Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers
Chapter Three: Power Couple
Steam rose from the coffee in the white ceramic mug placed in front of her by a woman wearing a navy dress suit. Her hair pulled back in a tight bun. Picking the coffee cup up, She held it to her nose for a brief second letting it's strong aromatic scent reach her nose and the steam warm her face before she took a sip.
Director Stone sat across the table from this woman, with his own cup of coffee.
"So what do you think of the base Dr. Blaine?" He asked, taking a sip of coffee.
Dr. Blaine looked around for a second before setting the cup in her hands down. A small smile appeared on her face. "It certainly is different from the last time I was here." She said.
Director Stone looked down at the cup of coffee he was drinking from and shook his head.
"Well, I suppose it has been thirty two years. Aisha, If you would like, later I can give you a tour of the facility. The Research Room your team will be using is a reconstruction of the Power Chamber. It is based off of blueprints found in the computer's data banks-and using about thirty percent of salvageable material from the original. I do hope you'll like it and feel at home."Julia said as she took off her glasses, and cleaned them before she put them back on her face.
"While I am glad to have a chance to return here, and be involved in the next generation of Rangers-I do have a few questions which have bothered me since I first got your letter, Director Stone." She said as she put the device back in her coat pocket.
"Yes?" Director Stone asked.
"How did you know I was a Power Ranger?"
Director Stone crossed his arms. "Agent Park recommended you for the position."
"Adam was reported MIA. Ten years ago. "
Director Stone nodded, "He was, however I received communication from him less than six months ago. He seemed to have knowledge of the situation occurring in Angel Grove and Stone Canyon, involving the Pandora Mist and King Aradon's forces. While he didn't disclose his location he informed us of the location of the Pink and Yellow Zenith Crystals. That is when your name came up." He explained.
"Well, actually your name came up after your son-in-law and daughter's name came up as the people whom held the two crystal fragments we've been searching for-but he was very specific about wanting you on board with our Research Team. We double checked the reference with Director Oliver of Hexagon division-as we knew both Agent Park and Dr. Oliver being two of three Rangers serving under Zordon-prior to the invasion of Angel Grove in 1998-whom have disclosed their identities to other Rangers associated with the United Alliance, Jason Scott being the other " Julia explained as she refilled the coffee cups.
Aisha sighed as she picked up her cup of coffee again and took a sip. Even though they were no longer bound to the rules of their former mentor, her teammates and friends still respected the anonymity of their fellow Rangers. Even though the last time she had battled with them as a Ranger was years ago. The United Alliance gathered Rangers for the battle against an invading Armada fourteen years ago. Most of her interactions with the organization, were through her former teammates who worked for the United Alliance, in order to keep her former identity as a Power Ranger secret in the case she did not feel comfortable giving away such information. Many of her former teammates, aside from those whom interacted with other Ranger Teams which were currently affiliated in one way or another with the United Alliance had not revealed themselves as Power Rangers, even though they were no longer bound by Zordon's rule. They had no real reason to fear the repercussions of the revelation of their identity due to their status as Retired Rangers.
She wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea. She and her husband were married for years, and her daughter was already grown before she even told them the truth. She'd only told them to help her husband be at ease when they found out their daughter had been chosen to become a Power Ranger. She was only lucky her husband was such a kind and understanding man-otherwise the knowledge of having kept such a secret for so long could have driven them to divorce.
Nodding, Aisha looked over at Julia. "Julia, How's Eugene doing? He hasn't written in awhile-" She began, trailing off as she saw the look on the other woman's face. There was some bad news coming.
With a small frown Julia looked down at the ring on her finger; a simple gold band with a small diamond on it. "Eugene is your friend too. You should know." She said. She sighed as she looked over at the Doctor. She forced a small smile on her face.
Taking a few calming breaths, she explained. "It's the Pandora Virus. About a year ago he was sent out on a mission with the Alliance; it was supposed to be a simple intelligence mission on King Aradon's forces." She said.
She turned the ring around on her finger and shook her head as she spoke. The events of the day playing through in her mind. She continued, "Something went wrong, and he got attacked by General Galexia. He got injured, but she let him go." She said.
Dr. Blaine looked down at the coffee as Julia took a deep, pained breath as she fought back the tears forming in her eyes.
"He acted like everything was okay, for about a week. Then the symptoms started to show up. The silver rash. The high fever, the paranoia. We knew he had been infected. It took six Agents, to restrain him when the Insanity kicked in." She said, shaking her head.
With a small smile breaking her lips as she brushed away some of the tears, she looked over at Dr. Blaine. "On the positive, it's been this long and the Virus hasn't reached it's final stages." She said.
She then looked down at her ring for a minute. "Then again, maybe the final stage might be better." She said.
"Right now he's being held down in the Isolation Bay, with many of the other agents whom have been infected. We're using them as a basis for our research in designing a cure. You'll probably see him soon enough." Director Stone said, though his voice carried a softer tone than it normally carried. He adverted his gaze from the two, and stared deep into his coffee.
Dr. Blaine looked over, "How are your children taking it?" she asked.
Julia bit her lip and shook her head as she made her way over to the bookcase. She put her hands on her hips and shrugged, "They don't know yet. I can't bring myself to tell them." She said.
Crossing her arms she looked down, "Eugene and I decided it would be best if our children were not informed of our involvement with the United Alliance. As much as I don't like lying to my son, about what his father and I do for a living; It's safer for him this way."
"Besides," She said turning towards the other two. Julia refilled the coffee cups, even though hardly anything had been drunk from either one, "Spike's got his own family in Panorama City. He needs to be focused on taking care of them, rather than worrying about his old man and getting involved with something this dangerous."
Dr. Blaine looked down at the dark coffee, before looking over at Director Stone for a brief second. She frowned as she took another drink of the coffee.
The Alpha Medical Laboratories, located on the upper levels of the facility, were far more active than they'd been since the base was established. Since the appearance of the Pandora Mist and the outbreak of the virus plaguing both Angel Grove and Stone Canyon, the attention of this division turned towards researching this phenomenon and it's effects. Now most of the researchers focused on finding a cure for the illness.
Inside one of these laboratories a young Native American man in a white lab coat over a yellow button up shirt sat at one of the computers. Heaving a sigh he rubbed his eyes and removed his glasses.
He checked his watch. Still early in the morning, but it felt later. The previous night after returning home from visiting with his mother in-law, led to the discovery of a piece of unexpected research.
The door to the lab opened as Agent Matthew Gray, stepped in. A warm smile was on his face as he brought in styrofoam cups of coffee. He handed it to the man in the lab coat. "Hey, Ken. Thought you might need a little caffeine boost." He said as the other man took the cup from his hands.
He sat down next to Ken and looked at the data readout on the screen. "So what have you found about the canister and the samples I gave you? When you called this morning it sounded like you had made a pretty big break."
Ken shook his head and frowned as he typed a few things on the computer before turning attention to the metal canister hooked up to a few of the machines. "Yeah, but I don't think you're going to like it."
