Author's notes - I haven't updated my profile in ages, but I've missed these characters. So I decided recently to showcase small moment in these characters' lives. I love these characters, and all the superheroing that they do. But not every adventure they go on has to be these giant, world-spanning quests where they meet gods and travel the galaxy and throwdown with armies. So I wrote a bunch of little stories. Days in the lives of the Rangers.
Fittingly, I thought I'd start off with "The Little Guy". This takes place several years after the events of "The New Team" through to "Vigilante". The team are established superheroes. And unlike the first eight stories (which were told from Peter's perspective), the perspective on these stories will always shift. This story is told from Brendan's point-of-view, how he sees the team and the things that he values. Anyway, hope you enjoy :).
The Little Guy
My friends were awesome today.
And so was I.
The secret-identity thing means I can't tell you much, but I can tell you this. I'm the smallest member of an elite team of teenage superheroes. Under the suits, we're just normal kids, but when the suits go on, our lives get a little less ordinary. Last week we spent a couple of days onboard the Flying Dutchman, escaping an alien pirate. A few months before that, we were in ancient Rome battling Emperor Nero. We're based here in Australia, but we keep an eye on a dozen or so settled planets throughout the Milky Way, places nobody on Earth has even heard of, much less visited. You've heard of us. Everyone's heard of us.
Call me Brendan.
I wasn't joking before about being small. I'm the little guy on the team. Every group has one. I can't wrestle gods or build super-computers out of soup cans. The last time I fought a dinosaur, I nearly lost. My scary voice isn't scary, and if I use it, people have to look down to find me. Seriously, my team-mates all have twenty centimetres over me. And I'm not even the youngest! But everyone has a weapon of choice, and humour happens to be mine. When the Earth is being invaded by marauding killer tomatoes, somebody has to make the puns. I make no apologies, although I get the feeling sometimes that my team-mates wished I would.
But this is about today.
It was a quiet Saturday morning, and I'd been hanging out with Ian. He's my best friend, on and off the team. I think we're so close because of the superhero thing. The group formed before either of us arrived, and the others had already bonded by the time we joined. I think it gave Ian and me something in common, that feeling of being dropped into the deep end and told to sink or swim.
But that's how it works. When the call comes, you answer it.
"We're here," Ian said, speaking into his wrist communicator. Ian's family had already left for the day, and nobody was around to overhear us.
"Who's we?" came the reply.
"Brad and Angelina," I said.
"It's good you're there Brendan, something's come up. We need everyone. How soon can you get here?"
Ian glanced to me, his eyes wide. That didn't sound good. "We're on our way," he said. "You ready?"
I nodded, and shut my eyes. The team travelled by teleportation, a kind of instant transport that took some getting used to. My stomach could handle short trips, but I always felt a little queasy after longer voyages. And I'd learned the hard way to never wear a helmet when travelling long distance.
In a flash of light, Ian's lounge room disappeared, and the two of us were transported hundreds of kilometres to the team's secret base in the middle of the Australian desert, a place we know best as the Command Centre. The compound's crisis room was an enormous bunker under a high ceiling, the walls on all sides lined with computers and monitor screens. The light above our heads was flashing, indicating high alert.
We soon saw that everyone else was already here. Sarah was standing over by the wall, and the weight bench behind her indicated she'd just been doing bench presses. Beside her was Scott, our impossibly-smart tech-guy. Opposite was Scott's sister Teresa, an incredibly graceful fighter, and at the front of the room was Peter, the team leader. He's tall, inspiring and dedicated. And did I mention tall? I get neck-cramp just talking to him.
Looking down over us from within a blue tube of energy was our mentor, Zordon, a powerful dude trapped in a time-warp, while his robot helper Alpha stood below, working on several consoles at once.
"Good to see you," Peter said.
"Sorry we're late," I said. "Traffic was terrible. Where are the others?"
"The senior team is currently in Polynesia, dealing with a volcano demon," Zordon's voice boomed.
Ian nodded. "So what's the emergency?" he asked.
"This," Alpha said, and punched a button on the computer beside him. The nearest monitor flickered to life, showing a dark-haired, heavy-set man wearing military gear and standing in front of a medieval fortress. "Rangers, say hello to Sidious Velspite."
