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 Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:27 am
The Great RevivalIn this alternate timeline, the year is 2011 and it has been 15 years since the fall of Lord Zedd and Rita. By some miracle, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers have revived to battle the demons that began to torment Angel Grove. New youths in old suits. Prologue:The night sky exploded with light as the roar of thunder followed soon after. Rain fell swiftly, making the soil spongy and heavy. For the grave robber, Bryan, each shovelful was heavy and clung to the end of his spade akin to a newborn and its mother. He could feel the moisture seeping through his dark garments and the cold dampness weighing upon his achy joints. None of that mattered; he had his eye on a very lucrative prize. Rumour had circulated throughout the underworld of Angel Grove that the grave of a Power Ranger from the colonial era rested nearby. No one knew exactly where. After years of searching, Bryan felt more confident than ever that he was digging closer and closer to the very grave of the Green Ranger from that time.
The impact of his shovel striking through the remaining layer of soil and into the coffin shattered the silence in Bryan's mind, far louder than thunder ever could. His heart pounded with enough force to resonate through his tiny and wiry frame. The petty criminal frantically cleaned the soil off of the coffin lid and stood over the now exposed box, triumphantly.
"This is it," he chuckled, "my pay day is finally here. Any relic of him will make me rich!"
The downpour ended with one final crash of thunder. The clouds seemed to instantly part as though a curtain were suddenly opened to reveal a radiant night sky painted with thousands of stars. Bryan looked up, feeling uneasy. The storm seemed to end almost supernaturally and chills shot down his spine. He swallowed, wrapping his fingers around the coffin lid. With a few tugs, invoking all of his strength, the coffin lid did not budge. It was nailed shut.
The man gasped, wondering why a coffin would be nailed shut. It wouldn't matter in a moment, because the wood was centuries old and rotting. He jammed his shovel into a place where there was a soft and decayed spot in the wood. Bryan pushed down onto the make shift lever and the lid, as well as most of the coffin, came undone. The grave was now officially desecrated beyond measure. He smirked.
The body was too old and decomposed to produce any vile odours. All he could smell was the dust and mildew within the final resting place he had just disturbed. The skeleton laid within the pine box, overtop of its locks of old hair that had fallen out of the scalp as the body decomposed. The robber growled furiously. There was nothing here! Or was there? He noticed a shimmer from the corner of his eye. It was a golden device with a coin in the center of it.
Bryan immediately snatched the device away from the deceased Ranger's bony grasp, breaking the brittle fingers that encased it. He wondered if this was a device that gave all Power Rangers the ability to transform. His mind came alive with a new epiphany. He wouldn't sell this device into the black market, no, he would use it to become a Power Ranger and obtain his wealth with his new powers.
"Transform!" he cried, extending his arms as he held out the morpher. Nothing ********!" he snarled, feeling like a fool as his grip on the device loosened.
All of a sudden, his fingers tightened upon the device. He was not in control of himself. Bryan began to grip the morpher so tightly that blood began to trickle down the palms of his hands. He let out a whimper, fearing for his life. He had desecrated the fallen Ranger's place of rest and now the spirit was seeking revenge. At least, that is what he believed. In all actuality, the coin within the device was a sentient entity with every intention of retaliation. His hands began to burn and pain seared through every fibre of his being. Bryan let out a scream as a green beam of light engulfed him. The coin had also chosen its catalyst to reproduce a new batch of entities much like itself.
Bryan's body began to rapidly age as the life force was drained out of him. With each second, he seemed to age a year and the coin shone brighter. Pink foam frothed from his mouth as he began to convulse violently. His life was now ending and it was anything but quick and painless. It was more like quick and extremely painful. Upon his death, his body began to rapidly decay. In a swift instant, a red, blue, yellow, pink, and black light shot into the starry sky. The light of the morpher faded and each color now fell into the skyline of Angel Grove like shooting stars. The coin with a dragon embedded into it had created it children. Replicas of the old dinosaur power coins were now scattered throughout Angel Grove, seeking vessels to channel their power through. The body of Bryan, now a skeleton, collapsed into the grave, piece by piece. The golden morpher dropped from his hands as he fell, lodging itself into the mud outside of the grave. Soon it would also find its vessel.
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 12:45 am
Chapter One: Hellfire18 months laterAtop a three story apartment complex in a rundown neighbourhood of the city, he stood alone. He spent endless nights roaming the city of Angel Grove, bestowing punishment upon the petty criminals that roamed the streets in such a cavalier manner. Ryan Felding gazed from his vantage point, donned in the outfit of the Green Ranger. The youth of seventeen was less than six feet in height and the green spandex accommodated his slender, yet muscled, body. The helmet and visor to represent the dragon concealed his manic smile. There was a thrill to be had in the line of work he was doing and the posture Ryan displayed did nothing to conceal the boy's haughty nature by any means.
Though the night time sky was a myriad of neon lights, something was suddenly amiss in the near distance. There was a fire and the clamour and screams of people in panic. The boy cracked his knuckles, preparing to rush in and save the day. Before he could take a step off of the rooftop's ledge, another fire lit up on another building. It was close, but not quite close enough for the fire to have jumped. He began to wonder if this was the work of an arsonist.
"What the," he muttered, not finishing his statement out loud. At a much quicker pace, large fires were igniting throughout the neighbourhood. With every passing second, flames were beginning to spread through a great portion of the neighbourhood.
Sirens began to wail in the distance. It was apparent that every fire department in Angel Grove was responding to what would be one of the most significant disasters in Angel Grove throughout the past several years. Ryan had no intention of hesitating; he was a Power Ranger and was in turn responsible to fight for the safety of the innocent. Even if he had to do this alone, he would march into every single building and save any survivors that couldn't escape from the blaze of all the buildings they occupied. With that thought, the boy leapt from the rooftop. He landed swiftly and silently, feeling no pain from the height at which he jumped. He bent into a kneeling position as he landed and sprinted headlong into battle, seeking to clash fiercely with the inferno that was seeking to devour the buildings and souls of the occupants within.
***
As the blazes ignited close to her neighbourhood, a young woman was sprawled across her bed in a deep slumber. Her fingers curled into the comforter as her raven hair flowed beneath her slender frame. The young waitress had just come home from a double shift not more than an hour ago and she slumbered in her bed, peacefully. She smiled and rolled over to her side, still in her uniform as it was only supposed to be a quick nap before she showered and got ready for her date tonight. Milo Jenners was dreaming about the curious device she found not even a month ago. It was when she moved into this seedy apartment, that she found a small box in one of the rooms. Within the vacant suite, it was easy enough for this little box to stand out. When she peered into the box, she found a silver machine that she thought was a cell phone until she saw the golden coin at the device's center. The coin was embedded with what looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex and it only confused her more because it looked nothing like any cell phone or mp3 player she had ever seen before. At the time, the only conclusion she came to was to take it to the nearest police detachment. Hence the smile while Milo slept, she did no such thing and was dreaming of the extenuating circumstances that prevented her from doing so.
The young woman dreamed vividly of her walk to the police station. Milo did have the best intentions of returning this lost item, yet this machine seemed to call to her from the moment she had laid eyes on it. Perhaps, it was when a man was assaulting a woman in broad daylight that her instincts took over. She don't know what came over her, but she was certain that there was some sort of external urging to do what she did in that very moment: she used the device to become the Red Ranger and—
A frantic and violent knock on the door woke her up.
"Hey! Is anyone in there? There's a fire! We gotta evacuate!"
"A what?" she replied groggily as she sat up quickly, ending her peaceful slumber. She saw the powerful glow of orange just beyond her window and leapt out of her bed to see the blaze across the street with her own eyes. The flicker of fire reflected in her brown eyes as a look of horror drew over her and the color drained from her now pallid face.
