Power Rangers: Public Enemies

Chapter 10: Comrades

The six Mu Rangers were sitting in an abandoned motel's parking lot, after searching for a room that still had at least a bed to sleep in. The motel was only recently abandoned; not yet marked for demolition, it was most likely dropped by an owner deep in debt. The parking lot was completely empty; not a car to be found.

"None of these rooms have beds," said Kenneth, sighing. "Guess it's the floor tonight."

"I'm sorry, guys," said Blaise as he rested his head on Wind's shoulder. "If not for me, we'd be home right now."

"Or prison, the way those soldiers were acting," said Jason. "They really, really wanted to take us in."

"One would have even killed me!" Bella exclaimed, causing Arthur and Kenneth to visibly wince. "Relax, guys! I'm fine!"

"If we had a car, we could reach my aunt's place in three hours," said Blaise. "But..."

"We can't use our Zords, we'd attract too much attention," said Bella, deep in thought. Then she snapped her fingers. "Wait a minute! Blaise, your aunt's a psychic, too! Can't you communicate with her telepathically?"

Blaise's eyes widened, his smile broadening to the point it went ear to ear. "Why didn't I think of that before? Hold on-"

"No need, Blaise," said Bella, pointing to a car approaching the motel. "Ain't that her?"

"Auntie D!" Blaise said as he waved at the car. It was a pink Oldsmobile, 1977. A woman stepped out of the car; she was in her mid 50's and she had silver hair that reached to her shoulders. She had some crow's feet and a few wrinkles around her lips, but she otherwise could easily pass for someone younger.

"I hope I'm not late, Blaise," said the woman, smiling at her nephew. She then turned to the others and said- "Hello kids, I'm Diane Martin. A pleasure to finally meet the Mu Rangers."

She turned to Jason, smiling. "And it is also a pleasure to meet the Mighy Morphing Red Ranger."

"Well, I'm one of them," said Jason, smiling sheepishly. "Anyway, Blaise told me you could help us?"

"I'm afraid my help is rather limited," Diane said, sadness in her voice. "But I can take you home, offer you food and shelter."

"That's more than we could ever ask of you," said Jason.

"Thank you, Miss Martin," said Bella, shaking Diane's hand. Then the two hugged,

"You two know each other?" Asked Jason.

"Sure do! She's one of the reasons I ever wanted to become a Power Ranger!" Said Bella.

"I used to babysit this beautiful girl," said Diane, kissing Bella on her forehead. "Oh, the memories."

Meanwhile...

"There are three Ranger teams we need to find," said Taylor as she, Mack, and Chad were being flown to Clear Waves. "The Mystic Force, the Jungle Fury, and the Mu Rangers."

"I thought the first two had already registered," said Chad.

"No, there are still some holdouts," said Taylor, taking out a folder. "We've got Vida who's MIA, Casey's openly defied the US Army AND he's made it clear he's willing to fight us, it's a huge mess."

"And the Mu Rangers?" Asked Chad.

"Fully missing," said Taylor. "They've been gone for two days now and no one can find them. Worst part is no one knows who they are."

"Leave it to me," said Mack. He took out his cellphone, calling Rose. "Babe? What can you tell me about the Mu Rangers?"

Mack and Rose spoke on the phone for twenty minutes, with Taylor listening intently. Mack hung up the phone, a smile on his face.

"Leave it to my girl to put US Intelligence to shame," Mack said, rather smugly. "Major scoop, guys."

"Well, go on!" Taylor said, standing up from her seat. Chad looks at Mack, stunned.

"You guys might not know this, but it turns out Jason Lee Scott moved to Clear Waves," Mack said, a smile on his face. "The same town the Mu Rangers were active in."

"You have my attention," said Chad.

"His move to Clear Waves coincides with the appearance of the Mu Rangers," said Mack. "He somehow snagged a job as a teacher at the local high school."

"Sounds familiar," smiled Taylor. "Dino Thunder, anyone?"

"It gets better," Mack continued. "Rose managed, in 20 minutes, to determine the identity of one of the Mu Rangers."

Mack gave his phone to Taylor, showing her pictures on Facebook. In one, Bella and Jason are standing next to each other, smiling, as she holds a trophy. "See this girl? She appears in four other photographs with Jason. Keep an eye on the color she's wearing."

"Red," Taylor observed. "She's wearing red in all these pictures. And Jason himself is wearing green."

"Check out these pictures of her, without Jason," Mack said, pointing out to other pictures of Bella. "Red, red, and red again."

"I see," said Chad. "No way this is a coincidence. We Power Rangers do tend to dress up in our Ranger colors a lot."

"Her name is Isabella Black," said Mack. "Aged 18, she lives in 15 Harmony Road, Clear Waves, Delaware. We have a name, a face, and an address."

"I don't feel comfortable with this," said Chad. "She was a minor during her tenure as a Ranger."

"Not a minor anymore," said Taylor. "We're going to investigate her house."

"OK," said Mack, preparing himself.

"Hey Mack," said Taylor, smiling. "Pretty smart gal you've got. I hear you put a ring on it?"

"Yup," said Mack, nodding his head. "We're tying the knot pretty soon."

"Good on you," said Taylor. "Marriage ain't my thing; Eric and me, we're happy as we are. But Mack, I'll certainly write Rose's contribution to this mission on my report. Don't be surprised if she gets a job offer from the government."

"That would be great," Mack said with a smile. "Life's been hard for her lately, you know?"

"It's going to get better very soon," Taylor said, smiling.

"My girlfriend's a mermaid," Chad said. An awkward silence fell between the Rangers. "I wanted to add to the conversation..."

At 1 PM the three Rangers managed to find Bella's house. They enter, showing Bella's father the search warrant that allowed the Rangers to search the house. As they entered, the phone rang.

"Let the answering machine take it," said Taylor.

"Hi, this is the Blacks," said the voice of Bella's birth father. "Leave a message!"

"Hey pop, it's Bella, just letting you know I'm OK. I'm not dead or anything," Bella spoke to the answering machine. "I'm over at Diane's house. You remember Diane Martin, my old babysitter? I'm staying with her for a while."

"What the hell's going on?" Asked Bella's father, tears in his eyes.

"I know you're worried about me, pop. I know you've read the news. It's true what happened, all of it," Bella continued. "But I'm OK, my friends are OK, and we're going to be safe here, OK? I love you, pop."

And so Bella hung up. Taylor turned to Bella's father, her eyes as cold as steel. "She mentioned a woman named Diane Martin. What's her address?"