AN EXPLOSION IN BIBLANE, PART 2.
31 October. Time, 9:00 a.m. Base of Zone C.
Shayera slowly opened her eyes. She did not remember what had happened after her encounter with the Scarecrow, she only remembered that she had confronted the Scarecrow before beginning to hallucinate that she was being buried by the inhabitants of her home planet. Shayera looked and didn't see any of her fellow Rangers, but she saw that she was lying on a bed in the base's medical room. She was happy that everything was okay, but she began to feel angry at herself for not being able to stop the Scarecrow.
At that time, J'onn and his four fellow Rangers had entered the medical room. J'onn carried his usual board, while the Rangers were staring at Shayera.
"Shayera, it's good you've woken up." J'onn said. "We were afraid you wouldn't wake up sooner." He said with his eyes looking at the table again.
"What happened?" Shayera asked.
"You almost killed us in fright, Shayera." Kal replied. "We arrived at the location the commander gave us and we found you burning on the ground while screaming." Kal for the first time in a long time was angry at Shayera for the scare but also worried about her.
"Yeah, Shayera. It is the first time I have seen you do something both very dangerous and stupid." Barry said, agreeing for the first time with the commander.
"I would expect this behavior from Barry, but not from you Shayera." John said.
"Are you sure you're okay, Shayera?" Diana said. She felt a little guilty for not having seen this coming. Although no one could blame her since Shayera never did that.
"I'm fine, and I was close to stopping the Scarecrow until you called my Morpho and gave me away," Shayera said. And while it sounded weird, Shayera was almost right. Although the Rangers had not called her, that did not guarantee that she would have been able to stop the Scarecrow.
"There is no point in pointing out guilty parties at this time." Commander Wayne said in a neutral tone. "As we can see, Cadet Hol put her life very unnecessarily in danger, but also discovered the Scarecrow's hiding place, but we gave her away and she almost lost her sanity but you were close, so I think everything is fine. J'onn, has there been any change in the cadet's condition?"
"No it's good that they got to her so we could bring her back here, and we were able to inject her with the antidote. She can leave here whenever she wants to continue her activities." J'onn replied.
"See, Rangers?" Commander Wayne asked. "She's fine, there's nothing to worry about, so get out of the medical room so I can speak to Cadet Hol. That includes you, J'onn. See you in the conference room." They all nodded and left. Barry and Kal thought about asking the commander what he was going to say to Shayera, but in the end decided not, as they could do it later in the conference room. Diana wanted to speak to Shayera, she really wanted to know what had motivated her to take a huge risk against the Scarecrow. John, even though he was worried about Shayera, he just didn't want to imagine what Commander Wayne was going to do to her for running away. Maybe he would do worse than when he punished Diana for running away and going to face The Brain Ridden Rangers. J'onn thought, since he knew the commander, that he was going to put Shayera in charge of cleaning, as always, but he would not see the dialogue between her and the commander coming.
"You took an unnecessary risk. Alone. And you disobeyed me again, Hol." The commander said bringing his face close to Shayera's.
"I did a lot like Diana, I was about to stop the Scarecrow on my own, but you and the Rangers gave me away and almost made me lose my mind. So I must thank them for ruining my mission." Shayera replied.
"You apologize then, since you gave the other Rangers a great scare and made the mission even more complicated." The commander said.
"I'm not going to apologize for that, Wayne." Shayera said.
"I'm Commander, Cadet Hol." he reminded her.
"I will not apologize for this, Wayne. I was about to do something for myself better than all the other Rangers. Better than Kal, and much better than Diana, and you ruined it." Shayera said raising her back.
"Well Hol, you're suspended for a month." Commander Wayne said, making Shayera stand up. "You will train with the jets today, but you will not go on any mission for an entire month."
"Curious, Diana you ordered to sleep in the hall for having disobeyed you and going to fight against the Rangers of Zone B, and of course, for almost having done a perfect mission, you suspended me." Shayera said.
"She apologized and her intentions were not to prove she was better than everyone. You are stuck with proving that you are better than Diana and Kal because you are the Pink Ranger. After all this time, You still feel devalued by your peers and by me. It is not clear to you that no one is more important than another, so work it out with the other cadets when you have time. If you don't solve this with them, it will be a problem for the team. Now go put on your uniform and see you in the simulation booth for training." Commander Wayne ordered after all the explanation. "And remember that I do not favor anyone."
Shayera kicked the medical bay bed. She was the first Ranger suspended after Kal was relegated from his position as a Red Ranger for being a lousy leader. This made her angrier with Diana and her companions. They ruined her mission, while not with bad intention, but the frustration was great. And to top it off, she couldn't act freely, because surely the commander would notice, and the punishment would be worse.
In the conference room, the commander, the four Rangers, and J'onn were scanning the city for the Scarecrow.
"As you can see, after having faced cadet Hol, the Scarecrow has gone to another area of the City. The soldiers inspected the Mile of Fun to the smallest corner but found no trace of Crane. The next thing J'onn and I are going to do is monitor the entire city again, in the meantime, you will spend the day doing your routine, but be alert. Crane is a real threat, and it's up to us to avoid it." The commander said.
"But the Scarecrow fled. Don't you think we can have the day off?" Kal asked. This was going to be a hindrance to his date with Lois.
"I agree with Kal, this day is fun with sweets and mischief. We deserve this day off." Barry said.
"Stopping Crane is what's important, Kal. Don't support him Barry." John said.
"I think we could have the day off if we went out and investigated the city ourselves." Diana suggested.