Matt shrugged and took a sip of coffee, as he leaned against the chair he was sitting in backwards. It couldn't be any worse than the fact the Pandora Mist existed, and they were being attacked frequently by swarms of Metalliwisps and the overpowered Cybershades.
Taking a deep breath Ken shook his head again and looked at the canister. "They're human." He said. The words echoed in the silent air of the laboratory in an eerie manner. Matt's heart skipped a beat hearing these words from his friend.
"What do you mean they're human?" Matt asked.
Ken focused on the equations and data in front of him, pushing his glasses up on his face. He was silent for several seconds as he ran over the data in his head again. He knew Matt didn't want to be hearing this. After all, Matt directly faced the Metalliwisps and the Cybershades. He found it difficult enough to fight against monsters, but to know they were human?
"I took the samples of the Metalliwisps and the two Cybershades you brought me the other day, and compared them against the biorhythm readouts, and the skin samples I collected from the patients at Angel Grove General. The Metalliwisp and the Cybershades have a high similarity in their biorhythms to the human ones. " He explained.
"What would the Machine Empire need with humans?" Matt asked as he looked at the canister for a second.
Typing a few more things on the Computer, Ken shook his head. "Golems to power his army and produce and spread the Pandora Mist. The more he's got, the stronger the mist becomes and it is capable of sticking around longer, and spreading to more people. The mist is a by-product of the slow consuming of the spiritual energy of a being, sort of like alcohol being a by-product of the fermentation process." He explained.
With a sigh Ken reached for the necklace he wore. "He's using the Machine Empire's technology to indirectly take the souls of those infected. What we consider the 'final' stage is only the final of the extraction process where the soul has left the body. When the rash and the insanity starts, that's the mist creating a Metalliwisp from a fraction of the soul, to begin the real devouring process" He explained.
Matt looked down at the coffee in his hand and shook his head. "So, here's the question. When the soul is completely extracted, then what happens?" He asks.
Ken pointed towards the canister. "Galexia takes them, and mutates the Metalliwisp make-up and combines them with Machine enhancements, creating CyberShades. Both Genjester and Dustghoul's design included a chamber protected by a sturdy alien alloy which contained a canister identical to this one you pulled from Dustghoul." He said.
"If it's a human soul, then what happened to the one inside of Genjester?" Matt asked.
Reaching for a few files sitting next to the computer Ken gave a half smile. "About the one upside of the information I've dug up." He said as he handed the file to the young man sitting next to him.
The file contained information over a man in his thirties, a circus performer, whom had recently been in Angel Grove General Hospital Critical Care unit in a coma. The report detailed his recent return, in perfect condition with no sign of the illness present. "When the Machine heart was smashed, the soul was let free, and crossed itself back over to it's owner." Ken said.
Matt looked up at the canister with it's dimly glowing light. Ken seemed to sense the other man's concern. He put his hand on Matt's shoulder. "Don't worry. I am going to let him go." He said.
Ken then took up the canister and the printed out files he had gathered around. He checked his watch. "But first I need to go give this presentation to Director Stone. I've got a few things i need to discuss with him and your team anyhow." He said.
He and Matt left the room, Matt helping Ken carry some of the files.
The heavy reinforced plastic of the isolation cell shook as a tall lanky man slammed his fists against it. He let out a high pitched almost psychotic hyena laugh as he watched the guards of his cell turn their attention towards him briefly.
Oh how he loved tormenting these guys!
"Why don't you come in an show me how much those blasters hurt! Hehee! Pow! POW! Right to the chest. Two shot'll take care of the big bad looney-toon Skull! Heheheh!" He shouted through the thick plastic towards them, motioning towards his chest with his hands as if they were guns.
"There will be plenty of time to get to feel such glorious pain, my doll." A voice said from behind the man.
Skull turned towards the source of the voice, but couldn't see anything. "Where are you?!" He said. His face managing to become paler than it already was in spite of the graying rash on his skin. He slowly approached the bed in the room, quickly getting on his knees and looking under the bed as if he expected someone to be lurking there.
He heard a laugh in his head. Turning around he saw a spectral woman standing behind him. She had the appearance of a doctor, but she was mostly machine.
"Hehe, Hey, Doc, are you here to make me better?!" He asked.
The Machine Doctor laughed. "Of course I am!" She said.
She then approached him, In her hand was a orb of silvery light.
"So what do I have to do?" Skull asked.
"See, you've got a parasite in you-all you need to do is take this nice little pill and it'll take that parasite right out." She said her voice full of false sweetness as she placed the orb in his hands.
He looked down at it for a second, before popping it into his mouth like a breath mint.
The overhanging lights of the cell began to flicker, and Skull heard his own heart beating in his ears. It felt as if a fog had been lifted from his whole being. The silver rash began to recede, but taking all color from his skin as well.
A warm feeling became present in his chest, and he suddenly felt incredibly sick. He doubled over, falling to his knees. Writhing in pain as the tingling fire in his chest began to become more intense and the wave of nausea intensified.
He opened his mouth to vomit, but found his stomach contents did not come out. Instead the silver ball of light came out, only there was more attached to it. As he vomited he found his perspective changed and he could feel himself leave his own body.
A strange sensation to be sure, to be writing in pain in one minute, and suddenly detached from oneself, watching one's own cold, pale body falling to the ground.
He reached out a hand for himself as the guards rushed into the room to check his body. He found he could not move.
The light engulfed him.
Trips to his grandfather's office to discuss Ranger related business, seemed to have become common place for Liam. Only now at this time he was accompanied by Jasmine and Joey. It had only been a couple of days since they had joined.
As the three of them, stood in the office Liam took notice of the older woman in a yellow dress and a doctor's coat whom was standing just to the right of his grandfather.
In a few seconds the meeting began as Matt and one of the researchers whom Liam saw around the base but didn't know his name entered the room. They were carrying a numerous amount of documents, and the canister they had retrieved from DustGhoul a few days ago.
"Now we're all here we can begin. Everyone, I'd like for you to meet-" Director Stone began.
However Joey was already on his feet with a wide smile on his face. He was looking at the African American woman with a sense of awe as if he were meeting a celebrity. "Dr. Aisha Blaine! Oh my god! I can't believe it! You're really her! You're really here!" He said shaking her hand energetically, much to the older woman's surprise.
"You know her?" Jasmine asked.
Joey rolled his eyes, as if unable to believe impossible no one in the room not to know who Dr. Blaine was. "She's only one of the biggest deals in the medical field." He said.
"I'm surprised you know this." Jasmine said.
Shrugging Joey looked over, "Hey, I'm more than just good looks you know. I've got a bachelor's in Botanical Sciences, with a focus on Medical application. She held a guest lecture at the University I attended back home. She was so inspiring!" He said.
"She also happens to be my mother-in-law." The Native American man said as he approached the woman, giving her a brief embrace.
"Everyone, this is Kenda Kencaid. I'm sure a few of you have seen him around the research facility." Director Stone said.
