ALONE, PART 1.
Gotham City, the site where the base of zone C was located, had been quiet for a few days, and this only meant that something bad was going to happen. However, for the still untrained Power Rangers protectors of the area, it meant relaxation period, except for the new Dark Ranger who would train them in a way never before seen.
In addition, in Zone B there had been a robbery committed by a certain white character dressed in an elegant suit and antique hat, and you could not see his face, except his old monocle. This mysterious character had escaped his capture in Zone B, and was now coming to Zone C to complete his evil plan. He would steal the other two components to complete his plan.
The Rangers would have to use their skills better, and that would be the next day's training.
XXX
The next day…
"Do not be offended, commander. But, the five of us against you? "Kal asked, who could not help but have some amusement in his voice when he saw that he would face Major Wayne. "I do not think it's fair. Why not just one at a time? "
"It will sound weird, but I agree with Kal," agreed John. "I do not think you can against the five of us."
"Yes, commander. We do not want to see you cry when we throw you to the ground. "
"I'll manage alone, cadets. And by the way, you'll be crying later, Allen. "Commander Wayne replied. The last thing he said scared Barry again.
The girls had thought the same as the men, but they agreed not to say anything until they left the commander lying and subdued on the floor.
Have had spent three days without much criminal activity, so Major Wayne had put his five Rangers into training exercises the three days to make a final assessment of the capabilities of their Rangers. Now they were ready to begin the real hard work. Obviously, he had given them little tips during the previous trainings, it was time to demonstrate what was wrong with each one.
"Ready?" Kal asked.
"Ready!" Answered the other four in unison.
"Justice League, activate!" The five said in unison.
"Justice League, activate!" Major Wayne said.
"Justice League Rangers." All five said at the same time.
"Dark Ranger." Major Wayne said. "Rooftop scene." He ordered. As they were in the simulated training room, Major Wayne ordered the stage to be that.
"Why not in the center of the city, commander?" Shayera asked.
"You have fought all your missions in buildings or on the streets, so now we are going to do something different, cadets." The Dark Ranger replied before putting himself in resting position. "It's time to see what you can and can not do. Cadet El, you first, and do not try to prattle or keep an eye on the city today." Obviously, Kal would not want to watch the city at any time.
"Good, commander," said Kal. "I swear I'll be merciful to you." Kal jumped and started throwing punches at the Dark Ranger. He could not hit a hit. The Dark Ranger kicked him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. Kal jumped and punched the Dark Ranger, but was intercepted. The Dark Ranger took Kal in his hands and threw him back to the ground. Kal got fed up and fired with his laser vision. The Dark Ranger drew his Dark Sword and bolted all of Kal's shots.
"You are very predictable, cadet. Try to make some new movement, or the criminals will force you to do it, "the Dark Ranger said. The Dark Ranger spoke to John and Barry before Kal could retort that his laser vision was infallible. "Let's see what you can do, cadet Stewart and Allen."
"It's time to knock him down," Barry said.
Barry ran around the Dark Ranger for five seconds before falling to the ground because of having stumbled upon the Dark Sword of the Dark Ranger. John created a sword and launched a thrust at the Dark Ranger. The Dark Ranger and John launched several thrusts but Barry got up behind the Dark Ranger and was about to throw a good punch, but the Dark Ranger hit him with the tip of his sword in the chest and then another punch from the Dark Ranger, before he hit John in the side, then in the chest and then in the leg.
John fell to the ground, but created a bike with which he tried to crush the Dark Ranger. Everyone was surprised by the great agility of the Dark Ranger, since they had never seen him on the battlefield. The Dark Ranger threw a boomerang at John and hit him around the neck, distracting him, which he took to give him a flying kick, and then cornered him with his sword in John's neck. Barry tried to help John. He did not even see a mysterious object coming that threw the Dark Ranger at his feet, stumbling and falling to the ground, with the Dark Ranger putting his foot on his chest.
"Is that all you know how to do?" The Dark Ranger asked, too angry that his Rangers had only one form of attack.
