FLOATING ISLAND, PART 2.

13:00

The Rangers ran down a corridor with white lights. They each had their weapons ready, except for Kal, who, as usual, wanted to use his arms as weapons.

As they traveled down the corridor, Diana couldn't help thinking that the commander must have something planned to defeat Ra's. She didn't know how he could execute it now that he was in the city and didn't have a jet to fly to the island. At the same time, she was wondering what trap Ra's had planned for them or if Lady Shiva would be the one to execute that plan. She had always played dirty since their first meeting, but she would not let her win. She would defeat her in one fell swoop once and for all this day.

After a few minutes, they reached a metal door which was locked. Therefore, Kal suggested to Diana that they try to break down the door with their strength, but John intervened.

"It is not a good idea. You're going to give away our position," John said.

"Ra's already knows we are here and there is surely something prepared for us behind this door. We would not lose anything if they break down the door," Shayera interrupted.

"Thank you, Shayera. Now, let's kick the door down, Diana," Kal ordered.

Diana nodded and the two of them got into position and ran to the door, but it opened before they hit it, causing them to jump inside. Seeing this, John, Barry, and Shayera already knew that this was a trap, so they entered along with them. Once insidew, the door was closed again. However, the place was very dark, but only for a few seconds. A great white light suddenly came on and illuminated the whole place.

"Welcome, Rangers" Ra's al Ghul said. He was on an upper floor, watching the Rangers, accompanied by Lady Shiva on his right side. "You know I always thought that Wayne would be my only impediment when I came back to destroy Zone C, but now, you guys have been a constant stone in my shoe. Now, I have to get you out of the way on this day."

"Well, you've been a big problem for Zone C and the commander, and this is the day we'll stop you," Kal said, verbally countering.

"Like Wayne, upi can't beat me, just like you can't save a zone as destroyed and rotten as Zone C is," Ra's said.

"People trust us, and so does Wayne," John said.

"People just use you to not do what they're supposed to do. And Wayne just tells you that he needs you to make you believe they can save the Zone, but he knows you can't," Ra's said. "That's why I tell you to give up this futile mission and join me. Together, we will cleanse the evil that is corrupting the world starting with…" He was going to continue, but was interrupted.

"Stop talking!" Diana yelled at him, pointing her sword at him.

"What?" Ra's asked, somewhat surprised that the Amazon jumped at him.

"I said stop talking. I would never team up with someone as ruthless as you," Diana told him. Ra's thought this was the only thing she would say, but he was wrong. "I came from an island where men are seen as the worst creatures on the planet, where I was taught to mistrust them my whole life. I came to the World of Man to make sure that was true, so that I could change that situation, and It turns out that there are good men. They are in Zone C and in my friends that I have by my side. I'm not going to give up all of that for someone who thinks he's cleaning up the city, someone who didn't mind killing three Rangers who were doing this area some Good," Diana explained as she waved her sword from time to time.

Both Ra's and Shiva were puzzled. They didn't think the Amazon would be the first to speak, and that she would refuse to help them, but he still had to make sure the others followed him.

"Does she speak for everyone?" he asked.

"Of course, she is my friend, and I am not going to make the world a more violent and hopeless place like my planet was by joining you," Shayera said, pointing her gun at him.

"Yes, they are my partners and I am a Power Ranger. I will not let any evil escape my sight," John said.

"Even though I'd like to join you guys, I wouldn't look handsome as a ninja, so no. I'm staying with my friends," Barry said, although this elicited an angry look from Diana and John which was not visible because of their helmets. They wanted it to be serious, not sarcastic.

Kal was slow to respond, first seeing how much Diana defended her position and that of the commander, she was no longer the same as the one person who had arrived in Zone C less than a year ago. Now, though, he had to act.

"I will not join you, Ra's. You have killed three Rangers and probably many more people because they do not agree with what you do. I will not allow you to do the same with an area full of good people that you do not see because they don't want to do what you want, Kal said.

Ra's lowered his head in disappointment, but quickly raised it again.

"Last lesson before you die—compassion and mercy are always dangerous. You should already know that. It is thanks to that that we are still here. To them," Ra's said.

Instantly, all the ninjas in the base, except for the ones in the control room, jumped from all possible places to the ground where the Rangers were and began to attack. Lady Shiva was about to jump, but Ra's stopped her.

"Not yet. She will be yours as will Wilson's red, but you have to wait," he said.

