Disclaimer:The Power Rangers are the property ofSaban Entertainment and I lay no claim to them. The character of Mackenzie Dekalb is property of Karilee who can be contacted at kajwr@twcny.rr.com
by John Chubb
Justin walked into the rink where Cassandra, Adam and Steven were waiting. Adam quickly gave Justin the low down on what was happening.
"So Vincent made off with Mackenzie.", Justin said stating the facts. "And he wants Kincaid there too?"
"Yeah, and there's no way anyone can reach him.", Cassandra stated. "We don't even know what he might want with him."
"But we know he wants him there. Unfortunately we don't know where he's at.", Adam said.
Steven was trying to take it all in still. His brother was a Power Ranger who was engaged to another Power Ranger who was kidnapped by his father who had turned into an intergalactic con man, and now he wanted his youngest son to face him for reasons no one knows. Adam looked in Steven's direction and asked if he was all right.
"Yeah.", Steven said. "It's just all so over my head the world my brother has stepped into." Cassandra gave a half smile and said, "You'll get used to it."
"You know this almost seems like Jeff. Disappears for hours at a time and he doesn't tell anyone where he's going or when he'll be back.", Steven said as if degrading him. Cassandra however didn't like Steven's tone.
"Look big man! And I do mean BIG man!", Cassandra looked down at Steven's stomach making notice of the big belly that he had. "If you've come all the way to chew out your brother then you'd better take your attitude outside. It does no damn good to anyone if they can't come up with something positive to say, or something to contribute to solving the crisis at hand. Do you understand me?"
Steven listened to Cassandra and took notice of the icy tone in her voice. Nodding he continued to listen as she continued to speak further. "Now, our good friend has been kidnapped, and she's carrying your brother's child. And your brother is also a good friend of ours. Now we're going to do something to rescue our friend, and if you have something to contribute to this great contribute it. But if you are just going to diss Kincaid then take your sour attitude outside and keep it there. Because I don't want to hear it or you, and I think I speak for everyone else here."
Adam and Justin all nodded and Steven quickly apologized. "I'm sorry for my remark. I won't try to justify it." Cassandra shook her head and said "Good."
"But that still don't have a clue on what to do. We don't know where Jeff is and we have no way of finding him.", Adam said.
Justin thought for a moment and had an idea. "I think I may know someone who can help. Is there a picture of Kincaid around?"
Adam nodded and ran up the stairs to Kincaid's and Mackenzie's bedroom and brought down the picture of Kincaid Mackenzie was holding. "What are you going to do with it?", Adam asked.
Justin said one word. "Blueprint."
Ivana and Sylvie sat in the stands watching the rodeo that was taking place below them. Only now were riders getting into riding the bucking broncos and the clowns were hiding in the barrels. Sylvie got into the rodeo pretty quickly while Ivana curled up her nose due to the smell.
"This place smells worse than the royal stable.", Ivana said dressed in customary pink t-shirt and jeans with black leather jacket. "You sure the Green Ranger is here?"
"Positive.", Sylvie said in a yellow t-shirt with cut offs. "The signature came from this location."
"You had better be right about this. I'm not sure I can handle this odor any further." Ivana looked back at the rodeo and watched as a rodeo clown was running from a bull chasing it and ducked into a barrel nearby. The bull then started headbutting the barrel and rolled it along the ground with the clown still inside.
"Well that seems almost amusing.", Ivana said as the audience laughed at the comic moment. Sylvie was chuckling too.
Marco Ramonos walked through the isle of the stable area where the horses and bulls were penned up. But since most of them were all out on the rodeo grounds he had the chance to do the job he was chosen to do, go into each of the stalls and shovel out the turds all the animals left behind.
It was a job Marco didn't want to do. He really didn't care much for horses or bulls but the rest of his family did. They all loved riding and petting them, but they didn't want any of the responsibility of taking care of them. Excuses they all gave were along the lines of 'too sick, bad leg, too tired, too old,' or anything like that while the best term Marco could think of to describe his family was 'too lazy'.
That was where Marco came in. Since he was young but old enough for the job, and vibrant with energy he was the one chosen to be put to work in taking care of the family animals. Even if he didn't want to do it himself.
Marco even told his family he didn't want the hassle of taking care of family animals, but his words apparently didn't matter since he was given the job anyway. Sure he was paid to do it, but for some reason the money seemed a cold comfort.
"Hey Marc!", the supervisor called out to him. He found it easier to call Marco 'Marc', even if Marco didn't like the nickname. "Yes sir?", Marco asked.
"We got a new load of shavings for the horse stalls. Can you run out and get a few bags?"
Marco sighed for a few minutes and said "Sure thing." Then he walked outside to where the truck with the shavings was waiting.
Marco made it outside to where the bags of shavings lay on the flatbed truck. He managed to grab two bags and pulled them off the flatbed. As he did the job Marco found himself complaining a mile a minute.
"These horses…*grumble, grumble*…When has all this become my problem?…*grumble, grumble*…And my name, what gives that jerk the right to change it?" Marco's complaints continued until he saw something catch his eye.
Outside the stable a green truck cab stood on the roadway. Marco immediately felt drawn to it as if the truck cab held all his dreams in it. Dreams that could come true.
Mackenzie lay on her bunk with her right wrist handcuffed to the bed post. Her morpher was still on the wrist which meant she could escape at any time, but for some odd reason Vincent decided not to remove it.
What's going on here?, she mentally asked herself. Why let me keep my morpher? Does he even know that my powers have changed since we last heard from him? Mackenzie then decided that Vincent probably didn't which meant he may need something from her as the White Astro. But what?, she thought.
Vincent later walked in as Mackenzie was contemplating her captivity. "So how are you doing?", he asked her almost gentlemanly.
Mackenzie let out a small laugh as if she couldn't believe Vincent would ask that. "Well let's see, I've been kidnapped, chained to a bed, and am being held for ransom in exchange for your youngest son. How do you think I'm doing?"
Vincent nodded as if understanding Mackenzie's plight. "I realize this is not the way I wanted things to happen, but I need to see my son. There are some things I need to discuss with him that are important."
"So why don't you ask him to come to you?", Mackenzie asked Vincent. Vincent rolled his eyes as if Mackenzie asked a stupid question.
