Copyright © 2003 PRNS belongs to Buena Vista. Lightning Rangers, Clare,
Rika and this plot is ours!
A/N: Sorry that this took so long to update. Senga - *Jade glares at her* wouldn't write her part. Anyways, its up now.
Mysterio jaq: ever faithful, thanks for the go-back-and-forth we've had. Keep those comments and helpful stuff coming.
Please reeeeview~! Now on with the story.
~~*~~
Blake and Hunter flashed out. Hunter called for his Ninja Glider Cycle.
"NINJA GLIDER CYCLE!"
Hunter got on and gestured for Blake to get on. Blake stopped and spread his hands, "Uh, bro? Where?"
"My bad, hold up." He slid up half a foot and the bar lengthened, splitting into another harness, just the right fit for Blake to slip through.
"Cool."
"Ok, hang on." Hunter revved the gas and pushed the throttle. He raced down the road, and then called, "Ninja Glider bike: Flight mode! Engage!"
Hunter could hear his brother exclaim, "Dude! This is awesome!" He smiled, as his bike transformed into a glider, which now had the two Thunders hanging from the harnesses strapped to the wings of the now-turned-Glider cycle.
Hunter punched in the coordinates given to him by Cam into the Navcomp. "A'right, we're in for a bit of a ride. I suggest you don't look down."
Blake looked down anyway and immediately wished he hadn't. They were flying over miles of blue water. He jerked his head back up, and Hunter turned his head sideways to look at his brother, "Told you," the cocky smirk was obvious through his voice.
Blake glared at his brother through the visor, but didn't say anything. He could see his brother's shoulders slightly shaking as he laughed silently.
~~~~~~~~
The sharp taps of my boots echo through the empty corridor, when a sudden thought halted my steps.
/Where am I going?/
I shrugged slightly and went on aimlessly exploring the ship before I paused to listen, my head cocked slightly to the side as a new set of feet pounded down through the hall, behind me. My tensed, I craned my head to the side so I could just see who ever it was following me.
/Ugh, Marah./
Her soft soled boots thudding on the smooth polished metal floor of the ship. Immediately I turned forward, /Maybe I can ditch her./ I quickened my pace but I still maintained a walk as I stretched my legs farther out to cover more distance. Too late.
"Clare! Wait up!"
Marah called as she strode quickly towards the smaller figure. Seeing as the figure was not about to stop, she stopped and sighed exasperatedly while forming a command that her uncle might use, "Navy Lightning Ranger, hold it!" The order wasn't orthodox but it worked.
Against my will, my feet refuse to obey my brain as I struggled, inwardly. From all appearances, the young Ranger stood stock still as a soldier. I gritted my teeth as Marah caught up to me.
"Phew! For someone so short, you cover ground fast." Marah panted, her hands on her knees as she gathered her breath and composure.
The slight coloring of her cheeks was concealed behind the Ranger's helmet. She forced herself to keep out her irritation from her tone, but the acerbity slipped and was rather prominent, "Strange, for someone so tall, it takes you a while to get around; must be that bird's nest you carry around on your head."
The sarcasm would have to travel high to go over Marah's monstrous headdress.it soared, "I have a question I want you to answer."
/What, do I have a choice?/
"What, do-you want," Clare managed to catch herself, and turned the retort into a question.
Marah stared at the Ranger, tilting her head to the side but her headdress wobbled dangerously, forcing her to put up a hand to steady the massive, whatever. "I- ."
She paused and did not realize that she was backing away until the cold steel of the wall touched her back. Clare had not taken a step anywhere near her. Although she knew that the Ranger could not touch her person, the fact was not all that reassuring. Clare took a few steps forward, closing the distance between the two. The Ranger raised a hand clenched in a fist; Marah flinched.and placed it on the wall that Marah was leaning against, bringing Clare's helmeted head close to Marah's face.
Gathering air into her lungs, Marah prepared herself to give yell for help. With a snap and a hiss of mechanics moving, Clare's face plate split open, revealing the cold, piercing eyes that were hard and dark, the hatred and rage roiling like storm clouds within their brown depths. Boring into Marah's large brown eyes filled with fear as the air caught in her throat. In a low growl, Clare bit off each word as she spoke,
"Spit-it-out."
