As the passenger, Tommy Oliver had been given the role of navigator. Thought, the necessity of this was dubious at best. The map drew a route straight to their destination, a bold orange line that updated as they progressed along it. What's more, it provided sights to see along the route. Restaurants, monuments, parks, notable businesses, and even charging areas which looked a lot like him to gas stations. Flynn called this technology GPS, or something like that, which Z claimed stood for Global Positioning Satellite.
Looking out at the city, surrounded by all of this future technology, Tommy couldn't help but feel like a fish out of water. The pictures he'd seen in his school books looked nothing like this. Skyscrapers butted up next to centuries old buildings. Modern structures of metal and glass formed an imposing environment where they weren't broken up by wood and stone.
And the traffic. Tommy wasn't sure how Flynn did it. Vehicles both on the ground and at various levels above it zipped every which direction. Ground travel he understood, but how anyone managed to fly around in their screaming metal death machine's that passed as cars absolutely escaped him. There were no signs up there, no lights, no lanes. If someone needed to get around another commuter, they simply went over or under. This created a horrible weaving latticework of danger at a hundred miles per hour.
The population seemed to exist on several levels. Many of the tall buildings had platforms and walkways connecting them. People moved about them as they would a sidewalk on the ground. Black fliers Tommy assumed were taxis and longer red ones which must've been buses carried the people to and fro. Did some of these people live their lives without ever touching the soil? What a strange existence.
From the barest glance, it may have looked like nothing was wrong at all. None of that desperation Fae described was readily apparent. But, to Tommy's trained eyes, there were many concerning features all around. Firstly, there were a lot of police cars. They were yellow instead of black and white, but they definitely belonged to the fuzz. Guards roamed the streets and platforms. They seemed to arrest people with reckless abandon, sometimes several at once. A particular group of four civilians received a savage beating while pedestrians just walked on by. Open air holding cells kept dozens of others contained at a time. There were even military trucks and bonafide tanks patrolling around. If Tommy hadn't had another objective to complete, he would've told Flynn to stop so he could help the citizens.
The worst part? When Flynn drove close by one of these platforms, Tommy saw the police officers were quite obviously not human. They wore thick, jagged armor of overlapping plates. Their ugly faces contorted with squished noses, tusk-filled underbites, and pale green skin. They had gangly arms and legs. Some shuffled around in squads of a dozen or more. Though the majority were unarmed, a select few had weapons such as swords, maces, axes, shields, and even a few bows and arrows. It didn't take a genius to figure out these creatures belonged to Avanth. He had an iron grasp on the populace, a lack of freedom Tommy couldn't abide. This alchemist-turned-conqueror had transformed London, and likely the world over, into a police state. He had to be stopped.
Eventually, after about twenty minutes of flying, Flynn began to descend. He brought the vehicle to a slow and steady trip all the way down to the street.
"See? What did I tell you? I'm a natural," Flynn said as they all got out.
"I'm amazed we got here in one piece. That was crazy," Z said.
"You guys think this is the place?" Tommy asked.
He looked up at one of the old-style buildings. It was a medieval keep, a square building constructed of beige stone, intricately carved with patterns and archways over skinny windows. Tall domed spires stretched from each corner. A massive stone wall surrounded the entire structure. Around that stretched a holographic police tape with officers posted at regular intervals. No other people were present anywhere in the area.
"Looks like it. The dot looks like it's inside there." Flynn said. Tommy was surprised to notice he had the lens where the map came from in his right hand. The aforementioned map still worked despite being separated from the car.
"How did you figure out you could do that?" Tommy asked him.
"Because it says 'twist to remove' on the dashboard," Flynn answered simply.
"Come on, guys, lets not stick around. Something tells me we shouldn't be here," Z said, looking around.
"Oh, what gave you that idea? Was it the cops or the fact that there's no one else here?" Joked Flynn.
Z just rolled her eyes at him and began toward the structure. Flynn and Tommy shared a glance. Tommy shrugged his shoulders and followed after her. Flynn brought up the rear as the three of them approached the structure.
"Wait a minute, isn't this the Tower of London?" Flynn wondered aloud.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Z said.
"Makes sense," Tommy added. "I mean, if you were an ancient relic, where would you be?"
"I dunno. Probably Stonehenge, or something," Flynn said.