Kenda held up his hand in a greeting as he looked at the group standing before him. "You can just call me Ken. Most people do."
"Apart from Dr. Blaine's assignment to our research division, Mr. Kencaid is responsible for today's meeting. He's found information in regards to the Pandora Mist and the Virus, which you as Aether Rangers; may need to know." Director Stone said, introducing the man as he took the files from him and began looking through them.
Ken turned towards the group and took a deep breath as he began to explain his findings.
Tension hung in the air as the pink suited woman stood atop the roof of the small stage of the park Amphitheater. The audience watched with bated breath as the woman was confronted by a group of men and women looking ready for a fight.
She readied herself for an attack. With a sly smile and a nod, she let out a shout as she leapt into the air, knocking the four thugs away with a butterfly twist kick. As she gracefully landed the maneuver she ran towards the edge of the stage's roof. Without even a slight hesitation she leapt from edge of the metal railings and did a front flip through the air as she fell the fifteen feet, onto the thick pile of blue safety mats down below.
The woman got to her feet quickly. More attackers were making their way towards the mat-including the four whom she confronted on the roof. She somersaulted off of the mat, knocking a few of the nearby attackers away, sending them back flipping off of the mat and landing in a crouching position upon the concrete.
The woman battled with the others with impressive martial arts and acrobatics skills. In a matter of moments however she was surrounded, once again.
Three more people came in from the audience, performing flying kicks and knocking back a few of the other people. Together the woman in pink and her comrades fended off the rest of the thugs. The second the last of the group hit the ground, the crowd which had gathered to watch the show erupted into applause, as all the participating actors got to their feet and joined the tattooed woman in pink, bowing to the audience.
As the audience dispersed, the woman turned to the others, "Excellent show everyone! That's all for right now. Rest up, practice and be back here tonight for the next show!" She said.
Looking around she checked her phone, before grabbing up a pink towel and a matching water bottle which was sitting on a bench near by. She took a drink of the water and toweled the sheen of sweat from her face.
The Aether Temple was peaceful as Tenshii sat in meditation on the calm ethereal waters of the reflecting pond.
Though Tenshii found himself barely capable of keeping focus. There was a certain anxiety he could feel from within the light of the Aether itself. He could feel it's excitement in his own being. Looking towards the Eidolons, and their impatient pacing, it seemed as if they could feel it themselves.
Lathi flew down to him, perching on his shoulder and rubbing his head against the man's temple, as if he were trying to comfort the man.
Shaking his head Tenshii scratched the Phoenix's neck, making the bird let out a harmonic noise. "I'm okay, it's just a little empathy from Liam. He's received quite a shock learning the true nature of the Wisps." He said.
He then got to his feet and looked towards the colored lights dancing along the edges of the water. The Pink and Yellow lights seemed to be glowing with a more furious light than any of the other lights. The Scorpion and the Bear Eidolons were standing in front of the lights, waiting patiently as if they were watching and waiting for someone.
"Eksendreya and Callistus are doing what Nabu and Menodora were doing the other day, before Jasmine and Joey showed up. Two more Zenith Crystals must be close." Tenshii said as he watched the two creatures.
"What do we do now? Our enemies are human beings. We're dealing with lives of our fellow humans here!" Joey said as he looked over at his teammates. He felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach which refused to loosen. It made him ill thinking about the fact Galexia was using human souls and warping them to power the CyberShades.
Jasmine crossed her arms and looked over at her comrades. "We have no choice. We still fight them. This information changes nothing in our approach." She said.
Liam looked over. He could see Joey was visibly shaken by the information. He understood how the man must have felt. After all, a number of people whom Liam grew up around had fallen ill to the Pandora Mist. Knowing there was a chance the Metalliwisp attacking, or the Cybershade whom appeared to terrorize was potentially powered by a former loved one, friend, or family. It was enough to make one have cold feet and reconsider everything.
"Though it sounds cold-hearted to say. I agree with Jasmine." He said.
Joey looked down at the Crystallizers on his arms. He knew they were right. As a Ranger, he couldn't chose who his enemies were. Human or not, he and the other Rangers were the only ones capable of helping those people.
Dr. Blaine stepped forward and put her hand on Joey's shoulder. "You're a Ranger Joey. There will be a lot of difficult decisions which will be presented to you, and it's in those moments when the support of your friends and following what you believe to be right is important. As long as you know they believe in you, and you believe in them, you'll be doing the right thing, no matter what decision you make." She said.
A small smile came across her face as she looked around at the others in the room.
However this moment was short lived as someone cam rushing into the room.
"Director Stone!" the Agent called out.
"What is it?" Director Stone asked getting up from his seat.
"It's Agent Skullovitch-"The Agent said.
"Eugene?" Julia said under her breath. Her voice caught in her throat. She became unusually pale. Pushing past the group she led the group out of the room, practically running down the hallway towards the quarantine cells.
Angel Grove General's Intensive Care Unit. A place the pink haired African-American woman had come to know all to well these last few months. She had become familiar with it's white stone and plaster walls, it's shining white and blue tiled floors. Most irritating of all, she had become familiar with it's multitude of evenly spaced glaringly bright white fluorescent lights which reflected off the tiled floors like light over water.
She spent plenty of time in research labs and animal hospitals growing up, due to both her parents being veterinarians and medical science researchers. However, there was something different about actually being in a hospital. There was something far more unsettling.
She scoffed as she looked down at the young girl, her daughter, laying unconscious in the bed next to her. Maybe hospitals felt unsettling, because she had seen one too many horror movies. Hospitals in horror movies were always bad. Hell, Hospitals were rarely a good setting in any movie.
"Hello, Lisa. We haven't seen you here in the last couple of days. How are you?" One of the nurses said as he entered into the room where the woman sat.
Lisa looked up from the body of the young dark skinned girl whom lay in the bed. She gave a warm though half hearted smile to the nurse as she stepped aside to let him check the child's vitals.
"How's Najera been doing?" She asked the nurse.
The Nurse looked down at the blood pressure monitor. "No better, but no worse. Her vitals are still reading normal. Average temperature, Normal heart rate. It's like her heart and brain are operating to keep her alive." He said.
Looking down Lisa sighed and ran her hand over her daughter's forehead, brushing away some of the curls of the little girl's hair. That's exactly what's going on. She thought.
The nurse shook his head taking note of the balloons and the stuffed animal which sat around the room. A small twinge of sadness went through his heart as he looked at the pair. It was the little girl's birthday.
Lisa sighed as the door closed leaving her alone with her daughter. Gently she grabbed the little girl's hand, holding it in her own. She gave the small hand a kiss on the knuckles before laying it back down at her side.
Liam braced himself the minute they reached the cell. He found Julia kneeling beside her husband's comatose body. Tears streaming from down her eyes as she tried to get her husband to wake.
"He talked to himself before this happened. It seemed as if he were seeing some sort of hallucination. He thought he was talking to a doctor. Next thing we knew he started acting like he was sick, and then this happened." One of the guards explained.
