CHAPTER 7 — Bird Spotting
|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Xybria
Fortune favored Reki. Or so he believed.
Besides being married to a loving wife, he worked as a repairman for a prestigious engineering company that acknowledged his merit and had offered him an open work schedule. With a transponder on his belt that notified Reki whenever there was a job in the vicinity, he rarely tackled an issue that took more than five minutes to resolve.
He used the long moments of levity in-between to spend time with his son in Gahdeni Park. On a day like any other, they ran along the greenery, passing a spherical loop toy around. Reki used his telekinesis to grant it rotational speed and sent it flying over to his young boy. His son in turn jumped and reached for the Spinner.
'Daddy, daddy!' the boy exclaimed as it eagerly approached Reki. He held out the toy. 'Can you show me that again? Please?!'
'Sure thing, kiddo.' Reki accepted the toy and patted the boy's back, captivated by his childish enthusiasm. 'Go long,' he said and waited for his kid to go the distance before casually hurling the Spinner in his general direction.
The young boy chased after it, watching for the toy's trajectory. Bending the knees ever slightly, he leapt and held out an outstretched arm, but was unsuccessful in catching the Spinner. The toy glided for several meters more before landing behind a bush.
'I got it! I got it,' the boy cheered and jogged to the opposite side of the shrubbery. Reki watched with an amused smile on his face. He had turned four a week before, but already he was running so fast and jumping that high. Reki saw a bright future waiting for his boy, and would do his best to see it through.
'You will do! Ka-ka-ka!' a shrill voice suddenly cawed before a wash of amber light burst from the bush, followed by a cry for help.
'Xizi!' Reki ran, closing the distance in mere seconds. He turned sharply around the hedge, crashed into something and fell on his back. His eyes shot open. Before him stood a humanoid bird creature. Devoid of plumage but for the pair of wings on its back, its bare form was coated in a crude exoskeleton, with each arm ending on a condor's skull. Next to the avian was an oversized egg. Xizi was nowhere to be seen.
'Time for me to take flight! Ka-ka-ka!' The monster spread its crude wings and hurriedly lifted itself off the ground.
'No! Get back here! I want answers!' A push of telekinetic force hurled Reki closer to the creature. He grabbed onto its leg. The monster lifted both of them with ease, but its stamp was powerful, and broke Reki's grip with ease. He unleashed another blast of force in an attempt to shoot the beast out of the sky, but it had already soared a great distance away.
Reki landed on the bush, his fall mediated by his powers. Alone, confused and stricken with grief, he rolled over and slumped to his knees. Thoughts of regret flooded his mind, hypotheticals that saw Reki searching for the Spinner instead of Xizi, or him tagging along with his son. It neither changed the fact his son had gone missing, nor that he had been responsible. Of all the misfortunes that could occur, there was no greater hurt than a father losing his child.
'No! Please, not my son! Not my Xizi!' Reki wailed, the agony caused by his irresponsibility overwhelming him.
Beside Reki, the egg was twitching, but he never noticed.
|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Vaxia
The royal palace had been built atop Gomo, the sole mountain in the Principality of Vaxia. A fortress carved out of polished obsidian, it towered over the surrounding villages at an altitude of over three thousand meters. Though long abandoned, it remained beautiful, with its structural artistry extending past its foundations, where spiral staircases snaked down to the deepest reaches of stonework and connected to a tunnel network. It was a secret that had existed even during the Traitor King's prosperity, over one hundred and forty-four years ago.
In these dark depths, Dracondian Cain found refuge. Granted presence of mind by the silence, he honed his sword-craft; an eerie calm before the devastating storm that was his unquenchable thirst for battle. On the lower floors, Arnolf the Magnificent and his Silencer entourage were setting up his newest distillery. A potent tonic he had labeled Kunwa, the Intergalactic Merchant had estimated its exotic richness would quickly take over the liquor market, bringing many of his opponents to their knees.
And the catacombs ran deeper still. Less of a dungeon and more of an extensive laboratory, this section of the labyrinthine lair was purposely dim-lit in order to avoid unwanted attention. A single glass lantern rested on a long, mahogany table, its orange-red flame illuminating books, notes with hand-written chemical equations, research equipment and rows upon rows of test tubes, each filled with a differently colored chemical.
In the center of the lab room stood a lithe figure clad in ornate, golden armor, the helmet fashioned after a descending spider. Between clawed fingers, a remote screen displayed a savage bird creature swooping from one child to the next. It fired a beam from its beak and promptly flew away, leaving only eggs in its wake.
'Yes, Kolverox,' the figure cooed, 'target every child in the vicinity, so that Xybria can be mine in fifteen hours. Yes, fifteen. My calculations are never wrong.' The voice's timbre was feminine. It was sweet like honey, the tone soothing, but also cold, detached and heartless.
