Never Say Never
Chapter 3 - Bruised
Original Posting Date: April , 2009
--
Asleep and dreaming peacefully, Adam Park rolled over in bed with a smile on his face and reached out for something that was not there. His arm fell loosely onto the mattress, causing his eyes to flutter open slightly as he drifted from dreamland back into reality; a reality that quite frankly sucked if you were to ask Adam. Tanya was gone, off singing her heart out to thousands of screaming fans every night for most of the next four months, leaving Adam feeling alone not just physically, but emotionally as well.
He hated her job more than anything, but loved the woman she was just the same. Their road back to each other had been odd, to say the least, coming at a time where Adam had reached a crossroads in his life, not knowing which direction to take. A small smile crossed his lips once more as he remembered that day like it had just been yesterday.
It was a little over three years back, on a Sunday afternoon in late August. Adam was walking in front of Bunche Hall on the University of California Los Angeles campus, his head hanging low and his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his denim shorts. He wore a black tee shirt and dark sunglasses, a black baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, hiding what little remained from the curly shoulder-length locks he had just chopped off a few days prior.
His mind was wandering as it had been doing quite frequently for some time now, wondering what he was going to do with his life. He was only twenty-one, but could not help that nagging in the back of his head, telling him he needed to figure things out sooner rather than later. So distracted in his thoughts, he did not notice the two people passing alongside him, chatting away while oblivious to his very existence. The two equally distracted parties collided with each other, causing Adam to trip and fall, his butt landing hard on the sidewalk.
For a brief moment he was angry, but then he saw who it was and felt every ounce of irritation evaporate in an instant. The same could be said for the person he had run into, who looked poised to strike with a vengeance only to break out in a bright smile when she set her sights on Adam. They locked eyes in silence, remaining that way for nearly a full minute before both burst out into laughter, shaking their heads as they got back onto their feet.
"Oh man, my bad, Tanya," said Adam, as he approached her, ignoring the bald, African-American man standing a few feet away with a physique so muscular that Adam reasoned he must have lifted weights in his sleep. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tanya replied, still laughing as she gave his shoulder a friendly pat. "What are you doing here? Do you go to school here?"
Turning to face Bunche Hall, Adam eyed the building for a few moments, returned his eyes to Tanya, and shook his head wistfully. "No, not anymore at least," he answered, unable to mask his disappointment. "What about you? God, it's been so long, I don't even know what you've been up to."
Tanya smiled. "Yeah, it has been awhile, hasn't it?" Adam just nodded his agreement as she added, "It's a long story, but I just signed my first record deal a few months ago, and I'm doing some promotional tours at different college campuses all over California. Tonight it's UCLA."
"You signed a record deal? Wow, Tanya, that's awesome!" said Adam, genuinely happy for his old friend and teammate. "Maybe I'll come check you out tonight. Where and what time are you playing?"
"Yeah, you should definitely come by," Tanya answered, her smile even brighter now. "I go on at seven-thirty in Schoenberg Hall. If only I knew where the hell Schoenberg Hall is," she laughed. "My manager's running late so I asked my cousin Tony to show me around."
Though he kept it inside, Adam breathed a deep sigh of relief upon hearing that. His first thought upon seeing the hulking behemoth was that he was Tanya's boyfriend, and the mere idea of her with someone else after he had let her go was enough to make his stomach wrench.
"I can show you where it is," Adam offered, trying not to sound too eager, but failing miserably.
"Oh, would you?" said Tanya, touching Adam's forearm. "That would be so great! We've been walking around for damn near an hour and still haven't been able to find the place!"
Feeling a million times better already, Adam nodded and said, "Yeah, sure, no problem."
Grinning widely, Tanya turned to her cousin and said, "T, do you mind if I go with Adam for a bit? We went to high school together back in Angel Grove and it's been forever since we've seen each other."
Tony seemed to size Adam up, narrowing his eyes at the former Power Ranger; then he turned to Tanya and asked a very simple question, that came out more like a grunt than coherent speech. "He good peoples?"
"The best," Tanya answered, shooting a discreet wink Adam's way that left him smiling from ear to ear.
After a few moments, Tony seemed to relent, as with a nod he said, "Yeah, alright." Then he turned to Adam and added, "You best take care of her. Don't be tryin' none of that smooth suburban shit on my cousin."
Stifling the urge to laugh while simultaneously fighting off his smile, Adam held up his hands in defense and said, "Hey, you don't have to worry about me, man. I don't know anything about that smooth suburban shit."
Watching while Tanya bade farewell to her cousin, Adam felt his spirits suddenly start to soar. Running into her, of all people, had been the last thing he had expected when the day had begun, and that in itself had been enough of a pleasant surprise, but now that he was actually going to be spending real time with her it was like he had gone from rock bottom straight to the top of the world.
Once Tony had turned to walk away, Tanya approached Adam's side and they followed suit in the opposite direction. For awhile they just walked, neither speaking because neither really knew what to say. They had not seen each other since the end of summer after they had graduated high school, Tanya accepting a scholarship to Juilliard in New York City while Adam stayed behind to pursue his budding career as a stuntman. Three years later, he was certain she would have remained in Angel Grove had he given her a reason to, but instead he kept his feelings to himself and watched her leave without even putting up a fight, and was still kicking himself in the ass for it.
They had walked in silence for nearly five minutes when finally Tanya turned to Adam and said, "So what have you been up to since I left? Stunt-doubling for the Tom Cruise's of the acting world, I assume?"
