Start of summer. It had always been her favorite time of year. Especially since she'd become a teacher. 28-year-old Kira Ford loved the sound of the final bell before summer time. The mad rush of students from their classrooms out into the hot and humid air... She smiled, somewhat nostalgic of her high school days when she'd been in their shoes. The room had been filled with her students chattering voices but as soon as the bell rang, their was a loud roar of chairs scraping as students jumped to their feet, happy to be free of school if only just for three months.
"Don't be too happy to be rid of me," Kira joke over the noise, causing a few students to chuckle as they gathered there things and left, saying brief farewells to Kira as they left to begin their summer vacations. Kira smiled, shaking her head a bit as she began putting some papers away in her bag.
"Any big summer plans, Ms. Ford?" Asked a voice. Kira looked up to see one of her students, Miangela "Mia" Rodriguez, standing before her desk. Kira smiled as she finished putting her things away.
"Oh yeah," she said as she picked up her bag and stepped out from behind her desk. "I plan on sleeping late until eleven every day and doing nothing," she joked. Mia laughed.
"Sounds like you've got a very productive summer planned out for yourself," Mia said, joking along with her favorite teacher. Kira smiled.
"What about you Mia? Any big plans?" She questioned. The two made their way out of the classroom once the sea of vacating students had lessened enough for them to get through.
"Hmm, not really," Mia shrugged, raising her voice to be heard over the sounds in the hallway of celebrating students and lockers opening and closing. "Work on some songs I guess. Mom and dad want me to help out at the diner," she said, making a face, "trying to find a way to get out of it. Working the summer away carrying hot plates of burgers and such to the hungry masses doesn't sound too fun."
"WHOOOO! Summer time!" Exclaimed a voice as someone came rushing at them, nearly tackling Mia to the floor as he grabbed her shoulders in a joyous sort of hug.
"Whoa, k Andy, mind toning it down?" Mia chuckled to her friend, Andrew "Andy" Baxter. Andy grinned at her before shaking his head.
"It's summer Mi! Let the insanity reign!" He laughed before taking off down the hallway. Mia watched him taking off and laughed, shaking her head before looking back at Kira.
"Sorry about that," she said. "Andy gets a little hyper and crazy when he……." she paused. "Okay, he's just hyper and crazy," she said. Kira laughed.
"Understandable." Kira replied as they stopped next to the staff room. "Have a good summer Mia; I'll see you in the fall." Kira smiled. Mia nodded.
"Yeah, you too Miss Ford," Mia smiled, giving her teacher a small wave as she stepped away to find Andy and pry him off the ceiling if need be. Kira turned to the door and walked into the teacher's lounge, seeing some of her colleagues chatting over coffee and snacks kept in the room. She gave a small smile of greeting to anyone who looked up to see the new arrival before going over to the shelf of cubby holes at the back wall where all the staff mail or memos were put. She stopped in front of her assigned compartment and reached in, pulling out her things.
"Ah, the sounds of the end of the school year, don't you love it?" Came the voice of Mrs. Lucas, the school's office administrator who was busy sliding envelopes into the other compartments. Kira grinned.
"Who wouldn't?" She replied. She looked through the few envelopes in her compartment, flipping through them to see if there was anything of extreme immediate importance.
"The student evaluations came in," Mrs. Lucas said as she watched Kira looking through the things. Kira looked up at her.
"Should I be worried?" She asked. Mrs. Lucas gave her a warm smile.
"Only if you hate being in the running for teacher of the year come September," she said with a small wink as she finished up putting the envelopes in their intended compartments.
"Ah, being liked by students….so overrated," said the voice of Mr. Harris, the school's gym teacher, as he saddled up beside Kira to get his things out. Kira looked over to him and bit her lip. She had heard many of her students complain about "Hard-Ass" Harris during the school year. She could only imagine what his student evaluations looked like.
"Sometimes, being liked by the students is a good thing." Mrs. Lucas challenged. Kira chuckled.
"You two have been having this debate for years... Have a good summer." She smiled before walking away.
"She's too cheery, it's disgusting," she heard Mr. Harris mutter as she made her way to the door. Mrs. Lucas chuckled.
"Now, now, Ted, sour grapes are unbecoming for a man of your stature," she teased. Kira smiled to herself before leaving the lounge and once again being engulfed in the madness that was the school's main hallway. She wandered down the hallways, watching as the students unpack their lockers and exchange their summer goodbyes. She smiled as she exited the front doors and headed down the steps. She rounded the front of the school and walked down the sidewalk against the side of the building. Just a short distance away was a small footbridge that crossed over one of the small rivers in Destruction Bay. Over that tiny river, was where the teachers' lot was. Pulling her bag up a little higher on her shoulder, Kira continued forward. As she approached the bridge, the breeze picked up a little, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Something wasn't right.
--
After a few minutes spent having to pull Andy off other students he'd decided to share his excitement over summer with, Mia finally was able to drag her best friend out school's side doors that led out to the quad and the lush lawn beside it.
"Come on And, let's go," Mia laughed as she threw her arm over his shoulders. "How can you possibly get a start on the summer if you're too busy pouncing on people inside school?" Andy laughed.
"Ah, very good point Mimi, very good point," he said. Mia threw him a hard look.
"You know I hate it when you call me that," she said. Andy chuckled.
"Why do you think I do it?" He teased before ruffling her hair. He laughed like a mad man before taking off, running across the quad. Mia rolled her eyes, groaning a bit before giving chase. Andy laughed, looking over his shoulder to see Mia chasing after him in good fun. He was so caught up in their horsing around, he didn't even notice the motorcycle that was parked right there at the end of the quad, well, that is, not until he slammed into the front wheel and tripped over it, landing on his back. "Whoa, wipe out," he groaned. Up on the motorcycle, its owner who'd been sitting on the seat facing the other direction, spun around and glared daggers at the person who dared jostle is prized possession.
"Watch where you're going, Blondie," he sneered. Andy propped himself up on his elbows.
"What's your problem man?" He questioned. The fellow student narrowed his eyes at Andy, apparently not liking the idea of someone daring to talk back to him. He hopped off the seat of his bike and bent down, grabbing the front of Andy's shirt and using it to haul him up to his feet. Once Andy was up, he kept his hold on his shirt.
"You, want to make something of it?" He said, his tone close to a threat. Behind him, Andy heard Mia's jogging footsteps come to a stop.
"Leave him alone, Christian." She commented, her eyes narrowing slightly at him. Christian looked over Andy's shoulder at Mia with an amused look on his face without letting go of Andy's shirt.
"And if I don't?" He sneered. Mia rolled her eyes and slid her bag off her shoulder, letting it fall to the ground as a sign that she meant business.
"I'll make you," she replied simply. Christian snorted.
"Uh huh, I don't think you'd be able to fight me." He replied, releasing Andy's shirt and shoving him backwards. Andy stumbled back, nearly colliding against Mia who quickly got him and helped him steady himself on his feet.
"You okay?" She asked him. Andy nodded.
"Right as rain," he muttered. He cast a look at Christian, who was glaring at the two of them, before shaking his head and picking up Mia's bag from the ground. "Let's jet," he said. Mia nodded and took the bag from him. Christian snorted again.
"What, here I thought you were going to fight me," Christian said. Mia looked at him and smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I don't actually recall saying that I'd fight you," she said giving a small shrug. "I just said I'd make you leave him alone, and I did, didn't I?" Andy couldn't help snickering a bit beside her. Christian rolled his eyes.
"It's true what they say about you... You are a tease." He muttered. Mia's eyes widened at that.
"Oh shit," Andy muttered. Christian had hit a nerve, Andy knew it, and even Christian knew it. That rumor had been plaguing Mia the entire school year after she made the mistake of going out on a date with Josh Lawson, the captain of the football team and ergo self proclaimed god's gift to the female student body. The date ended up being a disaster when Mia, who'd kept things innocent enough to not give him the wrong idea during the date, refused to let him get too close to her….female student body….which in the end had him spin the story to all his friends and classmates saying she'd been all over him the entire evening only to become cold, or as he put it, "a frigid bitch" just for the fun of it when it came time to follow through.
"What did you say?" Mia growled. Christian looked at her and shrugged.
"You heard me." He replied simply.
"Why you little…" Mia hissed. Andy barely had time to react before Mia went to rush at Christian. Andy quickly grabbed her bag and used it to pull her back so he could get a grip on her shoulders, effectively keeping her from going at Christian. "Let me go, Andy!" She snarled.
