THE BIG THREAT, PART 2.
Base of the Zone C.
"He was the blue Ranger..." said Commander Wayne, turning around to show that he was being honest. "...because I was the Red Ranger."
The Rangers' mouths and eyes open wide. They were so shocked they didn't know what to say. They couldn't move either. Commander Wayne was too cold and hard most of the time. They believed that he had been the commander for many years, but that he was the Red Ranger of Zone C was something they considered impossible. Because of these factors, they had believed that the previous Zone Power Ranger team had left him of their own free will because of the attitude the Commander had, but they were not prepared for what was to come.
"I joined the Justice League when I was eighteen and spent those years in training. Then, I worked as a training member, but it wasn't until I was twenty-one that I was promoted to Red Ranger only because the previous Power Rangers team had quit after many years of struggle.
"The team was made up of five elements: me as the Red Ranger, Dick Grayson as the Blue Ranger, Tim Drake the Green Ranger, Jason Todd the Yellow Ranger and Barbara Gordon as the Pink Ranger Pink. We were all in our twenties at the time.
"We were the last Power Rangers before they were recruited. For four years, we were in charge of stopping, investigating, protecting and maintaining security in Zone C under Commander James Gordon, Barbara's father, and his mechanic Alfred Pennyworth." This was the easiest thing to say as the next thing was the worst. He took another minute to continue.
"Like all young people, we thought that nothing would challenge us, that we were invincible, but we encountered a great enemy that we underestimated. That enemy was Ra's Al Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows. He is an international terrorist who claims to be immortal thanks to something called the Lazarus Pit. He is one of the toughest rivals I've ever faced. He is armed with martial arts training, has an army of assassins, a strategic mind and lethal weapons. Lady Shiva is his right hand."
At that point, Kal, Barry and Shayera thought that they should talk, but it was too much information, and the commander was far from finished.
"Ra's has always had the mission of destroying Zone C because he considers it the worst of all—the most decadent, the one that cannot be saved. He used the ion bark that he had managed to steal earlier using the same mercenaries you faced. In an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city, he managed to free the city's criminals by cutting off all electricity not only in the city but also at the base.
"We went to stop him. It was a difficult fight because we also had to fight quite a few criminals before we got to Ra's base." The hardest part would come next, which was what was going to make the fate of Zone C a hard one.
"We had a tough fight against Ra's fought, but managed to disable the ion crust with a lot of work. The fight was fairly even, but he managed to create a distraction by showing that he had hostages to flee with." He took another minute to talk about the worst.
"I ordered the other four Rangers to take the hostages out of the building while I focused on following Ra's. I managed to stop him before he could escape and we had another fight, but this time he managed to knock me down. He told me that if I did not return to the building, my companions would die, but I was determined to stop him because I was sure that if I stopped him, the fight would end. So, I continued to fight him.
"When I was about to defeat him, my Morpho sounded and Dick was taking the hostages out, but Lady Shiva was easily defeating the others. I decided to keep fighting with Ra's, but minutes later, Lady Shiva emerged in a helicopter and ended up shooting at me. Ra's got on the helicopter and they left before the place exploded…Tim, Jason and Barbara died," he said.
He stopped to see how his Rangers looked at him with too much shock and a bit of horror. They couldn't believe that he had left his Rangers to fight Ra's and stop him.
"After that night, the funeral for all of them took place. Dick asked for his transfer to Zone B a few days later. He and Barbara had a romantic relationship. It's obvious why he hates me. Not only did Dick hate me, but Major Gordon thought of taking my position and expelling me from the league, but Alfred intervened by letting him know that because of me, no one wanted to be a Power Ranger in Zone C anymore.
"If someone was recruited by Commander Gordon, they would immediately resign or beg not to be brought here. So he allowed me to remain the Red Ranger temporarily, but for the next two years, I had to take care of all the criminals single-handedly. The recruits kept quitting when it came time to be recruited.
"However, during that time, I faced Bane who only wanted to face one opponent, or so he told me. In the end, I fought him, but he was too strong and broke my back which left me on a stretcher for four months." He was close to finishing, but it was still difficult. He had already clenched his fists too long, but it was too much of an emotional burden to be released.