"That's fair."
Since Flynn had, sensibly, put them down in the nearby parking lot, it took them a few minutes of walking to reach their destination. This gave Tommy a little time to think. This was a huge building. Would they have to search every nook and cranny of it? That could easily take days, and Tommy didn't like the idea of using that much time on one task.
When they got closer, Flynn put away the map. He pressed a button on the bottom of the lens and slid it into his pocket. Tommy had been about to suggest that. Walking around with a glowing map probably drew attention to themselves, which was the last thing they wanted.
The three of them came up to what Tommy assumed was the front gate. The hints of an iron portcullis poked out from the giant stone archway, while beyond it stretched a brick courtyard. When whey were about to reach the police tape, officers standing just behind it one either side of the gate crossed their spears. Z came to an abrupt halt, which prompted her companions to do the same.
"The public is not permitted to enter," the one of the left said. It had a thick cockney accent, and a gruff mannerism. The fact that it spoke at all caught Tommy off-guard. The putties he knew never talked.
"We have business inside," Z said. "There's something we have to pick up."
"No one has business in the Tower," replied the officer. "By order of the Queen, the Tower of London is closed to the public."
"Come on, can't you make an exception. I promise, we'll be—"
"No exceptions," the officer cut Z off. "No one is allowed. If you do not leave, you will be detained."
"Well, now, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. How can we leave if you detain us?" Flynn raised a good point.
"Last warning. Leave or else," the officer said.
Several more police creatures, some with weapons drawn, encircled the three intruders. Reflexively, the humans all assumed fighting stances. They stood close together in a rough triangle formation, watching every direction all at once. Tommy looked around at the sudden enemies. There were at least a few dozen of them, perhaps more. Where had they come from? Of course, he knew better than to ask that question. Mooks like this always seemed to materialize out of nowhere.
He exchanged quick looks with his companions. Flynn gave him a shallow nod, barely more than a twitch of his head. Z, on the other hand, only locked eyes with him for a brief moment before returning to her inspection of the world around her. That was good. It meant she was ready. Both of them waited for his signal.
Tommy took a shuffling step forward and aimed a sidekick into the chest of an office that had formed up behind them. As it flew backward, the other mooks closed in to guard it. At the same time, the Rangers surged forward. What started as a simple investigation, nothing more than a fetch quest, dissolved in an instant to an all-out brawl.
Two of the so-called police officers came at Tommy from the front. He kicked one in the stomach, then brought the same foot around to hit the other in the knee. With both of his opponents stopped, he leapt into a spinning heel kick with his back leg to put them both on the ground.
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One on his right leveled an overhand punch. Tommy blocked high and punched low to make it stumble back. Another enemy came at the opposite side with a high punch. Tommy stopped it with his wrist before stepping forward for another low righthand, but the enemy took a diagonal step to avoid it. Tommy caught it at the end of this step with a straight left to the noggin.
A third swung a machete at him from the front. Tommy slipped back to avoid and then stepped forward to bury a pair quick straight punches into this attacker's midsection. It used an open hand to knock away a third punch and tried to slash down at Tommy, but the Ranger took an off-line step which both avoided the swing and put him behind his opponent. Tommy raised a fist to put his knuckles into the back of its head.
This officer stumbled back, straight into Flynn, who wrapped it in a high headlock and wrenched downward so the officer flipped over his back and onto the ground on the opposite side. This put Flynn in a crouching position, and one of the enemies tried to take advantage of that by kicking him up through the face. Flynn stood to avoid the attack and grabbed the leg as it came back down. A simple rotation of his hips was all it took to throw this monster down.
Flynn used the momentum from this move to launch himself toward another foe. He grabbed this one by both of the legs, locking his wrists together beneath its buttocks. A lift and a heave saw the creature lifted up into the air and slammed back down.
The next enemy to face off with him wound back a shortsword for a massive swing. Flynn was faster with a haymaker to the face. The creature spun around so its back faced Flynn, who grabbed one of its arms to bend at a painful angle between its shoulder blades. An officer sprinted in from the left to try and save its companion, and received an upkick for its troubles. Flynn then knocked out the knee of the opponent he held on to so it fell to one knee. Two came at his right. Flynn used a backfist and a jab respectively to knock them both down. A karate chop to the throat finished the enemy kneeling before him.
