Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's note: Thank you to Nalanzu for once again checking this over, and again, any mistakes are mine, not hers.
Another Time and Place
By Smittysgirl
Part 6
Trent walked cautiously down the city street to where he was making his home. As he'd tried to tell Dr. T, it wasn't safe for him there. It wasn't safe for anyone to be with him.
Which, of course, meant that his home was an abandoned warehouse out on the reaches of the city.
Trent pried open the rusted truck port, sliding under the door and making his way to the administrative offices. His cot and hot plate weren't quite on par with the Mercer Estate's amenities, but they kept him alive long enough to fight against Mesogog.
Trent didn't like to think about what stopping Mesogog would entail for either himself or his father.
He didn't like to think about a lot of things, nowadays, least of all the monster his father had become. It was bad enough that he, himself, had become a monster, ever since his father had forcibly introduced him to the White Gem.
Tossing off his shirt, Trent washed a day's worth of soot and sweat from his face, wincing at the ice cold water. Despite the temperature during the day, it could get bitterly cold in northern California at night.
Trent idly wondered if he might be able to rig up a functional water heater. It wouldn't provide him with a shower, but it would be better than this.
Anything, sometimes, would be better than this.
But he had to fight. Dr. Smitty was right, on that one thing. Now if the man only understood what a danger Trent was to everyone, so much the better.
To save him, to save the others, Trent could only hide, and hope nobody looked too closely at him.
The rusty screech of the garage door sent Trent's danger sense into overdrive. He threw his shirt back on, and cautiously remolecularized his morpher before slipping out of the office and into the heavy shadows of the warehouse.
"Trent?" came a harrowed voice.
Trent moved cautiously towards the voice, not daring to speak for fear that the visitor was Mesogog. Or somebody else. He wasn't always sure of the difference, nowadays.
"Trent? Son, it's me. I swear, it's me."
The young man flinched, knowing only too well the beast underneath his father's skin. His fingers caressed the tab on his Dragomorpher.
"This is where Mesogog has figured you're hiding. He's been running constant sensor sweeps. He's even begun to rig the sewer system with trip lasers. I had to warn you before he took control again ..."
"He really wants me bad," Trent said softly.
Trent could see his father wince in the pale moonlight. "More than you can imagine," he murmured. "I wish ... I wish I could tear it all out of me, son. My love for you, it's all knotted up in him. But you have to stay strong. Mesogog isn't me. You can't treat him any differently because we share this body."
"Even though he still thinks he loves me... in his own way."
"If you hadn't become a Ranger, son, I think your next stop would have been stasis."
He tried in vain not to think of what that might entail. "Dad, we'll find a way. Dr. T knows, he's working on an antidote."
The older man shook his head. "No, no matter how much you run, eventually you'll have to face me. Face him."
He looked up, his eyes set and determined. Trent knew that look from countless board meetings he'd sat in on. A look the reptilian side of Anton Mercer had gladly taken as its own when it began manifesting control over his human body. "It could all be over, son. One blow in this form would finish me."
"Dad...." Trent breathed. "You know I can't murder my own father!"
Mercer held up his left hand, already pulsating with a strange energy. "I can't hold him back forever. If my death is the cost of destroying Mesogog, I'll take it. I'm asking you this as your father. SAVE me."
"Dad!"
"Trent. Focus!"
Trent ran.
His feet barely hit the ground as he made his way out of the warehouse and down labyrinthian alleyways. The world began to blur together as he bobbed and weaved, trying to stay one step ahead of the screams.
Oh God, the screams...
He'd had them every night, heard them every night, ever since his father had saved him. He wished that they would go away... and again, it was rapidly becoming apparent that once the whole battle was done, he should seek to be away from this life.
An explosion of light erupted in front of him, revealing Mesogog's chief general and the man Trent had nearly supplanted for a time. The backlash sent Trent careening backwards, overturning a trashcan.
"You should know better then to disobey your father, whelp." Zeltrax snarled.
"Zeltrax," Trent snarled back. He triggered his morpher, knowing better than to try to fight his father's general in civilian form.