Ken crossed his arms, "Interesting." He said.
All eyes turned towards him, wondering what the dark haired man could possibly find so interesting about something this terrible.
Looking up at the people around him he put his hands on his hip and shook his head. "My daughter Najera, right before she lapsed into the comatose stage. She had a hallucination of a doctor too." He explained.
Joey approached Julia and put his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what to say to the woman. He'd only known her for a few days.
"It'll be okay-" He stammered out. He had never been great about comforting people in the first place. Julia didn't respond to him as she continued sobbing over her husband's body.
He attempted again, though fumbling for the words. "I-I'm-" he began.
Jasmine looked at him sternly. "Joey, Enough. Give her space." She said, though her voice sounded more cold than she intended it to.
Joey exchanged a look with Jasmine, silently, wordlessly, telling her she was being too cold-hearted for his tastes in light of tragedy.
Letting out a loud sniff, Julia rubbed her eyes and shook her head as she got back on her feet. She straightened out the skirt of her navy blue suit and adjusted her glasses. She looked at the Rangers sternly.
"If-If what Dr. Kencaid has told us is true. Then You'll be fighting Eugene sooner or later. Either as a Metalliwisp or a Cybershade. Depending on what Galexia wants to use him for. When you do, I know you won't recognize him. He won't recognize you. So-just...don't hesitate. Take him out quick and with all you've got. Even if it kills him." She said.
Joey stepped forward, his eyes wide with shock. "What?!"
Julia looked down at her wedding ring, spinning it around on her finger for a second before looking over at her husband's body and then to the Rangers. "Eugene would have wanted it this way." She said.
Director Stone stepped forward, putting his hand comfortingly on Julia's shoulder, before looking to the others. "You know the nature of your opponent, though not all his motivations are clear. The most important task you have at hand right now is to seek out the other Aether Rangers before King Aradon finds them. If what you say about the nature of Aradon is true and the Demon Breizora has connection to your powers then he'll undoubtedly want to seek out those who hold the remaining pieces of the crystal in order to destroy them, if not make them into his own servants of evil." He said.
Crossing her arms Jasmine looked over, "I wonder if he's not already using humans as his servants to carry out such a task?" She said.
"You mean those two motor freaks? Ninja Girl and Inferno Fist? I doubt it? I doubt King Aradon-or even Briezora would employ people who fight against their own army. I think we might be safe to assume, those two, while probably on the same mission have nothing to do with Aradon." Joey said crossing his arms.
"Besides," he added, "We don't even know if they're actually human anyway."
Jasmine nodded. "You're probably right."
Liam crossed his arms and looked down. "Finding the other Aether Rangers is easier said than done though. We were lucky enough to find Jasmine and Joey, because they were already on their way here. I sort of doubt we're going to have a strike of luck like it again." He said.
"Yeah. But it does put us at an advantage too. If we don't know who they are, and they don't know who they are-then likely Aradon's not going to know where to start looking." Joey said with a smile on his face.
Shaking her head Jasmine put her hands on her hips. "That's the problem though. How do we know Aradon doesn't know? If you're forgetting, he directly attacked us before we became Rangers. He knew we had the crystals. He was trying to stop us." She said.
Joey bit his lip and shook his head. "Right. Good point."
"We don't even know how many Rangers we're looking for here in the first place." Jasmine said.
"My best bet is to assume at least Eight." Liam said.
"Eight-what makes you say that?" Jasmine asked.
The seventeen year old took out a piece of paper and began drawing on it. He drew a tear shaped image, and began sketching other triangles branching off of it, until the image became an eight pointed star.
"Well, First there's our numbering. I'm Guardian Zero, and Joey is Ranger Seven, You're Ranger Two." He said.
"My crystal is a little different from both of yours in shape and size, but using it as an anchor point as it contains the center of the object it also makes up the Northern point of the star. Both of your crystal fragments are exactly the same measurements, and of triangular shape-with rounded curve opposite of the point. Using the design and measurements, I noticed they happen to line up perfectly with the bottom curve of my Crystal. If the Crystals all were part of one crystal, with mine being the center point, then the other fragments should measure the same width along the bottom curve. Fitting them along my crystal should result in the star pattern." Liam explained.
Joey looked at the star for a moment. "Stands to reason. I mean we've got that pattern on our weapons, and on our belts. Guess it's just the complete Zenith Crystal Design." He said.
Nodding Jasmine looked down at the drawing. "Well, We're already active Rangers, so that's three out of Eight Rangers. We're just looking for the other five." She said.
Frowning Liam folded up the image after making a few notes on it. "Unfortunately finding them is going to be like trying to find out the identities of Zordon's Rangers. Somehow, the bad guy knows, but we're in the dark about it." He said.
Canisters of souls lined the walls of Galexia's workshop. They glimmered with their multicolored lights. Karmelody admired their gleaming light as she browsed through the shelves, waiting for Galexia to appear.
She reached for two Canisters next to each other. Scanning them briefly with her bionic eyes she took a step back and sighed. One of these was fresher than the other, though it contained an older soul. "Fifty, or fifty one year old human male. Freshly extracted." She muttered as she examined the canister.
She then looked at the other canister. This one had a strong glow to it. "Oh, wow. You're just a little girl aren't you? You must be so scared! I know how you feel. It's pretty scary when you don't know where your family is, and you don't know where you are." She said.
She heard the clunk of heavy metal feet upon the stone floor of the palace, causing her to jump and turn towards the source of the sound.
"Oh General Galexia. Is the new Cybershade ready, already?" She asked looking up at the doctor robot, whom was being followed by a slightly freaky looking robot covered in different looking mouth like fixtures. The largest of the mouths-where the monsters actual mouth should have been, was dripping with green battery acid.
"Yes. This is Toximouth. I've gotten a lead on the energy patterns of two more of the Zenith Aether Crystal Fragments."
"Oh. If that's the case, maybe I should go with him, as backup?" Karmelody asked clasping her hands together.
The larger female robot laughed as if the idea of Karmelody participating in a fight, or even being down on Earth in the first place was the most absurd thing she had ever heard.
"You are in line for the throne of the Machine Empire. A Princess shouldn't have to dirty her hands mingling with humans. You would be much better off staying here." A voice said from behind them.
Karmelody sighed and crossed her arms; disappointed she wasn't allowed to go down to Earth. She wanted a chance to get to see the place her father was trying to conquer.
"Besides, Toximouth is more than capable of handling these two rangers on his own, and I'd hate for you to accidentally get yourself hurt by his venom." Galexia said.
Galexia looked over at the soul canisters next to her, and gently picked up the brightly glowing one. She then placed it into Toximouth's hands. "I've given you the coordinates for the Pink Aether Ranger; If you take this with you, and do as I have explained to you; you may not even have to fight her."
The larger machine man looked at the small canister in his arms, examining it. "Pink'll want to be seeing her darling little daughter huh?"
Galexia laughed and crossed her arms. "Once you convince Pink to give up her soul for her daughter-Yellow will undoubtedly crumble. He'll be willing to make a bargain with you. You know what to offer." She said.