Terror was in Marah's wide eyes as she stuttered, "I-I-just want-to-know- how Dustin is doing."
A face swam up from the darkness of the teen's mind as the name triggered something in her memory.
"Dustin? Who-he's fine. Why?"
Clare drew back and crossed her arms to hide the slight shaking of her hands as she silently drew deep breaths. She was losing her deadpan expression and knew it, so a snapped her helmet shut. But Clare did not get any reply as she watched the retreating back of Marah as the woman ran down the corridor.
Marah backed away and ran as fast as her legs could carry her back to her room, Lothor, Kapri, anywhere. She didn't care where as long as it was away from that girl's eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~
/Looks like I ain't gonna get an answer./ The Ranger continued to watch despite the fact that Marah had turned around a corner, the thumping of her boots faded until everything was silent once more. Turning, she trudged on, alone and left to brood on her thoughts.
"Who's Dustin," the Ranger asked herself quietly. Another image floated up from the depths, it was blurred. As Clare struggled with the memory, it sharpened to a face that was tanned and with black, cropped hair that stuck out in all directions. /He looks so familiar. I feel like I should know him./
Voices assailed her ears, they were snippets of conversations, conversations that she had in the past. The images now came steadily but were oddly discordant and out of sync with the images. There were people, six of them, the images were now separate scenes, things that they were doing. They continued to float out from the darkness, gathering speed, faster, faster, until they were blurring, but there was a continuity within the stream. There were several colors that were constant.
-Red-Crimson-Yellow-Blue-Green-Navy-
Having stopped a while ago, Clare found herself unmorphed, crouching on her knees, her head clutched in her hands, her jaws clenched together to keep from screaming. Forcing her eyes to open a fraction, Clare brought on hand close to her face. Covering half her hand, her wrist guard had a color panel of navy.with silver trimming. Navy-
"BLAKE!"
Clare screamed; her eyes opened wide and searching. She was back at Ninja Ops, among her friends: Shane, Tori, Dustin, Cam, Hunter and Blake. The Winds were laughing and smiling at a practical joke they played on the Thunders, Blake was cracking up with the Winds. Cam, with his usual sardonic self had his back turned to them but she knew he was smiling all the same. Hunter was frowning, almost scowling, but another person in crimson and black walked in laughing. Walking up to Hunter she hugged him from behind, wrapping her slender muscled arms around his broad shoulders and leaning her head around so that she could see Hunter's face. Hunter's scowl deepened, his mouth moved in the obvious words, "You thought of this, didn't you?" The woman with black hair, smiled mischievously at him, and denied it in a coy manner, before snaking an arm up around Hunter's neck, pulling him down for a long kiss. The Winds and Blake whistled and cheered, while Cam, who had spun around long enough to witness his cousin kissing the cocky bastard, muttering for them to get a room.
/That woman.I know her!/
"Oh, God.Aerie," Clare whispered the name, as the blurred face cleared and could see who it was. Ninja Ops went dark, Clare yelled, reaching out to them-her friends-her family- calling for them to come back.
"No, please, no." Clare was back on the ship, in the nightmare. As she struggled to stand, she felt a pair of strong hands help her to her feet. Looking up, she sprang back with another yell; the hands belonged to a pair of KelzaKs.
She automatically backed into a wall and into a defensive stance, facing the two KelzaKs who had their heads cocked to the side, staring at the Ranger in a confused manner.
Just as Clare was trying to decide whether to run, fight, or just light them like the Rockefeller Center during Christmas time when a sharp sound of boots clicked their way towards the three. The KelzaKs immediately snapped to attention and saluted to the grating voice of Zurgane. Spinning around, the Ranger readied a blast in her fist while keeping her other hand up in guard.
"What are you doing here? Continue with your patrols."
