Disclaimer in part 1
Author's note: Thanks again to Nalan and someone anonymous who knows who they are : )
The Tempest
by Smittysgirl
The time for their plan had almost come to fruition.
The fallen Ninja Storm Rangers had brawled for much of the morning before an uneasy truce was declared – when given a clance for clearer heads to prevail, all had realized Lothor would gladly kill all of them for sacrificing even one.
After reconvening, a slightly more democratic group had worked out a procedure they believed would again render themselves detectable to Lothor. Hunter and Shane would generate a massive tropical storm to buffet the forcefield with gale force winds and lightning strikes, all the while being pelted by turbulent tides. On the island Dustin would upend the small area of land they were situated on, partially collapsing the trees and turf around them and hopefully protecting them from the worst of the shield's backlash as it collapsed.
It wasn't a perfect plan, and their potential to still be killed remained, but it was a plan less likely to draw the ire of Lord Lothor. Shane drew in a long breath of the salty air as the sun began to set behind the heavy clouds on the horizon. The weather lately had been unstable. Fortunately for them. Even with his and Hunter's elemental mastery, he doubted either would have been able to whip up a sizable storm under their own power.
Trent regarded the complicated contraptions strapped to his father warily. "Are we positive this stuff is going to hold together?"
"Trent," the older man reached out through his medicated haze, gripping the teen's hand. "Please. I need this. It's - it's the only way."
"Dad, are you sure?" Trent asked. "There's still other procedures. We could even place you in susp -"
"Trent," Dr. Mercer said patiently, "I'm sorry all this has happened for you. This is to make both our lives better, don't yuo see?"
Cam put a hand on Trent's shoulder. "I promise we've done everything we can to ensure your father is safe. The process should only take a few minutes, if all goes accordingly."
Trent turned to face him, never letting go of his father's hand. "And what if it doesn't?
Hayley nodded slowly. "There's a possibility of that. However, in that eventuality we can reverse the lifeforce extractor and put Anton's life energies back in his body."
Dr. T came up beside her. "We can try again later if we have to ..."
"My body isn't going to last much longer as a human," Dr. Mercer wheezed. Trent clenched tighter.
Conner finally pulled Trent from his father's grip. "I guess I'm not anyone to talk, but you have to let go a little, man. Anything can happen, but you already know what's going to happen if Mesogog is left in your dad like this."
Trent nodded. "I know."
Dr. Mercer motioned for the two mentors of the Dino Thunder team to come closer. They did. "Hayley, Terrance - if I don't make it out of this, tell me you'll look after Trent. The boy is hanging on by a thread."
"We will," Terrance whispered.
The assembled heroes stood back as the machine was lowered, the siphon pressed into the man's chest. Dr. Mercer wheezed as a pink and blue energy field began to rise from his body, shooting up the length of the device.
"Contact is good," Ethan called from a console.
"The flow is steady," Cam continued from another.
Trent tensed. Why didn't anyone understand? That was his father lying there! Maybe they could be clinically detached, but he couldn't Without his father there was nothing left in this world for Trent to live for.
The body screamed, its features beginning to contort into the hideous form of Mesogog. The energized restraints keeping him held down to the table began to whine.
"We almost have it!" Hayley yelled from her console. "Someone sedate him! We can't start the cloning until we have every last bit of him!"
"Dad!" Trent called, struggling to move beside him. Conner slipped an arm around his waist and dragged him back to position. Cassidy hit a button on her console, and a hyberbolic needle popped out from beneath the extractor, pricking Dr. Mercer in his side. A moment later his thrashing began to subsist, and the lifeforce flow resumed.
"Come on, Anton," Terrance muttered. Conner continued to hold a struggling Trent.
"We have it!" Hayley cheered. The cylinder attached to the extractor now pulsated with the multihued energies they'd pulled from Dr. Mercer's body, and Trent took a moment to admire the visible presence of his father's soul. With a sudden, violent siezure the scientist's body fully transformed into Mesogog, still sluggishly pulling at his restraints. From behind the 3 genetic inputs were raised into position, and the Genome Randomizer began to activate.