"Come on, Mi, he's not worth it," Andy said, trying his hardest to get her to calm down. Christian chuckled at the scene before him—Andy holding Mia back as she tried to get free.
"Oh, what, going to hide behind your little fagotty friend?" He asked. Both Mia and Andy froze at that. After a few seconds, Andy released Mia.
"I'll hold your bag," he said in a calm tone, sliding the school bag off of Mia's shoulder. Christian chuckled.
"Cute man purse." He replied before starting his bike up. "If you two will excuse me, I have places to be." Christian turned back to his bike and was ready to climb on only to be stopped by a hand grabbing his shoulder and turning him back. He was about to fire off a cutting remark, but the fist slamming against his jaw sort of prevented that. Christian stumbled backwards before falling down on his backside. "Oh, you're going to get it now you little fa-" He was cut off mid-threat by a low voice.
"Finish that sentence and you'll regret it," Mia said. Christian looked up to see Mia standing by his bike, glaring at him, making him see that contrary to his original assumption, it had been Mia who had hit him and not Andy. There was silence for a minute before Christian pushed himself up.
"Bitch." He commented. Mia simply narrowed her eyes at him before turning on her heel and went to go back to Andy. Christian growled to himself before taking a few strides towards her, ready to grab her shoulder.
"Touch me and you and Josh will have something in common," she said, not bothering to look back.
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Christian sneered.
"The inability to have children," Andy snickered. Christian rolled his eyes.
"Children are overrated anyway." He replied.
"But I doubt the pain is," Andy chuckled. Mia walked the rest of the way to him and took her bag back before slinging it over her shoulder.
"You're such a jerk Christian...Why don't you do us all a favor and rid the world of yourself." She commented. Christian snorted.
"Guess I'm not into people pleasing," he said with a smug smirk.
"How shocking." Andy muttered. He put an arm around Mia's shoulders. "Come on, Mia, let's go," he said before leading her away from the unpleasantness that was Christian. The two had barely taken two steps before Christian spoke.
"Oh I see, you're just a tease to every other guy in school but you're really just fag boy's slut, huh?" He chuckled. Mia froze, her fists tightening at her sides. Andy quickly spun around and stormed back over to Christian.
"All right, that's it! You apologize to her right now, scumbag," he demanded. Christian stared at him and simply crossed his arms.
"Who's gonna make me?" He inquired.
"I will," Andy said lowly. He paused and looked around as he saw that their commotion had begun to draw an audience as a crowd of students had taken a detour from starting their summer vacation to see what's going on. Andy looked back at Christian and took a step closer to him. "So unless you want to have our lovely audience here watch you get your ass kicked by 'fag boy', you better apologize," he hissed. Christian glanced at the crowd before looking back at Andy, the smug expression still on his face.
"You're bluffing," he said.
"Who do you think taught Mia that right sucker punch?" Andy replied.
"Probably one of her older brothers." Christian replied. Andy gave a slight chuckle.
"Sure, go right ahead and believe that," he said.
"Uh, are you guys going to fight or what?" Asked someone in the crowd. Andy quirked an eyebrow at Christian.
"I don't know, are we going to fight?" Christian looked at Andy.
"You're not worth it," he stated before going to turn away.
"I believe the man asked for an apology," came another voice from the crowd. Christian shot a glance at the person who made the comment.
"Fine. I'm sorry. Can we all move on with our lives?" He questioned.
"Shouldn't you address who that apology is to? Like, oh I don't know, say 'I'm sorry, Mia,'?" The voice replied. Christian narrowed his eyes and looked at the source of the voice; it was a classmate of his, Nathan Smith. Nathan stood there with his book bag over one shoulder and his laptop carrier over the other. He coolly adjusted his glasses under Christian's glare.
"Stay out of this, geek boy," Christian sneered. Nathan chuckled.
"Ah, so let me get this straight. I'm geek boy," he said, pointing to himself, "and he's 'fag boy," he said, raising his hands up and twitching his middle and index fingers into air quotes. "Good god man, if you're going to insult people, couldn't you at least be a bit more creative?" Christian stalked over to Nathan and grabbed the front of his shirt with one hand and reeled the other back in a tight fist.
"How's this for creative?" He smirked, fully expecting his captive to shake and cower in fear before quickly stammering out an apology.
"Ah, and now the intimidation through violence, the expected next step for the perpetually unoriginal," Nathan said, his cool tone unwavering. Christian's eyes narrowed
"I'll show you perpetually unoriginal," he growled as he made a move to punch him.
"Cheese it you guys, Hard Ass is coming," said a voice from the crowd. Some of the crowd quickly dispersed at that, not wanting to have to face the ill tempered teacher.
"All right, what the hell is going on here?" Mr. Harris's voice boomed as he broke through the remaining crowd. Mia looked at Mr. Harris.
"Nothing sir... Christian was just showing us one of the scenes from the movie he tried out for." She replied. Mr. Harris turned his narrow eyes to her.
"Miss Rodriguez, while I'm sure you have no trouble using whatever tricks you use to charm and hypnotize the male student body, I'm sure those jackasses over there can speak for themselves," he replied. Mia tightened her jaw and had to force herself to keep from slugging the teacher at that, even more so when she heard a few girls in the crowd snickering.
"Sorry sir," Mia forced out through her clenched teeth.
"I should hope that you are." He replied, sneering at her.
"You tell her, Coach," came a sneer from the crowd, Mia closed her eyes and let out an angry sigh.
"Shut it Lawson," she spat out.
"She's right," Christian spoke up before Mr. Harris had a chance to say anything else to Mia. He let go of Nathan before putting an exaggerated arm around his shoulder. "I was just demonstrating some stunt moves to my good friend Nate here," he said. "Isn't that right, Nate?" He said, crooking his arm a bit so he now had him in a slight headlock though it just looked like a friendly gesture.
"Oh yeah, he's just showing us his moves," Nathan spoke. Mr. Harris blinked.
"Somehow I don't believe any of you, but whatever." He replied. He looked at the crowd. "All right, fun's over. All of you clear out and start your undeserved vacations," he growled before stalking away. Some of the crowd dispersed, leaving only Josh and some of the girls who'd been snickering before.
"Have a great summer, Mia," Josh smirked, before making a condescending kissing noise. Mia shook her head and stalked over to Andy, roughly grabbing his elbow.
"Let's go," she said lowly. They walked over to where Andy's car was parked and Mia rested against the side of it, drawing in a deep breath. "God I hate them." She muttered as she ran her hands over her face. Andy sighed and stood beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Forget about them, it's summer vacation, it's not like you're going to see them again,"
"Not until September," Mia spat out, looking up at Andy with wet eyes, "right?" Andy sighed and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"Everyone forgets stupid shit like this in time, no one's even going to remember that stupid rumor come the fall," he assured her. Mia sighed.
"I really hope you're right." She replied. She was quiet for a few minutes before she stood. "I think I'm gonna walk home and clear my head." She commented.
"You want some company?" Andy asked. Mia smiled.
"What about your car?" She asked. Andy shrugged.
"I'll come back for it later," he said. Mia sighed and shook her head.
"I really just want to be alone right now," she said, wiping away an escaping tear. Andy nodded.
"Okay, but only if you promise to call me later," he said. Mia smiled.
"Deal," she said. Andy nodded.
"All right then," he said. Mia smiled softly and turned away, heading towards the footbridge where the teachers parking lot was. Behind her, she heard Andy get in his car and drive away as she took a step on the footbridge. She noticed Ms. Ford up ahead, stopped just on the other side of the footbridge, looking around cautiously. Mia narrowed her eyes in puzzlement before carefully approaching the beloved educator.
"Ms. Ford?" She asked gently. Kira didn't say anything as Mia stepped up beside her. "Ms. Ford, are you okay?" Mia questioned. Kira held up her hand, silencing Mia.
"You need to get out of here Mia." She replied softly. Just as the words were out of her mouth, there was a loud crash, followed by the wind picking up. The area quickly became dark and Kira closed her hand around Mia's wrist.
"When I say run, we run. Got it?" She questioned, Mia nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, got it," she said, she wasn't sure what was going on but she figured whatever it was, questions could wait. They remained stationary for a moment before Kira spoke.