Despite realizing that he was not addressing to her, she kept her electricity ball at the ready. /Ah crap. Three, and if he's capable of knocking out the Winds, I don't wanna think of what he might be able to do to me./
As the two KelzaKs scurried off down to their duties, Zurgane approached Clare with slow and deliberate steps, his hands outstretched to the sides, "Ah you Ranger. There's no need to use that on them two blundering fools. Er-that's not planned to be used on me now, is it?"
"Depends on your intentions, dumbass," was the sharp reply.
"Well, I was just seeing how you were feeling today. After all you just had a bit of a nasty blast and a fall."
"What blast? What fall?"
"Why this one right-here!" With that, he threw an energy beam, catching Clare in the chest.
She felt herself lifted off her feet, her electric shock released from her hand, just missing Zurgane by a fraction but close enough for a bit of the current to travel into him, but not enough to cause much damage.
The blast lifted her off her feet; flying backwards she had no time to brace herself for impact.
*WHAM!*
A cry erupted from her throat when her back slammed into the wall at the end of corridor. With another grunt of pain she landed hard and sprawled on the floor. Struggling to see through the haze of darkness contrasted by bursting bright lights she could see Zurgane in pain from the electric shock. He snarled as he approached the fallen Ranger, "You'll pay for what you did!"
Clare grasped a torch bracket embedded into the wall and pulled herself to her feet, while readying a blast in the other.
"Yeah, with this!" She threw the energy blast at the general.
"Oh, I'm not going to fall for that one again!" Crossing his twin swords he deflected the electricity sphere back at the Ranger. Clare thrust her hand out, towards the ground this time just as the blast struck.
The two powers impacted in a flurry of sparks, expecting to see a prone figure, Zurgane staggered to the end of the hall. When the smoke cleared, he roared as rage coursed through his entire being. Searching up and down the sides of the alley, he heard irregular sharp taps of boots at the end around a corner, receding.
"YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE!!!"
With her back to the cold wall, her breath burned within her chest, she did not waste any breath with a comeback, although that didn't stop her from thinking of one.
/But I won't stop trying./
Quickly glanced the new hall, there were more entrances to alleys and corridors that yawned like a gaping maws. Listening she could hear many feet approaching her corner. At the end of the corridor, a pair of KelzaKs appeared, seeing her they pointed and gaggled to each other. Then charged, their orange-bladed weapons thrusting toward her.
She stood her ground until they were almost directly upon her. Suddenly she stepped forward, ducking under their swiping blades. Whipping her hands to either side, she gave the KelzaKs knife-hand blows to the back of their necks, knocking them to the floor. Not stopping to see her work, she slipped into the closest door, just as multitudes of KelzaKs came pouring through the alleyways. Leaning against the door she sighed in relief, the turning around the air caught in her throat, threatening to choke her.
The room was dark except in the center of the room, with only one source of light that streamed down from an unknown origin above. In the center was a tank full of water, floating within the water, her arms outstretched to the sides held in restraints, an oxygen mask placed over half her face was.Aerie. Her hair floated out in a black halo, the auburn highlights glinting in the piercing bright light starkly contrasting with the wan, pale face.
Clare staggered numbly to Rika, her hand outstretched, reaching for her sister. Aerie's eyes were closed, unable to see Clare's whose eyes were wide and streaming with tears. Her hand touched the glass that was cool to the touch.
Suddenly she pitted her body against the glass, the transparent barrier, all the while screaming her sister's name. She threw bolts of electricity around the room into the darkness.
Finally, with her strength gone, her beaten body devoid of any energy, she sobbed in helpless rage, her head against the cool, apathetic glass; it's touch stung her fevered brow as she kneeled against the side of the tank.
A low chuckling steadily grew into uproarious laughter, bellowing from the depths of malicious intent. Lothor stepped into the light, followed by his henchmen and company.
Clare knew who it was and did not bother to turn. Slowly, she stood, her hand sliding up the ice, stopping when it reached the height of her sister's face. Closing her eyes, she whispered to the prone figure entrapped. With her hand still against the glass, Clare turned to her monster of an uncle. Her eyes were as cold as the glass, devoid of sign of emotion; it would have seemed that they were empty of life were it not for the piercing gaze.
