[Slowly stands up and then claps]
So far so good, I'm interested in how the characters will act.
Thank you for being my first reader. And here is the first chapter, which I am sure you will like.
Chapter I
The Power Reborn
“Famed inventor Raymond Pamon is STILL missing. The glorified CEO disappeared two weeks ago following an explosion at his company’s headquarters. Investigators believe that he may be hostage to one of the city’s two major crime families, though no word has been released from either parties. Chief operating officer William Cabe will take over as head of the company until Raymond is found alive, or until his son Michael is old enough to run the company himself.”
That was the voice of Julianne Morgan, a reporter for WGN News. An African-American teenager was watching the news before he got himself up and ready for the first day of the new school year. He was Michael Pamon, the son referred to in the report. He still couldn’t believe it. First his mother dies of a heart attack when he was ten, and now his father was missing. It’s like God just loved laughing in Michael’s face. Or at least, that was his look on how his life was now. And his life could only get even worse from there; he was entering his second year of high school.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang. His best friend, Ricardo Cervantes, was giving him a call.
“What‘s up, Ricky?” he said as he spoke into his phone.
Ricky had asked him, “
Hey man, could I get a ride to school? My folks both had to leave early, and I don’t have any bus fare.”
Michael let out a small laugh and replied, “Sure, buddy. I‘ll call you when I’m leaving the house.” Ricky responded okay, and Michael hung the phone up. He raced upstairs to take his shower. Afterward, he went into his room and the clothing he would wear for the day.
Soon after he finished putting on today’s apparel, he heard his chauffeur/bodyguard blow the horn to his sedan. Michael grabbed his book bag from off his bed and headed out the door. His chauffeur, James Randolph, got out of the sedan and went to open the door for Michael. But, Michael quickly stopped him, “Jimmy, I told you don’t have to always open this door for me.” Michael instead opened the door himself and got inside.
“Of course, Master Michael. My apologies.” Jimmy replied.
Michael shook his head and laughed. He looked up to Jimmy and said, “And you don’t have to apologize, or call me Master. That makes me feel….old.”
Jimmy looked at Michael and smiled. “Well, if you makes you feel any younger, I’ll call you Mike.”
He then closed the door, and headed back to the driver’s seat. Once he entered the sedan, Michael said to Jimmy, “By the way, Ricky needs a ride to school. Mind picking him up?”
“Of course, Mike.” Jimmy replied as he put his seat belt on and started up the car. He drove the car out of the premises of the Pamon Mansion and headed towards Ricky’s house. Once Ricky was picked up, Jimmy began heading towards Olive-Harvey College Preparatory High School, Michael and Ricky’s current school. It took a dreadful half hour of getting through traffic, but Jimmy got the two of them to the school with a good thirty minutes to spare. He dropped them off two blocks away, since Michael did not like being dropped off in a limo in front of the school.
As they walked towards the school, the two of them noticed that the police was investigating the area. There must have been another gang shooting. Gang violence was one of the main crimes tearing Chicago apart. But Michael and Ricky didn't let this bother them. They were too busy with making conversation. Their new classes, the new teachers, the girls, the old friends that they hoped had returned, and the new events that awaited them this new school year were some of the many topics they discussed. The two of them had no idea that something bigger than all of this was going to happen today.
They entered the school, and headed up to the second floor where their lockers were at. Luckily, thanks to a glitch in the school’s system, their lockers were right next to each other, so the conversations would never be short. After they got themselves situated, they leaned against their lockers and took in the sights of freshmen getting lost, the seniors giving them hell, and their other friends goofing off before the first bell of the new school year rang. Michael then spotted Evan Watanabe, one of his friends, and possibly the smartest kid in the world.
“Hey, Evan, good summer?” Michael asked his friend as they shook hands.
“Well, if you consider a summer in Japan good, then...YEAH! How have you been, man? I heard about your father.” Evan replied.
Michael shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I’m surviving, Evan. There’s nothing I can do but listen to the crap the detectives feed me.”
“It’s the best you CAN do, bud. I just hope your father’s okay.” Ricky said, jumping into the conversation. He then shook hands with Evan.
