Power Rangers: Dino Strike
Fan Fiction by: Spirit Reader
Power Rangers original creator: Haim Saban
Chapter 1: A Powerful Beginning – Part 1
A long time ago, back when the Earth was still in its infancy, a massive battle for the sake of the entire planet took place. There was one side who strove to take the planet for themselves while another side desired to protect the world from those who wished it harm. The battle was intense and both sides suffered massive casualties as a result of the conflict. However, in the end, the individuals who desired to take the planet for themselves were eventually defeated and sealed away for eternity. For a long time, there was peace on Earth and everyone was happy…but peace never lasts forever.
One day, in year 2016, a group of astronauts were busy flying their spaceship to the moon for a scientific expedition. The names of these two astronauts were Jason Scott and Zack Taylor and the two of them have been childhood friends for as long as they could remember. Both of them wanted to know what lied beyond the Earth and that was one of the main reasons why they both wanted to become astronauts. So when the two of them were chosen for this mission, both Jason and Zack couldn't pass up this opportunity.
As the two of them continued making their way towards the moon, Jason took a moment to look back at the Earth. When he was in school, the young man would see pictures of it in his textbooks. However, now that he was actually seeing it with his very own eyes, Jason was able to truly appreciate how beautiful it is.
"Amazing…" He said with a small smile on his face. "You know…it's sometimes hard to believe that we come from such a beautiful planet."
"I agree," Zack said with a nod. "But still…it makes me wonder if there are other planets out there that are just as beautiful as Earth. Perhaps there's life on those planets too."
Zack closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to visualize what kind of life forms could exist on other worlds. Would they be similar to humans or some type of different species of life? In the end, Zack didn't really know the answer to that, which made the thought of it even more exciting. This caused a small smile to appear on the young man's face, hoping that with enough time he could one day meet those creatures.
When Jason saw the expression that was on Zack's face, a small smile slowly appeared on his own as he knew how much his friend desired to meet life on other worlds. Although he found it hard to believe that life could actually exist outside of Earth, Jason still respected his friend's dream nonetheless. He then went on to continue to direct the spaceship as it made its way closer to the moon. Once they got close enough, Jason grabbed a hold of a speaker phone.
"Come in Houston, this Mission Control," He stated. "We have reached our destination and our requesting permission to land."
"Acknowledged, Mission Control," Someone replied over the speaker phone. "Permission Granted, proceed with landing procedures."
Once he got the okay from his superiors, Jason hung up the speaker phone before preparing to land the spaceship on the surface of the moon. It was a rather complicated process, but thanks to help of Zack and the training they went through preparing for this, Jason was able to pull it off. Once they were to successfully land, the two astronauts put their spacesuits, opened the ship's outer hatch, and began to take their first steps on the moon.
As soon as they touch the surface of the moon, both Jason and Zack instantly felt a sudden change in the gravity. They felt much lighter than before, so much so that it was quite difficult to get used to walking around here. However, the change in gravity also felt quite exciting as well as Zack used his lighter weight to perform a triple somersault with ease. He then went on to play around for a bit while Jason took the opportunity to examine the area around them.
Although this wasn't the first time someone has performed a moon landing, there were still so many things about it that the human race did not know. Because of that, it was Jason and Zack's mission to uncover those mysteries and see how they can benefit mankind. With that in mind, Jason examined the area around him, hoping to find something to help that cause. After a few minutes of searching, Jason saw something glittering in the distance.
Using the lighter gravity of the moon to jump over there, Jason made his way to the spot in which saw the glittering light. He discovered that it came from a jewel that was on some type of container. It wasn't all that big, barely reaching his kneecaps, and looked rather old, like it was lying down on the moon for a very long time. Jason had no idea what this container was or why it was on the moon in first place. Wanting a second opinion, Jason called Zack over to where he was.
"What the hell is this thing?" Zack asked as he took the container and examined it. "It almost looks like some kind of dumpster."
"I don't know what is," Jason answered as he looked at the container as well. "But let's try opening it in order to see what's inside."
Jason had Zack position the container so that opening was facing up towards the sky. Once it was, the two astronauts attempted to remove the lid, but found it extremely difficult to do so. It was like container was sealed shut by some type of unknown force. However, not wanting to give up, Jason and Zack used all the strength that they could muster and were soon able to remove the lid. But, it was at that very moment that something shocking occurred.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Jason's and Zack's feet started shaking violently for a few moments. As it did, several shining sparks started flying out of the container, one after another. When the sparks landed on the ground they soon started to take shape. Once they did, the two astronauts were shocked to see several creatures standing right in front of them.
One of the creatures resembled a griffin who wore golden armor all over its body and had a pair of large black wings on its back. Another one looked like a gnome that was dressed up like a repairman while two more looked like a giant black monkey and ogre respectively. All of them seemed out of this world and both Jason and Zack wondered just what the heck were these creatures. However, there was one last individual to emerge from the container and it would prove to be the most shocking one of all.
In a blinding flash of light, a single star emerged from the container and hit the surface of the moon, creating a mini explosion. When the dust settled, an old woman who dressed like some type of witch appeared. She went to stretch her limbs for a moment as the other creatures all took the time to kneel down in front of her.
"Ahhhh!" She said as she let out a loud yawn. "After 10,000 years I'm finally free!"
"Yes, Empress Rita Repulsa," The griffin creature said respectfully. "It's good to be free again."
