POWER DRAIN, PART 1.
1st december. Time, 8:00 a.m. Base of Zone C.
John, as usual, had woken up half an hour earlier than his fellow Rangers. During that time, he had performed his morning exercises, which consisted of boxing, lizards, and the fixed bar that had been placed in his room after asking the commander for permission.
After putting on his green Ranger uniform, his mind wandered over the events of the previous month. Diana was suspended for two weeks and Shayera was suspended for one month, and both were finally back on active duty. He was relieved that this was over, since Shayera and Diana became quite irritable every time Kal, Barry, and he returned from a mission, which, honestly, had been almost paradise for him, since without Diana and Shayera there were no fights and arguments, it would have been heaven if Barry was still not on missions.
Another great event that John found quite curious is that since the month was quite calm, Kal managed to have a date every week with Lois, and from the way Kal's face looked, everything was going well. Despite the fact that he felt good that Kal was happy about a romantic relationship with a journalist, John was also quite upset at how Kal put Lois first before taking on any mission. He simply wanted to know why Kal had been chosen by the commander as the Red Ranger.
As he left his room, he saw that the Christmas decorations were nowhere to be found. It was not Christmas yet, but December had started, it was time for Christmas decorations.
He walked to the large dining room but did not see any of his fellow Rangers anywhere. This he considered relaxing, since he did not have to deal with his colleagues, who he did want to talk to was his wife. He was sad not to be with her and her son, but he was more frustrated to be on a team which he called dysfunctional.
After the food was served, he went to a table and sat down. The peace of mind was brief, as the four Rangers sat at their table. Barry, as always, exhibited his relaxed and carefree attitude, but this time he was happy that Shayera and Diana were back on active duty, because he refused to speak to them during the time they were suspended, since their cold glances meant that they were very resentful. The bad thing is that Barry splashed John with some soup that he brought, staining his shoulder.
"Oh no. Sorry Johnny. I didn't mean to splash you, "said Barry.
"Like your metabolism, you can't help doing that," said John.
"Hey John, we're celebrating that Diana and Shayera are back on duty, and it's almost Christmas. You must be happy," Kal said.
"I'll be happier when I'm with my wife and son, and you'll be happier when you're away from here with Lois," said John.
"All right. Better not bother you," Kal said and sat down.
"Well, John, what has he done to entertain himself outside?" Shayera asked. John thought about replicating, but she was at least someone he considered Ranger's true potential.
"You know what I do to entertain myself, Shayera. I'll just say this month was relaxing." He replied.
"Because we were not present," Diana said, guessing what he wanted to say.
"I never said that rookie," John said annoyed that Diana returned to her tough attitude. "This is why it was relaxing," he said, lifting his plate and going to another table. The two weeks Diana was suspended were calmer, because Diana avoided talking to the three male Rangers because she would be angry at not being able to participate in the missions. She was a warrior, not someone who liked to sit still.
"I can't believe that after this, the commander doesn't kick him out," Diana said. This rivalry worsened with her previous conversation and her two-week suspension, and she was sick of him calling her a rookie.
"Diana, I agree that John does not treat us very well, but let's not forget that on the orders of the commander we have to continue being a team," said Kal. Despite being resentful of John, he was still trying to remove the tensions. This was beginning to annoy him, and he wanted to put a stop to it.
"Kal, we have all put an effort into being a good team, but he does not approve of what we do, and Bruce allows him to go to all the missions", she says even angrier.
"John is a good guy, but he still doesn't know how to have fun. He actually smiled once I poured water on him to entertain him, "Barry said, wanting to calm the woman he was attracted to.
"That doesn't change anything. It's still someone who can't stand us, "continues Diana.
"Diana, we know that John is not perfect, but let's not forget that I was suspended for a month for a mistake that I made, and I'm going to correct it," said Shayera.
"In Themyscira, if you don't do something right you end up with a harsher punishment than Bruce has put on us," says Diana.
"We are not at Themyscira, Diana, and nobody here is free from mistakes," says Kal.
"But at least you accept us, John does not," says Diana.
"I got fed up," Kal said getting up. "None of us is perfect, but I would like us to find a way to fix this instead of fighting. I am already very stressed even though everything is going well with Lois," he said surprising everyone. "Now, we had better have breakfast."
"According to you, Kally. I am not kind when I don't eat. Huh, Di?" Barry asked looking at Diana with raised eyebrows. Barry was funny, but annoying when it came to seducing her.
XXX
12:00
In the conference room, Commander Wayne, giving yet another demonstration that nothing happens at the base without him knowing, gave very firm and fair words to his Rangers.
