Chapter 37 – Survival Of The Fittest
Heartman Electronics
On the outskirts of Hunston Valley was a large retail complex and in the parking lots, there was a large crowd gathered around one store in particular. Today was the grand opening of Heartman Electronics, the latest in a chain of stores that specialised in the repair and resell of electronics goods. The Heartman brand had only been around since 2005 but it was rapidly growing in the state of California. The corporate blurb given out by the company put this down to the drive of the owner and CEO, Emily Heartman.
The new store was decorated in the brands corporate colours of red and gold and a large crowd had gathered outside to watch the grand opening of the store by the state governor. Unseen by the masses was a van belonging to Valley Repairs parked up a fair distance from the new store. At the wheel of the van, Chloe glared at the store whilst biting her nails, "If you want to go back, now would be a good time", Koda commented from the passenger seat.
"No I need to check out the competition", Chloe said to her brother, "if we've got any hope of surviving then we need to know what we're up against".
In the back of the van, Chase and Ivan were nudging each other out the way to get a good look at the store, "Such a waste of space", the gold ranger commented, "hey move your foot", he barked at Chase.
"We'd have more room if you didn't insist on bringing all of your landscaping gear with you". Chase moved forward as best as he could until he reach Chloe, "So what's the plan boss, little bit of competition sabotage?"
"I'm not sinking to her level", Chloe began, "I want to win this fight as fairly as possible". She turned her head towards the three men, "Thanks for coming to support me, I would've understood if you wanted to be with Riley instead".
The green ranger's Dad had been moved to Mariner Bay General for his heart operation. After his surgery the initial signs were good and Doctor Grayson was confident that he would make a full recovery. "He's got Tyler and the others with him", Koda began, "plus I need to support my family".
"And if this all goes belly up, we're out of a job", Ivan added.
Chloe took a deep breath and opened the van door, closely followed by her brother. Chase and Ivan bundled out the back of the van, landing in a heap on the tarmac. The quartet pulled on a jacket each to hide their allegiance to Valley Repairs and crossed the parking lot just in time to see Governor Kwan opening the store. The original yellow ranger smiled at them and gestured to stay put for a moment.
As the new customers piled in to the store, Trini approached the rangers, "Didn't expect to see you here today", she began, "I see on the news that the Dino Charge have a new aqua ranger". She looked at the light blue t-shirt on Chloe, "and if I ever see her, I'll personally thank her on behalf of people of California", she gave the aqua ranger a small smile.
Chloe gave the older woman a warm smile, "Your news is a little out of date, there's a grey ranger out there as well".
"Still no yellow?" Trini asked and the rangers shook their heads, "how disappointing", she sighed. "I'm a little surprised to see the employees of Valley Repairs here today".
"Well we haven't got any business thanks to this place", Chase began, "thought we'd see what all the fuss was about".
Trini nodded, "Well don't do anything I wouldn't do and don't embarrass your organisation". With a final smile, the governor retreated to her waiting limo, leaving the rangers to think about her cryptic words.
"Come on, I hear they're selling reconditioned iPad's cheaply today", Koda smiled and entered the store.
Chloe shook her head, "Et tu brother", she called out but she didn't get a response from the blue ranger.
The store appeared to stretch on for miles and its clean and bright appearance put the interior of Valley Repairs to shame. Numerous staff in red t-shirts wondered around, periodically asking people if they needed assistance. The rangers had to shoo the same persistent staff member away at least three times. After wondering around for about fifteen minutes, even Chloe was being won over by the quantities of stock and low prices. "I can't compete with this", she sighed, "maybe we should pack up now whilst we have the chance".
"Come on boss don't get too disheartened", Chase began, "it's the opening day, everyone's is bound to be intrigued by the new place".
"He's right, after a few days our loyal customers will come back", Ivan added.
"You do realise that the team are our loyal customer's right?" Chloe replied, "I've done more repair jobs for the rangers than anyone else this year". She took another look around and sighed, "I've seen enough, let's get out of here before the manager sees us".
"Bit too late for that", the gloating voice of Emily called out, "fancy my surprise when the entire workforce of Valley Repairs shows up in my store. It's not too late to apply for a job you know".
