Chapter Two:
Kenny Austin
The wind blew in cold from the nearby lake in the early hours of the morning. Kenny Austin stood on a rooftop overlooking the city of Turtle Cove, the buildings of EAGLE's academy located there spreading out around him. He shivered for a second, goosebumps standing out against his dark skin as he rubbed his arms and turned back to his task.
Cages full of pigeons lined the roof, kept by EAGLE whenever they needed to rely on old-timey methods of communication to pass messages. It was Kenny's job to take care of them in the mornings. He worked his way down the line, refilling their food supplies and making sure they were all in good health. Somewhere in the middle, he stopped, noticing one of the pigeons seemed a little unsteady on her feet.
He unlocked the cage and reached inside, gently grabbing hold of the bird and pulling her out. Just like he thought, she had managed to break her leg somehow. He pulled out his first aid kit and started binding the leg up, using the skills he had learned from watching his mom work as a vet all of his life. The bird struggled in his hand, but he gently stroked her feathers and talked to her calmly, soothing her as he finished.
"There you go," he said, putting the finishing touches on her splint and placing her back inside the cage. The tiny bird hopped around for a second, some of her friends fluttering down beside her and tweeting at her. Kenny smiled and locked the cage again, moving on to the next one in line. Just as he was finishing up the entire row, he heard someone calling his name.
"Kenny! Are you up there?"
Kenny looked up. "I'm up here," he said, hearing footsteps coming up the stairs leading to the roof. "I'm tending the birds."
The roof door opened up, and Kenny's best friend Benton stepped out. He was wearing the same cadet uniforms as Kenny, but he had a green scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, and had an old newsboy hat perched on his head.
"I thought you'd be up here," he said.
Kenny smiled. "Just finishing up," he said, opening up the last cage and checking the birds inside.
"I can see that," Benton said. "Your instructor's looking for you down in the mess hall. She says it's time for drills."
Kenny checked his watch. To his surprise, it was about ten minutes later than he thought it was. "Oops," he said. "Sorry about that. I'll be right down." He gave the birds one last look-over before shutting and locking the cage. "Bye, everybody," he said. "I'll see you all tomorrow."
He followed Benton back through the door and down the stairs into the base. "I'm sure glad you volunteered for that job," Benton said. "I couldn't stand the smell."
Kenny shrugged. "Just smells like my mom's office to me," he said.
As they walked, Kenny noticed an envelope just sticking out of Benton's coat pocket. "What's that?"
"What's what?" Benton asked, following Kenny's gaze to the letter. His expression changed, and he now looked distinctly uncomfortable. "My orders," he said, pulling them out.
"Your orders?"
"Yeah," he said. He flipped the envelope over in his hand. "I'll be part of a new science division out in Angel Grove, something about cybernetics. I guess I'll also be heading out in a submarine a couple months in? I'm sure they'll explain it better when I get there. I ship out in two days."
"I see," Kenny said. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He'd been waiting months for his own orders to come through. He put on a smile. "That's great, buddy."
Benton fiddled with his scarf. "I didn't want to say anything yet," he said, tucking the letter back inside his coat. "I know you've been waiting forever."
Kenny shook his head. "No, no, I'm good," he said. "It sounds awesome."
Benton smiled furtively. "It really does though, doesn't it?" he said. He grasped his friend's shoulder. "And I'm sure your orders are already on their way. You're one of the hardest working cadets here. There's no way they haven't taken notice."
Kenny rolled his eyes as they came to a T in the corridor.
"Well, I'm this way," Benton said, heading off down the right hall. "See you at dinner."
"See you at dinner," Kenny waved back. He watched Benton until he disappeared around the corner before turning and heading off to find his own group. He found them gathered in their usual instruction room, just barely getting their usual drills started.
"Sorry, I'm late," Kenny said, hurrying in.
"It's not a problem, Mr. Austin," his instructor said. "We're doing our first round of drills. Get to your place and get started."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Kenny joined his squad and started his drills, falling into rhythm with the rest of his comrades. Their instructor walked back and forth among them, a tall woman with a serious face who was much nicer than she looked. By her side stood a slightly older man with scruffy black hair and glasses wearing a blue lab coat, making marks on a clipboard. This was Dr. Watanabe, a representative of high command who'd been assigned to watch over their squad for some undisclosed reason that he apparently didn't have clearance to tell them. As Kenny ran through his drills, all of them second nature to him after all this time still at the academy, Watanabe made his rounds, stopping for a minute and watching Kenny work. Kenny tried to ignore him, but he couldn't help but notice every time the doctor took down a quiet note on his pad.
The days passed by, every day like the one before. He helped Benton get ready to ship out, and saw him off at the academy's bus depot when the day came.
"See you, buddy," Benton said, giving Kenny a hug. "I expect to see you out there soon."
"I'll be there," Kenny said. "Just don't finish off the Black Cross before I get there."
"No promises. They're going to have to be dealing with me now, remember?"
Kenny smiled. "Get out of here."
Benton hefted his footlocker and boarded the bus. "See you, buddy," he said with a salute.
Kenny saluted him back. "See you."
Later that afternoon, Kenny and his squad were running through a few more drills when one of their number cried out in pain. Everyone turned to see that one of their newest recruits had fallen and twisted their ankle. Kenny was the first to rush to their side and examine their leg. He was not as well versed in human anatomy as he was with animals, but he knew enough to know a break when he saw one.
"They need an infirmary," he told his instructor as she knelt beside him.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Pretty sure."
The instructor looked around. "Can I get someone to volunteer to take Cadet Diaz down to the infirmary?"
"I'll do it," Kenny said.