The White Ranger shot forward, his Dragosword slamming into Zeltrax's wrist with all of his strength. The cyborg cried out, dropping his axe and pivoting to avoid the rest of the blow.
Trent took advantage, swinging the sword up, aiming to put Zeltrax off balance... at least enough to get out of there.
The tip of his blade slid between the armor plates separating Zeltrax's torso from his helmet. The cyborg made an odd gurgling sound, and electrical current shot out from the sword's point of entry.
Trent jerked backwards, dislodging the sword and shooting a spray of something black and horrible smelling all over.
The general looked at him goggle-eyed for a moment, stumbling forward and collapsing in a heap.
Trent stumbled back, and ran.
Ethan was one of those people who liked computers more than he liked people.
It wasn't that he hated people, and it wasn't that he was antisocial. Ethan liked the immediacy of computers. The meticulous way a piece of good hardware and reliable software melded together to produce something greater than the sum of their parts.
He liked the way a computer elevated him, and those like-minded individuals, to a higher plateau than they might reach without them. Even conversations online were more dense, more thoughtful than those he might have in the real world.
That, perhaps, was what attracted him to Cassidy. Her net persona was so thoughtful and detached, so unconcerned by the trappings of high school which seemed to consume every making moment of her real life.
It was what had led him to be with her. What had brought both her and Devin into their circle.Looking up from his work table, Ethan saw it was nearly midnight. Though he'd have been happy to keep working until the wee early hours of the morn and simply conk out in the middle of PE, he suspected Principal Randall wouldn't give him a pass just because he was fulfilling most of his educational requirements off school grounds.
With a sigh he stopped his experiments, scooting his chair across the floor and preparing to log his main computer offline.
His efforts were stopped by his computer beeping, the result of a continual monitoring of USENET. Clearly, somebody had mentioned his team. An additional beep showed that he had a new email message.
Checking the 'bot first, Ethan relaxed. Most of his monitoring took place in soc.power-rangers, the internet's premiere Power Rangers community and the only place he knew of gather intelligence - such as any existed online. This post, however, was simply an allusion in soc.vampires.sightings to how obvious a vampire would have to be before people began taking notice.
Satisfied that the 'bot had found nothing important, he turned to the email. This was one of his other monitoring activities - email lists devoted to him and his fellow superheroes.
He was pleasantly surprised to see the letter was actually from a friendly associate of his, though one as was so often the case lately, from the ranger monitoring attempts. Samurai Cam was one of the more vocal participants in the ranger USENET group, often making long and complicated theories drawing on what was publicly known about the various teams. It was Samurai Cam who most strongly insisted the Space Rangers had not been the original team of Rangers, drawing on tenuous information that even Ethan found suspect.
Of course, since he'd become a superhero, things were easier to believe than ever. After all, of course, who was dating Cassidy Cornell, reporter? Who was friends - more or less - with Conner McKnight?
Cuing up the email, Ethan was pleasantly surprised. Cam had foregone business for a change, and was advising him on possible ways to deal with his blooming relationship.
Ethan shook his head. He'd been feeling pretty desperate when he'd written that letter, he'd have never told someone like Cam about his relationship with Cassidy unless he was really at his wit's end.
He had the feeling, after reading the email, that Cam had done this before. At least the guy wasn't snarky, like he sometimes tended to get with other posters.
Ethan sent a correspondence back to Cam, thanking him for the advice. At least he didn't feel that stupid asking a complete stranger. Dr. T was pretty clueless in the romance department, Trent was... not a happy camper, Conner was insane, and Devin... he felt like he was taking Devin's girl away, so he couldn't ask the Triassic ranger.
It wasn't even like he could ask Kira, knowing how strained the girl already was romantically in her life. Ethan hated to see his friend in so much pain, but he also knew they had to take happiness wherever they could find it.
He only hoped Kira would find it soon, before she paid a higher price than the rest of them.
Cassidy relaxed on her cot in Kira's room. Devin had gone home hours earlier, after dinner, and Cass had stayed, after securing permission from her mother. She sensed that the Yellow Ranger needed the support, especially with the whole thing with Trent and Conner going on.
