ThunderStrike: Mission TWELVE

[Ryuranger]

---Thunderstrike: Mission Twelve: part one

Dearborn St., Chicago

Jason sat with Max at an outdoor café on the street side while sipping a cup of chocolate cappuccino. The two rangers had just finished a training session with Jiraiya and were taking a short break before heading back to their respective schools.

Max shook his head as he looked across the busy streets bustling with activity. “I don’t know how you can live anywhere outside of a city, chief.”

Jason shrugged as he looked around. “I like it at EIU. It’s homey.”

Max snickered. “Homey?”

Jason smiled. “Yes. Sorry you disagree with my word choices…”

A lopsided grin spread across Max’s face as he shrugged. “Well you’re a writer…I just thought you could have come up with a better word than homey.”

Jason smiled as he shook his head. “Quaint. Appealing. Comfortable. Familiar. Cozy. Quiet…”

“Okay, okay,” Max said with a chuckle as he lifted his hands in a non-threatening matter. “I get the picture.”

“Good,” Jason said as he took a sip of his drink. “What are you having.”

“French vanilla,” Max said as he held up his cup.

Jason rolled his eyes.

“What’s your problem with…” Max opened his eyes wide and smiled as he realized why Jason had reacted the way he did. “Ohhh…I get it. Tristan, huh?”

“No,” Jason said defensively. “I just happen to not like that flavor.”

“Yuuri seems to,” Max said.

Jason wrinkled his brow and glared at his teammate.

“Kidding, kidding,” Max said as he held his hands up defensively. “Calm down. I mean, come on, he’s on the other side of the globe. He’s not exactly competition for you anymore…”

Jason shook his head. His feelings for Yuuri had been a roller coaster ride since the day he met her. Seeing how easily she had warmed up to the French ranger named Tristan, and actually feeling it in the Talion link, had been quite an unpleasant experience.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jason said with a solemn expression on his face. “She doesn’t have those kind of feelings for me regardless.”

“Of course not,” Max said sarcastically. “Don’t see it at all.”

Jason sighed and shook his head. “Anyway…I suppose we should get going…”

The two stood from their table and picked up their cups.

“See ya tomorrow,” Max said. “If not sooner…”

***

Eagle Six, Chicago

Vince was in the target room on one of Eagle Six’s lower levels. The room was dimly lit and the walls were lined with gray armor plating.

Vince stood behind the appropriate slow and took aim at the holo-target in the distant shooting range. He fired three shots, each coming close to the bulls-eye, but none connecting.

The rear doors to the room opened and Blake walked in. Vince looked over his shoulder to the blonde teenager, then turned his attention back to the shooting field.

“Don’t you have school?” Vince asked.

Blake shook his head as he opened the rear weapons locker and pulled out a practice sidearm of his own. “I don’t start again until January…what’s it to ya anyway?”

“Relax, kid,” Vince said. “Just asking.”

Blake stepped up to the shooting line and activated his target. He fired several rounds, and missed his mark half the time.

“Damn…” Blake said as he shook his head.

“Relax your grip,” Vince said as he looked to Blake from the corner of his eye.

Blake rolled his eyes, ignoring Vince as he fired off a few more shots. He missed around half again. “Stupid gun…”

Vince smirked as he took a few shots of his own, his accuracy improving with each blast. Blake seemed somewhat impressed.

“What about you?” Blake asked as he took aim again. “Don’t you have school or anything?”

“No classes this afternoon,” Vince said as he fired again.

“So you’re just hanging around here?” Blake asked. “That has to suck…”

“You don’t seem to mind,” Vince said before taking a few more shots.

Blake shrugged as he fired a few rounds. His aim didn’t improve, and he shook his head with disappointment. “I don’t have much choice. I keep ending up in that blasted medical bay for no reason. I’m getting better at controlling the armor. Jiraiya’s been helping me.”

“Jason said you almost died in the Middle East,” Vince said as he took another shot.

