The Rangers got back to the Garage after the funeral, making their way into the main room. It had been a trying enough day as they said their farewells to Colonel Truman and Mayor Fallon; however, they soon found themselves unable to even mourn in peace. Gates had taken the opportunity after the service to tell them that he was bringing Project Ranger under military control.
Scott tore off his jacket, launching it carelessly onto the floor, before slumping down onto the couch. Summer sat next to him, settling into his arms for comfort.
"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink." Flynn muttered, making his way to the kitchen.
"I'm going to check on Tenaya." Ziggy whispered, making his way from the room. Despite the fact he had only really known Colonel Truman a comparatively short time, it brought up a lot of feelings in him. He had wished his whole life for parents to take care of him and love him unconditionally. Growing up in the orphanage, as much as he loved Ms. Foster, she always had to maintain a little distance in case the kids ever did get adopted and leave, and he had to share her with all the others, sometimes dozens of kids at any one time.
He had even been so desperate for a parental figure that he had latched onto Fresno Bob. It was painfully clear from the early days that he had little if any potential as a gangster, but he was so desperate for a family he persevered, even when he knew his conscience wouldn't let him do what was asked of him.
At first, he couldn't understand the way Scott was with his father. There was a distance and a level of animosity between them he could never understand. He had been so desperate for a family, longed for it so deeply that he couldn't understand how they could be at odds. It took him a while to realise that despite their differences, that there was always love between them.
"I can't believe he did this." Scott muttered. "I've just buried my dad, and he serves us with enlistment papers?"
"Scott, we don't have to think about this right now." Flynn told him, coming back with a couple of beers and handing him one. "I know you're upset."
"I can't believe this is happening." Summer muttered, pulling into Scott more closely. "It feels like everything's falling apart. First Dr. K goes missing, then Dillon got attacked, then your dad was killed and now this!"
"Summer, we always knew that things could get rough when this started." Scott told her, softly.
"It just feels like we're losing everything." She murmured. "I keep hoping that something's going to happen, but then something else goes wrong."
She pulled herself out of his arms and shuffled away to the stasis room to sit with Dillon. Flynn watched her go with a regretful look on his face. He looked to Scott, who just shook his head gently. Flynn wanted to go after her, to try and convince her to stay with them, but right now it wasn't the time. She wasn't ready.
"I wish there was something else we could do for her." Flynn stated, cracking open his beer and handing one to Scott. "I don't know how much more of this she can take. She's pretty close to the edge."
"She and dad were pretty close." Scott told him. "We're going to have to keep a close eye on her."
"Maybe this Project Strychnine thing might not be such a bad idea." Flynn suggested. "I mean right now we are down one Ranger, and I'm not sure how much longer Summer can hold it together."
"Flynn, if that was what Dr. K and dad wanted, they would have brought Project Ranger under the military from the beginning." Scott said quietly, taking a sip of beer. "They always thought it would operate more effectively as an independent force."
"Scott, think about this." Flynn told him. "The decision's been made. If we continue to operate out with the military, we'll be guilty of treason."
"Then I guess we better get ready to get into some major trouble." Scott replied as the alarm went off. Summer and Ziggy stumbled back into the room, making their way to their vehicles. "I guess it was too much to expect Venjix to leave us alone today."
As they arrived at the scene of the battle though, they found that the battle was already well underway without them. Wrecked Grinders littered the streets, and more flew through the air. As they disembarked, they saw what was happening.
There were three unknown warriors, clad in pitch black bodysuits, and wearing shoulder-harnesses carrying various weapons. Two of them appeared to be male, while the third was clearly female. One of the male warriors wore a mask completely covering his head that looked like a skull. He was busy ploughing through Grinders towards Venjix's latest attack bot, carving through them with a glowing energy sword in one hand, and a pistol in the other that fired huge energy blasts that wrecked everything in their path.
"Mandrake, hit the attack bot!" The skull-faced warrior yelled. They watched as the other male warrior pointed a huge rifle at the robot and fired. Each shot scored with pinpoint accuracy, scoring telling hits on its frame, causing sparks to fly. Weapons, limbs and other systems seemed to noticeably fail, causing the robot to start crashing about, falling to the ground uselessly.
"Nightshade, on the right!" The skull faced warrior commanded. The female warrior rushed around, taking down the last of the Grinders with a claw weapon attached to her right hand. As the attack bot started to stir, preparing to grow, all three rounded on it.