Toximouth laughed and put his hand on his hip, while cradling the canister under his other arm like a basketball. "Yeah. Hand over the Crystals; if he wants them back." He said.
The two laughed as they left the room. Leaving Karmelody standing in the room by herself. She clenched her fist before her chest and looked down for a second, She turned and looked at the other canister of the freshly extracted soul.
"Hmm. Bargaining huh? General Acedia is not going to like hearing you're having monsters using his tactics. Galexia." She said.
Angel Grove Park, was peaceful for the time being. The afternoon sun beamed down from a cloudless sky and filtered through the trees with People were lazing around the grassy expanses. A few had gathered at the amphitheater to watch the afternoon stunt show being set up.
However, the pink haired stunt director was on edge, as she leaned up against the bench behind the stage she shook her head.
It wasn't just because of the performance which was still a few hours off.
"Everything okay, Lisa?" One of the crew asked as he noticed her clutching the necklace around her neck tightly and looking towards the sky.
Lisa feigned a smile and looked over. "Yeah, I'll be fine in time for tonight's performance. Nerves you know." She said.
The crewman nodded, "I Know what you mean. crowd's really gathering out there. If even half of them stick around, It'll probably be the biggest crowd the Flying Angels have ever had." He said before walking away to go and check something further down stage.
Lisa looked down and closed her eyes.
The sound of the park became clear, and through her closed eyes she was sure she saw a flash of Silvery light. The chattering in the park had become an uproar or terror as the audience began rushing as far away from the scene.
Opening her eyes, Lisa gracefully dodged out of the way of a Metalliwisps' attack. Grabbing the creature by the spikey arm as she spun around to keep it from hitting her square in the back. With a roar she flung the creature away from her, but not before using it to keep herself balanced as she bicycle kicked another Metalliwisp approaching her.
For several seconds Lisa defended off the Metalliwisps on her own, checking to make sure all of her crew was okay. Most of them were helping evacuate the audience while making use of their stunt training to fend off the creatures to help people escape.
Good. Lisa thought, at least I won't have to worry about innocent bystanders when this all goes down.
Another brief flash of silver occured, and Lisa saw a terrifying, ugly robot making it's way out of the mist and approaching her. "As expected." She muttered as she prepared herself to fight.
The monster covered in mouths and metal decided to antagonize the escaping crowd, by spitting green liquid from it's main mouth, before turning it's attention to Lisa. Some of the liquid hit the equipment near by, causing it to hiss with an terrible noise as it began to steam and melt away.
"Hehe. Hello there Aether Ranger!" Toximouth said as he approached Lisa. His arms were behind his back, holding the canister just out of sight.
Lisa clenched her fist, readying herself to strike. "I'm sorry, do we know each other? Think I'd remember someone as dumb looking as you." She said.
"I'm Toximouth, and that's hardly any way to address me. I wouldn't be saying such mean things. You wouldn't want your dear little daughter to pick up a bad habit now would you?" he said as he pulled the canister from behind his back, pushing a button on top of it.
The image of a young girl with wide brown eyes, projected between the two of them, Lisa took a step back. The image of her daughter. "Najera!" She gasped.
Looking to Toximouth she clenched her fist. So this was the game the Cybershade was going to play? Taunt her with the soul of her daughter?
"Give her back you freak!" Lisa shouted.
Toximouth laughed. "See, I don't think so Pink. But I'm a reasonable robot. Now, i can tell how much you care for this little girl-so I'm willing to make a deal with you." He said.
Lisa stumbled back in defense as the monster came closer. "What kind of deal?" She asked.
With an almost sinister laugh, Toximouth ran his hand over the canister. He reached out for the pink haired woman and motioned his hand as if he wanted something from her. Wiggling his fingers, and beckoning something be placed in his palm. "Simple enough. I want the Zenith Aether Crystal Fragment you're wearing around your neck. Y'know one sparkly gem for another." He said.
Looking down breifly, Lisa reached for the necklace around her neck.
"Yes, that's the one. See, i don't know if you realize it, but it's a rather special stone." Toximouth said. His other mouths laughing.
She already knew this though. She had been in possession of this crystal, for the last six years, ever since before her daughter had been born. She already met the spirit within in it. She already knew what would happen if she gave it up. Yet, still: this was her daughter's soul they were talking about.
Toximouth held his hand out towards Lisa, wiggling his fingers as if he were anticipating her placing the crystal into his hand.
Swallowing the lump which had formed in her throat, Lisa slowly made her way towards him. She placed the crystal into the monster's outstretched hand.
Toximouth's many mouths began to bellow with laughter as the pink tinted crystal placed into his hands.
"N-Now give me back my daughter!" Lisa said.
Looking down at the crystal in his hand, and then to the canister cradled into his arm, his eyes flashed. As he turned to the side, placing the canister defensively outside of the reach of Lisa. The laughter soon became sinister.
"General Galexia was right! The things the humans call compassion and familial bonds are indeed an easily exploited." Toximouth said with a laugh.
Lisa's eyes became wide with horror as she watched the monster's metallic fingers wrap around the crystal breaking it into dust, letting the particles slip beneath his fingers. Lisa doubled over as she grasped her chest and falling to the ground.
From atop the stage the Black and Red Riders watched the scene. The Red Rider stepped forward, in a concerned rush as he saw the pink crystal's dust. His companion put her hand on his shoulder, silently shaking her head.
The Red Rider gave a half annoyed grunt as he turned his attention back towards the scene below him. Toximouth was laughing triumphantly as he approached the body of the fallen woman.
He sent down a blast of fire from his fists towards the Cybershade, before he and his companion lept from the top of the stage, landing on the safety mats placed there for the performance later.
The Cybershade reacted in surprise as two new battlers entered onto the scene, landing defensively in front of the fallen woman.
"Haha. You two are pretty dumb if you think you're gonna save her. She had a Aether Crystal. Y'know those things bond to souls right? Crush it, crush the soul. She's already dead."
"I'm aware of the lore of the Zenith Aether Crystal. It's too bad you're more mouth than eyes-otherwise you would have been able to tell right away where you messed up." The Black Rider said to Toximouth as she drew out her swords.
Toximouth growled as the two whom stood in his way of the Pink Ranger. He spit acid from his chest towards the two and blocked by the broadside of the Black Rider's Blade as she rushed towards him.
The Cybershade dodged out of the way of the oncoming attacks of the two as he made his way towards the Pink Ranger. As he passed by the two, they were quickly overtaken by a new swarm of Metalliwisps.
Director Stone nodded as he hung up his phone. He looked over at the other Rangers. Jasmine, Liam, and the McKenzie family all stood at attention in a military fashion, while Joey stood with his arms crossed. All of them were awaiting the news.
"Rangers, I have just recieved a communication from an undercover agent of a Cybershade attacking at the ampitheater in Angel Grove Park. The Cybershade calls itself Toximouth. It appears to be targeting a single individual." Director Stone explained.