"Sidious is the youngest brother of Queen Ariadne of the planet Euclid," Zordon began. "She governs one of the few stable monarchies in the planet's southern hemisphere. Sidious spent years scheming to take the throne, but was banished because of his treachery."
"Which in hindsight," said Teresa, "was a terrible idea. Ever since then, he's done nothing but organise armies and buy weapons off-world, presumably to take the kingdom back one day."
"Remember when he tried to raise a demonic army on the planet Nerimos last year?" asked Peter. "And then we spotted him at that super-weapon auction on the planet Morlock."
"And here's his second in command, General Trask," Zordon continued. Alpha pressed another button, and a second photo appeared onscreen. "Trask is rumoured to be the best hunter and trapper in the galaxy. In fact, soldiers who've fought for him in the past have said that they thought he was immortal. According to them, if Death ever came for him, Trask would be able to trap Death before he got close."
"Sounds charming," I said.
"Well as long as these men are free, they're a danger to millions," Teresa said. "However, this morning we got an opportunity to catch them, and we need to take it."
Teresa's passion to protect the innocent was the thing I most admired about her. "So where are we heading?" I asked. "Somewhere tropical?"
Zordon shook his head. "Velspite was spotted outside a factory in the city of Malthus on the planet Techthon, six days ago," he said. "He was caught by security footage, but it took a while for the footage to filter through the planet's law enforcement agencies and out to us. What that means is we don't have a lot of time."
"But we've been after this guy for years, and it's our best lead in months," Peter said. "So we need to move. First priority – speak to the engineers in that factory. If Sidious was there, he was there for a reason."
"What if they won't talk to us?" Ian asked.
Sarah cracked her knuckles. "We'll make them."
I frowned. It's always troubled me that people halfway across the galaxy might be scared of us. I know the job we have to do, but I think we try too hard to be intimidating. It's okay if the bad guys are scared of us. Monsters understand fear, that's why it works on them. But we're the good guys. We should be renowned for compassion, justice and hope. Not fear.
"Hopefully it won't come to that," I mumbled. Nobody listened.
"Everybody hold tight," Scott said, and reached for the nearest console. "Next stop, the planet Techthon." And the world went white.
I know everyone would've preferred to take one of the zords, but we don't have the time to spare. See, the movies have it wrong. Planets always seem to be barely ten minutes away from each other. But space is big. Travel by zord or space-cruiser takes days, while a teleport takes less than a minute. Provided we land anywhere near the target, and cosmic radiation doesn't make us overshoot the landing by a planet or two. That's happened more than once.
The light show lasted thirty seconds before I felt solid ground beneath my feet. I opened my eyes to see the sprawling alien city of Malthus in the distance, with a busy manufacturing plant right in front of us. Techthon is a humbling place to visit. The technological centre of the galaxy, Techthon's surface is dotted with gleaming metropolises and industrial super-centres that never sleep. For the right price, there are people on this planet who could build you anything.
Unfazed by the view, Peter stepped towards the factory and nodded to the house-sized letters along the roof, an alien language none of us could decipher.
"Scott, talk to me," Peter said. "What are we dealing with?"
Scott pulled a small computer out of his pocket and flipped it open. We were a long way from the Command Centre, and the portable computer was the closest thing we had to a traveller's guide to the galaxy. "In the local language, the sign translates as Carlisle Industries," he said. "According to this, they're the third-largest corporation in this particular country. Mostly known for manufacturing…" but his voice trailed off. "…weapons."
Peter and Teresa glanced from Scott to each other then broke into a run, sprinting across the road and into the factory compound, the rest of us a step behind. Entering the main building, we passed a crowd of technicians. Scott and Teresa stepped away to talk to them, while the rest of us approached the front desk and asked for the chief engineer. The secretary said he was busy, but Peter used his scary voice and achieved the desired result. A minute later, the doors behind the desk swung open, and a man nearly as round as he was tall swaggered through.
"Are you the chief engineer?" Sarah asked.
"Young lady, this is my factory," the man shot back, indignation in his voice. "My name is Dane Carlisle the third, and I was actually quite busy…"
"We're sorry to interrupt you," Ian began, "but this is important. Does this man look familiar?" and Peter held up a picture of Sidious.