“Hey, Mike. Look,” Evan said as he pointed Michael’s attention to someone standing behind him. Evan finished up by speaking in a singsong tone, “There goes the girl of your dreams.”
Michael turned around and spotted Kya James, a girl Michael had liked since freshmen year at Olive-Harvey. Though they have been on numerous dates ‘as friends’, Michael never worked up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend. Walking with Kya was her best friend and sister figure Amy Fisher. Just like Michael and Ricky, Kya and Amy have been best friends since before they can remember. As the two of them walked past, Michael blurted out the only thing he ever could say.
“Hey, Kya.”
Kya looked over to him and smiled, replying, “Hi, Michael.” She and Amy then walked into their first class of the day, Chemistry.
Ricky shook his head and looked to his best friend. With a tone of disappointment in his voice, Ricky said, “Mike, you have GOT to be the biggest idiot in the world. SHE LIKES YOU, MAN! Go for her!”
Shrugging his shoulders, Michael looked at Ricky and stated, “I’ll try it one of these days.”
Suddenly, the first bell rang. Evan looked up at the clock and noticed that they had only five minutes to get to their first class. The three of them grabbed their books and raced to class. Michael and Evan shared their first period class together, which was Honors English.
Michael and Ricky shared their second period class, Physical Education. Third period was World History, which Michael, Amy, and Kya shared.
Fourth period was lunch for all Sophomores. It was then, that the lives of Michael, Ricky, Evan, Amy and Diamond would change forever.
When the lunch line had died down and all the sophomores had sat down and began eating their lunches, something had entered Earth’s atmosphere. All of the sudden, there was a large BOOM. It felt as if an Earthquake had hit Chicago. But it was something bigger, much bigger. As nearly the entire student body ran outside away from the crumbling lunchroom, they noticed that a huge ship was in the sky. A beam of light had fired from the ship, releasing what seemed to be monsters from it. The ship then disappeared.
Some of these monsters had made their way towards the school, and began attacking everyone in sight. Every student began to run. Michael, Ricky, Evan, Amy, Kya tried to escape these monsters, but they were quickly cornered by six monsters, and their doom was imminent.
But
he was going to let that happen.
A man appeared before the teenagers and the monsters. He was clad in a
black spandex uniform, holding a
battle axe in his hand. This man engaged the monsters in battle. After a few swift swings of his battle axe, he sent two of the monsters to the ground, writhing in pain. He turned his axe into a blaster, firing at two other monsters, destroying them. One monster attacked him with it’s sword, causing him to stumble for a bit. But he quickly regained his balance and fired his blaster at the monster that attacked him. He looked at the last monster that was left, who was looking at the bodies of it’s dead comrades. It dropped it’s sword and ran away in fear.
The man laughed, threw his blaster in the air, caught it, and then said, “I still got it.”
The five teenagers ran up to him in awe, amazed by what they had just witnessed. Amy was the first one to acknowledge him, “Wow! That was amazing! You…you’re a Power Ranger, aren’t you?”
The man took off his helmet and revealed his secret identity to the five teenagers, “Yes. My name is Adam Park, and I need the five of you to come with me.” The five teenagers were initially confused. Why would they go somewhere with a total stranger? But then, they figured anywhere else would be safer than their current location. Adam spoke into his communicator and said, “Alpha, teleport us in.”
___________________
Adam and the five teenagers were teleported to some sort of base. Once there, they were greeted by a strange little robot, “Hello, teenagers! My name is Alpha 6! But you can just call me Alpha!” The robot’s quirkiness further confused the teens. They had never seen a robot speak with such great enthusiasm. Adam powered down and began triangulating the current places where the monsters from before were attacking.
“Um...Adam? You mind telling us what we’re doing here?” Kya asked.
Adam turned towards the teenagers and replied, “You are here…because I need your help. The Earth is being attacked by a group of space aliens known collectively as the Imperium.”
“And…why are you telling US this? Shouldn’t you get some of your Power Ranger friends to help you?” Michael asked.
Evan nodded his head in agreement and also threw in a question, “Yeah. And why are you JUST now showing yourself? The nation’s crime rate has hit an all-time high since the Power Rangers disappeared back in 2008.”
