Disclaimer: chapter 1
The Tempest
by Smittysgirl
Marah didn't understand why people spoke so poorly of jail. She had a room furnished with a bed, toilet, sink, and window. She had something on the order of privacy, with Kapri stuck in the cell over, and she had 3 square meals a day. It was worlds better than a lot of the hovels Uncle Lothor had set up shop in years earlier.
She also didn't understand why people called it 'the pokey'. She had requested Gumby videos repeatedly but been rebuffed each time. The guards were staring at her strangely sometimes, but she guessed it was because they'd never seen someone as striking as her before.
She sighed, plopping down on her bed and mulling it over. She didn't know what to make of anything. She and Kapri had returned from their 3 week retreat - on Sensei Shane's suggestion - to find the academy reduced to a ghost town. They'd spent their time ever since trying to deduce what had happened to the others, and what they could do about it.
Uncle Lothor was back, she knew that much.
It had taken her a long time to realize that she was in love with the idea of love. Or, rather, the idea of being loved. She'd wanted affection so much that she would have been willing to commit evil crimes. Follow Kapri for approval.
Sensei Dustin had changed that so much. Marah didn't know what it was she wanted. She felt comfortable here. Safe even. Free of Kapri's influence, but not without her sister's presence. Did that make it right? Did that mean she could lay here and let something happen to Sensei Dustin?
"I gotta get out of here!" she gasped, reaching around for a spell.
The sound of footsteps down the hall halted her before she could fully form one. Marah curled up in a little tiny ball. The sheriff stared down at her with a look of bafflement on his face. "Um. Hi? Kochiwa? Espanol?"
He glowered. "Hello there, Ms. Buzzbestinger. I do wish you'd been more cooperative with us. It would have saved us all a lot of trouble, and your parents wouldn't have had to worry themselves half to death."
"Um ... well ..." She couldn't understand why her parents would be worried. Or why they'd be on this planet.
A tall, darkish man with strong features and a rotund blond woman appeared behind the sheriff, their eyes bloodshot and their expressions harrowed.
"Um ... hi!"
The woman began to bawl uncontrollably. "Oh Cassidy, what have they done to you?"
The man held her close to him for a moment, looking back and forth from her to Marah in confusion.
"Hi," she repeated.
"You got a fantastic dye job, m'girl," he sputtered finally. It brought about a fresh round of tears from the woman.
"You like it?" Marah asked, fluffing her hair absently.
The sheriff grunted gruffy, unlocking the door to her cell. "Cassidy Cornell. Age 17, former Channel 3 news anchor and student at Reefside High. It would have saved us all a lot of time if you'd told us your real name, Ms. Cornell. Your parents have paid your bail, you're free to go."
"WHAT?" Kapri wailed from the next cell.
"Well, um..." Marah tried, not quite willing to be away from her sister. "It's not like that, it's like...."
"How does she get out?!" Kapri screamed. "Tell them, Marah!"
The sheriff shook his head. "I don't care what story you're following, Ms. Cornell. We could only hold you overnight for questioning in your involvement in Eric McKnight's death. The judge ruled it entirely Mesogog's doing. You must be released to your parents' custody as a minor."
"Eric McKnight, that loser? That's worth imprisoning us?" Kapri cried.
"Um, but I'm not Cassidy Cornell," Marah tried.
The sheriff shook his head to the parents. "I don't reckon why she's going on like this. Even investigative journalism doesn't produce denial this extensive."
"Oh LAMONT!" the woman cried again. "Our baby girl has joined some freakish CULT!"
"You're right, Miriam," the man said. "Come on, Cassidy. We're taking you home."
"I'm NOT Cassidy Cornell!" Marah insisted.
The sheriff sighed. "Ma'am, we've taken your finger prints. If you'd like, you can submit to a blood test upon release. It's going to say the same thing. You ARE Cassidy Cornell."
"But that's my sister, over there!" she said. "And my cous Cam ... if I knew how to contact him, he could tell you that I'm Marah."
"The programming must be pretty deep," the woman reasoned. "We need to get her to a clinic as soon as possible. Maybe Westlake, it worked wonders for your uncle."
"I wonder, if this sister and cousin of hers are fellow cultists?" the man asked.
"Hello, I am so not in a cult!" Marah said. "Well, maybe things were kinda cultish with Uncle Lothor, but that was kind of because he was charismatic, in an evil genious sort of way ...."
