Legal: I do not own Power Rangers, or the associated names, places, characters, events etc. Anything not covered by these rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – there will be some adult themes, including language and violence.
A/N: Here it is folks, my version of the Gold Ranger arc. Hope you all enjoy it.
The Temple Hotel, one of many Tien family investments in the city, was one of the largest and most luxurious in the city. It had stood now for almost fifty years, and it was the envy of every other property in the city, even the other Tien hotels. To say that one had even stayed there was the kind of status symbol many people that lived within walking distance of the hotel would save for weeks to attain.
It was a classic old building, modelled after some of the beautiful palaces of Europe. It had existed long before Marcus Tien even entered the business world, and he had the good fortune to stay there once while on a business trip to close a deal on behalf of an investor. He became obsessed with it after that, and through all his years, when he started investing the commissions he earned to begin his own businesses, it was always his fondest dream to one day own The Temple. He had achieved that dream almost fifteen years ago, and it now stood as one of his favourite and most enduring legacies.
The hotel was normally busy. Despite the price tag for the rooms, there were numerous contracts for local businesses ferrying in workers from all over the world meaning that it was rarely any less than eighty percent full. However, today it looked more like a military operation than a hotel with all the staff preparing the grounds, and the General, Marcus Tien, was right in the thick of it, awaiting his VIP arrival.
"These plants look droopy!" He complained out loud, calling over his operations manager. "These plants look like they're dying!"
"Sir, they're uh...meant to look like that." The Operations Manager told him.
"Do you think I want Levi Weston seeing dying plants in my lobby? Do you think I want to see him turn around and go across the street to the Marriott?" He screamed at him. "Get on the phone and get these plants changed now or start looking for a new job!"
The Operations Manager ran off, his phone in his hand, contacting their florist to replace the plants as soon as possible. Mr Tien turned as a woman rushed over to him.
"Mr Tien, he's here!" She rushed out. Mr Tien started straightening out his hair and his suit.
"He's here? Already?" He asked. "How do I look?"
"You look..."
"Never mind that now!" Mr Tien said, brushing her off as he headed outside, finding a limousine pulling up. It was black, with a gold stripe down the side, and bull horns on the hood. There were photographers all around, flashes going off like a bombing run as security held them back. A tall, black man in a suit and wearing a Stetson got out the passenger door to direct people in order to make sure the entry way, which had a red carpet rolled out in preparation, was clear.
"Alright folks, you'll all get your chance for pictures soon enough!" The man called out as he gestured to the driver. He opened the door, at which a man stepped out. He was tall, with a healthy build, dark-skinned, and despite the formal surroundings, he was wearing simply a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with a white Stetson topping off the look. The whole crowd started cheering and there were some women, and even a few men going weak at the knees, looking like soon they were going to need medical attention as he stood up to full height, tipping back his hat to reveal his face, and his famous smile.
"How y'all doin' Summer Cove?" He called out in greeting. This was Levi Weston, country music sensation and global superstar! He was a phenomenon even within the genre that seemed to come from virtually nowhere and captured the hearts of people, many of whom never even listened to country music before in their lives! His poster graved bedroom walls all across the world, and he was frequently the star of many explicit dreams all over the world. Although only in his early twenties, he was already in high demand, and the speculation surrounding his upcoming second album and world tour was like a tidal wave. He started to make his way towards the doors, stopping to pose for a couple of selfies. He knew he had a schedule to keep, but he had an unofficial policy of always letting at least a couple of autographs and selfies with kids.
"Come on Levi, get in here!" The other man, his manager Tom called out. He gestured Levi to get inside. Tom was diligent in his duties, but could be a little bit of anal when it came to his schedule and keeping Levi safe.
"Relax Tom, you'll live longer!" Levi teased him. He almost bumped into Marcus Tien as he stopped waving to fans and turned to enter. Mr Tien was standing almost chest-to-chest with him, well inside his personal space, and smiling in a way that looked like his face was about to rip in half. Levi was somewhat used to this, people did forget about personal boundaries at times. Mr Tien shook his hand enthusiastically.
"Mr Weston! Welcome to The Temple Hotel!" Marcus greeted him, shaking his hand strongly. Levi put a hand on his shoulder to hold him in place while he took a step back. He was a little freaked out by how everyone thought it was their right to touch him or grab him any time they saw him. He was a tactile guy, and he would regularly high-five, shake hand with, fist-bump or even hug his friends regularly, but it wasn't the first time people would just randomly grab him, pinch his ass, hug him, all without even asking. He had developed this as a way of getting his personal space back without having to bring up the uncomfortable conversation of just asking someone to stop touching him. Of course...there was another somewhat less comfortable way around this too.
"Sorry, no touching." Tom said as he stepped in between them. "Mr Weston has a busy schedule the next few months, and we can't have him getting sick now. No touching."
