Chapter 14 - Reinforcements
Katrina was the first to stir, her body aching as she shifted. What the hell? She thought as she opened her eyes but was blinded by the light. Her eyes slowly adjusted as she noticed wires attached to flat, circular pads were placed in the crook of her arm. Looking to her left, she finally registered the constant beeping of a heart monitor. As she looked around she could see other beds, empty. Where am I? She asked herself in her head.
"So you're finally awake?" The voice cut her thoughts as her eyes cut to the right. She shot up, hands in a defensive pose before she could register the voice she heard to be Aj's. "Easy Chung Li, when you're ready head to the command center, Zordon has something for us to know." His tone was gruff and void of his usual joy. It's not often she heard him serious but this is the second battle where they seemingly lost. He walked away without a word.
Katrina entered the room of familiar flashing lights and beeping of various machines at work. "Ah, it is a joyous moment to see my rangers standing after the battle you have survived. The Kamen Riders are a dangerous foe to all rangers."
"Kamen Riders?" NC asked.
"They are much like us, they morph into beings with great power and ability. They will go to great length to win the battles they ensue. At one point, they were allies to the rangers of this universe and th next. That was until the Beetle Borges went on a quest for Lord Zed." Zordon explained.
"And what was the point of this quest?" Brian asked.
"To eradicate all Kamen Riders, steal their belts and employ them to beings under his control. He succeeded in bringing most of the Hiese era riders to this universe."
"Hiese era?" Katrina asked.
"There are two generations of Kamen Rider. The Showa era were created by an organization called Shocker. The new generation found their power by other means." Zordon paused for a moment. "This war has become more than you can handle. I will be employing the help of another source."
"What, from who?" Brian asked, his voice raising.
"They are the galactic police force known as the Space Sheriffs. They are formidable allies who have been hunting the fiend Zed for eons."
"So you don't think we can handle this? Then why give us the power?" Neil asked.
"It doesn't matter if you can handle it or not at this point. I refuse to lose another team of this world's hope! 6 bright young people, murdered at the hands of these beasts, these vial beings and then the rest of the world is their mark. I refuse to watch this a second time. You are restricted from engaging in combat until their arrival." The rangers looked on in shock at this revelation. Katrina's face twisted into a tight scowls as she clenched her first. Aj shifted his eyes to her, understanding her anger.
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Hez awoke to the feeling of pain in his wrists and ankles. His head bounced as he slowly regained consciousness. My life was so much simpler before this shit. Hez thought to himself. He tried to move his arms but the pain intensified. "That's not a good idea," a voice rang in his ears. His head shot up as his vision cleared. The bulky armored man stood in the corner, his arms crossed. His helmet had large oval eyes the color of blood. His suit was bulky and blue with silver linings. The v shaped antenna on his forehead were also silver. Under the bulky armor that separated at his joints, he wore a black, skin tight Kevlar armor.
"So you're finally awake huh… Chalice?" A man with pale skin and long hair swept backwards said. His suit was navy green with decorative medals and a thin pair of glasses were place over the bridge of his nose. He pressed them into place with the middle finger of his right hand that was covered in a white glove.
"Who are you?" Hez asked as he ended his struggle.
"We are Angel Grove's initiative against Lord Zed. We are Project G, after the failure of the last set of rangers, we were funded." The pale man explained.
"Rangers?" Hez asked.
"All in due time, boy. You're going to have company soon…. ah, I think that's them now," he said as Ren and Arianna were shoved into the small room.
"Hez!?" Arianna yelled as Ren exchanges a worried look with him.
"Now that we are all present, I have a proposition for you both but first, I'll answer your questions before you ask them. We are Project G and started after Lord Zed first battled the Super Sentai team two decades ago. In secrecy we developed four fighting systems. The first two were failures but you, Chalice have come in contact with G3 and you, Garren have come in contact with G4." The two looked at each other once more. "We know who you are, Hezekiah Moore and Ren Olarte. Members of United Taekwondo Academy. Both of you, decorated fighters and passionate teachers. It's only fitting you would become part of this world's last hope."
"So what? You expect a team up, that's not our style." Hez said as his eyes began to narrow.