Carlisle ran his eyes over the picture. "Why yes," he replied. "He was here recently collecting an order he'd placed with us. Why do you ask? Is he important?"
"He's a dangerous criminal," Peter said. "Wanted on multiple worlds."
Carlisle was pretty adept at feigning shock. "You're joking? I had no idea…"
Sarah rolled her eyes. "We need to see what you built for him."
"Of course," Carlisle said. "Follow me."
We followed Carlisle deeper into the factory complex, across an overhead walkway and towards an enormous building that would've housed multiple jumbo jets. Once Carlisle had let us in, he took us over to the chief engineer's office. The room was deserted, but we immediately saw blue-prints pinned to the wall. Peter shoved Carlisle out of the way to get a closer look.
"Weapons, tanks, guns," Peter said softly, examining the plans. "And a whole army of mechanised exosuits. You know, these despots never learn. It's always armoured power suits, and you know what they have in common? Power sources that are heavy, unreliable, and vulnerable. You take out the battery, and the suit's nothing but a lump of metal."
Carlisle couldn't resist. "Not these," he boasted. "The customer was very specific. Everything was built to run by power absorption through a biometric link to an external source. Not even my best engineers understood what we were building, but my company prides itself on delivering exactly what the customer needs."
Sarah shot him a withering glare. "Save it," she said tersely. "You just built an army for a monster. Do you know what your greed has done? The lives you've put in danger?"
Carlisle stepped back in shock. "How dare you!" he spluttered. "Who on Techthon do you think you are?"
We showed him.
He froze in horror, staring at us silently as if hoping the Power Coins we held were a bad dream. For a second, I thought he was going to pass out. But his self-preservation kicked in, and he staggered back, turned and ran for his life.
Like I said before. I get why we use fear, but I don't always like it.
After Carlisle fled, we turned back to the blue-prints and spent a few minutes looking over the design specs for the weapons Sidious had ordered. None of us could make any sense of them, so we made our way back through the complex and out to the road. Teresa and Scott were waiting for us, and we passed on everything we'd learned.
"Great," Teresa said. "This went from bad to worse."
"You're not wrong," Peter said. "But here's the thing. Sidious had to have been nearby. It's a heavily populated planet, and he's a wanted man. Too much travel and he would've been spotted."
"So the million dollar question is, where was he?" asked Sarah.
"Somebody had to pay for all this," I said. "What if we just traced the money?"
"Teresa and I were talking to some of the engineers," Scott said. "Everyone was proud of their work, and they were happy to talk about it. This particular project was paid for in advance, with a huge pile of hard currency. Completely untraceable." But he suddenly looked thoughtful. "Although the programmer I talked to said that when Sidious came to actually place the order, he thought he caught a glimpse of blue ceremonial robes under the guy's cloak."
"That doesn't really narrow it down," Ian said.
"Actually it might," Scott said. "Robes would suggest organised religion, but most societies on this planet are largely atheist. Religious groups are few and far between."
"And come to think about it," Peter began, "a spiritual retreat would be a great hiding place for somebody who didn't want to be found. Scott…?"
"Already on it," Scott said, tapping on his computer. "Okay, from this list of local religions, I think I've got something. The monastery of the god Altos sits on an island just off the coast here. It's run by Altos's followers who all wear blue robes. According to this, Altos is a local deity representing eternal light, a beacon for the lost and weary. His monks are happy to take in anybody requesting shelter, and they seldom ask questions." Scott looked up. "Which makes it the perfect hiding place."
Teresa nodded. "Let's check it out."
Sarah and Peter had both noticed a small coastal harbour as we'd touched down earlier. Following the roadway, we reached the coast and chartered a fishing boat to take us out to Altos's island. It was a busy fishing village, with a nearby lighthouse keeping watch over the rocky coastline. But my stomach was already unsettled, and the half-hour cruise through choppy waves didn't help. Once we'd reached the island, the fisherman volunteered to wait for us. We paid him and waved him on, guessing that our next destination would be off-world. Climbing the hill away from the dock, we soon saw we were right.
"If Sidious was here," Peter said, as the island's interior opened up before us, "I doubt he's here now."
The island was abandoned, and looked to have suffered a great disaster recently. The buildings on all sides had been violently destroyed, shattered beyond recognition. The temples and statues were nothing but charred rubble beneath our boots.
