Episode 1 – Arrival / Chapter 2: Patrangers Mobilize!
This whole mess began yesterday as my friends and I looked forward to not just summer vacation but the rest of our lives. But then we met a woman claiming herself to be the Chief aka Lynne Thigpen. She was after someone named Enigma, a thief that is neither friend or foe. But upon my unexpected arrival, I confront this Enigma. He looked like me. For all I know he is a doppleganger. Despite my efforts as the golden officer Patren X, he got away. The Chief asks for our aid in his capture. One problem: the Chief is from a world existing beyond the main multiverse. Entering said world is a violation of the MPD: multiverse prime directive.
But it didn't matter. We saved our world many times and now we want to do what we can to save another. The next day, I contacted someone known as the White Diamond but they call her Rarity. She wasn't the least bit pleased to see me. Trust me. She gave me a low blow when I decided to go that low. Despite this, she was more than happy to take us to the Earth Chief Thigpen is from: Earth-1991. A three hour travel ride later, we arrive. But Rarity says that this world is destined to die. Seems she issued me a challenge to see if I can save it. Challenge accepted. We use the pen to contact the Chief, only to encounter someone calling herself The Chief. Turns out that she is the daughter of Lynne Thigpen, Tamara Fraser-Thigpen. She expected us to arrive and was more than happy to take us to ACME. And this is where our story begins...
Present day, Earth-1991...
After meeting Chief Tamara, we got on a van that would take us to ACME. The ride itself wasn't long but I never thought that these guys would be so secretive. During the ride, Twilight would mention how ACME was different, a bit more light at best. Not to mention it was a more public organization. It catches the attention of one agent who seems all the more curious.
“So you know about ACME?” She asks us.
Twilight replies, “Yes. Only from what I've seen.”
“My name is Agent Zari miss. I work under ACME for many years. So you say that ACME back then was different? We never hear the Chief talk about it.”
“Well, I mostly remember it from videos of that old game show that used to be on the air in the 1990s.”
“That's more than 30 years ago. I wasn't even born when that came out. Many of us who saw that growing up would eventually be part of it. How fitting. I take it you have received the briefing from the Chief?”
“Wait a sec,” I intrude, “What briefing?”
“Yeah. We were only here to meet with the Chief because Roy insisted that we help her,” Sunset replies.
“I see. I guess I wasn't informed,” follows Agent Zari.
“You guys didn't know?” Snips asks her.
“No. My guess Senior Officer Thigpen made the order.”
“You mean The Chief right? Lynne Thigpen?” I ask her.
“Precisely. It's confusing, having to call two people the Chief. One who was in charge of ACME and the other currently the head. We refer her as Senior Officer. It's messy,” Zari replies.
“So Thigpen's going to detail everything isn't it?” Snails asks.
“Precisely. The good news is that you will not be wearing the uniforms we agents hear. Apparently Senior Chief Thigpen has been working in collaboration with another organization, the GSPO,” she explains.
“You mean the Global Special Police Organization?” I tell her.
“Correct,” answers Zari. “They are a police agency that has had multiple branches around the world. One such branch exists here in the United States... in New York. They are helping us with this since it has to do with our current situation.”
“Current situation, Agent Zari?” Snails wonders.
“You will know the details from the Chief herself. We should be arriving at headquarters shortly,” Zari tells us.
We don't respond to what she says. We simply wait and watch. Before long, the van stops moving. The door then opens, revealing another agent. He orders us to get out. Zari accompanies us inside. We look around and see many agents working, finding information, the usual stuff. If this is how ACME does things, imagine who else would be around in a place like this.
“I really don't like this,” Sunset tells me.
“You're not the only one. I know for sure cause I went through this,” I reply.
“Where is the Chief anyway?” Twilight asks.
“She should be in her quarters. I'm ordered to bring you to her,” answers Zari.
“Hopefully it doesn't become more of a drag than it already is,” I follow.
Zari doesn't respond. The good thing is that we get to meet the Chief, the one that convinced us to come here. Zari opens the door, revealing Chief Lynne Thigpen herself. She smiles, pleased that we made the decision to come to this world and more importantly, join ACME.
“I thank you all for coming, especially you Roy,” She tells us.
“We appreciate this but can you tell us exactly what the hell is going on?” Sunset interrupts.
“Sunset,” Snips asks in shock. She turns to him, immediately shutting him up.
“Anyway, we originally didn't want to do this but you said it yourself that you would tell us what is happening with this world. You said that you want us to hunt down Enigma but I have a feeling that there's a lot more than that... like how ACME is collaborating with the Global Police's United States branch,” Who'd have thought that Sunset would be this knowledgeable.
Chief Thigpen smiles and replies, “Well done Agent Zari. I was planning on telling them myself but it seems you assisted in their knowledge.”
“Your praise is not needed Chief Thigpen. I believe it's time they know of our mission,” says Zari.
She nods and then shifts her focus to us, “Very well. You wish to know why you are here correct?”
Chief Thigpen presses a button, causing a holographic screen to appear in front of her. It then shows us some kind of footage.
“Exactly one year ago today, VILE operatives had robbed a GSPO convoy that was meant for us at ACME. The shipments contained were classified... until this happened,” She tells us.
We then see footage of two individuals intercepting VILE operatives and stealing said shipments. One of them looks like the same guy I crossed paths with, Enigma, but the other was a woman dressed in red.
“That woman,” says Twilight, “Chief, is that her? The one you always mention in that game show?”
“Yes... and no,” replies Chief, “But from investigating the footage, we can safely say that this woman in red is in fact the Carmen Sandiego. But she is not the one you remember. The one I remember was much older and mysterious. This one prefers to get her hands dirty.”
“I figure as much. Only someone like her can be that athletic,” Twilight follows, “But that other person. It's Enigma isn't it?”
“Of course. It is him but why would he be involved in such an attack is beyond me. As I always say, Friend or foe? With him working for Carmen Sandiego, who really knows?”
“So you think Enigma's working for Carmen Sandiego?” Sunset now asks.
“I don't know. But what I do know is that this Carmen has amassed a team of individuals for some unknown purpose,” Chief Thigpen responds.
“And what purpose would that be?” Snips asks.
“I am not certain but considering they were able to steal the shipments from VILE, it's fair to assume that they plan to fight back against them,” Chief answers.
“Okay,” Snails intrudes, “So what does this have to do with us? Why did you have us here in the first place?”
“You seem a bit jumpy. I am getting to that,” Chief retorts.
She then continues, without interruption, “You five have been chosen to become an elite fighting force that will not give us a chance against not only Carmen Sandiego's team but also VILE.”
Thigpen then presses it again, causing the holographic screen to disappear. In it's place is a table containing two metallic briefcases. They are also locked down too. If she's saying what I think she is, let's just say that my friends are going to like this. Agent Zari arrives along with Chief Tamara. They both deactivate the locks on the briefcases, causing them to open. They then turn the briefcases around, revealing four strange white guns.
