Volume VI – Outlaws

Chapter 49—Fall From Grace, Part III: Sweet Sacrifice

Gabriel

I heard the door to the backroom I was being kept in slide open and saw the light flood in. I didn't have to look up to know Beth had come to visit me again.

Ever since the rangers had taken me from SPD, she'd continuously come to check on me. Part of me loved it. Part of me hated it.

I could remember reading class material on drug addictions and the symptoms of withdrawal, and I honestly felt as if I had been soaring on heroin for the past few years. And now it was gone.

The withdrawals from the Angel state were agonizingly painful. Some nights, I would scream for hours as my body tore itself in two. But the Angel was stronger than my human half. And he told me to hold on.

In all my time to think, I had begun to wonder if I could survive without the Angel. Doctor Oliver had been running tests on me for the past two weeks, and I seemed to be getting better for the most part. I was even allowed out of the containment field a few times.

But there were just things that I was not ready to face. The unspeakable crimes I'd committed…all the pain I'd caused Patrick and Aaron…all the people I'd killed. And it was all me. Everyone thought that the Angel was like Zeta was to Patrick—a separate mind that I could actually fight. But it wasn't. The Angel was part of me.

Doctor Oliver was the first to figure it out, though he said he'd suspected Messiah knew. He said the Angel was a virus that had been grafted to my DNA upon birth. The virus would only activate after my human body stopped functioning. Its mission was to reanimate my body and shut down my brain so that it could redesign it to fit Cronus's original plans. Fortunately, I guessed, part of my human essence was stored in Beth. Through…um…intercourse.

As crazy as it sounded, a trace of my DNA allowed Beth to absorb a small part of the virus and keep it from completing itself. Instead of the DNA dying, though, it was enough DNA to allow Beth to access my Alpha Morpher. It was literally able to trick the Cyber Morpher into thinking she was me. Since the morphers required a genetic bond, the small amount of DNA Beth's body retained was stored in the Alpha Morpher. Therefore, I would forever be stuck half-Angel-half-Gabriel until the virus was completed.

"Gabriel."

I looked up.

Beth hadn't come to see me.

Aaron had.

I straightened up immediately. The human part of me was terrified of Aaron. His power, or Orion's power, or whoever's power it was—was truly horrifying. I had never felt anything so explosive in my life, even when the Angel was at full power. Well, as full as it could get.

"H-hey," I said nervously.

"Hey," he responded, a weight to his voice. I knew he had something important to talk about. Then again, he always did. At least, whenever he came to see me.

"What's uh….what's going on?"

"Doc talked with Messiah."

"He did?"

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Messiah is willing to give her back to us…but only if we give you to Messiah."

I fell silent.

"The team voted," Aaron pressed on uncomfortably, "and…they decided to let me decide."

I looked up hopefully. There was no hope if the entire team had voted on whether or not to trade me for Grace, but they had voted to let Aaron decide. And he had shown more mercy and forgiveness than anyone I'd ever encountered. I didn't really know how to feel about it. Aaron was the most incredibly powerful thing to probably ever exist, but he had this naivety—this fairness—about him that made me trust he would be fair.

"What did you decide?"

"We've made amazing progress," he said after several moments of silence. He squatted on a crate and locked his hands together, looking me in the eye. "I have to be honest, I didn't think there was much hope. But Beth did. And even though Beth and I have our differences, we do have a past, and I have a ton of respect for her. It would absolutely crush her if I let you go back to Messiah."

"So…what are you going to do?" I wondered, somewhat confused. Aaron's train of thought was always difficult to follow.

"I'm gonna lead the team into SPD and rescue Grace," he said adamantly. "But first…I need your power."

"What?"

"I thought about it, and if anything goes wrong, I could always use the extra power to use the Orion Radiance Ranger. Plus, if Messiah somehow finds you, he won't be able to use your power against us."

I thought it over for a few minutes. Aaron had a point. But letting him absorb my power didn't sound like a good idea. Not because I wanted it, but because I knew what it would do to him.

"Do you think you could control it?" I finally asked him.