"Rangers, remember that I'm the one giving the orders here." The commander reminded them. "And I do not accept suggestions from anyone. And Crane is a real threat to this day. The first time when the Rangers faced him before you, he almost poisoned the water of the entire city, the second time he almost defeated the Rangers in the same way that he defeated cadet Hol. And the third time he used a tank to spread his toxin. So I give the orders here, you cannot tell me what to do, and you will do it as I say."
"And where's Shayera?" Diana asked.
"She is not going to cooperate this time even for a while. She is suspended for an entire month." The commander replied.
"What? You cannot suspend her." Diana said.
"You can't. We need Shayera." Barry said.
"She doesn't deserve it." Kal said.
"Oddly enough, I agree that Shayera does not deserve to be suspended." John said defending his partner.
"Does one of you want to take Shayera's place and be suspended?" Asked the commander. Nobody answered. "She disobeyed me, disobeyed cadet El's orders, hurt civilians for not listening, complicated our mission with Crane, and that's why she's suspended for a month. The reason she decided to act alone is something that she must solve. Now, if we're done talking about this, then we'll see you in the simulation booth at noon for the final phase of training with the jets."
This proved that the commander did not favor anyone. He also knew that Kal had made an appointment with Lois, in addition to Shayera needing to fix the problems with the team. He was not going to interfere with that. He had already done his part. The Rangers had to do their teamwork. For this reason, the commander left the conference room followed by J'onn.
"I think we should go talk to Shayera, she needs our help after the commander unfairly suspended her." Kal said.
"I think we should train." John said.
"Hey, we need to talk to Shay, and you prefer to train?" Barry asked somewhat annoyed.
"Barry, you think you know women, but I've learned that it's best to let the woman be mad for a long time before talking to them. And from what you've told me, you've always been afraid of Shayera when she's angry." John replied, managing to beat Barry.
"We better hope." Barry said leaving the conference room. He did fear Shayera when she was angry.
"Oh well, then we are going to train, but I hope I can talk to Shayera. She was unjustly suspended." Kal said.
"I think we should still try now, Kal." Diana said a little angry. "She needs our help."
"We can't, not without Barry, Diana." Kal said. "But since it's hard to find Barry when he runs away, let's wait and train." He said wanting Diana not to act alone again. It was one of the reasons Kal was not as effective as Ranger.
"Fine, I'll just do it, and don't try to stop me." Diana said leaving.
"Diana, please don't do it." Kal said, forgetting that this only motivated Diana to continue.
"Bad choice of words, Kal." John said.
"Don't forget that you ruined it when you said you knew women." Kal said.
"Hey, I'm married and I have more experience with women and more on the battlefield than you do." John said. "Also, don't forget that you told me that I'm the one keeping the team focused. And don't forget that you care more about missing a date with a reporter, and not if the Scarecrow attacks the city. I keep wondering why Wayne put you in charge." John said.
"Enough, I'm training until noon." Kal said leaving. John snorted. He was doing the duty Kal had told him a few months ago, but they both still had team failures, but the important thing now was to train, so he went to the training room.
Diana knocked on the door to Shayera's room. There was no answer. She knocked on the door again, but this time it opened. Diana came in and saw Shayera putting on her pink jacket. She already had her pants, boots and pink shirt, she just needed her jacket. Diana approached her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"Shayera, are you alright?" Diana asked, feeling a bit silly for asking. It was obvious that she was not well.
"I'm fine, Diana. And you are fine, as always. So if you just wanted to know how I am, then you can go now." Shayera replied stoically.
"Shayera, you're suspended for a month, and we tried to get the commander to put you back on duty, but he didn't want to." Diana tried to tell him.
"Why didn't you do him a favor by kissing him to put me back on duty?" He asked her.
"Why are you saying that to me? I'm trying to tell you that we try to help you and you treat me badly. And I would not stoop to that. I don't kneel before anyone." Diana said angrily.
"Oh please. All the men at the base want to conquer you, I think the commander would return me to active duty if you kissed him. What's more, why do you care about me if the whole team cares about you more? You should go with them, I will stay here until training." Shayera said lying down on her bed crossing her arms.
"I'm not leaving here until you tell me why you took the risk trying to stop the Scarecrow alone." Diana insisted sitting on the bed.
"Because I wanted to stop him and save them the work. Now leave me." Shayera said.
"But he didn't deserve to suspend you. You tried to do a good deed. You didn't deserve that." Diana said.
"He suspended me but when you went to fight the Rangers in Zone B, he just forces you to sleep in the hallway. You are his favorite, but nobody respects me because I have this stupid color that nobody is looking for and you are the favorite, now leave me and go receive your compliments." Shayera yelled getting up from the bed, Diana also got up.
"So that's why you're angry." Diana said approaching Shayera again.
"Yes, now leave me. I have to eat and train. But I can't go on missions because of you. So don't follow me, "Shayera ordered, leaving her room.
"See you later." Diana said. Diana and the other three Rangers had already had breakfast, but Shayera had not, so she did decide to go eat; She needed to fix things with others, but she wanted a moment of peace.
Meanwhile, Diana went back to the conference room. She still considered it unfair that Shayera was suspended but was surprised that she had told her that she (Diana) was the commander's favorite, that and that everyone here wanted to conquer her. This was hard for her to believe, at first. Well, Commander Wayne always punished her with cleanliness and sleeping in the corridors, although she was tested for a long time. But then he remembered that he had also given her a plant as a warning that if something similar like what happened with Poison Ivy, all new acquisitions would be analyzed and recorded. But what echoed the most in his head was when he almost lost his life with the shot of Cheetah. Could it be that he knew her secret? Either that or Shayera was right.
Upon entering the conference room, he found Commander Wayne standing, watching the monitor, but since nothing happened inside the base without him knowing it, he turned around and the look that Diana always found interesting and mysterious returned to see, sparking her curiosity about how this conversation would end.