Chief Thigpen stands as she calls my friends and reveals all, “Snails. Snips. Sunset. Twilight. These are your VS Changers. These weapons will not only help you in defense against your foes but combined with what you'll receive next will allow you to become heroes.”
She then snaps her fingers, revealing something else. We then see three toy-like vehicles. They come in different colors along with looks. All three had bits of black and white shown, not to mention some sort of trigger at the end. In terms of differences, one is Red with the number “01”. Another is colored Green with number “02” and the third is Pink with “03” on it.
“What you see here are your Trigger Machines. They serve a variety of purposes, some you will discover on the journey. Combining these with your VS Changers will allow you to become Power Rangers,” Yep. She said it.
“Wait. W-w-w-wait!” Snips interrupts, “You mean... these let us transform into Power Rangers? Please tell me this is some kind of trick?”
“It's no trick Snips. You saw your friend transform when he fought Enigma. I think that would convince you otherwise,” Chief Thigpen replies, proving her point.
But something's off and Sunset's the first to point it out, “Uh Chief?”
“Yes Sunset?” She asks.
“There are four of us and only three of these things. One's missing,” She says, pointing the obvious.
“What?” Chief notices that one is missing and that's not a good sign.
She goes to her desk and accesses communication, “This is Chief Lynne Thigpen of ACME. I would like to know how come I only received 3 Trigger Machines instead of 4?”
Something then responds, “Forgive us Miss but apparently we need more time to calibrate the fourth machine. Not everything is in order.”
“Not everything is in order my ass!” She shouts, surprising us that she has a bit of colorful language, “Has something occurred within GSPO that says I'm unable to receive the fourth device?”
“We discovered something that my cause a kickback should it be used. We're working to remove this fault,” It responds after.
But Chief Thigpen was in no mood for that crap, “You should have had this taken care of sooner rather than later. I will not tolerate any more excuses. I want that fourth device in right this instant! Is that clear?”
“Yes ma'am. We at GSPO are working as we speak to get it fixed. It should come by today,” the communication cuts off.
Thigpen looks at us and our reactions to her using language we never expect. They truly are genuine. Twilight is the most surprised since she sees Lynne Thigpen as someone who may be stern but cares.
“This is... new,” Twilight stutters, “I never thought Chief Thigpen would be so vulgar.”
Thigpen turns to Twilight and says, “You have no idea. If there is anything I do not tolerate are agents screwing up when they should be doing their jobs. Sadly it means you'll have to wait a little longer since your Trigger Machine is not ready. As for the rest of you, take your respective Machines. You'll need them in order to become Power Rangers.”
Take them they did. I don't know what it is but each of my friends took a different machine. Snails takes the Red Trigger Machine. Snips is next with Green and Sunset goes for Pink.
“Now that you each have what you need, it's time to make this official,” says the Chief.
“Official? For what?” I ask.
“This. Welcome to ACME. Agency to Classify and Monitor Evildoers. For almost 30 years, this organization exists to hunt down those that would threaten this world. We were once a group with a public image as a Detective Agency. We relied on gumshoes to figure out and ensnare criminals who wish to steal artifacts that represent our world's history... and we still do to this day,” she explains.
She turns silent for a bit before continuing. I can tell since the work she goes through and for so long, it's a pain in the ass, “My daughter Tamara Fraser reformed ACME after I had disbanded it years ago. I wasn't pleased with her decision nor her actions that contributed to it. Our objective here is to prove the existence of a secret organization and even now, they strike from the shadows. They are known as VILE, Villains International League of Evil. They do exist as I have first hand knowledge since the previous Carmen Sandiego was their leader.”
“And now VILE's reformed under a new banner and a more sinister purpose,” I tell her.
“Correct. VILE's robbery last year has confirmed that they are after something. Something that would get the current Carmen's attention along with Enigma,” she replies.
“Could it happen to be something called The Lupin Collection?” I ask.
Chief doesn't respond but knows that I may be onto something. The others look at me, wondering on how I know all this. Well maybe because what they have are part of this collection. The VS Changers? The Trigger Machines? Even the X Changer. All of them are part of it.
“You have been doing your homework have you Roy?” Chief Thigpen says.
“I have,” I tell her, “If I may Chief Thigpen, may I provide the briefing?”
She nods and follows, “Yes. You may.”
“Thank you.” I take a steps forward, as Chief reactivates the holographic monitor. The picture then shows various trinkets.
“Roy, what are you doing?” Sunset asks.
“Telling you something important. Those items you got from the Chief, they are part of it. They are part of the Lupin Collection, an accumulation of artifacts that once belong to the legendary gentleman thief, Arsene Lupin. Arsene Lupin is a fictional character created by author Maurice LeBlanc and yet, this Arsene Lupin exists.”
“Arsene Lupin? He exists?” wonders Twilight.
Roy answers before continuing, “Yes, he does. His exploits were known in the late 19th century where yes, he is a thief. But even a thief like Lupin has a shred of honor. A force for good, despite being on the wrong side of the law. In his words, he states that there is no honor, no value in stealing from ordinary people. He only goes after those who are worse than him. During his travels, he founded some strange item. At first he saw it as of little value but as time went on, he began starting to collect these trinkets. He traveled all over the world, sought after them. After many years, he would soon discover that this collection contains great power and that whoever gathers it can have the power to do whatever they desire. And so, he chose to keep this collection until his eventual death. From that point on, these artifacts would then be known as The Lupin Collection.”
Snips raises his hand and says, “How did Lupin die? What happened to him?”
“Very few people ever knew what happened to Lupin. Many said he died after having saved France from an evil villain. Others say he died after having enjoyed a life of adventure. But all of that is proven false. In reality, he died when the Titanic sank in April 1912. He left behind a wife and a son, a son who would make his own mark as a Lupin. Years later, that man would fall in love with a Japanese woman and would have a son that even now makes his own mark,” I answer.
“So the Lupin Collection is tied towards the Lupin line. Then why would VILE be going after it to begin with?” Snails asks.
“That's a tough question. We do know that the Lupin Collection was scattered throughout the world after his death. It would take more than a century before they would be found... until about a year ago today. Whatever VILE wants with the Lupin Collection is not good. That goes double for Carmen Sandiego and her team. We don't know why they are involving themselves in this,” I follow.
“But I do know one thing detectives. Whatever VILE has in store will threaten the entire world. As for Carmen Sandiego and her band of thieves, we know little. That is why you five are here, not only to capture Carmen Sandiego but also to prove the existence of and stop VILE, by any means necessary,” Chief Thigpen responds.
Before Chief Thigpen can say anything else, the alarm goes off. It surprises us but then ACME agents are on the move, trying to find out what's going on.