As the monsters all stood up from the ground, the woman known as Rita continued stretch her limbs, pleased to have returned after being contained for so long. While that was going on, Jason and Zack were trying to comprehend what they were seeing. The two of them came to the moon for a scientific expedition and yet, given what they're seeing right now, it seems like they've just arrived in a bad sci-fi show. Neither one of them knew what to make of it, but they both had a feeling that they needed to leave. Unfortunately, before they could, Rita spotted them.
Upon seeing the two of them, the sorceress let out a small smile as it became clear to her that they were the ones who released her and her minions. With that in mind, Rita extended out her right hand and proceeded to materialize a giant magic wand. Once she had it in hand, Rita directed the wand towards the two astronauts.
"You two," She said with a smile on face. "You have my thanks for releasing me from my prison. To show my gratitude…allow me to give you a reward."
Rita charged up her wand, causing a dark light to appear from the top of it. When they saw that light, both Jason and Zack quickly started making their way back to the ship. Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough as Rita fired a beam of energy that struck them both. The power of this beam changed their bodies rapidly, turning them both into frogs. To make matters worse, due to their lighter body weight, the former astronauts found themselves floating off the moon and began drifting off into outer space.
Once that was taken care of, Rita started laughing to herself as she pleased to cause some destruction for the first time in over 10,000 years. She was soon joined by her henchmen, who were quite pleased by what they saw. Eventually though, Rita stopped laughing and soon turned her attention towards Jason's and Zack's spaceship. She then went on to use her magic wand to transform the ship from a vehicle to a giant, menacing skull castle.
Once she finished doing that, most of Rita's henchmen proceeded to make their way inside of their new home. The one who stayed behind however was the griffin creature, who went on to stand next to his empress.
"My queen," He said. "Now that we're free, what do want us to do? As your faithful servant I, Goldar, will fulfill it without question."
Rita turned her head towards Goldar and looked at him with a smile on her face. For thousands of years, the mighty warrior has served her faithfully and Rita knew that he was a man of his word. As a result, the sorceress pointed her finger upwards, directing it towards the Earth.
"Right there, Goldar," She said confidently. "We're going to conquer the Earth. And this time…no one will stop me!"
When she said that, Rita started laughing again, this time joined by her humble servant. As she did, the sorceress thought about all the things that she was going to do to the people of Earth now that she's free. Regardless of what she did however, Rita knew that there was no one down there who compete with her awesome power. The world was now hers for the taking…or at least that's what she thought.
On Earth, in a vast desert area, stood a large building that was placed on top of a mountain. Inside was a highly advanced and confiscated structure, filled to the brim with technology that was several hundred years above anything mankind has been able to create. Also inside the complex was a colorful robot that had a large yellow lightning symbol placed on its chest plate. All the things in this place were an incredible sight to behold and everything seemed to be rather peaceful, but that all changed an alarm started ringing all of a sudden.
As the alarm continued ringing throughout the complex, several computers started up and the robot began to activate. Once it did it then started running around the place, almost like it knew something bad was about to happen. Then, from completely out of nowhere, the robot did something completely unexpected.
"Ai-yi-yi-yi-yi! This is really bad! Rita has returned! What are we going to do?!"
The robot started talking. Not only that, but it started talking so well that one could almost mistake for a human. However, the most incredible thing about it that it somehow knows about Rita and her return. As it ran around the place like a frightened little girl, the robot tried its best to come up with a solution to this problem, but it wasn't able to come up with any answers. Eventually, as it continued to run around, the robot suddenly stopped when it heard a voice calling out to it.
"Calm down, Alpha 5." The voice calming said. "We've been preparing for this day. It's time activate our contingency plan!"
"But…but…but…" Alpha 5 stuttered, unsure if this was a good idea.
"Do it, Alpha! You must trust my wisdom!"
Alpha paused as he was still conflicted on whether or not this was a good idea. However, the robot trusted the voice that was talking to him and absolute faith in its wisdom. As a result, he slowly made his way towards one of the computer consoles and began pressing some buttons.
"Ai-yi-yi, Zordon…activating Operation 'Power Ranger' now."
Angel Grove, a city located in the middle of the state of California, is considered by many to be one of the most peaceful places to live. Crime over there is at all time low and the citizens are normally very nice and sociable. Not only that, but Angel Grove is also well known for its beauty, being one of the nicest places to look at. All in all, Angel Grove is the perfect place for people who were looking for nice place to live, just like one particular individual and his family.
This individual's name is Ryan Brooks, a 16-year-old who just moved to Angel Grove with his mother and little sister about a week ago. The three of them used to live in a small urban area in the state of Maryland, but they moved when Ryan's mother, Jessica, got a new job over here. At first, Ryan was very reluctant to leave his old home, but ultimately agreed after hearing how this was a good opportunity for his mom. With that, the small family packed their bags and headed out.
Upon arriving in Angel Grove, Ryan wasn't really sure what to make of it for the most part. While he did find it to be really nice, there was just something about this placed that left him a bit unsettled. Whether it was just his imagination or if he was simply being paranoid was something Ryan wasn't quite sure of. In any case, the young man simply put up with it for the sake of his family, not knowing that his feelings were justified.
One day, as the sun was shining on a beautiful Monday morning, Ryan was sleeping peacefully in his bed without a care in the world. Unfortunately, he was suddenly woken up thanks to the alarm feature that was on his cell phone. Annoyed, Ryan immediately cut off his alarm and soon placed his head underneath one of his pillows. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't as today is the first day he would be going to his new high school.
With that in mind, Ryan slowly picked himself up from his bed and began making his way towards the bathroom. Once he was there, he took the time to look at himself in a mirror. As he stared at himself, Ryan grabbed a washcloth and began washing his face with it. He then grabbed a comb and tried his best to neaten up his messy black hair into something more appropriate. However, nothing came out right and so Ryan messed up his hair and left it that way. He then quickly brushed his teeth before making his way back to his room.
