POWER RANGERS: LAST ENGAGE: ROTATION: HUMBLING RIVER

1

Riley sat upright in the bed in her hospital room. She was mostly fine aside from still having the taste of saltwater in her mouth. She wondered how long she had been in the ocean before she was found. She realized that wasn't her immediate concern and thinking about it wouldn't do any good as it did nothing for her right now. She just knew Zedd was behind this but what she didn't understand is why put her here of all places. Why not put her closer to the time the tsunami would hit so that it would be more certain she'd die? That also brought up another issue. Should she warn them about the tsunami that will hit in March of next year? She watched enough Star Trek to know that saving even one life in the past can cause a major change in the future.

A doctor and two police officers stepped into the room. Riley was wondering when they'd come to ask her questions; questions she couldn't answer, to be more precise, questions she shouldn't answer.

"Feeling better?" The doctor asked.

"A little," Riley said. "Can't seem to get that saltwater taste out of my mouth."

The doctor let out a small laugh. "That happens. These officers would like to ask you some questions if you're up for it."

"I'll do what I can," she said.

"Good," the doctor said before stepping out of the way to allow the officers to get closer. After introducing themselves, they took a seat in front of Riley while pulling out small notebooks.

"Can you remember how you ended up in the ocean? There was no other debris of any kind except for the piece of wood that you held onto."

Riley shook her head. It was partially the truth as she didn't know what happened after being grabbed by Bandora. Then she remembered something. This country had a ranger team, several in fact. She could reveal her ranger status and not be considered insane. She wasn't going to reveal that she was from the future.

"Do you guys know of the Power Rangers?" she asked.

"Power Rangers?" the cops asked in unison.

Riley realized that they'd use a different name in a country. She stood up and slowly stepped to the closet. She pulled her morpher from her pants pocket.

"I don't know what you call them here but they are a team that wear different colors and they fight monsters."

"Ah," one cop said. "You mean Sentai."

Riley nodded, not entirely sure that's what she was talking about but it was something to go on. "Yes, one of those teams protects the emperor."

"Yes, those are the Shinkengers," the cop said. Riley seemed more convinced they were talking about the same thing.

"Anyway, I'm one of them in America," she said.

The doctor and two cops were clearly not expecting that comment. Riley held up her morpher as proof.

"We have a few teams," one cop said. "They usually will travel all over the country if they need to."

"They don't have bases of operation?" Riley asked.

"Only the Shinkengers have a stationary base," the cop said. "The others have mobile bases. We've had to call the rangers here a few times. They're pretty quick to respond."

"Were you in a ranger related battle and that's how you ended up in the ocean?" the other cop asked.

"My team was ambushed and ultimately separated," Riley sad. "I don't know where they are."

Suddenly, Riley heard a flute being played. The tune sounded dark and unappealing. She went to the window to see a man standing on the roof of a nearby building. The tone was very loud. She looked to the two cops who were just as confused.

"We should go check that out," one cop said. They got up and left while Riley stared at the man through the window. There was something strange about the guy. It didn't appear that he was merely practicing. She also couldn't understand why the tune was so loud. From what she could tell, the flute was an old fashioned wooden one.

She watched the cops approach the guy. The guy stopped playing and took a glance at the cops. He let out a sigh and began playing again. This time it was a different tune but it was equally as depressing as the first tune. The sky grew dark with overcast clouds. Riley looked up and saw a swirling hole open up. Some bat like creatures came flying down from the opening toward the flute player and the cops.

"Oh, shit," Riley said as she darted out of the room. The doctor attempted to protest but she was already down the hall before he could mutter a word. Nurses and doctors jumped out of the way of the sprinting Riley. She held her morpher out in front of her.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!" she called pressing the button. "WHITE RANGER POWER!"

She ran outside and leapt to the rooftop of the nearby building with the flute player. She drew Saba while I the air. She landed in a battle-ready stance. The bat creatures flew down like dive bombers, aiming for the cops. They were almost to them when several laser beams struck them, knocking them off course. The flute player turned his attention to Riley who was aiming Saba at the creatures.

"Another nuisance," the player said. He started playing again but Riley charged him, interrupting him.

"Who the hell are you?" Riley asked.

"I'm nobody," he said. "Just someone that will bring about the end of the world."