Milo grabbed her little gray purse from her nightstand and scrambled out of her suite, still in the diner uniform she had worked in earlier. That barely mattered right now. The purse contained her morpher and she would find a safe place to stash her purse and transform. The firefighters would need some assistance and she, the Red Ranger, would be there to help them.
"How on earth did I not see this," she muttered to herself, angrily, as she ran down the flights of stairs in her apartment complex and disappeared into a dark alley. In fact, it was the very same building that Ryan first saw the fires from just an hour ago.
From the darkness that Milo disappeared into, the Red Ranger emerged. The red outfit hugged all of her feminine curves, quite comfortably, while accentuating the subtle muscles to reveal the strength that this woman possessed. During the transformation, she could feel her hair form itself tightly into a bun in order for the helmet that concealed her identity to take form upon her.
She couldn't waste anymore time. A great deal of the neighbourhood was kissed by the flames. Milo knew that the firefighters, as great as they were, were overwhelmed by this and she had to help in some way. Milo swallowed hard and bravely ran toward the dangers that she would surely face.
***
The cafe was not like many others in this city, she thought to herself while keeping her mind occupied. Her meal would still be a while before it was directly in front of her. Many big name restaurants often choke out the smaller, locally owned, businesses. As the young woman gazed around this place, she immediately thought about that sad reality she had learned of in an economics lecture earlier today. The diner had a quaint feeling to it. The traditional black and white linoleum on the floor seemed to accentuate the overall retro atmosphere. The walls were a pale blue and, to her surprise, meticulously kept. Naomi Takahashi rested her elbows upon the bar of the cafe as she fought the urge to spin herself around on the swiveling barstool. Her brown hair dangled down to just above her shoulders and moved subtly as she turned her head to take the scenery in. The petite young woman smiled, never failing to be fascinated by the interesting little things that America seemed to offer.
It had been a few months since she had made the bold step to leave her home of wealth in Japan. Much to her father's dismay, she wanted to come to California and find her mother who was an American citizen. As a result of her mixed heritage, he eyes were blue and the asian attributes her father offered were quite overshadowed by her mother's appearance. Her father's undying love for her free spirited mother prevailed and he allowed Naomi to depart for America. His only condition for his daughter was that she would study abroad while in America. This has given Naomi the opportunity to live comfortably in her apartment, near the campus, and not have to take on the additional stresses of financially supporting a household during her personal journey.
Life has treated her well so far, but she wished for something more. Naomi didn't want to be the pampered daughter of a Japanese diplomat. Ultimately, she wanted to be a humanitarian that stood up for the general public and protected their well being. In some way, her prayers had recently been answered.
Last week, in the middle of the night, Naomi had awoken to a golden light that came from the courtyard area of her apartment complex. Instinctively, the young woman of eighteen ran outside to investigate this strange sighting. Clad in her nightgown, Naomi found what looked like a silver belt buckle with a golden coin in the center. This belt buckle, upon closer inspection, looked like a machine of some kind. Her first instinct was to discard it, yet there was some sort of magnetism that this device had over her. She had felt a calling and she felt herself utter, "Power Rangers". Confused and curious, Naomi took the morpher back to her suite and spent the entire night researching the Power Rangers over the internet. She had come to learn of the Power Rangers from over a decade ago and that her coin embodied the Sabre-Tooth Tiger. Naomi had yet to make use of her new discovery, but carried it with her at all times.
The sirens from a convoy of trucks deployed by the Angel Grove Fire Department shattered her reverie. Naomi raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth was happening out there.
"Oh my," said the larger woman behind the counter, she was middle aged and carried a maternal aura as she moved gracefully to the television. "I wonder if anything is on the news, those were a lot of fire trucks, hun," she said, looking back to Naomi.
"Yeah, I hope nobody is getting hurt out there," she sighed, worrying that people were already dead judging from the number of fire trucks out there and continuing to pass by.
The older waitress turned the television on and Naomi could immediately see a news anchor standing before what looked like an entire neighbourhood in flames.
"Though our firefighters have bravely battled the blaze tonight, it seems that the Angel Heart Hospital is being overrun with burn victims. Many other health care facilities continue to work to accommodate the casualties resulting from what appears to be the great disaster to strike Angel Grove in almost fifteen years. The Angel Grove Police Department has stated that arson may have been the cause for what has transpired tonight."
Naomi took her eyes away from the television. Many news anchors were attractive and even though she knew why, it didn't lessen the edge from this kind of news. The disgustingly attractive man in his late twenties continued to speak on the disaster taking place and conducted 'on-camera' interviews with a handful of the survivors.
"The Power Rangers have returned!" cried the electronic voice of a frantic survivor.
Naomi immediately looked back to the screen, feeling surprised at the words of this woman who had just lost her home.
"Could you tell me more about this?" queried the charismatic anchor.
"Somebody in a red spandex outfit broke through the debris in my apartment; it looked like a woman was underneath that costume. She saved my life and the flames, they didn't hurt her. Thank heaven for such an amazing hero. I wouldn't be here right now," replied the woman.
"It's true!" cried a man in the crowd. "I saw a man in a green outfit carry survivors out of another building!"
Naomi could not believe what she was seeing unfold on the television. There were others like her and they were out saving lives in the midst of this catastrophe. What on earth was she still doing here? Without another thought, she took a ten dollar bill out of her black school bag and set it down on the counter. Naomi decided her schoolbag would remain safe here, so she quietly took her morpher out of the bag to avoid anyone discovering it. She stood up and began to walk to the door of the restaurant. The young woman broke into a run after she made her way past the glass doors of the diner. She would also help these brave souls who flirted with death and fought the fires that were destroying so many lives.
When she came into a secluded alleyway, she felt her heart pound. Instinct was taking over and she could see the yellow light resonating with the quickening of her heart beat. She would call upon the Sabre-Tooth Tiger and become the Yellow Ranger. Her face tightened with resolve. It all made sense now.
"Sabre-Tooth Tiger!" cried Naomi, holding her arms out as she clutched her morpher, curling her fingers tightly over the device.
The warm light engulfed her, embraced her. Naomi could feel the outfit envelop her short and slender frame of five feet. Her field of vision became tinted with the visor of the helmet forming around her head. When the golden light subsided, she stood proudly as the Yellow Ranger.
"I will find the others," Naomi declared, speaking only to herself.
The young woman, adorned as a superhero in yellow, sprinted through the alleyways and advanced toward the epicentre of the disaster unfolding. The paths of each Ranger, through an act of fate, were slowly converging.
***
It was utterly sickening, watching the people crowd around the barricades that the police had set up. This debacle had been going on for hours now and it was a different sort of calling that brought her out from her home. Her silver stare fell upon the onlookers, her eyes glittered with scorn.
"There is always a spectator to any event," she growled, silently.
Her right hand instinctively reached into the pocket of her jogging pants and her fingers coiled around the familiar silver device. Ceres Freyja could not explain it, but there was something about this device that evoked emotions such as rage, anxiety, and even hate. These feelings toward everyone, they just seemed out of character. Was it the morpher that made her this way? Or was it depression? Either way, she had already rained vengeance upon a few of those who were clever enough to slip through the justice system. What was there to be depressed about now? She had her revenge, didn't she?
Over a year ago, Ceres was shot three times in the chest and left for dead by a man that she had once helped put behind bars. This man could not be contained by the justice system forever and he sought her out to have his revenge. It was the day that a part of her died on the inside, the day that her career as police officer ended. Even though she'd be able to return in a matter of months, her family has addressed their concerns about their only daughter putting her life on the line for this kind of work. Until just a week ago, she felt hopeless and depressed. It all seemed so wasteful to her. A man who had been trying to court her for a couple years donated the money to pay for her surgeries and physiotherapy over the past year. Had she not received them, she wouldn't be in the peak physical shape she was in today. She didn't love this man and the fact that she felt indebted to him only served to make her feel worse.
