"Kyle Road. Age 23. Long standing health issues: None. Criminal History: None."
There was a man who was going through pieces of paper in front of me. He wore a clean suit of a brand I could never dream to afford, his glasses were more rectangularly shaped and he had a strong face. His gaze felt like it was piercing right through me as he checked his papers again and began to continue.
"Causalities on the battlefield, 4 police officers injured, no civilian casualties, and the Rangers..."
My heart began to sink, I can't even remember what happened to them. I'm struggling to recall events, I don't even know how I got here.
"...Completely and utterly incapacitated. I don't understand what happened in that barrier but what I do understand is that every single member of an elite force was out of commission, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage to some of our gear, and some random police officer from the local precinct wearing highly specialized high tech combat gear, that the government has created, is now in a hospital bed with hardly any recollection of what happened." The man put the pieces of paper down and placed a hand on the ridge of his nose. "The worst part about it is we got the audio recordings from the scene, we may not have a visual but we actually have an understanding of what really happened here. Yet it makes no sense."
When I get a better look at the man, I can tell he hasn't slept properly in a while. A coffee cup was stationed on a desk adjacent to the hospital bed and he reached for it taking another sip.
"Make my job easier, who the hell actually are you and how were you able to utilize the red ranger suit?"
I was just getting my bearings together, this interrogation has been ongoing for at least 30 minutes now and it's only recently the words are being processed through my brain.
"When did I get here?"
"I'd say you was admitted 3 days ago straight after the incident. The time was around 13:54 and they just hooked you to that... to that... electro something."
"Electroencephalogram"
"Right. Standard IV and the rest. You've just been sleeping that entire time so I asked the doctors and nurses to notified me when you awoke." He took another sip of his coffee. " So, you actually APPLIED for ranger academy, but it says here you was rejected. Woah, I don't think I've seen a file like this before." He was reading the paper off the table, but he picked it up again and started re-reading the lines.
"So now you've seen it too. I was rejected due to my lack of control over my C.O.D.E. factor. I've only managed to activate it 3 times in the past before this incident."
"Yeah your file DOES say that , but I was more concerned with something else."
What could he even be talking about? I get that those who develop a C.O.D.E. factor typically have an inherent understanding of their ability, however I just never had the knack for it. That news shouldn't have warranted that reaction.
"What else?"
He looked almost confused, then his face looked even more exhausted. " I suppose they wouldn't have told you this. It says it right here that the rangers personally reviewed this and they was the one that issued out the rejection."
What? They PERSONALLY reviewed my file? "Why would they-"
"That aside, you somehow managed to operate the Red ranger suit without much trouble. Even our trainees from Ranger Academy isn't able to do that."
"I'm not entirely sure what any of this means."
"Well, I'm just as confused as you are. From the calculations being off with there being a Great Villain and an Advanced Villain in the same attack, from the rangers being taken out to some random guy - no offense - putting on the red ranger suit that only a handful of people can operate and then taking out the Advanced villain. That very same person being a reject from Ranger Academy."
An advanced villain? That must have been that other invisible villain must have been. Typically during Great villain attacks Advanced villains do not appear also, this is an abnormal attack indeed. I was gathering my thoughts but the man had more to say.
"Hey, have you considered trying again for Ranger Academy?"
Many thoughts was soaring through my mind at once, 'will I actually have a chance?' 'The rangers are gone so that means-''will I just get rejected again?-'
I focus on a single thing.
"They told me to not come back until I've fully grasped my C.O.D.E. factor, it's been 4 years since then."
"Based on this recording of the fight, your factor was completely instrumental to a victory there. You may not have the precise control that is required but you are closer to mastering it now than you was before. Furthermore, you managed to use Red's suit and blaster to take out an advanced villain, better than any trainee we have at the Academy right now."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Well since the rangers are out of commission for the foreseeable future, the annual ranger qualification examinations is being pushed earlier, the public doesn't know about a lot of the events that has transpired here and we hope to keep it that way."
"Are you trying to silence me right now?" I asked defensively, trying to reach for the nearest object which happens to be an empty coffee cup.
"What? Oh no, no I want YOU to apply this year. We don't see talent like this at all, especially with somebody with a rep sheet like yours. Served in the police for 4 years, got awarded sergeant after only 3 years. It says here you've saved a lot of lives even."