The instructor looked at him. "Are you sure?"
Kenny nodded. "I've got this."
The instructor nodded and moved aside to let them pass. Kenny helped his comrade to their feet, and together they hobbled out of the room as the instructor shouted for everyone else to get back to work. They passed Dr. Watanabe on their way out, the doctor's eyes following Kenny on his way past. Kenny couldn't help but notice the doctor scribble a note on his clipboard.
Later that night, as Kenny was just sitting down on his cot and taking off his boots for the night, Dr. Watanabe entered the barracks and approached him. "Cadet Austin," he said. "I was wondering if I could see you in my office for a minute."
Kenny looked up at him, uncertain. "Sure thing, doc," he said. He wasn't in trouble or anything, was he? He wondered.
"As soon as you can," the doctor said.
Kenny quickly pulled his boots back on and followed Dr. Watanabe from the room. The doctor led him across the compound to a small office at one corner of the main building. The doctor opened the door and let Kenny inside.
"Please, have a seat," he said.
Kenny stepped inside and sat down. It seemed a pretty typical office, with a desk in the middle and some surprisingly high-tech equipment lining the sides. A number of files sat open on the doctor's desk, and Kenny recognized his own picture among them.
"What's this all about?" Kenny asked.
"First things first," Watanabe said, sitting down and pulling out a pad, bringing up a video on it and turning it around for Kenny to see. "Do you recognize these?"
Kenny's eyes lit up. On the screen flashed images of four brightly colored figures in high-tech suits of armor, racing around at incredible speeds, flying using rockets sticking out from their sides, and rescuing people from Black Cross attackers.
"Those are the Power Rangers," he said, a wide smile spreading across his face. He'd been a fan of them ever since the red and blue rangers had made their debut at the Silver City Unity Day parade.
"That's right," Dr. Watanabe said, pausing the video on a shot of the four current rangers standing together and setting it aside. "Tell me, Austin, what all do you know about them?"
Kenny shifted a little in his seat. "Not that much," he said, rubbing his curly dark hair. "I know that EAGLE endorses them, but everything else, their identities, who's working with them, all of that, seems to be kept under the strictest security clearance inside EAGLE." He shifted again uncomfortably. "I've looked."
Dr. Watanabe smirked for a second and leaned back, studying Kenny's face. "Well, Mr. Austin," he said. "Consider yourself now part of that security clearance."
Kenny raised an eyebrow. "Sir?"
Dr. Watanabe reached into his desk and pulled out a badge, shaped like a star with red, blue, yellow, pink, and green beams coming off of it. "I am a part of the crew working with the rangers. To be exact, I am part of the project's science division. I helped build the original suits, and I currently lead the team in charge of maintaining and updating their systems."
Kenny stared at the badge, then up at the doctor. A million questions ran through his mind. What? How? What are the rangers like? What are the suits made of? Can I get the blue one's autograph? Then he stopped as his brain processed just a little more and one question rose above it all.
"Then, what are you doing here?" he asked. "With our team?"
Dr. Watanabe gestured to the still image of the four rangers together, wearing bright red, blue, yellow, and pink respectively. "You may notice that at the moment, we only have four rangers on our team. The original plan was to have five."
The doctor adjusted his glasses and sifted through his notes for a second. "As you might expect, we have to be extremely picky about who we select to wear the suits, requiring a rigorous evaluation process before they can be chosen. The last . . . three have all unfortunately ridden that line a little, circumstances requiring them to take on the suits before they had been officially selected, and High Command would prefer to not repeat that a fourth time.
"As part of the selection process, members of the Ranger Project are regularly sent out to other EAGLE bases, to seek out potential candidates and submit their names for approval. That's what I've been doing here the last several weeks."
All the pieces came together in Kenny's head. "So that's why I'm . . ."
Dr. Watanabe nodded. "That's right. Out of all of your squad mates, you meet all of our requirements. You are one of the most physically fit, passing every physical exam you've taken so far. You are driven, determined, eager to serve. As far as our background test could determine, you have no attachments or loyalties to the Black Cross that would indicate your status as a mole."
"Most importantly," the doctor continued. "You have heart. You care deeply about those around you. Like today, when you were the first to go to your comrade's side when they were hurt. Or how you volunteered day one to tend the pigeons on the roof, which according to all reports have never been happier than when under your care."
Kenny shook his head, trying to process what he was hearing. "You want me . . . to be a ranger?"
Dr. Watanabe shook his head. "Not exactly," he said. "Currently there are several applicants. If you choose to accept, you'll be shipped out tomorrow to the Ranger Project's headquarters. There, you'll undergo two weeks of intensive training under the watch of our project's commanders, who will use that time to narrow down the list until only one is left standing."
He looked apologetic. "Another mandate by High Command."
He leaned forward and looked Kenny in the eye. "So, Mr. Austin," he said. "Are you interested?"
Kenny leaned back, staring at the still image of the rangers standing together, his mind a jumble of confusion and uncertainty. They wanted him to be one of them? He stared at the four, remembering the first time he ever watched them fly. The first time he ever saw them save someone. His heart burned with the courage they inspired inside him.
He looked past Dr. Watanabe to the small window through which he could see the gray alabaster walls of the academy that had been his home for far too many months now. Benton was right. His call had been on its way. Just unlike anything either of them could have imagined.
His heart swelled and he sat up straighter, looking Dr. Watanabe in the eye. "I'm in," he said.
Dr. Watanabe smiled. He closed up Kenny's file and set it aside, getting to his feet. "Well then, Mr. Austin," he said, extending his hand and shaking Kenny's. "Welcome to the Ranger Project."