She herself was so lucky to know Ethan. Sure, he was the King of all Computer Geeks, but he was kinda fun once you got to know him. And him in his armor.... Cassidy nearly swooned at the thought.
Kira looked across the room, her brow scrunching. "Are you sure you wouldn't like the bed? Seriously, half the time I end up asleep on a heap of old clothes."
Cassidy bit back a smile. The smaller girl really didn't keep company that often.
"I'll be fine, Kira. You must be tired, after today." Devin had been frequently exhausted after becoming the Triassic Ranger... in fact, she'd had to call him once or twice to wake him up for school. She bet that Kira and the others slept like the bed... or at least most of them did. She was willing to bet that Trent had nightmares, given how tired and scared he looked most of the time.
Kira harumphed, pulling her arms behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. "I wish I was. I haven't slept well in months. I get thirty minute periods off and on."
"I'm glad I'm not a Ranger," Cassidy said. "I mean, being a reporter sounds so much more glorious, you know?"
Kira nodded. "There's a lot more recognition with it, certainly. You have more personal weight to throw behind causes, too. Just think, you could have a Cassidy Cornell Invitational tourney for your pet charities. If I want to release an album, I can't exactly put Yellow Ranger on my resume and get a contract."
"Not unless you want Dr. T killing you first," Cassidy observed wryly.
"Yeah, and I kinda don't want to become famous, like the Space Rangers were," Kira said. "I want to be judged on my own merits."
Cassidy nodded. "You want to have your personal life ripped away from you because you're a world famous singer, right?"
Kira laughed, leaning over the edge of the bed so they could make eye contact. "You know, I really don't want to be a superstar. I want to be reasonably famous doing what I love, and go home every night to a family that loves me."
Cassidy sighed. "I kinda want to be the same way. I mean, I like being a reporter. I'd love to be a star. But... not that way."
"Exactly," Kira said. "That's why I'm glad to just be Kira by day and the Yellow Ranger by battle."
Cassidy chewed her lip for a moment. Kira had put so much more thought into celebrity and what it meant than she had. All Cass had ever wanted was to be appreciated for the work she did. Was that enough? Was that a noble enough reason to become a reporter?
"How did it feel," she said suddenly, "to realize Kylee didn't have the same dreams as you? What did you think of her for - um, selling out?"
"I was crushed," Kira told her thoughtfully. "Told myself that I never wanted to be that way, to be so... shallow. Sure, I dream of getting a record deal... but I think I've realized there are things far more important. Even though it sometimes means getting hurt by those I love."
"Would you give it all up?" Cass wondered aloud. "If it meant saving the world, would you put down the guitar forever?"
Kira sighed. "I don't know."
Cassidy slid out of the cot, making her way over to Kira's bed and plopping down beside her. She nervously embraced the smaller girl. "I'm sorry," she stammered. "I just - I'm not like you. I'm not good, or noble, or altruistic. I so want to understand, you know? I want to help you so much."
"Cassidy, I'm not... I thought it was a joke, when Dr. T came across us and told us about what had happened. I never felt less like a superhero in my life. But yet, I'm still here...."
Cass shook her head, pulling the girl tighter. "It's not true. You're all so innately decent. You think about others, and you don't get afraid... I can't be like you, and I feel like a fifth wheel for acting like I can."
"At least Dr. T didn't almost call the cops on you, for walking into his underground lair," Kira told her, smiling slightly.
Cass giggled. "You must have given him quite a shock, dropping in unannounced and with no idea as to your identities. I hope for your sake you didn't mention Dr. Mercer?"
"No, just that it was an accident, and that... well, I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't picked up the gems. I'm just glad Conner got kidnapped after that or things would have gotten bloody...."
Kira tensed, her mind obviously going back to when they'd freed Conner from Mesogog's control - and unwittingly given Dr. T his Black Ranger powers. Cassidy felt like kicking herself for opening such a sore wound, and held the smaller girl tighter.
The last thing Cass would ever want was to hurt Kira. She was so strong and self-possessed and decent. She was everything Cassidy wanted to be, everything she wanted ... wanted ... Cassidy swallowed and held Kira even tighter.
To be continued.
