The Terran Rangers/Spiderman Volume 4:, Heather Ray [well read books .TXT] 📗

Thanks for the offer."

Alexis waved as Spiderman fired his webbing , and swung on the vine into the night. After he was gone, her Mercury wings began to flap, and Alexis and Doctor Conners were airborne, heading towards the Penn Tower Hotel.


Chapter Seventeen

Spiderman quietly leapt into the window of his hotel room, which he purposely left open. He quickly pulled off his mask and uniform, exchanging his Spiderman attire for that of Peter Parker. He also grabbed his camera, and wound a fresh roll of film onto it.

I only got one shot of the Purple Ranger,

Peter thought, and that was when I first me her, and I blinded her with the flash. I doubt it'll come out cleanly. Hopefully, though, I'll get another chance, as Peter Parker.

Just then, there was a knock on his bedroom door. He closed the back of his camera, and laid it on his dresser. He then quickly hid the Spiderman costume in his drawer, and opened the door.

"Hey Deb," he greeted.

"Don't give me that," Deborah Whitman snarled, walking into his bedroom. "Where have you been all day, Peter?"

"What do you mean?" Peter asked innocently, "I was here!"

"Sure you were," she said sarcastically, "I was banging on your door for twenty minutes this afternoon, when the police came to ask us more questions. I even tried to unlock the door with the key from downstairs, but it was bolted."

"Well, if the door was bolted, then how could I not be in my room?" Peter asked with a grin. "After all, you can only bolt the door from the inside."

Deborah was about to continue yelling, but she stopped short to consider this. She then glanced at the open window, and her eyebrow rose.

Peter followed her gaze, and chuckled slightly at the idea he knew she had. "Come on, Deb. How would I get anywhere from the window? We're like a mile off the ground! Who do you think I am? Spiderman?"

Deborah frowned. "Why is the window open?"

"Because I was hot," Peter answered coolly. "Any more questions?"

Deborah was at a loss for words, and walked over to the window. She glanced down at the ground, which was extremely far away. She sighed.

"Okay, Peter, you're right," she said, still looking out the window. "But I don't understand why you didn't --"

Deborah stopped in mid sentence, and gasped as she gazed directly in front of her. Peter ran towards her, and looked outside. His hazel eyes widened when he saw a purple armored warrior, carrying the unconscious Kurt Conners in her arms.

"Deborah Whitman, I presume?" the Purple Ranger asked the blonde woman. She nodded mutely. "And... Peter Parker?"

"Yeah," said Peter. "And you must be the Purple Knight?"

"Purple Ranger," she corrected. "May I come in?"

Both students nodded, and moved away from the window. Alexis sailed through the window, and lay Conners on Peter's unmade bed. Both Deborah and Peter hurried to their professor's bedside.

"What happened to him?" Deborah asked, looking up at the Purple Ranger.

"He was kidnapped by the evil aliens we Power Rangers always fight against," Alexis answered. "Fortunately, I managed to save him before they could use his genius to their advantage."

"He was kidnapped by aliens?" Deborah asked skeptically.

Alexis looked down at her. "Yes he was."

"That explains how he was kidnapped through the window," Peter said. "The aliens probably flew into the room."

"Actually, they teleported," Alexis corrected, "which is why the glass was broken from the inside. The alien being teleported into the room, and fired an energy beam at the doctor, in an attempt to stun him. The doctor dodged, which is why the beam struck the window instead, shattering it. But the alien got the doctor in the end, and teleported him away."

"And he's okay now?" Deborah asked.

"He should be," Alexis said, "but he probably won't remember what happened to him. He was unconscious most of the time."

"Thanks so much, Purple Ranger," Peter said, extending his hand. "You saved Doctor Conners' life."

Alexis shook the young man's hand, and walked back towards the window. "Take care of him," she said before stepping onto the windowsill.

"Wait!" Peter called, grabbing his camera from his dresser. "Um, before you go, do you mind if I get your photo?"

Alexis turned to him. "Well, I'd like to steer clear from the media -- no offense of course..."