XXX

13:30

The Dark Ranger traveled in his car, using blades that J'onn had equipped in addition to the explosives and lasers. The bombs were increasing. As they grew at a rapid rate, the city was taking more damage than anticipated. If it was difficult enough to cut the plants that had already grown in one place, what made it more difficult was that Ra's ninjas were shooting at different areas of the city, which meant that he had to move from the Diamond District to Burnley, and then to The Bowery.

Doing this was making the Dark Ranger very nervous. He knew that his Rangers were on Ra's Island, and that they were likely to be ambushed. Also, Ra's had the Soul Stealing Sword. He knew the terrorist would use it on them just like he had on Tim, Jason, and Barbara.

He wanted to prevent that, but he couldn't leave the city alone. He could let J'onn drive the remote control car, but he still had to finish deciphering the sword chant, and supervise the Rangers. That wasn't all, however, he also had to get on the island. The problema was that he didn't have a ship, and going in one of the Rangers' jets would make him too easy of a target.

Arriving at Sheldon Park, the Dark Ranger saw that there was a plant already overgrown. He saw a pile of rubble that would serve as an advantage. He used that rubble as a ramp and managed to cut down another giant plant with a well-aimed shot. Once he saw this, he had a great idea, an idea that was interrupted by J'onn.

"Commander, I have the Soul Stealing Sword chant ready for you" J'onn told him. Once he heard this, he knew that he had to commission her to design the idea that had passed through his mind.

"Thank you, J'onn, but now I need you to do something else. I have to get on that island, and I think I know how without the plants or Ra's seeing me as a big threat," the Dark Ranger said.

J'onn let out a groan. He thought that the chant would be the only thing necessary to defeat Ra's, but he could not refuse. Zone C and the Rangers were in trouble, and he had to do something to help them.

"Tell me what your plan is" J'onn told him. The commander gave him his answer. It made his eyes widen in utter surprise. "Are you insane?" he asked.

"My Rangers are in trouble, and I need you to take control of the car to keep the city safe. Do you have another idea?" The Dark Ranger asked.

J'onn hated every time the commander wanted to do something crazy, which was pretty much every time there were desperate times. This time, he didn't have a better idea.

"You win, Commander, but I need some time," J'onn replied.

"I'll keep covering you. You just work on it," The Dark Ranger told him.

XXX

14:00

The combat went on normally since the ninjas were no match for the Rangers. Kal used his strength to hit them easily. Diana had gained more experience with training, so her attacks were more precise and faster. John created swords to keep everyone distracted while fighting one at a time using a hammer. Barry was very fast and hit everyone once to take them down while Shayera used her pistol to hit ninjas. She was very agile for them, so she easily won this battle, but this was far from over.

"If you think that's it, Rangers, then it's time for you to face me," Ra's said, taking out the Soul Stealer Sword and jumping from the upper floor. He landed safely in front of the Rangers.

The five Rangers formed up to the side and waited for Ra's to make the first attack, but he held his ground. He knew the Rangers weren't patient enough to wait for him that long.

"Now" Kal said as they began the fight.

Kal attacked first with two quick strikes to Ra's torso, but the terrorist easily dodged them, landing three diagonal slashes across his chest. Shayera attacked after him with a roundhouse kick followed by two quick strikes to her throat, but Ra's stopped her hand and landed a sliding roundhouse kick, knocking her to the ground.

John attacked by creating arrows and axes that he sent at Ra's, but he used the power of the sword to create a shock wave that destroyed John's creations. Barry took advantage of this distraction to land quick hits, but then had to retreat when they started shooting at him from the upper floors.

"Barry, take out the shooters!" Kal ordered.

Barry complied and started running up the walls to knock out the other ninjas.

Diana got fed up and began to attack Ra's with movements from any direction—up, down, side, diagonal, but the terrorist was even stronger and more agile. He blocked a blow by moving very quickly with his sword before giving more quick but just as damaging blows to Diana.

Barry had already knocked out all the shooters as well as having destroyed all the laser weapons to stop them from firing at them. To her misfortune, he went to attack Lady Shiva, believing that he might manage to stop her, or damage her a little, but he was too trusting.

Lady Shiva executed a very strong and fast attack that sent him back to the floor below. He quickly got up to attack Ra's, but he used the power of his sword to create a force field around himself which prevented him from being hit. Anyone who hit the force field would receive the same hit, but instead against him which happened to Barry.

They don't know when to give up. It was good to know how long they could last before he sucked the souls out of them like he did with the other Rangers Ra's decided before continuing to attack.

XXX

14:30

The Dark Ranger continued to destroy the plants that grew in the city. He was wondering if J'onn had already finished what he had ordered him to do. He had to be fast. Every minute that passed meant one less minute he could save his Rangers from Ra's. Fortunately, J'onn spoke to him.

