Hello everyone, Secretive Writer here.
Wow, I really have to work on this more if I want to finish it, but for now, here's chapter 3! This is an original chapter that has no show basis so I hope you all like and enjoy it.
DISCLAIMER: Due credit to Saban as usual.
'PR LIGHTSPEED RESCUE: ON AND OFF THE SCREEN'
Last time on PR Lightspeed Rescue: On and Off the Screen:
The ranger team has finally been assembled to fight the evil demons Diabolico, Loki, Vypra, Jinxer, and the baby Impus. Working as a team, the rangers were introduced to Miss Fairweather, the brains behind the Lightspeed powers, and the Rail Rescues just in time to take down a lava pool forming monster. With the team now assembled, the fight has only just begun.
Chapter / Episode 3: Beneath the Suit
As the ocean waves rolled in and out, things were both washed out to sea and washed up onto the shore of Mariner Bay's beach. Blue Lightspeed Ranger Chad Lee made sure he was the latter though. The last thing he needed was to get washed out to sea. He knew his limits and would never go so far out that he wouldn't be able to make it back to shore. He might be a strong swimmer, but that doesn't mean he was immune to the dangers of the big ocean, even as the Blue Lightspeed Ranger.
It was hard to believe that it was only 4 days ago that he was living a normal life as a trainer at the Mariner Bay SeaWorld Aquarium. So much has happened. One minute he was in the pool doing one of his shows and the next he was in a blue armor-suit fighting a bunch of tiny-winged creatures called batlings and a fireball throwing monster. Before he knew it, he was packed up and moving into the Aquabase to share an apartment with 2 other guys he had just met with 2 girls he had just met living next door in an adjoined apartment. For the life of him, Chad couldn't figure out what he had ever done to get himself into this mess, but he wasn't going to turn away now that he agreed to it. Chad couldn't really explain even to himself why he agreed to put his life on the line, but Chad knew in his heart that he made the right choice. It's amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye.
Chad walked back over to the Rescue Rover he had driven out of the base that morning. The entire team of rangers had gotten keys to the Rescue Rover the day they had arrived at the Lightspeed Aquabase, but until this morning, only Carter had driven the vehicle. Chad kind of surprised himself. He wasn't one to fight for the driving right and figured someone else would have fought to drive the vehicle before he got the chance to drive it. The past couple of days had been really hard on Chad in more ways than one and Chad really felt the need to go surfing to calm himself, especially with the press conference later today. Chad hoped that he hadn't caused anyone inconvenience. Currently, there weren't that many ways to travel to and from the base.
Chad looked out at the ocean after getting back on shore from his last surf. He let out a sigh and headed back towards the road where the Rescue Rover was parked. He might have needed to surf to try and calm down, but Chad wasn't enjoying the surfing like he normally did right now. Placing his surfboard back on the Rover, Chad opened up the back trunk and grabbed his clothes to change. When Chad got back, he just leaned on the side of the Rover and checked his cellphone; no missed calls. Chad let out a sigh again. It wasn't that late in the morning, but Chad made a call anyways only to hangup in disappointment moments later when no one answered. Chad had made numerous calls to the same two numbers ever since moving into the Aquabase, but had yet to receive a response. Chad remained lost in his own thoughts until a familiar female voice broke him out of his trance. Looking up, Chad spotted a familiar female figure in a grey and yellow wet suit walking towards him with a surfboard.
"Kelsey, I didn't know you were here, or that you surfed."
Kelsey chuckled. "I do all kinds of sports."
Chad let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Nice to know."
"I'm only a beginner and not that good. You're the water expert of the group. Maybe you could give me a few pointers?"
Chad shrugged. "Uh, sure"
Kelsey looked at the saddened and conflicted look on Chad's face. "You alright, Chad? What's with the long face?"
"It's nothing, Kelsey. Really. You said you wanted some pointers on surfing?"
"Yeah, I think I'm doing okay with the balancing, but I really can't go that far out right now so I can't really catch good waves.
"It's only early March so it's still pretty cold and it can be tough on beginners."
"Yeah, tell you what. You help me some with the surfing and training and I'll show you some stuff I know. You and Dana seem to already have some training and Carter catches up fast, but I think I need some help. I'm all about sports and activity, but I don't know much about fighting."
"I think Joel's the one lagging behind in that department, but if you want a training buddy, I wouldn't say no."
"Great. Come on, we need to head back for the morning training session. I don't think Captain Mitchell will appreciate two more Joels."
Chad couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle at the Yellow Ranger's reference of the Green Ranger's habit of being late. It has already been four days and so far, the Sky Cowboy has been rushing around, barely on time for any of their daily morning training. Captain Mitchell has been patient so far, but it probably wasn't going to last much longer. It didn't look like Dana's patience would last much longer either.
"I've got the Rover so we're good on time. Sorry, Kelsey. I would've waited for you if I knew you were coming. It's still pretty cold and it was early so I didn't think anyone else would be coming and I didn't know you surfed. Tell me next time and I'll wait for you so you don't have to take the bus."
Kelsey easily waved it off with a smile. "It's no big deal, but I'll do that. If you really want to apologize, why don't you let me drive the Rover back?"