Once he was there, Ryan quickly put on some clothes in order to cover his well defined body. It was a pretty basic outfit that consisted of blue jeans, black shoes, and a bright red t-shirt. He then went on to grab a red headband that was placed on his desk and wrap it around his left arm. Once he did that, Ryan grabbed his backpack and proceeded to make his way downstairs.
After making his way into the kitchen, Ryan grabbed a piece of toast that was on the table and placed it into his mouth. He then started eating as he turned his attention towards the TV that his little sister, Katie, was looking at. Katie is adorable 12-year-old girl with pitch-black hair and bright blue eyes like her big brother's. Her attire consisted of a bright pink dress with a blue skirt and black dress shoes. Katie also had a warm smile on her face, showing just how sweet she really is.
As the two of them continued watching TV, a news report about a recent space exploration suddenly cut on. During the report, it was revealed that it's been a few days since NASA lost track of Jason, Zack, and their spaceship. Katie found the report to be very boring and was about to change the channel. However, Ryan stopped her and held on to the remote until it finished. For some reason, the young felt he had to know about this incident, feeling that there was more to it than just a simple tragedy.
Once the report finally came to an end, Ryan handed the remote back to his sister and went on to grab a piece of toast. When Katie turned around and saw her big brother, she could tell right away that something was bothering him. She then started to wonder if it was because of the news report that they just watch.
"Hey Ryan…" She called. "Do you think what happened to that spaceship was an accident?"
"…I don't know, sis," Ryan told her. "We can only hope."
Ryan continued eating his toast for a few more minutes before grabbing his things and preparing to leave for school. Before he left the kitchen though, the young man hugged his little sister goodbye and promise to buy her a snack when he got back. Once he did that, Ryan left the kitchen and began making his way towards the front door.
When he arrived, Ryan stopped for a moment and turned his head towards another room. Inside was his mother Jessica, who was busy typing something important on her laptop. Knowing how important her work is, Ryan didn't want to interrupt her. However, he at least wanted to let her know that he was heading out. To that end, he walked towards the door and knocked on it twice, grabbing Jessica's attention.
"I'm gone, mom," He told her. "I'll try and be back before dinner."
"Okay sweetie," Jessica replied, nodding her head towards her son. "Have a good day and try not to get into any trouble."
With that said, Jessica gave her son a small smile before focusing back on her work. Ryan then went on to leave his house and began making his way towards his new high school. Because he was still new to the neighborhood, Ryan didn't have the means to ride the school bus like other students. Despite that though, he didn't really mind as he liked walking and enjoyed the exercise.
Soon, as he continued to walk around the neighborhood, Ryan noticed something strange going on in the distance. He saw a couple of suspicious men in black walk into a nearby general store. By just looking at them, Ryan felt something cold run up his spine, which usually indicated to him that there was something wrong about those guys. Although this would delay him, Ryan felt that he had to know what was going on with them and thus he secretly followed right behind.
When he got close enough, Ryan hid behind a nearby tree, glancing over it in order to see what was going on in the general store. When he did, the young man saw that the men in black were harassing a bulky middle aged man. Upon seeing that, Ryan knew right away that they were bad news and that he had to do something before the old man got hurt. As a result, he grabbed the red headband that was around his arm and quickly wrapped it around his head. He then dashed into the general store, surprising everyone there.
"Not so fast, creeps!" He yelled. "Leave him alone!"
Ryan quickly took a fighting stance, ready for anything that these criminals would have. However, the men in black simply laughed at the young man, amused that he would confront them like this. In fact, this prompted one of them to walk up to Ryan and playfully rub the top of his head.
"Nice one kid," He said with a smile on his face. "Now why don't you run along…before you get hurt?"
Man in black slowly pulled out a hand gun from his pocket and placed it by Ryan's chin. He then put his finger by the trigger, intending to press down on it if the teenager didn't comply. While most people would be frightened by something like this, Ryan simply looked at the thug with an angry expression on his face. The sight on the gun angered him greatly, prompted him to go on the attack.
Moving swiftly, Ryan quickly moved his head and snatched the gun from the thug's hand before he had a chance to realize that it was gone. When he finally did realize, the thug attempted to take back his weapon, but Ryan was prepared. He tossed the gun to the side, dodged the thug, and punched him right in the gut. Then, before he had the chance to recover, Ryan knocked him down with two powerful kicks, one to the back and the other to the side of his head.
After seeing the thug being taking down, both the old man and the other men in black were shocked by what just happened. None of them expected to see some random kid to have such moves or be able to take down a highly skilled criminal with ease. Soon though, the shock that one of the thugs were feeling soon turned to anger and proceeded to pull out a gun of his own. He then directed it to the back of Ryan's head.
"Listen you little punk!" He yelled. "Don't move or I'll…"
"Or what…shoot me?!" Ryan finished.
Ryan turned around and glared at the thug who was pointing the gun at him. He then started running towards the criminal, prompting him to fire his weapon. However, Ryan managed to skillfully avoid the bullet and soon sent the thug flying with one powerful kick to the abdomen. Then, just before the gun the thug was hold fell to the ground, Ryan grabbed it and soon pointed at the last thug.
As the two of them stared down one another, it quickly became obvious that the final man in black was frightened of this young warrior. He was shaking violently, so much so that he couldn't reach for his own gun. To make matters worse, Ryan started snickering at him as he gently pressed against the trigger. That was ultimately the final straw and the thug started to run away. However, before he could leave the general store, Ryan grabbed him by the shirt collar and knocked him out with one single punch to the face.