“How the hell did he find that out?” Blake asks.

“He knows everything that goes on around here,” Vince said.

“That’s gotta get annoying,” Blake said.

Vince nodded. “Most of the times.”

Blake shook his head. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. As soon as I get the hang of the Thunder Tiger, I’m out of here. I think I’ve spent enough time in that damn medical ward. Stupid coma.”

“I thought your parents were against you using the armor,” Vince asked, but it was more of a statement.

“They are.” Blake smirked. “But they can’t stop me. And they can’t keep me locked up here forever.”

“If you’d stopped using the armor you’d stop ending up in the medical bay,” Vince said before taking a few more shots.

“True,” Blake said as he fired a few more rounds. “But that’s besides the point.”

“What is the point?” Vince asked.

Blake hesitated before he shrugged and fired several more blasts. “Not that.”

Vince fired several more shots. “My dad left me when I was a kid.”

Blake lowered his weapon and looked to Vince. “That’s not what this is about…”

Vince lowered his own weapon while looking to Blake. “You sure?”

Blake shook his head as he walked out of the shooting room. Vince returned to his target.

***

Eastern Indiana University

Jason wasn’t in his room but five second before his phone rang. He sighed as he picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

His friend Harry was on the other end. “Fountain. Now. There’s been a shooting.”

“Shit,” Jason said as he leaned over his computer and turned on his aim.

ARROWST: josh get a camera and get to th efountain. theres been a shooting

ARROWST: ty meet me at the fountain. theres been a shooting

Jason grabbed his notebook and pen and ran out the door.

[Ryuranger]

***

The fountain plaza sat in front of the student union and was usually bustling with students walking across campus. Since it was November, the fountain itself was turned off, allowing students to cross over it freely. That night however, things were quite different. The entire fountain area was blocked off by barricades and yellow tape as police and ambulances tended to the scene.

Jason met up with his chief reporter Ty at the scene. Ty had slick black hair and stubble across his face.

“What’s the deal?” Ty asked.

“Don’t know yet,” Jason said. “City and campus police are both here. See if you can grab a hold of Mercay or Newman.” The two officers were in charge of the campus police. “I’ll talk to the medics and witnesses…”

Ty nodded and the two parted ways. Jason noticed out of the corner of his eye as Josh arrived and started snapping away with his digital camera.

Jason looked over and saw a girl with a shaken up look on her face staring athe comotion from outside the yellow tape.

He walked over to her. “Hi, I’m with the Journal,” he said, making sure he kept his voice calm and soothing. “Did you see what happened.”

She shook her head, tears still fresh in her eyes. “I just heard this girl scream and point at the center of the fountain and there were these…bodies. Just laying there. Five of them. People were running and screaming away.”

“Did you hear any gunshots or anything?”

“No,” she said as she shook her head.

“Was there a fight or anything like that?”

She shook her head again. “No.”

Jason took down her name and had the student point him in the direction of the girl who had first pointed and screamed. Her account was just as vague.

“I just saw them there…first I thought they were just laying, ya know? Then I saw the…there was blood all over them…” she said. “Then I called 911 on my cell.”

Jason finished with the girl and moved over to where a group of medics stood by an ambulance. He recognized one of emergency technicians and called for him.

“Got a sec?” Jason asked.

The man nodded.

“What condition are the victims in? And how many are there?”

“Five,” the man said with a cold look on his face. “They were all dead by the time we got there.”

“What kind of injuries?” Jason asked.

The man shook his head. “Strange ones. Like teeth and claw marks. All over. They died of blood loss at least 30 minutes before they were laid out there.”

Jason’s face grew pale. “Laid? And what kind of claw and teeth marks?”

“Nothing recognizable,” the man said. “We’ll have to do lab results to be sure.”

“And you said they were laid out there?” Jason asked.

