Whole
By Jeannine Trevizo
Chapter 6: Throwing Down the
Gauntlet
Word
quickly spread that the Power Rangers had been seen. The populace of what had
been
And
with each new telling, as neighbor contacted neighbor and friends reached out
to friends, the legend of Power Rangers was restored. The defenders of Earth
had returned, and with their arrival, people wondered if perhaps the stories
about them were true… that they would defeat the evil that had created their
circumstances and that the Global Government would fall beneath them.
Of
course, as the populace of Earth wondered these things, there were those who had
to question in secret.
The
members of the Center had risen up in joy with the news that the rangers had
indeed returned, and began to work with their cells to plan support actions for
the returned Power Rangers. They knew that there was a lot of work to be done
to change the planet, and six teens, no matter their powers might not be ready
to do that. They began to mobilize academics as well as soldiers, with the hope
that once the battles were over, they could rebuild the world as it should have
been – free and flourishing.
At
the same time as the people and the Center operatives were adjusting to the
news of the power ranger’s return, so were the members of the Global Government
beginning to fear for their power and their control. They were getting reports
that the people were ready to support the return of the rangers, embrace them
as liberators. This was unacceptable to the Global Government Council leaders.
The people had no idea how dangerous the power ranger’s return was. It was only
they that knew Lord Zedd would destroy the planet to
eradicate the rangers once and for all.
It
was up to them to stop the rangers from destroying the delicate balance their
forefathers had struck with the galactic villain they still were beholden to… before
everyone suffered.
-x-
In
a dark cell under the West Coast headquarters of the Global Government, the Black Global Force had just dragged an informant and
member of the Center for “questioning”. He’d been a lucky find after Captain
Dell’s forces had lost the Power Rangers in
He
and the West Coast office’s top interrogation technician walked into the cell
and looked at the old man bound to the chair. Dark brown eyes aged by time
glared angrily at him, but to Captain Dell, it meant nothing. He would break
the man before him and get the secrets of the Center and the Power Ranger’s
locations, or else. He had little choice this time by to succeed.
“James
Oliver, you are being held as a traitor for aiding and abetting known criminals
and being a member of the seditious organization the Center. If you tell us now
what we want to know, you will be spared further pain,” Dell told him
officiously.
“Bite
me,” spat James.
Dell
sighed. Never had one of the Center ever cooperated
with a Black Global Force investigation. He hadn’t expected the older man to
either, but he’d wanted to be fair and give the guy a chance. Obviously it
didn’t matter. He nodded to the forty-something interrogation tech he’d been
given here in the West Coast office. The Asian man moved to where James Oliver
was imprisoned in the chair.
Reaching
behind the chair, he pulled two long wires and clipped them to Oliver’s hands.
Dell knew on the other end of the wires was a small portable generator, and
with a simple flip of the switch the current that would normally power lights
or computers would be redirected through the man strapped to the chair.
“Last
chance,” asked Dell as he nodded to the Asian tech that stood patiently behind
Oliver, his hand on the generator’s ignition switch.
James
kept his mouth tightly shut, knowing he couldn’t betray the rangers. They
needed him to safe guard their whereabouts, their identities… it was what every
Center operative took an oath to do. And even at his age he was determined to
protect the secrets of the Center and the resurrected images of his ancestors.
“As you will. Chan…”
With
those simple words, the tech behind Oliver pushed the switch and a stream of
electricity coursed down the lines and through James’ body, causing the older
man to call out hoarsely, his body jerking in the chair for what seemed hours,
but was in fact only half a minute before Chan clicked the switch off.
“Where
is their base of operation?” Dell asked, watching Oliver twitch for a second
before looking up and glaring at him.
“Somewhere
you will never find it,” replied James angrily.
Dell
sighed and nodded to Chan. He flipped the switch again, sending the electricity
through Oliver once again. When the current was shut off, Oliver was slightly
slumped in the chair, and Dell moved closer to the man, wanting to make sure
that he heard Oliver’s answer.
“Alright Oliver. We can make this
easy on you. Just answer the questions. Are the kids being sheltered by the
Center?”
“No.”
A
small smile tugged at Dell’s lips. Oliver might have just given a possibly
straight answer. Perhaps two jolts had been enough to loosen his tongue. He
needed to get the information he needed quickly, so he had no time to revel in
the moment.
“What
is their plan?”
There
was a brief pause before James looked up and gave Captain Dell a dark grin.
“What
do you think? They’re gonna take you all down. And I
hope to God I’m here to see you all burn,” he boasted defiantly before sealing
his lips again as he stared down the Global Force goon before him.
Instantly
angry, Dell hauled off and slapped Oliver across the face, hard. The sound of
the smack reverberated around the room, and James’ head snapped back to face
his attacker, blood running from the corner of his mouth. Infuriated, Dell
raised his hand to strike again, but was stopped by the sound of his name. He
turned and saw the cell door open and a member of the Global Council’s war
congress stood there.