"Go ahead, J'onn," The Dark Ranger replied.

"It's ready. I only warn you that, due to the little time I have had to do it, the material and the assembly are not very good. You will have to be very careful with the air currents and how you handle it to enter the island," J'onn explained.

"Got it, J'onn. I'm going back to base to go get that one. I trusted the Rangers to keep Zone C safe, but Ra's is too strong for them, I need to save them and stop them," The Dark Ranger said before hanging up.

The Dark Ranger drove to the base and got out of the car to go to the hangar. Here was what he had asked J'onn to make: a black glider with a booster and two missiles equipped. If he was using one of the Rangers' jets, then it would make him an easy target, and the chances of getting onto the island would be slim. This wouldn't draw much attention if they see someone hovering near the island, that is until he fired the missiles.

The Dark Ranger got into position, strapped himself in, and fired the booster. Now, he needed the doors to open.

"J'onn, open the Hatch," The Dark Ranger ordered using his Morpho.

"By order, commander," he answered.

"Thanks. But now the protection of the city is in your hands, and how you drive my car," The Dark Ranger said.

"Do you really think your car is the only option to protect the city?" J'onn asked. This made the commander know that he had kept something from him while he was working on all those projects.

"I guess you have worked on an update to protect the city, but I didn't realize it because I was focused on my Rangers and stopping Ra's," he told him once the glider began to rise into the air.

"You already know how it is commander, especially when you build secret exits like the one in the conference room" J'onn replied.

"Fine, but don't shoot the island. Ra's surely has a plan to kill everyone, but if you do that, you could cause us all great harm," said the Dark Ranger already coming out of the roof.

"I'm not careless commander," J'onn said, going to the conference room to sit in the commander's chair and pressing a few buttons on his tablet.

"You're not, but I'm saying this so you don't do something crazy," The Dark Ranger said.

"I'm not the one in a glider on an apparent suicidal mission," J'onn said.

"Thanks for reminding me. Now I have to save my Rangers," The Dark Ranger said before hanging up.

"Well said, commander," he said even though he already knew he couldn't hear him.

But now he had to focus on defending the city, along with the weapons that he had equipped to the base, but he couldn't use them before because of all the work he had to do. It was good that he could finally use them for the team.

By pressing the key on J'onn's tablet, the commander's chair moved towards a door that opened a few meters away. The chair entered through that door and reached a secret room in which there were six chairs with desks full of buttons, the commander's station being the largest.

"Let's see what you think of my new weaponry, Ra's," J'onn said, pressing several buttons.

This caused several laser cannons to come out of the base from both the sides, the front and the rear of the base. Once in position, J'onn began shooting at all the plants, destroying them or cutting them in half which in the latter case, caused them to grow back. This was more effective than driving a car from an area from one city to another.

XXX

15:00

The battle was going more evenly than Ra's and the Rangers expected. Ra's, with the Soul Stealing Sword, had great power. He also still had all the strength that being immortal gave him. Meanwhile, the Rangers had already learned a little better about the combat techniques they had trained with the commander as well as acting as a team. They all executed a specific attack that knocked him back, but they didn't know that Ra's still had one more surprise to defeat them.

"It is time for you to act," Ra's said.

Hearing this, Lady Shiva jumped up and launched a downward slash at Diana. Her strike was blocked by the Ranger, but this was the ultimate match.

"I will not let you continue to tarnish my reputation in front of my master, Amazon. It is time for you to die," Lady Shiva said.

"In the name of the gods, you are going to fall," Diana said, quite angry. She was like this because she didn't want to be interrupted from her big fight with Ra's.

"You can do it, Diana. We can beat him," Kal said.

He hadn't counted on being shot from an upper floor, sending sparks flying. It wasn't the ninjas. It was Deathstroke who was airborne and landed in front of the other four Rangers and Ra's.

"But you won't be able to beat me," Deathstroke said.

"Wow, so you're back for a rematch," Kal said as he rose from the ground from the gunshots received. "Well, now I'm better prepared than you."

"Sure, you were so confident last time, but this fight will end with you dead," Deathstroke said pulling his sword from him.

Kal pulled the Morpho from him and pulled the sword from him. The fight was about to begin.

XXX

15:20

The Dark Ranger was still flying his glider with his booster. This was the day he knew would arrive. He wasn't going to fail. He couldn't make that mistake twice, and it didn't matter if he died trying. If he could save the Zone and the Rangers from him, then everything would be fine. He was already a short distance from the island so he just had to wait a little longer.

NEXT: THE RECKONING, PART 1.