"Rangers, as you can see, Cadet Hol and Cadet Prince are already back on active duty, but I see that their egos and personalities are more important than anything else. You are a team, but if any of you cannot accept your teammates, then I made a mistake in accepting you, and if I reach that realization, then I will send any ranger who commits that kind of offense to work in the armories, in the gardens. Or in the most remote places where they will learn by force or their expulsion from the league, "said the commander.
"They are the problem..." John was saying before the commander interrupted him.
"Close your mouth, cadet," The commander said and took a breath before asking. "Did you understand what I said, cadets?"
"Yes, sir," they all said lazily, except Barry.
"Say it as if your lives depended on it," he ordered very coldly.
"Yes, sir," the five said louder.
"Okay, now, retire." The commander ordered.
"May I speak to you, Commander?" John asked.
"I said to retire, cadet." The commander said sitting down in his chair again.
"Please, Commander. You want us to solve our problems to be a team, and now you refuse, "says John. The commander, knowing that he could not solve his problems with orders, knew that he had to give him a lead, so he got up.
"What is it you want to solve with me, cadet?" The commander asked coldly.
"I want to know why you chose such bad people to be Rangers. They cannot be, and they are not going to do it because they are always distracted or fight over everything "John said giving the impression that he was going to explode.
"I'm not going to tell you. And as I said before, you have to solve the problems you have with the team by talking to the team, not me. I am not a complaints box to which they always deliver papers with their disagreements. I'm the one who watches for the safety of Zone C and all the members of this base." He walked away from him a little before continuing. "But after analyzing what you said, I am going to teach you a lesson. You have a power that I know and understand," he said, extending his arms.
"No one understands my power. Just me." John said.
"Of course. I know how you behave and I know that your power is fueled by will and concentration. Make a cage "the commander ordered.
"What does it say?" John asked.
"I told you to make a cage," says the commander. John obeys him and creates a small cage. Then something unexpected happens: the commander transformed into the Black Ranger and took out his Dark Sword and destroyed the cage. "You were scared and you lost your concentration on the cage" Says the Dark Ranger, but is Commander Wayne again a few seconds later. "Create another cage." This time, John wanted to show the commander that he could be stronger, but he was somewhat upset that the commander was easily beating him. "Well done, you created another cage. Now, what I want to tell you is that you are very focused on many aspects, but when it comes to a delicate subject, like your fellow Rangers, you are more focused on what they shouldn't be, and you get lost in that thought. That is why you are not a strong partner, yet. So I can take your Morpho away from you over and over and you won't notice," he said, showing her his Morpho. The cage disappeared and John saw that he no longer had his Morpho.
"How did you do it?" John asked him.
"I told you. You focus on what you shouldn't, and in this case, you were more focused on the cage than on what I was saying," said the commander, showing him the Morpho with a smile that made John nervous.
"Give me that already," John said creating a hand with which he grabbed his Morpho and put it back in its place.
"Lesson finished. Retire, cadet" ordered the commander.
"I didn't learn anything," said John.
"I already told you what to do. Now you decide whether to do it or not," said the commander, sitting down and turning his back on him.
"I don't understand how you are a commander," John said, leaving. What a waste of time, he thought. But he still wanted to get answers, so he went to J'onn's laboratory, who very strangely had not been in conversation with the commander. "J'onn, can I speak to you?" John asked.
"Sure, come in," he replied without taking his eyes off the computer. For the first time Jonn' wasn't paying attention to him. "Did you come to ask me why the commander chose them as Rangers?" She asked, surprising John.
"How do you...?" He asked before J'onn cut him off.
"I have noticed that the equipment problems are still serious," he replied.
"That's true," he admitted before continuing with his problem. "But the fault is not mine, it is theirs."
"In a team, everyone is to blame," J'onn told him.
"Please. The only culprits are them. I don't understand why the commander chose them as Rangers. You know this team is dysfunctional because of them: Kal may be a Ranger, but he puts Lois first before anything; Diana is someone who never accepts a different word than hers, Barry is half-intelligent but clumsy and Shayera is a girl who is dominated by her ego" J'onn never took his eyes off the whole time John spoke. "Stop seeing that and look at me." Demanded. J'onn obeyed him and got up, walked over to him, and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Look John, the commander always takes an action with a reason. And having chosen you as the green Ranger, and your other companions in their respective positions, he did it with a reason or belief. I don't know what it is and I can't speak for him, but I think he surely did it because he sees something in you, something that you still don't see. And for the team to work, you must try harder, like telling the Rangers what bothers you about them, but in a more diplomatic way so they know that you care about the team, not just you, "J'onn told him.
