1997, that's the year when some of my favorite movies came out in theaters, Starship Troopers, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Volcano, Dante's Peak and a made for TV movie known as Volcano: Fire on the Mountain. A great year for movies and some of which had some great miniature effects, especially when it comes to the scenery, vehicles, and such. Makes me wonder if any of those guys had an interest in Model Railroading and used those talents of theirs outside of work? I know I would if I was one of them, or if I knew one of those people if I worked in the armory department, since I know a bit about guns.
Anyway, speaking of 1997, this arc will be combining the plots of two of the movies from 97 that I mentioned which involve my favorite topic when it comes to disaster movies. If you guessed volcanos, then you're right seeing as that's the crisis that made the Super Train Megazord/Grand Liner make its debut in both Lightspeed and Gogo V.
But first, onto the reviews.
First, we have Ultimate Savior Infinity: Thanks, I'll keep doing my best and as for a Kamen Rider, I never really thought about that, but I have thought about another world that the rangers will travel to.
Aztec 13: Yep, and I have DCDGojira to thank for the idea about Trakenna returning, and Loki returning, but as an ally of the rangers and not an enemy. I still haven't forgotten about the Drive Zord idea you gave me, plus that other idea I added to it, and am trying to figure out when I'll bring them back again, but I just thought you should know I haven't forgotten the idea. Glad you liked how Shinso became the new Magna Defender and the new Galaxy Rangers.
KingKaiju5: Yeah, there is another party that the rangers will have to face, though like Olympius and his group, they both want revenge against the rangers, all of them. Not sure about the whole Soundblaster/Soundwave part, but I'll figure something out. As for the Nomu/Ranger clone, I haven't forgotten that idea, but as for the Lord Drakkon idea, I'll give that part some thought.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Glad you liked the chapter, but from the sound of things that guy you mentioned sounds like a real piece of you know what. Why do people like them think it's ok to write stories like the ones they write and post them on this website? Those kinds of stories don't belong on this site and should not be written or posted on a website where freaks like them can share said perverted stories.
DCD Gojira: Yes, Villamax will not be happy to see his brother and you'll like what I have planned for this arc.
Monster King: Thanks
Clynch3: Yeah, sorry about that. I tend to do that from time to time, taking down one chapter, modifying it and then reposting it. This fic is still active and not going to be abandoned, like many other stories I have added to my favorites because either the writers have a writers block or are focusing on other stories. It's not a problem with the website, I can assure you. Glad you like the story.
Ed: I have plans for the Titanium Ranger, but I have been considering the idea of Izuku becoming a ranger, if only once.
ALL MIGHT: QUE THOSE OPENING CREDITS!
Power Rangers… Lightspeed! Lightspeed Rescue!
(The Camera flies over the water as the Rescue Bay rises from the ocean floor, with the five Rangers standing on top of it and looking at U.A Highschool in the distance.)
The Signal is calling, our planet is falling, the danger will test you. Better make it Lightspeed Rescue!
(All Five Rangers flip open their morphers and morph, ready for battle, then repel down, landing on the ground as they rush forward and leap through a wall of fire.)
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Light… Speed… Go!
(The rangers come to a stop, as a horde of monsters, foot soldiers and villains stand in front of them, ready for battle. Behind the rangers, various heroes and students, Jason in his ranger form, along with Kane, Chris, Selwyn, Juni, Yang, Stacey, Rick, Zen-Aku, Vergil, Anna, Natsuo, Fuyumi, Jack, Emily, Reina, Reggie, Archie, Shinso, Wes, and Eric along with the silhouettes of four other rangers and their zords appear behind them, brandishing their weapons while another set of zords appear with the Lightspeed symbol appearing behind them.)
Powers on its way. Rangers save the day.
(In front of them, shrouded by shadows is All For One, with Olympius and Shigaraki standing near him while Koragg has his sword drawn as the large group of enemies' charges towards the heroes.)
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue!
Light… Speed, Go!
(The Heroes and Rangers then charge forwards to battle.)
Disclaimers are the same. I own nothing but my own characters.
Chapter 18: Fire on the Mountain: Part 1
Eastern Sierra Mountains
California, United States
February 18th, 2221
6:00 AM
Nestled up against the base of an extinct volcano was the popular ski resort town of Angel Lake. Found in 1853, two years before the California Gold Rush came to an end, the town was one of the last gold mine towns before the mines shut down. Though the mines themselves were closed, the town had found another profitable business: logging. During the construction of the Trans-Continental Railroad, hundreds of trees were cut down, and transported from the sawmills to the town of Fairview, which was constructed before the American Civil War, then by rail to the Central Pacific Railroad work camps where the ties were laid down along with the rails to complete the railroad by 1869.
As the years went by, the town shifted to a new business venture once again, this time being skiing. Every year, since the slopes first opened in 1945, thousands of skiers and snowboarders flocked to the slopes for rest and relaxation, while some preferred to ride the sixty-mile-long narrow-gauge railroad from Fairview to the town of Angel Lake itself. Tourists either rode the train because of their love of trains or took the train from the town to the sky resort, though it was mostly for the ride around Lake Tahoe by either steam or diesel.
