A Shade of Orange
A New Beginning
By Pink Lightspeed Ranger and Michelle the Editor
Disclaimer: Power Rangers belong to Saban. I only own Jane for now.
The summer I turned eighteen was one of the most exciting ones of my entire life. It was the summer I was chosen by my father, Captain Mitchell, to become a Lightspeed Power Ranger.
The day it all began started out ordinary enough. Well, ordinary enough for a city like Mariner Bay. I lay on my bed in the room I share with her older sister, Dana, in the Aquabase. It was a military branch base, underwater for some reason, and commanded by my father.
I was in the middle of my book when Dana walked in, wearing her shirtsleeves uniform. I looked up and smiled at her.
"What are you doing, Jane?"
"Reading, what else?" I held up the book so she could read the title. "A+ or Bust: How to Score Perfect Grades."
Dana chuckled, but grew serious quickly. "We need to talk."
"What's up? Have the ancient demons returned to Mariner Bay or something?" I joked, closing my book and sitting up. Seeing my sister's shocked face, I paused.
"I only just took the call about the escape from our sources. How did you know?"
Oh no. "Well…my English teacher wanted us to write a five-paragraph essay about supernatural beings before school ended, and I chose the demon legends," I answered. "It's kinda been on my mind a lot."
"You did a lot of research?"
"If I hadn't, would I have gotten an A+ on the paper?" I replied, pulling the paper out of the drawer next to my bed and waving it like a victory flag. Dana smiled a little, before her face became serious again. I sobered as well. "I think we should tell Dad about this."
Dana nodded. "Now." Leaping off the bed, I straightened up my uniform (Dad was a real stickler on order), straightening my black tie, and we set out to find Dad. He was in the middle of a meeting with the top scientists at Lightspeed. I was hesitant about interrupting, but Dana simply walked right in, stood at ease and cleared her throat.
"Captain. Something's come up." Rule 311: Family members within Lightspeed shall refrain from unnecessary fraternization in public, addressing each other by name or rank as necessary. Dana and I only called him Dad in private.
"We'll finish this later," the Captain told the scientists. They gathered their notes, and with a few curious glances in our direction, left the conference room. I stepped forward and mirrored my sister's position, hands flat against my back, legs slightly apart.
"Father. It's the demons. They've escaped," Dana said.
"You're sure?" he asked, looking hard at us. We nodded. Without another word, Captain Mitchell rose and unlocked the safe behind him, pulling out a handful of folders. "Then it's time to bring them in." He pulled out a set of files, red, yellow, green and blue, and handed them to Dana. Flipping open the green one, I was greeted by the sight of a poster for the famous sky cowboy and stunt pilot, Joel Rawlings.
We soon found ourselves sitting in the back of a black limousine. Although I would've said something about the benefits of working for the government, I was fidgety and nervous. I envied Dana, gazing out the window as if this was something she did every day. The two, male government agents accompanying us were escorting a not-very-happy Joel Rawlings away from a group of screaming fans.
"Man! They got you girls too?" Joel asked, climbing inside.
"My sister and I work for the government," Dana replied.
"Really? Guess that explains the uniforms. Are you a navy chick?" I could barely keep from rolling my eyes.
"Like my sister said, she and I work for the government. So, she's not a navy chick, and neither am I," I answered for Dana.
"And for what it's worth, these are coast guard uniforms, not navy," Dana added. Joel didn't seem to ask me anything about myself, which was both relieving and annoying. At least I wouldn't have to explain that I was a teenager who didn't know what was going on any more than he did.
The next stop was to the middle of a barren desert. I wondered what in the world they were doing out there, but then she saw that Joel's folder was no longer on top, and that a yellow one lay open in her sister's lap. Peering over Dana's shoulder, I saw a picture of a dark-haired girl named Kelsey Winslow, and that she was an extreme sports athlete. Then, through the tinted window of the limousine, I saw Kelsey's head and shoulders appear over the side of the cliff. The two government agents were there waiting for her (and probably spooked her half to death) and she soon joined them in the limo.
"Whoa. More people in here," Kelsey said, dropping in to the seat next to Joel. She was sweaty and breathing hard from her climb. "Who are you guys?"
"My sister and I work for the government," Dana told Kelsey. Even though I knew that government projects were all about secrecy and stuff, Dana didn't have to keep repeating the same line over and over again. She took after Dad: military to the core.
Kelsey buckled her seatbelt. "So, where are we going?"
"To the water park," I replied, glancing at the blue folder Dana now held. "But before you ask me why, I don't know, to be perfectly honest." It wasn't that she was as hard-core military as her sister, but it was that she honestly didn't know what was going on. But one thing reassured her: Dad would explain to them-and her-what was going on.