It was a week ago when everything seemed to take a turn for the better. It was a misty morning in the park where she jogged every morning. Nothing seemed different on that day, yet a blue flash of light stopped her dead in her tracks. A man adorned in a black mantle, covering his face, came out of the woods and held out something she immediately recognized: a Power Morpher. The man, in his silken yet powerful voice, told her that this device chose its host and it was calling to her. When he asked her if she could hear the call, she stepped forward and claimed the morpher. Before the man disappeared, he urged her to fulfill her innermost desires with her new found power. That is exactly what she did. In a few short days, she used her powers as the Blue Ranger to murder the scum of Angel Grove that outsmarted the justice system. To be the executioner of justice was a thrill she enjoyed, yet it also tugged on her insides. She wasn't normally like this. It pained her to feel as though she was walking the path of darkness and liking it. Her true desires couldn't lie within the path of darkness? Could they? Who was she becoming?
Tonight would be different. Tonight, she would not use her powers for personal gain and, instead, she would save the people still alive in some of these burning buildings. Her heroic deeds would set her on the path of atonement.
The woman noticed an officer that she recognized at the police barricade and made her way over to see him. The male officer, almost overweight and Hispanic, nodded to herald her arrival and smiled. She began to quicken her pace and flipped her long blonde hair over her left shoulder as she neared him.
"Ramirez," she said, returning his smile.
"Ceres Freyja," he beamed, "It's been a while. The boys miss you down at the precinct. How come you don't visit us?"
"I've been busy and all that. I came to investigate this fiasco. I was worried about our boys and the people inside those buildings," she said gravely, knowing that a lot of people were trapped, dying, or already burnt to ashes. The obvious drop in her tone signified her concerns to Ramirez.
"Unfortunately," sighed Ramirez, "the paramedics and fire department just couldn't keep up tonight. A lot of people are dead now. The flames are beginning to get under control, but they just don't seem to go out at all."
"That is very strange," she muttered, wondering why the fire was so stubborn.
"Get this. A few people in bright coloured costumes have been runnin' in and out of the buildings. They all saved a lot of people. We're grateful to'em. Startin' to think them Power Rangers made a comeback. Maybe that's why they're here; unexplainable stuff's happenin'," he whispered to her, "Just go home and get some sleep. I'll tell the boys 'hello' for ya."
Power Rangers and playing in the fire, so to speak. She knew where she had to be now. Ceres remembered what the Power Rangers stood for during their era as public heroes. She was a child then, yet it was all coming back to her now. They were out there and she needed to reach out to them.
"Thanks, Ramirez. Good luck with everything," she said with a smile, walking away from the crowd and onto her next destination.
The other Power Rangers, she would find them soon.
***
The raging inferno swept across this small patch of Angel Grove, leaving a glorious wake of destruction and pain. The very same man Ceres had met one week prior, the man who was concealed in his robes, smiled sadistically as he stood atop his vantage point on the rooftop of the Heaven's Way Hotel. This was the only place at the scene of the disaster untouched by the destructive embrace of the flames he had created.
His plan was coming to fruition even better than he had hoped. Since the anomaly he sensed a year and a half ago occurred, Azrael knew it was a matter of time before the maggots would wriggle their way to the surface in this rotting carcass of a city. He was fortunate to procure one of the morphers and taint it before he placed it into the hands of the device's chosen one. Ceres would hopefully prove useful to him, yet he had greater plans in store for her even if that particular scheme failed.
"Four rangers are out playing in the fire while two coins are still out seeking their hosts. The team is incomplete and still useless to me," hissed Azrael, crossing his arms. "It's a shame. I still have more to learn anyway. I also need them at their strongest before I can achieve my ends. Perhaps, I shall test them," he added, a hint of embarrassment dripping into the tone of his voice. Was he doing a monologue? Alone?
Azrael planted his stance firmly upon the rooftop, squaring his feet as far apart as his shoulders. He raised his arms above his head and channeled his demonic energy into the palms of his hands. He closed his eyes and vanished into thin air, laughing. It was that moment that the flames lifted from each and every building they were devouring. Wisps of the fires began to travel, unnaturally, through the air where they converged upon the rooftop. Azrael had conjured a lesser demon out of the flames that were terrorizing this district of the city. The flames took shape as a large, muscled, humanoid creature with no face. The beast stood at a height of a least twenty feet and let out a commanding roar to signify its presence.
***
Ryan found himself running toward the hotel as the flames were gathering. He drew in deep breaths as the scenery blurred around him. He knew this was not a natural fire, or traditional arsonist. This fire, that he had spent the past few hours saving people from, was infused with a kind of raw malice that made him uneasy. He stopped and looked up at the building in the near distance as he heard the roar of the flame demon.
"Damn," he muttered, watching the creature disperse and lay siege upon the hotel. It was becoming swallowed up in the flames at an alarming rate. He could hear the moans and shrieks of innocent people dying from the violent conflagration ensuing upon the Heaven's Way Hotel. "I have to defeat this thing," he muttered, continuing his mad dash toward the hotel.
The firefighters had wasted no time in dispatching to the hotel and were waging an all out assault with water upon the building.
Ryan could hear the firefighters clamouring as they fought the unnatural flame.
"It's not good, we can't stop it!"
"We have to keep trying!"
An explosion gave way and what looked like hands had reached out of the flames to burn the life out of every firefighter that stood too close. The images of the charred corpses littering the pavement were disturbing as it was, yet several more explosions rocked the hotel and now charred bodies of guests as well as staff were flung from the windows. Each body made a sickening noise upon impact and the smell of burning flesh became pervasive.
Ryan wondered how many people were still alive as he boldly stormed through the main doors of the hotel. He couldn't think of that, he had to keep going. He didn't know that other Ranger's would be following soon after. He turned, hearing another person charge through the revolving door. It was another Power Ranger, a red one.
How could that be? He was told that his coin was the last.
"Hey!" called Milo, advancing toward Ryan, "You're another Power Ranger?"
"I—"
He was cut off from finishing his sentence by another Ranger entering the lobby. She was shorter and smaller than both of them. The Yellow and Red Ranger stood before him now. Ryan realized that they were both women, women that seemed to carry inexperience in their mannerisms. It was fortunate the helmet concealed the fact that his face was contorted with disgust and dismay. They must have become Rangers recently. He continued to stare dubiously at the others, only to have the screams of the people trapped in the fire break this awkward silence.
"Let's save the pleasantries for later!" he spat, turning away from them and running into the stairwell.
The stairwell was untouched by the flames until he and the others entered the stairwell. The creature knew of their arrival and war was coming. He could feel the temperature begin to rise and the flames seemed to spew into the staircase from every door and vent. With this heat, they wouldn't last long at this rate.
Milo and Naomi followed, silently, behind Ryan, both wondering what this creature was. They also wondered how it was causing the flames and heat to intensify. It felt like pure evil resided here and it made Milo quite uneasy. Naomi was also feeling her own doubts as this was her first time in her Ranger suit. She felt protected from the flames, yet there was still a great deal of pain and difficulty to breathe from the sheer heat. Naomi did take comfort in the presence of others, even though the Green one didn't seem to like either of them very much.
RANGERSSSSS! I CAN SSSSSMELL YOU! I WILL BURN ALL OF YOU INTO ASHESSSSS!
As they had ground to a halt, Naomi shrieked. Ryan slapped his palm over where his face would be.