As for the volcano itself, the last eruption was in 1836 during the days when California was under Mexican rule until the end of the Mexican American War in 1848. During its last eruption, the volcano sent an ash cloud thousands of miles high, spewed out lava that burned several hundred miles of forests, and caused mudslides from the melting snow atop the peak of the volcano. Thankfully, no one was killed when the eruption occurred, and the volcano had long been since classified as an extinct volcano.
On one of the slops of the mountain as a pair of restored K-27 narrow gauge locomotives rolled down the tracks back to the town of Fairview below, a pair of skiers were enjoying themselves immensely as the town of Angel Lake was celebrating its annual founder's day festival and tourist season was at it's peak. Skidding to a stop, one of the skiers moved their goggles from their face and looked at their fellow skier. "Woah! Baby, I got to tell you, this is way better than Cancun." The skier said, revealing themselves as a woman.
"See, I told you so." The second skier, a man said before he leaned in and gave the woman a kiss. "All right are you ready for another run?" the man asked, gesturing to the trail that laid before them.
"Paul, we cannot go down there. The trails closed. You heard what the ski patrol officer told us, all trails on the western side of the mountain are closed." The woman reminded her husband.
"Who's going to know? Come on, it'll be fun." Paul said in an attempt to reason with his wife.
"We can't see a thing!" the wife protested.
"Are you turning into an old married lady on me now?" Paul teased.
"Okay, you've had it. Last one down the hill gives the other back rubs all night." The wife said, finally relenting before taking off down the trail with her husband close behind her. The two of them were neck and neck as they continued down the trail before the wife wiped out and landed in the snow. "Paul! Paul, come back." She shouted to her husband.
"No way, I win!" Paul shouted back and continued down the mountain, leaving his wife behind.
"You're a dead man." The wife growled as she got back to her feet, ready to give chase. But the moment she got back to her feet, the mountain suddenly began to shake as she heard her husband scream. "Paul! Paul!" she called out and raced after her husband, only for a sudden fissure to open in front of her, causing her to slip and hold onto her ski poles, shouting for help but since the trail was closed, no one heard her screams before she finally lost her grip and fell into the fissure, never to be seen again.
Her fall was witnessed by someone, but that someone was Moltor, a group of his Lava Lizards and Ghouligan, who snickered before walking away.
United States Geological Survey Office
Sacramento California
February 19th, 2221
9:30 am
He was supposed to be going on vacation back to his hometown of Angel Lake to spend some time with his girlfriend. He was already packed and ready to leave his home, but at the last second, Peter Slater, a volcanologist with the United States Geological Survey walked into the office with a bag on his shoulders. A man of twenty-seven years old with brown hair and green eyes, he was annoyed that his boss, Dr. Glynda Osborn called him into the office, wanting his opinion about some unusual readings they picked up in the eastern Sierra Mountains. "Peter! What are you doing here?" one of his coworkers, Terry asked.
"Glynda called. Said there's something going on in the eastern Sierra's." Peter answered.
"You can't leave work alone, can you?" Nancy, another of his coworkers asked.
"Peter, going on vacation isn't going to kill you!" another of his coworkers, Tao called out.
Peter knew they were right, but at the same time he knew he couldn't just ignore his job and made his way to the office of his boss, the forty-year-old brown-haired and blue-eyed Glynda Osborn. "So, what's going on in the eastern Sierra's?" Peter asked his boss.
"I'm sorry to bother you on your day off but given that you're from the area I should ask you. We're picking up some unusual activity around Angel Lake." Glynda said, handing Peter a graph.
"You're joking right? Angel Lake? That's impossible. It's an extinct volcano." Peter said, skeptical about the claims, but looking at the graph he could see that his boss wasn't joking. "This can't be right. Extinct volcanos don't give off these kinds of readings."
"I know." Glynda said with equal concern. "But Peter, what do you think the odds are of an eruption up there? A thousand to one?"
"More like one hundred thousand to one. The depth is ten to twenty kilometers." Peter answered, looking through the other graphs of seismic readings, then noticed something. "Doctor Osborn, did you notice the discrepancies in these readings? It looks like there hasn't been any seismic activity for the last few weeks. I'm not even seeing any telemetry data." Handing the graphs back to his boss, he pointed out that there was zero seismic activity until the recent activity that was picked up.
"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about." Glynda said, sitting down at her desk. "We received from an anonymous call from someone in Angel Lake, claiming that they saw someone messing with one of the seismometers and doing something to one of the telemetry stations a week back. The man on duty thought it was a prank call, so he ignored it before telling me about it."
"Who in their right mind would mess with one of those? If we don't get the data about earthquakes, gas readings and anything else that would tell us a mountain was going to blow, we can't warn the town." Peter asked in annoyance. "Any heroes know about this?"
"Just a few local heroes, but nothing that would warrant the likes of Stars and Stripes, All Might or even Endeavour." Glynda answered. "Look, Peter, I know you put in for some vacation time to see your girlfriend, but this isn't something we can't ignore. I need you to get up to the mountain and check things out. I've already called the mayor of the town and she knows you're coming."
