Fandom Power Rangers: Bio Strike

So, official orders to go out in the badlands (sounds way cooler than wastelands in Jane's opinion) to get a rock from outer space. Beats being sucked into a video game, fighting a monster with a Pokemon's name, getting stung by a bee monster or swapping punches with evil replacement robot Rangers. Boy, being a colorful superhero is a weird line of work. Posing as gang members wouldn't be as hard, hopefully.

Going home to change for Calvin meant two things. One, he could get away with wearing work out clothes casually if they looked old. Two, he could be as racially stereotypical as possible for a person of color being a thug. Maybe the latter isn't the best option. The former is more suited to not be as offensive, no? Sure he wants to pass as a thug, but he ain't going that far. Calvin went home and went from his current attire to a pair of dirty combat boots, old camo cargo pants, and a ripped up dark tank top. It had been ripped ages ago when he went to the gym and tripped over some equipment. Gave him a bruise back then, but his shirt was caught on a bolt and it tore. Not a huge hole, but it helped the look! He also put on a pair of finger less gloves he usually worked out in, so they looked worn. As well as a bandanna tied around his head! In the stereotype fashion of a black thug, of course. If only he'd had a set of grills for his teeth...hey, he's going for a thug, not a rapper.
Calvin thought like Drew did. In that maybe a weapon of some kind would be a good touch? His family wasn't home, so no awkward encounters in the hall way. He went to the garage and took some chain from the cabinet they used to lock up yard stuff. he gave the chain a few swings and swirls before wearing it on his neck like a scarf. Just draping it over his shoulder and neck so it dangled own his chest. As stereotypical as possible, which made him a tad uncomfortable for good reason, Calvin headed to meet the others at the city gates.

Jane had...fun. Too much fun, getting ready. How often was she told to deliberately dress to scare people? On a day that isn't even Halloween! As soon as she got him, she ran up to her room, stripped out of her clothes and got to work. The dress she'd bought for her sisters wedding hung on her door...ick. Ignoring that ugly thing, Jane immediately knew what she wanted. She slipping into a pair of black skinny jeans, converse, and a tank top. She put on a studded belt that was missing a lot of studs. It was an old one from high school, when she was like 15. It was old! Jane then grabbed a long sleeved blue plaid shirt from her closet and tied the sleeves around her waist, the shirt covering her butt like a cape flap! She ruffled up her hair a bit, going for an edgy vibe. She then did something similar to what Lucas had done in his place and put a beanie on her head. Just far enough so the top of her head would support it, but her rattier hair could still flow and whip around. Shit, if she had glasses on you could call her a punk hipster! She strapped a couple of studded bracelets to her wrists, also missing a few studs. Again. High school. Her clothes looked a bit too clean to be so worn and old-looking; So Jane had decided to something to remedy that. ON her way out, she grabbed a baseball bat from her closet. She didn't play it growing up, just...the girl owned a bat. So what? When she went outside in her thug outfit, Jane just picked up a handful of dirt off of the ground and threw it up in the air, letting some of it fall on her. Did it work? Kind of. Did some dirt get in her eye? You bet your ass it did.

Arriving at the gates Jane and Calvin saw everyone dressed up as their version of thugs. For Jane, seeing Lucas like a thug is like seeing her mom as a thug. Slightly laughable and just weird as Hell. Of course she wouldn't tell him that because it sounds so mean...hey as blunt as Jane could be sometimes, she wouldn't intentionally hurt her friends feelings. Well...
The rusty truck was...rusty. Not a lot of room though. And Drew...was he leaning on a motorcycle? Da fuck? Drew had a biker thing going for him....kind of hot. Jane thought so, inwardly. Calvin didn't ..Cause Calvin don't roll that way. And Tidal looked the same as when he first met everyone...boy, that stirred some memories.
And Olivia....oh God..."Wow. Everyone looks so...thuggish and makeshift. And no offense Olivia, but you kind of look like you dropped out of high school...and have daddy issues...and get paid to dance exotically on weekends." Jane said, thinking out loud. What happened to not intentionally hurting feelings? Olivia didn't look like a thug, but damn if Jane wasn't slightly spot on.
"Oh boy. Great...let me guess Tidal, you have nicknames for us? In addition to talking to us like dogs, are you gonna call us like dogs too?" Jane asked jokingly, a shred of hostility in her voice. Gee.
Calvin smirked. "Hey now. "Tidal being an ass is exactly what we're gonna need. As long as nobody crosses a racial barrier on being a thug, s'all good." Calvin stated. "I think we all look tough. Some more than others. But hey, I'd think we could all get arrested. Nice touch with the bat, Jane." He said. She grinned. "Thanks. You too with the chain."

Well... everyone looked interesting in their own way. Once again it was quite obviously proven some were a lot more capable of pulling off the thug act than others. Especially Lucas and Olivia looked rather out of place. Still, Olivia looked good, Lucas thought. Not much like a thug, but good nonetheless. The other four... they looked like they'd beat you up in a dark alley. So that was working. Maybe the two of them could pull off the idea they'd only ganged up with the others recently? That would explain the lack of thugishness. Right? Tidal seemed rather amused, seeing everyone in their interpretation of thugs, no matter how bad they might be.

"Well get used to it," Tidal said to Drew, already slipping into the thug act. "We're going into the Wastelands, not a kindergarten. People out there aren't nice. And yes, the outfits are necessary. In City Defense gear we would stand out too much. But for your own sake, Olivia, please ditch the sunglasses. You look like a preppy high school girl on her spring break." And that definitely wasn't meant as a compliment.
"Hey, back off. We're not in the Wastelands yet. No need to be an ass here," Lucas defended. Really, there were limits.
"Shut up," Tidal replied. "This is what you can expect from anyone out there. Get used to it if we want to pull this off without getting murdered." Hey, Jane was doing great already. Tidal couldn't help but quietly agree with her in regard of how Olivia looked. Granted, he'd put it differently, but now that Jane had said it, he couldn't help but see it as well. Awkward. "You bet," he told Jane. Of course he had nicknames for them. "No thug out there goes by their real name. You'll figure out there what I've got in mind for you all. It's likely going to offend you all and going to get me murdered if it wasn't for us posing as thugs."

Yep, this was weird. And highly uncomfortable. Lucas felt sorry for Olivia and maybe for himself as well. First getting zapped into a video game, highly outside of their comfort zones, and now, only a few days after, they had to go into the freaking Wasteland and pose as thugs. Even more out of their comfort zone. He glanced at her again. Man, she really looked great. Very much unlike herself, but still. He didn't think she looked like what Tidal and Jane were staying at all. Was this really going to work, though? He sure hoped it would. Ah well, with a former thug, a biker, a black guy dresses for murder (which He really didn't mean in an offensive way... Just he knew he wouldn't want to run into Calvin like that in a dark alley) and an already insane girl who basically got to be even crazier... all would be fine. He'd just stay on the background as much as possible. Lucas assumed Olivia would do the same, more or less.

"Just one more thing on the nicknames," Tidal said. "Out there, they used to call me the Lone Wolf. With you guys, however I've got a pack of my own. Leader of a wolf pack's called the Alpha. So that's my nickname out there. Alpha."
Lucas nodded. Got it. Now... how were they gonna get out there? Not much space in or on the truck, right? Before he even got a chance to ask his question, Tidal assigned them all their places. Jane and Drew on the bike, Calvin and him on the truck, and Olivia and Lucas on the bed of the truck. Yippee. This was just going to be wonderful! He hopped on and extended a hand to help Olivia up there too.
"And you thought being sucked into a video game was bad..." he commented, chuckling lightly. This was much worse. Now let's just hope this was the worst thing to happen. At least for a month or so, okay?

Drew and Olivia just blinked. "Tidal until we're actually in the wasteland around thugs, I'd ditch the attitude if I were you." Drew stated. As official leader, he wasn't afraid to let the others know when they were out of line. Possibly conflict within the team starting to brew? Oy. "Remember who's in charge here. Like actually in charge." Drew said again. Hey, he'd follow Tidal's lead when facing thugs, but for now Tidal was a bit out of line in his opinion. It's just the six of them alone at the gates in Inezia. No need for being a prick. Granted, he knew Tidal wouldn't go so far as to actually become a thug against everyone in the team...but still.
"Okay, first of all, how does your mind work Jane? Paid to dance exotically...hmm." Olivia thought out loud. "I do not look like that...and I agree, Tidal, drop the thug act as long as it's just us. Please. Remember we're still your team." Olivia reminded him not to go too far with everything.

That didn't stop Drew from getting up to Tidal's face, however. Not like in his face, but close to him. A silent reminded to pipe down, especially as he assigned them all seating arrangements for transportation. Drew was riding the bile anyway, and Olivia didn't mind the back of the truck with Lucas, but Tidal go on his nerves a bit. Olivia accepted Lucas' help into the back of the truck, squatting down in a seated position. She kept the sunglasses on. Because...well, screw Tidal's opinion. They hid her eyes from weird eye contact that may give her cover away. So there. Sunglasses and all, Olivia--as well as the others--looked pretty good as thugs for the most part. Believable enough.

"You may have been a Lone Wolf out there, Tidal, but remember this, Alpha, you're part of a pack now. A pack that isn't going out there to be harassed." He said. Again, Drew had a point. Maybe he's getting too heated? Oh well. He just really didn't appreciate Tidal being an asshole when there weren't even thugs around. He reminded him of old evil mind control Tidal. Hooray.

Wait, nicknames are gonna be a real thing? Crap, Jane was only kidding about that...huh. Go figure, they're gonna have nicknames! Jane and Calvin looked like they along with the others could whoop some serious ass if need be. Granted they won't kill people out there, but if fighting happens...and let's be real, usually the Rangers fight something or someone every day, then they're all set and prepared to lay smack down on someone!
And then Tidal suddenly barked at everyone already in that thuggish tone. Olivia's reaction to Jane and his comment aside, it was...unsettling. Was that really called for? "Tidal man, Drew's right, we're still just the Rangers here. Y'aint gotta talk shit to anyone here yet. Save it for the actual thugs out there we're gonna meet. Remember you used to be a villain, we know how to deal with people like that." Calvin said, lending a helping hand in the dispute Drew has seemingly started. But really, Drew had a point in calling Tidal out of line. He was the leader after all. On the other hand, Tidal's technically leading them out in the wasteland, so maybe starting to be a dick is warming everyone up? This was a strange day to say the very least.
"What even are the nick names you suddenly picked for us?" Calvin asked Tidal, prepping to get in the truck with him. He'd work the nav point as Tidal drove it. Fair enough.