With a fingersnap, the screen vanished, replaced by a test tube held between two, long nails. Purple ooze bubbled inside it.
'Mixing in DNA from the Tenga warrior race yielded a satisfactory result,' the scientist mused. 'The addition may have corrupted the original formula, but did not hinder the result. A bird of prey does not need feathers to hunt, after all.'
|| Aquila Hyperion Galaxy, Planet Xybria
A young boy climbed a tree, driven by curiosity. According to the girl he liked, something had fallen on her head. Upon examination, the perpetrator had resembled a raindrop; a slimy, green variant of it. To prove his willingness to protect her, the boy promised to conquer the biggest treetop, spot the winged menace that had made his lady cry, and fell it with his slingshot. When he had made it to the very top, however the boy found himself hesitating, fearful of what he had seen.
Over the Gahdeni Park canopy, a winged hunter was stalking for prey.
'Ka-ka-ka! Who should I beam next?' it wondered aloud, flying around the block in slow circles.
'No one!' a voice cried from behind Kolverox.
The avian monster craned its beak around to spot the Red and Pink Supersonic Rangers. In a synchronized blur of movement, the rangers came at the monster spinning, each ranger lashing out with a kick that hurled Kolverox to the ground.
'The Power Rangers!' Kolverox cawed. 'I've been informed about you, you multicolored bugs! You're no match for me!'
'Well, tell whoever informed you that they're wrong!' Pyre retorted.
'We're not letting you get away,' Star said. 'It all ends now.'
'But not before you tell us what you did to these kids,' Ace added.
'Confess at once, fiend,' Gent pointed accusingly. 'Their rescue shall not be stalled any longer.'
'Wait a moment,' Kolverox said, oblivious to the rangers' demands. 'I was informed there were five of you. Ka-ka-ka, I see only four!'
It was Pyre that answered. 'Blue won't bother coming for a pest like you. Besides, us four are more than enough.' She phased her Sonar Blaster and promptly pointed it at Kolverox. 'Now you're gonna spill the beans, or else!'
'Yellow, wait!' Ace warned.
Pyre had already squeezed the trigger, firing a laser volley at their opponent. Kolverox crossed his arms before his chest, willing the wings to roll over and create a barrier. Explosions erupted from Kolverox's sides as the shots bounced off of its hardened plumage.
'Too slow, rangers!' Kolverox taunted. 'My turn! Silencers, attack! Ka-ka-ka!'
Pressing a button on a red wristband, Kolverox generated a monotonous buzz that uncovered a Silencer sortie, previously blended in with the surrounding flora. There was a new color among them. A green-patterned type, the arms of these Silencers blossomed into wide barrels that radiated with compressed plasma, ready to burst.
'Be careful, rangers,' Ace advised as he drew the V-Sonic Sword. At the same time, Star and Gent phased the Supersonic Baton and Saber respectively. Pyre clutched her Sonar Blaster tighter. Ace went on. 'Remember your training. Observe their movements and strike on each opening.'
'Right,' the Power Rangers replied as one.
Together, they rushed into the fray. The Silencers were quick to open fire on their advance. Ace was the first to leap, the salvos he dodged erupting behind him. He flipped forward, broke into the middle of the alien formation and pressed the attack. Slamming into a Silencer with a wide, upward sword swing, he sent the alien flying. He followed after it with a jumping roundhouse kick and redirected the Silencer at three of its allies, knocking them over. Ace rolled as he landed, blocking a coordinated overhead attack by two Silencers. Still on the defensive, he straightened, putting enough force behind his rise to stagger his opponents, and responded with two consecutive chops, one for each Silencer. Sparks cascaded from their carapace armor as the defeated Silencers collapsed. Ace pressed forward in a steady advance.
The other rangers followed a course similar to Ace's, hopping between Silencers and thinning out their ranks with disciplined strikes. Supersonic Red had informed them as he fought: Dispatching the aliens was top priority until the citizens had fled the scene. Everyone had confirmed his orders. Everyone except for Pyre, who had her eyes on the prize.
'You're not getting away!' Pyre yelled at Kolverox as she sprinted directly at the monstrosity. She made a second attempt to shoot the monster, this time opting for a charge shot. Weaving past the Silencers, but keeping her Sonar Blaster trained at Kolverox, she exploited a blind spot — a gap between two Silencers, just wide enough for the shot to burst through — and fired. Kolverox's reflexes, however, had been honed to an unnatural degree, its oversized head turning sharply as soon as it sensed incoming danger.
'Not so easy, Yellow Ranger! Ka-ka-ka!' Kolverox reached out and stopped the concentrated blast dead on its tracks. Raw energy ground against its skull-beak hands, refusing to disperse.
