Power Rangers: Public Enemies
Chapter 3: Those who keep their heads bowed down.
"What registry?"-Theo asked, gulping. His eyes dart around, looking at all the heavily armed soldiers at his doorstep.
"You know what registry we mean, Ranger,"- said the soldier. "You've failed to register. Now come with us."
"Ranger?"- asked Lilly, rushing to Theo's side. "Sir, we're not-"
'Don't even think about playing dumb, Lilly Chilman,"- the soldier sneered. "We know you're the Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger. Now, we can either do this the easy way..."
The soldiers prepare their weapons, aiming them at the pair of former Power Rangers. Theo and Lilly take a step back, raising their hands. The soldier gives them a satisfied smirk. "Or, we can do this the hard way. Ball's on your field."
Theo moved his hand but a few centimeters to reach for his morpher. However, that was when he noticed that each and every one of the soldiers present already had their fingers on their weapon's triggers. He knew; one wrong move, and these soldiers would instantly kill him and Lilly.
"Sergeant, I feel as though this is a use of excessive force,"- said Theo. "Coming over to a private residence, dozens of soldiers armed to the teeth, why? What did you expect would happen here?"
"Are you coming, or do we need to roughen you up?"- The soldier asked threateningly.
"We'll go willingly,"- Lilly said, glaring at the soldier. "So put those guns down."
"No,"- the soldier said, grabbing Theo and Lilly. "Now keep quiet, my boys still have a clear shot."
The soldier dragged the two Rangers to a windowless van. Some of Lilly and Theo's neighbors went outside to watch the whole thing. Several soldiers went to the houses where people were clearly recording what was happening and confiscated any and every recorder they could find. Some of the neighbors went back inside their apartments, closing the doors, pretending they saw nothing...
The next day...
"In the three days since the Ranger Act has been signed into law, we know of only 3 teams who have fully registered,"- Cassidy Cornell reported for National News Network. "They are: Lightspeed Rescue, Wild Force, and Operation Overdrive."
Nick Russell watches the news from his own apartment in Silver Hills.
"Yesterday, three members of the Jungle Fury team had also registered,"- Cassidy continued. "Lilly Chilman, Theo Martin, and Robert James. Currently, that leaves only five Rangers left unregistered for this team."
Nick Russell gets up from his bean bag chair and heads towards the kitchen for a glass of water. He continues listening intently to the news report.
"The identities of the other five remains a closely guarded state secret, but it is known that the Overdrive Rangers have cooperated with the authorities to identify the missing Rangers,"- Cassidy continued.
At that moment, Nick dropped his glass, his jaw agape. His heart beat accelerated, his brow began to sweat heavily.
"The government has yet to issue a statement regarding their documented use of power to force Robert James to register,"- Cassidy Cornell continued. For a brief second, her face contorts in a rage, but she quickly composes herself. "This ten second video shows footage of said Ranger being forced to cooperate with authorities at gun point."
At that moment the signal gets lost. Nick stands in disbelief at what he just heard; the Overdrives sold out the Jungle Fury.
"Cowards,"- Nick finally utters. "Sellouts."
Meanwhile...
Max Cooper opened his door, where he found a few armed soldiers waiting for him outside his rented home.
"Hey, I already registered, OK?"- said Max, panicking.
"Please relax, Mr Cooper,"- said the lead soldier. "We're not going to hurt you, we just want your cooperation."
"No way, I already registered!"- Max was about to slam the door when the soldier pushed him back inside his house. As Max struggles to get back up, he finds himself surrounded by soldiers.
"So, what I'm hearing is that you won't cooperate?"- asked the soldier. "Sir, are you aware that obstruction of justice is a criminal offense?"
"You're not cops,"- Max responded, rather meekly.
"For all intents and purposes, we're cops on steroids,"- replied the soldier. "I shouldn't be here, I should be out there, fighting against everything that threatens America. Drug cartels in Mexico, jihadists in the Middle East. But here I am, having to point a gun at a fellow citizen, just because he doesn't want to keep America safe."
"From what?"- Max asks incredulously.
"From YOU!"- The soldier roars out. "Look at you lot! You have access to weapons far beyond anything any nation on Earth can produce! You keep your identities secret from us, from everyone! And how did you use that power when we needed you most? You turned it against the people!"
Max is at a loss for words, his hands shaking, tears welling in his eyes. He finally speaks up- "That wasn't all of us."
"It was enough of you,"- the soldier's eyes are soaked with tears. "I was there, you know. I was there when the Mighty Morphing Blue Ranger killed that man!"
Max is speechless. He knew what the soldier was referring to.
"I will never forget that day,"- the soldier continued. "But I'm not here to reminisce, I'm here to get information. And I'll either get it from you or from ANY of your teammates. So tell me, right NOW, where we can find the Ninja Storm team."
"No...please,"- Max says between sobs. "Let me call them. I know some of them personally. I'll convince them to register."
"Why should we believe you?"- Asked the soldier.
"I registered voluntarily,"- said Max. "I've got no reason to lie to you. So please, let me talk to them in private. I can convince them."
"OK,"- the soldier finally said, giving the signal to her team to leave. "You have two days to get them to register."
"They'll register by tomorrow,"- said Max without thinking. "If not, I'll tell you where they live."
"Thank you,"- the soldier replied, leaving.
Max took out his phone, dialing Tori's number as quickly as he could. His heart was pounding...
The very next day, true to his word, the six Ninja Storm Rangers had gone to register willingly. They stepped out from Reefside's Federal Bureau, set up after the one in Angel Grove was destroyed.
"I don't know what's worse,"- said Tori. "That the Jungle Furies got threatened with violence to register, or that they forced Max to tell them who we were."
"I only registered for him,"- said Blake. "He didn't deserve to have soldiers come up to his house..."
Cameron remains stoically silent. He merely takes a deep breath. He finally utters under his breath- "After everything we did for the world..."
The Ninja Storm team pass by Tommy and Kat, who were on their way to register.
"We can't risk it,"- Tommy said to Kat, who had a glum look to her. "After the Overdrives sold out the Jungle Fury, we can't risk our identities being sold out to the government. It's best that we register willingly, so we don't risk getting ourselves arrested."