"No, sir." John replied, still with the Dark Sword still on his neck.
"No, sir," said Barry, who found it difficult to speak because of the foot he had of the Dark Ranger pressing against his chest. The Dark Ranger withdrew his foot from the chest of the yellow Ranger and helped him up, then withdrew the Dark Sword from John's neck.
"Well, it's time to see if the girls do a better job," the Dark Ranger said, waving a hand at the blue and pink Ranger to come over. The female Rangers were smiling under their helmets. They felt very confident; both were ultra-feminists, and believed that the commander would be lucky if he could hit them.
"Do not feel bad, commander." Diana said. "We will beat you faster than you believe, so it would be better if you just gave up."
"Then I attack first, Prince." Said the Dark Ranger running with his sword towards the female Rangers. The Dark Ranger launched a downward blow against the Rangers, separating them. Shayera threw a punch that blocked the Dark Ranger, Diana threw a kick, which was also blocked. The Dark Ranger threw two punches, one for each Ranger, hitting each one. Diana punched again, but the Dark Ranger ducked and kicked her knees, knocking her to the ground. Shayera kicked the Dark Ranger's chest, but he jumped and punched Shayera in the chest.
Diana got up and threw swift blows at the Dark Ranger, blows that were dodged before he grabbed Diana and threw her to the ground. Shayera got up again and took out her pistol with the Morpho, then fired at the Dark Ranger. The Dark Ranger went back to using his Dark Sword, deflecting all the shots from Shayera, and started running towards her. Diana tried to attack the Dark Ranger from behind, but the Dark Ranger bent down and Shayera's shot that was for the Dark Ranger was directed at Diana.
"Sorry Diana," said Shayera.
"The target is always in motion, cadet Hol." Said the Dark Ranger. "He never stays still. Remember that, or you'll shoot the wrong target again. "The Dark Ranger finished before Diana threw punches behind him again and again, but the Dark Ranger began to jump, giving mortals in the direction of Shayera. Upon arriving, Shayera tried to use her power of electricity to show the commander that she was smarter. The Dark Ranger grabbed Shayera's right hand and used it to touch the hand Diana had used to hit the Dark Ranger. Diana received a strong electric shock from Shayera, falling stunned to the ground. The Dark Ranger left Shayera and gave his hand to Diana, but she got up without his help. She did not like that this man left her lying on the floor.
"You are a good team, but you still can not coordinate, cadets," the Dark Ranger said.
"I do not need advice, Wayne." Diana said turning her back to him. Although the two had "helped" in special situations, both she and the other Rangers still did not have the respect and confidence that the commander needed. In fact, this training made them feel a little frustrated, because they did not like being beaten so easily, and also amazed that the commander knew how to fight better than them.
"I saw your skills in small groups, it's time to see what you can do as a team." Ordered the Dark Ranger.
"All right, but do not get mad when we crush you like an ant," Barry said.
"Enough of bragging. Attack, "said the Dark Ranger.
Kal shot the Dark Ranger using his heat vision, but the Dark Sword contained the shot was returned to Kal. Kal fell and held his chest. He did not like this at all, since his heat vision was almost infallible.
"Use another attack, or you lose the battle, cadet," the Dark Ranger said.
Diana drew her sword with her Morpho and beaten towards the Dark Ranger; Barry ran and the Dark Ranger blocked Diana's blow, kicked her in the hand, causing Diana to drop the sword. The Dark Ranger jumped and grabbed the sword and threw it at Barry's legs, causing it to fall and then brandished a blow to Diana's chest. John created another hammer and began to throw punches to the ground wanting to hit the Dark Ranger, who dodged all his punches, then entered Shayera firing with his pistol. The Dark Ranger waited for the right moment and threw a batarang at the pink Ranger, deflecting the pistol and hitting Kal.
John formed a machine gun, wanting to hit him once and for all, but the Dark Ranger jumped and fired a device with a hook that hit him in the chest and threw a big rope that launched itself at Kal, who was getting up again. The rope caught Kal unprepared, and it was noticeable because he flew quickly to John, the two bodies crashing with a heavy blow. Shayera was helpless after Major Wayne took the gun from her hand and hit her both in front and in the back.
