Power Rangers Supersonic: Part I

Chapter 3 - Bullseye

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The attack on Guta raged on.

Conflagrated households charred the soil black. Vast crop-field expanses, farming equipment and storage facilities were swallowed by blooming laser discharges. Family curios, priceless ties to ancestral heritage, were forever lost in the flames.

Creatures devoid of sympathy, the Silencers rampaged unabated. Packs of threes scuttled from one street to the next, brandished pincer blades spinning frantically in a manic search for civilians to terrorize.

'This way,' Star whispered as soon as the Silencers had moved past.

'I'm right behind you, Star,' answered Brute. He glanced at Pyre. She was leaning on him, half-conscious. 'She's a fighter, alright,' he told Star. 'I didn't think she had it in her.'

Pyre managed a chuckle. 'Hey, I may be a rookie, but I'll show you,' she slurred.

Star let out a relieved sigh. 'Even when the going gets tough, you keep your cool.'

'Pretty sure that's a citation from Gent's knightly code,' Brute noted. 'Did you know he won't let me take a peek? I don't come off as nosy, do I?'

'Shh!' Star interrupted him. 'Silencers.'

Immediately, all three Power Rangers clung to the nearest wall. The chattering of Silencers could be heard at the next turn.

'Activating T-wave lenses.' Brute tapped the left side of his helmet and turned to stare directly at the wall. Under refined Terahertz radiation the piled stonework seemingly melted away, allowing Brute to look past the structure.

'There's six of them,' he relayed. 'Overlapping patrols. Star, can you read them, see if you can find the superior amidst the pack?'

Star looked around, spotting the Silencers' reflections from scattered pieces of glass. Behind her helmet, the gem embedded on Star's forehead gave off a faint, pink glow. As she entered a state of deep concentration, her psychic presence pushed outward and with a wilful push the ranger's essence exited her mortal vessel.

Now an incorporeal phantom, the individual that had previously been Star swam in an ocean of aethereal energies. Practicing extreme caution in order to not be swept away by turbulent currents, the phantasm closed in on a distinct, disorderly spot. Garbled thoughts danced within each of the six shapes that the phantom recognized to be Silencers. It approached closer still to better inspect the shades and sorted through their subconscious alien thoughts. Soon enough the noise had turned into words, until...

'Their leader is the rightmost one,' Star gasped as her mind reconnected with her body. The whiplash she experienced was to be expected after the strong, mental tug that was required to pull back her conscience.

'Nice,' Brute nodded. 'Now, it's my turn.' Keeping the T-wave lens activated, Supersonic Blue gathered the entirety of his focus on the designated Silencer. 'I theorize its IQ is less than eighty,' he muttered. 'Perfect possession target.'

Brute's gem, also embossed on his forehead, twinkled with blue light as he concentrated his will and hurled it at the Silencer. The alien flinched upon the spiritual collision, the sudden freeze in movement attracting the attention of its peers.

The Silencer returned to normal as suddenly as it had gone limp.

'Nh,' it spoke in a strange dialect, unaware that Brute was in control. 'Kds'r fn sgzs vzx,' and it pointed with the pincer blade toward an alley whose entrance was obstructed by a near-collapsed building.