Author's note: Thank you to Nalanzu for once again checking this over, and again, any mistakes are mine, not hers.
Another Time and Place
By Smittysgirl
Part 6
Trent walked cautiously down the city street to where he was making his home. As he'd tried to tell Dr. T, it wasn't safe for him there. It wasn't safe for anyone to be with him.
Which, of course, meant that his home was an abandoned warehouse out on the reaches of the city.
Trent pried open the rusted truck port, sliding under the door and making his way to the administrative offices. His cot and hot plate weren't quite on par with the Mercer Estate's amenities, but they kept him alive long enough to fight against Mesogog.
Trent didn't like to think about what stopping Mesogog would entail for either himself or his father.
He didn't like to think about a lot of things, nowadays, least of all the monster his father had become. It was bad enough that he, himself, had become a monster, ever since his father had forcibly introduced him to the White Gem.
Tossing off his shirt, Trent washed a day's worth of soot and sweat from his face, wincing at the ice cold water. Despite the temperature during the day, it could get bitterly cold in northern California at night.
Trent idly wondered if he might be able to rig up a functional water heater. It wouldn't provide him with a shower, but it would be better than this.
Anything, sometimes, would be better than this.
But he had to fight. Dr. Smitty was right, on that one thing. Now if the man only understood what a danger Trent was to everyone, so much the better.
To save him, to save the others, Trent could only hide, and hope nobody looked too closely at him.
The rusty screech of the garage door sent Trent's danger sense into overdrive. He threw his shirt back on, and cautiously remolecularized his morpher before slipping out of the office and into the heavy shadows of the warehouse.
"Trent?" came a harrowed voice.
Trent moved cautiously towards the voice, not daring to speak for fear that the visitor was Mesogog. Or somebody else. He wasn't always sure of the difference, nowadays.
"Trent? Son, it's me. I swear, it's me."
The young man flinched, knowing only too well the beast underneath his father's skin. His fingers caressed the tab on his Dragomorpher.
"This is where Mesogog has figured you're hiding. He's been running constant sensor sweeps. He's even begun to rig the sewer system with trip lasers. I had to warn you before he took control again ..."
"He really wants me bad," Trent said softly.
Trent could see his father wince in the pale moonlight. "More than you can imagine," he murmured. "I wish ... I wish I could tear it all out of me, son. My love for you, it's all knotted up in him. But you have to stay strong. Mesogog isn't me. You can't treat him any differently because we share this body."
"Even though he still thinks he loves me... in his own way."
"If you hadn't become a Ranger, son, I think your next stop would have been stasis."
He tried in vain not to think of what that might entail. "Dad, we'll find a way. Dr. T knows, he's working on an antidote."
The older man shook his head. "No, no matter how much you run, eventually you'll have to face me. Face him."
He looked up, his eyes set and determined. Trent knew that look from countless board meetings he'd sat in on. A look the reptilian side of Anton Mercer had gladly taken as its own when it began manifesting control over his human body. "It could all be over, son. One blow in this form would finish me."
"Dad...." Trent breathed. "You know I can't murder my own father!"
Mercer held up his left hand, already pulsating with a strange energy. "I can't hold him back forever. If my death is the cost of destroying Mesogog, I'll take it. I'm asking you this as your father. SAVE me."
"Dad!"
"Trent. Focus!"
Trent ran.
His feet barely hit the ground as he made his way out of the warehouse and down labyrinthian alleyways. The world began to blur together as he bobbed and weaved, trying to stay one step ahead of the screams.
Oh God, the screams...
He'd had them every night, heard them every night, ever since his father had saved him. He wished that they would go away... and again, it was rapidly becoming apparent that once the whole battle was done, he should seek to be away from this life.
An explosion of light erupted in front of him, revealing Mesogog's chief general and the man Trent had nearly supplanted for a time. The backlash sent Trent careening backwards, overturning a trashcan.
"You should know better then to disobey your father, whelp." Zeltrax snarled.
"Zeltrax," Trent snarled back. He triggered his morpher, knowing better than to try to fight his father's general in civilian form.
