--- ✦ ---
"The Space Megazord is really powerful, even more than I expected," Zayne muttered as he looked at the rainbow-like vortex before him.
The Megazord's strength was extremely overpowered, especially its final attack. As Zayne said earlier, the mission was for two reasons: testing the ranger spaceship and fighting off the Dark-elves. Now that he knew the power of the spaceship, he wouldn't use it lightly unless he obtained a more powerful one; even then, only special members of the future team would be able to use it.
"Of all the things I've obtained from the grid, this is one of the most powerful in battle strength," Zayne mused inwardly.
His analysis was spot on. Anything that can travel at a speed a hundred times faster than light and use a black hole as a final attack possesses an extremely powerful battle power. Things like that are very rare in the universe, unseen by ordinary life-forms except hegemons like Thanos, Sledge, and many more.
After the mission ended, he and the team had immediately set course back for Earth, and now they were in the space-time transit waiting to arrive at the base in at most four hours.
The mission had ended faster than anticipated as the Megazord was stronger than they all expected. It had reduced the mission time by days, saving them a lot of time and energy.
The entire team was currently strapped in their seats waiting for descent, but a lot of discussions were being passed around, like how cool they were and how numerous the pirates were. There were a lot of topics to dissect, but strangely enough, only Peter, who was usually talkative, was silent.
His expression changed from time to time as if troubled by something. After an hour of discussions, the team noticed this and couldn't help but be curious.
"Hey Pete, what's wrong?" Conner asked.
Peter snapped out of his daze and replied, stuttering. "Uhn….well….I….sigh~, it's nothing"
"Nothing? Peter, I know you stutter when something troubles you. We're a team, perhaps we could offer help," Conner replied knowingly.
"You…. Ah, fine. Yes, something is indeed wrong. It's about the previous mission," Peter replied helplessly, knowing he had been seen through.
"Hmm, the mission, what could be wrong with it? Wasn't it almost flawless?" Trent chimed in; his tone filled with confusion.
Even Tommy listened in, while Zayne smiled knowingly.
"Yes, I know it was flawless, but did we really have to kill them. I know this sounds crazy and foolish, but they also had lives like ours, and snuffing it out was quite hard to accept for me." Peter spoke as he looked around anxiously.
Peter was scared that the team would take his words as unreasonable and reprimand him, but to his utter shock, nobody argued with him; they just smiled.
Even Zayne at the front had a smirk on his face.
"Are my words funny?" Peter asked, slightly annoyed at their laid-back behavior. Was life that was meaningless to them?
"No, kid. We find it funny cause you just asked this question," Tommy replied, his tone sagely and even more confusing to Peter.
"I don't get it," Peter replied with his eyebrow furrowed.
"What he means is that we've noticed your hesitation to end a life a very long time ago." This time, Zayne, their leader, spoke.
As those words fell, Peter inhaled sharply, waiting for Zayne's next words. Although he and Zayne were of the same age, they were fundamentally different. Even after Zayne told them to act normally with him, he still harbored a ton of respect for the figure before him.
He was a good leader, extremely strong in almost all aspects of life, a role model for boys his age. It was also this same perfection that brought about the respect he had for him, so any words spoken by him were almost always useful.
Zayne did not disappoint him and continued. "Peter, I understand your hesitation when it comes to this part of the job. Not everyone can do what we do, whether it's the power or decisions we make."
Then he paused.
Peter was silent, taking all the words in. Zayne noticed and continued speaking. "There is a reason I chose you, Peter. I went to extensive screening before choosing candidates, so I naturally knew your unwillingness to take a life on all missions. If I wanted my team to be killers, I would have chosen the likes of Deadpool, the Punisher, or even the infamous Moon Knight, but no, I chose you.
You possess a boundless heart for heroism like no other; even I can't compare to you in that aspect. But sometimes too much righteousness can be a bad thing."
Not only was Peter listening, but the rest of the team also pricked their ears to listen.
"When one is excessively kind, they might be unable to kill a fly that brings nothing but diseases to them, thinking they were only providing it food. The same thing is applicable to a pest destroying a farmer's crops; without killing it, the destruction would continue, making the owner regret their indecision at that moment.
Balance exists for a reason in whatever situation you find yourself; sometimes, ruthlessness is needed in this job as much as righteousness. If we had allowed the Dark Elves to leave without destroying them, they might call for more reinforcement and overwhelm us later on, and eventually plunder our planets.
Even after their deaths, they still caused us trouble with the pirates, who are even worse than their kind. If we allowed their escape, our planet, loved ones, and many more lives on earth would have faced hell because of our hesitation to end lives.
I know these words won't change your ideals easily, but as your leader, I implore you to think carefully about my words, or else sooner or later it might affect you and the team on another mission like this."
Zayne's speech concluded, and the whole control room fell into silence. Each of them was deep in thought, but Peter was the most obvious.
He raised his drooping head and stared at Zayne with a complex expression. Words struggled to get out; in the end, he just said. "I understand, leader, but please let me think about it."
"Sure," Zayne replied instantly with no expression whatsoever on his face.
Peter noticed this and was somewhat disappointed as he wanted Zayne to say more. The rest of the team was also silent, not bothering to talk about the issue anymore. They knew it was impossible to change a person that easily; it either takes time or doesn't happen. Human beings are free-willed creatures after all.