"Doctor Osborn." Peter began, pulling up a chair towards her desk. "I think, this might not be a geological event. We've all heard about the recent events over the last few months, about the attack on UA and the Power Rangers. I think we might be dealing with a monster who's been able to breathe new life into a dead volcano and if I'm right, everyone up there is dead. I think, we need to put in a call to UA, get a few heroes and the rangers here, just in case I'm right."
"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Glynda asked.
"You remember Mount Pinatubo's last eruption? Everyone near the volcano could have been killed if it weren't for the heroes that rushed the moment, they heard the mountain erupted. Ryukyu, All Might, Star's and Stripe, heroes like them, risked their lives to save everyone before the mountain went 'nuclear' as people on social media called it. I think, we should at least call in them in, just in case." Peter explained.
Glynda sighed, knowing that Peter was right. If it weren't for heroes like the ones he mentioned, hundreds of people could have been killed in that eruption two years ago. An eruption, that Peter predicted. He was only lucky that I-Island was near the Philippines and assisted in the rescue efforts. "Alright, I'll give the Hero Public Safety Commission a call and see if they can send a few heroes our way, maybe put a call into UA so we can get the rangers here."
"It's better to have heroes on standby, rather than not letting them know we might have a problem when it does come to bite us in the ass." Peter said, getting up from his seat and left the office.
Angel Lake
11:30 AM
Peter pulled his truck into the parking lot of Clusters Last Stand, a motel in the town of Angel Lake that he booked his stay at. After his meeting with his boss early that morning, he called his girlfriend, a member of the Ski Patrol, and said that he was still coming up, but an emergency had come up that would interfere with his vacation.
"Room number seven, it's right there on the corner." The owner of Clusters Last Stand, old man Cluster said to Peter, handing him the keys to his room.
"Thanks, any idea where I can find Mayor Phillips?" he asked.
"She should be around the corner excepting some award. Angel Lake was just named the best… well second-best place to live in the United States. Population under twenty thousand." Cluster answered.
"So, what town was named Number One?" Peter asked curiously.
"I don't know. Some piece of crap town out in Montana." Cluster answered.
"Well, that's good to know." Peter said with sarcasm, putting his room keys in his jacket before leaving the lobby, then turned to gaze up at the mountain. "Never thought I would be given an assignment in my hometown. Wonder if that's called irony?"
"I'd probably call it a coincidence." Came the voice of Brianna Adams, a woman with auburn hair and red eyes, dressed in the uniform of a mountain patrol with a handgun holstered by her side said. "Bout time you showed up, I thought you'd be late." She teased.
"Hey, Bri" Peter greeted. "Almost thought you'd be angry with me showing up for something related to work rather than a vacation."
"No, I wouldn't. I get that your work is important, but if you hadn't called me about the situation, then I'd probably be pissed." Brianna answered. "So, you really think the dead girl is going to blow her top?"
"That's what I'm hoping to prove won't happen. An extinct volcano erupting after years of being dead? Might be worth a few headlines, but not exactly something that would happen, unless it had help." Peter answered, getting into his girlfriend's truck. "I got to meet with the mayor, get her to take me up to the high lake and take some Ph readings and check the acidity of the lake. Hopefully, this is a false alarm, and things can go back to normal."
"Only one way to find out, right?" Brianna asked, to which Peter just nodded his head.
The parade that was part of the founder's day festival had come to an end as Peter and Brianna made their way through the crowd towards the stage that had been set up where the mayor of Angel Lake, Rachel Philips, a forty-year-old woman with blonde hair and red eyes, dressed in a blue suit went up to the podium. "Thank you…" the mayor began before a voice rang out.
"It's Karen!" the voice of a young girl shouted.
"Thank you, Karen, Thank you, Lara. This award means a lot to us. We've been proud of our town for a long time. It's beautiful. It's safe. It's a wonderful place in which to raise a family. And now, with the prospect of a major investment in our economic future… by Mr. Elliot Blair of Blair Industries… Will you stand up, Elliot. Next Year we're gonna be number one." Rachel said into the microphone as a man with black hair wearing a tan suit stood up.
"So, everybody, get out there, have a great time, and let's enjoy this beautiful day." She concluded, gaining a massive applause from the crowd as the she stepped off the stage facing the girl who shouted the name Karen, who was an eight-year-old girl with white and black hair, yellow eyes, and black stripes on their skin, giving them the appearance of a white tiger. "Lara, where is your brother?" Rachel asked the girl.
"He said he would meet us here. I don't know where he is." Lara answered.
"I bet I know where he is." Rachel said with a bit of anger.
"Mayor Philips? Peter Slater, from the USGS. My boss Glynda called you earlier today?" Peter said, making his way towards Rachel, then noticed Lara's quirk. "Nice quirk. Let me guess, it gives you the abilities of a White Tiger?" he asked Lara.
"Yep!" Lara answered with pride.
"That's a cool quirk." Peter said, kneeling down to Lara's eye level. "Just remember, that even if you have a quirk, that doesn't make you a hero, yet. So don't go abusing your power and bullying those who don't have any powers."
"You don't need to worry about me. I'll never bully anyone because they don't have powers." Lara promised.
"Good to hear." Peter said with a smile, then turned his attention back to Rachel. "Anyway, I was hoping to check on the high lake and check on that rumor about someone messing with one of the seismometers and telemetry stations."
