Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, I think it's Saban and Disney who do. If I did own them, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about them, would I?
Author's Note/Summary: This vingette takes place past the Dino Thunder series, but before SPD and Mystic Force, and settles around two brothers, one who was and one who is a Power Ranger. Constructive criticism (constructive is the key word here people) is most welcome, especially since this is my first Power Rangers fic. Also, I fully intend on turning this into a full fledged fic, but I haven't a clue what to call the new team, or have any idea what type of zords they'll use. So any suggestions anyone wants to throw out are welcome.
Anyway, with that out of the way, just sit back and enjoy the show.
Taking up the Mantle
I've always liked the color red. I'm not quite sure when I started liking it, or even why, but it's been my favorite color for a while now. And when I say favorite, I mean favorite. One whole wall of my room is painted a deep red (the other three are tan, but that's a whole other story), most of the things I own have some red in them, and I'm always wearing something red, be it a shirt or shoelaces.
After giving the matter some thought, I've decided that part of the reason is that I've always wanted to be a doctor, and red never fails to remind me of blood. Yes, me. Don't look at me like that. You don't think I know it seems strange? Me, the tall, lanky kid who can't go a day without breaking something, or being the cause of a major mishap. And while science has always been an interest of mine, the teachers usually advised me to stay away from the lab because I almost blew it up once.
But becoming a doctor would give my life a purpose and direction it never had before. No one would know that I was the brainy kid in school almost no one would give the time of day to if my life depended on it; they would just expect me to save them from the terrible disease trying to destroy their bodies. And I would. For me, wearing red reminded me of the new goal I set for myself.
So I guess you can say that I received the biggest shock of my life when I was suddenly teleported to a command center along with some other kids my age, and was told by a being from a different planet that I was to be the new red ranger if I wanted, and that my older brother had previously held the position.
I almost walked out of the room then; I thought this had to be one big joke. Me? Be a Power Ranger? And the Red one at that. That idea was even more ridiculous than me becoming a doctor. And my brother being a Ranger? Forget about it. Impossible. But when my brother and the rest of his team (I recognized most of them because I hung out with them sometimes when they came over to our house) walked in fully morphed but holding their helmets in their hands, I knew it was real. And when I thought about all the people who were counting on me to take the position, people whose lives I could save, I accepted. Never mind the pride I could feel emanating from my brother.
Luckily for us, Overlord Vordel (the new bad guy in town; he's determined to destroy Earth. Not just take it over, not just turn in back to its prehistoric state, but utterly destroy it.) decided to go easy on us our first few days. We all decided that was a good thing, because while most of us knew each other and of each other from school, not all of us had had friendly relations before hand, and we weren't used to working together as a team. And privately, I thought –
"Bro, if you even think about finishing that last sentence, I'm gonna give you a workout so hard, it'll make your head spin."
Hastily, I put my pen down and looked up in surprise as I saw my older brother Dennis standing right behind me, looking over my shoulder. At the mention of the workout, I shuddered slightly. Dennis has been trying to teach me karate for years, ever since he had first started, but I just never seemed to get the hang of it. Those three times a week we met in our basement for an hour and a half were pure torture. Even worse than sitting through history with Mr. Jensen. And everyone in school agrees that his history class is the worst one. If there was anything that could lower my self esteem even more, it was those sessions. I know when I'm incompetent at something, and it doesn't help that Dennis feels the need to lie to me, and tell me every time that I keep improving. Of course, it's even worse when he tells me that I suck.
"Finish what?" I asked, as innocently as I could. I winced as Dennis smacked the back of my head.
"You know…," he said, nodding towards the journal that's on my lap. I know journals are supposed to be for girls, but this one I've had for years, and it's a big help if I feel like there's something I have to get out, but don't want to tell anyone else about it. "Those insecure thoughts. The self doubt. Don't go down that rout Steve-o, it'll take you to bad places."
His eyes darkened slightly and they crossed, and I knew that he was reliving a memory from his own Ranger days. I waited patiently for him to come out of dream land. Someday, after I get over the fact that my older brother was actually a Power Ranger, I'm going to ask him about it. Then his expression lightened, and I knew the reminiscing was over.
"What are you doing out here anyway with that thing?" he asked, changing tracks. He joined me, and sat down next to me on our front steps. It was a nice, spring day and even though I like spending time in my room, I always come out of hibernation when the weather is warm. At least that way I wouldn't get distracted by looking longingly out my window all the time.
"Why not?" I asked him, tipping the page over slightly so he wouldn't be able to see the rest of the entry, even though I knew he had probably seen the whole thing already. A guy likes to feel like he has his privacy, you know?
"Because it would be real bad if someone other than me happened to look over your shoulder and see what you were writing," he said in that matter of fact tone I hated so much. I love my brother, I really do, but he can be a real pain when he's right, or when he thinks he's right.
I shrugged. "I'll be careful; I'm always looking out for people anyway," I told him.
We spent the next few minutes in silence. I scribbled furiously in my notebook, trying to get out all of my negative thoughts on paper without Dennis seeing. But Dennis was in his own little world, and I had no doubts that he was reliving some events that had happened, and some of them were not so nice. I could tell by the way his right eyelid twitched, the way it always did when he was very nervous or unhappy, and the way his breathing quickened. But finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I set down my pen so hard, I caught his attention again.
"Why me, Dennis? What if I'm not good enough? What if I just don't cut it? We both know how horrible I am at karate, and I have absolutely no experience in leading any amount of people. Heck, I can barely decide what I want to have for dinner every night," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth before Dennis could say anything.
Dennis just punched me in the shoulder lightly. "Didn't I tell you not to think like that?" he asked me. I nodded glumly, then looked down at my notebook. But he lifted my chin up, and looked straight at me. "You have the power now Steve-o. You can do anything you want to if you set your mind to it. As for why you were chosen, well, I should think that was obvious."
"Because I'm your brother?" I joked, attempting to lighten the mood. He shook his head, but I couldn't tell if it had worked or not.
"Because of your heart," he said simply, and touched the place on my chest where my heart was.
My heart. The organ that is the life force of the body. Red. The color of blood, the color of life. I was the Red Ranger.
My throat closed, and I tried to convey to him with a look how much those words meant to me. But the moment was ruined as my communicator went off. I looked at him apologetically, before answering.
"Steve here."
"Steven, kindly teleport to the base now," a feminine voice returned. To both boys' surprise, their guide sounded anxious. "A situation has arisen."
I looked uncertainly at Dennis; I didn't want to leave him, even though I knew I had to. He nudged me. "Go," he said softly.
I raised my communicator to my lips. "I'm on my way," I said, then cut off contact.
Right before I turned into a streak of light and energy, I thought I heard Dennis say, "Power protect you, bro."