Sarah whooped with joy as she whipped her hoverboard around the streets of Summer Cove. She had always loved speed, and she'd especially loved her hoverboard. Like many people, she had always dreamed of being to fly. Nothing exemplified true freedom than the ability to go literally anywhere you wanted, to choose any direction to go at any given moment. While her hoverboard wasn't really able to "fly" per se, it wasn't completely enclosed the same way as say a helicopter or a plane and so to her it was the closest anyone was likely to get to being able to truly fly, without evolving to have wings or something…not that she ruled that out as a possibility, just not likely within her lifetime.
She felt Preston gripping her a little more tightly and smiled. She didn't really know what she enjoyed more, zipping around on her hoverboard or feeling Preston gripping on for dear life. He knew that she wasn't likely to put him in any real danger, and she had willingly put herself in danger for his tricks a few times, but he did feel a little bit of panic whenever he was on the back of her board. Of course, she knew for all his complaining and whimpering it was the kind of panic he really enjoyed, the same way people loved the feeling of fear they got from riding a roller coaster or parachute jumping. It was a safe fear, one that came from the body reacting to the stimulation of high speed or falling but with the knowledge that when all was said and done no real harm was likely to come from it. Preston hugs were good hugs, and she did love feeling his arms around her.
There was kind of a sputtering sound from her board and she looked down, seeing the low battery warning blinking. She decreased the speed.
"Hold on!" Sarah told him. "I'm bringing us down."
She managed to bring the board over to a patch of grass, before slowing it to the stage they could step off safely. The board dropped down and the engine died as Sarah went over to it, picking it up and looking to it, before pulling out a notebook and a pen.
"Well, we got further than we did last time." She commented. "Switching out those steel parts for titanium was expensive, but the weight reduction did give it a little more air time."
"Yeah, it still didn't get us all the way to the school though." Preston remarked. "But I can see it from here, so there's that."
"Yeah, I just wish I knew what else I could do to it." Sarah sighed. "I mean, I've done everything I can think of."
"Maybe a bigger power pack?" He suggested.
"I don't want to risk blowing out the motors." She told him. "Besides, a bigger power pack just means more weight."
"Well how about I help you shed some dead weight?" Wrench asked as he came out of hiding, throwing his axe straight for them. Sarah and Preston both dived aside, rolling clear as his axe soared through the air. There was a red Ford coming around the corner at the time, which swerved to try and avoid the axe, but it was already too late and the axe hit it, causing it to tumble over and over before hitting a wall.
"Preston! Is he OK?" Sarah screeched, seeing the vehicle ending up on its roof.
"I'd be more worried about yourselves if I were you!" Wrench stated as he recalled his axe to his hand.
"You know, I think that's really good advice." Preston agreed, pulling out his morpher. "Maybe we should take it."
"We can always check on the driver later." Sarah agreed.
"NINJA SPIN!" They called out together.
Meanwhile, over at the Ranger Base, Calvin and Hayley were sitting with Viera, checking over her homework as she was getting ready for the day ahead.
"Viera, I told you the answer is one. There's only one planet in the Milky Way that has life on it." Hayley told her.
"But that's not true! There are at least 187!" She protested.
"Yeah…NASADA hasn't really found those other worlds yet." Calvin told her. "So as far as Earth knows, there's only one."
"You mean people on this planet think that the entire universe exists purely for them?" She asked. "That seems unlikely…and more than a little conceited."
"Oh, we know there are other inhabited worlds, Earth's been invaded a few times." Hayley answered. "But not by anyone in the Milky Way so…"
"Fine, I'll change my answer." She grumbled as Kody came by, brushing up against her. "What's up with him? Shoo, shoo!"
"It's alright, he just wants you to pet him." Hayley told her. "Just give him a little stroke, he'll be alright."
Viera just looked to her a little curiously before gently starting to stroke the dog. She had never had any pets back home, her father never encouraged her to get close to anyone. It just made it harder to view people or creatures as expendable assets if one got attached to them.
"Good news Viera, I have a present for you." Mick told her, presenting her with a plastic card. "We finally managed to get you a charge card of your own, so the guys won't have to put your lunches on theirs anymore."
"Yeah, and maybe I'll get to eat my own lunch." Calvin teased Viera, recalling the burrito incident.
"So, if none of you are paying for it, then who is?" Viera asked him.
"Uh…it's…it's covered." Mick assured her.
"Yeah, but by who?" Hayley asked curiously.
"I…don't think it's best you know too much." Mick replied.
"Come on Mick, we're already broken a whole bunch of identity and forgery laws, I think we can handle it." Calvin told him. "So, what, are we embezzling the school board now?"
"I don't think I'm on board with that." Hayley responded.
"We have a benefactor who's only too happy to pay for her lunches alright?" Mick answered. He didn't really want to tell them that it was Principal Hastings. While the team knew where she lived, and knew that as a result of her captivity at the hands of Madame Odious she now knew who they were, they didn't know that she actually came from old money.
