DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POWER RANGERS
"Great!" Syd muttered to herself sarcastically as Kat disappeared down the corridor, Charlie securely in her hands.
Not quite sure what to do next, the Pink Ranger began to aimlessly wander down the halls of the Base, trying to think of a sensible course of action for this kind of 'case'. However, the 'case' presented itself a good while earlier than she was expecting as a loud 'bang' was audible against the inside door to one of the adjoining rooms.
Reflexively jerking her head up at the sudden noise, Syd stared apprehensively at the door for a few seconds before hesitantly pushing the button to open it and then quickly stepping backwards, well out of the way...And it was a good job she did too as a tangled fray of various body parts burst through the now open doorway, crashing directly into the opposite wall; inches from where Syd was now standing.
Looking down, the Pink Ranger could now see that she had uncovered Sky and Bridge in a less than friendly scuffle. "Hey!"
Paying Syd no attention whatsoever, the two rogue members of B-Squad scrabbled to their feet and immediately tried to get each other in a headlock. "Guys! Stop fighting!" Syd protested, but to no avail as she was brushed aside like an annoying fly as Sky flew at Bridge, catapulting them both back into the room from which they had come – the simulation room.
With Sky's weight falling directly onto Bridge's back, the Green Ranger was effectively winded as Sky held him firmly down, whilst reaching for something on his belt; an air of supreme triumph in his eyes.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Bridge screamed helplessly as Sky dangled the handcuffs in front of his face, before securely snapping one tightly around the Green Ranger's wrist and the other around the leg of the solid steel table that stood, bolted to the floor at one end of the room.
"YESSS!" Sky jumped up and down on the spot victoriously as he taunted Bridge.
"SKY!"
The Blue Ranger looked mischievously over at Syd, who looked distinctly unimpressed by his actions. "Yes?"
"Come away from Bridge," she ordered calmly whilst walking slowly towards him and pointing out the door.
"Err..." Sky glanced between his prey and the corridor as if weighing up the options.
Now standing between the Blue and Green Rangers, Syd noticed when Sky's eyes finally rested maliciously on Bridge. "Sky!" she warned again, but it was too late as he launched his attack...
Quickly slamming her hands down on the table that held Bridge captive, Syd gritted her teeth. "Sorry about this Sky...fist of steel!" she flung her hands directly into the Blue Ranger's shoulders, where she knew it would hurt less, but that didn't stop her powers having the normal effect as Sky was launched into the corridor, finally coming to a noisy stop when he collided with the wall.
Feeling slightly bad about what she had just done, the Pink Ranger ran for the exit, punching in her security code as soon as she reached the keypad on the outside door frame that would lock Bridge in there for as long as needed.
Wiping her brow, Syd turned to see Sky already back on his feet. Following his eyes to the now locked door, she knew he wouldn't give up easily... "Oh no you don't!" and tackling him in a very un-Syd like manner ensured that Sky fell into a temporary state of unconsciousness.
Completely oblivious to the chaos that was well underway inside the Base, the Red and Yellow Rangers continued on their...err...outdoor quest. "I want to sit on a cloud!" said Jack happily.
"Me too!" Z agreed, still sat on Jack's back, "Let me down."
"Oh...you wanna get down?" Jack asked, a wicked smile playing across his face.
"Yep!"
"Okay then..." and with all of his strength, Z's so-called brother launched her ten feet into the air...and straight into an industrial-sized trashcan.
"Ahhh!" Z yelled as she scrabbled about in the week-old pile of rubbish. "Jaaaack!"
"Hehehe!" Jack sniggered before running off back towards the inner confines of the Base.
With Sky unceremoniously subdued and Bridge locked away for his own good, Syd now set about the task of finding the others...which didn't prove very difficult when a truly terrible smell drafted down the corridor. "That is disgusting!" Putting her hand to her nose in an attempt to shield herself from the odour, Syd peered around the corner...
A still very much damp Yellow Ranger was stumbling through the main entrance to the Base, covered head to toe in an assortment of rotting vegetables. Pulling a grotesque face Syd called out hopefully. "Z?"
"Did someone call?" an unnaturally high voice that certainly didn't belong to the Yellow Ranger sounded towards them as the unmistakable shape of Cruger came into view.
"Commander?" Syd stopped and stared at the big blue dog whilst trying to ignore Z, who was now literally rolling around on the floor, gurgling to herself.
Cruger had obviously decided that Syd's new dress wasn't comfortable enough so had instead opted for her fluffy pink bathrobe and slippers. And to complete the look, Syd glanced into the Commander's hair, where he had fixed several large rollers, covered with a shower cap. However, thankfully, Syd saw the funny side and couldn't help but burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"What?" Cruger gazed at her, "What's wrong? Does my butt look big or something?" he twisted his head for a better view of his backside.
Syd was unable to answer as Cruger strode off, wiggling his hips from side to side as he went. "Oh damn!" In all the mayhem, Syd had taken her eyes off the delirious Yellow Ranger who was now nowhere in sight.
Meanwhile, back in a lonely and locked simulation room, the B-Squad Green Ranger had lost consciousness and his head lolled; repeatedly banging against the hard metal of the table that he was handcuffed to.
The various bangs however, were slowly bringing him back to the land of the living as his eyelids slowly flickered open...
"Wh-...where am I?" Bridge muttered as he gazed around the room, it's identity soon looking familiar. "The Simulation Room?"
Still in a state of confusion, Bridge placed his right hand on the floor and attempted to push himself back into a standing position. However, what he had failed to noticed was the solid pair of handcuffs that secured him to the table and the Green Ranger rapidly plummeted back to the floor.
If possible, Bridge's mind became even more muddled as he tried and failed to comprehend how he had ended up in his current situation...and why oh why was his uniform thoroughly soddened and why did he have what looked and smelt like half a banana squashed into his sleeve?