The man nodded. “Yes. In a…star pattern…”

Jason asked a few more questions before moving on to find his photographer. “Josh…”

Josh hobbled over to Jason. “I’ve taken around 50 shots…”

“How close can you get to the scene?” Jason asked.

“Not too close,” Josh said. “They’re doing a pretty good job of blocking everything from sight.”

Jason looked up to the seventh floor of the union, where the newspaper office was located. “Grab the telephoto lens and shoot from the newsroom window.”

“I knew that view of ours would come in handy some day,” Josh said.

Jason called the newsroom on his cell. “Jess? We’re adding two pages. Take One, kill the header, index, tease, and all that, bump everything up and put in a big house ad at the bottom or something. Change all the pictures to black and white. We’ll use the two extra pages for this…whatever this is for a new One and Two.”

“Gotcha,” Jess said from the other end of the cell.

***

Ty walked over to Jason. “Okay,” he said as he flipped back through his notebook. “No suspects, no solid witnesses, no motive, and they’re all from out of state, except for one.”

“How the hell can someone just dump five bodies in the center of campus without anyone seeing…” Jason asked rhetorically. “Surveillance videos?”

“Being reviewed right now,” Ty said.

“Good…now who are the victims…any relation?”

“No,” Ty said. “There’s a John from Colorado, a Peter from New York, a Mason from California…that’s his name, not profession…a mark from Illinois, and a Clint from Flora, Indiana.”

Jason opened his eyes wide as his face went pale again. Each victim represented a home-state of each member of Thunderstrike. “Jesus…”

“I know,” Ty said.

“No you don’t,” Jason said as he ran off.

---to be continued in part two. this thread. watch for it...

---for past missions, including all three phases of operation rising sun, visit: www.angelfire.com/extreme3/p_rangersx

[Imperialwar]

:eek:Can't wait for the rest

[Qi]

Excellent.

[StaticCloak15]

Damn,Ryu.This just keeps getting better and better. For some reason,this weird incurrances kind of reminds me of a couple of fanfics of Ghostbusters I read a long time ago.

[HavokRanger]

This is great stuff!

[Ryuranger]

Havok- Glad to see I have another reader on board. Glad you like my stuff. The next part should be up by late, late tonight...so stay tuned.

Static- No ghosts are involved, pal. lol.

Qi- Your feedback is always appreciated (To anyone reading this, check out "Qiranger:The Return" and "Qiranger: Battlecry" on the board. Quite an original fan fiction).

Imperial- Your feedback always puts a smile on my face, man.

[Qi]

Thanks for the kind words and the plug, Ryu. You certainly have a great fic as well, one of the few that I read with great enthusiasm.

Keep up the great work.

Qi

[Imperialwar]

If I can make a person smile at least once a day, I feel as if I have done a public service:p

[Ryuranger]

---Thunderstrike: Mission Twelve: Part Two

Eagle Six, Chicago

Hunter and Hayes sat in a small private briefing room while drinking cups of coffee. Bags of sleeplessness hung beneath their eyes.

“You can’t possibly be serious, William,” Hayes said as she shook her head.

“We don’t have much of a choice,” Hunter said. “Blake’s in danger as long as he’s here. He’s out of control and he’s going to get himself killed.”

“I will not just send my son away,” Hayes said as she raised her voice. “Do you have any idea what that would do to him?”

“He’d be safe,” Hunter said.

“You’re the one that got us in to this in the first place,” Hayes practically shouted.

“Your mother is only an hour outside the city,” Hunter said. “He’d still be close by, and in all honesty, we’d probably be seeing him just as much as we are now.”

“He needs us right now,” Hayes said. “He needs you…”

“He needs to get away from this place…” Hunter said.

Outside the door, Blake lowered his listening device.

“Fine,” he said quietly. “Just fine…”

He started down the hall.

***

Rolling Rock University, Colorado

Vince was finishing his music theory homework while hunched over his desk when he heard a knock at his door.

Vince sighed as he rose and opened the door. Blake was standing there with bag slung over his shoulder.

