[The Ghost Ranger]

Chapter 8: Lightspeed Revelations

"Class, today is going to be our field trip to Mariner Bay. I'll walk by and take your permission slips." Mrs. Peabody said, walking along the rows of students and taking the pieces of paper to her desk, and looking them over as the students gathered their belongings up and headed for the door, she paused at the last one. "Jake?" she called, the white and gray Letterman jacket wearing teen turning toward her direction, she beckoning him over with a finger.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked, the teacher holding up his permission slip. "This is your handwriting, isn't it?" Jake rubbed his neck in slight embarrassment. "My folks are out of town on a business trip and wouldn't be back in time to sign it, so I...well." he said, gesturing to his signed name. "I'm afraid without your parents signature, you'll have to stay in study hall. Go ahead and finish up your homework early if you want, or read a book from the shelf in the back. I'm sorry you can't go with us, I think you'd like Mariner Bay." "Yeah...I'm sure I would." Jake and Mrs. Peabody left the classroom, the student heading towards study hall and the teacher making her way to the bus.

On the bus, Jerome and Zeke sat next to one another, as did Vanessa and Diane, with Spike being forced to sit next to Kathy, who would not stop talking about the upcoming winter dance, he not being able to get a word in. "Hey, where's Jake?" asked Diane, searching the other seats to not see him. "He's staying here in the study hall, Ms. Pai. His parents weren't able to sign his paper." said Mrs. Peabody, who sat near the front of the bus. The four teens exchanges looks of surprise with each other. "This is the first time I've heard about his parents since meeting the guy." said Zeke, bringing out his tablet and showing the list of names he had found their Sixth Ranger had used over the years, showing it to them. "I did some digging the day the Black Phantom Ranger attacked; Why would he need so many different surnames? How many times has he been to high school and why?" "While I don't condone you snooping around like that, these are some good questions that need to be asked. When we get back, he'll ask him." Jerome said, the bus taking off.

Two hours later, the bus pulled into Mariner Bay, the students and teacher walking into a building with a very familiar gold and blue insignia on the outside of it. There were many people walking around in lab coats, suits, and uniforms. "This seems familiar.." said Vanessa, glancing down to Zeke's tablet as the group of students were lead to a large elevator, going down, when the doors opened, the students were inside a tunnel under water! "This is amazing!" said Jerome, other students oohing and aahing over the tunnel, until they entered a structure, seeing more people in uniform, some at stations, other roaming around as a man wearing a black outfit approached them, smiling at the classmates. "Welcome to the Lightspeed Aquabase. My name is Captain Ryan Mitchell."

Back in Crystal Harbor, Jake had fallen asleep in the study hall while listening to his ear buds, music blaring slightly until the bell rang for a class switching. Waking up with a start, he would wipe the drool away from his mouth, removing his ear buds just as his watch let out a small beep, T.K's voice coming through it. "Jake, we got a problem! Black Phantom Ranger and a monster are attacking the business district! Where are the others?" "They're on a field trip to Mariner Bay. They wont be back for a few hours... I'll do what I can to stop them." "Okay, just be careful." Jake would get up from his seat, and after making sure the coast was clear, rushed out of a side entrance of the school, running over to the bike rack and grabbing his, starting to pedal towards the attack.

Zeke had nearly started to fanboy out loud, Diane clamping a hand over his mouth to stop him from yelling. "Sir, I thought the Aquabase was destroyed years ago?" asked Vanessa, Ryan quirking a brow slightly before answering. "Yes, the base was destroyed at the end of the battle against Queen Bansheera, but after the victory of the Lightspeed Rangers, the best designers and engineers rebuilt it a year later to continue monitoring any attacks and helping the people. Follow me, I'll give you a tour of the base and we can have a Q and A after wards." The five Rangers followed their classmates excitedly, before their watches went off, their giving a quick look around before breaking off and making their way over to a small alcove. "What's up T.K?" asked Jerome. "I hate to ruin your trip, but scanners are reporting of a monster in Mariner Bay!" "We're on it, come on guys." Giving another glance around, they would sneak out the way they came, a blonde haired woman in uniform at a computer having spotted them leave with a bit of a smile on her face.

