"...To The eXtreme"

PART II

William "Bill" Cranston set the silver Haliburton case on his right side as he rode in the limousine with two other occupants: Sean Morissette and Angela Fairweather. He tapped one foot then the other, as the excitement started to build within him. It had been two days since the finalization had occurred and now?

Sean had termed it "the Summoning". He always seemed to be the one for the dramatics. A great event such as this, Bill, deserves some sort of great name, he'd said. Bill couldn't have agreed more.

He almost broke into a run as the car stopped. Instead, he kept his cool and allowed Angela to leave first followed by Sean. Today, Sean was dressed in one of his charcoal Italian designer business suits, cut specifically for him. Bill almost balked at the price tag: four thousand dollars, but it was well worth every penny he was told. Sean could afford it, after all. Angela dressed in a simple black skirt and white blouse, her glasses tucked in a designer spectacles' case. Himself? A nice set of midnight blue slacks and accompanying black shirt adorned the former Mighty Morphin’ Blue Ranger.

They walked through the vast lobby of the Thunderstryke Building, Sean nodding to all of the employees who spoke to him. Bill was halfway amazed at how most of them just stood there in shock as the multibillionaire CEO of a vast multinational company just strolled through the lobby without so much as a bodyguard.

Once through the doors of the elevator, they started their ascent to the top-floor office of Sean. Whilst in the lift car, Bill tapped on top of the case, absentmindedly. Angela smiled at Sean and spoke, "It's okay, Bill. No need to be nervous."

Bill shook his head. "What if they say 'no'?"

"Then they say 'no'," Sean answered, reaching down to brush a bit of lint from his suit's lapel. "It's not going to be for everyone. They have to live their own lives. We're not forcing them - just asking. No pressure. If they don’t, then we’ll just have to keep searching."

"Besides, you, yourself, said that you were reasonably sure they'd join," Angela said.

"True," Bill agreed, "but it's just that trying to ascertain their reactions based on available data is...risky. They may have changed since the data was acquired."

"True," Sean mirrored. "That's very true, Bill. However, they are Power Rangers. And, as a Green Zeo Ranger told me before 'Rangers look after each other.'"

The doors to the office opened as the hidden sensors detected their approach. Marianna, Sean’s secretary, smiled at them as they said their “good mornings”.

“Two of your guests have arrived, Mr. Morissette,” Marianna said. “I have already served them with tea.”

“Very good, Marianna,” Sean replied. “No disturbances today. Have Nathaniel handle everything for me. Absolutely NO visitors except for the ones I have allowed for.”

“Yes, sir.”

The three walked into the office, spotting the young auburn-haired woman and an equally stunning platinum blonde sitting in two chairs. Maya smiled, warmly, at them.

“Hi,” she said.

“Good afternoon, Maya,” Sean’s baritone greeted her as he extended his hand. She stood up to shake his hand in greeting. “Miss Hammond…it is good to see you.” Ashley got up and shook his hand. Sean took to gesturing to Bill and Angela.

“This is Bill Cranston and Director Angela Fairweather, as I’m sure you’re both aware.” They, in turn, shook the two ladies’ hands.

“Nice office,” Ashley remarked, sitting back down in her leather-bound chair.

“It serves its purpose,” Sean smiled before taking his seat behind his desk. “Been meaning to get a few more potted plants in here. Kinda difficult picking out the right ones.”

Maya perked up. “I could do it for you! I love plants!”

Sean nodded and smiled. “Ah, well…I think we have someone to take care of the Organics section.”

“Indeed,” Bill said.

“When do you think your friend will arrive, Bill?” Angela asked, taking up a cup of tea from tray, set on the edge of Sean’s desk.

Bill shrugged and smiled. “I don’t know. He’s taken to being fashionably late nowadays. I think he’s getting vain.”

“Wouldn’t be the first Red Ranger,” Sean commented from behind the rim of his teacup.

A two-tone beep filled the room and Sean sat up. “He’s here.” The doors opened up to reveal the red-shirted (and muscular) form of a dark-haired young man. His face was cut with a huge smile as he made his way over to hug Bill.

“Billy! How the hell are you!” The man looked like he was going to crush his former teammate..

“Dude, have you put on more muscle!” Bill exclaimed. “I think my spine is messed up!”

