THE REVENGE, PART 1.
The Bowery. 13:00
John Stewart, the green Ranger from Zone C, was on his motorcycle patrolling the area alone. He may have been sent in a duo with Kal, Diana, Barry, or Shayera, but he practically begged Commander Wayne to let him patrol alone.
It had been a few weeks since Commander Wayne had been fired and returned to his post on the orders of Supreme Commander Lane. Since then, Wayne had made increasing the experience of all Rangers a priority. His way of doing that was to send them out to patrol all areas of the city. Obviously, the five Rangers would have a different area to patrol every day. John was at The Bowery this day, while Kal and Diana were at Burnley, and Shayera and Barry at another side in the Industrial District.
Although Barry had found the patrol with so many active security cameras unnecessary, John loved this. He now had some personal time to himself, and he didn't have to deal with the somewhat annoying tempers of his classmates. However, this day would get very complicated, and it began when he reached the edges of The Bowery.
"Commander, The Bowery is in order. I'm going back to the base," John said taking out his Morpho and calling the base.
"Thank you, cadet. Get back to base and be careful," Commander Wayne said before hanging up.
John was about to start his motorcycle when a green figure leaped from a building with a green sword in hand, ready to attack John. Fortunately, John heard that someone was about to fall near him and created a shield with his mind. Surprisingly, the shield was quickly undone by the hooded figure like it was paper, knocking John off the bike and away from him.
John got up and created two swords with his mind and launched two attacks at the hooded figure, but it easily dodged his attacks. It delivered another thrust that destroyed John's swords, knocking him to the ground again.
"I don't think you can do better," said the hooded figure, mocking John.
"Sure I can do it. Justice League, actívate," John said, transforming into the green Ranger.
Once this was done, John created a bus and threw it at the hooded man, but he dodged it with a great jump and prepared to hit John again. The Ranger created a brick wall that barely resisted the blow. Next, he created a hammer and tried to hit the hooded man, but he dodged it and gave it three quick thrusts, knocking John down again.
John got up again and formed five machine guns to fire at him, but he was so distracted that his attacks were inaccurate and missed the hooded man. This skilled opponent managed to get through to John, destroying his machine gun very easily before hitting John three more times. The third was the most devastating, knocking John out of action.
The hooded man approached John and put the point of his sword against his chest.
"I would leave you as an empty shell, but you are not the target," said the hooded man. "But I will take this." The hooded man tore the place where his name was. "My first prize," he said before jumping in and leaving John alone.
When he was leaving, John tried to get up, but he was physically injured, quickly losing consciousness.
XXX
C Zone Base. 13:15
Noticing that John was not returning to base, Commander Wayne used the camera and saw his cadet lying on the ground unconscious. The commander called for help. They went to get him and took him to the medical wing. With J'onn by his side, the commander saw how his Green Ranger was being treated. He had cuts on his chest and sides, along with his injured left arm.
"Any idea what could have attacked him in such a short time?" Commander Wayne asked without taking his eyes off his green Ranger.
"No sir, not for now," John replied. "The only thing I can assure you is that he was someone of your stature, but I can't find any other information to help me." He was nervous because he thought that the commander could find something, and he was not wrong.
"Strange. His name was ripped off the uniform jacket from him. He's sending us a warning," the commander said, lamenting that his Ranger had been attacked and he hadn't been able to do anything to help him. At that moment, he realized that his Rangers were in danger, so he took out his Morpho and called the other Rangers. "Cadets, get back to base quickly," he ordered and hung up.
XXX
Industrial District. 13:20
"It's weird that Wayne ordered us to return when we almost finished the patrol," Barry said as he walked beside Shayera towards his motorcycle.
"Knowing him, I think there is something behind it, Barry. I think it's better to go there and ask him once we get back," Shayera said.
"That is if you can get there," said the same hooded figure that had attacked John a few minutes earlier.
"Who are you?" Shayera asked, in combat position.
"You should be more concerned with combat," he said drawing the green sword.
"Get ready," she said, pulling the Morpho out just like Barry.
"Justice League, actívate," they said at the same time and transformed.