Jane just rolled her eyes at everything. Tidal being a dick, Drew not liking it, Olivia and Lucas being sightly offended, and Jane just getting annoyed. She may be the youngest and smallest, but she's also one of the toughest on the team so it'd be best to not make her unleash the tomboy fury and straighten their asses out.
She grinned at Lucas' comment about the video game. The previous field commander, Modetron, was certainly interesting. Jane was still proud of kicking his nerdy butt! Booyah! As Tidal mentioned his name out in the wasteland, Lone Wolf, Jane let out an audible laugh. Literally. She burst out in laughter. "Lone Wolf? Alpha? Were you a drifting crook out here or a dopey larper trying to be cool?" She asked Tidal. She didn't care if he was getting into thug mode. She'd let him have it! Really, after she and him had their duo experience, she felt as if she could speak to him in a real way. Like Drew was, but not as...professional? Speaking of Drew...he just had to remind Tidal he's in charge, blah blah blah, male dominance, pissing contest, likely sexual tension, blah blah. Scrap that last bit Jane stepped up to Drew as he got close to Tidal. She gripped the baseball bat. "Alright, ladies, save the bitch fest for the wasteland. Remember we're working, here?" She said to them both, looking up at them...them quickly jabbing the blunt ends of the bat into their inconvenient male places. Just in case they'd forgotten she didn't take bullshit. "And Tidal, try talking to me like I'm your bitch and you'll come back to Inezia in a box. Come on Drew, on the bike." She said, yanking at Drew's ear and pulling him over to the bike, getting on the back and readying herself to ride on it with him.

Tidal rolled his eyes at most of the team being so offended. Geez, if they thought this was bad, they sure were in for a treat! Guys murdering each other, seeing women as not much more than posessions (except for those who had probn themselves to be scary thugs)... He'd almost feel sorry formthe rest of them, really. "As I said," Tidal replied to Drew. "Get used to it already. It's a lot worse out there than this." Usually, sure, Drew would be in charge. But in this case... Not so much. Out there, if someon were clever enou to disagree with their gang's leader, you might well end with a bullet through your head, cracked skull, missing in one of those puddles of water that would melt your face off... You get the idea. Compared to the harshness out there, he was still being a relatively nice guy. He then turned to Jane as she commented on his nickname. Was it weird to think she out of everyone here would probably do the best? That definitely may not be taken as a compliment. "You don't get to pick your own name. Once you join a gang you'll never get out, so I never did. Combine that with getting a... certain reputation and hey, there you are." Jane walked over as well as Drew got close, and again proved to be the most sensible one here as she told them off and hit them where it hurt. Yup, the girl would do fine out there. Once the pain had subdued, he pointed at her. "See here the reason why you won't figure that out until out there, when you no longer have a chance to murder me for it since we'll be surrounded by thugs and whatever else wanders the area."

Lucas just watched everything from the back of the truck, glad he wasn't standing over there. Things were getting tense between his friends, and he didn't quite like it. Whether it was just for a mission or not, this just didn't feel quite right. He nearly winced as Jane used her "signature move" again for the first time in a while. Yikes. Was it just him, or was she enjoying this a bit too much? Probably the latter, if he was being honest with himself. "This day is just getting weirder and weirder..." Lucas mumbled before glancing at Olivia. "Sticking with the sunglasses anyway, hm?" he asked and chuckled. Really, did Tidal let the two people who were the least comfortable stick together here on purpose?

Once everyone was seated, the heavy gates keeping the Wasteland out of the city opened. The truck and bike rolled out into the rough, dead, and deadly terrain of what once had been Earth. Well, okay it still was Earth, but... You get it. They had to cover quite the distance to get to the place where the meteor crashed. It would be a ride lasting several hours. Maybe not as long as the ride to the Capital, but... Close. So it would already be afternoon by the time they'd get there. And that was assuming they weren't going to run into any trouble on the way. Tidal realy put the pedal to the metal, going as fast as reasonably possible. Which still meant the ride was really... Well, bumpy and uncomfortable for the two on the bed of the truck. Hopefully they were holding on tight to something... Or someone.

Drew still didn't like this. He didn't like the idea of going out in the wasteland like this under this 'leadership' Tidal presented. Sure he understood the harsh conditions of the world would cause for some intense shit to go down, but did Tidal think it so needed to be a douche canoe right here in the city? Seriously bruh?
Leave it to the tomboy to settle a dispute...with a bat. In inappropriate places. And ear pulling! Drew groaned slightly, forcibly following Jane over to the bike. He let himself heal for a second before hopping on, swinging his leg over the seat. "Jane, I feel like you'll do fine out there. And that may not be good..." Drew commented just as Tidal thought it. Really, the girl was...impressive, to say the least. How is she the sensible and tough one? And how is that possible in being cute with it? Wait...cute? At least Drew didn't say that out loud. Girl still had a bat...

Olivia, too, watched it all from the truck bed. My my my. Drew and Tidal getting heated, Calvin just trying to see reason in a way, and Jane hitting men where it hurt. Olivia hadn't clenched at all or cringed. She'd have done the same thing if she were a tomboy like Jane. Especially one with a bat! "You can say that again." She muttered to Lucas, sitting cross-legged in the truck bed. She had then gave him a nod in response. "Yep. I figure hiding my eyes is a better thing to do and not give away how awkward I'm gonna be as a thug poser." She said, applying logic to her reasoning. That and...well, the sun can be damn bright out there! Protect thy eyes!

As the ride began, Drew urged Jane to hold on to him nice and tight for the duration of the ride. She wouldn't wanna fall off, would she? Safety first. He kept up the pace along side the truck, thrusting the throttle in full gear as he sped up on the harsh terrain of the wasteland outside of Inezia. It'd be a long ride, and hopefully they not only knew where they were going...but also had enough gas. A gas can sat in the truck bed with Lucas and Olivia, but is that enough?
Trouble might be lurking out in the wasteland, so the team knew to be on the lookout as the ventured to the meteor's location. Drew squinted his eyes and he sped, dirt flying through the air thanks to tire pressure. IN the back of the truck, as the ride got bumpier and bumpier, Olivia found herself clutching onto Lucas for genuine stability. What a bumpy ride this was! She clutched his arm tightly so she'd not fall in the bed of the truck, her hair bun flopping around messily.

Jane smirked at Drew's comment, straddling the seat behind Drew and wrapping her arms around his stomach to keep herself secured on the bike. She was a tad uncomfortable because she's so close to him (nothing against Drew just she's weird like that), but she'd rather be weird and safe then herself and, well...dead. "Me being good at being psycho? Who'd have thought." She said.
She then remembered Tidal pointing at her and saying why they'd not hear nicknames till they were out there. Jane darted her eyes over at him. "Why is that? You know if my name is Girl or Little Girl I will decapitate you and possibly just leave you out to the dogs while all the other thugs watch. Then I'll crack the meteor open and bury your remains in it." She said. Ew...

Calvin shook his head at this mess of a group. So uniform and good together...but this thug thing was already failing. Oy. Calvin knew at least if they failed at being thugs and fitting in, they could knock out the other thugs and just take the meteor back. Speaking of that thing, if that thing rides in the back of the truck, where will Olivia and Lucas ride? How big is it again? Oh well...they'd find a solution to that problem.

Once everyone headed out, Jane gripped Drew's stomach tightly to hang on to him and not fall off the bike. The outer terrain proved bumpy and a bit difficult. She had the bat still in hand, awkwardly hanging to the side and out of her and Drew's way on the bike. IN the truck's passenger seat next to Tidal, Calvin had his morpher pulled up, directions popping on in its GPS system. For a tiny screen, it was sure easy to read! Who need a amp or a cell phone when morphers are the easy solution? Granted not just everyone and anyone had one. Calvin proved Tidal with directions on the bumpy ground, looking for alternate ways to avoid the bumps. But not many came up to him. At least not many that were in the right direction. No detours! It was gonna be a long ride.

Lucas really didn't mind Olivia clutching into him at all, but it did mean he only had one arm free to hold himself onto something. Said something being the side of the truck's bed. If the ride were to get so bumpy he'd fall out, he'd pull Olivia along like this! "Well... at least neither of us is getting car sick, right?" Lucas asked her. Would suck if either oh them DID get car sick. He wasn't feeling nauseous yet, but the bumpiness did get annoying. Even though it did mean Olivia was holding on to him. Again, he couldn't say he minded.

Tidal used the mirror to glance at the bed of the truck and smirked. "Well wouldn't you look at that," he said to Calvin with a nod at the mirror. His secret secondary plan was working out, it seemed. He couldn't really judge for the other two on the bike, but he trusted it would go well enough. Damn, if anyone but Calvin would figure out what he was doing, they'd all murder him. Or thank him, depending on the outcome. Aaand now he couldn't wipe that smug look off his face. Ah well, it for with being a thug. Besides keeping his eyes on the road... that wasn't technically there, he also kept an eye on the surroundings. They were quite far from Inezia now and there were no other cities around for miles. Just wasteland and ruins of what once had been other places. By now they were riding through some of those ruins. Once another city, now potential territory for nasty people. This wasn't near where the meteor had crashed yet, but still Tidal slowed down. The streets were empty and quiet. Perhaps a bit too empty and quiet. He knew places like this. There should be at least some people out there, going about their days in these miserable lives. People who couldn't get to the cities or had reasons for staying behind. Not necessarily all thugs and bad people. Maybe they were hiding? After all, there was an old truck and a bike crossing through...