"Once healed, I returned to my duties. After those two years, Commander Gordon and Mechanic Pennyworth left for the mandatory conference with the Supreme Commander of the Earth, but their jet was shot down by a mysterious attacker and they both... died there," he said.
This was another event they didn't like to talk about. "Because of this, it was thought that the supreme commander would take the place of Commander Gordon, but since both were quite old and he was ready for contingencies, he left it in his will that I would be the new commander if anything happened to Commander Gordon. At first, the supreme commander doubted that I could be the commander, so I was tested and met without much trouble.
After that, he just needed to say the most important thing to them. "So I became the commander, and for two years I tried to recruit new Rangers for the Zone without any success. And then you guys showed up. I thought you knew what had happened with Ra's and the previous squad.
"Seeing that you didn't know anything about it, I decided not to tell you and to block all internet media and reports from the base because it was obvious that you would leave Zone C once I told you. I didn't want to put you in the same predicament as Ra's. I just wanted to keep you here long enough to make Zone C more pleasant and to bring in new recruits to replace you when you leave because after hearing this, you know why no one stays in Zone C if they don't have to."
This was possibly the longest, most stressful talk they had had with the commander since they had arrived here. The commander expected his Rangers to react, but the information and the story was a lot to take in from one minute to the next. And to make matters worse, the alarm went off. The commander turned around and saw that Bane was on his way to the Pioners Bridge, attacking with his machine gun.
"I have to go, cadets. Whether you want to keep fighting or not, it's your decision. Whatever you decide, I will understand. I won't force you into anything," Commander Wayne said before leaving the conference room to fight Bane again.
Meanwhile, the five Power Rangers didn't know how to act. The commander had practically told them that three of their four fellow Rangers had died on a mission years ago because he disobeyed an order. Also that their commander and his mechanic had also died in a terrible way.
"I can't believe he kept that from us," Barry said after what seemed like an eternity. He said it in the form of a whisper, since he had not yet assimilated the information.
"It did take too long to say it," Shayera said. She also spoke in a whisper. Shayera was a very confident and trusting person, but after this information, she felt uncertain about what she wanted to do. Part of her wanted to keep fighting, but part of her didn't know what to do.
"This is terrible," Kal said. He, like all the other Rangers, now understood why Dick Grayson hated Wayne so much. He began to think that was the reason he was telling him not to have any relationship with Lois, but, he'd still went out with her. However, he was still undecided whether to stay and fight or not.
"Yes, it's terrible," Diana said.
She was the first one to feel sorry for him. Of course, she was also undecided whether to keep fighting or not. He had lost practically all the people close to him on the base. Although, it could be said that J'onn was all he had since that terrible incident.
During this time, John remained silent longer than the others because he had not heard such a tragic story. Although his wife had been dismissed from her duties for caring for his son, and he had had to change areas after years, he had not seen anyone die.
"So what do we do? Now I am more suspicious of him," Kal said.
He remembered that he had made a pact with Barry to leave Zone C when they had a chance, but they could not be transferred at that time because the commander had only told them that they chose whether to fight or not.
"I don't know, Kal. This is too strong," Shayera said.
She wanted to go to the commander herself and slap him for saving the information. She empathized with him for having lost so many people, and now he was risking his life again in a wild fight against Bane.
"Honestly, I understand why he didn't tell us anything," John said after quite some time. "If he had told us that, or if he had known before coming here, he would have begged us not to come." This, surprisingly, made Diana talk too.
"I..." She tried to say. She was being vulnerable again and still didn't like it. "I think I empathize with him," she said, and everyone opened their eyes like a plate.
"How?" Barry asked with an annoyed and surprised tone at the same time.
"Because I too lost someone I loved because I went the other way. Minerva became an enemy because I failed to save her while I was fighting one of the men who raided the island. I am banished from my home. I have not lost my sisters or my mother, but I can no longer return. So, I know what that feels like," Diana said.
She remembered how her friend was screaming for her help, but she could not save her despite trying to save her. In fact, she was defending the commander because she also remembered that he had risked his life several times for her. He had also made his fellow Rangers better, and someone like him wouldn't have cared about them if they were only a temporary resource.