"Do you really want me to answer that?", Vincent asked. Mackenzie nodded knowing that Vincent meant when he sold Kincaid out to the Luciferian Empire. "I needed to see Jeff, and I needed a way where he couldn't take 'no' for an answer."
"Well kidnapping me is one way to do it.", Mackenzie said nonchalantly. "But what if he doesn't show up? Have you figured that one out?"
Vincent didn't answer. Rather he went into an intense coughing fit that sent him down to his hands and knees as he coughed up a lot of blood and phlegm. Vincent went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bottle of something that Mackenzie thought may have been some kind of medicine and he swallowed a good portion of it as he poured it into a plastic cup that came with the bottle. The coughing fit soon stopped after that.
Mackenzie noticed Vincent's coughing fit and the small plastic cup of medicine he was taking. "What is that?", she asked her captor and boyfriend's father.
"Nothing.", Vincent said. Mackenzie continued to look on skeptically.
"That's one hell of a nothing.", Mackenzie said. Vincent said nothing and left his future daughter in law in her small dank room.
Mackenzie looked down at her wrist bound by the handcuffs Vincent put on her. Does he know I can escape these anytime I want?, the White Astro thought. And why is he so sick all of a sudden?
Mackenzie decided that she would wait. She wanted to know what Vincent's game plan was first.
"Are you nuts?", Steven asked Justin. "There's no way dad's going to go for this."
"Hey take it easy. A body double works just as well as the real thing.", Justin said trying to be reassuring. "No way will he know the difference.
"You don't know dad.", Steven said. "He'll see it coming."
Cassandra, having enough if Steven's attitude went and got into the elder brother's face. "Look. I'm sorry if this idea, or this android don't meet your lofty expectations. But we don't have many options. Now if you can't say anything constructive then don't say a damn thing!"
Steven immediately shut up and then turned to Justin. He asked the young genius, "So where did you get this thing?"
"Auction.", Justin said. "A protection group was going out of business and they had to auction off their hardware. They sold this thing at a steal, and I went and grabbed it."
Adam was very worried now. "Uh Justin, how much are we talking about when you mention 'a steal'?"
"Okay, I'll admit I needed to do some refurbishment on it.", Justin said. "But I've completely redone it so that it works like it was brand new."
"What about the face?", Cassandra asked. "How will you make it look like Kincaid?"
"I'm glad you asked that.", Justin answered as he took a picture of Kincaid and Mackenzie and made sure the optical sensors were focused on Kincaid's face. The optic emitted a red scanning light taking in all aspects of his face, and when it was done an image of it seemed to form on the face of the Body Double.
It looked so much like Kincaid in every detail. Even the stony faced expression. Steven looked the Body Double android over and said "This is never going to work."
"Why do you say that?", Adam asked.
"He's too stiff!", was Steven's answer. "And his face seems like it was frozen in that position."
"Actually that's Jeff on a good day.", Cassandra answered partly in jest, but she knew how Kincaid's stoic expressions were like. "He'll fall for it."
Steven sighed as he joined Adam, Justin and Cassandra in escorting the 'Kincaid' android out of the rink and proceeded to meet Vincent.
On the main road going into Port Clinton where the drawbridge stood a flash of light appeared in the middle of the road. After that two motorcycles rolled around the corner. One of the riders was taking in the sights.
"So this is your hometown huh?", the girl with brown and blonde hair said. "Nice little place."
"Don't get too attached to it.", the other rider said. "This is only a pit stop. We drop of this little bundle of joy and we're gone again."
The bundle of joy the other rider was referring to was an infant whose head stuck out of a carry-on bag fastened to his stomach. The infant was held securely to the rider's front so it wouldn't decide to climb out. The rider kept one eye on the road and one eye on the infant nonetheless. He had grown attached to the little bundle of joy, which was why he was making this pit stop.
"Yeah, if things are going to get hairy it's better off if the kid's out of the line of fire.", the girl rider said. "So what's this place called again?"
The other rider smiled as he told their destination. "Leroy's shootfighting rink."
Marco looked all around the truck cab just awestruck by the vehicle in front of him. It seemed like it had only been washed, waxed and crafted just yesterday. "Oh wow man." Marco said as he placed his hands all over the side trying to get a 'feel' for the machine.
"Beautiful machine isn't it?" a voice said behind him. Marco turned around like a shot and saw two girls standing before him. One was a brown haired girl in pink. The other was a slightly darker haired girl in yellow.
"Who are you?" Marco asked.
"Do not worry." the girl in pink said. "My name is Ivana, and this is Sylvie." Sylvie waved a slight hello as Marco nodded.
"What do you want?" Marco then asked.
"I think the question is…" Sylvie said. "What does Pay Loader want with you?"
"Pay Loader?" Marco asked. "Is that what this vehicle is called?"
"Yep." Sylvie said. "It's a Turbo vehicle." Marco seemed confused by the term. "Turbo Vehicle?"
"What my teammate means." Ivana said interrupting. "Is that this is the Green Turbo Ranger vehicle for the Power Rangers Turbo. It can only go to the one chosen to be the Green Turbo Ranger. And apparently you have been chosen to fill that role."
Marco was speechless and Sylvie then said "You'll have to excuse my friend here. She doesn't like the stink of the barn and wants to leave as soon as she can. But in a nutshell she's pretty much said it all."
Marco was still trying to wrap his mind around the concept presented to him. "Me a Power Ranger?" was all he could say.
"I know. Overwhelming isn't it?" Sylvie said with humor. Marco however was still trying to wrap his mind around the concept of being a Power Ranger.
"But why me?" Marco asked. "I mean, I'm no one special."
"Pay Loader says different." Ivana said. "Just as Off Roader and Turbo Striker told us different when we came across them. You are a fighter are you not?"
"Yeah, I've taken a little bit of boxing." Marco answered.
"And you are a very caring soul." Sylvie added. "You're not afraid to put your own life on the line for others." Marco nodded there. At times he had been known to put his own needs aside for the good of others.
"And I sense a strong spirit within you." Ivana said. "It's waiting to burst free. So why should it not be you?"
Marco still couldn't believe it. "I just…I just…"
"Don't believe it?" Sylvie asked. "You think that someone else should be Green Turbo?" Marco nodded 'yes' believing someone else SHOULD be Green Turbo.