Chad, unlike Joel, was no lady's man and was kind of shy around females, but found that Kelsey's cheerful attitude and witty remarks put him at ease and made him laugh. Kelsey was the last person Chad could have expected to put him at ease, but it happened. Chad didn't really know how to express himself and would always worry that he would insult someone without meaning to, especially when it came to females and relationships. Of course the two of them weren't anything remotely close to that. Kelsey's fiery temper and open frankness was something that would normally make Chad more nervous about accidentally insulting her. She may be seriously tough if angered, but Dana's calmer understanding and forgiving nature was normally more of the type that could make friends with Chad. Perhaps it was because Dana is such a serious person with such high standards that Chad was afraid of making mistakes that would anger her. Chad let Kelsey drive the Rescue Rover back as she requested and the two of them found Carter and Dana at the galley huddled over a newspaper.
"Morning," Kelsey greeted them.
"Morning, guys," Dana replied.
"Morning, have a seat," Carter greeted.
"Something going on?" Kelsey asked.
"The press conference hasn't even happened yet and it's already all over the headlines," answered Dana.
"All that's been on the news are the attacks," Kelsey pointed out.
"That's why we need the press conference. Lightspeed needs to address public safety and prevent wide spread panic," explained Dana.
Chad finally decided to join the conversation. "I know what you're saying and agree, but somehow, I don't think this is going to go well."
"Hate to say it, but somehow, I have the same feeling," Dana told them.
"We'll be able to face it, together, as a team," Carter encouraged.
"Speaking of which, where's Joel?" Dana asked.
"Don't know, but he should be around," Carter answered.
"I don't know either," Chad added.
Dana brought up her morpher to contact the Sky Cowboy. "Joel, where are you? Training's at 10."
"I'll be there in a minute," Joel's voice came over with a yawn.
Dana was a bit taken back at the yawn. "Joel… did you just get up?"
"I was up late working on my plan to apologize to Ms. Fairweather."
Dana shook her head. "You better get a move on, Joel. And as a doctor, I really don't suggest or hope you make a habit out of staying up late. We need to take care of ourselves."
"No worries, doc. I don't usually stay up too late. I'm on my way."
Joel arrived at the galley just as the other rangers were about to head back to their quarters for their training gear. The other rangers headed back to their quarters first to grab their training gear. The rangers were going to head to transport for the Rescue Rover as usual for morning training, but an announcement over the PA system called them to the conference room a little earlier than expected.
Captain Mitchell was waiting for the rangers at the conference room when they arrived. "Morning Rangers, please have a seat."
The rangers returned the morning greeting as they sat down and waited for Captain Mitchell to start.
"I just wanted to quickly go over the press conference this afternoon before we head off to training. The Lightspeed Public Office is where the public can contact to ask questions, report suspicious sightings, activity, incidents, injuries, etc. Basically, it's the bridge between the public and Lightspeed. I already mentioned that the press conference will be at 1:30 and that we'll head straight over there after morning training so make sure you bring a change of clothes and your Lightspeed jackets. Ms. Fairweather will also be at the press conference, but she will head there separately at noon. In addition to General McKnight, administrators from departments such as legal, financial, and historical will also be there. You'll meet them at lunch there before the conference starts. The public relations administrator at the public office will introduce all of the administrators including myself, but I will be doing Ms. Fairweather and your introduction."
"Sir, what exactly are we to do at this press conference? Do we make a speech, a statement or something?"
All of the rangers looked at Captain Mitchell for the answer. Carter's question was also on the mind of the other rangers. It wasn't clear what exactly the rangers would do at the press conference and Captain Mitchell understood that.
"I haven't told you guys to prepare speeches because you won't be making any. You're there because there will be questions on your view of these attacks and what you in particular plan to do about or how you plan to handle these attacks. However, refrain from fulfilling unnecessary comment requests and answering personal questions. Keep any responses short, simple, and to-the-point. Digging for information is part of the press' job and that's what we don't want. This conference is not meant to be a publicity stunt, it's to address public concerns and safety, and to calm the public. We want the public to know that we have things under control and that we are taking every possible action towards their safety, but they should still be aware and careful. What we don't want is for the press to dig up and report information on the personal lives of Lightspeed officials, especially you guys. Some people have already seen your true faces from that first attack and pictures have already been leaked so the press is going to want to dig. Joel, I know you have interview experience and know how to handle personal questions and the press, but you're not to be in the spotlight today. Please remember that and keep the focus on safety. Kelsey, you've won a competition or two so someone in the press may recognize you. Try to prevent them from cooking up a story if they go after you. Carter, Chad, and Dana, the public doesn't know you guys so the press may try to dig. Keep disclosure to a minimum and deflect if possible. I don't think you guys want your personal lives revealed either. Any other questions?"
The point was pretty clear to the rangers. "No, Sir."
"Good. Go grab your training gear and head to transport, time for training."
- / - / - / - / - / -
The cold and darkness that surrounded this realm petrified even the bravest of humans, let alone the suffocating evil sensation. This wasn't anywhere humans would reside, but it was what the demons called home. Right now though, the residents of this terrifying realm were more concerned about defeating the group of color-coded, power-armor-wearing humans that were standing in their way.
"Pesky rangers, that Lightspeed Megazord of theirs is really powerful." Loki growled.