"Still I-"
"Oh come on man, I'm really trying hard to convince you to apply. I did ask you to make my job easier but you seem hell bent with making me have to explain everything. Look, I'll put in a good word with the academy, that way you wouldn't get rejected off the bat how does that sound?"
This deal sounds enticing but who is this man to be saying this? This isn't something the average person can know.
"Who are you?"
"It would be a hassle to explain exactly who I am, the name is Marcus, my last name was my father's name so you can just call me that."
I looked at him perplexed and he must have picked up on that because he started to chuckle a little.
"See you in 3 months, that's when the examination is by the way. I suggest you try to get control over your factor. Given you already have field experience, I wouldn't entirely recommend you need to go villain hunting, but I will say the competition is fierce but I do believe that you will make it through."
The man grabs his papers and he starts to leave the room. "I hope you recover soon. Also put down the coffee cup." And with that he disappears behind a door. I observe the room, it must have been quite expensive, I don't think I got the health insurance to cover this.
"Get control over my factor" I mumbled. Easier said than done. Everyone on this planet is born with C.O.D.E. energy and a certain frequency. However some people on this planet develop a "factor". There is a certain amplitude threshold before one can obtain a factor. Those that have factors have supernatural abilities that correlate with a colour. Red has physical augmentations to the body , pinks have the ability to generate physical masses like fire, water, electricity. Yellows just have pure C.O.D.E. energy related abilities, Greens have a mental ability that involves the minds of people. they're basically psychic. Blues abilities have varied so we can't exactly pinpoint what it is, however there is a theory that it affects the world around them directly. C.O.D.E. Frequency types matter not just pertaining to the rangers, it became a part of everyday life to the point health check-ups use this to find certain C.O.D.E. based ailments as different frequencies react differently to different things. Knowing this information became as important as knowing your blood type.
However there is one more piece of information that isn't well known.
I hear footsteps outside of the hospital room.
"Are you sure this is the correct room?" A familiar female voice asks.
"I doubt that man would have had any reason to lie to us." A distinctive mature voice responded.
"Are you two just goin' to beat around the bush or actually enter?" Another familiar male voice asks.
"Come in!" I yell from the inside. The voices stopped for a moment, then the door handle turned.
My squad clumsily stumbled through the door as all of them tried to enter all at once. Then in a single file they all came in one by one.
"Just 5 of you? Was the other two too good to make an appearance?"
"They're admitted into a different hospital, how is the recovery sir?" Spider asked.
"I still feel disorientated, tired but aside from that I feel fine."
"Well I'll be the first to ask then, you've had a factor this entire time?"
"Yes."
The team looked at each other and Trigger stepped forward, who I noticed was in a sling. "We're grateful you saved our lives sarge, but how come you've never used it a single time on duty?"
"Well that's-" I was thinking how to explain that I have a factor but I'm completely incompetent at using it.
"He has." Jen said. "It was just me and Kyle when was trying to hunt down a perp who was holding a pregnant woman hostage in a car chase. He must have been high on something because he was driving completely sporadically nobody could've predicted what he was going to do next. Kyle was glowing then like he did during the GV attack. He took a singular shot from his pistol and he managed to nail the driver in the shoulder to which he managed to get under control with the squad car."
I remembered that too, I didn't recall glowing exactly. It was as if I can see exactly where to hit in order to get him to exactly what I wanted.
"Well I can't exactly control it."
There was silence for a moment and then finally Rookie spoke up.
"So sarge, that man said something about you joining the rangers?"
That man? He probably meant Marcus.
"There is going to be an examination soon due to what happened. The best villain hunters in the country will be partaking, and so will those from Ranger Academy."
That's right, its highly competitive, I was rejected before I even got to compete, after all somebody like me would've just been a liability.
"So what is it you plan to do?" Jen asked.
I stared at my hands then stared at my squad. The piece of information that isn't well known to the public is that those with a high natural affinity usually have physical manifestations of it. It's so exceedingly rare to the point that many have just chalked it up to coincidence. My streak of red hair and my pinkish red eyes are not fashion statements. What really and truly convinced me that I could be a ranger is that the world was basically telling me I was born for it. From that day in the doctors room to watching the rangers in action for the first time I realised I couldn't let this moment pass.
"I plan to take the ranger exam" I clench my fist. "And become the red the Red Ranger".
["Calling" END]