—

Chapter 23: Hide and Seek

—

Broodwing landed in front of Piggy’s restaurant and paced in barely contained rage. Viciously kicking aside an upturned chair, the mercenary surveyed the empty parking lot and trailer.

Someone had scrawled their name in graffiti across the front of the restaurant, and the metal counter was partially torn off its hinges. The restaurant was obviously abandoned. Piggy would have to be incredibly foolish to return here, the first place anyone would look for him.

Broodwing scuffed his feet in the dirt. He looked up at the towering buildings of SPD headquarters and wished all the ills of the universe on its inhabitants and one green ranger in particular.

‘He’ll pay for this,’ Broodwing thought. ‘Maybe I should turn him in to the other rangers.’ The idea was appealing. The Troobians would never know that Broodwing had betrayed them and, when Gruumm asked, he could probably blame it all on Mora.

‘No,’ Broodwing finally decided, ‘I still need him.’ After all, he couldn’t defeat Gruumm and Mora on his own. But one day, once he ruled the Earth, there would be no need for disobedient, treacherous rangers.

The bat smiled evilly. He looked forward to that day.

—

Through a peephole beneath his trailer, Piggy watched Broodwing arrive and pace back and forth. Long ago, Piggy had expanded the area beneath his restaurant, digging out a hiding place.

Accessible only through a secret entrance hidden beneath some storage crates, Piggy’s hideout had all the comforts of home; a well-stocked supply of pickled banana peels,  a comfortable bed of egg cartons and a unobstructed view of the area outside his trailer.

Piggy held his breath and stayed tried to stay perfectly still as the bat walked closer. He couldn’t stop the trembling, though,  which started in his hands and traveled all the way to his toes.

Outside, Broodwing cocked his head to the side, as if he could hear Piggy’s fear. The bat took a step closer to Piggy’s hiding place. ‘He knows I’m here.’ Piggy thought, beginning to panic. A moment later, however, Broodwing turned around flew away.

Piggy breathed a sigh of relief. ‘What am I going to do?’ He wondered. ‘Broodwing is trying to kill me and the green ranger is out to get me too. Gruumm and Mora are trying to destroy the planet. Maybe it’s time to leave Earth.’

Piggy mulled it over for a while. He still had friends and relatives, somewhere out in the Andromeda galaxy. Maybe his aunts would take him in until he could start a new restaurant.

Piggy shuddered. Living with them might even be worse than being held prisoner by the Troobians. ‘I don’t want to leave,’ Piggy thought, with a growing sense of anger and injustice. ‘This is my home!’

‘Do you really think that Gruumm and Mora will let you live?’ A voice inside his head whispered. ‘They’ll hunt you down, find you.’

‘I’ll make it,’ Piggy countered, trying to convince himself. ‘I’ve done it before. They’ll never find me – as long as the ranger doesn’t tell them where I am.’ That was the crux of the problem. If anyone could find him, it would be Bridge. Even though the ranger had saved his life, he worked for the Troobians and couldn’t be trusted.

There was only one  option left. He knew what he had to do, but he didn’t have to like it.

—

For the second time in one day, Cruger was faced by a group of angry rangers.

“Sir, you can’t do this,” Syd argued, “Boom doesn’t deserve to be shipped off-world!”

“He’s human, he should stay on Earth,” Jack said. “He’s not a threat to anyone. Why can’t we keep him here?”

“I’m afraid it’s more complicated than that.” Cruger thought of Fowler. “If we can’t prove Boom’s innocence by tomorrow, I will have no choice but to hand him over to Galactic Headquarters.”

“But that’s not fair!” Z exclaimed. She wasn’t alone – the other rangers, excluding Sky, were looking downright mutinous.

“No, it’s not,” Cruger said. “And I will do everything in my power to prevent this and, if necessary, bring him home.”

—

Boom had quickly grown to hate every inch of his cell. He hated the bright fluorescent lights, which caused him to squint every time he lay down. He hated the hard bed – a plastic ledge, really – and the reflective, polished tiles on the floor. But most of all, he hated the silence.

The isolation cells were completely soundproof. No one could hear him from outside this room and he couldn’t hear them. He missed the chatter of cadets, the mechanical hum of the labs.

Even the shouts and taunts of the other prisoners would be preferable to this. With nothing else to do, Boom spent his time worrying and agonizing over his future.

What was going to happen to him? Were they going to keep him in this cell forever? Who was going to feed his fish? He must be losing his mind, worrying about a goldfish during a time like this.

‘No, they won’t let anything happen to me,’ Boom told himself firmly. ‘Syd promised.’ As soon as he thought about her, the heavy outer door swung open and Syd entered the room, followed by Z. Boom got to his feet, but his smile faded as he saw their grim expressions.

“It’s really bad, isn’t it.” Boom said, a horrible feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. “What’s going to happen to me?

Z and Syd both looked at each other, suddenly reluctant to tell Boom the bad news. “They’re planning to ship you off-world tomorrow,” Z finally said. “I think they’re planning to make an example of you.”