"Mandrake, use the stasis shot!" The Skull warrior commanded. The warrior with the rifle flipped a switch, causing the rifle to alter shape slightly. He pulled a shell from his shoulder harness, loading it into the breach before firing. The robot appeared to completely halt in its tracks, stopping growing. "Nightshade, the download spike!"
The female warrior surged forward, ramming a needle-like weapon into the robot's breast plate. A power surge rushed through it as the programme downloaded into it, jamming all its systems. The skull-faced warrior finished it off by carving it to pieces with his sword. A crowd quickly surrounded the scene, applauding the new heroes.
"Uh, does anyone else feel a little redundant right now?" Flynn asked as the three strangers were surrounded. A few reporters started to arrive on the scene, pushing their way through the crowd.
"It's alright, I will be only too happy to answer questions." The skull-faced warrior told them. He pulled off his helmet, revealing that it was, indeed, Gates. "You have all borne witness to the latest line of defence for Corinth city. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Project Strychnine."
"Colonel Gates, are you seriously taking a front-line role in the defence of Corinth?" One of the reporters asked as the Rangers tried to make sense of what they had seen.
"I think anyone who has followed my career will know that I've never been shy of getting my hands dirty." He said with a small laugh. "We all want to do our bit to help."
"Is this a replacement for the Rangers?" Another reporter asked. "You seemed to deal with the threat before they arrived."
"As I said, we all have a part to play." Gates told them as he started to make his way through the crowd. He stopped before Scott, gesturing to the Red Ranger. "As part of my new initiative, I wanted to pool our resources. I don't want to replace the Rangers; Project Strychnine exists to supplement their power. That is why I have asked the Rangers to sign up to the military and submit to military control. That way we can present a united front against Venjix."
He turned to Scott and offered his hand for a handshake.
"What do you have to say?" He asked. Scott looked around at the crowd awaiting his response. He didn't want to cause a scene in public. He took Gates' hand and shook it.
"It's good to see the city's safe for now." He told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some personal business to attend t. You will receive our answer tomorrow."
With that, they left. Gates just smirked as the attention was turned back to him.
Sam was working hard in the forensics lab, feeling a little regret about the fact she was unable to attend the funeral. Given the riot, coming so quickly after The White Rose being wiped out, they had been inundated with work, to the point it was simply impossible for her to take the day off.
She wished she could be there for the man she loved. She knew that Colonel Truman's death would have affected him, not just because they liked each other and he considered him a friend, but because she knew that he would have to be there to support Scott and Summer. She hated the thought of him having to carry the burden of that all by himself.
"I'm just going to my office to rest up a little." She said in a yawn, informing one of her assistants where she'd be. "After 19 hours, I think I could use a break."
"I'll wake you if we need you." The young assistant told her as she left. Sam made her way into the office and slumped down onto the cot she had set up there when she realised she would be pulling yet another mammoth shift before everyone was identified and returned to their families. As she settled down, a knock came at the door. She groaned and sat up on the edge of the cot, seeing that it was a courier.
"I have a pa…"
"I haven't slept in 19 hours; just give me the clip board." She interrupted him abruptly, taking it from him. She signed it and handed it back, at which the courier handed her the package and left, muttering something under his breath about his moody customer. Sam looked at the sender's address, finding it curious. It was sent from a private box, and the sender was listed only as "a friend". Opening it, she found a diary, an energy cell from a blaster, and a white rose.
She set the energy cell and the white rose aside, and began reading the diary, but quickly found herself stopping as she realised that it belonged to Marcus.
"Who sent this?" She asked herself. "What does it mean?"
Dr. K rose from her bed as the door to her cell opened. Gates walked in with a huge grin on his face.
"What do you want now?" She asked him.
"I just thought you might like to know how the funeral went." He replied, uploading a disk into the computer. Dr. K watched as she saw the service being played. "It was on all the channels. Everyone was there; I think this might easily have been his finest hour."
She reached out, her fingertips stroking the screen as she saw the coffin, draped with the flag being lowered into the grave. A tear ran down her face as the first volley of the 21 gun salute sounded.
"I thought you might also like to know that I got the job." He told her. "It's only temporary right now, but when Chas gets elected, he knows better than to name anyone but me the Colonel's permanent replacement. We've already had that little talk."
"The Rangers will figure it out eventually." She stated flatly. "There's no way they'll work for a blood-soaked maniac like you."
