Disclaimers: Characters are owned not be writer of this particular fan fiction. Please do not sue me for I'm definitely not making any money off of this story and this is for amusement only.
Warning: Rated NC-17 for content and language.
Note: The former rangers have moved on in their lives but are pulled back into the game by a little gift left behind from an old "friend." While they fight for their lives yet again, they learn more about each other.
Age check: Billy, Tommy, Jason, Zack-27. Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Trini, Kimberly-26. Katherine, Tonya-25.
Acknowledgements: This one is for Shawn (Ozmandayus), for all the encouragements he has given me and for inspiring me to do this story with all this great writing. Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Ten – News and More Things
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April 23, 2002 – 4:58 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Conference Room
Warsaw Poland
"I just want to know what the hell happened!!!" Director Jonathan Emmerman was not a happy guy. Half of his team has just been attacked and their best lead to defeating this monster that has caused them no small amount of trouble is currently unconscious.
"Take it easy, Jonathan." Director Richard Ballard's voice was milder but his displeasure was obvious. "Let Agent Hart take a moment to explain things to us."
Kimberly took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. At the moment she was the only one that was in the conference room. The mess from the hour before was just beginning to be cleaned up. Jason was with Trini in her quarters. Tommy and Billy went back to working on the photon cannon. Kat was helping with the wounded since she had first aid training. She wasn't sure where the others were at the moment. The rest of personnel were still either in shock, unconscious or just helping out. It was not a good day for Kimberly.
"Sir, we had one of the creatures attack the base, the science encampment to be exact. Eight scientist dead, 7 agents dead, thirteen wounded in critical condition, and three with mild injuries. Trini is currently passed out in her room. She wasn't hurt and found a way to stop the creature, destroy it even."
"Her formula works?" Emmerman's voice took an excited tone.
"Yes sir, it worked."
"Hot damn!" Ballard would have stood up and danced if it were for the fact that Kimberly sounded so down. "What's wrong?"
"She's the only one that knows the formula at the moment unless we go through the mountain of notes that she's been taking the past two and a half days. And I strongly suspect that we don't have the ingredients that she needs here."
"Why?"
"She asked Eddie….Agent van Bureau for extra supplies before the attack and he's been unable to procure all the necessary things."
Ballard grunted. "Well get him working on it. From this moment on, this is top priority."
Kimberly would have sighed if she could, but she was simply too tired. "Sir, you forgot that we're in a country that's been bombarded with quakes almost three weeks in a roll."
Emmerman picked up a pen and paper from his end. "We'll fly them in. Get Edward to fax us all a copy of the stuff. Better more than not enough."
"Understood." Kimberly rubbed her temples again. She was beginning to develop a headache. "Anything else?"
"Yeah," Ballard sounded rather resigned. "Get some sleep, you sound tired."
"Thank you sir."
"Keep us informed."
Kimberly took a deep breath as she hung up the conference call. All she wanted to do now was have a bath. Her best friend nearly got killed this afternoon. Her head is pounding like nothing she's felt before. This mission has a death toll that's beginning to make the civil war look like a football scrimmage. She can't think of anything that could possibly make her day be any worse.
"Kimmy, there you are." Edward looked as tired as she felt if not more so. The poor man has been running around doing what three people should be doing. "I have some bad news."
"No."
"Sorry, but I do." He put the file down in front of her. "There's been attacks everywhere, in every major city in Poland. We've got the most distance from the center source."
She sighed and said nothing for a moment. "How's Trini's list coming along?"
"Not bad. Not good, but not bad."
"Directors want a copy."
"Which….. Never mind, it's probably both."
"Yep."
"You look tired."
"I am."
"Go to sleep. I'll call you when Trini wakes."
"No, I have to help."
"You need to sleep."
"Edward…."
"Kimberly." He looked at her seriously. "You need to rest. Everything that can be done, is done or are being done. You getting enough sleep to direct this will be work enough."
She smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks."
"Want to hear some good news?"
"Sure."
"The Brazil shipment is finally here."
She groaned.
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April 23, 2002 – 5:03 p.m. Berlin Time
Underground Cavern
Cracow Poland.
Another is gone and it hurt more this time. It was slow to go and it hurt.
Power Rangers. It found Power Rangers. And a Ranger killed it.
Food, he needed food. Must re-energize before going. Must have food.
The runners brought food. They brought food for him to have, to regain his strength. The Power Rangers are around and he shall need more runners and more power. He shall serve well. He shall kill the Power Rangers and be rewarded. Yes, rewarded.
Must restore energy.
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April 23, 2002 – 5:10 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Aisha Campbell's Quarters
Warsaw Poland
"I was so scared." Tanya paced the room with great agitation. "I just looked and Trini was on the ground with that thing pulling her. I can't imagine what she must have been thinking at the time."
Aisha rubbed her arms; she was as cold as ice. "It must have been so frightening for her."
"Frightening?" Tanya turned big brown eyes at her. "I would have been too scared to have thought clearly. But not Trini, she knew enough to get it."
"Yeah!" She was going to have nightmares about that for the rest of her life. "It was awfully brave of her to confront the thing with an untested formula. What if it hadn't worked?"
"Tell me about it!" Tanya sat down on the bed. Her nerves were shot to hell. "Thank goodness for Rocky!" She was improvising now but she thought it was a good idea.
"What about Rocky?" Aisha turned curious eyes at her.
"He was so brave, put himself right in front me." Tanya lied. Rocky had been three steps in front her when they arrived at the scene, but no need for Aisha to know that. "Awfully sweet of him, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it is." She smiled. It was so like Rocky to protect.
"I can certainly use a man like that." Tanya avoided the other girl's suddenly interested eyes. "I mean every girl should have a knight in shining armor right?"
"Yeah, I guess." She wasn't completely too sure she like where this conversation was going. "Rocky has always been a guy that…..that knows to…..protect and serve….." She wasn't sure where she was going with that one.
"Right!" Tanya smiled brightly at her. "I think that's quality that every girl should look for in a guy, don't you?"
"Yeah," Aisha nodded and tried to smile back. "Every girl should have a guy that can take care of her."
"And Rocky certainly is capable."
"Yes." She smiled weakly at her friend.
"What do you think?"
"Of?"
"Rocky?"
"I think……" She faltered. "I think that he's a very good man."
Tanya would have rolled her eyes if she could. "Yes he is." She smiled brightly for Aisha's benefit. "I think I'll go see what the boys are doing. Want to come?"
"No thank you." She tried to smile, really she did.
"Suit yourself." Tanya left feeling like she's accomplished something good.
Aisha felt like she just swallowed a bucket of nails.
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April 23, 2002 – 5:23 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Basement Area
Warsaw Poland
Billy's hand moved across the computer again. "Okay, try it now."
Tommy fired the photon cannon they had built with spare parts from other junk in the basement.
"No, stop." Billy frowned at the machine then at the computer. "Too much positrons. Damn I wish I had my old computer with the adjustment angler mode."
"You are doing great, Billy." Tommy said as he helped Billy place the cannon back on the worktable. "For someone who's putting this together from spare parts, I say you're doing fantastic."
"I had forgotten about the photon cannon until Trini brought it up. It would help disrupt anything with some sort of molecular makeup."
"That's Trini."
"Yes," Billy smiled and readjusted the output meter.
"You still in love with her?" Tommy asked quietly. He had seen Kat coming down the stairs, it was time the truth came out so she could either make her move or get on with her life. She needed that, and he owed her that.
"With who?"
"Trini." Tommy could see the tips of Kat's tennis shoes on the stairway. "Are you still in love with her?"
"No, of course not." Billy looked up at him surprised. "We both know that she belongs with Jason, look at the two of them now."
