Disclaimer: I still don't own Power Rangers.
A/N: I'm borrowing heavily from other examples of magic here, but that's ok. I'm an author and this is fanfic. Magic works how I say it works. Also, next chapter is delayed due to a need for creative advice from a friend. Hopefully I'll have the advice before noon so I can write the chapter.
Lance had never really been one for clichés, but 'rag-tag band of survivors' fit their little group after three weeks on the road. After the debacle with Elizabeth, Nicole and Macy had hovered unreasonably close for a day or two, but after swearing to never Heal without supervision, he's managed to get them to back off to the point of allowing him to let Elizabeth ride as passenger in the ATV liberated from Winterlight. True to Nicole's word, the ATV had been converted to solar before they pulled out of their original camp and was now a useful addition to their fleet.
Somehow, by luck or fate, they'd managed to avoid the attention of more Grinders as they hurried across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In fact, they were midway between the Sierras and the Rockies when they ran into trouble for the first time.
They had just made camp when the scouts on the forward trail came pelting in with word of Grinders holding humans hostage not five miles away. Nicole called the meeting instantly. "Ok," She said, "here's what we know. There are at least fifty Grinders and almost that many prisoners and they appear to be mining."
"Mining what?" Someone asked.
"Gold?" Someone else suggested with a snicker.
"It's likely," William offered, "Gold is used in a lot of electronics."
"Either way," Nicole said, "we have two choices. We backtrack and go around the facility, adding a good fifty miles to our trip and losing a minimum of two days, or to try to free the prisoners. This is black bean, white bean voting. If you chose to abstain, that means you can't complain about the majority opinion, however if you vote black bean, which is no, and the white beans when, you may be asked to contribute to the rescue attempt. Under the age of fifteen means you still have to vote, but you will not be allowed to go on the rescue with the rest."
While there were a few cries of outrage for that proclamation from the few kids Lance's age, he just kept his mouth shut. He'd been involved enough the moment the injured came into camp. There wasn't a single doctor and Macy was the only nurse, but the ninjas all had first aid training and there was an EMT as well.
The voting went smoothly, and came out overwhelmingly in favor of rescuing the prisoners, no matter what it would do to their carefully balanced situation. That left Nicole to plan the assault while Lance tracked down the people he was currently healing. One was another food victim, this one being older than little Lucy was and having eaten something he'd been unknowingly allergic to. One was a broken bone that Lance was healing in stages to avoid draining his abilities and the final one was Elizabeth. The allergy patient only needed a final check up, which Lance performed under Macy's calm eye, and was given a clean bill of health and clearance to be a part of the forth coming mission. The broken bone patient was, reluctantly, kept back as the healing required on the radius and ulna would run the risk of draining Lance too far before a major campaign. Elizabeth, however, Lance gave a little extra Morphin' power, so that she could have more energy to assist in the camp defense if necessary. He went straight to bed right after that, as prepared as he could be for the next day's activities.
Nicole shook him awake before dawn, "We're about to leave," she told him, "you'd best get the medical supplies ready."
Lance nodded and rolled out of bed as she left. He dressed quickly, not in the jeans and t-shirt he usually wore, but in the Mystic uniform, his parents had given him for his fourteenth birthday. While not identical to his parents' uniform, it had the pockets and pouches a healer required, as well as a cape, sword, and arrow case which he took with him to the makeshift infirmary and kept near at hand. "How's it coming?" Macy asked him as the sun finally cleared the horizon.
"Swimmingly," Lance replied as he toyed with his sword. "Are you using the fire right now?"
"No," Macy replied.
"May I?" Lance asked.
"What do you want to use it for?" Macy asked.
"I want to use a power stone to cast a fire scry to see if I can find out what's going on," Lance replied.
"Won't that drain your power?" Macy asked.
"Not with a power stone," Lance replied, "the spell is powered by a previously charge item, like a battery, instead of from me. Power stones are generally one use only, but I can refill them over and over as needed. Those quartz rocks I've been collecting are excellent at holding a charge. Unfortunately, I can't use them for healing, the power works differently, but scrying spells, and even that exploding tank trick I used last time I fought Grinders, can be done from a power stone if I have enough warning."
"Ok," Macy said.
"Come watch with me?" Lance offered, "I don't think you'll hear what's happening, but you should be able to see the picture."
"Thank you," Macy replied.
Lacy took one of the quartz stones from his pocket as they walked over to the fire and set it down as close as he could reach the flames. A few words later, and they could see Nicole crouching behind a rock at the top of a canyon and watching the Grinders guarding the mine. Eric McKnight was beside her, but none of the others in the party were visible. The canyon might have once been beautiful, with a waterfall still visible at one end, and a stream flowing through it. From the blasted trees and withered grass, it was even possible that it had once had a park-like vibe, but Venjix's pollution had ruined it. Lance winced softly, the Earth ninjas wouldn't be at all well when they came back, their sensitivity to the Earth's pollution was strongest after they had to use their elemental powers. He'd have to watch them and make sure all the poisons were leached out of them. As they watched, a quartet of Grinders on bikes came into view. "Must be a patrol," Lance said softly.
"Go team one," Nicole whispered into one of the hoarded radios.
Moments later, plumes of dust streaked across the floor of the canyon before six ninjas shot out of the dirt, two hitting the Grinders on bikes and the other four going after other targets. "Team two," McKnight said.
Air ninjas swooped in from the top of the canyon, hitting their targets with the taser-like devices that Will had devised for fighting Grinders.
"Three," Nicole finished.
Like a pair of wraiths, the two water ninjas rose out of the stream and fired their own taser devices. Once the taser devices were used, the ninjas switched to maces, flails, and morning stars to batter the Grinders out of commission in a combination of ninja streak and sheer strength. A few of the ninjas went down, but Lance didn't see any of them go still in the finality of death.
"They won," Macy murmured.
"The mine," Luke corrected, "could be more."
Sure enough, more Grinders flooded out of the mine, but the ten ninjas were able to put them down easily. Nicole lifted her radio, "Team One, sweep the mine, get our people out of there."
Three of the four Earth ninjas headed inside, the fourth was sitting beside the river, holding his arm close to his chest.
Moments later, people began flooding out of the mines, stumbling as they tried to adjust to the sunlight after what had been an undoubtedly dark hole in the ground. Nicole turned to Eric, "Get back to camp, confirm our victory. Have the kids bring down the ATVs for our walking wounded. Tell Lance we have four down, plus the prisoners."
"Yes ma'am," Eric said with a light grin. He shifted and stood up.
Lance leaned back with a slight nod, "Now, we can say we won," he told Macy.