"I'm sorry," Naomi uttered, laughing nervously. "People who draw out the 's' when they talk freak me out."
"Shut up, just shut up," growled Ryan, his words poisoned with disdain and arrogance. He began treading up the stairs, looking around.
ISSSSN'T IT FUNNY? ALL OF THE PEOPLE GATHERED ON THE TOP FLOOR INSSSSTEAD OF FLEEING! PANIC, IT MAKESSSS YOU HUMANSSSS SSSSO SSSSTUPID!
Naomi winced, not wanting to hear this thing speak to them anymore.
"Oh my god," gasped Milo, putting her hand up over her mouth...at least where it was without the helmet.
"Lambs to the slaughter," Ryan sighed, realizing that they might be too late to save anyone. "We have to keep going. We can't give up, you two! Come on!"
Without further delay, the Rangers began to run up the endless flights of stairs. They didn't know what awaited them at the top floor, but they had to try to save whoever was left alive. The creature that had destroyed so many lives on this night, it had to be destroyed.
The top floor of the Heaven's Way Hotel was now an image straight from the depths of hell itself. The flames licked and scorched the walls, peeling all of the paint away. The shimmering waves of heat in the air distorted everyone's vision and perception of the room. Burning timbers that were once support beams fell from the ceiling causing embers to scatter like fireflies upon impact. Ryan swallowed hard to see the charred corpses frozen in their final moments of writhing agony. There were no survivors.
RISSSSE MY CHILDREN! SSSSLAY THEM ALL!
A piece of the fire leapt into every charred corpse, causing them to ignite and reanimate as though it were a scene ripped right out of a horror movie. The burning zombies then growled: men, women, children, and firefighters alike.
Naomi whimpered, feeling compassion for the humans that these monsters used to be.
"They're gone now," Milo said to Naomi, feeling her voice ice over with resolve. "We have to get past them, the stairway that leads to the rooftop is at the end of this hallway," she concluded, feeling her fists clench. No one could see her from behind the visor, yes, nobody could see the silent tears running down her face. In Milo's eyes, this was the real reason Power Rangers hid their faces.
The zombies were advancing, yet all of them were hesitating. Even Ryan couldn't bring himself to strike down the reanimated corpses of the people he had failed to save.
Yet, she could.
A blue blur moved past the three rangers. Ceres, looking large and athletic, was now cutting the zombies down without discrimination. As she spun gracefully, she swung the Power Lance with the utmost ferocity. The blue halberd, with blades on both ends, continued to slice every limb it touched and impaled what Ceres jammed the weapon into. Her muscles rippled beneath the form fitting costume much like a wild cat's sinewy muscles as it maimed its prey.
Ryan scoffed, another woman wanting to play Ranger. His lip pursed, he was becoming fed up with these unworthy losers running around and trying to play hero in their bright coloured outfits.
"She cleared the way for us! Get moving!" he demanded, deciding to momentarily dismiss his disdain for the harem that surrounded him.
Ryan ran past the women and they ran behind him toward the end of the corridor. Ceres immediately decided that there was something about this Green Ranger that rubbed her the wrong way. Meanwhile, Naomi and Milo were wondering exactly who this woman was that could be so cold in the line of duty. In many ways, they both admired her and felt slight pangs of envy.
The rooftop of the hotel was eerie and silent. The four of them stood, looking around for any sign of something. There was nothing here at all. Little did they know, the fire in the hotel was going out and every piece of the fire demon was converging into a single entity once again. In fact, the creature was now ascending toward them...level by level.
"Be on your guard if you won't want to be killed," Ryan hissed, taking his blaster from the holster.
"Yeah, whatever kid. I don't take orders from someone whose balls haven't dropped yet," spat Ceres, coiling her fingers around the lance tightly.
Naomi and Milo giggled, while trying to maintain their guard as well.
"You know you can talk the ta—" his sentence went unfinished as the center of the rooftop became red hot and the demon erupted through the roof, spewing molten chunks of concrete and tar into every direction.
The demon's power had grown. The entity appeared less human and more leonine. The creature roared as the beast's upper body was all that protruded from the rooftop. The sheer arm span was massive and could reach anywhere on the rooftop. The four rangers stood before it akin to four mice staring into the eyes of a large cat.
"How are we going to beat this thing?" exclaimed Naomi, in the form of a question. Her voice was clearly dripping with worry.
Ceres wasted no time and charged at the creature with the war cry of an amazon. When she exerted all of herself into her lunge with the Power Lance, she went straight through the beast and came out of the other side sprawling upon the floor from not predicting where she would land.
"Huh?" she stammered, "No Body?"
The demon turned around to face her and placed its palm down upon her before she could even get away. The hand comprised of flame was held over her as she lay crumpled upon the roof, feeling the heat licking at her body. The suit protected her from the burns, yet the searing pain of the heat tore through every fiber of her existence.
"Oh no!" cried Milo, frantically taking shots at the monster with her blaster. The red beams of energy went right through the creature with no result whatsoever.
The monster sent off a shockwave of heat, knocking the other three Rangers to the ground. Naomi was slammed into a wall close to the doorway. She felt her vision go black for a split second, everything ached now. Here she was, the Yellow Ranger, a failure. She looked up into the sky, fearing the end, until something caught her eye.
Ceres took every ounce of restraint to keep from screaming. The suit protected her body from damage, but the pain was still there. How could she have been so desensitized to the casualties tonight? In the mind of this cynical woman of twenty six, feeling the pain that the victims felt was her penance. It was only a matter of time before the suit's power would give out. What then? She would be scorched like the corpses littering this hotel. Was this the end? She couldn't even move away from the danger.
Ryan stood motionless, trying to think of something to stop this. Sure, he hated the present company; however, he didn't want another death on his hands.
"Hey Blue!" he called out, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Hold tight and I'll distract him!"
The youth in green charged at the beast, firing green blasts of energy from his gun as he ran. Each beam fired through the creature. Yet, he could swear that something did connect. The demeanour of beast changed as it roared and moved the other hand over Ryan as it was doing to Ceres. Now, two of the Rangers were pinned, feeling the intense and immobilizing heat upon them.
"Red," muttered Naomi, he voice was weak and her consciousness was fading fast. "Get ready," she whispered, firing her blaster right into the water tower above. The yellow beam pierced at the correct trajectory. As a result, the pressurized spray of water fired directly into the beast. Naomi fell limp and crumpled onto the ground, she had passed out.
Milo smiled behind the visor, seeing the weak point on her foe. There was a pulsing orb, glowing and crimson, manipulating the flame.
"Thanks, Yellow," chuckled Milo, materializing a long sword into her hands. The sword had a red hilt and decorative trimming. It was the Power Sword. She had no idea how it came out of thin air, but, far be it from her to object to using it.
As she leapt into the air, Milo let out her own war cry, slicing the blade cleanly through the throbbing core. The core slid apart into two halves and then disintegrated, causing the flames to disperse. When she landed softly on her feet, the sword dematerialized. It seemed the suit would react according to her will when she needed something. That was useful knowledge. She was about to make sure the Green and Blue Rangers were still alive until she saw both of them stand up. Milo knew she wasn't ready for introductions, not yet. So she ran, full speed, towards the ledge and took a leap of faith, vanishing into the darkness.
"Bye, Red!" yelled Ceres, smiling gratefully behind the visor. "We can exchange numbers later," she chuckled, her voice becoming more jovial with the defeat of the creature.
"You," growled Ryan, slowly advancing toward her. "Your recklessness almost got all of us killed!"
In truth, he had felt like he failed. Yet, it seemed easier to shift the blame onto the others.
"Ugh," she scoffed. "Go take a flying leap," her tone was pervasive with apathy and disgust for the cocky teenager.