"But it doesn't mean that you can just turn off your feelings. Hey watch out for the firing mechanism!"
"Thanks. And no, I'm not in love with her anymore." Billy wished that he could find another screwdriver. This one just plain sucked. "You're the second person in so many days to ask me that. Trini and I are friends, I wouldn't risk that for a fling and that's all there would have been between us. We're too alike."
"Okay, whatever you say!" Tommy smiled as Kat's feet disappeared from the staircase.
"So how are things with you and Kimberly."
Tommy sighed. He would have to pick this particular subject won't he? Well, turn about is fair play. "Slow but steady."
"Getting there?"
"Yeah."
"Congratulations. About time!"
"Oh shut up!"
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April 23, 2002 – 6:10 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Dr. Trini Kwan's Quarters
Warsaw Poland
She slept peacefully.
He was a nervous wreck.
Jason will never be able to get the image of her being attacked out of his mind. He's heart died for those precious moments. For as long as he shall live, he will always remember her scream of terror and shout for his safety. His sweet selfless Trini. He could not image life without her.
The groaning from the bed drew him to her side. She blinked slowly against the light and tried to refocus her eyes. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
Silence. All the emotions from fear to horror to relief ran across her face in quick successions. "Oh god, did I get it?"
"Yeah, baby. You got him good." She was shaking again. He leaned over the bed and held her to him. The tightness in which he hugged her showed just how scared he was, no matter his outward show of false bravado. He took in a deep breath and reassured himself that she was safe; she was here in his arms and that's the way it's going to stay.
"Jason?" The tears came in a rush, all the fears came to head and she sobbed them into his shoulder, clutching desperately for reassurance. "God, Jason."
He didn't say a word. Didn't need to say anything but hold her. They were together. They were safe. That was enough.
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April 23, 2002 –12:27 p.m. EST
Kennedy Airport – Third Terminal
New York City New York
"What the heck do they need with titanium reinforced protectors for?"
"Beats me but loaded in anyways."
"Hey Dave, what's liquid enteric?"
"I don't know but it's on this list. Careful guys, half this stuff are chemicals."
"And they're taking it on a concord?"
"Said it was an emergency."
"What's Chlorpyrifos?"
"Why do you ask me when you know I flunked chemistry?"
"Just curious that's all."
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April 23, 2002 – 6:54 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Dr. Trini Kwan's Quarters
Warsaw Poland
"How are you feeling Trini?" Rocky asked as he poured himself some coffee from the food trey that the staff insisted that Trini needed.
"I'm a lot better." Trini answered with a smile.
All the former Rangers were here now. She was getting ready to tell them all she knew. It was difficult since she was having trouble putting all the pieces together herself. But perhaps if she shared, they could help. They were all gathered in Trini's room once Jason had declared that she was not well enough to get out of bed yet. Since she can't seem to stop shaking, it seemed like a good idea.
"Guys, we have a problem."
"Just one?" Zack said from the foot of the bed. "I say we have more than a few if the reports are correct."
"That's part of the problem." Trini explained. "These sudden attacks in the cities, it's cause of us."
"What?"
"Just as the creature attacked the science unit, he seemed to have paused. Like it was smelling, tasting…. detecting something. Me."
Jason held her hand and gave her a quick look of concern. "You better explain."
"It said 'Ranger,' right as it was searching out its target. Then it looked directly at me. Then it said 'Bring.' It came right after me, if I had been just a few more seconds slower, I'm pretty sure it would have grabbed me and lit out underground."
"Is that how they arrived?" Tommy asked. He and Billy had been playing with the rover some. It was time to put it to work. They needed answers.
"Yeah, pop out of the ground like daisies." She reached over for the glass of water on the nightstand. Aisha handed it to her. "Now get this, I think it's just a foot soldier. It's taking orders from someone else."
"Oh great!" Adam sat down on the edge of the bed. "Want to tell us your theory? Cause I know you got one."
