Ms. Foster was just finishing loading the dishwasher after dinner when Cassandra came into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. She was grateful to Helen and Bob for allowing her to spend time at the orphanage. Without anyone who understood her gift to teach her how to control it, she was struggling to figure it out for herself. However, one day, one of the other patients had relatives to visit, one of them a small child. Cassandra had found her thoughts to be comfortable and soothing. The natural innocence of children meant that they didn't have the same darkness inside them that some adults did.
She loved being around the kids now. While she perfected how to block out the thoughts of others, she found it much easier to be around those whose thoughts and feelings didn't hurt her. It gave her the chance to come to terms with her gift; to practice it could be said, without fear of being overwhelmed.
"The younger kids have all been put to bed." She told Ms. Foster cheerfully. "A few of the older ones are just watching a DVD quietly."
"Thanks Cassandra." Helen replied in an exhausted sigh. "You've been a godsend since you started working here."
"It's alright; really you don't have to thank me." She replied, waving off her thanks. "I keep telling you, I love it here."
"Well it's still appreciated." Ms. Foster reiterated. "I love him dearly, but Bob isn't the most domestic of people. He still hasn't figured out how to do the laundry. Anyway, it's getting late. Would you like Bob to give you a lift back to the hospital?"
"No, that's alright." She assured her. "I could do with the walk to work off some of that ice cream."
"OK, I'll see you tomorrow night." Helen told her. Cassandra put on her jacket, making her way out into the night. As she got to the end of the gravel path, she looked around, becoming aware of someone approaching her. She looked up, finding a bearded, scarred man she didn't recognise.
"Sorry to frighten you." He said in a soft voice. "I just stopped to ask directions. I'm looking for this woman."
Cassandra took the photograph he was holding, seeing it was a picture of Dr. K.
"This is Dr. K." Cassandra stated. "What would you want with her?"
"I just need to speak with her." He replied, touching her shoulder. Cassandra felt his thoughts coursing through her, and her head started pounding as she was assaulted by images of violence and warfare. She looked up at the stranger, clearly terrified.
"Who are you?" She gasped. The stranger grabbed her, forcing her against the wall.
"I don't want to hurt you." He told her. "If you tell me where to find her, I'll let you go without hurting you. I promise."
"She's at the Garage." Cassandra rushed out, her head in agony as she felt like her brain was about to burst into flames.
"Where is it?" He asked her a little more forcefully. Cassandra closed her eyes, trembling in fear.
"Three blocks from here." She told him. "Next right, then head straight. You'll see it on the left."
The stranger released her, at which Cassandra immediately ran off back towards the orphanage. The stranger got into his truck and gunned the engine, heading towards the Garage. He knew that the first thing Cassandra would do was call someone and tell them that someone was after Dr. K.
Cassandra pounded on the door, which Bob answered. She threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly as tears streamed down her face.
"I was attacked." She told him. "He wanted to know where to find Dr. K."
"Helen, call the Rangers." He instructed his girlfriend as she arrived, finding Cassandra in a hysterical state. "Someone's going after Dr. K."
"But the military is guarding the base now." She gasped. "Who would try and attack that? It's insane!"
Sarah was sitting in a dimly lit lab, going over some files. She had gone over all the evidence she had compiled a million times, but she still couldn't help feeling like she would find something she had missed. She was desperate to free herself from her torment, to finally put her past to rest once and for all, but there was still so much she didn't know. The files never seemed to reveal anything she could use to find out who had been responsible for imprisoning her, and more importantly, what fate befell them.
The communicator burst into life, and she heard Scott's voice.
"Sarah, we're coming as quick as we can!" He yelled. "Just hang on!"
"Scott, what are you talking about?" She asked him. Almost on cue, she heard a loud crash from the main hangar. Going to the security monitor, she watched as a blue four by four truck crashed through the heavy steel security doors. As guards poured into the hangar to confront the attacker, the stranger disembarked, attacking them, taking them down with impressive skill and dismissive ease.
