Late in the day, Ravi, Roxy and Blaze were assembled in the very depths of the base. It didn't take a math whizz to tell them why they were there. It was widely known from the beginning that they were looking for three Rangers, now here three of them were assembled. Out of around five hundred applicants, they now stood as the final three, and would become the new Rangers.
They all stood at ease, waiting for the selection panel to come and confirm what they already knew. The brawl in the mess hall had removed the last of the potential candidates, meaning that now they were the ones chosen to be the first new generation of Rangers in almost two decades. Blaze could barely keep his self-satisfied smirk under control as he waited. He had finally managed to secure his place on the team. His father had always taught him to strive for the win no matter what he did, regardless of what it took to get there.
Ravi was a lot more restrained. He wasn't a robot, though many would argue that point was debatable, but he had always been taught to treat personal glory as secondary to duty, and saw celebration as somewhat unseemly. There was also what it meant he had to give up. He couldn't look to the side, he daren't cast his gaze Roxy's direction. It was what they had always dreaded, both of them being on the team meant that there was no way around regulation 34C. They were both Rangers, which meant they were not permitted to be in a romantic relationship. He struggled with it himself, he had considered resigning in passing, but he always felt it would be selfish of him to give up the position just to make himself happy. It would be even more selfish to ask Roxy to do the same. As much as he had resigned himself to the fact they were now doomed to put their own happiness aside for their role as Rangers, and he kept telling himself that having Roxy on the team meant he had someone he knew he could depend on to watch his back in battle, he still didn't dare to look at her.
Roxy felt more than a little conflicted as she waited on the selection panel. She cast a glance over towards Ravi, but he wasn't even looking her way. She had taken Zoey to the infirmary but had been ordered to leave her in their care and report to the Command Centre. She was torn between wanting to go and check on her friend, the fact that the man she loved was now standing only a few feet away and yet because of some bureaucratic nonsense may as well be in Antarctica and yes, a measure of pride too. She'd enlisted as a test, to push herself to her limit and beyond and to take on the ultimate assignment, to be responsible for the entire city. She was justifiably proud of herself to have made it onto the final team, but that didn't mean it didn't break her heart to know that she had to sacrifice her relationship with Ravi. She looked over to him, and it all came back to her. She could only wonder, what could they really do if they resumed their relationship once they became Rangers? Would they really fire them after going to all the time and expense in training them, mutating them and equipping them with technology, much of which she imagined would be tailored to them now that they knew who the Rangers were?
Her thoughts were interrupted as the doors opened and the selection panel entered. They stood before them, calling them to attention. The three Rangers all saluted.
"You may stand at ease." Commander Shaw told them. As they did so, she felt a little pride in seeing her son as one of the Rangers, but couldn't help feeling a deep swell of regret and shame. As much as Roxy tried to hide it, she did notice her gaze towards her son, and she could see in Ravi's face that he was trying to block something out. She could see the pain she had caused completely unnecessarily. She had hoped that for once Ravi would choose his own life, his own happiness over others, but she had underestimated his resolve. She had liked Roxy even before now, and thought she was a wonderful girl for Ravi. She made her son happy in a way she had never seen. Even if that was all she knew about her she'd have been delighted if Ravi had introduced Roxy to her. That Roxy also chose her responsibility over their happiness impressed Shaw, but also pained her. She had caused this pain, and now all she could do was hope that they would never find out that regulation 34C had been her idea. She couldn't imagine Ravi would ever speak to her again. How could she expect him to forgive her when she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to forgive herself? General Burke nudged her and gave her a look to ask if she was alright. When she gave him the nod to continue, he just gestured to Carter.
"Well, it's a LITTLE sooner than we would have predicted, but here we are." Carter said, looking over the three new Rangers. "The three of you should be very proud of yourselves. You are about to join one of the most exclusive and unique fraternities on the planet. After all the tests, all the lumps and bruises, every difficult decision and every sacrifice, you now stand as the newest Power Rangers."
"Congratulations." Jason chipped in as he took over. "There have been many before you. People from all walks of life. Some of whom never suspected the awesome responsibility that they would one day hold. Each of you has proven yourselves time and again to be the very best of the best. I for one would be proud to serve with any of you."