Vypra's piercing eyes watched the recap scene shown through a cloud of power. She was analyzing, looking for areas of exploitation. "That may be true, but we WILL defeat them. After all, they are just humans."
Diabolico turned his head at Vypra's statement. "Hmm, Vypra's right. They may be protected by armors of power, but in the end, they are just humans. Our powers are natural, but theirs is linked. Let's get rid of that link, shall we? Or maybe… twist it. Jinxer!"
- / - / - / - / - / -
Captain Mitchell walked down the line of rangers watching them practicing their punches and kicks. Once again, the training was focused on combat. While the rangers still had some way to go in terms of combat, they were doing better than expected. The fact was that three of them were beginners when it came to martial arts and the other 2 were still juniors. They still needed some time to grow and advance and that was what all of their training was for. The rangers were actually progressing better than Captain Mitchell had hoped for so Captain Mitchell was actually worried about something else at the moment; the press conference.
Captain Mitchell had given the rangers instructions, but when it comes to digging up information, the press can be just as efficient as any police or government investigations force, sometimes even more so and the press' ability to cook up stories and twist words around is unprecedented. Lightspeed had to put on a good show and it wasn't going to be easy. If things didn't go well, rumors and chaotic distrust can get out of control very quickly causing even more problems. Captain Mitchell was just about to dismiss training and have the rangers prepare for the press conference when one of the assistants came up with a walkie-talkie.
"Sir, contact from the Aquabasae", the assistant reported.
Captain Mitchell took the walkie-talkie. "Mitchell here."
"There's an attack over at sector G, Sir."
"Contact the public office and inform them that the press conference will have to be placed on hold until the attack has been taken care of", Captain Mitchell ordered. "Rangers, attack at Sector G, get going."
The rangers immediately told at attention and saluted. "Yes, Sir."
- / - / - / - / - / -
The rangers arrived at the scene of the attack to see a battery-like monster with an outlet-like scepter letting out shockwaves and dealing damage to the area along with several batlings. The monster had a plus sign on one side and a minus on the other with the rest of its body looking almost like wires that are hooked up to a battery.
"That's enough," Carter called out.
"You must be the rangers, I've been waiting for you," the monster taunted.
"Sorry we can't say the same," Joel shot back.
"Now, don't be rude. I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Enertwist, and I'll be your downfall", the monster said.
"We'll see about that, you guys ready?" Carter's authoritative voice responded.
"Ready", the other rangers answered in sync.
The rangers morphed and went right into combat. Instead of sending out the batlings first, Enertwist stepped right into combat with the rangers. Enertwist swung his scepter at the rangers. Chad grabbed the scepter and kicked Enertwist in the abdomen. Joel and Kelsey followed up with a double punch and Carter and Dana slashed Enertwist with their Rescue Blasters in baton mode. This knocked Enertwist back, but Enertwist wasn't done. Enertwist blocked the incoming punch from Chad and kicked Chad back a few feet. Enertwist grabbed the incoming punch coming from Kelsey and knocked Kelsey into Dana stopping Dana from attacking. Enertwist then whacked the incoming Carter and Joel with his scepter. Enertwist then blasted the rangers off their feet with his scepter. With the rangers knocked off their feet, Enertwist held out his left arm and five wires shot out wrapping around the five rangers' left wrist where their morphers were. Enertwist let out a laugh and the five wires along with the scepter started to glow the rangers' corresponding colors while the rangers struggled.
"Argh, what's happening?" Dana questioned as she struggle between the unstable energy and trying to pry the wire off.
"My power, it feels like it's being drained", Joel said as he struggled with the wire.
"I feel it weakening too", Kelsey added.
Chad's situation was no different. "The wire won't come off."
Carter focused between trying to pry the wire off and Enertwist. "You won't get away with this."
"But I already have", Enertwist replied.
At that moment, the rangers demorphed and Enertwist thrusted his scepter towards the five batlings that were there. Five energy beams shot out of the scepter and engulfed the batlings in a quick flash. When the flash was over, the demoprhed rangers couldn't believe their eyes. The five batlings had the rescue blasters in a holster on their waist and were partially armored with the gloves, boots, and chest plates of the ranger suits.
"No way", Joel breathed.
"This can't be happening", Dana quipped.
Enertwist was smug at the shock. "Oh, but it is. You see, I have the ability to redirect energy and guess where I have redirected yours. I think I'll call them Batling Rangers. Get them!"
The five batlings armed with ranger powers charged at the now powerless rangers. Things didn't look good. The rangers were still new and were at a complete disadvantage without their powers. Joel and Kelsey were soon on their backs with Carter following not too long after. Chad and Dana couldn't hold up either and ended up on their stomachs. Enertwist stepped up to the five powerless rangers struggling to get up and their bearings, the scepter in his hand ready to blast. Carter was the first one up and ran head first at Enertwist suddenly shoving the monster down to the ground. As soon as this happened, the five batlings pulled the blasters from the holster on their waists and aimed for Carter.
Without stopping, Carter turned and ran towards the other rangers. "RUN!"
The others didn't need to be told twice. The five powerless rangers ran for the Rescue Rover to head back to the Aquabase all while avoiding blasts that were coming their way.
- / - / - / - / - / -
Back at the Aquabase, the shoot-covered and now powerless rangers were in an emergency meeting with Captain Mitchell and Miss Fairweather.