"Ah but it will be." The pale man dropped a file on the table, watching it slide towards Hez. "As I said we know who you are." G4 entered the room, his armor identical to G3 but where G3 was blue, G4 was black. He unlocked the shackled chains holding Hez in place. As he opened the files, his eyes widened.
"It would be a shame for these kind and innocent people to go missing. All we ask, is that you cooperate without question." His blue eyes widened as his lips expanded into a twisted smile.
"And what is it you would like us to do?" Ren asked.
"Simple, defeat the Beetle Borges who have become under Zed's employment. You start there and ensure those Power Rangers aren't in your way." The pale man said turning his back to them.
"Power Rangers?" Ren said in a questioning tone.
"Yes, that is there official name. They are lead by a cosmic being named Zordon. That's all the information we could gather on them. They draw power from a place unknown much like your own. Difference is, there power is cosmic. Now go, and remember, we will be watching."
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"Why don't we have a cool hideout like that?" Ren asked as he grinned at Hez.
"Is now really the time to crack jokes?" Hez replied.
"Always keep a look on the bright side bro."
"And what's the bright side to this?" The third voice cut between them as they stopped in their tracks. "We are somewhere in the damn woods, you two are the masked riders and fugitives from the law…"
"In our defense, pale face guy did offer to wipe our faces and location from police database so we can continue to operate." Ren said cutting her off.
"You lied to me," her eyes narrowing on Ren. Ren shifted his eyes to Hez while his face began to grow crimson red.
"Oh no, this one's all yours," Hez said as he threw his hands into the air.
"Hey look, our bikes are here," Ren said nervously as he pointed to the motorcycles. "Come on, let's go home."
"Maybe I'll ride with Hez," Arianna said. As she turned to face him, he was already kicking his leg over his motorcycle. Stepping on the pedals and revving the engine, he spun the vehicle, before putting his helmet on.
"Sorry, this one's between y'all two!" He yelled before putting his helmet on and riding off down the road. As the roar of his engine filled the air his mind drifted. How much do they know about us? How long have they been watching? If they know about our families, what about our friends? The questions fired off in his head one after the other. He could hear the familiar roar of Ren's engine. He made a mental note to always remember the unique sound of his motorcycle. No need to be shot in the face by someone riding up from his blindside.
"So we kind of have to teach soon!" Ren yelled. Hez looked down at dashboard and read the time. He hated knowing he probably wasn't getting any sleep but didn't mind. "You have a plan?!"
"Hit the hideout, change clothes, then on to the dojo!" Hez replied. It was a short time before they were stepping through the dojo doors. After minutes of begging Arianna to keep her mouth shut to her sister to keep her out of trouble, she agreed to saying nothing. The term nothing was meant in a literal sense as she decided not to speak to Ren at all for the time being. They stepped through the doors of the dojo, putting on their smiles as they greeted parents and students.
"Hey Donna," Hez said in his usual friendly tone, relieved to see one of his best friends. She looked at him with a serious expression before looking away. A small sentiment but crushing. Ren watched as Donna greeted her sister with open arms but noticed the look she gave Hez. He strode his way to catching up with Hez.
"What was that about?" Ren asked over his friend's shoulder.
"No idea, not gonna ask," he replied as he made his way down the stairs into the basement. Katrina was sitting with Aj, smiling as they spoke to each other. The words were lost to Hez but he couldn't sense anything besides seeing her. Aj stood up, clapping hands with both Ren and Hez before slapping his hand onto Hez's shoulder. Ren took the symbol as a message and grabbed his gear bag, stepping into the other room as Aj ascended the stairs.
"Hey, Hez…" her words trailed off. He stayed silent as he went for his gear bag. "Hez don't shut me out, I just want to talk."
"What is there to talk about?" He asked. "Haven't had contact with you since we broke up."
"I'm sorry,"
"For what? The lack of contact or tripping my heart to shit?" As he pulled off his shirt, he forgot his body would still be covered in bruises from battle. Her face twisted as she covered her mouth.
"Hez what the hell happened to you?!" She good up and lurched forward. She stopped when he stepped back.
"I'm fine, these are from training. Nothing I'm not use to." His eyes were cold when he turned his back to her, he felt her embrace. The warmth of her face nestled into his bad blanked his mind as they stood there. She whispered something before letting go and walking up the stairs. His heart raced before calming, a smile slowly creeping onto his face.