"Sure, I just need to find my son." Rachel answered.
"Mom!" a young boy's voice called out. Running towards Rachel and Lara, dressed in a winter jacket was a ten-year old boy with red hair and blue eyes. "Sorry I'm late mom. Did I miss anything?"
"Grant! Where have you been? You missed the entire speech. Don't tell me you were in the mine again?" Rachel groaned.
"I wasn't in the mine, but I saw something! Mom, you need…" Grant began to say before he was interrupted by his mother.
"We'll talk about this later." Rachel said, very disappointed in her oldest child, then turned back to Peter and Kelly. "Kids, one minute you love them, next minute they are driving you crazy."
"Well, it could be worse." Peter said with relief, getting back into Brianna's truck and followed after the Mayor in her own truck up the mountain Mirror Lake where a cabin lay at the by the lake. The owner of said cabin, was an elderly woman of about seventy-one years with grey hair and green eyes, along with her dog, a four-year-old wire coated Portuguese Podengo. The moment Rachel's car came to a stop, the kids rushed out and embraced the woman.
"Grandma!" the two of them shouted with joy.
"Well, look who's here! How ya doing?" the woman asked her grandkids.
"Getting better with our quirks every day, Grandma." Grant answered.
"Well, you two are certainly going to make wonderful heroes one day. You'll make your grandpa and me proud." The woman answered, but the moment she spotted Rachel, her attitude changed. "Hello, Rachel."
"Hi, Ruth." Rachel answered back.
"You Rachel's boyfriend?" Ruth asked Peter.
"No, I already got a girlfriend." Peter answered extending his hand out to the old woman. "Peter Slater, United States Geological Survey. Just here to check up on the mountain." Peter answered.
"You are aware that the mountain is extinct, right?" Ruth asked skeptically.
"Yeah, but we lost the readings from a few seismometers and telemetry stations and that along with the readings we picked up a few weeks back, which don't make sense have got my boss worried. We think that someone is either playing a prank, or it could be something worse." Peter answered.
"I need to take Doctor Slater up the high lake, I was hoping the kids could stay with you for a bit." Rachel asked.
"Sure. Hey why don't we all go. We can take a dip in the hot springs." Ruth answered.
"Yeah!" Both kids exclaimed with excitement, calling for their grandmother's dog, Roughy into their grandmother's car, their bathing suits already in their mother's car and drove up to the high lake. Brianna, however, had to return to town due to an urgent Ski Patrol matter.
Up at the high lake, Peter checked the acidity of the lake and noticed nothing out of the ordinary, but his attention was drawn to the dead trees on the other side of the lake. "Any idea when those trees died?" he asked the mayor.
"No. No one's been up here for a while. Not ever since I was ordered to close all the trails on the western slope of the mountain." Rachel answered.
"You were 'ordered' to close the trails on the western slope?" Peter asked, confused.
"Yeah. It was about a month ago, I got some order from the governor to close all the trails on the west side of the mountain, said someone was doing a survey about potential construction." Rachel explained. "The only thing of interest on that side is an old Holter Energy drilling station."
"Holter Energy? The biggest oil company in the states back in the twenty-first century? The same oil company known for illegal drillings across the globe, which led to several ecological disasters?" Peter asked in shock. "I thought they were shut down?"
"They were, but the new CEO of the company, Ray Miller said that he's planning on bringing back Holter Energy into the twenty-third century and won't repeat the mistakes of the past. Their focus is mostly on the Trizyrium Crystals, but I've also heard they've been developing support items for heroes across the world, and I think they mentioned something about helping the Power Rangers." Rachel answered.
"Well, if they can help the rangers, then that's a good thing." Peter answered, looking back to the dead trees and for a second, he thought he saw a Lava Lizard on the other side of the lake, moving through the brush.
After he finished gathering the data from the lake, the group drove down to the town hot springs which overlooked the town, a sight that Peter found concerning whether the mountain was active. Not five minutes after they arrived and the kids, their grandmother and dog rushed down to the hot springs, they heard Lara scream and ran down. "What! What is it?" Rachel shouted exasperated.
"We found two dead racoons, mom." Lara answered, still shaken by what she found.
"That's what all this fuss is about?" Ruth asked, finally catching up with them. "They've been dropping like flies all over the mountain. Must be some sort of racoon epidemic."
Leaving the dead animals behind, the group made it to the hot springs, but found that someone else was up at the hot springs, finding some winter clothing strewn across the ground and on the town sign. Grant was just about to jump in, but Peter stopped him. "Grant, no, no! No, no, no! Stop, stop." Peter urged, but Lara had already seen what he had seen and screamed at the top of her lungs. There, floating in the water were the naked bodies of a man and woman, boiled to death in the hot springs.
After calling the ambulances and Brianna's brother, Buck, Peter contacted Glynda. "Glynda, I think we should monitor the entire area. Get the whole shooting match in here." He began before his boss asked him if there was a problem. "I don't know, but the acidity in the lake is high enough to bother me. There's enough carbon dioxide coming out of the soil to start killing trees and wildlife…" he continued before he paused for a moment. "Glynda. Glynda, you sent me up here to check. I'm doing that and I think attention should be paid. I'm still gathering data, but I'm going to have the mayor call a town meeting and alert the council, just as a precaution. I'm not going to put the town on alert, not until we know everything."