"But the journey isn't over." General Burke declared. "There now stands two more decisions to be made. We must decide the most appropriate designation for each of you and we must assign a leader."
"These decisions are not to be made lightly, and they will be much more involved than simply what colour you like." Angela said. "Your arsenal, your skill set and your powers will be assigned based on those that best suit your individual talents and abilities."
"But that is a decision to be made tomorrow." General Burke told them. "For today, the only thing that remains is for us to say…Congratulations Rangers, we salute you!"
The five of them all saluted.
"May the Power Protect You!" They all said together. The Rangers returned the salute, before being dismissed. As they all went their separate ways, Blaze pulled out his cell phone and dialled.
"Dad?" He asked, waiting for the response on the other end.
"Mr Winchester's office, can I ask who's calling?" A female voice on the other end asked. Blaze just rolled his eyes.
"Mercy it's me!" He snapped. He was frustrated to call his dad only to get his PA on the other line. He knew fine well his dad had caller ID. Why would she not just hand his dad the phone when she saw it was his son calling? It was something he was sadly used to, but at the same time he still got irritated by. "Just put him on the line!"
She put him on hold, something else that angered him. She was probably checking with him to see if he even wanted to speak to his son. He clenched his teeth, muttering to himself, swearing to do something terrible if she came back on the line with some excuse about what his dad was doing and why he couldn't answer.
"Blaze." His father's voice came on the other end. Blaze relaxed a little. It looked like whatever his dad was doing he'd decided it wasn't too inconvenient to spare a couple of minutes to talk to him. Blaze smiled.
"Dad, I've got it." Blaze told him, smiling brightly. "I got selected. I'm a Ranger!"
He felt his chest swelling, his heart pounding. He was proud to tell his dad about his accomplishment. His dad always wanted him to prove himself, and what could be better than becoming a real super hero? He was trying to imagine his dad on the other end of the line, ordering the most expensive bottle of champagne in his gentleman's club and preparing to toast him.
"Really…is that all?" The reply came. Blaze felt himself deflating. His face fell.
"Dad…didn't you hear what I said?" Blaze asked him.
"Well…yes, but…is that all?" He asked.
Blaze backed into the wall. Why did he think this time would be any different? He'd had this same conversation almost every time he called his dad with an accomplishment ever since he won his first karate tournament when he was ten. And when he graduated from boarding school…and when he graduated from college.
"Dad, I've become a Ranger!" Blaze reiterated.
"Yes, that was what you set out to do wasn't it?" Mr Winchester asked him.
"They haven't decided on the team leader yet." Blaze rushed out. The line was silent for a moment.
"Well, that's something I suppose." Mr Winchester replied. "So, when will you find out if you've got it?"
"Soon." Blaze replied. The line went silent for a moment.
"Remember, you're a Winchester. You come from a long line of leaders." His dad told him. "Don't let me down son."
With that, he hung up. Blaze just stared at his phone for a moment, before a wave of rage swept through him. He threw the phone hard into the wall, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. Why did he think this time would be any different?
He heard the whirr of a cleaning droid coming out of a housing on the wall to clean up the wreckage. He bent down, retrieving the SIM card to put into a new phone. As he put it in his pocket, he turned and saw Nate coming down the hall, holding a device. Nate stopped as he saw Blaze, and the mess on the floor.
"Were you listening to that?" Blaze snapped. Nate just looked confused.
"Listening to what?" Nate asked him. Blaze trudged towards him, shoving him aside as he stormed out of the building. Nate just watched him go and sighed.
"I can't believe a guy like that is going to be a Ranger." He commented, before stepping over the droid that was cleaning up the remains of the phone and heading down the hall.
Elsewhere in the city, Mayor Daniels was in his office, on the phone. This wasn't exactly unusual, he spent almost his whole life on the phone to some donor, lobbyist, focus group or concerned citizen of some description, but this time was entirely different. This time, he had none of his usual poise or calm. This time, he was the one making the call.
"Yes, yes, I understand all too well what 'classified' means. I don't need to have it explained to me, I'm not an idiot!" Mayor Daniels said in a barely-restrained growl as he spoke to the person on the other end. "These towers are being built in my city…yes, I'm aware of…I don't think you can say…This city has been MORE than accommodating to Grid Battleforce."