Once the battle was over, Ryan looked down at the gun he was carrying and glared at it in disgust. He then tossed it away, angered by the fact that he even touched it. After that, he turned his attention towards the old man, who was still shocked by what he witnessed.
"Umm…Sorry about that," He said, trying his best to come up with something. "Are you…alright?"
The old man remained silently as he was still trying to comprehend what just happened. Eventually though, he quickly got over it and soon smiled at Ryan while giving him a short round of applause.
"Yes…Yes, I'm fine," He said. "That was amazing kid. In fact, that was the most incredible thing I've seen in my life. How'd you do that?"
"Oh…I…I've been practicing martial arts since I was little," Ryan answered as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I've been thought…how to deal with these things. It was that big of a deal…"
Ryan continued rubbing his head and tried to come up with what to say next. Outside of his family, he didn't really have many friends and was thus somewhat socially awkward. He was nervous and in truth, he only acted confidently in front of the thugs because he was moving on anger and impulse. In any event, the old man was still impressed and went on to thank Ryan by happily placing his hand upon his shoulder.
"Well I think it was a very big deal," He told him. "My name is Ernie and I run the Angel Grove Youth Center. If you ever decide to drop by, come see me. I promise to pay you back for this."
Ryan gently nodded his head after hearing Ernie say that to him and proceeded to shake the old man's hand. He then went on to take off his headband and wrap it back around his shoulder. Once he did that, the young man got ready to take his leave. Before he left though, Ernie called out to him one last time.
"Hey kid…I forgot to ask what your name was,"
"My name…?" Ryan questioned as he turned himself around. "It's Ryan."
"I see. Well thank you again, Ryan. I hope to see you again."
Feeling the same way, Ryan nodded his head towards Ernie and proceeded to wave at him before taking off. As he did, he looked down towards his watched and realized that he was running late. This incident took much longer than he thought it would and now he could be late for the first day at his new school. As he started running however, Ryan quickly made peace with that fact although he was running late, it was worth it in order to save the life of a good man.
Meanwhile, as Ryan was making his way over there, hundreds of students were busy walking the halls of Angel Grove High, preparing to start another school day. As some of them talk and others walked around the hallway, one student in particular was busy trying his best to open his locker. When he finally did get it open, he ended up falling on his but as a result, causing any student who saw this to start laughing at him.
This young man's name was Cameron Miller. He's a 15-year-old with short black hair, light brown skin, brown eyes, and possesses a fairly skinny body frame. His attire consisted of blue jeans, a checkered blue and white shirt, and round glasses that were covering his face. He also had on a grey sweater jacket, due to it being quite cold in the hallway.
As he picked himself up from off the ground, Cameron tried his best to block out all the laughter coming from the other students. This wasn't the first time he's made a fool of himself in front of others and it most likely won't be the last. Even so, it always hurt to be teased like that as the only thing Cameron wanted to do is fit in. However, that was easier said than done and when you're considered a nerd amongst hundreds of other students, attempting to fit is not just hard, it's almost impossible.
Once he got up from the ground and grabbed all of his things, Cameron shut his locker and began making his way towards his first class. He tried his best to avoid talking to or bumping into anyone along the way. Unfortunately, before he could get too far, Cameron was suddenly struck in the back of the head by an oncoming basketball and fell face first towards the ground. When slowly got back up, the young man saw that he was being surrounded by a small group of other students.
Each of the students had a cocky look on their faces, all of them looking quite pleased to see Cameron in such a state. This was especially true for one student who was bald, had on a leather jacket with a chain around it, and was wearing a pair of ripped up jeans. When Cameron saw this person, he silently let out a small sigh, indicating that he knew who he was. He was about to say something, but stopped when the student grabbed him by the shirt collar.
"Good morning, bookworm," He said with a creepy smile on his face. "Where do you think you're going?"
"No…Nowhere," Cameron said timidly. "I wasn't going anywhere, Shark."
As he watched Cameron look at him with a frightened look on his face, the student who was known as Shark simply started laughing as he tossed the smaller student around. In actuality, his real name was Reginald Smith. However, the reason why he was known as Shark amongst the other students is due to his reputation of beating on those weaker than himself, like Cameron. Out of all the bullies who were at Angel Grove High, Shark was the worst of the bunch and with his gang by his side he was a force to be reckoned with.
For as long as he could remember, Cameron has always feared and hated Shark for all the abuse that he's put him through. There wasn't a day that past that he wished he could make him pay for what he did. Unfortunately, Cameron's fears strongly outweighed his desires and even if he wasn't afraid, the young man simply wasn't strong enough. With two major factors against, Cameron pretty much had no choice but to live with Shark's constant bullying and has been for the last several years.
Soon though, Shark became bored with this and quickly tossed Cameron towards his gang. They then each took turns messing with the little guy as all the other students watched. While a good portion of them wanted to help, they couldn't because they were simply afraid or knew that they couldn't win due to them being outnumbered. As a result, all they could do was watch and hope that this would end soon.
Eventually, after about another 5 minutes of this, one bully finally put a stop this by grabbing Cameron and picking him up. This one's name was Tyson Nakamura, a Japanese-American young man and one of the most trusted members of Shark's gang. He had spiky black hair, green eyes, and was wearing a mostly black outfit with some white mixed in. But, instead of just brushing Cameron aside, Tyson went on to put the young man into a trash can that was by one of the lockers.
