Author's notes - this is one of the longest chapters in the entire story, but there's a lot going on here, and I couldn't find a place to break it up anymore. Enjoy!
Part Six
Chapter Three
The Rangers shot through the sky as the Queensland coastline flashed beneath them, a landscape of farms, towns and forests, with the blue of the Coral Sea stretching out to the horizon. Before long, Springfield appeared in the distance, the towering buildings perched over the winding river with Mount Springfield far to the west. Seconds later, they flew down through the concrete canyons and materialised on the road.
All around was a fleet of ambulances and fire trucks, while an army of police stood between the Rangers and a barricade of wrecked vehicles. Behind them, more officers were fighting to keep a crowd of journalists at bay. Even as the Rangers looked around, two people stepped out of the crowd of police and made their way towards them. One was a police officer, with her dark hair tied behind her head. The other was dressed in a dark bodysuit that covered him from head to toe. It was the colour of a shadow at midnight. His mouth was exposed but his eyes were protected by lenses that glowed with a white fire. Strapped across the young man's back were his fabled twin blades.
"Genin!" called Kimberly, as the group met in the centre of the road. "I wish it was under better circumstances, but it's good to see you."
"Rangers," the ninja nodded, shaking hands with Tommy and Trini. "I'm glad you got my message."
The policewoman stepped forward. "Constable White," she said. "My friends call me Julie. I am very glad to see you. Springfield is in dire need of super-people today."
The Genin turned to Constable White with mock indignation. "Ouch," he said.
Trini smiled. "It's your turf," she began. "Tell us what we're up against."
The ninja nodded, his mood turning sombre. "There's this guy I kick around occasionally, he calls himself the Dragon Lord," he explained. "He's thinks it's his divine destiny to evolve into a great dragon. He's certifiable. But until yesterday, he was locked in a padded cell."
"The footage is scattered," Constable White continued, "but yesterday morning, somebody slipped something into his cell. It looked like a jewel on a chain. At that point, the cameras stopped working, but we know what happened next. The Dragon Lord smashed his way out of prison. He put a dozen guards in hospital. We lost him after that, but he turned up today. A few people managed to escape while everyone was freezing around them, and they swear it was him."
"He's dangerous because he's a charismatic sociopath," the Genin added. "He occasionally chases mystical artefacts to gain supernatural abilities, but he's never had this kind of power before. He's holding an entire block's worth of people hostage."
Jason nodded. "We think this is connected to a case we've been working on for the last few months," the Red Ranger said. "But we don't know how."
"I remember the first one of these guys back in Normandy," Tommy began. "And he didn't seem like the type to play well with others. Something's weird about this."
"We'll head in there and deal with the Dragon Lord," Trini said. "The best thing at this point is to keep evacuating the city. Nobody follows the seven of us in."
Constable White's face fell. "How bad is this likely to get?" she asked.
"Bad," Zac replied.
"Got it," the policewoman replied, and turned to the line of civilians. "Right. You all need to clear the area! Right now!"
"Let's move," said Jason. With that, the seven heroes made their way to the makeshift barricade. Rather than climbing the obstacle, Billy and Trini drew their blade blasters and used the lasers to slice through the wreckage, before Zac and Jason lowered their shoulders and charged, punching a wide gap through the barricade.
"What are we gonna find in here?" asked the Genin.
Standing beside him, Kimberly recounted details from the broken chains case. "The moral of the story is, if you see an animal-themed demigod?" she said. "Run."
The Genin blinked. "You guys live interesting lives," he said.
"You have no idea," Kimberly replied. With that, they stepped through the gap.
The street was silent but for the sounds reaching them from behind the barricade. There were no cars on the street, and plenty of litter and debris blowing across the bitumen. Traffic signs had been ripped down and garden beds were destroyed. In the buildings all around, doors had been torn off their hinges while windows had been smashed. But from the glass, the windows had been broken outwards, as if the people inside had forced their way out, not in. And as the team made their way further down the empty street, they started to notice them. People, standing by themselves, scattered around the area. None of them were moving, their gazes fixed on some point far away. Trini jogged over to several office workers and waved her hand in front of their faces.
"They're breathing," she called. "But non-responsive."
"Whatever happened, the witnesses said it began on the other side of this block," the Genin said.
"Our intel said that too," said Jason. "Let's split up," and he indicated Trini, Zac and Tommy. "You guys head to that intersection down past the parking garage. The rest of us will follow around here," and he pointed further along the street.
