Ezra Byron, originally Zeral of Edenoi and also known as the Hex Rider, is Lidian's adoptive brother, a Bangai Hero and sometime-ally of the Neo Zeo Rangers.
Biography[]
Zeral was born to scientifically-minded parents, Endara and Vax of Edenoi. Growing up, he never got much attention from his parents unless he participated in their work, and he grew resentful. Upon hearing about Count Dregon's banishment, he began to sympathize with the rebel. Secretly, he learned that Dregon was planning to return, and he realized that his parents' newest project could be valuable to the war.
When Dregon began his invasion, Zeral stole the belt from his parents, using it to transform into the Hex Rider and fight alongside Dregon to subdue the planet. However, Dregon kept finding reasons not to give him the reward he'd promised, and eventually Zeral ran out of patience. He'd crossed paths with a boy named Lidian, the son of two rebels who was being held prisoner for their sake. Impressed by his stubbornness, he rescued the boy, faking his death and using his body to conceal a share of stolen treasure. The two crash-landed on Earth, and were found by David, who helped them adjust to their new homeworld. Now calling himself Ezra Byron, Zeral was able to amass a decent fortune, and had Lidian tutored. Until the Z-Wave turned him fully good, he was a somewhat neglectful but sufficient guardian.
He retired his Hex Rider powers, not liking what he'd done with them before, but when new acquaintance Sabrina needed help he took up the armor again and flew her to the Zodiac Emperors' base. Together they stole the antidote for a plague the Rangers had just been exposed to, but they were separated in battle. He made his way back to Earth alone.
Later, Ezra helped train Lidian in combat on his request, and flirted a little with Sabrina when she offered to help. Emperor Leo attacked Lidian while Ezra was going out for food, and upon his return he transformed into the Hex Rider and intervened, helping the Rangers. They teleported him back to their base when the fight turned bad, and he assisted in defending it from an enraged Emperor Leo. He went out to fight one more time in the tunnels, getting impaled through the shoulders, and had to retreat again for treatment. At that point he and Lidian finally revealed their identities to each other; Lidian was the Green Zeo Ranger. Ezra approved.
When the female Rangers were put under the spell of a movie star in Virgo's control, Ezra helped the other male Rangers fight. He wasn't particularly gentle with the enchanted teenagers, but there weren't any permanent injuries. The fallout of that battle included Lidian and Casey officially becoming a couple, which Ezra thought would be good for him. In talking to Sabrina, he asked her out as well, though there was some delay as he had to leave town to pick up some Black Lily rescues.
Returning, he took her to see Macbeth, thus missing a monster attack on his home. When he returned, he learned that the Scarab Rider was on Earth and looking for him--she was hunting down everyone connected to the conquest of Edenoi. He agreed to lie low, but when she tracked him to his home, he confronted her. She didn't want to endanger any civilians, and let him choose their battlefield before trying to kill him. However, when she demanded to know why he'd killed her son, he was initially confused, then denied it. She didn't believe him, and when Lidian tried to intervene, stabbed him. Ezra then revealed that instead of killing her son, he'd only faked his death and brought him to Earth--he was Lidian. Fortunately the wound wasn't a mortal one.
He avoided Tayisa after that, instead seeking out Sabrina when she failed to show up for a Ranger fight. She seemed stronger than usual, having destroyed a punching bag by accident. She wouldn't talk to him about it, instead running into the woods. After she went AWOL, he followed her through a portal and was let aboard the Scorpion Stinger to talk to her. He chewed her out for abandoning her teammates at a time like this, since they were now fighting both the Zodiac Emperors and the Galaxy Rangers. She claimed he didn't understand what it was like to lose family, forcing him to admit that he was afraid of facing his own again. More gently, he urged her to help, before it was too late. It worked, and she came back.
Ezra helped the other Rangers' families get their insurance taken care of quickly so they could replace or repair their homes from the attack. He also pitched in while Casey was on bedrest (and David was supposed to be), and was promptly captured by Monstele, along with Sabrina and Lidian. They woke up in an airtight crypt, from which they were later saved by David.
Arsenal[]
- Evil Eye Shield
- Bane Blade
- Ill Stars
- Hex Pepperboxes
- Hex Hammer
- Hex Cycle (Grappling Guns)
Appearance[]
Ezra is a tall, dark 26-year-old Edenoite man. He has a white, round gemstone in the center of his forehead which flickers as he speaks, but he can hide it with his mental powers.