Seth's fists began to release tension. However, his piercing gaze never left the stranger. The man in the white robe eagerly scanned the five of them, a huge grin on his face. Alex takes a step forward and pushes his glasses up. "I-I believe an explanation is in order here." Alistar raises an eyebrow and asks, "Explanation? Of what?" Chris pushes past Seth and says, "For starters, why the hell were we just attacked?!" Alistar smiles and says, "Oh! That was the Stone Guardian of Gaia. He guards my home. Legend has it that only the chosen few worthy enough to wield the Delta Morphers could defeat him." The strange man in the robe then jumped up, moving his hands in a wanting manner. "Oh! That reminds me! Let me see them! Let me see the Delta Morphers." The five of them exchanged puzzled looks, each of them wondering what Alistar was talking about. Stephanie pauses after a few seconds, reaching into her back pocket. Pulling out her pink, closed scroll-like object. Following her lead, Lisa and Chris take theirs out. Alex blinks at the other four, finally taking his out with some caution. Seth, seeing as he was the odd one out, reached into the pocket of his jacket. Feeling the smooth and curved surface, he pulled it out and held it towards Alistar. The five objects began to flash their respective colors, "Talking" to each other once again. Alistar couldn't have looked prouder. He clapped his hands together and said in a joyful tone "Oooooo, it IS you!" Lisa pulled her object away and said "Wait… You know what these things are?" Alistar nods, saying, "Yes! Those are called the Delta Morphers. They are the most valuable possessions of the Power Rangers Delta Force!" Chris raises an eyebrow. "Power Rangers? What are you rambling on about?" Alistar smiles and takes a few steps closer. "The Power Rangers are a group of warriors, defenders of the planet Earth and beyond. They are given unimaginable strength, speed and reflexes in the hope that they will use them to fend off the forces of darkness. I expect that you experienced this increase in your skill when you were fighting the Stone Guardian?" Seth nods and looks at the hand he had stopped the monster's attack with. Still not even a scratch or bruise to be seen.
Alex took a few steps forward and says "Okay… As much as I like to believe in the supernatural, this is just downright crazy. I mean… intergalactic protectors? And the boost in energy and strength? I don't call that magic, I call that the side effects of Adrenaline. I'm sorry guys, but this man is insane. I'm going." The boy in green began to walk out. Alistar turned to face Alex and his eyes began to glow a cloudy blue. Alex froze in his tracks and Alistar says, "Okay Alexander Cynthia John Martinez, here is what is currently going on. Your body is now linked to mine. Everything you do is a result of me." Seth, seeing this, rushes towards Alistar. However, as soon as he got within close proximity, he was sent flying back by some sort of shield. "I have a shield around myself. I am not going to hurt your friend, I am merely showing him the truth," Alistar said, moving his arms to grab both sides of an invisible object. As Alistar did this, Alex's hands moved so that both of his hands were grabbing one of the cylinders of the green Delta Morpher. Alistar's eyes flared to life as he said, "It's high noon!" The robed man's arms then split the object apart. Alex did the same, the Delta Morpher splitting into two separate cylinders. Alistar took one of his hands and put it out in front of him, angled slightly upward. He then put the other hand out, angling it slightly downward. He then traced both hands in a semi-circle, each hand going an opposite way. Alex did the same. However, his semi-circles actually appeared, a glowing-green line following both cylinders. Once Alistar's two hands had rotated to the opposite side from where they started, Alex had a glowing green circle in front of him. Numbers began to form around the inside edge, labeling 1-12. A lightning bolt spins around the numbers, finally landing on the number 12. Alistar, upon seeing this, takes a few steps forward. Alex does the same and as his body crosses through the circle, something amazing happens. His green hoodie and blue jeans were gone. In its place was a green jumpsuit, covering him from his neck to his feet. Instead of the boys tennis shoes, he was wearing a pair of dark-green cowboy boots. Black diamonds ran down the spine of the suit along with down the suits arms. The front showcased a zig-zag pattern. In the center of Alex's chest was a circle with the same symbol as the one on Alistar's head. Alex looked down at himself in amazement, and everyone else stared in awe. Seth couldn't believe what he was seeing. The green circle Alex just stepped through came up and over Alex. As it passed over his head, a helmet started forming. There was a dark-green cowboy hat built in to a mask, which matched his green suit. The visor sat right underneath the brim of the hat, both sides coming down in two points. The circle dissipated when it reached Alex's shoulders. Alistar spun around and struck a pose, his fists up like he was about to fight something. "Instinct of a Ranger! Delta Force Green," the robed man said, his eyes returning to normal.