"Well let's see what the Green Turbo vehicle has to say." Sylvie motioned over to the truck as if telling Marco to go in. Marco reached up to the door handle and lifted up. The door opened leaving Marco stunned, then he got into the truck.
Sitting behind the wheel Marco was getting a feel for the vehicle he was in. At the same time Marco felt like the truck was made for him, and that someone else should be driving it. Then he instinctively reached over to the glove compartment and opened it revealing the Green Turbo morpher and key that went with it.
Taking both of them out Marco ran his fingers along the morpher. It's smooth and styled construction was leaving him awestruck. Then he felt words echo into his mind and as if on instinct he said the words that would open a whole new world for him.
"SHIFT INTO TURBO!!! PAY LOADER TURBO POWER!!!"
Where Marco Ramonos had stood was now the Green Turbo Ranger. He looked over his costume and felt the power within him and was awestruck by the sensations running through him.
"Well, I guess Pay Loader thinks you're the right guy for the job." Ivana smirked. "Now can we get out of here? The smell is really getting to me."
Green Turbo demorphed and stood with an amazed look on his face. Then a voice shook him out of his reverie. "Hey Marc! Where are those shavings? And don't you still have turds to clean out of some stalls?"
Marco rolled his eyes and looked at Sylvie and Ivana. "Want to give me a hand so we can split early?" he asked the two girls. Sylvie and Ivana followed their new teammate into the stables to help him finish his chores. Both of them had pained looks on their faces over what was to come. Especially Ivana.
The two motorcycle riders had pulled into the parking lot of Leroy's shootfighting rink and quickly disembarked from their rides. One of them holding the bundle of joy close to him.
"Think they'll be in?" the female rider asked.
"Most likely." the one with the baby said. "If nothing else Boiling Hot will be in. He always shows up no matter how many times he's been fired."
The woman couldn't help but chuckle at what was just said. "Fired?"
"Yeah. I don't know why but the term is never really taken seriously. Boiling Hot always comes back and no one bothers to remind him that he's fired so…he just stays around and helps out."
"Do you think he'll ever get fired for real?" the woman then asked. The man just shrugged his shoulders and led the way up the steps. The woman matching his step and the baby held securely in the man's arms. When they came to the main desk Boiling Hot was hard at work trying to get fighters down to the GSA armory to put on a show that was billed as a one night only.
"No Karl the Krusher is booked for Cincinatti that night. I can provide you with…"
"Hello Boiling Hot." the man said causing Boiling Hot to turn to see who was calling for him. His mouth dropped open as he saw who the man was.
"Oh…my…god…" was all he said. Then he told the booker that he would call him back.
"You sure they will be coming this way?" the blonde haired biker chick asked her Japanese friend.
"Oh yeah. They gotta come this way. There's no other way for them to go." he said. A dark haired young man looked through binoculars to spot their quarry.
"It is a good thing we had tapped into Vincent's transmission while we have been preparing for our move." the dark haired one said. "Here we shall succeed where Harper failed, and we shall get our revenge."
"Speaking of Harper. What happened to him anyway?" the Japanese girl asked.
"Like we care?" the punk girl said. "Harper couldn't get the job done when he went after Kincaid. We don't need him."
"It is a pity that Armondo died at the final battle though." the dark haired one said. He was one whose life force was taken to empower Crucible. At the end of the siege only four of the so called Ranger Guard survived. And while Harper set off on his own to bring down Kincaid the other three also struck out on their own but stayed together, and sought to attack the Nightfighters when the time was right.
That time was now, as a boat came down across Lake Erie. Five people in it, all of them known to those watching.
"Let's go have some fun." Michelle Caris, formerly of the Ranger Guard said. Her friends Thandros and Mishi Fujikawa took their seats ready to ambush the incoming Nightfighters.
Justin was at the wheel of Kincaid's boat when Cassandra, Adam and Steven held the Kincaid replica in place. "You sure we're going the right way Justin?" Adam asked.
"There aren't many GSA piers to dock at here Adam. At least none closer than this." Justin retorted. "Vincent will be there."
Towards the back of the boat Steven and Cassandra were holding the Kincaid replica in place. "Are all your Ranger missions like this?" Steven asked.
"No. This is actually one of the more boring ones." Cassandra answered. She then turned her gaze towards a boat that was coming in fast towards them, gaining speed as it moved.
"Justin. We've got another boat coming in towards us. Do you think it could be from Vincent?" Steven asked.
Cassandra however stared at the boat long enough to get a telepathic imprint on the drivers of the incoming boat. She sensed maliciousness, evil…and familiarity. When they got closer their intention was clear to her. "JUSTIN TURN!!!" she shouted.
Justin did as he was told and turned the boat to the left just as laser fire streaked from the attacker due to a rifle that one of the drivers had. A driver Cassandra recognized as Michelle Caris.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Cassandra asked. Adam looked in her direction and made out Mishi Fujikawa on the boat as well. "And Thandros makes three." he later added.
"Who are those guys?" Steven asked.
"You remember Robert Harper don't you?" Justin said.
"Vaguely." Steven answered. Justin then explained. "Well these guys were Harper's running buddies during the Luciferian Siege. When Kincaid beat them, Harper didn't take it very well. We've seen Harper around from time to time, but we weren't sure what happened to the rest of the Ranger Guard."
"I guess we know for sure now. Hang on I'm going to try to lose them." Justin then banked the boat right as another volley streaked past when the three former Ranger Guardsmen crossed the boat again.
"Doesn't this boat have any weapons?" Steven asked. Cassandra was way ahead of Steven and brought a laser rifle from under the seat. "Think you can handle that?" she asked.
Steven pointed the rifle and fired, hitting the target which was the boat's windshield. However Thandros ducked and only the glass was shattered. All three Guardsmen had only minor lacerations.
"Justin, we may need some help. Can you call in the other Turbo Rangers?" Adam asked. Justin then pushed a button on his communicator, which let out a series of beeps. "Built in distress signal. All one has to do is trace the signal and home in on it. That way I don't have to divide my attention between talking and losing these losers."
"Speaking of losers. Here they come again." Steven said as he took aim at the speedboat that was coming their way. It looked like it was barreling down at them at high speed, almost as if on a collision course.