Captain Mitchell wasn't at all pleased with how things have turned out. "How can this happen? The five of you are the ones chosen. Your powers can't be taken that easily. Miss Fairweather, what's the situation?"
"All systems are working fine. There's nothing for me to fix. That monster didn't block or sever the rangers' link with the morphing grid but rather harnessed the energy and redirected it towards the batlings. The rangers are acting as adapters in this case.. The energy and power we have harnessed from the Power Pendants is flowing to the rangers through the morphing grid. What that monster did is cause the rangers to transform and transfer that energy and power to the batlings".
"Can we perhaps break and re-establish the rangers' connection to the morhping grid?" Captain Mitchell asked.
"You know it doesn't work like that. We can't control how the Power Pendants bond. Even though we choose the ranger candidates, it was ultimately up to The Power within the pendants whether or not the candidate will be granted The Power", Miss Fairweather replied.
"We can't let them use Lightspeed technology to cause damage, can we stop the energy flow and prevent them from accessing the rangers' power for now?", Captain Mitchell asked.
"I'll definitely see what I can do, but I can't guarantee anything. If there isn't anything more I can do to get the rangers their powers back, I'll work on shutting down the energy flow so that the batlings can't use the ranger powers", Miss Fairweather replied.
Joel was at a complete lost. "What do we do now? If we can't morph into rangers and can't access our weapons, how are we going to defeat that monster?"
"We'll definitely figure out how to get your powers back, but for now, you can't engage in battle with the demons", Captain Mitchell replied.
"I doubt that Enertwist is going to wait for us to get our powers back. Now is the perfect time for the demons to attack", Dana said.
"Dana's right", Carter agreed. "But we can't fight in this state,"
"For now, we have to go on the defensive. You can't fight Enertwist in your current state. What you need to do is make sure civilians get to safety. That is our primary goal at this point. Do your beast to avoid direct confrontation until your powers are restored, which hopefully will be soon. The press conference has been postponed in light of the attack as well. Dismissed", Captain Mitchell said.
- / - / - / - / - / -
A battery-like monster came walking through a dark doorway towards the group that was waiting for him consisting of Diabolico, Loki, Vypra, Jinxer, and the infant Impus.
"Enertwist reporting back, I have successfully redirected the rangers' power. They can't morph now and are powerless while we can even use their own power against them", Enertwist reported.
"Good, we must take this opportunity to attack while we have the chance. Now, destroy that city so that we may get our palace back", Diabolico ordered.
"Of course", Enertwist replied.
- / - / - / - / - / -
Just outside of Mariner Bay, an automobile was driving along the expressway towards Mariner Bay. In the car, a middle aged man was at the wheel, next to him in the passenger seat, a 14-year-old boy in a blue hoodie sweatshirt, jacket, and jeans. The father-son dual were only a short distance away from their destination.
"I know it's a bummer that I have work today even though it's a Saturday, but we can explore Mariner Bay tomorrow", the middle-aged man said.
"Dad, I know you're busy with your work. Don't worry about it. We still have tomorrow to look forward to."
"Thank you for being so understanding, We'll spend the day together tomorrow, I promise."
It was at this time that the car pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. After checking into the hotel, the middle-aged man headed out with his briefcase leaving his son to his own devices. The son decided to have a look around, but had only walked a block before trouble brewed. Scared and screaming civilians came running past him. A look of familiarity crossed the boy's face and the boy ran towards the source of the commotion instead of away. Upon arrival, the boy spotted a very familiar scene of a monster and a group of foot soldiers terrorizing people.
"And I thought I was done with this kind of thing", thought the 14-year-old.
The 14-year-old wasted no time and proceeded to fight the tiny-winged black creatures and telling civilians to run for it. Despite not having any idea who these creatures were, the boy fought. He wasn't going to let these creatures hurt anyone if he could help it. It was at this time that the Rescue Rover pulled up with the Lightspeed Rangers in it.
"We've got to get those civilians to safety", said Carter.
"Right", the others agreed.
The now powerless rangers proceeded to help the civilians get to safety. After having been trained for several days, the rangers were able to handle the batlings better than before, but they still had some trouble, especially with the batlings that can now use ranger powers. Seeing several batlings heading for a 14-year-old boy, Carter tried to rush over to the boy, but was stopped by batlings.
"Run", Carter yelled at the boy while struggling with the batlings
Carter was surprised when instead of running, the boy perfectly tornado kicked a batling into a second batling followed by punching a third batling. Not only that, but the boy was on the offensive and wasn't struggling with the batlings. Carter was taken aback. The boy was a better martial artist than the five of them.
Enertwist wasn't just going to stand there. Enertwist sent out a blast for the boy.
"Look out!" Carter called over to the boy in desperation.
The boy grabbed the arm of the batling in front of him and swung around pushing the batling into the path of the blast. Enertwist turned his attention to the boy and attacked with a punch. The boy blocked the punch and followed up with a kick. The other rangers also took notice of the boy who was now fighting the monster. The boy had a hold of the monster's arm and pulled the monster around to into a roundhouse kick. Although Carter wanted to help the boy, Carter was having trouble with the batling that had the Red Ranger powers just like the other rangers had trouble with the other batlings that had access to ranger powers. Seeing the boy was holding his own against Enertwist, the rangers were impressed with the boy's skills, but also worried about the boy's safety. The rangers, however, couldn't help the boy until they got past the batlings that had access to ranger powers.
