CHAPTER 3

"Dad...are you sure your okay?" Connor asked his father as they turned into the driveway. They had spent the rest of the day at the hospital while the doctors were checking out his dad. The rest of the family had joined them later when they found out what had happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm a bit more embarrassed than hurt. I passed out when that monster attacked me. I still can't believe it. I can't believe we have monsters in Delta Springs. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes..." Connor's dad started explaining as the others got out of the car and headed inside.

"Don't worry about it Dad. I'm sure the police will handle it." The teenager replied. His Dad sighed heavily.

"Yeah...you're probably right." He finished as they both got out the car.

"Like you always say, 'The good guys always win.'" His son told him and trotted off to his room. Steven Fairlane took a moment to reflect on the day's events and then followed his son into the relative safety of their home.

Connor lay on his bed staring at the Morpher on his left wrist and contemplated all that had happened to him in such a short time. In the span of a few hours he had come face to face with monsters, found the Red Star Crystal, become the Red Star Force Power Ranger, and then defeat the monster with the rest of the Power Rangers. He finally came to the conclusion that his life was definitely going to change drastically after today.

"Is this...my destiny?" He mumbled to himself as it finally dawned on him that he was destined to find the Red Star Morpher and he was special just like the voice had told him. Connor smiled at that notion. He had never been anything but ordinary his entire life and in one day he had become a hero.

Connor had just began to fall asleep when a beeping sound woke him up. Startled, he quickly sat up and realized it was the Morpher that was beeping.

"Huh..." Connor mumbled dumbfounded.

"Hey...Connor, are you there? It's me, Mike." A voice emitting from his Morpher asked.

"M-Mike...Uhh...What's up?" Connor replied and then chided himself for sounding like a geek.

"We need to talk dude. Prepare for teleportation." Mike responded.

"Huh...telepor..." His statement was cut off as he was enveloped by red energy and whisked away to the headquarters of the Power Rangers.

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In a red flash, Connor appeared in the Command Chamber of the Rangers. He was disoriented for a few seconds as he studied his surroundings. He was in a large room with a dome ceiling that appeared to have windows, but he could only see darkness on the other side.

"Welcome, Red Ranger." A voice from behind him declared and caught him off guard. Connor whirled around and met the gazes of four other teenagers.

"Uhhhh...Hi!" Connor replied and then feeling a bit out of place. The two female Rangers just giggled at him and whispered to each other. The two male Rangers just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They all just stared at the newcomer for a moment. He was about 5'11", brown hair, and dark brown eyes with an athletic build. Nothing special, Mike thought.

"Thanks for coming, man. I'm Terrance Phillips, the Black Ranger. No Southpark jokes, please." The African-American male stated to Connor as he walked closer to them.

"Like I had a choice." He told Terrance with a smile and shook his hand in the hip fashion that young people do. He was the same height as Connor with brown eyes, a baldhead, and just a small tuft of hair on his chin. He wore black jeans, black boots, and a standard gray T-shirt.

"Hi. I'm Wanda Lewis, the White Ranger. Nice to meet cha." Wanda told him with a smile. Of Hispanic descent, Wanda was 5'5" with light brown eyes, raven colored hair, and a very pretty face. She was wearing a white cut-off T-shirt, gray jogging pants, and white sneakers. Connor found himself staring and responded, although he was a bit embarrassed.

"Uhhh...Hi...I recognize you from school."

"Yeah. I've seen you before, too."

"Anyway...I'm Julie Swanson. I don't go to your school nor have I seen you around. Can we hurry up and get this over with, its getting late." Julie interrupted. Her arms were folded about her chest as she tapped her right foot against the Duraplated floor. She was only a couple of inches taller than Wanda was with long blond hair and green eyes. She too was pretty, but her current demeanor took away a lot from her beauty. She was wearing black shorts, a yellow blouse, and black casual shoes.

"Hi." Connor replied and left it at that.

"Calm down, Jules. We'll be done soon. We just have to welcome our new Red Ranger to the team. The name's Mike, Mike Cobb." The Blue Ranger intervened to cut the tension and extended a hand to his new teammate.

"Thanks Mike. So, is that why you guys called me here." Connor asked Mike directly as he shook his hand.

"Allow me to explain." A voice from behind Connor's new teammates stated. Directly behind the team was a console as long as the wall itself. A huge display screen was positioned above the work center, which blinked on as the voice finished speaking. In the middle of the black screen was a snowflake-shaped object floated in place.

"Who is that?" Connor asked moving past the rest of the team to get a better look.

"You may call me Gem." The computer told him its voice resonating throughout the room. Connor noticed as the female voice spoke the shape on the screen morphed to mimic its sound patterns.

"Gem, huh...Hey, wait a minute...you're the one who spoke to me when I first found the Morpher. I never realized you were a computer. Cool." The Red Ranger noted.

"Indeed. We are here tonight to welcome you Connor Fairlane into the fold of a tradition eons old. The Power Rangers. The Power Rangers stand for truth, honor, loyalty, and justice. The Power Rangers are the light in the ever-present darkness. The Power Rangers are the good and the Daemons are the evil." The computer explained.

"The Daemons...is that what we fought earlier today. He was kinda tough." Connor stated and the others agreed.

"Yes. The Daemons are a malevolent race of beings that traveled here centuries ago to conquer Earth and destroy its inhabitants. I also suspect they have an ulterior motive as well." Gem finished and everyone looked at each other their minds contemplating the possibilities.

"Soooo, Mike...since your the leader. What's the plan?" Connor spoke and then turned toward the Blue Ranger. Mike looked somewhat peered at the statement. Terrance's face contorted like he smelled something. Wanda and Julie just smiled and looked away.

"What!" Connor asked. Gem spoke up.

"It is true that Mike, the Blue Ranger, has been the leader since finding the Blue Morpher, but it is the tradition of the Power Rangers that they have a leader. However, that leader is and always will be the Red Ranger.

"WHAT!"

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In the Dark Lair, Pirahnus, Tyrana, and Ghoulstein were hatching there next plan. The three Daemons stood around the well discussing their next move and the discovery of the Red Morpher.

Tyrana mainly played with her purple nails and appeared to be uninterested. The female Daemon could be mistaken for a human if not for her hair, eyes, and nails being purple, not to mention, the small brown horns protruding from her forehead. In Daemon standards, she was an ugly, inbred freak, but in human standards she could have been a model or Olympic athlete, with her well toned physique. She wore a red halter top that was part breastplate and black leather pants with thigh high, spiked heel boots.

Ghoulstein on the other hand was a Daemon that lived for chaos and destruction. With a silver skull for a head and machine body, the Daemon was built from a fallen soldier, its black flesh covered with the same metallic substance as its head. Pirahnus had created the monster himself to be his head Lt. and with the power to morph its arms into any type of weapon. At the moment, he was anxious to do a little destruction, namely, going toe to toe with the Power Rangers.

"So when am I gonna get to ruff up the Rangers, boss." Ghoulstein asked, his voice sounding mechanized.

"In due time, Ghoulstein. With the discovery of the Red Morpher, our task will be even harder to take over this planet, but it will be done and I shall finish what my father started four thousand years ago."

Pirahnus stated and waved a hand over the murky water and brought up an image of the city.

"I shall find what he was searching for and have enough power to rule the universe. Hahahahahahah!"

"Yes! The sooner we destroy the Rangers, the better." Ghoulstein added as Tyrana still studied her nails.

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