"INTERMISSION"
(Part One)
by:
COUNTDOWN TO DESTRUCTION
1997
Sean François Morissette never thought this day would come.
There he stood, in the middle of Main Street, staring out at the waves of alien warriors that caused destruction and despair for those of Arlington Falls. People scrambled for cover – to escape this latest (and, quite possibly, greatest) threat to their city.
Quantrons.
That’s what they were called. Regular scans of the Internet and such brought him that information. He didn’t get a chance to talk to any of members of the current incarnation of the Rangers: the Space Rangers.
If what was being said was true, the Rangers were getting their butts whooped in Angel Grove. Evidently, Astronema, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Evil”, helped to initiate a war on the entire universe. Across the cosmos, defenders of truth and justice were being fought and captured. The last transmission from Aquitar stopped a few hours ago and, from what Billy was telling him, things weren’t going good at all.
Now…they were invading Arlington Falls. The tendrils of their evil would soon envelop and strangle the world.
Someone would have to stand against them, if the Space Rangers fell.
And that someone would be him.
A group of about five Quantrons spotted him. They took their double-bladed scimitars and brandished them, fiercely.
Sean didn’t move a muscle. He stood there, draped in the uniform of the Gold Rhino Ranger, watching them as they rushed forward.
They were a few feet away from him before he did move.
They wished he hadn’t.
He was upon them, a blur of motion, even for a man his size. He spun on his heel, delivering a kick to the chest of one that tossed him several yards away. A thrust of his elbow, a second Quantron fell.
Two more tried to double-team him with their weapons. Ducking beneath a their deadly swipes, Sean dropped to his haunches, thrust out a leg, and swiveled on his other leg, taking the creatures down with a sweep.
Negative energy met positive energy as sparks exploded from his back, brought from a lucky blow by the remaining Quantron. Sean staggered forward a bit before he reached behind him, shouting, “Sword of Power!”
A golden glow of energy extended down his arm, right into his hand and three feet from his fingertips. It coalesced into a sword, golden half-moons on the hilt, with ancient runes scripted down the center of the blade.
Wielding it with great precision, Sean proceeded to carve the Quantron’s blade in half before bringing it in a carefully decided arc across the Quantron’s chest. Sparks exploded from his chest, flinging him back and into a brick wall. He didn’t move after that.
Turning around, he noticed that more and more of the Quantrons started to fill the streets. Above him, Velocifighters zipped across the sky, filling the air with energy bolts as they knocked down the Air Force’s planes.
It had to stop. Innocent lives were at stake. And they wouldn’t be on his conscience.
Sean reached to his side, un-holstering his primary weapon: the Hammer of Hykrania, arguably the most powerful weapon in the universe. The golden mallet was composed of uru, a metal with strange properties, the main of which is the ability to absorb cosmic radiation and convert it into usable energy. Since cosmic radiation constantly bombards the planet, the weapon is constantly charged.
And Sean was the only one capable of wielding its awesome power.
The hammer started to shimmer with golden energy, bolts of electricity playing around the two half-moons. Grabbing the hand strap that hung from it, he started to spin the weapon in his hand. It went faster and faster before he made a tossing motion with it. Immediately, he shot into the air, being pulled along by the Hammer of Hykrania. Golden energy surrounded him, protecting him from the air friction.
When the Quantrons in the Velocifighters looked out their cockpit windows, all they saw was a golden comet, heading straight for them.
Sean burst through the hulls of the aerial machines, disabling them. They careened out of control, spiraling towards the outskirts of the city and a danger to no one else. He hovered in mid-air for a moment, checking to make sure that there were no more. Assured that there wasn’t, he turned his attention back to his city.
The Quantrons continued their assault, fighting off the local constabulary with their advanced weaponry and unique invulnerability to common earth sidearms.
Grasping the hammer again, he thought in a direction, being pulled by the power of the weapon. A squad of Quantrons evaporated into a bright flash of debris as bolts of energy from the Hammer of Hykrania destroyed them. Sean landed gently upon the ground.
“Thunderquake!” He shouted, raising the hammer a moment before slamming it into the ground. A strong localized earthquake happened next, knocking the remainder of the Quantrons off their feet. Sean pointed the hammer at the downed creatures, bolts of energy zapping them into non-functionality.
One of the police officers walked up to him. “Thank God, you’re here, uh…um…”
“Gold Ranger,” the tall man replied.
“…Gold Ranger, right, right,” the young woman said, nodding her head. “We appreciate all the help we can get.”
“It’s my duty to protect the people of the world from the forces of evil.”
She chuckled. “Can you come and tell my landlord that it’s evil to leave me without hot water for a week?”
Sean didn’t chuckle, just peered at her through the smoky lens of his helmet. The woman cleared her throat after she didn’t get a response from him, seeking to break the uneasy tension. He looked away from her, the sunlight gleaming off the polished black and gold, as he surveyed the damage still being caused by Quantrons.
“I must go, Officer Smith,” he said, moving away from her.
“How did…?” She started to ask before looking down at her own nameplate. “Oh.”
“Make sure that the civilian population is taken to shelter. I believe that the Thunderstryke building is the strongest structure in the vicinity right now.”
“The vicinity? Try the whole city!”
The Gold Ranger smiled beneath his mask before turning and heading off to stop a Quantron who was about to strike down a man. Sean had watched as the man fought back against a Quantron who knocked out his young daughter. The man was angry, lashing out at the first one near him. Unfortunately, his anger got the better of him as he underestimated the strength of the Quantron. It knocked him back down and raised his blade.
Sean rushed as fast as his legs would carry him, but he realized that he would be too late to stop him. His arm cocked back as the Quantron’s did the same.
Time seemed to slow.
The hammer started to charge with energy.
The blade gleamed in the light as it was coming down.
The man screamed in horror.
The Gold Ranger shouted for the Quantron’s attention, but it was too late.
Before he could toss the Hammer of Hykrania, a golden wave of energy exploded from the south. Quantron after Quantron dissolved as the energy hit them, turning them into a sort of grayish powder that disintegrated.
Sean watched as the Quantron that was about to kill the man get caught in the golden wave. He, too, turned into gray powder and vanished.
The energy wave seemed to pass right through everyone else. When it got to Sean, he paused, unsure of whether he should avoid it or not. He made a decision and leapt into the air, levitating away from the flowing band of energy. Just as he was clear of the city, it overtook him, immediately bathing him in its power. He immediately felt the cohesion, which wasn't very strong to begin with, on his morph give way, leaving him standing on the outskirts of the city in his three thousand dollar Italian business suit.
As it passed, Sean felt a familiarity to it. Something wonderful…and sad…all at the same time. And through it all, he heard one simple word.
“GOODBYE.”
The Gold Ranger paused, looking up into the air.
Something…sad.
Someone…gone.
He barely breathed the word – the name.
“Zordon.”
Part I /
Part II /
Part III
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