"Run!" She cried, pulling Mia to the left of where they'd been standing. Only seconds after they moved, the area exploded in a cloud of fire and debris. The explosion propelled the two forward, making them land face forward on the small lawn that sat between the now non existent foot bridge and the parking lot. Kira squeezed her eyes shut as she pushed herself up, her muscles screaming in protest with every move she made. "Get up, hurry," Kira said, grabbing Mia's arm and pulling her up. Mia didn't protest as Kira yanked her to her feet. As the started running towards the parked cars, they heard a menacing chuckle. The cars came into view and just as they were approaching them, Kira's yellow Chevy Cobalt exploded as well. They stopped running and just looked at the carnage.
"Fuck." Kira muttered as she spun around. "All right," she growled, "quit hiding, whoever you are." She looked at Mia. "You better get out of here while you still can."
"What's going on?" Mia questioned, starting to feel thoroughly freaked out.
"It's best you don't stay and find out," Kira replied.
"But its best if she does... Then she can watch her favorite teacher die slowly." Came a soft voice from the clouds of smoke. Kira's head spun to the area where the explosion had occurred.
"Show yourself!" Kira demanded.
"Here's a thought," Mia muttered. "Perhaps calling out the explosion happy freakazoid isn't the best of ideas and we should just get out of here."
"The little girl might be right," the voice chuckled. "Too bad it's too late for that." Mia's eyes narrowed.
"Who you calling a little girl?" She snarled.
"Mia," Kira cut in, slowly getting into a fighting stance, ready to face this stranger, "how about you do the tough girl act later, and get the hell out of here now?" Mia looked at her.
"No way am I leaving you here to fight her alone." She replied, getting into a fighting stance herself. "Thanks to Mr. Harris and some other misogynistic members of the opposite sex, I'm in desperate need to hit something," She added once in her stance. Kira looked at the younger female.
"Just be careful." She whispered. They stood in their fighting stance for a moment before they heard the clicking of high heels coming from the smoke.
"Oh, how cute," came the voice as the figure finally appeared from the smoke and stood before them, "the little girl wants to help teach, I think that's so adorable." Before them stood a tall dark skinned woman with dark caramel colored hair done in an elegant bun at the side of her head. She was dressed in a black ball gown looking dressed that was held up by a satiny looking knot on one shoulder, leaving the other bare. She wore a black mask on her face that, along with the dress, made her look like she just came out of a high society masquerade ball. She stood poised with one hand pressed against her hip, the other hanging limply at her side. She glanced from Kira to Mia, and back again before speaking. "The legendary Kira Ford... I must say, I've been wanting to meet you for a while." She commented, stepping forward.
"Didn't know being a good high school teacher made someone legendary," Kira smirked, not wanting to let on to this stranger or to Mia that she knew what the woman was talking about. The woman's eyes narrowed from behind her mask.
"Don't toy with me, yellow ranger,' she growled. Mia blinked.
"Yellow what now?" She asked, giving her teacher a shocked sideways glance. Kira cast a sideways glance at Mia.
"The evil ones always say the stupidest things." She muttered. She sighed, figuring she might as well drop the pretenses. She looked back at the woman. "Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded. The woman laughed.
"You stupid humans amuse me to no end with your secrets. My name is Vengakix, the evil space queen. And you, are Kira Ford... Former yellow power ranger... Although for some reason, you've picked to keep that a secret." She replied. Kira's eyes narrowed as Mia's simply widened.
"I believe I also asked you what you want, queenie," Kira sneered. Vengakix glared at Kira.
"What any evil space queen wants. To take over the world." She threw her arms up in the air dramatically. Kira rolled her eyes.
"Should've expected as much," she muttered. "So, what, you figured to drop by out of courtesy or something? Or are you really that eager to have your butt kicked?"
"Oh no. This isn't a regular house call. You see, I've made it my goal to destroy anything and anyone who plans to get in my way and stop me from completing my task." She replied.
"K….uh you destroyed the footbridge and her car," Mia said, finally getting over her shock enough to speak, "how exactly were those things getting in your way?" She added in a smart alec tone. Vengakix's eyes slowly moved over to Mia.
"You have no idea what you're talking about you foolish girl. Keep your mouth shut and I may let you work for me." She replied. Mia snorted.
"Though I'm sure it might be a better job offer than working at my parents' diner, sorry, I've got to decline. I've heard evil space queens aren't the best when it comes to asking for references for future jobs and I'm all about the career advancement," Mia replied. "But thanks any way," she said. In a flash, Vengakix was in front of Mia and struck her across the face with such thunderous force; it knocked the girl off her feet.
"Silence, you stupid girl!" Vengakix snarled. Kira lashed out at the strike that Vengakix made. Her foot made contact with Vengakix's solar plexus, sending the evil woman stumbling backwards. Vengakix placed a hand on her chest and glared up at Kira.
"Part of being a good teacher, not letting some freakazoid beat on one of my prized students," Kira sneered. She looked down at Mia. "You okay?" Mia nodded against the hand she had on her sore cheek before slowly climbing up to her feet.
"Peachy." She commented.
"How nice to see that ten years of retirement haven't made you rusty, yellow ranger," Vengakix snarled. "All the more enjoyment and triumph when I destroy you."
"Ok, I've had enough of you." Mia muttered, bringing her hands to her right side. She kept them there momentarily before pushing them forward, a gust of wind shooting out from her palms and catching Vengakix completely off guard, and sending her crashing into a nearby bush. Once Vengakix was down, the wind died down as Mia put her hands down.
"What the hell was that?!" Kira asked, looking at Mia with wide astonished eyes. Mia looked at her.
"What, you didn't think you were the only one with a little secret, did ya teach?" She smirked. Kira was speechless. She shot a glance over at Vengakix's downed form.
"She's gonna be down long... We need to move, now." Kira commented, trying to forget what she'd just seen. Mia nodded.
"Whatever you say, teach," she said. Kira grabbed her arm and the two ran off. After some running, which consisted mostly of Kira tugging Mia along while every so often looking back to make sure they weren't being followed, the two reached a moderately sized singular house at the edge of town. Mia stopped and leaned forward, putting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
"Jeez, what trying to run a marathon here?" Mia said. She looked up after taking a few deep breaths. "Where are we anyway?" She asked.
"My house," Kira answered. "Come on," she said as she walked to the house and stepped onto the porch. She looked back to see Mia still in the place she'd left her. "You coming?" She asked. Mia nodded and jogged to catch up with her.
"Isn't having a student in your house a big no-no?" She questioned. Kira chuckled as she opened up her front door and walked in, holding it open for Mia who followed in behind her.
"I spent a lot of time at my high school science teacher's place when I was your age, there was never a problem there," she said, smirking a bit to herself. "Go on, have a seat," Kira said, gesturing to the couch in the living room. Mia shrugged and did as she suggested. While she took a seat, Kira went to the kitchen and filled a towel with ice before going back to Mia. "Here," she said, handing it to her "put his on your cheek. I'm assuming it hurts a bit." Mia nodded and took the towel.
"Thanks," she said, placing it against her cheek. "Mind telling me what went on out there?" She asked. Kira looked at her.
"Only if you're about to do the same." She replied. She took a seat beside Mia on the couch. "Something tells me what you did out there isn't something you learned at school."
"Wasn't something I learned, period," Mia replied. Kira tilted her head in a sign for her to continue. Mia shrugged. "It's just something I've been able to do…..for as long as I can remember." Kira was silent for a moment.
"So it was genetic?" She questioned.
"Well, not in the sense that like……I got it from my parents or anything. It's not like Lucy, Eddie, Ricky or Tony can do it too, just little ole me," she said. She shrugged. "I really don't know the how or why about it really."
"Does your family know?" Kira asked. Mia laughed.
"Are you kidding? I've lost count of how many times dad's asked me to help out when the AC at the diner's gone kaput." Kira chuckled.
"Seems like it'd be pretty useful sometimes." She mused.
"Uh huh," Mia said. "All right, I've shown and told, now it's time for you to tell," Mia said, lowering the ice from her face to fix Kira with an expectant look. Kira gave her a half smile.
"It's not very exciting to tell. When I was your age, my three best friends and I became power rangers and we fought alongside our science teacher to save the world." She replied.
"Ah, so that's why you spent a lot of time with your science teacher," Mia muttered finally understanding her earlier comment. "All right, well then go rally your team up, morph into your ranger duds and kick that crazy chick's ass," Mia said. Kira grimaced before standing.
"Not that easy." She replied.
"What part? You and your team have a falling out or something?" Mia asked. Kira shook her head.