"You can stick your job up your...", Ivan began.
"That's enough Ivan", Chloe cut in front of the gold ranger, "why are you doing this, is this some twisted attempt to win Jason back?"
Emily scoffed, "It's just business, nothing more than that".
"Yeah right", Koda whispered before speaking a little louder, "Anyway we were just leaving so good luck with the new store".
"So soon, I've only just started gloating", Emily chuckled. As the rangers were leaving, a loud scream could be heard from the entrance of the store. The group were overwhelmed by a tide of people rushing to get away from front of the store. Several displays were trampled in the process and shelves collapsed under the waves of civilians tried to escape.
"Looks like we've got trouble", Chase said to the others but he soon noticed that people couldn't leave the store, "Emily, where's the emergency exits in this place".
The store owner didn't respond for a few moments, "There aren't any", she finally admitted.
"What do you mean there's no emergency exits", Koda shouted back, "how did this store pass its fire regulations inspection?"
"It didn't", she replied, "I paid someone at city hall to push the application through. There's a loading bay, everyone will have to go through there". Suddenly it slowly began to dawn on the other rangers how they were able to sell everything so cheaply. Without the need to cover maintenance costs and safety repairs, there was no need to charge high prices for her goods.
"Fantastic", the gold ranger replied, "I'll help the civilians escape and you guys deal with whatever's coming for us".
The other rangers nodded and looked down the central isle to see several Vivix approaching along with a monster. The creature had a green body with pink accents around his arms and legs. The accents were styled to look like loose pieces of paper. Looping around his shoulders and above his head was a long white scroll and he was armed with a bamboo sword.
Chase pushed his way through the onrushing crowd to reach a group of Vivix. He grabbed the nearest item off the shelf, a microwave, and threw it at the head of the footsoldier. The creature slumped to the ground, partly in shock at the audacity of the black ranger. Chase ducked under a kick from a Vivix and returned the favour by punch it in the stomach. Grabbing a loose piece of shelving, he smashed the metal object over the head of two more Vivix, eliminating them from the battle.
The blue ranger found some more Vivix near a display of small electronic items. One of the soldiers tried to grab him but the blue ranger countered but hip tossing them to the ground. He took hold of the second Vivix and threw it head first into a glass display cabinet. The final Vivix in his vicinity swung its sword towards Koda's head, cutting through his denim jacket, "This was my favourite jacket", Koda cried and kicked the blade out of its hand. Grabbed the creature by the neck, he placed its head in the door of a freezer and slammed the lid closed, knocking it out cold.
Chloe had been forced towards the rear of the store, making sure the last of the civilians were clear. Suddenly a Vivix jumped out of nowhere and grabbed hold of an older gentleman, "Oh no you don't", the aqua ranger called out and elbowed the creature in the head. She followed that up with a straight kick to the gut and a roundhouse kick to the head, knocking the creature into a display of washing machines.
"Thank you young lady", the man said.
"No problem, now follow the others through the stock room", she replied. Looking around and seeing no one else around, Chloe pulled out her Dinovolver and blasted a couple more footsoldiers into submission.
"I've gotten everyone out the back of the store", Ivan said to the aqua ranger.
"Everyone clear from the shop floor", Chase added as he and Koda caught up. They saw the monster causing destruction to the stores merchandise, "We probably should stop him smashing up the store", the black ranger sighed.
"Can I lead the morphing call?" Chloe asked, "I've always wanted to do it". The others nodded in agreement and the aqua ranger beamed with delight. "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", she called.
"Ptera Brace, Dino Charge"
The four rangers ran down towards the front of the store and confronted the monster, "Alright so what do we have this time", Koda called out.
"I am the Dream Stealer", the monster replied, "prepare to feel pain and misery like you've never felt before".
"Yeah yeah, that's what they all say", Chase said and began blasting the monster with his Dinovolver. The monster dodged most of the blasts and they slammed harmlessly into a display of toasters, "Damn I missed him", the black ranger called out in a less than caring voice.
"Chase put some effort in at least", Chloe admonished her employee but secretly she was pleased with the loyalty he was showing to her business. With a Dino Blade in hand she sliced in the monsters chest, drawing a cry of pain from the beast. The Dream Stealer response by a flurry of kicks aimed at the aqua ranger. Chloe blocked most of them by the final kick hit her in the stomach. She was catapulted into a pile of empty boxes in the middle of the store.
