AN: Slightly dialogue heavy chapter but this is setting things up for the future. Plus, I want to get the early action out of the way before I buckle down into actual slice-of-life stuff and not 'three days later' skips.
Chapter 7: Interviews
"This has got to be one of the dumbest things you've done."
Bri sighed as she parked the ute on a side lane, allowing the throngs of reporters, journalists, and news vans to pass. Several news helicopters were landing on the turf, ensuring Ethan would have a meltdown at the damage, though the damaged one had been forced to turn back. Bending down to pick up the work phone from under her seat, she looked to the right to see the media circus Victoria Park was becoming. Smack bang in the middle of it was, of course, Weihan. After the Ogre had exploded in a tremendous explosion that had shattered all windows in the area, she had called his phone and strongly requested that he get out of there. Sure, he could still hold a press conference and introduce himself, but he needed a solid plan. Hanging around after two battles for journalists to rip him to shreds was not conducive to a good day.
"I am not going to refute that." Weihan sounded almost dead. "And, yes, I would have accepted getting out of there but this needs to happen today."
"How do you know?" She was sceptical of that; on the other hand, the Ultra Crystals had to have immense power and, maybe, limited sentience. She didn't know but she supposed anything was possible. "Does the Power impart foreknowledge of things?"
"I can't really explain it, though I'm going to have to practice explaining now." He sighed, muttering under his breath as a lectern was set up in front of him. "I have an internal Power Guardian, the voice we heard before. That tells me certain things, though it takes a lot of concentration and ability for her voice to manifest outside my mind…or something along those lines. Ah man, that wasn't much of an explanation at all."
Bri giggled nervously, watching the Ranger pace as the crowd gathered. She wasn't one for watching the news, but could make out a few 'famous' faces. One, of which, had broken away from the main group and was directing her colleagues. The reporter in question was fiddling with a headset and bending down in front of Weihan. Gods, he just attracted all the women to him…and why was he stiffening as if he knew her? She watched him bring his left hand up to the side of his helmet, his voice holding a slight air of shocked witfulness to it.
"I'm also going to have to cut this off now; some news reporter is testing her equipment in my face."
Ending the call, the Orange Ranger stared out at the crowd of professionals, amateurs, and podcasters hastily finishing their setup. The reporter in front of him finished tapping her headset and smiled brightly at him, tucking a strand of long brown hair behind her head. Gods above, she was still as beautiful as ever; not to mention, she had been the first one extremely flattered by her inclusion into his fanfic. They had been in somewhat regular contact for the first five years after High School, but she had vanished from all socials after. He also hoped his morph disguised his voice to some extent, or she would be the first person to discover the identity of an actual Ranger.
"Hi there," she chirped brightly, "I'm Eliza McLaren, with ABC Australia, and I'm going to be the moderator for this press conference. Now, before we start, are there any topics that are completely off the table for discussion? Something like enemies or powers?"
"Identities." He said, praying the Power was hiding his voice. Seeing as how his old friend didn't react, he supposed it was doing a good job. "I'm a bit shy around new people, so I'm not going to be revealing all at this early stage. I'm also unsure as to who sent down the monsters, though I have an idea. You could say that my job literally started this morning."
Eliza nodded to herself, jotting down some notes on her phone as a flatscreen monitor was raised next to them. At 39, she had certainly made quite the name for herself in the world of journalism. Her report on the attacks in North Sydney in 2003, amateur as it was, had made her an overnight sensation in the radio world. Soon, she was asked to cover more important events, such as the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and, more recently, the outbreak of Coronavirus in Australia. She had been gearing up to fly to Washington to report on Trump's new sweeping laws and how they would affect the middle class. Then, the call had come and everything had ground to a screeching halt. Actual, real life, monsters, were attacking and an actual, real life, Power Ranger was defending innocent lives. As her cameraman gave her the signal to go ahead, her mind flashed back to the face of an old friend – one she hadn't seen in decades. Wherever he was at this moment, she hoped Weihan was watching.
"All right, thank you to everyone for coming here on a notice so short, it was stunted." She paused to let the chuckles die down. "For those of you watching at home or listening in via radio or our News Apps, my name is Eliza McLaren and I'll be the moderator for…whatever this is. Now, everyone above a certain age remembers the shocking events of early 2003, when what we thought we knew about the world was turned on its head. Until that time, we had thought monsters and, dare I say it, Power Rangers, were only relegated to the world of fiction and badly written television shows."
She pressed a button on the microphone and the screen sprang to life. Weihan's eyes widened under his helmet as he saw still images that, until recently, had been akin to grasping at mist. The Ivory Tiger and Emerald Dragon Crystal Rangers battling against the Dream Weaver monster, with his left leg barely in the shot. He thanked whatever deity was up there that the static camera hadn't captured them morphing.
