Ultimate Power Rangers:
Reloaded
Power Rangers: Chapter Nine 36
Freedom
on the March
Lynn Holtkamp
drove as fast as she could through the back streets of Angel Grove West. Her
job was harder now that these new Rangers and terrorists arrived. Last year,
attacks were blunt. This new group was more subtle. Public glimpses of them
were rarely seen, Ranger or otherwise.
Holtkamp was
following a lead about a battle near an old train station by the docks. This
new terrorist group seemed to operate out of abandoned buildings and run-down
warehouses often. Police were investigating to try and pick up a trail from the
terrorists, but could find nothing.
Holtkamp pulled
her car up behind an old train engine and got out of her car. Her sources were
right on the money. She pulled out her portable camera and started filming the
scene before her. The so-called Rangers were battling the terrorist group’s
black-clad soldiers and another creature.
The Red Ranger stood in front of the train engine that
Holtkamp hid behind. The Ranger twirled the staff back into a fighting position
as the black soldiers charged forward.
Dragon Ranger
spun forward and swung his staff, batting the soldiers’ weapons aside with one
end of his staff and twirling the other end to bash the grunts across their
heads.
Holtkamp kept
her camera focused in on the Red Ranger as he moved through the group of
soldiers, his staff snapping against weapon and breaking bone in a blur of
motion her eyes could barely keep up with.
Her mind
drifted to the same question every time she saw these combatants in action: who
are they? Too many supposed experts had too many theories, and none of them
seemed credible.
One theory was
that the villains were part of a terrorist camp from the Middle East, engaging
in a new form of warfare with genetically engineered soldiers. The so-called
Rangers are part of a clandestine U.N. anti-terrorist unit under this theory,
which seemed to be the most accepted. Especially accepted now that a second
Ranger group and terrorist camp had surfaced in Japan.
Other theories
ranged from space aliens to elaborate hoaxes. The Bush administration had
actually blamed Iraq and used genetically-altered terrorists as their excuse to
invade the country. No one seemed to care that Iraq was later found to have no
capabilities to make such bio weapons, nor were they responsible for a single
act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
But woe to
anyone who questioned the White House’s logic. They were immediately labeled as
communists who did not support the country or support U.S. soldiers fighting
overseas.
The thought of
ignorant people following a president blindly sickened her. Part of being an
American was the rights she had to question her leaders, to make sure leaders
are not sacrificing U.S. soldiers for a war based on a lie.
The
administration now claims Iraq is the center of the broader war on terrorism.
This is true now, but only because we invaded the country. Terrorists are in
Iraq because we are in Iraq. Meanwhile, the bastard actually responsible for
the most massive terrorist attack on American soil was running free, dancing in
the sand.
What scared
Holtkamp even more was the way Bush talked about spreading freedom to the
world. What the hell did that mean? Is the United States going to invade every
country not like us. The White House will say no, just places who harbor
terrorists. Um, okay. There are terrorists in every country on this planet,
including our own. I remember Oklahoma city - a terrorist bombing made by a
U.S. citizen. All countries, all of our allies have terrorists.
And the United
States had isolated itself from her allies. America spat on the nations of the
world and took it upon herself to act as a global police force. The absurdity
was staggering. The war in Iraq had nothing to do with protecting America. The
war is breeding more hatred and more terrorists.
And people seem
to have forgotten about Bush’s failures at home. Jobs lost. Poor economy. Death
penalty advocate. Gay people can not marry. Separation of church and state is
non-existent. He was the only president to take a month-long vacation right
after getting elected.
The entire
world was going mad and no one seemed to care.
Holtkamp shook
her head to clear her mind from the tangent it went off on. The battle before
her eyes was still spreading.
Phoenix Ranger
had a ring-shaped blade in each hand. She spun to her left while chopping a
blade against the back of a soldier’s neck and thrashing the second blade
through another soldier’s throat.
Two soldiers tried to sneak up on the Pink Ranger from
behind.
Phoenix Ranger
stepped backward and slammed her Star Blades against the grunts’ chests,
knocking them backward.