"Fine," he spat, angrily. "Just know that you are unfit for the powers you wield," his venomous words, intended to sting her.
"Yeah," replied Ceres, clenching her fists. "What makes you so damn special, huh?"
Ryan shook his head and leapt from the ledge, in the same manner as Milo. Ceres groaned with frustration and immediately turned her attention to the Yellow Ranger, lying on the ground, unconscious. End of Chapter One
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:23 pm
Chapter Two: Carnage with your coffee?The next morning...Naomi could feel her eyes open reluctantly as the golden rays of sunlight seemed to pry them open. She felt sore through all of her joints and muscles, as if a truck had hit her last night. Yet, that was not the case. The last thing she had remembered was fighting a monster that seemed as though it were composed of fire itself. Before falling unconscious, Naomi had pierced a water tower that shifted the tides of the battle. After that, she couldn't remember a thing. Her hands immediately rushed from underneath the blanket to touch her face. She gasped as she felt her own skin. The young Yellow Ranger was no longer morphed and she began to worry that someone had seen her. Her eyes widened. This was not her living room. Naomi bolted upright and the comforter slowly fell down around her waist. Strands of brown fair fell haphazardly around her shoulders and she looked down at herself, she still had her clothes on at least. A number of anxieties raced through the young woman's mind: Who discovered her? Did anyone see her change back? Where was she? What smelled so good?
Naomi rubbed the crusty flakes of sleep from her eyes. She turned her head and looked toward the kitchen area over the back of the black leather chesterfield that partitioned the two areas. The young woman of eighteen couldn't help but stare at the woman, who was obviously a few years older than her, cooking something at the stove. After all, she had no idea how much this hostess knew about her. She felt apprehensive as waves of silent panic rolled over her.
"Good morning," Ceres called out, smiling as she stood in the kitchen making breakfast. Her words struck silence into Naomi's mind and she could see the panic in Naomi's eyes since the living room was in plain sight from stove in her little condominium. The woman in the kitchen smiled curtly and asked, "How do you like your eggs?"
Naomi noticed that this woman stood at an impressive and daunting height compared to her. She noticed more details about the woman in the kitchen and began to take in her appearance: a green t-shirt with no design, blue jeans, black socks, and flowing blonde hair tied back tightly with a clear hair elastic. Naomi swallowed hard when she saw the woman's muscles ripple from simply manipulating the skillet and spatula.
"Xena: Warrior Princess," she blurted, flushing with embarrassment as she quickly recovered to answer the question, "scrambled, I mean."
Ceres chuckled, breaking two eggs into a bowl as she began to beat them with a whisk. "Well, Lucy Lawless is naturally a blonde," added Ceres, laughing heartily.
"Oh," replied Naomi, leaning back into the couch. She felt some relief now. Maybe this woman found her un-morphed and carried her to safety like the kind person she seemed to be. Her head still hurt from being tossed into the brick wall on that rooftop last night. Wait, how would a passerby find her on the rooftop of a burning building?
"My name is Ceres, by the way," said the woman in the kitchen, narrowing her eyes, preparing to take on a more serious tone, "and I am very interested to know a little more about the Yellow Ranger sitting on my couch."
She could now feel her heart pound within her chest with immense force and she could barely breathe. Naomi frantically reached for her morpher, unable to find it. Did this woman steal it from her? She cocked her eyebrow as Ceres silently gestured to the end table, adjacent to where Naomi's head was resting. When she turned around she couldn't help but flush a little, her morpher was sitting right there. She began to realize that Ceres had a frightening attention to detail.
"I couldn't help but look at it," admitted Ceres, dishing out the scrambled eggs, "it's a little different from mine," she concluded, walking into the little nook directly behind the couch with the plates in hand. Ceres rested the plates on the little dining table and smiled warmly at Naomi.
Naomi paused and then stood up. As she maneuvered around the couch and into the dining nook, she now felt more curious about this other Power Ranger than worried.
"Please," Naomi began, sitting down at the table, "tell me everything you know."
***
"Though the massive fires that tore through a great deal Angel Grove's inner city have been quelled, there have been many casualties in this disaster. At least 60 are dead and over 200 injured as the health care facilities are overwhelmed. The source of the blaze is currently under investigation," proclaimed the electronic voice of a man in his late twenties, via the radio on the counter.
Milo's brow furrowed as she wiped the counter. The worse the news, the harder she seemed to scrub. It was bad enough that they were nearly powerless to end that nightmare. She did not need to be reminded of the fallen and injured that she felt as though they had all failed.
"In other news, the Power Rangers have been spotted aiding people throughout the whole fire ordeal and have been seen, allegedly, battling a flame monster atop the Heaven's Way Hotel. Not much more is known on this and footage of last night's incident seems to keep flooding into our local network's mail box as well as sprouting up over the internet. That is all for the news every hour on the hour. It is now 10:05 and beautiful sunny morning here in Angel Grove. The temperature is presently 85 degrees and climbing. We will return with another newscast at 11:00," said the broadcaster, with finality. The radio then played an assortment of easy rock music coupled with a plethora of advertisements.
The young woman wearing the black uniform and apron, with her raven hair tied back into a bun, stood for a moment, clenching her wash rag tightly between her fingers. She couldn't help but feel some form of anxiety. Not only was she an amateur Ranger, people were watching her with expectation. Her brown eyes softened when the chimes above the door frame rattled, a new customer. It was Ceres and a younger girl following close behind.
"Milo," Ceres started, smiling fondly, "you look well today," she finished, leaning over the counter top in the diner with blue walls and making direct eye contact with Milo.
"I suppose," replied Milo, smiling at the usual customer, "considering the night we had in my neighborhood last night. I live fairly close to where those fires happened."
Ceres took all of this in while sitting down upon one of the bar stools across from the waitress behind the counter. Her silver eyes fixed upon Milo who actually looked a bit worn, almost a little too worn to just be a bystander.
"You don't say," replied Ceres, analyzing the young woman's body language. "Did you help evacuate your building then?"
Naomi sat down beside Ceres, picking up on the subtle interrogation conducted by her new friend. Was she on to something? This young waitress seemed rather friendly. In fact, this Milo and Ceres seemed to know each other well enough.
"No," lied Milo, laying out a coffee mug in front of Ceres from a shelf underneath the bar, "I just watched," she added, before turning around to grab one of the coffee pots.
"I see," said Ceres, watching Milo pour the coffee into her cup. Her young waitress friend was lying, yet it wasn't as though she started the damn fires. Ceres decided to dismiss her suspicions.
"Excuse me, Miss?" asked Naomi, seeing now that the conversation was winding up.
"Yes," replied Milo, smiling at this girl's near perfect manners.
"I was here last night, eating dinner, well not quite actually. However, I left in a hurry and I forgot my black school bag. I was hoping it was still here as it has some pretty expensive things," said Naomi, flushing a little. She spoke English rather fluently, even without an accent, yet her dialect seemed unnatural and did not flow well. Maybe, if she watched a little more television she'd speak more of the slang here in America.
"Hm," Milo paused, putting the index finger of her right hand upon her chin. "I think I saw it when I opened this morning," she added, bending down to the 'lost and found' box right at her feet. She grabbed the black school bag and lifted it up to the counter in front of Naomi. "This it?"
Naomi's eyes widened with delight as she nodded. "Thank you very much!"
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" asked Milo, grinning at this young girl, wearing blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt, who was as cute as a button.
"Um," Naomi paused, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought about the question. "I would like a Coca-Cola, please."
"We only serve Pepsi here, is that all right?" asked Milo.
"Okay," said Naomi, feeling somewhat disappointed. She had never tried 'Pepsi' before and watched Milo disappear into the back. "She is very nice, but her voice is also familiar," said Naomi, now looking to Ceres.
