Power Rangers: Public Enemies
Chapter 19: Assault at Piedra del Diablo
Billy stood over Trini's grave, smoking a cigarette.
"Hey Trini. Sorry I haven't been able to visit you lately." Billy's weak smile reflects his inner turmoil. :I just been busy, is all. Wow, so much moss has accumulated lately."
Billy grabs a small stick and scrapes off the moss from Trini's tombstone. Actually, there wasn't much moss to begin with.
"Hey, Trini. I just need one more, ok? Just one more Crystal of Gaia…" Billy feels his throat getting drier and drier. "I haven't been feeling well lately."
Billy takes his cigarette bud and flicks it away. He grabs another cigarette, but can't find his lighter.
"Hey, Trini, got a light?" A tear is starting form in his eyes. "I miss you every day."
Billy hears someone approaching. He turns around, and sees a woman with her head wrapped in a headscarf.
"Well, that doesn't stand out in any way, Kat." Billy smirks. "So, got any news?"
"Some Rangers are starting to leave the planet. But most have declined." Kat surveys her surroundings.
"That's all for the best, I guess. We will be ok…" Billy takes out a bottle of his Mystic Water, and drinks it. "Just have to wait for the right opportunity."
Meanwhile…
Jason jumped out of the Manta Zord, fully morphed as the Green Ranger of Mu. As he lands smack dab in the middle of Piedra del Diablo's helicopter landing zone, several soldiers rush towards him, guns at the ready. Jason raises his hands, and a pair of Chain Whips appear to his side. He grabs them, and lashes out at the soldiers. The whips release a type of green electricity, which hits about five or six soldiers, incapacitating them. Jason kept cracking his whips, as he faces a torrent of bullets. Above him, the Stingray and Manta Ray Zords kept the jets and helicopters busy. Three Rangers jump off the Stingray Zord, landing just behind enemy lines.
"Wind! Come on, we need to lure them away." Blaise pilots the White Stingray Zord. He shoots some lasers at the jets, deliberately aiming only at their wings.
"Right behind you, love." Wind shoots a larger laser at the helicopter blades, sending them plummeting to the waves.
As the Manta and Stingray Zords fly off, several thousand helicopters and fighter planes arrive from the Puerto Rican mainland, attempting to stop them. The two Zords lead them away from the battle zone, cautiously shooting at those that get too close to Jason.
Within the prison…
Mack saw a good number of soldiers abandoning their posts. He gulps, knowing something big is happening. He holds onto his morpher, feeling he WILL need it. However, he still had a mission. He searches for Madison's cell. He tries to look inside, but finds that the cell itself is too dark. He taps some Morse code on the door: H.E.L.P. H.E.R.E. Mack listens intently, hoping to hear just a faint tap, in spire of the blaring alarms. Finally he hears something. T.Y. That was all he needed to hear. He smiles to himself. All he needed to do was find the control panels.
A few floors above Mack…
"This way!" Casey led Kenneth and Ethan down the dark corridor. "Ugh! I have no idea where the cells are! They all look the same!"
"Look, Case. I have an idea." Kenneth stops, and point to another direction. "We will split up, and find the control panel. From there, we can just see which cells contain our friends."
"Guys, there may be tons of soldiers below. I mean how many did we already defeat?" Ethan looks around him. "I think it's safe to assume that they are keeping the Rangers in the lowest levels possible, right?"
"It's logical. But we really have no idea how this prison operates. Plus, some of these cells are pitch black inside, making it impossible to tell who's inside. WOAH!" Kenneth nearly falls from the shock that was felt through the prison. "Holy Hell, what's going on up there?"
Outside…
About 97 soldiers had been incapacitated by Jason's whips. However, several Battleships were approaching Piedra del Diablo. Jason summons his Kraken Zord to deal with them. The mighty Kraken of Lemuria, a powerful beast unlike any seen before. Humanoid in appearance, it has four tentacles that grow from its back. From this mechanical tentacles, it can shoot a laser beam strong enough to destroy a cruiser. However, Jason instructed the Kraken only to sink the ships, not destroy them.
High in the sky…
"This is Sergeant Miko Grady! Activating Z System!" Three jets began to fly closer together then suddenly combined to make a flying tank. "Z Sytem Activated! Firing Ring Cannon!"
The Ring Cannon charged, aiming at the Stingray Zord. As the ion cannon charged, the three pilots inside the united flying tank fail to notice the Manta Zord rise behind them.
"Sergeant! Bogey at 6 o clock!" Private Thomas attempts to deactivate the Z System, allowing the three jets to separate and escape. "Damn! The Ring Cannon is still charging! Abort, abort!"
The Black Manta Zord fires a laser ring, destroying the flying tank's wings. As the combined tank plummets to the sea, Wind breathes a sigh of relief as she sees their parachutes open.