“Off-world?” Boom said, stunned. He had never even been to Mexico on vacation, let alone off-world. “To where?”

“We don’t know,” Syd said.  “You have to have seen something, anything, that would prove to Cruger that you didn’t do it!”

“I don’t know!” Boom cried. “I didn’t see anything.” He sat down at the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. “It’s hopeless. I’m doomed.”

He looked up at the two rangers. “Can you guys do me a favor? Tell my parents that I love them and I didn’t do it. And I’m sorry I lied to them, I just wanted them to be proud of me.”

—

Bridge was on his way to the prison level when Syd ran past him. He could tell she was crying. Z followed close behind.

“Are you going to see Boom?” Z asked. “He’s really upset right now. I think he could use a friend.”

“Yeah,” Bridge said. “I wanted to speak to him before they… sent him away.”

Z spontaneously hugged him, holding him tight. Surprised, Bridge stiffened for a moment before returning the gesture.  “It’ll all work out in the end, Bridge. We’ll get Boom back.”

“I really hope so,” he said sincerely.

Bridge walked further down the level, finally stopping in front of the door leading to Boom’s cell. For several minutes, he stood in the hallway and wondered what he could possibly say to make things better.

‘I can’t just go in there and lie to him,’ Bridge realized. ‘No matter what Z says, it won’t be all right, ever again.’ Gruumm and Mora had already made sure of that. ‘I can’t change what’s happened, but I can at least help Boom. He’s my friend – I can’t let him take the blame for everything I’ve done.’

—

–back– (oOo) – next–

—

Chapter 5: A Calculated Risk

—

Will Stronghold

—

There’s a one in five hundred thousand chance that you’ll be struck by lightening, one in ten million that you’ll be president of the United States. The overall odds of being canonized are twenty-million to one, but I think my odds are far steeper than that.

Chances are that, given a reasonable opportunity, Warren will try to kill me. I can accept that. There are many people who wish me dead, and more than a few of them live within my own base. He’s just one more.

When I set Warren free from his cage, I calculated the risk as somewhere between the chance of a child with two normal parents being born with superpowers, and the chance that I will meet my end by unnatural causes. Supervillains don’t tend to die of old age, so I’d say those odds are pretty high.

But, regardless of the odds, it was worth it. That look of surprise, mixed with suspicion and gratitude is something I never thought I’d see. It’s good to keep him off balance. If he never knows what to expect, he can never prepare for what happens next.

Nevertheless, it’s a temporary reprieve, and we both know it. I left the collar tightly locked around his neck; even if he someone managed to discover the codes allowing him access to the outside, without his powers he would be easy prey to the villains lurking beyond these walls. If nothing else, Warren does have scores upon scores of enemies.

Somewhere nearby, I can hear the shuffling footsteps of Gwen Grayson. I ignore her, fine-tuning the repairs to one of my many ray guns. I replace a plate, carefully manipulating a tiny screw. Then I repeat the process, until all the nicks and kinks have disappeared.

There’s some irony in the fact that I, the most powerful super-villain in the country, inventor of dozens of deadly and horrific weapons, would have failed Mad Science without Gwen’s help. I never thought I would need the information and, more importantly, I was a little preoccupied with my beautiful lab partner.

She’s not so beautiful anymore, but I suppose I could still ask Gwen to fix my weapons and armor. She could, undoubtedly, do it in an instant – assuming, of course, that insanity hasn’t caused her to lose control of her powers.

She’s still watching me. I can hear her soft, steady breathing, and can almost feel her hateful glare. I’ve long since given up on wondering what thoughts cross her twisted mind. I should have killed her long ago, but I didn’t. I think I have a thing for keeping former foes as prisoners.

—

Warren Peace

—

It’s like a game – you pull on the handle of one door, and maybe it opens. You pull on the handle of another, it stays locked and you move on.

Devastator’s base is a maze, a labyrinth of locked rooms and doors. For the most part, the rooms I am able to enter are empty or recently vacated. What does Devastator need so much space for?

His minions, the few which there are, avoid me like the plague. Sometimes I see one of them, mostly in the distance, down a dark corridor or entering a locked room. I pass a brushed metal door.

I count to three before pushing on the handle. To my surprise, the door opens slowly into a long but narrow room, full of antique equipment, all covered with a layer of dust. There’s one set of footprints, going to the back of the room and then doubling towards the front.

They’re too small to belong to Will. I follow them to the back of the room and look up at the shelves. There’s a gap, a missing item. The only thing to mark its existence is a slightly lighter area on the wall and shelf, an area missing the dust that covers the rest of the room.

A shadow blocks the thin, cold light coming from the door, and I turn to face someone who I never thought I’d see again.

“Royal Pain. I heard that you escaped prison, but I had no idea that you were here.”

—

To Be Continued

—

–back–   (oOo) – next–

—

Chapter 22: A Matter of Time

—

“No way!”

“You can’t…”

“… not Boom!”

The command center was in an uproar. Cruger tried to speak several times, but kept getting interrupted. “Attention! Now, one at a time.”