"What the hell are they doing?" Adam asked as Cassandra struggled to get a good look. She even used her telepathy to see what they had in mind, it wasn't pretty. Especially since they had already brought out a rocket launcher and aimed it at the boat.
"BAIL!!!" she ordered as the rocket shot out of its launcher and came barreling at the Nightfighters. Steven, Adam and Justin all did what Cassandra told and all four bailed into the water. The Kincaid replica fell back as per Justin's orders, and then the rocket hit the boat sending the engine into flames. The boat was still fairly much intact, but the engine was clearly blown as debris surrounded the wrecked boat.
Cassandra was the first to bob to the surface just in time to face the barrel of a blaster rifle with Mishi holding her finger on the trigger.
"Hello girlfriend. It's party time." And as everyone else came to the surface they were brought on board as well. Even the Kincaid replicant.
At the stables Marco, Ivana and Sylvie all walked out after finishing their jobs. All three were exhausted, thirsty and smelly.
"Oh god. I'll be in the shower for a month!" Sylvie said.
Ivana added to the complaints with "Now I know why I wasn't allowed to go into the royal stables at cleaning time. I can't believe a horse would deposit that much waste."
"One of the many things to hate about a job like this." Marco said. "I've got water in the truck. I'll go get some." Marco got up, but just then the communicators activated, picking up Justin's signal.
"We've got a Ranger distress code. It's Blue Turbo!" Sylvie said.
"Isn't that the first Turbo Ranger? Justin 'something'?" Ivana asked.
"Stewart." Sylvie corrected as she got a lock on the signal. "Looks like it's coming from Port Clinton. Which is where the Nightfighters hang out."
"Let's go!" Marco said. "I'll take a rescue over cleaning a barn any day."
"Agreed!" Ivana said eager to leave the stables. Soon, after morphing, Ivana, Sylvie and Marco all got into their Turbo Vehicles and made their way to where Justin was.
Somewhere in Angel Grove, an old zord picked up the distress call as well. Upon recognition of its former operator the central computer made ready to activate its systems so it could go and help.
All systems checked out. Weapons, computer, engines, the whole bit. The zord computer then activated startup routines and powered up its long dormant systems.
After everything else was fully charged Roadbuster's diesel engine roared to life. When it was powered up it then left its holding area in Angel Grove and made its way to where it's driver's call was being sent-Port Clinton.
At Leroy's Boiling Hot looked at the two before him. "Kincaid when did you get back?" he asked one.
"Just now." Jeffrey Kincaid said(the real one). "Where is everyone?"
"They're out for right now." Boiling Hot turned to the woman holding the baby. "And who's this?"
Kincaid smiled slightly but the woman spoke her own mind. "Sharon Lanrydan." she said offering her hand which Boiling Hot took. "I met up with Kincaid on one of the team's interdimensional travels."
Boiling Hot looked vacant in the eyes like one who was hypnotized by beauty. Sharon noticed this and then added "You're not going to start drooling anytime soon are you?"
Boiling Hot quickly shook himself out of his zombified trance and looked at the baby girl in Kincaid's arms. "Oh sorry." he said wiping his chin. "Who's the kid by the way?"
"Oh well." Kincaid found himself stumbling across his own words. Boiling Hot looked intrigued that big, bad Jeff Kincaid was tongue tied. "Yeah…the baby…well…." Kincaid then dropped the bombshell. "She's my daughter."
This caused Boiling Hot's eyes to shoot straight out of his sockets. "Your…daughter?"
"From another reality." Sharon added. "Don't worry, I'm not the mommy."
Boiling Hot was struggling to wrap his head around things. Kincaid having a kid, travelling with a strange woman. "But…but…What would Mackenzie say?"
"Well she's Mackenzie's daughter too in a way." Kincaid explained. He went into the explanation of entering the universe where the Matrix of Synergy was located, the meeting of Sharon, also known as the Demon Hunter-who Kincaid explained was the daughter of Ashley and Andros, contact with a shadow group called Specter Squad with whom an alternate version of himself was leader, and then how Kincaid's team not only had to get the Matrix, but also the alternate version of Mackenzie and Kincaid's child away from his foe's grasp. Boiling Hot looked so stunned Sharon thought she saw drool run down his mouth again.
"I think he's speechless." Sharon said until she fell to the ground and held her head as she let out a howl of pain. "Sharon!" Kincaid said rushing to her side.
"Sorry about that. Forsight is one of my LEAST enjoyable Soul Power benefits!" Sharon moaned as she saw images flashing before her eyes. The Soul Pendent that she wore around her neck was also glowing pure white at the moment. Boiling Hot also looked on wondering what was happening to Sharon until finally the glow of the pendant dimmed, and Sharon started to get up with Kincaid helping her up after he passed the baby on to Boiling Hot.
"What was that?" Kincaid asked.
"You've already explained to me a bit about your Night Powers and I've told you about a lot of the similarities between that and the Soul Powers." Sharon said steadying herself. "Well like how Spirits of the Night could come to help others or be with those that could hear them, the Souls of Light sometimes like to give me visions of things that are currently or are about to be set in motion. It's helped save some of my friends back in my home dimension…" she then rubbed her head. "Just wish I didn't have the frelling migranes as part of the deal."
"And what did they show you?" Kincaid asked.
Sharon said it straight out. "Kincaid…someone's got your fiancee' hostage."
That just set Kincaid into a cold mode. "GSA logo, a pier with the logo, your fiancee', and some guy that looks kinda like you only big with three other people and you looking very stiff. You know any GSA bases in the area?"
Kincaid just raced out the door, got on his bike and took off.
"I'll take that as a yes." Sharon said as she turned to Boiling Hot who still held the baby. "Take care of her will you?" She said before getting on her ride and following Kincaid.
Boiling Hot watched the two motorcyclists leave, and then suddenly realized that he had a baby with him who needed her diaper changed. "Uhhh guys? Guys? Help me out here? GUYS?!!!"
At his cottage on the base Vincent looked at his watch with concern. ~ Why aren't they here yet?~ he asked himself. ~ Have they found Jeff yet?~ he mentally asked himself. Sitting off to a corner Mackenzie sat catching Vincent's mannerisms. The look on his face was evident.
"Problem?" Mackenzie asked. Vincent didn't answer as he paced the floor looking on at his watch. "I'll take that as a 'yes'" She then said sarcastically.
