The Terran Rangers/X-Men by Heather Ray (ebook e reader .txt) 📕

and Zack watched him go, and then lay back on the ground on their stomachs, behind the downed jet plane NightWolf, for cover.

"Man," said Zack, "I can't believe this is happening!"

"You got that right," said Kimberly. "For some reason, our Zeo shards won't work! If we can't call on the power of Terra, then how are we supposed to fight these mutates?"

"One things for sure -- they are a whole lot more dangerous than Putties!"

"Kim!" called Forge, "Zack! Do you know how to use energy rifles?"

"Say what?" asked Zack.

"Here," said Forge, tossing Zack his rifle. He then dug into his robe pocket, and pulled out a shorter blaster. He gave that one to Kimberly.

"Every time we blast one, two more show up and take its place! Without Shadow, there's no way we can keep them back. I have a case of high-tech weapons inside the ship, so I'll go see what I can find. You two, help Nate keep the mutates at bay."

"You wouldn't by any chance have a archer's bow, would you?" asked Kim, looking down at the pistol she was holding with a frown, "I'm not all that good with guns."

"Well," said Forge, "learn quickly. Bows and arrows probably wouldn't even penetrate the first layer of skin."

With that, Forge disappeared into the cabin of the ship. Kim and Zack peeked out of the left side of the ship, and saw the energy blasts Nate was firing from the right. The blasts were effective in pushing back the monsters, but that didn't slow their advance. Zack held the large rifle with both hands, and pointed it at the head of one of the monsters.

"Well," he said finally. "When in Rome, do as the Romans! Ready...aim...FIRE

!"

Zack squeezed the trigger, and a stream of white hot plasma shot forth from the barrel of the weapon. The beam sliced through the intended target, but the sheer force of the blast knocked Zack clear off his feet, and a few yards back. He slammed into the dry dirt, and dropped the gun. Kimberly, who was preparing to fire her own weapon, immediately rushed over to help him.

"What was that?" she asked, helping Zack sit up. She held her hand in front of his eyes. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"I'm okay, Kim," Zack said finally, shaking his head. "Yow, that rifle packs a punch! I'll be sure to brace myself next time."

"Are you okay?" called Nate, not turning around. "You really have to put your weight into it, Zack. When Forge builds a gun, he builds a lean, mean, killing machine!"

"Thanks for the warning," said Zack with a smirk, rising to his feet. He picked up his weapon, and grinned down at Kim.

"Okay, Kimberly," he said, running back to his position. "Let's fry some scales!"

"Right behind you!" called Kim, following Zack. Together, they unleashed the fury of the energy weapons, and they both quickly became comfortable with the foreign weaponry.

"Nice job," said Forge, walking out with a large barrel weapon, about four feet long with a barrel of a foot in diameter. "Now, watch this!"

Forge stepped out from behind the NightWolf, and aimed his weapon carefully. He then fired the weapon, sending a mighty sphere of pulsing energy into the army. The sphere exploded, kicking up dust and debris, and obliterating a few dozen mutates right then and there.

"Now, the tables are turning," Forge said with a smile.

Chapter Eighteen

Across the continent, atop a cliff overlooking the barren ruins of what was once Angel Grove Calfornia, an impregnable fortress stood proudly. When Apocalypse first conquered the west coast, he had ordered the fortress destroyed. But some invisible field protected the fortress from intruders. Also, there were no signs of life near the fortress, and no one was ever seen coming into or leaving it. Eventually, Apocalypse decided not to waste his time trying to raze this fortress. It posed no threat to his dominion of the planet. But it does now.

Within this fortress resided two alien beings. One was a small android constructed by an alien ruler who lived light years away. The other was in fact a powerful wizard, whose body was lost to him centuries ago in a battle with another powerful being. His only connection to the physical world was through the advanced machinery inside this complex, called the Command Center. This Command Center was constructed by the wizard about a millennium ago, when he first came to this solar system. He came here with an awesomely powerful shard of crystal, that he named Zeo, which was the Eltarian word for "infinite"

. He buried the crystal in a cave within Earth's only natural satellite, and used it to create the mighty web of power known as the Morphin Grid. It was placed there for safe keeping. Zordon remained on Earth to protect the planet from the evil of invading forces, that he knew were destined to try to conquer this blue gem floating in space, and try to capture the Zeo Crystal. Zordon prepared for this possibility by asking an ally of his named Ninjor to forge coins that could tap into the power of the Morphin Grid, enabling six human beings to transform into super-powered beings. What Zordon didn't realize at this time was that eventually, the human race would develop powers of their own, and that their greatest enemy wasn't an invasion from outside -- but from within.