Lothor's henchmen had stopped laughing but Lothor was still smiling that malignant grin.
At an unknown signal from Lothor, Shimazu and Motodrone stepped toward Clare. She almost hesitated in backing away from the two generals. Abruptly they lunged at her, Clare leaped away from the golden claws and Shimazu's leering Kabuki masked face.
Arms sheathed in metal, wrapped themselves tightly around her, cutting off her breath. Their grip shifted, one hand grasping her arm and twisting it behind, the other arm encircled her neck while a foot kicked the back of knee, making her fall to her knees. Any chance of escape was out of the question; she was too tired and beaten to even struggle.
A cultured, metallic voice murmured so low that only she could hear, "Weak are we? Well, I have just the thing for an energy boost. It'll make you a whole new person. Hahaha! May I have the honor sir?"
Lothor lifted a hand to his chin as he considered the matter for a second or two. He then nodded, the grin spreading even more widely than before, "Of course, Vexacus! Carry on my general."
Suddenly a sharp pain pierced lanced through her neck and throughout her head. Her body stiffened, she did not notice the grip tightening as a stifled scream escaped through her clenched teeth. As abruptly the pain had occurred, the pain had stopped, a sensation as if someone had poured water over her head sloughed throughout her body.
Vexacus released her when the struggling stopped and stepped back. The Ranger stood, her was head lowered, her face concealed. Now she raised it, with her eyes closed she rolled her head to one side resulting in a few muffled cracks before straightening again. Slowly she opened her eyes.
They were black as night, a malicious gleam sparked within. A smile played upon her lips, before it slipped into a real grin that was closer to a snarl.
"You were right, General Vexacus. I do feel like a new person, or maybe- Ranger-would be more accurate."
Lothor threw his head back in triumphant laughter while the new Ranger stood next the tank. She crossed her arms and smirked, she did not glance at the tank followed Lothor, the evil parade following behind as they exited the chamber.
The door slid shut, leaving the ethereal woman floating in the surreal atmosphere of swirling waters.
A/N: Sorry that this took so long to update. Senga - *Jade glares at her* wouldn't write her part. Anyways, its up now.
Mysterio jaq: ever faithful, thanks for the go-back-and-forth we've had. Keep those comments and helpful stuff coming.
Please reeeeview~! Now on with the story.
~~*~~
Blake and Hunter flashed out. Hunter called for his Ninja Glider Cycle.
"NINJA GLIDER CYCLE!"
Hunter got on and gestured for Blake to get on. Blake stopped and spread his hands, "Uh, bro? Where?"
"My bad, hold up." He slid up half a foot and the bar lengthened, splitting into another harness, just the right fit for Blake to slip through.
"Cool."
"Ok, hang on." Hunter revved the gas and pushed the throttle. He raced down the road, and then called, "Ninja Glider bike: Flight mode! Engage!"
Hunter could hear his brother exclaim, "Dude! This is awesome!" He smiled, as his bike transformed into a glider, which now had the two Thunders hanging from the harnesses strapped to the wings of the now-turned-Glider cycle.
Hunter punched in the coordinates given to him by Cam into the Navcomp. "A'right, we're in for a bit of a ride. I suggest you don't look down."
Blake looked down anyway and immediately wished he hadn't. They were flying over miles of blue water. He jerked his head back up, and Hunter turned his head sideways to look at his brother, "Told you," the cocky smirk was obvious through his voice.
Blake glared at his brother through the visor, but didn't say anything. He could see his brother's shoulders slightly shaking as he laughed silently.
~~~~~~~~
The sharp taps of my boots echo through the empty corridor, when a sudden thought halted my steps.
/Where am I going?/
I shrugged slightly and went on aimlessly exploring the ship before I paused to listen, my head cocked slightly to the side as a new set of feet pounded down through the hall, behind me. My tensed, I craned my head to the side so I could just see who ever it was following me.