Sky, who had been silent until then, spoke first. “Sir, why do you think Boom is involved?”

That was an easy question. Cruger was silently grateful that Sky was so level-headed. “There have been two incidents involving information being stolen from our computers. We’ve managed to trace it back to Boom.”

There was a moment of stunned silence.

“Sir, there’s no way that Boom could have done that,” Jack said. “He must have been framed.”

“Yeah!” Syd exclaimed. “Boom was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“I know he didn’t do this,” Bridge added. Sky was watching him closely, weighing every word. “Boom is our friend – he would never betray SPD.”

Cruger sighed. “I don’t like this any more than you, but we don’t have a choice. If Boom is involved in any way, we need to know about it. Securing SPD needs to be our first priority.”

“So that’s it?” Z asked, a little horrified. SPD was supposed to be about justice, not about imprisoning innocent people. This definitely wasn’t what she signed up for! “We’re just going to keep him locked up like some criminal?”

“It’s likely that Boom is being manipulated, probably by someone close to him.” Kat finally said. “Now that he’s detained, maybe the real traitor will become careless.”

“And what happens if they don’t?” Bridge said, speaking the fear on everyone’s mind. “Become careless, I mean. Because we’ve all been trying our best, and we haven’t caught them yet.”

“We will catch the real traitor,” Cruger replied. “It’s only a matter of time.”

Bridge briefly wondered how much of that confidence was real and how much was an act. Maybe the Commander knew more than he was letting on? ‘No,’ Bridge reasoned. ‘If he knew anything, it would be me in that cell instead of Boom.’

“Bridge, you’re closer to Boom than any of us. Have you noticed anything?” Cruger asked. “Does he have any new friends, or has he said or done anything strange?”

Bridge answered as honestly as he could. “No, sir. I haven’t noticed anything — he’s been pretty much the same as always. Well, maybe he’s been a little more stressed out than usual, but everyone kind of is.”

“That’s true, cadet.” Cruger said thoughtfully. “I’m sorry, rangers. But for now, this is the best option. Unless there’s anything else, you’re dismissed.”

—-

“Sir?” Sophie looked up from her console. “Supreme Commander Fowler is on the line.”

Cruger groaned. How did he find out so quickly? Kat was right – bad news really did fly faster than light! “I’ll take it in my office.”

Returning to his office, he sat down at the desk. Taking a moment to compose himself, he pressed a button, and Fowler appeared on the viewing screen.

“I hear you’ve finally detained a suspect,” Fowler said. The way he said it implied great negligence on Cruger’s part.

Cruger ignored the insult. Fowler enjoyed needling him, probably hoping that Cruger would lose his temper and do something rash. It hadn’t happened yet. “Yes, but we believe there are others involved. Boom is an easy scapegoat, but the investigation is ongoing.”

Fowler frowned. “You’re letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment, Commander,” he said disapprovingly. “Don’t look so surprised. It’s well known that you and Dr. Manx are close to the suspect.”

“My feelings have nothing to do with it,” Cruger countered. “Boom is not the traitor – he doesn’t have the skills or the motivation.”

“Are you sure, Commander?” Fowler asked. Cruger’s silence was all the answer he needed. “I suppose that it doesn’t concern you that this whole incident has been a publicity nightmare for SPD. “

“My only concern, Supreme Commander,” Cruger said. “is the welfare of Earth.”

Fowler ignored him, continuing as if he hadn’t heard. “Do you know what our enemies are saying? They say that SPD, the most powerful police force in the galaxy, is so incompetent that we are unable to secure our own bases. And worse, powerful people, important people, have begun to listen. What will you do, Cruger, when they strip you of your command and turn the defense of Earth over to, say, the Newtech Police Department?”

“That will never happen,” Cruger growled.

“No, it won’t,” Fowler said flatly. “A special task force has been sent from Galactic Headquarters to collect the prisoner. They will arrive tomorrow, and I expect your full cooperation. The traitor will be tried by an intergalactic tribunal, and you will be permitted to continue your work.”

The Supreme Commander of SPD gave a sharp salute. “Goodbye, Commander.”

“Supreme Commander,” Cruger acknowledged distastefully, returning the salute.

Fowler blinked out of existence.

—

Boom sat inside his cell and stared dejectedly at the floor. His prison was one of the few isolation rooms, reserved for particularly dangerous or unruly prisoners.

He didn’t think of himself as dangerous. Well, Kat might disagree with that, but he had never done anything illegal, certainly nothing that would get him arrested and confined! How could anyone believe he could have done all of those terrible things?

“At least my parents aren’t here to see this,” Boom thought, biting back a sob. After all, they still thought he was a ranger.

Clank!

Boom nearly jumped out of his skin as a guard rapped her baton on his cell bars.

“Traitor!” The guard hissed. Boom knew many of the cadets, but he had never met this one before. “You’re worse than the Troobians; you betrayed your own planet. People like you don’t deserve to live!”

Boom backed as far away from the cell door as he could. There was something scary about that cadet, a cruel light in her eyes. If she had her way, Boom realized with a shiver, he wouldn’t make it to any sort of trial – and many of the other cadets probably felt the same way.