"Princess." Commander Wayne said in his neutral tone.
"Bruce." Diana said, still curious about how the conversation would end.
"You went to talk to Hol. It went well?" Asked the commander. He was very aware that the team had no further complications.
"It went better than I expected, but I don't know if she wants to resolve issues with the team." Diana answered. She was about to speak, but he cut her off.
"Obviously, you don't come just to answer that question. What do you want?" Asked the commander.
"Why did he suspend her, and not me when I went to stop the Rangers in Zone B?" Diana asked.
"Because at least you apologized. You did such a stupid thing, but you apologized. It is what you have always done, that and that you put no other life than yours at risk. Contrary to what Hol did, who ended up hurting citizens for unknown reasons." The commander explained, feeling that this conversation with his blue Ranger was becoming more absurd.
"Is it because you favor me more than Shayera?" Diana asked. This did make the commander more absurd.
"How the hell do you think something so absurd?" The commander asked, getting too close to Diana. That question surprised him because it seemed illogical.
"Because I have broken the rules more times than she did, but you didn't suspend me, you only gave me a few punishments. You call me princess and you almost sacrificed yourself to save me." Diana explains almost yelling at him. She also found this absurd, because he did not want to admit anything.
"The reason I call you that is because literally every man who sees you on this base literally treats you like a princess. If you haven't noticed, then I can't believe it." He said this after huffing a bit. "You have broken the rules, but something I still don't understand is that having done that has helped the team a little. And I almost lost my life for you, but as I said: no one is more important than another here."
"I keep saying that you must return Shayera to service. She wanted to help and could not do it. You cannot punish her for that." Diana said.
"I can do it, and she will be suspended for a month, and if she breaks the rules again, I will suspend her twice. Unless you want to take his place, cadet." The commander said to Diana, showing that he did not favor, not even her.
"No sir." Diana said. She didn't know how this mysterious man was so…
"All right. Now get ready for the noon workout. The Scarecrow is still on the loose, and due to the cadet Hol's actions, we have to be alert to anything. Got it, cadet?" Asked the commander.
"I got used to princess, Bruce." Diana said leaving the room. Although it did not go as expected, Diana was somewhat happy because the commander did not know the secret that she wanted to keep hidden for her own good, and for the team. She searched the training room and dining room, found her in second place.
"I told you I didn't want you to follow me." Shayera said.
"I tried to fix it but was unsuccessful." Diana said to Shayera.
"So kissing him wasn't enough, alright. Now leave me alone." Shayera said. She did not want to see her or the others. I just wanted to be alone for a little while.
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Diana asked, wanting to do more.
"You've done enough, Diana." Shayera said. "I am suspended for a month, and there is no way to reverse it anymore. This does not affect them, so leave me alone. "
"Then we won't train with you in the flight simulation room?" she asked wanting to know if she would not train either. She wanted to help her.
"Yes, I will train with you. I can't go on missions, but I can train. A consolation prize." She replied giving her a small smile.
"See you there then." Diana said going to the obstacle course. She planned to stay, but she knew that since Shayera was angry, there was no way to convince her to speak to the team right now. Maybe John did know women a little after all.
"Yes." Shayera told her.
'She is stubborn, she must want to mend something that happened in Themiscyra,' Shayera thought. Her anger and frustration at her teammates for ruining her fight against the Scarecrow, but she was going to train with them.
XXX
11.58 A.M.
The four Rangers, without Shayera, were walking toward the simulated air training room. Diana wasted no time in taking these minutes to talk to them about what affected Shayera. The three men were surprised to hear that Diana told them that Shayera believed that she (Diana) was the commander's favorite. Surprised gasps came first before laughter.
"I can't believe Shayera believed something like that." John said with a half smile.
"It's the funniest thing I've ever heard." Barry said leaning against the wall. That did make him laugh a lot.
"That really is fun." Kal said.
"In a way it is." Diana admitted. "I can't believe she believed that." She said smiling a little.
"Yes, I can't believe she believed the commander has feelings for you." Kal said. "Don't be offended, Diana."
"Yes, don't be offended." Barry repeated.
"What makes you say that the commander does not have feelings for me?" Diana asked. This was strange. Although after her talk with the commander she made it clear that he was not favoring anyone, it seemed strange to her that her fellow Rangers said that he couldn't feel anything for her.
"Because what you say? You like?" John asked, stopping laughing and being very intrigued by that question.
"Do not. I mean they said it as if he was as a robot." Diana replied.
"Well, the commander is only concerned with the mission, Di." Barry replied. "And you know it. It just keeps us here because there haven't been any more Power Rangers in a long time." Barry said very relaxed.
"It only keeps us here because if we leave, then no one will want to be here anymore. I just doubt that we care, Diana." Clark said.
"Simple, Diana. He just wants to save the city. I don't think the commander cares if J'onn leaves." John added.
"They already made it clear. The commander only cares about the mission and wants nothing more than that." Diana muttered with an annoyed look. Although dhe knew that many men were bad, something told her that the commander had something hidden, but he did not show it, but the way in which her companions saw the commander.
"Yes, that's why it's funny that Shayera believed that he may feel something other than concern for Zone C." Barry said. The Rangers ended this conversation and reached the doors of the simulation booths. Commander Wayne, J'onn and Shayera were already waiting for them.
"If you're done thinking about girls and other useless things, you better go to your booths." The commander ordered them, knowing that they had been delayed by a conversation about Shayera, or something else.
"Hello, Shayera" The three Rangers said to try to make Shayera not feel so upset, but she was only resentful because she had not been able to beat the Scarecrow. With the five Rangers in their cabins, J'onn gave them the outline of the situation.