An officer went for a big hail Mary, leaping over the form of its dispatched comrade for a flying punch. Instead, Flynn grabbed it by the throat with one hand. With his newly acquired cargo he ran forward, knocking aside several foes before giving his captive a chokeslam.
Flynn hurled a back kick at an officer coming up behind him. This creature flew back through the air until Z gave it a jumping spin kick which sent it flipping end over end into the distance. Z hit the ground and continued her spin, ducking low to sweep the legs out from the nearest monster. Rising up, she both avoided an axe kick aimed to smash her head, and hit the aggressor with a vicious uppercut which launched it into the air.
A fourth opponent came at her. Z blocked its attack, and then retaliated with a trio of torso strikes. The first one connected, but the creature used a palm to redirect the second. It tried to counter. Z literally beat it to the punch with her third attack.
The officer she'd previously popped into the air with an uppercut descended. Z drew back and gave it a powerful right hand to the chest in midair. It careened into three other rivals so that the four of them fell in a heap. Finally, she finished off the one she'd been piecing up with a big left hook.
An adversary tried to box her ears. Z raised both wrists to stop it, pushed its hands aside so it stumbled back, and answered with a push kick.
One came at her left. She turned to punch it three times in the chest, stunning it. A second interceded from the right. Z tried to give a high hook kick, but it grabbed and pushed her foot back down. Z used this to plant the one redirected foot and lift her other to strike the first monster which she had hit with punches. With this same foot still raised, she kicked out to her left, and then behind herself, to take down two more opponents, while also using an arm to block a punch from the creature who'd blocked her kick earlier. Z tucked into a roll underneath this officer's retaliatory crescent kick. She landed in a crouch to elbow it in the back.
A monster which came directly at her must've thought a staff gave it an advantage. It swung laterally for her, but Z stood and caught the weapon with both hands. She twisted it away from the brute, gave it a twirl to deflect an encroaching enemy, and then used the staff to jab its original owner in the face. The officer faltered several steps backward just to meet a high sidekick from Tommy. The Ranger then slipped a swing from a handaxe to counter with an uppercut to the stomach, but the attacker used its free hand to knock the punch aside. He straightened up with another uppercut on the same fist, and this one connected under the chin.
"Tommy!" Flynn shouted. "Catch!"
Tommy spun around to face his fellow Ranger, who tossed the map lens at him. Tommy used a hook kick to clear a monster out of the way so he could catch the lens. He and Flynn locked eyes.
"Go get the Morpher! We can handle these guys!" Ordered Flynn.
Tommy, for his part, did not hesitate. He sprinted straight for the Tower of London. Flynn and Z formed up on either side of him to help clear a path. They bashed and tossed, kicked and punched, until the smallest of breaks formed in their lines. Tommy shot the gap and continued on fast as his legs could carry him. Before long, he disappeared into the keep.
Z and Flynn stacked up on each other back to back as the break they helped Tommy form closed back in. The mooks tightened the circle around them. Those that still had weapons, including the spearmen who had originally barred them access, threatened to lash out at any second. They made animalistic snorts and wheezes, and seemed to speak in a language neither of them understood. Flynn and Z met eyes. In unison, they nodded. The Rangers went to launch an attack, but a voice interrupted them.
"What's this, then?" This voice, clearly male, was higher pitched and more natural sounding than that of the other monsters, but still had a strong accent.
The lines parted to allow the entrance of this new player. It was a large humanoid form, skinny at the waist and yet broad at the shoulders, with yellow hair so coarse it almost appeared to be made of straw. This coat covered its entire body. So thick it was, that it poked out from between the seams of it long sackloth tunic.
"Oh, great, more monster-cops," Flynn joked.
"Monsters?" The hairy man repeated. "No, I am a fiend, and these boys are goblins." The monster pointed to himself, and then the numerous gangly officers. "Lubberwick is my name. You mustn't be from around here, or else you'd know that."
"You got us," Z said. "Just blew into town."
"Well, then, allow me to show you how we deal with ne'er-do-wells like you here in London." The fiend Lubberwick bellowed, and then launched into the fray.
