Power Rangers: Public Enemies
Episode 29: The wrong thing for the right reasons
"Billy! Why?" Jason's fury knew no bounds at that moment. His teeth were bared, the blood in his fists pumping wildly. "What the hell have you done!"
"I saved the world." Billy smirks. "What have YOU done?"
"QUIT PLAYING GAMES!" Jason roars. "What the hell have you done, summoning Baal! What's the big idea!"
Billy takes out a cigarrette. "Well now, I suppose you might have earned the right to know. But I warn you, it IS a long story. Do you have time?"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Jason rushes towards Billy, but Billy merely takes out a stun gun and shoots Jason squarely in the chest.
"What were you thinking, Jason? That you could go gung ho at the guy who had the brains to summon Baal?" Billy watches as Jason's limp body falls to the ground.
"Bastard." Jason cannot move, but his face was not yet paralyzed.
"Sticks and stones, Jason." Billy sits down next to Jason's paralyzed body. "Well now, do you finally have time? I see you do."
Billy chuckles. He lights his cigarette.
Meanwhile...
"Impressive." Sergeant Silverback scratches his chin. He walks over to the hull of his ship's main Power Supplier. He walks over to the ship's main gun's Power Chamber, opens it, and removes the Corona Aurora. He shows it to Kat Manx and Fowler Birdie.
"This ship is the most advanced piece of technology SPD has to offer. It's main cannon, at 1005 power, fires a laser with a power capacity of 100,000,000 gigawatts, enough to wipe out a city of 300,000 people." Kat trembles in awe of the Corona's power. "But with that...Crown... the power was over a googolwatt... I have never seen such an energy source..."
"Utilizing that Crown, we can make an innumerable number of scientific advances." Fowler Birdie eyes the Corona.
"It is unfortunate, then, that the Corona Aurora is outside your reach." The Sentinel Knight steps out of the shadows and takes the Corona.
"What are you doing?"
"The deal was to use the Crown of the Gods to power up your gun and kill Baal." The Sentinel Knight points towards Moscow's ruins. "Baal's dead. The deal has been accomplished. Now, good bye."
Before he teleports away, The Sentinel Knight takes one last look at the planet Earth, knowing he had no friends in that planet anymore.
"Well then, communicate with this planet's leaders. Tell them we will meet with them." Birdie gives the order to his ship's communicator.
Back at Angel Grove's mountains...
(The following narration is Billy's speech to Jason.)
How did all this happen, Jason? Three years ago, so little ago, the Power Rangers were known the world over as a force for good. Three years ago, when Casey and his Rangers were fighting Dai Shi and his beasts, there was no way to think any of this would happen. Three years ago, everything seemed so bright and sunny.
But here's a little something you didn't know, Jason. Three years ago, while the Jungle Fury was fighting Dai Shi, several corporations were trying to make their own Power Rangers. How did they know they could do it? Because Andrew Hartford already did it. That's right Jason. It's a game of follow the leader, and everyone wants to play.
Several paramilitary companies were salivating over the idea of creating cheap, efficient 'super soldiers' and super weapons. Mass produced Power Rangers, entire armies that were invulnerable to conventional weaponry, with enhanced physical prowess and access to a wide variety of powerful weaponry. It was a military enthusiast's wet dream. But there were problems...
Did you know, Jason, that our 'activities' were slowly chipping away at the US' economy? Every time we fought, we would cause accidental property damage. True, people seldom got hurt, but there was still damage.
Whenever the United States economy suffers, the world economy takes a major blow. You might not have noticed, but during the last decade, everything began to get more expensive, and taxes began to increase slightly. In 2000, taxes were at 3%, but in 2005, taxes were at 8%. In 2006, when people were complaining about gas being at 99 dollars the barrel, the governments of Burma, Yemen, and Sierra Leone, to name but a few, declared bankruptcy and closed their governments down. Their peoples were quite upset. In 2008, the same thing happened in nations like Seychelles, Qatar, Cyprus and Monaco. All this served to hit the world economy. Meanwhile, here we are, fighting monsters and causing damage, just adding up to the problem.
Meanwhile, guess what the government wanted? That's right Jason, they wanted to stop the problem. But, here's the thing: How do they stop us? They haven't the power nor the money to stand up to the forces of evil like we do. They needed us, we were too important to replace.
But there was an even bigger problem, Jason. We were powerful. We had the technology to level cities, with little effort to boot. So, guess what the big wigs at Washington thought? They thought "Why don't we have that?" We were a power they didn't control. What did they have to control us? Nothing. So that is why they feared us.