"Yeah," agreed Ceres, sipping her black coffee. There was more to Milo than met the eye and it was something she would have definitely overlooked under other circumstances.
Without further delay, the ground began to tremble and all of the plates rattled furiously. Naomi shrieked and Ceres leapt back from the bar stool as the searing hot coffee spilled all over the place. Before Ceres could react any further, the trembling stopped.
"I hate California," grumbled Ceres, advancing back to the bar and leaning over it. "Everyone okay in there?" she called out, peering into the back room.
"We're fine back here!" Milo yelled back in response, she came out with Naomi's soft drink and a rag to wipe up the coffee that had spilt. "There were a couple small quakes this morning too," she stated, beginning to clean up the coffee.
"Does this happen frequently?" Naomi asked, amazed that everyone else seemed so unaffected by the quake.
***
When the diner trembled with the small quake, he set his fork down onto his plate of waffles and held the plate down with both hands. Once the rumbling stopped, he shook his head. The young man then released his grip on the plate and picked his fork up to resume feasting on his breakfast. He had noticed the two women that came in a moment ago, they were hot. Was he going to go up and talk to them? Not likely. It wasn't that he was nervous. No, Virgil Cross had other things on his mind.
He scratched the top of his head, slightly tousling the shaggy brown locks of hair. Jesus, it was getting long. Did he need another haircut? Virgil's brown eyes fixed upon the coffee mug as his mind suddenly transitioned to another thought. It had been six months since his life had changed and now Power Rangers were suddenly popping up out of nowhere. With the advent of the fires last night, three new Power Rangers emerged from what he saw of the footage that found its way onto the internet. He knew of the vigilante Green Ranger, yet never encountered him.
Strangely enough, Virgil was occasionally pursued by this freak in black robes ever since the Mastodon Power Coin chose him on that fated day. It was half a year ago when Virgil was walking home from the pub after a night out with some buddies. He may have been a little tipsy, yet what happened to him was very real. A black light shone on the ground, within his peripheral vision. When he looked down to the sidewalk that was littered with gum wrappers and cigarette butts, he saw it: a strange silver device with a mastodon embedded into a golden coin at the device's center.
Virgil found himself back at the table, continuing to silently reminisce and summarize that night in his mind. However, the girls over had the counter were laughing about something and the sudden noise had rocked him right out of his reverie. The young man began to open and close his hands, causing the muscles to ripple straight up his arms and into his grey t-shirt. Virgil stood up from the table and proceeded toward the men's room. His height was around the average for a grown man, but it didn't stop Virgil from walking with confidence. Virgil noticed that Milo's eyes met his, but had no idea she was admiring the muscles that moved beneath the layers of cotton and denim that concealed them. He smiled and continued on his way. His mind immediately jumped back to the happenings six months ago.
It was also then that the mystery man in the robe appeared before him, demanding the Mastodon coin and morpher. Virgil immediately ran away from the man, sensing his malicious undercurrent. Unfortunately, when Virgil found himself at a dead end, one of this man's conjurations was already waiting for him. The morpher in Virgil's hand did resonate with him at first, but something else had happened. A strange belt with an empty slot had materialized itself upon Virgil's waist and a large beetle, white and robotic, began to fly around him. With that, he put the morpher in his pocket and grabbed the beetle. Virgil could still, vividly, remember how right it felt to take hold of that white beetle, the Lespid Beetle.
For Virgil that fight had ended with one word: 'Henshin!'
***
Azrael stood upon the rooftop of the diner, sensing the energy of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops, Sabre-Tooth Tiger, and Mastodon coins. His black robe billowed in the gentle wind and he crossed his arms, pondering what to do. He knew that a lot of them were together, yet they didn't know they were among comrades. He smiled beneath the hood of his robe. Perhaps, causing a ruckus would bring the team closer together. Yet, as far as he was concerned, that Mastodon coin was in the wrong hands.
"Virgil," Azrael chuckled malevolently, "You cannot have your cake and eat it too. You will have to choose your power eventually. The Mastodon coin needs to be in the hands of its rightful host in order for my plan to come to fruition."
A dark and joyous expression flickered across his hidden features. It seemed as though he'd figured it out right then and there.
"I'll rip that power right out of him, both powers."
It was settled in his mind. He was still depleted from conjuring that fire beast from the night before, yet using the last bit of strength he could muster would prove rewarding. Especially if he could at least weaken Virgil enough to get that morpher away from him and into the hands of a real host.
"Hear me now, demons of the underworld," he chanted, preparing to invoke Angel Grove's latest terrorist. With nearly his last bit of strength, Azrael drew his right arm back and tightened his hand into a fist, pulsing a malevolently shaded violet electricity through it. "I, Azrael, agent of the darkness, call upon you in order to take form upon this plane and serve me."
When the electric pulse through his fist became a solid aura, it meant that the soul had been successfully summoned. Azrael smiled demonically, feeling the power in his fist, what he summoned was a fiend of the Earth. This creature was stronger than the one that the Rangers had battled with last night. Either it would bring them closer to the level of power he needed, or it would kill them all. Azrael threw his right arm forward, his black robes billowing around him like wisps of smoke, and the violet lightning struck upon the pavement. As the pieces of asphalt rose and fell where the lightning hit, the violet orb crept into the ground and caused it to tremble fiercely.
"Rise Golem, take form and destroy the Rangers!" cried Azrael, especially hoping that this beast would crush Virgil. Although, he'd take matters in to his own hands when his powers returned to him, if all else failed. Azrael's power mysteriously depleted with the anomaly of the new power coins forming all those months ago. Yet, as the Power Rangers emerged, he began to feel his power return to him. In truth, the immortal saw this as a beacon and felt all the more drawn to this energy. "I will watch from afar, now fight and make your master happy!" he called out, slowly disappearing while laughing cruelly.
***
Ceres, Naomi, and Milo's conversation came to another abrupt end when the ground began to shake once again. Strangely enough, the quake felt entirely different this time and the violet flash of light confirmed their suspicions. Milo swallowed hard, wondering what kind of unnatural thing would happen this time. She also wondered how she would morph in front of her friends without giving herself away.
Ceres moved toward the window, she saw the asphalt and felt a ring of pain cry throughout her very soul. Why did she suddenly feel this way? And what kind of force was at play here? Her eyes widened when what happened next put an end to all thoughts. She heard a demonic roar, everyone did. With that roar, a large humanoid creature comprised of stone armor and a clay under body rose from the disruption in the asphalt.
Naomi ran to the window to see what made Ceres solemn and still. She wished she'd never looked. It was nine feet tall and bulky. What was this thing? A professional wrestler made of rocks and clay?
"I can't believe we have to fight that thing!" Naomi blurted, suddenly gasping and covering her mouth. What had she done? Blown her cover so early into her Ranger career? She suddenly flushed, feeling like a fool.
"W-what do you mean by that?" Milo stammered, unsure of what exactly Naomi was getting at when she said she was going to 'fight' that thing.
"Evacuate the kitchen staff, Milo. You'll understand soon enough," said Ceres, showing no change in her demeanor as she watched the creature move through the street. The monster coiled back and smashed its fist through the grill of a car that was desperately trying to stop before colliding with it.
Milo nodded, right before running into the kitchen. Everyone had already run out the back before she came to say anything. She scoffed, feeling that they were cowards for running out before seeing that everyone was okay in the front. Milo also felt slightly inferior that she was not more assertive in a time of crisis like this. There was nothing that could be helped at this point. When she came out to the front she watched Ceres flip the open sign to 'closed' in the window. Ceres turned around to face her while Naomi was already standing and smiling warmly at her.
