The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Posted on Sun Jun 16th, 2024 @ 7:13pm by Damien McGinnis & Kelsey Anders
826 words; about a 4 minute read
Mission:
The Secret of Corvus
Location: GPF Press Room
Timeline: January 7th 2051, 1000 Hours
Damien shifted uncomfortably in his seat, fidgeting nervously. Under normal circumstances, he'd be sat opposite the blonde sat across the table from him with a beer in his hand, wearing some kind of jacket and jeans combo. Instead, the heads up display of his helmet was giving him a readout of her biometrics. It almost felt creepy to him, having this much information on the woman. But then again, she was there to get information out of him.
"Thank you for agreeing to sit down with me, Mr-" She began, pausing "I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm supposed to call you?"
"I'm Batman." He put on a deep, gravelly growl before chuckling to himself "No, I guess that should have been worked out ahead of time. Just call me Red."
"Is that a call sign?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.
He looked down, chuckling to himself. He'd been warned that Kelsey Anders, reporter for the Alliance News Service, was talented at disarming those she interviewed, and he could certainly see how. Everything from the pastel pink blouse beneath a grey pant suit to the lightly curled blonde hair was designed to make her appear professional yet un-threatening.
"It's a 'I'm not telling you my real name,' Miss Anders." He replied, smirking in his helmet as he added "Is it Miss or Mrs?"
"It's a 'I'm not telling you if I'm single or not,' Mr Red Ranger." She smirked, clearly hearing his own in his inflection "Okay, so, I know you're here on orders, but even so, I do want to thank you once again for sitting down with me today. I understand you recently returned from a mission?"
"Yes, that's right, though I'm afraid I can't divulge any details." He said "Classified, you understand."
"Of course." She nodded "Is it true you encountered forces connected with the Kaldore Imperium?"
"No comment." He replied.
"What about the Cult of Zedd?" She asked "My sources say they were involved."
"No comment."
"Okay then..." She said "What about mention of missing scientists from a dig site? Wait, let me guess; no comment?"
He paused before leaning forward, bringing his hands together and resting them on the desk.
"Yeah, there are missing scientists." He said "Yeah, someone took them. I can't tell you who or why, not yet, but rest assured, I will find out."
"And what's the plan when you do?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Make them pay." Damien replied darkly "Make them pay for every injury, every bit of heartache, that they caused by taking those people, and then, bring those people home to their families."
She sat there, looking him square in the eyes, or at least where he figured she assumed his eyes were. It was more like his cheeks, but he didn't need to tell her that. It'd just be a bit of information she could use to try and figure out his identity.
"It sounds like you're planning on proving exactly what the laws that were recently repealed were originally put in place as a result of." She finally spoke "That Power Rangers are dangerous."
"We're the good guys, Miss Anders." He replied "We take down the bad guys."
"And what if you get the wrong bad guys?" She cocked an eyebrow.
"We won't." He asserted "We'll find the right people and deal with them. We'll rescue every person that has been taken and we'll bring them all home."
"I see." She nodded "Red, forgive me, but you sound like a reckless child. How old are you? Our theories had you and your team as long time officers of the GPF, but based on this conversation, I'm thinking more like a junior officer. Maybe even a cadet. Somewhere between, ooh, eighteen and twenty-five?"
"No comment." He returned to his previous tack, before adding "I'll throw you a bone though. I'm old enough to buy my own beer at the bar. How about you?"
"I'm definitely old enough to buy my own beer." She laughed slightly "The fact that you're asking suggests your mother didn't teach you it's rude to ask a lady her age."
"I'm not asking a lady her age, I'm asking a reporter." He corrected.
"Ouch." She feigned offence "I'm hurt."
"No you're not." He smirked inside the helmet before standing up "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with some other business. Ranger stuff. You understand."
"Of course." She said, rising from her seat and extending a hand "Thank you for this conversation. It was very illuminating."
"No it wasn't." He chuckled.
"No comment." She returned what had been his favourite response through the interview "Good luck out there. I hope we get to speak again soon."
"Likewise." He said, turning and walking through the stage exit of the press room, waiting until he was out of eyesight before powering down, shaking his head with a laugh "Oh yeah. Girls love the super hero thing..."