Devon didn't just love video games, they were a real passion for him. If he could, he would make a living off them, uploading tutorial videos and walkthrough guides on the internet, discussing game updates and their advantages or even how they've worsened the game. He would actively seek out new games that weren't being promoted, hoping to find a hidden gem. He'll, he'd be overjoyed if he ever got the chance to create a video game.
Unfortunately, his father didn't see his passion the same way. Video games were a hobby, not a source of serious income. The Mayor firmly believed his son had more potential that a video game enthusiast and thought Devon would be better off with a more traditional career. Devon constantly tried to tell his father that gamers could potentially make a good deal of money from sponsorships, and that video game design was a true career, but Adam wouldn't hear it.
It caused a rift between them that Devon didn't want to mend, since it would mean compromising on his own happiness and that his father seemed not to want to back down on. As a result, Devon sought to make his own way in the world, and he wasn't above using his father's connections to do so.
While it wasn't a video game necessarily, the training simulator at Grid Battleforce was the most advanced simulator in the world. Gamers liked to be absorbed into their games, so they often sprung for the best audio systems, allowing them to hear all the subtle noises of their video game environment, as well as the best in visual technology, so they wouldn't miss a single thing. There wasn't a detail that was too small to ignore.
So a simulator where you could actually be in the world you were playing in would be exactly what the gaming world would need as the next big thing, and Devon knew if he got a chance to try out the training simulator, he could start to get some ideas for how his own video game might feel and what environment might be cool for immersion.
He had a picture of his father's visitor's badge on his phone. The mayor had been invited to Grid Battleforce to approve their clean energy project. Devon already knew his father was against the idea, since Grid Battleforce had tapped into the Morphin Grid's energy to create their Morph-X.
Devon wasn't sure why anyone would want energy from the Morphin Grid, but that didn't mean there weren't people, or monsters with bad intentions. Since before he had been born, aliens, monsters and robots had threatened parts of the country, and even parts of the planet, in order to harness the power of the Morphin Grid. Every time they tried, they were challenged by a team of super heroes in tight, colourful spandex. Devon admired the Power Rangers, but he was glad to see that the world didn't need them anymore. The Ninja Rangers from Summer Cove in California had finally defeated the last invasion of aliens and Devon hoped that would be the last threat.
His father hoped the same, but had his doubts. With Grid Battleforce using energy from the Morphin Grid and intentionally bringing it out into the world for anyone to use, the Mayor worried it would encourage other villains. Coral Harbour had been lucky enough to be far away from most the attacks over the last couple of decades, so it seemed like they were tempting fate. Devon's father was here to talk them out of their project.
Devon didn't worry about that, though. His focus was the training simulator. He used the photo of his father's badge to fool the security system and when no one was looking, he snuck past the guards and the metal detectors. He made his way to the elevator before he realized the problem he faced.
Grid Battleforce was heavily guarded. They had a security team that rivalled the city's police force and every employee was trained to keep an eye out for intruders. With no badge to speak of, Devon was sure to get catch if he wasn't careful.
To make matters worse, Devon had no idea where the simulator was. Since security was so high, there were no signs pointing him to where he wanted to go. The place was a real maze and it was built that way intentionally to discourage intruders from finding what they needed. Even some of the employees had no clue what was beyond certain floors and only a rare few had full clearance.
Devon was the only one in the elevator until it stopped. A young woman, about his age, stepped on. Unlike most people who worked here, she didn't have a uniform and wore her regular clothing. She did however have a badge identifying her as Sarah Thompson, a researcher and consultant. Her badge also had her clearance level on it. Devon couldn't believe his luck when he saw she had full clearance. He only hoped he could get even luckier and have her go exactly where the simulator was.
When Sarah walked into the elevator, she was headed up. She was going to officially meet the Rangers, help Nate with their bonding and then bring them to the simulator for training. Commander Shaw wanted Sarah to run them through their very first session to quickly work out some kinks in the suits, the weapons and their teamwork.
Sarah scanned her ID badge then pressed the button for the top floor. That was when she noticed no other buttons were pushed, despite there being one other person in the elevator. She turned to Devon with a curious look and he knew he needed a cover.
"First day," he said.
"Second," she told him. Devon was a bit surprised to hear that. It was her second day and she already had full clearance? Maybe sneaking around would be easier than he thought.
"You have to check in a security to get an ID badge before finding your work station."
"Oh... uh, they told me to come up," Devon said.
Sarah frowned. Commander Shaw had run her through all the security measures. Without any ID, no one, not even anyone in a uniform was supposed to be in the building.
"Probably a miscommunication," Sarah said, believing it to be a genuine mistake. "The mayor's visiting so Ben and Betty are probably a bit distracted." She pushes the button to bring Devon back to the ground floor just as the elevator reached the top. She stepped out. "You'll go straight down and then just talk to someone at the desk. They'll figure it out."
The elevator doors closed without Devon getting a chance to sneak out and he felt the elevator start to drop as he was headed back down. He couldn't go back to the front desk, since he was sure he would run into his father.
When he reached the main floor he got off and quickly rounded the nearby corner. He saw stairs and thought they might work, but as soon as he climbed the first set, he was faced with a door. He tried to pull it open, but it was locked and it seemed he needed an ID badge to open it. As he turned to make his way back down, he suddenly heard someone call out to him.
"Forget your badge?" The person asked.
"Uh, yeah. In my car. Too lazy to go all the way back, you know."
