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| - Down in the deepest darkest dungeon you could imagine, a creature rattled his chains in fury. This creature's name was Master Paine and he was in prison for a reason. Paine had once been a good guy. He used to work for a scientist called Gavin Sparks or just Dr. Sparks. But gradually, the scientist began to notice a change in Paine's behaviour. He became greedy for power. He became obsessed with a power called "Sports Energy." When things got too out of hand, Dr. Sparks was forced to drain away Paine's power and send him to prison. A furious Master Paine fought back but the scientist had some strong technology. The thought of it made Master Paine's blood boil and he rattled his chains again. He wanted that Sport Energy. He needed it! Dr. Sparks had betrayed him . . . All of a sudden, he let out a huge roar and broke free from his chains, evil power seeping into him. The guards leapt into action, firing at him with guns but it was pointless. Master Paine stormed through them, throwing the soldiers away with his huge hand. "I'm free!" he roared. "And the Sports Energy power will be mine! MINE!" ____________________________________________________________________________________ Jason Nadal put on his favourite green jersey and grabbed his green tennis racket, ready to leave. "Have fun!" his mother called after him. Jason grinned. "I'm sure I'll have a BALL." He picked up his bag which contained all the tennis balls when one fell out. It was not a tennis ball. "What the-?" Jason bent down and examined the ball. It was made of some sort of green plastic and had a black shield with a green lightning bolt going through it. 'I can't play tennis with this,' Jason thought to himself. 'What can I do with it then?' ____________________________________________________________________________________ The crowd cheered even louder as the puc slid across the ground and into the goal. "Another score for the Golden Eagles! The score is now 5-2!" There were cheers of "Nice job, Alex!" and "Way to go, Alex!" Alex Flinstone smiled and replied "Just doing it for the team." A sound of a siren filled the hall. "Well that's it folks! Congratulations to the Golden Eagles, we'll see you in the finals!" Hearing that the game was over, Alex raced over to his bagpack to put away his hockey gear. One of his teammates jogged up to him and asked "That was great Alex! We wouldn't have won that last one without ya! Wanna hang out with us?" Alex shook his head. "Sorry, I've got plans." His teammate shrugged and raced off. As Alex was putting away the last bits and pieces of his gear, a strange ball fell out and landed next to him. 'I don't remember packing that,' thought Alex, bending down to examine it. Yellow with a yellow lightning bolt going through the black shield. Nevertheless, Alex put the ball in his pocket and raced off to the other hall where a large crowd was standing. Alex pushed his way through, making sure he was right up front. Just in time for his sister's routine. Olivia Flinstone stood there confidently in her pink leotard and black leggings, ready to perform her gymnastics routine. "GO LIVVY!" Alex cheered. Olivia smiled at him before beginning her routine. She took hold of the balance beam and front flipped onto it, landing very straight, waving her arms around gracefully before jumping on the beam, turning around in mid air. This allowed her to perform several backflips across the balance beam, still maintaining perfect balance. Olivia finished the routine by waving her arms around again before flipping off the balance beam and stretching up her arms and body, signalling that the routine was over. No one was cheering louder than Alex who ran up to his sister. "That was amazing!" "Thanks," Olivia smiled. "I thought it was too simple but my friends said it was perfect! I'll go get changed and then we'll go home." "Okay" said Alex as she headed off to the changing rooms. When she closed the door, he asked "Is it Dad who's collecting us?" "No, it's Rachel," she replied. Alex sighed. Rachel had been living with them for over thirteen years and he still didn't like her. A little while later, Olivia came out wearing a pink jumper, a black tracksuit bottom and pink converse. She was carrying her pink bagpack in one hand and something else in the other. "Alex, what's this? I found it in my bag." "That's funny," Alex muttered, realising that the ball was exactly like his only it was pink with a pink lightning bolt. "I got a