A/N: Hey, everyone! Here's the first actual chapter, as promised! Please review and tell me what you think of my AU, and I promise that more of the Green Ranger's legend will be revealed later on in the story, so don't worry! Here's to hoping that you like this!
Chapter 1: The Rangers Meet
Now
Terra opened the last box in her room, wiped her hands on her jeans, and adjusted her red top again as she sighed. She had just moved to Angel Grove a week before, and she was in the last stages of unpacking her things and organizing her room. She looked outside and decided to stop for the day and go outside. She grabbed her purse and phone and walked to the front door, calling out to her mother, "Mom! I'm going out!"
"All right, sweetie! Be back by nightfall!" her mother's voice called from further in the house.
Terra made sure that her shoelaces were tied before walking out the door to find a straight blonde haired, fair-skinned girl wearing a white shirt with jeans and tennis shoes standing outside her door, her finger over the doorbell.
"Hi! Are you the new girl who just moved in?" the girl asked.
"Yeah. My name's Terra. What's your story?" Terra replied, not knowing what to think of this girl.
"I'm Tayla. I live across the street," the girl explained. "I was coming over to invite you to come with me to the youth center to hang out with me and my friends. Wanna come?"
Terra smiled and replied, "Sure! I was just heading out anyway!" The two girls began walking to the youth center, and Terra said, "I just have to be home by nightfall."
"The other grownups got to your mom, then?" Tayla asked.
"What do you mean?"
"There's a local legend that if you go out after dark, a lion with gold armor and wings takes you away and you are never seen again. No one believes it, though. It's just something that the grown-ups made up to make sure their kids are home by suppertime."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
"What do YOU mean?"
"My family, down my line of the tree, all have magical abilities, all the way back to before the Salem Witch Trials. One of my ancestors was a tried witch during those trials. Of course, the real witch was her sister, but nevertheless, she was declared guilty. She hanged the next day."
"That's awful."
"Eh, it's not unusual for people to be afraid of that which they don't understand. Besides, I don't have my powers yet, although my mom says that they should have shown themselves by now."
"You mean that you're a witch who can't use magic?"
"Not yet. Hopefully, I find out what they are soon. The suspense is KILLING ME!"
"Well, in any case, we're here! Welcome to Angel Grove Youth Center, home of Ernie's Juice Bar and Gym! Of course, a few years ago, two local guys named Bulk and Skull took over when Ernie died. They mainly run the juice bar, and another guy named Tommy runs the gym." Tayla led Terra inside and gave her a basic tour. "Here's the gym, which is free and open to anyone. There are various classes here for varying athletic interests held here every day, so make sure to check the bulletin board for dates and times. There's a karate class here that one of my friends is going to in about forty-five minutes that's being held by Jason, a friend of Tommy's. Classes are free, but the equipment you must have for the classes are not. Just to let you know. Here's the juice bar, where Bulk and Skull make the best drinks in the whole city!" She then saw a group of people at a round table and recognized them as her friends. "Hey, guys!" She turned her attention back to Terra and said, "Well, that's the tour! Here are my friends Daniel, although we call him Dan; Trina; Dorian; and David." She gestured to a boy with fair skin wearing a black shirt and jeans, an Asian girl wearing a pink gymnastics leotard under her usual clothing, a boy with dark skin wearing a yellow shirt under a karate gi, and a boy with slightly tan skin with a blue shirt and intelligent eyes as she introduced each person.
"Hi, everyone," Terra greeted, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. "I'm Terra. I'm new here in Angel Grove."
David noticed her feelings of being overwhelmed and said, "Hey, it's all right. We won't force anything on ya. How about I buy you something?"
"Does this place have a good smoothie?" Terra asked.
"Are you allergic to blueberries, strawberries, or bananas?" David asked in return.
"Nope, I don't really have any allergies."
"Hey, Skull! Could I get a blueberry-strawberry-banana smoothie?"
Skull, a lanky man with black, greasy hair and a few piercings, called back, "Sure thing, David!"
"Would you like to sit with us?" Dorian asked.
"I would, actually," Terra replied with a smile.
She sat at the table, and the group began to make friendly conversation. Her smoothie came, and David paid for it, even though Terra told him that it wasn't necessary.
"A gentleman's gotta do what he must to make a newcomer feel welcome," he insisted, and she gave in.
They continued talking, and Dorian convinced Terra to come with him to his karate class, and she told them about her powers. About ten minutes before the class started, a fat boy and a skinny boy came up to them and looked intently at Terra.
