Conflicts of Interest
Part Five
Written by: Gina
Disclaimer:
See Part One
* * * * * *
Chapter 24: Protectors of the
Right
The Ranger command center was a flurry of activity as the guys desperately
worked out a plan to find Kimberly. Tommy called the other Rangers and Haley,
but while they were waiting for them to arrive, Billy filled in at the command
console. He had been able to pinpoint Trini’s signature, but there was no sign
of Kim. Elise sat solemnly in the corner, feeling helpless and guilty about all
she had done to the Rangers as Elsa. She was surprised that they allowed her
down there, but also realized that none of them were exercising their best
judgment right now, either. Rocky and Jason were busy devising a tactical
strategy with Tommy, and they really had their hands full with him. The Black
Ranger was pacing like a caged tiger. No one had ever seen him like this before.
There was sweat pouring down his face and he kept nervously running his hands
through his hair over and over. Every so often, he would swear under his breath,
but other than that, he didn’t speak at all.
Jason had faced many tense situations as the original leader of the Power
Rangers, but nothing in his experience could have prepared him for the sheer
terror of having Kimberly and Tommy’s unborn baby in the clutches of Zeltrax.
None of the Rangers’ past enemies ever plotted something as profoundly evil as
targeting a Ranger’s loved ones. The brief history of Terrance “Zeltrax” Smith
that Tommy explained to them didn’t really seem bad enough for him to exact this
kind of revenge, but there it was.
When handling a crisis, the most important thing to remember is to keep calm or
you won’t be able to think clearly. At this point, Jason and Rocky both knew
that Tommy was all but useless. His pacing had become frantic, and he was
starting to get almost violent as he periodically stopped for a moment to punch
or kick the wall. The two ex-Rangers exchanged a glance that confirmed their
agreement: they had to step in and take charge while Tommy regained control
before he hurt himself, or worse, before it was too late to save Kim.
Jason knew that approaching the enraged man might be akin to taking his life in
his hands, but it had to be done. Tommy would feel a whole lot angrier if
something happened to Kim because he was too out of it to act rationally. Slowly
walking up to Tommy, Jason gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey Bro’, I
know it’s hard. We’re scared too, but you have to get it together. We need to
find a way to get her back, and you can’t do it like this. Now take a deep
breath. You know how to control your emotions. Think about what Zordon would do
in this situation.”
That was probably not the smartest thing Jason could have said.
When he heard that, Tommy spun around with a flash of lightening in his eyes. “I
AM NOT ZORDON! I can’t do this, Jase. I can’t lose her…I can’t lose them.” It
was then that his voice broke, unable to contain the tears any longer. Jason
took him in a brotherly embrace and let Tommy ride it out, knowing that once he
did, he would be able to concentrate on a plan once again. Only about a minute
passed when the guys heard Trini blow into the house upstairs and barrel down to
the command center.
“A big, grey robot-monster took Kim!” she exclaimed while trying to catch her
breath. “We were in the parking lot when he appeared out of this hole in the
sky. It happened so fast. I’m sorry Tommy…” And that was all she could get out
before her body became wracked with sobs. Billy came forward and took her in his
arms. They hadn’t talked about the previous night, but he couldn’t deny his
feelings for her and wanted to offer whatever comfort he could.
Trini only cried for a short time. Her days as a Ranger trained her to get it
out and get over it so the job could get done. Once she had control of her
voice, she continued to explain while walking up to Tommy and taking his hands
in hers. “She’s pregnant. We just found out last night. That’s why she’s been
sick. She was looking for the perfect time to tell you.”
“I know, Trini,” Tommy started, then turning towards Elise, who up until now had
been completely silent, he went on. “This is Elise Randall. She’s the principal
at the high school, and she was also working for Mesogog up until last night. He
decided he didn’t need her anymore and set her free of the evil spell she had
been under, so she came here to tell us what Zeltrax was up to. He plans to
destroy Kim and the baby to get back at me. It’s a long story, but we don’t have
time to get into the details. Elise, do you have any idea where they are?”
The beautiful, dark-haired woman slowly looked up, realizing that helping them
get Kimberly back safe would do a lot more good that wallowing in her guilt. “I
don’t think they’re at the lair. This is Zeltrax’s plan and he wants to run the
show. He has been working alone quite a bit lately. He’s built a ship, and I’ll
bet he took her there. I don’t even think he’s very loyal to Mesogog anymore.
All he talked about was revenge…getting back at you. He’s completely obsessed
with your destruction.”
“Where does he keep the ship?” Rocky asked, realizing that it was wishful
thinking that she’d know, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask anyway.
“I’m not positive, but there’s an abandoned warehouse just outside town. I’ve
seen him go there a few times, but I never cared enough to pay attention to what
he was doing there. That might be the place.”
Just then, the rumbling of the cave entrance opening signaled the arrival of
Haley and the Rangers. “We got here as fast as we could…” Conner explained.
“You’re just in time guys. Zeltrax kidnapped Kimberly.” Tommy briefly filled the
Rangers in, but he chose to leave out the fact that Kim was pregnant. Now was
not the time to lay that kind of news on them, especially when he was still
getting used to the idea himself.
Ethan finally noticed Elise sitting in the corner. “Who’s that?” he asked,
surprised that Dr. O would let a stranger in the command center. “Wait a
minute…Ms. Randall?”
All of the Rangers’ eyes shifted back and forth from Tommy to Elise, the
confused looks on their faces demanding an explanation.
“Yeah, guys. That’s Ms. Randall, otherwise known as Elsa. Take a good look,
you’ll see it. I still don’t know how we could have missed it all this time.
She’s no longer with Mesogog, and she came here to warn us about Zeltrax. He
might be in a warehouse on the edge of town. We have to act fast. Haley, could
you pinpoint that location and check for suspicious activity?”
“I’m on it, Tommy.” And she sat herself down next to Billy.
“By the way, Rangers, that’s Billy, that’s Rocky over there, and Haley, you know
Jason,” Tommy said while pointing around the room. “Guys, this is Haley, the
brains of the team. This is Conner McKnight, Red Ranger, Trent Fernandez, White
Ranger, Ethan James, Blue Ranger, and Kira Ford, Yellow Ranger.”
Once the introductions were out of the way, everyone got down to business. Haley
quickly determined that Zeltrax was indeed at the warehouse. She was able to
pick up his evil energy on the monitoring equipment, but there was no sign of
Kim anywhere. He must be hiding her, unless of course she’s already…No! That
thought was too horrible to think about. Rather than worry, Tommy set to
figuring out the best way to approach the warehouse. After some discussion, they
all agreed that although it was almost certainly a trap and that Zeltrax would
be expecting them, they didn’t want to charge in there and risk getting Kim
caught in the crossfire. It was important that they use all of their advantages.
Elise didn’t seem to think that the cyborg knew who Billy, Jason and Rocky were,
so Jason figured that if they pretended to innocently stumble upon the
warehouse, they might be able to do a little reconnaissance to see what’s going
on in there before the Rangers stormed the place.
Tommy didn’t like it. “Guys, there’s no way I can let you do this. It’s too big
a risk. If Zeltrax discovers who you are, you’ll become targets just like Kim.”
He thought his argument was reasonable.
“Let us? Listen, Bro’, Kim’s our friend too, and she’d do it for us. I realize
you feel responsible for the safety of the universe, but you gotta trust us.
What are we supposed to do, stay here and do nothing?” Jason’s rebuttal sounded
just as valid to him, and Tommy knew he was beat when he saw that Billy and
Rocky stood firm next to the original Red Ranger. One look told Tommy that he
didn’t have a chance against those three when they were this determined.
“I know, it’s just…” Tommy had to turn his back to the others so his young team
couldn’t see him so close to losing it. After a few deep breaths, he faced them
once more. “…I couldn’t bear to lose you, too,” he said solemnly.
Jason stepped up and settled his hands on Tommy’s shoulders, forcing Tommy to
look him in the eyes. “I know Bro’, but it’s our best shot at getting Kim back.
We might not have our powers anymore, but we’re still Power Rangers. Trust us.
Come on, we’re wasting time.”
That reminder startled Tommy into action. “Haley and Billy, we need to be able
to communicate with them while they’re in there. Could you come up with
something?”
“That’s an easy one, Tommy. I have all kinds of spare communicator parts. I’m
sure that between Billy and me, we could get them assembled in no time.” And the
two geniuses got to work over at Haley’s work table.
While the communication devices were being built, Jason and Rocky discussed how
they were going to get into the warehouse. The ideal would be to do it
undetected. Elise assured them that Zeltrax wasn’t very smart. He would be
scanning for the Rangers, but he wouldn’t be expecting Tommy to involve
civilians. For that very reason, it was a good idea to have the boys go in
there, but if they were discovered, plan ‘B’ was to just act stupid and get the
hell out. Plan ‘C’ came into play if they were captured. Chances were that
Zeltrax would put them the same place he was holding Kim, and then they could
protect her while trying to escape. Whichever way it went, it should work…unless
of course Zeltrax knew they were friends of Tommy’s and just blew them away on
sight. But they all agreed not to think about that.
The Dino Thunder team would wait with Tommy at the command center until they got
word from the guys. Once they knew the scenario at the warehouse, they would
have to decide very quickly how to proceed. Trini would stay behind and keep
surveillance with Haley. Next to Billy, she had been the best technical expert
of the original Rangers, and since Zeltrax had seen her with Kim, he would
recognize her and blow their cover if she went along.
Within an hour, Haley and Billy completed work on the communicators. Jason,
Rocky and Billy each put one on while Haley filled them on how they work. “They
are not terribly sophisticated considering the short notice, but they’ll serve
the purpose. Their frequency is tied into the Rangers’ morphers, the command
center, and each other. The range is much farther than we’re hoping we’ll need,
but if worst comes to worst, you’ll still be able to reach us even if you’re
captured and taken somewhere else. Billy also has an alternate device on a
separate frequency that he’ll wear under his clothes like a wire. It acts like a
homing beacon so we can track you. Try your best to stay together, since we only
have the one. I’ll be tracking Billy from here and will communicate your
whereabouts to the Rangers if for some reason your transmitters get damaged or
taken. Trini and I will be monitoring the warehouse constantly, and we’ll alert
you of any danger.”
Tommy nodded his thanks to Haley for her expertise, but he had more to add.
“Listen guys, I realize you’re not used to being on the sidelines, but you gotta
promise me that you’ll stay out of the Rangers’ way. Ideally, you’ll be on your
way back here before we go in, but if you’re still there, give us some space.
Zeltrax has some pretty mean firepower, and we can’t fight if we’re worrying
about accidentally nailing one of you. Conner, you, Ethan, and Kira will keep
him busy while Trent and I look for Kim. Obviously, we’ll have to play it by ear
depending on what happens, but that’s the raw plan.” Tommy paused and waited for
acknowledgment from everyone. Then, drawing in a deep breath, he simply said
“it’s time.”
The three brave ex-Rangers assembled at the cave door. They decided to take the
rented moving van rather than one of Tommy’s cars since it would be one more
indistinguishable element. Billy was in the corner with his shirt open adjusting
the transmitter taped to his chest when Trini approached quietly from behind.
“Billy…”
He turned around when he heard her voice, pleased that she came to him first. He
hadn’t wanted to go without talking about last night, but he didn’t know where
to begin. “Hey, Trini…”
“Are you ready?”
“Uh, yeah…I guess so. Ready as I’ll ever be. I’m glad you’ll be here to watch
over us. When I get back, I’m going to work on a teleportation system for Tommy.
He doesn’t have one now because they’re so expensive, but I think I can get the
equipment from the Aquitians. It’s pretty routine on their planet…”
“Billy…wait.” Trini cut him off. She knew he had a tendency to babble on when he
was nervous, so she just cut him off as gently as possible. “About last night…I
won’t lie, I’m attracted to you, Billy. Those were the most amazing kisses of my
life, and I wanted to make sure you knew how I feel before you did this today.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding and waited for his response.
It took a moment for her words to sink in, but the relief he felt alleviated all
the anxiety he had about the mission. Billy wasn’t an eloquent man when it came
to emotional subjects, so to show her that he reciprocated her feelings, he
simply took her in his arms and pulled her lithe body against his, burying his
blonde head in her shoulder.
Trini embraced him enthusiastically, completely oblivious to the others in the
room. After a few long moments, she pulled back. They gazed into each other’s
eyes as their mouths inched closer until their lips touched. The kiss was long
and deep, without any hesitation. Billy wove his hands into her long, silky
hair, molding his muscular body to her soft curves. She clutched his shoulders
aggressively, never wanting to let him go.
“What the hell!” Rocky exclaimed when he noticed the couple. “Damn, it’s about
time, but we gotta go. You can finish this when you get back, but please, do it
in private.”
Reluctantly, the new couple parted, more than a little embarrassed at the amused
looks from their friends. They were all grateful for the tension-breaker, but it
didn’t take long for them to get their focus back to the mission. Billy gave
Trini’s hand a final reassuring squeeze before joining Jason and Rocky at the
door. They performed one last communicator test just to make sure everything was
working properly, and then they headed out.
Tommy watched three of the best friends he’d ever have set forth to risk their
lives for the woman he loved and his child. Something of a shy loner as a kid,
he had always been grateful that Rangerhood brought these people into his life,
but now he knew that he would owe them a debt that he will never be able to
repay. As he watched them go, he sent up a silent prayer that everyone came back
alive and in one piece. If something happened to any of them, he didn’t think
he’d ever be able to forgive himself. Realizing that he couldn’t afford to waste
his energy worrying about the what-ifs, he joined Haley at the command console
and began his vigil over the radar screen and the flashing blue signal that
represented the location of his friends.
---------------------
Rocky drove cautiously up the long, winding road that lead to the old, abandoned
building. At one time, this had been a warehouse for a family-owned furniture
store, but has been vacant for several years since they went out of business. It
was a large structure with the usual sheet-metal walls and concrete foundation
of any other industrial complex. Besides two doors, one in the front and one in
back, that were each about the size of a double garage, there were no other
windows or openings of any kind.
They parked the van about two-hundred feet from the rear entrance. It was a
fairly well-camouflaged area, surrounded by trees on three sides. That was as
much of a disadvantage as it was an advantage, though, since it meant that
although they could hide easily in the foliage, their vision was drastically
impaired. Before they moved in, they decided to check in with Tommy to fill him
in on the surroundings.
“Jason to Tommy…”
“I read you, Jase. What’s up?”
“Well, we’re here. It’s a heavily wooded area. Is it interfering with Billy’s
signal?”
Haley’s voice chimed in. “No, guys. It’s too strong a frequency for trees to
interfere. We’re tracking you just fine.”
“Good. There’s no sign of Zeltrax or Kim anywhere,” Jason reported with plenty
of frustration.
“And the access to the building appears very limited on initial observation.
There are two doors on either side, but they’re very big. It would be impossible
to enter invisibly. I recommend we check for a way in from the roof,” Billy
suggested.
“Good idea, Billy. Move in, and guys…be careful,” Tommy added as he cut the
connection. He sat back in his chair with a sigh, repeating the prayer from
earlier as he watched the blinking light shift position closer to the target.