Lucas glanced around the buildings. It was so... sad around here. No, that wasn't the right word... dreary? No... desolate. That was it! He grimaced. To think there were actually people living out here under these circumstances... how terrible. Seeing things like this only made him realize more what they were fighting for. A world with our the Armada, where these people too could live in safety. A world that wasn't all gloomy and dead. A shudder ran down his spine. Nope, didn't like the place at all. "This is terrible," he commented, looking around the dilapidated buildings. How many people lived out here, in areas ruled by thugs and Armada robots? He didn't think he truly wanted to know the answer. So many people who deserved better, so many people out there not knowing anything else than a ruined world and with any bad luck wouldn't ever know anything else... Lucas shook his head, simply unable to take this all in. His compassionate nature really clashed with the things he was seeing, and even more with what they were posing as. He spotted people, just a few, hiding in an alleyway, hoping the truck and bike would just pass by and that nobody would see them. Thugs meant nothing but bad news. Goddammit, if given the chance he'd jump right out of the truck's bed and rush over to those people and help them. But they couldn't. They were working and had a mission. Best to reach the meteor before real thugs, or worse, Armada would get their hands on it. A child hiding with his parents made brief eye contact with the two on the bed of the truck and burst into tears almost immediately frightened they'd bring everyone in trouble now that the people had been seen. Lucas clenched his fists. Those people looked so terrified and hopeless... he wanted to do something for them. Anything. But they couldn't. He glanced at Olivia again, just... lost for words. Terrible didn't even cover it anymore. The bumpy ride hadn't made him nauseous, but seeing how the people here were doing sure did.

Tidal stopped the truck. There was someing off about this place. something really, really off. He.... remembered the place, but there were a few things that just didn't seem quite right. There used to be more people out here, and they weren't as terrified as the people were now. Something had changed. And not for the better. A sharp whistle echoed through the streets, sending whatever little people were still out there fleeing inside the building. And that whistle... That too was al too familiar. "Well well, what's this?" One thug stepped out of an alleyway. Others followed from other directions and soon had the group surrounded. "A little lost, aren't we? I thought we had made clear this place belongs to the Landsharks."
Shit. Seemed like they had strolled right into a turf war.

"Never been one to get car sick or anything." Olivia replied to Lucas. If anything, the polluted air would make her sick. Or any of them for that matter. Conditions of the Earth had plummeted following the arrival of the Rexian Armada. Pollution in the skies, air not the same, the plant life dying out, the oceans and all waterfronts becoming unusable. Unsafe nature is no nature at all. An unlivable world? More like unspeakable.
Slowing down through the city they'd come across as no shock to Olivia. Or Drew, really. He followed the truck on the bike, easing up through the new area. Olivia had seen far worse ruins of cities past than this. Drew had only seen debris really, as well as whatever business being in City Defense brought him to see. Whatever city this was all those years ago, it must have been grand...it reminded Olivia a bit of Inezia. A lot of it, really. Maybe just some of the buildings? Hmm. Then she saw it...the people hiding in the alley. A child bursting to tears in fear. She returned a glance at Lucas. Like him, he was at a loss for words. "I hate this is something I'm used to seeing." She said to herself. The mission may be to get this space rock...once they get it, however, Olivia felt as if the team should take people with them. Anyone who wanted to live in the safety of the city and the protection of its forces would be welcome on the ride home. Olivia kept an eye on the alley as they drove away from it...if they were there later, she'd offer that family a chance in Inezia.

Jane holding on tight to Drew made him feel both secure and awkward. The furious tomboy clutching on to him for dear life? Exhilarating! Odd how the place they were going through seemed empty...desolate. Really, the wasteland in general is desolate. A sad reminder of what the Earth used to be. But a hopeful reminder than given a chance, it can be the place it used to be again.
Hope was a powerful force. So was grief...Drew had also saw the people in the alley as he drove by it. So afraid, so tense...damn it. He hated this war zone of a world. Just were they more scared of the Armada, or the people around this area? Both?

Drew stopped the bike beside of the truck as Tidal stopped. He looked around and cut the engine to the bike. A whistle blowing caught both Drew and Olivia's attention, their eyes searching around for whatever made the sound. The town they'd arrived in looked worn down and inhabited...the people that were their obviously afraid. Judging by the whistle..very afraid?
Soon enough, the truck and bike were both surrounded. Thugs, genuine thugs, surrounded the group and put on faces of pure...brutality and possibly a severe lack of public education. Landsharks? Olivia hadn't heard about them. To be fair, her job mainly consists of stuff in Inezia. She sadly hasn't learned much about gangs in the wasteland to be wary of. Oh well. A gang is a gang no matter what label they identify with.
Olivia just looked around, not saying anything. Oh crap...this wasn't promising. Drew spoke up. "Landsharks? That what you boys call yourselves?" Drew asked the thug who spoke. As if he knew what he was doing...he put on a brave and 'thug' appearance and tone. "You in charge then? Which of you girls is in charge here?" Drew asked. Why was 'girls' the insulting part?

The ride to where they're going wasn't that fun. Bumpy, riding through a desolate planet surface. Calvin glanced at the mirror per Tidal's suggestion. He smirked slightly. The two of them in the truck bed clutching together. D'aww. He focused back on the basically non existent road. All around was just memories of what once was the world. Calvin hated the wasteland. He'd sen his fair share of it as a soldier on combat runs and other missions in the past. Lots of horrible things, as well. He also first met the others out here, so not every memory was a bad one. But he's lost a lot of brave men and women out here...in his head, Calvin said a little memorial for them. If there is a God...may he watch over them all.
Jane kept her head from resting on Drew's back. She didn't wanna be weird. Gross. Weird and gross at the same time? In part, she detested hanging on to Drew for the sake of hanging on to someone. In...other part, she got a weird sensation from it. Like she was...safe? Ugh. She doesn't do feely crap so someone had better explain this to her.

As Calvin provided further directions for Tidal, Jane glanced aside as Drew road through along side the truck. She caught barely a glimpse of those cowering in the alleyway. She had to turn her head slightly...she couldn't call out to them that they weren't here causing trouble. Drat. Seeing people scared like that in the wasteland was predictable, but it churned her stomach.
Everything came to a stop. Something was apparently off...and then whistling occurred? People going inside a building following the whistle. And it sounded like a whistle a coach blew into at a soccer game. Hashtag annoying sound. Boy oh boy. Thugs!
Surrounding the group, one thug made the announcement that this place 'belonged' to the Landsharks. Really? Landsharks? Almost as lame as Tidal's Lone Wolf title. Huh. A title belonging to Tidal. Word play!
Drew made Jane snicker slightly. She let go of him and twirled the bat slightly, still sitting down and resting it on her shoulder. "My guess is the talking one's in charge. Landsharks? What, you losers couldn't think of a better name than that? I guess if you think you own something, your brain does a little dilly dally down south to the land of the fucktards who drooled through life." Jane said. Damn. Girl's got attitude at least...
Calvin sighed. Great. Surrounded in an apparent turf war. He rolled the window down. "Hey now. We ain't heard of no Landsharks before. Y'all ain't worth knowing, bruh. We just going through." Calvin said, trying the best stereotypical ghetto voice he mustered. And he sounded convincing!

Trying to pull of the thug act? Good thing, and the ones to have spoken up so far weren't doing half bad. Doing this to the Landsharks? A bit less of a good idea. In hindsight, Tidal should have probably warned them in advance on these guys in particular, but he hadn't. Because he hadn't expected to run into hem. These guys were the real deal, rough guys with a reputation of getting real bad. Why else would the people flee inside? Well... those guys weren't the only ones with a reputation 'round here.
"Ah, these ones got an attitude, don't they? Especially that little girl," another thug commented before shaking his head in disapproval. He stepped forward, carrying a rifle most likely to be stolen from a soldier. Or picked off a dead body. "You must've come the long way around not to have heard of us."
"Or maybe we just don't care about some guys with shit for brains," Lucas -of all people- said, just going fully Scottish accent. When did he pick up that attitude or courage? And did that thug just call Jane a little girl? Oh boy, shit was going to hit the fan already, and they hadn't even found the meteor yet!

"I guess we ought to show these fellas what happens to unwanted guests or people who don't pay the proper respects to us," the one who spoke up first and was seemingly the leader of at least this bunch here said to his comrades.
"Why don't you all just shut your faces if you want to keep your brains inside your skull?" Tidal spoke up, rolling the window on his side down as well and leaning out. Whereas a few of the thugs backed off, their boss seemed less than amused. "My my, the Lone Wolf. You must either have lost your mind or have a death wish to show your face here."
"Always a pleasure to run into you, Rusty," Tidal replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"If you're with him, I find it hard to believe you haven't heard about us," another thug that didn't back off commented. This one too was carrying a rifle. Just how many of them had access to deadly military weaponry?

"Listen, we're going to pass though here one way or another. So either you get out of our way, or I'll just keep driving this truck forward. " He drove forward just a little further to show he was being serious. "I wonder what will last longer. This truck or the lot of you."
"One more move like that, and you'll figure the unpleasant answer," Rusty nodded at the thug with the rifle close to the bed of the truck. On this signal, the man aimed at the gas can. "Should give a nice fire, don't you think?"
Tidal sighed and shook his head. "And here I was trying to be civil," he commented. In the back of the truck, Lucas gulped and tried not too look too frightened, out of place, anything that might give him away. Threats like this were being civil? If running over a bunch of people with a truck was the civil way to do things... whelp, how messy would it be if they decided not to be civil? Man, now he wished he had sunglasses on him too. Olivia really was clever to think about that! Best he could do to keep himself from giving anyone awkward looks would be to pull the beanie over his face... which would just be weird. He just crossed his arms, glancing at the thug aiming at the gas can. If the guy fired, they'd literally be toast!
"I didn't expect you to know the meaning of that word," Rusty commented again. "But enough talk. You misfits gotta learn who's in charge here." Rusty snapped his fingers, and the thugs responded by readying whatever they had on them to use as weapons. In a turf war, there were fights. If you insulted the wrong people out there, there'd be a fight.
"Well, you heard the guy," Tidal said, opening the door and jumping out of the truck. "Kid, go wild. Grease and Chainz, you know what to do... Curly, Cupcake... Try not to get yourselves killed. We might still need you at some point."