yellow one of those." "What do you think they are?" Olivia asked. Alex shook his head. "I have no idea." ____________________________________________________________________________________ The atmosphere was tense as a lady in a white dress handed a golden envelope to the host. Behind him, two ice skaters, Zoe Cristalle and Isabelle Lowe were waiting to see who the winner was, Isabelle biting her lip nervously, Zoe beaming confidently. "And the prize for New Zealand's Best Ice Skater of the Year goes to . . ." "Good luck," Isabelle whispered to Zoe. Zoe snorted. "Don't bother. I don't need it." "Zoe Cristalle!" Zoe beamed even brighter and stepped up to recieve her trophy and a handshake from the host. "This is the seventh year in a row you've won Best Ice Skater of the Year!" exclaimed the lady in the white dress. "What are you going to do with all these trophies and ribbons?" "My dads clearing out the spare room in my house to put the stuff in," grinned Zoe. "Well you must be very proud," the host smiled. "Give it up for Zoe Cristalle everyone!" As soon as the tournament was over, Zoe headed off to the training room to change out of her blue skating costume and put on a white T-shirt, with a light blue jacket over it, blue jeans and white trainers. She then opened the trophy, expecting to see a shiny blue ribbon but was surprised when she saw- well it was blue but it wasn't what she was expecting. Zoe took the blue ball out of the trophy and examined it. There was a black shield on it with a blue lightning bold striking through it. Her first thought was to go to the judges and say there was something wrong but her feet stayed stuck to the ground. "And how exactly am I supposed to pin this to my wall?" Zoe muttered to herself. ____________________________________________________________________________________ "CALLUM!" Callum snapped out of his daydream and looked up at his dad. "Sorry. I was just daydreaming!" "More daydreams about the Power Rangers, perhaps?" his dad sighed. Callum groaned. "You know I'm a big fan!" He decided to change the subject. "Did you win your 500 metre sprint?" Mr. Lancer shook his head. "No, but it was close." He glanced at his son. "Why can't you sign up for athletics, Callum? You've really got the potential. You need to learn to be more confident. Did I ever tell you-" "Just because you're underconfident, it doesn't mean you can't be strong. There's a difference between can't and won't," Callum finished for him, digging his hands into the pockets of his red hoodie. "But I'm not that kind of guy. It's not happening!" They were about to head off when Callum suddenly heard an explosion. "Did you hear that?!" Mr. Lancer gave him a look. "Hear what?" Callum shook his head. "I think I heard something. Can I check it out?" "Okay," said Mr. Lancer. "But don't be too long!" Callum grinned and sprinted off. His dad watched him. 'It's such a pity,' he thought to himself 'because he could be a really great athlete. If only he had the confidence." Meanwhile, Callum had reached where he thought he'd heard the bang. He was standing in a green field with no signs of smoke or fire. 'That's strange,' he thought to himself 'because I really thought I heard a-' A loud explosion sent Callum flying backwards and landing on his back. He glanced up only to see a red ball sitting there, smoke steaming out. He crawled over to the ball and picked it up, admiring the red material and the black shield with the red lightning bolt. Where had it come from? Suddenly the ball opened and the image of a man appeared out of nowhere! Callum was so taken by surprise that he nearly dropped the ball but his hands were steady enough to prevent him from doing so. The man was bald and he was wearing glasses and a lab coat and he had a serious look on his face. "Greetings. My name is Gavin Sparks but you can just call me Dr. Sparks. I imagine you're wondering what is the point of the ball your holding in your hands right now. I cannot explain now, this ball only has enough energy. Come to my lab and all will be explained. How do you get there? Simple. All you have to do is close your Energy Morpher. I hope to see you there- the world is in your hands." And with that the man- or Dr. Sparks disappeared. Callum's heart skipped a beat. Did he just say- Energy Morpher? Not sure what to do, Callum allowed his shaky hands to close the ball for him. And everything went white. Callum immediately scrunched up his eyes in pain, wondering what the heck was happening. Was he being