"No, more like me and my team aren't rangers anymore," Kira replied. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Okay, okay, so you quit the ranger biz. I get it. But I kinda think when a baddie shows up and outright says she plans on 'destroying' you……it's time to dust off the colored suits and come out of retirement."
"No, I mean we're not rangers anymore," Kira repeated. "As in, powers went bye bye ten years ago." Mia looked at her.
"So?" She replied. Kira blinked and looked at her.
"So?" She asked. "It's kind of hard to be power rangers without the power……that'd just make us…..rangers…" She concluded lamely. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Fine, then either move to New York and play hockey or go chase Yogi in some forest somewhere," she said as she got to her feet, "I mean, if you're too scared to fight."
Kira spun around.
"I am not scared to fight!" She exclaimed. Mia crossed her arms over her chest and gave her the most unconvinced look she could muster.
"Oh really?" She asked before giving a small shrug. "Then prove it."
"Well, I think kicking her in the chest after she hit you should count as proof," Kira retorted. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Anyone could have done that." She replied.
"I didn't see you doing it," Kira shot back. Mia grinned.
"I wasn't the one she was after," came her smart reply. Kira sighed.
"Arguing is getting us nowhere." She muttered, running her hands over her face.
"Yeah," Mia agreed. "So why don't we just stop chit chatting, I go on home and leave you to phone up your buds." Mia said as she went towards the door. Kira fixed her with an odd look.
"What don't tell me you're scared," she said. Mia turned to look at her.
"Hell yes, I am," she replied. "So, on that note, good luck Ms. Ford and see you in the fall." Kira sighed.
"Its not exactly safe for you to go back out there you know... This psycho knows who you are now." She commented. "And with what happened out there, chances are the whole you not being the one she was after aspect, isn't exactly an issue anymore." Mia frowned.
"Well, that sucks," she muttered, realizing her teacher had a point. Kira chuckled.
"I'm a teacher...it's kind of in the job description to destroy dreams and whatnot." Kira joked. Mia rolled her eyes.
"So, what am I supposed to do now?" Kira was quiet for a moment.
"Come with me." She commented. Mia considered this for a moment before slowly nodding and going over to Kira. Kira smiled and picked up the abandoned towel of ice. "And keep this on your cheek; you wouldn't want it to swell would you?" Mia rolled her eyes and took the towel of ice.
"Anything else, oh master?" Mia asked. "Would you like me to stand on my head or hop on one foot while I'm at it?" Kira laughed.
"Not right now," she said. Mia grinned.
"If you're sure." She replied. Kira turned around and started walking deeper into the house.
"Come along now," she called back, "don't dawdle." Mia chuckled.
"You sure do love playing the all knowing Yoda figure, don't you?" Mia muttered as she went and followed her teacher. Kira simply chuckled in response. She led Mia to a door located right off the entrance to the kitchen. She opened it to reveal a set of stairs going downward before heading down the stairs. Mia shrugged and followed, placing one hand on the railing and the other holding the ice up to her cheek. "Where are we going?" Mia questioned. "Your secret bat cave or something?"
"Something like that," Kira replied. Mia fixed the back of her head with an odd look but continued following her none the less. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs. Mia's eyes widened and the ice fell out of her limp grasp at what she saw. Before them was a large room that looked to take up the foundation of the entire house. It looked like the base of some high ranking government facility like NASA or something of the sort with computers and monitors lined up against the wall.
"You weren't kidding," Mia breathed out as she took a few steps into the room. Kira grinned.
"Believe it or not, I got the idea from my science teacher back in my ranger days." She replied as she moved forward. She stopped a moment as she thought back to the happy times she shared with her old team, a brief smile coming to her lips before she turned back to Mia. "He was…well, it was a similar situation as this, actually," she said chuckling a bit as a little saying came to her mind—The student becomes the master—Tommy had been a retired ranger and she, Conner and Ethan were a group of stunned teenagers trying to make sense of what was going on. And now, she was a retired ranger…and a high school teacher as well…and there was Mia, a stunned teenager trying to make sense of what was going on. "He was a former ranger too, one of the originals," she supplied, gaining a shocked look from Mia, "he had a set up much like this, like he knew something was coming all those years ago." She shrugged, "I think it's like a sixth sense among retiree rangers. You know when something's not right. You may not know when it's coming…or if it's coming at all and you're just being paranoid…but it never hurts to set up a lair just in case," she smiled. Mia looked at Kira with an incredulous expression.
"A lair?! This puts NASA to shame!" She exclaimed.
"It's not that hooked up," Kira chuckled. Mia blinked quirking an eyebrow at her.
"Fine, maybe not, but it's still….big," Mia replied. "Anyway," she said, shaking her head. "You said you're not a power ranger any more. What good is a lair?" Kira shrugged.
"In all honesty, I figured that being a mentor would be better than nothing.. At least I'd be involved and wouldn't feel so helpless if the end of the world occurred." She replied.
"Okay, but who would you be mentoring?" Mia asked. Kira gave her a look that made Mia's eyebrows shoot up. "No way," she said, shaking her head. "No fricken way, you've got the wrong girl." Kira sighed.
"Believe me; I said the same thing originally." Kira commented. Mia sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm not an evil freakazoid fighter," she insisted. Kira chuckled.
"From what I saw before, you could be," she said. Mia sighed and thought for a moment.
"Just for the sake of not wasting time….there's no way to convince you otherwise, is there?" She asked. Kira smiled and shook her head. Mia groaned. "Well, guess there's no point in arguing then," she said. Kira grinned.
"Good." She replied. Mia opened her mouth to say something when the sound of her cell phone ringing came from her bag. Mia sighed and fished the phone out of her bag and read the display before groaning and hitting the button to answer the call.
"Hello?" She said.
"I thought you said you were going to call me," came Andy's very perturbed voice. Mia rolled her eyes.
"And, when I promised to call you later…..I sort of meant a little later then just half an hour later," she said in an annoyed tone. Andy sighed.
"Haven't you heard the news Mi? There was a huge explosion at the school right after we said goodbye. How would it look to your mom and dad if you died when I was supposed to be driving you home?" He questioned. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Well, Andy I'm obviously not dead, seeing as we're talking on the phone right now," Mia replied.
"Were you hurt or anything?" Andy asked. "I mean……whatever happened, it happened right after I left, so you must've seen something, right?" Mia was quiet for a second. She and Andy had been friends for as long as she could remember. He was like another brother to her and she told him everything. Well, almost everything. At a young age she swore not to tell anyone about her ability outside her family….Which of course was now null in void since her high school teacher knew, but that wasn't the point. She always swore to herself that her powers would be the only thing she wasn't entirely forthcoming to him about. And now, she found herself having to go back on that personal oath. "Mia?" Andy asked, cutting through her thoughts.
"No, Andy, I went the other direction after you drove off. I wasn't anywhere near the footbridge." Andy was quiet for a moment.
"I never said anything about the footbridge," he said, his tone suspicious. Mia's eyes widened. 'Fuck!' she mouthed, which caused Kira to give her an odd look.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Mia squeaked out, unsure how else to reply to Andy. There was silence on the other end of the phone for a minute.
"Mia where are you?" Andy demanded.
"Pfft," Mia quickly scoffed, trying to hide the nervous churning she was feeling in the pit of her stomach, "home, where else would I be?"
"Well I'm not really sure." He countered. "As I'm sitting in your driveway and have been for the past 20 minutes and you've yet to come home." He replied. Mia shot Kira a panicked look, which only increased Kira's confusion as she had no idea what was going on.
"Yo…you're sitting where now?" Mia sputtered.
"In your driveway," Andy replied slowly.
"Why?" Mia questioned. Andy sighed.
"I was worried about you so I figured I'd come by and see how you were doing," he said. "Now, how about you try telling me where you are?" Mia's mind was now going a mile a minute as she tried to think of what to say.
"At my new boyfriend's house," she blurted out.
"Your what's where?" Andy replied, shocked. "Since when do you have a boyfriend, and why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?"
"I'm not required to tell you every thing, Andrew," Mia said coolly, hoping he'd let it go. Andy was shocked. Mia had never kept a secret from him before, so why would she start now.
"That's harsh Mi...Really harsh." He replied, hurt creeping into his voice. Mia closed her eyes and covered the mouth piece of her phone.
"Oh god, oh god," she muttered, wanting to kick herself.
"What's wrong?" Kira asked. Mia gave her an incredulous look.
"This!" She said, waving her phone. "This is what's wrong, Andy's my best friend," she fretted.