The man laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you, Billy.”

“’Bill’, actually,” Bill corrected.

“You’ll always be ‘Billy’ to me.” He turned around and smiled at the three women who appeared to be eyeing him. “I’m Jason.”

“Jason,” Sean extended his hand as he made his way over to the man. “Glad you could make it. Good to see you again.”

“Thanks, Sean. You’re looking all right, too. Working out?”

Sean smiled and then gestured to the women. “This is Angela Fairweather, Director of Ranger Technology, Ashley Hammond, former Yellow Space Ranger, and Maya, former Yellow Galaxy Ranger. Ladies, this is Jason Lee Scott, former Red Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger and Gold Zeo Ranger.”

They got up and shook his hand in turn.

From behind them, in a dark corner of the room, the shadows parted, revealing the form of Ninjor and a beauteous Asian woman. For all of her beauty, however, her stare was cold and face emotionless. Jason felt a slight chill in the room as she proceeded forward.

“Greetings, Rangers,” the high-pitched voice of Ninjor greeted them. “Sean, I have your final candidate. This is Sabrina Yu, a pupil of mine.”

“Thank you, Ninjor,” Sean responded, holding out his hand to the woman. “You are welcome here. Come.”

The woman stared at his hand for a moment before moving past it to take up an empty seat furthest from the other Rangers. Sean canted his head to the side, slightly embarrassed as he looked over at Ninjor who shrugged imperceptibly.

Sean cleared his throat and moved past Bill, who held a mask of silent protest. The large man took his seat behind his desk and gestured for Bill and Jason to do the same.

“Your call sounded urgent,” Ashley said, settling back in the leather-bound chair in the office. “Just when I was starting to feel good about myself, your little floating orb thingy comes a-knocking.” She smiled. “What’s this all about?”

Sean nodded and crossed his arms in front of him. “Years ago, I was shunted into this dimension from my own. In my reality, I was the Gold Ranger and a story for another time. Needless to say, after the massive alien attack on Earth, I no longer possess those powers. During that time, I, er…’obtained’ my fortune and set up shop here in Arlington Falls. In my dimension, this was my home. I grew up here and knew the place.

“Then, as is usual in this dimension, something weird happened.

“Every city in the world has its own little quirks and nuances, distinguishing it from everywhere else. The same can be said about here, but…” He held up a finger. “…There was something more about this Arlington Falls.”

Bill interceded, “For the longest time, Arlington had its own Power Ranger: Sean. There were no monster attacks like Angel Grove or Mariner Bay, but there was a permeable evil; a presence that he just couldn’t put his finger on. I should know. I felt it, too.”

“Now that you mention it,” Maya said, “I noticed it, too.”

“I thought it was just me,” Ashley added.

Angela shook her head. “I think that anyone exposed to any of the various aspects of the Power keeps a bit of psychoreactive sensitivity to evil.”

“Fighting criminals is one thing,” Sean said. “Fighting monsters is another. I began to encounter monsters and it was difficult, considering my waning powers. The monster attacks began to be less and less frequent. I spent most of my time and resources outfitting the AFPD with new technologies to combat evil. It still wasn’t enough. So, I implemented Operation: eXtreme.”

“A bold move,” Angela picked up. “It was before…?” She looked over at Sean for confirmation (and he nodded). “…Before Lightspeed was in operation. Lightspeed was the first Ranger team to use manmade morphing technology, without any outside aid. It wouldn’t have been possible without Sean and Bill.”

“Bill designed and patented the majority of the tech used in Lightspeed.”

“Always were too smart for your own good,” Jason playfully acknowledged. Bill quirked an eyebrow before smiling.

“The monster attacks have started to increase. Before the rest of you arrived on Earth, we barely managed to drive off one. Operation: eXtreme’s main goal is the protection of this city (and the world at large) from the forces of evil.” Sean’s voice grew darker. “There is something here - something…sinister. It’s like a black thread, weaving its way through the tapestry of this city; a diabolical force that’s looking to destroy us all.”

“And we are going to stop it,” Bill said, matter-of-factly.

-= BACK 2 ACTION =-

PART I / PART II / PART III / PART IV / PART V / PART VI / EPILOGUE