The monster's defense, however, had not taken into account the ranger's direct involvement. Pyre shifted to the side as she ran, her dash transitioning into a series of cartwheels and backflips that steadily built up momentum. With a cry, Pyre launched herself in the air, did a frontflip and extended her leg, striking the condensed shot with her boot heel. Volatile plasma came apart in a massive explosion that blasted both parties away.
'Rookie!' Star called out to Pyre. 'Oh dear, she's acting reckless again.'
'We need to get to her. Pink, Black, use your new formation,' Ace urged them.
'But,' Star protested, 'we've only really practiced it twice.'
Gent crossed weapons with a Silencer. Its cannon-arm prepared to fire. Gent redirected the shot with a flick of his wrist, effectively controlling the Silencer's aim with his sword's swerve. After the alien had fired at its comrade, Gent grasped the Supersonic Saber with both hands and delivered a heavy slash to his opponent, a blow that produced a streak of sparks and a downed Silencer.
Gent turned to Star. 'Worry not, lady Pink. Trust in our success.'
Star nodded. 'Alright. Let's do it!'
Without a moment's waste, Star vaulted over Gent. The swordsman held out his blade, which Star used as a ramp to propel herself even higher. Gaining a clear view of the entire battlefield, Star tossed the Supersonic Baton in a down-swing arc that produced a mighty spin. The touch of cosmic energy overwhelmed every Silencer the baton struck, forcing them to implode a split second afterwards. When Star landed, the Silencers that once stood between the three Power Rangers and Kolverox were no more.
'Brilliant.' Gent leaned the saber on his shoulder in a moment of repose.
Ace caught up and stood by the Black Supersonic Ranger's side 'Agreed.'
The bird monster's beak snapped open. Light particles gathered, then dispersed in a concentrated beam. Blinding luminescence washed over the child. Brute pressed down on a key and the ray retracted, flowed back inside the creature's oversized beak before it snapped shut. Brute let go. The laser shot out once more.
Brute tapped a three-button sequence and the footage slowed to a crawl. He watched intently as the ray overwhelmed that kid. All the while he made compulsive observations; mental notes. By comparing heights between victim and perpetrator, he had surmised the monster to stand at a little over two meters. On the instance it was supported by an inner skeleton in addition to its outer counterpart, the creature would be naturally heavy. For all that, it still managed to move with a spastic keenness. In order to discharge light from its beak, it would require certain instruments in its tonsils to convert chemical liquid. Its wings appeared to be fixed, the question of functional flight capabilities lingering as a vexing afterthought.
Brute moved away from the monitor. 'I don't get it.' He reclined on his couch, let out a frustrated exhale. 'I've run area scans with x-rays, infrared, ultraviolet, microwaves and the kitchen sink. Could it be that they…' Brute shook his head. He was allowing his mind to be led astray. 'I'm overthinking things. Gotta stay focused. I can't give up. Science has the solution for everything.'
He leaned forward again, thumbing his chin as he did. 'Let's try energy signatures,' he said and typed out the command. The scanner pulsed during fixed intervals while Brute replayed the footage, testing out different frames to zoom in on.
There came a sudden thud from the entrance door, followed by the tapping of hurried footsteps. The animals scattered about Brute's room screeched, cawed and snarled in alarm as movement detection sensors caused the lights overhead to open automatically. The nervous tread came to a halt. Brute spun the chair around to meet the stranger. A Xybrian citizen stood before him, gulping down breaths. Sweat was trickling in heavy droplets from his forehead.
'Sir?' Brute asked, concerned for the man's state.
'You're the Blue Supersonic Ranger, right?' he gasped. 'My name is Reki. Please. Please help me find and bring back Xizi.'
'Brute!' Tensou 5.0's voice sounded from the hall. The blocky robot appeared from behind the hydraulic door shortly after. 'Forgive me! He flew all the way to the Volcanic Base on his Mover! Hey-yo, I tried stopping him but—'
Brute raised a hand to interrupt the robot. 'It's okay, bud. It's all good.' He met Reki's pleading eyes. 'Your kid, Xizi, he was one of the victims, right?' The man nodded. Brute went on. 'Well, don't worry, Reki. The Power Rangers got this. Do you want to take a seat next to me and see what we can...'
Brute's sentence trailed off. He had been distracted by an unfamiliar sight and was not quite sure how to phrase his curiosity.
'Reki? Is this egg yours?' he managed, pointing at the spot of flooring just behind the man. Both Tensou and Reki followed the Blue Supersonic Ranger's finger. An egg, much too big to be considered normal, was rolling towards the man without anything pushing it.
'Hey-yo, I'm experiencing deja-vu, Brute!' Tensou exclaimed.
'I hear you,' Brute agreed. He carefully picked it up. With the egg in his embrace, Brute glanced at his monitor. The footage had paused right before the child was to be swallowed by the light. He looked at the egg again, then pressed his ear on the shell and listened.
'What are you doing?' Reki asked. Brute ignored him. The entirety of his attention was on the egg.
