Power Rangers In Space/Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Heather Ray [best novels ever TXT] 📗

expression. "Guys, calm down. This is my friend Karone. She's from KO 35."

If the kids were impressed before, it doesn't hold a candle to the starry-eyed stares they're giving Karone now.

"Ohmigosh, she's Kerovan!"

"Wow cool! Do you know Andros? He's my hero!"

"Then that was teleconsis you used to get the ball!" Jamie asserts, folding her arms.

"Telekinesis," Karone corrects with an indulgent smile.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Terry begs.

Then, Dean's eyes light up. "Hey, wanna play with us? You can be on my team!"

"Hey!" half the kids snarl at once. They must be on the opposing team.

"Thanks, but I don't know how to play," Karone excuses.

The kids wail in unison. Wow, it's almost like they rehearsed

this.

"C'mon, please? We'll teach you!"

"Yeah, it's easy! You just have to dodge the ball!"

"If Jamie can do it, anyone can!"

"Hey!

I'm better than you

are, Ricky!"

"Leo! Tell her to play with us! Pleease...

"

I laugh aloud at Carmen's puppy-dog eyes. "Sorry, kiddo...Karone has to decide for herself."

I turn to my teammate, fully expecting her to look a little frustrated at all the kids' attention. I'm surprised to see her smiling, enjoying every moment of it.

"What d'ya say, Karone? We'll all teach you."

Karone stares at me, but any words she was about to say are completely drowned out by the kids' screams of approval.

Chapter Thirty

-Karone-

I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!

I caught on to the concept of "dodge ball" pretty quickly...it's not really that different from some of the training simulations I'd endured in years past, only this activity lacks that ever-present feeling of danger.

Still, I try to play fairly as I duck and run, avoiding the ball as if it carried some lethal plague. The children's laughter is absolutely infectious...while I'm playing this game, I feel no pain.

The ball then rolls into Leo's hands, and a conspiring smirk makes his intentions clear. He's obviously noticed that I haven't been tagged yet since we started playing. I yelp as I scurry away from him, knowing he's hot on my heels.

"You're on my radar screen, Karone!" he taunts. I turn my head, staring at the ball that flies toward me. Without thinking I react...reaching out with my sixth sense and causing the ball to veer to the left.

His confident grin turns into an absolutely priceless grimace. "You cheated

!"

I can't help it...I collapse into peals of laughter at his theatrical outrage. "No I didn't!" I retort, "You should've compensated for the wind."

"Wind? We're on a space colony

!"

I respond with a disrespectful gesture I learned from Jamie today. I stick out my tongue.

At first he's stunned by the affront. Then, he too begins laughing at the absurdity of it all, and retrieves the ball. "You're just a big kid!" he accuses.

I stand up from the grass, brushing off the dirt clinging to my leather pants. "Well...it's not like I had much of a childhood. I guess I'm compensating now." I smirk at him, lunging to grab the ball as he approaches me. He manages to keep the ball out of my reach, and wags his finger to taunt me.

I roll my eyes. "And what's your

excuse?"

His face lights up into a wide, though far from innocent, grin. "I just never grew up."

I lunge again for the ball, eager to get the better of him, when a sudden shriek draws our attention to the park benches.

Streams of people race from a gargantuan figure, with a magnet-shaped ornament atop its head, and another at the peak of its long scepter.

My jaw drops in open shock.

"Trakeena's back in the game," Leo mutters, tossing the ball aside. "Go Galactic!"

The burst of crimson energy swallows him, transforming him from man to superhero. The chaos around us kept the fleeing citizens from noticing the appearance of the Red Ranger, and without wasting a moment he rushes to engage the monster.

I bite my lip, and race to clear the area so Leo can unleash his full might against this abomination. And then, as I usher the children towards the exit of the Forest Dome, I hear a cry that will surely haunt my nightmares.

"Leo!"

A sudden fear assaults me as I run back towards the picnic area. My heart clogs my throat when I see the Red Ranger standing frozen, sparks of bright red energy flashing across his entire frame, climbing up the magnet squeezing his waist.