"Rangers, as you know, it all starts with the basics, so this is a maneuver called the flying arrow. Imagine that an object is coming towards you, but a single jet is not enough to stop it, so the five jets have to line up in the form of an arrow and attack all five at the same time with the laser and weapons they have equipped."
"Excellent, J'onn. We will not fail." Barry said.
Shayera wanted to do this better than the others. So her started maneuvering his jet in a very acrobatic way. Pirouetting, turning, and even the ship began to turn. During the previous training days with the jets, she had executed everything to the letter, without doing anything additional, but this time, she wanted to be recognized.
"Wow, Shay, I didn't know you were so trained on the flight." Barry said. To her surprise, Shayera did not reply.
"Hey, answer Barry, Shayera." Kal said. Shayera again did not reply.
"Shayera, are you really not going to talk to us?" Diana asked. Shayera also did not reply.
"Rangers, focus on the simulation and then resolve personal conflicts." J'onn said.
"You tell Shayera to speak to us. We cannot do anything." Kal said.
"As he says, focus on the mission." John said.
The four Rangers thought about starting an argument, but John kept them focused again. As he watched the Rangers refocus, J'onn pressed a few buttons and played the mock opponent on them. It was a wider and faster jet.
"This is your enemy, Rangers. The goal is to shoot down the jet using the flying arrow." J'onn indicated.
Recalling J'onn's indications, the four Rangers went into formation, except for Shayera, who decided to take the attack on her own, which did not go well. The jet was faster and ended up shooting Shayera's jet, causing damage. Shayera managed to evade a few shots while moving away from the jet and returned to the Rangers.
"Shayera, don't go to the jet again. We all have to do the training." John said.
"Shayera, please, they already suspended you. I don't think this will help you." Kal said. Shayera only got in formation, but she was waiting for her moment.
"Very well, are you all ready?" Kal asked.
"Ready." The four Rangers replied
"Aim." Kal said. Everyone pointed at the jet, which was heading towards them. "Three, two, one..." Kal counted, but was interrupted by Shayera, who drove at full speed and fired her laser weapons at the enemy jet, but the damage she did was minimal, so the jet fired at her again. He disabled Shayera's jet weapons, but her fellow Rangers shot the jet at the same time. In the end, they failed to bring him down, but his weapons were disabled.
"And the exercise ended." J'onn said.
The five Rangers emerged from their cabins. All four were surprised and somewhat annoyed that Shayera was now costing them the training exercise. Commander Wayne was waiting for them. He thought they had figured out something with Shayera but seeing Shayera's poor performance and what it cost them, it was obvious that it wasn't.
"Cadets El, Prince, Stewart and Allen performed well, but very disappointing. Cadet El, you are the leader and have to act as one. John you are not the leader; Prince, you can't fight anyone just because someone doesn't do what you want, least of all on the battlefield. However, you can leave, since the one that caused this exercise to have a disastrous result is Cadet Hol, who would have died if it had been a real confrontation." The latter was said by the commander standing right in front of Shayera. The other Rangers left, and Cadet Hol stayed with J'onn and Commander Wayne.
"Hol, if you want to stay on this team, you have to stop taking such unnecessary and stupidly useless risks. Otherwise, you will end up destroying yourself and the team itself for your precious ego." The commander said.
"I could knock him down on my own. I was going to beat that jet, but I couldn't for you and my teammates." Shayera said.
"Stop blaming the team and solve this dilemma with them instead of continuing to take futile risks. That jet was not from a single opponent, but from the entire team. After seeing this, it is obvious why I suspended you. Now go on training or wherever but stop doing nonsense." Commander Wayne said before leaving.
"Shayera, I understand that you feel less important for being the pink Ranger, and that the team does not value you, but you will not solve it by treating your team poorly. Your team depends on you and you depend on them on the battlefield. The commander and I understand you, but we cannot solve this, you are the one who has to do it." J'onn said before leaving her.
For a moment, Shayera thought about going with Barry and having him bring Kal and John, but she knew this was not the right time. Kal wanted to go on his date with Lois and bothering him with her problems seemed an unwise choice. She decided to go to her room and wait for her teammates to finish their training to leave her alone. She was still furious, and the training would help her calm down.
XXX
Gotham City Journal. 17:55
Kal arrived at the Gotham City newspaper six minutes before the time Lois had indicated. He had left the base ten minutes ago. He thought that since the commander and J'onn had discovered nothing about the scarecrow's hiding place, it would not appear, so they could have the day off. Kal waited for the five minutes it would take Lois to come out, and she came out as always dressed in her black skirt and red long-sleeved blouse.
"Good evening, Lois." Kal said. He was still nervous about how this date was going to turn out.
"Good evening, Kal." Lois greeted. "I didn't think your uniform would be an outfit for a date." She said something puzzled about that.
"Sorry Lois but being in the league always requires us to wear a uniform, and I couldn't buy clothes these days because Wayne has been very attentive to the Scarecrow case. I should have bought clothes before." Kal said.
"Don't worry, Kal. I just wanted to know if you cared more about your uniform." Lois said.
"No, even though I'm the Red Ranger, the uniform isn't always important." Kal replied somewhat nervously.
"Okay, Red Ranger, where are you going to take me?" Lois asked. She wanted to know if Kal was ready for a relationship.
"I think a walk to the park would be more appropriate before eating something in the cafe." Kal replied.
"Sounds good." Lois agreed.
"Well get on my bike, and we're going to..." Kal said before his Morpho rang. Hell, why didn't I leave it on the base? He thought, complaining. Kal picked up his Morpho. "What is it, Commander?" Kal asked, trying to keep his composure.