"Oh, no, not Wrecker and Bones," Trina groaned, annoyance showing on her face.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the fat boy, whom Terra assumed was Wrecker, asked his skinny companion.
"It looks like a pretty new girl, Wrecker," the skinny boy, whom Terra assumed to be Bones, replied.
"Leave her alone, you two," Tayla told them, standing up and getting in their faces. "I doubt that she would want to meet you."
"And pray tell why? What wrong is there in greeting a new girl in town?" Wrecker asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" Bones mimicked.
Wrecker gave Bones a dirty look, and Bones shut up.
"Look, I'm sure that you two are⦠somewhat decent people, but I'm already talking to these guys," Terra said with a hard tone.
Wrecker would not give up until a chubby man from behind the counter walked up to the confrontation and said to Terra, "Are these two bothering you? 'Cause I can make them go away."
"Please do," Terra replied.
The man lunged towards Wrecker and Bones, and they ran off. He turned back towards Terra and held his hand out. "I'm Bulk. If these two ever bother you again, tell them Bulk sends his regards."
Terra shook his hand and said, "Thank you, Bulk. I'll remember that."
Bulk said, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but this juice bar doesn't run itself!" He then left after saying to the others, "Take good care of this one, guys." He then walked back to the juice bar and began working again.
Dorian looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time for the class. Terra, you coming?"
Terra nodded and followed Dorian to a matted area of the floor with a stage in front. On the mats were students with gis, and on the stage was a young man with a red shirt and sweatband. Terra and Dorian stood at the front of the class, and Terra sensed something odd about the man on the stage, although she couldn't quite place it.
"Okay, class, before we begin, I see that we have a new face in the crowd today. Would you like to introduce yourself to us, young lady?" the man said, looking at Terra at the end.
Terra nodded and said, "I'm Terra. I just moved here to Angel Grove."
"Welcome, Terra," the man replied. "My name is Jason, I am the sensei for this class." He turned his attention to the class and said, "We will refresh the basics today, then we will break off into our week groups to practice what we've already learned."
They all did so, and during the week group breakup, Terra found herself alone. She went through the basics that Jason had taught the class, and she occasionally found herself making a mistake. She only grunted and tried again each time. Jason, after walking through everyone else, got to Terra last. There were ten minutes left in the class, and he decided to try to catch her up with another group so that she wouldn't be alone again. He noticed the conviction that she would do each of the poses that he had taught and noticed that she wasn't allowing herself any mistakes.
"Hey, you're trying too hard, Terra," Jason said, placing his hand on her shoulder as she made the last pose. "Try to relax. The poses should come more naturally. Right now, it looks forced on you. Try again."
Terra nodded, relaxing a little and trying again, realizing how much better she was doing it when she relaxed. Jason watched her and noticed a spark of magic run down her arm when she made a punching pose. His face turned into one of pensiveness and worry for half a second before regaining his composure.
"See?" Jason asked her when she was finished again. "It's much better now. Just remember that karate is not meant to be forceful, but a way to fight back when someone attacks you. The more stressed you are, the more it shows in your moves. Try to take a few deep breaths while you're doing it, and you'll relax a little more. Okay?"
"Okay, Jason," Terra replied, the first words she had spoken to him since she had introduced herself at the start of class.
"Hey, it's perfectly fine not to be perfect on the first day of class. We all are beginners when we first start. It takes practice and determination to get better, and you certainly have a lot of determination," Jason assured her as he put a hand on her shoulder again.
Just then, a clock chimed, and he said, "All right, class, that's all the time for today. Just remember to come to me if you're still having trouble, and keep practicing! Have a good day! And don't forget that we're having a martial arts competition and festival in two weeks, so be ready!"
Terra was about to leave when Jason said, "Can I talk to you a moment?" Terra walked back, and Jason said, "I know you're new here, so I wanted to tell you that a few friends and I are holding a back-to-school party here later. I think it'll be a great way for you to get acquainted with the students of Angel Grove High before school even starts, although it looks like you already made a few friends," he continued, looking at the group that was waving Terra over. "You better get back to your new friends. Trust me, sometimes high school friendships last forever."
Terra nodded and said, "I'll remember that, Jason," and went back to her new friends.
Tayla said, "Wow, Jason must be a good teacher, Terra."
"He's a good person, too," Terra replied. "He just told me about the back-to-school party later. Do you guys know how late it goes?"
"It starts at 5:00 if I'm correct," Dan said.
Terra checked her phone to see when sundown was and saw that she would be able to make it for a couple of hours. "I can stay for a while when the party starts, but I can't stay 'till the end. My mom wants me back home before sundown."
