Disclaimer: I in no way own the characters or anything from the series. Several other fanfics inspired this one. No infringement was intended

Chapter 1: Murphy's Law

Sky wiped his brow taking a drink from his water bottle. Turning back toward his opponent, he nodded. The samurai leapt toward him, blade on the downward swing. He deflected it, slashing its chest. "Cadet, when I gave B Squad this long weekend, I meant for you to relax." Doggie Cruger said, watching from the doorway to the simulator. Since Boom had upgraded the hologram projectors, the simulator's false environments were almost lifelike. Sky had recreated a Japanese Dojo, from the late Ming Dynasty. It looked so real that even the floors showed gouges from different weapons types. The holo-figure swiped at Sky's head, almost making contact. "With all due respect sir, I find this very relaxing." Sky said blocking the blow. A well placed kick in the chest sent his opponent flying back. "Well executed Sky." He said inclining his canine like head.

Distracted, the holo-figure knocked Sky's weapon away and palm hit him in the chest. Winded Sky fell to one knee gasping. As the samurai approached, Sky swept his foot out, trying to trip it. Sensing what was coming, it flipped over the youth, bringing the holo-blade to rest through the center of Sky's chest.

Sky rolled his head to the side and sighed. "Computer end." The Dojo dissolved into a bare white room. Standing up, Sky looked at Doggie, embarrassment painting his face. "I believe the rest of B Squad is in the lounge." Cruger said chuckling.

Walking down the paths of NewTech City Park, Bridge exhaled deeply. In another part of the park, the work detail was cutting the grass, filling the air with a sweet scent. The birds glided in the breeze, dancing back and forth. Only a handful of people were walking in the park today. He followed the stone path to a thick hedge area. Looking around to make sure no one was around, he slipped into a small separation that most people didn't know existed. Following the forgotten path, he found himself standing next to an oak tree at a small pond. He found this place during his first year at the academy after an interesting run in with Sgt. Silverback. The Earth seemed to sense his distress, and that day its swirls almost seemed to lead him to this spot. Often thinking of it as a personal sanctuary, Bridge sat down next to the tree, and unzipped his jacket. Fall had come early to NewTech City. The trees started to turn from their lush green to the bronze and red hues.

The swirling aura fields danced about, mixing and flowing through one another, in a symphony that only he could see. The birds chirped overhead as if to welcome him back. The gentle sounds of the water seemed to have a therapeutic quality, which he didn't understand. Not sensing anyone around, he unzipped his gloves and slid them off his hands. Running his bare hands over the grass, he smiled at the soft, tickling sensations. This is what I needed, some time to be with myself. He thought as he felt the Earth's heartbeat. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and looked up at the sun. In his mind, he could feel his mental barriers falling down around him.

Before the creature materialized, Bridge sensed his approach. The flow of nature was disrupted whenever a mercenary or Trubian creature appeared. Struggling to get his gloves back on, the mercenary appeared between the Ranger and the path, cutting off his only route of escape. The mercenary was Trubian, a creation of Mora no doubt. He stood at least seven feet tall. Physically it was female. Clothed in a skin tight blood red jump suit, Its petite figure seemed menacing, yet hauntingly beautiful. Her face reminded him of a painted Geisha Doll, a ghostly smile painted on. It had five long blades in place of fingers, terminating at the hand itself. She covered her mouth as she laughed. Bridge felt the hairs on his arms stand up. Arms poised to strike, she leapt.

"Syd, seriously. Why would a frog want to save a pig from pirates? It'd save a lot of time if he'd let them make pork chops out of her." Jack said, as he grabbed some popcorn. "Jack this is a classic. Muppet Treasure Island inspired an entire generation to read. Reading is this thing you do when you pick up a book or datapad and look at the words and understand what their saying." Z said tossing a handful over her shoulder hitting him and Sky. "Watch the friendly fire Z. I'm just trying to watch the movie." Sky said tossing the popcorn back at her, feigning a look of hurt and innocence.

The evil from this creature was more intense than anything he had felt since the Battle of Corvana, where Gruumm had personally led the assault on the remote SPD Outpost. It was here that the Green Ranger came face to face with the enemy of the free galaxy. The creatures' sudden appearance caused his head throb. He struggled to put the barriers back up, but something was preventing him from doing so.

The power he was sensing, its energy pulsing in his mind, made him nauseous for a moment. Fighting his lunch back down he shook his head, confusion trying to take hold. Pulling his morpher from its pouch, he studied her for a moment. The closer she came, the more intense the feedback. He was in over his head and he knew it. He pressed the comm. button on his morpher.

"Jack, this is Bridge. I need help in the Park. A Trubian mercenary just appeared." Bridges voice echoed through the room. The Rangers jumped up and readied their morphers. "Bridge, Were on our way. Hold on." Jack said, jumping into position. "Ready?" Jack asked as the other rangers raised their morphers back. "SPD Emergency"

An instant later, they were standing in the park weapons in hand. The creature looked up at the rangers as they neared a Crybot Swarm. It was definitely female. Its hands shone brightly in the afternoon light. Jack marveled for a moment at her grace and beauty.