"But, he lost three Rangers. I'm surprised he's still the commander," Kal said. He was still struggling to decide whether to fight or not.
"Is it that everyone close to him dies? Seriously, I feel bad for him," Shayera said somewhat unsure, but she really felt that way.
"Rangers" J'onn said, finally getting into the conversation after being quiet for the entire conversation. "I know this is serious, but the commander never meant for anything bad to happen to them. He kept this secret to himself, not for his own benefit or to redeem himself, but to get Zone C back to the heroes and guardians it once had, and you are those guardians.
"The people out there are starting to trust the Power Rangers again, and it's up to the five of you to keep that trust so that people can have the hope that there once was," J'onn said, going to the commander's chair to play the video of the Dark Ranger fighting Bane. "And that's why he went over there, to keep fighting like a Power Ranger does."
This got the Rangers thinking again. The commander was still fighting a criminal who had broken him the previous fight. There were also people who trusted them. Kal still wanted to leave Zone C, but he was not performing the duty of a leader as he had been tasked to do. He had been taught long ago that he should not leave someone in danger to their fate.
Diana, for her part, was upset with him for keeping that secret from them, but she did empathize with Commander Wayne. She felt bad for him and remembered that she was here to defend people and make the world a better place, not leave him to his fate like her mother did.
John understood the commander, and he understood that, like Diana, he kept a secret. He also understood it was because there was something he didn't want to lose, and it was something very valuable.
Barry was undecided, but he too felt very bad for the commander. Life was cruel to him every chance it got. Shayera, was angry to see her commander fight alone. He had been alone for a long time, and if they didn't fight, they would practically leave him to his fate. After meeting and becoming friends with Barry and Kal, she knew that she didn't leave any of her comrades and friends to their fate.
"Comrades, the commander has made mistakes, but so have we. We can't make the same mistake we made recently of abandoning someone. So, we must go and fight alongside him," Kal said.
Everyone was surprised that Kal was saying this to support the commander. It was the first time he had done so, but Kal was their leader, and this was a step forward after a long time of complaining about everything. Commander Wayne had made them train, but it was because he was worried about them.
"Yes," said the other four raising their fists upward.
"We have to," said John.
"Then let's go," Kal said before pulling out his Morpho.
XXX
During the fight with Bane, the Dark Ranger had used much of the resources, but they all had little effect with him. On the other hand, Bane had landed two more blows on his sore arm, which had encouraged him a bit more in the battle. And, as a final move, he had thrown him into the wall and he ran at him like a bull chasing the color red.
Fortunately, the Dark Ranger managed to throw a boomerang at his face which blinded and disoriented him for a few seconds, allowing him to dodge the onslaught. He thus took the opportunity to land heavy blows to his face and chest, but Bane got up and threw three punches that the Dark Ranger dodged before throwing a kick that launched him into the air before grabbing him by the throat.
"Without your cowardly Rangers, Zone C is lost just like he always said," Bane said before delivering more punches to his chest and stomach before slamming him to the ground which caused his suit to deactivate.
"I think in the end, I'll be able to break your back one more time," Bane said as he grabbed him by the shoulder with one hand and by his lower back in another.
He would have broken his back had he not been hit by a green truck, followed by Kal's heat visión. It caused him to drop the commander in midair, but Diana jumped up and grabbed him before pulling him to the ground on his feet.
Bane tried to attack once more, but Barry landed a punch that knocked him back, followed by a punch and an electrocution by Shayera.
The commander was surprised that the five Rangers had come to help him. He thought they wouldn't come or that they would leave the base to a different part of town after what he told them about his dead Rangers and commander.
"What are you guys doing here?" Commander Wayne asked.
"Well, what do you think we're doing, commander?" John asked annoyed.
"We're helping you," Diana said, touching him on the chest with her index finger.
"It's not right to leave you to your own devices with this," Kal said.
"If we are Rangers, then we can't do something as bad as that," Shayera said.
"But we're still kind of shocked with what he told us," said Barry coming closer.