As all the bullies started laughing together, there was one student who just couldn't stand by and watch this anymore. The student was a young woman with long blonde hair, soft blue eyes, and possessed a slender figure. He attire consisted of blue jeans and a yellow shirt with black leather jacket covering it. She was also wearing a pair of leather boots and had a silver necklace placed around her neck. Once she reached all of them, she promptly pushed two of the bullies away.
"Really Shark…doesn't this get old?" She asked.
Shark turned his attention towards the young woman and smiled at her with a creepy look on his face. He then made his way up to her, but the young woman didn't back down. Soon the two of them were face-to-face with one another as all the other students looked on.
"Well what can I say…?" He started off. "Messing with nerds gives me the thrills….Just like how give me the thrills, Serena. Why don't you and I go for a little walk and settle all this out…alone."
Shark gently held girl, now known as Serena, by the cheek and held on to her. However, this act only ended up making her very angry, resulting in a hard slap right in the face. The force of the slap was enough to send Shark back a few steps. But, instead of being made, Shark seemed quite pleased with what she did. When she saw that, Serena became even more infuriated.
"Enough of this nonsense, Shark!" She declared. "You're going to leave Cameron alone…Now!"
"Or what…?" Shark countered. "Do you think you can stop us all by yourself?"
"…Who knows? But I know I can."
Both Shark's and Serena's eyes lit up after hearing someone respond to their conversation. They then turned their heads and saw a young man making their over towards them. However, neither one of them had ever seen him before, nor did anyone else for that matter. But that made sense given that this was his first day at Angel Grove High. The individual's name was Ryan Brooks and after seeing what was going on over here, decided to check things out.
"I came here thinking that everyone would be on their way to class," He started off. "Instead, I see a good old fashion beat down. It kind of reminds me about my old school."
Ryan brushed past all of Shark's bullies as he walked past both him and Serena before making his way over to Cameron. As he did so, some of Shark's goons were not happy by what they were seeing and decided to step in. Sensing them however, Ryan easily grabbed one by the shirt and tossed into the other one, knocking them both down. He then reached Cameron and proceeded to pull him out of the trash can.
"Hey…are you okay, man?" He kindly asked as he handed him his backpack.
"Umm…Yes I am," Cameron answered, shocked by what he saw. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I'm just glad you're not hurt."
Once that was taken care of, Ryan turned around and faced the rest of the bullies. He then let out a confident smile, showing that he wasn't afraid of them nor was he impressed by their antics. This caused them of them to start charging towards the young man, but Ryan simply tripped them up before they had a chance to attack him. He then turned his focus towards Shark, the cause of all this trouble.
"You know…bullies typically mess with people because of their own problems," He said to the head bully. "Tell me…are you compensating for something?"
Upon hearing Ryan say that to him, Shark started gritting his teeth at him and started walking up towards the young man. He was about to grab him by his shirt collar, but Ryan easily pushed him back to where his gang was. This only ended up making the bully even more angry and it felt like a massive fight was about to ensue. Ryan braced himself for what he felt was coming, but calmed down when he heard a loud ringing echo throughout the entire school.
The ringing was coming from the school bell and it alerted all the students that it was time to head to their next class. Knowing that the teachers will be searching the hall soon, most of them left the area and began making their way to their respective classrooms. The only ones who were left in the hall were Ryan, Cameron, Serena, and Shark's gang. All of them stared down at one another for a moment before Shark decided to leave. Before left his gang however, he stopped beside Ryan and said something to him that only he could hear.
"This isn't over yet, you little shit," He told him. "Next time I see you, you're dead."
Once he said that, the bully and his gang left the area and began making their way to their respective classes. After they were gone, Ryan let out a small sigh before turning his attention towards both Cameron and Serena. When they looked at him, both of them were quite surprised to see that he wasn't worried at all. As a matter of fact, Ryan was rather calm about the whole thing.
"Um…Are you okay?" Cameron asked him.
"Yeah," Ryan answered. "I used to deal with bullies all the time in at my old school. It's not a big deal…though I am a bit surprised. I thought Angel Grove was a pretty peaceful place, free from people like them. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same."
Ryan started chuckling to himself as he reflected about the similarities between his old school and his new school. As he did so, Cameron and Serena continued to look at him with a confused look on their faces. It was clear to the both of them that they didn't know how ruthless Shark and his gang could be. Despite that however, this young man was simply shrugging it off like it was nothing. Both of them didn't know what to make of this, but one of them didn't really care. That person was Cameron who proceeded to make his way up to Ryan.
"Well anyway…thank you again for helping me," He said as he nervously extended his hand out to Ryan. "My name is Cameron Miller and I truly appreciate what you did for me."
"…Don't mention it," Ryan replied, going on to shake Cameron's hand. "My name is Ryan Brooks and it's nice to meet you Cameron."
After the two of them shook hands, Cameron realized that it was getting late and proceeded to make his way to class. Once he was gone, Ryan started looking around the area for a specific room. When he couldn't find it, he turned his attention towards Serena, who was about to make her way to class.
"Um…excuse me," He said, calling out to her. "Could you tell me where the Principal's Office is?"
"Sure," Serena said, directing her finger down the hall. "Just go down the hall and take a left. You can't miss it."
"Thanks…"
Ryan nodded his head and proceeded to thank the young woman before making his way down the hall. However, before he could get too far, he told for a second and turned his attention back towards her. He then slapped the top of his head, realizing that he forgot something.
"Oh yeah…By the way, my name is Ryan. What's yours?"
"…My name is Serena Rhodes," She answered. "I'm to have met you, Ryan. Let's hope we see each other again."
Once the two of them said their greetings, Ryan left in one direction while Serena left in the other. As they walked away, both of them found the other to be very interesting, but they also doubted that they would ever see each other again. Even so, they found it cool that they got to meet one another and wished each other well in their endeavors.
