Outraged Series: Chapter Two
Written By: Liz Donovan
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Adam slunk behind another tree and continued to advance on the speaker. The voice was soft, low, menacing and didn’t not sound as if someone were talking to someone else. He looked around the tree and saw no one. Crouching down he advanced towards a few low brush bushes. His green shirt seemed to blend him into the background perfectly. He gazed between two branches and observed Billy. He muttered to himself and looked into a mirror, wiping at his face viciously.
"Come off, dammit!" He scolded his face angrily. He licked his thumb and wiped at his face again. Seeing that was finally beginning to work he tried it again. On the ground by his feet lay a small metal box, it looks suspiciously like a Zeo morpher.
"Billy?" Adam whispered, his voice soft and confused.
* * *
In another corner of the park, a crowd had gathered around the dead-looking Tommy. Kat was leaned over him, crying freely. She yelled at his awful posture. "Tommy! Tommy!? Can you here me?! How can he be saved?!"
"Kat!" Rocky yelled rounding a corner. Tanya trailed behind, the two pushed past the crowd and kneels down by Kat and Tommy.
"Oh, no!" Tanya gasped, seeing the extent of Tommy’s injures.
"We came as soon as we heard!" Rocky panted, gazing at the sorrowful Kat.
Kat hugged Tanya sobbing, she looked away from Tommy’s bleeding body. Rocky bent over Tommy and looked him over closely, holding back a sweep of nausea. "Somebody call an ambulance!" He ordered. Bulk and Skull were not to far away and they looked up from there fallen school mate. Suddenly they wanted nothing more than to get away from here.
"Uh, uh, right away, Sir!" Bulk announced, slapping Rocky a salute. Both Bulk and Skull dashed off to the nearest phone. "Lt. Stone!!!" They cried.
Kat looked up, fear in her eyes. She is suddenly worried. "Where is Adam and Billy? Are they alright?" She asked concerned.
"Adam’s fine, Billy should be in the Comman-, er…his lab." Tanya answered reassuringly. Kat looked into the Yellow Rangers eyes.
"Are you sure? He was acting very strange at the bar…before…"
Kat looked back down at Tommy’s bloody body. Her voice trailed off. Fresh tears compose themselves and fall. Tanya looked up to Rocky.
"I’d better go check Billy’s lab and see if he’s okay." Tanya told Rocky. He nodded in agreement.
"Right!" He answered, at that moment medical people arrived with a stretcher and began to clear the people away. Tanya frowned and then hurried away. Rocky, forced to leave Tommy as the paramedics carried his limp body into the ambulance, stood by Kat.
"Oh, Tommy…" Katherine breathed, softly.
"Hey, I’m sure it’ll be alright." Rocky comforted her. He put a supportive hand on her shoulder, but didn’t quite believe his own words.
* * *
"Zordon, this is Billy. What happened? I heard Tommy got seriously maimed. Has this been confirmed?" Billy asked. His voice clear in the Command Center. Zordon sighed.
"Billy, teleport to the Command Center at once. The rumors you hear are the truth." Zordon boomed through Billy’s wrist watch.
"Oh, no!" Billy mock cried. He turned his communicator off, and dropped the Zeonizer into his backpack. Then he clicked his wrist band and flashed out in a column of clear-white.
Adam stepped out of the bushes as soon as Billy was gone. He looked around and then said alone, perplexed. "What the hell is going on here?"
With that said, he hurried over to where Rocky, Tanya and Kat were supposed to be. He found nothing but an empty glade. He clicked his communicator. "Rocky?" He asked.
"I read you Adam, what’s up? Find anything?" Rockys voice answered from beyond.
"Nah, nothing yet, but I did discover something rather, uh, suspicious…where are you?" Adam replied, hesitantly.
"I took Kat back over to the Juice Bar, Tanya went to go find Billy." Rocky explained to him. Adam looked around again.
"I know where Billy is. I don’t want to say anything more until we’re face to face. I’ll be down there in just a few." He informed the teen.
"Okay, we’ll be here." Rocky said back. Adam ended the transmission.
* * *
Billy arrived at the Command Center, and Alpha, cried out. "Thank goodness you’re alright!"
"What happened? I was just talking to Tommy." Billy asked, playing dumb.
"Tommy was attacked in the park. He is in critical condition and has been rushed to a medical ward. I fear King Mondo may have created a being that we cannot detect on our scanners." Zordon told the teenager. Billy deeply wished the floating head would just shut up.
"Hmm, is that possible?" He questioned. Questions were good cover. No one would expect you if you play dumb.
"I’m afraid it may be…" Zordon was cut off by Alpha 5.
"What’ll we do?! If the Machine Empire sends a monster down, Tommy will be unable to help!" He whined, wiggling from one foot to the other.
"Where are Rocky, Adam, and the rest?" Billy questioned.
--Probably looking for Tommy-- He nonchalantly thought.
"I sent Adam to search the park for clues as to who the assailant might be. Rocky, Tanya and Kat should be at or around the Juice Bar." The head explained. Billy winced, looking up at Zordon.
A voice sounded in the Command Center. "Zordon?" It asked.
"I read you Adam." Zordon answered, recognizing the voice.
"I think I may have an idea of what happened. Have you located Billy yet?" The Green Ranger questioned. Billy frowned, but tried to cover his worry.