Jake skidded to a stop on his bike, dismounting it and approaching the attacking duo as a part of a car went flying past, he ducking out of its way. "Hey! You two stop it right now!" he demanded, getting into a fighting stance. Black Phantom Ranger and BuzzSaw, a monster with two chainsaws for arms turned around, the former letting out a dark laugh. "So you finally showed up, about time. Hmm...None of your comrades are here to help?" "I'm more then enough for both of you! Legacy Power, Activate!" Jake Morphed into the Ghost Ranger, running at both with a flying double kick, yelling a loud "hyahh!"

Back in Mariner Bay, the five Rangers has exited the Lightspeed Building, rushing over to the monsters location. When they arrived, they saw Artillitrox, a monster that had army style camouflage, glowing yellow eyes and bandoliers of ammo crisscrossing its chest. "This must be the monster T.K was talking about." Diane said, Zeke's eyes going wide "It's just like the final boss of level eight in Robot Destruction Four!" "I'm no video game! I am very real!" a part of the monsters chest opened up to reveal a very large Gatling gun housed inside of it. Spike let out a very small "uh oh" before Artilitrox opened fire, the Rangers separating into different patterns to avoid the bullets. Zeke and Vanessa crouched behind a dumpster, Jerome sliding over and flipping up a table, and Diane and Spike taking refuge behind a nearby bulldozer.

"This thing has range covered, we wont be able to get in close enough to attack!" Jerome called from hiding, peeking his head up, only to duck back down when the monster fired again. "I have an idea! Try to keep it distracted while I snipe from the roof!" Zeke yelled into his watch for the others to hear. "Right, everyone ready?" Jerome asked into his watch "Ready!" the others replied, calling out "Legacy Power, Activate!" Legacy Red, Pink, Yellow, and Green ran from out of their hiding places in a charge as Legacy Blue climbed up a nearby ladder.

At the Aquabase, alarms started to go off, Captain Mitchell turned towards the blonde, who hit a few buttons on the nearby console, sending out the call..

Ghost Ranger was having a tough time fighting both enemies at once; Buzzsaw was striking him repeatedly with his arms, nearly cutting into his suit a few times while Black Phantom assaulted him with a flurry of punches and slashing attacks. Rolling backward and into a crouch, Ghost started to spin the hands of his watch. "Legacy Transc-" "I DONT THINK SO!" Black Phantom roared, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, placing a boot against it. "After all those years ago, I shall now make you pay for your betrayal!" "What?! You're the one who betrayed the three of us!" "Buzzsaw, destroy him!" "With pleasure!" The monster said, chainsaw arms revving up as it approached the held down Ranger.

"Don't let him get you in his sights!" yelled Pink, barely dodging an oncoming barrage of ammo from their opponent, "Zeke, whats your status?" Red yelled into his Morpher, throwing a nearby wooden sign at Artilitrox, who shot it up into pieces. "Almost there! Just a few more minutes!" Legacy Blue responded, jumping across one roof to another and rolling upon landing, Shot Blaster in hands. Legacy Green and Yellow were throwing handfuls of bricks at the monster, but they weren't doing much besides annoying it "We don't have a few minutes left!" said Green. Then the roar of an engine could be heard, and turning the corner of the road onto the street the Rangers fought on was a familiar yellow jeep, with six passengers in it. Braking to a stop, the riders got out, wearing red and black jackets with red,pink,blue,green,yellow,and gray coloring on the shoulders,with a Lightspeed emblem on the back. "No way, is it really them?" asked Legacy Red, looking at the new arrivals in shock. Blue finally arrived at this designation, aiming down at the monster, only to see the new people. "Unbelievable!" he thought to himself.

Artilitrox continued his attack on the rangers, only to slowly stop when he noticed Rangers looking at the people behind them. "Who are you supposed to be?" it demanded, aiming at them, but not firing.

Their leader had short spiked blonde hair, and blue eyes; Carter Grayson, the legendary firefighter. The long blonde woman from before stood beside him; Dana Mitchell, Doctor and sister to Ryan. Next to her was an Asian man with black hair, looking calm: Chad Lee, the martial arts expert. A rugged, muscular female with her hair tied in two pony tails; Kelsey Winslow, tough and sports loving. A bald African-American male, sporting a smile; Joel Rawlings, stunt pilot and Casanova wannabe. Finally there was Captain Ryan Mitchell; the long lost brother to Dana and ally to the team.