Zordon was stunned to learn that a mutant dictator named Apocalypse had destroyed Washington DC in 1984. From there, Apocalypse and his band of powerful mutants crossed the entire nation, killing millions of innocents, and razing the proud nation to the ground. This planet will never know peace so long as a villain such as Apocalypse lived, but Zordon didn't know what to do. So, he decided to sit and wait before taking action against Apocalypse. It was a decision he will live to regret.

As the months passed, Apocalypse had increased in power exponentially. His forces were multiplied by genetic experiments, and so he was a match for any nation's army. Actually, the nations of the world couldn't stop Apocalypse from completely destroying the planet, try as they might. Zordon saw his chance to intervene vanish, and from then on he constantly thought of a way to save Earth. He waited for a sign of some sort, to show him the way. For once, Zordon did not know what to do.

The sign he had waited for for over a decade finally came, when Zordon sensed a faint ripple in the Morphin Grid.

"ALPHA,"

said the old sage. "WHAT WAS THAT?"

"What was what?" asked the android, looking up to the head floating in the column of green light.

"I SENSED A FLICKER IN THE MORPHIN GRID. SOMEONE IS TRYING TO ACCESS THE POWER OF THE ZEO CRYSTAL."

"Aye yi yi!" shrieked Alpha Five in surprise. "Are you sure? Who even has the necessary link to the Morphin Grid to access its powers? We still have the Power Coins!"

"LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE FLICKER. THERE MUST BE A DISTURBANCE SOMEWHERE. WE MUST FIND IT. THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE DEPENDS ON IT."

"What do I do when I find it?"

"BRING IT HERE. I MUST LEARN HOW IT ACHIEVED A DIRECT LINK TO THE MORPHIN GRID."

Chapter Nineteen

Already miles away, Shadow stealthily made his way to the entrance of a lone mansion, situated inside a small grassy plain in Westchester County. The mansion would have attracted unwanted attention, being the only intact building in the entire Tri-State Area, but thanks to a web of electromagnetic cloaking, the mansion wasn't even noticed by the forces of Apocalypse. In fact, only a handful of people knew of this rebel hidden base. Shadow knew this base all too well.

Shadow pressed a few buttons on his belt, and his personal cloaking force field was adjusted to the same frequency as the one protecting the mansion, allowing the young scientist easy passage through the force field and onto the mansion's grounds. As he walked towards the mansion itself, he passed by a small plot of grassy land, with headstones standing tall. Shadow forced himself to look away when his eyes accidentally read the headstone of Trini Kwan, his wife. He was soon at the entrance to the mansion, and he activated the intercom system.

^Who's there?^

asked a voice with a strong British accent. Shadow couldn't help but smile.

"Its William, Nanny," he said into the speaker, "William Mitchell?"

^I remember you, Poppet,^

she answered. ^Come in! It's open.^

"Are any of the X-Men around? Why are you answering the door?"

^Magneto is in. The rest are gone. Come in, though. I'll let Erik explain matters to you.^

Billy pushed open the large wooden door, and was greeted by a short silver robotic nanny, with a large wheel instead of legs. She smiled up at Shadow, and wrapped him in a metallic embrace. Billy returned the hug fondly.

"How've you been, Poppet?" she asked him. "It's been months since I've seen you!"

"I'm well," he answered, "I see you are functioning optimally. How are the children?"

"I've been taking care of them all well. Come in, come in! Magneto is in his study. I know you're not here on a social call."

"I never am," said Billy, as he followed the robot into the mansion. He stopped in front of a closed door, and knocked once. When he received no answer, he gingerly opened the door. The room was mostly dark, but Billy's enhanced vision could easily make out a lone figure standing near the corner. The figure didn't move, but suddenly the lights came on. Billy could see the man more clearly now. He had shoulder-length white hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and he wore red and purple armor, with a long purple cape draped over his shoulders. He had a red helmet with purple trim under his arm.

"William," said the figure, turning around. "It's good to see you again."

"Hello, Erik," said William. He looked past the leader