"And let me guess...He doesn't know what I know?" Kira ventured. Mia nodded frantically.
"And now he's upset because I'm lying to him! I NEVER lie to Andy!" She replied. Kira sighed and held her hand out.
"Give me the phone," she said. Mia gave her a surprised look. "Just hand it over," she said. Mia slowly gave her the phone.
"……and another thing, I-" Kira heard Andy's angry voice over the phone, indicating that while Mia had started freaking out, he had gone into some sort of rant.
"Andy?" Kira said, trying to break through his stream of words. Andy quickly shut up.
"Ms. Ford?" Andy asked, a little shocked to hear their teacher's voice on Mia's phone.
"Yes, Andy, it's me," Kira said. "Listen, I'm sorry for holding Mia up. I just needed some help sorting some paper work and Mia volunteered to help," she chuckled a bit, "I guess she was a little embarrassed to admit she was helping out a teacher on the first day of summer vacation."
Andy was quiet for a minute.
"Yeah I guess so." He replied, forcing out a laugh. "Well hey, where are you guys? I mean, whatever paper work needs sorting, I'm sure you guys could use an extra pair of hands to help out." Kira frowned and looked at Mia as she carefully covered the mouth piece of the phone.
"He doesn't give up, does he?" She inquired. Mia made an apologetic face.
"Why do you think I never lie to him?" She asked.
"Actually no." Kira replied, taking her hand off the mouthpiece. "We're just finishing up... But thanks for the offer Andy."
"There is no paper work, is there?" Andy said in a knowing tone. Kira sighed and pulled the phone away from her ear, looking down at the device for a moment before promptly hitting a button to end the call.
"Well, that takes care of that," Kira said. Mia looked at Kira.
"Y'do realize he'll just call back right? We've tipped him off now." Mia commented. As if to accentuate her point, the phone began to ring in Kira's hand.
"How do you shut it off?" Kira asked. Mia sighed and took the phone from her, pressing a button on the side of it to shut off the device. Once the ringing had stopped, she sighed.
"And now, I'll have 100 angry voice mail messages to look forward to later," Mia said in a false upbeat tone. Kira looked at her.
"It's better than having to deal with it right now." She replied. "Though, I'm curious, if you two are so close, how come he doesn't know about your ability?" Mia sighed again.
"Well, when we first became friends I was afraid he'd think I was some sort of freak if I told him……and after that, so much time had passed, I was afraid he'd be pissed for not telling him sooner."
"Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation," Kira observed.
"Pretty much," Mia replied. Kira pursed her lips and thought for a minute.
"Maybe it would be best to tell him." She mused out loud. Mia looked at her.
"Maybe when hell freezes over... Now what about calling those friends of yours?" Kira looked at her. "If this baddie is as bad as she seems, I'm kind of thinking they should be in the know, don't you think?" Kira nodded. She knew that Mia was right, but at the same time it meant calling them... As much as she wanted to, she had a feeling that they'd all be in Destruction Bay within hours to try and help out. While the thought was nice, she also knew that they were all leading their own lives, and it wasn't fair to make them leave. "Well?" Mia asked expectantly. Kira looked at her.
"A bit impatient, aren't you?" Kira said. Mia grinned.
"Its one of my finer qualities yes." She replied.
"I'm not calling them now," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's the middle of the day, they're probably all still at work."
"Then leave a message," Mia countered. Kira snorted.
"Oh yes, that's a phone message everyone wants to hear when they get home from a tiring day of work, 'there's a new psycho in town, retired ranger team assemble'," she shook her head.
"You're stalling," Mia said. Kira looked at her. Mia had read her like a book.
"No, I'm not." She replied. Mia looked at her.
"I get it okay; you really don't want to tell them. But you have to. Unfortunailty, you and I can't handle that bitch on our own."
"Well, I don't know how much help a software designer, a high school science teacher, a gallery owner and a soccer coach-slash-gym teacher can be," Kira replied honestly.
"Probably a bit more help than just a high school English and music teacher and a seventeen year old high school student," Mia said with a shrug. Kira sighed.
"Fine." She replied turning around and heading towards a medium sized desk on the far side of the room. On the desk sat a cordless phone in its carrier. She sighed and picked up the phone, pressing the button to turn it on before dialing a number by memory and placing it to her ear. After a few rings she heard the pre recorded voicemail message kick in.
"Hi, you've reached Ethan James, I can't get to the phone right now so please leave me a message after the beep and I'll get back to you when I can," Kira sighed and looked at Mia.
"I got his machine," she said. Mia simply shrugged. Kira sighed again as she heard the beep go off in her ear. "Hey Ethan, it's Kira……uh……….well…….something's come up…….and I sort of need you to call me ba-"
"Hey, hey, sorry, I'm here," came Ethan's voice. "Sorry, stupid head hunters from Microsoft have been calling me a lot lately so I've been screening my calls," he explained. Kira chuckled. She missed Ethan, a lot.
"I can understand that... How are you?" She questioned.
"I'm all right," he said. "Shelly took EJ and Amelia out to the park, so I'm just hanging around doing some work here at the house," he said, referring to his wife and five year old twins. "How about you?" He asked.
"I'm good... Summer vacation started today, and it's been eventful to say the least." She replied.
"Oh?" Ethan asked casually. "What, some dashing graduating senior made a pass at you or something?" He teased. Kira forced out a chuckle.
"No...Something a lot more drastic." She replied somberly. Ethan was quiet for a moment, obviously whatever teasing grin he had on had disappeared.
"I see," Ethan said after a while. "I've been kind of wondering when this call would come," he muttered. "I was actually expecting it to be from Dr. O though." Kira sighed.
"To be honest, I thought that it might have been too... But it happened here, today... She tried to kill me and one of my students." Kira replied.
"I never quite understood how it turned out you and Conner were bit by the teaching bug," Ethan joked, trying to lighten the mood. He sighed. "Are you okay?" He asked. Kira sighed.
"Yeah, we're both fine... Shaken, but alive." She replied.
"That's good," he said. He paused. "So, I'm assuming you're channeling Dr. Oliver and this student of yours knows everything and is most likely standing right by you while we're talking," Ethan said in a sure tone. Kira chuckled.
"You know me so well, Ethe," Kira said.
"Well, I am the genius of our crew," he said. "All right, so tell me a little about this new evil friend of ours."
"She's vicious, that's for sure." Kira replied. "She seems hell-bent on destroying anyone who will get in her way."
"Aren't they always?" Ethan said.
"She seemed to know about us," Kira informed. "She called me the legendary Kira Ford," she said. Ethan chuckled.
"Well you did save the world once more than the rest of us did... Sans Dr. O of course... Then again nobody could hold a candle to him." Ethan laughed.
"Yeah, I guess you've got a point," Kira said. "Anyway, my new buddy here suggested I give you guys all the head's up……..cause……..well……that last time was just a one time thing, I don't have my powers anymore, so we're pretty much up the creek with no paddle…….and we need help."
"That might not be the case," Ethan mused gently.
"What part?" Kira asked.
"Being up a creek," he said. "I told you, ranger sixth sense kicked in and I've been expecting this call, so I figured it might be a good idea to look into power sources, just in case." Kira laughed.
"I always knew you'd do something like that." She replied. Ethan chuckled. "All right, so spill," Kira said expectantly. Ethan chuckled.
"Basically, this new source runs off coins... Do you remember the coin that Tori had on her morpher?" He questioned.
"Uh, yeah," Kira said after a moment, thinking back to when she fought alongside the Overdrive rangers, the last time she saw Tori.
"Well it's very similar to that. All the power will be in that tiny coin." He replied.
"How many?" Kira asked.
"Five," he responded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "one for each of us, of course," he said, a 'duh' hanging in the air. Kira went silent for a while. Finally, after a few minute she spoke.
"I can't ask you to do that." She replied softly.
"You didn't ask," Ethan replied.
"Yeah, but what about Shelly and the kids?" Ethan was quiet for a long moment.
"Good point," he muttered. Kira sighed before shooting a glance at Mia. She covered the mouthpiece of the phone for a moment before speaking.
"This is why I didn't want to call them." She hissed before going back to Ethan. "Ethe...You guys have lives now... You can't just pick up and leave because some psychotic bitch has decided to try and take over the world." She replied.
"Guess we all really have grown up. Fighting freaks wasn't a problem when we were in high school," Ethan sighed. "Now we've got career and families getting in the way," he joked before pausing. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to…" He quickly apologized. Not everyone had families to worry about and he was afraid what he had just said seemed like a jab at Kira. Kira chuckled.