The limo pulled up just as Chad Lee, the next candidate, did an amazing dive off a leaping dolphin's nose. I had seen him before in shows, and he was a fantastic marine animal trainer, and a great lifeguard. He was still dripping wet when the two men in black brought him over. But they did let him grab a towel first. I guessed that the government liked keeping their limos dry.
"Hey! I know you two!" Chad said to Dana and me as he scrubbed his short, dark hair. "Dana and Jane Mitchell."
"How did you know?" I asked, startled.
"I saw you with your dad at the junior high school graduation last year. You were taking pictures with your classmates." Feeling awkward at having someone know me and how young I was, I quickly looked to Dana.
"Who do we have left in the list?"
"Carter Grayson." Dana said. Someone else I recognized. Carter Grayson worked at a local firefighter department, and he was a courageous, if reckless, fireman.
The limo drove further into town, to a burning building surrounded by fire trucks. I winced at the sirens. Dana opened to the door and climbed out of the car. I was about to follow her, but she stopped me.
"Dana, let me come with you," I said, glancing at the burning building. It looked like most of the people were out, but one ladder was propped up at a window.
"No. It's too dangerous for you," Dana said. "You don't have a license yet. I'll be back soon."
I gave her a hard look. "Two minutes."
Dana went out and found the Fire Captain, and I got back into the limo. I resisted the urge to turn around and look out the back window of the limo, feeling the three candidates watching me. Then, with an explosion of glass, a firefighter carrying a little girl leaped out of a window. The others caught him on their trampoline, and Dana rushed over to help the child.
I recognized the fireman as he pulled off his helmet and face mask: Carter. He and Dana spoke for a little while, and then he started taking off his firefighting gear. I watched as they came over, Dana with that little spring in her step that meant she'd accomplished her mission.
"Where are we going?" Carter asked Dana, as they climbed into the car. All three of the other candidates had seen Carter's dramatic rescue, and looked impressed. He smelled like smoke.
"You'll see soon." Dana said, as the engine rumbled to life. We exchanged a smile: it was always fun to watch someone's first reaction to seeing the Aquabase.
Finally, we reached the helicopter's landing pad, and everyone piled into the little craft. Soon the six of us were over the ocean, and coming to the submarine for the last leg of the trip. Carter began to grin.
"Don't tell me, we're going in that submarine." Carter shouted over the sound of the helicopter blades, pointing to the sub. Kelsey leaped out of her seat and leaned out to see.
"Excellent!" Kelsey exclaimed, eyes lighting up. Chad looked interested as well, but Joel was still sour.
Nobody, though, could stay grumpy as they got their first look at the Aquabase. I grinned at the candidates' awed faces, as they took in the four cylindrical outer buildings, the pods, and the tubes linking everything together. A bay door opened on one of the pods, and the sub entered.
"Civilian crew and authorized personnel have entered Lightspeed Aquabase. Security clearances checked and confirmed," one of the scientists said over the loudspeakers, as we entered Rescue Ops. The candidates looked around at the scientists working on various computers or going by on errands.
"Where are we?" Chad asked, in a low voice.
"I don't know, but it's cool, huh?" Kelsey said. I smiled. I liked this one already. Then an alarm started going off, and everyone jumped. Joel was standing by a computer panel, looking very guilty. Dana strode over, and gave him The Look, which she had also inherited from Dad. She turned off the buttons without a word, grabbed Joel's collar, and marched him to the meeting room. The others, including me, followed.
Captain Mitchell was already standing inside as we entered. The lights were on low, and the table and chairs were empty.
"Welcome to the Lightspeed Aquabase," he said.
Joel pushed Carter out of the way. "I don't know who you are, but this is illegal. This is kidnapping."
"I am Captain William Mitchell. And none of you will be held against your will, you're free to go," our father replied, cool as always.
"See ya!" Joel said, turning to go, but a black-uniformed man stepped in his way, holding up one hand to stop Joel.
"That is, after you hear me out. Please, have a seat," Captain Mitchell said. The four candidates sat at the meeting table. Dana and I waited at ease for further orders. Stopping on the far side of the table, Captain Mitchell faced the candidates.
"Five thousand years ago, this part of the Earth was inhabited by evil spirits. Demons if you will, whose only purpose was to destroy and conquer. Luckily, there was a warlock, who was strong enough to conquer them. Finally, the demons were captured and entombed." My dad turned around as he spoke. "But we always feared that one day, they would escape and would return to Mariner Bay. Well, it seems our fears have come true. Just hours ago, nomad travelers crossing through the desert discovered the tomb and released the demons back into our world."
Captain Mitchell started pacing. "Lightspeed has developed technology and highly sophisticated weapons that we believe can stop them." He passed Dana the folders, and she opened them to show each candidate their own.