“Leave him alone!” A familiar voice said. Standing outside of the room, Syd had heard enough.

“Yes, sir!” The guard returned to her post and stood at rapt attention.

Syd glared at her. “Well, what are you still doing here? You’re dismissed.”

Already in enough trouble, the guard saluted stiffly and left. She wasn’t going to argue with a superior officer, but she couldn’t understand why a ranger would stand up for someone like that.

Now that they were alone, Syd turned to Boom. “Boom, are you okay?”

“Not — not really.” He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He didn’t want anyone, not even Syd, to see him cry. “You have to believe me, I didn’t do it!”

“Boom, it’ll be okay,” Syd said. “None of us think you did it. We’ll prove it wasn’t you. You just have to hang in there.”

Boom nodded. “ I’ll try, Syd. I really will.”

—

For the rest of the day, through two training sessions and a battle in the city, Bridge was unusually silent. He spoke to his other teammates only when he had to, and he didn’t speak to Sky at all.

For the most part, people left him alone. Whether it was out of respect or suspicion, Bridge no longer cared. Most people, particularly the cadets who didn’t know him, seemed to feel a combination of both. Everyone knew he was friends with Boom; even Sophie was tiptoeing around him.

Sky, on the other hand, practically oozed suspicion. Bridge couldn’t ignore it or block it out, so he tried to stay as far away from him as possible. However, since they shared a room, there was no way to avoid him.

“You weren’t covering for Boom, were you?” Sky asked, finally cornering Bridge. “Because it would explain a lot.”

“He didn’t do anything,” Bridge said. “There’s nothing to cover for.”

“You seem awfully sure about that,” Sky replied. “I mean, even Cruger has doubts.”

“I know he didn’t do it,” Bridge said quietly. “I don’t need proof, he’s my friend.”

Sky looked a little ashamed. “Bridge, last night — I didn’t mean…”

Bridge cut him off. “Yeah, you did. And I deserve it, I guess. But you — you don’t trust anyone, no matter what. That’s why everyone thinks it’s you.”

—

To Be Continued

—

–back– (oOo) – next–

—

Chapter 21: More Important Than Friendship

—

Piggy was a coward. It wasn’t the usual kind of cowardice, which came quickly and left just as fast. Piggy’s cowardice was part of his personality, an ever present instinct for self-preservation.

“I – I know that I’ve caused lots of trouble,” Piggy stammered, trying to look genuinely repentant, “and maybe I haven’t been the best person around, but everyone makes mistakes, right?”

The ranger didn’t seem convinced.

‘This is it,’ Piggy thought. ‘I’m really done for this time.’ He frantically looked around his prison, searching for something – anything — to defend himself with. Digging through his pockets, he pulled out a rotten, half-eaten apple.

‘Why couldn’t it have been a Torellian grenade, or one of those tiny teleport devices?’ Piggy lamented, dropping the fruit on the floor.

Bridge drew his blaster and Piggy closed his eyes, too afraid to look. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and time slowed to a crawl. A very long second passed, and then another. Piggy opened one eye, sneaking a peek at his would-be assassin.

In his time, Piggy had met many criminals. He knew thieves and informants, smugglers and crooks. Many of those people would kill without a moment’s hesitation. A moment ago, Piggy would have put Bridge into that category. After all, if he could betray the rangers, he was probably capable of anything.

But it was Bridge’s hands which gave him away, hands which trembled slightly as he held the blaster. “Don’t do this,” Piggy implored. He looked into Bridge’s eyes. “You — you’re not like the Troobians. You’re better than that. You know this is wrong. And if you do this, you’ll just be another one of Broodwing’s thugs.”

‘Piggy’s right,’ Bridge realized. ‘Even if he deserves it, I can’t just kill him in cold blood.’ It went against everything he believed it, everything he had been taught at SPD. “Okay, Piggy,” Bridge said, slowly lowering the blaster. Removing the keys from one of the fallen krybots, he opened the prison door.

Piggy took a moment to silently thank all the human and alien Gods he knew, promising for the hundredth time to be a good, upstanding citizen from now on. When he looked back, the ranger was stripping the uniform from a krybot.

“What are you doing?” Piggy asked, momentarily dumbfounded.

“I won’t kill you, but Gruumm and Mora and even Broodwing probably would if they find you. Well, they definitely would. Anyways, I didn’t save you just to let you die on this ship,” Bridge said. “So you need a disguise.” Tugging the uniform off the krybot, he gave it to Piggy, who put it on without protest.

The inside of the krybot uniform reeked of burnt plastic and electronics, and Piggy stifled a cough. It was hard to breathe inside the helmet, and even harder to see out of the dark-tinted eye openings.

“You’d better go,” Bridge said. “He’ll be really mad once he figures out you’re gone.”

Piggy didn’t have to ask who ‘he’ was. Cursing the day he had ever become involved with that treacherous, good-for-nothing bat, Piggy crept towards the door, keeping a wary eye on Bridge.