“Chief?!” shouts Sunset, “What's happening?!”
“The ACME Alarm. Seems that our agents have found something,” Thigpen responds, checking what's going on.
She activates the view screen to find that someone is there, along with several grunts behind him. Whatever they want isn't good.
“So it seems VILE has made their move. Listen up gumshoes!” she shouts, getting our attention as the alarm dims, “This is your first assignment. Find out what they are after and if they prove to be a problem, deal with them. Is that clear?”
“Yes Chief,” I tell her.
“They aren't far from ACME headquarters. Get moving!” She shouts, ordering us to move out... but something still isn't right so she stops us, “Wait one moment!”
All five of us stop moving as she says this. I then ask, “What is it this time?”
“Seems I forgot to give you something else,” she replies.
“Yeah. What's that?” Sunset asks.
“Your uniforms,” she tells us, “And no, you are not wearing the suits our agents are wearing. You'll be wearing different suits, courtesy of the GSPO. Head to our ACME tailors and they will work on having you set. Once you are dressed and ready, head to the Garage. Your rides will be waiting. Twilight?”
“Yes Chief?” she asks her.
“As soon as your are dressed and able, return here. I have an assignment for you and it has to do with why your Trigger Machine isn't ready,” Chief explains, “I think you may prove helpful with this.”
“Understood,” Twilight nods before departing with us.
The five of us head to the ACME tailors in another room. He first tells us all to stand still. He grabs something from his pocket and activates it. It gets a bit blindy but not as serious. Within a few seconds, our uniforms appear but they aren't what they expect. The guy then each gives us a piece of paper with a number inside.
He then says, “Each of you use that number to take your uniform. Suit up and kick butt.”
He then departs, leaving us to get our uniforms. I went first with mine having “00” on it. I grab my uniform and the others do the same, following the numbers. Twilight and Sunset went across from us to change while Snails, Snips and myself head to the other side. We each take off our old clothes and fold them to the side. After that, we change into our new uniforms.
Snails notices that my uniform is different the others. He says, “Why is yours different from ours?”
“Let's just say that it was a personal request. Nothing more,” I reply, “Get dressed already will you?”
After a couple of minutes, we all come out of the changing room, with our new uniforms. Snails is now dressed in something similar to that of a police officer's uniform. Dressed in a suit, it consists of a dark blue jacket and pants, with a pair of black boots. What's interesting is that his uniform has bits of red on both his jacket and pants. The red is spotted in his neck collar, shoulder fringe, chest pocket and back of his pants. A gold police badge with the letter “S” is seen on the mid to top right (his left in his POV) and he's also got a wrist watch on. He also is wearing an earpiece as well for communication. In fact, all of us agents do. Interestingly, the others wear similarly. Snips is similar to Snails except he has green instead of red. Sunset has pink but instead of pants, she wears a short skirt with black linen pants and a pair of black shoes. Twilight is the same as Sunset but she has yellow streaks. As for yours truly, my uniform is similar to Snails but it's a two-piece entirely in white. Even my shoes are white and there is gold situated in my jacket, shoulder fringe and streak down leftward with red lines. My “S” police badge is there but with a blue line. I also wear an earpiece too but I also had with me a white headband, having tied it onto my head. The backs of my friends uniforms have the term “GSPO Tactical Unit” while mine has “GSPO Undercover Officers”. The right side (or left) of our uniforms has the ACME logo, symbolizing the collaboration. There are also holsters for us to put our Changer blasters in. We five meet up with the Chief, who is pleased to see us suited up and ready to rock.
“Well done agents. I see you are suited up and ready. No time to waste. That monster will hurt innocent people unless he is stopped. Now get going!” She orders.
We five salute and say, “Yes ma'am!”
We depart but Twilight opts to stay behind, mostly because of the orders the Chief have given her.
“Aren't you coming with us?” Sunset asks.
“Go on ahead. Chief gave me an assignment relating to my Trigger Machine,” Twilight responds.
“Your Trigger Machines won't be needed for this mission. Now what are you waiting for? Get going! Now!” Chief orders us once more.
The four of us head for the garage. Our rides consist of a black car and two motorcycles: one red, one white.
“Two motorcycles?” Sunset wonders.
“The white one's mine,” I answer as I get on it. Finding the key, I turn it and get it running. Snails does the same with his red cycle while Sunset gets on the black car along with Snips.
“Know how to drive?” Snips asks her.
“You need me to even get there. Now get in!” Sunset orders him.
Snails and I are already off. Sunset doesn't waste time as she starts up the car and drives off. We exit out of the garage. Two police cycles and a police car are on the move. People get a look, seeing us drive off. To them, we're just nothing but police officers, doing what's needed for the greater good. They have no idea that we came out of a warehouse to hunt down a VILE operative.
“Roy, target's a few blocks away. He's not alone,” Sunset tells me.
“Noted. I'm going ahead. You guys help the civilians,” I reply, “You guys know that you don't have your Trigger Machines so you may need to leave the fighting to me.”
“No,” Snails intrudes, “Even without them, we can still hold our own. The VS Changers double as blasters so we can hold our own.”
“Whatever floats your boat I guess.”
I speed off, hoping to find the target. To my surprise, he's right there. He isn't alone. The fellow was at 5'10 and he was dressed like he's ready to send a quake our way. Not only that but he also had several individuals by his side. They had faces that show little to no emotion but if there's one thing they are good at, it's cleaning up if a mission goes real bad. I stop my ride and confront them. These guys are trouble but I wasn't going to let them slide with going after people.
“Hold it right there buddy. You're coming with me!” I order, aiming my X Changer squarely at him and his grunts.
“Huh? Who are you? You here to stop me pal! Name's Tremor and I make sure anyone gets shaken up!” He says. So Tremor's his name huh? Okay then.
“Let me make this clear buddy. You either come with me or we'll make you. You are a person of interest because you just robbed a jewelry store a few blocks from here. What you stole is of major interest to the GSPO,” I reply.
“Do I care what the cops think? They're nothing!” Tremor exclaims.
“Nothing huh?” Snails says, catching me by surprise, “So you admit you robbed the place did you? That's grounds for robbery charges don't you think?”
He takes out his VS Changer and aims it at Tremor. It gets worse when the police car Sunset is driving appears behind Tremor and his cleaner squad. Sunset along with Snips get out of the car, take out their VS Changers and aim them squarely at the crooks.
“Seems to me we got caught didn't we?” Tremor asks his Cleaner squad.
“You got that right. If I were you, do us a big favor and give us what you stole. We can make your time back in the clink easier if you do,” Snips tells him.
“And if I don't? You guys can't arrest me. I got people who'll make sure I stay out of the clink,” He responds to us.
“It won't matter. Trust me, we're making sure we take you in whether you like it or not. Believe me. We don't take kindly to bribes.”