He continued to listen to the person on the other end. He'd had far more productive conversations with his son's cat. It wasn't that they weren't speaking, it was more that when they did, they weren't saying anything. So far, he'd been on the phone for a couple of hours and he'd been passed to three different departments, four supervisors, put on hold six times…he knew a snow job when he saw it. He was being given the run-around in his own damn city!
"Yes, well I'm afraid that's not good enough!" Mayor Daniels stated. "If you're building weapons of mass destruction in my city I think I have a right to know about it now I don't care what you have to do or who you have to put me through to I want some straight answers and I want them NOW God damn it!"
He heard something in the background, and after a moment the phone was handed over.
"Mayor Daniels?" He heard a voice say. "I'm Commander Shaw."
"Commander? Good, now we're getting somewhere." He responded.
"I understand you have some concerns about the facility?" She asked him.
"Yes, I have more than a few concerns about your facility and frankly I just want someone to give me some straight answers before I have to face my constituents and explain to them why I've turned their city into a potential ticking time bomb!"
"Mayor Daniels, I…I understand. I know we've not been very forthcoming with a lot of the details of what we're doing here." She told him. "The launch is coming soon. In fact, we're looking at bringing the launch forward. Some unforeseen circumstances have accelerated our process. Perhaps you'd feel a little more at ease if we could speak in person?"
"In person?" He asked her.
"Yes." She replied. "I can arrange for you to visit the headquarters if you'd like."
"To do what? Have a cup of tea while you tell me nothing?" He asked her.
"I'll dispatch an agent to your office within the hour with a security pass." She told him. "I'll give you the full tour of the facility personally. It's time we tell you exactly what we're doing to safeguard the future of the city."
"I…I don't know what to say." He replied, being a little bowled over by this surprising U-turn in cooperation with the facility. "I appreciate it."
"Your security pass will be with you soon." She told him. "I'm sure we can arrange a convenient time."
"I appreciate that." Mayor Daniels replied. "Thank you."
As he hung up the phone, he went to his desk, sitting down. He grabbed his coffee, and leaned back in this seat. He could hardly believe it, now after all this time, after all the ducking and evasion they were finally going to give him the answers he was looking for?
He looked to the photograph on his desk and just stared at it. In his mind, a woman's scream echoed. The cup slipped from his hand and spilled all over the floor. Just then, his receptionist came in.
"Mayor Daniels, I have some reports from the school district for you to…" She said, before seeing him staring at the picture, the cup lying on the floor. He was a million miles away. He hadn't even noticed her. "Mayor Daniels?"
"What?" He asked, suddenly realising he wasn't alone. She came over, putting the reports on his desk. She started to clean up the spill.
"Leave that, it's alright." Mayor Daniels told her. "Um…I'm expecting a delivery later…"
"I'll keep an eye out for it." She told him. "Are you sure everything's alright?"
"Yes…just a little mishap." He assured her. She just nodded and left the room, leaving Mayor Daniels to his thoughts. He picked up his cup, putting it back on the desk, before grabbing some napkins to soak up the coffee.
Back on the base, Zoey was sitting in the infirmary. She'd been seen by the medical officer, but she had been told to wait there. She didn't really know why. It wasn't as though she hadn't had a few lumps and bruises in her life. She was holding her nose, which had fortunately stopped bleeding by now, but she could only think of the huge pile of work she had waiting for her in the laundry and the fact that the more time she spent sitting here, the larger it would be when she finally got back.
Roxy returned, sliding into the room to take a seat next to her.
"You're still here?" She asked. "I was more worried about Forrest's knuckles to be honest with you."
"The medic won't let me leave." She complained. "I said I'm fine but they said they have some treatment they want to try."
"Alright, let's have a look." Roxy said, moving around in front. Zoey moved her hand away from her face to let her see. "Oh…oh, that is not pretty."
"Wow, your bedside manner really sucks." Zoey answered. "It's broken."
"Yeah, I think I could see that from the other side of the base." Roxy answered. Zoey picked up some tissues and threw them at her. "HEY! I'm not the one that hit you!"
"I know." Zoey muttered. "So, I guess they were telling you that you're Rangers now?"
