Chapter Three; Reactions.

The six walked, laughing and chatting, into Storm Chargers; it was just over a week after the big battle and they had decided that as Blake and Hunter were leaving after the weekend that they were going to spend as much time as possible together, their last days as a team. Shane and Dustin had dragged Cam out of the ruined Ops to go with them. They had no real plans of what to do, just ordinary hanging out. So they entered Storm Chargers through the back door, to try and find Kelly in the stockroom to beg her to let Dustin have the day off. As they stood in the doorway Dustin came back from his search around the back rooms.

"No sign of her here; maybe she's at the till. Gimme a sec; I'll go check it out."

Pushing the door open, he spotted her at once. She was at the till, and the store was strangely crowded, although not many people appeared to be buying anything.

"Hey Kel!" He greeted her cheerily. "What's up?"

"Dustin?" She spun around fast. "Why are you here?"

"Uh, dude, I work here?" He looked at her for a second. "Are you okay Kel?"

"I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting you to show today." She lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"Oh. Why not?"

She sent him a long appraising look. "God, you really don't know do you?"

"Know what?" The look he sent her was of genuine bewilderment. Seeing that look made up her mind for her.

"look, go back into the store room. I take it the others are with you?"

"Yeah, but…"

"I'll be there in a second. Now go!" She raised her hands as if to push him, to start him moving, but seemed to think better of it in a moment, changing it into a point. "Go!"

Confused, he did as he was told, returning to the stock room.

"What's up man?" Hunter asked. "What did she say?"

"I'm not sure dude. She took one look at me and jumped a mile. She just told me to come in here, with you lot, and then she'd be right in."

"That's strange." Tori said, "Maybe she wants to talk to you about sponsorship?"

"Nah. I don't think so. Something's up. I can tell."

The six stood in silence for a few seconds until Kelly moved through the door, shutting it firmly behind her.

"What are you lot doing here?" She hissed.

"Ummm… it is where we usually hang out." Shane offered.

"I know that. So why are you here?"

Cam frowned at her. "I don't understand. Do you have a problem with us being here?"

"I don't know. God knows I've never had so many people in the store before, even if they aren't buying. It's you guys I'm worried about. I mean I always thought there was something going on, but I never suspected this."

"Suspected what?" Blake asked cautiously, she wasn't making much sense.

"You guys really have no idea do you?"

"No idea about what?" Shane asked, slightly impatiently.

She sighed, "It isn't good. Follow me." She led them into a smaller backroom, with a television and a couple of soft chairs. Slowly they sank into the chairs, Blake and Tori sharing one, and looked at her expectantly. "When was the last time you watched the news?" She asked, picking up a video tape.

Exchanging looks they all shrugged,

"A week ago maybe." Cam suggested; he hadn't been able to monitor the news as he usually did, due to the mainframe being down in ops.

"You won't have seen this then." She gestured to the tape as she slotted into the player. "I've been recording the news for months but nothing shocked me quite the way this did."

All of them leant forwards in their seats when the tape began to play. The news desk introduced the anchor woman, who was standing in front of an Action Games banner.

"Thank you Leslie. Today we have an exclusive to bring to you from the US Action Games. As many of you know, the games were halted for a couple of hours during the first day due to monster attacks. But the Power Rangers came to our rescue once again and defeated the alien who has been terrorising our city and local area for a long time. The Power Rangers have done so much for us; Blue Bay News feels that we should honour them properly."

The picture behind her changed to show a skateboarding ramp that they all recognised.

"For the first time ever, we are proud to show you footage of their last battle, from one of the security cameras on site."

"Oh god." Tori whispered, and reached out to claim Blake's hand once more.

They watched themselves fight Lothor, battling him with everything they had. They knew what was going to come next, but it was still a shock and they all gasped as Cam, unmorphed, came into frame and was hit by the power of his own amulet. Blake and Hunter, then the three Wind Ninjas fell, all exposing their faces.

Kelly looked on at their shocked faces as they watched their faces being exposed to the world. She saw Tori reach out to Blake for reassurance, and he took her hand gratefully, drawing strength from her, as well as giving her reassurance. Cam winced, sitting back in his chair, Dustin and Shane were watching the set with wide eyes, uncomprehending. Hunter's expression was dark, he realised most of all what this would mean for them.

Then Lothor fell into the abyss and the news woman came back on to the screen, a shot of them standing, faces clear in front of the abyss.

"Since we received this tape, Blue Bay News has been searching for these individuals. We can now reveal the true identities of the brave Rangers." Cam's face came up on screen first. "The eldest of the rangers, and the last to join them in their quest against evil was the Green Samurai ranger, Cameron Wantanabe." Hunter was next. "The Crimson Ranger is Hunter Bradley." Blake's face appeared third. "The Navy Thunder Ranger, is Blake Bradley, Hunter's adopted brother. He has recently been signed to Factory Blue as a motocross racer. Tori Hanson, is the only girl on the team, is the Blue Ranger. Waldo 'Dustin' Brooks, the Yellow Ranger, recently medalled at the Action Games. And finally, the leader of the Ninja Storm Ranger team, Shane Clarke.

"None of these people are older than their twenties, most are still in their teens. Never before have we been able to see the faces behind the masks of our superheroes. And now we have, and we see that they could be the next person we pass in the street, and to us at Blue Bay News that makes them even more special. So thank you Power Rangers, for saving us all so many times."

The Anchorwoman faded out, and the six watched a montage of clips from several of their more public battles, ending with a shot of all of them standing together in a defiant line.

"Oh damn." Shane said, "This is not good."

"No." Kelly agreed. "Now do you see why I was so shocked that you came in today? Everyone out there has heard that three of you work here and the rest of you hang out here often and have come to see you."

"You seem to be taking this very well." Cam said, still trying to get over the shock of seeing his face, and the faces of his friends splashed across the television screen.

"I've had some time to get over the shock. That was this morning's news. I've got to say I was so surprised that three of the Ranger work for me, but then a lot of things did fall into place. How you always used to run out on me, and then return after a while, bruised and aching. How you, Dustin, never heard the thieves break in that time, when the Yellow Ranger showed. And that time we found you on the hill, after the alien attack; you had been in the attack hadn't you? Fighting them?"

They nodded mutely before Cam spoke up.

"We need to talk to my father. Maybe he'll know what we should do."

As one they stood up, and Kelly noticed to her amusement that Tori and Blake were standing close and were still holding hands.

"You can use the back entrance. And…" They paused before the door. "Thank you."

They left silently, each trying to process the fact that their lives would, and could, never be the same again. Being anonymous heroes had given them more security than they had ever realised. Although they had thought that it would be nice to be recognised for what they did, the sinking sensation each one of them had felt in their stomachs when their identities had been revealed told them everything they needed to know.

"Let's streak." Shane ordered. "We need to see Sensei fast."

They nodded and six flashing figures bounced off the buildings on the way to the academy.

Things were going to change. That was for certain. And not necessarily for the better.

And so they discover that their secret is out... I hope you liked that chapter, and thank you so much to everyone who has given me feedback- I really do enjoy getting your reviews!

Merry Christmas to all, and I wish you a very happy new year!

Jade.