[TheFightingSpirit]

Incursion Twenty Two: Homecoming

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

Catherine hung up the phone and turned to everyone gathered in the Fort Lowsdale apartment. Her face was the picture of blankness, until a huge grin broke from ear to ear.

Allison stepped over to the breakfast bar. “What’s the verdict?”

“We got it,” she said.

Maria sighed. “Awesome...”

Robert snorted and shook his head. “I thought you were the one who couldn’t wait to get things all military again. Like that time you told me I’m too much of a civilian to lead the Cross Rangers.”

“Cut me some slack, Red. The last couple times I was at HQ I fought my mentor, my idol. And he betrayed me. Understand?”

“Bad things happened there, I get it.”

“I’m not sure you do,” she said. “I helped destroy the organisation I was so excited about joining, back in the day.”

Allison turned to look out the window above the kitchen sink. She stared out over the rooftops and across town. “We’ll make it some place good again, Maria. Don’t worry about it.”

Catherine stood and straightened out her clothes. She stretched up tall and threw her shoulders back. “And to match my command of the old Agency HQ, you’re looking at the newest Captain of our nation’s army.”

A chuckle sprang up from over the table. They turn to see Maria smiling. “Doesn’t this make you my CO?”

“Yeah.”

“And what does that make me? As a fellow captain... you understand?”

Allison blinked as though she couldn’t believe the gall the woman had to ask such a question.

Ken and Brad found it pretty damn hilarious.

“Colonel’s given me two weeks to file my rosters, but I’d like it if you could fill in some role during the interim.”

“Acting first officer?”

“Alright,” said Catherine, leveling her finger at Maria across the work surface. “If you keep pushing it like that I could always just give it to Rob?”

“Oh God, please no…” Maria burst out laughing.

All but Robert joined in.

He just frowned. “What have you got against me, exactly?”

Her eyes were watering, and between sobbing laughter she said, “Oh come on, I’m just kidding. Anyway, you’ve never gone through training. You’re not a cadet, not even enlisted.”

“So?”

Allison sighed. “We’re just having a chuckle, Rob. Chill out.”

“No. It’s a matter of dignity, you know?” He opened a cupboard to get mug, slammed it down on the side and slammed the cupboard closed… forgetting it was one of those fancy one’s that closed slowly. “I’m not something to be made fun of whenever things get a bit too serious for you.”

Ken jabbed him in the side, and spoke with a lowered his voice. “We’re celebrating something here, dude.”

“Sorry, but it’s getting to me!”

To the surprise of everyone, Allison hugged him. “We don’t hate you or anything. You’re our friend, you’re my friend…” She reeled back and broke out in heaving laughter. “It’s just so damn funny!”

Robert tried to look as indignant as possible, but soon grinned. “Fine, just… make sure you remember to appreciate me.”

o0o

In under a week, Captain Moses’ regime had near totally moved in to the base that had once played host to events they would all rather forget.

Still working with a little more than skeleton crew, it had taken far longer than expected to refit the place. Catherine was beginning to wish they’d taken it easier on their surroundings when clearing out the Elite Guard remnant, but it would all be worth it in the end. This way she could order her people to get rid of as much of Bryant’s stuff as possible. Maria certainly wasn’t complaining on that front.

She walked into the new war room, dodging one of the non-com engineers and took a moment to appreciate how far they’d come. From two kids brought in under a paranoid General’s orders and one for snooping around where he shouldn’t have, to a simple neighbour and a fellow officer joining them, to today.

Bryant’s days were over and theirs were just beginning.

Time to save the world

“Can we get some light on in here?”

“Sure thing ma’am.”

Bar lightning flickered on across the ceiling. The computer consoles and central map faded to life.

“Get the Cross Rangers in here.”

One of the enlisted personnel sped off, more or less instantly, to find them. Catherine chuckled. That’ll really take some getting used to.

Even with the control centre of her base finished, there was still plenty to do. Piles upon piles of paper work was waiting for her; reports for her to review, personnel files to sign off on, contractors to pay…

Just as a tech booted up the new alarm system, klaxons rang throughout the base. It had been so long since she’d heard it that she took a while to figure out what was going on.

Robert, Ken, Allison, Brad and Maria rushed in wearing their new uniforms; sharp black trousers, heavy boots, and a shiny black jacket with their colours in one long stripe down the arm. On the breast of the jacket were their individual mixed clan symbols.

Cadet Ferris jumped to cancel the klaxon and check the report scrolling across the screen. She threw it across to the map with a gesture. “We’re getting a huge incursion signal downtown.”

“Alright, this is it, guys,” said Catherine. “First mission. Check out the signal and neutralise if you have to.”

“Right!”

As she watched them go, she felt a pang of guilt. What she would give to be out there with them. But then she knew what she was signing up for.

o0o

The rangers arrived in down to Fort Lowsdale in one of the base’s helicopters. Maria stood in for the pilot considering no orders for one had yet been issued. Soldiers had evacuated a mile radius around the signal area in preparation for their arrival, so once they arrived no innocent civilian would get hurt.