"Pretty much." Roxy answered as she started looking around the medic's room, starting to fidget with the little models and equipment on the shelves.
"I still can't believe Blaze got to be a Ranger." Zoey said bitterly.
"He's an ass, but he's pretty good." Roxy replied with a shrug. "I guess no one said we have to be the bestest buddies with the people we're on the team with."
"No, but I'm sure it would help." Zoey replied with a little bit of a grin on her face. "So, you and Ravi will be on the team and…"
"OK, if you're going to go there, you won't get your lollipop!" Roxy said, helping herself to a lollipop and offering one to Zoey. Zoey took one for herself, figuring it was probably going to be a while before the other medic came back. "They just need to decide which Rangers we'll be."
"Alright, sorry I'm late I got a little side-tracked with…" Nate said as he came in with the device, before stopping still as he saw Roxy and Zoey in the infirmary. "Um…"
"Hey." Zoey replied, suddenly becoming a little self-conscious.
"Wow, when I heard that one of the employees on the base had been in a fight, I never thought…" He said, coming to Zoey's side. "Are you alright?"
Roxy backed away to the side of the room out the way, leaning against one of the units. She just watched on in interest.
"I…I…uh…" She started to say, suddenly finding herself at a loss as to what to say to him. She'd been avoiding him after the accident in the hopes of not looking like a complete idiot to him, but now she was in the infirmary after getting into a fight with a cadet who was possibly going to be a Ranger until she was kicked out? She didn't want to imagine what Nate thought of her. She could see him looking to her with concern and had to wonder what was going through his mind. She was trying to think of something to say that would make her seem less like an idiot. "She started it."
She rolled her eyes almost into the back of her skull the moment she said that. Great, now he didn't think she was an idiot, he thought she was a grade-school kid. She didn't notice Roxy in the corner starting to chew her nails as she watched on in glee.
"Savage. She really made a mess. I'm glad she got kicked out." Nate said, before suddenly realising she had to be worried about it. "Uh…I mean…this shouldn't be too bad…this device should help out."
He got the device ready and looked to her.
"What…what is that?" She asked him.
"It's a little thing I cooked up for injuries of soft tissue and cartilage." He told her. "I came up with it one time I lost my glasses and walked into a wall."
He just flinched saying this. Great, now she thought he was a complete klutz.
"What does it do?" She asked him.
"It'll just make a little realignment to the damaged cartilage and a low-yield radiation will help begin knitting it and ease some of the swelling in the soft tissue." He told her.
"Will it hurt?" She asked.
"No, it won't." He assured her. "Just hold still."
He turned the device on and held it to her face. Roxy watched as he analysed it.
"OK, it seems to be working."
"It…it kind of tickles." Zoey giggled.
"Yeah, it'll do that." He replied, before removing it. "There we go…that should be it."
"Really? That's it?" She asked.
"Within a few days your nose should be as cute as ever." He said, before his eyes went wide. "Uh…I mean…your nose should be just like it was!"
"Thanks." Zoey said, apparently having missed what he had said. He breathed a sigh of relief, but missed the fact that Roxy was listening and had heard it all. She was biting her knuckles, barely able to stand the adorable scene unfolding between them. "I guess I should…get back to it then."
"I guess." Nate replied. "Bye."
"Bye." She replied, before they both scurried off down the hall in opposite directions as fast as they could. Roxy just slumped against the unit, staring up at the ceiling.
"REALLY?" She yelled.
Meanwhile in the Command Centre, the selection panel had assembled to make one of the most important decisions they had left. They'd been messaged to tell them to meet. Commander Shaw was pacing impatiently as they waited. Nate finally arrived, scurrying in.
"I'm sorry I'm late Commander." He said apologetically. "I was held up and…I'm sorry."
"Well, you're here now." Commander Shaw sighed as she prepared to begin the meeting. "Alright, I've called you all together because as you know, the leak has left us uncertain as to how much longer we can keep things under wraps. Between that and a call I took from the mayor, I feel we have no alternative but to accelerate our timeline."
"We've sent a release to the press." General Burke informed them. "We'll be holding a press conference and we intend to start up the Morph-X grid tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Jason asked. "Are you sure that's not a little sudden?"