"Remember Blaise. Jason said no killing." Wind gives her boyfriend a thumbs up, as he flies the Stingray above her…
Back inside the prison…
"Ok, we really need to cover more ground. Let's split up." Casey gives the order, knowing fully well he was taking a big risk. Ethan takes the South Corridor, Kenneth the West, Casey the North.
A few feet below, Mack falls to the ground because of another shock.
"Shit. What the hell's going on up there?" Another Shock sets him off balance. "But I can't return now. I need to get the Rangers out of here."
Another shock. Mack holds onto a railing. He hears footsteps. Ethan runs down the stairs.
"Ethan? Why are you here?"
"Mack? I.." Ethan assumes a Martial Arts stance. "I'm here to free the Rangers."
"So am I." Mack smiles. "And I know where to open up the cells. Want to work together?"
"Like we did during the Rise of Mesogog?" Ethan eases his stance, but remains morphed. "We both made mistakes. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to fix what I did wrong."
"That makes two of us." Mack morphs as well. "This way!"
A few feet above…
"What the? The Rangers' Morphers!" Kenneth picks up the two suitcases containing the Morphers. "Can't leave without there!"
Back downstairs…
"This is it, the Control Panel. What was the password again?" Mack mentally kicks himself for having forgotten such an important thing.
"The password is 3117." Mack and Ethan turn around to see General Wade Miles standing at the door. "Hurry up and put in the code, boy. Your friends need you."
"Thank you General." Mack punches in the code.
"Why is the General helping us? I thought you were all for Registry!" Ethan summons his Shield.
"For Registry, yes. For torture never." General Miles smiles slyly. He's hiding something…
Above…
The doors to the jail cells open. Kenneth looks inside, and is stunned to see the Power Rangers walk out.
"Guys! Pick up your, we're busting you out!" Kenneth enthusiastically hands each Ranger his or her Morpher. Each Ranger, however, has this look in their eyes. Some of them start Morphing. Madison remains the only one not to Morph.
"Hey…guys? Where are you going?" Kenneth is perplexed. He hears approaching footsteps…
Chip and Nick kept walking, fully morphed. A soldier stumbles into the room.
"Huh? What the…" He readies his gun. Chip looks at him…
"Watch out!" Mack saves Wade Miles from a falling Power Cable. However, the cable itself unleashes several million giga watts into Mack's suit. Mack, after suffering such a high voltage shock, finds himself demorphed, and slightly singed.
"You ok?" Ethan rushes to his side.
"My Morpher's fried. But otherwise, I'm fine." Mack picks himself up.
"You saved my life, son." Wade Miles gives Mack a rare smile. "Come on, let's get out of here before this whole mess gets ugly."
Wade, Mack and Ethan rush up the stairs occasionally feeling the tremors from the ongoing battle on the surface. Eventually, they stumble onto a horrifying scene.
"Oh my God…all these soldiers…" Ethan nearly vomits within his helmet. The sight of dozens of dead soldiers revives the memory of those he killed.
"Who…" Mack walks towards a dead soldier. Wade looks at Ethan. Suddenly, Wade sees movement. Chip, fully morphed, enters the room.
"TRAITOR!" Chip takes his Magi Staff and fires a bolt of lightning. The bolt hits Mack right in the face.
As millions of electric volts completely incinerate Mack's living tissue, his last nanoseconds of life are spent thinking of Rose. As the killer electricity completely destroys every neuron in his brain, Mack collapses unto the floor, already dead.
"Oh my God!" As Ethan watches Mack collapse into the ground, his body completely paralyzes. He fails to see Wade Miles draw his laser gun.
"Stand where you are! You are under arrest!" Wade aims at Chip, who in turn prepares another blast with his Magi Staff.
"BASTARD!" As chip prepares another blast, he fails to see Casey run towards him.. Casey slashes Chip with his Jungle Claw, completely incapacitating him. As Chip dimorphs, Casey grabs him, and carries him on his shoulders.
"Ethan, come on!" Casey's yells fall on deaf ears. Ethan is completely paralyzed from fear and shock. Ethan begins assuming a fetal position, as Wade Miles begins shooting Casey.
"Shit… I'm sorry, Ethan…" Casey runs towards the exit, knowing he can't risk Chip's safety.
"No…boy…why?" General Miles removes his hat solemnly, paying his respects not only to Mack, but to every soldier killed that day.
"I'm sorry…" Ethan collapses on the floor, as Wade Miles tries to console him. He' seen this type of thing thousands of times. It never gets easier.
Jason commands all the Rangers to board the Manta Zord. "Where the hell is Ethan?" Casey attempts to explain to him what had happened. "Shit… I'm sorry Ethan but… fuck! We have to get out of here NOW! Echo, teleport us away!"
Thousands upon thousands of helicopters arrived on the scene. Most were rescue choppers sent there to help out the many who had been incapacitated. Most of those soldiers were surpised to see the only casualties occurred within the prison itself…