"What's taking them so long?" Vincent cursed under clenched teeth. "I told them to escort Jeff to me when they saw him. I paid them good money."
Mackenzie looked on with curiosity. "Who?"
"Just some people I hired." Vincent said. "They were down and out, and I decided to show them some charity by giving them a job."
Mackenzie looked at Vincent with a look of disbelief and someone ready to laugh. "You? Showing charity?" she said.
"Yes. Stop the presses people Vincent Kincaid is courteous for the first time in years." Vincent's sarcasm amused Mackenzie but her curiosity was still peaked. "Who all did you hire?" she asked.
"Two humans and a Kerovan. I think their names were Thandros, Michelle and…"
"Mishi?" Mackenzie said finishing the sentence. "Don't tell me you hired members of the Ranger Guard!"
"The Ranger Guard?" Vincent asked confused. "Who are they?"
Mackenzie couldn't believe her ears. ~ Doesn't this guy know anything?~ she thought. "They're only the Luciferian Empire's first attempt at creating evil Rangers. A plan that almost succeeded mind you." Mackenzie then went on to tell the tale of when Kincaid and the Nightfighters went to Lucifer 6 on a mission and they were captured and tortured. They had confronted a group of Rangers using twisted Astro Powers who put them through the paces until they broke free and helped defeat them. An action that led to half of the planet being destroyed due to Kincaid's uncontrolled release of the Night Powers.
"These guys were really beat down." Mackenzie said. "They are not going to take that lightly."
"But I paid them to deliver my son to me." Vincent said.
"Ever hear of the expression 'Take the money and run'?" Mackenzie retorted. "The last time we ran into the Ranger Guard we left them with egg on their faces. Hell Harper never really got over the humiliation of getting beat by Jeff."
Suddenly the full effect of what Vincent had done hit him. He may have well doomed his own son to enemies of his. "Oh my God. What have I done?"
"Worry about that later. Right now my friends need help." Mackenzie lifted her wrist to where the chains were that bound her wrist.
"Hold on. I'll get the key." Vincent said scrambling to find it.
"Don't bother." Mackenzie said as she made her hands glow brighter. The next second, the chains broke apart and clattered to the ground. Vincent looked at Mackenzie wide eyed. "How…how did you…"
"Trade secret. Now let's go!" Mackenzie was practically dragging Vincent out of the cottage hoping to find where Steven and the Nightfighters were being kept.
At a boathouse near the main base the three former guardsmen were escorting their hostages out of their boat and onto the dock.
"All right move it!" Michelle said getting rough with their prisoners. Cassandra especially as Michelle beat her down with the butt of her weapon.
"Hey, you want to try that with me?" Adam shouted, who got his answer though due to a blow to his neck with a ball bat from Thandros.
"You'll speak when you are spoken to." Thandros said. "Now move it!"
Thandros, Mishi and Michelle all moved their hostages along and noticed the Kincaid replica just sitting on the boat. "Why isn't he moving?" Michelle asked.
"I don't know. I'm not picking up any thoughts from him." Thandros said trying to do a mind scan and came up blank. Mishi decided to go out to the boat and see what was up with 'Kincaid'.
She studied the rigid feature on his face, and it seemed to be an exact match for the Kincaid she knew and loathed. But the vacant stare got him wondering. "Hey dinkledork. Wake up. Time to move it!" she slapped 'Kincaid' hoping to snap him out of whatever 'trance' he was in until finally she resorted to a closed fist.
She was rewarded with a 'KLANG!' from "'Kincaid' and a banged up hand when Mishi realized that this was not the Jeffrey Kincaid they knew and loathed, but rather it was an android with even less personality than Kincaid had.
"Guys, this isn't Kincaid! This is a robot!" Mishi shouted.
Steven then turned to Justin as he saw the outrage the three former Ranger Guards were presenting. "I told you it wouldn't work." Steven said in an 'I told you so' manner.
"Are you always this much of a smart alec?" Justin asked. "No wonder your brother can't stand you."
This set Steven and Justin at each other as they tried to fight it out despite their hands being bound. Thandros quickly tried to break the two up. "Hey knock it off." Thandros said trying to separate Steven and Justin.
"He started it!" Justin shouted. Thandros however didn't care.
"Who started it is not the issue. Right now the issue is that we are the ones in charge." Michelle and Mishi all stood next to Thandros as he contemplated what to do next. Since Kincaid was not there there really was no reason to keep hostages.
"So does this mean we get to have some fun?" Michelle asked.
"I don't see why not." Thandros answered. Michelle seemed to relish the opportunity until she was distracted by the sound of an approaching engine and looked out the window to see what it was.
"Guys. We've got visitors." Michelle said.
Thandros looked outside and saw Vincent and Mackenzie coming their way. "Well now. It seems we have more guests." Turning to Mishi and Michelle Thandros smiled and said "Let's make them feel right at home."
Evil laughter came from the three Ranger Guardsmen which made Adam, Cassandra, Justin and Steven nervous. Steven however opened his hand and had shown the knife that he had palmed from Thandros in his and Justin's scuffle.
The knife had increased their chances for escape slightly. Justin also prayed that Roadbuster wasn't too far away.
On the I-80 people saw a blue semi truck streak across the sky, everyone looked up wondering how the truck could do that. Especially the highway patrol who were wondering whether or not they should pull the truck over for not going through the toll booths.
Roadbuster however was none too concerned about the tolls, especially since he was not on the road, but only following the path the roads provided. It deduced that the I-80 would be the best route to follow from Angel Grove to Port Clinton, especially when it joined up with I-90. Every second mattered if it was going to aide Blue Turbo.
The ETA on Roadbuster's chronometer said that he would arrive in Port Clinton in one hour. Whether that would be enough time to effect a rescue the zord did not know.
Not far away Kincaid and Sharon had rode onto the GSA base at Camp Perry. Sharon took in the site and seemed to enjoy it pretty well. "This is nice." Sharon said looking at the trees and grass all around. "Back in my reality there wasn't much nature. And any that there was we couldn't really enjoy."
