Power Rangers Chronic Storm 1: The Axis of Power

Chapter 5: Pink

The bright flash of light dissipated after transporting Jason 990 odd years into the past. He opened his eyes and found himself among the lush and dense green forests of Mirinoi; a planet that, in this time, had only recently been colonized by the human space station known as Terra Venture. The afternoon sun shone brightly over a pair of green hills to his backside. He heard the light gushing of river water somewhere behind the thick string of beige branches rustling in the wind. He'd never felt, heard, smelt, seen, anything like it.

Jason took in the pristine sights all around him before his eyes fixed on a series of dark blue towers in the distance. He ran towards them and reached a brown, beaten path that led straight to the city. His jaw dropped as the thick trees parted towards the path. He had seen it second hand hundreds of times. But to experience Terra Venture. He hadn't the proper words.

"Wow...! This is really Mirinoi, and Terra Venture...! All those years of begging mother to take me and all I really needed was a time machine. Figures."

Jason quickly shook his head, relieving him of his trance, before running towards the city. He felt the ever present humidity within the first few steps. Terra Venture was close, but every step became more taxing as beads of sweat soaked through his shirt.

Jason finally arrived at the blue front gate of Terra Venture after several minutes of running; a grand but more welcoming size than the towering Corinth entrance. He held himself up with his knees, trying to catch his breath while he hid behind a sturdy dark brown tree truck. Okay, I need to find Kendrix. Hmm, just going in through the front door keeps causing problems, and I don't have Carter here to explain everything so perfectly. I need to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Jason carefully observed the front gate from the cover of the tree. Lines of people came and went as they pleased. No I.D. check. No overzealous guards. Just a single rather friendly looking one. It looked too easy, which made Jason all the more suspicious. He kept scanning the area, as he'd seen his mother do so many times, and noticed a short man walking down the beaten path towards Terra Venture wearing a peculiar looking top hat. It was an impossibly bright shade of pink, and for some reason, it had a green feather attached to the side.

Jason devised a quick plan before calmly, but speedily, walking up towards the man. "Hey! So, I just had to say... awesome hat!"

The man smiled in a strangely alluring way and tipped his hat towards Jason. "Why thank you, young man." His voice was deep and smooth.

They walked down the path towards Terra Venture side by side, all while Jason attempted to mirror his pace and mask the nervousness swelling up inside his chest. "S-So, I just gotta know. Where does a young man, such as myself, acquire such a... sophisticated hat?"

"Ah! I see you're not like most pups these days. No sense of true style in any of them. But you, hoho, that bold red outfit is absolutely exquisite. Dinosaurs are so beautifully retro. You simply must tell me your designer."

The pair arrived at the gate, but the on-duty guard looked oddly at Jason.

His heart pounded louder as he turned his gaze away. "W-Well, hehe, f-funny you should mention that..."

The guard walked over and motioned the pair to stop.

Jason froze in his tracks, trying to stand perfectly still while his palms grew sweatier.

The guard looked at Jason for a moment before turning to the man next to him. "Now that is a hat! I've been thinking about getting one just like it."

"Ah! Splendid!" the extravagant man replied. "I was just about to tell this young man where he could buy one."

Jason slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah, great, but I really should—"