As they piled out the helicopter, No-one rose up from a puddle of Black Water frothing up out of an uncovered manhole.

“Haven’t you heard?” Robert shouted and they ranked up before him. “This town is so last week.”

“Wherever you happen to exist, I will still attack.” No-one lunged forward and swung his massively oversized arm.

The rangers dove out of the way and summoned their morphers. Springing from the roll with their crossed arms at their waist, they yelled, “Cross form!”

Magi energy overtook them, forming their armour.

“Fire and Metal; Red Cross.”
“Water and Lightning; Blue Cross.”
“Air and Light; White Cross.”
“Earth and Water; Green Cross.”
“Sonic and Fire; Yellow Cross.”

“Magi Tribe… Cross Ranger!” they finished in unison.

“I’ve heard it all before,” growled No-one, swinging for them again.

“Yeah well, indulge us on this one.” Yellow Cross ducked low inside his range and exploded a sonic boom against his stomach. The Black Water’s most infamous creation tumbled backwards into his own pillar of pitch black ichor.

They called their weapons.

“To be honest, I’d rather be doing paper work than messing around with you,” Yellow Cross added. “Do you ever have a good idea or do you pretty much get up in the morning and decide to go on a rampage?”

She leaped toward the enemy with Red Cross. They slashed with their spear and tonfas, bathing No-one in blanket of flame.

He struggled to his feet, skinning knitting back together imperfectly. “I am merely making sure you’ve not forgotten about me. Silence does not mean inaction.” He grinned.

“I guess you’re not going to just tell us what you’ve been up to…” Red Cross shook his head.

“If you paid attention you might be someone... but you’re no-one too...” he said.

“Oh stop being cryptic.” Red Cross spun his spear over his head, flames licking along it’s length. “Flare Blitz!“

He hurled the spear but it struck manhole cover where No-one had once been. Streams of Black Water erupted in turn from storm drains up and down the street. The fountains of infectious blackness coated buildings, walkways, seeped in through still open windows and hardened to form a thick canopy.

“Sooo…” Green Cross looked up into the dome. A black landscape. A dark world. “That’s new.”

Blue Cross stretched his hand out and tried to use his magi powers as an extra sense. “It’s in the water course. I can’t feel any pure water anywhere!”

o0o

A doctor knocked at Capt. Moses’ office door, breaking her from wondering how the rangers were faring.

“Doctor Zamora,” she greeted. “How are things going on your end?”

“We’ve broken the deadlock on the community centre bunker. Ken Powell was right, Bryant’s men were keeping a secret project down there.”

“Well? What is it?”

“You’re not going to believe this, Captain, but…” He seemed to struggle to comprehend it himself, the ridges on his brow said it all. “It’s a giant humanoid robot. I knew he was going crazy but this is a whole new level of paranoid.”

“I don’t know, Doctor.” She placed her signature of the form she was filling in and slid it to the side of her desk. “Some specialised heavy artillery might have been useful when we fought against the Howlerdillo.”

“Granted,” he replied. “But honestly this wasn’t what I came here to talk to you about, well, it’s sort of related, but-”

Evidently Zamora wasn’t a confident man, so she prompted him to continue with a smile.

“I’d like to officially request permission to start a project of my own. New base, new administration, new progress and all that.”

“Go on.”

“I’ve been thinking about our options as a defense organisation, you see, and well, we’re rather limited to our troops and a five - or six - man band of superheroes… and none of us can be in two places at once.” He pulled a sheet of paper out of the clipboard folder he carried in perpetuity. It gave detail on exactly what he was requesting. “Given my work on the Cross Weaponry, I see no reason why I can’t replicate that in an entirely new combat system.”

“You want to make new ranger powers?” There was no doubt about it, the sheet of paper was the blueprint for a single prototype ranger suit.

“Precisely.”

The science behind what he was proposing truly boggled her mind--teleportation of materials over long distance, the precise calibration… the power source?--so she push it to one side. The doctor was right, it would have been nice to have a little more help when it came to fighting evil.

“How long will it take?”

“I believe I can have the prototype up and active in a year excluding unforeseen circumstances. To outfit an entire team with suits like these would take considerably longer. This is about as experimental as the field gets, you understand.”

She nodded. “Alright then, doctor, but you have complete control and responsibility for this. All I ask is that you file a weekly report with me so I know where the money’s going. No visible results and I’ll shut it down, okay?”

Doctor Zamora grinned like a child on christmas day. “You won’t regret this.”

“Oh and uh Zamora?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t forget to tell someone I want that robot ready for action as soon as possible.”

He paused, wondering what threat on Earth would require a retaliation like that. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Reluctant to agree, he nevertheless bowed his head and left.