"It seems that I speak to you in another language, since you are now with the journalist, but you will have to leave her because we already detected the location of the Scarecrow. So leave it there or you're going to have problems like cadet Hol has." The commander said.
"Lois, I have to..." Kal spoke grumbling. He had to leave Lois again.
"Go, I honestly thought this would happen." Lois said looking down. She was somewhat disappointed with the situation. She had never met someone like Kal, a man who wanted to date her, eagerly. "But don't worry, I'm going to wait for you at the entrance to the base. But do not take too long."
"I won't keep you waiting long." Kal told her. Again he was animated. Kal slammed on the gas. I wasn't going to miss this date for anything, not even for the Scarecrow.
XXX
Sheldon Park Factory. 18:15
Kal, Diana, John and Barry arrived at a factory in the small section of town called Sheldon Park. While John went on with the mission without thinking about Shayera, Kal, Diana and Barry did not have the same idea. Kal wondered for the first time in a long time how Shayera was now that she was suspended for a month; while Diana felt a little bad about failing to get the commander to reinstate Shayera on the mission, and Barry missed Shayera.
"Very well, it is time to enter." John said. "That way we'll have the rest of Halloween free." He said to motivate them, which obviously worked.
"That's the way it is spoken, John." Kal said. "Let's go in."
"Halt, Kal. If the Scarecrow is there, then I don't want to go through what Shayera went through. It would be better if we use our air capsules." John said.
"Well said. Let's use the capsules." Kal said.
"I don't know what we would have done if we didn't use them." Barry said.
"Well done, John." Diana said.
"It is time to enter." Kal said.
Before entering, John formed a submachine gun, Kal as he always trusted his heat vision, Barry pulled out a bomb and Diana his sword. The three entered through the front door. Sheldon Park was a section that few lived in, making it unlikely that many civilians would be injured. The three entered and only saw with the flashlights attached to their Morphos. The warehouse was very large, and quite dirty.
"Barry, you should check the entire factory, so it will be faster." Kal ordered.
"Whatever you say, Kal." Barry said before running around the factory, which had about four floors, and the roof. Meanwhile, the Rangers inspected what was missing from the ground floor. They were impressed to learn that there was nothing inside the factory.
"This makes no sense." John said. "Why would the commander and J'onn give us the possible location of the Scarecrow and that there is nothing here?"
"Damn, now I think we should have let Shayera catch him." Barry said.
"Now that you say it, it's true. We should have let her catch him so I shouldn't have worried about this anymore and would be dating Lois right now." Kal said. This was his fault.
"Stop concentrating on Lois, Kal." John said. This was irritating. "And we can't blame ourselves, because we didn't know where the hell she was until the commander told us. So let's focus on completing this mission or better let me be the leader and go with Lois at once." This was not improving, and everyone's performance was appalling.
"I've had enough of you two." Diana said. "At Themyscira we were always told that men were bad, that perception changed when I came here and I have seen acts of kindness from many men, but now I do not know if that applies to you. Kal, you're more focused on going on a date than saving people, and you John are still focused on being the leader instead of helping. I keep thinking about why you are Rangers." This also bothered her. She was sick of the discussions.
"I already checked. There is nothing. Seriously, this is weird. I feel bad knowing that we ruined an opportunity for Shayera." Barry said. He wanted to apologize to her.
"Well, we should call the commander." Kal said grabbing his Morpho. "Commander, we inspected the entire factory, there is nothing, can we already...?" He tried to say, but the commander interrupted him.
"No. If you haven't learned something useful from each other, I am disappointed. But I'm just saying that if the Scarecrow isn't in plain sight, then you should look deeper. Nothing is what it seems." The commander says before hanging up.
"Well then, I think we need John to create X-ray glasses to inspect the factory." He said looking at John and Diana. The two of them still wanted to know why Kal had been chosen as the leader.
"To the order." John said creating glasses with X-ray vision. He glanced around the factory and found a duct that led to a large room under the floor like when Diana followed Poison Ivy. Kal shot his heat vision into the section of the floor. The floor section was destroyed and the pipeline with stairs was revealed. The four Rangers entered the duct and slipped down the stairs and into a large room. There were many pumpkins on shelves, and there was a large machine covered by a giant blanket.
"It seems that the commander was right, nothing is as it seems. Kal said. "Well, the Scarecrow must be here, and what is under that blanket must be important. Barry and John, find the Scarecrow. Diana and I see what that machine is."
Barry and John went to check the corners of the room, but when Kal and Diana set foot on the platform, an alarm went off. Barry and John returned to the center of the room and saw that a cloud of smoke was shot and from that cloud the Scarecrow emerged. With his ax and with his costume that hid his true face.
"Look who's here. The powerful Power Rangers." The Scarecrow scoffed. "Wait, where's your pink Ranger? Oh yeah. My toxin destroyed her mentally. Oh, what a pity. She just wanted to be listened to and ended up losing her sanity."
"What?" The four Rangers asked.
"Ah, they didn't know. You did not know that she was desperate for much attention from you. That is mainly the reason why a Ranger acts alone, and especially a Ranger as bad as pink." The Scarecrow said.
"You lie. She wouldn't do something like that for attention." Kal said.
"Yes. You don't know her like we do." Barry said.
"She is better than that." Diana said.
"Contradict me as much as you want, but I am a professional, and it is time for you to feel fear." He said in his calm voice, dropping seeds to the ground, which turned into thin, pumpkin-headed men.