“Can I come in?” Blake asked.

Vince wrinkled his brow. “You’re a long way from Illinois, kid.”

Blake shrugged. “I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

“Home maybe?” Vince said.

Blake shook his head. “Knew this was a bad idea…” he grumbled as he started walking down the hall.

Vince sighed. “Wait…come on…” he said reluctantly.

Blake grinned as he turned around and entered Vince’s room. Vince sat at his desk while Blake pulled up a spare chair.

“What happened?” Vince asked.

Blake’s face was beaming with pride. “I hijacked that prototype Valkyrie Fighter mom’s team was working on. I nick-named it the Tiger Bolt. Catchy, huh?”

“No,” Vince said.

Blake shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine.”

“Seriously, Blake…” Vince said. “Why are you here?”

Blake sighed. “I kind of ran way.”

“So I noticed,” Vince said.

“I heard Dad and Mom fighting…Dad wants to send me away to live with a grandma outside of the city,” Blake said. “He was gone for like, ever, and now he wants to send me away again. I’m over it. I don’t need him.”

Blake rolled up his sleeve to reveal his Thunder Tiger brace. “All I need is this…”

Vince sighed. “My psych professor would love to have a chat with you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Blake asked defensively.

“The game you’re playing for Hunter’s attention,” Vince said.

Blake shook his head. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. This isn’t a game.”

“Okay,” Vince said as he turned back to his desk. “I’m not a psychiatrist. Think whatever you want.”

Blake sat in silence for a moment as he ran his fingers across his brace. “Ya know…Jiraiya’s been helping me a lot. I think I can handle this thing now.”

“Great,” Vince said with no enthusiasm as he continued his homework.

Blake nodded. “It is. Don’t patronize.”

Vince sighed again as he stood and picked up his jacket. “Come one. We’re going for a walk.”

“We are?” Blake asked.

“No, I’m lying,” Vince said sarcastically. “Yes. Let’s go. We need to have a little talk.”

***

Eastern Indiana University

The fountain area was still taped off as a few campus police stood guard to scare away potential onlookers.

Jason wasn’t intimidated however, being that he’d spent the last four months of his life fighting against genetically enhanced super-villains, all of which could wipe out an entire police force in the blink of an eye.

Jason walked up to the tape and looked out at the fountain where the bodies had been. One of the guards walked over to Jason while puffing out his chest to make himself look tough.

“Move along, son,” the guard said. “The show’s over.”

“I’m not crossing the tape,” Jason said. “There’s no law against standing.”

“Don’t get smart with me, son,” the officer said. “Now why don’t you…”

The officer suddenly stopped moving. It was like he literally froze in place. Jason noticed that the other guards on scene weren’t moving either.

“What the hell…” Jason started to say. A tingle crept up his spine and lingered in the back of his head.

A man in a dark purple suit walked up behind Jason. His hair was neatly combed and his eyes red. Jason recognized him immediately as Yokoshima.

“Amusing, aren’t they?” Yokoshima asked as he looked the officer up and down. “Their minds so open to suggestion. Not like you and I…”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jason asked. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“That killed those five and put them on display?” Yokoshima asked with a look of amusement on his face. “Oh, no. Whoever is responsible for this doesn’t know our little secret.”

Yokoshima walked through the tape as it snapped and fell to the ground. “Come look with me. The cameras have been deactivated, and anyone who passes by will think we’re a couple of pigeons.”

“We don’t get many pigeons around here,” Jason said as he reluctantly followed Yokoshima.

What the hell am I going to do? Jason thought as he walked behind the Vyram. I can’t fight him here in the middle of campus…

Yokoshima pointed to the chalk line of the bodies that formed the star formation. “Whoever did this has gathered enough intelligence to track you and your teammates to your respective schools, but not enough to identify you individually. This was meant to draw you out into the open.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Jason asked. “And how did you manage to find out who I was?”