"Preparing transfer," Cam supplied. The cyninder shifted positions, and its power flowed through a long fiberoptic cable into the top of the unit. Mist and energy filled the chamber. In a sudden burst of light, the process shut down and a human figure stumbled through the pressurized doors. A very haggard and very naked Dr. Anton Mercer. Trent laughed, breaking out of Conner's arms and hugging his father before Devin provided him with a blanket.
"That's weird," Dr. Smitty said from his console. "There's this really intense stor - "
With a chirp, everything electronic in the lab shut down. A second later Mesogog's restraints faded to black.
Marah leaned against her - Cassidy's - locker and sighed. Marianne was scheduled to show up pretty soon, and she'd never been very good at waiting. It would have been nice to have some ninja flunkies to boss around right now.
She had met up again with Marianne that day after school, and they'd worked out what they they thought was a workable plan to get access to Principal Randall. Cassidy's parents had some reservations about Marah staying over with someone - apparently she'd taken to visiting Kira right before the mass vanishing, but Marah promised to keep in touch with them over her cell phone.
She was still unclear on how to visit Kapri tonight without attracting undue attention, so she hoped her sister could muddle along for another couple of days without her.
"So, are you ready?" Marianne asked, coming up from behind her and causing her to jump slightly.
"I think so," Marah admitted, brushing her hair back. "I really feel sort of bad doing this, even though I know Randall is a real jerk."
"Hey, we wouldn't be doing this is we didn't have a reason," Marianne answered.
The former ninja nodded, and the two brushed their way into Randall's office. Her secretary looked up. "Miss Cornell. Miss Chandler. I don't believe either of you have appointments today?"
Marah studied the secretery carefully. "Hey, you're not really there!"
Marianne looked at her in surprise. This wasn't the plan they had agreed on at all. "Cass?"
"She's not there! She's a projection!" Marah started looking around for the source of the secretary's energy.
"Stop it right now missy!" the normally quiet and distant secretary squeaked. She made a move to grab Marah's wrist, but the former ninja brushed her aside and dug around some of the storage lockers.
"Oooh," Marah said, holding up a device underneath some confiscated personal items from students. "I knew you were so totally unreal!"
The secretary's eyes widened as Marah fiddled with the controls. "PRI -"
In a wink, the projection dissolved. Marah beamed, pocketing the device in her jacket. "See? You just have to know how to deal with people."
"I... I guess so," Marianne said, wide eyed.
"So, let's go and find what happened to Eric and the others before the principal finds we derezzed her secretery," Marah told her.
The lightly rapped on the door to Randall's personal office. No response, though it was plain behind the frosted glass that someone was inside.
"Maybe she has a secret knock?" Marianne asked, still confused by what she'd seen.
Marah shrugged, stepping back and knocking the door off its hinges with a kick she'd learned from Uncle Sensei. Randall looked up from her desk, panic evident. "We want some answers!" Marah yelled with a strength she didn't feel. "Hey - wait, haven't I seen you somewhere?"
"I would hope so," Pricipal Randall said, rapidly regaining an outward calm that barely covered her panicked veneer.
Marah's hand went to her mouth. "Ohmigosh, you're Elsa!"
The evil general quick switched to her villainous form. "Brilliant deduction, Cassidy. Now how about you tell me what's been going on with the Power Rangers?"
Marah blinked. "Lothor turned them evil, the last I heard."
"THE OTHER ONES!" Elsa screamed.
And suddenly it all made sense. Or more than it had been making before. The entire circle of friends that vanished along with Cassidy were the Dino Thunder Rangers and their respective attendants. She still couldn't place the action footage that featured one of Mesogog's other generals fighting beside the team, but that probably didn't matter.
Both teams of Power Rangers in the greater Reefside/Blue Bay were connected but for a single degree of separation. Eric McKnight, whose funeral was next week and whose brother was still unaccounted for.
"I need to know why I can't conjure up invisiportals anymore," Elsa pressed on. "What has Dr. Smith done to Lord Mesogog's fortress? Where is Lord Mesogog? I can't keep making excuses for Anton Mercer much longer!"
"Huh?" Marah managed.
She grabbed a ceremonial sword from the walls, morphing it into the blade both girls had seen Elsa use on the news. "I'm through playing games, Cassidy! Every single one of you has fallen off the face of the planet, and I'm cut off from my master!"