/Ugh, Marah./
Her soft soled boots thudding on the smooth polished metal floor of the ship. Immediately I turned forward, /Maybe I can ditch her./ I quickened my pace but I still maintained a walk as I stretched my legs farther out to cover more distance. Too late.
"Clare! Wait up!"
Marah called as she strode quickly towards the smaller figure. Seeing as the figure was not about to stop, she stopped and sighed exasperatedly while forming a command that her uncle might use, "Navy Lightning Ranger, hold it!" The order wasn't orthodox but it worked.
Against my will, my feet refuse to obey my brain as I struggled, inwardly. From all appearances, the young Ranger stood stock still as a soldier. I gritted my teeth as Marah caught up to me.
"Phew! For someone so short, you cover ground fast." Marah panted, her hands on her knees as she gathered her breath and composure.
The slight coloring of her cheeks was concealed behind the Ranger's helmet. She forced herself to keep out her irritation from her tone, but the acerbity slipped and was rather prominent, "Strange, for someone so tall, it takes you a while to get around; must be that bird's nest you carry around on your head."
The sarcasm would have to travel high to go over Marah's monstrous headdress.it soared, "I have a question I want you to answer."
/What, do I have a choice?/
"What, do-you want," Clare managed to catch herself, and turned the retort into a question.
Marah stared at the Ranger, tilting her head to the side but her headdress wobbled dangerously, forcing her to put up a hand to steady the massive, whatever. "I- ."
She paused and did not realize that she was backing away until the cold steel of the wall touched her back. Clare had not taken a step anywhere near her. Although she knew that the Ranger could not touch her person, the fact was not all that reassuring. Clare took a few steps forward, closing the distance between the two. The Ranger raised a hand clenched in a fist; Marah flinched.and placed it on the wall that Marah was leaning against, bringing Clare's helmeted head close to Marah's face.
Gathering air into her lungs, Marah prepared herself to give yell for help. With a snap and a hiss of mechanics moving, Clare's face plate split open, revealing the cold, piercing eyes that were hard and dark, the hatred and rage roiling like storm clouds within their brown depths. Boring into Marah's large brown eyes filled with fear as the air caught in her throat. In a low growl, Clare bit off each word as she spoke,
"Spit-it-out."
Terror was in Marah's wide eyes as she stuttered, "I-I-just want-to-know- how Dustin is doing."
A face swam up from the darkness of the teen's mind as the name triggered something in her memory.
"Dustin? Who-he's fine. Why?"
Clare drew back and crossed her arms to hide the slight shaking of her hands as she silently drew deep breaths. She was losing her deadpan expression and knew it, so a snapped her helmet shut. But Clare did not get any reply as she watched the retreating back of Marah as the woman ran down the corridor.
Marah backed away and ran as fast as her legs could carry her back to her room, Lothor, Kapri, anywhere. She didn't care where as long as it was away from that girl's eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~
/Looks like I ain't gonna get an answer./ The Ranger continued to watch despite the fact that Marah had turned around a corner, the thumping of her boots faded until everything was silent once more. Turning, she trudged on, alone and left to brood on her thoughts.
"Who's Dustin," the Ranger asked herself quietly. Another image floated up from the depths, it was blurred. As Clare struggled with the memory, it sharpened to a face that was tanned and with black, cropped hair that stuck out in all directions. /He looks so familiar. I feel like I should know him./
Voices assailed her ears, they were snippets of conversations, conversations that she had in the past. The images now came steadily but were oddly discordant and out of sync with the images. There were people, six of them, the images were now separate scenes, things that they were doing. They continued to float out from the darkness, gathering speed, faster, faster, until they were blurring, but there was a continuity within the stream. There were several colors that were constant.
-Red-Crimson-Yellow-Blue-Green-Navy-
Having stopped a while ago, Clare found herself unmorphed, crouching on her knees, her head clutched in her hands, her jaws clenched together to keep from screaming. Forcing her eyes to open a fraction, Clare brought on hand close to her face. Covering half her hand, her wrist guard had a color panel of navy.with silver trimming. Navy-
"BLAKE!"