"Oh, yes, of course!" Mr Tein said as he gestured into the hotel. Tom offered him some hand sanitiser, but Levi just shook his head in disbelief and walked in with Mr Tien. "We've prepared the Presidential Suite for you Mr Weston, and the entire floor is shut off purely for you and your team. All the elevators are key-card coded, so you won't be disturbed."
"I hope you're at least letting the housekeepers up." Levi chuckled. "I'm not a fussy guy but I like a fresh set of towels in the morning."
"YOU THERE!" Mr Tien called out to one of the housekeepers. "A fresh set of towels to the Presidential Suite, RIGHT NOW!"
"That's really not...oh...ok." Levi said as he watched this scene unfold. People had kind of a habit of treating him like he was something special, like the world would fall apart if there was something that in the least way inconvenienced him. Mr Tien took him into the elevator and used his keycard to take Levi and Tom up to the room personally.
Up on the Warrior Dome, things were hectic, far more than usual. While Cosmo was a big believer in the old adage 'the show must go on', even he was alarmed by the fact that the Gold Ranger had gotten onto the ship without anyone knowing how. It was an uncomfortable thought, but the leading theory was that the only way for him to have gotten onto the ship without alerting security would be if he was brought aboard. That meant there was a traitor on board!
Cosmo was leaning back in his chair, his feet crossed on the desk as he puffed his cigar, while his senior staff, Ripcon, Madame Odious and Wrench were all standing in the room. Right now, Galvanax had the floor, or more accurately had TAKEN the floor, venting his frustrations.
"We've been at this for WEEKS!" Galvanax screamed, slamming a fist into the desk. "The Gold Ranger has destroyed five of my warriors already!"
"He's definitely a canny one, far too dangerous to take lightly!" Ripcon added. "Let me go champ! I'll bring back his head..."
"I don't want his head, I want HIM!" Galvanax screamed at him, grabbing Ripcon by the coat, shaking him violently. "Someone let him on my ship and I want to know WHO! Once I've made him talk, I can destroy him AND the traitor myself!"
"A fine idea champ, one I can easily sell the networks." Cosmo told him. He looked over to Madame Odious, who was silent on the whole issue. Madame Odious was not one to speak without consideration. She always planned everything she said and did; with a dozen or more contingency plans in place for if her original plan went slightly awry. "Madame Odious, care to inject a thought into this?"
"What else is there to say?" She answered with a shrug. "Until we hear from the Gold Ranger, there really is nothing else I can add."
Wrench just glanced wordlessly in her direction. This was a complete lie and he knew it. The Astro Zord had punched a hole in the ship that exposed Odious' secret lab. He had stumbled on it himself, but she had warned, more accurately threatened him to keep his mouth shut about it. He suspected that the Gold Ranger had to be one of the humans he had seen in her lab, since both of them were now gone, and while the lab had been searched for clues, nothing had pointed to Odious. She had covered her tracks well meaning the only danger she was in was if he spoke up about what he knew. Of course a part of him wondered, if he spoke up now, what would they think about the fact he had been silent up until now? He had known about the lab for weeks without telling anyone.
"Maybe we should send someone more powerful." Wrench suggested. "I have some ideas..."
"Are we really listening to this rust-bucket?" Ripcon demanded. Comso just puffed a smoke ring into the air.
"He's had a better success rate as a talent scout than you have Ripcon." Cosmo reminded him. "Hacktrack almost obliterated the whole lot of them!"
"But I have..."
"Wrench, do you have someone in mind?" Cosmo interrupted him.
"I've already got him trained up in my tracking technology." Wrench said with a note of pride in his voice. "All I need is the word and he's on the hunt."
"Unleash your hunting dog Wrench." Comso told him. "Make sure the Buzz-cams capture everything."
Back at the hotel, Levi, Tom and Mr Tien were riding up in the elevator, approaching the top floor. Levi could see Mr Tien fidgeting and bouncing, the inevitable sign of excitement he was used to seeing in people who met him.
"I have to say Mr Weston, I am a HUGE fan!" Mr Tien said with a grin. "I love that song 'I'll be here'...I play it all the time in my office!"
"Yeah, that's great." Levi said, restraining himself from pointing out the fact that the song was actually called 'I'll be THERE'. He had every confidence that Mr Tien only really saw him as a walking ATM, and was just buttering him up in the hopes of getting him to spend more money in house. The bump in business just by being able to say that Levi had stayed there was already worth a pretty penny to him. As they stepped out of the elevator, Mr Tien directed them.
"Your suite is right down the end of the hall." Mr Tien told him.
"That's good, that's good." Tom chipped in. "This room right here, if anything's being delivered, I don't care what it is, towels, room service, anything, it goes here. No one talks to Mr Weston directly!"
"Of course, of course..."
"I'll make you aware of Mr Weston's schedule, housekeeping are only to go into his room when he's not there is that understood?" Tom asked.
"Tom...one of these days you're going to realise I actually LIKE people." Levi teased his manager. Mr Tien let them into the room, showing them around.