"That seems odd for the CyberShade to attacking one person. Is she a Ranger?" Jasmine asked.
"More like, was-reports confirm she handed a crystal matching the description of your Zenith Crystals, to Toximouth in exchange for an object he was carrying. The Crystal crushed upon contact." Director Stone said, his voice becoming morose as he spoke. Giving one glance over to the comatose man on the bed, and his weeping wife.
Dr. Blaine let out a gasp, holding her hands to her mouth, trying to hold back tears. "Lisa! No!" She whispered out.
"Come on Rangers. We've got to get out there." Liam said as he readied his Crystallizer and looked over at the group. The trio headed for the door, ready to leap into action.
As they reached the door, they were stopped by Ken's voice demanding they stop. They looked towards the Native American man, making contact with his stern dark brown eyes.
"I'm going too. Not just because Lisa is my wife and Doctor Blaine's daughter, and they've got my daughter's soul, but also because-"
He reached into the collar of his shirt, and withdrew two crystal amulets, adorned to look like arrowheads. One held a Pink Crystal and the other held a Yellow crystal.
"-but because We were destined to join this fight." He said.
Ken nodded as he revealed two devices upon his wrists, exactly of the same build and design as the Crystallizers upon the other three Ranger's arms. A wide, confident smile appeared on his face.
Toximouth approached the fallen body of the Pink haired woman. He knew he should be getting to his report to Galexia, but he had to make sure this nuisance of a human was dead first. He had expected witnessing an Aether Ranger's soul being ripped from her body, would have been more impressive.
Lisa felt nervous as she felt the presence of the disgusting Multi-mouthed creature coming closer to her. In a few seconds she felt his cold metal foot dig into the ground underneath her, pushing her over onto her back. She tried to keep herself as still and as lifeless as possible.
Toximouth leaned over her, curiously examining her for any signs of breathing. Unfortunately he had not been equipped with any life reading scanners, so he had to resort to the tedium of checking by regular vision.
"Oh, That's it Pink? I crush the very crystal your soul has been tied to; and all you do is just collapse?" He asked as he leered down at the faux unconscious Pink Ranger. He placed the canister of the little girl's soul at her side, as he prepared to attack.
He readied his arm, the tongue of the mouth attached to the end of his arm turned into a venomous spike, which smoked with the Silvery Pandora Mist. He raised his arm, ready to strike her right in the chest.
"Lisa! Catch!" A voice called from near by, catching Toximouth off guard, giving the pink haired African-American enough time to spring to her feet. She landed a roundhouse kick to the CyberShade's chest, knocking him back. She scooped up the canister as she did a one handed back handspring.
She reached up into the air catching the Pink Crystal just by the tips of her fingers. She looked over towards the group whom was running towards her.
A small group of Agents were currently engaging the Metalliwisps, while three Ranger suited warriors were already on their way towards her being followed by her husband. As Ken approached her, he briefly embraced her. She looked up at him, seeing the worry which was ringing clear in his eyes.
"That was way too close. but I got Najera's soul. You were right Ken. They knew who we were, but they couldn't detect the difference between the decoy Zenith Crystal and the real one." Lisa said as she handed Ken the glowing canister. The two of them held the metal and glass cylinder between them for a second.
Ken then took the object and turned towards Matt. He placed it in his hands. "Matt. I want you to take this to Angel Grove General, ICU, Room 7. I want you to take this to her, and open it. If the doctor's try to stop you, I want you to call the base, and have them speak with my mother in-law, Dr. Blaine. If she wakes up before we get back, stay with her." He explained.
"I'll cover you, get going!" Amber said as she grabbed Matt's hand and pushed him along through the Metalliwisps. She began laying down a barrage of cover fire on the Metalliwisps to help her boyfriend get through the horde of foot soldiers.
Once Matt had gotten away from the scene, Ken turned to his wife as he handed her the Pink tinted Crystal. The two of them exchanged a nod as they took the crystals out of the design, and slipped them into the empty chamber of the Crystallizer. The Crystals responded by emitting a bright glow.
Ken and Lisa held each other's hand for a breif second, before nodding at each other.
"You ready?" Lisa asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Ken said with a confident smile as he looked down at his wife.
"Then let's go!" Lisa said. A wild gleam was in her eye as the two of them turned towards Toximouth.
"Crystallize Soul!" They both shouted in unison.
They went through the same motions of the morphing call, linking the Crystallizer devices, holding their crossed wrists above their heads, and then over their hearts, and then pushing them outward as a light similar to the color of their respective colors emitted from the chamber and surrounded their bodies.
When the light cleared both Lisa and Ken were decked out in Ranger gear similar to Liam and the others. Lisa in Pink, her outfit similar to Jasmine's with the skirt. Ken was in Yellow.
"What is this?!" Toximouth said as he saw the two new Ranger suited warriors.
"This? This is what happens when you play with human souls in your sick and twisted game!" Ken shouted. He then moved mimicking the motions of a bear standing on it's hind legs ready to strike, "With the critical intellect of the Bear, Aether Ranger Three: Yellow!"
"This is what happens when you underestimate the strength of a human soul, and the bonds of family!" Lisa shouted, following her husband's lead, only crouching into a position reminiscent of a scorpion ready to strike it's prey. "With the stinging ferocity of the Scorpion; Aether Ranger Six: Pink!"
"Together we are members of the Zenith Elysian Order, sworn protectors of the Aether and the Elysian Light Realm!" They shouted in unison. The two Rangers gave a nod towards each other before charging at the Cybershade.
The two rangers battled against Toximouth together for several minutes; Lisa landing graceful yet precise and rapid kick and punches upon the many mouthed creature. Ken, on the other hand, took more of a brutal approach, grappling with Toximouth, wrestling with the creature to keep it immobile while Lisa landed her hits.
Toximouth growled as his many mouths latched down on the Lisa's fist and on Ken's side. He gave one mighty shake and flung the two of them from him, sending them crashing into the bleachers lining the amphitheater pit.
Liam, Jasmine, and Joey rushed over towards the two new Rangers and helped them get back to their feet.
"You alright?" Joey asked as he helped Ken to his feet.
"He didn't hit my heart so I'm good. I won't be infected by the Mist. His bites didn't even break my suit." Ken said as he got to his feet, dusting himself off.
"Well, we've got to get that chest plate off of him. in order to get access to the machine heart." Jasmine said as she brandished her ax weapons.
"Easier said than done." Joey commented as he looked over towards Toximouth whom was getting to his feet. The disgusting creature was now leaking acidic goo from all of his mouths like drool. The acidic mixture hitting the ground, causing it to burn and leaving the stone partially dissolved.
Toximouth rushed at the Rangers, spewing streams of the light green acid from his mouth. The blasts caused the five rangers to scatter. Liam and Jasmine were both hit by the acid, and knocked to the ground, their suits smoking as the acid tried to eat away at the material.