Shayera drew her pistol and shot the hooded man a few times. He blocked all the shots and returned one, but in the direction of Barry, making him Dodge. If he was going to hit the hooded man, he had to stop, but fell close to the rival who took advantage and launched a blow with the green sword which ripped his chest. Shayera drew a sword and threw blows at him. Surprisingly, the hooded man did not have much trouble and hit Shayera on the arm every time he blocked a blow.
Barry got up and drew his sword as well, landing two blows on the hooded man. To their surprise, the criminal brandished his sword and two green bolts were shot, one at Shayera and one at Barry. Shayera got up and threw a grenade which was quickly grabbed by the hooded man. He threw it back at her, drawing his gun, but he did it very late. He ended up toppling to the ground and losing his suit.
"Shay!" Barry yelled worried. He got up and pulled out a pistol so he could shoot the hooded man, but unfortunately, it was useless.
As with Shayera, the criminal blocked each shot and fired more bolts than he tried to dodge. Although he avoided some, he was unable to defeat others, leaving him defenseless. The hooded man brandished his sword at Barry with three more blows, knocking Barry out of action, losing his suit as well as Shayera.
The hooded man approached with his sword still in hand and aimed at their chests just as he had previously done with John.
"You guys are not tough or worth putting you in here," he said, lifting his sword and putting his gaze on her, so they would understand that he was pointing at her.
"What are you talking about?" Shayera asked as she grabbed her sore arms.
"You'll soon see," he replied tearing off their jackets and taking their names before leaving.
XXX
Zone C Base. 13:25
Noticing that Barry and Shayera were taking too long, Commander Wayne sent help to the location of his Morphos. When help arrived, they saw the two rangers unconscious and badly injured. They put them in the car and took them back to the base, where the commander and J'onn saw that the threat had attacked again.
They also noticed that their names had been removed from their jackets. They had barely reached the medical wing when Kal and Diana had returned to base. Interestingly, Kal had gone on her motorcycle, and although he offered her a place, as Barry had done with Shayera, she preferred to go in the patrol car.
Kal and Diana were heading to the conference room, but Commander Wayne called them to go to the medical wing. They went there, and saw their three companions receiving treatment, such as bandages and care for some cuts.
"What happened to you?" Kal asked the commander.
"They were attacked by someone, but they could not defend themselves well," replied the commander, who secretly hoped that the attacker was not the person he thought he was.
"Fortunately, they were only injured, but they are not serious," J'onn said, wanting to ease the situation with the Rangers.
"This is not good. I have never seen anyone hurt three Rangers so badly in the short time I was in England," Diana said, showing that she was furious at how someone could fight and finish them so easily. She wanted to make him or her pay for them.
"Couldn't it be Lady Shiva?" Kal asked.
"It is not very possible. After the cadet Prince has defeated her, she has made it a priority to defeat her in combat individually, but she has not fought the other Rangers, at least not when they are alone," Commander Wayne said.
"Then what do we do?" Diana asked.
"Simple, stay here watching your teammates until J'onn and I find out who the attacker is. Come on, J'onn," he ordered, leaving the medical wing.
"Kal, Diana, this is serious," J'onn said. "It's better for you to stay here because, as you know, he doesn't want you to get hurt," he said before leaving.
"I think it's better to stay here in case they wake up," Kal said. In those moments, Diana thought of leaving to argue with the commander, so she stepped out with Kal following her.
"Diana, I don't think another discussion is a good idea," Kal said as he walked beside her.
"Someone attacked our teammates. That is unforgivable and I'm not going to allow it," she said without bothering to look at him. She was still as impulsive as she was before.
Upon arriving at J'onn's lab, Kal and Diana saw that both he and Commander Wayne were looking at the monitor. They were probably trying to find out who the attacker was.
"Commander, I think it will be better if he tells us this time if you are going to carry out a plan so that we can help," Diana said.
"I don't have any plans at the moment, Prince, so you better get back to the medic wing in case the other cadets wake up," Commander Wayne said, not meeting her eyes.
"Commander, someone has attacked our comrades and may still be after us. It would be better if he tells us that he already has something to beat him," Kal said.
"I don't know who he is and that's what I want to find out," Commander Wayne said.
With this, even Diana knew that even with all her persistence, he wasn't going to say anything, at least not right now.