The four Rangers began to fight. Barry kicked the men in the legs, while hitting them on the head. Diana beat them in the chest, and John cut them into pieces with a saw that he created with his mind. The Scarecrow saw this, so he put a large amount of gas on his sleeve. He approached each Ranger and shot their toxin at them. He was quite fast. The toxin only made them cough, but since they had inhaled the air capsules, they kept fighting and then turned back to him. The Scarecrow was very surprised that the toxin had not affected them.
"How is that possible?" He asked frustrated.
"It's because the Justice League equipment is superior to yours, crazy." Barry said running towards him, but the Scarecrow pulled out his ax and hit an unsuspecting Barry.
Kal shot with his laser vision, but the ax returned the shot, but Kal dodged it. Diana pulled out her sword and tried to charge the Scarecrow, but surprisingly, the Scarecrow's ax turned into a large hook with a chain, which she used to take Diana's sword away, but John stopped it with a large fist that she created with your mind.
"It's time to level up." Kal said. "Are we ready?"
"Ready!" The three Rangers replied.
"Justice League, activate." All four Rangers said and transformed. "Rangers of the Justice League."
"Very well, before the city knows fear, you will know it. "The Scarecrow said throwing small bombs at the Rangers. All four were hit by the explosions and fell to the ground.
Kal got up and ran towards the Scarecrow, who threw him a few more bombs, but failed to hit him, so Kal managed to knock him down and hit him in the chest. But the Scarecrow managed to scratch him in the chest with a small knife. Kal released him for a short time, so the Scarecrow released more seeds that became more pumpkin men. This was enough for Kal to release the Scarecrow's grip and occupy the Rangers again. The Scarecrow, not wanting to waste time, went towards Kal, catching him off guard, scratching him again, but upon trying a second time, Kal picked him up and threw him towards his pumpkin men. The Scarecrow got up and pulled out a pistol with which he shot John, but John blocked it with a shield that he created and hit a pumpkin man Barry was fighting with. Once the gourdmen were controlled, the four rangers were ready to fight the Scarecrow again.
"This blow I will give you is for Shayera and for ruining my date." Kal said, showing how upset he was about that.
"Wow, the Ranger who is feeling little is looking for a girl to not feel so bad anymore, but that won't save them." He said aiming his gun at Kal.
Then John formed a boot and tried to crush the Scarecrow, but Kal shot him with the laser, crashing him into the wall, Barry went to him and gave him three quick blows, knocking him down. Diana also got to the Scarecrow and kicked him hard in the stomach, then pushed him to the wall.
"This is the job for the super cannon." Kal said. The four of them pressed their button, but it didn't work, because Shayera wasn't there. They needed her to have the super cannon.
"Devils. Why do we need all five of us to use the super cannon?" Kal said.
"Well then it's time for me to take control of the city." The Scarecrow said shooting the toxin smoke at the Rangers. He didn't want to fight anymore because he knew they could beat him, so he better execute his plan. He ran to the platform where the mysterious machine lay and pressed a button. Then the large blanket covering the machine fell and the platform began to rise. The Rangers jumped onto the platform and saw that the machine was a brown and black biplane.
"Bad luck, Rangers." The Scarecrow said. "Gotham will become the city of fear, and you cannot stop it." He said with a manic laugh before flying away. The biplane platform was in the center of Sheldon Park, so the biplane did no damage, at least not yet.
"J'onn. The jets now." Kal said with his Morpho. Very quickly, the four jets arrived, so each Ranger jumped into their respective jet. Obviously, the real jet was better than the simulation.
"You can handle it, Rangers. You are already trained to handle them. And if you don't, the commander will have painful punishment waiting for you." J'onn warned.
"We will not fail, J'onn." Kal said.
"Not beautiful." Diana said.
"Listen well, Rangers." The commander said. "The Scarecrow's biplane will drop pumpkin gourds that will affect everyone who inhales it. Make sure that the pumpkins don't touch a building or touch the ground." The commander ordered them.
"Okay, so what do we do, Kal?" Barry asked.
"You and I attacked this time, Barry. If you want to prove you are fast, then it is time." Kal said. "Diana and John, keep the bombs from exploding." He said going to the biplane with Barry.
"It's not fair, Kal." Diana complained. "Attacking is more the offensive of the Amazons."
"Diana, you have to save people from the toxin. I think that is more important." Kal said.
"I attack, then, and you better save people." she said heading to attack Scarecrow. Kal decided now was not the time to fight Diana. This time, the commander was going to give Diana a punishment. The reason why Diana wanted to attack the Scarecrow, apart from because it was the custom of the Amazons, also wanted him to pay for almost destroying Shayera's mind. She did it for her peers.
The Scarecrow began to drop the bombs that would explode once they hit the ground. But John managed to catch some with a large catcher glove, but if he lost concentration, the glove would disappear and the pumpkins would hit the ground.
"You better go to the base, John." Kal said. "Leave those pumpkins at the base and then come back. It is better that the pumpkins are controlled than that we run the risk of poisoning the city." Kal ordered. John did obey him while Kal continued to catch as many as he could. Meanwhile, Barry and Diana were attacking the biplane with lasers, but not so deliberately because of J'onn's warning. Once John returned, Kal was going to attack.
"Watch out for more pumpkins, John. Diana, Barry and I attacked him using the arrow." Kal ordered.
John obeyed Kal and created another baseball mitt, while Kal, Diana and Barry formed the arrow with only three jets. But before anyone could use their weapons, the Scarecrow fired a pumpkin at Kal, creating a cloud of smoke, causing his jet to swerve and hit Diana and Barry.
"Kal, are you alright?" Barry asked. Diana was about to say something, but the Scarecrow shot a pumpkin at both her and Barry, blinding them, so he shot them with two laser machine guns, which slightly damaged the jets. But John shot him with his laser. The Scarecrow shot John, but this managed to evade most of the attack, as his abilities were not as good in flight as Shayera's showed.