Wait now hold on a moment. Their nicknames were what?! Now Lucas understood why Tidal hadn't told them back in the city. Oooh, they would have murdered him. Well, some of them. Evie already used to call him Curly when they were children, so there's that. But as for the others? Yeah, he was going to regret that... But he had been right. They'd know when he'd call them out.

Drew shook his head slightly at the idiot who'd called him and Jane out on having attitude. "Brother, you are gonna so wish you hadn't called her that." Drew said to the miserable asshole who thought he owned the place. Calling Jane little girl? Big mistake. Lucas' sudden burst of courage stunned Drew, as well as Olivia. "Exactly. Maybe if you were worth something, we'd have heard about your little gang. If you call this a gang." Olivia said...was that confident enough? Sure she's fought a lot of monsters and robot sin her day, but she's never really fought humans verbally or physically. Not enough to pick up skill anyway.

Why did so many of these guys have rifles...and where did they get them? Soldiers? Salvage gun stores? The former didn't sound too pleasing...oh crap, Calvin would be pissed if the guns came from fallen soldiers. The thought of it pissed Olivia off a bit...damn it. Tidal certainly sounded like he knew these guys, and their apparent leader Rusty. Whatever history there was, there clearly sounded like a beef was going on. Drew revved the engine a bit as Tidal teased to run them all down. Surely they would all have enough sense to back down? Plus the group had orders not to kill anyone. No humans anyway. If things get out of hand...no telling what might happen. If a person dies? Drew may go over the deep end...and Olivia may just add them to a casualty list. This damn war zone of a world....
Olivia stared at the guy with a gun pointing at the gas can. "You really think shooting a gas can at that close of range is a good idea? It'd kill us and yourself. But you probably lack the brains to know that, sugar plum." She teased the idiot with the rifle. Unwise? Maybe. Did she care? Not really. And clearly, as Tidal expressed with Rusty, being civil isn't a choice here. In away, not caring and just letting loose with words felt therapeutic. In a twisted sort of way.

Trouble inbound. Looks like a fight's about to break out. As Tidal jumped out of the truck, Drew got off of the bike, Olivia jumping out of the truck bed with Lucas. "I don't think us misfits are the one's who have to worry." Drew said to Rusty, sniffing slightly, reaching into the compartment on the bike and taking the wrench and crowbar out. He kept the crowbar, tossing the wrench over to Lucas and Olivia. One of them might need it.
Drew tapped the crowbar against his palm, Olivia catching the wrench and giving it to Lucas. "Here." She said softly. Weapons? Against people? Oy...
Hold on....okay those nicknames were...were they...what? Drew and Olivia picked out which ones were theirs by context. Grease? Cupcake? Drew lined up with Tidal, tapping the crowbar in hand, chewing on his cheek. "Just say the word. Let's dance, princesses." Drew said to Tidal, then the thugs. Grease didn't bother him...but maybe the girls in particular would be offended? Olivia clearly was. Cupcake? Ohhhhh she was so going to giver him an earful later. "Cupcake? Really, c'mon..." She whispered to herself so only she heard. She stepped up, crossing her arms and looking both annoyed and...uncomfortable. Behind the aviators of course.

Calvin clenched his fists inside the truck. The guns these Landsharks carried...they looked military. Did they kill soldiers? Loot their bodies? Soldiers have gone missing out here before...if Calvin's current thoughts are correct...he'd knock their motherfucking teeth out and make them choke on them. Soldiers risk their lives to keep everyone safe...sure, not every soldier is a hero like everyone thinks, but to those who are? Insulting.
Jane ground her teeth. Drew was right...they'd wish they didn't call her little girl. "What did you say? *insert inappropriate C word* for brains? " (yes the * was meant to insert that word without saying it. pretend she said it, I didn't feel comfy writing it xD)
Jane huffed and hopped off of the bike almost immediately, swinging the bat around and twirling it. Ever since that corrupt military official did what he did about 10 years ago and told her to be a good little girl...any time she heard that, she went bonkers. This is no exception. Things were taking an interesting turn before their mission was even making progress.

Calvin remained passive as everybody spoke and Tidal tried speaking with this Rusty character. Teasing to run them over? Mean, but Tidal meant business. These guys didn't look to be backing down so quickly however. Was some idiot threatening to shoot a gas can? Unwise. Just as Olivia pointed out. Calvin poked his head out the window back at the guy to add something to Olivia's headed warning. "If you really think that's gonna scare us, pull the trigger sucka. Kill yourself and spare us the trouble." He said. Of course he wouldn't kill a human. He's under orders. But a little hostility stung his voice. Those weapons had to be military. If they were...Calvin might stain his clothes in blood, but with as little blood as possible to keep from killing them.

"Alright alright, jackshit. Just because you have this overcompensating desire to run some rundown remnant of a city that doesn't exist anymore doesn't mean we're gonna take your bullshit. We've got places to go, so unless you want me to castrate you and your clearly inbred failed abortion buddies, I suggest you step aside before I get angry." Jane said to Rusty. Wait...this is her not angry? "Pretending to be a threat isn't nearly as scary as actually being one, asshole." She added. Girl's got attitude. Maybe it stemmed off of being called little girl.
But it looked like a fight was inevitable. Calvin got out of the truck after Tidal did so, taking the chain off of his shoulders and clutching it, swinging it like a gangster in the movies.
Then the nicknames rolled in. Just as Jane would deliver yet another crude line about Rusty's ability to comprehend words, she paused. She shot a death glare at Tidal, he bat on her shoulder. Calvin shot the same glare as everyone gathered in line. Kid? After she'd just been called little girl...he calls her Kid? Chainz was more of a direct pun in this case. Sounded like a rapper, sort of...but KID??!?!?!? She growled slightly. Tidal, when they were back home, would get an earful from her. And apparently Olivia as well. Cupcake...hehe.

Lucas snickered at Olivia's comments. And she clearly wasn't amused by her nickname. Well played, Tidal, to wait until they couldn't show they disagreed or try to murder him over it. Yeah... He was gonna have to explain himself to both girls when they got bwck. Or even just out of hearing range from these guys.
"Uh, thanks," Lucas said as she handed him the wench. Great! Now he got to use it on people? What if he'd crach their skulls open? Eh... Just try not to hit them in the heads, then? "So, if the plan for us is 'try not tae die, we might as well stick together, nae lass?" Lucas said to Olivia, really just going full out Scottish, still. He grinned at her. Hey, an excuse to go full Scot was fun. Evie would be proud. Even more when he'd throw in some Gaelic too. Hey, he could do that! H challengingly looked at the thugs, glaring them down before turning to Olivia again. "There's a thing we say 'bout people like that. Tiugh mar inneir agus dìreach leth cho feumail." Yeah, some thug would ounch him in the head if they either understood, or would invitably hear the translation.

Tidal walked up to Rusty's face and popped his knuckles. "Last chance. Just let us pass and we may leave you alone," he said. And he was serious. Was he maybe slipping back too far into being a thug again? Or had this just something to do with what had happened between the Landsharks and him?
"Not gonna happen," Rusty replied just as coldly.
"Right then, you heard the man, guys," Tidal told the others. Rusty just merely gave a nod of his head. The thugs had been waiting for this signal and didn't even wait half a second longer. Right on his nod, the Landsharks attacked, throwing vile comments at the rangers as they attacked with either rifles or whatever else they carried on them as weapons. Like knives, pipes, anything, really.

Eep. So now they were fighting humans. Not evil robots, but living breathing humans, Lucas really didn't like the idea, and even less since he'd be hitting people with a wench. On the bright side, now that thugs were swaeming everywhere, the chances of getting shot were a bit slimmer. These guys wouldn't want to risk shooting their own, right? He deflected an incoming blow of a lead pipe and slammed the wench into said thug's chest.

Tidal stood face to face with Rusty, the other thugs leaving them alone. They knew better than to interrupt a situation like this. Rusty pulled out the rusted knive that had given him his nickname. "You could have been a big guy out here, Lone Wolf," Rusty said. "If onky you hadn't been so stupid."
"I am not taking those words from you," Tidal hissed, punching Rusty in the stomach. The thug gasped for breath, but quickly regathered himself and slashed the knife at Tidal.
"Why these misfits though? What ven do they do?"
"You'll see soon enough. Most van fight, Curly knows how to keep us alive... So far Cupcake just stands around looking pretty... They may be misfits, but they're MY misfits. I wouldn't trade rhem for anyone else."

Olivia gave Lucas a weird look. "I....guess?" She replied to him, a bit confused already. His Scottish accent and side was coming out. What Olivia referred to as his non understandable side. She could barely understand him...she still wished she could learn a bit. Then Jane and Calvin both caught Drew and Olivia's attention. Damn...what vulgarity! At least they fit the act. Olivia didn't have a weapon, she looked like she was a mascot more than anything. Drew just smirked as cool as he could. This was going...swimmingly. Especially since it looked like they'd be forced into combat with the Landsharks. The Rangers were allowed to defend themselves and not kill anyone...just nobody would come out of this without a scratch. No drills in City Defense really train for this...evil invaders, sure, but normally humans don't fight one another like this in the city. Not as far as the Rangers are concerned with business, anyway. Right now, a few Dytrons and a Deathron, even Volmour sounded good. Better than fighting people...stupid, scared, thuggish people. Still people.

