Power Rangers: Public Enemies
Chapter 0: The start of it all
How it all started is up for debate. Some say it started in 2009, when a villain named Mesogog Z had gathered the Crystal of Gaia and opened the portal to the Abyss of Evil, releasing all the villains the Power Rangers had defeated until that point. Others say it started as early as 1993, when the very first team of Rangers appeared for the first time. But what can be said for certain is that by 2012 it was in full swing.
That was the year the Power Rangers had finally managed to defeat the demon king known as Baal. A vampire named Maximov had managed to resurrect him, and it took the combined effort of every single Ranger team that existed up until that time to defeat him. The year was 2010. That was the year Baal had managed to destroy Angel Grove.
The damage done to the city was estimated at about 50 billion dollars. Many, many people lost their jobs. Unemployment shot up to a whopping 55% of the population. Tent cities became common sights across America. People starved. People rioted.
The politicians tried all they could to salvage the damage done by Maximov and his demons. However, the Democrats lost favor with the public, as they were the ones in power during this crisis. The Republicans were no better off, either. People saw them as opportunistic leeches who fed on the blame and failure of the Democrats. All hope seemed lost. And then, George Sears came into play.
George Sears was a business man who came from Angel Grove. Many who knew him thought he'd lost it all when his home town was destroyed. However, he surprised his friends and family with his gumption, and in 6 months he restored his wealth. He decided to run for President in the elections of 2012. He at first began with a 2% voter's confidence. Then he made his "Briarwood speech", where he laid out in full detail his plan for restoring America. His popularity shot up to 15% thanks to that speech. In Detroit, he gave several speeches establishing his plan for strengthening America, giving him a 33% voter's confidence. The week before elections, he had a 51% Voter's confidence. His victory was a sure thing.
On November 8th of 2012, George Sears became the first Independent Candidate to be voted into the Presidency. Within a year, thanks to his policies, unemployment dropped back to 19%.
His Presidency would spell disaster for the Power Rangers…
"My fellow Americans,"-George Sears gives his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial- "You knew them as heroes. You knew them as saviors. You know them as the Power Rangers."
"Since 1993, the Power Rangers have saved the World from outside forces. Until 2 years ago, I would not have hesitated to call them heroes."
George Sears licked his lips as the cameras rolled. There was a slight nerve to how he reads his speech, hand written by him.
"Some of you may question where I am going with this,"-George Sears cleared his throat- "While it is true that the Powers Rangers constantly save the world, they do so with little regard to the property damage they cause."
"Take, for the greatest example we are capable of providing, the destruction of Angel Grove,"-George Sears continued- "We couldn't evacuate the city in time, but the Rangers never once tried to lure the demon king out of the city. For this, millions of us paid the price; some with our livelihoods, and some with their lives."
George Sears took out a large folder from his coat and opened it.
"Can we tolerate this? Are heroes excused from being reckless?"-George Sears continued- "In this folder, I have the damage estimates caused by Ranger activity, starting in 1993. The total damage is estimated to be at 7 trillion American dollars. With that money, America could have built schools, hospitals and roads! We could have fixed so much of our crumbling infrastructure! Instead, we waste that money fixing the damage caused by so called heroes!"
George Sears wiped the sweat off his brow, his hands trembling.
"In my mind, and this is the same for many of you I'm sure, I replay the same scenes over and over again,"- Sears sopke. "I see children dying of malnutrition. I see riots erupting, people dying of curable diseases, all in America! The greatest country on Earth! And all because we spent all our money fixing the mistakes done by spandex wearing...freaks!"
George Sears wiped some tears out of his eyes; it was evident he went a bit off script with that last outburst.
"Congress has issued a new bill, the Ranger Act,"-Sears explained- "It demands that all former and current Power Rangers turn in their 'Morphers' and register with the government. Any and all who resist shall be arrested and detained, charged with treason."
George Sears takes a pause in an attempt to calm his nerves.
"America deserves a better brand of hero. We need heroes that serve openly instead of hiding behind masks and visors. Heroes that answer to the people, not to themselves. That can stop the bad guys without dooming the rest of us to living in misery! My fellow Americans, God Bless America!" And thus ended Sear's speech.
I personally remember thinking of the Power Rangers as heroes. I looked up to them, admired them. I had always favored the original Mighty Morphing Rangers as the best of the best. I remember where I was in 1998, during the Countdown to Destruction. So, for me to hear that the Rangers were responsible for how miserable my life was in 2010... I find it hard to believe I accepted that idea so readily.
Then again, many people supported George Sears' idea. The Power Rangers dropped in popularity on that day. A poll that was conducted on the following day revealed that 35% of the nation directly blamed the Power Rangers for the crisis. 25% believed that the Rangers were blame free. Everyone else was unsure. A new Anti-Ranger sentiment was born.
I don't know how it began. No one is absolutely sure when it began, or how. All I know is, by 2012, it was in full swing.
The Power Rangers stopped being heroes. They were now enemies of the public…