The men found a large oak tree about eight feet from the side of the warehouse
that would be the perfect route to their destination. The thick limbs could
easily hold their weight, and one of them extended over the top of the building
about three feet from the edge. Jason’s excellent physical condition let him
quickly climb the tree with Rocky and Billy right on his heels. The full, green
leaves provided ample cover while the guys inched across the branch and made the
five foot drop down to the roof. Once up there, they broke up and searched for
any sort of access inside.
It didn’t take long for Rocky to strike gold. An air conditioning duct covered
by a metal grate would be a tight squeeze, but he was pretty sure they could
make it. Not wanting to yell across the roof for the others, he remembered the
communicator on his wrist and tapped the red button on the side. “Billy,
Jason…over here in the northern corner. There’s a vent here that I think we
could fit in. I don’t know exactly where it goes, but it definitely leads down
into the warehouse.”
“Nice! I’ll be right over,” Jason replied.
“Read you, Rocky. I’m on my way,” Billy said.
A couple minutes later, the three of them were gathered around the vent. It was
about two feet by two feet and attached to the rooftop with four big rusty
bolts. For anyone else, this would prove an insurmountable problem, impossible
to overcome without an array of power tools and a can of WD-40. Billy Cranston,
however, was not just anyone. He came prepared with a unique device he invented
that could carve right through the iron grating like a hot knife through butter.
It was a pocket-sized laser no bigger that a penlight, but it was powerful
enough to slice a hole in a bank vault in seconds.
Once the device was charged up, Billy motioned for the others to move back
before he aimed the tip at the vent and fired. A pencil-thin red beam shot out
of the end and immediately began to melt the metal. There would be a problem
when the grate was completely freed, because it would probably drop down and
make a loud noise against the aluminum duct, but it was too hot for them to grab
with their bare hands.
“Billy, hold up!” Jason exclaimed before the entire grate was cut loose.
“Somehow, we gotta catch it.” He looked around desperately for a solution, and
then he was struck with an idea. “Hey…what about if we stuck a tree branch
through a hole and held the grate with it?”
“Won’t it catch on fire? If it would burn our hands, wouldn’t it burn the wood?
What do you think, Billy?” asked Rocky, deferring to the brains of the
organization.
“We’ll have to work fast, but I think it’s doable. Luckily, we’re close to the
edge of the building and can just drop the grate over the side. It’s dirt down
there, so it won’t make noise. We’ll need a branch that’s strong enough to
support this heavy iron, but thin enough for us to snap off and fit through the
hole. We can’t cut one with the laser. It’ll burn for sure.”
All three men went over to the tree that they climbed across and began the
search for the perfect branch. Soon, Jason found one he thought would work well.
It was about two inches in diameter, just the right size to fit through the
three square inch openings. At roughly three feet long, it would provide just
enough leverage to lift the grate. Rocky and Jason snapped it from the main limb
with their feet and carried it over to the vent. Once they had it wedged in
place, Jason nodded to Billy to continue cutting.
As the laser neared the final few inches, Jason and Rocky tightened their
support on the branch. When it broke free, they lifted it away from the
clearance. Seconds later, both it and the branch were safely thrown over the
side of the building and the boys were on their hands and knees peering down
into the opening trying to figure out where the duct led. Unfortunately, the
space was as dark as night and they were going to have to feel their way.
Jason led the way down, and once inside, they discovered it was even tighter
that they thought, not to mention damn dirty. All three of them had to stifle
sneezes from the dust that had settled in the old duct, and not even ten feet
in, they were almost completely covered in grime from head to toe. Crawling
single file, they inched through the darkness, trying to be as quiet as
possible. Any noise would echo off the aluminum and draw attention to their
presence. It took almost fifteen minutes, but finally, there was the proverbial
light at the end of the tunnel. It was still nearly twenty five feet away, and
they didn’t know where it opened up to, but anything was better than crawling
through the filthy, hot space.
“Shit, Rocky!” Billy suddenly whispered, breaking the silence. “Why didn’t you
warn me you were going to fart? I wouldn’t have crawled so close.”
“Sorry, man. It just slipped out,” Rocky apologized.
“God, you’re nasty!”
“Glad you’re the one bringing up the rear, Billy,” Jason teased.
“Screw both of you!”
But there was no time for a retort, because they were quickly coming up on the
light. Jason peered down into the opening, and saw the most dreadful sight he’d
ever seen in his life. About twenty feet below, there was a long table, and
lying on that table was an amber block.
And embedded in that amber block was the petite form of Kimberly Hart.
Chapter 25: Defenders Sworn to Fight
“Oh, God! What the hell is that stuff?” Jason asked, trying to fight the
sickening feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach.
Billy strained for a better look at the translucent rock. Kimberly lay embedded
inside, and from the terrified expression frozen on her face, it she clearly
wasn’t unconscious when the substance poured over her. “It’s a sort of amber, I
believe. For all intents and purposes, she’s been fossilized,” he speculated
gravely.
“How will we get her out? Will she survive? What about the baby?” Rocky fired
off the questions one after the other, each one more panic-ridden that the last.
“I don’t know, Rocky. I just don’t know. The question is: do we tell Tommy?”
Billy could only imagine how he’d take this news.
“We’re going to have to, but not yet. We need to find out where Zeltrax is
first. Once we’ve scoped everything out, we’ll call Tommy. Right now, this is
the only information we have, and it’s not much,” Jason reasoned. Out of the
three of them, he knew Tommy the best. He will go insane when they tell him and
probably come charging in here without knowing what he’s walking into. If that
happens, this whole plan would be for nothing.
“Jason, I weigh the least. Why don’t you and Rocky lower me down there and I can
take a look around and find something you can use as a ladder? You can’t jump.
It’s too far, and you’d land on Kim.”
Billy’s idea sounded good to Jason and Rocky, but they were confused when he got
down on his stomach and stuck his head through the opening while holding on to
the edge. “What are you doing?” Rocky asked, knowing he spoke for both him and
Jason.
“I can’t go down feet first. I won’t be able to see anything coming at me. You
guys will have to hang on to my legs and lower me, then I’ll grab the edge of
the table and flip off,” Billy explained. He was an excellent gymnast, so
landing in a handstand was no big deal for him. “You might have to pull me up in
a hurry if I spot Zeltrax, though.”
“Alright,” Rocky agreed simply as he and Jason struggled to maneuver into
position in the confining space. Each of them knelt on either side of the duct
opening while holding one of Billy’s legs.
A moment later, he was no longer visible in the duct and his friends were
straining to hold on to him in the awkward position without falling face-first
through the hole themselves. Billy was just about to call to them to have them
let go when suddenly, he found himself hanging by one leg while the other swung
free. “Rocky! You pulled my shoe off!”
Rocky blushed red in the dark passage as he realized that there was no foot in
the sneaker he was holding. “Oops. Sorry!”
“Don’t worry about it. Jason, I’ve got the table. Let me go,” Billy whispered,
not wanting to be too loud incase Zeltrax was near. He was braced on his hands
on the edge of the table, but he was dying to get down. It wasn’t that he
couldn’t stay in a handstand forever, it was just that this particular position
had him almost face to face with Kimberly, and he couldn’t stand seeing her
frightened expression. Once he felt himself freed, he swung his lower body
backwards in a graceful, controlled arc and landed on his feet…minus one shoe.
“OK, throw me my shoe.”
Billy caught the Nike and slipped it on before getting down to business. He had
to find a way to get the other two down there. Glancing around, he noticed a
bunch of old crates piled in a corner. It seemed that he was in a backroom of
the warehouse. It was about twelve by twelve feet and empty except for the
crates. The wood was rotted and the nails were rusty, but by his quick mental
calculations, they should support a 170lb. man. “We’ll soon find out…” he
mumbled to himself as he got to work.
Fifteen minutes and several splinters later, Billy had engineered a pyramid-like
structure out of the crates. The good news was that they held his weight as he
climbed up and down while stacking them like stairs. Working like that was
useful for keeping his mind and his sight off of Kim, and finally, he was done.
“Alright, come down, one at a time.”
First Jason, then Rocky descended the makeshift steps. Once everyone was safely
on solid ground, they gathered to plan their next move. “Maybe we can just get
her into the van and forget Zeltrax. Tommy can take care of him later. Billy,
you and Haley should be able to come up with a way to get her out of there,
right?” Rocky asked hopefully.
“I don’t know, that amber looks pretty dense and heavy. We’re strong, but I
doubt we can carry her that far. It's going to take all of us plus the Rangers’
strength. We haven’t even found the ship yet. What if we run into trouble on our
way out? We should stick to the original plan and let Tommy destroy Zeltrax,
then rescue Kim.” Jason had just finished explaining his reasoning when the
sound of metallic-shoed footsteps coming their way stopped him short.
The three men froze. “What was that about trouble?” Rocky asked rhetorically as
they glanced around for the source of the noise, praying that it was anything
but what they knew it was. There was no where to hide and no way out other than
the way they came in and the door where the footsteps were coming from that
probably lead to the main section of the warehouse.
“Billy, go back up. If at least one of us could escape, we can still contact
Tommy,” Jason proposed. “You have the best chance of finding a way to free Kim.”
“Maybe so, but I’m wearing the transmitter. They can’t track you without it.
Rocky, you should go,” Billy responded. “Take the van and go back to the command
center. Hurry!”
Rocky just nodded and then scrambled nimbly back up the crates and through the
duct while Jason and Billy braced themselves as they heard what sounded like a
key turning a lock. Playing dumb and getting out would be an unlikely option now
that they were witnesses to Kim’s petrified state. Neither of them remembered
whether they were on plan “C”, “D”, or “Z”, but Jason hoped that his and Billy’s
twenty-five years of friendship and service together as Rangers had connected
them on some subconscious level. They needed to work together even though they
were flying by the seat of their pants.
At the last second, something under one of the unused crates caught Jason’s eye,
and he got an idea. He hit the floor and rolled over to grab the empty Jack
Daniels bottle. “Act drunk!” he whispered. Billy immediately caught on and slid
down the wall to sit in a loose heap in the corner. Both men adopted a zoned-out
appearance as the door swung open to reveal one of the ugliest,
deadliest-looking creatures either of them had ever seen.
The cyborg Zeltrax had a charcoal-gray armored body with a gruesome,
asymmetrical helmet. When faced with any of Rita and Zedd’s monsters in the
past, while some of them might have been pretty weird and creepy, the fact that
they were artificially created from inanimate objects and weren’t really alive
never left the Rangers with any guilt once they were destroyed. This one was
different, though, because at one time, not so long ago, this monster was a
young human male, no different than them. Tommy had explained the tragic
accident that condemned Terrance Smith to a life inside the life-support suit.
He was like a real-life Darth Vader. There was still a person inside there
somewhere. To Jason and Rocky, knowing that made his appearance and intentions
that much more disturbing.
The last thing Zeltrax expected when he went to the storeroom to retrieve his
‘prize’ was intruders. Both men could see that he was momentarily taken back,
but unfortunately, he regained his composure just as quickly. For ten seconds
that seemed more like ten hours, the cyborg stared at his guests. Jason couldn’t
stand letting him think he had any advantage, so he boldly took charge of the
situation. “Hey, Billy! Check it out…it’s the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz!” he
slurred while waving the empty bottle around carelessly.
“Whoa… it is! That was some really good shit we took. Did you ever get that heart
you were looking for?” Billy returned just as drunkenly.
“Who are you?” Zeltrax roared in a distorted, synthesized voice not unlike that
of Vader.
“Huh?” Jason replied. “Good question. Billy, any ideas?”
“We’re… uh… drunk? No, that’s not it.” Then pointing to his friend, Billy did his
best to act as stupid as possible. “Oh, yeah… that’s Jason, I’m Billy. Nice to
meet you. I like your rock over there. That’s one hell of a sculpture! She’s
hot!” he added, thinking he’d bring up the subject to convince the cyborg that
they were too drunk to realize what the amber actually was.
Zeltrax had clearly run out of patience with these idiots, but then an idea
struck him: they might be useful. Adding more innocents to the mix would only
serve to have an even greater impact on Tommy Oliver. If they became too much of
a nuisance, he would simply eliminate them. With a wave of the sword he carried
by his side, four Tyrannodrones rushed through the door and charged Jason and
Billy. He had managed to acquire a few of the mutants to do his bidding,
although they were the dumbest of the bunch. However, that was why he was easily
able to convince them to betray Mesogog and come with him.
Jason and Billy shared a look of agreement once they had both assessed the
situation. They would continue the drunken façade and allow themselves to be
captured. While the dim-witted Tyrannodrones weren’t armed with anything but
brute strength, they could still probably pack a powerful punch, especially at
four against two. It was better to appear ignorant and helpless so that they
could stay close to Kim. Rocky should almost be back to the command center, and
after that, it wouldn’t be long before Tommy and the Rangers stormed in.
The ‘Drones pulled Jason and Billy off the floor and shoved them harshly out the
door. A strange ship appeared before them in the large expanse of the
warehouse’s main space. It looked like a cross between a scorpion and a
caterpillar, with several individual segments along its body that served a
purpose the guys had yet to determine. The one thing they knew for sure already,
though, was that this ship was heavily armed. There were several gun-ports
spaced along both the dorsal and ventral surfaces, and directly beneath the
cockpit, two giant missiles were perched at the ready. Billy knew that this had
to be some sort of alien technology, as he had never seen anything like it on
Earth. They both had to give Zeltrax some credit for acquiring this thing. Maybe
he wasn’t as stupid as Elise thought.
A boarding ramp was extended on the underside of the ship. Two of the
Tyrannodrones dragged Billy and Jason towards it while the other two remained in
the back room with Zeltrax. That made the boys nervous, as that meant the three
mutants were all alone with Kimberly. Jason was fairly sure they wouldn’t
destroy the amber rock yet, since it seemed that the point of this whole thing
was to lure Tommy in and force him to witness her death. Still, they had wanted
to keep close to Kim to give her as much protection as they could offer. Staying
together would also make the rescue attempt easier because as the transmitter
Billy wore tracked their position, it would also be tracking hers.
Once onboard, they were shoved down a narrow hall into what seemed to be a
fair-sized cargo hold. Billy took the opportunity to check the ship out on the
way. There wasn’t much to it. A forward cockpit at the ‘head’ of the caterpillar
had just enough room for a pilot and not much else other than the vast array of
controls. Behind it, the adjoining space where they were being kept was about
seven by five feet and completely empty except for them. The small room was very
dimly lit only by tiny LED emergency lights. What intrigued Billy the most,
though, was a series of airlock hatches evenly spaced along the bulkhead of the
hallway outside. Now he understood the segmented design of the ship. It must be
able to break apart into several ‘fighter’ ships, each functioning
independently. He wasn’t certain whether they were controlled remotely by the
main ship or if they had to be piloted, but if it were the latter, they might
have a decent chance. The ‘Drones could barely walk upright; he couldn’t imagine
them flying a ship with any skill.
Finally alone, Billy carefully listened for any activity outside their prison’s
locked door before turning to Jason. “Well, this is an unfortunate turn of
events. With us onboard, Tommy and the Rangers can’t engage the ship in battle.
