his face."
"Changed his face...?" Pinkwing blinked.
"Plastic surgery," Dea explained. "He gave up everything for you. His life. His career. His identity. That is a very noble thing. I wish I was as lucky as you were."
Amy thought for a moment. "I'm not mad at my Dad. I know I should be but…I'm just not. I'm just…How can I be a mutant? I don't know what that means or how I should act."
"That's the thing about Goose," Dea said. "He doesn't want us to act like Supertroopers or humans. Just act like ourselves. As long as we don't wreck too much stuff."
"Did he always know too?" Amy's eyes widened.
"No, not until recently," Dea shook her head. "Look I know this doesn't make any sense but…" She whirled around and pulled out her blaster. "We're not alone!"
"Well, well…" The Reaper said as he emerged from the shadows. "Two Supertroopers for the price of one. I think my bounty just went up!"