The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 6 by Heather Ray (free ebook reader TXT) 📖

ahead of those two."

"Billy?" Regina called from her station, "I've run the various scans, including infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray. I'm not picking up any weak spots, or any other clue as to how to beat that guy."

"I think it's time to run a decompositional scan," Billy surmised, rising to his feet.

"But, that doesn't give clues to beating him," Regina pointed out, swiveling her chair to face him, "It'll just break down what he's made of. You'll see layers of magic, but not any weaknesses."

"Well, we're out of options, so perhaps luck will be with us," Billy stated, moving towards Regina's station. On his way, he observed David, sitting silently beside Micah's still body. He then redirected his route, and walked towards the pensive young man.

"David?" he inquired, pausing in front of him. "Are you all right?"

David lifted his gaze from the floor, and fixed Billy with a blank stare. "Everything's happening so quickly," he confessed with a heavy sigh, "I don't understand what's going on here. All I do know is, my brother is fighting a monster no one here thinks his team can beat, and I just witnessed my nephew tortured at the hand of a being not of this world." He shook his head slowly, leaning back in his seat. "It's a lot to come to grips with."

Billy smiled weakly, offering his hand. "I don't believe we've actually been introduced. I'm Billy Mitchell."

David grasped the extended hand, and shook it. "Well, I'm David Trueheart, though you already know that."

David's grasp weakened, and his gaze returned to the unconscious boy beside him. "I was right there with him, in that cell," he reflected, "and I was completely useless."

"Don't think there was anything you could've done to spare Micah," Billy said firmly, "Goldar is a powerful warrior, who has been serving the forces of evil long before any of us were born. Even a fully morphed and armed Ranger will have difficulty beating him. It was entirely out of your hands."

David conceded the point, nodding his head. "I can't imagine what it must have been like for him. The scars he bears..."

"The med-unit will completely heal all the wounds he's received," Billy assured him, "He may be sore when he wakes up, but that's all."

David shook his head, his frown deepening. "You can heal the wounds on his skin...but what can you do about the wounds of his soul?"

Billy was struck silent. During the flurry of work he had been administrating, he hadn't given consideration to Micah's mental state after the ordeal. After all, he was only a child, and this was his first experience as a Power Ranger. He had to face the unadulterated wrath of one of the most nightmarish creatures in Earth's history, and from what David had reported, the goal was to extract information from the boy.

Who knew what Micah would feel? Guilt, for revealing any pertinent information? Terror, for seeing the darkest side to being a Power Ranger before he was ready? Betrayal, for his friends letting him suffer so tragically on his own?

"Rebecca," Billy called, causing the Pink Starlight Ranger to approach, "is there any way you can discern if there has been any serious psychological damage inflicted upon Micah?"

Rebecca's brow furrowed. "Not until he wakes up," she answered, "I will be able to feel what he feels once he's conscious, but that may not give the insight you're looking for. I won't be able to tell what is a temporary effect of his experience, or if he suffers some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder."

Billy blinked in response to Rebecca's candid diagnosis. "You seem a little young to have studied psychology."

Rebecca shrugged in response. "Not really. I've been a patient of this dysfunction. Experiencing the pain of others is really stressful for a kid." She closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly to shrug off the memories. "I'm okay now, though."

Billy watched carefully as the girl took a seat beside David. She gingerly clasped his hand, and smiled warmly at him. "Still, while I can't be sure yet, I feel Micah will be okay," she told him, "I'm sure that, when he does wake up, having you by his side will really help."

Billy pensively continued his trip to Regina's station, every so often glancing back at Rebecca in amazement. She was younger than he was when first chosen by Zordon to be the Blue Ranger. Still, her maturity was overwhelming.

He bit his lip as he considered the reason for his daughter's personality. She had to grow up quickly. They all had to. They had to face the unthinkable at such early ages. Every time the Terran Rangers marched into battle, these children watched their parents go, with a measure of pride as well as dread... and their fears were realized. Anthony had lost his father for several years when he was just a child, and now he may have lost his mother. Micah had lost both parents at once. Brittany had to say goodbye to her father, someone she obviously cherished very much. Regina's parents were alive, but several dear friends were hanging in the balance. And Rebecca had to face the abnormality of powerful mutant abilities, which essentially destroyed what should have been the carefree, joyful childhood everyone deserved.