Zeltrax is smarter than we thought.”
“Yeah, but only if he intends to take off with us. If he’s just holding us in
here and we’re not leaving the warehouse, Tommy will direct the fighting away
from the ship when they get here. I just wish Kim was here with us…” Jason
replied.
He had barely finished the sentence when, as if by magic, the door slid open and
the four Tyrannodrones roughly thrust the amber slab containing the fossilized
Kimberly Hart into the small space. “I guess wishes do come true,” Billy quipped
as he winced at their brutal handling. In the faint red lighting, the amber took
on a blood-colored tone and the irregular shape indicative of the material
having been ‘poured’ over her body made her appear as a ghostly silhouette from
a five-year-old’s worst nightmare.
“Come on, let’s move her over to the side,” Jason suggested. “We need to have
the doorway clear.”
It turns out the former Blue Ranger had been right about the extreme weight of
the amber. Kim’s tiny frame barely amounted to one hundred pounds, but the solid
substance encasing her must have weighed three times more. They could have never
have carried it out to the van safely. Billy forced himself to thoroughly
inspect the slab for the first time although the lighting made it difficult to
see the details. “She looks well-protected. I’d have to analyze this material
further, but it seems as though it might have been a viscous liquid that, when
hardened, put Kim in a state of suspended animation.”
“So you think she’s alive in there?” Jason asked hopefully.
“It’s possible. On Aquitar, they have been preserving their people for years in
the case of terminal illnesses for which they have no cure. I have seen
Aquitians over two hundred of our years old be released from hibernation and go
on to live normal lives,” Billy explained. “I believe our physiology is similar
enough to theirs to cautiously expect the same possibility. Of course, we won’t
know for sure until she’s freed.”
“Well, Tommy knows by now. The guy’s probably shitting bricks. Now all we can do
is wait. Might as well have a seat,” Jason said as he plopped down onto the hard
metal floor and rested his back against the wall. Billy did likewise and they
let the waiting game begin.
---------------------
All the way back to the command center, Rocky debated with himself the best way
to tell Tommy about Kim’s current predicament. It would be easiest to just call
him over the communicator on his wrist, but that wouldn’t be right. Tommy
deserved to be told in person, even if Rocky had to risk becoming the ‘killed
messenger’. He was not very good with words or emotions, and not for the first
time since he left the warehouse, he wondered how he got lucky enough to be
elected for this task. This was better suited to Jason, who always knew how to
control Tommy’s outbursts of anger, guilt, self-doubt, etcetera, etcetera…All
Rocky knew he was good at was sticking his foot in his mouth.
The internal dialogue in his head was forced to come to an abrupt halt as
Tommy’s driveway appeared up ahead. Still undecided as to what to say, he ran
inside and down the stairs to find Tommy, Haley, and the other Dino Thunder
Rangers practically sitting on the edge of their seats after hearing him come
in. Rocky stopped at the bottom of the steps upon seeing the eager anticipation
on their faces and then he hung his head and began to slowly walk towards Tommy.
“What is it, Rocky? Why haven’t I heard from you guys?” Tommy’s tone was
frantic. He was excellent at sizing people up, and could read Rocky like a book.
Something was seriously wrong.
No use beating around the bush. “Tommy, we found Kim.”
Tommy’s stare drilled daggers into Rocky’s skull as he waited for him to
continue.
“She’s been encased in some sort of amber substance. Billy says…”
“Amber?” Tommy cut him off.
“Yeah, Billy says she’s been fossilized.”
“She has,” Haley supplied, then proceeded to explain. “Tommy was stuck in it
once, too.”
“And he’s OK…that means Kim will be OK, too, right?” Rocky asked optimistically.
“Well, maybe…” Haley started hesitantly. “Tommy was morphed at the time. Since
his Dino Gem is merged with his DNA, it offered some protection from the amber.
I don’t know what kind of effect it will have on a normal person, or a…pregnant
woman,” she added slowly, forgetting that the teen Rangers didn’t know about the
baby yet.
“Pregnant woman? Who?” Conner asked with his usual blank expression.
While Rocky was the only one not familiar with the Red Dino Thunder Ranger’s
lack of sensibility, this was one of those moments that had all of them shaking
their heads. None of them could even conjure up the words to answer him right
away, but a glance in her teacher’s direction told Kira that Conner’s life was
in danger if Dr. O were to fail to restrain himself.
“Kim’s pregnant, you dolt!” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. She wasn’t exactly
in the mood for it, either.
“How’d you know?” Conner shot back, the grave situation momentarily slipping his
mind when he thought that Kira had been let in on some juicy news that he
hadn’t.
“Haley just said so!” the Yellow Ranger shot back.
“Shut up, both of you!” Tommy shouted angrily. He fixed the Rangers with a
fierce glare that held no remorse for his outburst.
The kids practically stood at attention like soldiers, all except for Trent.
Usually the observer in the background, he was in awe at the intense emotions
Kimberly inspired in Dr. O. The past month since she came back into his life,
the teens have seen their normally even-keeled teacher go from giddy and
floating on a cloud to violently furious. It made the White Ranger want to find
Kim even more, especially if it meant that they would be spared from the wrath
of the mad paleontologist.
“Sorry, Dr. O,” Kira apologized quickly while Conner just looked on sheepishly.
“Alright. Yes, guys, Kim is pregnant. That means we have to be even more
careful. We’re rescuing two people now. Rocky, what about Jason and Billy?”
“They were probably about to be captured just as I escaped. There was only time
for one of us to get out, and I got elected. Jason said he had a plan, and they
were hoping to try and stay close to Kim. Trini, where’s Billy’s tracking signal
coming from?”
Trini studied the radar screen, using the various controls to pinpoint his
location. “They’re still in the warehouse. The signal has only moved a couple
hundred feet from where you were before, but it’s weaker, like it’s being
shielded.”
“Zeltrax must be keeping them on the ship. The heavy metal alloy would disrupt
the frequency, but luckily it didn’t dampen it all together,” Haley offered.
Elise had been sitting silently in the corner, feeling out of place and somewhat
responsible for this whole thing, but then she realized that she knew Zeltrax
better than anyone. She may be able to help Tommy formulate a plan that exploits
the cyborg’s many weaknesses. “I doubt he’s alone,” she said quietly.
The others looked to the beautiful young woman, who up until now they had all
but forgotten. She had sat up straighter in her chair, and now seemed to be
taking a keen interest in participating in the rescue effort.
“What do you mean, Elise?” Tommy asked with as much patience as he could gather.
Elise stood up and walked to the center of the group. “Zeltrax is a wimp. He
would never take you guys on himself. This time, he doesn’t have Mesogog to call
the shots and provide the backup, but I’ll still bet he has a few Tyrannodrones
working for him. They aren’t exactly hard to convince to do anything.”
“Makes sense…” Tommy pondered out loud. “They’re not a threat, but I think we
can use Zeltrax’s cowardice against him.”
“Yeah, and hopefully, he still doesn’t know Jason and Billy are with us. He’ll
be seriously out-numbered.” Rocky added.
“Good point, Rocko. Alright, we know he’s expecting us to show up. That’s what
he wants, so why not give it to him, plus a little extra? Conner, you take the
others and go to the warehouse with Rocky in the van. He’ll show you how he got
in, and you enter that way. He’s targeting me, so I’m not screwing around. I’m
just going to go right through the front door once you guys are in and safely
hidden. We’ll make it sort of an ambush. Trent, while we’re occupying Zeltrax
and the ‘Drones, I want you to sneak around the ship and find Kim and the guys.
Take Rocky with you and see if between the four of you, you can move her out to
the van. You’ll have extra strength from being morphed, but if you can’t lift
the amber, just wait. I don’t want to run the risk of dropping her and damaging
the integrity of the seal keeping her in hibernation.”
“Got it, Dr. O,” Conner confirmed. The others gestured their agreement, too.
“Trini, you and Haley will continue to monitor things from here,” Tommy
finished.
“I want to go.”
All eyes turned to Elise, who had calmly, but definitively made her simple
statement with no room for argument in her tone.
“No. No way, Elise. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me so far, I really
do, but I can’t let you risk your life by going in there.” Tommy replied just as
firmly.
“That should be my decision. I’m not without influence where Zeltrax is
concerned. I know how he thinks. You need me.” She fixed Tommy with an eye to
eye stare that only the dumbest would take on.
“Fine… but stay hidden. I don’t want to worry about you getting caught in the
crossfire. Haley, do you have another communicator for Elise?” Tommy conceded
partly because he knew what she could be like when she was determined. He had
faced her enough times in her office as Principal Randall to know she wouldn’t
back down, but he also agreed because there was no more time to argue. The
longer Kim was trapped in that amber, the less chance she, and their baby, would
survive.
“Everybody clear about their jobs?” Tommy asked one last time. Heads nodded all
around, so he took his place in the center of the room. The other Rangers
flanked either side of their mentor in the familiar formation. “Ready!” he
shouted.
“Ready!” they answered, flicking their wrists in front of their chests to change
the bracelets from the gems into morphers.
“Dino Thunder, Power UP!”
Chapter 26: All in it Together
Conner, Kira, Ethan, and Trent, morphed and ready for a fight, piled into the
back of the rental van with Rocky at the wheel. The plan was for them to get a
thirty minute head start in front of Tommy in order to give them time to get in
place under Zeltrax’s nose and lay low until the Black Ranger arrived. Elise had
convinced the team to let her come along, and while Tommy wasn’t happy about it,
he conceded after she argued a good point that she knew Zeltrax best. Also, he
had enough experience with guilt himself to understand that she probably felt
the need to redeem herself for what she did, even though it wasn’t her fault.
His original plan was to have her come along on the Black ATV with him, but
after further consideration, he decided that it would be a good idea for Rocky
to have another civilian partner on the search and rescue mission. Not wanting
to put all their eggs in one basket, she followed along behind them in Tommy’s
SUV.
Tommy paced frantically for the half hour he had to wait until he could leave.
Haley and Trini both wished there was something they could do to help, but both
of them knew him well them enough to that it would be smarter to leave him
alone. He was clearly in no mood for artificial comfort, and they would only be
adding to his distress if they said something to make him snap at them, thereby
making him feel bad. In the meantime, the two women kept glued to the command
center console and monitored the tracking device that Billy wore. The signal
hadn’t moved at all in a while, but watching it not move gave them something to
do to stay out of Tommy’s way.
Eventually, the thirty minutes that seemed more like thirty days passed, and it
was time for Tommy to leave. They had agreed not to have the Rangers contact him
when they were in place since they didn’t know if Zeltrax might pick up the
signal. The cyborg was probably much more on edge after capturing the intruders,
and this plan would only work if the ambush was a surprise. Their idea was that
they would call only if they weren’t ready or if something went wrong,
otherwise, Tommy was to take no news as good news.
“Alright, I’m outta here,” he said to Trini and Haley. The Dino Thunder Rangers’
technical expert simply nodded to him, still unsure of what to say, but Trini
just couldn’t let her friend of nearly fifteen years walk out the door without
so much as a goodbye and good luck.
“Tommy,” she called out, running after him. He stopped his progression and
turned towards the beautiful Vietnamese woman, who then threw herself into his
arms. “Bring them back to us, and bring yourself back too,” she whispered into
his ear with tears in her eyes.
The Black Ranger shouldn’t have been surprised by Trini’s sudden display of
affection, but he was anyway. Not only had they been friends for a long time,
but she was Kim’s oldest friend, too. He knew the sense of loss he was feeling
right now was nearly as bad for Trini as it was for him. He returned her ardent
embrace, willing his own eyes to stay dry, although he was not entirely
successful. “I will, I promise,” he whispered in return, and he meant it with
every fiber of his being. He would bring Kim and his baby home, along with his
friends and his team, or he would die trying.
His helmet was perched atop the seat of the ATV, and it took only a few seconds
for Tommy to latch it in place. Without looking back, he swung his leg over the
machine and fired up the engines, taking off through the cave towards whatever
fate awaited him.
---------------------
At the warehouse, Rocky parked the van in the same place that he had before, and
Elise pulled up along side. The two civilians crawled into the back of the van
where the Rangers waited to confirm their plan. “OK, guys, we’re here. The duct
entrance is on the back of the building. We accessed it by climbing a tree and
crawling across a branch that hangs over the roof. It’s a very tight space.
We’ll have to crawl single-file, and very slowly at that because the duct is
aluminum and noisy. Maybe I should go first since I know the way,” Rocky
started. Although Conner was technically the leader of this end of the
operation, he had no problem with the older, more experienced ex-Ranger taking
the reins. He nodded his consent to the idea.
“What about Elise?” Kira asked.
“She’ll follow along sandwiched between the Rangers. That way, since she’s not
armed, she’ll be somewhat protected,” Rocky answered.
“That’s fine. How does this sound? Once we’re inside, we’ll all hide. Trent can
break away and check out the situation on the ship. He can camouflage himself
using his Ranger power and once he has everything scoped out, he’ll come for
us.” Elise didn’t feel strange giving orders. They were a team, and everyone was
welcome to make suggestions. It also helped that since she fought the Dino
Rangers for so long, she was well aware of their special powers, strengths, and
weaknesses.
“Good idea,” Conner agreed. The kids still thought it was kind of creepy working
along side the woman who used to be their mean principal, but she was quickly
making up for those wrongdoings with her willingness to risk her life in order
get Kim back.
“OK, Ethan, check outside. Make sure there’s no one hanging out around the
perimeter before we move in,” Rocky instructed.
“All clear,” Ethan replied after doing a brief inspection of the warehouse
grounds.
The team, led by Rocky, started for the woods behind the building. At first, the
Rangers all pondered the wisdom of heading in morphed, but then decided that it
didn’t matter since Zeltrax already knew who they were in civilian form. The
suits, shiny and brightly colored as they were, were poor camouflage, but the
protection they offered outweighed the chance of them becoming a distraction.
Once safely among the trees, they regrouped under the large, sturdy maple that
they guys had climbed earlier.
Rocky started up first, followed by Kira, Ethan, Elise, Conner, and finally
Trent bringing up the rear. They were impressed by how easily Elise scaled the
branches, and within a couple minutes, they were all gathered around the opening
of the duct. Rocky never bothered to replace the grate when he left before, so
he immediately lowered himself down into the dusty space. The Rangers and Elise
did likewise, and soon the vent to the storeroom was right up ahead.
The first thing Rocky noticed when he peered down into the small room was that
the amber casing containing Kim was no longer lying there. He tried not to panic
inside, hoping they weren’t too late and the rock had already been destroyed. He
tried to concentrate on the brighter possibility that maybe she had been moved
closer to Jason and Billy. The next piece of bad news was that the crates that
Billy had so carefully stacked were now scattered all over the floor. Zeltrax
must have determined how they got in last time and had the Drones demolish the
structure. Now this time, he might be the one losing his shoe.
“You’ll have to lower me down there,” he whispered to the Rangers behind him.
“No, there’s an easier way,” Conner responded. “Get over to the other side of
the hole.”