She smiled in reaction. "Whatever this thing is, it's stuck underground. These guys that are topside? They're just a little extension of the much larger creature. Like the runners of strawberry plants. They seek out food for the main body."
"Food?" Zack pulled at his collar. "As in….."
"Human flesh." She looked down at her and Jason's linked hands. "I don't think they were taking hostages, they were bring back food for the main creature."
Kimberly shut her eyes. "Why?" She's got to explain all this to someone later; she just knew it.
"Have you noticed that the quakes have increased more frequently? But the center is always the same. The more food, the more quakes, he's digesting. When he moves, the earth does too."
"Oh god."
"Yeah and I think he wants the Power Rangers."
"Yeah?" Kat sat by the side. "Wants us dead?"
"Not yet." Trini moved the blanket aside and show them her leg. The ankle the creature had grabbed hold of her with was bare. "No burn marks. He didn't want to damage me."
The other nodded. "So what now?"
"I'm going to guess that if they can hear it from all the way over here, there is some kind of a connection. So it probably knows that I killed one of its own. So that means we've got to move faster."
The others nodded their agreement.
Kimberly held Trini's hand for a moment. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too."
"Your Brazil shipment is here."
"Good, we can get some things started then." She started to get out of bed. "Billy, let's get that rover in there. I want pictures."
Jason helped her up. "Can you walk?"
"I can try." Trini sighed. "No time for weakness now."
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April 23, 2002 – 7:14 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Science Unit – Or what's left of it
Warsaw Poland
"Can we save any of it?" Trini asked a technician as she eyed a container full of citric silic acids.
"No, it's been contaminated." He looked rather apologetic.
"Thanks." She moved around the area cautiously. Avoiding burnt marks and puddles of blood that stained the grass. People died here only hours before. "I think I have it written down somewhere over here."
"Can we duplicate it?"
"Of course, we just need the ingredients and…." She paused with her head tilted for a second. "Hum….. that might be an idea."
"What is?" Kimberly asked as she picked her way through the mess.
"If I add some …..well, let's just say that I can work with the original formula to development something else now that we know that it works." Trini began to go through massive amounts of paper on the ground near her overturned worktable. "Billy and them are looking at the rover?"
"Yeah, they're hooking the camera up now." Kimberly glanced at a spot on the ground. "Did it hurt?"
"What?"
"Being attacked like that?"
"Couldn't feel anything. I just wanted to get the hell out of there." Trini grinned rather weakly at her. "Then I saw Jason and that he was going to charge into danger. What an idiot!"
Kimberly laughed. It was good to laugh after such a morbid day. Her nap had turned into a series of nightmares. "All men in love are idiots."
She gave her a sly look. "Like Tommy?"
"I don't want to talk about him."
"Kimberly….."
"When this is all over…."
Trini rolled her eyes. "Excuses, excuses…."
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April 23, 2002 – 7:43 p.m. Berlin Time
Underground Cavern
Cracow Poland.
The screaming continued on into the night. The men and women huddled within themselves. They were all strangers with one thing in common; they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, they are in a living nightmare, so horrible that they couldn't even begin to describe it. There was no hope, no choice, no escape. Fear was the aphrodisiac of the day. It ran high and mad among the inhuman creature.
The Power Rangers were the key to his freedom. He would then no longer have to rely on the runner to get what he needed. He would be able to move about and serve. The Power Rangers.
Another, he wanted another. Food was necessary for energy, but did they have to screaming and squirm so much as he ate. Fate has destined them to be part of his return. They need to learn to accept it.
Yes, they needed to accept. Just as the Power Rangers need to accept that their fate was to be destroyed by him. His masters will be pleased. And he shall be rewarded.
Food, more food. More energy. Much more.