"Come on Liam, You've got to get up!" Tenshii shouted, his voice echoing in Liam's head. Liam tried to get to his feet, but found it impossible due to the searing white-hot heat currently eating away at his body.
Breath filled the young girl's lungs as she awoke to the sounds of a heart monitor.
Beep, Beep, Beep. a nice steady rhythmic pace in time with her heart.
Opening her eyes she found herself in a hospital room, the news on the television was playing a special report about the attack going on in the park.
"I'm sorry we can't allow you to go any further. This is a restricted area-" A man in a black suit with sunglasses was saying to reporters whom were trying to get past him to see the disturbance.
"What information can you give us about the situation at the park amphitheater? Is this incident related to the attacks which occured down town a few weeks ago?" One of the reporters asked shoving the microphone under the Agent's nose.
The Agent looked displeased with the microphone being intrusive of his personal space and moved it away. " We are currently working on evacuation efforts and cleaning up the area." He said.
Najera clapped her hands as she watched the television. She could see the footage from a video feed a reporter was taking. She saw the Pink Ranger grappling with the poly mouthed creature, wrapping him up with the chained daggers she launched from bracers which had appeared on her wrists.
"Go Mommy!" She said.
Her cheer caught Matt's attention and he turned his attention to the girl who was sitting up in the bed. He was surprised the little girl recognized her own mother as a battling Ranger.
The footage then showed Yellow Ranger brandishing a shield and using it as a weapon against a group of Metalliwisps whom surrounded him, before striking at Toximouth. To the sight of this Najera cheered and clapped her hands together, and shouted in surprise when the footage cut off because of an Alliance agent's interference trying to restrict the area.
Matt laughed. He enjoyed seeing the little girl watching the footage of her parents decked out in Ranger gear and fighting against monsters alongside other suited warriors, like some Saturday morning cartoon. It reminded him when he was a young kid, probably a year younger than her back in Reefside. All the reports of the Power Rangers saving the day. It made him want to become a superhero when he grew up.
It made him feel like a kid again, just to see someone so young, so excited about getting to see the Power Rangers in action. Even if these Rangers were being assisted by secret agents.
Toximouth bit down on the shield of the Yellow Ranger, with it's larger mouth, unable to knock it away with his arms being in a bind by the pink energy chains wrapped around his body.
"Orange, Violet. While, We have him distracted, use your weapons to hit him. Pry this sucker open like a can of tuna!" Lisa called out to the two Rangers whom weren't currently on the ground squirming in pain from Toximouth's acid.
Jasmine and Joey looked at each other for a second, before looking to Liam, wondering if they should tend to him first.
"Don't worry about me! I can take care of myself." Liam said as he slowly got to his feet, using the edge of the stage's platform to allow him to keep his balance. His suit slightly burnt.
Nodding to Liam and then to each other, Jasmine and Joey leapt at Toximouth, brandishing their weapons.
The Orange Ranger's twin axes struck the metal plate, leaving a two large gashes along the metal plating. "All yours Joe!" She said as she ducked out of the way to give room for the Violet Ranger.
With his fan weapon closed, the Violet Ranger jammed the weapon into the pieces of metal between the two gashes with enough force to make the metal break from it's cut edges. He unfolded the fan in the gap, widening it, and ripping it off of Toximouth with a quick pull.
Toximouth let out a howl of pain and began to violently flail around, managing to knock the Rangers away from him.
"That HURT!" He growled, grabbing a hold of both Jasmine and Joey in his arms. The mouths on the ends of his arms caught them around their necks as he held them both off the ground. Neither of the two rangers he held were able to speak.
Lisa and Ken leapt to their feet, charging up their power.
"They're going to use the Bear and Scorpion to do the Eidolon Strike, Ground Formation!" Tenshii said.
"No! We can't risk hurting Jasmine and Joey! Don't use the Eidolons yet!" Liam said as he rushed up to the Pink and Yellow Ranger.
Lisa turned towards Liam, "What are you talking about?! If we don't strike now, they're going to get hurt a lot worse!" She said.
Almost as if responding to Liam's worry about his friend's well being, He saw a bright flash of light dash past his shoulder. He saw the spectral images of the butterfly and the Peacock came soaring in from either side of Toximouth, hitting him with enough force to loosen his grip on the two Rangers.
"Lisa, Ken, I say knock this guy off his feet!" Jasmine said as she and Joey lined up on either side of Ken and Lisa, with Liam in between them.
"Right! Sounds good to me!" The Pink and Yellow Ranger said as they summoned up their Eidolons.
"Eidolon Ground Strike!" they called out in unison, slamming their fists into the ground as beam of light appeared, and the ground began to split apart as the images of a Yellow Bear and a large Scorpion charged at Toximouth. The ground beneath him began to shake and break apart, knocking him off his feet.
"Looks like you could use some help getting back on your feet!" Joey called to the monster. "Let us help you!"
"Eidolon Air Strike!"The Purple and Orange Ranger called out as the Butterfly and Peacock swooped past the two Rangers, and began circling around Toximouth, creating a tornado around him lifting him up off his feet and into the air.
"Phoenix Charge!" The White Ranger called out with the Cybershade suspended in the air. The second the glimmering white phoenix appeared and swooped into the tornado, turning into a pure energy beam and shooting directly through Toximouth's exposed chest plate causing the monster to explode, and the glowing canister within to shatter, and the soul within to fly off to find it's proper body.
"Well, looks like we took that guy's breath away!" Joey said as he put his hands on his hips and looked at the pile of discarded metal and wiring which had been Toximouth.
"Not to mention we united with two more Rangers." Liam added crossing his arms as he approached Joey, looking over his shoulder to where Ken was admiring the Ranger suit he was wearing, hardly able to conceive the idea of what they had actually been capable of doing, while Lisa and Jasmine were introducing themselves to one another.
"-and freed another soul." Tenshii said in Liam's mind. Liam nodded to himself as he looked at the smouldering wreckage.
Not too far away, the Red and Black Rider were making their retreat unseen by any of the Rangers or the Agents present.
The Rangers were met with the clapping and cheering from a young girl whom was rushing past several of the agents who were cleaning up the area. The young girl launched herself into Lisa's arms.
"Najera!" Lisa called out as she swept the little girl up in her arms.
"Mommy! Daddy! I woke up in the hospital, Mr. Gray said he was a friend of yours, daddy, and that you told him to go to the hospital incase I woke up! Oh! I saw the news footage! You two were soooo cool! I especially liked when mommy wrapped the mouthy monster guy up with her chain bracelets, and Daddy came flying in swinging that shield around like a frisbee, like thwack! It was so awesome!" the young child said her voice rising the more and more excited she became describing the fight she had seen.
"Naje, what are you doing here? Who checked you out of the hospital?" Ken asked as he looked at his daughter.
Dr. Blaine approached the group, followed by Director Stone. "I did. I thought it would be best not to have a large crowd showing up at the hospital." She explained.
She then smiled as she looked at her daughter and son-in-law. "Besides, it's Najera's birthday, and this is the first birthday she's had which I've been stateside in order to celebrate with her. I figured she could use some fresh air. Maybe let her Grandma take her shopping, and catch a show in the park a little later."