Hanging up his phone, he watched as Rachel's kids drove off with their grandmother and dog, leaving Peter alone with Rachel. "Any idea who they are?" Peter asked as the EMT's loaded the body bags into the ambulance.
"No, never seen them before. Backpackers, maybe. What's going on, Peter? Do you think we have a problem?" Rachel answered.
"I don't know. But I think you should call a city council meeting just in case." Peter answered honestly, then turned to Buck. "Buck, where's your sister?"
"Up on the mountain. We've got a pair of missing newlyweds that didn't show up for their champagne breakfast. Last anyone saw of them; they were on the west slope." Buck answered, he was a man with blonde hair and red eyes.
"No, no, no! You got to get them out of there!" Peter yelled.
"You're overreacting, Peter." Buck assured.
"You don't understand Buck. There could be sudden volcanic fissures, thermal vents and who knows what else. It could be a minefield up there! I'm not just going to stand by and do nothing!" Peter rebuffed, rushing to Buck's truck and drove back down to the lodge, where he grabbed a pair of skies and some poles and hurried up the mountain.
It didn't take long for Peter to reach the west slope and found Brianna and her team knocked out by a series of carbon dioxide vents that were erupting all around them. Grabbing his unconscious girlfriend, he pulled her away from the vents, then did the same with the rest of her team. "Get a chopper up here! Heavan's Gate!" he shouted into the radio, grabbing the flare gun Brianna had, aimed it into the sky and pulled the trigger, sending up the flare into the sky.
UA High School
February 18th, 2221
4:00 PM, Japan time
Just twenty minutes before UA was let out for the day, Connor, Melissa, Lena, Anthony, and TJ were called to Principle Nezu's office unexpectedly. Further confusing them, was that they weren't the only ones who were called, Togata, Nejire and the indigo haired, long eared, and indigo eyed Tamaki Amajiki, another member of UA's Big Three were also called. "Anyone got a clue as to what's going on? I was about to help Izuku with his training for the sports festival in the simulator." Connor asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Mirio answered with a shrug.
"Probably something ranger related." Amajiki muttered facing the wall. "I just want to go home and crawl into bed."
"Come on, Amajiki." Nejire said, patting the boys back. "The only way we're going to find out is see the principle." She then grabbed her fellow third year and pushed him towards Nezu's office and through the door.
Waiting for them was Ryukyu, a large, rounded man who practically towered over them. They wore a pair of black pants, an orange zippered hood, which had the initials F, G, and an inverted F, red gloves, metallic boots, and mask that went over their yellow eyes and around his forehead.
The second man that was in the principal's office was a tall, lean and muscular man with shiny dark green hair with yellow streaks, yellow eyes that were covered by his triangular glasses. Unlike Ryukyu and the large man, this man wore a plain white suit with gold buttons, white dress shirt with a red tie and white dots, and black shoes.
These two individuals were none other than, Taishiro Toyomitsu aka the BMI Hero: Fat Gum and Mirai Saski, aka Sir Nighteye, All Might's former sidekick. "Sir? / Sir Nighteye!?" Mirio and the rangers exclaimed at once.
"Hey! Don't forget about me. What am I? Chopped Liver?" Fat Gum said, sounding somewhat hurt.
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." Nezu said, turning to Alpha who was also in the office. "First off, I want to say that I am please that there are more rangers protecting our world from the forces of evil, like Olympius and the recently revived Trakenna."
"Ai-yi-yi. I can't believe that so many enemies have returned to the world of the living, I guess that the planetary alignment is part of it. I should have been keeping an eye on it." Alpha said sadly.
"You couldn't have known this would happen, but right now, we have another matter to attend to." Ryukyu assured the red and gold robot, then turned to the rangers. "Tell me, what do you all know about volcanos?"
"Only that there are at least, fifteen hundred active volcanos on the face of the earth and that the destruction they unleash when they erupt is equal to or greater than that of a nuclear weapon?" Melissa answered. "Why? Is there a problem?"
"There is, but not with Mt. Fuji." Nezu said, pressing a few keys on his computer and brought up an email. "We received a call for assistance from Doctor Glynda Osborn, of the United States Geological Survey. The once extinct volcano near Angel Lake has somehow started to revive after being extinct for nearly four hundred years." The principle explained.
"Aren't extinct volcanos supposed to be, you know dead?" TJ inquired.
"You are correct. An extinct volcano suddenly becoming active again is unheard of and is impossible. At least, impossible by normal geological means." Nighteye answered, pushing his glasses up. "We have reason to believe that Olympius is behind the recent and unexplained geological activity."
"And the odd thing is, it's not Mt Jasmine, the volcano near Mariner Bay, the ancestral homeland of the Demons." Fat Gum added. "I've been to both Angel Lake and Mt Jasmine during my time in the states and I can tell you for a fact, both volcanos' are extinct, Mt Jasmine being the one that erupted last a hundred years ago, but thankfully that eruption didn't threaten the city."