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April 23, 2002 – 9:14 p.m. Berlin Time
ISS Warsaw Headquarters – Conference Room
Warsaw Poland
"Show me!" Trini sat on the table and rubbed her eyes. She was tired but the day had not been wasted. She had gotten a lot completed. The first batch of the new Base-Toxikon formula was done. It was stronger cause she had to use substitutes. She was running low on supplies now. If Edward can't come through for her, she was going to be in a real bind.
"Stand back!" Billy activated the rover with ease. "This little thing is know as Red Rover, since it was suppose to be going to Mars. Anyways, it's got duel power so that if the main battery fails, a back up will start. The controls are actually quite simply in design, very much like the toys our parents use to buy us, only with a lot more control. It only gets up to the speed of about 10 miles pre hour. The arms on the thing acts like a test tube. Once it's been activated to collect something, the tube/arm is sealed until replaced. The arms are control by these buttons, completely separated from the main controls. There's a headlight on this thing but it's not too great. Jason and I are going to replace it with something a little stronger. And last but certainly not least; an instant digital replay camera had replaced the original satellite delay camera on this thing. The shots are going to be stream lined to my computer than from that one, it will be passed on to the main frame of the ISS computer in London. Any questions?"
Trini looked at the small machine that resembled the Tonka Toy she once bought her cousin Sophy. "Can it resist the acid from the creature?"
The boys looked at one another. Billy shook his head. "No. We're thought of that."
Trini understood but without it being able to get close enough to take detail shots of where the creature is, it wasn't going to do much good. "How about zoom lens?"
"We're working on it." Billy said as he played with the controls.
Kimberly picked up the phone. "I think our Moscow team may have something for you on that department." She punched in a number. "Franklin, você poderia por favor me conectar ao escritório de Moscou? Obrigada." (Translation: Franklin, will you please connect me to the Moscow office? Thank you."
Aisha and Tanya stared at her. "Where….. Never mind."
Trini grinned rather amused. "You'd be surprised what you have to learn in the ISS."
Jason looked at her rather mildly surprised. "You speak any other language?"
"Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish. I tried to learn Latin but after a while it just got too confusing for me." She shrugged as if it was not too big of an accomplishment.
Billy grinned. "I seem to remember your trying to learn Russian at one point."
"That was in High School and what a mistake that was." She laughed.
"Okay," Kimberly hung up the phone. "The Russians has a spy satellite that they're going to cannibalize for us. It'll give us the extended lens we need plus a few extra things that Trini might want to look at."
Trini looked surprised. "Titanium plating?"
"It's a satellite!" Kimberly grinned.
"Cool!" She smiled and looked at the team before losing her smile. "Now we just have to decide who goes to Cracow."
The others had forgotten that to use Red Rover, they needed to get to the site of the creatures.
Jason sat up in his chair and grabbed Trini's hand. "Trini stays."
She was about to protest when Tommy cut her off. "He's right. You're needed here to over see the formula. Billy stays as well cause he's the main engineer."
Billy shook his head. "No, I need to be there to over see the running of this thing."
"I can do that." Tanya said as she got up. "It's not much different from learning Alpha-5's old programs. You could show me in about an hour's time and I can get it. I know I can."
"I'll go as back up." Adam said as he moved.
"Me too." Zack said as he looked at the others. Everyone's done something to contribute to this team so far but him. "I can help with the protection department."
Tommy nodded. "And I'll go too."
Kimberly frowned. "Okay, so that's Tommy, Adam, Zack, Tanya as the operator and me. I'll get a few troopers to go with us as back up protection."
Tommy frowned. "Wait, why do you have to go?"
"I'm the agent in charge of this mission." Kimberly smiled gently at him.
"But we've been deputized." Adam pointed out when he noticed the slight falter in Tommy's face.
"He's right," Trini pointed out. "Kim, you don't have to go."
"I want to." Kimberly said firmly. "Besides, I know Poland better than everyone else."
Trini smiled gently at her. She knew the real reason Kimberly wanted to go, and he was sitting cross the table from her. "You just don't want to have to deal with the directors when they call in for reports."