As things got ugly....well, they got ugly. Drew and Olivia had braced themselves as Tidal gave the word when Rusty ordered the Landsharks to attack. "Spread out," Drew told the others as the thugs moved in on them for an attack. The ones with guns may be a problem...as cluttered as it got, who's to say they won't fire? Best to disarm them. Drew would handle that, keep them off the others' tails. Thugs lunged in from all angles, knives, guns, pipes, any sort of gang weapon imaginable. Clearly salvaged scrap from whatever's left of the world outside the domes.
Drew moved in on one of the thugs with a rifle and rushed him, swinging the blunt side of the crowbar over his head to knock him out. Another moron rushed in from Drew's side coming at him with a knife. He jabbed at Drew's side, barely missing him by a hair, allowing Drew to side swipe his fist into his face. He then kicked in front of him at another thug, said thug grabbing his ankle ans pushing him back into the dirt. He was then pounced on by the knife-bearing thug and received one cut on his cheek before pushing him off, dirt flying off of his leather jacker. He tossed dirt in the bastards eye, hissing slightly and whacking him down with a crowbar. On to the next one with a gun. Drew tossed the crowbar when he got close, for that thug started aiming at him. In true leather jacket greaser fashion, living up to the name Tidal gave him, Drew suavely punched the gunman stunned from the crowbar. He jabbed the guys neck with his fist, pushing him down. Another brute came up behind him. "Nice jacket. I want it." He said. Drew huffed...this is his dads jacket. "Yeah. Try and take it." He challenged, pulling himself away and grabbing the crowbar back. Drew madly swung it into the guys gut. He punched his head when he bent over, kicking his stomach as he lay down. "I really didn't wanna do that." He said, catching his breath. Oh well, next!

As the thugs moved in, Olivia found herself backing up slightly. She was calm, cool and collected. Not scared of these guys, but a but nervous because she didn't want t hurt them. Even if they were attacking. "We are gonna talk about this Cupcake thing..." She whispered to herself, looking at Tidal. She heard that comment! The nerve of Tidal! Sure it's an act, but the nerve!
Two thugs approached her with lead pipes in hand. They made kissy noises at her. "Hey toots. Boy are we gonna have some fun with you, " one of them said. The other made inappropriate gestures toward her, laughing it off with the other lug head. "C'mon. Let's party." They commanded.
Olivia scoffed. Alright. Maybe she did wanna hurt them a little. Was she even really eye candy material? If so...well, she knows what to wear on a night out once in a while. Girl's gotta get hers!...*clearing throat sound.* "Alright. You two wanna kiss? I'll give you one." She said, egging them on. The thugs then smiled creepily and lunged at her. Olivia then grabbed their arms and slammed them both into each other, forcing the thugs to accidentally make lip contact. "There's your kiss." She said. Both of them groaned in disgust. "You slutty whore! Fuck her up!" One of them said, mad. Olivia sighed slightly. The thugs swung their pipes at her, managing to hit her arms but not stop her. Olivia ducked as one almost hit her head, kicking up into ones stomach and tripping him on the ground, displaying her official training to catch them by surprise. She stole his pipe and bopped his head with hit. Nighty night! The other came at her, charging angrily with his pipe and swinging at her again. Olivia quickly got away, shoving him back only to swing the pipe at him, missing. The pipes clashed for a second before she just punched his face

Jane and Calvin had taken deep breaths and popped their necks, knuckles, what have you. If Rusty and the Landsharks wouldn't back down, then neither would the Rangers. Or...misfits, as Tidal and Rusty referred to the group as. Really? Misfits? As in the heavy metal/horror punk band? Okay, the Misfits are really freaking cool. Maybe the name wasn't so bad! Sure it's a bland title for the group thought of on the spot and maybe just a reference word and not a real name for the group but...what's going on, again?
Oh yeah. Fighting.

Dispersal among the group, thugs racing in from everywhere, things were sure to get bad pretty quick. The ones with guns would be a problem, but it looked like Drew was taking care of them as he could. Didn't mean Calvin wasn't going to help out as much as he could. Or Jane.
Calvin swung his chain around challenging all thugs around him, living up to the name Chainz. He slowly approached two of the guys with guns. "Nice firepower. Where'd ya get it?" He asked them. "What's it to ya, blackface?" One of them said. Okay...racist! That will not be tolerated!! "Couple of dead people who didn't need them anymore. I dunno. Been a while. Speaking of dead." Another said, aiming at Calvin. He let out an angry huff. Oh Hell no! First, Calvin ducked before they could fire and swung his chain at their legs. They both stumbled around, off their guard. Calvin angrily swung the chain down on the racist thug, kicking the gun out from his hands, twisting around and somehow using the chain to grapple on the other gun. He yanked it from the thug who held it. In response, the two then leaped for Calvin, punching him in the face, stomach, ganging up on him, a few others coming to assist. They pounded on Calvin, throwing racial slurs at him with every beating. He'd finally had enough and used adrenaline to break free and shove a few of them against the truck. Trying to not seriously harm them was a feat but it was manageable. Nothing wrong with protecting himself and knocking some sense into their neanderthal brains. Calvin then swung a right hook at one of their faces, elbowing another and kicking with his combat boots hard into the other thugs. He grabbed his chain once more and swung it around, sort of like a loosely bootlegged Liner Lasso? He then felt a hammer or something hit his back. Ouch! "Fucking hell!" He shouted, swing his arm back at whoever hit him.

Jane swung the bat to scare off nearby thugs. "Alright, crazy chick with a bat. Bring it on, bitches!" Jane challenged. Similar to a time when she, or someone, referred to her as 'crazy chick with a blaster'. Something like that at least. The bigger more brawling thugs made their way to Jane, assuming a tinier thing like her would be easy prey. Maybe it was the tank top? Her arms were small-ish, but she did have decent muscle tone! All that training works! The true brutes made dives for Jane, including a more heavy-set fellow also carrying a bat. Jane jumped back to avoid their failed dog pile on her. "Aw how cute. You guys are trying to be menacing. Adorable." Jane teased. The brutes hissed at her.
"Girls got a mouth on her. Can't wait to see her use it." The big one said. She rolled her eyes. "Dream on, fatty." She said. Okay, normally she would never judge someone over their weight, some people can't help that about themselves. This guy was just a dick. So there. Said fat thug growled and swung at her with the bat. She gasped and ducked, twirling in the dirt and scuffing her shoes. She hit him with the bat in the back of the leg in hopes of taming the beast. He cried out and shouted. "Grab her!" He ordered. More brutes, big and muscley ones, grabbed Jane from behind. She dropped the bat and tried breaking free from their grasp, unable to move as they pinned her arms back. "We're gonna make you mind, little girl." Fatso said. Jane paused and stopped struggling. "I'm sorry, what did you call me?" She asked.
"You heard me. Little girl, you're gonna learn some respect." He replied. She huffed and blew her hair out of her face. "Alright. That does it. Now you've just pissed me off." She said. Jane then managed to bite the hand of one of her attackers and make him let go. She then reached around and socked the other in the jaw, making a dash away from him, kicking off for good measure and recovering the bat as she scurried off. A sneaky little shit decided to slash at her from the side with a knife. He had cut Jane's arm and backhanded her across the face. As Jane's head spun slightly and her hair covered her face she slowly turned around as her hair fell back off her face...revealing a crazed expression only a psychopath could pull off. She then gently tapped her fresh cut on her arm...and tasted her blood. "Yum." She said. Which only made the thugs scream like little girls. "Holy shit this girl's crazy!" Fatso said. That's his name to Jane. Fatso.
She just nodded, quickly cartwheeling around ans swing the bat around at various thugs faces, roundhouse kicking two more down and jumping up to reach another's face. She braced for impact as Fatso clubbed her with his bat, just swinging back at him with a good hit to the fucking face!

Lucas could tell Olivia was confused, which he could understand, really. Who even in this part of the world spoke Gaelic besides his sister and him? Probably... Several more Scots who once moved this way. And the Irish too. Their languages had some overlap. Quite some, even. But outside the distant relatives of the Celts? Probably nobody. Which is why it was fun to insult the thugs in his second language. Well, he'd happily translate what he just called if he would be asked to do so. Hell, he'd be happy to teach any of them some Gaelic, should they be interested. Probably nobody was, though... For now he just felt a tiny big smug for knowing something the brains of the group didn't.

Tidal eyed everyone while keeping most of his attention with Rusty. They were holding up fine here against the thugs. Granted, some better than others, but that was a thing that would never change. At least so far none of the, had been seriously injured. A few cuts and bruises, but that was to be expected. And the Landsharks would be fine. Sure, they might be sore, bleeding, and have headaches for a while to come, but they'd live. And that was really all they had to be concerned about. Tidal lightly shook his head as he caught wind of the thugs taunting the girls. If he was already in trouble for their nicknames... Then then these thugs surely were going to regret saying what they did.
Rusty lunged at Tidal again, the knife scraping his lower arm. He yelped. Yeah, once back in the city someone ought to seriously look at the knife cuts. Nobody wanted to know where those knives had been... Or how often they were properly cleaned. Especially with Rusty.
"I've got to admit, for a bunch of misfits they do know how to stand their ground," Rusty said.
"You could have easily avoided this if you'd just let us pass," Tidal scowled, punching Rusty in the face, following it up with a kick in the gut.
"Boss is busy up ahead, made it pretty clear to keep everyone away," Rusty said. He sounded a little bit different now that his nose was broken. "Don't think I have no idea where you're headed. Everyone's going to get the treasure."
The meteor, obviously! Everyone... Tidal feared that just may be right. Landsharks, other thugs, wanderers, Armada... Though it was likely they and Armada were the only ones to know the value of the meteor, everyone was after it. What if the thugs and Armada got there first? That would lead to many deaths... But was that really their responsibility? These guys were thugs and murderers. And there's no honor among thugs. If any of them would get attacked by the Armada, they'd let them die and maybe just loot the body afterwards. It was wrong... But that's just how things were out here.

Though he was a bit distracted now by slamming the wench into the gun of a thug on their side of the truck, breaking a part of the gun off and rendering is useless, Lucas still shot a glare at the thugs being more than a little inappropriate with Olivia. One way or another, they were going to regret that. They would regret it soooooo much. Quite obviously, Olivia thought the same thing, egging them on and forcing the thugs to kiss each other. Lucas let out a laugh. "Nice goin' there," he said, grinning widely. But maybe he should have paid a little more attention t the thug with the gun. Although he couldn't shoot anymore, the gun still made an excellent weapon for hitting people with. The gun struck the side of Lucas' head, causing him to stumble aside slightly. Well, this was going to result in a headache. "Blaigeard," Lucas hissed at the thug before hurling around and knocking the guy out with the wench. Dizzy... He may have spun around a little too fast there. And wait... Had that Rusty guy just said everyone was out to get the meteor? That didn't sound good. This still wasn't even the end to these thugs. Granted, a fair part was down and some seemed hesitant to attack seeing how just six people had already taken down at least ten. A small group approached Olivia and him, trying to surround them. Or well... At least get them stuck between the truck and the thugs. Lucas tapped the wench against his palm.
"Geez... By now I just wish these guys were a bunch of Dytrons," he whispered to Olivia, letting to of his accent for a moment. And then the thugs lunged, trying to grab them, punch them. Either, both, whatever. Lucas ducked, headbutting a lunging thug just below the ribs, kocking the breath out of the thug and said thug straight to the ground.