The White Ranger shot forward, his Dragosword slamming into Zeltrax's wrist with all of his strength. The cyborg cried out, dropping his axe and pivoting to avoid the rest of the blow.
Trent took advantage, swinging the sword up, aiming to put Zeltrax off balance... at least enough to get out of there.
The tip of his blade slid between the armor plates separating Zeltrax's torso from his helmet. The cyborg made an odd gurgling sound, and electrical current shot out from the sword's point of entry.
Trent jerked backwards, dislodging the sword and shooting a spray of something black and horrible smelling all over.
The general looked at him goggle-eyed for a moment, stumbling forward and collapsing in a heap.
Trent stumbled back, and ran.
Ethan was one of those people who liked computers more than he liked people.
It wasn't that he hated people, and it wasn't that he was antisocial. Ethan liked the immediacy of computers. The meticulous way a piece of good hardware and reliable software melded together to produce something greater than the sum of their parts.
He liked the way a computer elevated him, and those like-minded individuals, to a higher plateau than they might reach without them. Even conversations online were more dense, more thoughtful than those he might have in the real world.
That, perhaps, was what attracted him to Cassidy. Her net persona was so thoughtful and detached, so unconcerned by the trappings of high school which seemed to consume every making moment of her real life.
It was what had led him to be with her. What had brought both her and Devin into their circle.Looking up from his work table, Ethan saw it was nearly midnight. Though he'd have been happy to keep working until the wee early hours of the morn and simply conk out in the middle of PE, he suspected Principal Randall wouldn't give him a pass just because he was fulfilling most of his educational requirements off school grounds.
With a sigh he stopped his experiments, scooting his chair across the floor and preparing to log his main computer offline.
His efforts were stopped by his computer beeping, the result of a continual monitoring of USENET. Clearly, somebody had mentioned his team. An additional beep showed that he had a new email message.
Checking the 'bot first, Ethan relaxed. Most of his monitoring took place in soc.power-rangers, the internet's premiere Power Rangers community and the only place he knew of gather intelligence - such as any existed online. This post, however, was simply an allusion in soc.vampires.sightings to how obvious a vampire would have to be before people began taking notice.
Satisfied that the 'bot had found nothing important, he turned to the email. This was one of his other monitoring activities - email lists devoted to him and his fellow superheroes.
He was pleasantly surprised to see the letter was actually from a friendly associate of his, though one as was so often the case lately, from the ranger monitoring attempts. Samurai Cam was one of the more vocal participants in the ranger USENET group, often making long and complicated theories drawing on what was publicly known about the various teams. It was Samurai Cam who most strongly insisted the Space Rangers had not been the original team of Rangers, drawing on tenuous information that even Ethan found suspect.
Of course, since he'd become a superhero, things were easier to believe than ever. After all, of course, who was dating Cassidy Cornell, reporter? Who was friends - more or less - with Conner McKnight?
Cuing up the email, Ethan was pleasantly surprised. Cam had foregone business for a change, and was advising him on possible ways to deal with his blooming relationship.
Ethan shook his head. He'd been feeling pretty desperate when he'd written that letter, he'd have never told someone like Cam about his relationship with Cassidy unless he was really at his wit's end.
He had the feeling, after reading the email, that Cam had done this before. At least the guy wasn't snarky, like he sometimes tended to get with other posters.
Ethan sent a correspondence back to Cam, thanking him for the advice. At least he didn't feel that stupid asking a complete stranger. Dr. T was pretty clueless in the romance department, Trent was... not a happy camper, Conner was insane, and Devin... he felt like he was taking Devin's girl away, so he couldn't ask the Triassic ranger.
It wasn't even like he could ask Kira, knowing how strained the girl already was romantically in her life. Ethan hated to see his friend in so much pain, but he also knew they had to take happiness wherever they could find it.
He only hoped Kira would find it soon, before she paid a higher price than the rest of them.
Cassidy relaxed on her cot in Kira's room. Devin had gone home hours earlier, after dinner, and Cass had stayed, after securing permission from her mother. She sensed that the Yellow Ranger needed the support, especially with the whole thing with Trent and Conner going on.