"I knew what you were getting at Ethe...And like I said, I can't ask you guys to do that... We'll just have to figure something out." She sighed.
"Well hang on," Ethan quickly jumped in, taking note of Kira's tone. "You don't actually think we're all going to just say 'good luck and god speed' and leave it at that, do you?" He said.
"Well, I-" Kira began, only to be cut off by Ethan.
"I really hope you don't think I'm sending you these coins through the mail," he chuckled. Kira couldn't help chuckle at that.
"No, I suppose the U.S. postal service wouldn't be a great way to get those babies to me," she said. "So, what are you suggesting?" She asked.
"A little reunion in your neck of the woods," Ethan said, the smile evident in his tone. "You're going to need help setting up whatever you're going to do. It's a good thing summer's starting, I don't see why Conner and Dr. Oliver can't get away from Reefside for a few days, and I'm sure Trent can have one of his fellow pretentious New York artists look after the gallery, and I can just call in some of those sick days I've been stocking up on." Kira blinked.
"Whoa, wait, okay I can get you coming out here…….but getting the whole gang together might be a little dodgy."
"Unless she's got super radar, I'm sure we can dodge this evil chick for a bit." He replied. Kira sighed.
"I just don't think it's-"
"Kira," Ethan cut in with a no nonsense tone. "The four of us will be there to help you out whether you like it or not, so why don't you just save us both the trouble of having this back and forth and stop arguing." Kira pouted.
"I wasn't arguing, I was reasoning," she said. Ethan laughed.
"Well, reason all you want, you're still going to have four house guests by week's end," he said.
Kira chuckled. She knew that there was no point trying to argue anymore with Ethan.
"Fine." She replied. "Do I call the rest of them or are you going to do that?"
"I can call Trent and Dr. Oliver," Ethan said. Kira's eyes narrowed.
"Ethan," she said in a low warning tone, she knew exactly what Ethan was trying to pull.
"Huh, guess that leaves you to call Conner," Ethan said, she could just hear the wide grin he was wearing as he spoke with his innocent tone.
"I hate you... And you're so getting it when you get here." She replied grumpily. She paused as an idea struck her. "Well hey, since Conner and Dr. Oliver are practically neighbors these days, we could just have Dr. O tell Conner," she said brightly.
"Not if I tell Dr. Oliver not to tell Conner because you're going to tell Conner yourself…..along with perhaps some other little tidbits of information that are long overdue……such as….oh I don't know your undying love for our dear friend?"
"Ethan!" Kira growled, causing Mia to jump back a bit. Ethan laughed.
"Oh come on Kir... You've been keeping this a secret for way too long." He commented. Kira sighed.
"Ethan, I really don't think now's the time to discuss that," she said lowly.
"You're right," Ethan replied. "The time to discuss that, with Conner, was ten years ago."
"Drop it," Kira warned.
"Why Kira?" He questioned. "You've had so many opportunities to tell him, and each time you let it just slip by you...If you've been waiting for the right moment, they've all been there for you! Laid out on a silver platter and you keep letting them slide past you! What are you afraid of?" Ethan questioned. Kira sighed and cast a look at Mia. Regardless of what had happened that day, Mia was still her student and it made Kira uncomfortable to have her student listening into this conversation.
"Mia, why don't you go on upstairs to the kitchen and get yourself something to eat?" She suggested. Mia smirked.
"That's okay, I'm not hungry. Besides, whatever it is you and your friend are talking about sure sounds interesting," she said. She could only hear Kira's side of the conversation but could tell whatever topic they were on now was something that rattled her teacher's cage a bit, and she was quite intrigued.
"Is that the student you mentioned earlier?" Ethan asked, having had overheard what Mia said. "I like her," he laughed. Kira rolled her eyes.
"You would." She commented to Ethan before looking at Mia again. "Please Mia... This is a conversation that I really need to have in private." Mia sighed.
"Oh all right," she said before turning around and leaving the room. Once Kira was sure she was gone, she heaved a heavy sigh and returned to her conversation with Ethan.
"All right, Ethe, if we have to talk about this, fine. Now, I'm not afraid of anything, but as far as those silver platter right moments that I let slip by that you mentioned…now which exactly do you mean specifically? Do you mean the right moment I had when he was mooning over Krista? The one where he was then dating Krista? The one right after he and Krista broke up and he was in no state to even hear anything I had to say and more so needed support? The one where he started dating that girl who lived down the hall from him in his dorm or the Swiss exchange student he met in Philosophy class, or that flight attendant he met when he took that semester off to back pack through Europe, or-"
"Okay, okay, I get it," Ethan sighed. "Con's little black book has never exactly been empty. But did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason he goes through enough women to put Hugh Hefner to shame is because he's never found the right one? Oh, and FYI, when I say the right one, I mean YOU!" Kira sighed.
"I really have no idea where you get your information from Ethan... Conner has never had any feelings for me other than friendship." She replied.
"And how do you know that?" Ethan asked.
"Well, he would've said something if he did," Kira reasoned.
"Oh, like you've said something to him?" Ethan countered.
"What's the point in saying anything if you know the person isn't going to say what you want to hear back?" She questioned as she took a seat on the desk.
"You don't know that he won't say it back," Ethan sighed. This had been an argument he'd had with Kira countless amounts of times during their friendship and if it weren't for the fact that he adored her as a dear friend, he'd be rolling his eyes and telling her off out of sheer exasperation.
"Well, if he does feel the same, he's done a great job of hiding it with Krista, Laura, Heidi, Carla, Lorraine, Betsy, Delilah, Zoë, Monica, Shauna, Min, Allison, Kathy, Nadine-"
"Trent, Darrin, Adam…..which, by the way, have I mentioned lately how creepy that one was?...and Christopher," Ethan cut in. "You sure did a good job at hiding your feelings with them too, huh?" Kira sighed.
"Why are you doing this Ethan?" She questioned.
"Because," Ethan began as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're my friend, as is Conner, and I want nothing more in this world than to see my friends happy and I honestly do believe they'd be happy together. Kira sighed.
"I'll think about it...alright?" She questioned. Ethan sighed.
"All right," he said. "How about I call Dr. Oliver and Conner and you call Trent, then?" He figured he'd go a little easy on her. Kira smiled.
"Thanks, Ethe," she said.
"You owe me huge." He replied. Kira chuckled.
"That I do." She replied. Ethan cleared his throat before speaking.
"So how are we doing this? Are you coming to pick us up at the airport, or am I driving everyone in?" He questioned, having been to her house about six months prior.
"Well, I guess it depends on whether you want to drive or if you'd rather fly," Kira said. "I'll most likely have to pick up Trent at the airport anyway, since I don't think he'd stop over in Reefside or Turtle Cove to meet up with you guys when he can just fly directly here."
"Very true." Ethan replied. "I guess it also depends on how much you want to shock our wonderful friends... They haven't seen you since you dyed your hair and started wearing 'teacher' clothing." he joked. Kira chuckled and idly touched a strand of her dark brown hair that was over her shoulder.
"I doubt it'll be that shocking," she said. "Besides, what do you mean, teacher clothing?" She frowned. Ethan chuckled.
"I remember when I came up there last... Instead of your former attire, you were wearing grey slacks that had been ironed, and a very fancy teacher style blouse...The guys won't be used to that." He replied.
"Ethan, I'm nearly thirty years old. I doubt the guys actually expect me to still be sporting fishnet arm warmers and all the other rocker gear I used to wear," she said.
"Geez quit making yourself sound so old. We're only 28," Ethan chuckled. Kira sighed.
"I know... But I'm trying to tell you that none of us are the same anymore." She replied. "I think you are the shining example of that, Mr. Dad," she said. Ethan chuckled.
"So what?" He joked.
"I'm just saying, we're all grown ups now, some change is expected," she said.
"All right, whatever," Ethan said. "Well, I better go ahead and call our Reefside buds before Shell and the kids get back, don't know what I'd say to her if she overheard anything," he said.
"You mean you wouldn't tell her the truth yet you want me to tell Conner?" She kidded. She could practically hear him rolling his eyes.
"K, me telling my wife that I used to run around in blue spandex and fight evil creatures….huge…….you telling the love of your life that he is, well, the love of your life, not so huge. Let's try to keep things in perspective, eh?" Kira laughed.