“If you go up the stairs and to the left,” Bride told him, “and then take another right and follow the long passageway to the other side of the ship, there’s a teleporter which should take you back down to Earth.”

Piggy couldn’t believe his good luck. “Uh – thanks. But what will you do about Broodwing?”

“I guess I’ll have to take my chances. And Piggy?”

“Yes?”

“I know all your hiding places,” Bridge said. “If you tell the other rangers, I’ll make sure Broodwing knows exactly where to find you.”

Piggy nodded fearfully and scurried away as fast as he could.

—

Nobody saw when Bridge returned to SPD. Silently passing by a sleeping guard, Bridge made his way back to the dorms. Finally reaching his room, he slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

His only warning was the click of a switch, and then the room was flooded with light. Bridge blinked and waited for the bright spots to fade away. Trying not to look guilty, Bridge crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed.

“Where were you?” Sky demanded.

“Nowhere,” Bridge said. The lies were becoming easier to say, but harder to keep straight. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went up to the roof.”

“No, you didn’t,” Sky said quietly. “I checked there. I checked everywhere. In fact, I don’t think you were at SPD at all.”

“Where would I go?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

Bridge said nothing.

“You see, that’s exactly it,” Sky said. “We used to be friends, but you don’t tell me anything anymore.”

“We’re still friends,” Bridge replied. “Being friends doesn’t mean that we have to tell each other everything. I mean, everyone has secrets.”

Sky shook his head. “Everyone has secrets, but not like yours. You have nothing but secrets.” And it was true. “Something is wrong, something doesn’t fit. I’ve covered for you, even lied to Cruger for you. But I can’t do it anymore. There are too many questions, questions which only you have the answer to.

Where do you go at night, Bridge? Why are your powers changing? These things can’t all be coincidence. Why is it that every time something bad happens, you’re nowhere to be found?”

“I don’t know,” Bridge said. “I guess it’s just bad luck.”

“Bad luck?” Sky said incredulously. “Look around, Bridge. We’re in a war. The whole planet is depending on us. So if you know anything that could help…”

“I already told you, I don’t know anything,” Bridge insisted. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

“Fine, I will,” Sky said, looking hurt. “This isn’t over, though.”

Bridge ignored him. Lying down, he turned towards the wall and pretended to sleep.

—

His mind full of anxious thoughts, Sky tossed and turned in bed. Finally falling into an uneasy sleep, he woke as the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window.

“I’m sorry, Bridge.” Sky thought, taking one last look at his sleeping roommate. “But some things really are more important than friendship.” Moving quietly, so as not to wake Bridge, Sky changed into a new uniform and crept out the door.

Haunted by a lurking sense of failure, Sky went in search of Cruger. First he went to the command center, but only Sophie and a few cadets were on duty.

The Commander didn’t seem to be in any of the training areas, either. Maybe he was with Kat, in the temporary science labs set up in the basement. Taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the lower level, Sky saw lights within and tried the door. It was locked.

A little discouraged, Sky returned to the main atrium. He arrived just in time to watch Boom get arrested for treason.

—

To Be Continued

—

–back– (oOo) – next–

—

Chapter 20: Choices and Decisions

—

Sometimes, Cruger felt like his job consisted of arranging the pieces of a large and impossibly complex puzzle. There were a thousand clues, a thousand pieces of information. And he had to put it all together, no matter how many pieces were missing.

“I have the report on the lab accident,” Kat said, entering his office. Cruger sat up a little straighter. Whatever she found must be important; Kat almost never asked to speak to him privately. “The explosion was a diversion. Around the same time, the camera outside of your office was disabled. I also checked your computer – someone has hacked into it to steal important files.”

“Which files?”

“Everything on the SWAT upgrades.”

Cruger growled under his breath. That information was undoubtedly in Troobian hands by now; so much for that secret weapon! “We should modify the SWAT upgrades,” Cruger decided. “There’s still a chance that we can add something and take them by surprise.”

It all depended on how much time they had left. Cruger would bet his Shadow Saber that Gruumm was planning something big, and the Troobian was nearly ready to make his move.

“Most of my equipment was damaged in the lab explosion, but I’ll see what I can do,” Kat said. “If possible, I’d like to borrow Sophie as well.”

“Take whatever you need. This project is to have the highest importance.”

Kat hesitated. “Doggie, there’s something else.”

—

Even in the most isolated corner of the Troobian spaceship, Broodwing could neatly place Mora in her playroom. For some reason, her pointless chatter seemed to penetrate through the walls, following Broodwing everywhere he went.

Broodwing had risked death and imprisonment many times – all in the name of profit, of course! At the moment, however, he would rather fight down the entire ranger team than deal with Mora. The pint-sized menace was currently playing house with a small army of krybots, and she intended for a very particular bat to play the “baby”.

Which was why Broodwing was lurking in the shadows of an empty storage room, at the far end of the ship. A troop of krybots passed his hiding place before continuing onwards, and Broodwing could hear another one on the level below.