“Is that right?” I notice him taking out something from his pocket.
“What's that in your hand?” I ask him, pointing my X Changer at him.
“A little something that gives me the power needed to crush you all like the vermin that you are,” He replies, squeezing it with his hand.
What happens next is something we all didn't foresee. In an instant, the person transforms. His human body is replaced by a monstrous one, covered in blue. It looks strange. It has a blue cat-like head, red ears, sharp black teeth and a blue mouth that I really don't want to know. Its body consists of a blue chest, a gray belly, two blue shoulder pads that look like cat paws and its tail can also double as a claw. Not only that but his legs are a mix of black, blue and gray. He has a collar that's black and blue with a red gem inside. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this guy is a bit on the feral side. Feral is an understatement for this freak. I turn to notice my friends really freaking out over the sight of the transformation. Doesn't help that we have to stop this guy.
“What... what was that just now?” Snips asks.
“What you guys saw is what happens to someone who isn't pure of heart use the Lupin Collection,” I reply.
“What? What do you mean?” Snails asks me.
“Those who have evil in their hearts become corrupted by its influence. In turn, they become monsters. Ganglers.”
“Ganglers?” Sunset wonders.
“The code name for people who use the Lupin Collection for evil. Ganglers have been popping up for almost a year now and since VILE have been trying to get their hands on the Lupin Collection, it's easy to see why they got these guys at their beck and call,” I tell them.
“So what do we do?” Snails questions.
Roy points to it and says, “See the safe on its chest? We need to remove the Lupin piece inside. Once it's removed, he won't be much of a threat. Though if we do take him down, we probably won't know if he'll revert. Most times it won't since the evil in them just outright kills them.”
“What?!” Sunset shouts, “You can't be serious!”
“Comes with the job,” I retort, “Let me handle Tremor. You guys deal with the Cleaners.”
“Uh hello?” Snails intrudes, “We have the VS Changers. We can handle them!”
“Dumbass, news flash,” Sunset counters, “We don't have our Trigger Machines. Chief didn't give them to us because Twilight had to go and fix hers.”
“See what I mean? Let me handle this,” I tell them, moving forward and yelling, “Keisatsu Change!”
I turn the X Trigger counter-clockwise, showing the silver side and then again back to the gold train.
“X-NIZE! KEISATSU X CHANGE!”
Aiming up, I shoot up and a wallet comes out, opening and revealing a gold “S” police badge. It covers my body, transforming myself into the gold Patranger, Patren X.
“PATREN X!”
“Like the morning sun that shines through daylight, I smite evil in the name of justice. Patren X!” I shout, taking my role seriously.
“What the? Cops turning into Power Rangers? What is this shit? That wasn't what Coach Brunt told me when I did this! No matter, I'm going to enjoy smattering you into pancakes!” Tremor yells, but in a more corroded monster state.
“Go ahead and try buddy. You won't even lay a scratch. Let's dance,” I rush in, going on the attack.
“Cleaners! Deal with the small fries! I'll handle the jerk in gold!” Tremor roars. His Cleaner mooks go after my friends, while he goes after me.
He starts off by lunging his arm for a claw swipe. I dodge by ducking, sliding forward and then I respond with a spin kick to his back. This gets him riled so he goes in for a repeated attack. I dodge swiftly. As I do so, my friends get worried over how they have to deal with a bunch of Cleaner mooks.
“Uh guys, we got company,” Snips tells them.
“So we got to fight these clowns while Roy handles the big monster. This better not be like in the Power Rangers show,” Snails answers, while wondering if this is like the show.
“Something to note buddy,” Sunset points, “You wear red and in Power Rangers, you have the color of a leader.”
“Wait, leader? Are you kidding me?” Snails asks, again.
“Do any of us have red in our uniforms?” Snips points out. He and Sunset see Snails wearing red and that's enough for him to say that he is the leader.
Snails looks and then has a dejected look on his face and says, “I hate being dragged into Roy's escapades.”
He won't have time to worry about it since the Cleaners start attacking them. The three start dodging attacks left and right. Whether it be Sunset swiftly avoiding them, Snips specializing on using the environment around him or Snails trying to use self-defense to even bother dealing with them, these guys are in for a fight. Even I'm stuck in a battle, against some VILE operative that turned into a Gangler-like monster. Our first day on the job and it's already this. But wait a second... what about Twilight? Don't worry. Let's get to how she's doing.
Global Special Police Organization United States Branch Division Base, New York City
At the same time...
The Global Special Police Organization or GSPO is a police agency that isn't just limited to one place. Oh no, this is a worldwide organization with multiple branches spanning throughout the world. Once such branch exists here in the United States, situated in the Big Apple itself. New York City. It's quite a delight I tell you. Quite a delight. Home to many places like the Freedom Tower, Empire State Building and others, it's incredible. But now isn't the time to think about this. An issue is at hand. Twilight arrives and not a moment sooner.
“We have been expecting you Miss Sparkle. Welcome to our US Branch,” says the guy in charge, Vincent Williams.
“Thank you. I was told from Chief Thigpen that you are having trouble with a Trigger Machine you guys are working on,” Twilight responds.
“Yes. We experienced an issue that I feel you should handle. Come with us. Our lead scientist will explain everything,” He says.
Twilight follows Williams into another room next door, the R&D lab. Inside was a man who is struggling to figure something out in front of him. He was of Indian nationality, his outfit consists of a gray and white lab coat that covered much of him. Not only that but he has black hair but part of it is white and shaped like a mohawk. He also wears googles to boot. Something that is most recognizable is his prosthetic left arm, not to mention he's got a goatee. It's also something that helps him stand out as well.
“Doctor, we brought her as you requested,” says Vincent.
“Excellent. Only someone whose knowledge rivals mine can help me with this,” responds the doctor.
“Uh... who are you?” Twilight asks.
“Apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Samuel Bellum but I prefer to be called Dr. Belljar. It suits me more,” Belljar replies, introducing himself to Twilight.
“A pleasure... to meet you, Doctor,” Twilight shakes Belljar's hand.
“I asked you here, thinking that you can help us with this little predicament. Our little gift for you has hit a bit of a snag,” Belljar tells her.
“I already know. Chief Thigpen told me about this before I arrived. I have to hurry because my friends are in trouble.”
“Yes. Against VILE's new toys, the Ganglers.”
“Gangler?”
“Yes. They are monsters created by people whose greed are consumed by the Lupin Collection's influence.”
“Influence?” Twilight asks herself.
“You were briefed about this weren't you?” Belljar asks her, in which, she nods without hesitation.
“Good. Then I take it you can be able to fix this.”
Belljar shows Twilight the Trigger Matchine. It was a yellow Trigger Machine, looking similar to that of an armored police van. But something's up. It isn't activated and it's letting off a lot of static.