Once Rocky was out of the way, the Red Ranger swung his legs through the vent,
and in a blur of red spandex, his super-speed powers rapidly teleported him down
to the floor. Trent had similar ability, but since Kira could only fly in
super-dino mode and Ethan, Rocky, and Elise had to climb down the old-fashioned
way, he stacked the crates back up.
Soon, everyone was lined up on either side of the storeroom door, which had been
left open by the ‘Drones. Conner peeked around the corner, and seeing nothing
but the ship in the main space, he nodded to the others. “The coast is clear. Go
on, Trent.” For now, the rest of them were to hang tight where they were.
“Ok, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” the White Ranger assured them, and then
with the power of his Dino gem, he blended seamlessly into his surroundings.
Trent snaked along the inner wall of the warehouse until he was about fifteen
feet from the ship. This was where he was going to have to make a run for the
boarding ramp uncamouflaged. Unlike Tommy’s full invisibility powers, Trent
could only ‘blend in’ when up against something. If he got much more than two
feet from a wall, the chameleon-like cover disappeared and he was visible again.
There was still no one around, and it was beginning to make him nervous. It must
mean that Zeltrax and the Tyrannodrones were all onboard the ship, which was
going to make sneaking in much more difficult. Suddenly, he had an idea. Raising
his communicator to his mouth, he called Dr. Oliver, Conner and the others to
run it by them. For the safety of Kim, Jason, and Billy, he left them out of the
conversation.
“Dr. O, they’re all inside the ship. I have to find a way to draw them out.”
“You’re right, Trent. We all stand a better chance in a fight where it’s wide
open. Cause a distraction, and when they come out, Rangers engage. They’re
waiting for us, let’s not disappoint them. I’m already on my way. Once they’re
off the ship, we’ll keep them busy outside. Trent, Elise and Rocky need to find
a way in and find Kim and the guys. I’m coming through the front door, so I’ll
make sure it’s left wide open. Maybe we’ll just have to steal the whole ship.”
Tommy didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of that before, but it was brilliant. If
they took the ship, then Kim and the rest of the civilians would be out of the
vicinity of the fight.
“Can we fly that thing?” Elise asked. She had no idea where Zeltrax got it, but
she had never seen anything like it.
“Billy should be able to figure it out. OK, I’ll be approaching the warehouse in
about five minutes. I’ll wait until I hear the fighting start before I come in.
By then, hopefully Rocky, Elise, and Trent will be onboard and ready to pull
out. Before you fire her up, let us know so we can get clear of the exhaust.
Now, let’s move.” Tommy could almost hear the clock ticking away at Kim’s life,
but he tried to push it to the back of his mind or he wouldn’t be able to focus.
Trent moved very carefully away from the wall. He knew he was a wide-open target
if they happened to be watching from the ship. On his way around the room, he
had passed some old metal barrels in the corner. They were empty, but should
make sufficient noise to bring the ‘Drones out of the ship if blasted with his
Dragon-sword. Taking a deep breath, he took aim. A series of laser arrows shot
out of the end of the feather-shaped weapon, and the impact they made created an
earth-shattering crash and a series of fiery sparks.
The rest of the Rangers hiding in the back room heard the noise and took it as
their signal to move in. They didn’t want Trent to be standing out there alone
when Zeltrax appeared. Rocky and Elise were to stay put until the right
opportunity to get onboard without being seen arrived. The four Rangers stood
united around the ship’s ramp, a formidable force that would intimidate even the
most ruthless opponent.
As expected, the team didn’t have to wait long for the enemy to emerge. In
typical Tyrannodrone style, the big lugs ungracefully clodded down the ramp, too
stupid to be concerned with their own well-being. The four Rangers immediately
charged the lizard-creatures, but surprisingly, it didn’t take long for them to
recover from the unexpected ambush and begin to fight back.
Conner could easily tell why these were the ‘Drones that Zeltrax chose to defect
with him. What they lacked in IQ points, they made up for in sheer brutal
strength. None of the other mutants that the Rangers fought in the past seemed
so powerful. Soon, the warehouse was alight with laser fire. At this point, the
score was even, four against four, but if any of them could have torn their
concentration away from the intense battle for even a second, they would have
definitely notice a couple of very serious issues.
First, they had to eliminate at least one of the ‘Drones, and fast. In the past,
although they were almost always outnumbered, the Rangers never had any trouble
defeating the lizards. This time, though, just when the odds should have been in
their favor, they found themselves evenly matched with their opponents not just
numerically, but in skill as well. Trent still had to slip away to the ship
while also attempting to clear a path for Rocky and Elise to get onboard safely,
and if he left now, the ‘Drones would easily gain the advantage.
Ironically though, the biggest problem facing the team was not who they were
fighting, but who they weren’t. Zeltrax had yet to emerge from the ship, and it
was starting to make everyone very nervous. It was as if he knew their plan.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have a chance to think too hard about it, because
seconds later, the dark silhouette of the Black Ranger appeared in the doorway.
Tommy could see right away that things were not going as planned. Zeltrax was no
where to be found, and the Rangers were obviously struggling with the ‘Drones.
Trent was still fighting with the team, and that meant that Rocky and Elise were
still hiding out. It was time to tip the odds in their favor.
He engaged the Tyrannodrones aggressively, slashing and parrying with his
Brachio staff like a man possessed. If Zeltrax was too chicken shit to come out,
then he would make sure the cyborg really had something to be scared of once he
eliminated his support. Working his way into the conflict, Tommy tried to get in
a good position to take over Trent’s spot. For a split second, he considered
just going onboard to rescue Kim and his friends himself, but thought better of
it, still hoping to draw Zeltrax out of the ship. There couldn’t be any fighting
up there with Kim and the guys so vulnerable. When they commissioned Trent to
sneak aboard, it was with the specific instructions that he get in and take off
as soon as possible as to keep out of the crossfire. Tommy knew his anger with
Zeltrax at the present time would prevent him from making the level-headed
decisions necessary to make it out with them in one piece. It was something that
he wasn’t crazy about acknowledging in himself, but he wouldn’t dare do anything
to put Kim and his baby in harm’s way. The White Ranger had the skill and the
sound judgment to accomplish the task with minimal risk to the innocents, and so
Tommy decided to leave things alone. Now he just had to give Trent a chance to
break away.
The perfect opportunity presented itself at last when the ‘Drone Trent was
fighting went for what might have been a fatal blow to the White Ranger. The
mutant had forced the young man to his knees, but just as it was preparing to
deliver a devastating slash across the Ranger’s throat, Tommy swooped in and
inserted himself between the opponents, effectively blocking the Tyrannodrone’s
attack with his Brachio staff. Trent understood this as his cue to get outta
dodge and he slid out from beneath the brawl. He didn’t think he should board
just yet, since Zeltrax was still up there and there was still too much gunfire
for Rocky and Elise to safely sprint across the expanse of the warehouse, so he
waited hidden beneath the boarding ramp for the right chance.
---------------------
From their little prison, Jason and Billy could hear the conflict going on
outside. By now, they had expected to have been already freed and on the way out
with Kim, but there they sat. Instinctively, Jason just knew it was time to take
matters into their own hands. “Billy, something’s wrong. This is taking longer
than it should. Maybe we’d better see what we can do from here incase Trent,
Rocky, and Elise can’t make it. Take a look at the door, is there any way we can
get it open?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing myself. It looks like there’s an infrared
sensor controlling the lock. If we can find a way to interfere with the signal,
we may be able to force the door open manually.” At that moment, Billy would
have given anything for the tools and other equipment he had in his parent’s
garage back in his Ranger days. This was going to be a difficult task to
undertake with nothing but what they had on them. Looking around frantically in
the dimly lit room, the reflection of the tiny red LED’s off of Jason’s
communicator gave him an idea. He was glad that he had built them along side
Haley. It was going to save the time since he didn’t have to figure out the
mechanisms. “These communicators operate on a pretty high frequency. If I can
jack it up a little bit more, it would probably come close to an infrared
wavelength. The lock sensor works like a simple switch. There’s a receiver on
the opposite side of the door frame. When it’s on, the circuit is complete and
the door remains locked. If I can position the communicator in the sensor’s
place and find the right frequency, it should interfere with the signal and we
should be able to open the door manually.”
“Let’s hope it works.” Jason found himself feeling a little nostalgic for the
old days. He didn’t realize how much he missed the action and the adrenaline
rush that came with Rangering. They might not be in spandex, but that was really
the only difference. Billy was even using his genius to get them out of a jam
just like he did way back then.
“I wish I had more light, but I’ll have to make do,” Billy added as he strained
his contact-lensed blue eyes to get the communicator apart.
“Hold on a minute!” Jason exclaimed suddenly. He reached into his front pocket
and pulled out his keychain, from which hung a miniature flashlight. “This
oughta help.”
“It’s a good thing you remembered this now, because if I had caught you with it
later, I’d have shoved it up your…”
“Got ya,” Jason cut him off as he moved to hold the light above Billy.
Twenty minutes later, Billy was still working on the communicator adjustments.
Turns out, on that same keychain, Jason had also had a Swiss Army knife, which
was a real lifesaver with its various tools and gadgets. “Are you almost done? I
don’t think these batteries will last much longer.” Already, Jason noticed that
the light was getting dimmer.
“Yeah, one more turn of this little screw and it should be done. They’re still
really going at it out there. What are we going to do it we get out of here? We
can’t leave Kim here on the ship, and we can’t carry her ourselves.” Billy had
been glad for the distraction provided by fixing the communicators. It kept his
mind, as well as his eyes, off the slab of amber.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if we’re alone up here. Zeltrax or some of his
goons might be standing guard outside this very door, but we can’t just do
nothing. We have to try something.” Jason sounded desperate. It was not in his
nature to stand around and wait for someone else to decide his fate.
“I know. Alright, get down on your hands and knees.” Billy realized how that
sounded as soon as he said it, and by the expression on Jason’s face, he did
too. “Don’t get excited. I have to stand on your back to reach the top of the
door.”
“That’s more like it…” And he knelt on the hard metal floor and braced himself
to accept Billy’s weight. “Try to hurry…”
---------------------
Back outside, the fight continued to rage on. Tommy couldn’t get over the
strength of these ‘Drones. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised since they were
mutants after all. Clearly, they had been mutated even further.
The battle was still evenly matched, but then suddenly an idea for eliminating
all the mutants at once struck Conner right out of the blue. It was one of those
rare moments when he actually displayed the intelligence that Tommy knew had to
be in there somewhere. Hanging from the rafters on the ceiling, he spotted a
huge steel crate suspended by chains on a pulley. It had probably been used as a
way to use the full volume of the warehouse by being able to store things up
high as well as on the floor. There was no way of knowing if there was anything
inside it or not, but even if empty, it still had to be pretty heavy. If they
could lure the ‘Drones underneath the crate, Kira could then fly up there and
cut the chains with her Pteragrips and it would come crashing down on them. Even
if it didn’t kill them completely, they’d be disabled and immobile where they
could be easily finished off. The trick now would be to let the other Rangers
know of the plan without the mutants figuring it out.
Without breaking his concentration on the fight, the Red Ranger inched backwards
towards the empty space underneath the crate. Kira and Dr. Oliver were fighting
behind him, so the movement naturally forced them back, too. They didn’t have
the benefit of seeing each other’s facial expressions because of the dark
visors, but Conner could have sworn he felt the Yellow Ranger give him one of
her ‘what the hell is that idiot doing now?’ scowls under her helmet. It was
going to be harder than he thought to get his point across. The only thing he
could do was continue to push and once everyone was in position, he’d have to
hope they figured it out. Ethan was still engaged in a fierce battle across the
room, but if they could nail three out of the four mutants with the crate, the
last one would be a breeze to destroy if it didn’t just run away out of
cowardice.
Tommy was initially irritated at having his space cramped. Conner seemed to be
endangering them all by forcing them into such confining quarters, but then he
thought about it a little more. The Red Ranger seemed to be doing it
deliberately, and that meant he probably had a plan. Between slashes and parries
with his staff, he subtly glanced around until his eyes eventually led him up.
He saw the crate and instinctively knew what Conner had in mind. Kira still
hadn’t seemed to catch on, though, so Tommy worked his way into her fight and
fixed it so that he was battling two ‘Drones at once.
Kira was convinced that both Conner and Dr. Oliver had lost their minds, but her
confusion dissipated in a split second when she heard her mentor call her name
while in the midst of the battle. She looked up in time to see him discreetly
motion towards the ceiling with his free hand, and she realized what he was
trying to tell her. With her ‘Drone currently occupied, she morphed herself into
Super-Dino mode, releasing her delicate wings from her suit. One powerful leap,
and the Yellow Ranger was hanging from the rafters near the crate. The chains
were pretty thick, so she immediately got to work with her Pteragrips until she
got a better idea.
Un-holstering her combination laser gun/sword, she carefully took aim at the
pulley holding the tension on the heavy iron chains. Kira thought targeting the
object supporting the four chains would be more efficient than blasting each
chain individually, and she was an efficient kind of girl. Looking down on her
teammates, she saw that there would be no better opportunity. “Guys!... Now!” was
the only warning she gave them, but it was enough. Her point-blank shot at the
pulley sent the crate crashing to the floor just as Tommy and Conner flipped
backwards out of the way.
If they had some butter and maple syrup, they could have had a nice stack of
Tyrannodrone pancakes. Two of the mutants were crushed entirely, and the third’s
lower body was pinned underneath the crate. Tommy decided to have mercy on the
creature and put it out of its misery with the formation of an energy orb that
he sent sailing at the ‘Drone’s head. When the smoke cleared, it lay motionless.
Ethan was momentarily startled by the loud crash, but luckily, so was his
‘Drone. As soon as it saw its comrades squashed beneath the heavy metal, its
limited sense of self preservation kicked in and it turned tail and ran out of
the warehouse. The relief that the Rangers felt was brief, however, when they
realized that something, or someone, was still missing. Zeltrax had to be nearby
if he wasn’t onboard the ship, and most definitely saw what happened to his
lackeys. As long as they didn’t know where he was, the cyborg had them at a
serious disadvantage. The odds were decidedly in their favor now though, and if
all four of them boarded together, they should easily be able to overpower
Zeltrax, especially in the confined quarters. Rocky and Elise were able to
finally come out from the back room, and all of them gathered with Trent behind
the ramp to plan their next step, only to see it raise shut right before their
eyes.
---------------------
While all this was going on outside, in the small cargo hold where Jason, Billy,
and Kimberly were being held, the former Blue Ranger had finished installing the
homemade sensor blocker up on the door frame. He stepped off of Jason and helped
his friend up after being on the hard floor with 160 pounds standing on his back
for so long. “Well, that should do it,” he said. “You ready?”
Jason nodded, then backed himself against the wall on one side of the sliding
door as Billy did likewise on the other side. The communicator on Jason’s wrist
had been wired to send the signal when it was time. With one last look to
confirm their preparedness, the ex-Red Ranger hit the button and waited with
baited breath. It took a few seconds, but eventually, they heard a click that
they hoped was sound of the lock shutting down. There wasn’t anything on the
door to grab hold of in order to force it open, but the knife proved handy once
again, this time as a crowbar to pry the edge from the doorjamb far enough for
them to get their hands inside. They knew if the door was too heavy or somehow
spring-loaded, their fingers would be crushed, but there was no other option.