Chad and Dana were able to hold up in hand-to-hand, but had trouble when the batlings used the rangers' own blasters against them. Kelsey, Joel, and Carter already had some trouble with hand-to-hand, but things got worse when the batlings used the rangers' own blasters against them. Things didn't look so good for the rangers.
Back at the Aquabase, Captain Mitchell watched the monitors assessing the situation while Miss Fairweather worked on trying to get the rangers their powers back.
"Miss Fairweather, is there any progress? the rangers can't hold on for much longer", Captain Mitchell urged.
"I'm working on it. I have also contacted the Red Space Ranger Andros to see if he could help with the morphing grid", Miss Fairweather answered.
"What did he say?"
"He said he's going to try to get a hold of someone who knows the ins and outs of the morphing grid."
It was at this time that Lightspeed picked up an incoming transmission. The face that showed up was a blond male in his twenties with glasses.
"Hi, I heard from a friend that you're having trouble with the morphing grid."
Miss Fairweather immediately responded. "Yes, you are?"
"Billy Cranston, someone whose very familiar with the morphing grid."
Miss Fairweather certainly needed the help. "Great, we need some help here. A monster has tampered with the ranger's morphers and has caused the rangers to transform and transmit the Lightspeed powers to batlings. All systems are working fine though. How can we get the rangers their powers back?"
"Evil normally doesn't have access to The Power, but there have been rare occasions where evil got temporary access to The Power. For the previous rangers, their powers was raw and wasn't harnessed so we can't fully lock The Power with the chosen rangers, but you guys have harnessed it, so you should be able to block those, what did you call them?, batlings? from using your Lightspeed powers."
"Yes, I am working on stopping the energy flow, but is there a way to get the rangers their powers back right now?"
"Can I get your system reports to take a look at your links?"
"Of course, let me send those to you right now."
Captain Mitchell waited as Miss Fairweather sent the young man the system reports. Things were quiet as Billy reviewed the reports. Everyone was hoping that there would be a way for the rangers to get their powers back. However, it didn't look like that would be the case.
"It looks like the block will only work to prevent this from happening again. In order to get their powers back, the rangers will have to defeat the monster. The only thing you can do right now is stop the energy flow so that The Power isn't used against you. Once the rangers get their powers back, then I can help you with locking the link between The Power and the rangers so that this doesn't happen again", Billy reported after looking through the reports.
Captain Mitchell was worried upon hearing this. "But the rangers need their powers to defeat this monster"
Billy, however, stayed calm. "They will have to be resourceful and think of another way to defeat the monster. Trust in the rangers, trust that they will be able to defeat the monster, even without their powers."
With those last words, the transmission ended. While it seems that Miss Fairweather wouldn't be able to get the rangers their powers back, she could shut down the power flow so that the batlings couldn't use the rangers' own power against them and that is exactly what she did. As the rangers' were struggling with the batlings that had access to ranger powers, Miss Fairweather shut down the energy flow and the batlings reverted back to their original forms.
Seeing the batlings revert back to normal form, the rangers took this chance to attack. Carter block a punch from a batling and followed up with a hard kick. Chad grabbed the kick coming for him and quickly twisted the batling's leg knocking the batling to the ground. Joel blocked a kick from the batling and grabbed the punch that was heading for him followed by kicking the batling to the ground. Kelsey dodged a punch and sideswiped the batling that was coming for her. Dana ducked out of the way of a punch and went in for a low sweep knocking the batling off its feet.
With the batlings finally taken care of, the rangers turned their attention over to the fight between the boy and Enertwist. The boy definitely had some skill to be able to hold up against Enertwist this long, but Enertwist was able to land a kick on the boy, sending the boy several feet back and on his back. Enertwist then once again launched a blast the boy's way. Carter ran for the boy and pulled the boy on his feet and out of the way of the blast just in time.
"Come on, we got to run", Carter told the boy.
The boy looked at the five people in uniform jackets in front of him. A knowing look crossed the boy's face when the boy spotted the morphers on their wrists.
"You guys are rangers, aren't you?", the boy asked knowingly.
"Well, yes, but we currently have a problem where we can't access our powers, so we can't fight the demon monster right now so we have to run", Joel explained.
The boy only smiled and ran back to fight Enertwist even as Carter called out for the boy to wait. The rangers watched as the boy blocked a punch from Enertwist and kicked the monster. Enertwist swung his scepter at the boy. The boy grabbed the incoming scepter and used the scepter to swing around tornado kicking Enertwist off his feet. Enertwist got back up and launched a blast towards the boy which knocked the boy off his feet. The boy only got back up to fight again.
"We've got to do something", Chad said. "The boy's good, but he's going to get seriously hurt if this keeps up."
"But what can we do without our powers?" asked Joel.
"If the boy can fight without powers, so can we", said Carter.
"What? We just started training, we aren't as good as the boy", Kelsey pointed out.
"The boy doesn't have any powers, but is doing his best to fight, so we should do our best to fight too, come on", Dana said.