"The shop is now closed. I hope we're all on the same wavelength here," Milo said flatly, the cacophony of screams and twisted metal providing an eerie symphony beyond the walls of this building.
Ceres smirked and swiftly drew out the Triceratops morpher from her belt buckle. "Oh, I think we are," she said smugly, tightening her grip upon the device and feeling the power begin to surge into her body.
Naomi nodded, pulling the Sabre-Tooth Tiger morpher from her belt as well. Just like Ceres, she could feel the power of her coin seeping into her.
"Wow," Milo uttered, in full disbelief, withdrawing the Tyrannosaurus Rex morpher from the front pocket of her apron. "We're all Power Rangers. I didn't realize it before, but now it makes sense. I kind of recognized Ceres' voice from last night."
"We recognized your voice from last night too," stated Naomi, having an upbeat and perky tone in her voice.
The three women now knew of each other's identity. They were all Power Rangers and, together, they would work toward becoming a stronger team. Everything was suddenly looking up, even in the midst of a rock monster's rampage outside.
"Tyrannosaurus Rex!" cried Milo, feeling the warm ribbons of red light embrace and caress her. The silken textured, yet ever durable, fabric materialized upon her body. There was something strangely sensual about transforming into a Power Ranger for her. Perhaps it was the sensation of being stripped down to nothing and then redefined as a new entity, great and powerful. The Red Ranger stood in Milo's place as she looked to the others, smiled behind her visor, and said, "It's your turn now."
"Sabre-toothed Tiger!" exclaimed Naomi, her voice shrill but powerful. The electric ecstasy of raw power ignited her senses as the yellow light took hold of her. The process of transforming was a high that never lost its edge: the perfect drug. The old Naomi felt mousy and insignificant; however, the new Naomi was the Yellow Ranger and a force of nature compacted into her tiny frame. She liked what she had become and never wanted it any other way.
"Triceratops!" roared Ceres, her eyes burning ardently. She felt a frosty chill tantalize her body as the blue light shone brightly, becoming one with her. The energy that pulsed through her body was incredible and morphing, for her, was quite titillating.
"Let's not keep our date waiting now," uttered Milo, moving to the door and stepping outside, her voice sultry and playful.
"I always liked a nice, rock hard, body," replied Ceres, following the Red Ranger, mirroring Milo's tone.
"I am led to believe that these jokes are sexual in nature," Naomi said in a flat tone, following the other two out of the cafe.
The people had all fled in terror now, yet the golem was still amusing itself by lobbing cars through all of the display windows of the nearby stores. Once it had finished with its latest car, the golem immediately noticed the Red, Yellow, and Blue Ranger on the street. The creature felt its greatest impulse surge within, destroy the Power Rangers. It roared ferociously, unleashing its war cry. The ground shook as the creature ran toward them with the mass of tank and the velocity of a track athlete.
The three women in Ranger outfits opened fire on the monster with their blasters, each shot, marked by one of the primary colors, rolled off of the beast with futility. It drew nearer and they couldn't get through the thick stone armor protecting it. Ceres swallowed hard as the beast drew in proximity to her, cocked his arm back, and struck her midsection fiercely. Pain raged through each and every sense as she flew through the window of the cafe. The woman groaned as she rolled across the floor and came to a stop when she hit the bar stools. As she looked up, she saw a teenage boy sitting in the chair and drinking a cup of coffee. His shaggy and tawny hair reflected in the sun like a halo of fire as he sat, unmoved by the two Rangers fighting the golem in the backdrop behind him and Ceres.
"Mmm," said Ryan, staring at his coffee cup. "I couldn't help but notice the poor quality of this coffee."
His fierce eyes, brown in color, locked upon the fallen Blue Ranger. He licked his lips, eager to finish his statement and smiled wickedly at her as he said, "You see, it looks like good coffee and smells like good coffee. However, it doesn't taste like good coffee. It's kind of like the new Power Rangers," he laughed cruelly and continued, "they look like the old Power Rangers yet, in the end, they are nothing more than an imitation brand. You're like bad coffee."
The enraged Blue Ranger stood up, brushing off the broken glass that glittered like diamonds as they fell to the floor and made a noise akin to a maraca being shaken. She recognized his voice, he didn't need to disclose his identity at all. It was the a*****e of a Green Ranger from last night. He must have came into the cafe from the back, or watched them transform. How did he know where to come? What was his problem? And bad coffee? Seriously?
"Bad coffee, huh?" Ceres asked, walking toward the little punk in his chair. "Connoisseur or misogynist," she spat viciously, batting the cup in his hand and causing the hot coffee to spill between his thighs.
As she leapt through the window, she couldn't help but laugh when Ryan yelped as the scalding hot coffee landed where it did. He wasn't so tough anymore and that was the satisfaction of it all, bringing him down a notch. Her attention shifted back to Naomi and Milo, who were working to avoid the golem's attacks and their firearms were slowly whittling away at the creature's armor. How on Earth were they ever going to beat that thing? Her thoughts were cut short when both Naomi and Milo landed at her feet. This thing was tough and it looked like they were fighting a losing battle.
"We're not hurting it," protested Naomi, standing up and clutching her sides.
"As least the suits are protecting us," replied Milo, standing up in unison with her Yellow comrade. "We'd be dead otherwise."
"I have no idea what to do," Ceres added, suddenly realizing that their power was not enough. Perhaps, spilling hot coffee on the experienced Ranger's groin was a bad idea after all. End of Chapter Two
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:52 pm
Chapter Three: Henshin!The glass door of the cafe swung open as he stepped out onto the street, in a cavalier fashion, catching everyone's eye. Ceres had wondered, until she saw the man, if the obnoxious Green Ranger was coming out to give them a hand with this rock creature after all. Who was this guy? Naomi became worried that it was an innocent bystander about to get caught up in their fight. After the previous night, she just didn't think her heart could take another casualty. Milo couldn't believe it, it was the customer from earlier on. She had forgotten about him and now realized that he was in the washroom this whole time. Does that mean he had heard or seen them transform into the Power Rangers? The golem advanced slowly, toying with the three women. It too grew curious of this joining party to the fiasco upon this desecrated street.
"Get out of here!" exclaimed Ceres, her jaw tightening with apprehension and anger. Was this man an idiot? "You're gonna end up dead."
Virgil continued to walk toward the group, unmoved by her words. His steps echoed upon the eerily silent street and the beating of a robotic beetles wings began to pervade through the deafening silence. The palm sized metallic creature buzzed around him several times as an electronically enhanced belt, with what looked like an empty slot, materialized upon his waist.
"Not likely," he grunted, his voice was steady, as a testament to his calm demeanor, and an octave lower than his usual inflection. The white beetle landed in the palm of his right hand and his chestnut eyes fixed upon the golem. He had now stopped walking toward them and remained completely still.
Virgil raised the white beetle high above his head and cried, "Henshin!"
In a swift motion, he brought his right hand down to his side and slid it into the latch of his belt buckle. The device connected with a soft 'click'. An electronic voice boomed from the device: Henshin. The young man clenched his jaw tightly while a surge of white electricity crackled upon his form, filling his body with energy. He growled fiercely, his voice echoed as it distorted with raw power, and he clenched his hands into fists as he bent his elbows and tensed his arms. As quickly as the Lespid beetle connected to Virgil's belt, a black techno-organic material crept over his body to represent the initial layer of his armor. Heavy pieces of white armor formed over his torso, forearms, biceps, and shoulders. The helmet was round and the visor flashed with a red glow. When all of the armor sealed upon his body, a powerful shockwave exuded from him.