"It really -is- them! I don't believe it!" Blue said to himself setting up his Shot Blaster into a sniper type rifle. "Looks like you guys could use a hand with this. Mind if we help you tag team?" Carter asked. "We'd be honored!" Legacy Red spoke, the four of them gathering beside the six people. "The honor is ours." said Joel, he and the four of them held up their arms to reveal the Lightspeed Morphers, calling out "Lightspeed! Rescue!" Ryan brought up his own Morpher, hitting a button and calling out "Titanium Power!" The six people transformed into the Lightspeed Rangers once more after all these years. "Red Ranger, rescue ready!" "Blue Ranger, rescue ready! "Pink Ranger, rescue ready!" "Yellow Ranger, rescue ready!" "Green Ranger, rescue ready!" "Titanium Ranger, hyah!" The six Lightspeed Rangers stood side by side the Legacy Rangers, Artilitrox readying his Gatling gun, but also turning his fingers into missiles. "Hahaha! Try and stop me!"

Ghost Ranger was panicking, the chainsaw nearing him, the buzz making his heart thud in his chest. At the last second, he put all of his weight into a forward roll, sending Black Phantom Ranger into the monsters path, kicking himself away from both of them and flipping to his feet. Buzzsaw only stopped a mere few inches from its ally, Black Phantom kicking it in the stomach and flipping back up ro their feet. "You'll pay for that!" Black Phantom's battle aura was dark black, and in a flash, had sent Ghost Ranger flying back into a wall with a punch powerful enough to De-Morph him into his civilian outfit, knocking him out.

The Legacy Rangers and the Lightspeed Rangers went on the offensive against Artilitrox, with Lightspeed Red bringing out his rescue blaster, tossing Legacy red a spare one, both shooting at the monster, Lightspeed Pink and Yellow turned their blasters into baton mode, Legacy Yellow and Pink taking turns with their counter parts while wielding the Spark Staff and Wolf Fang Daggers to repeatedly hit at it from different angles. Lightspeed Blue and Lightspeed Green summoned their Mega Battle Armors; Green spun the saw in his weapon to send the monster flying back, while Blue used his water cannon to shoot ice at the monster, freezing it in place. "Zeke, take the shot!" ordered Legacy Red, and from his rooftop perch, Legacy Blue pulled the trigger on his Shot Blaster, nailing Artilitrox in the chest, the monster shattering. Legacy Blue leapt down from the roof, both teams congratulating him, and both powering down. "You guys were amazing!" said Kelsey with a smile. "You made us proud to fight alongside you" Chad spoke, bowing towards to the new team. "I cant believe we got to fight alongside such a great team!" Spike said, Joel clapping him on the back. "Its good to know you're keeping Earth safe. Keep up the good work." "We will!" said Diane, blushing.

Their watched beeped, T.K's voice coming through. "Rangers! Jake's in danger and needs your help!" "We won't get there in time with the bus, it's two hours from away from here." Jerome said concerned. Dana and Carter glanced to one another, with Carter speaking " We have something that could get you there extremely fast. Got any train tracks where you live?"

As Black Phantom Ranger moved in for the final blow against the unconscious warrior, the whistle of a train caught both their and Buzzsaw's attention; the Lightspeed Rail Rescues were on the nearby train tracks overhead! Slowly they stopped to a halt, The Legacy Rangers climbing out the train and landing beside their friend, Legacy Pink pulling Jake to safety and joining the others. "Think our friends back in Mariner Bay would mind if we borrowed their powers?" asked Legacy Green. "Let's do it!" declared Legacy Red, the team spinning their watch hands to 8:00. "Legacy Transcendence! Lightspeed! Rescue!" The five transformed into the Legacy Lightspeed Rangers, bringing out their blasters and firing at both enemies.

Black Phantom spun their Morpher, calling out "Dark Transcendence!" and would turn into a copy of Diabolico, the demon servant of Queen Bansheera. Bringing out a double ax staff, the Diabolico copy went to work on the team, blasting them with energy attacks and slamming Legacy Lightspeed Red into the same building Ghost Ranger had hit earlier. "Pathetic!" Buzzsaw, meanwhile had focused on the knocked out Jake, chainsaws revving at full speed as it neared him. Legacy Lightspeed Blue had turned his head in that direction after being blasted back. Raising a hand up, he yelled out "NO!"

"Where am I? Everything's dark..Did I lose to Black Phantom? Looks like they..beat me again." Jake was floating in darkness, his thoughts echoing out into the vast nothingness. "Guess I failed my mission for good this time. I just feel like I want to sleep..Wait. I hear something. Fighting? Why do I fight? I can hear someone yelling. Zeke? Why's he yelling?"