Broodwing waited until he heard the soft, ever-present hum of the engine increase in pitch, signaling that the teleporter was in use. Leaving his hiding place, he quickly made his way to the teleporter room. “You’re here,” Broodwing observed, eyeing the newcomer. “That’s quite risky, considering how things are at SPD.”

Bridge shrugged. “Mora called me. I had to come.”

“Yes, I know,” Broodwing said. “You’re good at doing things for Mora and Gruumm but now it’s time you did something for me. Piggy is here, in one of the prison cells on the lower level. It would be suspicious if I… disposed… of him, which is where you come in.”

“What do I get out of this? I don’t have anything against Piggy.”

“We had an agreement,” Broodwing hissed. “If you don’t want to hold up your end of the bargain, I might have to tell your friends at SPD about you.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Bridge said. “Gruumm would kill you for ruining his plans.”

Bridge couldn’t see it, but he knew that Broodwing was smiling. “Gruumm finds me useful, but he is also oblivious to the large part of what I do. If he found out, it would be a setback – but nothing compared to what your so-called friends would do to you.”

Before Bridge could respond, Mora arrived. The pictomancer eyed them both suspiciously, before turning to Broodwing. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“I was just leaving,” Broodwing said condescendingly. He swept from the room, but not before catching Bridge’s eye. ‘Don’t even thing about disobeying me,’ the bat seemed to say.

Bridge ignored him. “Why am I here?” he asked Mora. “Was there something wrong with the information I sent?”

Mora shook her head, and her pigtails flopped from side to side. “No, Gruumm just wanted to give you your next assignment in person. He really wants to talk to you. I mean, he wouldn’t even let me play with you first.” She brightened. “But that doesn’t matter, because once you come back, you’ll be able to play with me all the time.”

Bridge wasn’t sure he wanted to do that. “You know,” he said, “I think they’re onto me. They’ll figure it out really soon.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Mora said. “You see, this will be your last assignment. Once you’re done, no more sneaking around and no more SPD.”

—

Sky liked things to be black and white.

There was good and there was evil, there was SPD and there was everything else. There were also the things he knew, and the things he didn’t.

In the category of things he knew, Sky put the following facts. First, there was a spy somewhere within SPD. Cruger said it could be anyone, which meant that it could even be one of the rangers. He knew that sometimes, on nights like tonight, the green ranger would sneak from their room and return hours later, exhausted.

Bridge had also developed new powers, but didn’t seem interested in practicing with them or even understanding where they came from. Bridge was always curious — why had that changed? It was almost like Bridge already knew the answer and choose not to tell anyone.

The green ranger seemed to be hiding a lot of things lately.

True, he didn’t know where Bridge went at night. He didn’t know why Bridge’s powers were changing, or why he had suddenly become so secretive.

But Bridge would never betray his friends. Sky knew him better than that.

Didn’t he?

Sky lay in bed and wondered exactly when he had begun to suspect his closest friend of treason.

—

Cruger thought for a very long time before responding. “No, that’s not possible. I don’t believe he’s capable of such a thing.”

“I agree. He’s being framed or somehow manipulated.”

On one hand, this was the break they had been looking for. They finally had enough evidence to detain a suspect, which would appease Fowler and galactic headquarters. On the other hand, Kat was an excellent judge of character, and it went against everything Cruger believed in to imprison an innocent man.

But what if they were wrong? No matter what it took, Cruger couldn’t let Earth meet the same fate as Sirius. “He may be innocent, but can we really take that chance?”

For once, Kat was at a loss for words. “You can’t be considering…”

“I don’t have a choice. It’s for his safety, as well as ours.”

—

Bridge knew the Troobian ship well enough to find his own way to the throne room, but Mora insisted on escorting him. She skipped along the passageway, always keeping a few feet ahead and talking the entire time, chattering about krybots and Cindy and tea and wouldn’t he bring some toys from Earth for her, because she was getting so tired of the ones she had?

Mora’s monologue trailed off as they reached the throne room. As Bridge entered the room, he noticed something strange. Gruumm seemed to be lost in thought, and several uncomfortable seconds passed before the warlord noticed Bridge and beckoned him closer.

“It’s so close,” Gruumm said. “I can almost taste it. Soon, SPD will fall and Earth will be mine. And Anubis “Doggie” Cruger will be at my mercy.” The warlord looked at him.“How does it feel, human? To know that you are responsible for the conquest of Earth?”

“Not so great, actually,” Bridge said. “I betrayed my friends, the only family I had. But I couldn’t watch Earth be destroyed either, so I guess I made the right choice, although…” Gruumm’s eyes were beginning to glow angrily, so he trailed off.

“Why do you hate Commander Cruger so much?” Bridge asked bravely. “I mean, I know that you fought him before, but I bet you’ve fought lots of people, not just him, and you really seem to hate Cruger.”

Bridge didn’t really expect an answer, but Gruumm spoke again. “How much do you know about Sirius, ranger? I destroyed his world, but he took my horn. No one humiliates me and lives.”

Bridge privately thought that Cruger had been punished enough. His planet had been destroyed and, if the rumors were correct, his wife had been killed during the battle. Now Cruger stood to lose everything once more.