XXX
Justice League Base. 18:40
Shayera, very angry, was visualizing the air battle of her fellow Rangers against the Scarecrow biplane, in the company of Commander Wayne and J'onn. She saw how despite their best efforts, they were not quite right. Everyone still had personal conflicts that they had not yet resolved. Despite the fact that the Rangers handled very well, the jets had been damaged by the shots and the great aim of the Scarecrow, and the arrow would not damage the biplane at all; and they found out because J'onn informed them of this. It wasn't until Barry and said they need Shayera to be able to perform the arrow against the Scarecrow.
"Negative, cadet Allen." The commander said. "You know Cadet Hol is suspended for a month, and they can handle it on their own."
"Didn't you hear J'onn saying the jets can't perform the arrow well?" Shayera asked. "They need me."
"They can handle it on their own, and you don't go for them, you just go because you want to feel useful. You should have solved it with them, but you didn't want to." The commander said.
"Commander, send Shayera please." Kal said.
"Send her in." The other three Rangers said. The commander thought for a moment, and his Rangers might lose, and then he looked at J'onn, who told him to send her with his face.
"Disobey cadet El or create one more disaster and say goodbye to that Morpho. Now go." The commander ordered. Shayera left the conference room.
"Justice League, activate." Shayera said transforming into the pink Ranger.
XXX
The Rangers waited for Shayera to arrive as they continued to fire at the biplane with a laser while John continued to catch the pumpkins. However, Shayera arrived in her jet firing at the biplane.
"That can't be, she must have lost her mind." The Scarecrow said.
"Sorry, Crane, but it's not that easy to beat me." Shayera said.
"Thanks for coming, Shay." Barry said.
"Very well, Shay, let's make the arrow." Kal said.
"Not yet, Kal." Shayera said. Going to the biplane.
"But the commander, Shay." Barry said.
"We will make the arrow, but I need to weaken the Scarecrow and have him shoot his pumpkins at me. Catch them." Shayera said.
"It is a good plan." Diana said.
"Be careful, Shayera." Kal said.
"Clear." He said before getting in front of the biplane. "It's time for you to see how the Pink Ranger works." He said just before shooting the biplane with more weapons.
"You want to play rough, Pink Ranger. The first time you confronted me, you were afraid, this time, you will lose your sanity." He said starting to shoot Shayera's jet. Shayera managed to evade everything, and even started to frustrate the Scarecrow, she did know how to pilot a jet.
"Shayera, can you tell us how you know how to do that?" Barry asked him.
"Yes. You have never told us that." Kal agreed.
"Simple. In Thanagar jets and planes are the most used vehicles, they taught me since I was 10 years old." He said as he evaded the pumpkins. She was despairing him.
The Scarecrow kept firing his gourds until he realized he were running out. He stopped and knew that by not having enough, he was going to detonate the bombs by going to the ground. When changing the course, Shayera flew towards the biplane and managed to hit him but in the tail of the plane, staggering him. Shayera shot him again, further damaging the biplane system. The Scarecrow, seeing all lost, climbed higher and was ready to ram them, so that at least they were his only victims. The jets also went up.
"It's time for the arrow, comrades." Shayera said.
"Companions, training." Kal said. The Rangers formed. "Ready, take aim, arrow."
"Arrow?" The other four Rangers asked.
"Yes. Instead of fire, it is an arrow." Kal said.
"I prefer fire." Barry said.
"Well, now, fire." Kal said. The five jets headed with their weapons activated, as the biplane came toward them.
"They will know what it means to lose their sanity." The Scarecrow said.
"Of course not." All five said at the same time.
The Rangers emerged unscathed as they passed over the jet, but the biplane exploded and began to fall toward the roof of a building. But the most stunning thing was that Shayera jumped out of her jet and fell into the biplane, which was still falling. She went to the Scarecrow and jumped before the biplane hit the roof.
After landing, Shayera got up and addressed the Scarecrow, who was still unconscious, or so it seemed, since when she raised him, he shot her toxin. Shayera started screaming again.
"That. You feel scared, right?" The Scarecrow asked. "This time you will not survive."
"I really don't feel fear." Shayera said taking the Scarecrow by the neck and electrocuting him, then she threw it and was at the mercy of the Rangers, who had gotten off the jet and approached Shayera.
"Shay, are you alright?" Barry asked. The others were concerned.
"Yes. I took the air capsules before putting on the suit. " Shayera replied and looked at the Scarecrow. "I think we should use the super cannon."
"Clear." Barry said.
"Super cannon." The five Rangers said. "Ready, Aim, fire." The fireball shot out, hitting the Scarecrow, knocking him unconscious.
"Hey, Shayera." Kal said. "Do you feel less important here?"
"How do you think?" He asked going to the Scarecrow and handcuffing him.
"Shayera, if we made you feel like you were worthless to the team, then I apologize." Kal said. Hearing this, Barry also waved at her saying the same thing. He would speak to her later.
"Yes, Shayera. Sorry." Diana said. "The worst thing of all is that I never saw him, and I am a woman like you."
"You are important to the team, Shayera. Never think otherwise." John said.
"That's why I hate the color pink." Shayera said. Although she had thought about refusing, her companions showed their interest in her. I wasn't going to leave them talking. "It just always ends at the end. Over time I thought it was no longer important to the team."
"Shayera, you are my friend, and a Ranger. You will always be important to me." Kal said.
"And for us." Diana said pointing to John and Barry, who were nodding.
"Thanks friends. Sorry for my behavior." Shayera apologized.
"It's okay. Shayera." Kal said. "Let's go back to base."