"Yes, Billy has been notified of the situation. Is your evidence sufficient prove of a culprit?" Zordon pressed.
"No," Adam sighed. "I think it might be Cogs." He lied. "Several people reported hearing strange sounds around the place before Tommy was found. I’ll fill you in more later, I just wanted to let you know I’m making lead way."
"Keep up the good work, Green Ranger." Zordon encouraged.
* * *
Adam arrived at the Juice Bar. He looked around, and ran over to Rocky and Kat. They look up at him as he called them into a huddle.
"What’s the scope, Adam? And I’m not talking mouth wash." Rocky asked. Adam and Kat briefly looked at Rocky.
"Not much, yet." Adam began. Both other teens attention focused on him. "But…" He stops and lowers his voice, glancing around. "I hate to say this, but I think Billy might hav…" He was cut off by his communicators chime. "We read you, Zordon." He answered, sighing.
"Adam, this is Billy. Report to the command center. I think I may have found something." Billy spoke out of the watch.
"Alright." Adam answered, softly, looking around.
The three teleported out in columns of Blue, Pink and Green.
Soon they arrived in the center of the Command Center. All three turned towards Billy.
"What’d you find, Billy?" Rocky asked, peering over his shoulder. Billy shrugged the ranger away.
He looked up. "Find? Oh, look." He pointed to the Viewing Globe. This is the location that Tommy was found. There are obvious trample marks around that area, as though several people attacked him. My guess is powerful cogs, or one of King Mondo’s monsters. Possibly under a cloaking device, or spell which the Command Centers computers can’t recognize." Billy computed for the rangers.
"This is a heavy load." Rocky murmured.
"I’ll say. Is Tommy going to be alright?" Kat asked, looking at the Viewing Globe.
"That’s unconfirmed. I hope so." Billy lied through his teeth. "His condition appears to be critical, but with the medical technology surgeons and doctors have made available, I doubt Tommy is in any critically unstable manner." But he’d make sure that never happened.
"That’s good." Kat sighed.
"Hey, Adam. What were you saying earlier down at the Youth Center? About knowing something?" Rocky questioned, looking towards his friend.
"Er, uh." Adam bit his lip. He didn’t want to tell the guys with Billy around. "I just, er wanted to say I thought it was, uh, Cogs too." He glanced at Billy. The former Blue Ranger didn’t notice Adam’s uneasiness, much to his relief. Billy began to type on the computer console again.
"Zordon, I don’t think Cogs could have done this to Tommy. We take on Cogs a lot, and non of us has ever been seriously hurt." Katherine commented, actually using her brain for once.
"I thought the same thing." Billy answered for the floating head. "Since the scanners have yet to pick up any traces of a monster, I came to the conclusion that perhaps King Mondo created a new breed of Cog. One much more difficult to beat." He supplied false information.
"Yeah, but it still seems unlikely that they’d do THAT much damage to Tommy AND don’t you think he would’ve called us for help?" Rocky stated. Billy cursed under his breath. Damn complications! He shrugged his shoulders.
"Perhaps he had no time to do so." He said. Rocky didn’t like that idea, and frowned sourly.
"But, still…I think we would have seen…something…" Adam trailed away.
"Billy, you were with Tommy just around that time, didn’t you hear anything?" Kat asked, not really sure what his answer would be.
"Well, actually I didn't." Billy lied. He loved this! They were completely in the dark! "I stopped Tommy to talk to him. I left and I suppose I was out of hearing distance from the event." He added, grinning to himself. Smooth recovery.
"But I saw you…" Adam half blurted.
"Saw me what?" Billy pried, looking at Adam uneasily.
"I saw…um...um. Never mind." Adam mumbles, looking down at his hands. He shuffled nervously and Billy glared at him. Kat comes up from behind, and looked up at Zordon.
"Is there anything we can do?" She asked, hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, Katherine. Adam, would you, like to continue your investigation in the park?" Zordon asked the Green Ranger.
"Um..." He glanced warily at Billy. "Alright..."
"Good," Billy said. "I need to get to my lab. I left some fluids unattended and I don't need them to boil over on me." He added, turning away from the Viewing Globe.
"You're worried about liquids at a time like this!" Rocky cried incredulously.
"Excuse me, I don't need your criticism, BLUE Ranger." Billy spat back. He did not want to deal with this kid who looked crummy in blue, and couldn’t manage his hair to safe himself.
"Well sorry!" Rocky cried, insulted. Billy glared at him.
"I need sometime alone." Billy told everyone. He looked to Rocky. "Meaning, BY MYSELF." He put more simpler. With that, he pressed his communicator and teleported out in a flash of purest white.
* * *
Inside of Billy's lab a column of white light flashed out of the sky into the center of the lab room. There, Billy stood. He reached into his pocket and withdrew Tommy’s Zeo Morpher.
"Oh, Red Ranger. You're time is drawing to a close. Prepare yourself for the ultimate sacrifice." Billy cooed, flipping the deceive over in his hands.
He turned around and set the morpher in a basin of liquid where it sparked several times. Then he walked to a cabinet and removed a sack of powdery dust.
He began to sprinkle it over Tommy's Zeo Morpher and the liquid. Red sparks flew out of the basin. Billy picked up a pair of protective eye goggles and slipped them on. Then he set to work on carefully dismantling the Zeo Morpher.
To Be Continued…