Pulling with all their combined strength, they found to their delight that the
door slid open and stayed open, easily and silently, too.
An initial scan of the hallway outside the cargo hold showed no sign of Zeltrax.
A more careful investigation, however, uncovered the cyborg sitting in the
cockpit’s pilot’s chair, seemingly engrossed in the levers, knobs, bells and
whistles on the control panel as if preparing for takeoff and the following
whine of the engine and slamming shut of the boarding ramp quickly confirmed
their suspicion. Both men stamped down their panic, knowing from experience that
it could get them all killed. Jason stepped back into the hold with Billy
following. “We gotta keep him from taking off. Do you think you can disable the
ship?”
Billy thought about it for a second. “Sure, but I need to either get in the
cockpit or go outside. The ramp is shut and we can’t open it without him hearing
us. Any ideas, O fearless leader?”
“We can’t let this ship take off. God only knows where he’ll take us. I’ll
distract him. I don’t see any other way.” Jason was well aware that it could be
suicide for them both, but if the cyborg flew off to an unknown planet
somewhere, the result would be the same. As he saw it, action was always
preferable to reaction.
“You’re right. It won’t take me long at all to disable the controls and open the
ramp. I wish we knew what happened to Tommy and the Rangers out there. The
fighting seems to be over, but who came out on top?” Though the possibility of
finding their friends dead out there made them both sick, it only strengthened
their resolve to save Kim.
“I don’t want to think about it. Alright, let’s go.” Jason silently stepped back
out of the hold, prepared to inch his way slowly up the hall to catch Zeltrax
off-guard. From there, he had no idea what the hell he was going to do, but they
were in full-blown improvisation mode now, so he figured there was no use making
any formal plans. Once he was about eight feet from the cockpit entrance, he
took a deep breath. Billy was poised right behind him, ready to move in. It was
one of those times when they had to rely on the element of surprise, especially
since the cyborg still thought they were just a couple of useless drunks.
Jason got as close as he dared and stopped. He took a firmer grip on the knife,
his only weapon, eventhough he doubted it would do him any good against that
armor. “OK,” he whispered, holding up his free hand and raising his first finger
in the air. With a steady motion, the next finger followed, and then the third.
With that simple count of three, he called out “Hey Zeltrax!”
Chapter 27: Hypothesis
Upon hearing his name, Zeltrax spun around, clearly stunned at seeing his
‘drunken’ prisoners standing right behind him. The momentary lapse was short,
however, and seconds later, the cyborg charged at the pair. Billy’s relatively
small stature allowed him to dodge the blow and duck into the cockpit easily.
Jason took up a defensive posture. Just like Tommy, his years of martial arts
training had kept his reflexes effortlessly sharp. Without the protection of a
Ranger suit or a decent weapon, he knew better than to try any kind of major
offensive. Keeping Zeltrax occupied so he didn’t notice what Billy was doing was
the main idea, and if he just came out of this fight alive, that would be more
than he ever hoped for.
Billy knew he had to work fast to permanently disable the ship. Jason couldn’t
hold Zeltrax for very long alone, and then there was still the issue of how they
were going to get out. Generally speaking, making a run for it was usually the
best plan. The cyborg would follow, and if all went well, they’d run right into
the Rangers. That is, if they had survived their battle outside with the
Tyrannodrones. “Ok, Billy, think positive…” he murmured to himself while trying
to figure out the controls. He had decided that the quickest and easiest thing
to do would be to destroy the main computer’s processor. That way, all the
ship’s systems would be down…weapons, engines, navigation…everything. The trick
was to do it without it being obvious what he’d done or making it easy to
repair. At times like these, there was nothing like a nice, self-replicating
computer virus. If he placed the right bug in just the right place, it should
spread to every system on the ship and effectively overload its processors. By
the time Zeltrax figured out what was wrong, if he ever did, it would be cheaper
to buy a whole new ship.
The virus he chose was an exceptionally nasty one. A colleague of his at NASA
had devised it for the Air Force as a sort of technological warfare, and for all
the damage it could do, it was a relatively simple installation. Finding the
main processor had taken a few minutes, but once Billy pried open the panel, he
was able to plant the bug in mere seconds. “There, that should do it,” he said
to no one in particular as he input the last of the commands into the console.
Jason was getting beat up pretty bad, but was holding his own considering the
circumstances. The former Blue Ranger stood back for a moment and waited for
just the right opportunity to dash from the cockpit. When Zeltrax raised his
sword up to deliver what may have been a devastating blow to Jason’s head,
something on the back of his armor caught Billy’s eye and another brilliant idea
suddenly materialized. They were fighting a cyborg, which was by definition half
human and half computer. There was probably a fairly complicated life support
system in that suit, and it was likely controlled by some sort of
microprocessor. After a few last minute adjustments and connections just before
the weapon took its downward slash, Zeltrax found he could not move, breathe, or
even see. Billy swung under the weapon and pushed a battered and exhausted Jason
out the hatch. They fell to the ground outside in the hallway, but picked
themselves up just in time to watch the cyborg’s circuits fry to a crisp. The
cable Billy had connected to the port he discovered in the back of Zeltrax’s
suit hung loosely as the remnants of the virus circulated through both the ship
and its owner, annihilating them from the inside out. All that was left was a
pile of charred armor on the cockpit floor.
It took a few minutes for the victory to sink in for Billy and Jason. Sweaty and
dog-tired, they laid still while trying to catch their breath until they were
able to organize their thoughts enough to realize that the battle might not be
over yet. They didn’t know if the Rangers were OK, and they also had to find a
way to free Kim of the amber.
Once they were able to move again, Billy stood up and helped the bloody and
bruised Jason off the floor. He threw his friend’s arm over his shoulder to hold
him upright, trying to be as gentle as possible since it looked like every move
caused him severe agony. The hallway of the ship seemed to have grown a mile
long, but eventually, they reached the ramp. After pausing for a moment to allow
Jason to recover a little more, Billy started to brace the injured man for the
trip down the incline when he heard familiar voices. Relief washed over him at
the sound, and a quick glance at Jason told him that he heard it too.
“Guys, give me a hand,” Billy called to the Rangers. Because of their helmets,
he was denied the pleasure of their relieved and ecstatic expressions when they
saw the two of the standing in the doorway of the ship. Tommy and Rocky
immediately raced up the ramp to support Jason, and despite his battered
condition, they were just happy to see both him and Billy alive. They laid him
down on the concrete floor, and Elise took off her cardigan sweater to fold up
under his head.
“Wait a minute! Where’s Kim? What about Zeltrax?” Tommy asked once his endorphin
rush died down and he could focus again.
“He’s dead,” Jason murmured, and then groaned with the painful effort.
“Kim’s still in the cargo hold where we were being held. We broke out and
ambushed Zeltrax. Jason kept him busy while I planted a computer virus in the
ship that destroyed all the systems. At the last minute, it occurred to me that
it would probably work on his life-support suit, too. We got lucky,” Billy
offered by way of a more detailed explanation, but Tommy had already taken off
up the ramp. Everyone else stood in awe of the two courageous men who, without
Ranger powers, still managed to overpower the cyborg using bravery, ingenuity,
and belief in themselves.
“Power down!” they all heard Tommy shout from up on the ship, but then it was
silent.
The Rangers returned to civilian form as well, and everyone hesitantly glanced
around at each other, the question of whether or not to follow Tommy on all of
their minds. This would be the first time he would see Kim encased in the amber,
and the group was naturally hesitant about disturbing him during such an
emotional moment.
“I’ll go,” Billy said simply and started after the Black Ranger.
“Wait, I’ll go with you,” Rocky added in. Billy might need a hand if Tommy were
to lose control. They both knew that Jason was probably the best one to handle
Tommy at a time like this, but he was in no condition to be moved. The two old
friends slowly approached the opening to the cargo hold, trying to remain as
quiet as possible. Billy glanced through the door, not really knowing what to
expect. Tommy stood silently in front of the rigid statue containing the woman
he loved and his unborn child. His face exhibited no expression whatsoever, and
that was what was so disturbing. It was if he was as lifeless as Kim appeared to
be.
Rocky, afraid to say anything due to his penchant for putting his foot in his
mouth, gingerly placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, but there was still no
reaction to their presence. Billy and Rocky exchanged worried looks, neither
sure what the next step should be. Finally, Billy gathered the courage to speak
up. “Tommy, why don’t we get back to the command center and start working on
getting her out of there?”
Nothing. He might as well been frozen solid. His unflinching eyes just stared
catatonically at the amber stone.
Billy realized that there was no use talking or trying to reason with him right
now. Gently, he put his arm around Tommy and started to lead him away, aware all
the while that he may be taking his life in his hands. Much to Billy and Rocky’s
surprise, Tommy allowed himself to be guided off the ship. In fact, they were
fairly certain that they could have led him just about anywhere, but they would
have to worry about his mental state later. For the time being, freeing Kim was
priority number one. They deposited their anguished, unresponsive friend with
Elise and Jason before heading back up the ramp with the Rangers, who were happy
to be anywhere else but near Dr. Oliver when he was in this condition. They were
not comfortable seeing their normally emotionally rock-solid mentor on the verge
of an apparent nervous break-down.
Kira and the five guys gathered around the rigid figure of Kimberly Hart. The
Rangers were experienced moving the giant, heavy statues since they also had to
transport Dr. O to the command center when it was him who was entombed in the
amber. It had taken all of their power, and even then, it was still a struggle.
“Think we should morph?” Ethan asked, knowing their strength was augmented in
Ranger form.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Conner answered before stepping forward into the
usual formation.
“Dino Thunder, power up!” the four teens shouted in unison, and they were
instantly transformed into Rangers once again.
“Wait a minute, guys. We’re not thinking. Someone should go get the van and park
it at the bottom of the ramp,” Trent suggested.
“Good idea, Trent,” Billy agreed. “I’ll be right back.”
On his way out to where they parked, it had occurred to him that this used to be
a furniture warehouse in its day. There should be something around here that
could be used to lift bulky objects. As soon as the thought struck him, he found
his answer. Against the wall near the door, he noticed a dolly. It wasn’t too
big, but the wheels looked sturdy, and would most definitely hold the weight of
the amber. He grabbed it and pulled it out to the van and threw it in. A long
piece of rope discovered in a trash can rounded out his treasure hunt.
Five minutes later, the gang heard the rented moving van pull up to the ship.
Billy hopped out and opened the doors in the back, ready to receive the precious
cargo, then rejoined the group. “Look what I found,” he announced, holding up
the dolly and the rope. “This should make things easier.”
“Sweet!” Ethan exclaimed in the typical language of a high school kid. “Last
time, we all got hernias moving Dr. O.”
“Yeah, my back has never been right since,” Kira added. “Let’s get her on
there.”
The slab of amber was much taller than the dolly, but they managed to get it
tied on. Conner and Rocky grabbed the handle in preparation to back it down the
ramp, while Trent and Ethan braced the front and steered. Kira and Billy went
down to the van and made sure there was plenty of room to load Kim inside. On
the way, they passed Jason, still lying on the ground with Elise tending his
injuries. Tommy remained standing with his back to everyone, stoic and unmoving.
The van itself didn’t have a ramp, so they would have to lift the amber into the
back themselves, but that shouldn’t be a problem if everyone worked together.
There could be no mistakes or accidents or Tommy would kill them all. He made no
move to help, nor did it even look like he was aware of what they were doing.
Once Kim was safely loaded, Conner and Billy lifted Jason into the front seat.
Then there was just the task of rounding up the Black Ranger. No one really felt
brave enough to approach him, but somebody had to, so Billy stepped up to the
plate again when no one else came forward.
“Tommy, we’d better get going. Rocky went to get your SUV; you can ride with him
and the Rangers. We’ll find…”
Before he had a chance to continue, Tommy cut him off. “No. I’m staying with
Kim.”
If Billy was expecting any sort of elaboration, he was to be disappointed. Tommy
didn’t say another word. He just slowly climbed into the back of the van and
shut himself inside, all alone with Kim and his baby. The rest of them looked
around solemnly, and with a collective shrug, they split up and got in their
respective rides home.
---------------------
An hour later in the command center, the slab of amber lay on a table in the
center of the room. It was perfectly capable of standing upright, but Tommy
insisted that Kim be ‘comfortable’. That had been the only thing he said since
they got back from the warehouse. When Billy had opened the rear doors of the
van, he found Tommy sitting deathly still next to the figure. He didn’t make any
attempt to move until Billy finally had to gently take him by the arm and help
him out. Like a zombie, he walked slowly towards the house and let himself in,
leaving the others to tend to the arduous task of getting Kim unloaded. He
didn’t appear again until almost a half an hour had passed. Tommy went down
through the house stairs and took his usual seat at the command module, turning
his back to the others. His hands moved over the controls as his eyes darted
from monitor to monitor. None of them knew what he was doing, but no one asked.
Obviously, he needed this time to get his thoughts together before diving
head-first into finding a way to free his girlfriend.
Rocky had contacted Haley and Trini on their way home to let them know everyone
was fine. He also wanted to give a subtle warning about Tommy’s condition so
that they were prepared to just leave him alone for awhile. For the first time,
Billy had a chance to inspect the amber slab in a decent light. He, Haley, and
Trini stood around the table quietly discussing ideas and possibilities for
getting her out safely. Haley had used an enormous amount of powerful energy to
free Tommy, but since he had been morphed at the time, other than jolting his
Ranger invisibility power into overdrive, he came through it with no ill effects
other than not being able to see him.
None of them had to admit that they didn’t have a clue in the world about how
any kind of attempt at breaking open or melting the substance would affect a
civilian, never mind a pregnant one. They didn’t have to voice it out loud since
the hopelessness of the dilemma was written all over their faces. No matter what
they tried, they would be taking a huge risk. At the same time, they weren’t
even really sure if Kim was actually alive in there anyway. The thought of
uncovering a corpse was more than any of them could handle, and for Tommy, the
devastation would likely reduce him to a mere shell of a man.
The silence in the cavernous command center was deafening. Elise sat in the
corner with Rocky, the pair seeming to have become closer since spending time
hiding out together in the storeroom during the rescue. Trini and Billy, a brand
new couple themselves, stood with their arms around each other, although the
nearness was of little comfort under the current circumstances. The Ranger teens
huddled in another corner feeling helpless. They had succeeded in their part of
the operation. Everyone was rescued safely and Zeltrax was dead, but this part
was not their area of expertise. The best thing they could do was stay out of
the way for the time being and let the geniuses do their job.
After almost a half an hour of no signs of progress, Tommy surprised them all
when he stood up and moved to the center of the room where Kim lay imprisoned.
Immediately, everyone noticed the radical change in his demeanor. Gone was the
grief-stricken man who appeared just on the edge of insanity. The determined,
self-confident air that they all were used to was back, and the despondence of a
few minutes earlier had been replaced with a resolute aura that refused accept
failure.
“Tommy?” Rocky questioned when the man still didn’t say anything.