"And here you can." Kincaid said. "I take it you told Alison that was why you were coming here." During the I.D.War when Kincaid and Sharon met to find the Matrix of Synergy Alison Hammond, the Yellow Night Ranger, ribbed Kincaid and Sharon no end as to what a cute couple the two would make. And even though the two felt a connection of some kind Sharon knew Kincaid's heart belonged to another, and that other was who they were coming here to rescue.
"I don't think it would help." Sharon said with a lopsided smile. Then her eyes focused on a flowerbed off to the right which seemed to adorn the walkway leading to the entrance of the PX. "Wow." Sharon said in a breath.
"Hey eyes on the road. We're going to have to turn soon." Sharon shook herself out of her reverie and asked another question. "Does the guard let you in all the time?" she asked referring to the guard at the main gate who let the two in.
"I do some business here from time to time." Kincaid answered. "Besides, the drill sergeants sometimes need help with…difficult members of their platoons. So they ask me to put them in some dark matches from time to time."
Sharon rode taking in all she could about the base. She saw GSA recruits marching during an infantry run, others going into the mess hall which was off to the left. Riding further she saw a small movie theatre off to the right as well small cottages which were used for on base lodging.
"You said they were close to the water right?" Kincaid asked Sharon. Sharon nodded yes.
"Let's get up there." Kincaid took the lead as he knew his way around the base. Sharon followed until they came up to the shore on Lake Erie and immediately started scanning the environment until they came to what appeared to be the boathouse that Sharon had mentioned.
"I'd say that's as good a place as any to start." Sharon said pointing to the boathouse she saw in her vision. They were about to ride over when a van had pulled up to the boathouse.
Sharon and Kincaid quickly hid off to the side behind some bushes. "Why are we doing this?" she asked.
"Because I want to make sure there are no more unpleasant surprises coming our way. If there are going to be unpleasant surprises I want it to be us, and I want whoever's got my friends to be the ones surprised." Sharon smiled a little as she thought about Kincaid's answer. "You have such a way with words you know that?"
"I'll give you some quotes you can use." Kincaid said as he and Sharon continued to look at the van. Kincaid was surprised as Vincent and Mackenzie both got out and didn't look like she was in any way his prisoner.
"What's going on here?" Sharon asked. "Is the girl in white your girlfriend?" Kincaid nodded yes and Sharon then asked the next question.
"Okay, so why isn't she his prisoner. If I didn't know any better I'd swear they were working together."
Kincaid was at a loss for words himself. He knew Mackenzie's White Astro Powers could have gotten her out of any mess she was in, especially since they had evolved her to her ultimate Angel mode. But no one knew how her Angel Powers would affect the baby she was carrying. Did she risk using the powers, or did something else happen?~ Kincaid wondered.
His thoughts were interrupted as three vehicles came and set down close by to where Vincent and Mackenzie stood. Sharon did not recognize the vehicles, but she did know the symbol on them as well as the pink, yellow and green colored uniforms they wore.
"Turbo Rangers?" Sharon asked. "Weren't they all destroyed?"
Kincaid cast a smirk in Sharon's direction and said "I guess Justin's been busy. Let's wait and see what happens."
Vincent and Mackenzie watched as Turbo Striker, Off Roader and Pay Loader set down. The three Turbo Rangers got out and Mackenzie was quick to get in their faces.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" she asked. Pink, Yellow and Green Turbos were quick to power down. Pink Turbo then shot Mackenzie a look as if saying 'how dare you talk to me like that.' Mackenzie wasn't the least bit intimidated.
"We just happen to be the new Turbo Rangers." Ivana said. "We're here because Justin needs us. And how dare you talk that way to a princess of Serenity 12."
"I don't care if you're the Princess Bitch Stephanie McMahon. If you want me to treat you with respect you've got to earn it with me." Mackenzie shot back. Both Mackenzie and Ivana looked ready to go at it when Vincent and Sylvie got between the tow.
"Ladies, ladies please. Save it for the people inside the house. You know, the ones who have got our friends?" Ivana nodded and backed away. Mackenzie however knew Sylvie and was amazed at how fast she had grown.
"Wow, Sylvie. You have sure grown up quick." Mackenzie said. The last time she had seen Sylvie she was still very much a kid who tagged along with Carlos. Now here she was, the Yellow Turbo Ranger.
"Thanks, but we have a job to do. But before we go inside can you two shake hands and play nice?" Ivana and Mackenzie looked at each other and both offered their hand. There was a firm handshake later and Sylvie went back to where Marco was standing.
Marco watched the confrontation and asked "Does this kind of thing happen often?"
"Nope." Sylvie said. "But then we are kind of new at this." Pink Turbo and Mackenzie then shook hands and made ready to enter the boathouse where their friends were being kept.
They were about to go inside when Mackenzie turned and looked into the bushes. She felt something familiar there, something that she knew. ~ Was someone hiding there?~ she asked.
"Hey are you all right?" Pink Turbo asked shaking Mackenzie out of her trance.
"Yeah I'm fine." Mackenzie answered. "Let's do it." Soon Vincent, Mackenzie and the three Turbos went into the boathouse ready to get down to business.
Back in the bushes Sharon and Kincaid watched as the Rangers all went inside the boathouse. Sharon picked up Mackenzie's feeling of familiarity and told Kincaid about it. "Does she know I'm here?" he asked.
"She might suspect." Sharon said. "But I'd say that she knows that someone she knows is here." Kincaid rolled his eyes at how ridiculous Sharon made that statement sound, but right now it was time to check those feelings at the door. His friends needed help and he was going to be there for them. And his father and brother too.
"Let's get ready." Kincaid said. He and Sharon then left their hiding place making their way to the boathouse ready to attack.
Michelle looked out the window to see Vincent, Mackenzie and the three Turbos walking up towards them. "Hey Thandros. Vincent's here and he's got company."
"Let them in." Thandros ordered as Vincent, Mackenzie and the Turbo Rangers charged in. "Justin!" Yellow Turbo said as she, Pink and Green went to remove the hostage's bonds.
"Boy are we glad to see you." Justin said. As soon as the ropes were cut he flexed his hands hoping to get circulation back in them again. Steven was next, followed by Adam and Justin. Soon everyone was up on their feet and Steven was quick to get into Vincent's face.
"What are you doing here dad?" Steven asked glaringly. "Do you have something to do with this?"