Adam lowered his head. He knew he would have to give the teenagers a thorough explanation as to why he needed their help.
“The Power Rangers disappeared back in 2008 because the Universal Morphing Grid, the energy field that grants us our powers, was somehow damaged. Michael, your father spent the last three years repairing it.”
Michael’s face scrunched up. He couldn’t believe it at first, “My dad? Wait…so that explains why he would never be home most of the time, but…why is he gone?”
Adam sighed and replied, “I don’t know. The same day he disappeared, he sent me a video, chronicling his work on the Morphing Grid.”
Evan interrupted Adam and asked, “He knew you were a Power Ranger?”
Adam nodded his head and continued, “Yes. I told him after I knew I could trust him. Anyway, in his video, he said that if anything happened to him, he wanted me to come here, the research center under the Pamon Mansion. He wanted me to continue what he was going to do before he disappeared: gather a new team of Power Rangers. But, even with Alpha’s help, I had no idea how to create morphers, design zords, weapons, and all that kind of stuff. Then, five ancient warriors appeared to me and Alpha.”
“They gave Adam this box, and told us that you five should be the main people we consider as the new team of Power Rangers.” Alpha said as he took a box out from a cabinet.
“But why US?” Amy asked.
“Because these Ranger powers only work for those pure of heart, and yours are the purest among any human being in the world right now. Also, those five warriors are your ancestors. They wanted you to do the very same thing they were once entrusted with: protecting the Universe from any and all evil.” Adam replied.
This was all too much for the teenagers to take in. Them as Power Rangers? They could imagine it, sure, but they all doubted that they could actually DO the job.
Adam tried to plead with the teenagers, “Please, kids. I need your help.
The Earth needs your help. You’re the only ones that can do this. So, please. Are you ready to accept this deep responsibility? Are you ready….to become Power Rangers?” He opened the box that Alpha pulled out from a cabinet, revealing five morphers. These five morphers were in the exact same design as the original
Power Morphers, though they had different animals imprinted into the Power Coins.
The teenagers looked at the morphers, but were still judgmental. But finally, one by one, they worked up the courage to take on this responsibility. They had to do this.
Michael was first, “Adam, I’m ready.” He grabbed the morpher in the middle of the box. It carried the Lion Coin.
Ricky was next, “You can count me in.” He grabbed the morpher that bared the Bear Coin.
After Ricky was Evan, “For the Earth.” His morpher had the Dragon Coin within it.
Amy immediately followed, “If it protects my family, then so be it.” Her morpher carried the Great Ape Coin.
Kya, the most reluctant of them all, had finally worked up her courage just like the rest of the teens, “This is all WAY too much...but if this is what needs to be done, then let's do it.” Her morpher had that of the Turtle Coin.
Adam put a huge smile on his face and said, “All right! The Power Rangers are back in business! You are now the Samurai Squadron Power Rangers! Now get out there and deal with the Imperium’s foot soldiers!”
Kya noticed that Adam was not standing next to them. She acknowledged this by saying, "Aren't you coming with us, Adam?"
Adam pondered that question for a while. He WANTED to continue his Ranger work, but he knew his old body just couldn't take the physical grind of being a fully active Power Ranger again. So, he looked at the new Rangers and said, "No. I'm too old for the Ranger business. My place is here. Yours is out there, doing what I used to do."
Michael smiled, slipped his morpher's handle into his hand and said, “All right, then…It’s Morphin’ Time!”
“
Green Ranger Power!”
“
Pink Ranger Power!”
“
Blue Ranger Power!”
“
Yellow Ranger Power!”
“
Red Ranger Power!”
___________________
The new team of Power Rangers teleported to Downtown Chicago, where a battalion of Imperium Grunts was attacking innocent civilians. The Chicago Police Department and the United States National Guard were doing the best they could to stop these monsters. But they soon noticed that the best help available had just arrived.
"HEY, Imperium scum! We're here to stop you and send you back to whatever crater you came from!" Michael said as he and his fellow Rangers ran toward the Grunts.