The Pink Ranger
rose back to her feet and spun forward, thrashing both blades across another
pair of soldiers’ chests, her weapons sparking on impact.
Tenma Ranger
was nearby. The Blue Ranger spun two Star Blades, twirling the weapons as he
dashed through a group of Capatros.
Holtkamp tried to zoom in on the Blue Ranger, but he
was moving too fast to focus on.
The journalist
shifted her camera. She narrowed in on an odd site. The Green Ranger was
leaning back in a fighting stance, facing off with a Gorma whose face resembled
a twisted face. He wore baggy white garments underneath brown armor plating
that almost looked like clay.
The opponents
started circling around each other and shifting stances. Their movements seemed
almost graceful, Holtkamp thought. It looked more like dancing than fighting.
Who were these people?

Lion Ranger and
the Gorma monster charged at one another.
The Gorma
pounced forward with a jump roundkick towards the head that Lion Ranger
blocked.
Green Ranger
knocked the villain’s leg away while spinning inward and slamming an elbow blow
against the villain’s chest.
Their fight
continued as Holtkamp opened her eyes wide with awe. She never saw anyone move
so fast before. The Ranger and monster threw themselves at each other with a
flurry of punches and kicks, blows smashing against limbs as their muscles
pumped with raw power and strength.

Who were they?
The secret nagged at her constantly.
A black soldier
suddenly dropped in front of her. Holtkamp shrieked as she dropped her camera
and fell on her tail bone. The camera shattered on the pavement as the soldier
stalked towards her. The grunt seemed amused by her fear.
A red staff
bashed the soldier’s head away with a streak of motion. It was the Red Ranger.
“Get out of here,” he said to her. “Now.”
He was talking
to her. “Who are you…” she asked.
Dragon Ranger
ignored her question and turned back to the battle while twirling his staff
into a fighting position. Holtkamp retrieved the data card from her digital
camera and ran off.
________________________________________________________________________
“It’s crap,” Holtkamp’s editor said to her as he watched the video.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to hold a camera?”
“This is the closest footage of these new Rangers that anyone has
gotten,” Holtkamp said.
“Bah,” the editor said. “Next time I’ll just send my 5-year-old
daughter out with a camera. At least I won’t have to pay her.”
Her editor was rather picky. His attitude was partially a result of the
competition his news station had with other stations. Angel Grove was divided
into five sub-cities identified by direction: North, South, east, West and
Central. Each had its own news station.
“Get back out there,” the boss said. “Find me something worth ridden.
Something edgy. Something that doesn’t look like poorly filmed Japanese
children’s’ programming.”
Holtkamp bit back her tongue and left the office, trying to ignore the
tirade her editor continued, even after everyone left his office.
________________________________________________________________________
Holtkamp was starting to hate her job, and her profession as a whole.
She still enjoyed the work, but television media had become too corrupt. Too
concerned with ratings to actually make a difference.
It could be worse though, she thought to herself. She could work for
Fox News, which may as well be called the Republican News network. Every story
is slanted and drips with bias. “Guests” on Fox news shows are yelled at by an
onslaught of right-slanted opinion from so called “objective” hosts.
What happened to all the journalists? Why was no one pinning the White
House down with hard questions? Holding them accountable for their mistakes?
Educating the public instead of spreading political fecal matter and
accusations? The president is one of the most powerful men in the world, and
with that comes tremendous responsibility. What happened to the media watch
dogs who made sure the government did not abuse its power?
Holtkamp heard sirens from a nearby fight. She laughed
beneath her breath, but she wasn’t sure exactly why.
What was the world coming to?
Half the people in the country were stupid, she convinced herself. They
listened to their fears. It was obvious by their remarks on why they support
Bush. His political nonsense seeped through his supporters mouths: we have to
stay on the offensive to stop them from attacking us here, he has strong
values, steadfast leadership, Kerry flip flops.
It saddened her that people could be so stupid. She found Bush’s
support less believable than the green-armored boy clashing against the
clay-pot head monster on the streets ahead.
To be continued…Chapter Ten