"Dead end," Sarah said. "Damn it."
"But why would Sidious destroy the monastery?" Ian asked.
"He must've taken something," Scott said. "Maybe even the power source for his army?"
Peter gazed around the devastated landscape. "You're probably right," he said. "But we have to find this guy before there's a massacre, and he's got a big head start. Any guesses where he's likely to be?"
"Euclid," I said. "His first stop would be to go after his sister. What bully with newfound unlimited power won't start with petty revenge?"
"Brendan's right," Ian said.
Scott was already reaching for the computer. Sliding it onto a flat piece of wreckage, he activated the holographic display. A transparent map rose into the air, chest-height for everybody else. "Here's the kingdom. Ariadne's palace is here in this city, which sits on a coastal plain. To the west is open grassland, with mountains north and south. But there's gotta be a dozen castles and fortresses in the area. Sidious and Trask could be hiding in any of them."
"Do we have time to check them all?" Teresa asked.
"We won't have to," I said. "They're assembling an army. Of all the bases close to the city, which one's the biggest?"
"Nice thinking Brendan," Scott said, and tapped another button. The map zoomed in. "Blackthorn Castle," he said. "It's just outside the city, and definitely large enough."
"Good call," Peter said. "Let's move." A second later, we vanished from Techthon in bright flashes of light. I didn't have time to shut my eyes, and watched as stars and planets whirled around us. A planet appeared in the distance, rapidly growing larger as we approached. A second later, we shot down through the atmosphere and materialised on a narrow, wind-swept peak. The world took shape around us, a clear blue sky over endless savannah. My stomach lurched uncomfortably, but soon settled down.
"Guys," came Ian's voice, from somewhere behind me, "we're too late."
I heard Peter swear as we turned to see what had caught Ian's attention. We'd landed on a rocky hill at the foot of the southern range of mountains. To the right lay a shimmering seaside metropolis, a towering crystal palace in the middle of the city. Immediately below us was a wide valley, dotted with farms and crisscrossed with narrow roadways. But to the left were wide fields, the green savannah extending on to the horizon. It was impossible to miss what Ian had seen. An enormous army, with silver tanks, armoured troops and legions of hulking armoured exosuits, all marching on a steady course for the city. Even as we watched, farms in the valley were emptying, people fleeing in the face of the approaching soldiers.
I looked away and spotted Blackthorn Castle, crouching in the shadows of a jagged peak. The roof of its tallest tower was bristling with what looked like antennas and broadcasting equipment.
"We're out of time," breathed Scott.
"Brendan was right though," Teresa said, nodding to the fortress. "Whatever's powering Sidious's army is in there somewhere."
Peter stepped forward, sweeping his gaze over the landscape. "Scott and Brendan, take the castle," he began. "Whatever you find inside, break it. The rest of us will hold off Sidious for as long as we can."
Teresa nudged Peter's shoulder. "Everything the hard way, eh?"
"Can we really stop an army?" asked Sarah.
Peter pointed to the city in the distance. "We can," he said, without a shred of doubt in his voice. "Because we have to. Okay guys, good luck," and we reached for our morphers. "It's morphin' time!"
"Iguanodon!"
"Dilophosaurus!"
"Rhamphorynchus!"
"Brontosaurus!"
"Velociraptor!"
"Stegosaurus!"
In a storm of light, we were ready for battle. Scott and I raced away along the ridge. After only a minute we found a path down the side of the hill, and followed it to the valley floor. It was a fair hike, but while we're suited up, we can lap Olympic sprinters. Before long, Blackthorn Castle loomed ahead of us. We slowed to a jog as we approached, wary of attack. The fortress was an imposing structure, carved out of jagged black rock with spiked turrets towering high above us. The enormous front gate looked to be locked shut.
"I bet they don't get many Jehovah's Witnesses," I said. "I can't see anybody."
Scott nodded. "They're all out there," he said, pointing to the valley behind us. "We just need to get in, and we don't have time for subtle."
Reaching for the laser blaster on his hip, Scott aimed for the gate and fired. The hinges holding the gate to the wall exploded in sparks and smoke. Now only a few metres out and closing in fast, Scott leaped into the air, slamming his boots against the huge castle gate. It gave way immediately, splintering free and falling forward, Scott riding it down as it crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust. With a clear path before us, I followed Scott into the castle grounds. A wide courtyard lay before us, but it was empty aside from some discarded weapons lying in the grass, and an empty mechanised suit leaning against a wall. The main building was over to the right, with smaller buildings on the left.