Mora stood at Scythe's side as a swarm of Crybots danced around. "Rangers what kept you? Scythe wants to play with you." She said skipping around. Despite looking like a ten year old girl, Mora was one of Grumm's most feared Generals. She possessed the talent of giving life to anything she drew, which always seemed intent on destroying the rangers.

Bridge lay motionless ten yard from them, with the mercenary standing over him. As they neared, Scythe lent down toward him, whispering in his ear. Bridge grabbed his head and started screaming, back arching, feet digging into the dirt, trying to crawl away. With the flick of her wrist, the Crybots engaged the Rangers.

Fighting their way through Jack touched the side of his helmet. "Kat, activate a remote morph. Bridge is down." A flash of green energy enveloped Bridge, throwing Scythe back. She came to rest perched on a tree trunk a couple of yards away. When it subsided instead of being morphed, he was still in his civilian clothes. Scythe leapt from the tree, and came to rest straddling Bridge. "Kat, the sequence failed." Sky called into his helmet mic. Crybot after Crybot fell as they cut a path to the down ranger. As Sky neared, Scythe's head snapped up as she started to giggle. Mora smiled as the Crybots disappeared. "Scythe they broke my toys. Show them how it feels."

Sky felt his stomach lurch as Scythe's hand cut into bridges chest. The sounds of snapping bones and the squish of flesh made Scythe giggle louder. As she pulled her hand out, she was clutching something. Dancing around giggling, Sky realized what it was in her hand. The lump of flesh was Bridge's heart.

Still beating, she tossed it to Sky. In his mind, he heard her melodic voice. "His heart belongs to you now, just like you wanted." The heart stopped mid air, floating like a grotesque specter. The sound of it beating growing louder and louder, the Earth cracking open and shaking with each beat. Sky fell to his knees as he tried in vain to cover his ears.

Looking up, Sky saw Bridge standing over him, his chest cleaved open, blood flowing out of him. "Why didn't you save me Sky? I thought we were friends. You just stood there and let me die." As Sky reached up to touch him, he looked at his hands and saw them covered in blood. "If you were half the ranger your father was, you would have saved me. But," he clicked his tong and shrugged his shoulders "I guess your nothing like the man your father was. Thanks for nothing Sky." As he turned walking toward the pond, Sky heard him as he walked below the water line "Some best friend, wouldn't even try and save me. Shows how much you love me."

Bolting wide-awake, Sky struggled to control his breathing. He and his bed were drenched in sweat. His eyes adjusting to the dark, he saw Bridge sleeping quietly, snuggling up to his stuffed dragon. He watched his best friends' chest raise and lower as a low wub wub sound escaped his lips. Bridge was definitely alive and sleeping safely. Looking at the clock, he groaned and laid back. 0300hrs. He and the other rangers were due on shift at 0700. As he drifted off to sleep, he mumbled to himself. "I hate Mondays."

As the week progressed, Sky began feeling a sense of Déjà vu. The same monsters, the same battles even the same food in the mess. It was as if his dream life and his real life were one. The only difference was that he was able to make changes in the waking. Setting in the mess hall, his morpher chirped. "B Squad meet in the lounge in a half hour. Don't be late. Informal debriefing. Landers out."

Moving past several people, Bridge tried to focus on the plants and animals around him. This was the longest week he could remember. Gruumm had attacked a total of fifty eight times, a record according to Kat. No sooner had one of his creatures been destroyed, another one would appear. Then there was the fall-out from the asteroid that Sky and Jack had destroyed earlier today. To most people the light show from the explosion was barely noticeable, but to him it was excruciating. The EM field from the asteroid has somehow amplified his psi talents to the point that the gloves were no longer any help. In a calm environment, the background psi noise was deafening to him. Peoples residual thoughts and emotions were something he had to deal with daily. At SPD, with everyone on edge, it was unendurable. He tried every technique he had learned from focusing on an aura swirl to using Sky's psyche from stabilizing. At best, it was a temporary solution to the problem. But even that didn't help today. It was as if he was starting to unravel again. Wandering the paths, the events of the last few hours played repeatedly in his mind.

B Squad gathered in the common area for an informal briefing after the most recent mercenary assault. In truth, it was a brow beating from Jack about the damage the Megazord had sustained and to who blame would be assigned. The damage, while not critical, rendered it out of service, leaving only the Delta and Delta Max Megazords' functional. As Jack rambled on, the emotions that were flowing cut into his mind like a knife. Pain surged through him as his stomach churned. "Bridge!" Jack barked as he tried to focus on nothing to calm the storm. "I'm sorry if were boring you but this might not have been so bad if you spent a little more time in reality and not Bridge world."

Something snapped inside, as he leapt up and went nose to nose with Jack. "I see. So the damage to the Megazord is my fault? How about taking some of the blame oh great leader." He said his voice thick with sarcasm. Jack tensed, trying to stare him down. "Care to explain what you mean by that?" has asked Bridge, his voice cold and calm, fists clenched. Bridge smiled, never backing down. "I'd be glad too. Jack your great at giving orders, but not leading. A true leader would learn from and work with his team, not just sit back and say you do this you do that. A true Red Ranger would be focusing on how to prepare for the next attack not trying to assign blame for damage to a Megazord. But I guess red really is just a color."