Lisa smiled as she looked at her mother, "Sounds like a good plan to me. I'd join you, but I've got to round up my crew and try to get everything reset for tonight. After Toximouth and the Metalliwisps little performance-It's gonna take a lot of work to get things back in order in time for the performance." She said.
Najera lept down from her mom's arms and immediately went to her grandmother's side grabbing the older woman's hand. "That's okay mommy! Daddy can come with us! Then all four of us can celebrate after the show tonight!" She said.
Ken looked down at his daughter for a brief second, with a slight hint of concern on his face. He then looked towards Director Stone, before looking back down at his daughter again. He knew he was still on duty, and there was still work to be done in the research department. Information on the recovering patient the soul of the Cybershade belonged to.
With a shrug, Director Stone leaned on his walking cane, "Go ahead, Kencaid. Spend some time with your family. It is your daughter's birthday after all. I've got plenty of other researchers on hand to cover for you." He said.
Nodding, Ken gave his wife a brief hug and kiss on the cheek as he joined his mother-in-law and daughter.
Dr. Blaine looked over at the group of Agents and unmorphed Rangers around them. "You guys are welcome to join us if you want!" She said.
Alice smiled slightly and shook her head, "Maybe some other time Dr. Blaine. After the whole incident today, I think I should go and see how Julia is doing." She said.
"I think We'll stick around and help Mrs. Kencaid get set up for the performance tonight. Hate to admit it, but I think we're a little bit responsible for the destruction, the least we could do would be to help her out." Amber said as she looked over at Matt and Micah, the two of them nodded in agreement.
With a shrug Jasmine looked over at Joey and Liam. "I'm up for it. After fighting Toximouth, I think a couple of cavity inducing ice-cream cones at the mall are just what i need. What do you guys say? My treat?" She asked.
Joey smiled and pumped his fist in the air, "Make it a frozen strawberry yogurt topped with whipped cream and real strawberries and I'm there!" He said as he followed the group down the path.
The dull clink of glasses and bottles being stored away filled the air. The familiar sounds of a business cleaning up after busy opening hours. The owner of the bar, a young woman with steel grey eyes, inhaled deeply as she ran a wet rag across the smooth glassy stone counter top of the bar. The the delightful clean smell of bleach and disinfectant cleaners replaced the smells of spilt soda, alcohol, and remnants of the Korean Barbeque sauce from the night's special.
The eleven o'clock news broadcast was rebroadcasting the story of the attack on Angel Grove Park, and the Power Rangers.
The bar owner's ears twitched as she heard the sound of someone entering in to the room. She flinched as she suddenly became highly aware of the smell of warm leather and a woodsy and spicy cologne , and a light licorice scent in the air,mixed with the scent was the faint scent of motor fumes. The smell almost made her nose itch.
"I'm sorry we're closed." She said turning her attention to the two people whom entered into the room.
"Yes. I am aware." One of the people, a woman in black motorcycle gear, said as she withdrew the blades from the sheaths.
The Red Rider looked over at his companion, and then approached the bar owner, grabbing the woman by the wrist and unbuttoning the sleeve cuff of the her dress shirt. He caught a small gun which fell out of the sleeve.
"If you're robbing me you've come at a bad time. I don't keep cash in the register during non business hours, so the till is empty. Another employee of mine took it to another safe for deposit tomorrow. I'm afraid all I've got is some really good alcohol locked up in the back room." The young woman said. She calmly stepped away from the bar, putting her hands up.
The Black Rider looked over at her companion as he returned with the gun placing it on the table near by him, completely out of reach.
"We don't want your money. We're looking for something a little more valuable. Namely a Crystal" She said.
The young woman tilted her head, slowly reaching for her vest pocket. She withdrew a triangular shaped blue crystal attached to a decorative hair-pin. "Then you're after this?" She asked.
"Yes." The Blacker rider said.
Closing her fist around the crystal the young woman dropped her arms, drawing her hands into fists, ready to strike. She shook her head. The faintest hint of a smile appeared on the young woman's face. "You know, you're not the first ones to come after this." She said.
The Red Rider took a step back as he noticed the glasses and displays behind the bar were starting to shake, and the neon and lights behind the bar were flickering wildly.
"It didn't end well for them." The young woman said with a smile daring them to come closer.
The Red Rider held up his hand, catching the gun which he had taken from her, which was now levitating in the air, being moved by unseen forces. He removed the clip from the gun, tossing it aside. His fist ignited, and the surface of the gun began to bubble and melt almost instantly as he squished the gun out of shape, before extinguishing the flames and tossed the gun aside.
The young woman's smile faltered as the acrid of melted gun reached her nose. "Pyrokenetic huh? That's cool. We'd almost be on fair footing if there were more people here-" She said as she dodged out of the way of the Black Rider's blade as it hit the counter top.
"-or one of you would decide to step out, and I think she knows who she is." She added as she kicked the Black Rider, knocking her into one of the near by tables with a loud crash.
The Red Rider tackled the young woman, the two of them sliding across the bar, and knocking into some glasses, causing them to shatter.
The fight didn't last too much longer between the three before the entrance door opened, and a young asian man stood there staring in disbelief at what he was seeing. "What is going on here?!"
At the sound of the young man's voice the Black Rider looked up from where she was battling against an unseen force coming from the young woman's hand, her blade unable to come down on the young woman's throat. She immediately back away, allowing for the young woman to get to her feet.
The young man rushed over to the young woman, stepping in front of her defensively, ready to attack and continue the battle.
The Red Rider rushed towards the young man, ready to engage him in hand-to-hand combat to obtain the crystal in the girl's possession. However, he was stopped as the Black Rider threw her hand out, blocking his path.
"Stop." She said.
Her companion and the two young adults looked curiously at the sword wielding woman as she put her blades back in the sheaths on her back. She motioned to the Red Rider to follow her. The two of them left the bar together.
With the door closed behind the retreating people, and the danger clearly passed, the young man turned to the young woman and helped her dust the debris and glass from her being. "Are you alright?" He asked.
The young woman nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just have to put in extra work tonight to clean things up." She said as she shook her head, heaving a sigh. "What are you doing here anyways? I thought you went home."
Running his hand over the back of his neck the man shrugged, "Can't get anywhere without my keys. Had to come back for them. Lucky I did, huh?" He asked.
Shrugging the woman dismissed it and continued to dust off the counter top of the bar. A few seconds of silence fell between the two.
"Who were those two? What did they want?" The young man said as he grabbed a broom from near by and began sweeping up the broken glass.
Shaking her head as she put the crystal back into her vest pocket. "Thieves. I wouldn't worry about it though." She said, though her voice carried a wavering hint of breaking confidence.
The Young man looked over towards the door where the two disappeared. He had a bad feeling it wouldn't be the last time those two would show up. Heaving a sigh he shrugged as he continued to clean. He'd have to be on his guard for both their sakes.