"It'll be my last resort," he promised. "I won't use it unless I absolutely have to; trust me on that."

I exhaled deeply. "Alright."

He lingered on the crate for a few moments, seeming to contemplate his actions as he looked me over. When he stood, it was slow and hesitant, and I saw the weight of leadership looming on his shoulders heavily. In that instant, I felt more regret than ever before. But I said nothing.

He moved to the containment field, glanced at me, and then destabilized it.

"This is gonna feel weird," he said apprehensively, "just…try to stay calm."

I braced myself and he chuckled a bit.

"I said stay calm," he said lightly. "It won't hurt."

I softened somewhat and he extended his hand to my forearm. As he laid it gently on my exposed skin, I felt a shock of energy and then felt everything pull from inside me. Aaron's eyes clouded over hazily, but his irises burned brightly beneath the veil. Suddenly, I felt tired.

"W-what the…?" I wondered groggily as I fell limp.

I heard Aaron mutter something as he patted my shoulder, assuring me I'd be okay soon.

—49—

I woke up on a med bed, which was new to me. I usually spent all my time in the containment field, which was basically an 8x8x8 cube. I had a bed, a toilet, a television, and a desk. For it basically being a prison, it was actually pretty comfortable, and I knew it had been Beth's doing. Or maybe it was Aaron's. I knew that there were people on the Cyber Squad that cared about me enough to make sure I was treated like a human being, even though I had never once spared them any mercy.

"You're awake."

It wasn't a question.

I immediately sat up and turned around to come face-to-face with Doctor Oliver.

"Yeah…" I sighed, "what happened?"

"Whenever Aaron uses his empathy to absorb powers, it leaves the donor a bit weak afterwards. But don't worry, your body will adjust," he said, giving me a once over. "How do you feel?"

"Normal, I guess," I said, shrugging. Then I realized that the Angel was absolutely quiet. "What happened to the Angel?"

"Without your store of Cronus Energy, a Morpher, or something to power it, the Angel has gone into remission."

"Wait," I said, trying to get the gist of what he was saying, "you mean…it's gone?"

I think he could hear the hope in my voice.

"Not entirely," he explained, motioning for me to follow him to his main computer. He flicked his wrists and the screen hummed to life. Then, he continued, "The Angel virus is kept alive by Cronus energy. Had you completely transformed into the Angel, the energy store would be self-replicating; however, since you are still part human, the energy must come from an outside source, like a morpher. That's why you ascended for the first time after absorbing Aaron's morpher energy before he went into his coma."

I nodded, trying to block out the past. "So as long as I starve myself of energy, I'll be fine. Right?"

"For the time being," Doc answered, pulling up a window on his screen. "This is the formula I've created to counter the virus and maybe rid your body of it for good."

"But I thought you couldn't actually eliminate a virus? Don't they just go through exponential decay?"

"Normally, yes; but because your virus is incomplete, it does not know how to exponentially increase."

I smiled. "So…so you really have a cure?"

"It's almost ready. The only thing I need is a polar destabilizer, which the Cyber Squad is bringing back with them after they rescue Grace."

"They've already left?" I demanded, looking around worriedly.

He looked at me oddly, then responded slowly. "Yes…they left right after Aaron took your powers. Why are you so worried?"

"It's not that I'm worried, I just…I dunno. I wanted to make sure I was awake in case Aaron used my power." I stopped short and exchanged looks with Doctor Oliver. "If he does have to use it, and he can't control it, you have to let me stop him."

Now he looked completely confused. "How, exactly, do you plan on stopping Aaron with no powers?"

"If he uses the Cronus powers, the Angel, like a parasite, will latch on to it and draw it in to me again. They'll just have to take me out quickly and bring me back here."

He didn't seem to like my plan, but he understood why it had to be done. Aaron and the Cronus powers wouldn't mix well. We both knew the result of combining the two very different powers could result in catastrophe. But Aaron was willing to take that chance.

"Doc, are you there?"

Doctor Oliver and I both directed our attention to the communications station. Aaron was reporting something.

"I'm here, Aaron; what's your status."

"We have a problem," Aaron said back cautiously.