"He may have lied to us, he may be keeping secrets..But he's still our friend! Get. Away. From him!" Legacy Blue turned back to his base outfit, running at Buzzsaw with weapon drawn. "BLUE LEGACY BATTLEIZER!" Zeke's suit gained a black over armor similar to that of a first or third person shooting hero, nothing specifically close to any particular character, but the feel was there; his boots, armor, gloves, and Shot Blaster were now bigger. Taking the gun, he pulled the trigger multiple times, large laser like bullets slamming into Buzzsaw's backside over and over, before the barrel began to glow brighter, swirling with energy. "COLLATERAL SHOT!" the force of the blast sent Legacy Blue's armor flying off like data squares, just like Legacy Green's armor had before. The impact of the shot nailed Buzzsaw dead on, turning the monster to dust.

Turning to face the Diabolico copy, Blue would re-Transcend into Lightspeed Blue, pulling out the rescue blaster and charging forward, the other Rangers joining him in shooting at their enemy. Raising its staff into the air, lightning struck the ax and fired at the rangers, sending them all back with a massive explosion.

"Zeke saved me? Wait..They're hurt. No! I can't let Black Phantom win. These Rangers, these people are the only allies I've had since then. They're...They are...My. Friends. My only friends. My best friends! My heart? My heart feels like its on fire! Whats going on!?"

In the real world, the copy of Diabolico stood triumphant over the Legacy Lightspeed Rangers, preparing for one more blast, before Jake's eyes flew open, letting out a roar a he slowly stood up, his entire body engulfed in a light blue battle aura. "What?! How are you still alive?!" "My heart burns for my friends! The flame inside of my body is demanding I protect them at all costs!"

"AHHHHHHH!" Letting out a mighty yell, Jake ran forward, slamming his right fist, covered in the blue flame like aura into the copy's face, the impact of the punch not only Morphing him back into Ghost Ranger, but also turning Black Phantom back to their normal suit. Next, Ghost Ranger unleashed punch after punch on their body. "100 Ghost Strikes!" he yelled out, fists blurring until the final blow, he knocking Black Phantom onto the ground, their body rolling until it stopped.

The five Rangers stood up, and met their friend where he stood. "That was amazing, how did you do that?" asked Red. Pink hugging him from behind asked "You're okay, right? You're not hurt are you?" "I'll be fine, now.. Legacy Transcendence! Titanium Power!" he turned into the Titanium Ranger, the six of them watching Black Phantom stand up, helmet cracked. "Summon Rescue Bird!" Lightspeed Legacy Red commanded, the robotic bird flying at them as Legacy Titanium took out his ax weapon, bringing the blade down the handle to turn it into a gun. "Unilaser, fire!" "Titanium Laser!" Both weapons shot out, nailing the Black Phantom, ranger and sending them to their knees. When the smoke cleared, they were back up, glaring at the Rangers...Only part of their helmet was broken, revealing a human face with long brown and blonde hair, and a brown eye. "A woman?" Green asked, dumbfounded. "A human woman?" Yellow said, shocked. "This isn't over, Rangers! I'll be back!" the woman warrior yelled, vanishing. "Save that for later, we gotta get back to Mariner Bay before our bus leaves!" said Legacy Red, speaking into his communicator. "T.K, contact the Aquabase and tell them we're coming back with the Rail Rescues." "Will do! And Zeke? You did good out there earlier."

The bus was missing five students, Mrs. Peabody standing by the door with a worried look on her face as Jerome, Spike, Vanessa, and Diane ran over to the bus from the Lightspeed building. "Hey, Mrs. P!" Zeke yelled as they got closer. "Where have you been?" she asked "Spike got lost trying to find the bathroom." Diane said, the others laughing as they and their teacher boarded the bus back to Blue Bay High.


Later at the Garage, the others entered while Jake was speaking with T.K, all talking at once until their tech assistant whistled at them. "One at a time!" "Jake, why didn't you tell us Black Phantom Ranger was a woman?" asked Zeke. "Why didn't you tell us she was a human?" Jerome inquired. Jake stood in silence for a few moments with his back turned, before speaking.

"She's not human. She's Eltarian..But more then that" He then turned around, revealing he had a few tears running down his face. "She's my younger sister." The five Rangers looked at their mentor leader in stunned silence, unsure of how to respond.

-To Be Continued-