The big wigs in Washington were practically masturbating to the fantasy of controlling an army of Power Rangers. With that army, no one could stand up to America. But there was something only a few of those politicians did not count on, Jason. There were seeds of a new movement in America, a movement that wanted laissez-faire economics to make a comeback.
Do you know what laissez-faire economy is? It means that the Government doesn't get involved with the economy at all. No governmental controls of any kind. That means no FDA, no taxes, the works. Now, here's a little question: what does this have to do with anything? Well, let me get there, Jason, don't be so impatient.
The Government wanted Rangers they could control. Rangers they could call out to the field of battle and fight for them. The companies were making them those Rangers, whilst at the same time there was a movement to weaken the Government's control over the market. The companies were turning the Power Rangers into a product the Government could buy. But with Laissez-Faire, the Government would not be able to interfere with how the companies 'sold' the Power Rangers. There was just one tiny little inconvenience: There were still plenty of active Rangers that worked for 'free'.
What those companies wanted to make, they couldn't because we were still active. They wanted a monopoly in Ranger technology and services, but they couldn't, because WE were still around! We were a thorn on many people's sides, Jason. So, what to do, what to do?
The paramilitary companies wanted us gone, but they couldn't get rid of us because our identities were still a secret. No one knew who we were, so no one knew who to kill.
Oh? You didn't know about this, Jason? Oh yes, a lot of important, powerful people wanted us gone. People that were sick of a Power greater than America's, people that wanted to make money off of what we did for free, Plenty of people would have killed us if they knew who we were. So, how to find out who we were, Jason? How can our identities become known?
Did you know that these same people were beyond angry at president Patton Oswald? Oh yes, Jason, they were pissed at him. Want to know why? Because he asked us to unite against Mesogog's forces. Remember that, Jason, when Mesogog tried to escape from Hell using the Crystals of Gaia? When the world needed the Power Rangers together? People were pissed because Oswald recognized us as necessary, because he recognized the fact that America was not strong enough to handle Mesogog OR every other enemy we faced. Mesogog and his buddy, Maximov the demon vampire, proved to be the catalyst for change in America.
Remember how proud we were when we united together and stopped Mesogog's forces from escaping Hell and taking over the world? That was our finest hour, Jason. Our finest hour... marred by Maximov summoning Baal, using those same Crystals of Gaia you see on the ground here. It took all of us, Jason. ALL OF US! And what happened? We failed to save Angel Grove, but we managed to save the world...
No. We didn't save shit.
The destruction of Angel Grove proved to be the grain that tipped the scale and spilled the rice. The world economy plummeted in less than a week. Because of Baal's summoning, the world's surface became less stable, more prone to earthquakes. In three weeks, seven earthquakes all over the world... Haiti, India, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Puerto Rico, just to name a FEW countries that were devastated by earthquakes. And people didn't care. No one cared, not just because it wasn't them, but because those that were not hit by natural disasters were rioting.
Remember the riots? Remember how those shanty towns smelled of shit and blood? Remember how people trampled over each other for medicine and food? Remember how so many children died from curable diseases? People needed heroes, Jason.
It wasn't us. We weren't the heroes the world needed. We did our best, Jason, but it proved too much for us. We couldn't keep the peace. The riots began to wear away the patience of many of our friends and allies. Remember how you reprimanded Will and Kelsey for using deadly force during that riot in Silver Hills? Well, they had been trying to get people to calm down for three days straight. They told me they couldn't sleep for more than an hour a day while they were there. That was all our stories, Jason. We were tired and angry. Tired of fighting a losing battle. Tired of saving a world that insisted on destroying itself. And angry at that world that couldn't care less.
And what happens next? As far as the people were concerned, we were the guys who blasted at them when all they wanted was food and medicine. No one gave a crap about us, Jason. People were more than happy to see us gone.
Enter the Ranger Act. Now, you and I both know the official reason for this law, that whole 'scapegoating' thing. As far as the people were concerned, it was a fair compromise by the good government of George Sears to prevent similar disasters from happening again. What you probably didn't know was that this was only the beginning.
With the Ranger Act, our identities could be made public. With the Act, the Government would know where we lived, even, keep tabs on us all. Likewise, with this information, anyone could kill us. And thanks to the Act, the same people that wanted us gone had the information they needed to make it happen. With the old Power Rangers gone, the paramilitary companies would be free to charge whatever price they wanted.