Her wannabe parents exchanged a nervous glance and quickly dragged her out of the cell.
"MARAH!" Kapri wailed. "I swear on all that's unholy if you're doing this without me I'll skin you like a duck!"
"Tell Cous to rescue me," Marah called. "I swear, I'm not doing this on my own!"
"Is there some kind of 'box' or 'hole' you can stick that woman in?" the man asked.
"Until trial," the woman added.
"Wish we could, ma'am, but at least your daughter will be safe at Westlake," the sheriff said.
And just like that, Marah found herself another sort of prisoner.
"This is so stupid," Conner moaned.
Ethan nearly shrugged before he was sideswiped by an SUV. "Until we can get better monitoring equipment installed at our base it's the best we can manage. At least this way we're going nowhere FAST."
"Just give me something to hit," Conner muttered.
Trent patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "We'll buy you a bop bag at Big K after lunch, alright?"
"That was not what I had in mind," Conner growled.
"Is this because you wanted to drive the truck?" Ethan asked evenly. "Because, dude, with that temper I'd be more afraid of dying from road rage than I already am."
With their assignment over and Dr. Smitty not wanting to spread all their forces outside of the greater Reefside/Blue Bay metro area in search of Cam's other devices, the teens had taken Cam's old mobile command outpost to the streets to manually scan for Lothor's presence. Tori had immediately stationed herself in the back as the only person capable of operating the sensor equipment.
"Look, I'm in a bad mood, all right?" Conner asked.
"You mind telling us why?" Ethan asked. Trent held up a hand as a warning gesture.
"No," Conner growled.
"Is there anything we can do to help you?" Trent said calmly.
"Just let me hit something?" Conner repeated.
"When we find Lothor you can KILL things. How's that?" Trent said after a long silence.
"That works," Conner said with a shrug.
The Blue and White Rangers exchanged an uneasy glance. A PT Cruiser jumped two lines and darted in front of the semi, causing Ethan to slam on the brakes. Conner growled.
"Can I kill HIM?" he said, pointing at the car. "I memorized his plates. I could hunt him down."
"No, Conner, the bad guys. Kill the bad guys."
Conner made a sad choking noise. There wasn't the slightest bit of irony intended by that. Ethan winced.
"Guys," Ethan warned. "Lothor. 'Member?"
"Whatever" Conner shrugged and went back to his seat near Tori in the rear. Ethan felt for his fellow Blue Ranger all the sudden, if she had to put up with this.
"I hope we find the bastard soon," Trent said softly. "For all our sakes."
The sheer mass of material in the warehouse was staggering. Kira had no idea how the Green Ranger could possibly remember where anything was after so long, but he moved from crate to crate without any kind of reference that she could determine. A small pile of goods at Dr. Smitty's feet attested to what Cam felt they could use.
"I thought trying to clean up main Ops was bad," she muttered.
"Cam?" Devin asked suddenly. "How much is everything here, like ... worth?"
"To science or materially?" Cam yelled over his shoulder as he tore open another carton.
"Um.... both?" Devin asked, fiddling with his morpher nervously.
"Incalculable and about a quarter billion."
"Um..." Devin looked lightheaaded.
"How did you manage to acquire all of this?" Terrance asked, stepping behind the Red Ranger in the event he was to pass out or stumble around.
"A lot of the devices are worth more than the sum of their parts. The transtech inducer has some parts I got at Big Lots. The fact that it makes incompatable electrical systems work together is why it's worth a few million in intellectual property rights."
Devin sat down abruptly. Kira knelt down next to him and snapped her fingers. "Are you feeling all right? Do you know where you are?"
"Um... you're Kira, that's Dr. T, and that's Cam."
Kira smiled. "That's who we are, actually."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Devin smoothed his hand down. "Um, a warehouse in the middle of nowhere?"
"Utah," Cam corrected.
"Um, right. Utah."
"OK," Cam said after another few moments of down time while Devin got his bearings. "I'm pretty sure that's everything we'll be needing to find Lothor. We ought to touch base with Tori and the others - we need to organize who's going after Blake."
An eruption of green light filled the rear of the warehouse, leaving behind a disheveled and bloodied Dr. Anton Mercer. Kira and Devin stepped forward defensively, protecting the powerless Cam.