"Because of your skills, you have been chosen to use these weapons to defend the city. To become Lightspeed Power Rangers," he finished.
"So, you built this whole Aquabase thing, so the four of us could come together and fight off a bunch of angry demons?" Kelsey asked, eyebrows raised.
"Well, that's putting it simply, but...yes," Captain Mitchell said. I couldn't help but smile.
Joel rose. "I heard you out, I think you're nuts, I'm outta here." As he walked out, Carter turned towards him.
"Wait!" Joel stopped. "That explains it," Carter continued, partly to himself.
"What?" Dana asked.
"The fire. When I was saving the little girl, I…I saw someone, in the flames. It was one of them. One of the demons." Carter said emphatically. Dana turned sharply to Captain Mitchell.
"Father," she said. Then something beeped. Dana, the Captain and I went to the computer screen at the back of the room, and Dana handed Captain Mitchell his earpiece.
"Mitchell here," he said.
"You need to see this sir," one of the scientists said.
"Bring it up on the monitor." He did, and we all watched as a view of the city appeared. Wispy demons zoomed through the sky, blasting buildings and terrorizing the people. I glanced over at the candidates, who were all staring with a mixture of horror and anger.
"The city needs you," Captain Mitchell said to the five civilians.
Carter rose. "I'm in, sir."
"Me too," Kelsey added, standing as well.
Chad followed their lead. "I want to help." All three looked to Joel.
"What do we do first?" Joel said at last.
Captain Mitchell stepped over the large silver case sitting on the table, and Dana and I followed. He unlatched it and swung it around to show the contents to the new team. There were seven silvery, oblong objects inside, all with the blue Lightspeed Rescue sigil on them.
"These are your Rescue Morphers," Father said. Kelsey was the first to step forward and take one, the others coming a second later. "They are worn on your wrist." Peeling apart the Velcro, the four civilians put on the morphers.
Dana glanced down at the case, and saw the two morphers still waiting there. "Six?"
"You are the fifth," he said to her.
"Me?" He held up a pink-labeled folder—revealing an orange one beneath it—and opened it to show Dana a photo of herself.
"For eighteen years I have been training you for this. It's yours, if you want it," he said. Dana nodded, and put the morpher on her wrist. She joined the others on the far side of the table. I looked down at the one remaining morpher, heart racing.
Dad looked me in the eye. "Jane, it's your choice." I bit my lip.
"But I-I don't know if I can be a Power Ranger. I'm just a kid."
"Jane, you saw what's happening out there," Dana said. "And I know you can do it." The other Rangers nodded, Kelsey the most emphatically. I looked at each of them and Dad in the eye, and took a deep breath.
"I'm in." I grabbed the sixth morpher. It was cool against my skin, and I stepped next to Dana, who gave my shoulder an encouraging squeeze. I grinned nervously at the rest of the team, who all smiled back.
"Okay, Rangers, time to get to work," Captain Mitchell said. The six left, Dana leading the way.
"These are your jackets. Grab one," Dana said, as we came around a corner to where the jackets hung in a row. I knew the drill. My jacket's arm patch was orange with a white number 6. Coming around another bend, we reached a wide yellow jeep, which I recognized as the Rescue Rover.
The others were impressed, running their hands along it as they all piled in. Carter and Dana sat in the front, him driving, Chad and I in the middle, and Joel and Kelsey in the back.
"All set," the technician working nearby said, giving us a thumbs-up, which Dana returned. The ramp underneath the Rescue Rover began to drop, revealing a tube that led all the way to the mainland.
The trip was thankfully short. We came out near the edge of the water, and drove in the opposite direction of the fleeing civilians. Soon, we reached the scene of the attack. Carter screeched around the corners and came to a stop. Joel got up to see better and all of us stared.
A red, fiery-looking monster stood there, laughing. Dozens of black-clad humanoid creatures, all making ear-piercing screeches, were attacking the screaming civilians. My hands became very cold as I watched. I recognized the monster immediately as Ghouligan, and the creatures were obviously Batlings, the demons' footsoldiers.
"Come on, let's go help those people," Carter said.
"Right," we all replied, climbing out of the Rescue Rover.
Joel grabbed a Batling, dragged him away from the civilians and punched him in the gut. At the stairs, Kelsey was getting kicked around by the Batlings, but yelled for the nearby people to run. Chad was doing the best, jumping between some Batlings and civilians and sending the civilians away. I finally reached the fight, seizing a Batling by the arm as it struck at a man and dragging it back.
Carter was driving the Rescue Rover straight at Ghouligan. The monster threw fireballs at him, and one sent the car skidding to the side. Before Carter could do anything, Ghouligan threw him out of the Rescue Rover and into a light pole. He wasn't the only one in trouble.