“More happened in my former corporate headquarters than you know, Jason,” Yokoshima said. “After you blacked out that is. I’ll fill you in soon enough, but know that I have held the secret of you and your friends’ identities since that time.”

“Who’s trying to lure me into the open then?” Jason asked. “And I’m not buying your friendly act at all. Last time we saw you, you sent that huge giant after us in the Rockies.”

“Make no mistake,” Yokoshima said. “I despise ISIS and they will fall. It’s not them I’m helping…it’s you.”

“Me?” Jason asked in disbelief. “The guy who led Eagle Six’s ranger team in a direct assault on your headquarters that resulted in its total destruction. Right.”

“Yes,” Yokoshima said simply as he nodded.

Jason sighed and shook his head. “Either tell me everything that’s going on or get the hell off my campus.”

“You’ll find out soon enough…” Yokoshima said.

Jason felt the tingle in the back of his head again. “What the…”

“They’re here…” Yokoshima said.

Four shadows dropped from the skies in streaks of black and circled around Jason and Yokoshima while kicking up a strong gust of wind.

“What the hell are these things?” Jason asked as the creatures increased their speed and the winds continued to howl. He had to brace himself from being blown off his feet.

“Part of a rogue group of Vyram,” Yokoshima said. “The Night-Reapers.”

Jason readied his brace, but Yokoshima reached out and ripped the weapon away, tossing it into the wind. Jason sidekicked Yokoshima away, but his brace was already gone.

“You won’t be needing it,” Yokoshima said.

The shadows slammed into Jason’s chest and sent him crashing off his feet. He was tossed through the air by the wind currents and went slamming hard against a brick building, knocking the air from his lungs.

---to be continued in part three. this thread. watch for it...

[Imperialwar]

Nice update!

[D-Ranger]

Nifty! :D

[HavokRanger]

Another great addition! I like the whole situation with Blake.

[Ryuranger]

Thanks for the feedback, gents. I like Blake a lot too. He, and just about every character, are going to go through some major changes in this arc, and a lot of plot lines are going to be tied up, so stay tuned.

Here's another short update
--------------------------------------------------------------

---Thunderstrike: Mission Twelve: Part Three

Jason fell to the ground as his chest burnt, yearning for oxygen. The shadows swirled around his body and it felt as if they were clawing at his mind.

What are these things?! He thought as he covered his head with his hands and tried to break away from the Reapers.

One of the shadow streaks slammed into Jason and sent him hurling across the street and crashing against the hood of a car in a nearby parking lot in front of two 12-story dorms.

Students nearby screamed as they ran in panic through the night-lit parking lot. A young woman dashed over to an emergency blue light station and activated it.

Jason rolled off the car hood before the shadow could strike again and rolled underneath the car itself. He continued his roll, traveling underneath two cars and stopping underneath a pickup truck.

The ranger took a moment to catch his breath before a large gust of wind launched the truck through the air and sent the vehicle crashing against the side of the dorm. The truck exploded on impact, shattering debris in every direction.

“No!” Jason shouted.

A Reaper slammed into him in a comet of shadow and sent the ranger flying backwards and slamming into the front windshield of a Buick.

The Reapers streaked towards Jason while howling through the night. The ranger flipped backwards onto the roof of the car and then flipped back down to the pavement before the shadows could strike.

“Use your defenses, boy,” Yokoshima’s voice shouted inside of his head. It was at that moment he recognized Yokoshima’s voice as the same that had spoken to him in the Talion link during Thunderstrike’s last battle in Japan.

The four shadows started to circle around Jason again, creating an artificial whirlwind that tossed parked vehicles in several directions as they crashed across campus and exploded.

The creatures snapped around and arced towards Jason. The ranger felt the tingle in the back of his mind intensify as he instinctively extended his hand forward. His eyes flashed red as the creatures howled in pain and crimson energy danced across their transparent shadowy surface. The creatures vaporized as Jason collapsed on to all floors and spat up blood.