Alex, now released from Alistar's grip, began looking at himself. The other four ran over to him. "Dude…," Chris begins to say, examining Alex, "This is so cool! Holy cow man!" Alex looked at the other four and said "Guys… I feel so powerful. I feel ridiculous looking like this… but I feel like I could do anything." Alistar comes up to the group of them and says, "THIS, is a Power Ranger. The strength that you are feeling comes from your connection to the Morphing Grid. That connection is what gives you the abilities you have as Rangers. As a matter of fact, I myself am connected directly to the Morphing Grid. If the Grid is healthy and strong, so am I." Lisa and Stephanie look at each other and Seth walks forward, saying, "So… We can ALL do this? Just because we have these… Delta Morphers?" Alistar nods and says "Yes. These Morphers have chosen YOU to wield their power. They have deemed you worthy to call yourselves Power Rangers." Alex, who was still in the costume, turns to the robed man and says "Ummmm, this is cool and all, but how exactly do I get OUT of the suit?" Alistar's eyes narrowed before a hand came back, knocking Alex right in the chest. The boy in green went straight to the ground from the force of the blow, coughing and sputtering. The suit and mask began to glow and then, in a green flash, dissipated. Alex was left on the ground, once again in his street clothes. Lisa helps Alex up as Alistar says "Usually, taking a bit of damage will make the suit disappear. Until then, the suit will remain perfectly intact." Seth was about to say something when a stone clicked across the cave floor. Alistar's head shot towards the sound, his eyes glowing the same color as before. A giant boulder that was in front of the cave wall was slowly lifted into the air and set to the side. In the boulder's place, crouched down, was two figures.
The tallest figure's head pops up, looking left and right. The figure tapped the still crouching shadow on the shoulder and said, "Wick… Wick! I think they see us Wick." The other figures head pokes up as well, looking at the five teenagers and then to Alistar. She let out an "Eep!" before ducking behind the taller figure. Alistar taps his foot, saying, "Satchel! Wick! What are you two doing outside of the Beacon? I told you two to stay inside." The taller figure stands up, coming into the light. He was dressed in a black button-up shirt and white pants. Around his torso was a silver vest, matching a silver bowtie. His neatly combed hair shone in the light, along with the tops of his black dress shoes. He gave a smile and a small bow, clasping his hands in front of his body. "Yes! You did say that. But…. We wanted to come meet the new Power Rangers. We couldn't wait!" The other figure, who was still in the shadows, softly comes out, still half-hiding behind Satchel. The other figure was a woman, a little shorter than Satchel. She wore a brown long-sleeve shirt with white pants. She had a white bow in her curly hair. She adjusted her glasses as she peered out from behind Satchel, looking at the five of them. Alistar shakes his head and says "Rangers… THIS is Satchel and Wick. They are my technology experts. They aren't very good at following orders, but I've never seen anyone quite as smart as these two." Satchel gives another bow, exposing Wick as he bent over. Wick blushed furiously, looking terrified. Seth looked back at the female, who was obviously shy beyond belief. He found himself rather… amused by these two. Satchel, once again standing back up, said "I apologize that we had to meet under such sketchy circumstances. But we simply couldn't wait!" Wick blinked and added "Y-yah… if we were being honest… We expected… more." Alistar snaps at the two of them and says "Hey! I can tolerate you sneaking out without my approval, but I do NOT appreciate rudeness. That is no way to talk to my new Power Rangers." Finally, Lisa interjects. Flustered in the face, she yells, "ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" All the people in the cave turn to look at her, seeing she was angry. She looks left, then right, finally saying "First off! This is amazing, it really is. But we never agreed to be your "Power Rangers" or whatever. We never said yes, so stop calling us that! I get that this is cool, but do you have any idea how crazy this sounds? I mean, we all have normal lives, we all have families! We can't just go off fighting monsters every day!"