The Yellow, Black and White Rangers dashed away, while Billy, Kim, Jason and the Genin made their way to the side-street, wary not to disturb any of the people they passed. But as they stepped around the intersection, the bystanders began turning their heads, one-by-one, to look at the heroes.
"Did you see that?" Kim asked quickly.
Before anybody could reply, the furthest groups of people began walking towards the heroes, taking slow shuffling steps in their direction. The four heroes froze, but more and more of the civilians were closing in around them. The blank looks on their faces hadn't changed.
"What do we do?" the Genin asked. "We can't fight them."
"Keep walking," Jason said softly. "Don't run. No sudden movements."
Just then, their communicators beeped. Billy raised his wrist. "We're here."
Zac's voice crackled through. "Did the people on your street suddenly get a lot more mobile?" he asked.
"Affirmative," Billy replied. "I doubt they're moving under their own conscious will. Just keep going," and the communicator fell silent. Billy couldn't help but notice that while he'd been talking to Zac, several people nearby had blinked and shook their heads, as if trying to come to their senses. As the heroes passed, though, their blank looks returned, and they joined the growing crowd following the Rangers. He frowned behind his helmet. That was odd. He raised his communicator again. Like before, the people he passed seemed to briefly snap out of their trances.
"Alpha, are you there?" the Blue Ranger asked. "We're traversing the city streets. Are the sensors detecting anything unusual?"
"Affirmative," Alpha replied. "We're getting some very strange readings."
Behind them, the crowd was growing larger, but Billy was focused on the civilians nearby. An idea was tickling the back of his mind. "Alpha, Constable White said that several people escaped the initial event," he said. "Were those people listening to music or talking on cellular telephones?"
"The police haven't updated their system yet," Alpha replied.
"Go back an hour and try ATM cameras or traffic surveillance," Billy suggested.
There was a pause. A minute later, Alpha's voice crackled through. "Affirmative!" he said. "I'm reviewing the footage now. Two of the people running away have headphones on."
The Genin's face fell. "Just like that, you figured it out?" he asked.
"Watch a master at work," Jason said.
"Interference," Billy said out loud, glancing to the mind-controlled residents. "That's the clue. Alpha, I've got it. The people in the city are being controlled by some kind of short-range radio signal. Possibly something inaudible to human ears that's overwriting their cognitive processes. Between the Genin's mystical swords and our helmets, we're protected. But they aren't. Run a scan and find a counter signal."
"Good thinking!" Alpha replied. "I'll get on it right away."
"Damn," said the Genin, as they reached the corner. "That was amazing."
"One problem down," Kim nodded. But as they rounded the corner, they froze.
Hundreds of people were lined up on the street, jammed together like sardines. Every single one of them was staring at the heroes. Further along, the other three Rangers stepped onto the road, and half the crowd turned to face them. But standing on the side of an overturned delivery truck in the centre of the road was the Dragon Lord. His dark armour glinted in the midday sun. They could see his eyes were black, peeking out from behind the gaping dragon maw that was his helmet. Around his neck hung a blood-red jewel, suspended on a narrow gold chain.
"Do his eyes always look like that?" Jason asked.
The Genin shook his head. "Pendant's new too," he said.
"Anyone see He Who Devours Will?" Kimberly asked.
"Negative," Billy whispered.
"Ah, the heroes," the Dragon Lord's voice boomed. Although the Rangers had stopped, the crowd of mindless civilians continued closing in. "Right on schedule! I'd hoped that I'd gotten your attention. It's so good you're here to witness my triumph."
With the crowd still advancing, the Rangers had no choice but to push forward, closer to their enemy. "What did you do to these people?" the Genin demanded.
"A thousand drones, and their will is no longer their own," the Dragon Lord replied. "Weren't they always mindless sheep? All I've done is organise them. Don't you see how much power I have? Isn't it wonderful? Everyone, arms up!" The hordes raised their arms. "Now jump!" the Dragon Lord commanded. As one, a thousand people took to the air. "All the fun we could have! I could tell them to destroy the city, brick-by-brick, or maybe tear each other apart. And when I got bored, I'll tell them to climb Mount Springfield and take the short way down. Don't you see how brilliant I am?"
The crowd was moving faster now, closing in around the Rangers. Kim glanced uncertainly to Jason beside her. "Dragon Lord, call them off!" she shouted. "We don't want to hurt them!"