The Quasar Saber drops from his clawed fingers, and smoke rises as if he'd caught fire. Then, the monster draws his weapon back, laughing in repulsive glee as the Red Ranger falls flat on his back.

The energy matrix surrounding him flashes out of existence, leaving a bruised and unconscious Leo Corbett on the grass.

Part Eight: Heroes

Chapter Thirty-One

-Mike-

It takes me seven and a half minutes to run from the bridge of Terra Venture to the Megaship, but it feels like so much longer.

Karone's anxious voice still rings in my ears. "Mike, please come to the Megaship infirmary as soon as you can. Leo has been injured."

The protective older brother in me surged to life as I made a rather lame excuse to Commander Stanton and dashed to the Megaship like a bat out of Hell.

"What's his status?" I demand the second the infirmary doors part. I nod a terse greeting to the rest of the group as I approach the medical cot, where Alpha and Maya tend to my little brother.

He looks...terrible

. Ghostly pale, listless, and covered with angry bruises, mostly along the sides of his torso.

"He's unconscious," Maya reports, rolling a sterile bandage around his abdomen with Alpha's assistance. "He and Karone were attacked in the Forest Dome."

I lean over Alpha's head to get a closer look. I've never seen such ugly wounds on a Ranger. "Didn't he get a chance to morph?"

I turn to Karone, who stands apart from us with her back against the far wall. "He did morph. The monster struck him with a magnet-tipped staff. It looked like it drained the power out of him. He just...collapsed

after that."

"That's exactly what happened," Alpha confirms. "My analysis concludes that Leo's Ranger powers have been drained. He can't morph without them."

Maya gasps in horror. "But that's not possible!"

"Several generations of Power Rangers have encountered monsters with the ability to drain their energy," Alpha explains. "This isn't a permanent power loss, but it will take weeks for the Power to naturally restore itself. In the meantime, Leo won't be able to morph."

"We can't accept that," Kai states, folding his arms. "We can't be down another Ranger."

I frown at Kai's comment, glancing at Karone. She throws the Blue Ranger a frigid glare before finally turning away from us all. Maya gives Karone an apologetic look before narrowing her eyes at Kai. Damon just shakes his head in resignation.

What the hell is going on around here?

I realize now that I've been lax in my duty. I really should've stepped up sooner. Leo's a solid field commander for the Rangers, but when it comes to the finer points of leadership, including building team cohesion, he's inexperienced. And since we lost Kendrix, he's also been...distracted

. And now he's out cold, a victim of Trakeena's latest creature.

I can't let this team fall apart.

"Is there any way to speed up the process?" I ask Alpha. "Restore his powers safely, without the wait?"

"The only way is to destroy the monster's staff. That will release the powers it has absorbed."

Kai nods once, marching to the door. "Then let's move out."

Maya turns to follow him, but Damon shakes his head warily. "But what's to stop the monster from stealing our powers, too?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Kai challenges.

Then, Karone clears her throat, gaining our attention. "I might know a way."

We turn to her en masse, and once again I'm struck by how distant she is. She's clear across the room, her arms crossed as she paces slowly along the wall.

"Go ahead, Karone," I encourage. The tension in her body is plain as day, even though she tries to keep her face neutral. Whatever she's considering is definitely attached to some bad memories.

She clears her throat, and then tells her tale. "A few years ago, I encountered a very powerful warrior."

I see Kai grimace from the corner of my eye. Thankfully, Karone doesn't notice.

"The warrior's power came from two Keys he wore on his shoulders. When they were combined, he channeled an incredible burst of power that would make him invincible."

"Invincible?" Damon repeats, a smile forming. "Sounds like the kind of guy I'd like on my side! I vote we look him up."

Karone winces, and I suddenly have a sinking feeling that I know where the story is heading.

"He can't help us," she breathes. "Back when we fought, he was reaching for the Keys, and I knew of the power they