"If he ever leaves the base, I will find out. So I advise you not to," he said before leaving.
"And she knows that you're serious, Commander," Kal said before following her to the medical wing.
"Now I wonder how she wants to get off the base without her noticing it," J'onn said. He knew Wayne very well, and knew that he had a plan to evade the furious Amazon Ranger.
"You will have to follow me to know that," said the commander before leaving the laboratory.
J'onn obviously followed him, and to his surprise, they went to the conference room. The commander went to his chair and pressed a button that was under his seat. In a second, the screen in front of the chair lifted and revealed a hole large enough for anyone to pass through.
"Since when did you do this?" J'onn asked. Curious, he was the one surprised by the construction of a new facility without him realizing it when he was the one who had surprised his commander twice before.
"Since Lane put me back in command and after you showed me the car," Commander Wayne replied with a slightly amused tone. However, J'onn knew this was going to end badly so he grew serious.
"You know they're going to kill you when you get back," he said, looking at his face.
"J'onn, I'm pretty sure Ra's is the attacker. If O defeat him today, then Zone C and my cadets will be in no more danger. I have to do this alone," said the commander, turning to look at him.
"I still think Kal and Diana can help," J'onn said, hoping he didn't act alone like Diana wanted to do earlier.
"They are not qualified for this, not yet, and I could not bear to see the five on a stretcher," he said, gnashing his teeth in despair.
J'onn knew that he would take a great risk by letting him go, but he was his commander, his partner and was almost like a father to him. He let him go, but not without making it clear that he would be attentive to what happened.
"The car has a camera, so I can see if you are in danger," he said staring at him.
"Got it," said the commander ready to jump down that hole, but J'onn stopped him.
"Will I have to remote control again?" he asked him.
"I hope that's not necessary," he replied before jumping into the hole without further interruptions.
After the commander left, Barry woke up in the medical wing, where Diana and Kal had spent a few minutes watching their companions to alert in case their conditions worsened.
"Oh, I never thought a hooded man could beat me so easily," Barry said trying to sit up, but Diana and Kal ran to him and put their hands on his chest so he wouldn't try.
"Barry, you are in bad shape. Don't try to get up," Diana said.
"We don't want you to get worse," Kal said.
"Ay, alright," he said laying down again. "Oh, that was wild." He put his hand on his head.
"I do not doubt it. Whoever did this, he will pay for it," Diana said. She was still so impulsive and controlled by her emotions in these situations.
At that moment, Shayera woke up, but she felt a pain in her stomach. She screamed in pain, opening her mouth wide.
"Shayera, hold on!" Kal said. Diana pressed the help button and J'onn came within seconds.
"What happened?" he asked anxiously.
"Shayera is hurting," Diana replied trying to keep her lying down.
J'onn went to her and injected her with an anesthetic. It made her relax, but she did not fall asleep. He examined her and rubbed an ointment on her stomach and then put an additional bandage on her.
"Thanks, J'onn," Shayera said. "That pain was horrible."
"Good thing it wasn't serious at all, Shayera," Kal said.
"Yeah, you made me nervous, Shay," Barry said with some pain in his voice.
"Oh, what happened?" John asked. He too had woken up. "Wow, my arms hurt awful."
"John, it's good to see that you've woken up," Kal said.
"Do not believe me so weak as not to wake up," he said quietly so as not to feel pain from moving his arms.
"You need more ointment," J'onn said, taking more from the bottle to apply to his arms.
"What happened? I was surprised to be here after that guy hit us with his sword," Barry said.
"Did he attack you too?" John asked as J'onn continued to apply the ointment.
"Yes, and now I'm angry, and I want to get revenge on him," Shayera said with pain in her voice.
"You are not the only one," Diana said, sitting next to her.
"Exactly, you are not the only one. For the first time in a long time I will have to wait a long time to get up," Barry said.
"And how long will it take?" Kal asked.
"About two hours. Remember that I have a fast metabolism, but it takes time for me to heal depending on how bad the injury is," Barry replied.
"You are lucky, Allen. Hol and I have to wait longer," John said.
"That's true," Shayera agreed.