"Hit him with all your weapons!" Kal ordered shouting. Barry, Shayera and Diana used their pistols and aimed at Major Wayne; Kal and John did not need guns, since John created his machine gun again and Kal had his laser vision. The Dark Ranger was surrounded. "Aim ... fire!" Kal ordered.
The Rangers fired their weapons, but the Dark Ranger fired a smoke bomb, causing the Rangers could not see it. The Rangers fired, but they did not hit anything. When the cloud of smoke dissipated, Kal saw that his fellow Rangers lay on the ground, totally defeated. Kal looked around to avoid a surprise attack from Commander Wayne, but it did not help him, because a strong blow to his back knocked him to the ground. The Dark Ranger was standing with his authoritarian position on his Red Ranger, who still could not do his job, like the other Rangers.
Obviously, the Dark Ranger would not be involved in team matters for now. The priority was for their Rangers to improve in combat, but this would have an unexpected effect.
"And the exercise is over, cadets," the Dark Ranger said. "As long as you do not deactivate your suits, there are more exercises to be done today. And before you protest, you will not rest until we've finished the exercises. Simulation finished."
The virtual training room returned to normal, and the Dark Ranger left the training room, but stopped.
"Follow me." He ordered.
The Rangers followed the Dark Ranger, very reluctantly. The next exercise was chase in a huge hallway, not on the outdoor obstacle course. The Rangers came to a long corridor designed for chases, which was a corridor with certain metal walls, and the odd fixed bar to hang on. The Dark Ranger turned around and gave the directions to his Rangers.
"This exercise is new, but it is somewhat similar to what you do daily on the obstacle course. Exercise is persecution, and it is very simple. All six have to get to the other side of the aisle, without me touching them. "
"Great, this mission will be easy especially for the fastest man in Zone C." Barry said getting into position to run.
"All at once. No one is left behind." Ordered the Dark Ranger. "Go to the start line."
The Rangers still did not want to do this exercise after the Dark Ranger had kicked their asses. Also, they had never had to do such a skill test before, and only Barry and Diana wanted to do this test. Diana would not look weak against anyone, and Barry felt very confident about being the fastest of the Rangers. Diana and Barry went to the starting line quickly, and the others followed slowly.
"When the lights go out, it starts," the Dark Ranger said before entering the tunnel, walking very calmly. As he had a black suit, the white light made it very detectable, but half the lights went out, and the Dark Ranger disappeared into the darkness and the Rangers entered the tunnel using their training.
Kal had no problem jumping obstacles. Maybe Kal is not the most skillful man in combat, but he is in the obstacle course because he could jump great distances like Diana. He and Diana were technically the strongest, but not the most skilled in several issues.
John was the most disciplined of the five, until the Dark Ranger arrived, and he wanted to prove even more his great approach to the mission. Barry wanted only to win or approve the exercise and leave.
While the others ran fast, Shayera was slow. She had had a different breeding method than the others due to living on a planet as hostile as Thanagar, and this helped her to monitor all sides of the corridor, because the Dark Ranger had unpredictable attacks, something that was confirmed in the previous year.
Shayera could not see when someone simply touched her helmet, knocking her down. It was the Dark Ranger who touched her and left quickly to eliminate the other Rangers from the exercise. He touched John so easily and then slammed him against the wall. Diana followed with the touch of the Dark Ranger's sword, then Kal after he dodged a boomerang but the track moved causing it to fall to the ground, and the Dark Ranger stepped on her chest. Only Barry remained, who was closer to the exit of the corridor.
Barry had achieved the challenge. Since he started running he did not look back to see his fellow Rangers, and ended up falling into a trapdoor that he had not seen coming. The Dark Ranger came to Barry and took Barry by the hand and pulled him out of the trapdoor, but Barry had already lost. The lights came on and they saw the Dark Ranger again in all their authority.
"Next exercise, Rangers."