She herself was so lucky to know Ethan. Sure, he was the King of all Computer Geeks, but he was kinda fun once you got to know him. And him in his armor.... Cassidy nearly swooned at the thought.
Kira looked across the room, her brow scrunching. "Are you sure you wouldn't like the bed? Seriously, half the time I end up asleep on a heap of old clothes."
Cassidy bit back a smile. The smaller girl really didn't keep company that often.
"I'll be fine, Kira. You must be tired, after today." Devin had been frequently exhausted after becoming the Triassic Ranger... in fact, she'd had to call him once or twice to wake him up for school. She bet that Kira and the others slept like the bed... or at least most of them did. She was willing to bet that Trent had nightmares, given how tired and scared he looked most of the time.
Kira harumphed, pulling her arms behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. "I wish I was. I haven't slept well in months. I get thirty minute periods off and on."
"I'm glad I'm not a Ranger," Cassidy said. "I mean, being a reporter sounds so much more glorious, you know?"
Kira nodded. "There's a lot more recognition with it, certainly. You have more personal weight to throw behind causes, too. Just think, you could have a Cassidy Cornell Invitational tourney for your pet charities. If I want to release an album, I can't exactly put Yellow Ranger on my resume and get a contract."
"Not unless you want Dr. T killing you first," Cassidy observed wryly.
"Yeah, and I kinda don't want to become famous, like the Space Rangers were," Kira said. "I want to be judged on my own merits."
Cassidy nodded. "You want to have your personal life ripped away from you because you're a world famous singer, right?"
Kira laughed, leaning over the edge of the bed so they could make eye contact. "You know, I really don't want to be a superstar. I want to be reasonably famous doing what I love, and go home every night to a family that loves me."
Cassidy sighed. "I kinda want to be the same way. I mean, I like being a reporter. I'd love to be a star. But... not that way."
"Exactly," Kira said. "That's why I'm glad to just be Kira by day and the Yellow Ranger by battle."
Cassidy chewed her lip for a moment. Kira had put so much more thought into celebrity and what it meant than she had. All Cass had ever wanted was to be appreciated for the work she did. Was that enough? Was that a noble enough reason to become a reporter?
"How did it feel," she said suddenly, "to realize Kylee didn't have the same dreams as you? What did you think of her for - um, selling out?"
"I was crushed," Kira told her thoughtfully. "Told myself that I never wanted to be that way, to be so... shallow. Sure, I dream of getting a record deal... but I think I've realized there are things far more important. Even though it sometimes means getting hurt by those I love."
"Would you give it all up?" Cass wondered aloud. "If it meant saving the world, would you put down the guitar forever?"
Kira sighed. "I don't know."
Cassidy slid out of the cot, making her way over to Kira's bed and plopping down beside her. She nervously embraced the smaller girl. "I'm sorry," she stammered. "I just - I'm not like you. I'm not good, or noble, or altruistic. I so want to understand, you know? I want to help you so much."
"Cassidy, I'm not... I thought it was a joke, when Dr. T came across us and told us about what had happened. I never felt less like a superhero in my life. But yet, I'm still here...."
Cass shook her head, pulling the girl tighter. "It's not true. You're all so innately decent. You think about others, and you don't get afraid... I can't be like you, and I feel like a fifth wheel for acting like I can."
"At least Dr. T didn't almost call the cops on you, for walking into his underground lair," Kira told her, smiling slightly.
Cass giggled. "You must have given him quite a shock, dropping in unannounced and with no idea as to your identities. I hope for your sake you didn't mention Dr. Mercer?"
"No, just that it was an accident, and that... well, I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't picked up the gems. I'm just glad Conner got kidnapped after that or things would have gotten bloody...."
Kira tensed, her mind obviously going back to when they'd freed Conner from Mesogog's control - and unwittingly given Dr. T his Black Ranger powers. Cassidy felt like kicking herself for opening such a sore wound, and held the smaller girl tighter.
The last thing Cass would ever want was to hurt Kira. She was so strong and self-possessed and decent. She was everything Cassidy wanted to be, everything she wanted ... wanted ... Cassidy swallowed and held Kira even tighter.
To be continued.