"INTERMISSION"
(Part Three)
by:
1997 - 8 days after the events of "Countdown to Destruction"
“How’s Aquitar?”
Billy smiled at the tall man. “Cestria has chosen me to be her pair-bond.”
“Is that possible?” Sean asked.
“There are some DNA incompatibilities, but we really don’t care about that. Children aren’t that important to Cestria.”
“I would have thought you’d invent something to rectify that particular situation.”
Billy just smiled that knowing smile of his and said nothing else.
“Riiiiight,” Sean said, returning the smile. “Well, I have to get back to Arlington Falls. It was good to see you, Bill.”
Billy shook his head, stopping him from moving off. “You have to talk to her sooner or later, Sean.” Sean cast his gaze at the man. “You must confront it or it’ll eat you alive. Trust me. I know what it’s like.”
“I can’t, Bill. I wouldn’t know what to say…Besides, Tommy wouldn’t let me…”
Billy shook his head again. “No, not Kat.” He gestured with his head towards the black woman. “Aisha.”
“Ohhh…” Sean held up his hands. “No, no. I can’t. No, I really can’t. It…It’d be too difficult, even for me. She’s not my Aisha.”
“Perhaps you’re right…but she’s staring right at you.”
“What?” Sean turned around, slowly, peering over his shoulder. There she stood, next to Adam and Rocky, looking at him through the downpour. He made eye contact and she smiled. Sean felt his heart melt and he had to restrain himself from running over, capturing her in his arms, and kissing her.
But he knew. He knew. It was not his Aisha.
But, in that same token, it was his Aisha. There just wasn’t a Sean here for her to meet – to fall in love with.
Perhaps…
“No,” he said as he tore his gaze away from her. Billy raised his eyebrow. Reaching into his coat pocket, he held out a mini-CD for Billy to take. “When you have the time…”
“What…?”
“When you have the time, Bill…look it over.”
Sean reached over and hugged the man who returned the gesture. “It’s good to see you again, Bill. Take care of yourself.”
Before Billy could respond, Sean turned and started to walk towards his car. He took one long lingering look at the flaming tribute to Zordon. He heard their last argument in his head…
1995 - Zeo Era
Sean stepped from the time portal, shaking off the effects of the trip through time.
“SEAN!” Zordon’s voice filled the Power Chamber.
Alpha-5 turned around and jumped. “Ay-yi-yi! Sean! You’re back! We were so worried!”
“It’s…good…to be back…” Sean replied, walking forward and looking around. His face shifted, slightly, in a mixture of amazement and confusion. “Zordon? This is still the Power Chamber, right?”
“YES, SEAN. YOU’VE BEEN GONE A LONG TIME.” The sage watched as the portal closed behind Sean. He could feel the particular energy vibrations coming from it. “THAT IS A TIME PORTAL, SEAN. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
Sean stopped his examination of the new headquarters, turning to look at Zordon. “I’ve ensured a future, Zordon. That’s all.” He walked over to the control panels, typing in information on the screen. Accessing the Internet, Sean pulled up a particular website and smiled.
“YOU DIDN’T MANIPULATE EVENTS, DID YOU? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
Five beams of light coalesced into the Turbo Rangers who stepped forward.
“We got an intruder alarm,” Tommy said. “What’s up, Alpha?”
“Sean!” Kat cried, placing her hands to her mouth. The other Rangers turned to look at Sean who looked no worse for where.
“What are you doing here!” Justin shouted, taking a fighting stance. Sean looked down at the child.
“Who…?”
“It’s okay, Justin,” Adam said, chuckling. “It’s Sean.”
“I’m back, guys,” Sean said, nodding. Tanya and Adam went over to greet Sean, leaving a very confused Justin looking up at Tommy, who wore an expression of false elation.
“Great to see you again, guy,” Tommy said. “Where have you been?”
“Around,” was all the reply the Gold Rhino Ranger gave.