Clare screamed; her eyes opened wide and searching. She was back at Ninja Ops, among her friends: Shane, Tori, Dustin, Cam, Hunter and Blake. The Winds were laughing and smiling at a practical joke they played on the Thunders, Blake was cracking up with the Winds. Cam, with his usual sardonic self had his back turned to them but she knew he was smiling all the same. Hunter was frowning, almost scowling, but another person in crimson and black walked in laughing. Walking up to Hunter she hugged him from behind, wrapping her slender muscled arms around his broad shoulders and leaning her head around so that she could see Hunter's face. Hunter's scowl deepened, his mouth moved in the obvious words, "You thought of this, didn't you?" The woman with black hair, smiled mischievously at him, and denied it in a coy manner, before snaking an arm up around Hunter's neck, pulling him down for a long kiss. The Winds and Blake whistled and cheered, while Cam, who had spun around long enough to witness his cousin kissing the cocky bastard, muttering for them to get a room.
/That woman.I know her!/
"Oh, God.Aerie," Clare whispered the name, as the blurred face cleared and could see who it was. Ninja Ops went dark, Clare yelled, reaching out to them-her friends-her family- calling for them to come back.
"No, please, no." Clare was back on the ship, in the nightmare. As she struggled to stand, she felt a pair of strong hands help her to her feet. Looking up, she sprang back with another yell; the hands belonged to a pair of KelzaKs.
She automatically backed into a wall and into a defensive stance, facing the two KelzaKs who had their heads cocked to the side, staring at the Ranger in a confused manner.
Just as Clare was trying to decide whether to run, fight, or just light them like the Rockefeller Center during Christmas time when a sharp sound of boots clicked their way towards the three. The KelzaKs immediately snapped to attention and saluted to the grating voice of Zurgane. Spinning around, the Ranger readied a blast in her fist while keeping her other hand up in guard.
"What are you doing here? Continue with your patrols."
Despite realizing that he was not addressing to her, she kept her electricity ball at the ready. /Ah crap. Three, and if he's capable of knocking out the Winds, I don't wanna think of what he might be able to do to me./
As the two KelzaKs scurried off down to their duties, Zurgane approached Clare with slow and deliberate steps, his hands outstretched to the sides, "Ah you Ranger. There's no need to use that on them two blundering fools. Er-that's not planned to be used on me now, is it?"
"Depends on your intentions, dumbass," was the sharp reply.
"Well, I was just seeing how you were feeling today. After all you just had a bit of a nasty blast and a fall."
"What blast? What fall?"
"Why this one right-here!" With that, he threw an energy beam, catching Clare in the chest.
She felt herself lifted off her feet, her electric shock released from her hand, just missing Zurgane by a fraction but close enough for a bit of the current to travel into him, but not enough to cause much damage.
The blast lifted her off her feet; flying backwards she had no time to brace herself for impact.
*WHAM!*
A cry erupted from her throat when her back slammed into the wall at the end of corridor. With another grunt of pain she landed hard and sprawled on the floor. Struggling to see through the haze of darkness contrasted by bursting bright lights she could see Zurgane in pain from the electric shock. He snarled as he approached the fallen Ranger, "You'll pay for what you did!"
Clare grasped a torch bracket embedded into the wall and pulled herself to her feet, while readying a blast in the other.
"Yeah, with this!" She threw the energy blast at the general.
"Oh, I'm not going to fall for that one again!" Crossing his twin swords he deflected the electricity sphere back at the Ranger. Clare thrust her hand out, towards the ground this time just as the blast struck.
The two powers impacted in a flurry of sparks, expecting to see a prone figure, Zurgane staggered to the end of the hall. When the smoke cleared, he roared as rage coursed through his entire being. Searching up and down the sides of the alley, he heard irregular sharp taps of boots at the end around a corner, receding.
"YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE!!!"
With her back to the cold wall, her breath burned within her chest, she did not waste any breath with a comeback, although that didn't stop her from thinking of one.