"They might, they might not. Since I have the power of the Project Strychnine rigs behind me, it doesn't matter." He responded with a shrug. "I passed a new law, one that requires all of Corinth's defences to be co-ordinated by the military. If the Rangers don't sign up and submit themselves to my orders, they will have to turn in their morphers or I'll have them arrested for treason."
"They'll fight you!" She shrieked. "There's no way you'll get away with this!"
"Well if they do choose to fight, they'll have to face me and my operatives." He reminded her. "Not to mention they'll have to face the military. I'm sure they won't want to hurt the very people they try so hard to protect."
He turned off the computer, before beginning to walk away.
"Of course, you made all this possible, so just like I promised, your secret will never leave this room." He stated, making his way to the door. "Of course neither will you. I have no further need for you. Enjoy your home."
The door slammed shut with an ominous finality. Dr. K felt her heart racing in panic as she realised her predicament. No one knew where she was; even she had been blindfolded when she was brought here. There was no way for anyone to find her. The lights went out, plunging the room into darkness and all the screens went dead. He had shut off the power. She grabbed a tool from the bench and started feverishly trying to force open the shackle on her ankle in a futile manner as her tears ran more freely. No one was coming for her, if she couldn't get out on her own, then this would be where she would die, in a grey subterranean lab, much like she had spent most of her life.
Back at the Garage the Rangers, all except for Summer who had once again retreated to Dillon's chamber were sitting around considering their options. None of them really wanted to give control of their operations to the military, least of all because Gates was now in charge.
"I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but maybe this isn't such a bad move." Ziggy suggested nervously. "Just in the short term, I mean we are a bit under strength right now. Dillon's down and Summer's..."
His words tailed off at this point. He didn't want to say it, but they both knew what he meant. They knew she would be there for them as much as she could, but she wasn't exactly in the best position to help out. She was already pretty close to breaking point, and the extra strain of battle would not help matters.
"If we don't do it, we'll be arrested for treason." Flynn reminded him. "I don't know about you, but I'm not looking forward to the prospect of spending the rest of my life in one of those tracking collars. You remember Summer telling us what it was like in there right?"
"If this was what dad and Dr. K wanted, they would have started the program under the military in the first place." Scott told him. "They believed we'd operate more effectively as an independent body. I trust her judgement."
"We all do, but she isn't here." Flynn reminded him. "I'm not happy about this either, but if we don't we'll be fugitives. Every soldier in the city will be duty bound to try and arrest us, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to fight innocent people."
"I definitely don't want to face those Project Strychnine guys." Ziggy added. "In case you hadn't noticed, they're pretty tough."
"I know, but this is what dad would have wanted." Scott told them flatly. "You can do what you want, but I for one will not serve under Gates. I don't trust him."
"I don't either." Summer told them, making her way slowly back into the room, red streaks running down her face. "I can't serve under him, and I can't hand in my morpher."
"If that's the way things have to be." Flynn sighed, standing up. "It wouldn't be the first time I've gotten into trouble trying to be a superhero."
"I guess I'm in too." Ziggy replied, getting up and putting a hand in. "If we do this, we're in for all kinds of trouble, but I don't care. We're the Rangers, and that's the way it's going to stay."
Dr. K was frantically trying to open the shackle to release herself as tears streamed down her face. The desperation of her situation became even more obvious as the tool in her hand snapped. The shackle was barely damaged at all, maybe a couple of scratches but that was all.
She grabbed it and started working it with her hands frantically, as though somehow hoping she would suddenly gain some measure of superhuman strength. Although she knew it was an exercise in futility, she worked until her fingers were red raw and starting to bleed. When she could no longer stand the pain in her fingers, she finally gave up.
She retreated to the corner of the room and held the blanket from the bed tightly as despair overtook her and she prepared to accept her fate. She wept loudly as she realised she would never see the Rangers or anyone else again. She would never see Scott again. She would never get a chance to be near him, to tell him what he meant to her.
Just as she started to whisper her goodbyes, awaiting the long, drawn out death that awaited her in that cell, the door was blasted from its hinges. She shielded her face as the dust settled. The twisted, mangled door lay on the floor a little way from her. Looking up into the hall, she could see the outline of a man approaching. She squinted to get a better look. She couldn't believe her eyes as he came close enough for her to see him.
"Colonel Truman?" She asked in a disbelieving gasp. The Colonel fired a round from his blaster, breaking the chain, before putting it back into his holster and helping her to her feet.
"In the words of Mark Twain, rumours of my demise were greatly exaggerated." He told her.