Before the Tiens had bought up a virtual Monopoly of the city, the Hastings had been the first family of Summer Cove. Having no interest in the family business, being more interested in teaching, she had sold out most of the holdings, keeping only the family home, but that meant that she now has a serious bank balance. She didn't like to advertise the fact, but she had told Mick that most of the anonymous donations to the school had come from her. Whenever the school was short of anything a generous booster who wanted to remain anonymous would cut a check. She already covered the bill for a lot of the lower income students' lunches so one more wasn't really much of an issue for her. That said, she didn't advertise the fact she had money and Mick didn't really see it as his place to do so either.
Just then, the entrance opened and Levi and Brody came in.
"Yeah, sorry I had to make that call. I know we were meant to have breakfast." Levi told him. "Still, I'm sure you and Tom were able to keep each other occupied."
"Yeah, it was fine." Brody answered. He could see how important it was to Levi to try and get them to get along. As much as Brody was overjoyed to have his brother back, and wanted nothing more than to have him to himself he had come with something of a reasonable amount of baggage. In the ten years since their family had been torn apart, while Brody's life had been put largely on hold as a result of his imprisonment, Levi's it seemed had moved on. He had created a whole new identity, a new life and even a new family for himself. Brody could understand that asking him to just throw that away was unlikely to happen, but the idea of having another brother, one that he barely knew and seemed to have very little in common with was something he wasn't sure he was ever going to get used to. Of course, he didn't want to spoil things for Levi by just blurting out that he wasn't sure he even liked Tom never mind could accept him as a brother.
"Hey, maybe we can arrange that dinner for later in the week." Levi suggested. "There's a great place nearby that does THE best steak…"
"Maybe." Brody said in an off-hand way. Just then, an alarm sounded. The Rangers rushed to one of the monitors.
"Buzz-Cams are in a neighbourhood a short way from the school." Redbot told them. "It's Wrench!"
"It looks like he's decided to give the audience a little promo reel." Mick stated. "Preston and Sarah are already out there!"
"Why do I get the feeling that's not a coincidence?" Hayley asked. "Alright, let's get out there, before Wrench levels the whole street!"
Back at the site of the battle, Wrench was playing with the Pink and Blue Rangers, showing off the incredible power of his latest upgrades. He grabbed Sarah, thrusting her up against a wall by the throat.
"We've come a long way since Amber Beach, haven't we?" He asked her. "I'll bet you thought I was a joke over there like that little scientist friend of yours!"
"You are a joke Wrench!" She said defiantly. "You've gone from being an errand boy for one psychopath to an errand boy for another psychopath!"
"What's wrong with psychopaths?" He asked her, pulling her away from the wall before slamming her into it again. "As long as he pays well, who cares if Cosmo is a psychopath? He's given me more in one year than Sledge did in 65 million! I might not have got the chance to get even with that museum curator but tearing you apart well…"
"You are such a whiny little cry-baby do you know that?" She interrupted him. "Either get over it or get on with it! Either way learn to move on!"
"Oh, I plan on getting on with it, but not just yet." He told her. "Our little grudge match is the main-event Cosmo wants this week. Of course, your little friend there…"
"PRESTON!" She screamed as he started to come towards them. Wrench opened up his missile ports, opening fire with a massive salvo of missiles. Preston de-morphed as he flew through the air, hitting the ground hard, before lying still. He threw Sarah aside just as the other Rangers showed up.
"Time to go I think." He stated. "See you all Friday!"
With that, he disappeared. Sarah rushed over to Preston's side, finding him unconscious as the others joined her.
"What happened?" Brody asked.
"I don't know, Wrench just came out of nowhere! He started blasting us and…" She babbled, holding onto Preston tightly. She suddenly looked over to the wrecked car. "That car! There's someone inside!"
"We'll check on him!" Hayley assured her as she and Calvin went over to the wreck. Brody pulled out his communicator.
"Redbot, Mick, set up the medical facilities, Preston's been hurt pretty badly." Brody told them. "Also, call an ambulance. We have a civilian casualty…"
"Uh…belay that last part." Hayley told them.
"But the guy in the car…"
"Whoever was in the car is gone." Calvin told them, before pulling out a gun.
"But we saw that car get thrown across the street!" Sarah told them. "Whoever was in that car needs medical help!"
"I have a feeling whoever was in that car probably didn't want to wait around for the authorities." Calvin told them, showing them a gun. "The serial number's been filed off. I don't know many people that do that for any good reason do you?"
"It's just as well our suits have gloves." Hayley commented as Calvin threw the gun back into the car. "We might not need an ambulance anymore but the cops might want to ask this guy a few questions when they track him down."
"Speaking of which, I hear sirens." Levi said as he picked up Preston. "Come on, we need to get out of here."
With that, they left the scene of the battle behind.
Over in another part of the city, the stranger stumbled through the streets back towards the motel he was using as a safe-house. He stopped by a drug store for some supplies, namely pain-killers and some basic first aid supplies. He had been right on Sarah's tail when the attack went down.
