Author's notes - ChibiDawn, yes, I imagine we've all dealt with an Emma and a Drew (have you noticed, they always come in a set?) at some point in our lives. I know I have. I think learning to recognise them, so you can avoid them, is an important step. I write my stories out of order, so part 3 was one of the last sections that I wrote (even though it's quite early on, in the overall narrative), and I wanted to do something different. Instead of the heroes learning lessons from their superhero plot and then applying that to solve a civilian problem later on, in Scott's chapter, I thought it would be a nice change to spend a bit more time on the civilian problem, which will then frame the superhero plot, later on in the story. I didn't spend much time with Scott, for a long period, but the more I write him, the more I like the kid.
Onto chapter two!
Part Three
Chapter Two
Feeling distinctly like he'd been had, Scott trudged through the empty school. He didn't feel like going home and certainly wasn't in the mood to hang out with the rest of us, so he headed for the Youth Centre, hoping to find it empty. Dark clouds were rolling in from out to sea as he walked, and he made it to the building just as it started raining. He was in luck. The place was deserted. Waving hello to Ernie, he ducked up to the Juice Bar and went to the furthest stool, just under the TV.
He'd been there about an hour, staring at his books and getting nothing done, when he looked up to see Billy, Tommy, Brendan and Ian. While Tommy set up the training mats and the two younger Rangers were laughing about something in the way only Brendan and Ian could, Billy stepped up to the bar and dropped his backpack on the floor.
"I'll be inside," Billy said, nodding to the office. "Certainly not helping Ernie with the taxation bill he should've paid a fortnight ago."
Scott laughed. "I'll call you if I need you," he said.
"So that's your secret," came a familiar voice, and he turned to see Teresa pull out the chair beside him.
"What do you mean?"
The White Ranger tapped both piles of books, lined up neatly on the counter in front of her brother. "Two sets of textbooks," she teased. "Does it work?"
Scott blushed. "Uh, no," he said softly. "Those are Drew's books."
"Drew's books?" Teresa repeated.
Scott nodded, and he told Teresa everything that had happened the last couple of days.
"Wow," Teresa said. "So you think he just wanted you to help him?"
"I don't know," Scott said. "I thought they liked me for me."
"But doing all this?" Teresa asked. "You shouldn't have to be someone's slave to be their friend," and she tapped his chest. "Who you are is enough."
"The problem with being yourself," Scott began, "is what if nobody likes you?"
"Scott, you are the coolest nerd I know," Teresa began. "And let's be honest, we know a few." Scott chuckled, and she continued. "It kills me that you can't see that."
Scott looked past his sister, about to reply when something on the TV caught his attention. It was half an hour early for the six o'clock news, but 'Breaking Bulletin' was flashing on the screen. "Hey, can you turn that up?" he asked.
Teresa reached for the volume. Somewhere in the background, Scott heard a familiar six-note chime. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brendan and Ian huddle around Tommy. But the television had his full attention.
"…happened ten minutes ago in Mont St Michel," the reporter was saying. "The French authorities aren't saying anything, but they've cordoned off the city. According to our sources, nobody can reach anyone inside…"
Onscreen was a walled medieval city built around the base of a small island on a wide tidal plain, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Behind the city walls stood ancient stone buildings and medieval turrets, with narrow streets and laneways crossing back and forth until they reached a beautiful old cathedral at the top of the mountain. With the time difference, it should've been early in the day. But from afar, the city seemed unnaturally dark and quiet. Nothing was moving. As they looked, they could see a wall of glowing crystal spikes climbing along the outside of the city. Whatever it was, the crystal was translucent, the jagged ends visible in the morning light.
Behind them, Tommy bounded up the steps. "Billy!" he shouted, then turned to Scott and Teresa. "We gotta go," he said. "It's…"
"France," Scott said, and indicated the TV. "We saw it."
Billy poked his head out of Ernie's office, and Tommy tapped his communicator. Billy stepped around the counter to grab his backpack as Scott bundled up his books. Wishing Ernie good night, they headed for the locker hallway and disappeared from the building a second later.
The Rangers shot down into the Command Centre and materialised in the central chamber before Zordon's energy tube, turning to look at their mentor.
"We got here as soon as we could," Teresa said.
"It's good to see you Rangers," Zordon boomed. "We have a situation."
"In France?" asked Scott. "We saw it on TV."
"Indeed," Zordon replied. "If you could turn to the viewing screen. Alpha?"
The Rangers spun to the back of the room as the viewing screen flashed to life, showing the scene Teresa and Scott had watched back in the Youth Centre. There were police cars and ambulances now parked by the mainland, blocking the road to the city.
Tommy turned to Billy. "Any idea what that stuff is?" he asked.
Billy peered closer to the screen. "Unfortunately not," he replied. "Some kind of terraforming, perhaps? I really have no clue."
The Rangers turned back to Zordon. "What are we dealing with?" asked Brendan.
"Mont St Michel is an island city off the coast of Normandy," Zordon began. "According to legend, the archangel Michael appeared there in the year 708 and told the local bishop to build a cathedral on top of the mountain. Ten minutes ago, Rangers, there was a surge of energy from the city. We couldn't have missed it. Zedd probably felt it on the moon. All local communication out of the city was cut off. And something is blocking our scanners. We can't even look inside. The closest Alpha will be able to teleport you is the causeway leading from mainland. The city has a permanent population of around fifty residents, as well as hundreds of tourists. Those people are in grave danger."
"There's definitely some kind of supernatural force at work," Billy said. "Alpha, do we know anything else?"
"Ayeyiyi Rangers," Alpha began. "The energy signal doesn't seem to match anything we've seen before. The closest we could find is similarities to the magic used by Ag'reth the spellcaster last month. But this time, the energy is far more concentrated. Beyond that, we can't make sense of it."
"So we're off to France?" Ian began.
"Looks like it," Brendan said. "The world needs saving dude. We have a job to do," and the two boys high-fived.
"You need to get into the city and find out what's happened," Zordon said. "The local time is eight o'clock in the morning. Good luck Rangers. Look out for one another. I have a bad feeling about whatever's waiting for you."
Tommy turned to his team-mates. "Okay guys, you heard the man," he began, and everyone reached for their back pockets. "It's morphin' time!"
"Iguanodon!"
"Dilophosaurus!"
"Brontosaurus!"
"Velociraptor!"
"White Tigerzord!"
"Triceratops!"
To be continued.