From the edge of his hearing, he could barely make out a whisper. Faintly, it resonated: H… He… Help… M… Me… E...
'Hey-yo, what's wrong, Brute?!'
Brute's head craned back slowly. His cinnamon features had turned pale. 'My goodness,' he breathed. Everything had suddenly made sense.
Pyre and Kolverox clashed.
Locked in a brutal engagement, the Yellow Supersonic Ranger's fists were a blur of movement, flying at the avian monstrosity from every angle. Kolverox had taken to the defensive. It weaved past Pyre's blows with seeming ease, exploiting her wide swings and answering back with skull-faced swipes. The deuce between them broke when one such hit knocked the wind out of Pyre and tossed her back.
'You're weak, ranger! Ka-ka-ka!' the beast taunted her, reveling in Pyre's dire straits.
'Maybe.' Pyre kept a palm pressed on her chest as she struggled to retort. From the corner of her vision, she could make out the distinct red, black and pink shapes of her fellow Power Rangers. She warned them to stand back with an outstretched arm. 'Don't! I got this.'
Star made to ignore her demands, but Ace stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
'Do it,' he said to Pyre.
Assured, the Yellow Ranger turned to face Kolverox. 'This is for the kids. Supersonic Flute!' she called out and the color-coded weapon phased in her grip. 'Let's finish this.'
'I can't wait!' Kolverox jeered.
They started moving, tracing the boundaries of an imaginary ring. The air was heavy with anticipation. As the seconds dragged, Pyre borrowed a page from Brute's book and tried to analyze her opponent. The process was slow and contrasted her stubborn practicality, but through recollection and examination Pyre managed to deduce Kolverox's patterns.
Kolverox struck first with a laser shot from its beak. Pyre rolled, Sonar Blaster still in hand, and unleashed a volley. Kolverox immediately turtled, blocking the projectiles with its wings. Pyre dashed toward the monster, her finger squeezing the trigger.
'Oh no, you don't!' Kolverox cried. The monster spun in place, deflected the last of Pyre's shots and took flight.
The avian beast had played into Pyre's hand. Changing the blaster's setting to charge, Pyre let it build up energy as she flipped forward and fired the blast directly below her. The explosion launched her sky-high, the increased altitude granting her the opportunity to hurl the Supersonic Flute's extension at Kolverox. The ribbon wrapped around the monster's wings and stopped its ascension. Kolverox thrashed, trying to claw at Pyre, but the Yellow Supersonic Ranger answered with two swift kicks to the head. Kolverox was hurled away from her until the ribbon turned taut, the momentum allowing Pyre to swing the monster around in mid-air.
Pyre landed with a feline's grace. Kolverox followed a split second later, slamming to the ground several meters away. With a hop, Pyre turned her back on the alien and struck a victorious pose, while Kolverox was swallowed by an explosive burst.
The Power Rangers regrouped.
'You might have trouble following orders,' Ace began, 'but I can also say that you never cease to amaze us, rookie.'
'You got it, boss!' Pyre managed between heavy breaths.
'Spiffing good work, young lady!' Gent assured her.
'Guys?' Brute's voice sounded from the shared communications channel. The rangers raised the Sonic Morphers close to their faces. 'Hope you haven't finished off the creep just yet.'
Star shook her head. 'No, it's knocked out cold.'
'Courtesy of yours truly,' Pyre smirked behind her helmet.
'Whew,' Brute sighed. He sounded relieved. 'I've made a breakthrough, I think, but I need the bird to confirm it for us.'
'Shall we take it hostage?' Gent turned to Ace.
'Sounds good, Black. Pink, use the Plasma Restraints.' Star nodded. The rangers approached their collapsed opponent. All except for Ace, who had found himself staring down a nearby alleyway. A cloaked figure was standing in the darkness, muttering in a gruff voice. It was as if the phantasm was trying to communicate with Ace; to reach out.
'Boss? Hey, Ace!'
The Red Supersonic Ranger was snapped back to reality. Or rather, Pyre was snapping her fingers right in front of his helmet. 'Wake up, boss, don't daydream,' she huffed. 'The baddie's cuffed, so we need to call the Zords and get going.'
For a split second, Ace could not muster any words. Belatedly, he said: 'Yes, forgive me. Let's go.'
The Yellow Supersonic Ranger landed with a feline's grace.
Kolverox followed precisely two-point-forty-two seconds later. A subtle finger swipe to the left reversed the footage by five-point-thirty-six seconds, replaying the Power Ranger's descent. A tap at the air froze the playback on her victory pose. By distancing the index from the thumb, the image zoomed in on the ranger's toned figure.
A wide smile split the scientist's lips. 'Young. Elegant. Resourceful. Full of untapped potential.' She tilted her head in thought, feeling her lips with the tip of a clawed finger. The grin did not leave her face.
'I want her.'