"Hey, where's Wayne?" Kal asked, surprised that the commander didn't come when Shayera was in pain.
"He's in the lab," J'onn said, not wanting to tell them that he was gone.
"And can't you tell him to come?" Diana asked.
"It is better not to interrupt," he replied without showing nervousness.
"Oh, I hope this doesn't lead him to do something crazy," Shayera said.
"Because you said so?" John asked turning his head towards her.
"Well, because we've seen how hard he gets when something bothers him, like Diana always does," Shayera said.
This caused laughter from everyone except Diana, who did not like the joke. However, she thought about how Commander Wayne had become the Dark Ranger to rescue J'onn from the Penguin, so it was very likely that he did something. She got up and went to J'onn's lab.
"Hey wait, Diana!" J'onn yelled, getting up with Kal following him.
The three ran and when they arrived, they saw that the commander was not in sight. Diana ran again, but this time heading for the conference room with the other two following behind. Upon arrival, again, the commander was not in sight.
"That liar!" Diana said waving her arms in the air. Then she turned and went to J'onn. "Where is he?!" She asked, yelling it at him. She didn't want him to get hurt like her other classmates.
"I can't say. He ordered me not to say it," J'onn replied. "I'm sorry, but we better wait until he gives an order or calls. Going out and looking for him would be like finding a needle in a haystack."
XXX
Diamond District. 14:00
Commander Wayne had been driving the dark car for a few minutes. He was waiting for the appearance of Ra's. Since he watched the videos and saw the sword movements being applied against his Rangers, he knew that he was back. It was more than obvious that Kal and Diana would be next if he didn't stop him. He had been to Burnley and Coventry, but nothing had happened.
He made it to the Diamond District, but there was no surprise either, not until he was almost reaching the city's Pioners Bridge. It was when he saw the same hooded man in his green garb that he opened the car door which was a door that raised and lowered depending on the situation. He got out of the car and stood in front of the hooded man.
"It was obvious it was you, Ra's," Commander Wayne said with a cold look, but inside he was eager to face his greatest enemy again.
"Congratulations on discovering me, Wayne," Ra's said as he pulled the hood off his head, showing his gray and black hair that was on his head along with his green eyes that showed coldness.
"You attacked my Rangers again, Ra's. I thought you wanted me dead," he said angry and frustrated by the attacks on his Rangers.
"They are not worthy of being Rangers. Maybe if we destroy Zone C, they will realize that they are in a futile fight and will come to us asking to be welcomed and trained," Ra's said without breaking eye contact with him.
"That's why you ripped that part of their uniforms. However, you underestimate them. They would never become a murderer like you and all your followers," said the commander, certain that his Rangers would always be loyal to the league.
"You are very naive and weak Wayne. However, I did not come to talk, I came to defeat you in combat and show you that you cannot defeat me," he said, drawing his green sword and pointing it at the commander.
"And I came to save Zone C from you," he said, pulling the Morpho out. "Justice League, actívate!"
The commander transformed into the Dark Ranger right before his eyes. "Dark Sword," he said pulling the sword from him, holding it with his two hands.
Ra's launched the first attack, but it was blocked by the Dark Ranger. He attacked again with a slash to the chest, but again blocked the attack. Ra's launched attacks to the head and legs, but they were dodged by rolling back. He kicked him in the stomach, sending him back a little further. However, the Dark Ranger recovered and launched attacks at the legs and arms of Ra's who managed to dodge them, but did not see a rising hook coming that stunned him.
The Dark Ranger lunged hard in the arms and stomach, Ra's dodging them except for one in the arm which sent him backing away. The terrorist again grabbed his green sword very firmly and launched a few blows that were easily blocked by the Dark Ranger. Unfortunately, after he blocked his last blow, Ra's took advantage and grabbed his hand with which the Ranger was holding his sword, and used it to keep him glued and cut his chest.
Ra's took advantage of this attack and executed more attacks to the Dark Ranger's arms and stomach. When he was about to land a blow to his sides, he dodged and slashed his back. Then the Dark Ranger slashed his legs and shoulder as Ra's turned around.