“This has been based off the Trigger Machines used by the previous Patrangers. We figure that ACME would need some more firepower so in cooperation with the GSPO and their US branch, we've been reverse engineering the technology.”
“Don't you think that's a bit risky doing something like that? Who knows what else you can screw up by fiddling with something like that?” She asks Belljar but he seems the least bit fazed.
“I'm used to this sort of thing. After all it wasn't the first time I've done something like this,” He tells her.
Shocked by this, Twilight asks, “What? This isn't your first time doing this?”
“Nope and it won't be the last. Now are you going to try to get this thing fixed or what? I don't have all day,” Belljar tells her and that's enough to get her mad.
“Fine. I'll do it but I'm not making promises,” She tells him.
The instant Twilight touches the Trigger Machine 4Gou, the static that was spurting out began to dissipate. Belljar has a look of annoyance on his face. The fact that all it takes is a gentle woman's touch is enough to get him peeved. Twilight notices this and starts letting off a snicker.
“This isn't funny Ms. Sparkle,” says Belljar, “You are fiddling with something you shouldn't even have the right to wield. But I have my orders and it's to ensure that you get this.”
“Whatever,” Twilight replies, before contacting the Chief via her bluetooth, “Chief, it's Twilight. I got the Trigger Machine. I don't know how but for some reason, I got it working.”
“Excellent work, Twilight. But praises will have to wait. Your friends are in trouble. The Gangler's putting up a tougher fight than we thought,” She replies.
“I see. I'm on my way. Send me the other Triggers. I rather have us do this as a team.”
“You read my mind Twilight. ACME is already at work,” Before long, Twilight feels something strange.
Her body starts dematerializing and then she teleports off. Belljar watches, since he knows that the tech ACME is using was in fact his technology. All he can do is smile. Seems that it's only a matter of time.
Meanwhile...
If you wonder about us, things aren't getting better. Turns out the Gangler is a bit more challenging than I thought he would be. Made no better due to his skills as a pyromaniac. On the other hand, my friends are standing no chance against the Cleaners aka the mook grunts. Despite their efforts, these guys don't play around and they are also armed with special rods that stun enemies.
“I expect more from you guys but it seems you newbies have no chance,” Tremor says.
“Okay... now what do we do?” Snails asks me, trying to get up after reeling from a few jolts of those rods.
“Not my call man,” I tell him, reminding him of his responsibility as being a leader.
“What do we do?” Snips asks.
“If we don't do something, we're going to get whooped hard! Do something!” Sunset shouts.
All the frustration starts penting up inside him as he slowly lashes out, “If I could, I would. Or have we forgotten? We don't have our Trigger Machines. We can't morph without them. More imporantly, I'm not cut out to be a leader of this! I really am not!”
“What a shame! Somehow I expected a lot more but now it ends. This will be quick and painless after all,” Tremor starts gathering power from the safe on his chest.
In turn, the energy goes into his arms and then he gathers it into an orb. All we do is watch as he gears a finishing strike. Before he can unleash it, someone comes out of nowhere and delivers an overhead spin kick. The kick disorients Tremor as he fires the ball, striking a nearby building, causing an explosion. This is not only interesting but scary at the same time.
“What the... who did that?” Tremor asks.
“I did buddy!” the sound of Twilight is heard as she then gives Tremor a kick to the chest followed by two shots of her VS Changer.
We all get a look and it's Twilight but she's packing heat and her Trigger Machine. She turns to meet up with the rest of us. Sadly we look none too worse for wear. To be fair, we at least did our best but it isn't enough.
“So Twi, did you do it?” I ask her.
She shows us her Trigger Machine and answers, “Yep. I'm ready to go.” Twilight then gives the others their respective machines.
“That's more like it. Now it's time to step up our game!” says Snails, but before he could, he gets stumped so he turns to us wondering what to do next.
“So uh, how do we do this? How do we transform into Power Rangers like Roy did,” he asks.
We all literally get flabbergasted at the sight of this. Snails, not figuring out how to morph into a Power Ranger like I am, and to make it worse, we expect him as leader of the squad?! Bloody hell!
“And people expect you to be leader of the team huh?” I tell him, “Wow. For a yinzer, you certainly are clueless.”
This triggers him. So he goes to my face and says, “Don't you freaking dare, Roy Starfall. I told Sunset and everyone here that I am not cut out to be a leader!”
“And here we thought that the manic-depressed of you went away forever,” intrudes Sunset. That triggers him even more.
“Don't even start!” He shouts.
“Uh, are you buttheads finished yapping? I rather kill you all now!” shouts Tremor.
But having had enough of the BS that's going on, Snails responds by firing a shot at his direction. It strikes him and he just keeps going. He keeps shooting. He was tired of all the crap that's going on today.
“What was that for?” says the Gangler.
“That's for pissing me off on a good day. Want to make it a double whammy then?” Snails replies. The monster doesn't say a word and he retorts, “Good.”
He then turns his attention towards me. “Okay. Do you know how to do this?”
“Sure. It's pretty simple actually,” I tell him.
I borrow Twilight's VS Changer and Trigger Machine so I can explain it to the others.
“Here's how to do it. Step 1: Hold the VS Changer up via it's grip and make sure the handle is on the right. Step 2: Insert the Trigger Machine into the Changer and then hold onto the back end. Step 3: Push the grip then turn it to the right so that the Machine is underneath. Finally Step 4: Aim up and pull the Trigger on the Machine to transform. Four simple steps that I hope you four can understand. Believe me, it necessary if we are to stand any chance against anything that VILE will throw at us.”
“Four simple steps huh? Okay. I'll give it a try,” Snails says, turning his attention to the Gangler and his mooks.
“One other thing,” I interrupt suddenly, “The code name to morph is two words: Keisatsu Change.”
“Keisatsu Change? That sound ridiculous,” He replies, but I don't respond afterwards.
“Okay, here goes nothing,” He mutters to himself before taking a deep breath and starts following the instructions I tell him.
“Keisatsu Change!”
He made sure to have it exactly as it was in Step 1 and inserts his Red Trigger Machine into the VS Changer. The sound “1Gou” is then heard. Next, as his left hand is on the grip and his right on the back of the Changer, he pulls the grip. “Patirize!” is then heard as he turns the grip 90 degrees causing the handle to be on the bottom. After all that, he passes the VS Changer onto his right hand, aims it up and then fires. We then hear “Keisatsu Change” but as he fires, something happens.
We see a virtualized badge holder go upwards before opening up, revealing an “S” police badge. But the badge is colored red and starts heading downward. Snails watches as his body gets engulfed by the badge, transforming. Within seconds, the transformation completes turning Snails into a Power Ranger. But he isn't just any Power Ranger, he's the opposite of what the Lupinrangers are. He's a Patranger. My friends look in shock seeing this.
“Well what do you know? He did it,” I speak.