With difficulty, Bridge managed to remove the glove from his free hand and he waved it routinely in front of his face. Various shapes swam into view, yet they unmistakably belonged to two of his teammates. The Green Ranger's brow furrowed as the outline of Syd apparently threw Sky twenty feet into the corridor before slamming the door behind her.
"Hmm..." Bridge pondered this image for a second; "Why the hell had Syd locked him in here in the first place? And did anyone else know he was actually here?" A wave of panic swept through the Green Ranger's mind as he frantically tried to break free of his restraints; with no luck. "HELP!"
Outside in the corridor, Jack was sat on the floor quite happily discussing the finer points of Renaissance art with his 'inner being'. However, his conversation kept being rudely interrupted by the wails of some pathetic human.
"Please, excuse me one moment," Jack pardoned himself, before rising and going in search of the disturbance. "Who dares to interrupt such an important meeting?" he questioned no-one in particular, yet he was drawing closer to the source of the noise. "Wh-..."
THUD!
"OW!" From his new-found place on the floor, Jack glanced back up and straight into the flashing lights of RIC's eyes. "Ooooooooh!" stretching out a clumsy hand, he petted the robotic canine, causing it to purr happily; "Hehe, prrrrretty doggy!" Rearing up onto his hind legs, RIC strode away in similar fashion to a human, causing Jack to snigger.
"HELP!" the shouts came again and Jack muttered to himself as he put his ear against one of the many doors. "HELP!" Tilting his head in mild recognition of the voice, he shouted back. "Who is it?"
Inside the simulation room, Bridge sat bolt upright, relieved to hear a familiar voice; "Jack? It's me – Bridge."
"Bridge?" Jack sat cross-legged on the floor, "Bridge...Bridgey...Bridgeman...Bridget!"
"Yeah, very funny Jack! Come and get me out of here!"
"Out of where?" he asked helpfully.
"Out of these handcuffs!"
"Oh...hahahahaha!" the Red Ranger squirmed on the floor in the style of a fish out of water.
"Jack, what is wrong with you?" the now sane Green Ranger asked, "Do you need talking through it or something?" he asked jokingly.
"Uh huh...yes pwease," came the unexpected reply.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah..." Jack sniffed.
"Err...okay...well...erm...come to the door?" Bridge heard Jack scuffle across the floor, "And...err...put in your clearance code".
Silence.
"Jack?"
"I don't know what it is!" he sobbed pathetically.
Mentally slapping himself so that he refrained from losing his temper, Bridge very slowly gave his own code so that Jack could type it in.
"Three...one...nine...seven...two..." Jack repeated slowly, his tongue stuck out in concentration as he pressed each number on the electronic keypad. Finally, as the last digit was pressed, the small console gave a small beep of acceptance.
"Okay, now you need to hit the green button," Bridge instructed and at last, the door hissed open. "Jeez...I thought you were never gonna do it!" the Green Ranger joked as he jingled the handcuffs meaningfully. But the grin on Bridge's face faded however when his eyes rested on the Red Ranger.
Jack had bounded into the room and immediately begun sniffing his way around the floor to where Bridge sat and climbing up onto the steel table. Already having sensed that some part of Jack's brain was 'out to lunch' he gently tried to coax him down. "Come on Jack, come down here..." he patted the floor next to him, where to his relief, he spied the small key that would free him from the cuffs. "I'll give you...err...some toast? Extra buttery?" he waggled his fingers but Jack remained defiant. "Hmm..." remembering that Jack would under the influence of something totally foreign he went for an absurd idea. "How about a race car?" the Red Ranger's head tilted to one side in interest, "Yeah, a bright red race car!" Grinning wildly, Jack stepped down and sat obediently next to Bridge...where he promptly fell asleep.
Groaning loudly, Bridge nudged Jack desperately. He stirred feebly and opened his eyes glancing at Bridge without seeing him. His pupils were practically the size of the moon but Bridge was determined to get his help.
"Jack, if I get this key can you unlock the cuffs?" Bridge asked slowly, although he'd rather be slapping Jack into the next dimension at that moment in time.
Jack merely giggled and stuck his tongue out at Bridge, blowing a raspberry into his face.
Bridge blinked, determined not to be put off and said, "Yes, well that's nice, now listen to me! You get key, you unlock cuffs, I get to slap your stupid face...Understand?"
Jack giggled again, "Key, cuff…slap." he said dopily.
"Now pick up the key," Jack's hands reached out and Bridge breathed a sigh of relief as he figured that Jack must have some small understanding of what he had to do. With the key finally in his hands he said, "Now unlock my cuffs okay?"
The Red Ranger merely clenched the key tight in his fist and Bridge fought the urge to headbutt him right now or something more drastic. It was like dealing with a child.
"Jack! They key, my handcuffs, come on...it's not rocket science." Bridge begged.
Painfully slowly he maneuvered the key in his hand and positioned it right in front of Bridge's cuffs
"Come on Jack, just a little further," Bridge coaxed him on.
"Key to lock, key to lock," Jack sang to himself.
"I could have bitten through them by now," Bridge muttered to himself but then grinned triumphantly as there was a click and the handcuffs fell open.
The Green Ranger almost cheered as he sprang up off the ground and bolted out of the door, leaving Jack staring pointlessly at the floor in the simulation room.
Skidding to a halt outside the Command Center, Bridge brushed down his uniform as a force of habitat yet it made no difference to the damp, banana-covered material as several small shards of glass fell from the creases.
Still completely baffled, Bridge entered the area only to come face to face with Sky and Z...their tongues down each other's throats.
"EW!"
It's been a long time coming, but I hope everyone still enjoyed Chapter 8! :)