Yokoshima walked over to him. The Vyram nodded with satisfaction. “Well done. The life that you once knew has officially ended. Welcome to your destiny.”

***

Rolling Rock University, Colorado

Vince and Blake walked across campus, which was lit only by the moonlight and a few light posts.

“My Dad ran off when I was 11,” Vince said. “He was a detective.”

“Was he as big of an ass as Hunter?” Blake asked.

Vince sighed with frustration. “I’m not good at this touchy-feely crap so could you just let me tell the story?”

“Sor-ry,” Blake said as the two continued walking.

“Mom had to take an extra job when dad left. Not even sure what the job was,” Vince said. “So I never saw much of her either.

“I started getting in to trouble around town. I told myself it was to get back at my parents…

“I started off with shop-lifting, became pretty good at pick-pocketing. Around 15 I started car jacking….”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Blake said. “Your dad was a cop. He left you. You broke the law to get his attention. That’s not the same…I just…bah.”

Blake shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Vince’s communicator started to beep and flash. He activated the holo flat screen that displayed a text message.

THUNDER DRAGON’S POSITION COMPROMISED
PROCEED TO NEAREST PICK-UP POINT FOR IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT

Vince rolled his hands up into fists as he started to run across campus. Blake followed. “I’m coming with you…”

***

Eastern Indiana University

The damaged section of campus had been sectioned off by ISIS personnel and evacuated. Seven was walking across the fountain area, looking at the chalk outlines while entering data on a small digital pad.

Vince walked over to Seven as soon as he arrived on scene. “What happened?”

“We’re not sure exactly,” Seven said. “It was obviously some kind of Vyram attack…just not a typical one. There’s no sign of Jason anywhere.”

Vince sighed with frustration as he looked around the area.

Max walk over to Seven alongside Yuuri and Matt. “Not entirely true,” Max said. “We found this…”

Max tossed Seven a small device, and the ISIS agent caught it. The device was Jason’s transformation brace.

Seven shook his head. “We should have some solid information within an hour.”

The rangers were silent.

“You five may as well go,” Seven said. “Especially you, Blake. Your parents don’t want you on active assignment.”

The winds started to howl across the fountain area, casting dust and debris into the air.

“Actually, Seven,” Yuuri said as she readied her brace. “I think it’s you that should be going…”

Seven nodded as he activated a small button on his wristband, signaling the ISIS party to fall back. “Good luck…”

Seven and his team pulled back from the fountain area.

Lightning struck the ground in front of the five rangers, and the thunderous shockwave tossed them backwards. They quickly scrambled back to their feet and looked up to see a man with long blonde hair dressed in a dark cape standing where the lightning bolt had struck. His eyes flashed with blue electrical energy that matched the glowing color of the strange symbol on his forehead. He wore a segmented black vest over a baggy body suit of the same dark onyx. Silver braces were wrapped around his forearms and ankles that matched the six circular discs running across his chest and abdomen. The disc were shining with cyan colored electric energy.

“Armor,” Yuuri said as she and the others prepared their braces.

“Thunder power, strike!”

“Tiger power, strike!”

The five rangers transformed into their armor.

Max shook his head as he downloaded his longknives. “My visor can’t get a threat level on this schmuk.”

The man laughed as he tilted back his head. “That’s because I am not a Vyram, infidels, but a herald of their gods.”

“Right,” Vince said as he downloaded his blaster. “Move in…”

Vince fired off several rounds as Max ran forward with his longknives, Yuuri with her spear, and Blake with his Tiger Saber. Matt downloaded his blaster and fired besides Vince.

The warrior erected a barrier of electric energy that blocked the blaster shots from the green and yellow rangers.

Yuuri leapt towards the soldier while the other two rangers went in low. The Herald fired an optic energy blast that slammed against Yuuri’s armor and knocked her from the air. Max swung his longknives horizontally towards the warrior’s chest, but he caught the blades and sent and energy surge through them that blasted across Max’s armor, sending him crashing backwards.