"If you're coming to help, then we'd better defeat Bane before asking questions. And like I said before, you know that once you come back to help me, you'll become a bigger target for Ra's. Are you sure that's what you want?" He asked. He didn't want them to die for their incompetence or for what Ra's was willing to do for destroying Zone C.
"We are Rangers, and it would not be fair to leave you to your fate when you made us realize what we were doing wrong, Commander," Kal said.
Even though he didn't like being around him for so long, he was doing the right thing because he wanted to. And what he said was true. Even though the commander scared him, he had made them reflect on their mistakes.
"And we are here to defend people who can't defend themselves," Diana said.
"And to bring this criminal to justice," said John.
"And to act as a team," said Barry.
"And the questions after," Shayera said.
After his Rangers said those words, the commander knew this wouldn't last. At some point they would leave, but for now, they were here to accomplish the mission, and he couldn't squander it. Just as he finished pondering, Bane had risen and he had pressed his button on his left arm again to activate more Venom.
"That doesn't matter, Wayne. With or without your Rangers helping you, I'm going to break your back," Bane said, pounding the ground like an angry gorilla.
"Just to make sure you make it, Ra's sent you a little backup," said Lady Shiva from one of the bridge beams. With that said, many ninja came out from the sides of the bridge and surrounded the six Rangers.
"Cadets, take care of Lady Shiva and her ninjas. I'll take care of Bane," Commander ordered.
"Are you sure about that?" Kal asked.
"He's likely to defeat him," Barry said.
"I know what I'm doing. Now, Are we ready?" the commander asked pulling out his Morpho. The Rangers, having no choice but to follow his orders, pulled out their Morphos.
"Ready!" replied the five in unison.
"Justice League, actívate," said all six in unison.
"One, Kal-El. Justice League, Red," Kal said.
"Two, Diana Prince. Justice League, Blue," said Diana.
"Three. John Stewart. Justice League, Green," said John.
"Four. Barry Allen. Justice League, Yellow," said Barry.
"Five. Shayera Hol. Justice League, Pink," Shayera said.
"Dark Ranger," said Commander Wayne. "We have a duty to protect Zone C."
"Zone C Power Rangers," said all six in unison, striking their poses and leaving an explosion behind them.
"Ah, I'm going to enjoy this," said Bane.
"I will too," said Lady Shiva, drawing her sword and jumping into action.
Shayera, being furious, but not at the commander - or well, partly - but at Ra's and the ninjas who had killed the other three Rangers. They had been part of the cause of his death so she showed her great mastery in martial arts. She threw precise kicks and punches aimed at the necks and chests of the ninjas to finish them off with knees and elbows.
Kal was hitting the ninjas with more speed than before, though without precision. The training was finally paying off. Although the ninjas managed to hit him in the torso and one or the other in the legs, they had no effect against the Red Ranger.
Diana, like Shayera, decided to use only her fists. Because she empathized more with Commander Wayne and understood much of his great trauma, she too wanted to make the ninjas pay by restraining their strength. Her blows were less precise, but this time stronger and faster, knocking the ninjas down with just one blow.
John created swords with his mind and kept the ninjas busy. He also created a sledgehammer and started hitting them, but he had to be quick. Creating several things at once cost him more effort that he could only sustain for a certain period of time. Fortunately, he managed to finish off his opponents in time.
Barry was having fun, as the ninjas were still pretty slow. At least he wasn't sitting around watching Bane finish off the commander. Yes, he still got a lot of chills when he was around, but he cared about him.
Seeing how quickly her ninjas were defeated, Lady Shiva entered the fray and began to attack Kal, but he dodged it. This caught the attention of the other Rangers who began to fight her.
Meanwhile, the commander had been having trouble with Bane. He had refused to take out his Dark Sword to fight him because he had a plan, but the rival always kept chasing him. It forced him to use his hook to jump long distances which made Bane stop after a certain amount of time.
The Dark Ranger took the opportunity to attack him with hard blows again and again aimed at the face and neck. Bane managed to compose himself and push him away. He pressed the button once again, but this time, instead of chasing him, he started throwing punches that he dodged.
He took more punches to his face, being careful of his sore arm before throwing an explosive boomerang to the ground. It released several sparks before he was able to knee and kick him in the chest, which sent the big guy backwards.