"Anton, what's happened to you?" Dr. T asked warily. His morpher remained in bracelet mode, and the teens followed his example.
"Mesogog," the older man wheezed. "He ... he tried to fight my taking control by damaging my human body. He almost put me in a coma. I think I have a concussion. The sole upshot being that he won't revert back in control until it's mended - the brain damage would be mine and mine alone."
"We can bring you back to Dino Ops," the Black Ranger said finally. "There would be enough time to at least try some of the antigens I'd been working on for Conner on you while you receive treatment. If worse came to worse I could put you in suspended animation."
Mercer shook his head. "That's not where you need to be, Terrance. I ... I want you to kill me, the same as before, but now isn't the time. My fortress, you need to go there. Destroy everything before Mesogog can rebuild again. Cripple his empire now, decisively."
"Anton, I can't. Destroying Mesogog means destroying you, and I'm not willing to make that sacrifice. I've already lost Eddie," Terrance shook his head. "I can't lose you too. There's too much suffering in our lives already."
"Terrance, I know about Susan - about Elsa. I know she came to you, and arranged to dispose of Conner's body. I know because I had to force myself to stay awake while fighting the injuries. Mesogog will know. Do you think he'll let her live for what she's done? Don't do this for me, if that's what stays your hand. Do it for her. For yourself."
Cam brushed past the teens, standing beside Dr. Smitty. "You're Anton Mercer. I don't pretend to understand a lot of what's going on here, but ... it's an honor, sir."
The scientist smiled faintly. "Always good to know I had some positive impact."
"Dr. Mercer, we HAVE to get you to a hospital," Kira said finally. "I don't care about Mesogoon, you'll die without treatment. The part of you that's human will die, and Mesogog will keep on going forever."
He looked at her darkly. "Then you appreciate the reasons for my request."
Cassidy was tired and cranky. She yawned, reaching for a cruller next to the situation board. She'd have never normally given a pastry a second thought - carbs, yuck - but right now she wanted something empty and utterly lacking in nutrients filling her gut. The morning had already gone from bad to worse. She hadn't checked in with her parents in nearly 17 hours, and at this point she had simply decided not to bother. Her decision to leave Channel 3 hadn't sat well with them, and dinners were becoming an increasingly tense affair with each passing day.
She wanted some place warm and inviting, like the Fords' house. Why couldn't they adopt her; why couldn't they be her foster parents?
Why couldn't they be your inlaws? a little voice in her asked suddenly. Cassidy contemplated beating her head against the wall to make the little voice go away.
A console in front of her chirped, and Cass expertly called up Hayley's visage from inside the Cyberspace. Ever since the trouble last week with Zeltrax she'd made it a point to be schooled on the system's finer points by their mentors. "Cassidy here."
"Hey Cass," Hayley smiled from her hidden camera behind the counter. "I was just about to close down the store and come relieve you. Do you need a bite to eat or something?"
Cass shook her head. "Appreciate it, but no. I'm actually thinking of spending the night in Dino Ops anyway, so you could just head for bed when you get here."
Hayley blinked in surprise. "That's awfully big of you. Do you want me to call your parents and get their - "
"No," Cass cut in, her voice pleading for no interference.
"All right," Hayley sighed. "Have you heard anything from the gang?"
"Not beyond the regular check-ins they're making with each other and with me. Tori's group should be checking in momentarily, as a matter of fact." Actually, the Blue Wind Ranger's team was 2 minutes late for their report, but Cass didn't mind so much. It meant she didn't have to come up with empty pleasantries to Ethan right now.
Not that she was particularly fond with them with devin either, but he at least knew enough not to press the issue in any way.
Hayley shrugged. "OK. I should be there in about 15 minutes. Let me know on my cell if there's anything important?"
Cassidy nodded and the image clicked off. She sighed, taking a bite of the disgusting, process-fruit filled pastry.
Conner had been quiet for the rest of the drive, and through two meal/restroom breaks from the others. It was only when the others climbed in carrying his take-out meatloaf that he looked up from the computer station in the dash.
"I ran the plates. He's a Grand Wizard with the KKK."
Trent and Ethan looked at one another in confusion. Tori shrugged and climbed back into the rear of the trailer. "The guy in the PT Cruiser," Conner explained. "He's a bad guy."
Ethan coughed. Trent looked back at the Blue Ranger nervously before replying. "I think we should confine ourselves to the bad guys that aren't completely human."