“Huh? What the?” Snails looks at a nearby mirror and gets a look at himself now.
Compared to the Lupinrangers with their suits, what Snails wears is an inverse. Instead of black, it's white and there's plenty on the sides of the chest, arms and shoes. His respective color is seen all over him with the chest bit being similar to that of wearing a suit and tie. His helmet is also red but the visor itself is similar to that of a police hat. The “S” police badge is shown as well, on the top of the visor and on the right side in the chest. It symbolizes the other side of the spectrum but seeing all this is the least of his concerns.
“Are you kidding me? Coach Brunt really didn't tell me about this,” says the monster before he decides to order his mooks around, “What are you idiots waiting for! Get them! Don't let the others morph into Power Rangers!”
I soon notice the Cleaners moving in to attack. Knowing this, I decide to be said distraction, “What are you all waiting for? You guys need to morph now! We got to take the Gangler down!”
“What he said,” Snails follows as he joins in.
“Well if we got to fight back against them, we got no other choice,” Sunset replies.
Snips nods in agreement, as is Twilight. The three of them gear themselves up to morph since well, if they don't, we all are going to get whooped. They follow the same steps as Snails did so explaining it will probably not be necessary.
“Keisatsu Change!”
“2Gou!” Snips inserts his first.
“3Gou!” Then Sunset.
“4Gou!” Twilight follows after as the three push on their respective grips.
“Patirize!” Upon turning it, they then grab their handles, aim up and fire! “Keisatsu Change!”
Three badges pop up, opening and revealing three “S” police badges. The differences are of color: green, pink and yellow. All of them go down and within seconds, they transform into the other Power Rangers. The only other noticeable feature the suits have is the helmets, aside from different colors. Green aka 2Gou has his visor bottom like a long W spread out. Pink, 3Gou has the bottom visor shaped like a heart. Surprisingly, 4Gou's visor is the same way. Everyone reacts with shock and amazement seeing that they have transformed... and about time too. If they didn't, we wouldn't even last the day.
“God dammit! Maelstrom will not be happy with this. First those Lupin Thieves and now these guys! Jesus Christ!” shouts Tremor as he gears up to attack by channeling the pyromaniac within him.
He lets out another fireball but in an unexpected act of precognition, Snails takes something out of nowhere and uses it to block and deflect the fire blast. It gets sent upwards, exploding in the process. We all look in awe over it.
“Robbing people of a livelihood is one thing but when you decide to tear this world asunder by abusing a birthright that isn't yours, that crosses the line!” Snails tells it.
“Who are you to judge me huh? You brats are nothing before VILE. We are V.I.L.E, the Villains International League of Evil! We will make the world our oyster and the pearls will truly be lovely,” Wise words Gangler.
“So that's what you clowns are? Thanks for being such a blabbermouth,” Snips tells him.
“What are you fuckers anyway?” He asks.
“We are the opposite. We fight in the name of justice, smiting evil as we go! Everyone! Roll call!” I shout.
“Patren 1Gou!” Snails shouts, assuming a stance with his hand stating the number 1, index finger.
“Patren 2Gou!” Snips follows, assuming said stance with hand at number 2, index and middle.
“Patren 3Gou!” Sunset cries, assuming stance with hand at number 3, thumb, index and middle.
“Patren 4Gou!” Twilight follows up, assuming with hand at number 4, thumb, index, middle and ring.
“Patren X!” I end it with my respective stance, symbolizing a different branch.
All five of us then assume formation, performing a salute in a straight line, “Keisatsu Sentai!”
We then pull off a hell of a group pose as well yell out our true calling, “Patranger!”
“Pat... ranger! Curse you ya stinking Pat Brats!” shouts the Gangler.
“By order of both ACME and the GSPO, we're taking you in by force!” Snails shouts, aiming his weapon at the Gangler in question.
“Want to take me by force eh? Go ahead and try! Cleaners! Deal with them!” The Gangler shouts as he and his Cleaner mooks go in to attack us.
“Guess we're going for the main event huh? Okay then,” says Snails as he takes something out, a megaphone that doubles as a baton.
“Let's do this guys!” We all get our respective main weapons and rush in to take on our foes.
Compared to earlier, we actually do stand a chance against the Gangler and his mooks. I go after the big cheese since what's in the safe is still priority. Though to be frank, the guy is still dangerous since he can channel the power to unleash fire attacks. As for my friends, they are actually managing for once but only because their powers are protecting them from serious harm. Snails is a fortunate one as he ducks and weaves against the Cleaners' attacks. He blocks one with one arm and then counters with the other. Using his blaster, he blasts the Cleaner mook until he's reduced to scrap. It hits him as fast as a brick however.
“The Cleaners are robots?” He wonders.
“Wait a sec, robots? You kidding,” Snips replies.
“Do I look like I'm kidding here? Hell no!” Snails rasps.
“Forget I asked,” grabbing the Patrol Baton (Pat Megabo), he does three slashes at the incoming Cleaner, reducing him to tatters.
“Really now?” Sunset wonders, “Let's go Twilight!”
Twilight nods as the two work together to take out a few mooks themselves. Sunset goes above Twi by jumping and fires a few shots, hitting them. Twilight follows with her Patrol Baton slashing the Cleaner. Another Cleaner goes in to blindside her. Sunset intrudes by shooting it in the leg and follows with a strike from her respective Patrol Baton. Two for one and I call it teamwork right here. Before long, the four take care of the Cleaners and they explode into tatters.
“My Cleaners!” shouts Tremor, “You'll pay for this you brats! Time to burn!”
Tremor channels energy from the safe and then fires a blast of flame attacks. We avoid most of them but some soon repel and hit us. Snails takes it the worst as his blaster hits the ground from the impact. That's when Snips has an idea. He does a baseball slide as a means to dodge Tremor's fire blasts but what he does next shows that a kid like him has some guts. He slides to grab Snails' blaster and with his opposition in front of him, takes aim and fires a double dose of laser blasts. The hits reel the monster back a bit. Snips doesn't stop. He keeps shooting at the thing, hoping to give Snails enough time to strike back. Thankfully he does so, but not before Sunset and Twilight get a piece of that thing. They jump, step on Snips' respective shoulders and deliver a strike attack that hurts. Now it's the leader's turn.
“Snips, give me your Baton!” he shouts as he rushes in to deliver the killing blow.
Snips does so, throwing his Patrol Baton upwards. Snails grabs it and using two Patrol Batons, unleashes a double slash attack that hits it good and hard. As for me, I don't need to do anything. I have my own plan in mind.
“Nice work guys. Time to deliver the coup de grace,” Taking out my X Changer, I then say, “Kaitou Change!”
Turning the blaster to its silver side, I gear up to transform. “Kaitou X Change!” Aiming my gun diagonally down, I fire, transforming from the golden officer Patren X into the silver-armored thief Lupin X. No, I'm serious. When Sunset notices me transforming, she seems surprised. The others soon follow suit with this.