Bane had had enough and pressed the button once more. However, this was the maximum level. This made the veins in his neck and arms glow bright green. It made him look much more terrible and menacing. Bane ran and threw punches quickly at the Dark Ranger, but this time he finished it off with a kick, which sent the Ranger flying. He managed to grab his claw, shooting it into the ground to return and land stably.
The Dark Ranger knew he had to execute the next part. He had executed it before, but Bane had seen it coming before. His Rangers' punches made him more desperate and impulsive, so now he had an advantage. The Dark Ranger threw a punch and a kick at him, but the big guy punched him in his sore arm and grabbed him again.
"With you broken, I don't think you can ever be a Ranger again in your life…that and your Rangers will die afterwards," Bane said, picking him up.
The Dark Ranger used an electrical capsule and put it on his left arm which made the device controlling Bane's Venom go haywire. Fortunately, the suit protected the Dark Ranger, while Bane let go and began to shake again and again. The shock was too much to control, but it was enough to destroy the button and the circuits that activated the device.
The Dark Ranger didn't want to kill him, just arrest him. When the discharge stopped, Bane tried to activate the Venom again, but saw that the circuits and button were fried. He could no longer use it.
"I may not be able to activate the Venom anymore, but I have enough in my blood to break you," Bane said running towards the Dark Ranger. "And you're a fool. You should have killed me when I was being electrocuted."
Before the shock was over, the Dark Ranger pulled another device from his belt and put explosive gel on his good hand.
"That doesn't matter to me. I'm just accomplishing the mission of arresting you and locking you up, because that's justice. You won't win like you did before," said the Dark Ranger before running towards him.
Once he was close, Bane threw a punch at him with his right fist, but the Dark Ranger evaded it and connected his fist with explosive gel with his chin. It exploded on contact, lifting Bane off the ground before falling, leaving him stunned.
Meanwhile, the five Rangers managed to defeat Lady Shiva in time to help the Dark Ranger. Lady Shiva tried to use the same technique of the hundreds of swords, but Barry was so fast that whenever she needed time, he prevented her.
Kal attacked with quick strikes, followed by John with two sword strikes he created. Then, Diana gave two thrusts with her sword, before Shayera finished with a kick to the chest, which knocked her down. Seeing that she was beaten, Lady Shiva again threw another smoke bomb to leave.
"Cadets, it's Super Cannon time," ordered the Dark Ranger.
"Super Cannon," said the fivesome, pulling out their Morphos and pressing the button to summon the Super Cannon. As the weapon appeared, the five Rangers grabbed it.
"Ready, aim..." said Kal as they saw Bane getting up.
"...Fire" Kal said and a fireball was fired and hit Bane. Bane screamed in pain before falling to the ground and exploding again.
The Dark Ranger approached Bane, and saw that the Super Cannon's bullet had destroyed most of his Venom device. It had returned him to his squalid form.
"In the name of the Justice League, you're under arrest, Bane," said the Dark Ranger, pulling out the arrest cuffs and slapping them on his slender wrists. To his surprise, Bane spoke.
"Another time, I'll break your back. I'm sure Ra's will be back to take your precious, submissive wards from you when he comes again," Bane said.
"If Ra's defeats me or if I have to sacrifice myself for them to save them, I will, Bane. And if he defeats me, it won't be the same that he weakened me so that you can defeat me," the Dark Ranger said before giving him another blow to the head, knocking him out. "To the base."
XXX
16:30
Back at the base, Commander Wayne was sitting with his back turned. After taking Bane in the patrol car back to the base for transfer, he had gone straight to the conference room to reflect on what had happened. His Rangers had gone to help him, and although he was happy that they were fighting for Zone C again-happy, yes, a rare thing for him-but he was also very nervous. Now, they were rivals of Ra's Al Ghul and The League of Shadows. The risk of them dying because of him was still too great.
When his Rangers entered the conference room, they were wearing serious expressions. They needed to resolve what had been left unfinished. Commander Wayne knew this was coming, so he decided to break the ice on the good news by turning around.