It was really tragic the pain these children had to experience. Yet on the bright side, the pain only made them stronger.

They were good kids...fit for the responsibility hovering over their heads as the next generation of Power Rangers.

Absently, he wondered what his future self was thinking at that moment, waiting anxiously for any word from the time-traveling party. Still, while the tension was surely high in 2025, at least that William Mitchell had Trini by his side, to offer peace to his soul with her very presence...

"Hey Billy!" Regina called, stirring him from his reverie. The young genius glanced at the Blue Starlight Ranger, who turned her swivel chair to face him. A sly grin tugged at her full lips, and she shrugged her eyebrows mischievously.

"Did you find something?" he inquired, as the exchange grasped the attention of the rest of the teens. With the exception of David and Rebecca, everyone quickly congregated around Regina, with Anthony standing directly behind her. He grasped her shoulders, and leaned closer to the screen.

"Is that what I think it is?" he questioned, his aqua gaze transfixed on a flashing bubble of energy visible around the monster the Rangers were battling.

"Yep," Regina responded, her smile widening.

"I think we may have hit the jackpot, gang!" he announced.


Chapter Forty-One

"Brace yourselves for impact!" Tommy barked, his hands flying to the armrests of his seat. Similarly, all the other Rangers were quick to hold on to whatever stable fixture they could, as the lightning-quick razors launched from the monster's mangled ax, drilling deep into the blue leg of the Megazord. The team held on as a series of powerful explosions sparked from the impact points on the Alligator Zord, rattling the entire construct to its very core.

"The Alligator can't take much more of this!" Katherine shouted, to raise her voice above the screeching explosions filling their ears. "The joint-connection to the Cheetah is barely holding!"

"Dammit," Jason groaned, pounding his fist into his console. "That monster knows exactly what he's doing. He banged up the Alligator before, so he knows it's the weak spot of the Megazord!"

"Hey guys," Tommy proposed, shifting in his seat, "do you think it's possible for us to channel the Hyperflame Shield into the Alligator? It's proven effective against those blades before. Maybe it'll give the Alligator the protection it needs to stay connected?"

The Green Ranger frowned under his helmet. "It should be possible, since in Megazord form the Phoenix's Hyperflame attribute can be extended to the sword." He bit his lip as his fingers began flying over the Terra Sword specifications console. "I'm deactivating the Hyperflame from the sword now."

"It could still take us some time to reroute the shield," Kim pointed out. "We've never even tried that before."

"Then we need to buy ourselves some time," Tommy decided, activating his communicator, "Alexis, do you read?"

^Hear ya loud and clear, Tommy.^

"How's the Eaglezord holding up?"

^I'm still a bit stirred from that last laser beam volley,^

she groused, ^but I've managed to straighten out my navigation system. I'm in decent shape.^

"Do you think you can buy us a few minutes? We're going to try something."

^I'll do my best!^

"Good luck," Tommy finished, terminating the communication. With a wary eye, he watched as the Eaglezord flew back into eyesight, launching a few razor feathers to distract the powerful knight from his primary target. The monster was quick to respond, thrusting his ax in the Eaglezord's direction. Tommy's frown deepened when he noticed how sluggish the Eaglezord was in evading fire.

"Alexis is having a bit of trouble," he commented, turning on his communicator again, "so we don't have a minute to spare. Billy? Do you read me?"

After a moment of silence, the CAC's com-unit responded. ^Tommy? It's Rocky. Billy's working on a project, but maybe I can help?^

"We need to know how to reroute the Hyperflame Shield to the Alligator, to reinforce it against the monster's attacks."

^Hmm. Attribute Rerouting. I'll see what I can do on my end, and then forward you the specs.^

"Hurry," Kim pleaded, "With the Megazord down, the Eaglezord can't hold out for long."

The Terra team was answered by silence, as the signal was broken from the Central Access Complex.

Chapter Forty-Two

The former Red Power Ranger cast a grim glance at the Viewing Globe. As he held his breath, a wave of sinuous energy stretched towards the Eaglezord like a noose, intending to grab hold of the wily machine. Fortunately, the agile Zord managed to evade capture, as an aerial loop threw the Zord just a handful of meters away from the energy chain.

Alexis was certainly cutting it close up there.

His frustration