The Dark Ranger knew that their first time in this exercise would be failure, but not a terrible failure. But this he would not tell his Rangers, they had to find out for themselves. The Dark Ranger began to leave the corridor to get to the shooting practice room. The Rangers followed Major Wayne, who was still wearing the Dark Ranger's costume heading towards the back of the shooting practice room.
"This is the last exercise," the Dark Ranger said. "Objective of the exercise: stop before it reaches you. Positions."
Kal and Diana took cover and took out their pistols with the Morpho. Barry got in position to run and reach the Dark Ranger without him seeing it. Shayera also took cover in order to face the Dark Ranger, and John would take care of the difficult path for the Dark Ranger.
"Let's start." He commanded the Dark Ranger before starting to run through the different corridors and launch a small smoke bomb at John. John created a force field with his mind and prevented the smoke from surrounding him.
Barry came to the Dark Ranger from behind but did not see the Dark Ranger grabbing hold of the bar, doing a somersault and hitting Barry in the back. The Dark Ranger is put to cover and throws two boomerangs towards Kal and Diana who hit the guns, leaving them useless.
Shayera attacked the Dark Ranger with a sword, but the Dark Ranger had no problem easily defeating the Pink Ranger with a single thrust. The Dark Ranger was about to reach Kal and Diana, but John interposed with a hammer. The Dark Ranger used a device that created a sonic scream distracting John, leaving him helpless when the Dark Ranger hit him in the chest knocking him down. Kal and Diana were also affected by the sonic scream emitted by the Dark Ranger's apparatus, so when it arrived, it did trotting instead of running. The Dark Ranger did not boast at any time, because he wanted to show humility. Kal and Diana ran but the Dark Ranger unsheathed his sword and aimed at Kal.
"The exercise was to stop me before I got to you, not to beat me when I got to you," the Dark Ranger said. "Do not complain. The training is over. Get out, cadets."
"Yes, sir." The five Rangers said in unison but with a slack tone. The Dark Ranger had lowered everyone's spirits, and perhaps it would be very difficult for anyone to regain their confidence in a short time.
However, Kal started to believe that this was good. At first he thought this was going to be bad, but then he started to see that this could be better than hr expected. He could not wait to share it with his teammates after they took a shower to eliminate the bad taste left by the Dark Ranger.
XXX
Hours later…
Kal walked through the corridors of the base of the Zone C of the United States, having as destination the entertainment room. He still found this base and Zone as deplorable. He was surprised that Diana considered this place acceptable, but he began to share Diana's vision a bit. Thanks to the Dark Ranger and the other thing he wanted to do today, they had just made Zone C more acceptable. Kal entered the room, with John reading the manual, Diana playing with the computer, Barry playing foosball with himself and Shayera lying on the couch.
"Hi fellows," said Kal, showing off his clothes.
"Maybe the commander was right, you're acting like a child," Barry said, quitting playing foosball to make fun of Kal's clothes.
"Correction, Barry, the Dark Ranger." Kal said. "There is no one who is safe from the Dark Ranger, not even Diana."
Diana got mad at this. He got up and stood in front of Kal.
"He kicked your ass too!" Diana yelled. "Did I laugh at that?!"
"It was just a joke, Diana." Kal said raising his hands in his defense. "Do not kill me."
"Do not get mad, Di," Shayera interjected. "I did not like that he beat me up either. It was so humiliating. "
"Do not feel humiliated, girls ... and boys." Barry interjected. "That was unfair. The commander had devices that we do not have, and he studied us for a long time, and we did not know anything about his fighting style, so he was unfair to us. "
"This will help us improve, newbies." John added. "Now tell us why you're dressed like a good kid we've seen in comedies."
"Simple, I'm going to surprise Lois when she leaves work." Kal answered with a huge, happy smile.
"I do not think the commander will let you out to be with Lois, Kally," Barry said. "I think the commander does not like you for the first time you brought her to the base."