"Isn't Angel Lake the volcano where some company was engaged in illegal drilling for crude oil two hundred years ago?" Anthony asked.
"Yes, but the CEO of Holter Energy has claimed that they are not committed to any such drilling." Ryukyu said.
"So, what does this have to do with us?" Connor asked.
"Doctor Osborn has asked that we go to Angel Lake and assist her colleague, Doctor Peter Slater in gathering data about the possible volcanic eruption." Nighteye answered. "If the volcano does erupt, then the town will need the assistance of heroes and the Power Rangers. A volcano is not something to take lightly and depending on the possibility of the source of the activity being the work of monsters, having you rangers there in person will make the task much easier instead of having you teleport all the way there from Japan."
"Guess that means we'll have to pack for a couple of days." Lena realized, then thought of something. "Uh, what about the schoolwork we'll miss?"
"I've already talked with your teachers, and they've agreed to have you make up the work when you return from the assignment. Given that it is winter break in the United States and that you've all been working hard, you could do with some time off." Nezu answered, but his tone then turned to a concerned one. "However, I'm afraid that I have some disturbing news. The father of one of your fellow students was attacked and admitted to the hospital of Angel Lake."
"They were attacked!? Melissa gasped. "Who was it?"
"We don't know the name of the individual who was attacked, but as you can imagine the government is taking this very seriously." Ryukyu answered. "They suspect it's one of those groups that believe in the quirk singularity doomsday theory, but as far as the name of the group that carried out this attack, we know as much as anyone else. I would advise caution and try not to reveal that you're the Power Rangers, at least, not unless you have no other choice."
Both the rangers and the Big Three knew that the situation was dire, and they had to be prepared for anything, and left the principles office, but Melissa was concerned. "We should let Doctor Tatsumi know about this. He mentioned a while back that the Rescue Bay/Rescue Lab could move on its own, like an oil rig, only without the pipes." She spoke.
"Guess that means you won't have to wait for the Rail Rescues to circle the entire globe." Mirio joked.
"Can I go home now? I just want to crawl into bed." Tamaki said dejectedly.
"You can sleep on the Megaship or airplane." Lena told the pointy eared kid.
"I'm more concerned about which of our classmates' fathers got attacked. I doubt it was Shoto's dad and Ochako's dad is in the construction business, so that narrows down the list of those who were attacked, but not by much." Anthony surmised. "Hey, you guys don't think it was members of Humarise were behind the attack?"
"I wouldn't put it past that cult of doing so, but I find it to be unbelievable. They try to spread the idea of the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory, which is completely bogus and recruit members into their cult. Almost sounds like something out of a movie or game, only without the brainwashing or mind control parasite." TJ joked.
"I'm more concerned about the volcanic activity. If I know demons like I think I know them, then they Olympius must have given some monster with a quirk that can either drill into a pocket of lava or create their own source of lava." Connor mused. "A place like Angel Lake, it will be destroyed in a matter of seconds, just like Pompei. But we also need to consider that Olympius and his goons will use our leaving as means to gather more quirks."
"It's a risk, but what choice do we have? People's lives are in danger, and we can't wait for the volcano to erupt and kill those people." Mirio said. "Besides, there are plenty of rangers that can pick up the slack for you guys."
"Mirio's right. They've got this covered." Nejire added.
"I guess you're right, but I still got a really bad feeling about this." Connor added.
As the students continued down the hallway, back in Nezu's office, Nighteye, Fat Gum and Ryukyu looked at Nezu. "Are you sure it was wise not to tell him about who's broken out of prison? He should know." Ryukyu asked the principle.
"I feel that it wasn't important at the time and if I told him, it would cloud his judgement about the mission." Nezu said, opened his desk and pulled out a photograph of Connor's parents, himself, and a Connor when he was a baby. "I've known for some time that the true reason behind their death was something more than a bank robbery gone wrong, that there was something else beneath the surface of the robbery." He then turned to Nighteye. "What do you think, Nighteye? Were you able to use your quirk on the Red Ranger and see his future?"
"Yes, I have seen his future and from what I was able to see, he will go through a great trial, and this is only the first step. He must choose whether to take revenge or be the hero he want's to be." Nighteye said, lowering his glasses to reveal his irises had changed from yellow to purple. "I suggest we have the rangers, and the students patrol the slopes while the three of us search the town for anyone who might know something about this volcanic activity, and anything about 'him'."
Angel Lake
Town Hall
1:30 PM
California Time
After recovering from the effects of the volcanic gases, Peter, Buck, and Brianna, along with Rachel had gathered in the town hall with the rest of the council to discuss the current matter. "I thought this was supposed to be an extinct volcano?" Buck asked, skeptical about the possibility that Angel Lake was becoming active once more.
"Yes, it was extinct. But now, it's starting to come back to life once more. And it might be already starting." Peter answered.
"Mr. Slater. You're talking about the evacuation of seven thousand and four hundred people, plus several thousand tourists. You don't think that's a little extreme?" Les, one of the members of the town council asked.
"I didn't say for you to evacuate the town. All I'm talking about, is that you consider alerting the town to the possibility of an evacuation, once all the information has been gathered." Peter clarified.