"On that day," Eliza continued, "the world was protected by strange Power Rangers that mysteriously vanished after their battle. Due to some unknown phenomena, memories of the battle were gradually erased – except recorded images. These stills were recently unearthed, though their significance was only brought up several hours ago – almost as if they had been hidden behind a blockade of some kind. However, we aren't here to discuss still images of Rangers long gone. No, I daresay all of us are here due to him; we don't know where he came from, we don't know his name, but we are all wanting to know more. So, I'll invite the man of the hour to speak a few words, before we open the floor to questions."
Yeah, he should have listened to Bri. It would be so much easier with a plan of attack. On the other hand, he wouldn't be revealing his full hand; rather, he would be dangling a carrot in front of them in the form of his Crystal. He only hoped it didn't reveal things too soon.
"Ah, yeah, ok then." He swallowed; glancing left to convey muted apologies to Bri. This was going to suck. "Hi everyone, I'm the Orange Ultra Ranger and, well, I've come to defend the world against an alien warlord called Xonix. Yes, it is true that this world has touched the Power before; those Rangers that were here came from a dimensional wormhole opened by the monster they battled. When they destroyed the creature, the residual energies allowed them to leave. Um, if it's OK, I'll open the floor to questions."
Eliza nodded thoughtfully, filing away the information for later use. While she hadn't had any recent contact with Ashley, she knew her ex would always be up for a research mission. If she could just get some untransformed shots of the Rangers, their identities would be known for all to see. What were the odds that the girls under the uniform existed? On the other hand, from what she recalled of an old fanfic she had read, their lives would be changed irrevocably by the privacy intrusion. Lifting a hand, she pointed to one of the reporters.
"Jane Sullivan with The Guardian." A blonde woman with a tight ponytail smiled at the Ranger. "I suppose we're all a bit curious as to who you are under that helmet. Now, I overheard you speaking with the moderator earlier about this and, I completely understand your hesitance on this matter. However, can we get some information about your Powers?"
The Ranger nodded once and dipped his helmet down. In a flash of light, a brilliant orange Crystal appeared, hovering in front of him. Eliza's breath quickened as she saw strange images reflected on the sides. In them, she saw herself in the Chapter House of St Andrews Cathedral, talking to Weihan and his two friends at the time – Alex Burns and the late William Hoyle. Alex's sometime girlfriend, Rachel Lee, could be seen on the fringes, as could Rachelle Cole – Weihan's ex-girlfriend. The image changed and her mouth dropped open as she saw herself lying down in what looked like a destroyed area of the Botanical Gardens, the remains of a purple crystal in her hands. Her body shook involuntarily as more images flashed. Her defending a small group of armour-clad ponies. Running through a fortress of some kind, while a massive battle raged outside. No, the images weren't from the past…wait, she was hearing her voice.
"Carnotaurus Ultra Ranger, Eliza!"
"Think with your upstairs brain, Red Ranger. Doing that will allow you to judge your enemies better, especially if they are of the opposite gender."
"It's nothing. Just some…RR issues."
"At what point did we lose control?"
"We had control?"
No…the second last voice hadn't been hers. In fact, if she recalled it correctly it would be…but that was insane! The times didn't match up at all! On the other hand, no, she would get a straight answer out of him later, off the record. She would just have to hang around Victoria Park for a while. Coming out of her stupor, she cursed under her breath as she realised, she had missed almost all of his answer.
"-and that allows me to connect with the Ultra Grid to, uh, materialise this shiny suit, armour, and weapons." He seemed to smile under his helmet; when did he get to be such a good public speaker? "Actually, I have to thank the council gardeners that were here before, they helped to get a few stragglers out of the way. OK, so, next question?"
"Chris Masters, Channel Seven," A mousy looking fellow rose up. "You spoke earlier about the Rangers that came from a dimensional wormhole. Can you please elaborate on that? Who were they, do you know their identities, and can you be 100% certain that they won't return?"
"Well, as I stated earlier, I will not be revealing any identities." Weihan sighed in frustration, running a hand over his helmet. "They are known as the Ivory Tiger and Emerald Dragon Crystal Rangers. I use the term in present tense, as I am unaware if they still continue to hold the Power or if they have given it up. Breaking through the dimensional barrier is tricky work, it's like punching through a solid diamond wall with only your fists. That, unfortunately, also prevents them from coming back to assist in any time of need. Look, I'm not saying that's an impossibility, just highly unlikely."
"Wei," Bri's voice echoed in his right ear, startling him slightly. "Ethan's coming in around fifteen minutes to check in on us. You need to wrap this up quickly."
He nodded once to show acknowledgement and, making exaggerated movements, brought up his left hand to rest near his temple. Moving his head back and forth, as if he was searching for something, he forced his shoulders to slump down before injecting some amount of frustration in his voice.
"I'm sorry folks," he fake-growled. "I'm going to have to call it here; I've just gotten word of two energy signals approaching and, as I just destroyed two creatures, I don't think any of you will want to stick around for-"
"Ranger!" The harsh rattle echoed through the air. "Now, your battle truly begins!"