/But I won't stop trying./
Quickly glanced the new hall, there were more entrances to alleys and corridors that yawned like a gaping maws. Listening she could hear many feet approaching her corner. At the end of the corridor, a pair of KelzaKs appeared, seeing her they pointed and gaggled to each other. Then charged, their orange-bladed weapons thrusting toward her.
She stood her ground until they were almost directly upon her. Suddenly she stepped forward, ducking under their swiping blades. Whipping her hands to either side, she gave the KelzaKs knife-hand blows to the back of their necks, knocking them to the floor. Not stopping to see her work, she slipped into the closest door, just as multitudes of KelzaKs came pouring through the alleyways. Leaning against the door she sighed in relief, the turning around the air caught in her throat, threatening to choke her.
The room was dark except in the center of the room, with only one source of light that streamed down from an unknown origin above. In the center was a tank full of water, floating within the water, her arms outstretched to the sides held in restraints, an oxygen mask placed over half her face was.Aerie. Her hair floated out in a black halo, the auburn highlights glinting in the piercing bright light starkly contrasting with the wan, pale face.
Clare staggered numbly to Rika, her hand outstretched, reaching for her sister. Aerie's eyes were closed, unable to see Clare's whose eyes were wide and streaming with tears. Her hand touched the glass that was cool to the touch.
Suddenly she pitted her body against the glass, the transparent barrier, all the while screaming her sister's name. She threw bolts of electricity around the room into the darkness.
Finally, with her strength gone, her beaten body devoid of any energy, she sobbed in helpless rage, her head against the cool, apathetic glass; it's touch stung her fevered brow as she kneeled against the side of the tank.
A low chuckling steadily grew into uproarious laughter, bellowing from the depths of malicious intent. Lothor stepped into the light, followed by his henchmen and company.
Clare knew who it was and did not bother to turn. Slowly, she stood, her hand sliding up the ice, stopping when it reached the height of her sister's face. Closing her eyes, she whispered to the prone figure entrapped. With her hand still against the glass, Clare turned to her monster of an uncle. Her eyes were as cold as the glass, devoid of sign of emotion; it would have seemed that they were empty of life were it not for the piercing gaze.
Lothor's henchmen had stopped laughing but Lothor was still smiling that malignant grin.
At an unknown signal from Lothor, Shimazu and Motodrone stepped toward Clare. She almost hesitated in backing away from the two generals. Abruptly they lunged at her, Clare leaped away from the golden claws and Shimazu's leering Kabuki masked face.
Arms sheathed in metal, wrapped themselves tightly around her, cutting off her breath. Their grip shifted, one hand grasping her arm and twisting it behind, the other arm encircled her neck while a foot kicked the back of knee, making her fall to her knees. Any chance of escape was out of the question; she was too tired and beaten to even struggle.
A cultured, metallic voice murmured so low that only she could hear, "Weak are we? Well, I have just the thing for an energy boost. It'll make you a whole new person. Hahaha! May I have the honor sir?"
Lothor lifted a hand to his chin as he considered the matter for a second or two. He then nodded, the grin spreading even more widely than before, "Of course, Vexacus! Carry on my general."
Suddenly a sharp pain pierced lanced through her neck and throughout her head. Her body stiffened, she did not notice the grip tightening as a stifled scream escaped through her clenched teeth. As abruptly the pain had occurred, the pain had stopped, a sensation as if someone had poured water over her head sloughed throughout her body.
Vexacus released her when the struggling stopped and stepped back. The Ranger stood, her was head lowered, her face concealed. Now she raised it, with her eyes closed she rolled her head to one side resulting in a few muffled cracks before straightening again. Slowly she opened her eyes.
They were black as night, a malicious gleam sparked within. A smile played upon her lips, before it slipped into a real grin that was closer to a snarl.
"You were right, General Vexacus. I do feel like a new person, or maybe- Ranger-would be more accurate."
Lothor threw his head back in triumphant laughter while the new Ranger stood next the tank. She crossed her arms and smirked, she did not glance at the tank followed Lothor, the evil parade following behind as they exited the chamber.
The door slid shut, leaving the ethereal woman floating in the surreal atmosphere of swirling waters.