teleported somewhere? And the light cleared away, allowing Callum to open his eyes and look around in comfort. He seemed to be in some sort of lab with a large computer. In front of him, Jason, Alex, Olivia and Zoe had also been transported to the same room and were also taking in their surroundings. "Okay!" Olivia gasped. "That was freaky!" "Are you kidding me? That was SO AWESOME!" laughed Jason. "I'm glad you enjoyed it . . . but where exactly are we?" Alex murmured. Callum and Zoe said nothing but Callum shifted around uncomfortably and Zoe folded her arms, unamused. "Hello guys," a voice said, making everyone except Zoe jump. Next thing, the man who had given them the message appeared. "It's good to see you here." "Who are you?" Zoe demanded. "Were you paying any attention to the message?" said Jason. "He's Dr. Sparks!" Dr. Sparks nodded in approval. "Excellent observation, Jason." Jason shuddered. "Wait a sec . . . How do you know my name?" "I know a lot of things about you," laughed Dr. Sparks before turning serious again. "And I have a reason too. There's a reason for those balls you're holding." The teens looked up only to see that they were all holding were exactly the same only they were different colours! "And what's that reason?" asked Alex. "Let me explain," said Dr. Sparks. "You see, a while ago, a vicious greedy creature escaped from prison. His name is Master Paine and he will stop at nothing to retrieve a special energy power. That energy power is Sports Energy power and only the strongest sports people possess it." "What do you mean?" said Alex, confused. Dr. Sparks waited for a moment before saying "Those balls are not just any old balls. They are Energy Morphers! You five are the Power Rangers, Guardians of Sports Energy!" Callum froze. "D- did you just say 'Power Rangers?'" "Yes I did," Dr. Sparks replied. "So . . . what you're saying is that you've chosen US to become Power Rangers and guard this 'Sports Energy' power," murmured Callum. "That's right," said Dr. Sparks, lowering his eyebrows. Callum stared at the scientist then at the others then at his Energy Morpher. Then something caught his attention: the morpher was red. That meant he was the Red Power Ranger. Callum shook his head. "I- I'm sorry. I can't do this." The others stared at him. "Are you CRAZY?" Jason almost laughed at what Callum had just said. "You're becoming a Power Ranger! A POWER RANGER! Only the luckiest people ever get such an opportunity!" "Yeah, it's worth a shot," Olivia encouraged. "Guys, leave him alone!" Zoe snapped. "If he doesn't think he can do it, he doesn't think he can do it!" Dr. Sparks gave him a look. "Are you sure about this?" Callum sighed. "I'm sure. I'm sorry but I'm just not able for this. I really appreciate you choosing me though." 'I thought he wouldn't be able for it,' Zoe thought to herself. Sadly Callum handed the Red Energy Morpher to Dr. Sparks. "I'm sorry," he said again before turning his back on the others and heading out. Jason, Alex, Olivia and Dr. Sparks watched him, feeling sorry. Even Zoe felt a little bad but was keen not to show it. "So how do we morph and all that?" she asked quickly. "It's easy," said Dr. Sparks, hiding his disappointment well. "All you have to do is hold out your morpher and say the words 'Sports Energy, Suit Up.' You will discover the rest yourselves." "How will we do that?" asked Zoe, not convinced. The conversation was interrupted when the sound of an alarm filled the room. Dr. Sparks immediately raced over to the large computer and pressed a few keys. Unsure what was going on, the four teens followed him and peered at the screen. "What's going on?" asked Olivia in a nervous tone. Dr. Sparks didn't reply until the computer screen showed a bunch of zombie-like robots running around, obviously up to no good. "Those are FlunkBots," explained Dr. Sparks. "Always up to no good. Your first task, Rangers, is to head out and fight them. But remember to use your Energy Morphers only when things get out of hand. You don't want to use up all your energy at once." "Alright! Let's do this!" Jason cheered enthusiastically. The teens nodded and raced off when Zoe paused and turned around. "So what are you going to do with that red morpher?" she asked. "It'll be used when the time is right," said Dr. Sparks. Zoe shrugged and ran off with her new teammates. Dr. Sparks sighed and glanced at the Red Energy Morpher. "Yes, it will definitely be used at the right time."
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