"What Mr. Slater here doesn't realize… is that if Elliot Blair gets the idea there is some kind of problem here, he's gonna take his eighteen million dollars, his eight hundred jobs, and he's gonna evacuate." Les countered.
"Les, two people are dead and we don't how…" Jane Fox, another member of the town council protested, but Les continued to protest his concerns about the idea of the volcano becoming active.
"Actually, you got four people dead." Brianna countered.
"But you said so yourself, it was a closed trail. So, what would they be doing there?" Les asked, talking about the newlyweds.
"I don't know. All we found was the pole." Brianna answered. "And don't go saying that they don't want to be found because they are on their honeymoon. We told every single tourist and resident that the west side of the mountain is off limits."
"Guess you didn't try hard enough." Les muttered under his breath, causing another argument between the members of the council.
"Look, look! It's been a very long day. Let's try to treat each other nicely." Rachel said, stopping the argument, then turned to another member of the council. "Gordon, why don't you pull out the town's emergency evacuation plans? We should at least have a look at them before we decide anything else."
"If I can find them." Gordon grumbled.
"What about the trails on the west slopes?" Buck asked.
"What about them? Keep them close, post more signs." Les rebuffed.
"Posting more signs and keeping the trails closed won't be enough." Peter countered. "I need to get up there and collect data on the gas emissions and check those telemetry and seismometers. Someone tampered with the machines, and I need to find out what caused the damage, repair and replace them."
"No one is going up there!" Les yelled.
At the same time, an orange van pulled into the parking lot of Clusters Motel and stepping out of it, dressed in winter gear, were Glynda, Nancy, Terry, Tao, and Greg. "Look at this place. A nice cozy town, nestled against the side of a mountain." Tao commented.
"Yeah, just like Pompei." Nancy quipped, just as Glynda ordered them to unload the van while she went into the lobby to collect the room keys.
"The conference room should be big enough for you to use." Cluster said, handing the keys to the doctor.
"Thank you. Any idea where I can find Peter Slater?" Glynda asked.
"He should be over at the town council chambers. Said something about calling a meeting with the mayor. I don't know what it's about, but I don't think it's something to worry about." The old man assured, but Glynda wasn't assured.
Back at the city council chambers, Gordon had pulled the evacuation plans out of the filing cabinet and laid them down on the table. "So, any idea when this mountain is unlikely to blow?" Les asked.
"I wish predicting potential and unlikely volcanic eruptions was an exact science. Unfortunately…" Peter began before Les cut him off.
"Oh, that's perfect. So, we put the town on alert and then nothing happens. People, we are not the only town in this state and if we shut down, it will kill the rest of the season and scare Elliot away." he groaned in annoyance.
"And I already told you, we are not putting the town on alert." Peter rebuffed in equal annoyance. "I said it once and I really hate to repeat myself, but I said that you should look over the evacuation plans and wait, until I can gather more data and determine if and when the mountain would erupt. I'm not the type of person who wants to start a panic without insufficient data."
There was a knock on the door a moment later and everyone looked up to see Glynda standing in the door. "Glynda! Everyone, this is my boss Glynda Osborn." Peter introduced.
"And I can already see that Peter is already acting in a manner befitting a volcanologist." Glynda said with a smile, then turned to Peter. "Can I speak with you outside for a moment?"
Peter followed his boss to the hallway where Osborn was already chewing him out. "What the hell is wrong with you? I sent you up here to check things out, not scare the hell out of everyone." She scolded.
"I know that, but we've already got four people dead. Having the town look over the evacuation plans seemed like the responsible thing to do. I know there could be dozens of reasons for what happened at those hot springs, but I think it might not be natural." Peter explained.
At the same time, a black Bugatti Veyron sports car pulled into the back parking lot behind the city council chambers, flanked by an armored Range Rover Sports SUV's and a Dodge Charger cruiser of the US Marshal's department. Stepping out of the sports car, was a fifty-one-year-old man with brown hair that was already greying, brown eyes and white skin, dressed in a blue winter coat looked around the town, glancing up at the mountain with a smirk before four men dressed in black suits exited the SUV while a pair of marshals exited the cruiser. After them, was a woman in her early thirties in a smart blue business suit, with brown hair and black eyes, wearing glasses and heels. "She's in there." The woman said and pointed the town council chamber.
Back inside the chambers, Glynda listened to what Peter had to say. "Lava Lizards? Are you certain about this? You saw one of them?" Glynda asked.
"I only saw a glimpse of one of them, but I recognized the traits of them anywhere. I did have an interest in the Hartford Industries when I was younger, so I know what a Lava Lizard looks like and that they can survive being thrown into lava." Peter answered. "Doctor Osborn, I know you think I'm being paranoid, but I am not about to let my personal feelings about this being my hometown, but I think attention should be paid. Brianna already told me she took one of the damaged telemetry stations and seismometers to the patrol station and I think those Lava Lizards might be the reason they were damaged."
As Glynda listened to Peter, the marshals brushed past them and entered the council chambers. "Which one of you is Rachel Philips?" one of the marshals asked.
"I'm Rachel Philips, is there something I can help you with?" Rachel asked.