“What the? Roy can turn into Lupin X too?” Snails wonders.
“It's only temporary,” I tell him, “Besides. You need something to open the safe right?”
Though to be fair, they do realize that unless we open the safe, our mission isn't done. As I walk closer to the hurt Gangler, I take out some kind of device on my waist and place it on its chest. I open the device, revealing a keypad and screen, basically being something I can use to open up safes. The keypad automatically goes to work, unlocking the combination and we hear it too.
“3-7-1!”
“Damn you! Get off me!” The safe opens up and I bag the prize, but not before striking him with my X Rod Sword. It sends him reeling to the ground.
“Got it,” I tell them, “Thanks Tremor. I'll be taking your Lupin Collection piece now.”
“You jerks! You may have taken what I stole but you ain't getting out of this alive!” Guess this monster's running out of tricks.
“You got it?” Sunset asks.
“Yep,” I tell her, “Chief, we got it.”
“I've seen it. Excellent work. Though how come you look like Enigma in that form?” Chief asks me.
“It was needed in order to unlock the safe since the Patren X form doesn't have it,” I tell her.
“No matter. Lucky for you, I have something that will be helpful to you all,” Next thing we see, a silver briefcase appears out of the blue.
Snails is quick to open up and it looks like some kind of toy. It's black but has a bit of white and blue on the top, orange symbolizing a mouth and some kind of spinning lock. Not to mention its wings are folded, showing the “S” badge.
“What is that?” Snails asks.
“This here is GoodStriker,” answers the Chief, “We received it today from the Global Police. All we know is that this individual is a wild card, only allying with whoever he sees worthy. Be lucky he chooses to side with us.”
“That's a relief,” Snips assures.
“So how does it work?” Sunset wonders.
“Well...” Snails decides to figure that out himself, “Only one way to find out.”
Taking the GoodStriker, he inserts it into the VS Changer and turns it, having it downward since it has a Trigger inside. What happens next is something even I wouldn't believe. At that moment, Sunset and Snips start to combine into Snails. His Ranger suit changes showing Green on his left and Pink on his right. They become armor pieces to the suit.
“1Gou! 2Gou! 3Gou! Ichidanketsu! (For the Common Good!)”
When it was over, Twilight and I see the transformation complete and boy, this isn't a pretty sight. Believe me. If you thought having one person in your head is bad, try having two others.
“What? What just happened?” Sunset wonders, not realizing that she is inside Snails via Patren Ugou form.
“I don't know. Ugh, why is this place so cramped?” Snips asks, starting to feel like he's squished. Too bad he's right as the two are inside him, having fused together into some kind of powered up form.
“What the? Hey, are you touching my butt right now?”
“Don't look at me. He activated GoodStriker and we just got sucked in. Ow! This really does feel tight.”
“I swear. If you do anything stupid, I'll slam your head through the pavement.”
“I'm serious. This is just...”
“Would it help if you two can shut up?” Snails shouts, silencing them both. Even he realizes that the whole thing is a pain.
“Hey. You're the one who put the thing on the blaster,” Sunset replies.
“Can we like take him down? I hate being squished by you two, much less fused together,” Snips follows.
“Alright already! Man I hate it when you beg!” Yep. He's not happy.
He assumes a firing position and as he does so, energy begins to gather around his weapon. It's more like in a circulated way with red, green and pink colors circulating.
“Twilight,” I tell her, throwing something at her, “Take this and insert it into your VS Changer. You can use it for a Boost attack.”
Grabbing it, Twilight nods and inserts a small gold train onto her weapon. She then hears “Thunder!” as she turns the blaster around, causing it to be upwards. I meanwhile turn the handle on my X Rod Sword down, revealing it's Kaitou form, extending out a blade. Then I turn the handle back in the middle and then back down, gearing to finish the job.
“X-Time! Countdown!” “Time to end this little game!”
“3!” “Ichigeki Strike (One-Shot Strike)!” Patren Ugou gets closer to charging up its finishing move.
“2!” “Keisatsu Boost!” Twilight has her sights aimed and true, ready to unleash hell.
“1!” “Superior X!” I twirl my blade twice, forming an X and gearing up for a strike.
“0! Itadaki X-Strike (One-Shot X-Strike)!”
Next thing we know, we unleash our finishing attacks, striking the Gangler down. It suffered way too much and as a result, exploded. Yeah. I'm serious. Monsters like this explode after being hit with too much damage. As for the person who got corrupted by the Lupin Collection piece, well, karma's a bitch. He ends up fading away, paying the price for abusing its power. When it's all over, Snails removes GoodStriker. In turn, it starts to activate on its own. He then notices the five of us and right away, senses something off.
“Huh? Who might you be?” It asks us.
“For your information, we kind of needed you to take down a Gangler who stole a Lupin piece,” Twilight answers. Patren Ugou dissipates, returning the three to normal.
“What? The Lupin Collection has been stolen again? I thought all the pieces were recovered.”
“Wait a sec, recovered? How? Who are you?” I then ask it.
“You should know for your friend decided to use me. I'm GoodStriker and I see that you all are Patrangers aren't you?”
“Yep, that's right,” Twilight quickly answers but GoodStriker becomes annoyed since there is more than just simply four Rangers.
“Wait a second. How come you are a Patranger?” GoodStriker wonders, peering into Twilight, noticing that she also has a Trigger Machine on her VS Changer.
“That's not possible. There were supposed to be six VS Changers, three for each side. Yet I see four on this side. What is going on here?” He seems confused over this.
“If you let us explain, mine was given me by some crazy doctor at GSPO's New York Branch. All I did was touch the thing and it started working. What's wrong with you?” Twilight explains.
“Huh? Crazy doctor? No... this can't be,” This has us even more confused.
“GoodStriker uh... is everything okay?” Sunset then wonders.
“Okay? Does it look okay to you? Do any of you have any idea what you've done?” GoodStriker then asks us.
But Snails, having had enough of all the crap that's been going on, gets in GoodStriker's face and says this, “We don't know and most importantly, we don't care. What are you getting at with this? All we did was recover this Lupin Piece from some jackass who works for VILE.”
“VILE? Ugh, my head hurts. Either way, you guys are fiddling with a power that you can't control. Seeing your friend becoming a Patranger is proof enough that someone's been fiddling with the Lupin Collection's power. I'm getting to the bottom of this!” It shouts, gearing up to fly off to find answers.
Before it does however, it turns back around to us and says, “I do know that you five aren't here by chance. You impress me but it'll take more than that to earn my trust.”
And just like that, GoodStriker flies off. For a wild card, he certainly fits the role well enough. A bit too well if you ask me. But then the Lupin Piece that we find suddenly assumes a form. We all get a look at it.