Speaking of Dytrons... Just to make matters worse, sparks flew around them as a bunch of Dytrons showed up and started shooting at pretty much everything that moved. Thank goodness they managed not to hit the gas can! So now the fight had turned pretty much to a three way battle with all three parties fighting each other. Messy. And still being surrounded by thugs meant for another thing: morphing would be a bad idea.

Overhearing Rusty say lots of people, really everyone, was after the meteor struck a hint of stress an annoyance in Drew and Olivia as they fought off the various thugs around them. Okay, they knew the wasteland was bad. Everyone knew. If anyone, Tidal, Calvin and Olivia knew it best. One lived it, one fought in it often, and one has worked around it and studied it a good portion of her life. One thing that blew Olivia's mind was how stupid some of the people were...oh something crashed from space? Check it out! Ignore that it was something from space that made the world into a wasteland in the first place.
Also, had Rusty said to Tidal...'Boss is busy?' So Rusty's not in charge, then. Interesting.
Drew laid some hurt on more of the opposing people, whacking them down with the crowbar and probably indenting his knuckles into their faces. They'd live, at least. Olivia did the same, minus the crowbar. As she fought, she felt bad in a way. Thugs probably, given a chance, could be so much more than this...if possible, if they saw reason, then when the Rangers go home today...well...Olivia felt she should offer them a chance to come to Inezia. Just in the back of her mind, she saw it as the right thing to do. That scared kid and fmaily in the ally, as well. All deserved a chance...regardless of history out here. If she could when their business was done here, she'd try and offer them a chance at starting over. For now, she's punching guys in the face and kicking their stomachs.

Drew disarmed yet another of the thugs as Lucas and Olivia were pinned down by those trying to surround them. She nodded slightly to Lucas. Dytrons were almost preferred...at least then they could whip out the blasters or morph and just whip the enemies out. Can't do it now. As they rushed them, Olivia also ducked like Lucas, combat rolling out from under the thugs and getting dirt on her. She kicked her legs back after ward and sent a couple of them into the side of the truck bed.
Blasts from afar and sparks on the ground made things worse. "Dytrons..." Olivia whispered. The Emperor deployed his forces down to search for the meteor. Or so that was what Olivia hypothesized. Drew heard the shots and scowled slightly as he kicked down a thug.
They can't even morph, lest they blow their cover. Granted...wait. If they morphed, then sure cover is blown, but then guns and thug weapons can't hurt them too bad...or at all. And then they could just plow through Dytrons and knock out the thugs inn seconds. Why can't they morph, again? A three-way brawl was sure to ensue. Lovely...

Things weren't looking so good for the ol' gang, were they? Being beaten by 'misfits' and learning to not mess with people who can plow through you like a bulldozer. Man, a bulldozer...that'd be useful right now. Out in the wasteland, bunch of enemies, debris literally everywhere...imagine just driving through the world in a dozer. Nobody would want to mess with you, that's for sure. Granted, giving at least three of the people in this group a bulldozer would result in mayhem. Not even fun mayhem. More like 'of goodness, little Timmy needs to go to the hospital and he's lost his puppy in a well that is on fire' mayhem. Um...what?

Overhearing just bits and pieces of what Rusty was saying made Jane think. Hmm...so Rusty isn't the had hancho and there are totally more people out for the treasure/meteor. What about a mysterious space rock says "oh gee I wanna go get it"? Are people out here just severely uneducated?
She slammed her bat into another guys face as he got too close, cartwheeling and wildly kicking around, already making a few people piss themselves over how much of an insane act she put on. Calvin was just dead set on making these guys pay for allegedly killing soldiers or looting them. Or both. The thought alone angered Calvin...even Jane, really. Anyone with a heart.
"I'm surprised by how many of you aren't toothless." Jane openly thought to the thugs. And with a few more swings of the bat, they just might be!

Blasts erupted, sparks few and echoes of an attack rang. Dytrons were coming. Looks like the Armada may be looking for the meteorite, as well...crap. Calvin and Jane snapped on reflex to morph, but stopped. They can't blow their cover...sure Dytrons don't need to have morphed Rangers to be beaten, but it'd be easier. Actually, why did they have to be in thug attire anyway? Wouldn't morphing just keep them safe from harm and let them beat all enemies with ease? Da hell...who thought of the no-morphing plan? Jane swung the bat, Calvin swung the chain in equal annoyance. "We're gonna feel this for a week." Calvin muttered to himself, knowing a bigger fight was to start and they'd all be in some deep shit.

"Jinxed it," Lucas mumbled as the Dytrons started swarming them all as well. It kinda sucked they weren't supposed to morph until it was a last resort. It would make fighting easier... but then again it would also probably put all the people here in danger, right? Armada was pretty keen on killing them all, so who was to tell if they wouldn't just blow up the whole place with everyone living in it? And then there was the scavenger thing. Wouldn't want to get robbed, right? Hmm... maybe they could just knock all the thugs unconscious, then morph, deal with the Dytrons and get the hell out of there? With so many people going after the meteor, there was no telling as of how many people would be injured. Or worse. He knocked another few thugs down with the wench, really hoping he hadn't severely injured any of them before the Dytrons started mixing in too. Well wasn't this just chaos. "I'll be takin' this one," he said as he pulled a metal pipe out of a thug's hands and knocked him over as well. Then he tossed the pipe over to Olivia. "Catch! Ya might need it 'gainst those bucket heads."
Gosh... he still was dizzy from that blow to the head. That wasn't going to make fighting a lot easier, was it?

Rusty and Tidal looked up from their brawl as Dytrons started to swarm everyone and blasting thugs. The fight had just taken a turn or the worst, and by the looks of it the thugs were really the worst off here. "Do you really want to keep this up now?" Tidal asked, nodding at the Dytrons as they effortlessly blasted their way through thugs, kicking those who weren't blasted yet or taken down by the rangers. "Or do you want to get your sorry ass out of here?"
"What I want is see you pay for what you've done," Rusty spat at Tidal. "I won't forgive you for killing him. You could have been one of us. A great man out here, but you had to ruin it for yourself. You destroyed what made us a family."
Tidal seemed slightly taken aback by Rusty's words, giving the man a chance to punch Tidal between the ribs. Tidal gasped for breath and glared at the man. "I'd rather be a great man somewhere else than be a part of this family."
Tidal lunged forward, knocking Rusty down to the ground hard. Tidal pinned him down. "If you have half a brain and don't want these guys to die, you call the retreat now. Rusty hesitated for a moment, long enough for the Dytrons to shoot their blasts right through a thug or two.
"Fall back!" he called, then trying to struggle himself free from underneath Tidal.
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere," Tidal whispered. "They're gonna have to hear this from you when we get there."
Was this Tidal basically taking Rusty hostage to negotiate with the Landsharks' real boss when they'd get to the meteor? Yes, it was.

This was going to Hell in a hand basket real fast. Dytrons had already begun shooting, taking a thug or two down. Question is, were they killed or just injured? The latter is preferable...sure they're thugs, but they're human. The Rangers should vow to keep every human safe regardless of who they are.
Olivia caught the metal pipe Lucas tossed her way. Nice to have a weapon now that new foes are rolling in. "Thanks," she said to him before spreading out and going her own way. She'd kicked one of the thugs down as he got back up. These guys weren't unlimited, a few would get up after being beat down. Just it took a while to get some of these guys to stay down! Hopefully they were down as in knocked out. Not dead. Dead is bad for people.

Drew took a good swing with the crowbar to fake out another thug, grinning and socking the guy in the face. Black eye alert! Payback for cutting his face! Robots were moving in, making it hard for everyone and turning up the heat. Well, the heat's already turned up...it's hot out under the polluted skies of Earth! Why did wearing a jacket sound appealing, at all? Sure it adds to the thug look but damn if it isn't scorching hot under it. He thought about this just as he flipped over a fallen thug thriving in pain on the ground.
Drew and Olivia both had overheard, along with everyone, what Rusty said to Tidal. Implying that Tidal had in fact...killed a man. A human. A person. Sure they all probably expected him to have killed people out here, but it was weird hearing it. And it sounded bloody personal, too.
Tidal also killed a man in Inezia. Day one as evil Shadow, he shot a car and blew it up...with a man in it. Not the first time they'd heard of Tidal killing. Drew shuddered slightly, Olivia just brushing it off. being military meant she was used to killing...or hearing about it. That's a sad reality and a half...

Dytrons really moved in as Rusty ordered the Landsharks to retreat. As the thugs were smart enough to follow his advice, the Rangers did the opposite. Take the fight to the Dytrons. The fallen thugs that appeared to be fallen for good became Olivia's concern. She quickly checked the pulses on said thugs...not happy with what she felt. Damn it.
She jumped into action as a Dytron approached her with its weapon. She slammed that pipe into its head, aiming to kill it/shut it down. She swung around, harshly pounding the pipe over the few Dytrons near by. She kicked to the side, round house kicking one straight to the ground with a foot to the shoulders. Thugs that witnessed this were a bit shocked...are these people righting back? And not sucking horribly at it? Especially the girls....like what?
A crowbar to the metallic skull solves all problems. A Dytron had grabbed a hold of one of the fleeing thugs. The poor bastard knew it was too strong for him. Drew sighed slightly and used the crowbar to hook the robot around its neck from behind and pull it off of the thug, pulling it back to him as he swatted the crowbar down on its head. "Go, now, ya idiot." Drew ordered the thug, sticking in his persona. The idiot nodded and retreated with his fellow lowlifes. Drew sung the crowbar around some more, taking out the Dytrons he hit with ease. Felt good to not have to hold back on these enemies. He dodged a robot fist to the face, landing an uppercut on an incoming Dytron near him. He shook his fist. That'd leave a mark on the ol' knuckles.