"Alright, I can do that." She replied. "Give me a call back when you figure out what's going on with when you guys are getting here." She commented.
"Will do," he said. "And I'll make sure to send Conner your love," he teased.
"Funny," Kira said dryly. Ethan simply chuckled before the two bid their farewells and she hung up before dialing Trent's number.
--
Upstairs, Mia sat in Kira's kitchen, staring at her phone. Out of curiosity, she turned it back on and saw her screen light up telling her she had new voice mail. She sighed and dialed in to check it.
"You have fifteen new messages," gave the pleasant automated voice.
"Fifteen?" Mia muttered, shocked.
"First new message," the voice continued.
"……..You did not just hang up on me……I cannot believe you just hung up on me!" Andy's voice yelled.
"Second new message," the voice stated.
"Here I am, sitting in your driveway for twenty minutes because I'm such a good friend, and what do you do? You lie to me, and then have the nerve to hang up on me!" Andy's voice continued. Mia pulled the phone away from her ear and shook her head before deleting messages one through fourteen.
"Maybe he has something intelligent to say on the last one." She grumbled.
"Last new message," the automated voice said. Mia sat back as she heard Andy heave a heavy sigh in her ear.
"Mia, okay I'm sorry for getting all frantic on you here but……..I know something's going on, and I'm worried. I know you'd never deliberately keep something from me like this, so whatever this is it's got to be pretty huge and that's what worries me. You've never lied to me before, and I'm racking my brain to try and figure out why the hell you'd start now." Mia closed her eyes at the hurt she could hear in his tone. She heard him sigh again. "Just call me back, okay?"
"End of messages," the automated voice concluded. Mia sighed and ended the call before hitting #1 on her speed dial and bringing the phone back to her ear.
"Was wondering when you'd call," came the greeting after a few rings. Mia sighed.
"Andy, I'm so sorry," she nearly sobbed out.
"Woah woah woah... Don't cry hun." He replied with worry in his voice. Mia's voice hitched as she felt all the stress from the day finally crash down on her.
"I should've just ridden home with you, I was such an idiot," she babbled.
"It's okay, whatever it is, it's okay," Andy soothed. Mia sighed.
"No, it's really not." She replied.
"Okay, why don't you just tell good old Andy what's on your mind. Whatever it is, I'll help you sort it out," he told her gently. Mia nodded.
"Okay," she squeaked out, holding in a sob. "But…..not over the phone…….we need to meet up."
"All right, tell me where you are and I'll come get you," Andy said.
"No," Mia insisted. She wanted to get out of Kira's house. Before she was too shocked to really react at how scary all of this was but it was now there in her mind and she wanted to leave. "I…..let's just meet half way, all right? I'm not too far from the beach."
"Yeah of course. I'll meet you at the beach in 15?" He asked.
"Make it ten and there's an ice cream cone in it for you," Mia joked gently. Andy laughed.
"Hmm, obey speed limits or ice cream cone…….obey speed limits or ice cream cone……." He muttered. "I'll see you in ten," he said. Mia smiled.
"Thanks, And," she said softly.
"Anytime Mimi." He replied before hanging up. Mia shut off her phone and shoved it in her bag before getting up. She quickly walked to the door to the basement and poked her head in, to see if there was any chance that Kira was coming up.
"….Yeah, Trent, the chick was scary," she heard Kira's voice echo from the lair. Mia gave a grateful sigh at the fact that she was preoccupied with her phone conversation to wonder about her whereabouts. She quickly made her way to the front door and carefully opened it, making sure to make no sound that could alert her teacher. Mia slowly closed the door behind her and then hurried off in the direction of the beach. She soon made the half of mile trek to the beach and scanned the parking lot for Andy's car. It wasn't there yet so she figured to just wait for him on the beach. She walked out onto the sand and sat down a few feet away from the shoreline as she waited for him to arrive. She only waited a few minutes before she heard a car door slam and footsteps behind her. After a moment, Andy sat down next to her.
"K, I'm here with time to spare," Andy said, smiling gently, "where's that ice cream cone?" Mia turned her head and smiled at him. She moved over slightly so that she was closer to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Uh oh," Andy said, putting an arm around her, "the head on the shoulder….this must be huge," he said. Mia sighed.
"Andy….you know what you said about me never deliberately keeping something from you?" She asked. "Well, that's not…entirely true."
"Hey, it's okay. I get it," he said. Mia lifted her head a bit and gave him a questioning look.
"Get what?" She asked. Andy shrugged.
"I mean……Kinda confused why you were hesitant to tell me though," he said. "I mean, hello, I came out to you so what makes you think I'd be less than understanding if you did the same."
"Huh?" Mia asked, thoroughly confused.
"Though….Ms. Ford? I mean….I guess she's pretty but….babe, you've got to be careful when it comes to that. I mean, suppose someone found out? Can you say Mary Kay Letourneau……only…okay, a bit saucier," he kidded, giving her a wink.
"Andy, what the hell are you talking about?" Mia asked.
"You coming out as a lesbian of course." He replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Mia sat up straight.
"Me doing what as a huh now?" She sputtered out. Andy gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"Hey, its okay hon, I'm here for you," he said.
"You're insane." She commented as she shook her head. "I'm not a lesbian."
"Mi, its okay, be proud of it," he said. Mia gave him a hard look.
"Andy, listen to me carefully," she said, "I. Am. Not. A. Lesbian. Do you understand me?" She said. Andy met her gaze for a long moment before heaving out a long relieved sigh.
"Oh thank god, was getting a little worried there. I mean….not that I wouldn't be supportive if you were…but checking out people on the boardwalk just wouldn't be the same any more. I mean, I wouldn't be able to provide my two cents on your picks, you wouldn't be able to comment on mine…it'd be like we're from two different planets." Mia shook her head, laughing.
"Andy, you're such a weirdo." Andy grinned.
"Gotta do what ya gotta do!" he replied. "All right, so……if that's not why you were with Ms. Ford……then why were you? And don't give me the line about helping her with paper work," he said. Mia sighed.
"It's a long story….Just….I need to tell you something else first….Something I should've told you years ago." Andy gave her an odd look.
"You're not going to tell me you're in love with me, are you? Cause…well…honey, though I love you….it's not like that….You're kind of missing an important body part for-"
"Andy!" Mia groaned. "Just shut up and listen, will you?" Andy's mouth slowly closed and he nodded. "Thank you," she sighed. She took a deep breath as she tried to figure out how to tell him her deepest secret, the only secret she'd ever kept from him. "I……I'm not exactly what you'd call normal," she said.
"Well, yeah, but neither am I. That's why we get along so great," Andy smiled. Mia gave him a look. "Oh, whoops, sorry, shutting back up now."
"What I mean is…..I'm really not normal. And I don't just mean in a quirky original kind of way." Andy sat back and waited for her to continue. "I….have special powers," she hesitantly said after a long pause. Andy's eyebrows shot up.
"What?" He breathed out, shocked beyond compare. Mia nodded.
"Yeah... I guess it might be easier for me to show you." She commented. She looked around them until she saw an abandoned beach ball on the sand a few feet away from them. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Suddenly, the formerly calm breeze around them turned into a rough wind that picked up the beach ball and made it dance in the air. The wind blew the ball all over the place until it finally dropped the object in the crashing waves. She opened her eyes and looked at the beach ball floating amidst the tide. "See?" She asked. Just a second after she said that, the tide, which had been receding, suddenly changed direction and moved forward carrying the beach ball in a wave. Mia watched as the tide rolled in closer and closer to them, deeper into the beach than it had been before until it finally came down about a foot away from them, leaving the beach ball right back on the sand where Mia had found it. "…What the?" She muttered.
"…..Surprise," came a meek voice beside her. Her head slowly turned as she looked at Andy.
"Guess I'm not the only one who was hiding something." She mused. Andy looked down.
"I'm sorry Mi, I wanted to tell you, I really did, I was just-"
"Scared I'd think you were a freak of nature?" She provided. Andy nodded. "Yeah, ditto," she said. Andy chuckled.
"Man, I knew we had stuff in common but…….this just takes the cake," he said. He looked at her. "Though, kind of surprised you never caught onto my secret," he said.
"What do you mean?" Mia asked. Andy smiled.
"All the times you've watched me surf…….it never occurred to you to question why sometimes, even on the calmest of days…..I still somehow would managed to find myself the killer waves…..killer waves that were nonexistent before?" Mia chuckled, shaking her head.
