Power Ranger Team Seven
By MMW

The seven men sat around the table, eating and talking. The topic of conversation had caused great unrest among the men, but it was a serious issue that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Their advisor and boss had actually come all the way to their town just to ensure he got an answer and wasn't "accidently cut-off" like he had been the last four times he brought the topic up in their meetings. Of all the Power Ranger teams under his command, Orin Travis found this one, Team Seven, not only the most successful, but also the most exasperating.

The Power Rangers were well known as protectors and defenders, though much about them remained mysterious and unknown. One of those aspects was how the Ranger teams were created. For many years, there had been only one Ranger team at time, in more recent years, however, the number of teams had increased enough to come to public awareness.

Power Ranger Team Seven had been formed two years before, but had quickly earned the reputation as being among the best of the Rangers, even if they were one of the most unusual teams ever created. In fact, even after confirming that the power symbols each man had found were, indeed, theirs, many who knew the Rangers and Ranger teams questioned the reality of it. Unlike the other teams, this team was not only composed of seven, instead of the normal five, but it was a completely male team. All of the other teams had at least one, if not two women on their team. The fact that most of the team exceeded the normal age of Rangers only created more questions.

Something else that raised questions was the disregard the team seemed to hold for the accepted color scheme. It was tradition that the Red Ranger was the leader. On Team Seven, it was the Black Ranger, Chris Larabee, who was the leader of the team. It had been the discovery of his power symbol that had finally begun to draw him out of the deep depression that had consumed him since the death of his wife and son in a fire. By the time he came across his symbol, he had managed to chase away every person who might even remotely remind him of his life with Sarah and Adam including his best friend, Buck Wilmington.

Still, Chris resisted his call and his own character as best he could until one day, in a strange town, he witnessed a man being dragged away to be hung. The sight of the man stirred something with Chris, tugged at him. A woman had stepped into the road and tried to confront the mob, only to be ignored by them. A different feeling rose within the blond at that, a need to protect the innocent, something he had felt before. A motion across the street caught his attention next and as he met the eyes of the young man, he was overwhelmed by a sense of team and no longer hesitated, instead, stepping out to rescue the mob's victim.

The man he had seen across the street was Vin Tanner, now the Team's Green Ranger. Vin had not had what most would consider a "normal" upbringing. His mother had died when he was five and his father had taken the death hard. The man had packed up some clothes and a few other things one day and he and his son had taken off into the wilderness where they spent most of Vin's childhood and youth wandering as the elder Tanner sought the peace he had lost with his wife's death. The duo had spent their time alone together, only occasionally coming into contact with others, yet Vin never felt he lacked company and grew up knowing he was loved. His father had failed to pack any books or other learning material, so reading and writing hadn't been part of Vin's youth; shooting and tracking had been his lessons instead.

When he was young, sixteen or seventeen, he and his father had entered a town to do some trading and pick up the few supplies they needed. Vin's father had been shot and killed in a robbery when he had attempted to stop it. Vin had been devastated, but vowed he would bring his father's killer to justice. When he finally tracked the man down and brought him into the police, he gave a statement about what had happened, with help, filled out the necessary paperwork and found himself in possession of a rather large check. On his way out, he heard a woman and her child crying as they spoke with a police officer and promised her to bring in the guilty man who was on the run. That had started his career as a bounty hunter.

After a number of years of successful bounty hunting, Vin had run into some trouble and given it up. Shortly thereafter, he found his own Power Ranger Symbol, though he had no idea what it was at the time. He had taken a job as a clerk in a hardware store, hoping to keep a low profile while he figured out what to do. He was sweeping the porch of the store when the rowdies had dragged a man past him and his need for justice drove him to action. As he prepared to help the mob's victim, he felt someone watching him, looked up and was instantly struck by the knowledge he wasn't in this alone, they were in it together.

The mob's victim that had stirred the two men to action was now the Purple Ranger, Nathan Jackson. The doctor had tried to help a man brought to him, but the man was too far gone and passed away. The gang that had brought the injured man in, decided Nathan should pay for letting their friend die. The doctor had resigned himself to his death at the hands of these men right up until he saw the two men coming after him and felt something inside stir.

Now, Nathan took on the role of Purple Ranger. His job usually required him to stay behind at their base, but occasionally, all seven of them would be needed to help repulse an attack. Though he preferred healing to hurting, his sense of justice would never allow him to sit still and wait while innocents were in danger.

Upon defeating the mob and freeing Nathan, the three men headed away from the scene only to be stopped by someone asking for their help. The three had agreed and sought more help.

The first they asked to join them was Buck Wilmington, the current Red Ranger who had no interest leading the group. Buck was a gregarious man who loved to be around people, especially women. Many people took his friendly cheerfulness as all there was to the man and dismissed him, that was always a mistake. Just like the others in the team, Buck's facade hid a sharp mind and a deep sense of duty and devotion to protecting the innocent. He, in combination with Vin, would willingly step into the leadership role if Chris was incapacitated or otherwise unavailable.

Josiah Sanchez, the Yellow Ranger of the team, was the oldest of all the Rangers despite being only in his mid to late thirties. His already graying hair only adding to the perception of age. The former lay-preacher had a past that seemed to consist of nothing but rumors. The truth of it was something he guarded closely.

When Chris, Vin and Nathan were looking for others to join them, Jackson admitted that he had heard of a man that was a good man to have on your side in a fight. It wasn't until he headed out to speak to the man in question that Nathan felt the same odd connection he felt with Chris and Vin - as if they belonged together.

For his part, Josiah had been searching for answers for so long, he wasn't sure he could trust himself, or the young doctor as to whether or not he had found one. It wasn't until Chris and Vin came riding up to find out if he was with them that he fully admitted to himself his need to be a part of the small group.

Ezra Standish had taken on the role of Blue Ranger somewhat reluctantly. His reluctance to join the team had nothing to do with his protestations of having no interested in a career helping others and everything to do with his fear of failing his teammates. The others allowed him to find his own way and own place in their group, knowing the undeniable pull of team would soon win the man over.

The final member of Team Seven was a young man who had just recently arrived in the area. JD Dunne, the current White Ranger, had found his power symbol in the yard of the house where he grew up several thousand miles away. His youth and natural exuberance had created some difficulty in gaining the acceptance of the other team members, but, eventually they gave into the pull of team and allowed the young man to join them.

It had been after defeating the enemy of the people that had asked for help that the seven found out about their power symbols and what they meant. Though several of the men, at first, were reluctant to believe in such things, their disbelief lasted no longer than it took each man to reveal their symbol.

Armed with the new knowledge of who they were, the Seven returned to the small town where they had met. There, they met the man who would advise them and provide whatever they needed - Orin Travis.

The former judge had been put in charge of three of the newly-formed Ranger teams. Though surprised to find a forth team in his jurisdiction, he quickly arranged everything they would need in order to begin defending against the forces of evil.

Now, two years later, the seven men were a tightly knit family, battle tested and confident in their abilities. The small town they had used as their base was flourishing under their protection, and the men were due for a vacation.

If Orin could convince them to go...

End

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