"What? Who are these spandex-wearing freaks?" asked one the Grunts.
"
With the power of the turtle, Samurai Ranger Pink!” Kya lilted as she formed a pose.
"
With the power of the ape, Samurai Ranger Yellow!" Amy said as she formed a pose.
"
With the power of the dragon, Samurai Ranger Blue!" Evan said proudly while forming a pose.
"
With the power of the bear, Samurai Ranger Green!" proclaimed Ricky, forming a pose.
"
With the power of the lion, Samurai Ranger Red!" Michael bravely stated, forming a pose.
Together, the five of them then yelled, "POWER RANGERS, SAMURAI!"
Finally, the new breed of Power Rangers had arrived.
“These Power Rangers are a threat to our empire. Attack them!” one Grunt ordered to the others.
"Alright, guys! Let's show 'em what we got!" Michael commanded as he began to run towards one of the Grunts. He began to fight five Grunts. He performed a spin attack and kicked one Grunt in the face, throwing it to the ground. He then elbowed another Grunt in the chest and then performed a low kick, tripping the Grunt. Michael then pulled out the
Samurai Sword, the common weapon for each of the Rangers. He swiftly moved through the three remaining Grunts, cutting them down with ease. But he soon noticed that other Grunts had come to aid their fallen comrades. This didn’t matter to Michael. He again moved swiftly through these Grunts, cutting them down as they tried to attack him with the slow swing of their swords. After cutting down one last Grunt, the remaining Grunts surrounding him had disappeared.
Ricky began to fight two Grunts, but more showed up. The two Grunts tried to grabbed him by the arms, but with his enhanced strength, Ricky was able to overcome their hold and throw them into each other, knocking them out. Then, four Grunts with swords surrounded him. He pulled out his Samurai Sword to rival them. After dodging a slow swing from one of the Grunts, he slashed the Grunt across it's chest two times, and then kicked it to the ground. Ricky then knocked a Grunt's sword out of it's hand before slashing it three times across the chest. Six Grunts then tried to surround him. Ricky began to spin, and slashed the six Grunts across their torsos, sending them to the ground in defeat. Before he realized it, the other Grunts that tried to attack him had ran away.
Evan was up against three Grunts. He took out the second weapon common among the Samurai Rangers, the
Samurai Blaster. With it, he fired upon the three Grunts that tried to attack him. The blast from the Samurai Blaster was too much for the Grunts, and it killed them. He directed his attention to a Grunt that tried to attack him with it's sword. He dodged the attack and fired at the Grunt's stomach. Evan was then surrounded by five Grunts. With his Samurai Blaster, he performed a spin attack and fired at each of the Grunts, killing them. After witnessing this feat, the rest of the Grunts around him fled in fear.
Amy started fighting two Grunts. She pulled out both the Samurai Sword and the Samurai Blaster. She tripped one Grunt and stabbed it in it's chest and she sent three blasts through the stomach of the second Grunt. Amy then knelt to the ground, allowing Kya to jump off her back and fired at five Grunts directly in front of her. Diamond then allowed Amy to jump off of her shoulders. Amy performed a mid-air front flip, and attacked the last remaining Grunt with her Samurai Sword before she hit the ground. Ten Grunts then tried to overwhelm the girls, but they were one step ahead of the Grunts. The two put their backs to each other, and performed a spin attack with their blasters, killing all the surrounding Grunts.
Before the Rangers realized it, the rest of the Grunts had ran away in fear, not wanting to reach the same fate as the dead ones.
Michael laughed and then said, "That's right, you bozos! Go back to wherever you came from!"
Evan spoke out after Michael, "Because with us in around..."
Ricky continued, "You won't be able to take down this town..."
Amy then followed, "Not even Earth will fall into your danger..."
Kya finished up, "Yeah, because we're the..."
The team formed signature poses and together yelled, "POWER RANGERS!"
___________________
The new Rangers teleported back to the base underneath the Pamon Mansion. There, they powered down. Adam and Alpha then congratulated the team.
"Rangers! That was amazing! The way you gave a pummeling to those Grunts!" Alpha said in delight.