Hurt danced through Jacks eyes, as Bridge stood quiet letting his words sink in. "Let me make one thing clear freak boy. As long as I'm Red Ranger, you do what I say." Bridge paled as memories flashed from his childhood. "Freak boy?" he asked shifting his weight. "Bridge compared to you we're normal." Jack said almost laughing. "If you spent as much time listening to us as what you do, watching colors or listening to the voices in your head you'd be as good of a ranger as the rest of us. Personally, I'm getting tired of carrying your weight around here." Jack paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "I think you'd have done better if they left you in the institute, in your little white padded room, while they figured out what makes you tick. Maybe then they could have fixed you." He said tapping Bridge on the forehead.

The memories he'd buried long ago about the Trafalgar Institute For The Gifted broke into his consciousness. The Neural Treatments, the medications, the tests, the screams of the other patients as the staff preformed experiments on them. The physical and emotional abuse he suffered made him shutter. Before Jack could react, Bridge's fist made contact with Jack's nose. The cracking of cartilage confirmed the hit as Bridge pulled back, taking a defensive stance. Jack staggered back for a moment, giving Bridge enough room to plant his heel in the middle of the Red Rangers Chest.

Sky came up behind him, sliding his arms up under the Green Rangers. As he held his struggling friend, Sky leaned in and started talking in his ear quietly, trying to sooth him. Bridge felt Sky's energies flowing into him through a small tear in his uniform. The added energy and thoughts only confused him more. Panic started to grip him, as he struggled harder to escape. Lost in a memory, he threw his head back, hitting Sky in the face. Bridge felt the warm from Sky's breath on his neck. Panic took him completely as he sank to the floor in a mass.

In his mind he saw the institute. Dr. Cravers smiled, as the boy was lead into the room. "Mr. Carson, this is Allan Manx. He'll be your new bunk mate." A small smile graced the older man's pursed lips. Bridge sat at the edge of his bed and looked at the new addition. "Lust is my name.," he said looking at Bridge. The boy was thin and pale. Yet something about him was hauntingly beautiful. Bridge felt his face flush as he sensed Lust's thoughts.

A few nights later, Bridge lay on the examination table in Med Lab 4. Dr. Cravers strapped him to a table, placing a neural interface on his head. "Mr. Carson, during this exercise, we have kept you awake for what is it now five days? We have collected a sizeable amount of data. The sleep study is terminated. Now for phase two." As the doctor opened the Med Lab door, several other patients, including Lust entered. "Gentlemen, we need you to test the effects of sleep deprivation on Mr. Carson's pain and pleasure centers. Please be creative." Bridge felt a tear roll down his cheek as they approached him, their thoughts of tearing his flesh apart as each used his body.

Anubis Kruger, whom had been listening to the briefing from the doorway, held Jack in place as the girls stood between them. Z multiplied herself, creating a small wall between her and Bridge. Anubis growled as Jack tried to break loose. "Enough. Cadet Tate, escort Cadet Carson to the infirmary, then off base. Cadet Carson, I suggest you take a long walk and cool off while I decide what to do with you. As for you Cadet Landers, I'll escort you to the Med Bay where we are going to have a talk. Cadets Delgado and Drew, make yourselves available for questioning in regards to this incident."

Settling in at the base of an old oak tree next to the lake, Bridge remembered what Sky told him as they walked out into the sunlight.

"Bridge, for now go for a walk. Jack doesn't know about the Institute. Once things calm down I'll come get you." Sky patted him on the back, flashing him a smile as he went back inside. Feeling something strange in the pouch on his back, he smiled. He felt the smooth edge of his morpher pressed into its case. Protocol dictates that an Officer's morpher is to be confiscated in a situation like this, but his best friend had made sure to leave it.

Pulling off his gloves, Bridge buried his hands in the soft ground. He felt the gentle thrum of the Earth's energies, and watched the swirling aura's of the life around him. The birds danced about in the wind, a private concert for his advantage. As he watched them dance, he felt himself starting to calm. His center was returning and the balance within was being restored.

Suddenly the colors became erratic as the energy field began to pulse. "For the love of fuck" he said standing, trying to pull his gloves back on. Before him stood a raven-haired girl, fare complexion holding a small doll. She cradled the doll and smiled. "Mora, while normally I'm not glad to see you, today of all days I'm especially not glad to see you, which doesn't mean that I'm ever glad to see you at any point." He said taking a fighting stance. She looked him deeply in the eyes and smiled. As she spoke, her words echoed through his mind making him flinch.

"Poor little Green Ranger, so much pain so much suffering. Now I'm here and there's no one to help you." She said as she circled him. The vibrations sent fire through his pain receptors. He clutched his head and fell to his knees, the screams of agony making her giggle. "Your psychometric talents are a wonderful thing. Their greatest weapon" she said placing her small hand against his forehead "is your greatest weakness. But I've brought someone to help you." In a shimmer of light, a familiar silhouette appeared. "No, not again."