“I think I may have found a way,” he answered simply. He paused to allow his
friends to gather around him and Kim. They looked on in anticipation, eagerly
waiting for him to continue. “Breaking into the amber is too risky for Kim for
obvious reasons. So is melting it, because both of those things entail attacking
the substance from the outside. They key to this might just be to free her from
the inside out.”
“What do you mean?” Trini voiced for all of them.
“If we can transfer energy to Kimberly, she may be able to use it to break out
of it on her own,” Tommy explained as if it were obvious. After a few seconds to
let the idea sink in, he realized that they didn’t understand what on Earth he
was talking about. “The amber is an organic substance, so it’s not impenetrable.
Our Dino Gem energy can only bond to a living being’s DNA. If we could transfer
some of our energy through the amber and into Kim’s body, she might become
powerful enough to break the bonds between the amber molecules themselves.”
“Theoretically, I suppose that’s possible, but what kind of effect would that
amount of energy have on her?” Billy asked.
“Yeah, Dr. O, and shouldn’t you have been able to free yourself when you were in
there then?” Ethan added.
“You’re right, Ethan. That’s the catch, and I know I’m asking a lot of all of
you, but it’s going to take more than just my gem to do it. It will probably
take all five of ours, but those gems are yours. I can’t make you give them up,
especially since I don’t know if there will be any energy left in them when
we’re done. If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.” That last statement was an
outright lie, and they all knew it. In fact, he didn’t even know himself how
he’d react if any of them said no, but hopefully he wouldn’t have to find out.
“We’ll do it,” Trent immediately chimed in, not for a second feeling like he was
overstepping his boundaries by speaking for all of them.
Conner nodded his agreement, already removing the silver bracelet from his left
wrist. “When do we begin?”
The others followed suit, but Kira had a question. “Dr. O, we want to help, but
didn’t you say when we got the gems that once we were bonded to them, if we got
separated, we’d all be destroyed?”
All four pairs of eyes darted to fixate on their mentor. “That would be true,
Kira, if the gems were taken from you. If you give them up willingly, you’ll be
fine. You may feel some strange symptoms, like weakness or dizziness, right at
first, but then again maybe not. I just know I always did on the several
occasions I lost my powers,” Tommy explained to their obvious relief.
“But Tommy, how will we transfer the energy?” Elise questioned, wondering if she
was missing something obvious.
“Uh… that’s the dilemma. While this is hypothetically possible, I’m not exactly
sure how. Billy, Haley… you’re much better at these kinds of things than I am. I
was hoping you had some ideas.”
“Well, we’re going to have to find a way to diffuse the energy so it can slip
between the amber molecules, but we can’t create ions that will bond to them and
form something else altogether. Maybe a filter or even a prism,” Haley began
thinking out loud.
“Or both. First we have to concentrate the energy from all five gems onto one
beam. A prism should be able to do that. Once the energy is combined, we can
split it through a super-fine micron light filter. That should diffuse it enough
to get through to Kim. It should also help the energy enter her body more
smoothly if it’s all split up rather than in a narrow shaft of light. Still,
there are no guarantees that she’ll be able to absorb it, or even if she does,
that she’ll survive it.” Billy didn’t really want to add that last part, but he
respected Tommy too much to not tell the whole truth.
Tommy decided not to address that last comment, but he did make sure to flash
Billy a death glare to make his point. “So what do you need to get it done?” he
asked with as much civility as he could manage.
“I think I have a prism around here somewhere that should work. The filter we’ll
have to get from the Reefside College physics lab. I can go over there now and
talk to Dr. Tanner. I know he’ll help me with no questions asked,” Haley
offered.
“Good. You probably should get going then. Billy can work on the prism while
you’re gone,” Tommy reasoned. He was trying with all his might to not get all
drill sergeant-like by shooting orders at everyone. While he realized they knew
him and understood his duress, that didn’t mean he should disrespect them. He
softened his expression with a slight smile before taking a seat at the command
desk again.
“Dr. O? Is there anything we can do right now?” Kira asked, tired of feeling
useless. The mood in the room was becoming oppressive, and the sooner they could
get started, the sooner everything would be back to normal…hopefully.
“Uh, you know what guys? Why don’t you relax for a little while. It was a long
battle, you must be tired. I’ll call you when we’re ready.” What Tommy didn’t
tell them was that he could use some time without the kids hanging around. There
was a certain behavior he was expected to maintain in their presence, and he
just wasn’t feeling like minding his p’s and q’s right now.
“Sure Dr. O. Call us as soon as you’re ready,” Kira responded for all of them
before herding the boys out the cave door.
“We’ll go check on the Cyberspace for you Haley,” Trent offered. It would be a
good place to hang out while they wait, and he could help the other employees
keep an eye on things while their boss was occupied.
“Thanks, guys,” Haley said gratefully. Being a small business owner was more
than a full-time job, but so was being the Ranger’s technical expert. Both
required her to be on-call almost all the time, and naturally, one often
suffered while she tended to the other.
Once the kids were out of ear-shot, Tommy felt he was finally free to express
his frustration. The unfortunate recipient just happened to be the chair next to
his, which was sent sailing into the wall with a powerful kick. His rage was
short-lived, however, and soon after, he slumped in his seat with his head in
his hands. The weight of the situation was becoming oppressive; the risk, too
much to handle. Then of course there was the possibility that they’d already
lost Kim which was more than he was emotionally prepared to deal with, possibly
ever.
The rest of them could only watch their friend, their own despair clearly
evident. They allowed themselves this moment to indulge their desolation, but
Haley, who was distressed for Tommy eventhough she hadn’t even met Kim yet, got
their attention by standing up and grabbing her purse. “OK. I’m going to get
over to the College and find Dr. Tanner. I should be back in no more then an
hour.” She was glad to slip out quietly and let Tommy have some time alone with
his oldest friends, who also shared his love for Kim.
A few seconds passed after she left, but they all knew time was wasting. Billy
walked over to Haley’s work area near the back of the command center and began
rummaging through the various tools and gadgets. “So Tommy, do you have any idea
where she keeps those prisms?”
No answer.
“Tommy?” Billy called again.
“Huh?... oh, I honestly have no idea, sorry,” he managed to reply. It just took
him a some time to process the question.
“Well, then we have some work to do,” Billy deduced. There was a ton of junk
there, and it might take all of them to search through all the boxes and drawers
until they found what they were looking for. “Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 28: Let There Be Light
Nearly two hours later, Billy, Trini, Rocky and Elise heard Haley enter the
command center with the filter in hand. Earlier, they had sent Tommy upstairs to
lie down despite his emphatic protests, but once they guys threatened to carry
him to his room and tuck him into bed themselves, he begrudgingly obeyed. In
reality, he was secretly grateful to have some time alone. It would take every
bit of strength and courage he had to go through with the plan to free Kimberly,
as well as some that he was going to have to take out on permanent loan from the
others. Somewhere in the last hour, it had occurred to him that their idea
wouldn’t even work if Kim was already gone, as there would be no life signs to
absorb the energy. If nothing happened at all, they would never be sure if it
was because the process simply failed or because she was dead in there. If it
worked but then she died afterward, then he would know that the plan was what
killed her. He would never be able to live with himself if that were to happen,
and the weight of the dilemma was giving him a throbbing headache.
Tommy closed his eyes against the reality, but try as he might, he could not
fall asleep. As he lay staring up at the ceiling, he was reminded of the several
nights he and Kim spent making love in this bed last month followed by the
subsequent nights he slept alone anticipating her return. Now, he may never hold
her again. “Goddamnit!” he suddenly found himself crying out as he yanked the
pillow under his head and threw it against the wall. It landed on his dresser,
knocking a small table lamp to the floor with a shattering crash. He barely
noticed, though. His anger at himself for allowing Zeltrax to get his hands on
her was threatening to send him into a mental breakdown. The Ranger life has
never been easy, but up until now, he felt the sacrifices he made had been worth
it.
Not anymore.
What’s the sense in saving the world if there wouldn’t be anything left for him
to look forward to when the evil was conquered? Right then and there, Tommy
vowed to himself that if Kim survived this, he was done being a Power Ranger.
Someone else would surely step up to the plate like they always had with the
teams that succeeded the originals, but if not, it didn’t matter. Tommy Oliver
had completed his tour of duty several times over, and he was finished.
Just as he started to pull himself up to clean up the broken glass off the
floor, there was a light knock on the door. “Tommy?” It was Rocky. He cracked
the door open and peeked around the corner. “You OK? We heard a crash.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a little accident…” He answered sheepishly. Losing his
temper always made him feel like a child having a tantrum. After all the years
he’d spent training and disciplining his mind, he didn’t understand how certain
things still could make him blow up like that.
“Haley’s back. Maybe we’d better get started.” Rocky kept it short and simple
deliberately so that his foot didn’t wind up in his mouth. Nervousness and
anxiety tended to make him even more socially inept than usual.
“Oh, OK. I’ll be right there,” Tommy responded quietly, and then went back to
what he was doing.
Rocky got the hint that Tommy needed a little more time to get himself together.
He ducked out of the room, closing the door behind him, and went back down to
the command center to let the others know they could summon the Rangers.
Alone once again, somehow it finally occurred to Tommy how ridiculous it was
that he was on his knees in his room cleaning up broken glass at a time like
this. With a sigh, he dropped the several large pieces that he was stupidly
trying to pick up with his bare hands back on the floor. Slumping down to sit
against the dresser, he looked around the room from the unusual perspective. All
of the various artifacts, chachkis, and collectibles that he had accumulated
over his life surrounded him. It was a pack-rat’s space, but despite everything,
he still felt like something was missing…a woman’s touch.
When he was with Elizabeth, he didn’t really notice the difference having a
female influence around made in one’s living environment. While he couldn’t be
accused of having the quintessential ‘bachelor pad’ complete with the beer signs
on the wall and the entertainment center made out of milk crates that housed a
sixty-thousand dollar stereo system, nonetheless, it was obvious that a single
man inhabited the place. The distinct lack of color was the first hint.
Everything was black, white, grey, or some shade of brown. It was a rustic
house, but that didn’t mean it had to look like a Boy Scout’s cabin on steroids.
Some color, better lighting, new linens, and fresh window treatments would go a
long way towards livening the room up, but Tommy wouldn’t even know where to
begin. It was just another reminder that he was about to turn thirty, he was
still alone, and now he may be for a while longer.
Tommy shook his head to knock himself out of his reverie, realizing that it was
all a stalling technique. He could almost hear the clock ticking on Kim’s life,
if the alarm hadn’t gone off already. With a new resolve, he lifted himself up
off the floor and brushed off his jeans. A long, last look at the empty bed, and
he was off to whatever fate awaited his love.
---------------------
The Rangers arrived a half hour later to find the adults assembled in the
command center around the amber slab containing Kimberly’s body. While they were
at the Cyberspace, they had discussed their decision to surrender their gems to
save her at great length. All of them concurred that there was no other choice
to make, but they were concerned about leaving the world unprotected. Mesogog
was still around, and although he was now lacking his two head goons, it
probably wouldn’t be long before he recovered his forces and resumed his plan to
return the Earth to the prehistoric time of the dinosaur. Kira brought up a good
point, though. If Dr. Oliver, who was the best and most experienced Ranger ever,
was willing to take the risk, they had to trust him. They knew he deeply loved
Kim, but they were also sure he would not sacrifice the whole world for the life
of one person.
Seeing Dr. O so distraught was something that they were decidedly uncomfortable
with. The guys especially, who like most males shied away from emotion, couldn’t
keep up any prolonged eye contact with their mentor. His downhearted mood was
contagious, and it cast a dark shadow over the entire group. They couldn’t
imagine what he would be like if Kim didn’t make it. Luckily, before they had
too much time to think about it, their teacher caught everyone’s attention with
a slight clearing of his throat.
“Alright, everyone. I think we’re ready.” And that was all he said.
The others stared in anticipation, expecting him to continue or elaborate or
something, but he didn’t. His eyes were fixed on Kim’s face, which could barely
be seen through the distorting translucence of the amber. When enough time had
passed that they were sure he wasn’t going to say anything else, Jason spoke up.
“Tommy, what would you like the rest of us to do while you and the other Rangers
are busy?” He suspected that they would just stand there and make sure everyone
was OK, but the decisions were Tommy’s to make.
“Jason and Haley, you two will monitor the Ranger energy readings. Ordinarily, I
would have Billy involved in that part, but since Jase has just had the crap
beat out of him, the other job I have in mind will be too physical. Trini and
Elise, I’d like you to keep track of both Kim’s and our vital signs. At no time
do I want these kids’ lives at risk. If there’s a drop in anyone’s respiration,
heart rate, or blood pressure, pull the plug on the whole operation immediately
unless I’m the only one affected. Billy and Rocky, I have no idea what kind of
effect this will have on us, but you’ll need to stay close by to make sure we
don’t fall down or pass out and break our heads open. Billy, if we seem to be
handling it alright and you think Jase and Haley could use your help, step in.
It’s your call. Everybody clear?”
Heads nodded all around, and Tommy returned the gesture with as much of a
grateful smile as he could manage. He didn’t think he would ever be able to
adequately express how proud he was of these kids. They’d come such a long way
from the self-centered teens turned Rangers way back at the beginning of the
school year. Their friendship, support of each other’s hobbies, and teamwork
extended far beyond just the command center, much like the original team did so
many years ago.
Tommy took a few steps back, and the Rangers took that as their signal to do the
same. Standing in the familiar formation, he crossed his forearms in front of
his chest while Conner, Ethan, and Kira crossed their wrists over their left
shoulders. “Dino Thunder, Power up!”
Trent followed a second later with his “White Ranger, Dino Power!” call and they
were all transformed. There was a good chance that the stress would de-morph
them at some point during the transfer, but at least to start, it was better
that they were in Ranger form since their control over the gems was better in
uniform. Tommy took his place back at the head of the table and the kids spaced
themselves evenly around Kim’s petrified body. Rocky and Billy stood behind
them, ready to catch them if their knees gave out. Trini and Elise began to
fasten heart-monitoring electrodes and blood pressure cuffs to the spandex
suits. These, along with several other hand-held gadgets, would tell them if
anyone was experiencing excessive physical distress due to the rapid loss of
Dino Gem energy from their genetic structure. Both women had anxiously glanced
at each other when Tommy had instructed them to stop the operation only if one
of the teens was having difficulties. According to him, if he were the one
suffering, they should to continue, but despite those orders, they silently and
subconsciously agreed to use their own judgment when and if the time came.
“OK, Haley, we’re ready,” was all he said and gave a slight nod of his
black-helmeted head.
The contraption that Billy had rigged up while Tommy was lying down was a pretty
impressive piece of equipment for only a little over an hour’s work. Above the
amber hung a sort of star-shaped apparatus with five projections, each
color-coded to their respective Ranger. It actually looked a bit like a
Sputnik-themed decorative object seen in the fifties. A single, larger
projection in the center pointed directly at Kim’s torso.