Zwoosh~
The ranger spaceship shuttled in silence for the rest of the journey. Only the rainbow-like space-time vortex gave the surrounding void a sense of being. Even Zayne just focused on the mission reports Kara sent. It was boring all the way home.
Four hours went by in a flash...…
In the omni-base, teleportation anchor room. The space-time gate activated, and the ranger spaceship burst out of it. This time at a normal speed, because using that faster than light can cause space-time turbulence in the room.
Although the base was strong enough to resist any type of space-time fracture from outside or even from within, Zayne was still careful.
Whirr~ Boom~
The spaceship landed softly in its hanger emitting a hum of energy exhaust from its rear, signifying they had a long journey.
Flash~
Four individuals abruptly appeared beneath the gigantic spaceship, each of them with weary expressions. They were the team, and most of them were exhausted physically and mentally.
"I can't wait to rest," Conner yawned, "I'm so tired."
"Me too," Trent chimed in with droopy eyes.
Even Tommy yawned.
"Kid, we'll get going now. The kids and I need rest," Tommy spoke, facing Zayne. "You should also get some rest, kid. You worked harder than any of us."
"Sure, Dr. O," Zayne replied, his face more energetic than the rest.
He wasn't really tired like the rest of them. Ever since he advanced to B tier, his energy had multiplied by a large degree, so the mission wasn't much of a hassle to him.
As they all walked out of the hangar, the team bid goodbye to Zayne before teleporting out of the base. Leaving only Zayne and his assistants in the base.
The desolation wasn't much of a concern to Zayne as he was used to this type of silence from his past life. Ever since he lost his parents, life had always been drifting, just like a long fisherman in a large body of water. He only had himself.
As his thoughts drifted, a call from his cell phone brought him back. Zayne looked at the caller in mild surprise, then a smile appeared on his face.
Click~
"Hey, Kira," Zayne picked up and spoke.
Kira, on the other side, smiled happily and replied. "Heyyyyy, Zayne. It seems the mission was a success."
"Yeah, it was, but how did you know we already arrived?" Zayne asked curiously.
"Well, I kinda asked Alpha to tell me when you guys get back," Kira replied truthfully.
"I see... well, the mission was quite easy but fun. You guys missed a lot," Zayne teased.
Kira, on the other side of the line, perked up, wanting to hear more. "So, tell me all about your adventures. I've been bored without you for the past five days."
Since the time on Earth and other galaxies differed, there was naturally a difference. Although the time in the base was longer, it was still long for the rest of the team that stayed outside the base.
People like Alpha and Kara in the Omni-Base experienced longer days than they did due to time displacement.
Zayne smiled, quite happy to find someone to talk to. Moreover, that person was even his girlfriend, so he held nothing back and explained the entire mission to her. Although the time of the base and Earth are vastly different, during phone and mission calls, it is usually synchronized for the comfort of the team. During his explanations, he even exaggerated how cool and powerful he was.
Indeed, no man can hold back bragging to their lovers, as there is nothing wrong with it.
The day went by with Zayne unknowingly walking around the base chatting with Kira, his beloved, on the phone.
--- ✦ ---
In a large body of water far away from the city of new-york, large whales could be seen swimming in circles continuously in a particular spot as if waiting for something.
Deep within this body of water were large chunks of earth, beach sand, and even corpses, with streaks of blue energy passing through the area occasionally, eating away at the corpses and rocks.
One corpse in particular was covered in a thin layer of an unknown substance. This substance was not harmful to the corpse in particular; it seemed to be protecting the body from the corrosive blue energy and even assimilating it.
Minutes passed by as the assimilated energy seeped into the corpse's body, making it more recognizable as it took on the figure of a female.
This female figure slowly regained her life-force, face, skin, and bones until she became complete once more. This female figure was naturally Elsa, who was killed by Mesogog.
As luck would have it, she survived. The terrigen mist managed to seep into her body before she completely died, giving her hope of revival. But it alone was not enough to bring her to life.
Elsa managed to turn danger into luck as the terrigen mist mixed with the residual energy of the cosmic cube, magnifying the restorative power and reviving her. For this to happen, the chances were one in a thousandth, meaning it was extremely rare and had never happened, but mother luck blessed Elsa; not only is she alive, but she also gained a power-up in between.
Even Zayne would curse at her dumb luck if he found out.
Hours passed by as more energy seeped into Elsa's body and finally –
"Gasp~~" Elsa woke up in the blue sea with a hurl of her entire body.
"Hmm, where am I? What's going on?" Confusion and disordered memories flashed through her mind. As he had died and revived her thoughts were still scattered, so she needed time to figure out her situation.
After some minutes, while deep underwater, clarity flashed through her eyes, then it turned to fear, then anger, and finally hatred.
"Mesogog!!!" A guttural roar echoed from her mouth as the soundwave alone blasted upward, startling the swimming whales away.
But Elsa didn't care. Without waiting to figure out how she revived, or even breathing underwater, her body moved like a missile in the air.
Boom!!!
She jumped out of the water in seconds, hovering above it. Then she looked into the horizon, eyes bluer than usual, but a body radiating immense energy, capable of matching the likes of the enraged Hulk.
Then, with a wave of her hand, she flew away, her hatred increasing at every moment.
The skies of New York City were about to change.