"Where to?" I asked.
Scott pointed to the sky. "Whatever we're looking for, it'll be close to those antennas," he replied. "So we're heading up."
I nodded. "Lead the way," I said, and we raced over to the main building and charged inside.
Birds took to the air in panic as Velspite's army marched over a low ridge. The ground shook with every step of the enormous mechanised suits, swaying trees and tearing up the grass beneath their boots. But as the leading troops crossed the ridge, they looked ahead and froze. Four young people stood across the field before them. Teresa, Peter, Ian and Sarah had formed a line of defence blocking the army's path.
The army's hesitation lasted only a second. Anticipating easy spoils, they marched on, raising their weapons. The Rangers could see blades, small pistols and larger energy blasters, all now pointed at them. Behind the first few lines of troops marched the largest exosuit, and a voice boomed out from within.
"Good to see you all!" Sidious called, his voice cackling with triumph. The suit raised its arms, a car-sized cannon in either hand. "Now die!"
The Rangers leaped to safety as the air ignited and the ground behind them erupted. Peter rolled to his feet and turned to the others.
"Take 'em out!" he shouted. As one, the group charged forward. With blasts whistling around her head, Teresa dived low and kicked high, taking one enemy to the ground before dropping another on the left and slamming a third back in one fluid motion. Beside her, Sarah thundered towards the nearest tank, kicking soldiers out of the way as she scrambled up onto the machine. Tearing its armaments free with her hands, she punched down through the shell to disable the engine before leaping on to the next.
A few metres away, Peter took to the air to avoid a blast from the closest mechanised suit. Finding his footing, he launched himself towards it. Punching a cannon out of the suit's hands, he ducked to avoid the suit's left fist, struck away its right hand and leaped onto the suit's leg to gain leverage, smashing his fist clean through the suit's chest. Behind him, Ian had hung back, pulling free his laser blaster and picking off enemies from afar. He destroyed the wheels of a tank rolling towards Sarah and disabled an armoured suit lumbering at Peter, but had to scramble away as a barrage of enemy fire whistled towards him. Rolling to his feet, he raced forward to continue the team's desperate defence.
Steps.
Always steps. These fortresses with their stone walls, creepy gargoyles and ornate candelabras are always designed by big guys, for big guys. Consequently, as Scott and I followed a spiralling stair-case, by the third floor he was ten metres ahead of me and gaining ground. Close to the roof, I saw him disappear around a corner as I fought to keep up.
"Brendan?" called Scott.
"Yeah?"
"I think I found that power source."
Finally reaching the top, I rounded the corner and skidded to a halt beside Scott. The landing opened up into a cathedral-sized room, full of computers, cables and scientific equipment. In the centre of the room was a tall blue dome, connected to nearby machinery that led up to the ceiling. Inside the dome was a person…
No. Not quite a person.
Behind my helmet, my face fell in disbelief. "Oh man," I murmured. "Is that…?"
"Altos," Scott nodded. "It sure is."
With a body of shimmering colours, the god Altos was hovering a few feet off the stone floor, twisting and jerking in midair as bolts of lightning crackled around him. I watched as one bolt struck him, and sent a jolt through the cables up to the roof.
"Trask," said Scott softly. "He did it. He needed unlimited power, so he trapped a god. That's why they destroyed the monastery, to cover their tracks. And by torturing Altos, they're collecting the power to juice up their army…"
"Impressed?" came a voice. Scott and I turned to see General Trask standing on the other side of the room, with a small troop of armoured soldiers around him.
"It's genius," Scott said. "You creepy psychopath. How does it work?"
"You want me to explain it to you?" Trask asked, his voice dripping with contempt. "Because I'm really that stupid. Kill them!"
Scott leaped towards the soldiers as the guards closed in. He grabbed a sword as it fell and struck the man away, kicking high for a second guard and slamming a third backwards. His arms and legs nothing but blurs of motion, he dropped low under a blast before grabbing the gun, wrenching it free and launching its owner into a wall. Watching from a safe distance, Trask scowled as Scott easily disabled his attackers, but the general didn't see my gloved fist until it slammed into his jaw.