"I care about the team, but they care more about something else," John insists.
"John, I can't solve this problem with the Rangers. You are the one who has to do it. If you don't know how to act, then focus on the lesson the commander gave you. If you analyze it well, you can do it," she said, still looking straight at him.
"It didn't teach me anything. He just stole my Morpho without me realizing it," says John.
"It gave you a lesson, so I suggest you look at it, and if not, then try to get along with the team," J'onn said, sitting down again.
John, knowing that continuing this conversation was going to lead nowhere, decided again to go, but this time to his room. He didn't want to start another fight with his teammates, so going to the entertainment room didn't seem like a good idea.
In his room, John spun around to clear his mind. On the one hand, he knew he was right that his fellow Rangers were not acting or behaving as a Ranger would, but on the other hand, what the commander had told him was that he was concentrating on what he shouldn't be. He didn't understand why he was saying that to him. He was dedicated to reminding them of their mistakes, so he helped them improve, or so he thought.
John was frustrated, so he busied himself boxing for a few minutes before the alarm went off. John put his jacket back on and went to the conference room, his fellow Rangers arrived a minute later.
"Robot attack on the Pioners Bridge. You know what to do," said the commander.
"Very well, comrades, are we ready?" Kal asked.
"Ready!" The four Rangers replied.
"Justice League, activate," The five Rangers said in unison. "Rangers of the Justice League."
XXX
The Rangers arrived and saw people running in fear. They had arrived on motorcycles and in the patrol car to the bridge, but they could not go further because many cars that were on the bridge reversed and returned the way they were coming at full speed, making it difficult to pass, that together with the people who they were running, making driving across the bridge impossible.
Upon reaching the center of the bridge, the Rangers saw a purple robot with a white line on each part of the body. And his eyes were bright white. Despite all that, the robot was shaped like a strong man.
"No way. I never thought that a robot was so effeminate using those colors, "Barry said but realized that he had made a mistake because Shayera turned to see him. "Hey, don't be offended, Shay," Barry said.
The robot did not respond to the insult, but instead analyzed the Rangers. And he saw that everyone could give him power, much more power than he had imagined.
"Those words don't work on me. I am a sophisticated robot, and that is why you will lose," said the robot.
"I don't think so, robot. I never lose, and neither do they," said Diana.
"We are the Power Rangers and you are the one who will lose," Kal said.
The robot did not respond verbally but created lightning bolts with its hands and fired at the Rangers, fortunately, the Rangers were able to dodge the lightning bolts from the robot. Barry, as always, attacked first, running and giving the robot a quick punch. The robot deciphered his fighting style, thus creating beams of energy, which prevented Barry from reaching him. Kal came to the robot and gave it a few punches, but the robot grabbed both his hands with a lot of effort and began to emanate energy, but Kal felt somewhat weak. Kal, fortunately, used his heat vision and shot the robot, sending it hitting another car.
Barry ran back to him and hit him as many times as he could, but the robot fired another bolt at him, Barry went over to the side, but the robot grabbed him by the arm and released electricity again. But Diana and Shayera both came with a sword. Diana lunged at the robot, while Shayera was in charge of electrocuting him. The robot recovered and shot Diana, but she dodged the rays. The robot picked up Shayera and threw her far away, luckily John saved her by creating a mitten. Kal went back to the robot and landed several hard blows to the head, but the robot stopped his hands again and kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground.
"This can't be before it wasn't so strong," Kal said as he got up, but the robot sent him a strong lightning bolt, knocking him down. Shayera pulled out the pistol and hit him with a few shots, but the robot ran at Barry's speed and charged Shayera before attacking her with the same attack that he used with Kal. Diana attacked again with her sword, but the robot shot her to the ground, knocking her down.
John got fed up and attacked him with a giant hammer. The robot shot him, but John created a shield and the shot was blocked. John crashed the robot into the ground, it got up and shot John, but it created a protective bubble. The robot ran towards him, and with immense force, he destroyed his bubble. John got up and created a machine gun to shoot him. The robot was shot a few times, but again ran and took another big hit. John created two metal palms to hit the robot, but it stopped them and shot John, knocking him down. Kal and Diana attacked again, Kal with his heat vision, but the robot also shot him, but with the same heat vision; and Diana with a pistol, hitting the robot, but she ran again fast and shot him again to the ground.
John got up and threw a bus at him, but the robot dodged and shot him, John blocked the shot again, but the robot shot him with heat vision, which exhausted John quite a bit. John, fed up, created a chainsaw and some skates with flames and launched to ram the robot, the robot stopped him and began to emit energy again. John tried to create something else to hurt him, but he was exhausted and was getting crazy. The robot continued until Barry cut him off by hitting him in the back with a sword. Shayera shot him, and the robot moved away. John fell to the ground, but he was breathing.