Dana ran and joined the fight between the boy and Enertwist. The other rangers looked at each other and joined the fight as well. Although the boy and the rangers were able to land some punches and kicks, Enertwist was hardly fazed. Enertwist blocked Joel's incoming punch and kicked Joel off his feet. Enertwist then matched Chad's incoming kick with a kick of his own. Dana's incoming punch was grabbed by Enertwist and Enertwist swung Dana around and landed a whack on her back with his scepter.
The boy blocked an incoming punch from Enertwist and landed a hard kick on Enertwist's abdomen sending Enertwist sliding back several feet. Carter and Kelsey followed up with a punch and kick that Enertwist returned sending Carter and Kelsey flat on their backs. Enertwist then launched a blast at the group of six and all of them got blown off their feet.
Joel groaned as he got up. "This isn't working."
Kelsey picked herself up from the ground. "We need a plan."
The boy once again got back into the fight while the rangers looked around at each other trying to figure out what else they might be able to do. Dana spotted the fire hydrant across the street and that was when it hit her.
"Water! The demons are weak against water. Come on"
The group immediately ran to the Rescue Rover and grabbed the hose and wrench in the back compartment while the boy continued fighting Enertwist. With Carter's firefighting experience, the hose was attached in record time. The rangers followed Carter's lead and ran towards the fight with water rushing out of the hose.
"Out of the way!" Carter called out to the boy.
The boy turned around and spun out of the way just in time for the water to hit the monster. It looked like the plan worked because Enertwist looked almost like he was short-circuiting and dropped his scepter.
"It's working, keep it up", Carter ordered.
When the rangers were done, Enertwist laid on the ground, not moving at all.
"Alright, we did it", Kelsey cheered.
Before the rangers could celebrate however, a swirling energy surrounded the monster and the monster grew to enormous height.
"Now, what do we do?" asked Joel.
The boy grabbed the fallen scepter and smashed it on the ground. Five colored beams shot out of the smashed scepter towards the rangers.
"Did we just… we got our powers back!", Joel said
"I'll leave the rest to you guys", the boy told the rangers.
The rangers called for the Rail Rescues and formed the Lightspeed megazord after contacting the Aquabase about them getting their powers back. The monster launched a punch that the megazord blocked with a punch of its own. The megazord kicked Enertwist twice followed by a punch sending Enertwist to the ground. Enertwist, however, got back up and send blast for the megazord knocking the megazord back a few feet. Enertwist then tried to land a punch on the megazord, but the megazord grabbed the incoming punch and held on as the megazord kicked Enertwist to the ground again. The rangers then used the Lightspeed megazord saber to land a fast finishing blow on Enertwist.
After the gargantuan-sized battle, the rangers surveyed the damage. There were plenty of debris to clean up and repairs to do, but the damage was contained. The rangers were more interested in the boy who helped them though. Dana spotted the boy starting to walk away from the scene.
"Hey, wait!" Dana called out to the boy.
The boy stopped and turned around watching as the rangers ran up to him.
"Thank you so much for your help today", Dana told the boy.
Carter gave the boy a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Yeah, I think you need to teach us some of your moves."
Kelsey gave the boy a friendly slap on the back. "I have to agree, you were awesome."
"I have to say, you got guts fighting Enertwist like that", Joel stated.
"Yeah, but you need to be careful. You can get seriously hurt like that", Chad cautioned the boy.
The boy didn't seem to be worried. "I know what I'm doing. I didn't just rush in and fight the monster just because I know martial arts."
"You certainly seem to know what you are doing. How did you know that smashing the scepter would give us back our powers?", Joel asked.
"Lucky guess", the boy replied knowingly.
"How about you give us some pointers?" asked Carter.
The boy only smiled. "I think you guys will be just fine as long as you remember what it means to be a ranger. That's the most important thing."
"What it means to be a ranger… what do you mean by that?" Kelsey asked.
"That's one question you need to answer by yourselves. I have to go now, bye", the boy said before turning to walk away.
"Wait, how should we address you?", Dana asked.
The boy answered without turning around. "Justin"
- / - / - / - / - / -
Back at the Aquabase, the rangers met up with Captain Mitchell and Ms. Fairweather for a debriefing in the conference room.
"Alright rangers, good work today. Still, I would like to remind you all to be careful. You were lucky today, but you won't always be that lucky. I am relieved and glad that you are all willing to fight even without your powers, but don't do anything reckless. I don't want any of you to get hurt", Captain Mitchell told them.
"It's all thanks to Justin. If Justin hadn't step in and fight Enertwist like that, we would've just ran", Carter said.
"You've got to admire the guts the boy has, fighting Enertwist like that without any powers" said Chad.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have been able to defeat Enertwist", Joel answered.
"He did seem somewhat experienced in regards to fighting monsters", Kelsey pointed out.
"Make that very experienced. It was almost like… You don't think he's a ranger too, do you?" asked Dana.
At Dana's question, everyone in the meeting looked at each other. Was that even possible?
"He certainly acted like one", Kelsey pointed out.
Joel was skeptical at the idea. "But he's like what, 14?"
Kelsey wasn't buying Joel's skepticism "So what? Is there a minimum age requirement for being a ranger or something?"
Carter didn't think it was impossible. "Regardless of his age and whether or not he's a ranger, we owe today's victory to him".
"That's right, we didn't give up today and we shouldn't give up in the future no matter how tough things get", Dana said.