Koda jumped in to protect his sister with his Stego Shield and with Ivan to back him up, they began to push him towards the front of the store, "Let's get him into the open, we'll have a better chance of beating him", the gold ranger called out.
"I'll be there shortly", Chloe replied as she slowly got to her feet. She went to retrieve her fallen Dino Blade but it was pinned down by a black high heeled shoe, "What are you still doing here?" the aqua ranger asked Emily.
"Mostly intrigued to see who the new rangers were", she replied, "I met a few of the previous teams through Jason but I would've guessed his new girlfriend would be a ranger".
Chloe sighed and removed her helmet, "I really suck at this secret identity thing", she shook her black hair free and it tumbled down her back. "So what now, are you going to blackmail us into closing the business?"
Emily shrugged, "Haven't decided yet", she paused and let out an audible sigh, "clearly I was never enough for him I mean now he's got a ranger girlfriend and two perfect children. How can I compete with that?"
"If you knew Jason at all then you would know that he wouldn't want either of us competing for him", Chloe replied.
"I think I know what Jason wants, I was married to him", Emily spat.
"And for how many of those years were you happy?" the aqua ranger asked. There was no response from Emily, "Look do what you want with the information about me", she paused and leaned in a little closer, "I'm sure the authorities would love to know how you opened a store without any emergency exits". Emily paled at the threat, "So here's the deal, I keep my mouth shut and you leave us alone".
After a few moments Emily nodded slowly, "Alright", she whispered.
"Good now if you'll excuse me, I've got a city to save". Chloe gathered up her hair and replaced her helmet. "And maybe you should rethink your business practices as well because we'll be watching", she added. Grabbing her weapon off the floor she ran out of the store, leaving Emily alone in the crumbling remains of her store.
Dino Mansion
Chloe had caught up with the other rangers and they were eventually joined by Tyler, Shelby and Riley. With the combined efforts of the seven rangers the Dream Stealer was defeated. The battle even gave Chloe the chance to ride in the Megazord, something she was extremely excited about. A few hours later, she was tucking Kristy in for the night in one of the spare beds in the Dino Mansion, "Mommy can I be a Power Ranger when I grow up?" the young girl asked.
"Not until you're much older", Chloe laughed, "now sweet dreams", she gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead and closed the door. Making her way downstairs to the front room, she saw Jason staring blankly at his cell, "We haven't developed telepathic cell phones yet".
"I just had a weird call from Emily", he began, "she said that you could have me and she was leaving town", he eyed the aqua ranger suspiciously, "you wouldn't know anything about that would you?"
She shrugged, "Maybe she's finally seen the light", he moved close to the original red ranger and gave him a kiss. Chloe was slightly surprised that Emily had given up so easily. The aqua ranger probably wouldn't have followed through with her threats. She wasn't a big fan of extortion, she just wanted the blonde out of her life.
"Eww old people making out", Tyler called out as he walked into the front room with the other rangers.
"Just wait till you're in your thirties rookie", Jason hissed, "what do you lot want?"
"Well we've noticed that Chloe and Koda have been spending a lot of time here recently", Shelby began.
"And we do have a few rooms spare", Chase added.
"So I think they should move in", Kiera smiled.
"I've said yes", Koda said, mostly to his sister.
"Good, it's time you moved out of my shop", she smiled at Koda. She then turned to Jason, "What do you think?"
"It's fine with me, there is one condition though, you're sharing a room with me", he smiled. Chloe smiled as well and gave him another kiss.
"Awesome so that's means Kristy gets her own room, me and Shelby will continue to share and so will Tyler and Ivan", Kiera began. "Koda and Chase get their own rooms but if we can convince Riley to move in as well then he'll have to share with one of them".
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves", Jason reminded his daughter, "but it would be nice to get the whole team under one roof". Everyone agreed, it felt like the entire team was finally coming together and for Jason and Chloe, one more obstacle to their happiness had been removed.
A/N - Well that's Emily gone and I have to confess that was a fun little battle to write.