"Turn around." The marshal demanded, pulling out a pair of handcuffs which he attached to Rachel's wrists. "Rachel Philips, you're under arrest for drug and weapons trafficking, embezzlement, extortion, and bribery. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer for advice before we ask any questions. You have the right to a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time."
"What is this? What are you talking about? I don't know anything about what you're charging me of!" Rachel protested, but the marshal didn't answer. "Let go of me! We're in the middle of a meeting here!"
"And you're meeting here has been cancelled." Came the voice of the man entering the room with the men in suits and woman. "How yeah doing, blondie? Remember me?"
"Derric Weston!" Rachel snarled. "What the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be in jail!"
"Yeah, well, the 'evidence' against me for my 'crime' was all fabricated." Derric answered with a smug look. "Looks like I got some people backing me on my innocence."
"You can't just barge in here without any evidence of the mayors supposed crimes." Buck said with a small growl. "In case you don't know, she's got two kids and the last thing they want is find out their mother was arrested."
"Yeah, well that's too bad for the rugrats." Derric said without a care. "Molly, hand the sheriff the warrant."
"Right away, Mr. Weston." The woman, Molly answered and handed Buck the warrant. "This is a warrant for Miss Philips arrest, signed by Judge Taft in LA. You'll find everything is in order."
Buck's eyes scanned the warrant multiple times and to his dismay, it was verified and legal, so he had no choice but to allow the marshals to take Rachel away, but not before Les admitting that he called the marshals after he learned of Rachel's criminal activities. "Can someone tell me why this man, the one who was supposed to be in prison for the rest of his life for multiple accounts of hiring assassins, attempting to enact a coup' against a previous administration is doing out of prison?" Brianna asked.
"It's quite simple, really. I'm the new mayor of this town and I plan on making some big changes to this town to put it on the map. And the first thing I've got planned is to tell you USGS brainiacs that your services are not needed. I've already been told that this whole 'extinct volcano getting a second wind thing' is nothing more than an elaborate prank done by a bunch of snot nosed brats with dangerous powers." Derric said, grabbing the evacuation plans on the table and tossing them into the trash.
"Mr. Mayor." Brianna said with disgust. "We've got four people dead and dozens of trees dead, plus numerous reports of dead animals across the entire mountain. I think…" she started to protest before she was cut off.
"There's nothing going on. It's just some brats with dangerous powers that raised the alarm as a prank. There is no reason for panic. So, we got a few people dead, that's their fault and not us. Dead animals and trees? Not our problem. The mountain isn't going to blow and never will. If you got a problem with it, then take it up with the governor, he's got my complete trust in the matter, and I've got everything under control." Derric assured pompously.
"This is a mistake, Weston. There's something going on and this town should be looking over the evacuation plans." Osborn warned.
"Yeah, whatever old lady. So, long and happy trails." Derric waved off, much to the annoyance of Peter, Glynda, Buck, and Brianna who left the council chambers in anger. "Alright, people. Now let's get down to business and discuss my plans for this town."
With no way to get through the Weston, the group of four met at the local bar. "Weston shouldn't be out of prison. He's taking this too lightly, like he's hiding something." Brianna theorized.
"That man was sentenced to life in prison for everything he's done. All those assassinations he'd organized, the coup, that insurance scam on the island, he shouldn't have been released." Glynda added, picking up a few cashews and dropping them into her mouth.
"I'm more worried about Grant and Lara. They'll be all alone with their mother in jail, and I know for a fact that Rachel isn't the type of person who would risk her career by getting involved in said crimes, let alone her family." Peter said. "This towns in trouble and if we don't do anything, everyone here is dead."
"Peter, you and Brianna check out the damaged stations and see what happened to them. I've got enough to worry about with that man who was attacked a few days ago on the west slopes." Buck said.
"Guess that means we'll have to call in those heroes Osborn called." Peter lamented. "By the way, what's the name of the man who was attacked?"
"Hisashi Midoriya." Buck answered.
As day turned to night, no one knew that further up the mountain, in one of the caves, Moltor, Ghouligan and the Lava Lizards were hard at work digging a massive tunnel down into the earth, the destination of the tunnel being a magma chamber deep beneath the earths crust.
And the first chapter is done. If any of you are wondering, I am combining the plot of Dante's Peak with Volcano: Fire on the Mountain, two disaster movies from 1997 involving volcanos. Trust me when I say, the outcome of this arc will be different than the movies, considering I am adding my own personal touch.
Speaking of touch, I've brought in Sir Nighteye early, but what did he mean about Connor? What will Connor have to face in the future and what do revenge, and justice have to do with it? What does Humarise have to do with the events to come?
I bet you all are going to have plenty of theories about what will happen in this arc, but let me tell you this, the Super Train Megazord will be making its debut in this arc, that I can promise.
Special announcement for all of us Gundam Fans. The English dub air date for Gundam Seed: Freedom, the Gundam Seed Movie is said to be May 7th, but I could be wrong. If anyone has heard differently, please correct me if I am wrong. Also, I've got a theory about that trooper in Bad Batch series, the one that decimated the troopers Rex had gathered on Teth, but I won't tell.
Anyway, until next time, please read and review. Also, I'm going to be leaving anything I say that's political or about world events out of my rants. So, see you next time.