"That's the thing about us little guys," I said, as Trask staggered back. "You never know where we're gonna turn up."
Trask glared at me, pure hate in his eyes. "I will tear you limb from limb!" he screamed, and raced towards me.
He was fast. But I was faster, and rammed my knee into his groin with all the strength I could muster, driving it for his chin. Trask froze, his eyes bulging in total agony. The breath rushed from his lungs, and he collapsed to the ground and curled into the foetal position, whimpering.
"Sure you will," I said. "Right after those grow back."
I looked back to the captured god as a soldier slid across the tiles towards me. With his opponents all unconscious, Scott joined me in front of Altos.
"What do we do?" I asked.
"You heard Peter," Scott replied. "Break it."
"You got it," I said, and smashed my fist into the dome, shattering it with a single blow. Altos collapsed forward, and we caught him before he hit the ground. He was a lot heavier than he looked, and we struggled to lower him to the tiles. The god's body was flickering, nowhere near as bright as it should've been. His eyes were shut, and he was still jerking spasmodically every few seconds. Scott raced over to the window.
"The army," he called worriedly, "they're not shutting down!" He turned back to Altos. "He's out of the machine, but he must still be connected to them. They're still feeding off his pain. We have to break the link somehow."
"Break the link?" I repeated, and looked down to the fading god before me. "How do you make a divine being smile?"
With a single idea and little hope, I knelt down and reached for Altos's face. "Hey, big guy," I said, lightly tapping his cheek. This got his attention, and his eyelids slowly drifted open. He looked woozy, and it took a few seconds for his gaze to focus on me. "Why did the chicken cross the road?" I asked. Altos didn't move, and I shrugged. "To get to the other side."
For a second, nothing happened. Then I saw his lips curl upwards into a smile. Sitting up on his haunches, Altos looked down to me and chortled softly. It sounded like church bells ringing.
"THAT IS MOST AMUSING," the god beamed.
Behind us, sparks began erupting out of the bank of computers, and Scott's eyes lit up as he followed the chain reaction of explosions through the computers and up into the roof. "You did it Brendan," he shouted. "It worked!"
On the field below, Teresa had just caught an opponent's fist when the pack on the man's shoulders exploded in a spray of sparks and fire. The man froze, and Teresa stepped back in shock as soldiers all around began dropping to the ground, helpless captives of their own armour. Beyond the troops, tanks started sparking and exploding as well, several smashing into each other out-of-control, as the mechanised exosuits all began falling over in worthless heaps.
Gazing around in wonder, Peter smiled. "They did it," he said. But spotting the largest suit nearby, Peter took to the air, leaping onto the suit and shattering the helmet with a punch. The shell-shocked face of Sidious Velspite stared back at him, the man's earlier expression of triumph rapidly fading.
"Good to see you too," Peter said. Sidious reached for a weapon, but Peter slammed his helmet into Sidious's forehead, before grabbing him by the collar, dragging him out of the suit and throwing him to the grass.
The city was safe. We'd triumphed.
It was over.
I stood outside the gate of Blackthorn Castle watching as the army of soldiers were rounded up by Queen Ariadne's forces. Our enemies today were mostly mercenaries, and they caved as soon as they realised they weren't getting paid. Behind me, Peter led a limping General Trask out of the castle, handing him over before stepping back towards me. In the field, Queen Ariadne was busy thanking the Rangers, while Altos was standing in the sun, enjoying his freedom.
"You did a great job," Peter said. "But I knew you would."
"You knew Altos was in there, didn't you?" I asked.
Peter nodded. "Sidious needed unlimited power, he spent months hiding in a monastery, and his second-in-command can trap anything," he replied. "It was a safe bet. And I figured that, if I was right, you'd be able to wake him up."
I realised what Peter was saying. "That's why you sent me, wasn't it?"
Peter grinned. "That was an even safer bet," he said, and he walked back down to greet Queen Ariadne. "I'm proud of you!" he called over his shoulder.
I laughed, and jogged after him.
So that was it.
That's how the little guy stepped up today, by stopping a war, rescuing a god and saving the world.
All by telling a joke.
And it wasn't even my best material.
The End.