Gruumm, however, was clearly finished reminiscing about the past. “Deep inside SPD is a crystal. This crystal allows SPD headquarters to transform into the command megazord. You’re going to take it and bring it to me.”

“That crystal is in the most heavily guarded part of SPD,” Bridge objected. “There’s no way I can steal it without getting caught.”

“Didn’t I tell you this was your last assignment?” Mora piped up. “If they catch you, you’ll just have to fight your way out. Even you should be able to handle that. When you leave SPD, you’ll be teleported here.”

“I’ll do my best,” Bridge said. After all, it wasn’t like he had a choice.

“Of course you will,” Mora said and smiled. “You’ll do it, or you’ll die trying.”

—

Escaping his krybot escort was easy; the hard part was finding the correct room. The Troobian spaceship was a labyrinth of passageways and hidden doors, each made out of the same sinewy green material. Maybe the Troobians grew their ships instead of building them – he could always ask Mora, maybe she would know.

An orange-head krybot approached, and Bridge pressed himself against the wall, hiding in the shadows until it passed. Taking a winding set of stairs to the lower level, Bridge reached a doorway which opened into a large room.

At the far back of the room, Piggy was locked in a cage. Every once in a while, Piggy would pace from one side of his tiny prison to the other, looking anxiously at his two krybot guards.

Making sure the krybots couldn’t see him, Bridge took off his gloves. Green lightning leapt between the guards and both krybots slumped to the ground, smoke rising from their bodies.

Using his new powers was becoming easier, almost second nature. Bridge tried not to think about it; after all, maybe the powers themselves were evil, and the more he used them the worse he’d become.

Inside the cage, Piggy got to his feet and backed away as far as he could. “You. You’re here. And you’re working with Broodwing… and the Troobians?”

Piggy shook his head in amazement. “Honestly, I didn’t think you ranger types had it in you. I guess the whole justice and protecting the planet thing was just talk after all!” Oddly, Piggy felt a little disappointed.

“The protecting the planet part isn’t just talk,” Bridge said. “Although maybe the justice thing is. Anyhow, I’m here because Broodwing sent me to kill you.”

“Oh,” Piggy said ineloquently. What else could he say? “Well, you really, really, don’t want to do that.”

—

To Be Continued

—

–back– (oOo) – next–

—

Chapter 3

—

When a lab assistant came to Boom with a message, saying that a friend wanted to talk to him and was waiting outside, he knew it had to be Bridge – and that something was wrong.

The cadet was pacing back and forth agitatedly as if he was going to wear a path in the floor, and a dark bruise was forming on the left side of his face. “I really tried,” Bridge confessed brokenly, “but I can’t do it. I’m not good enough.”

“What happened?” Boom asked, drawing Bridge to the side, away from curious eyes and ears.

And so Bridge told him everything. “And now Sky doesn’t want me on the squad anymore. He said so. I asked him for another chance, but he wouldn’t even listen to me. Maybe,” Bridge added sadly, “maybe if I was more like Dru…”

“Look, I knew Dru,” Boom said. “He was a brilliant fighter, but he was mean, and a bully. You aren’t anything like him and you don’t want to be. That’s why you’re on a squad and he’s out in the Nebula Academy.”

“Mean and a bully.” Bridge looked up. “Kind of like Sky?”

Boom shook his head. “Sky can be really insensitive, and he’s not really good with people, but he’s not a bully.”

“He could have fooled me,” Bridge said bitterly.

Boom didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t like Bridge to be so unhappy – Bridge was the friendliest person he knew! “I know I’m just a gadget tester,” Boom finally said, “but I’ll try to talk to him.”

“I don’t think it’ll help,” Bridge said. “Sky’s already made up his mind – he made up his mind about me the moment I joined the squad, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

—

Wrapped in a towel, Syd padded back to her room, leaving wet footprints in the carpet. To her surprise, Sky was waiting outside of her room door. He seemed tense, anxious even. “I told Bridge that I didn’t want him on the squad,” Sky said bluntly, before she had a chance to speak.

“Why?” Syd asked, stunned.

“I saw him get into a fight with group of trainees today,” Sky said. “Syd, you should have seen it – the way he hit that trainee. He looked like he was really going to hurt him.”

“Bridge isn’t a bully,” Syd said, with absolute conviction in her voice.

Sky shrugged. “I know what I saw.”

She tried a different approach. “Well, what did Bridge say about it?”

“He didn’t say anything.”

“Because you didn’t ask him, or because he wouldn’t tell?” Syd asked astutely, a twinge of anger in her voice.

“… I didn’t ask him.”

“So you don’t know. Look, Sky, you know what I think? I think you’re letting your feelings for Dru get in the way of your judgment. Bridge is not Dru. He could never be Dru, or replace him. But he’s a good person, and a good cadet, all on his own. If you gave him half a chance you’d see that. And now you’re going kick him off the squad when he’s been here for what, two days?”

“Three,” Sky mumbled, but she ignored him.