"This is the lounge; your bedroom is right through there." Mr Tien told him. "The Jacuzzi is that way; the balcony is right out..."
"Is this the water I ordered?" Levi asked, pointing to an ice bucket.
"Yes, imported from..."
"Seriously Mr Tien, I only asked for water, I'm not a fussy guy!" Levi assured him. "When I was a kid I drank from the well in the yard."
"Thanks for everything Mr Tien." Tom said, showing him to the door.
"If there's anything else, feel free to call!" Mr Tien stated as Tom slammed the door on him. He rolled his eyes.
"Man that guy wouldn't take a hint." Tom grumbled. Levi just looked around the hotel room. "Hey, this place is pretty dope right?"
"This place is bigger than the farm house we grew up in." Levi said with a smirk.
Levi was still piecing his memories back together after his abduction. He was getting there, but being around familiar people, places and things was helping him sort out the jumble of memories he did have. The memories were there, but they were mixed up, like the aliens that had taken him had taken his life and shoved it in a blender. He would have difficulty remembering the difference between where he had spent his 16th birthday and what the weather was like on the day he graduated, but more of it was making sense now.
It helped that he established early on that he was famous. It was a little eerie and quite bizarre that he was able to read about his own life quite extensively. He already had an autobiography, something he wasn't sure why anyone thought was necessary since his music career was only a couple of years in, and there were numerous magazine articles and interviews where he could piece together things and trigger a few memories.
"Levi, I swear, one of these days you're going to get that we don't have to live on a farm anymore." Tom laughed as he hugged him. Tom was his manager, but he was also his 'brother'. Tom's father, "General" Tom Weston Senior, had been a musician too, and on one of his tours, taking him through Texas, he had found a young Levi busking on the street, trying to scrape together enough money for a meal. He had been impressed by the young boy's talent, and genuinely moved when he found out that Levi was homeless, and had taken him in. Levi had grown up in the Weston homestead ever since, following in the General's footsteps.
Tom took his duties as his manager seriously, but he was so protective largely because the two had grown up as brothers. Levi parted from him and smiled.
"I tell you what, I don't know why you insisted on coming here, after so long in the styx I'd have thought a bit of big city living would be just what the doctor ordered." Tom said as he took the water bottle from Levi. "Now, I know you don't like everyone making a fuss and everything, but me, I like me a good massage and a seaweed wrap!"
"Well you go enjoy that." Levi replied as he took another bottle. "I'll just stay here, maybe order myself a cheeseburger."
"Cheeseburger?" Tom laughed. "Dude, in a place like this you don't order a cheeseburger, you order the fillet steak or the..."
"Since I'm paying the bill, the way I look at it I should be able to order whatever I want." Levi responded. It was a conversation the two of them had a few times in their lives. While Tom had grown up with his dad touring, and was used to all the little luxuries that came with it, only even going to the family farm which he was sure his dad only kept to 'keep in touch with his roots', whatever that meant, but for Levi, he seemed to be a lot more of a country boy by heart. He seemed a lot happier on the farm than he did in the cities, and his tastes were a lot more modest. Tom just waved over his shoulder as he left Levi to get settled in.
Levi was grateful for Tom, he really was. There was something familiar about him that helped him get most of his memories back. They really were close, and he knew Tom genuinely cared for him. Tom had, at one time, had a music career of his own, with some moderate success, but both he and Levi quickly realised Levi was the horse to back in that race, and Tom had moved to management.
Tom didn't know why Levi wanted to come to Summer Cove. Honestly Levi didn't know either, but so far it was the most familiar place he had found. He felt a connection to the city, even if he didn't really know why. He knew he had been through here on tour a couple of times, and presumed that was why he seemed to know so much of the city.
Going out onto the balcony, he looked out over the city as he took a sip of his water. His balcony had an amazing view, one which incorporated the arena he would be holding a concert in very shortly. He had found his way back to his cabin after freeing himself from the alien ship, and after contacting Tom, the first name he found on his cell phone, he had quickly been swept into preparations for a tour. He had gone to the cabin to prepare songs for his new album, and since that was the last memory he had, he presumed he had been kidnapped from there. Tom had told him he just fell off the radar, not contacting anyone for months, which had raised concerns especially among the record company who were keen to get Levi back out and publicising his new work, and so had rushed him into getting ready for a tour, booking dates as soon as they could. He had only gone along with it because being around familiar people was helping him straighten out who he was in his head.
He looked down into the city, resting his elbows on the guard rail as he pulled his Power Star out of his pocket. He didn't know what it was, but he did know that it was his. It seemed to call to him, and in times of need it lent him incredible power. It had been this star which gave him the strength to escape the space ship. It also did something else though, right now, it started to call to him, but this was a very different call. This was a call to action. Someone needed his help!
He looked around, trying to figure out which direction the call was coming from, and as soon as he figured it out, he took a deep breath as he took a few steps back. He ran, leaping up onto the guard rail of the balcony, before leaping off into the unknown, transforming as he did so.