Kal saw that John had fallen, but had to deal with the robot, but saw that they were on the bridge. So he took out his Morpho and called Diana
"Diana, I'm going to cut a hole in the bridge. Make sure you push the robot into emptiness," said Kal.
"I'll make sure of that," said Diana. She was also angry at the robot.
Kal shot his heat vision to the floor of the bridge, the robot jumped back and the hole opened, so Diana brandished the sword on the robot's back and kicked the robot, sending him into the hole and he fell into the void.
The Rangers went to John, who was still lying on the ground, still in his suit, with his hands on his chest, but was breathing normally now.
"John, are you alright?" Kal asked.
"Yes, I just feel exhausted. That robot was a nightmare" John replied standing up. "Power out," John said and went back to his normal uniform.
"I'm glad you're okay, Johnny. But I think you should take classes with that robot," said Barry, putting his arm on John's shoulder. "He gave you a beating and it was fun," he said, almost wanting to bend down to get air for laughing. John was upset by this, so he wanted to create a protective field, but mysteriously created nothing. John didn't understand what was going on, so he wanted to create a hand, but nothing happened.
"What happens?" Shayera asked.
"I don't know what happens, but I can't create anything," John replied. He tried again to create a cage, but nothing happened.
"Can't you create anything?" Kal asked.
"No, I cannot. I just told you" he replied nervously and annoyed.
"Johnny, we better go to the base," said Barry.
XXX
John was being scanned by J'onn for about 10 minutes. He had tried to create something with his mind during those 10 minutes, but it was a futile effort. He was hoping that all of this was only caused by a lack of concentration, as he still felt tired.
To the Rangers' surprise, Commander Wayne was not present. According to John, the commander was in the conference room studying the robot, since J'onn was analyzing the green Ranger, to verify if it was alright.
"John, I have bad news," J'onn said. This was going to be worse. "Your encounter with that robot ended up taking away your power to create things with your mind. And worst of all, I don't know if you can get your power back," he said, trying to be careful.
This did seem unfair to John. He was the most dedicated and disciplined Ranger, and he lost his powers instead of someone else losing them. Why had nothing happened to his other companions?
"I lost my powers because of that robot, but nothing happened to them?" John asked angrily and pointed at his Rangers with his index finger.
"John, I don't know what happened, but don't be mad, this is not a bad thing," said Kal.
"Sure, because all of you still have your powers, which makes you special, and I no longer have any reason why I should continue in this team, and you, well thank you," John says quite annoyed with the team, but more because He no longer had powers. He had long since acquired his powers. They were a part of him, but now it is unknown if he could get it back.
"John, you must stop, your teammates are concerned about this situation," J'onn said trying to calm him down.
"Of course not, don't tell me that. They would always worry about something else before me," said John.
"Stop it, cadet," said Commander Wayne. "Guilt does not help here, neither does your attitude. Your fellow Rangers had a tough fight, and I didn't help them because I knew they could beat it, and they did, at least for now, because the robot will obviously come back, "said the commander as he walked around in a straight line between John and his Rangers. "Therefore, they should focus on stopping the robot."
"I can't do it, commander. I no longer have powers, and they have everything. The robot will win, and that's it," he said complaining.
"The robot cannot win, cadet. It is the duty of the league to stop him, and you five can and should stop him," said the commander.
"How are they going to stop him?" John asked touching the commander on his chest, but he does not attack him. "Kal always cares about Lois, Diana is only interested in taking revenge on those who disagree with her, Barry is clumsy and Shayera is dominated by her ego. Literally that robot has already won." John said raising his arms to the air with great force.
"Now you did go, John," said Kal approaching John, but the commander shook his head, preventing him from attacking him. J'onn also approached Diana because he knew that she was going to attack her.
"John, out of the lab," ordered the commander. John was going to protest, but the commander approached him and pushed him out. "Then we fix this," he said angrily. John just left, waiting for the commander to tell his Rangers to fix their problems once and for all, but this was not the case. "Rangers, even if you don't like this, this has been good for the team," he said with the same coldness.
"But how is this good?" Shayera asked. "He just insulted and disrespected us. How is this good?" The other Rangers agreed, obviously.
"Because finally, he said aloud to you what has always bothered you, cadets," replied the commander. "The cadet has always believed that is what always stops you from being Rangers. I'm not saying it's okay for him to talk to you like that, because only I can do it, so you decide whether to talk to him or not. I'm not going into that, and now I'm leaving" said the commander, leaving the laboratory and going back to the conference room.