"We've not got much choice." Commander Shaw responded. "Piecemeal misinformation released in the press could only lead to panic. It's time for us to bring Morph-X to the public, along with their new defenders."
"Which means we now need to make our selections." General Burke told them.
"I'm recusing myself from this decision, I'm sure I don't need to explain why." Commander Shaw told them. "I'd like to hear your thoughts."
"Roxy is quick, agile and fast on her feet." Jason commented. "She also showed real promise with that copter."
"Her scores show she showed the most aptitude with the copter simulations." Nate agreed as he pulled up the data. "If my opinion counts for anything, I think the jackrabbit DNA will be the most compatible with her attributes."
"All in favour?" General Burke asked. Both Carter and Angela held up their hands. "Alright, the motion passes, it looks like Roxy is going to be our new Yellow Ranger."
"Now, the other two candidates, that's where things get a little tricky." Jason said as he considered the options. "Both of the guys are pretty strong candidates for either role."
"I'd agree, the scores don't make it easy." Nate agreed reluctantly, looking at the data. "I'm just not convinced Blaze is the right fit for the Red Ranger."
"Is that a decision based on data or personal feelings?" Commander Shaw asked. Nate looked a little put out by this assertion, but he couldn't really deny the point. If it was up to him, Blaze wouldn't even be a Ranger. He had very set ideas about what he thought it meant to be a Ranger and he didn't like Blaze in the slightest. It was galling enough to him that he was even going to be a Ranger without making him the Red Ranger.
"I have to say that I was concerned about Winchester from the beginning." General Burke admitted. "I was hoping he'd wash out. He did have an attitude on him and I was just hoping we'd have a reason to let him go without upsetting his father."
"Hey, many of us had an attitude when we started." Jason admitted. "I know I had my moments, and when Tommy came along…yeah, let's just say we were pretty hard to be around for a while."
"Ravi does have the better all-around scores." Angela conceded. "If we based it purely on that I'd say he was Red without a second thought."
"Ravi is most certainly a fine young man that would be a good fit in any capacity." General Burke agreed. "As leader…I know he'd put the welfare of his team first."
This had an effect on Commander Shaw. She knew that was the case. Ravi would always put himself last. That was exactly why he was in the situation he was in now. She did wonder if maybe as leader he could be afforded a little more leeway in his behaviour that might make his time as a Ranger a little more tolerable.
"The Yellow and Blue Zords are a combination though." Angela pointed out. "And Roxy and Ravi have by far the highest scores out of the three as a unit. They're completely in synch."
"Blaze was kind of full of himself, but that's at least in part down to a confidence I'm not sure Ravi has." Carter admitted. "He just…seems to be more comfortable taking orders than being the one to make the call. I don't know if putting him in the position to make those decisions is the best thing for him."
"Blaze was the one that broke up that fight in the gym." Jason reminded them. "Sometimes calling out your own team is part of the job."
"He was also the one that found that leak." Carter pointed out. They all nodded. Commander Shaw just sat back in her seat, not saying anything. She had her own views on Blaze, but she'd already recused herself from the decision. She did have a few lingering doubts about Blaze, but had to wonder if her doubts were down to bias towards her son.
"Alright, we can talk about this all day. I say we vote on it." He told them. "I'm putting my vote for Ravi as Red Ranger."
"I second that." Nate answered.
"I'm going with Blaze." Jason said, lifting his pencil into the air. "I kind of…get a little bit of myself from him. I think he could grow into something great."
"I don't think I'd be quite as egotistical about it, but I do see something in Blaze too." Carter told them. "He's always trying to prove himself. If he doesn't accomplish something, he'll damn well kill himself trying."
"You get the deciding vote." General Burke said to Angela. She looked around the room, trying to consider her options.
"I still maintain what I said about Yellow and Blue. I think we need to have the most in synch in those roles." She told them. "So, with that in mind, I'm going to vote Blaze for Red and Ravi for Blue."
"Then we have our team." General Burke announced. "Thank you for your time and your expertise. I'll arrange transportation for you back home."
"Thanks, we'd appreciate that." Angela told him. "We've been away from our families long enough."
"I'll just inform the team of our decision." Commander Shaw said as they started to get up from the table. "By this time tomorrow, we'll have our team.