"Boy, did you ever..." Jane mumbled as Lucas said he jinxed it. Dytrons joining the fray with the Rangers and the thugs? Aside from the likely insanity to spark and people to get hurt if they were dumb enough, an all out brawl sounded fun! Well, to one tomboy it sounded fun. To a certain soldier, it sounded troubling. Morphing still sounded great...why were they even worried about getting their shit stolen? They're the rangers, they have literal giant weapons to come after anyone who does something like that. Not that they'd use weapons on people. Well...they kind of are at this point, but they wouldn't kill anyone.

Speaking of killing someone, Tidal had. Rusty brought up him killing someone, and that death resulted in what looked and sounded like a huge personal grudge. Great. "Looks like he didn't miss much family..." Calvin muttered, watching in slight horror as Dytrons shot down a couple of thugs. No! Nobody is supposed to die! He curled his fists, ignoring the thugs as enemies. Screw being a fake thug, he just wanted to take out those metallic freaks now.
As Rusty made his guys fall back, it looked like Tidal, instead of fighting, was holding him...hostage? Sort of. Well great...now they can be kidnappers for a change! Seriously, Dr. Wilson has been kidnapped, Isaac has been kidnapped, let someone who isn't a Ranger ally be kidnapped for a change of pace! Granted this guy isn't affiliated with the Rexian Armada...so one would hope at least. Jane and Calvin mentally processed Tidal killing someone before joining the fight against the Dytrons. He wasn't under mind control, he couldn't have been at that point. He just killed a man of his own free will...that's not comforting. He also became good at his own free will. That counted for something, right?
Shaking it off, Calvin swung the chain around at the first Dytron unlucky enough to meet him. The robot had a thug pinned down about to hit him over the head with its weapon. Calvin slung the chain directly up at the robots face and knocking it off of the guy. "Move it," he ordered the thug around, the guy squirming up and scrambling to his feet to bail. Hey, these guys weren't 'good guys' but they're still guys. Human. And this team protects humans! That's enough to want to save a life! A couple of bucket heads rushed in from the back, Calvin ducking down and avoiding swings of their weapons. He slung that chain around and managed to disarm every Dytron around him, smirking and jumping up for a tornado-style kick at all of their faces. He grabbed a hold of ones arm, twisting it and flipping the thing around into the dirt, punching his arm with his biceps flexing as a result of how hard he hit it.

Jane twisted her feet in the dirt, swerving around the robots as they charged in towards everybody. She wanted to get some leverage and space to get wild! Loosely gripping the end of the bats grip, she violently greeted the Rexian losers with a swung. "Hey batter batter hey batter batter hey!" She called loudly as she happily swung at ones chest, managing to force it up in the air slightly through odd physics, the robot falling back on its own forces. "Home run!" She shouted. In the corner of her eye she spotted Fatso and another thug being held back, bunkered down by Dyrtons with nasty intentions. Violent ones. She rolled her eyes and huffed slightly running over, swinging at any robots that got in her way in the mean time. The one thug was in a pushing war with a Dytron, trying to push it back and holding its arms as it did the same to him. The two struggled endlessly. "Oh for craps sake break it up." She told them, intervening and jabbing both ends of the bat in their guts. She pushed the thug back, keeping the act up, and swung right at the Dytrons head, sparks flying from it. She rested the bat on her shoulders. "Well? GO!" She told the thug. Fatso was getting surrounded, and Jane was happy to help. And hit him again! She tossed the bat down, pulling and prying Dytrons away from him, roundhouse kicking a couple down and jamming her fist in ones face. She kicked up, punched down, and flipped every which way, grabbing the bat again and wham!!! Where the sun doesn't shine, she got one. Fatso cringed. "If that doesn't look like something you want? Leave." She told him. He nodded and ran as fast as his fat legs could go. Again, the weight thing isn't a factor...she just really don't like that guy.

The adrenaline of it all. Thugs, impending doom, Dytrons, the numbers, the chaotic wasteland! It pumped into Jane's heart and fueled her with excitement!!!! Calvin fended off the last bit of Dytrons as Jane just ran free doing the same. She found herself saving Drew from a hit, taking a deep breath afterward. "Boy...what a fucking rush!" She said, clearly feeding off of the energy out here. Maybe if she were a thug...she would survive. Almost like she doesn't technically hate this stuff. She then--on adrenaline--grabbed Drew and like a true baddass chick in the wasteland she pulled him in, planted a kiss right on his lips and pushed him off. "Woooooooo!" She chanted after. She's gone bananas!
Calvin glanced over. Did Jane just....lock lips foe three seconds with...oh boy....cue attempt not to laugh.

Was it unsettling to hear Tidal had killed people? Yes. Was it surprising? Not really. As long as he wouldn't be killing people anymore now, it was... better? Still wrong he killed people, but at least now he was actively trying not to do it. Quite the opposite, in fact. He'd been saving a lot of people now what he had joined up with the rangers. Well... at least the thugs minus Rusty were gone and nobody had to hold back on the fighting anymore. Why Tidal didn't just sent Rusty off was a mystery to Lucas. Why would they need him to talk to the big bad thug? Threaten to kill Rusty if they didn't hand over the meteor? Now that would be shady! Lucas shook the thoughts off his mind and focused on bashing the wench into metal skulls and trying not to trip over the thugs. Were they just knocked out? He sure hoped so, but judging by the looks of some of them, it wasn't the case for everyone. Sure, this wasn't the first time he saw horrible deaths, but it still got at him. He could have easily lived his life without seeing this. Wasn't that what they were fighting for? Kick Armada off their planet so people wouldn't have to live like this anymore? On to bashing more Dytrons into the ground. Worrying would come later. It was rather amusing to see the shock on the thugs' faces. If only they knew just who they had been fighting, and were now saving their asses!

Rusty too witnessed still pinned down to the ground. "What the hell?" he managed to utter. These misfits were fighting off the Dytrons like nobody's business. Where did they learn to do that? No thug has ever fought a Dytron and lived to tel the tale. Unless they'd all gang up on s small group of them, then maybe some lived. But like this? Those six misfits just taking the Dytrons down as if they weren't severely outnumbered? It was impressive, but it didn't change what had happened between Tidal and the Landsharks.
"If you have half a brain an don't want to be blasted to pieces, you stay down and let us handle this," Tidal hissed. "And don't bother trying to get away. I'm not going to stop the Dytrons from blasting a hold through your chest."
He let go of Rusty and jumped back to his feet, kicking an incoming Dytron backwards into one of his robot friends. "I'll be taking this for now," Tidal ducked to the ground and snatched Rusty's blade away from him, using it to take care of the incoming Dytrons. Being so used to fighting off these guys and not having to hold back in any way, made the battle a breeze. In moments, the Dytrons that had attacked them were taken care of. Others got the hell out of there, likely on their way to where the meteor had crashed. Woe the thugs over there. If Armada would go full out on their forces to retrieve the meteor, which they probably would, chances the thugs would get out unharmed were slim. Tidal might have plenty of reason to not give a shit if all of them would die, and some of these thugs had enough reason to want to see him dead, that voice of redemption in the back of his mind told him it would be wrong to leave them to their cruel fates.

Whoa whoa whoa, hold up... Did Jane just KISS Drew? Aure,mif one had been paying attention you could see something was going on, but... Hold on a minute! Tidal and Lucas weren't quite sure whether they shiuld be shocked or amused. Tidal, however, soon enough found a reason and way to be a total ass. He turned to face Olivia and Lucas, giving them both a very meaningful look, as if asking "So what about you two?" Lucas just glared back. He thought. May be blushing too, who's to tell? Yeah, he liked her a lot, but... Probably not a mutual thin anyway. Sad sigh.

"Chainz, tie this sucker up and toss him in the bed of the truck. Curly, Cupcake... you're gonna have to share the space with Rusty here," Tidal said. He spat on the ground, wiping his hand over the cut Rusty had given him. His eyes trailed over the buildings, to the alleys. People carefully poked their heads out now that everything seemed save again. With the Dytrons dead and the Landsharks hiding, it seemed they dared to go out again without worrying about instantly being murdered, robbed, or generally beaten up. Still, everyone kept their distance from the Rangers. Made sense. They had just taken care of everyone who had been taunting them as if it were nothing. They may as well be even more dangerous than what they had seen so far. Tidal... felt like he knew this place. Hell, he was sure he knew this place. But his memories were foggy. yes, he recalled killing Rusty's brother, his childhood friend. That had been around here, hadn't it? This place, was it home? Tidal couldn't tell for sure. He shook his head. Memories were forcing themselves a way back into his mind, but something still blocked it. An invisible barrier that kept him from recalling what had truly happened. Curse Armada for having done this to him!

Once Rusty was tossed in the back and everyone had either gotten back in or on their vehicles, the journey towards the meteor continued. Tidal was driving just a bit faster than before. Partially because he wanted to get there before too many people would die, and partially to be petty to Rusty and make his ride as uncomfortable as possible. As for Lucas and Olivia... they'd just have to cling on to each other a little bit tighter. Tidal was sure they wouldn't mind Rusty couldn't help but smirk at the two.
"Is she yours?" he asked Lucas.
"They'd wish!" Tidal called from his side of the truck. He smirked in the mirror, curious how the two would talk themselves out of this. Yes, he was being an asshole, no he didn't care. This was obvious as could be, wasn't it? Who hadn't seen it, safe from themselves? They really weren't fooling anyone. Maybe themselves, but that was it.
Lucas felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. Awkward... "Bod ceann," Lucas called back to him.