"I always thought it was just…….I don't know……surfer's luck?" She said with a shrug. Andy snorted.
"Man, I wish." He replied. "Does anyone else know?" He asked.
"Just my family," Mia replied, "……well, and Ms. Ford, now," she added. Andy looked at her.
"Just how exactly did that one come out?" he asked. Mia sighed.
"After you drove off, I got on the footbridge-"
"So you were there," Andy mused.
"I got on the footbridge," Mia continued, unfazed, "and I saw Ms. Ford…….she looked weird, like…..freaked out almost. So I went over to figure out what was wrong. Next thing I know, she's telling me to run, the sky gets a bit darker, we make it like barely a foot off the bridge when it's blown to smithereens."
"Were you hurt?" Andy asked, worriedly. Mia shook her head.
"So, we go to run to her car……..and then that's blown to bits too." Andy looked at her.
"Seems like you two have the greatest of luck." He said. "So…was there a reason for all these things blowing up or did you guys just break a lot of mirrors lately?"
"There was this woman…..she looked like she missed the exit to the nearest goth ball or something."
"Talking about me, are you?" Said a voice. Both Mia and Andy spun around. There, elegantly poised just liked Mia had seen her before, stood Vengakix.
"Shit," Mia said, scrambling up to her feet and pulling Andy up along with her.
"Who's the freak?" He questioned. Vengakix narrowed her eyes at him.
"And, meet Vega-whatever-the-hell-her-name-is-pain-in-my-ass," Mia said, watching the woman with a wary gaze, ready to hit her with a gust of wind again if need be. "Vega-whatever-the-hell-your-name-is-pain-in-my-ass, meet Andy." Vengakix looked at Mia.
"Do you really think I care if you pathetic humans have names?" She questioned.
"Figured I'd be polite and do the proper introductions," Mia smirked.
"It won't matter when I kill you both... Tell me, where can I find that foolish teacher of yours?" She demanded. Mia shrugged.
"Beats me, we went our separate ways after I knocked you on your ass," Mia replied. Once again, in a flash, Vengakix was before Mia and before Mia could make a move or say a word, the villainess's perfectly manicured hand gripped Mia's neck, lifting the girl a few inches off the ground.
"You're lying," she hissed.
"Mi!" Andy went to grab Vengakix's shoulder to pull her away but Vengakix simply swatted him with her free hand, as if shooing away a common house fly, the force of the hid sent him sprawling back at least two feet. He crashed to the ground, slightly dazed. He shook his head and watched as Vengakix threatened to crush Mia's neck.
"I don't think so." He muttered, climbing to his feet. He drew his arms to the side of his body and closed his eyes for a moment. After a few seconds, he trusted his arms outwards and a blast of water shot out of his palms. The stream of water hit Vengakix directly in her side, slamming her into the side of the rocky cliff that overlooked the beach and making her lose her grip on Mia's neck, who stumbled down to the sand in a gasping and coughing heap. Andy quickly ran over to her and pulled her up to her feet. "You okay?" He asked. Mia simply nodded.
"We gotta go, now," she choked out. Andy nodded as they took off running to the parking lot. They soon made it to Andy's car.
"Go, go, go, get in!" Andy said frantically as he went to open the driver's side door while Mia went around to the passenger side. The two tore open the respective doors and jumped in the car, pulling the doors shut and locking them. "We've got to go to the police or something," Andy muttered as he started up the car and sped away.
"Andy, the cops aren't going to be able to help us with that, I don't think," Mia replied, casting careful looks at the rearview mirror to ensure they weren't being followed.
"Then where the hell are we supposed to go!?" He cried.
"Ms. Ford's house," Mia replied.
"Okay, Mi, if the cops can't help us, what the hell makes you think our English teacher can?!" Mia sighed as she ran her hands over her face.
"She's a former power ranger." Mia nearly slammed into the dashboard when Andy's foot slammed onto the brakes.
"She's a what?!" He asked, turning to her with wide eyes.
"Andy! Keep driving!" She commanded. Andy relaxed for a moment before hitting the gas again. Mia sighed. "She's a former power ranger." She stated again. Andy shook his head.
"This is starting to get a little too crazy, even for me, babe," Andy muttered.
"Just keep driving and stay calm and there'll be an ice cream cone in it for you," Mia said. Andy chuckled and shook his head.
"All right, well, you need to navigate for me." Mia smiled.
"Turn left here and then go straight until you get to a house."
"A house? Can't you be a bit more specific? There could be tons of houses this way," Andy said as he turned the wheel.
"Trust me, there aren't," Mia chuckled.
"Right. I simply forgot that our English teacher is Batman and lives in the middle of nowhere." He muttered. Mia snorted.
"You're not too wrong there," she muttered. Andy shook his head and kept driving, sure enough they came to Kira's house……..and there was Kira, standing the porch.
"She looks pissed," Andy observed.
"Well I kinda took off without telling her..." Mia trailed off.
"Since when is Ms. Ford your mom?" Andy replied.
"You two, get out of the car, now," Kira's voice commanded.
"…Why's she pissed at me? What'd I do?" Andy hissed. Mia shrugged.
"Did you not hand it some homework this past semester or something?" She teased as she climbed out of the car. Andy snorted.
"Is duh a suitable answer?" He questioned. He sighed and got out of the car before looking up at Kira. "Hello Ms. Ford, so nice to see you," he said casually.
"Shut the hell up Andy." She snapped. Andy's eyes widened and he took a step back before looking at Mia.
"Dude, Ms. Ford just yelled at me….Ms. Ford never yells at anyone…."
"Ms. Ford is extremely pissed at your best friend." She replied before looking at Mia. "What were you thinking Mia? You could have been killed!" She exclaimed.
"Ah, no worries there, good old Andy was on hand to save the day," Andy said, puffing out his chest. Mia threw a glare his way.
"Shut up," she hissed. The last thing she needed was for Kira to know they had had an encounter with Vengakix. There was no part of Mia that wanted to hear 'I told you so' from her teacher. Kira turned and looked at Andy.
"What are you talking about?" She questioned.
"I saved her from Vega-whatever-the-hell-her-name-is-pain-in-Mia's-ass," Andy replied, his ego still up. He had saved his best friend from some murderous weirdo; he felt like a superhero and was posturing as such.
"And, shut it," Mia hissed again. Kira sighed.
"So she found you then." She commented out loud. Mia rolled her eyes.
"Thanks ever so much, Andy," Mia said before looking at Kira. "Yes, she found me, fine you were right, happy?" Kira was silent for a minute.
"Get in the house." She commented, all traces of anger gone. Mia sighed and made her way toward the porch.
"All right, uh, Mi, I'm just going to go…..don't worry if your parents call looking for you, I'll tell them you're with me," he said. Mia looked back at him before chortling a bit.
"Uh, where do you think you're going?" She asked. Andy gave her a perplexed look before shrugging.
"Home, why?" He said. Mia shook her head before taking a few steps towards him.
"The chick exhibited murderous intent to me, and I just knocked her into a bush. What do you think she has in mind for the guy who practically water hosed her into a wall of rocks?" She asked. Kira's head spun to the side and looked at Andy.
"You have powers too?" She questioned. Andy's mouth fell open for a moment before his eyes narrowed at his dear friend.
"Blabber mouth," he muttered.
"Consider it payback," Mia replied. Kira slowly approached Andy.
"Water?" She questioned. Andy sighed before nodding slowly. She looked at Mia. "And wind," she muttered.
"Heh, yeah now we just need earth, fire and heart and we can call on Captain Planet to deal with that crazy bitch," Andy joked.
Kira rolled her eyes.
"Ok, both of you in the house...Now please." She commented. Mia and Andy slowly nodded and made their way to the house.
"Hey, didn't they have rings for that?" Mia questioned as the two of them walked up on the porch. Andy shrugged.
"We're too cool for rings, I guess," he said. Kira rolled her eyes as she followed them inside. Once the three were inside, Kira shut and locked the front door.
"Mia, take Andy downstairs...I'll be there in a minute." She commented. Mia sighed.
"Yes master," she said, rolling her eyes. "Come on And, I'll show you the bat cave," she said as she went towards the basement with Andy following behind her.
"Master, eh?" Andy teased. "Sure you two aren't-Oomph!" Andy's ribbing was cut off by Mia elbowing him in the gut. "Owww Mi! That hurt." He whined.
"Oh don't be such a baby," Mia said as the two disappeared down the basement. Kira sighed.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into," she muttered to herself.