A scoff is heard in the background and Chris steps forward. The boy fixes his blue shirt and flips the blue Delta Morpher in his hand. As he walks to stand next to Alistar, he says, "Well, hey. Speak for yourself. Extra power sounds cool to me. And besides, if I can become famous for this, I'm all in." Lisa just stares at Chris, anger filling her eyes. "Why you low-down, Self-centered-" but she was cut off by the sound of another pair of footsteps. As she looks to her left, Alex is walking towards Alistar as well. "Alex?" Lisa asks, weakly. He shrugs and says, "Why not? Listen, Lisa. I've been picked on my entire life, put in danger by those bigger than me. But finally, I can stop that from happening to others. I can stop people from getting hurt." Another voice, a female one, came from behind Seth and Lisa. "I hate to admit it and, as crazy as this seems… Alex is right. We saw that this is no joke, we saw it in front of our very eyes! We have a chance to help people even more than we could before. And if I can save lives… I'm going to take that chance." Lisa stares in awe as Stephanie walks towards Chris, standing next to him and Alistar. Lisa shook her head and turned to look at Seth. She just stares at him, silently telling him to not do this. Seth hangs his head and begins to walk, taking two steps forward. Lisa grabs him by the arm and says, "wh- what are you doing?" Seth looks her dead in the eye and says, "Lisa, this is crazy. It scares you and it confuses you. I get that. But look at what we have here! It's a real chance to help people! I walk those streets every day and I see people get picked on, get put into danger. But I can finally help those people! With this.. this thing at my side, I can finally do some good." With those words, Seth holds up his Delta Morpher. "You always ask me about destiny Lisa, what mine is. Well THIS is my destiny. And if I'm right, I'm pretty sure it's yours as well." He shakes his arm, causing her weakening grip to release. He walks to stand next to Alex, looking at Lisa. The girl in yellow simply looked down. A tear streamed down the side of her cheek and she said, "You're wrong… This isn't my destiny… It isn't yours either… I have to go now. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Lisa turns and walks out of the cave. Making her way to the entrance, Seth calls out. "Lisa, wait!" But with that, Lisa's walk turned into a run and she disappeared out of sight.
The four rangers watch as Lisa runs off, a feeling of sorrow coming over them. Even Chris felt at least a little bad, which shocked even HIM! Was he feeling compassion? No, no. That was ridiculous, he's probably just tired. Alistar clears his throat and takes a few steps towards the cave. Letting out a sigh and hanging his head, he says, "Well… It is most unfortunate that Miss. Pilkinton will not be joining us as the Yellow Delta Force ranger, but we mustn't let that get the best of us. We need to get started on your training!" Seth took a step forward, standing in front of the other three. "I hate to be a letdown, but I don't think any of us are in any shape to be training today." Alistar's blue eyes scan left and right, looking and waiting for one of the teenagers to object to what Seth was saying. But nobody made a sound. They all knew that Seth was right, none of them wanted to train. Too much had happened and they really just needed time to let all this sink in. Stephanie steps forward and pats Seth on the shoulder. "Seth is right! Maybe we can start tomorrow? I just think we need some time to process all of this." Alistar shakes his head and says, "Gaaahhh… You humans are all alike. But very well. All of you, get some rest. I want you all here first thing tomorrow!" Chris walks up, but he walks right past Seth AND Alistar. He holds up a hand and says, "Sure. Whatever you say, boss. We'll be here tomorrow." The boy in blue pockets his Delta Morpher and walks out of the cave. Alex and Stephanie follow and Seth walks up to Alistar. "Hey, trust me. I'll make sure they're here tomorrow." Alistar looks at Seth after the boy in red made that comment. The robbed figure taps Seth on the chest and says, "You better. You are the Red Ranger. Do you know what that means? This means that YOU are the leader. YOU oversee the safety and protection of your team, no matter what that means." Seth gulps, his eyes plastered to Alistar. He takes a deep breath, lets it out and gives the man in white a firm nod. And with that, he leaves the cave.
The next few hours were pretty boring for Seth. After dropping the other three off at their houses, he heads back home himself. He tried to do homework, but he couldn't focus. He tried to eat, but his mind kept wandering. He even tried to go to bed early, but it was no use. His mind kept wandering over to the small red object sitting on his desk. This made him think of the rangers, what he saw with Alex. Then THAT made him think about Lisa. He felt awful about the way she reacted, even if it wasn't his fault. He knew that he needed to go talk to her, he needed to make sure things were still cool between them. So, he threw on a red t-shirt and dashed out of his house. He practiced what he was going to say to her once he got to her house. "Hey Lisa, what up?" He shook his head. No, no. That's lame. "Hey Lis'… How's it shakin'?" When was I born? The 80's? Geez. "So! You're a ranger and don't want to be! I get that! But here's where you're wrong." Oh yah, sure. THAT'S what she wants to hear. Sorry, but your wrong! C'mon Seth. He was finding it harder and harder to figure out what he was going to say. He decided to just shake it off and think it up as he goes along. He was always able to do that with Lisa, just talk normally. It was one thing that made them such great friends. As he rounded the bend of the dirt road that lead to her house, his truck came to a skidding halt. Every thought of Lisa that he had, every happy memory of her was overtaken with fear. He threw open his car door and jumped out. His pupils were set ablaze by the sight ahead. Lisa's house, her small, country home… was completely engulfed in flames. The wind blew through his hair as his heart sunk further and further into his stomach. He could only mutter out one word. "Lisa…"