“YOU’VE YET TO ANSWER MY QUESTION, SEAN,” Zordon persisted. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE IN THE PAST TO INFLUENCE THE FUTURE?”
The other Rangers looked at Sean as he paused.
“What’s he talking about, Sean?” Kat asked.
Sean sighed and crossed his massive arms. “I went back into the past. You will remember that I disappeared sometime after our battle with Tsunami Swami.”
“I remember that your powers were starting to fail.”
“Yes, Kat. They were. I realized that even though the Hammer of Hykrania powered my form, I was unable to maintain it for more than a few minutes. That’s why I stayed in the mountains, mostly. I thought that I could use my own life force to bolster the hammer’s power. But even that wasn’t enough.”
“Ay-yi-yi! You could have been killed, Sean!” Alpha exclaimed.
“I know, Alpha, but I could not stand by, wait for the hammer to recharge while my fellow Rangers fought. I knew I could help, but I had to find someway. So…I snuck into the Command Center one night. I knew that Billy kept plans for a chrono teleporter somewhere here.” Sean lifted his arm, showing off a small octagonal device strapped there. It blinked with various lights, a small LCD screen monitoring his vitals. “I built this and traveled back to 1934.”
“Why then?” Adam asked. “What happened in 1934?”
“The Mexican Cartel, headed by Leon Trabuco, made an agreement with President Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt agreed to purchase sixteen tons of gold from them, in an effort to bring the United States out of the Great Depression. The agreement was to buy the gold at a certain amount to purge the economy but once the gold was transported to the U.S., President Roosevelt lowered the price to almost nothing. Defeated at this particular time, Trabuco hid the gold in a location somewhere in the American Southwest.
“With the chronoporter and the advanced technology of the Command Center, namely this Power Box, I found the location of the gold. I dug it up and safely hid it, leaving particular instructions for a certain individuals. With that taken care of, I returned to the present, but I must’ve overshot my mark by a few months.” He took off the Power Box, setting it down on the ground.
“You…left for…money?” Kat asked a look of incredulity on her face.
“Ay-yi-yi!”
“Aw, man…” Adam said, shaking his head.
“I can’t believe it,” Tommy remarked.
Tanya kept quiet, looking over at Adam. Justin didn’t say anything either, unsure if he should or not.
“I did it to ensure my future,” Sean reasoned.
“YOU MANIPULATED EVENTS FOR FINANCIAL GAIN. YOU USED THE POWER FOR PERSONAL REASONS. SEAN, I AM ASHAMED.”
“Ashamed?” The man turned around, looking up at Zordon. “I’m ashamed to even call myself a Power Ranger.” And he looked down at Justin. “You have a child as a Ranger.”
“Hey!” Justin exclaimed.
“JUSTIN HAS PROVEN HIMSELF TO BE A WORTHY SUCCESSOR TO ROCKY.”
“Would it have killed you to call Jason or Trini or Zack to, perhaps, take over?”
“THERE WASN’T ENOUGH TIME TO GET A SUITABLE REPLACEMENT.”
“Don’t you have a teleport system? How difficult would it have been?!”
“I DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU, SEAN,” Zordon replied, an almost angry tone to his voice. It was the first time that the Rangers had ever heard Zordon in such a way. “YOU ARE NO LONGER WORTHY OF THE POWER! RELINQUISH YOUR MORPHER!”
“You forget that I am not of this world and, therefore, I am not subject to your rules!”
“Sean!” Kat exclaimed.
“That’s it, man!” Tommy stepped to Sean. “You’re out of line! Zordon’s right! You did use the Power for personal gain! Hand it over!”
Sean squinted his eyes and, through clenched teeth, said something that he never thought he’d say to Tommy. “Over my dead body.”
Sean shook his head, clearing the memory. It was painful to relive, even more so when he recalled the look on Kat’s face. He left them, soon after, setting up in Arlington Falls where everything was there, according to plan.
1995 - 2 days later - Zeo Era
“Hi, welcome to Thunderstryke Enterprises!” The bubbly young receptionist greeted the tall man. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to see Mr. Everstreet.”