Lubberwick charged up a forearm strike and sent it smashing down at Z. She quarter-turned to dodge it and launched two torso strikes at the fiend. While Lubberwick clearly felt the blows, he didn't seem to really care that much. Unlike the goblins, who went down rather quickly, this much larger brute hardly moved at all. A split-second of surprise was all the fiend needed to punch Z in the stomach. She faltered backward, right into the striking range of a waiting goblin.
"Oh, no you don't!" Flynn shouted.
He full-on shoved the assailing goblin away from Z. While it tried to regain its balance, Flynn grabbed it under the chin and jumped, laying his body out so they both hit the ground. The goblin's neck bounced off of Flynn's shoulder as they impacted. The Ranger got to his feet and managed to punch away a pair of goblins trying to catch him out of position. He then turned and tried to regroup with Z, but more goblins closed in around him.
Z blocked a kick low, and then raised one hand high to stop a hooking punch. She gave Lubberwick a fist to the stomach, and then one to the head so quickly they almost fell at the same time. The fiend tried for another forearm smash. This time, Z slipped off-line and took a step behind Lubberwick. He was too fast, however, and spun around with a backfist which caught Z in the cheek. She uprooted from the ground and landed hard on her shoulder, rolling over a few times on the ground before stopping on her front.
She barely managed to stand up in time to avoid a goblin trying to stomp her head into the stone walkway. She gave this attacker an uppercut in retaliation, followed by a block of a low punch from a goblin on her right and a straight fist over that. Lubberwick came on and delivered a push kick to her right leg which caused her balance to falter.
Lubberwick pulled back his hand to deliver a terrible blow, but Flynn charged up behind and grabbed both of his biceps. With a shout and a great heave, he tossed the fiend aside. Lubberwick crashed through a few of the remaining goblins as he rolled on the ground in much the same way Z did. Unlike her, though, he managed to recover and pop to his feet.
"Oh, you want some too? I've got the perfect answer for that!" Lubberwick produced an old-fashioned straw broom from behind his back, the kind with long bristles tied in a conical shape around a wooden handle.
The few remaining goblins got in a loose formation next to Lubberwick. Flynn and Z took fighting stances, the former wide and ready to grab someone, the latter long and slim. Lubberwick raised his broom over his head and then brought it down to point at the Rangers. The goblins charged full speed ahead while Lubberwick walked behind them. Flynn and Z ran to meet the assault.
Flynn ducked beneath a crescent kick from a goblin and kept running on past it. He heard Z dispatch of this goblin while he grabbed a second one straight in front of him by the hips. His entire body like a spring, Flynn tossed this foe over his head so it landed behind him. The next to fall received a clothesline which flipped it over one clean rotation to land on its back. Flynn spun to maintain momentum.
When he came out of his spin, Lubberwick caught him across the chest with the broom. Flynn's motion arrested in an instant as instead of forward, he found himself ripped off his feet. Lubberwick slammed the broom into Flynn's horizontal midair form so that the Ranger smashed into the ground. For good measure Lubberwick stomped twice on his chest, one to deal damage and one to hold him there.
Lubberwick brought the broom down upon his incapacitated foe. A forearm stopped the blow at the last second. Z gave the fiend a stern look before placing her other arm beneath the broom and hauling it upward. Lubberwick faded back, and Z followed. She launched at him a series of punches, straights, hooks, and uppercuts all from different angles. Lubberwick spun and twisted his broom, each rotation a move to deflect an attack. He then spun it left, and then right, twisted it behind his back and bent over to stuff a punch with the bristles. Grip high on the weapon, he whipped it over his shoulder and twirled it again. He created an intricate pattern of rolls and swirls with the thing, an impenetrable defense.
When he finally found and opening, Lubberwick shoved the broom in Z's face. Hard bristles poked her in the eyes and jabbed tiny pricks in her skin. She stepped back, but Lubberwick caught the back of her knee with his foot and pulled her toward him. He then doubled her over with a smack from the broom. Holding it in two hands like a cricket bat, he swung for the fences. Z flew through the air, completing two full rotations before she came down on her stomach next to Flynn.
The fiend rested his broom on a shoulder and approached. Try as they might, Flynn and Z just couldn't get up. Every attempt to scrabble tot heir feet saw their knees give out, or their elbows buckle. The fight had been too long, and they'd taken too much damage. As Lubberwick walked ever closer, the sole remaining combatant still upright, all Flynn could think was that Tommy had better hurry up.