The two rivals were somewhat injured, taking a few seconds off before returning to combat. With sword fighting, the two of them clashed their swords over and over for two minutes, but it seemed like ten to them. However, when the two launched a frontal attack with their swords they were tied with equal forcé. The two of them turned sideways and punched each other in the chest, causing them both to fall to the ground.
The Dark Ranger got up again and took a few steps back as did Ra's. He put the Dark Sword in a horizontal position, holding it with both hands, but with his left hand holding the metal blade.
"Dark Sword, final blow," the Dark Ranger said.
"Soul stealing sword, death blow," Ra's said putting his green sword upright.
The two of them put their swords aside and started running at each other. When they crossed, the two of them landed their two killing blows. They stood still a few steps away from each other, waiting for one of them to fall, and the one who did it was Ra's with sparks coming from his chest before falling to the ground. The Dark Ranger approached Ra's with his sword in hand and pointed it at his chest.
"I knew I could beat you, and I honestly wanted to hurt you to make you pay for what you've done to me and my Rangers," he said.
"It's the sad thing Wayne. You show that you are the weakest of all. You cannot do what is necessary. You focus on something that does not exist. You focus on your justice, and that is the reason why you always lose," said Ra's without being afraid of what the Dark Ranger might do.
"I always do because I swore to always bring justice. I even swore it to my dead Rangers," said the Dark Ranger.
He raised his sword a little and then put it away, removing his handcuffs, but Ra's took out a smoke bomb from under his sleeve and exploded. Unlike the other times when Lady Shiva used them to escape, Ra's grabbed his green sword again and landed five quick cuts before landing the killing blow, ripping part of his chest and stomach. It threw the Dark Ranger to the ground, then lost his suit, becoming Commander Wayne again.
The commander knew that he had lost again, and it was likely that Ra's would kill him at this point.
"I hope you have finally realized that you cannot do anything to defeat me," Ra's said, pointing at him with his green sword as he had done seconds before.
"I wonder why you don't absorb my soul and end this now," the commander said in a weak voice that tried to sound mocking.
"I can tell that you are afraid, but I will answer that. I thought about doing it before starting this duel, but I won't do it because I want to make you see your failure once your red Ranger and that Amazon are defeated by me," he said before ripping his uniform and removing his name plate. "I think this will show the habitants of this Zone that the Rangers cannot protect them, no matter how hard they try," he said before releasing another smoke bomb, and now disappearing.
Obviously, Commander Wayne took the Morpho from him with the last of his strength and pressed the help button and say that very word before losing consciousness.
XXX
14:30
Commander Wayne was admitted to the medical wing in serious condition where J'onn and the other medics treated him quickly. Diana and Kal saw their boss and mentor this severely injured in combat for the first time which surprised them. The only time the commander had been closer to this situation was when he was seen with a wound to his arm when he escaped from the Penguin before becoming the Dark Ranger.
Some time later, the commander woke up in the medical wing, where his fellow Rangers were in their beds. Kal and Diana were sitting, watching their companions. Hearing the faint breath from him, the two Rangers who had not yet been attacked by Ra's got up and approached him.
"Commander, are you okay?" Kal asked.
"Yes, cadet, a little sore, but I'll be fine," Commander Wayne answered without wanting to move to avoid the pain.
"And you wanted to do it only when you tell us that we are a team," Diana said, almost yelling at him.
"You couldn't come. You were going to end up like the other cadets," he said without wanting to look into her eyes again.
"Hey, we did bad, but he didn't beat us easily," Shayera said before letting out a groan of pain.
"I don't think it's a good idea to argue about it now, Shayera," John said without moving.
"Diana is right, Commander. You wanted to go fight the guy who attacked us only when he says we are a team. That's quite contradictory," Barry said, being very careful with his words to avoid making him angry.
"You are lucky that I am not willing or I would make you pay," said the commander, trying to contain himself so as not to feel pain.
"And you wouldn't be in this position if you had let us help you," Diana said.
"You couldn't go. The man we faced is Ra's Al Ghul himself," said the commander which made everyone's eyes widen in surprise.
"Why didn't he tell us?" Kal said. He was also furious.
"This concerns me. You told me you were worried that I wouldn't protect you, so I do. Besides, you can't beat Ra's. You see what happened to the other cadets and to me," said the commander, hating being in this situation. He thought that he would return with Ra's handcuffed to the base instead of arriving injured at the medical wing.