"Of course he does." Mishi said with glee. "Vinnie hired us to make sure his boy was brought to him. But when we saw him coming, well we just couldn't refuse an opportunity to renew an acquaintance with some old friends now could we?"
Vincent then turned to glare at Thandros and his crew avoiding the look Steven was giving him right then. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Doing the job you asked of us old man." Thandros answered. "We're just looking to bring your son to you."
"I wanted Jeff alive. And I wanted to make sure he came. But I didn't want you to take his friends as part of the deal." Vincent continued to glare at the three Ranger Guards, but they were unfazed by Vincent's glare.
"For your information old man. Jeff Kincaid wasn't even on the boat. It was a robot dummy." Michelle said. "Not much of an improvement on the original though, but I think they were more concerned with getting that little white chickadee you had."
"Chickadee? Well I guess that beats a turkey, crow and a lame duck I guess." Mackenzie said lobbying her insults at Mishi, Michelle and Thandros respectively.
Vincent started coughing again as Mackenzie went to his side. Kneeling she tried to see if he was all right.
"Oh fine." Vincent said as he started to cough up his own blood. "I'll be okay soon." Mackenzie looked on unsure about Vincent's condition but Thandros wasn't moved by Vincent's ill health. Rather he and the other Ranger Guards looked rather confident right now.
"What are you smirking at?" Adam asked. Thandros didn't say anything, but Cassandra knew what was to come. "Find cover!" she shouted. Everyone seemed to duck as laser fire seemed to erupt into the air. In every corner of the central house a Coldblood stood firing its weapon at whatever Ranger target it could lock onto.
The Rangers all ducked for cover while Mackenzie managed to drag Vincent to a corner and closed her eyes. Her hands had glowed as she touched his chest hoping to find out what was wrong with him. When she finished she knew what the problem was. A problem she too had to face, but unlike hers all those years ago Vincent Kincaid's was terminal and far beyond her healing abilities.
"It's cancer isn't it?" she asked. Vincent turned and looked into the White Astro's eyes then nodded yes.
"I'm sorry." she said. Vincent just smiled.
"Don't be I've lived my life. All I wanted to do was say good bye to my son." Mackenzie then smiled.
"And kidnapping me was a sure fire way to bring him here. If he was still here." Mackenzie said as she looked at Steven and the Rangers all pinned down in isolated corners. Adam and Cassandra were hidden in one. Yellow and Green Turbo were in a corner off to the side. Pink and Blue Turbo were with Steven who still had the knife in his hand wondering what all he could do with it.
"It may be a wild idea, but maybe I can throw the knife. Make some kind of damage." Steven recommended. Blue Turbo dismissed the idea.
"No can do. Coldbloods are lethal shots with their arm weapons, and you may not like what they do either." Justin had laid down to Steven what a Coldblood weapon was capable of, right down to the matter rearranger, and Steven soon thought better of the idea.
Thandros however stood ready to fight with his two Ranger Guards and his herd of Coldbloods that they picked up from the Power Broker before he left. Thandros then brought out his gun and leveled it towards the Rangers huddled in corners. From his vantage point Thandros could pick off all the Rangers if his aim was good, and Thandros had deadly reflexes with a blaster weapon in hand.
"Time to say goodbye." Thandros sneered when he felt the gun get hot in Thandros's hand.
"What is it an overload?" Michelle asked. Thandros answered that he wasn't sure.
The gun grew hotter in Thandros's hand. Hotter and hotter until it turned to a burning red. It soon became too hot for him to handle and he wound up dropping it into the water of Lake Erie, followed by his hand which he needed to cool off quick.
Everyone looked stunned. How did the gun heat up like that? No one could have done what happened.
No one except…
The door then exploded in a burst of flames and Thandros and the Ranger Guard had to cover their eyes. Since the Turbo Rangers and Nightfighters were already hidden well enough they were provided with a measure of protection. When the debris settled two figures walked through the doorway. The first was dressed in black leather with a red uniform shirt under his black motorcycle vest. A black helmet covered his face and a symbol of a grinning demon was on the helmet and the belt buckle he wore.
The second stood wearing a sliver helmet with a black rectangle shape broken by yellow lines on the top front of the helmet. Her eyes were covered by a visor but everything below her nose was exposed. She wore golden body armor with a black oval shape on her chest. On top of the black oval was a silver "'x' which had a green circular gem. The bottom parts of the "'x' also went down to her waist where they ended and had green circular gems. The body armor fit her completely, and the leggings were silver colored with black line patterns and a green circle on either leg. Golden boots completed the ensemble.
"Mind if we cut in?" the woman in armor said.
Thandros wondered who these figures were as did the Rangers wonder who the one in gold armor was. But the Nightfighters knew who one of them were. One in particular as she said the name of the man she loved.
"Jeff….he's back." Mackenzie whispered. All around the room the Nightfighters expressed their recognition of the Red Night Ranger too.
"Are you saying that that's Jeff?" Steven asked Justin. "That sure doesn't look like the little brother I remember."
"He's changed a lot since he left home." Justin answered. "He's no longer the scared little boy he was when he left." Steven nodded and agreed to that.
Cassandra and Adam looked on as well. While they weren't sure when Kincaid would return they were glad to see him nonetheless. The woman in gold armor they had no idea who she was however but Cassandra did pick up several mental impressions from her. Impressions of a nightmare world where demons ran the galaxy, and humans were reduced to the role of slaves, pets, or even cattle.
The woman had also picked up impressions from Cassandra and the life she lived. The woman wouldn't have minded trading and she let Cassandra know in her own way. ~ Nice life. Wanna swap?~ she asked telepathically.
~ No thanks, I don't think I could handle the pressure.~ was Cassandra's telepathic answer. ~ You have a name?~
~ Sharon, but you can call me Demon Hunter. I met Jeff on a mission recently.~ Sharon quickly sent the details of the fatal four way to Cassandra telepathically and she made sure the rest of the Rangers present knew the rest of the story using her own telepathy. Mackenzie then stood by Jeff and smirked as she said "Nice to know you're still being faithful."
"With you, always. No matter what Alison says." Kincaid answered as he faced the Ranger Guard who stood ready to face the inevitable. "Alison?" Mackenzie asked coyly. Kincaid just answered with "Joke on her part. Wasn't all that funny."