Ethan hastily shoved the bag into Conner's arms. "No red sauce, just like you asked. Please eat this, so I know precisely where you are for the next half hour."
Conner grumbled good naturedly, climbing in the back to demolish his dinner. Ethan and Trent exchanged another uncomfortable look before the semi started up again, lumbering out of the parking lot and picking up speed.
Three streaks of colored light landed in front of the truck, revealing identically colored figures. The crimson figure's hand shot out, and he was obscured behind the grill a moment later. Ethan and Trent lurched at the impact. It was nearly a minute later before Ethan realized they were no longer moving.
The roof of the trailer screeched, exploding outward and leaving Tori and Conner exposed to figures in red and yellow. Tori grabbed at her side, quick switching from her civilian attire to her ninja instructor uniform. Conner nodded, his helmet reforming and his Zeltrax armament adorning his holsters.
"Not exactly subtle," Shane laughed. "Did you think you could just lumber around in our own vehicle and not draw our attention?"
Tori shrugged, her gaze never leaving his visor. "It was the best sensor equipment we had. 'Sides, we still found you, didn't we?"
The deployment ramp for the Tsunami Cycles was torn from its hinges. "More like we've found you," Hunter said from behind his Crimson Blaster.
Dustin slung his Lion Hammer over his shoulder. "Surrender now, Tori. Master Lothor is eager to welcome you back into the fold. There might even still be a place for that leman of yours."
Tori's face puckered. "Now I know Lothor's brainwashed you guys."
Ethan unbuckled his seatbelt and looked at Trent briefly. "I don't think they noticed us. You get a warning out to the others, I'm going to protect Conner and Tori from the goon patrol."
"Um, Ethan?" Trent said uneasily.
"What?"
He spun the Blue Ranger back towards the front window. Dozens of ninja students of all disciplines were streak teleporting in front of the cab. Ethan chewed his lip. "Well. Crap."
The Cornells were nice enough, Marah supposed. They fed her, clothed her, and proceeded to call her by a name that wasn't hers several times. The bedroom they'd given her was even pretty nice, adorned as it was in so many shades of pink. It reminded Marah a little of her own room back on Uncle Lothor's ship.
It was sad about their daughter, but Marah didn't know what she was supposed to be doing about it. She's settled for playing this out and seeing where it took her. That unfortunately meant a litany of tests and psychological screenings as yet to be determined. Marah really didn't like that. She didn't know what Uncle Lothor was doing to Sensei Dustin, or Uncle Sensei, or Cous. She didn't know how the people in jail were treating her sister.
With a sigh she got up out of bed and took a look around at Cassidy's personal items. Besides a scrap book filled with clippings - which she quickly realized pertained only to Cassidy herself and her own tumultuous rise to fame - she found a handful of pictures featuring other people. The most frequent players were a disheveled looking young man with a red hoodie, a handsome young man in varying shades of blue, and a girl with enormous eyes in canary yellow.
"These are the people she loves most," Marah realized. People that Cassidy, through all her vanity and selfishness, cared enough about to place on a level almost as high as her own. Marah saw some of Kapri in that, she supposed. Though she also knew instinctively her sister loved her more than anything.
Marah smiled a little as she flipped through the stack. The most recent set appeared to have been taken at one of those automated five-shot stripped machines. Cassidy and the girl had climbed inside, maybe as a distraction to take their minds off something. It was evident from their posture that both wanted more physical contact with the other than they were making. Marah wondered if Cassidy even knew how much Kira loved her, and vice versa.
Marah's brow furrowed. Kira. How did she know her name was Kira? She didn't recall reading anything that said that the names of these people.
Her interest piqued, Marah went back to the other two. The young man in blue took a little while longer, but his name finally fell off her tongue. Ethan. Warm and comfortable. An anchor of stability in a choppy sea. Ethan, who made Cassidy feel smart. Smart in a way her arrogance and self denial never could.
The last stabbed at her. Dagwood? Dilbert? Cassidy didn't feel that same connection to him, and Marah's heart went out for him. It was evident how deeply he loved her. Marah wondered if Cassidy was even cognizant of that, or simply took it for granted and led him around like some toy poodle. Marah knew, first thing tomorrow, she'd find out who this guy was and make a point to apologize to him on behalf of her double. It was just the right thing to do.
Marah went back to bed, her spirits lifting immensely.