The Dragon Lord sneered. When he spoke next, it was with a guttural growl that sounded like it came from the dawn of time itself. "You mortals and your sense of morality," he began. "You think vulnerability is something to be tolerated, that weakness should be coddled. Do you have any idea how insignificant you are?" He paused and let out a sharp bark of laughter. "So here is your choice. Use your power to hurt those you protect. Or do nothing and let them tear you apart. You decide!"
Across the street, Tommy fell back-to-back with Trini and Zac as the crowd closed in. There was no path to escape. "He has to be bluffing right?" Tommy asked. "Could they actually hurt us?"
"If they've been mystically enhanced, there's no way of telling," Billy replied.
"As the one person here who's not wearing an invulnerable suit?" the Genin began. "I really don't want to know the answer to that question!"
With the crushing mass of citizens less than a metre away, their communicators suddenly chimed. "Go Alpha!" shouted Jason.
"Rangers, you were right!" Alpha said. "We've identified a counter-signal!"
"Broadcast it through our communicators!" said Billy. "Alpha, hurry!"
The crowds reached out for the heroes, arms outstretched, and then suddenly stopped. Everyone froze, then shook their heads and stepped back, the fog visibly lifting from their faces. An office worker looked around and her gaze settled on the Rangers. "What's going on?" she asked, as the street full of people came to their senses.
The Dragon Lord's face fell. "No!" he said angrily. "What did you do?"
"Everyone listen up," the Genin shouted. "I get that everyone's disoriented, but you're gonna be okay! You're on Banks Street right now. If you head around to Arthur Street, the police are waiting there to help you! Go calmly, but go quick!"
The citizens didn't need to be told twice, surging past the Rangers and leaving the scene. The Dragon Lord swore and leaped to the ground, moving fast for someone wearing full-body armour.
"No you don't," Kimberly said. Using Jason's shoulder for leverage, she took to the air, clearing the crowd of civilians and slamming her boot into the Dragon Lord's stomach. The Dragon Lord crashed into the van, and with her forearm at his throat, Kim pushed him back into the overturned vehicle so hard the van shook. She leaned in close but the villain blinked and shook his head, recovering from the same trance as everyone else. As she watched, the black faded from his eyes, and she found herself staring into a pair of serpent-green pupils. The man glanced around his surroundings as if seeing them for the first time, before his gaze fell onto Kimberly.
"Pink Ranger?" he wheezed, barely audible. "Help me… please…" His voice grew louder with every word, his breath coming faster. "Help me!" But the words were hoarse, his voice strained.
It sounded like he'd been screaming.
"What are you talking about?" Kim asked.
"He's coming back," the Dragon Lord whispered urgently. "Help me, please, he's coming back!" But his voice faded away as his black pupils reappeared.
Seeing the Pink Ranger, the Dragon Lord raised his arm and threw her away with a blast of solid shadow. Kim hit the street in a shower of sparks as the villain raced into the foyer of a nearby building, past four enormous stone warrior statues. Now the street was deserted, the Genin and the other Rangers sprinted to her side.
"You okay?" Tommy asked, as Kim picked herself off the ground.
"I'm fine," she replied quickly. "But it's not the Dragon Lord! I was face-to-face with him. His eyes were black, but he seemed to snap out of it for a second and he was begging me to help him. He's not in control here, something is using him. And whoever that is, the Dragon Lord was terrified of him."
"He's never done the energy blast thing before," said the Genin.
"We've found our demigod," Trini said. "C'mon," and the seven heroes raced towards the building in pursuit of their enemy.
Alpha's voice crackled through their communicators as they approached the four statues. "Rangers, we've got a read on the Dragon Lord. He's on the roof," and the heroes looked up to the top of the building, fifteen storeys above the road. "But Rangers! We just checked the blueprints! The plans for that building don't have four statues!"
Jason instinctively grabbed Billy's shoulder and pulled the Blue Ranger down as a gigantic stone sword swept over their heads. The group scattered as the three-metre-tall statues stepped off the pedestals and turned to their opponents.
Kim and the Genin dived to safety to avoid a giant stone mace, and found themselves closest to the building. "Guys!" Kim shouted. "We'll go after the Dragon Lord!"
Across the street, Tommy wrenched a stone spear out of his attacker's hand and rammed the weapon back through the statue's chest. "We'll catch up when we can!" the White Ranger shouted. "Go!"
To be continued.