Soon, Serena arrived at her History class and sat down as her teacher, Ms. Goodwin, gave out her daily lecture. Joining her in the class were Cameron, Shark, and a few members of his gang. As the class progressed, Shark was busy shooting spitballs at the back of Cameron's head. When Serena saw that, the young woman glared at the bully, silently telling him to knock it off. However, Shark playfully ignored her and continued messing with Cameron, much to his frustration.
Eventually, as the class progressed, Ms. Goodwin heard someone knocking on her classroom door. Making her way over to it, she opened the door and proceeded to have a conversation with a member of the school's faculty. Once the conversation came to an end, the faculty member left and Ms. Goodwin went on to address her students.
"Class," She started off. "I've just received news that a new student will be joining us. Please give him a warm welcome…"
The students turned their attention towards the door as they watched their newest classmate enter the classroom. As they did, Serena, Cameron, and Shark were shocked to see that the student was none other than Ryan. The young man then proceeded to greet all of them with a warm, yet slightly timid smile on his face.
"Hello…" He said. "My name is Ryan Brooks. I've just moved here to Angel Grove a few days ago and I hope to get to know you all."
Ryan bowed towards the class slightly, not only showing his respect for all of them, but also showing them that he was a kind and honest young man. This impressed a good portion of the students, but Ms. Goodwin was the most pleased by his response. She then went on ask him something.
"Well Ryan…would you mind telling all of us a little bit about yourself?"
"…Well, I've been practicing martial arts ever since I was a little boy," He answered. "I was inspired by father, who sadly passed away when I was 7-years-old."
As he closed his eyes for a moment, Ryan stared at the headband that was wrapped around his arm and proceeded to take it off. He then showed the headband to the class before going on to wrap it around his head.
"As a matter of fact, my father gave me this headband shortly before he passed. I always carrying it with me…as it's my way of feeling like he's always here with me."
"Well…that's quite interesting, Ryan," Ms. Goodwin said to him. "Don't you agree, class?"
Most of the class shook their head in agreement while Shark and his gang simply stared at Ryan with angry looks on their faces. Soon, Ryan removed his headband from the top of his head and wrapped back around his left arm. He then listened as Ms. Goodwin started talking to him again.
"Let's see…How about you take a seat at the empty desk right next to Cameron. How does that sound?"
"That's fine, ma'am," He told her.
Ryan nodded his head and quickly made his way towards the empty desk next to Cameron. Once he there, he went on to greet both him and Serena again before listening as Ms. Goodwin continued on with her lecture. As she did, Ryan pulled out a blank notebook from his backpack and started writing down notes, regardless of what he heard.
While that was going on, Shark was bust glaring at Ryan, angrily tap his pen onto his desk. He was still upset about what happened out in the hall and the bully vowed to make Ryan pay for what he did. Although it wouldn't be nowhere near enough, Shark decided to exact a small portion of his revenge here and now. With that, he placed a large amount of paper into his mouth and started chewing it up violently. He then picked up a large straw that he had and prepared to use it to fire the pieces of wet paper at Ryan.
When he first did it, the paper struck the back of Ryan's head, grabbing his attention. As he turned his head towards him, the young man realized what the bullies were doing. Although he could easily ignore them, Ryan noticed the amount of spitballs that were by Cameron's desk and the bullies were messing with him too. This gave him the idea of wanting to pay Shark back for what he did.
To that end, Ryan waited patiently for Shark to fire another shot. Thanks to his years of studying martial arts, he had developed somewhat of a sixth sense, allowing him to feel when something is about to strike him from behind. Using that, Ryan dodged the spitball at the last second. He then watched as it struck Ms. Goodwin, causing her to turn her head towards the students. When she looked back and saw Shark with a straw in his mouth, the teacher started looking at him with a frightening expression on her face.
"Reginald…" She said in an angry tone.
Shark quickly removed the straw from his mouth and hid it behind his back, trying to deny that he didn't have anything to do with it. Unfortunately, Ms. Goodwin knew that it was him she wasn't happy in the slightest. She then went on to lecture Shark in front of the entire class, much to the amusement of everyone there. When Shark saw this and noticed the snicker that was Ryan's face, it only fueled the anger that the bully had for him. He then vowed to make Ryan pay no matter what.
"Laugh while you can, you little shit…" He thought quietly to himself. "You're mine once school is over."
Meanwhile, back in the dark depths of outer space, the fiendish Rita and her minions were still making themselves at home on their Moon Palace. Two of them, the ogre Squatt and the Vampire-Monkey Baboo, were busy messing around like little kids. They continued to do this for a while until their superior, Goldar, appeared and started berating the two of them that they got back to work. Even though they've been imprisoned for 10,000 years, the two of them were still as dimwitted as ever and that annoyed Goldar greatly.
As that was going on, another one of Rita's minions is busy in a workshop. His name was Finster and he was a creature that looked like a combination between an elf and a Scottish terrier. His attire consisted of a basic workshop outfit with blue trousers over a white shirt, glasses, and a blue bandana over his head. Out of all the henchmen present, Finster was the most soft-spoken between them, but also the most logical.
Currently, Finster was busy molding several ounces of clay into small figurines and placing them on a cookie sheet. However, this was any ordinary clay, but instead magical clay created by Rita herself. One of Finster's jobs was to create soldiers from this clay who then go on to serve the mighty empress of evil. Although Rita had the power to create monsters herself, she doesn't have much of an imagination and so she left that job to Finster. Having been locked up for so long, he has plenty of time to come up with hundreds of monsters and he planning to create every single one of them.