Blake swung his tiger saber vertically towards the warrior’s head, but he extended his hand and fired an energy pulse that tossed the white ranger aside.

Matt aimed downward towards the ground underneath the fountain and fired. Jets of water streamed up and surrounded the warrior. The streams turned to steam instantly.

Vince and Matt ran through the steam while arming their fist blades. Vince moved in close enough to double punch the warrior in the chest, but his blade’s didn’t puncture the Herald’s armor. The Herald summoned a lightning bolt from the sky that struck against Vince’s armor and sent him crashing through the student union and into the main commons area.

---to be continued in part four. this thread. watch for it...

[Imperialwar]

wtf!?!:D What's going to happen to Jason?

[Ryuranger]

You'll find out about good ol' Jase soon enough. :cool:

[Qi]

Ecellent updates, Ryu. I love it!

[Ryuranger]

---Thunderstrike: Mission Twelve: Part Four

Eagle Six, Chicago

Hunter and Hayes monitored the rangers’ battle from the combat room. After their initial argument on how Blake managed to steal back his brace and enter the combat zone, they started to focus on how to defeat their latest threat.

“There may be something we can do,” Hayes said.

“I’m all ears,” Hunter replied.

“I’ve been working on a new program designed to combat Delta Threat levels. The program’s been installed in their armor, but we haven’t had time for any trial runs,” Hayes said.

“Do we ever?” Hunter asked.

Hayes shook her head. “It’s called Hyper Mode. Basically a last-ditch effort. Their armors bio-cells go critical and overload with energy increasing their strength, speed, and agility by an extra 100 percent. They can only stay in Hyper Mode for around 30 seconds though. After that…well, thirty seconds is all they have.”

Hunter nodded. “Let’s do it, then.”

***

Eastern Indiana University

Vince rose to his feet in the middle of the rubble-filled commons area as the Herald walked through the blast hole he had created and stalked towards the ranger.

A message flashed across Vince’s visor.

STAND BY FOR HYPER MODE

What’s hyper mode? Vince thought to himself.

“Back off, freak!” a voice called from behind the warrior. It was Blake. “Sound Bite!”

A jagged pulse of sonic energy slammed against the warrior, but was dispersed harmlessly across his body.

“Sound?” the warrior asked with amusement as he turned to face Blake. “You try to fight me with sound?”

The Herald extended his hand and blasted Blake back with a powerful electric surge.

“Hey!” Vince shouted as he armed his fist blades and started to run towards the warrior. “Hyper Mode, mark!”

HYPER MODE INITIATED

Energy coursed through Vince’s veins as he shot towards the warrior like a bullet. The herald fired a massive electric bolt at the ranger, but Vince’s armor absorbed the blast as he leapt into the air and arced down towards the Herald while slamming his fist blades through his chest. Blue energy poured from the open wound as Vince removed his fist blades and elbowed the Herald across the face.

Vince’s armor charged well beyond safety limits as he pounded against the warrior in a blur of kicks and punches.

10 SECONDS

Vince kneed the warrior in the chest then slammed his elbow against the Herald’s back.

8 SECONDS

The Herald fired an energy blast against Vince’s armor at point blank range. Vince stood his ground and the resulting shock wave shook the foundation of the union.

4 SECONDS

Vince charged towards the Herald while downloading a longknife.

3 SECONDS

The ranger pounced forward while charging the knife with energy and jamming it forward like a spear.

2 SECONDS

The Herald grabbed the blade and twisted it in half before blasting Vince back with an energy pulse.

1 SECOND

Vince collapsed as his armor deactivated, leaving his entire body vulnerable.

The Herald walked towards the fallen ranger while preparing a bolt of energy around his right fist. “I’d say I was impressed, had you not used that abomination on your wrist to do combat.”

“I could give two shits,” Vince said as he slowly rose to his feet.