"She will not come to the base. I will accompany her to her house, and I am sure that we will have a pleasant time; and, the commander will not punish me. Now that he is the Dark Ranger, he has taken a weight off me, and I will take advantage of him to go out with Lois, "Kal finished.
"I do not think it's a good idea, Kal." John said.
"It's a good idea. You have seen how he overcame us. At first I thought that this would be bad, but now he has taken a burden off us. They should take advantage of it, "Kal said, desperate because Lois was leaving work in no time.
"It's true, Kal." Shayera said as she went back to bed. "Now I can do what I can not do because of the missions the Dark Ranger gives us."
"Well said, Shay," said Barry, sitting in the chair next to Diana, who still could not find Barry amused. "With the Dark Ranger, now I will decorate my bed."
"Do you decorate your bed?" Diana asked.
"Eh ..." Barry tried to say.
"Do not tell me," Diana said.
"I do not want to ruin your fun, Kal, but will not we be neglecting too much?" John asked.
"It will sound weird, but John is right." Diana added. "In Themyscira we have been taught not to trust everyone."
"I do not know about you, but the Dark Ranger keeps his guard up for everyone. Now, excuse me, but I have to go for Lois, "Kal said before leaving.
"Please, Di and John, the Dark Ranger has saved our lives," Barry said. "And our free time."
"It's true, with the Dark Ranger, we're safe," John said. He was still thinking that this was bad, but as long as he followed the orders of the Dark Ranger, he would have the promotion to leader at some point.
"Well, then I'll leave everything to the Dark Ranger." Diana said a bit mockingly. She was not yet convinced to leave her safety in the hands of a man she still found difficult to trust, but she had an interest. But I wanted to do something good for the team.
XXX
Overnight…
All the Rangers slept comfortably in each room, but Kal slept very happily. He had taken Lois to a coffee shop where they had had a very nice conversation, which made Lois see Kal as a good person. In fact, she was beginning to see Kal more attractive than the last time. They had not seen each other for a while and the appointment was satisfactory for both of them. The two agreed to meet again, and Kal told him that when he had a chance he would see her again. Even Lois told him he would look forward to it.
The others were relaxed and comfortable. In fact, everyone agreed to leave all the work to the Dark Ranger or most of the work to him, so now they really rested.
The alarm sounded, interrupting the comfortable sleep of the Rangers, getting up and going to the conference room. J'onn was in the conference room watching the monitor, and Commander Wayne was not in sight.
Barry came into the room and Shayera shouted, because Barry had a green face, because he had an exfoliating mask.
"It's me Shay." Barry said.
"I did not know you were very effeminate," John said. Everyone else laughed.
"Hey, this is rejuvenating. Do you think this beautiful face is the work of chance? "Barry asked.
"Yes, from the chance and mud that Diana brought." Shayera added.
Everyone laughed, even Diana.
"Rangers," said Commander Wayne, arriving in his uniform. There was nothing to indicate that he slept in pajamas. It was weird, it seemed that he had no life apart from this. "Theft in the museum. Stop it at all costs."
"No problem commander," said Kal, who hoped the Dark Ranger would attend the battle. "Ready?"
"Ready!" Answered the others in unison.
"Justice League, activate!" Everyone shouted in unison. "Justice League Rangers!"
The elegant man in the white suit had stolen the last item he needed to carry out his plan. Nothing would stop him, not even the Power Rangers. However, he did not know that there were Power Rangers here, besides he was in Zone C, so the Power Rangers of Zone B would not go for him. The elegant man gouged his objects in his top hat, like a magician who takes out or puts something in his hat to do his magic trick. The Power Rangers arrived, as always showing their imposing position.
"The Zone B Rangers followed me here?" The elegant man asked. "Did not they learn the lesson the last time?"
"We are not the Rangers of Zone B, we are from Zone C." Kal said. Sadly, Kal thought when he said it. "One, Kal-El, Red Justice League."
"Two, Diana Prince, Justice League, blue." Diana said.
"Three, John Stewart, Justice League, green." John said.
"Four, Barry Allen, Justice League, yellow." Barry said,
"Five, Shayera Hol, Justice League, pink." Said Shayera.