While Finster continued working on his craft, Rita soon entered the workshop in order to check up on his progress. When she saw the large amount of clay soldiers that he manage to create so far, the empress was quite pleased. She soon banged the bottom of her wand against the floor, creating a loud tapping noise that grabbed Finster's attention.
"Finster!" She called. "It's time. Are the Putty Patrollers ready?"
"Yes my queen," Finster answered. "I just finished the first patch not that long ago and was about to put them into the Monster-Matic."
The Monster-Matic was a large oven-like machine that Finster had in his workshop. After he finished creating the monsters with his clay he would then put them into the machine. Once it's been activated, the Monster-Matic would then bring the creature to life. It's a powerful machine that should only be used for the right cause which, according to Rita, meant the service of evil.
Upon hearing that Finster was ready, Rita was extremely pleased and watched as her loyal minion took the group of Putties that he created and placed it into the oven. After about a minute, a group of clay-like creatures popped from out of tube that was connected to the machine. These were the Putty Patrollers, mindless warriors who serve Rita Repulsa. Although they're not particularly smart or strong, it's their sheer numbers that gives them their power and thus make them a valuable asset to Rita's army.
As the Putties observed the workshop that they were in, both Rita and Finster looked on at them with smiles on their faces. Soon, Goldar entered the room as well and was also pleased by the sight of the Putties. He watched as Rita turned around to face him, prompting Goldar to kneel before his empress.
"My queen," He spoke. "Is it time to launch our attack?"
"Yes Goldar," Rita answered with a nod. "Take the Putties with you and go down to Earth. I want you all to make as much chaos and destruction as possible in order to announce our arrival to the humans!"
After hearing his instructions, Goldar nodded his head in compliance. He then looked towards his empress with a devilish look on his face. Being a warrior, Goldar craves battle and after being locked up for so long that craving has only grown stronger. As a result, Goldar didn't waste any time in taking the Putties and preparing to make their journey down to the Earth.
Once she was gone, Rita made her way towards the edge of her Moon Palace. She then took the time to marvel at the beautiful planet that was known as the Earth. Long ago, the evil empress attempted to conquer the planet, but failed thanks to her enemies. However, those who managed to seal her were no longer around and that meant the Earth was now hers for the taking. She's not letting this opportunity pass her by, not this time.
"The world will be mine," She said to herself with a fiendish smile on her face. "The world will finally be mine! Hahahahahaha!"
As she started laughing like some type of maniac, Squatt and Baboo were busy looking on at Rita from afar. Both of them were marveling at the sight of their queen and were amazed when they saw a dark purple aura sounding her body as she continued laughing hysterically to herself. The two of them then nodded their heads at one another before turning their focus back towards Rita.
"This is going to be good…" Baboo said quietly.
"Yeah…" Squatt agreed.
Back on the Earth, school has finally concluded at Angel Grove High and all of the students were beginning to make their way back home. This included Ryan, who was busy grabbing all of his new textbooks from his locker and placing them into his backpack. Since he was a new transfer student, he had to play catch-up for a little while. As a result, he needed to take all of his textbooks home in order to study.
Once he had all of them, the young man began making his way towards the exit. As he did so, Ryan noticed someone walking up to him. The individual was Cameron, the student that he helped earlier today. From the expression that was on his face, he seemed quite pleased to see Ryan again, prompting Ryan to greet him with a smile on his face.
"Hey…" He said. "It's good to see that you're doing alright. Your name is Cameron, right?"
"That's right," Cameron replied with a nod. "And I want to thank you again for what you've done for me. No one has…never really stood up for me before."
"Don't mention it. I was glad I could help you."
As they Ryan and Cameron continued talking to one another, the former started to remember what happened to him earlier today when he met Ernie. He told him to come down to the Angel Grove Youth Center so that he could pay him back for helping him out with those thugs. Although Ryan decided that he wanted to go there, the young man quickly came to the realization that he had no idea where the Youth Center was.
"Hey Cameron…Did you mind if I ask you a favor?" He asked his new friend.
"Sure," Cameron replied. "What is it?"
Just before he was about to ask Cameron where the Youth Center was, Ryan stopped when he saw something by the front doors of the school. It was Shark and his gang. All of them were looking at him with furious looks on their faces, indicating that they were waiting for him to show up. Upon seeing that, Ryan let out a small sigh before scratching the back of his head.
"Never mind…"
Ryan walked over towards the gang of bullies, his eyes solely focused on Shark. Once he got there, the two of them stared down at one another as Cameron and the others looked on. Eventually, Shark pointed his thumb out the door.
"Come with us, new kid," He told Ryan. "We have business that we have to discuss."
"…Fine with me," Ryan said sarcastically. "It's not like I have nothing better to do with my day."
Upon hearing Ryan say that, Shark let out a small chuckle. He then vowed to put him in his place before this day was over and show everyone that no one to disrespect him. He then left the school ground with his gang, all of them making sure that Ryan was following behind.
As he watched them all leave, Cameron felt extremely worried and wondered if he should get one of the teachers. However, before he could think about it further, he watched as Ryan looked back at him for a moment and shook his head in disapproval. He then smiled at Cameron, silently telling his new friend that everything would be alright and that he shouldn't call for help. Ryan then continued walking with Shark's gang as a worried Cameron looked on from the entrance of the school.
For the next 30 minutes, Ryan continued walking with Shark and his group. Based on where they were going, the young man came to the obvious conclusion that the bullies wanted to deal with him in a place where no one would be watching. Upon realizing this, Ryan knew that would be the ideal location for him too as he could deal with them without having to worry about anyone else. Eventually, after about another 10 minutes of walking, they all arrived at their destination.