The Herald extended his hand and prepared to strike. “The gods will smile on me this day…”

“Allow me to send you to them!” a voice shouted from behind the Herald. Blake leapt on to the warrior’s back and jammed his tiger saber through his back after charging it with a sonic energy field.

The wound erupted with energy and blasted Blake away as the Herald screamed with agony. Lightning struck from the skies above and shattered through the roof before enveloping the warrior and allowing him to teleport away.

Vince limped over to Blake’s side. The white ranger’s armor had deactivated and he was unconscious, but still breathing.

Max walked over to them alongside Matt and Yuuri.

“What happened?” Yuuri asked.

“I went into Hyper Mode,” Vince said. “I couldn’t take him out in time. Blake injured him. He left.”

“Hyper mode?” Max asked. “Someone in R and D must be watching too much of ‘Virus Buster: Serge…’”

“We should go,” Yuuri said.

Vince nodded as he slung Blake over his shoulder and walked off with his teammates.

-- mission twelve will be concluded in part five. this thread. watch for it.

[Imperialwar]

I smell a Kamen Rider Faizu fan:p Wang packed as always.

[Ryuranger]

never seen faizu. kamen rider black and kuuga are the only ones ive watched. which part are you referring to? hyper mode comes from the anime "Virus Buster: Serge"

[Imperialwar]

Originally posted by Ryuranger
never seen faizu. kamen rider black and kuuga are the only ones ive watched. which part are you referring to? hyper mode comes from the anime "Virus Buster: Serge"

I'll have to watch that.:cool:

[Ryuranger]

Thunderstrike: Mission Twelve: Part Five

Eagle Six, Chicago

Yuuri sat in a small lobby area lined with a variety of greenery and a few chairs when Max pulled up a chair next to her.

They sat silently for a moment before Yuuri spoke. “He can’t be dead, Max. He can’t…”

“Seven and his team are out looking for him,” Max said. “They’ll turn up something…”

Yuuri nodded. The two sat in silence for a while longer.

“Ya know,” Max said. “Jason really cared…”

“Don’t say it,” Yuuri said as she stood up and started to walk away. “Just don’t…”

Max shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

***

Rolling Rock University, Colorado

Vince was allowing Blake to crash on his floor for the night, although he couldn’t rationalize why.

“Hey,” Blake called from the floor. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, kid,” Vince said. “Sleep.”

Blake sighed. “I’m not tired.”

The teen turned to his side sleeplessly and spotted Vince’s trombone case sitting besides the desk. He ran his fingers along the casing.

“Want your fingers broken?” Vince asked.

“Rather keep them the way they are, thanks,” Blake said. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “Do you think Jason’s still…I mean…”

“Yes,” Vince said.

Blake nodded. “I never thought one of us could die, ya know? I mean…I knew it but it just never really sunk in I guess…”

“Why do you think your parents are so worried about you?” Vince asked.

Blake nodded and laid silently for a moment before speaking again. “I see what you were saying now. About me doing all this for Dad’s attention and all. I guess I just never thought of it that way…but there’s more to it than that…”

“Like what?” Vince asked.

Blake shook his head. “I don’t know yet…”

“Well,” Vince said, “the sun’s coming up, so sleep on it. I have class in three hours…”

Blake rolled over and fell asleep just as the sun started to rise.

***

Jason’s eyes slowly blurred back into focus and he found himself surrounded by darkness.

“What the…where am I?”

“Save your energy, Jason,” Yokoshima’s voice said from within the shadows. “You’ll need it for your education.”

“My what?” Jason asked.

Tendrils of pain then shot through every pore of Jason’s body and spread across him like cancer, clawing at every cell as the darkness swallowed his screams.

---MISSION COMPLETE

---Thunderstrike will continue with mission 13. watch for it...

[Imperialwar]

Kinda short, but it's still cool:cool:

[Ryuranger]

Yeah...mission 12 is the shortest with only 20 pages. glad you still liked it, though.

[Qi]

Great episode....