“Is that a lighter?” Sunset asks.
“I don't know. But whatever it is, we got what we came for. Let's head back and debrief. Maybe the Chief will know something about this,” I answer.
We return to ACME HQ with the Lupin Piece. Handing to the Chief, she seems a bit intrigued by it but it also seems that there's something else going on.
“Well done gumshoes. For your first assignment, you did well. However I notice that there is friction within your team,” Chief tells us. We stay silent.
“Is there something that I should be made aware of? Whatever it is, it's safe for you to tell me. I can tell because one of you doesn't seem fit to handle this responsibility,” Each of us start staring at the one person who throughout all this has been complaining his ass off.
Before long, even he realizes this so he steps forward and what he says afterwards is a perfect representation of his real feelings toward this responsibility.
“Yes Snails. Is there something you like to say?” asks the Chief.
He nods and then says this, “As much as we appreciate you for giving us this opportunity, I feel that I am not worthy of being leader.”
“Excuse me?” The Chief wonders, dumbfounded by this.
“During our skirmish in trying to stop the VILE operative, I was under a lot of pressure. Sure, I want to do good but not in a way that makes me feel like it's for naught. I don't know why I was given this but I'm not ready. I really am not. I've been through hell. I've had my mind shredded, consumed and then poisoned by a black void... only for someone who I consider a brother to save me. He helped me and I am indebted to him. But then he goes to say that I have to become leader of this team. I don't know if I can do this. I really don't.”
I don't blame Snails for being he how is now. To be honest, it's been something that was eating away at him for some time and the more it did, the more cold he became. When he was freed from it all, I hoped that he would never have to go through this garbage again. How do I know this? I helped him. I freed him. But now this. I feel it's enough to push him over the edge. Hearing this is enough for the Chief to let off a sigh. But it seems she has something else on her mind.
“Do you wish to know who it was that gave you this responsibility?” She asks him.
He doesn't give her an answer so she provides him one, “It was him.”
Snails turns to see that it was me. Yep. Me. The look on his face says it all and he would have a million questions for me wondering the same thing. His attention shifts back to the Chief once more. She's got reasons for this.
“Your friend Roy told me about you. In fact, not just you, all of you,” She tells them.
“Roy details how you all are like a tightly-knit group. How you all did what you could to help your world against those who threatened it... and how your friend can be a klutz at times. Sure, he made mistakes and he has to live with them. But he's more than willing to do what is needed for the good of all,” She continues.
“But what does all of this have to do with my responsibility in being leader of this Ranger team? Why did Roy, of all people, choose me?” Snails asks, intruding the Chief.
“I'm getting to that part,” The Chief intrudes back, shutting him up.
“Sorry.”
“Anyway, the reason why Roy chose you... is because he believed in you. Is that enough for you to know that he still cares for you? For all of you?” And there's your answer.
“I... I had no idea,” He turns his attention back to me, and I respond to him with a smile and some assurance.
“The good news is that you have done well on your first assignment. Our team at ACME is working around the clock to see if we can figure out its function. For now, take the time to recuperate. Your real battle will begin soon enough. Dismissed!” The Chief orders us.
We salute and walk off. The five of us are happy we got our first assignment done, in spite of some difficulties. But as we continue to walk, Snails turns his attention at me. I have a pretty good reason why.
“Roy... why? Why have me with this responsibility?” He asks, but then he realizes something.
“Because like I said, I believe in you... just like how you always have,” I tell him.
“Is it because of what happened back home?” I nod at him saying no, “Then what?”
“You should figure it out. Besides I've done enough as it is. Having to deal with a former principal of Crystal Prep who had tried to make things miserable for us three times. It's already bad enough that I'm burned out by doing this save the world bullshit. Even a guy like me needs some rest,” I reply to him.
“I don't blame you. You've done enough for all of us and in turn, we do the same. But it still doesn't excuse all the crap you've done,” Snails reminds me.
“As if I already know. Like the Chief said, I've made bad choices and I have to live with them.”
“Yeah, like cheating on Sunset Shimmer with Twilight,” Snips has to rub it in didn't he?
“She cheated on me with her ex,” I counter, not realizing that I'm within earshot of her.
“I still hate your guts for what you did,” says Sunset.
“The feeling's mutual Little Miss Pendulum,” I counter, as if I want to get hurt by a bacon-haired bitch with issues.
“You are lucky we're inside ACME because if we weren't, the next thing you'll be feeling is my foot up your no-good unfaithful ass! So don't push your luck!” She shouts. I make sure to back off because I ain't dealing with that.
“Can we like focus on something else?” says Twilight, intruding and changing the subject.
We all look at her and realize that yeah, she's got a point. Besides, the only thing that we should worry about now is what else ACME will give us. We also agreed that Snails will have to be the leader of this team. Why? Because if I believe in him, we all should. I mean for our first gig as Patrangers, we did pretty well but who knows what else this world is going to bring in. But my gut feels that something is off. Really off.
Snails notices me thinking of something and asks, “Something on your mind?”
I look at him and answer, “Yeah. I feel like we were being watched.”
“Watched? By who?” Sunset wonders.
“I don't know but whoever it was may be someone that we need to be cautious of,” I tell them.
“Should we let the Chief know?” Twilight asks.
“No,” Snails answers, “Not yet. Unless we have a good idea who we're up against, we don't tell her. But we should be cautious. In a world as unknown as this, you can't always think of things as black and white... but rather a shade of gray.”
We all nod in agreement but I simply smile along with the nod. Looks like this guy is fitting the leader role just fine. Snails looks at me and asks, “What?”
“Nothing,” I tell him, “My faith in you has not been deterred. You'll fit this leader role better than I could.”
I walk ahead of them since I have my own gig to do and the others follow suit. But yeah, my hunch that we were being watched proved to be right. On the roof of a building, someone dressed in silver looked below. He has his fingers on an earpiece he wears. He keeps tabs on the whole situation but that's the least of his worries. He's been trying to get in touch with his group. What for? Let's just say that it isn't good.
“Yeah, I saw everything. Player, where are the others?” He says.
“Carmen is screwing up a VILE operation in Peru. Zack and Ivy are helping her out with recon and assistance,” Player replies.
“And Patty? What about her?”
“Don't worry Lupin. She's got her own work in London... and that's all I will say about it.”
“I rather not question what she does. Believe me. My wife can be a real piece of work.”
“But yeah, why do you need everyone?”
He takes a deep breath and says, “I think we might have a problem.”
To be continued...
Next time on EqG LuPat! The Patrangers learn that the Lupins have made their next move, striking hard in Italy. It's here where the two Ranger teams finally clash! But when things get rough due to a Gangler ambush, who will come out on top? Will it be the thieves? Or will it be ACME's new band of brats? Find out in the next chapter: Rivaled Clash! Two teams, two oblectives! Which side will you all choose?