"Someone's just crashed the gate!" Sarah screamed. She hit the security lockdown button, sealing the lab. She went back to the security monitor and watched as the stranger dispatched the last of the guards in the hangar. His truck then powered up and surged forward, slamming through the wall into the main room. The stranger followed it.
"No one breaks into my home and gets away with it." She hissed, activating the defence cannons. As the first descended from the ceiling, firing a volley, the stranger darted into cover, dodging the blasts as he went.
"He shouldn't be able to do that." She gasped. "It's not humanly possible to move that quickly."
The stranger's truck drove forward, blasts rebounding off its hull uselessly and slammed into the door to the lab. Sarah shrieked as the doors flew inward, narrowly missing her. The truck backed off, and the stranger stepped into the hole he had made.
"Sarah Marie Baxter I presume." He announced. Another ceiling cannon descended, but the stranger moved quickly, pulling out a key and sticking it into the device on his wrist, twisting it. Instantly he transformed into a tight blue bodysuit, with white boots and gloves, and a yellow rectangle on the chest. His helmet was also blue and appeared to have car headlights built into it. He pulled out a blaster, using it to rebound the blast back destroying the cannon. He then fired a shot as Sarah went to pull out a drawer, presuming she was going for a weapon. She held her hands up defensively as he advanced on her.
"What do you want with me?" She asked him. "Are you with the Macha Group?"
"No, I just know about them, and I'm willing to tell you everything you know if you do as I ask." He told her as he recalled his helmet. "I need your help."
Scott and the others stormed into the room, finding Sarah with the stranger. Scott levelled a blaster at him.
"Step away from her!" He demanded. The stranger put away his blaster slowly, de-morphing as he did so.
"It's alright, I don't mean any harm." He told them.
"Yeah, it looks like it." Flynn quipped sarcastically, looking at the wreckage. "What's the story?"
"My name is Justin Stewart." He told them. "I came here to ask for your help."
A few hours later, Chas, Hicks, Vasquez and the Rangers were all assembled in the main room. The soldiers had cleaned up as much as they could, and had replaced the hangar door. Justin's truck was parked in the hangar. Scott was pacing the room impatiently, trying to collect his thoughts as to how to begin.
"So you're a Ranger?" Dillon asked him. Justin just let out a small, derisive laugh.
"You know, we didn't bother with a Black Ranger on my team. Now I guess I know why." He replied disrespectfully. "Yes, I'm a Ranger. I was the Blue Turbo Ranger. That's my Zord, Mountain Blaster."
"So why did you attack the base?" Scott asked him, pointing to the hole in the wall.
"Sarah is easily the most important person in the city. I doubted if a stranger turned up asking to see the woman directing the efforts to reclaim the planet earth, the military would just show me in." He explained. "I needed to get your attention to make sure you'd hear me out."
"Alright, so you got our attention." Sarah snapped grumpily. "How do you know my name? What do you know about the Macha group?"
"My dad used to work for them. He was one of the researchers." He explained. "He worked directly for the president of the company."
"So your dad..."
"He didn't know about Alphabet Soup, but he found out." Justin corrected her. "Once he found out, he took his suspicions straight to the government. He was working as a double agent, passing along information. It's because of him SPD knew about Alphabet Soup."
"How do you know about SPD?" Dillon asked him.
"I take it you're the brains of the outfit." Justin said sarcastically. Summer felt Dillon's muscles tense up under his dinner jacket, but held him. It was her way of wordlessly telling him to calm down. They needed to find out what Justin wanted first. They could worry about his attitude later. "I was on a team with Tommy Oliver. He contacted me and told me about your team. That's how I knew to come to Corinth. After all, if anyone could help, it would be Sarah."
"What do you want from us?" Sarah asked him. Justin smiled.
"I want to take you back to where the Ranger Legend all began." He told her. "I want your help to save Angel Grove."