"That's right. If we want to protect the city and its citizens, we can't give up even if things get tough", Carter agreed.
"Glad to see that what happened today didn't get you down. I want you guys to keep up that fighting spirit. Things will only get tougher as time goes by, but don't let that get you down and we'll make it through", Captain Mitchell encouraged.
"After what happened today, there will be plenty of work for me too. I need to work with Billy on securing and locking your links to the morphing grid so that what happened today doesn't happen again as well as adding to your arsenal", Ms. Fairweather told the others.
"Thank you Ms. Fairweather, but first things first, let's get ready for the press conference", Captain Mitchell prompted.
The rangers headed out of the conference room after the meeting along with Ms. Fairweather. While the others headed back to their quarters, Joel followed Ms. Fairweather to the weapons lab.
"Miss Fairweather? Can I talk to you for a moment?", Joel asked.
"What can I do for you, Mr. don't-need-help-from-a-deli-tron-computer-geek?", Miss Fairweather replied.
Joel winced at the statement. "Okay, I deserved that. I'm really sorry, can you please forgive me?"
Miss Fairweather looked at Joel's sincere face. "I was expecting some elaborate forgive me plan instead of this straight up apology."
"I do have one", Joel replied. "I was going to treat you to an apology dinner with flowers, apology card included, and being your obedient little dog, costume included."
Miss Fairweather let out a chuckle. "I think I'll pass."
Joel smiled. "Figured as much. I guess sincere's the way to go, huh?"
Miss Fairweather nodded. "Yes, sincere is the way to go."
Joel took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to insult your intelligence."
"Would you be apologizing if it wasn't me who designed the zords? ", Miss Fairweather asked.
"I'm too cocky for my own good. I get it", Joel answered.
"Yes, some modesty would do you good."
"I'll work on that. So, will you accept my apology?"
"Apology accepted, but don't do it again. We work as a team here."
Joel saluted Miss Fairweather. "Yes, madam."
Miss Fairweather let out another chuckle before walking away. "Alright, go. We need to get ready for the press conference.
Uncertainty crossed Joel's face. "Right, the press conference"
- / - / - / - / - / -
At the auditorium of the Lightspeed Public Office, a number of reporters had turned up for the press conference. The attack had caused a three-hour delay, but the press conference was finally starting. The administrator of the Lightsped Public Office started off with introducing the administrators at Lightspeed High Headquarters. Captain Mitchell took over as soon as he was introduced.
"Thank you. As mentioned, I'm Captain William Mitchell. First, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to come to this press conference and apologize for the delay due to the attack earlier today. There has however, been a slight change to today's press conference. The rangers will not be attending. I assure you that the rangers are fine from today's earlier battle and could have been here. The rangers chose not to attend because, in their words, their job is to fight and protect this city and its citizens, not be public superhero figures. They do have some words for you that I will share right now."
(Flashback)
The rangers were at their quarters preparing for the press conference after Joel returned from apologizing to Miss Fairweather, but after today's attack, the press conference wasn't in their thoughts. Today's attack made the rangers feel powerless. If the boy named Justin hadn't help them out, Mariner Bay would still be under attack and the city might be turned into rubble and people could have gotten hurt. Them going to the press conference and being introduced just didn't seem right to them.
"Does anyone else think that we shouldn't be going to this press conference?", Dana asked.
"I won't be saying that we should go", Kelsey replied.
"Me neither", Chad added.
Joel looked at the others. "I can't really think of anything that would make our presence at this press conference a must."
"It's unanimous then", Carter said.
The rangers all looked at each other. It seemed that all five of them had reach the same conclusion; they shouldn't be going to the press conference. They weren't suppose to be public superhero figures.
"Do you think Captain Mitchell will allow us to skip the press conference?" Chad asked.
"I'm not sure, but dad's reasonable. If we give him a good enough reason, he may let us skip the press conference", Dana answered.
"How should we say it then?" asked Kelsey.
"Got me", Joel quipped.
"I think I know what to say. Come on", Carter said.
At the boys' common room, Carter took a piece of paper and began writing. After he was finished, Carter let the others read it before taking it to Captain Mitchell. After reading what Carter wrote, the other rangers couldn't agree more with what Carter had written. With the unanimous decision not go to the press conference and the unanimous agreement of Carter's statement, the rangers went to see Captain Mitchell for permission not to attend the press conference.
At transport, the rangers spotted Captain Mitchell and Miss Fairweather ready to go.
"Everybody ready?", Captain Mitchell asked
Carter answered with a question of his own. "Sir, is it possible that we don't go?"
Captain Mitchell looked at the rangers. "You don't want to go to the press conference?"
Carter took a deep breath. "Sir, you said so yourself that this press conference is to address public safety issues and other important matters, not assure the public that we're here to save the day. Look at what happened today. We will certainly try our best, but at the end of the day, we can't guarantee that everything will be alright. After what happened today, it's clear that our job is to fight and protect this city and its citizens, not be public superhero figures. We all agree that we shouldn't go to this press conference. The public will certainly have lots of questions about the recent attacks and a press conference is needed, but us being there isn't. While we don't think we should attend this press conference, we do have some words we would like to share with the public. These words should be enough to make up for our absence."