Kamen Rider Lespid stood proudly in his masked form as the shockwave pushed on the Rangers and nearly sent them off balance. The women regained their footing and couldn't believe what they were seeing. Ceres stared at the white apparition before her. Who was this person and what the hell was a Henshin?
"Are you here to help us?" asked Milo, unsure of what the man before her had become. "Are you a Power Ranger too?"
"I am not a Power Ranger," replied Virgil, his tone was flat and final. He looked to the women and the golem that was still and observing him. The creature roared upon making eye contact with him. It was preparing to charge. "Come on," he called out, his visor flashing red with those words.
As the large creature charged upon the White Rider, Naomi gasped in horror as she feared for the worst. However, the golem was sent rearing back when a fierce uppercut had been delivered. Fragments of stone broke away and clattered upon the fractured pavement. Virgil wasted no time to follow up with a roundhouse kick to the monster's torso. As the right foot made a jarring impact against its target, more pieces of stone fell to the ground. The exterior of the golem was beginning to fall away, like a broken mosaic. The young man smiled behind his visor. That was the way.
"He's tough," admitted Ceres, speaking to both Naomi and Milo. This stranger just showed up at random and began to pulverize an enemy that was about to make short work out of them. It made her realize the true limitations of their power.
"How is he doing that?" Naomi asked, watching Virgil smash pieces of rock away from the golem with each blow. "Is his suit made out of something stronger? It does not make any sense. Should we help him?"
"No," replied Milo, staring with equal fascination. It was hard to believe that this cute guy ended up showing up to save them in the end. Whatever power he had, he knew how to use it. That seemed to be more than any of them could say about their own gifts. "He looks like he has everything under control right now."
The golem roared furiously as it raised its fists high in the air and smashed them towards Virgil. The young man leapt back as the fists crashed into the ground with immense force. Shards of black asphalt flew into every direction. Virgil stomped onto one of the golem's fists and then sent the other foot directly into its chest, sending it sprawling on its back. He stood triumphantly, amused with how the mighty golem had fallen under his own might. Upon further examination of the creature, he noticed that there wasn't much stone armor left on the creature at all. It was now a large mass of walking clay. Right now, the golem was vulnerable.
As the creature rose to its feet, Virgil now noticed how much quicker the golem was. When the creature landed a blow upon his torso and sent him staggering back, he realized it was faster than him right now. That would not do at all. As he regained his footing, his right hand went to the lever at his belt that was once the horn of the white Lespid Beetle. It had already released slightly, causing his armor to slightly open like an exoskeleton and quickly release steam into the air. His belt began to crackle with white electricity as he grabbed the lever and pulled it the rest of the way from which it had begun. The lever clicked and Virgil cried out, "Cast off!"
Cast off.
Pieces of Lespid's armor jettisoned away from his body and some of the pieces crashed directly into what was left of the golem's stone armor, effectively destroying it. The golem staggered back as the pieces of armor had disintegrated upon impact. Beneath the exoskeleton of armor there was Lespid's true form, the Rider Form. His torso still had white armor beneath the thick armor his masked form provided; however, it appeared to be a much lighter variation of armor. The helmet ejecting its external pieces revealed a less fortified helmet with a three pronged horns protruding from the back of it. From between his chin and the cleft groove in his chest plate, the large two pronged horn raised up and clicked upon his forehead. As the horn now divided the uniform visor in twain, the eyes of Lespid flashed with a menacing hue of crimson. The electronic voice boomed once more, "Change Lespid Beetle."
The creature roared in agony, becoming furious with this opponent making short work out of it. The monster swung its left arm, in desperation, towards Virgil. In the blink of an eye, Virgil was standing behind the creature. The casting off of his heavy armor had now endowed him with magnificent speed and grace.
"How did he get so fast?" Ceres wondered aloud, crossing her arms to display her annoyance with their lack of involvement.
"I think it is because his power exists on two different planes," Naomi explained while she observed the battle ensuing between the Rider and the golem. "He is now vastly quicker without that armor. Perhaps, he would be vulnerable to getting hit now."
Milo gazed, through her visor, to Naomi and found herself impressed with Naomi's ability to observe battles. That was the cornerstone of a great strategist. Ceres was the muscle, Naomi was the brain, The Green Ranger was the experienced member, and she could not feel her own presence or placement with the team. Milo, the Red Ranger, was supposed to be the leader of the team. How could she ever become a strong leader when people were always taking that away from her? If it wasn't the Green Ranger acting like an entitled dirt bag, it was a mysterious and attractive man showing up to effortlessly dispatch an enemy that they could not.
"You have good insight, Naomi," Milo began, carrying a tone of sincere praise, "I wouldn't have been able to kill that fire monster without you last night," she added, now turning her attention to Ceres, "I'm sure we would have found a weakness for this monster too, but an ally is willing to give us the strength to fight another time by taking on that burden," she concluded, feeling the resolve in her voice. There, nice and leader-like. This was something she'd get the hang of eventually.
A barrage of kicks and punches were sent into the golem while it could not lay a hit upon Virgil. This creature had become weak and overwhelmed from Virgil's assault. It was time to end it now. His thumb dashed across the buttons atop the belt buckle that made him into Kamen Rider Lespid as the electronic voice boomed, "One, two, three". Virgil's hand fell atop the lever as he whispered, "Rider Kick," pulling it the rest of the way while white electricity crackled around him. "Rider Kick."
The horn protruding from his forehead, as it charged, began to shine with a radiant white glow that was almost blinding as it refracted upon completely charging. The gathered white energy moved down from his horn to his right foot. Virgil pivoted on the ball of his left foot, raised his right foot above his head, and fiercely drove his right ankle down into the golem's clay forehead. As his foot drove through the golem's body, a flash of white light exploded out from him and small pieces of rocks scattered into every direction. When the explosion of light subsided, the golem was no more and the purple mist that was his soul dispersed into complete oblivion. The only thing that remained was none other than Kamen Rider Lespid, facing the three Power Rangers that bore witness to what had just transpired. Virgil turned his back to the group of women and turned his head to the right, looking at them through his peripheral vision. The eyes of his suit flashed red and he began to walk away from them.
"Hey!" exclaimed Ceres, giving chase to the Kamen Rider that disappeared into the shadows between two of the buildings. "You're obviously on our side, where are you going?"
Milo and Naomi followed their blue companion into the dark alley. It made sense to Milo that this mysterious person was making himself scarce, the monster was destroyed and the police would surely be on their way. It was time for all Rangers and other things to disappear for now.
"Wait!" exclaimed Milo, coming to a stop when her voice had stopped Ceres. The three women were out of sight from the public eye now. "Let him go, we'll see him again."
Virgil stopped and turned to face the women who were pursuing him. He had heard their voices and saw the flashes of light beneath the door when they transformed in the cafe. The young man knew who they were. In time, they would know who he was too. He only interfered because their lives were in danger. Azrael summoned something powerful this time and even though he did not show it, he was absolutely exhausted. Without further delay, he said with finality, "I will reveal my name to you all when I am good and ready, goodbye for now," as he finished speaking, he turned away from them and continued to walk away until out of sight.
In a flash of red, yellow, and blue, the women now stood in their regular clothing. They had reverted and put their morphers away. There was no point in remaining as they were, the fight was over for now. This benevolent and mysterious stranger had saved their lives. Perhaps, they'd get to know the person behind the visor. It seemed strange how allies seemed to be right under their noses. Ceres, Naomi, and Milo had now developed rapport with one another. The only obstacles now were to find the other two Rangers out there, make peace with the Green Ranger that had no respect for them, and now get to know this mysterious Kamen Rider.
"Well," sighed Milo, putting each hand on Ceres' and Naomi's shoulder. "Let's go back to the cafe, lunch is on me." End of Chapter Three
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