In the confusion he had fled before anyone could come to check on him. He didn't really know what had happened, he had just seen a robot appearing in the street shortly before his car started tumbling over and over. He didn't want to wait around for the authorities. He didn't want to explain why he was driving around following a seventeen-year-old with an unregistered gun with no serial number. That in and of itself would lead to some serious jail time, the fact he was already a convicted felon would mean he would likely spend the remaining good years of his life back in prison.
He took a little time to fumble with the door lock to get in, before shutting out the world behind him. He went to the table and sat down, taking a look at his injuries before he got out his burner phone.
"It's me." He said to the man on the other end. "I ran into a complication."
"What kind of complication?" The man on the other end of the line asked.
"I was doing some surveillance…"
"SURVEILLANCE?" The other guy asked. "It's a private citizen that lives in suburbia, not a dignitary! What kind of surveillance do you need to…?"
"For your information it turns out he's friendly with a local cop!" The stranger interrupted him. "I think I've got all the information I need, but while I was gathering information there was an attack in the city. I lost the care package."
"You lost the care package?" The man on the other end asked.
"The car was totalled! I had to leave before the authorities got there!" The stranger told him. "I'll need another weapon too."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd wonder if you were stalling." The man on the other end stated.
"I can't exactly help it if a robot turns up and blows up the car, can I?" He asked.
"You lived in Panorama, you should be used to that kind of thing!" The other man stated, before taking a deep breath. "Alright, another care package will be dropped at the motel later, but this is the last one."
"Don't worry, it's all I'll need." He assured him. "I've got all the information I need. I know when I can get to him alone."
"Good." The stranger answered. "We've spent a lot of time and effort on this already. Don't disappoint us."
"Don't worry." The stranger replied, opening a packet of bandages. "It'll be a pleasure."
Back at the Ranger Base, Mick and Redbot had finished setting up the medical supplies when the Rangers arrived. Levi set Preston down carefully on the table.
"He looks like he's been shaken up pretty badly. He's been in and out on the way back here." Levi told him.
"Let me get to him." Sarah told them. "I can use my power…"
"Sarah, we can't let you do that." Brody told her.
"Brody, I can heal him! You know I can!" She screamed at him.
"It might not be the worst idea…"
"She's been using her power on her dad." Brody told him. Sarah just looked at him aghast.
"Brody!"
"She has?" Mick asked, before looking to her. "You have?"
"Well, I…um…"
"She's been syphoning off a little of his pain each day for weeks." Hayley confirmed.
"Guys, I told you that in confidence!" She yelled at them, before looking to Mick. "Mick, it's fine I can do this!"
"Sarah, we're still not sure what the extent of your powers is. We have no idea how much your body can take." Mick told her.
"Don't you think I know what I can take?" Sarah asked him.
"Frankly no I don't! We all know you'd take on the pain yourself, especially when it comes to Preston." Mick told her. "But if you're already taking on your dad's injuries taking on Preston's too might be pushing you too hard."
"That's my risk to take!" She yelled at him.
"No, it's not!" Brody stated, standing between them. "I'm sorry Sarah, but as leader of this team I already have one Ranger down, I can't risk making that two."
"You're forbidding me from helping my boyfriend?" Sarah shrieked at Brody.
"If that's how you want to see things then yes, I am!" Brody stated. "Sorry Sarah, but we just can't risk it."
"You really think you can stop me if…"
"Don't make me ban you from the base." Brody warned her. "I don't want to but I will."
"Hayley, you understand, don't you?" Sarah begged her.
"Yeah, she does, and so do I." Calvin answered. "I know if it was Hayley lying on that table and if I had to I'd rip my own heart out of my chest with my bare hands and give it to her."
"That's sweet." Hayley stated. "A little bit of a disturbing mental image but sweet."
"The point is we know that what's good for you isn't going to be a consideration." Levi said sympathetically. "So, if you won't take care of yourself, then we have to."
"Preston's not going anywhere any time soon." Redbot told them. "I'll need him to rest here for the rest of the day, then we can see how he feels, but taking him into battle's out of the question."
"That must be what Wrench was after all along." Sarah sighed. "He said that it's me and him that Cosmo wants in his event this Friday. He doesn't care about the rest of us because you don't have the same history with Wrench."
"So, he's trying to thin out the numbers a little bit." Brody sighed. "Alright, nobody goes anywhere alone. We all need to stick together and if he turns up again, don't let pride get in the way, you call in the rest of the team."
Just then, the bell for first period sounded. Mick just held up a hand.
"Redbot and I will take care of Preston." He assured them. "For now, the rest of you have to get to class."
"You'll let us know if…"
"…If anything changes you'll be the first to know, I promise." Mick assured Sarah. "Go. I'll look after Preston."
With that, Sarah and the others reluctantly left the base, while Mick turned his attention back to the fallen Blue Ranger.
"Alright Preston, I've got a little something here for the pain." Mick told him. "Sorry, but right now that's the best I can offer you."