Power Rangers: Public Enemies
Chapter 9: Gathering the Hunters
Taylor was sitting in her and Eric's apartment in Silver Hills, sipping a cup of coffee. It was 3:12 AM; the kitchen was lit by the sole lightbulb on the ceiling. The fridge was half empty, with a few vegetables, some cheese, and many water bottles. There is not much food in the cupboards, mostly a few tins, some bread. The cutlery and the dishes were all clean, though.
Eric entered the kitchen, yawning. He sat across Taylor, who flashed him a smile.
"You slept at least two hours," Taylor said. "That's when I woke up."
"You were asleep by 10, and I went to bed by 11," Eric said, smiling. "So that means you slept three, maybe four hours."
"We're getting better," Taylor said, smiling. "We're almost OK."
"Almost," Eric replied, smiling half heartedly. "I haven't had a good night's sleep in years. Not since the Crisis started."
"Neither have I," Taylor's smile was disappearing. "But hey, at least we're sleeping every night now."
"At our rate, I think we'll both have a good night's sleep in five months," Eric replied with a half hearted chuckle. He scratched his head, causing Taylor to get tense. "Relax, babe. It's not falling out anymore."
"I know," Taylor sighed. "It took me a whole year for mine to grow back."
"Yeah," Eric said. A knock on the door. "At this hour?"
"Don't answer," Taylor said. "No one should be knocking at this hour."
"Miss Earhardt," the voice of Wade Miles came from outside the door to Eric and Taylor's apartment. "Your country needs you."
"General?" Taylor spoke out. "Please, wait a minute!"
Taylor rushed to the bedroom she and Eric shared, grabbed some pants, put them on, then rushed back to the door. She opened the door, saluting. "How may I serve my homeland?"
"Yesterday we've received reports of three instances of Power Rangers refusing to cooperate with the authorities," said General Miles. "Some even used force on our boys."
"That's terrible!" Eric said, rushing to be by Taylor's side. "How'd this happen?"
"According to an official report," Miles hesitated for a fraction of a second. "One of the Rangers morphed unprovoked, causing a panic. A soldier tried shooting the Ranger, but the bullet got reflected and hit him in the eye, permanently damaging it."
"So awful," Taylor sighed, then straightened herself. "General, you can count on me to hunt them down."
"Good," Wade Miles saluted Taylor. "I expect you to take a team of three Rangers with you. Minimum."
"I'll ask the rest of my team," said Taylor. "I'm sure they'll help me out."
"If they won't," Wade Miles said. "I've prepared a meeting with the Lightspeed and Overdrive teams. Sergeant, we expect great results from you, the very first Ranger to do her patriotic duty in registering."
"My country can always count on me," said Taylor, saluting. With that, Wade Miles left.
"Taylor," Eric spoke up. "Please, be careful."
"I will, sweetie," said Taylor, kissing him. Her hands, however, were shaking.
"I wish I could help," said Eric. "But my morpher..."
"I know, babe," said Taylor. Eric's morpher had ceased to work a year before. The cause, unknown.
That afternoon...
Taylor sighed to herself as she met with the rest of the Wild Force. The Wild Force, sans Merrick, were meeting at Taylor's apartment.
"I'm sorry, Taylor," Max said, shaking. "I mean, after the government made me give up who the Ninja Storm Rangers were, I'm..."
"It's OK, Max," Taylor said. "I don't blame you."
"I can't do it, Taylor," said Danny. "Kendall's sick, you know? I need to be beside her if...when she goes..."
"I get it," Taylor's voice cracked a bit.
"I don't have anyone to take care of the kids," said Alyssa. "I'm sorry."
"It's OK," said Taylor, half smiling.
"Taylor, look," Cole said, getting up from his seat. "I want to help you, I really do. But..."
"No, Cole," said Taylor. "No excuses, please. I know what I'm asking, and I know NONE of you are comfortable with it. I'm not entirely comfortable with it. I won't force any of you to help me. This is something that I'm choosing to do as a soldier of the United States of America, not as a Power Ranger."
"I'm sorry," said Cole as he and the other Wild Force Rangers left the apartment.
Taylor sighed to herself. She plopped down on her sofa, looking at the clock on the wall. It was 2 PM; she had been up for 11 hours. Her cellphone began to ring.
"Sergeant," the voice of Wade Miles was at the other end of the line. "We got you two more Rangers. Report at the Reefside Federal Office in five hours. Dismissed."
That night...
Reefside Federal Office, at 7:15 PM. Taylor drove up to the office, a few minutes late. Her hair is combed and tied up in a bun; she wore an Air Force blazer. She marched towards the front desk, where her eyes widened at her two new teammates: Chad Lee and Mack Hartford.
"Taylor," Chad nodded. "I'll be volunteering for this mission."
"Me too," said Mack.
"Why?" Taylor asked, crossing her arms. "Chad, I'll be honest. I expected Carter."
"He and Dana had a situation," Chad said, lowering his gaze to the floor. "It's..."
"Oh," Taylor's gaze softened. "Not another one..."
"Third time," Chad said, his voice cracking a bit. "They really thought this time she'd carry a baby to full term."
"Wow, I'm so sorry," Mack said, his eyes getting moist.
"Why are you here?" Taylor asked Mack.
"Way I figured," Mack explained. "If an Overdrive Ranger helped bring down the bad Power Rangers who've been hurting the soldiers, people would like us again and..."
"And your teammate's lives would go back to normal?" Asked Chad. "Mack, that's a long shot!"
"But it's still a shot!" Said Mack. "Do you even know what it's like? I've got them all living with me, and I haven't so much as seen ANY of them smile this whole year! Their lives are ruined!"
"I get it," Taylor said. "Mack, your loyalty to your team is commendable. I'm not entirely convinced your plan will work, though, but I completely understand and accept your intentions. Chad, what about you? Why are YOU volunteering?"
"Nobody else could," Chad said, his eyes saddened. "Ryan and Joel are still in the hospital, and Kelsey and Nancy are out of the country trying to start a family. I'm the only one capable of helping."
"Do you want to?" Taylor asked.
"Well..." Chad breathed in. "It doesn't matter, because this mission is more important than how I feel about it. Taylor, lead the way. We'll follow."
"I guess it's time to go," Mack said, grabbing his morpher.
"You two go on ahead," said Taylor. "I'll meet you outside. I want the two of you mentally prepared; we might actually have to get physical with these rogue Rangers."
"We understand," said Chad as he and Mack stepped outside. Taylor sighed, running her hand through her hair. She looked at her hand, noticing many strands of loose hair.
"Maybe bald would be a good look for me," she said, tears threatening to form in her eyes.