"I'll bet it wasn't." Mackenzie said with a smirk as she and Kincaid went back to face the opposition again.
Vincent also managed to sit up to get a look at his son. He stared on in disbelief at what he saw. "Jeff?" he asked.
Kincaid however gave no answer. Right now he had more pressing matters to attend to namely the opponents in front of him. "Heard you guys were looking for me." He said.
"Yeah, and now we've found you." Mishi said with Thandros and Michelle standing with her along with the regrouped Coldbloods before them.
"Get out of here!" Kincaid said to Mackenzie. "We'll hold them off." Mackenzie nodded and carried Vincent out of the boathouse. Steven followed leaving the Nightfighters, the Turbo Rangers and the Demon Hunter ready to face three ex-Ranger Guards and a battalion of Coldbloods waiting to strike.
"Don't let the Coldbloods' weapons hit you." Kincaid warned. "If they do you could wind up as a mouse or a trophy to put on their wall."
"We'll settle for the trophies." Michelle said. "Besides, your girlfriend looks good in gold. Why not complete the look?"
"Why don't you try?" Demon Hunter said staring at her new opponents before her. "But I should warn you, I've fought better than you."
"Better than us? In your dreams bitch!" Michelle scoffed.
"Well then, welcome to my nightmare." Demon Hunter said as she brought her Demon Edges to bear. "Let's dance."
Michelle, Mishi and Thandros stayed back as the Coldbloods took the front line beginning the attack. Everyone took on three Coldbloods on average. The Turbos, while inexperienced, seemed to be fighting well enough, especially after following Justin's lead. Justin made short work of the Coldbloods around him not allowing himself to underestimate his opponents. He knew the Coldbloods were efficient, and deadly, foot soldiers unlike the Putties, Cogs, and soldiers other Ranger opponents used.
The three newer Turbos stayed together believing in the adage of "'strength in unity'. They followed Ivana's lead who was the more seasoned fighter as Sylvie stood by Marco covering his back as he covered hers. Their fought well together, and despite some kinks in the fighting, managed to beat the Coldbloods that they had to defeat.
Adam and Cassandra were doubled up against their Coldbloods. Cassandra was familiar with them and covered Adam as he dealt with his opponents with his Dragon Saber. Three Coldbloods were cut down quickly, and Cassandra made sure the other three were taken out with her Emerald Ranger bow. Three arrows directly down the weapons barrels and that was all she wrote.
"Thanks for watching my back." Adam said.
"Anytime." Cassandra answered. "Now I wonder how that new girl is doing." Cassandra looked over in the Demon Hunter's direction as she was facing some Coldbloods of her own.
Sharon looked at the Coldbloods she had to confront. Never in her experience did she have to face anything like these machine warriors, but that didn't mean she wouldn't underestimate them. "All right, first the warm up."
The "'warm up' consisted of her leaping high in the air doing a somersault then landing giving one Coldblood a hard slash across it's chest knocking it down temporarily. As she approached the second one she gave a series of kicks to it knocking it back before blasting it with a punch in the chest and one final strike with her edges. Finally her attention was focused on the final Coldblood unaware that the first one was still somewhat operational and it's weapon was focused on her.
"Gold." It said as the Coldblood's matter rearranger converted to fire a beam that would turn the Demon Hunter to gold. Then as the shot was squeezed out Sharon ducked and the blast struck the final Coldblood leaving it a golden statue. Sharon then faced the first Coldblood and called forth her Demon Star Cannon firing blasts knocking the sentry down to the ground. It then deactivated permanently leaving Sharon standing over her would be attacker.
"I may be pretty enough to be a statue, but that doesn't mean I want to be one." Sharon said as she impaled the last Coldblood through where it's heart would be. Her mind shuddering as she thought of herself as a statue on display in Empress Bansheera's garden. "I won't be a trophy to Bansheera." She vowed.
Kincaid had his three Coldbloods to deal with, and as usual he wanted to end it quick. Going hand to hand he blocked whatever blows the Coldbloods were throwing then he back body dropped another into the path of a weapon being fired. A Coldblood shot one of his own and encased him in ice. Kincaid then followed up on the second Coldblood with a running tackle slamming it hard against the house wall.
All that was left was the third Coldblood Kincaid had to face. The two looked at each other with great intensity, until the Coldblood fell backward with a wheel kick that knocked it back down to the ground. The Coldblood looked up and saw White Astro looking up with her blaster in hand. After squeezing off a round the Coldblood was deactivated and White Astro quickly demorphed into Mackenzie.
"Did I miss anything?" Mackenzie stated.
"Nope. Just the mop up." Cassandra said. Everyone looked around to see the downed Coldbloods that were beaten. No way were they getting up now.
"Well that was easy." Marco said.
"Not too easy." Demon Hunter said. "Whoever built these things knew what he was doing."
"The Coldbloods were to secede the Guardsmen as foot soldiers." Kincaid mentioned. "And the Guardsmen were programmed to be skilled soldiers."
"Well they don't have their soldiers anymore.' Sylvie said as she and the others turned to face the three ex-Ranger Guards before them. Mishi, Michelle and Thandros all stood nervous due to there being no one left to fall back on.
"Let's see. Three of you, eight of us. Doesn't seem fair does it?" Ivana said sure of victory.
"No it doesn't." a voice said from nowhere. Everyone looked around when they saw five glowing orbs of red, black, blue, yellow and pink show up around the Ranger Guard and then solidified into human forms along with two more gray teleport silhouettes that appeared alongside. Demon Hunter looked at the seven new arrivals and cursed between her teeth. "Frell!" she said as the arrivals solidified.
The new arrivals were Obsidian, Tasha and the Neji Rangers.
"Who are you?" Thandros asked wondering about those who were apparently their new allies.
"We're here to help you defeat you're adversaries." Tasha said. "Just remember, the Demon Hunter is ours."
"If you're talking the woman in gold you're welcome to her." Mishi answered. "Just help us make sure these Rangers don't walk out of here."
"Agreed." Neji Yellow said as they faced their adversaries.
"Are those the Psycho Rangers?" Adam asked.
"I only wish." Demon Hunter said. "Those are an upgraded version of the Psychos from my home reality. They're the Neji Rangers."
"Oh so that's what the "'N' stands for. For a while I thought you were rejects of Ninjor.?