The Rangers were offended, but the commander told them in a kinder way that John never approved of them. So the biggest mistake they made was going to see John a few minutes later. They would have acted more calmly if they weren't so angry. They reached John's room, but it did not open.
"John, it's us," said Kal. "We want to talk."
"What do you want to talk about?" John asked.
"It's pretty obvious, John," said Diana. There was no verbal response, but the door opened and John was facing them.
"Well I'm not going to say anything, I already made it clear that I didn't deserve this, and now I can't continue being a Ranger," John said almost screaming.
"You didn't deserve that, but be grateful that you're still alive," Barry said sounding somewhat annoyed.
"I'm not someone useful anymore. Now I can't support my wife and son because of that robot," John said angrily.
"Sorry, John, but you can still be helpful," Shayera said.
"No one without powers can be a Ranger, and you are talking that way because you don't know that. I had to climb since I came to the league, you guys took less time than me to be chosen Rangers. This is not fair. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to think about what else can I do now that I can't be a Ranger anymore" John said closing the door.
"We must give him time," Shayera said. "But it doesn't take long. We already know when we took too long," she said, recalling his failure last month. That experience did help her.
"I just hope that John gets through this soon. What I said is true, without him we cannot focus on the mission," said Kal. They all went off to do something else.
XXX
16:30
Everything was going normal. The Rangers had gone with John again, but John rejected them again saying the same thing. That he was no longer serving as a Ranger, and that now he wanted to see what else he could do. Even John didn't go out to eat, but the Rangers were somewhat down due to John's attitude. In part he was right, without their powers they most likely would not have been recruited, or worse, they would not be someone important. However, they did not expect the alarm to sound. The four Rangers went and found the commander and J'onn.
"Rangers, the robot is attacking again, but this time Ace Chemists is targeting, surely because they will give it more power or want to attract them," said the commander.
"Brilliant. The only thing we can do now is destroying the robot or stop it to make John happy" Kal said somewhat relieved. If they did, they could make John rethink things.
"They must destroy the robot at all costs," said the commander. "J'onn," he said, signaling to his scientist that he could speak.
"I analyzed the robot after analyzing John. And I discovered that if you destroy your consciousness, it could return all the energy it absorbed. Therefore, John could regain his powers," J'onn said.
"Great," said Barry. "You have to tell John." The other Rangers agreed with him, but the commander stopped them.
"Negative, cadets. You must either go destroy that robot or keep it busy. Me, meanwhile, I have to do something about Cadet Stewart. Now go." said the commander. This was a difficult thing to obey because perhaps this would cheer John up and have them accompany him, and having the commander deny them this, could be bad. "Do it or I will make your work picking up trash from the streets for a week," he threatened.
"Understood, commander," Kal said. "Ready?"
"Ready!" The three Rangers replied.
"Justice League, activate!" All four Rangers said and transformed. Once the Rangers left, the commander told J'onn:
"J'onn, let me know if the Rangers are in trouble."
"Yes sir," J'onn said, staying in the conference room.
The commander left the conference room and went to John's room. He told him to open it, John obeyed him and they were both facing each other. John was only wearing his green shirt, but not his jacket. Obviously feeling useless, he had not gone to the conference room.
"Put on your sportswear and come with me. We have a lot to do" said the commander without losing his cold and intimidating tone.
"I don't know what you want me to do, but I'll just tell you that I no longer have my power, so I can't create anything with my mind that you want," said John. He wanted nothing more than to be alone.
"It doesn't require you to use your power, now come with me if you don't want me to force you to accompany me," said the commander, taking a step forward. "You will require only training clothes, not your uniform," he said trying to calm him down.
John and Commander Wayne toured the base before reaching the training circuit for all the soldiers at the base. John shuffled, while the commander just kept walking at a normal pace.
"Cadet, cross the entire circuit, I wait for it to finish" the commander ordered.
"But I already did it in the morning," John complained.
"It doesn't matter, cadet. I order it, and you have to do it," he ordered.
John, with all the laziness, walked the entire circuit, until crossing under the net with the mud. When he finished, he saw that the commander was waiting for him with his arms crossed.
"I already did, can I go now?" John asked.
"You didn't do well, cadet. Do it again" The commander ordered.
"What do you mean I didn't do it right? I did the whole route as I always have, and I always do it well. Don't tell me otherwise" John said somewhat annoyed.
"Do it again, you do it right, or I'll make you do it," said the commander, taking advantage of the fact that he had no powers. John felt useless again, but went back through the circuit.
This was going to take time.
NEXT: POWER DRAIN, PART 2.