So. Rusty was tied up and dumped in the bed of the truck with them. Great. How enjoyable! Not that it was getting too crammed, but Lucas definitely didn't like the idea of this thug big-guy. Even more so since his men had quite clearly expressed how they thought of women. People who thought like that were among the things he didn't like. And not just because he had a twin sister, used to have a girl best friend, and... well, he still kinda had. Jane and Olivia were girls. Obviously. Rusty was just there, smirking and enjoying the view. Said view being... well... Olivia. It could hardly be more obvious the man was staring and thinking a lot of thoughts that would make one really glad they can't read minds (subtle nudge to Sen).
"I don't see it," Rusty commented. "Why would someone like you stay with these guys when you can spend the night with a real man?"
Lucas scoffed. One more comment like that and he would... well... do... something. He didn't know what, but he'd do something, ya hear that?

About two particularly bumpy hours later, the sun was starting to set. Obviously they weren't going to make it back before dark. Heck, if things near the meteor would be too chaotic, they'd have to camp out there. Surely not a nice thought for the largest part of the group. Besides the sounds of combat, the sound of waves clashing against cliffs could be heard, and a salty smell filled the air. The ocean! Presumably the meteor had clashed on or near the beach. It had been a long time since Tidal had seen the ocean, but he knew it wasn't a pretty sight. Severely polluted water, unpleasant and dark in color, close to as acidic as the lakes in the Wasteland... Pretty to behold was something entirely different. Tidal hopped out of the truck. He didn't bother helping Rusty out. Whether he'd somehow manage to get out himself, or if either Lucas or Olivia felt like kicking him out, he didn't care. Sounds of battle were what had his attention. Shouting of thugs, blasts, Dytrons, Deathtrons... sounded like a massacre was going on down the cliffs. And the thugs were starting to sound pretty terrified. Tidal approached the edge of the cliff and looked down. There it was. The meteor. It was pretty large, roughly the size of a small child, he estimated. A deep trail in the sand indicated the meteor had covered a fair distance after initial landing. The group of thugs defending the meteor slowly grew thinner. Deathtrons were closing in.

Lucas had hopped out of the truck as well, leaving Rusty to get out himself or being kicked out by Olivia. Really, she'd have enough reason to do so, he reasoned. He made his way over to Tidal and looked down. "Is it just me, or does that meteor just look like a giant egg?" Lucas tilted his head, looking at the meteor. What kind of space bird would lay an egg like that? What would hatch from it? Hmm... maybe it would be for the better if they didn't find out? If it even was an egg at all... Other thought: if it WAS an egg and they'd take it back... what if it would hatch on the way back? Or in the city? What if it was...?
"Must have been a giant space chicken," Tidal commented, finishing Lucas' thought. He turned to Calvin and smirked. This one was just too easy to let go. For the moment, keeping up the act of being a complete asshole was fun! But he was probably going to have to pay for this either right upon coming back, or some time later.

The only thing worthy of any attention at all was...um...what? Drew was completely caught off guard. First she saved him...then she just grabbed onto him and planted a kiss on his lips and shoved him back like nothing happened. The girl had lost her marbles...from where Olivia was stood, it appeared Jane maybe didn't have any marbles to lose in the first place.
Drew blinked as Jane just chanted and everyone stared after the fight was over. "Okay then," he said, baffled. He then felt his mouth...was it tingling? What the actual heck? This was going to be talked about as soon as they weren't in a chase for a space rock.
Olivia fell silent as Tidal asked her and Lucas 'what about you two?' She did like Lucas, though. She didn't know exactly in what way, but she liked him. But for Tidal to make it randomly awkward...well technically Jane made it weird. "Down dog." She told Tidal, referencing him by his nickname of Lone Wolf.

The area around them looked tense. Relieved the threat was gone, but also a bit timid? Anyone would be timid after witness well-versed fighters plow through their opponents. especially in a violent place such as this. Funny...Olivia's studies on the wasteland only tell her of the nature, or lack of it. The area is clearly in bad shape. But so are its people...she still wanted to offer everyone she could a chance to start over in Inezia once they would drop this stupid thug act.
There Tidal goes with that Cupcake business again. She rolled her eyes slightly, knowing she would have to ride with Rusty in the back after he'd been tied up. Is this really what they're doing? Kidnapping someone? Olivia, technically Tidal's superior, just wanted to make him stop....Drew as team leader did, too, but he was too dazed after being randomly smooched.

She piled in the truck bed, Drew back on the bike with Jane. They rode to the meteor this time. As the bike sped by the truck, Drew took a second to glance back a Jane and speak to her. No one can really hear them over the engines anyway. "So, uh...about what just happened? What was that about?" He asked her, eyes straight ahead. He really would like to know!
Olivia crossed her arms as Rusty spoke to her. The way she was dressed, well...she figured he'd stare. Her blood raced to her cheeks as well, but for different reasons than Lucas'. "Ya know Rusty, a girl like me sticks with these guys because they've got the wit to stay alive. Also, if you want to know what being with a man feels like, I'll take this lead pipe and shove it right up your--" She started, cut off by a speed bump. She cleared her throat. Jane rubbed off on her. A lot. Girls will be girls!

A couple of hours later, a weird smell filled the air. Given that at least half of the team had never really been out in the wasteland on a trip for 'sight seeing', it was likely a weird smell. Tidal no doubt had smelled it before. Calvin may have on a combat run. And Olivia might have as well...the smell of the ocean. Water. A beach. A real beach...polluted of course, gross water is gross. But still a salty breeze that used to be paradise! Arrival caused for both vehicles to stop. Drew parked the bike and put the kickstand down. Unlike Lucas or anyone else, Olivia--while a bit salty--remained vigilant and proceeded to help Rusty out of truck bed. Sure she more or less kindly dragged him out, but she helped him. Because she's nice.
Sounds of a fight were heard. Drew and Olivia (and Rusty she guessed) joined everyone at the edge of the cliff. The meteor was down below, guarded by a weakening line of thugs who for some reason wanted it. Deathtrons weren't playing nice down there. The Armada wanted this rock and they'd do anything to get it.
"It does look like an egg." Olivia commented. Drew glanced down at the rock, and then over at what he could see of the polluted ocean. As dark and gross as it was...it was still a sight to see. He whistled...he'd never seen it before. In real life. "Damn...so that's the ocean, huh? Seventy percent of the world is water...shit." Drew said, mostly talking to himself. Olivia sighed slightly. "A shame it's so rotten now. But maybe it was pretty a long time ago."
Then the chicken comments rolled in. "Could be a giant space snake. Snakes lay eggs, too." Drew joked. Oh god...yikes.

Jane just fluttered her eyes comically at Drew. Then she just turned and walked away like nothing happened at all. What a weird girl. Even weirder was how intimidated the place was. Sure the bad guys were gone, but to the folk out here they all looked like brutal people, probably. That's just how it works out here. The strong are in charge and the weak fear them and hope to live under them. Or just hope to live...period.
Calvin shook his head. Being barked at as Chainz wasn't cool to him at all...and now they're tying Rusty up? Uncalled for, Tidal. Calvin nevertheless did as he said, using the chain he wielded as a weapon to tie up Rusty, locking the chain around hims arms with a...lock? What are the odds, Calvin just spotted an old lock on the ground. He shrugged and decided to lock the chain with it. Hey it worked! That was oddly convenient. Sure there isn't a key or a combination to it...oh well, they could break it off once Rusty would be let go. If he were to be let go...they aren't gonna kill him.

And so they were to set back out to find the meteor. Calvin hopped in the front of the tuck with Tidal, using his morpher once again as a GPS to discreetly locate the coordinates. Back to playing navigator! "I don't know how they don't see it either..." Calvin said, thinking about Lucas and Olivia.
Jane threw her legs over the bike and her arms around Drew's stomach to latch on for safety. As they started the ride there, under the discreet roar of the engine, Jane heard Drew's question. "Whaaa? It was a heat of the moment adrenaline thing!" She defended. "Not like it meant anything, besides it was a harmless little thing. You know I don't do feely crap," she reminded. Then Jane had managed to overheard Olivia sassing Rusty in the truck bed. She smirked. I am so proud of her, me influence a superior and all... Jane thought to herself.

Hours later, they'd arrived at their destination. Close to it at least. Calvin recognized the smell in the air, for he had indeed been near the ocean before on missions when he was just a normal soldier in the military. Granted he still is one. The salty smell of the ocean, polluted and disgusting. It still retained that ocean smell, though. It was oddly relaxing once you got passed the polluted water and liekly mutated fish underwater. Or dead fish, too. Calvin hopped out of the truck with Tidal, Jane getting off of the bike with Drew. Sounds of battle and heavy chaos rang beneath them. Near the edge of the cliff is where they stood now, seeing the meteor down there, about the size of a kid, thugs and Rexian forces alike duking it out. The Armada was winning...damn it. Hey, Lucas was right...it does kinda look like an egg. Mmm...eggs sounded really yummy right now...scrambled with a biscuit on the side, maybe some homemade gravy...waffles...okay, not the time to be thinking about food.
Calvin punched Tidal in the arm. A way of saying 'cut the chicken crap.' Drew made it worse. Snakes? Dear Christ...Jane then approached and made clucking sounds. "Bawk bawk, I'm a space chicken, bawk bawk," she said, grinning devilishly. Calvin shuddered and swatted his arms around, basically flailing them. A bit out of character for him, but the man hates chickens. Jane laughed softly for a second, then glanced out at the ocean. It was....gigantic. A huge body of water. Dark in color. "It doesn't...always look like that, does it?" She asked everyone.
Calvin looked at her and then at the ocean in the distance. He shook his head. "No. It was really nice a long time ago. Then those bastards in space came and messed it all up." He told her. She sighed softly. With the exception of a few of them, the Rangers really hadn't seen the ocean before...the Armada came to Earth when they were babies, or before they were even born. Funny, they were all fighting for a world they'd never really seen in its glory before...basically defending a huge stranger. As a kid, Jane would have loved the beach for summer time. Instead she lives in a dome always under attack. Fuck.

The trail left behind by the meteor indicated it crashed likely on the beach, anyway. And judging by how things looked? The Armada may get it before they do. And if it's over a cliff...how do they get down? And bring the meteor back up? "We should probably get down there," Jane said. Calvin nodded. "A'ight. Those Landsharks are gonna be dead soon anyway."