Adam was smiling heavily, proud to see that the Earth had new protectors. He walked over to them and said, "Congratulations on your first successful battle as Power Rangers. Thanks to you, the Power has been reborn. But remember, that was only the beginning. And while you were battling the Grunts, Alpha and I gathered a lot of data on the Imperium and their forces. Look at the viewing screen."
A giant screen projected in front of the Rangers, and on it, they were shown the main leaders of the Imperium. The first monster that appeared on the on the screen was apparently female, and gruesome-looking. Alpha explained to the Rangers who this woman was, "Rangers, this is
Commander Kelisa. She is the leader of the Imperium Grunts that specialize in underwater tactics."
Another monster appeared on the screen. Adam explained who he was, "This is
Commander Shitari. He is the strategist of the Imperium, and the leader of the Grunts that focus on airborne tactics. From what we've gathered, he's not much of a fighter himself, so he might be the easiest to defeat."
The next monster that appeared on the screen, Alpha explained who he was, "This is
Commander Neidas. He is the leader of the Grunts you faced today."
Finally, the most gruesome and most terrifying of these monsters appeared on the screen.
"And Rangers," Adam paused for a moment, and then continued, "this is
Aku, Emperor of the Imperium. He is very, VERY powerful, and holds many forces under the flag of his empire."
"Rangers, you have to be ready at all times to face whatever the Imperium throws at you. They are aware that the five of you are their greatest threat, and they will do anything to destroy you." Alpha said.
Adam closed down the screen and explained to the team the rules of being a Ranger, "Now that you are Rangers, you must follow the same exact rules that I had to follow when I was Ranger. First, never use your power for personal gain. Second, never escalate a fight unless the Imperium forces you to. And finally, never disclose your identity to the general public. Disobeying any of these rules will result in the loss of your power." Adam paused for a moment and looked over at Michael, who seemed to have something else on his mind. Adam knew exactly what it was, "Michael, finding your father will be one of our top priorities. We owe him that much. If not for him, we'd all be bowing down to evil right now."
Michael nodded his head at Adam and smiled. He then replied, "Thank you, Adam."
"You do not know how grateful Adam and I are for accepting this responsibility. As Zordon would say, may the Power protect you all." Alpha said.
The Rangers were confused by who this 'Zordon' was that Alpha referred to. Michael had to ask, "Who's Zordon?"
Adam placed his hand on his forehead and realized, "Oh, that's right. You guys don't know about Zordon and the other Power Rangers that preceded you."
"Well, Adam, show them the video." Alpha suggested.
"What video are you talking about?" asked Amy.
"Rangers, it's time you learned about the ones that came before you." Adam replied. He pressed a few buttons on one of the computers, and a new screen popped up. A man appeared on the screen and was sitting in a chair. He was Tommy Oliver, perhaps the greatest Ranger to ever live. In this video, he began to explain the stories of every Ranger team, from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, to the Jungle Fury Power Rangers. This would be a huge history lesson for the Rangers, and would make them even more aware of what it took to be a Ranger.
___________________
Meanwhile, on the Imperium flagship...
Emperor Aku was angered. He could believe what his Commander was telling him, "WHAT!?! You're telling me that the entire battalion of troops I sent out couldn't defeat a bunch of punks in colored spandex!?!"
"Y-Yes sir. And these kids seem to be calling themselves...the Power Rangers." Commander Shitari replied.
Emperor Aku's anger had grown even greater, "WHAT!?!?! So...it seems we made our move rather too late. Get out of my sight, Shitari. I need time to strategize plans for defeating these new Rangers."
Commander Shitari left his master's throne room, leaving him to his thoughts. The Emperor turned his throne chair around, looking out into the great abyss of space. He pulled out a remote, and pressed a button on it. A screen popped up in front of him. On the screen, a human male appeared, bound in chains. Aku knew he would have to move quickly if he was to keep this prisoner out of the Rangers' rescue. He then pressed a button on the throne chair, connecting him to the bridge.
"Commander Kelisa. Set a course for Phaedos. It'll make a nice place of refuge for our prisoner."
He then laughed manically, and his ship entered warp speed, heading for the planet of Phaedos.