I saw Joel take a hit and double over, Kelsey thrown into a stair railing, Dana in the grip of several Batlings, and Chad struck in the face. Then a Batling foot slammed into my side, and I fell. The thing screeched, but I caught its ankle and flipped it onto its back.
"They're too strong for us," Carter said into his communicator, wincing in pain.
"Rangers, use your morphers," Captain Mitchell said. Everyone heard and nodded.
Standing up, the six of us strode towards Ghouligan, ignoring our new bruises.
"Hey, you, with the hot temper! If you want to destroy Mariner Bay, then you'll have to go through us first," Carter shouted at the monster. We formed a line in Ghouligan's path.
"Gladly!" Ghouligan replied, as the Batlings came to his side.
"Ready?" Carter said, raising his morpher. The others and I nodded, doing as he did.
"Lightspeed Rescue!" We crossed our wrists in front of us and grasped the morphers. They popped open, and time seemed to slow down.
I was suddenly in what looked like a dark tunnel. I threw my arms out, and a wide orange-and-white shield appeared in front of me. It passed over me, the colors covering my body and forming a Ranger suit. My silver face guard materialized, and then my diamond-shaped visor covered it. And it—felt—incredible.
We all somersaulted over the monster's head, each landing on one knee.
"What? Power Rangers?" Ghouligan cried.
"All right!" Carter said. We stood, whirled around and clenched our fists as one. The remaining civilians saw them and began to cheer.
"Wow, it works!" Chad exclaimed, looking at his blue-clad arm.
"It's incredible," Kelsey, the newest Yellow Ranger, cried.
"This is just what we needed. Let's get to work, guys." Carter, the Red Ranger (of course), said.
"Hi-ya!" Dana said, crossing her forearms and striking a fighting pose. I had always thought she looked good in pink. The others all followed suit—as I'd guessed, I was orange, and Joel was green.
"Batlings, get them!" Ghouligan yelled. With the new power pumping through my body, I didn't feel afraid of him anymore.
"Power Rangers, Rescue Ready!" All six of us shouted, saluting and dropping into fighting stances. We met the Batlings halfway, and began to mop the street with them. Of course, the Rescue Blasters now holstered at our hips helped. Red lasers took out Batling after Batling, with a shower of sparks following each hit. Dana discovered that the Blasters had a baton mode, and quickly crossed swords with the Batlings.
"Hey, over here!" Carter shouted to Ghouligan.
"You're toast!" The demon shouted, throwing another fireball at Carter, but the Red Ranger ducked. The Batlings were gone. Chad, Dana and I somersaulted to Carter's side, firing at Ghouligan at once. The demon fell into a heap of debris.
As Joel and Kelsey joined them, guns at the ready, the monster sat up with a moan. We Power Rangers raised our guns—Dana and Chad doing it lefty style—and Ghouligan regained his feet.
"Ready! Aim!" Carter shouted.
"You ain't got the guts!" Ghouligan taunted.
"Fire!" Carter shouted. The six Rangers shot at the demon, swinging around and twirling their guns as he exploded. The city was safe again. For now.
"Lightspeed, Power down!" We shouted, our morphs fading in a flash. Everyone staggered a little, tired from the fight.
The civilians, some of whom had gathered to watch the fight, mobbed us. Everyone was shouting and cheering. I grinned like an idiot, but luckily, I wasn't the only one.
Back at the Aquabase, the technicians and scientists were just as happy as the civilians. We moved incredibly slowly towards HQ, as various people came to shake our hands, clap or even just look at the newest team of Power Rangers. Only Joel was completely at ease, walking backwards and talking to his captive audience. Finally, though, we reached Rescue Ops, and the noise died down as Captain Mitchell stepped forward.
"Sure no problem, I'll show you the moves," Joel was saying. The sudden silence made him loud. Dana and I had already stopped, and he backed right into us. He turned and stood at attention with the rest of the team.
"There is the time to celebrate," Captain Mitchell said, "But this is not it. You see, now Diabolico knows that you exist. You think this fight was tough? Just wait."
Kelsey piped up. "Sir, we just destroyed Diabolico. Didn't we?"
"No, that was just one of his monsters," Captain Mitchell said, to everyone's dismay.
"It was Ghouligan," I said, and froze as I felt everyone's eyes on me. "I-I've been studying the demons," I said, and looked down at my feet, flushing.
"If you want to defeat him, then you've got a lot of work to do. We all do," Captain Mitchell said.
Dana and I snapped to attention and saluted. The technicians and military personnel followed, and after a second, so did Carter, Chad, Kelsey and Joel.
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