The energy was supposed to be drawn into the device through the colored rays,
pass through the filter, and be concentrated into a single beam. If all went as
planned, the beam would penetrate the amber and be absorbed directly into Kim’s
body. The massive surge should hopefully energize her enough that the molecules
bonding the amber into a solid form would shatter, thus releasing her from the
confinement. The best-case scenario was that everyone, including Kim and the
baby, would come through OK and at least some of the Ranger energy would be
spared. Of course, the worst-case scenario was that it would kill them all, but
with careful monitoring Tommy was fairly certain that at least he and the kids
would come through.
“Alright, Tommy. Trini, Elise, are you getting baseline vital sign readouts
before we get started?” Haley wasn’t taking any chances, even though she was
probably just subconsciously stalling.
“Everything’s fine. We’re ready whenever you are,” Elise responded, so Haley
moved to throw the switch that would pull the energy from the gems into the
filter mechanism.
“Wait a second!” Tommy suddenly heard from behind him. He spun around, slightly
irritated at the disruption, though no one would ever know it due to his helmet.
Surprisingly, what he found was Jason hoisting his battered and bruised body
from the chair at the command console.
Tommy couldn’t move very far because of the medical monitors, but he stepped
towards his best friend to get as close as the wires allowed him to go. Jason
slowly closed the gap between them to stand in front of the Black Ranger. He
obviously had something important to say if he interrupted the procedure, so
Tommy removed his helmet in order to look Jase in the eyes.
“Tommy, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yeah, yeah sure,” Tommy answered in the same tone of voice, definitely
interested in hearing him out.
“Listen, ‘Bro, I just wanted to make sure you know that whatever happens next,
we’ll get through it together. We all love Kim like a sister. You know that,
even if we haven’t seen her in years. It’s just that you tend to try and go it
alone when something’s wrong. No matter how this goes, just don’t shut us out.
We’ll always be a team, no matter where we all live, Rangers or not. I don’t
mean to get all mushy on you, but I just felt I had to say something.”
Tommy hoped he didn’t have tears in his eyes. Once again, like he did so many
times since he became part of the original Ranger team years ago, he marveled at
how fortunate he was to have found friends like these. As an only, adopted
child, he had been used to being a loner and internalizing all his problems.
Becoming part of a group that was closer than siblings provided him with the
final piece of family he needed to make his life complete. He wasn’t too good
with emotions, as most men aren’t, but he was finally able to manage a small
“thanks” to show his gratitude before putting his helmet back on, taking his
place, and resting his gloved left hand on the edge of the table with the
morpher-enclosed gem facing upwards. The teen Rangers did likewise. Rocky and
Billy fastened their wrists in place with soft Velcro straps so they would stay
in line with the mechanism.
Haley waited in anticipation for Tommy’s signal, and a moment later, after a
last glance around at his brave team, he gave her the ‘thumbs up’. She pulled
back on a silver lever on the control board, and instantly, they heard an awful
noise that sounded exactly like an electrical overload of some kind. The group
instinctively drew in a sharp breath, though no sooner than it started, the
device went silent. But before anyone could ask what was going on, jagged,
lightening-like bolts of colored energy shot forth from the gems on their wrists
and into the outer projectiles. The Rangers all gripped the table tighter as
they felt themselves being drained of the power that they had come to know as an
integral piece of themselves for the better part of the last year. It was all
that they could do to stay on their feet.
Then, with another crackling reverberation, the center projection exploded with
a blinding, pure white light that burst forward in a single, thick beam into the
amber. Within seconds, the amber became illuminated with the radiance, causing
everyone in the room to turn away and shield their eyes. The Rangers all dropped
to their knees and were forced to hide their heads under the table despite the
dark visors on their helmets. Their left arms were still strapped to the table,
massive amounts of energy still pouring out of the gems. Haley and Jason fought
to see the controls through the brilliance, but the intense glare shining off of
the various readout screens made it impossible to see, and although their backs
were to the table, they, too, were forced to take cover to preserve their
vision.
Fear permeated the command center. Haley’s first instinct was to shut down the
whole thing and stop the madness, but while she was feeling around the control
panel for the switch, Tommy’s voice broke through the commotion. “We’re OK, keep
it up!” he forced out through gritted teeth.
“You’re kidding! You can’t even stand upright! You’re just going to get weaker
and weaker,” she reasoned, although she doubted it would do any good. She’d
probably have better luck reasoning with a mule.
“No, Haley, it doesn’t hurt, and it seems to be working. Don’t stop,” Kira
yelled over the static-like noise.
“Trini, can you get a reading on their vitals?” Jason asked, perfectly willing
to override them all if there was the slightest sign of distress.
“I can’t see them, no, but there’s an audible alarm built into the systems. If
anything drops below a set point, we’d know it,” she answered.
No sooner than the beautiful Vietnamese woman got the words out of her mouth, a
blaring screech sounded from the respiratory analyzer on the small table beside
her. “What the hell’s that?” Rocky asked in a panic.
Both Trini and Elise fought to make out the numbers on the meter through the
blazing light filling the room. After much squinting and straining, Elise
finally deciphered that the alarm was coming from the Black Ranger’s monitor.
“It’s Tommy. His breathing is getting shallow, but the others look fine. Is that
right, guys?” She wasn’t about to take a piece of electronic equipment’s word
for it.
“Yeah, I’m alright, other than feeling really weak. I just wish this darn light
would die down, already!” Ethan called out. The other kids responded in kind
with varied affirmations. For some reason it was only their mentor who was in
trouble.
“Tommy?... Tommy!” Trini had forced her eyes to adjust as much as possible to the
brightness only to find Tommy slack on the floor with his hand still fastened to
the table top, and he wasn’t answering them. Rocky and Billy rushed to his side
as quickly as they could while blinded.
“Shut it down, Haley!” Rocky called despite Tommy’s previous instructions, but
she was way ahead of him. Her hand was already feeling around again for the
lever.
“Wait! Hold on a minute. The light’s fading!” Billy noticed, thinking they
should give it another minute or so to see what happens.
He was right, and within moments, the blazing had been reduced to nothing,
leaving them even blinder than before. Spots danced before their eyes making
everyone’s head hurt. The relative darkness of the command center cave helped
them adjust quickly, though, and soon the Rangers, who at some point de-morphed
while barely noticing, were disengaging themselves from the straps and rushing
to join the others at Tommy’s side. They involuntarily drew in their breaths
when they first saw their teacher looking pale as a ghost, entire body hanging
limply in Rocky’s arms as Billy freed him from his restraint.
In the confusion and panic, everyone seemed to have completely forgotten the
purpose of the whole thing. The group was gathered around Tommy and the table
that held Kim’s amber slab, but it took several minutes before anyone discovered
that she was…gone.
“Hey, where’d Kim go?” Kira asked, flabbergasted. The stainless steel gurney was
empty. They all gasped in amazement at what seemed like a David Copperfield Las
Vegas disappearing trick, but before anyone could digest the event and begin to
investigate, they were forced to take cover as sparks started flying from the
energy-transfer device hanging above the table, then the command center went
black.
“I think we’ve blown the transformer. Hold on a second while I fire up the
generators,” Billy said as he stumbled around in the darkness for the back-up
power supply switch. Haley joined him, and soon a few small emergency lamps
flooded the room with enough barely enough faint light to see once again. Most
of group were crouched or seated on the floor around Tommy’s unconscious body,
and it was a good thing, too, because after that kind of ordeal, it was unlikely
anyone could have remained standing once they heard Conner yell out, “Kim’s
back!”
All eyes shot upward to find the petite body of Kimberly Hart lying prone on the
table, completely free of the amber. Rocky asked the rhetorical question that
was on everyone’s mind. “What the fu… I mean, heck happened here?”
Once the amazement wore off, Billy approached the gurney and hesitantly reached
out to touch Kim’s hand. He was terrified he was going to find it cold and
lifeless because to all appearances, she seemed dead. The sigh of relief he
allowed himself was audible to everyone else, and right away Trini was by his
side with one of the medical scanners running diagnostics on her best friend.
“She’s alive!” Trini exclaimed five minutes later when she received the initial
results of the tests, although several other exams would take somewhat longer,
including the one that would tell them if her baby survived. Kim was not
conscious, and the outcome of the brain pattern scan was still a half and hour
away. Until they got positive results on that, they could not bring themselves
to be more than cautiously optimistic.
The Rangers were glad to hear the good news, but their focus was still on their
comatose mentor who lay at their feet. Kira sat herself down on the hard
concrete floor and took off her soft, yellow hoodie sweatshirt. She folded it
neatly and carefully lifted his head to place it underneath as a makeshift
pillow. He still looked uncomfortable, but then she got an idea. “Do you think
we should move them upstairs?” she asked to no one in particular.
The adults looked around at each other in question before Jason spoke up. “Trini
and Elise, can these instruments be moved upstairs, too?”
“Sure. Most of them are small or hand-held, we can use them anywhere. Maybe we
can put Kim and Tommy both on the bed. Who knows? It might be good for them to
be close to one another,” Elise answered, and Trini nodded her agreement.
The guys probably wouldn’t ever say so, but the whole idea sounded off the wall
to them. At the same time, however, at least the grown-up men knew that
sometimes women had an uncanny sixth sense when it came to the more spiritual or
emotional side of human beings. Jason figured it was worth a try. “Alright, I
guess it will be better than having them down here in this cold, damp basement.
Let’s move…”
“You take it easy, Jason. We’ll carry them up,” Billy cut in. Jason still didn’t
look too good himself after his fight with Zeltrax. “Come on, you guys. Rocky,
you can take Kim by yourself. Conner, Trent, and Ethan, we’ll take turns with
Tommy, two of us at a time. Everyone else, get the equipment.” Billy felt a
little funny taking over as the leader. It was silly, but whenever Jason or
Tommy was around, he naturally adopted the more passive position. Old habits die
hard. For now, though, it was clear than neither of them were in any condition
to take charge, so once again, he stepped up to the plate.
Rocky gingerly lifted Kim from the metal table. She probably weighed all of one
hundred and five pounds. Under normal circumstances, a strong, well-built man
like himself could run the New York marathon with a tiny thing like her strapped
to his back, but in this case, he felt like he was carrying the entire weight of
the world. He started up the stairs to the house, destined for Tommy’s bedroom
on the second floor. Elise, Trini, Kira, and Ethan followed next, and then Billy
helped steady Jason as he slowly made his way upstairs. Finally, Conner took his
place by the Black Ranger’s head while Trent held his feet and they carefully
picked him up from the floor. Either one of them could probably have carried him
themselves, at least up to the next floor, but they decided to share the burden
just to be safe. The one-hundred and eighty pounds of solid muscle that was Dr.
Oliver would get heavy really quickly, and the last thing they would want was to
injure him further.
---------------------
Once they got to the bedroom, Kim and Tommy were laid side by side on the bed.
Trini, Billy, and Elise worked on setting up the equipment until everything was
in order to keep track of their conditions. No one said it out-loud, but they
were all getting nervous about the both of them still being unconscious. The
power drain took a much greater toll on Tommy than they expected. Brain scans
revealed plenty of activity, but for some reason, he remained unresponsive. If
it went on much longer, they knew they’d have to take them to the hospital, and
this would be a difficult situation to explain to a doctor. Regardless, if it
had to be done, they’d have to think of something, but for now, there was still
a little time before the final test results came in and, and everyone,
especially the Rangers, was getting hungry. “Hey, they’ll be fine for awhile.
Let’s go order a few pizzas and some beer,” Rocky suggested, as usual the first
one to think of food.
“Beer? Alright!” Conner threw in, honestly thinking he’d get away with it with
all the distractions.
“…And we’ll be sure to pick up some soda, too,” Jason corrected, but he had to
give the kid credit for effort. He was hesitant to leave their patients
completely alone for some reason. It was silly, he knew, because they if they
were able to go anywhere, that’d be a good thing, and if not, they’d still be
right there when they got back. Besides, Tommy would be furious if he found out
that Jason had allowed the kids to starve. “Come on, the alarms will let us know
if there’s a change,” he said to convince himself as much as the others.
Following Conner out of the room, he slapped the younger man on the back in a
brotherly gesture. He had to say he was impressed with this team. It made him
proud to see the Ranger heritage continuing so strongly, but he wasn’t
surprised. If any former Ranger had the experience and instinct to create and
lead a team, it was Tommy. He just has to be OK… Jason thought as he closed the
bedroom door behind them.
* * * * * *
The light consumed her, filling her with all-consuming warmth. She felt like she
was floating on a luminous cloud, and although she was somehow confined, she
seemed lighter than air. Clearly among friends, the love that enveloped her kept
her safe and secure despite a certain sense of fear and panic. Those feelings
remained in the background, just out of reach, drowned out by the fortress of
protection that these people embraced her with. At the center of her being, a
tiny pinpoint of life penetrated the physical restraints that surrounded her. It
glowed seemingly of its own volition, as if created by the light itself,
shielding her from any harm. In time, the light became impossibly brighter,
gaining in strength until the final moment when it appeared to burst wide open
and then go dark. Her spirit mourned the loss, but only temporarily. She was
disoriented and confused, but in the blackened void left by the light, a
tranquil peace settled in its place. Wherever she was, whatever was to come, she
knew she was loved, and so she waited, not for a second allowing the uncertainty
to dampen her courage. She would be patient…
* * * * * *
He was sliding down a steep embankment, trying in earnest to regain his footing,
but to no avail. The erosion was too great and he couldn’t help the pull of
gravity that dragged him towards oblivion. He fell into the darkness, unsure if
not seeing any solid ground rushing up to meet him was a good thing or not. The
air rushed around him in a cyclone, causing his arms and legs to flail around
relentlessly, yet he didn’t feel injured. Tired…just very, very tired. It was as
if all of his life-energy was being scattered on the wind as he fell further and
further into the abyss until without the slightest warning, he hit rock-bottom.
There was no pain. In fact, there wasn’t even any startling impact when he
landed. The darkness was the only thing prevailing as he forced his eyes to make
out something, anything, that would tell him where he was.
Voices. He began to hear voices coming from far off in the distance. He couldn’t
understand what they were saying, but he got the instinctive impression that
they were those of friends. They melded together in a stilted murmur that
somehow calmed him despite the circumstances. He knew he wasn’t alone…
He wasn’t alone. Moments ago, other than the voices, he couldn’t sense any other
presence near him, but now he felt different. Next to him…someone was next to
him. They made no attempt to make contact, but their…her spirit was warm and
loving. Somehow, he knew it was a woman and that she was somebody close to him.
The fog filling his mind was relentless, but he fought against it, reaching
further and further into the depths for the slightest sliver of recognition.
…the bank, gotta get there before it closes…is that? It couldn’t be…how about
Italian?...it’s not a date!...gotta be on time…God, she looks good…dinner and
conversation, catching up…would you consider accompanying me to a…pick you up at
four forty-five…buy yourself something nice…stunning…would you dance with
me?...her breath on my neck, body pressed close…there’s something I want to show
you…yes, a Ranger…a warm kiss, then deeper…clothing shed, lights down low…the
moans and cries of passion, then falling asleep in each other’s arms only to
repeat again and again…big decisions before we part…the waiting…a
baby?...Zeltrax! No!...
Kimberly.