“Besides, as I remember it, you weren’t the greatest cadet when you first were promoted to this squad. Or have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t,” Sky admitted, starting to feel a little guilty. He had made several mistakes during his own first year on D-squad. Maybe, just maybe, he was being too hard on Bridge.

“Well, you should think about it, and then talk to Bridge once you’ve made up your mind. But I think you owe him an apology.”

—

He couldn’t stand to go back to his new room – Sky might be waiting there, and he wasn’t ready to face him. On the other hand, he couldn’t go back to the trainee dorms; his old roommates would ask far too many uncomfortable questions. So instead, he left SPD, and walked down to the local store.

Picking up a basket, he wandered up and down the junk food aisle, filling it with salty snacks. “Well, I guess there’s no point in moving the rest of my stuff, since I’m going to be moving back to my old room in the next couple days,” Bridge thought, stashing a second package of pretzels in the basket.

Completing one final circuit down the aisle, he went to stand in line. There were at least five people ahead of him, but none of them seemed to be from SPD. He didn’t notice the two masked men who entered from the back door until it was too late.

Gunfire sprayed the ceiling, and Bridge ducked on instinct.

“Everybody down!” One gunman said, shouting over the screams. The second gunman jumped on over the counter, putting a gun to the cashier’s head. “Hand over the money, or I’ll shoot!” The terrified man opened the register with trembling hands, dropping a good portion of the money on the floor.

A teenaged girl with short brown hair caught the first thief’s eye. Striding up to her, he pulled her to her feet, casually placing the gun at her neck. “Please don’t kill me,” she begged tearfully.

“Do what I say, and I won’t have to.” The thief looked her up and down. “You’re kind of pretty. Maybe we should just take you with us – finish you off later.”

“No, don’t!” The girl managed, and was rewarded with a vicious blow to the head. She slumped to the ground and lay motionless. The gunman simply laughed cruelly, and kicked her again.

Bridge was on his feet in an instant. “Leave her alone!”

—

“Um… can I talk to you?”

Sky ignored the voice at first. They were probably talking to someone else, and besides, he wasn’t in the mood for conversation. But then the speaker repeated himself and Sky, looking up from his datapad, found himself face-to-face with an unfamiliar man in a science uniform.

“Who are you?” Sky asked bluntly, impatience lacing his voice.

Boom took a deep breath. “My name is Boom… just Boom. I’m one of Kat’s assistants.”

“Boom, I’m kind of busy right now, so…”

“Bridge told me what happened,” Boom interrupted. “I just thought you should know – those trainees you let go – they’ve bullied Bridge for ages. Ask anyone in his class, and they’ll tell you it’s true. Anyhow, you should really give him a chance, you know. Bridge is my friend, so I’m kind of biased, but he’s a really great guy.”

Long after Boom had left, Sky stared at the screen, lost in thought. First there was Syd, and now this guy – Bridge certainly was good at getting people onto his side.

Sky bit his lip and wondered if he could have misjudged someone so badly.

—

Bridge rushed at the first gunman, shoving him away from the girl. Crashing into a shelf, the man fell in a rain of cans and bottles. The gun slipped from his hand and slid across the floor, coming to rest beneath one of the refrigerators.

“You’ll pay for that, you little punk!” His partner growled. A bullet missing Bridge by inches, and he ducked behind a shelf, looking for something, anything he could use as a weapon. Picking up a can of dog food, he threw it with all his strength at his attacker.

The can hit the second their on the forehead, right above his eyes. The criminal stumbled backwards and slumped against the counter, unconscious.

The first gunman slowly got to his feet. Pulling a knife from his pocket, he rushed at Bridge. Bridge ducked, but not fast enough – the knife slashed a searing path across his shoulder.

Acting on instinct, Bridge kicked his attacker in the knee, and was rewarded with a yelp of pain. Using his good arm, he followed up with an elbow strike to the neck, which sent the criminal staggering backwards, clutching his throat.

A noise came from nearby, a soft whimper of pain and fear. Bridge turned to find the source of the noise, a moment of distraction which cost him dearly.

He heard a gunshot, and then another in quick succession. Bridge looked down. Two dark stains were spreading from the middle of his shirt outwards. He tried to take a breath, but it caught in his throat. ‘I’ve been shot.’ Bridge realized, his thoughts sluggish and disconnected. He sunk to the ground, his legs unwilling to hold him.

As if through a lens, he watched as his shooter came to stand above him. The man was limping and clutching his head painfully. Sparing Bridge a cold look, the criminal spat on him disdainfully. Clutching the bag of money, he ran out the door, without giving his injured partner a backwards glance.

There was a moment of silence, and then Bridge heard quick footsteps. A blurry shape came to stand over him. “Oh God. Please, somebody help.” The voice above him was saying. There was blood on her hands and shirt, and he realized dimly that it was his own.

A salty tear dripped down onto his face, and he tried to speak, tried to reassure her, but nothing came out except a strangled gurgle. Bridge gasped for air as his vision turned yellow, then brown, and then everything faded to black.

—

To Be Continued

—