Doc quickly changed his main monitor to its satellite imaging mode, using government cameras to give him a visual of the scene. What we saw slapped us both with confusion and fear. Confusion because we didn't think it could possibly happen. Fear because of what it meant.

The Cyber Squad stood ready in a defensive formation, staring down their SPD foes. Messiah had dispatched a team of SPD B-Squad Rangers who were suited up in their S.W.A.T. mode. A Shadow, Omega, and Nova Ranger could be seen flanking a figure in all black, grey markings scattered strategically over the body.

Grace.

"This can't be happening," Doc muttered to himself.

"They're controlling her," Matt growled.

—49—
 *12 Hours Earlier*

They had let me out of the containment field to help stabilize Matt. A crisis had struck the team and I had no idea what was going on. Patrick was yelling things to Aaron, who was trying quickly to understand the medical jargon his Green Ranger boyfriend was spewing. Amy was trying to help Aaron, while Jay was trying to help Doc Ol get a lock on Grace's position.

"What can I do?" I asked Beth, who was leading me out of the back room where my containment field was kept.

"Help Doctor Oliver. You know Messiah. You know the way he thinks," Beth said. "I know you can help."

"He won't trust me."

"He doesn't have a choice," she said firmly. "Come on."

We made our way from the back, around the med bed that was crowded by the rest of the Cyber Squad, and stood beside Doc Ol. He was nearly hunched over his computer console, running his fingers inhumanly quick over the holo-keyboard. He was on a mission.

"Doc," Beth said softly to him. "Doc, Gabriel wants to help."

"I don't need help," he responded quickly, not bothering to pay us a mere glance.

"Doc, Gabriel knows Messiah, he can—"

"I know Messiah!" he snapped. "I don't need any help finding my daughter!"

"You may not need help, but Grace does!" Beth retorted just as heatedly. "Now stop being stubborn and let us help you!"

I could tell by the flexing in his jaw that Doctor Oliver was grinding his teeth. "Fine."

"First of all," I said calmly, "the stun wounds Matt has need to be neutralized. Beth, you should have Patrick charge Matt with a current of opposite electrical charge of the stun guns." I moved to a different section of the computer station and brought up a screen to show Beth the electrical charge. "After that's done, it should be safe for him to drink water, since he's probably dehydrated. The stun blasts have been burning through his body's water supply."

Beth nodded, taking note of everything I said before she ran across the room to help the others. I glanced at Doctor Oliver, who was hardly concerned with Matt's wellbeing. He was trying his best to get a lock on Grace's morpher signal.

"You won't find it," I said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"Her morphing signal is most likely blocked. The new Iso-Cuffs Messiah had manufactured actually isolate non-biological energy signals and cancel them out. This keeps Grace from morphing or using her powers."

"You sure know an awful lot," he said suspiciously.

I grinned self-deprecatingly. "Not by choice, I assure you."

His eyes still bored into mine.

"Look," I said, finally blinking, "I know you don't trust me; and you don't have to. I understand why you don't. But I'm the only shot you've got at getting Grace out of there."

"And how do you propose I do that?" he asked bitingly.

"Contact Messiah. He won't answer, but leaving a message with SPD dispatch will shake things up. He'll never expect you to call him."

He thought it over for a few seconds before chuckling bitterly. "Won't that give away my position?"

"Not if you randomize your transmission. You could ricochet it off the satellites and never give away the original transmission point."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't argue.

My work done, I took a seat and waited.

I wasn't expecting someone to slap their hand down on my shoulder, and I flinched involuntarily, jumping from my seat.

"Whoa, dude, chill," Jay said lightly as he grinned at me. "Thanks for helping with Matt."

"No problem," I said back uncomfortably.

"Just proves that we were right to rescue you," he pushed on. "You're one of the good guys."

Yeah, right, I thought to myself bitterly.

I looked up as Matt stumbled off the med bed and made his way to the main console.

"Where is she?" he slurred.

"Messiah has her," Doc said shortly, "no thanks to you."

"What?"

"It's your fault she was captured!" Doctor Oliver screamed, jumping from his chair and tackling Matt. "You—let—her—go!" he roared as he shook and slammed Matt repeatedly.