Her glowing presence pierced through his subconscious like a bright star on a
cloudy night. Instantly, he understood. She was here with him. He only had to
reach out to her, and he would be home. With all of his strength, he pushed
through the murkiness of his mind, not sure of the right direction to take, but
confident in his instincts. He felt like he was searching, swimming in the fog,
rising to the surface.
Finally, the thick atmosphere thinned out, and without any warning, he broke
through.
* * * * * *
Tommy found himself lying on his bed as he came to. He was disoriented, had a
headache, and felt incredibly weak, but other than that, he was fine. A moment
later, he developed the presence of mind to try and move, and was happy to
discover that everything seemed to be in good working order. Just as he was
beginning to think that his entire experience with Kimberly last month had been
a dream, his hand brushed something next to him while stretching his tight
muscles. Up until now, he had avoided turning his head because the motion made
him dizzy, but the possibility of finding Kim next to him was worth the
discomfort. Preparing himself for the disappointment of an empty bed, he slowly
looked to his left.
The vision before him was breathtaking. Kimberly’s face was relaxed in soft
repose with an angelic expression gracing her delicate features. It wasn’t the
first time he laid beside her and watched her sleep, and for a moment, Tommy
allowed himself to forget that this probably wasn’t just a simple nap. The
events of the rescue came flooding back to him one by one. He couldn’t remember
much of anything after the energy transfer began, but here she was, free of the
amber, so it must have worked. And she was alive, as the gentle, rhythmic rising
and falling of her stomach proved.
Her stomach…
Dread filled him when the memory of her pregnancy hit him like a ten-ton truck.
Kim may have survived, but did their baby? Slowly and carefully as to not make
himself sick, he rolled to his side reached out to cover her abdomen with his
warm hand. He realized that this would tell him absolutely nothing, but
nevertheless, he struggled to somehow make a connection with the life he
desperately hoped was still within her.
* * * * * *
He came. I knew he would.
Something in his touch awakened her from the place in her subconscious where she
had been waiting for him. Kim drew in a sharp breath that kick-started the rest
of her functions. Her eyelids began to flutter, tentatively forcing themselves
open until she could make out the surroundings of Tommy’s bedroom in the low,
ambient light of the bedside lamp. She felt as though she had been asleep for
years. Her muscles were stiff and her mouth was parched, but he was there with
her, and that was all that mattered.
“Kimberly?”
The sound of his rich voice rang through her ears like church bells on a Sunday
morning. It was nearly impossible, but she managed to eventually turn her head
towards the sound. The gorgeous smile that greeted her made it worth all the
effort, and she willed her stubborn facial muscles to return the gesture. A tear
had formed in the corner of his eye, but he made no attempt to wipe it away. She
squeezed the hand that grasped hers to reassure him, not yet finding the energy
to speak.
Somewhere along the line, it occurred to him that she must be very
uncomfortable. Looking around, he was pleased to find a glass of water on the
nightstand. Haley thought of everything…Begrudgingly, he extracted his hand from
hers to reach for the glass, but then he realized that she wouldn’t be able to
drink while lying down. Turning back to her, he slid an arm under her tiny
shoulders and helped her sit up. It was clearly difficult for her to move, but
she needed the fluids. Tommy supported her body and held the glass to her lips
at the same time. A few sips later, and she was finally able to whisper a
breathy “thanks”.
Kim laid her head down on his chest, so happy to be in his arms again. He was
strong and warm and smelled incredible. After a few seconds, she found the
strength to wriggle around in his embrace. Turning her face up to his, her eyes
naturally invited him to lower his mouth to hers. It was all Tommy could do to
not get carried away at the first caress of her soft lips. He mustered all the
self-control he could find to make his body behave and his hands stay still.
There would be plenty of time to make love to her later. For now, he simply
wanted to revel in her presence, so he kissed her again, and didn’t resist when
she deepened it this time.
Neither of them heard the door open, but the loud clearing of someone’s throat
startled them into reality. Looking up, they were more than a little bit
embarrassed to see all of their friends, including the Rangers, fighting each
other for a glimpse from the doorway. Jason stood at the front of the crowd with
a wide, shit-eating grin on his face. Tommy and Kim could only smile sheepishly
at them in return.
“Welcome back, you two!”
Epilogue: Time Marches On
On a hot Saturday afternoon in July five months later, Kimberly Hart, Trini
Kwan, Kira Ford, Elise Randall, and Aisha Campbell sat around the living room
coffee table at 1992 Valencia Rd. tying little pink and blue ribbons around
sachets of chocolate candies. The following day was Kim’s baby shower, and the
women were very busy with last minute preparations. While traditionally female
affairs, this party would include many of the ex-Rangers of both sexes from just
about all of the teams all the way back to the very first. This was Tommy’s
answer to the party he was going to have anyway when Kim got settled in, but now
they had even more reason to celebrate since their baby was due in a only three
more months.
After the drama of the kidnapping and amber imprisonment, the baby’s prognosis
was touch and go. All of tests Haley ran came back normal, but Kimberly
continued to get terribly ill from morning sickness, even to the point of being
hospitalized for a few days due to dehydration. It took several weeks, but
eventually her miserable condition subsided and she was able to start enjoying
her pregnancy. Good thing, too because with each passing day that she remained
sick, Tommy lost another year off his life.
The preliminary data Billy and Haley generated suggested that it was more than
likely the baby itself that protected Kimberly while she was encased in the
amber. While only a hypothesis, they had deduced that since the child was half
Tommy’s, and the Ranger energy was woven into his genetic structure, some of it
was passed on to the embryo. It also explained Kim’s brief disappearance after
she broke free. Invisibility was the Black Ranger’s Dino power, so it wasn’t too
surprising that there was a small manifestation thereof.
From there, the their two genius friends were pleased to discover that while
Tommy’s Dino gem was depleted of all of its power during the transfer, the other
four Rangers’ gems had retained a fair portion of their energy. This was fine by
Tommy, as he was perfectly content to remain on the sidelines once again as a
mentor and coach. He still orchestrated most of the tactical strategies from the
command center and helped Haley maintain the equipment. He just didn’t wear the
spandex anymore. About six weeks and several smaller confrontations later, the
Rangers defeated Mesogog in an epic battle that nearly cost them their lives. As
it was, it did drain the last of their power, but they came out victorious and
thus took their place among the other veteran Ranger teams that could retire
knowing they rid the world of a sinister evil.
Most of their friends had been expecting Tommy and Kim to announce their
engagement in recent months, but the couple was so far keeping their long-term
plans under wraps. They had decided between themselves that the renewal of their
relationship had been such a whirlwind that it would be jumping the gun to get
married in a hurry just because of the baby. There would be plenty of time to
plan the future once the little one arrived and they could have a real wedding.
Like most women, Kim had always dreamed of a fancy dress and lots of flowers on
her big day. Tommy wanted to make sure that dream would come true for her. He
could have cared less if they flew to Vegas the next day and got married by an
Elvis impersonator, but then again, he was a typical guy who didn’t care about
all the fuss.
Almost all of their friends have arrived from wherever they lived all across the
country. The rest would be in this evening or the next morning. Tommy reserved a
whole block of hotel rooms at the Marriott downtown so that everyone would be
comfortable instead of cramming them into his house. Kim had some time to go yet
in her pregnancy, but she was such a small woman that she was already feeling
huge. She wasn’t sleeping particularly well, either, and consequently, neither
was daddy. The baby was sitting directly on her sciatic nerve with its little
feet digging into her ribs, and it seemed he or she was already exhibiting an
aptitude for soccer. Any house guests they had would likely not get much rest
with a miserable expectant mother roaming the halls all night.
Kimberly had wanted to know whether they were having a baby boy or a girl, but
Tommy didn’t. When the day of the ultrasound came, she took the technician aside
as explained the dilemma. She gave a lot of thought about how difficult it would
be to keep the secret if she found out herself, but ultimately decided she could
stay quiet because she wanted to find out so badly. So far, she was the only one
who knew, although she had considered telling some of the girls. In the end, she
really didn’t want to take any chances of ruining the surprise for him by having
someone accidentally slip up. She didn’t even tell anyone, including Tommy, that
she knew what they were expecting.
While wedding plans weren’t in the immediate future for Tommy and Kim, Billy and
Trini’s relationship had quickly progressed since their last visit to Reefside,
and in May, Billy had presented her with a three carat diamond engagement ring.
Trini accepted immediately, and set about planning a Christmas wedding in Aspen,
Colorado. Theirs would be the first marriage in their circle of friends, and it
was long past due since everyone was approaching their thirtieth birthdays.
The engagement of the first Blue and Yellow Rangers wasn’t the only good news to
come out of the recent reunion. Rocky and Elise had been spending more and more
time together after getting to know one another while trapped in the back room
of the warehouse for so long during the Kim’s rescue. Elise felt extremely lucky
to have gotten “Elsa’s” old job as principal of Reefside High, and to close the
distance between them, last month they each moved about an hour in the other’s
direction, placing them only around forty-five minutes apart. It was still a
drive, but compared to the commute they were making before, it was nothing.
Jason, Tommy, and Billy all had a bet going that the next big announcement would
be theirs.
As the girls finished the last of the favors for the shower, Tommy and Zack came
in from Sam’s Club with cases of beer and soda. The original Black Ranger had
gotten in last night and it was clear right away that he was still always in the
mood for a party. Besides arriving bearing loads of gifts for the baby, he had
insisted on taking Tommy, Billy, and Jason with him to check out some of
Reefside’s hot spots. By the time the boys rolled in after last call, Tommy and
Jason were both thoroughly inebriated, but Zack looked like he had just begun.
By this afternoon, however, the only evidence of the previous wild night was
some faint dark circles under Jason’s eyes and the headache Tommy had been
nursing with Tylenol all day. It was a fitting reunion for the guys, as well as
an early, but by no means only, bachelor party for Billy. They were all a little
scared to think about what their crazy friend had planned for the real thing.
Trini stood up to greet her man, helping Kim’s oversized-self off the couch to
do the same to Tommy. The others cleaned up the rest of their craft supplies and
put the sachets in a cardboard box. Mid-way through the project, they had to
stop while Elise and Aisha ran to Wal-Mart to pick up more chocolates. Needless
to say, the girls consumed at least as many as they wrapped, and the foil
evidence was spread all over the living room floor. The guys headed out back to
stack the drinks on the porch and met up with Zack, Billy, and Rocky who were
setting up the rented tents and tables in the yard. There were over fifty people
invited, and no one had RSVP’d that they weren’t coming. Being the professional
chef, Rocky would be doing all the cooking. It wasn’t that he could have trusted
anyone else anyway. He had planned a special menu of grilled salmon, shrimp,
chicken, steak, and ribs along with all the fixings. There would be something
for everyone’s tastes, even the few vegetarians they were expecting. After
everything was set up, the gang spent the evening watching a movie in Tommy and
Kim’s living room before everyone went back to the hotel for an early night.
Zack waged a mild protest at having the get-together cut short, but in the end,
he secretly appreciated the opportunity for some extra sleep.
In the morning, Tommy woke up to the sound of the vacuum cleaner in the hallway.
It was almost seven A.M., and Kim obviously didn’t get a lot of sleep. He pulled
himself from the soft bed and slipped on a pair of boxers. For several minutes,
he stood in the bedroom doorway watching her clean every last trace of dirt and
dust from the baseboards. In some ways, even after five months, he still had a
hard time believing that she was there with him and that they were expecting
their first baby. He had never been happier.
Soon, Kim realized that she had an audience. Tommy looked so sexy in the morning
with his spiky hair all messed up and the dark stubble on his handsome face. One
thing she had not expected was the massive surge in her sex drive as her
pregnancy progressed. With her larger breasts and divine curves, she never felt
more feminine. Sometimes she would just glance in his direction and want to eat
him alive. He always indulged her desires, pleasuring her just like she needed
while still being conscientious of her expanding figure. By now, he was very
familiar with that look in her eyes, and with a come-hither gesture, he enticed
her into the room for a proper good morning.
By noon, everyone from the hotel had shown up and they were all busy with last
minute preparations. Rocky did much of the work the night before so he could
enjoy the party, so all that was left was firing up the grill to cook the meat
and fish. Not surprisingly, Jason had appointed himself chief bartender. They
all laughed when he showed up that morning with a toddler-sized plastic swimming
pool and fifteen bags of ice to chill the beer and soda. Trini and Elise blew up
pink and blue balloons with the helium tank from the rental store. They tied
them to the ends of the tables and on the tent supports, transforming the yard
into a virtual Babies ‘R’ Us.
Between one-thirty and two, the other guests started arriving. This was intended
to be a ‘Rangers-only’ affair. Closer to the birth, Kim and Tommy’s mothers had
another shower planned for their families, and some of Kim’s co-workers at the
hospital also wanted to give her a shower. But for today, this event was a
celebration for the people who carried with them the pride and the burden of
having a Ranger past. Despite the different uniforms that have rotated in and
out throughout the years, they all shared this common bond. It was an
unprecedented occasion to have them all together. Of course, significant others
who were not Rangers were included, but all of them knew the truth about their
partner, and for once, everyone would be able to sit around and talk about old
times without having to worry about eavesdroppers.
When Kim emerged from one of her frequent bathroom visits, she found Tommy
standing at the kitchen sink looking out into the crowd in the yard. He looked
so content. She gently took his hand and led him out to the deck to continue the
observation together. They couldn’t believe how many ex-Rangers showed up, some
even coming from off-world. At a table in the corner, the young Dino Thunder
team was laughing and talking with the Ninja Storm Rangers. Rocky and Adam were
playfully sparring in the grass, showing off some moves to Carter Grayson and
Leo Corbitt. There was an unofficial ex-yellow Ranger convention forming around
the kiddie pool of beer as Trini, Aisha, Tanya, Taylor, and Kelsey toasted their
proud heritage. Zack circulated around as the unofficial host, periodically
breaking into song and dance when a tune he liked came on from the CD player on
the deck. Andros and Ashley, now living back on KO-35, were deep in conversation
with Wes Collins and Cassie Chan. Various other veteran Rangers and their
husbands and wives were scattered around, all obviously having a great time, no
one noticing the spectators.
Pride filled the expectant parents’ hearts as they looked out into the swarm of
their friends. These were the people who had risked their lives to provide a
secure world for them and their child. Tommy and Kim knew they still had a great
many decisions to make regarding their future, but the one thing they knew for
sure was that with so many honorary ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’, this baby would all
the love and adoration that a little one needed. Suddenly, over the background
noise, the laughter, and the music, the couple thought they heard a familiar
voice. They looked around in confusion for the source before turning their eyes
to the blue sky. Just beyond the horizon, a transcendental vision of Zordon
floated in the air as if still in its energy tube at the old command center.
Tommy didn’t know if the others could see him or not, but he and Kim fixed their
gaze in his direction and listened closely for the words of wisdom they had come
to expect from their omnipotent mentor.
“Look to the past for guidance and the future for hope, but continue to live in
the present. Every ending is also a new beginning. The new generation will
inherit your legacy of courage, dedication, and spirit. May the Power protect
you.”
Tommy and Kim took a moment to let the words sink in. This was a new beginning,
and so together, they stepped off the deck into the warm embrace of their
friends. Let the party begin…
The End
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