"Cadets, good job. Bane is being moved to a maximum security prison where it's certain he won't be attacking anyone else for a long time. I'm afraid that Lady Shiva escaped again," he said, squeezing the arms of his chair.
"Obviously, you want to ask me something," he said, bracing himself for the questions that would perhaps cause his Rangers to leave Zone C.
"Commander, we are surprised that you have had a very tragic past," John said.
"We understand why you didn't want to tell us," said Diana.
"Yes, we were upset that you didn't tell us in the beginning," said Shayera.
"If you're going to stay here out of pity, then it's not worth it, cadets," said the commander, expecting a negative response.
"We didn't go to help you out of pity, but because it was the right thing to do. You solved problems with us before, and now we are helping you. I think we are getting better, mostly me," Barry said, not letting this moment pass to brag a little, remembering the pact he made with Kal.
"I want you to tell us though, Commander, should we be worried about something like what happened with the previous squadron happening again?" Kal asked, wanting to know the truth. He wanted to know if his life and the lives of his comrades were in danger.
"You are what matters most, cadet. And I will do everything to make sure what happened doesn't happen again, by any means necessary. You are the ones who need to decide whether you stay or not," Commander Wayne replied being as truthful as possible. Obviously, he had hoped that a situation like that would not come to pass.
The Rangers thought about it for a few minutes. They finally saw that he did not force them from the beginning to fight in Zone C. He told them they could quit if they did not want to. He told them they could quit if they didn't want to be there, but they had accepted it. It would be terrible if they left him to his fate, unable to recruit new Rangers and with Zone C at the mercy of Ra's and other criminals.
"Then we will fight side by side, Commander," Kal said. All the other Rangers nodded.
"Very well, cadets. Now, you'd better go eat. I don't think you want to fight a criminal in that condition," Commander Wayne ordered. The Rangers left, leaving Commander Wayne and J'onn alone.
"I told you they weren't like Dick, Tim, Jason and Barbara," J'onn said with a somewhat cheerful expression. "Now, they will stay to stop Ra's."
Commander Wayne turned away from his chair so that he couldn't see him in the eyes. "I don't know if I can keep them safe. I don't want it to happen again. They have more to live for, and if any of them die, I couldn't stand it."
"They agreed to stay here themselves, but I'm sure if anyone can keep them together and safe, it's you," J'onn said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know about that," Wayne said.
"What was it Alfred was telling you?" J'onn asked.
Commander Wayne remembered that moment when his back had healed after Bane broke his back, but he no longer had the confidence. He was still despondent over losing his three Rangers and causing Dick to leave.
"I can't do it, Alfred," said the then Ranger Wayne.
"Ranger Bruce, I know things don't look good, but you know a lot of times things get worse before they get better," Alfred said rubbing his back.
"But everything got worse. Three Rangers are dead, Dick and Jim hate me, Bane broke my back, and no one wants to be a Ranger here because of my damn fault," said Ranger Wayne crying.
"Ranger Bruce, your parents always believed you could be a great figure of change, but the first thing you have to do is believe in yourself. If you don't, no one else will," Alfred said as he hugged him like a father to his son.
"Even if they stop Ra's, you know they won't stay. No one does," Commander Wayne said still with his back turned.
J'onn believed the Rangers would stay, but he too had that little fear of it happening. He knew he had to tell him something good so this wouldn't get to him like it had in the last week.
"Maybe, maybe they won't leave. Time will decide, commander. Excuse me," J'onn said before leaving.
Commander Wayne sat with his back turned, looking out over the city he and his Rangers would continue to protect. They would be staying for a while longer, but he would make sure nothing bad happened to them until that day.
Meanwhile, in the mess hall, the Rangers were eating, but finally, trust and brotherhood were beginning to take root. Plus, their training had taken effect. Little did they know, however, that very soon, someone would come to visit and cause trouble, but not in the usual way.
NEXT: CHANGE OF COMMAND, PART 1.
If you ask me why I put Alfred and not Lucius, it's because I felt it was necessary for Alfred to be there to keep pushing and keeping the, at the time, Ranger Wayne stable.
As you can see, there is a different atmosphere with the Ranger squad now, but obviously, something new has to happen.