It was the beginning, Jason! The beginning of a new age of capitalism, where even the war between good and evil was privatized! A world where 'heroes' charged for saving people! No...a world without heroes... The world of the almighty dollar... The War Economy.
I needed to stop this. A friend of mine whom I had known for ages, a person who knew of my time as a Power Ranger, gave me all this information. His name is Wade Miles. He helped me gather all this information because he knew what was going on, but was powerless to stop it. He and I had been planning a way to save America, and the world, from this new age of rampant and unchecked capitalism, this world of a war economy.
He and I originally planned to revive Lord Zedd and have the Power Rangers defeat him. Lord Zedd would rise up, crush whatever army or Private Power Ranger tried to stop him, and then face his end at the hands of the REAL Power Rangers. That is why the Space Rangers helped me. I told them my plan, to gather the Crystals so that I'd bring back Lord Zedd. What a great plan, Jason. Bring back Lord Zedd, unite the Rangers, stop Zedd and save the day. Then everything will be OK, and we can all go back to how we were.
But I couldn't do that, Jason. Doing that might have meant that the Power Rangers would become heroes in the eyes of the people again, and it might have stalled the Private Rangers movement, but it isn't enough. There will always be a much larger problem.
Jason, this whole thing we do has to end. The Power Rangers as they are can not continue existing! 2009 has proven that the world needs a consistent team of Power Rangers to be at the ready for anything! 2010 has proven that these same Rangers need to be well trained, and knowledgeable in ways of stopping riots! And 2011 has proven that the Power Rangers need to be above nations and governments.
Jason...Trini died for this world. She gave her life for it. She and Dex died so that this world would see another sunrise. And did the world deserve it? No. This world, whose people don't give a shit about anything or anyone but themselves does not deserve heroes. This world that tramples over children for food and medicine does not deserve heroes. This world that tries to destroy itself EVERY FUCKING TIME does not deserve heroes! This world didn't deserve her sacrifice! This world deserves to be destroyed!
But I can't. I can't sit by and watch the world Trini gave her life for be destroyed. I can't sit by and watch as some fat bastards who don't care about anything but money tell the world that if they want to be saved from the next Rita Repulsa or Lord Zedd that they need to pay upfront, cash only. I can't stand idly by knowing that our children won't have heroes.
The world needs heroes. The world needs protectors who work for the people, not for money. But the world also needs professional heroes, not the 'volunteer' system we've been using for the last eighteen years. Jason, that system does nothing but interrupt the lives of TEENAGERS, innocent civilians, and forces them to fight battles they have no business fighting. For the love of God, we once recruited a CHILD! How? How can we sleep at night knowing that our options are either keep this going, or allow the companies to take over? I decided on a third option.
I decided to summon Baal, let him cause enough damage to weaken every nation in the world, and then let him be destroyed by an outside force, who will then become our new saviors. This outside force, Jason, is called Space Patrol Delta, and they have Ranger technology.
Thanks to Baal, no nation in the world will be able to sustain themselves. Those that had been managing to get by until now will no longer be able to do so. If any government wants to prevent their people from rioting, they will accept SPD. Space Patrol Delta will protect this world, now and forever.
It's a new beginning, Jason! The people will have the heroes they need, professionals that are on duty at every hour of every day.
(Billy's narration ends here.)
"But Billy, you've killed..." Jason moves his arm. Billy looks at him, unaffected.
"Billy, let me tell you who you killed, just so they won't be faceless victims to you." Jason tries getting up. "Bella, Blaise, Wind, Kenneth, Arthur, Casey, Theo, Lilly, Taylor, Alyssa, Cole, Danny, Max, Kelsey, Joel, Chad, Dana, Carter."
Jason slowly gets up, his legs still a bit wobbly. "Nick, Vida, Chip, Ronny, Dax, Will, Andros, Ashley, Carlos, TJ, Cassie, Udonna, Leanbow, Justin, Kat, Rocky, Tanya, Aisha and Zack! And don't even think these are the only people killed because of you! There must be millions of people dead as well!"
"Considering his power, I estimate at least a billion deaths." Billy can't face Jason, his shame far too apparent. "I know."
"Billy, killing people is never the right thing." Jason stands tall and proud.
"I may have done the wrong thing, but I did it for the right reasons." Billy grabs the two Morphers.
"The wrong thing for the right reasons is STILL the wrong thing!" Jason assumes a fighting stance.
Billy chuckles. He turns to Jason, and tosses him his old Morpher with the Tyrannosaurus Power Coin. "Then DO something about it! You know what needs to be done!"
In unison: "It's Morphing Time!"