"Don't I," the man chuckled as he held the door open for Devon. "I forget mine at least once a week and it's such a hassle when no one just lets you in. I mean, I get the security stuff and all that but who even cares to steal anything here."
"Couldn't tell you," Devon shrugged. "I'm just up on the fourth floor. Thanks for the hand."
"Just don't tell the Commander who let you in and we're good," the man smirked before he headed back to work.
Devon was stoked to see this had worked. He wasn't sure how high up he could go before he was blocked again, but at least he made some progress.
He climbed the stairs until they stopped. He stepped out into the hallway and looked around. This floor, whichever it was, seemed to have a different feel to it than the others. He wasn't where he was supposed to be but he knew that would be where he found the training simulator.
Suddenly, he was faced with another problem. He heard his father's voice from down the hall. If he was caught, he would be in so much trouble his children would be grounded until they were forty. He ducked behind a planter as his father, the Commander and the woman from the elevator walked by.
Our Ranger project is ready to go," he overheard Commander Shaw say and he couldn't believe it. Rangers? Power Rangers in Coral Harbour. "I assure you, Mayor Daniels, that safety is our top priority here at Grid Battleforce and our team of Rangers will be trained especially to keep the Morph-X out of the hands of anyone who wants it for their own personal agenda."
"It's not people I'm worried about," Mayor Daniels responded. "Those monsters..."
"They're gone, Sarah assurer him. "My team made sure of that before we gave the all clear. Oedius and Galvanax..."
"Sledge, Grumm, Rita Repulsa," the Mayor listed. "What else could be out there?"
"We don't know, Mayor Daniels. What we do know is if we don't start using clean energy soon, we'll be our own worse enemies. Monsters like that won't even want to invade because everything will be gone to waste. We understand it's a risk, but we're prepared for the worst."
"I'll need to see it to believe it," the Mayor said.
"Luckily, you will."
Devon followed them into a lab. He hid himself behind some shelves, sneaking in completely unnoticed as no one seemed to know there was an intruder at all.
He saw a large machine in the room and overheard the researcher there announce that this would give the Ranger candidates their Powers and fuse them with animal DNA to increase their abilities. The researcher, who had been identified as Nate, went on to explain everything about what the Rangers could do and how they would benefit the city's security from any threat.
Devon couldn't believe what he heard after that. His father agreed with the project and even admitted, despite his initial reservations, that this was a great idea. He gave his approval and after trying to know the identities of the Rangers, he was turned away. Commander Shaw had one of the researchers take him back.
Devon wasn't ready to leave yet. Though he hadn't found the simulator, he was intrigued by this Ranger project. When his father was gone, the Rangers were removed from what seemed to be stasis pod as they were ready for the transformation.
Devon couldn't believe who had been chosen. Particularly for the Ranger Red position. It was Blaze, the arrogant jerk he had grown up with. Weren't Rangers supposed to be good?
As the three Rangers stepped into position and the transformation began, Devon turned to the computer screen. It was just in time as a vicious snake head appeared suddenly, and only for a moment. Startled, Devon fell backwards, rattling the items on the shelf and drawing attention to himself. Before he could get to his feet, the three Rangers, Commander Shaw, Nate and Sarah were standing over him.
"No one is supposed to be here," Commander Shaw barked at him. "Show me your ID."
"He doesn't have one," Blaze said with a slight smirk. "That's the mayor's son."
"You said you worked here," Sarah said, looking disappointed that he had lied to her earlier.
"I can explain..."
"You'll get your chance later. We have more important matters to..."
"About that," Devon interrupted. "Something infiltrated your system. A virus or whatever."
"Impossible," Nate argued. "I built this system and the firewall myself. It's impenetrable!"
"You'll have a chance to explain yourself later, Mr. Daniels," Commander Shaw insisted as security rushed in. Ben and Betty grabbed Devon to escort him out.
While the others went to resume the Ranger bonding, Sarah glanced to the computer, then to Devon. She knew nothing about him, so had no reason he was telling the truth. He had just been caught trespassing and it was possible he would say anything to shift the blame off him.
However, Sarah couldn't be dismissive of his claims. Even though there was no evidence to prove anything terrible would happen, she remembered an attack two years before that changed her life forever. Certain the villains would want or need nothing from her technology, she took no precautions once it fell into their hands. She underestimated herself and underestimated the resourcefulness of the enemy. While Coral Harbour has no monsters to speak of, was it possible they were on the path to creating one of their own?
She was no computer whiz. Engineering was her skill and she couldn't read any of Nate's programming anyway. However, she asked him to check, just in case. She needed to calm the sick feeling in her stomach.
"Everything's fine," Nate assured her but Sarah wasn't sure. Still, they had performed a scan and there was no evidence at all that the mayor's son could be believed. Commander Shaw gave the order and the transformation started.
Suddenly, alarms started wailing and on the screen, a large snake appeared.
Evox, he called himself as he claimed his intentions to take over the Morphin Grid.
"Dammit!" Sarah shouted as she glanced to the tubes carrying the Morph-X towards the Rangers. She could see Blaze's line was tainted. She wasn't sure what it would do, but she had to do something.
"Nate!"
"I'm trying!" Nate shouted. He already knew what needed to be done and was trying to stop the program, but Evox has locked him out. "Nothing's working!"
By then, it was too late for Blaze. The tainted Morph-X had reached his system. Sarah watched in horror as the you g man fell to the ground and a computerized version of him, in dark red armour, stood in his place.
"Now I know what they mean when they say retirement is a joke," Sarah muttered as she prepared herself for a fight.