"What's going on?" Marianne demanded.
Marah shook her head. "I have no idea. I mean, what happened to the real Principal Randall? What are you doing here? And why do you think we would know?"
Randall scremed in frustration. "I've always been Susan Randall, you imbecile! I'd have thought Smith would have told all of you Rangers and hangers on once he found out - though maybe he just wanted to lord it over me too much to want to share. Wouldn't that be just like a man?"
Marah toppled backwards to the floor, and Elsa pressed the tip of her blade to the former ninja's throat.
Lightning lit the sky again and again, and torrential winds had begun to slip through the shield and were now sending debris flying through the air on the island. Dustin had already been forced to create natural wind breaks all along the path so they could continue to use their mojo just a while longer.
"Isn't this ENOUGH?" he screamed. Shane shook his head, apparently feeling the vibration of the words more than the sound.
"NOT NEARLY! There's no way a comm signal could get through this interference,we have to bring it DOWN!"
The Yellow Ranger shrugged, wishing desperately Shane would let them morph. At least that afforded some minimal protection from what they were doing. But even Hunter had agreed morphing only used up too much of their ninja energies, energies better spent pulling off this particular stunt.
Kapri was getting tired of jail. She'd understood the reasons for her to remain there, her sister had made it frank, but she was tired of the lack of mobility. The meal service also left a lot to be desired. She hadn't had a decent cup of french roast in forever.
The sheriff nodded at her as he opened the door into the jail area of the police station. She was getting sick of his face practically as much as she was these cramped little quarters. Behind him was a handsome young man in a yellow sport jacket. This guy looked really familiar, she bet she knew him from the academy!
"This the girl you were looking for?" the sheriff asked the young man.
He nodded. "She's the one. I shouldn't be here too long, don't worry. Anything to speed along the legal process."
The sherrif nodded. "She's all yours."
He marched out of the hallway, leaving them alone. Except for the couple of drunks on the opposite end, but she didn't count them as people. She leapt forward to the front of her cell. "Do I know you? Please tell me you escaped the purges."
The young man smiled. "You might say that."
"Can you get me out of here?" Kapri pleaded.
The young man smiled even wider. "Of course I can," he said with an easy confidence.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Kapri said, trying not to fall to her knees.
The young man carelessly waved a hand over in the direction of the jail entrance. "It's child's play."
The door open and the sheriff reappeared, carring his keys. "You're free to go, ma'am. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
Kapri backed away from them both. "Wait a minute."
"Don't look a gift mouse in the horse, m'dear," the young man said charmingly.
Kapri blinked in confusion. "Ohmygosh, only one person I know would use a metaphor like that."
The young man stepped into the cell, his form changing as he did. "Hello again, my niece. So wonderful to see you again."
"Uncle Lothor?" she asked.
"I see you've kept your wits about you. Now do y'all mind telling me where your sister made off to?" Lothor said.
"Well, it's like... they think she's somebody else and let her go a few days ago." She was sounding like Marah, babbling like that. With Uncle Lothor running about loose, she was entitled to babble a little bit.
Lothor grunted in exasperation. "Should'a know that'd come back to bite me on the keister. Ah don't suppose you know what happened to the girl they think she is?"
Kapri shook her head.
Lothor tilted his head briefly before his attention returned to Kapri. "It seems your sister will have to wait. You and I have business to attend to."
"Yes, Uncle Lothor?" she asked, thinking fast. She'd have to be careful... very careful.
"Seems mah dark Rangers have found a way out of their current predicament and require a lift back to base. A lift we'll be happy to provide, won't we?"
"Right, Uncle Lothor!" Kapri exclaimed, wondering about what in the heck was going on, but happy to be anywhere but jail.
Lothor snapped his fingers. "Oh right, before I forget," his hand reached out and pressed against her forehead. Dark energy shot into every iota of Kapri's being.
Kapri staggered.
"How do you feel?" Lothor bellowed.
The dark ninja bounced for a moment jubilantly.
Lothor smirked. "Thought you might need a pick me up. Ready to go help our partners in crime?"
"Just lead me there," she exclaimed. They vanished in a flash.