I felt the shock on my face, and I imagined I looked somewhat like the rangers did—eyes wide with surprise, mouth agape.

Amy was the first to react, lifting Doc into the air with her mind. "Stop!"she commanded.

Matt coughed pitifully from the ground, standing shakily. "I didn't…I didn't want to. She forced me back here! I would have fought to the death to protect her!"

"Oh, please," Doc said, his voice strained as he rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't have been any use to her. You can barely walk as it is. If you'd stayed, you would've just died."

"FUCK you!" Matt screamed, diving for Doc's suspended form.

He stopped midair.

I looked back to see Amy shaking her head to herself, holding another hand in the air to keep Matt from trying to tear Doc Ol to shreds.

"You think because you're her boyfriend that you can protect her? That you somehow care more about her than anyone else?" Doc Ol ranted. "You both disregarded me; but I am her father, and I make the rules!"

"Oh, gimme a break," Matt spat, "You've got what, two years of fatherhood under your belt and suddenly you think you win daddy of a lifetime? You don't even know Grace! I'm the one who's been there for her since day one—not you."

I looked around awkwardly, not really sure if this was a conversation I wanted to be around for.

"Should we stop them?" Patrick whispered to Aaron.

"I don't think so," the White Ranger replied, "I think they both needed to get this off their chests. And I think Amy can hold them for a while."

"What about Grace?" Beth wondered. "What are we gonna do about her?"

The three of them glanced at me, Jay coming from behind me and patting me on the shoulder again. "Sounded like you had a plan earlier," he said.

"Uh…yeah," I answered nervously. "I suggested that Doctor Oliver contact Messiah."

"And do what, exactly?" Aaron asked. "I mean, we could threaten him, but he already expects that."

"Yeah, he expects youguys to attack. He doesn't expect the Mecha Squad to bust Grace out."

I saw the sudden understanding in their faces and could tell they were considering my plan. They knew it would work. Due to the Mecha Squad's relative absence on the battlefield and their more reconnaissance based missions, Messiah had all but forgotten them. Plus, he didn't really consider them a threat when he had me around.

Doctor Oliver and Matt were still being suspended by Amy by the time we finalized our plan and set up the communications channel to redirect from the satellites. Their voices had quieted somewhat and they seemed to be talking like normal human beings now, but I didn't pay them much attention. I knew that they would both eventually apologize and forgive one another.

For Grace's sake.

—49—

"You guys—have—to leave!" Grace called across the battlefield. "I can't control myself!"

Poor Grace. I knew that feeling all too well.

I looked over at Doc Ol, who was watching the view screen with blank eyes.

"What do we do, Doc?" Aaron asked through his commlink.

Doctor Oliver remained silent.

"Doc?" Patrick chimed in.

I nudged Doctor Oliver as subtly as I could, but he seemed to be paralyzed by his fear or shock.

"Patrick, this is Gabriel," I finally said, taking over for Doctor Oliver.

"Where's Doc Ol?" Patrick asked, a slight hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm here," Doc interrupted, clearing his throat. His face was ashen from surprise, but I could see the calculating demeanor hidden behind his eyes. He was trying to come up with a plan.

"What do we do, Doc? We can't fight her," Amy said, voicing the team's concern.

I watched the view screen anxiously, the SPD team moving forward ever so slightly with their Delta Enforcers pointed directly at the Cyber Squad.

"Fight SPD. Try to avoid Grace," Doc instructed them nervously. "If she attacks you, do your best to dodge her until I can get a full analysis of her morpher. Messiah must've tampered with its programming."

"He can do that?" Jay wondered, his helmet turning toward Aaron in confusion.

"Apparently. Everyone just be careful," Aaron said solemnly, drawing his Delta Magna Edge and activating its saber mode. "We don't need to lose anyone else."

Matt had been uncharacteristically quiet during the standoff, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head. Especially after his fight with Doctor Oliver. I knew the two had made amends, but I didn't know whether or not to trust Matt's judgment with Grace playing the role of his opponent. I had a feeling he was going to do something stupid.