"You're too smart to be a criminal," Barry said.
"I'm from London but they'll never lock me up again," said the elegant man. "But I'll gladly beat them all."
Shayera went to the elegant man and electrocuted him a little by touching his arm, but the elegant man pierced Shayera's arm and beat her and sent her to his companions. John prevented Shayera from crashing into them, and went to attack the elegant man with creations of his mind like saws and cars, but the elegant man emerged unscathed from all attacks. The elegant man shot John a good shot, so he created a small shield around him but surprisingly the elegant man went through and shot him with his cane. Kal fired his laser but the elegant man caught the laser and returned it to him, knocking him down.
"It's not fair." Kal grumbled.
The elegant man fired his cane at Barry and Diana, hitting the mark. This had been an easy sight for the elegant man.
"I've beaten them, Rangers. They've been so easy to beat, "said the elegant man.
"But you have not beaten the Dark Ranger." Kal said taking out his Morpho calling the commander. "Dark Ranger, we need help."
XXX
At the base, Major Wayne could see his Rangers being defeated by that elegant man, and now he was listening to Kal, his red Ranger, desperately asking for help. However, the Dark Ranger simply hung up the call. As J'onn was by his side, he even found this impressive and deplorable.
"What's he doing commander?" J'onn asked. The commander started walking to leave the conference room.
"Something very necessary," said the commander, leaving. J'onn thought about following him, but since he knew the commander, he knew he was going to do something good, but he was not going to say what he was going to do.
XXX
"He did not answer me," Kal said. "Stand up."
The elegant man fired again but to all the Rangers. This time the elegant man took out his pocket watch with a chain and saw the time. He put it back in his pocket, and fired again at the Rangers, beating them.
"I crushed them, and I hope this is a lesson for you. If they get in my way again, I'll throw their curbs at the Thames. "The elegant man finished, and then disappeared sinking to the ground. When it sank completely, they could not see it anywhere.
"Maybe we have a problem," Barry said.
XXX
The Rangers were furious at Commander Wayne for not going to battle to help them when they needed it. Kal thought that this was very hypocritical on his part, since he asked the commander very kindly for help. Shayera, John and Barry found this very outrageous; The Dark Ranger was supposed to be better than the others, and he had abandoned them. Diana found this despicable; she wanted to see if the commander would be a good Ranger, but he turned his back on them and did not help them in a matter of extreme urgency.
"Enough, cadets." Major Wayne said. "I was doing something important. Also, there is something I do not understand: the last time I interfered in the battle, you told me that you did not need my help and that you could do it alone. Now you asked me to go. "
"Are you resenting a fit of anger?!" Diana shouted. "I never saw anyone abandon their Rangers out of pure rancor."
"It was not a grudge. I told you I was doing something important, but you were so focused on blaming someone that they do not pay attention to anything. "
This caused another reprisal of voices. Major Wayne was not disappointed in this team. He was beginning to believe that the team was worse than he thought, but he still had to live with that decision for zone C. J'onn entered the conference room, which stopped the complaints of the Rangers, who now wanted to know who the elegant man who had attacked them was.
"J'onn how nice you are here," said Kal. "We need you to tell us who that was ..."
"J'onn is not your assistant," said Commander Wayne, rising from his chair and approaching his Rangers. "You've had an easy life for a long time, but it's time to do something different. You will go to question tomorrow anyone who can provide information, but if anyone tries to ask J'onn or use any resource of the base, will sleep in the armory for a month. Retreat, cadets."
"Yes sir." All the Rangers came out of the conference room, feeling a hatred towards Commander Wayne. He was more ruthless than they thought, and now they had to possibly question criminals in the City for information on the elegant man.
"The Phantom Knight has returned." J'onn said. "He wants me to make modifications to his suits, right?" He asked knowing the answer.
"Put NTH metal in your swords, guns and gloves. This they have to solve on their own." The commander finished. J'onn hoped that this would not end badly for the Rangers.
NEXT: ALONE, PART 2.