"I'm a photographer for New York's Daily Bugle," Peter explained, "and my boss'll kill me if I don't get a shot of you! Its the only reason he let me come to Philly to help out Doctor Conners."

"Well, I guess one photo wouldn't hurt. But could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Tell everyone that I'm the Purple Ranger

. All this Purple Knight stuff is getting on my nerves."

"You got it," said Peter with a smile, "Do you mind if I get a shot of you flying?"

Chapter Eighteen

A week later, Peter Parker strolled into the J3 Communications building in New York City. He had a wide grin on his face, knowing full well that he'd done an excellent job. He had in his hand last Sunday's Daily Bugle, which featured an article on the Purple Ranger's daring rescue of Doctor Kurt Conners from mysterious magical villains. Of course, many people were skeptical of that statement, since they didn't believe in aliens. But there were many more who accepted the article, knowing about the super-powered beings that exist in the world and beyond. Also on the front page was a large, bold color photograph of the Purple Ranger herself, hovering in the dark night sky with stars glittering in the background, and her ankle wings shimmering with purple energy. It was a perfectly composed photograph, and an excellent article to boot. And both were submitted by Peter.

After he had taken those photographs of the Purple Ranger, he begged the University of Pennsylvania president Judith Rodin if he could use the school's photography facilities to develop his film. Since he was a guest, Doctor Rodin gave him permission, and Peter immediately developed the film. He then went to the University's library, and spent hours typing the story about what happened. Then, he scanned the photographs of the Purple Ranger onto the computer, and attached both the article and the photograph onto an e-mail to J. Jonah Jameson, entitled "Stop the Presses!!"

Needless to say, that article did stop the presses, and it appeared on the front page the following morning. The Daily Bugle had the most complete story of Doctor Conners' abduction and the Purple Ranger, along with the only photograph of the heroine, Sunday morning. Jameson was, for a change, impressed by Peter's work. And so he e-mailed the young photographer Sunday morning, asking him to pay him a visit as soon as he got back to New York. And now, only about an hour after touching down at JFK airport, Peter was sitting outside the office of the business tycoon.

"Go ahead in," Trixie said, "JJ's ready for you."

Peter smiled at the secretary, and then entered the office. He found Jameson sitting at his desk, a wide grin on his face.

"Peter!" he greeted. "So good to see you! How was your trip to Philadelphia?"

"Eventful," Peter responded, taking a seat.

"And I trust Doctor Conners got the grant?"

"Yeah, he did. UPenn was happy to help fund the Doc's research -- especially since it attracted the attention of aliens."

"And Conners is fully recovered?"

"Yeah, he's as good as new."

"Wonderful. Peter, I wanted to congratulate you. You finally came through, and you sent me the photograph the entire nation is desperate for. How did you do it?"

"A little luck, I guess," Peter said, "And me being a friend of Doc Conners sure helped things. The Purple Ranger didn't like the idea of being photographed."

"I'll be honest with you, Parker," Jameson said, standing up, "I didn't think you could do it. I thought you're only good for one thing -- taking pictures of that nuisance Spiderman. But you proved me wrong, boy. And so, I'm giving you a bonus. Good work, Kid."

"Thanks Mr. Jameson!" Peter said, shaking his hand.

Chapter Nineteen

In Philadelphia, Alexis grinned as she re-read the Daily Bugle article she printed off the web the other day. She knew that Peter Parker worked for the Daily Bugle, so she checked the Bugle website. To her surprise, on the front cover was the photograph Peter had taken of her, along with a precise, and somewhat flattering, article.

"Its a shame Spiderman didn't get any credit," she said aloud. "He did even more than I did to save Doctor Conners. I guess that's what he meant when he said that fame isn't the true reward. He was more concerned with Doctor Conners' secret being kept than his own fame and glory. He's a true hero. I'm so glad I got the chance to work with him. I really think I learned a lot!"

Just then, the telephone rang. Alexis picked up the receiver on her desk.

"Hello?"

^Hey, Red,^

came a familiar voice. Alexis' eyes widened in surprise and elation.

"Jason! How