“Captain
Dell,” said the Major standing in the open door, his uniform identifying him to
Dell’s eyes.
“Yes?”
“The
council wants to see you.”
That
made Captain Dell pause. They knew he was running down leads. For them to be
summoning him now…
“But
the prisoner…”
“Can wait.”
Frowning,
Dell turned to Chan and indicated with a wave of his hand that they were
stopping for now. Then he quickly turned and headed down the halls, following
the Major as they made their way to the council’s chamber. When they arrived,
the Major waved Dell in, and closed the door behind them. Before them, the
members of the Global Government Council sat before him around their circular
table.
“Report,”
spoke the head of the council.
“Oliver
has not said anything of use. The Power Rangers are still on the run, possibly
without the aid of the Center’s operatives.”
“That’s
no longer of concern,” commented the Asian man who controlled that part of the
world.
“Sir?”
asked Dell, stunned.
“Tracking
the trajectory of the zord, the military has
pinpointed the Power Rangers returned towards the city of
“But,
there’s nothing there anymore.”
“Perhaps. But it is the
decision of the Council to be sure of that,” the dark skinned man who was the
thin woman’s counterpart in control of the Southern hemisphere.
“Is
that wise? Shouldn’t the military be preparing to put down any uprising
instigated by the Center’s traitorous cells?”
Before
anyone could respond, the holographic platform that served as the link between
the Council and their overlord crackled to life. Everyone turned to see the
image begin to coalesce before them, resolving into the figure of the alien who
controlled their destinies… Lord Zedd.
“The
Power Rangers have been sighted,” he intoned, his voice filling the chamber.
“Yes
my lord,” the balding, tan man who led
the Council replied nervously.
“You
are to immediately annihilate Angel Grove city and destroy the rangers. Not a
stone or plant must be left standing. If you do not, I will be forced to return
with my forces to Earth. And in my army’s… exuberance, people, cities, states…
continents may come to an end. Remember, you exist by my benevolence alone. Do
not fail.”
Suddenly
the connection was severed, and the Council members looked at one another in
terror. They had to take action. If Lord Zedd sent
his forces, there was no guarantee the planet, the people, would survive. And their
lives would be forfeit for failing Lord Zedd.
“Captain
Dell, you are hereby ordered to take a squadron of planes and bomb Angel Grove.
You will also take as many ground forces as you can and go into the city to verify
the deaths of these rangers,” the head of the council demanded, pointing a
demanding finger at the head of the Global
Black Force.
“Yes
Sir.”
With
that, Dell was running for the door, barking at the Major
trailing behind him orders to activate the required military personnel to begin
the attack immediately. He would not fail the Global Government Council…
because there was no other option.
-x-
The
Ninja Mega Falconzord landed
outside the
“That
was something else,” commented Adam as he climbed from the blue wolf zord.
The
whole team had been surprised which zords Zordon had left in the auxiliary bay. The original Dinozords had been transformed into the Thunderzords,
which then were destroyed. When they saw the Ninjetti
zords in the hangar for their use, it was for some of
them like coming home.
When
they had suited up, none of them had realized it, but when they’d walked to the
zords to fire them up, it had been a revelation. Since
a few of them had never piloted the zords assigned to
them, there was a slight learning curve. Adam had helped Zack with the frog zord while Aisha assisted Jason with Rocky’s
ape. The rest just had to let their memories guide them.
“It
was pretty cool,” Kim affirmed, joining everyone in the center of the hangar
bay as they gathered together to debrief from their initial journey in this new
world in the Ninjazord.
“So
we’ve declared ourselves… now what do we do? Wait for Zedd
to make the first move?” questioned Jason, his arms crossing over his chest as
he got serious, knowing that the team’s appearance would start things moving
and they had to be prepared.
“We
see if Zedd is coming for us and then we go out there
and send him packing,” Tommy replied honestly, his tone brooking no argument.
“What
about the Global Government? Will they be on Zedd’s
side still?” asked Aisha.
“They
did outlaw the rangers in the first place,” Zack recalled worriedly.
“That
could mean we’ll have to face both of them,” Adam pointed out, looking to Tommy
for his reaction.
“Then
we deal with them both. For now, we need to get the
The
team nodded in agreement, knowing that the one of their weaknesses was the lack
of information they had about this time, and the power that the Global
Government wielded. Turning towards the elevator, the team moved to make their
way back to the main command center. Just as they were exiting the lift, an
alarm suddenly sounded through the whole of the
-End
ch 6-
Sorry
for the cliffhanger. I’ve already started the next chapter, so hopefully I
should have it done fairly soon. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, as
they tell me if you’re enjoying the ride. Ms. J.