—46—

After thirty minutes of battle, it became clear to me that the rangers could not win. They were afraid to attack Grace, who had been fighting with more ferocity than I'd ever seen her exhibit. It was like Messiah had tapped into some hidden, dark power in the Cyber Morpher that was just making her go berserk.

"Doc," I said urgently, "you have to trade me over."

"Are you insane?"

"They can't win against Grace—especially with that SPD squad pinning them down. Even Patrick looks exhausted out there."

He seemed to be considering my proposal, but he shook his head. "I can't risk Messiah getting a hold of you. And I made a promise to help you. I'm not going to let you down a second time."

The gratitude I felt was new to me. Especially toward Doctor Oliver. I had never really considered his feelings on my situation, but looking back on everything, I figured my "death" must have impacted him heavily. After all, he was our mentor.

"Well, I can't watch this anymore," I decided, shaking my head at the battle. It wasn't getting any better.

"Gabriel, if you go out there, Messiah will take you faster than you can blink!" Doc Ol objected, grabbing my wrist.

I looked helplessly at the view screen, the Swat Mode SPD Rangers aiming their blasters at the fallen forms of the Cyber Squad. Amy struggled to stand, hoping desperately to form a force field. Hoping for some sort of miracle.

Grace—or the Psi Black: Shadow Cyber Ranger, rather—stepped to the point of the SPD Rangers, the Omega, Shadow, and Nova rank SPD rangers flanking her.

"Doc," I sighed, my voice barely above a whisper, "I'm sorry."

Before he could respond, I brought my forearm to his neck in a fierce strike, knocking him out cold. I didn't need Angel powers to be physically strong. My rebirth took care of that.

Doc's body fell limp in his computer chair as I gently wheeled him aside. My fingers hovered over the holo-keyboard as I entered the teleportation coordinates. For the first time since my rebirth, my thought process was my own human mind. I was free of the control the Angel virus held over me, and I knew it was my responsibility to be the miracle the Cyber Squad was looking for.

I glanced at the view screen, watching as Aaron rallied the rest of the squad. He flexed his arms outward and erected a shield made of light energy just in time to repel the laser bolts fired from the B-Squad's Delta Enforcers.

Now was my time.

I hit the teleportation button and was instantly turned into a beam of destabilized atoms. The next second, I was on the battlefield, just behind Aaron.

"Gabriel?" Beth wondered, her visor shooting open. "What are you doing here?"

"You guys can't afford to lose Grace," I said to her quickly, pulling her close to me. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"Gabriel, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Patrick shouted at me.

Beth held a hand up to him.

"He'll use you against us again, though," Beth pleaded. "We can find another way. The Mecha Squad—"

"The Mecha Squad won't risk hurting Grace, either. Matt won't let them," I said, shaking my head. I glanced at Matt, who was half-listening while he used wind currents to redirect the laser beams firing from SPD's blasters.

"Doc will find a way!"

I could see her argument waning. She knew I had to go. She just didn't want to.

"No," I whispered, "he won't. He can't. Even if he were to find out what Messiah did to Grace's morpher, it would've taken him hours to implement it. You wouldn't have lasted long enough."

"Gabriel," Aaron called to me from behind his shield, his voice strained, "you don't have to do this!"

"I'm sorry, Aaron, but I do. Thank you for all you've done for me."

Beth grabbed my arm, pulling me away from leaving Aaron' s protective barrier. "Don't," she said one more time, the tears seeming to echo in her voice. "Please don't."

I smiled faintly at her, leaning into kiss her. I felt our lips touch and tried to convey my feelings to her as best as I could through the romantic gesture. I knew it didn't work. I knew she wouldn't understand. I knew I couldn't make the pain she would feel go away. But I knew I could save her life. I knew I could save all of them.

I pulled away from her and felt her fingers loosen around my bicep. Slowly but surely, she unhanded me and I slipped through the light barrier.

I heard Jay call my name over the battlefield, but there was nothing he could do to stop me. I knew that if any of them were to understand, it would've been Patrick. He knew what it was like to seek atonement. And I was so desperate for it.