"Ra's is the greatest enemy of all of us and you decided to face him alone. It's the last straw," Shayera said again.
"That is true, Ra's has tried to kill us several times and you say that this does not concern us. I don't understand why you say we are a team when you don't want us to help," Kal said, crossing his arms.
This made the commander pause. In a certain part, they were right, it was wrong not to tell them about Ra's and that he was going to face him, since he did not let Diana face Lady Shiva alone. However, he was right about facing Ra's, especially with how badly the other Rangers who had faced him had been.
"Don't you dare tell me I'm wrong, cadets. I am your commander, and you cannot question me," he said, refusing to admit that he was wrong in one respect.
"Wow, now you play hard when you know you're wrong," Diana said.
"For the time being, it would be best for you to stay at the base, and not face Ra's. If he reappears, I will have to go", said the commander, wanting to get up so that they would not see him weak and haggard as if that would help.
"Do not attempt to move in this state, Commander. Ra's would annihilate you quickly. And how did you leave without us noticing?" Diana said using her strength to keep him from moving.
"You can't tell me what to do, or even question me, Cadet Prince," he said, trying to remove Diana's hand from her chest.
Diana left him, but went to the button to call J'onn who quickly came ready with the bottle of the sedative.
"Okay, I'm not leaving, so don't give me the shot, J'onn," he said giving up. He was obviously going to do something, but he needed time to come up with a plan.
"Kal, Diana, for now let the commander and his companions recover. I'll let you know if Ra's appears again," J'onn told them, putting the vial with the sedative in his pocket.
The two Rangers sighed and sat down again, attentive to the conditions of their companions. Some time passed and they went to eat where they had a rather awkward silence. However, some time later, they went to feed their companions with the help of J'onn, Diana with Shayera, Kal with Barry, and J'onn with the commander.
It wasn't until five in the afternoon that Barry was fully recovered and ready to get back into action. There was still no sign of Ra's, that was until J'onn came over with his electronic tablet and showed them Ra's Al himself. Ra's was with Lady Shiva at his side and a few ninjas behind them.
"Attention, citizens of Zone C, I am Ra 's Al Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows, and I have managed to defeat your protectors known as the Power Rangers," he said making quotation marks with his fingers when pronouncing protectors. "So, this shows that it doesn't matter if they are here or not, this Zone will be destroyed by us. You had better accept this if you don't want a worse fate.
"And as proof that we can do it, here are the pieces of four of the five Rangers that I have defeated," he said showing them all to the camera with his hand as if they were a deck of cards. "So if someone wants to negotiate with us so that we don't destroy the area, they have an hour to think about it."
"Time to go for it," Diana said.
"He's in the city's television studio, set number 10, or at least that's what I noticed during the broadcast," J'onn said.
"Alright, he's up to us," Kal said.
"Oh yeah, I'm dying for revenge against that old man," Barry said rubbing his hands with a wicked smile.
"Cadets, you are not going," said the commander, angry because they wanted to go.
"Nothing is stopping us from leaving, Wayne," Diana said.
"Besides, it's the duty of a Ranger, isn't it?" Kal asked.
"Besides, I'm already cured, so I'll be the wow factor," Barry said before leaving.
"I'm going after them," said the commander. J'onn immediately ran to him with the vial ready to inject.
"I know he's going to hate me, but the last thing I want is for them to get hurt," J'onn said before injecting him. The commander resisted for a few seconds, but then fell asleep.
"We must go," John said trying to get up. Shayera was doing the same.
"No, you must trust your companions," J'onn said, laying them down before leaving. About two seconds later, Commander Wayne opened his eyes and stood up in pain.
"Come on, cadets, the others need help," he said, groaning in pain. Shayera and John thought about lying down, but got up.
"How did ...?" she tried to say as John he got up.
"Simple, I changed the jars for one that was in the drawer an hour ago. If there are no more questions, you have to help the other cadets," the commander replied, grabbing his uniform as well as Shayera and John, who fortunately had left them hanging next to their beds.
This was going to be a highly televised fight.
NEXT: THE REVENGE, PART 2.