XXX
Justice League Base. 19:10.
"Rangers, good job with the Scarecrow. Now he is locked up without his toxic toxin. Just like we have destroyed all the pumpkins with the toxin. The city is out of danger." Commander Wayne said in a neutral voice, but then his voice grew harsh. "You can go, except for cadet Hol and cadet Prince."
Kal, knowing that everything was already arranged, ran to go to Lois, who for her fortune, was waiting for him just outside the base. It all worked out for him in the end, but Shayera and Barry needed to talk again.
"Cadet Hol. You took a great risk by accepting all the shots from the Scarecrow biplane, and I almost believed he had made you inhale the toxin again. I would have preferred a lower risk." He said looking directly at her.
"I know what I'm doing. And I am a great pilot, which was demonstrated. How silly do you think I am?" Shayera asked.
"On a scale of one to ten? I'd say a ten when you're in that frame of mind." The commander replied.
"Well, I swear it won't happen again. We already solved that." Shayera said.
"That will be seen later. In the meantime, you're still suspended for a month." The commander said. "You were on the mission just for today, and you must learn that you don't act alone. And you are also suspended for two weeks, cadet Prince." He said looking at Diana, who upon hearing this, frowned.
"What?" Diana said. "Why?"
"You disobeyed cadet El again. Even though he still doesn't know how to be a leader, you still disobey all orders because of your very troubled Amazon nature. And for you to learn that, you will join Cadet Hol with your two weeks suspended." He said without backing down. "Feel good that it is not a month. At least you didn't make a mess like cadet Hol. That's why I didn't suspend you any longer. And if you hit me, I'll suspend you longer. Now withdraw." The commander ordered. The two Rangers left, Diana now wanted to know why on earth the commander said the Amazons are conflicting, while Shayera went to her room.
"I was surprised by your decision, Commander, but I think this time, you did well." J'onn, who had been silent throughout the conversation, said. "Just don't overdo it. If you suspend them too many times, they will leave the area. "
"They will leave us sooner or later." The commander said. "No one stays here if they don't have to, J'onn. But I want to prevent them from leaving Zone C in a coffin. "
"Find the right time to tell them that. You already saw what happened to them when Shayera refused to speak to them. Back to the lab, sir." J'onn said
Upon reaching her room, Shayera saw Barry standing at her door.
"Can we talk, Shay?" he asked.
"I already said what I wanted to say." Shayera said entering the room, but Barry stood in front of her. A downside to having a super-fast friend.
"I know you, Shay. You didn't tell us everything. You reserved something for yourself." Barry said.
"I didn't keep anything. I don't hate pink so much anymore and I figured it all out with you. There is nothing to talk about." she said still refusing.
"Tell me what happens to you. Please." Barry asked.
"Now you care about me. What happened to Diana?" She asked pushing him away.
"I want to talk to you, Shay. Diana can wait. Please do not kill me." He said before realizing that she gave him the answer. "Stop, was this all because you were jealous that I spoke to Diana?" He asked with his arms in the form of protection. Shayera turned around.
"Go with her. You already got what you wanted." She said still refusing.
"Oh, I get it already. So if you don't want me to talk to Diana, you could have told me and saved yourself Wayne's suspension punishment." Barry said somewhat annoyed. "Being on missions without you is a little harder than I thought, and it's worse now that you won't be around for a month. You could have solved it easier. I don't understand how it makes you mad that I talk to Diana a lot." Fed up with this, she finally decided to talk to her friend.
"Stop." She said before speaking. "What I said was true. I felt useless because I was always wrong on missions, and Diana did everything right. Kal asked Diana for help with Lois, but that did not make me very angry, because Kal is my friend, but we were never so close. But seeing that you spoke to him more, it was nothing for you. You replaced me in such a short time, believing that we would be friends much longer. I couldn't bear to know that it was no longer important to you." Finished. Strangely, Barry started laughing.
"Sorry Shay, but what's wrong with you?" Barry asked.
"What?!"
"It is that you surprise me. I would never replace you. I talk to Diana more because she will be my wife in the near future, but since I entered the Justice League, you have been my best friend. My advocate, and my confidant to some degree. And although Diana is my wife in the near future, you will be my friend until the end of our lives. You are important to me, but if I made you feel the opposite, then I am sorry." Barry said. Shayera relaxed her gaze and dropped her head in shame.
"I'm sorry." Shayera said. Barry hugged her, and she returned the hug. It was so comforting to have his friend back. After a few minutes, Barry withdrew and said:
"Hey, Diana and John are waiting for us outside the base, let's have a good Halloween, don't you feel like it, friend?"
"Yes friend." Shayera replied. The two went out and saw that Diana was still in her uniform, while John was in the uniform of a baseball player.
"Where is John?" Barry asked. "Here's a boring man in a baseball uniform."
"I'm Jackie Robinson, Allen. And I'm not boring." She complained.
"And why don't you have a costume, Diana?" Shayera asked. Diana was happy that she was speaking to him again.
"Because I couldn't buy a costume in time." Diana answered.
"Hey John, can you create a costume for us? I don't have one either." Barry said.
"It's not a bad idea." John said.
"I don't want a costume." Shayera said.
"Ah good." John said and created costumes for the three of them.
"I said I didn't want a costume." Shayera complained.
"I think you will like these costumes." John said very cheerfully.
The three Rangers looked into a crystal and saw that the costume John created for them was plush bears.
"Now who's the boring one?" John asked them.
"Catch him!" Diana said. John put a wall on them and then ran off, with the other Rangers chasing him. Yes, an explosion in biplane and mischief like this were worthy for Halloween.
NEXT: POWER DRAIN, PART 1.