"Please Captain, we didn't join Lightspeed for recognition as superheros", Chad added.
Captain Mitchell relented as he watched the others nod at Chad's statement. Captain Mitchell wordlessly took the paper from Carter with a nod and left with Miss Fairweather for the press conference.
(End flashback)
Captain Mitchell took the piece of paper Carter had given him and began to read the words that were on the paper.
"Citizens of Mariner Bay,
Not even 12 hours ago, we expected to be here perhaps even saying these very words to you in person. That changed with today's battle. Our purpose is not for you to recognize us as saviors or heroes of any kind. We are humans as well and today's battle proved that. We are not rangers because we wear the suits or use special weapons. We are not rangers because we train and fight monsters. We are not rangers because we protect the city either. We are rangers because we are standing up against hatred and violence. That is what we are fighting against. We might be fighting monsters and saving people, but the essence of what we are fighting for is peace and understanding. That is why we chose not to attend this conference. We are no different from anyone else. The purpose of this conference is to address safety and other practical concerns, not assure the presence of heroes to save the day. The outcome of this fight against the demons is unknown. All that we can assure you of is that we will train hard and fight with our last breath against the damage that we have seen. Thank you."
Captain Mitchell folded the piece of paper and placed it back in his pocket after he was finish. With the statement from the rangers now read, the press conference officially started.
- / - / - / - / - / -
The rangers watched the press conference on the monitor back in their quarters. The rangers not being there turned out to be for the better. The rangers being there would have been too much of a distraction. The conference would have been focused on interviewing the rangers and information digging instead of addressing public safety on how to receive warnings from Lightspeed and other important matters such as how damage and heaven forbid injuries, and even possible deaths, resulting from attacks would be handled. While thanks goodness there hasn't been any deaths so far even after the collapse of several buildings and the formation of a localized lava pool, people have most certainly gotten hurt. The rangers would do their best to protect Mariner Bay and its people, but there is no way that the rangers can guarantee that everything and everyone would be alright in the end. The rangers being at the press conference would only be an overtly prideful publicity stunt.
It was one of those rare times when even Joel was actually glad about not being in the spotlight. "You know, I'm actually glad we didn't go to that press conference."
"I'd say we definitely made the right choice seeing how smoothly it's going," Kelsey agreed.
Dana looked over to Joel. "You really surprised me, Joel. I thought you'd go for sure."
"Look, I'm proud to be a ranger. I really am, but even I understand that it takes more than the armored suit to make a ranger."
Carter couldn't agree more "Spot on, Joel. It also takes heart and dedication."
"Don't you guys think that's the essence of being a true ranger?" Chad asked.
Kelsey thought back to what Justin said. "Isn't that what the boy Justin was saying? He said we should be fine as long as we remember what it means to be ranger."
The rangers all looked at each other, contemplating the boy's words. Chad had been entirely right. A true ranger doesn't just wear the suit and fight monsters when an attack occurs. A true ranger is more than that, much more. As the rangers watched the press conference and thought back to their experience today, they never felt more like truer rangers than they did at that moment. For the first time, they felt like rangers even without the suits.
Carter knew from their looks that everyone was thinking the same thing. "Being a ranger isn't about the fancy suit…,"
Kelsey continued Carter's thought. "…or all the cool weapons…"
Joel felt there was more meaning to being a ranger after today. "…or the fame and glory…"
Chad knew it wasn't going to be easy, but this was the right thing to do. "…because being a ranger is about…"
Even Dana felt that today was a valuable lesson. "…never giving up in fighting for what's right."
The five rangers nodded at each other and raised their morphers in a fist pump. There was absolutely no way to determine whether it was real or not, but the morphers almost seemed to have glowed at that moment, as if to say that The Power agreed with what they said.
Next time on PR Lightspeed Rescue: On and Off the Screen:
It's time to train and learn ways to get stronger in order to defeat the demons, but Carter seems to be having a bad day. Nothing seems to be going right for him. Just what in the world happened? Will Carter be able to break out of his slum or will things just get worse?
My Comments:
This chapter was actually tougher to write than I thought it would be. Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter. This is an important chapter because the Lightspeed team was the first team of rangers that was actually hired as a job instead of being directly chosen by The Power. They need to learn that being a ranger is more than a job. I hope I did a good job showing how the five of them learn to put their hearts into this fight against Bansheera and her minions. I chose Justin to make a comeback here because he is the youngest person to be a ranger. I wanted to make the point that being a true ranger is about what you are fighting for, not just taking down the monsters. I also chose Justin because no one would think a boy of his age would be a ranger. I didn't have Justin reveal his ranger identity because it's better that way. If a young boy without powers can stand up to the monster, then the Ligthspeed team can as well. I also brought in Billy to help with the morphing grid because I figured he was the most familiar with it and also at the request of a reader. I had to have Andros be the middle man because until Countdown to Destruction, no one knew who the rangers were and it was the space team that revealed themselves last minute. Basically, Lightspeed had to go through a member of the space team, who would then go through Tommy before being able to contact Billy. All in all, I feel as if this chapter can be better, but I guess it turned out alright. Please review. Hopefully, I can get future chapters up faster, but for now please bear with me. Since I don't have everything worked out, I might have to go back and make some changes. I am trying to avoid those though. Until next time...
~Secretive Writer.