[TheFightingSpirit]

Shorter one this week... but only because the story was too big to fit in one chapter

Incursion Ten: Cast out.

Brad Reiter, the Green Cross ranger, dove into battle. The Power coursed through him into his hands and feet, and it felt like he was part of the Earth itself. Stronger, unmoveable.

“Landslide Advent!” he shouted, slamming both his fists against the ground. The shock waves kicked up the ground in front of the Howlerdillo.

It’s front legs sunk into the fissure. It stumbled forward onto its knees, but managed to stay upright more or less.

It let out the unholiest of roars.

The Rangers regrouped.

“Nice move!” Red Cross patted him on the back.

“Cheers but-” The Howlerdillo swung a thick vine at them, but Green Cross shoved them to the ground just in time. “… But I… we haven’t beat him yet.”

The four rangers helped each other to their feet.

The titanic beast lashed it’s vines to boulders nearby and attempted to haul itself out of Green Cross’ fissure.

Heavy gunfire splashed across the vines, severing them from the Howlerdillo. It roared out in pain, and redoubled its struggle to work itself free. A second volley of precise gunfire pinned it in place.

Two APVs ground to a halt, flanking Lt. Moses’ Agency car. Squads of men and women in full military-grade armour poured from the vehicles and ranked up between the lieutenant and the Rangers, their guns trained on the Black Water mutant.

The superior officer, a captain by her uniform, approached Lt. Moses.

“Austin,” hissed Catherine.

She was quite surprised to see the troops mobilised against the Howlerdillo considering the General’s attitude towards the Rangers. Nevertheless Maria Austin had always been willing to lend a hand.

“Lieutenant.” Seeing the front line was secured by her team and the defensive perimeter in place, she lowered her own gun, letting it hang on the strap that secured it to her armoured jacket. “I thought you and your team might like some back up.”

“Uh, yeah sure, but-“ What about Bryant?

As it so happened she didn’t actually need to voice her worries, Maria got there first.

“He’s lost it this time, Moses. And I mean that seriously. He’s disbanded R&D, bumped off your project status…” She leaned in, lowering her voice so her troops couldn’t overhear them. “I shouldn’t be out here. Even though we’re down to a skeleton crew, we’ve be ordered to attack your rangers on sight. Threat level beta, just behind the Black Water.”

Catherine sighed into her hand and squeezed her eyes shut. “At least he had the foresight to leave the Black Water as the alpha target…”

“That’s the thing though, he’s basically spinning his wheels on that front,” said Maria. “I’ve been pleading for more men, heightened patrols along the border, reinforcement of quarantine wall… all he cares about is keeping you off the radar.”

“I don’t understand... Why are you risking your career for this?”

“I joined the Agency to fight bad guys. Not your team. As far as I’m concerned the Rangers are the only people doing anything productive.” She turned to face her troops, who every once in a while would lay down fire to keep the Howlerdillo pinned.

Though four Cross Rangers approached them, Maria ignored them and continued. “If doing the right thing means facing court martial or worse then… like hell am I gonna play lap dog to Bryant and his ego!”

Catherine smiled.

“Great to have you on board and all but...” Red Cross jerked his thumb at the Howlerdillo. “We need to do something about that.”

Maria regarded the Red Ranger. “Agreed.”

Lt. Moses remembered then that Captain Austin had been the one ordered to bring the Robert, Allison and Ken in after the Elk incursion. Not the best reunion.

Captain Austin raised her hand and called for her troops to cease fire. The soldiers parted for the Rangers, letting them through to the front of the formation.

The Howlerdillo paid no mind to the Rangers and continued its struggle against the fissure.

“All advents?” suggested the white ranger. “Ready?”

They raised their hands and found the very core of their magi power.

Green Cross and White Cross let their attacks fly first.

Green Cross’ slammed his hands into the ground a second time, the Landslide Advent’s shockwaves sundering the ground further. Now there was no escape. White Cross followed with her Tornado Advent. The winds tore across the beast’s body, kicked material up off the ground, and bit into its flesh, weakening it.

“Torrent Advent.” Blue Cross let out a powerful stream of water that knocked the Howlerdillo off it legs, and turned the ground into a boggy quicksand. Recognition of its plight seemed to dawn on the beast and it stopped struggling. In that moment the mutant looked tormented, as though it remembered now what it used to be before the infection.

Red Cross built up the intensity of his flames until the air itself rippled in haze. He could just about feel the heat on his face through the protection of his helmet. He hated putting down an animal like this—it was tormented, angry, not evil—but he knew what had to be done.

He’d known back when he and Allison faced off against the Elk downtown.

“Flame Advent!” He dashed toward to mutant and leaped high, angled his descent and drove his burning fists into it’s back.

The vines and vegetation across its body caught alight first, followed by the fuel tank of the car imbedded in its flank. Just as the Rangers and Soldiers had retreated to a safe distance, the Howlerdillo exploded in a huge ball of flame.

Green and Blue rangers looked at each other.

“That was lucky,” they said in unison.

Organic and inorganic material alike rained down around them.

The growl of engines and squealing tires sounded as two more jeeps emblazoned with the Agency insignia swerved to avoid falling masonry and engine parts.

The vehicles came to a sudden halt, kicking dust into the air. A few of Maria’s men coughed and choked, but altogether kept their cool. They knew who had arrived, but it took the rangers longer to catch on.

Soldiers wearing pitch black armour with full protective faceplates filed out, followed by General Bryant.

The General called them to a stop and replaced his beret on his head. With a calm only a veteran could muster, he glanced at the remains of the Howlerdillo, appraised the state of the fire raging around them and frowned.

“Captain Austin,” he called. He voice didn’t falter, nor did it rise above a conversation tone. “I hope you’re pleased with yourself…”

Lieutenant Moses stepped forward. “It was my idea, sir, I called her in to-“

“You did shit all, Moses,” Bryant snapped. “Stop being such a martyr.”

He walked forward with measured steps, disgust etched across his face. He knew these men and women had only been following their chain of command, but they sickened him all the same. The rot had spread far throughout his organisation, it seemed.

“I’m not sure who to start with first.” He began to remove his gloves a finger at a time.

Lt. Moses’ eyes widened.

General Bryant continued: “I know you deserve a court martial for your insubordination, Captain Austin, though I might punish your troops instead…” He hummed in mock consideration, and turned to Catherine. “And you Moses. I suppose in the end you were only doing a job I told you to do…”

He about faced, and walked down the line of soldiers, straight past the Cross Rangers and ignoring them altogether. Now facing away from them all, he dropped his gloves to the floor.

It didn’t take long for the Rangers to spot the symbols glowing on his clenched fists.

“At the end of the day, none of you are worthy of being associated with my Agency.” His voice remained level, quiet even.

The morpher and gem appeared on the back of his hand, and set in the centre was his combined magi symbol.

Red Cross recognised it instantly as the mixed Dark and Air clan.

General Bryant was the Black Cross Ranger.

He turned and crossed his arms in an x-shape. “Cross Form.”

He thrust them out to the side and slammed left palm against right fist. His armour materialised in a dark-purple surged of magi power.

“You. Utter…” Maria said through gritted teeth.

The man was mad. He’d attacked the rangers. He’d stood in their way while they tried to make the world a better place, more than once.

A guttural scream tore from her throat, and by the time she had her hands around his neck, a morpher had formed on the back of her own hands.

“The magi are really swarming today…” muttered Green Cross.

Though he couldn’t place the first half-symbol emblazoned on her morpher gem, Red Cross knew the second intimately.

Fire clan.