It was an abandoned vacant lot that hasn't been in use for many years. There was garbage everyone and the place at a pretty bad smell to it. The bullies then positioned Ryan with his back against the wall, which made going through all of them his only escape route. Despite that however, Ryan wasn't afraid.
"Alright you little punk, this is how things are going to go down!" Shark said as he positioned his men. "No one makes a fool out of me so my boys are going to lay the smack down on you until your nothing but a bloody pulp! Then, if I'm feeling generous, I'll step in and break only one of your legs. What do you think of that?"
"…It's hard to say," Ryan replied as he grabbed his headband and tied it around his head. "But I think your plan would work a whole lot better if any you had any balls."
Shark snapped upon hearing Ryan say that to him and his gang. That was the last straw and was now even more determined to put this boy in his place once and for all. Because of that he didn't waste in time in commanding his men to attack Ryan. However, as they charged towards him, Ryan was able to keep his cool and remember his martial arts training.
Using clean and vivid moments, Ryan was able to easily avoid each of his attackers and push all of them back with either strong punches to their guts or swift kicks to their backs. As he didn't want to really hurt them, Ryan held back considerably and simply let them do all the fighting as he avoided and countered their attacks. This continued for a few minutes until, much to Shark's shock, all of them were lying on the ground.
Once they were all taken care of, Ryan turned his attention towards Shark and prepared himself to deal with them too. However, before he could do so, he watched as Tyson, Shark's right hand man, started walking towards him. Tyson then went on to take a fighting stance, similar to the one Ryan takes when he fights. Upon seeing that, Ryan realized that this battle would be a little bit more difficult than the others and thus prepared him accordingly.
"Prepare yourself…" Tyson told him.
"…I will!" Ryan replied.
Before the battle between the two of them could begin however, everyone stopped as the ground started shaking underneath them for a few seconds. As he tried to keep his balance, Ryan looked in shock as several mysterious grey beings suddenly appeared from out of thin air. Once the ground stopped shaking, the beings began making their way towards all of them, causing Ryan to have a very bad feeling about this.
When Shark got a good look at these mysterious beings, the bully was just as confused about what they were too. Even so, he was more displeased with the fact that they were interfering with what was going on here now. As a result, he decided to step in and deal with the Putties himself, much to Ryan's shock.
"Wait…Don't get neat them!" He cried. "You don't know what they're capable of!"
"Oh shut your mouth!" Shark told Ryan. "I'll deal with you soon enough. Right now I need to show these chumps that they don-"
Just as Shark was about to finish that sentence, one of the Putties sent him flying with a powerful kick to the stomach. When he hit the wall, the force of the impact was so great that it started to crack. Shark was rendered unconscious and as Tyson rushed over to help his fallen leader, Ryan started to break out in a cold sweat. He had a feeling that these things were bad news and now his feelings were validated.
Realizing that he couldn't let these creatures run loose and hurt anybody else, Ryan quickly blocked their path by stepping out in front of them. He then turned his attention towards Tyson and the others bullies who were beginning to pick themselves back up.
"Get out of here!" He told them. "I'll try and hold them off as long as I can!"
Once he said that, Ryan turned his focus back towards the Putties. He then, after bracing himself for what was to come, took on all the creatures using all of his might. When the bullies saw this, none of them knew what to make of this situation. However, what they did know is that now was the perfect chance to make their escape. As a result, they all left the area was fast as they could. Although Tyson was hesitant to leave, as a part of him wanted to stay and fight too, he knew he had to get Shark to safety. Because of that, he left the area as well.
As soon as he was all by himself, Ryan proceeded to used all the skills he acquired through his years of martial arts training to fight off the Putties. In the beginning, he seemed to hold his own against them as he was able to easily avoid their strikes and counter with blows of his own. Unfortunately, as the battle progressed, it became apparent that Ryan couldn't keep this up for long. The Putties seemed to keep on coming no matter how many times he knocked them down and with each attack, Ryan grew more and more exhausted. Eventually, things reached the point where he couldn't fight anymore and that's when the Putties launched their counterattack.
Using their superior strength and Ryan's weaken state, the Putties launched a large barrage of attacks on the young man. Although he tried his best to block the strikes, the attacks were simply too strong and Ryan found himself beaten and overwhelmed. Even so, he refused to give up and kept on fighting back even though he would continued to be overwhelmed by his multiple opponents.
Soon though, after being kicked into a pile of heavy creates and watching as the Putties grew closer to him, Ryan knew that this was the end of him. Because of that, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. However, just as one of the Putties were about to launch the final blow, something unexpected suddenly took place.
Somehow, a mysterious red light started to envelop Ryan's body. When Ryan opened his eyes and saw this he wondered what was happening to him. This light was electrifying, transforming him into the same kind of energy. Soon it completely enveloped him and before he was able to say anything, Ryan suddenly vanished into thin air. All of the Putties were shocked by this development as well and wondered what was going on.
Eventually, after what seemed like an instant, the energy that was covering Ryan's body suddenly left him. He then looked on in shock as he found himself in a strange, yet highly technological room of some sort. As he slowly picked himself up off the ground and continued to look around the place, Ryan could only bring himself to say one thing.
"…Where the hell am I?"
Chapter Preview
As Rita Repulsa and her henchmen prepare to begin the complete domination of Earth, Ryan is approached with an offer that could possibly give all of humanity a fighting chance. Just what is this offer…and will Ryan accept it?
Next Time, Chapter 2: A Powerful Beginning – Part 2