She nodded her blond head. “Okay. And do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“I see.” Her face lost its bubbly exuberance. “Well, no one can see Mr. Everstreet without an appointment.”
“I understand. Um, if you could get a message to him, tell him that Sean Morissette was here.”
“Sean Morissette!” A voice behind him cried out. Turning to see the source, he recognized the wizened face of the man. His hair now held gray at the temples and he had a beard, but there was no mistaking the twinkle in the eyes of Nathaniel Everstreet.
“That’s me, Mr. Everstreet?” Sean replied, feigning ignorance.
Nathaniel paused before the tall man, having the look up to see his eyes. “Come with me.” Sean followed the man down a hall to an elevator. Stepping inside, Nathaniel pressed button seventy-eight and the doors closed. The slight hiss of air was all Sean could hear as he suddenly felt terra firma lose its grasp on him. One minute later, the doors opened again and they were deposited in another richly decorated hallway.
Nathaniel moved down the hall with Sean behind him. Sean’s eyes made sure to take in the surroundings. They approached a giant set of doors, which opened up, automatically, upon their approach. Inside, a very spacious office sat, a giant desk of obsidian with a monitor and the necessary office implements. The vast windows behind the desk opened up with sliding panels, revealing a splendid view of the city.
“How do you like it?”
“It’s great, Mr. Everstreet,” Sean replied. “Lots of space.”
“Well, I tried to decorate it as I was instructed, but we must do the verification before it is yours.”
Sean nodded. “I understand.”
His voice lowered as he sought to recall what he’d been told so long ago. “In a time of great turmoil and grief / When the ancient warriors of good and peace / Will need a champion strong and true / To combat evil through and through…”
And Sean responded, accordingly. “…And in this time of trouble and fear / The champion will always be near / Striking with blows so bold / He will have a heart of GOLD."
Nathaniel’s eyes started to mist. “It is you. You look just like your father.”
“So I’ve been told, sir,” Sean replied and smiled. “So…report.”
Nathaniel reached for a small portfolio on the desk, holding it out to Sean. “As per your father’s instructions, I took the sixteen tons of gold that he left in my care and sold it on the market in 1980, taking great care to instruct the world’s leaders on the sale. As such, the leaders took precautions. As a result, the influence on the world’s economy was nearly nil.”
“How much was it worth?” Sean asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“Four hundred and nine point six million.”
“Properly invested?”
“We invested in companies that soon became Apple and Microsoft, Sun and Symantec and the like. Thunderstryke Enterprises is always the first name that comes up in military contracts and we’ve had substantial success with it, every seven out of ten contracts belong to us. Our construction and engineering firms are among the most sought after.”
“Philanthropic interests?”
Nathaniel nodded as Sean flipped through the letters in the portfolio. “As per your father’s instructions, every charitable organization receives some form of donation from us. We can afford it, after all.
“The tax records of Thunderstryke Enterprises have not been revealed to the public nor private firms like Forbes magazine, also, as per your father’s instructions.”
“How much is my company worth?” Sean asked.
“As of 12:05 PM, Eastern Standard Time, Thunderstryke Enterprises and all of its holdings are worth two-point-seven trillion American.”
Sean inhaled, deeply, surprised at the number. “And me?”
“As of 12:06 PM, Eastern Standard Time, you are worth one hundred thirty-six billion American. You hold ninety percent of the company stock and own holdings on six continents. You are, unofficially, the richest man in the world.”
“I can live with that number,” Sean chuckled.
“So can I,” Nathaniel replied. “It was gracious of your father to insure that I was paid, substantially, for my work.”
“He told me that five percent of the company’s worth is more than compensation for taking care of it all these years.”
Nathaniel nodded and smiled.
“And what about the R&D projects?”
“Operation: eXtreme has been proceeding…as normal."
This time it was Sean who smiled.
Part I /
Part II
/ Part III
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