Adam chuckled and shook his head. "I wish. I haven't worked with anyone that big yet. The real truth about working in Hollywood is that it's not what you know, but who you know. That's kind of why I came here today. Being a stunt guy's just not what I thought it would be, so I've really been thinking a lot recently about going back to school. I spent two years getting my A.A. at Angel Grove Community, but an A.A. will only get you so far, you know?" Tanya nodded as Adam continued, "I figure if I go back full-time I can have my business degree in two, maybe two and a half years, so I think that's what I'm going to do."
"Business, huh? That's impressive," Tanya commented with a smile. "What do you want to do once you get your degree?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Adam gave a half-sigh and replied, "I'm not really sure, to be honest. When we were kids Rocky and I always used to talk about how we were going to open a dojo together when we grew up, but he's off in the Army now so it doesn't look like that's going to happen. I dunno, maybe I'll open my own dojo by myself."
"Well, I think you should," said Tanya, firmly. "You were always great with the kids in the Youth Center. Take that and add in a business degree and you've got everything you need to run your own school."
Adam grinned the grin that Tanya loved seeing so very much, his eyes squinting ever so slightly, as though he was embarrassed to be smiling. "Yeah, I guess so," he murmured, nodding his agreement. The silence came back once more as they progressed closer to the Schoenberg Hall, but this time Adam did not allow it to linger. "What about you?" he continued. "I mean, obviously you're about to become a huge singer, but what were you doing before that?"
Tanya laughed. "I don't know about becoming a huge singer," she replied, shaking her head. "It's not like I signed with Interscope or Def Jam or anything like that. It's a small, independent label, so I'm kind of just taking baby steps right now, but hopefully it will lead to something more down the line. As far as what I was doing before this: I graduated from Juilliard last year and was the afternoon DJ at a hip-hop and R&B station in New York up until a few months ago. The owner of the label I signed with found me at a bar singing karaoke with a couple of my girlfriends one night and that was that."
"Must have been some damn good karaoke," said Adam, he and Tanya sharing another laugh as they approached a building with a banner hanging from the room that proclaimed it as the UCLA Theatre For Performing Arts. Pointing, nodding his head towards the building, he turned to Tanya and added, "That's it right there."
"Awesome," said Tanya, feeling a twinge of disappointment as she realized this meant Adam would be leaving soon. No sooner had the words escaped her lips than a man came rushing out of the building, heading straight towards them in a suit and tie. "That's my manager," she added, Adam nodding.
"I'll let you go then," Adam muttered, experiencing a similar feeling to Tanya's.
"Yeah," Tanya murmured, nodding. "Listen, it was good seeing you. If you're not busy tonight maybe we can get together after my show and catch up a bit more."
It took Adam's mind a few seconds of processing before he was finally able to stammer, "Uh, y-yeah, sure, definitely. I'll give you my number and just call me whenever you're free."
Tanya took down Adam's phone number with a smile, and after a quick hug goodbye she was gone, meeting her manager halfway as they started back towards the theatre. Stuffing his hands back into his pockets, Adam began backpedaling with a wide grin on his face, quickly turning his pace from a slow walk into a rapid backwards skip.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist as he turned back around. Then, without warning, he started a dead sprint down the cement path, throwing himself into a cartwheel, followed by three back handsprings, finishing with a back tuck so graceful even the Russian judges would have awarded it full marks. Mid-flip, he could not help but to let out a high-pitched, Homer Simpson-esque, "Woo-hoo!"
Unfortunately, his flip also sent him barreling into a trio of attractive—and now shrieking—female students, taking them down hard to the ground right along with him. "Sorry," Adam muttered, struggling to his feet as he offered the ladies a helping hand up.
Not surprisingly though, they ignored his offer in lieu of three dirty looks, walking away while muttering a multitude of curse word laden jabs at Adam. Still, even in a moment as embarrassing as that, it had not been enough to tear him down from his emotional high. He arrived back at his apartment shortly thereafter, and five hours later he and Tanya were joking and laughing over coffee and cherry pie at an all-night diner in the city.
To say that things had instantly turned romantic, however, would be a vast understatement. Tanya still had a tour to complete and an album to record, and Adam was still struggling with his own personal life. But by the time she had returned home three months later, they were both ready to see if there was still something there, and life for Adam had only gotten better since.
Throwing the sheets away from his body, Adam climbed out of bed and started a slow walk towards the oak dresser on the other side of the room, naked aside from the Green Zeo Ranger boxer shorts Tanya had bought him as a gag gift for his birthday last year. He squatted down, opened the bottom drawer, and pushed away some socks, retrieving a small felt box that he flipped open effortlessly with his thumb. Inside was, of course, a ring; a ring that had taken hours of help from Aisha for him to decide on.
"As soon as you come home, baby," he murmured, closing the box and returning it to the dresser drawer.
A blessing or a curse, the jury was still out for Adam when it came to running his own dojo. He had been doing it for just over a year now, and loved parts of it just as much as he hated others. Obviously being his own boss had its perks, and working with kids was something he had always enjoyed, but the hours were definitely not what most would call ideal. His first class did not start until three o'clock, and as he had only been able to afford one other instructor, who was part-time at that, the vast majority of the classes fell on his shoulders, which also meant he did not get home until ten or eleven most nights.
With Tanya away it was not a problem, but once she returned he did not know how it was going to work out. When he had started the Black Ninja Academy Tanya had been so busy recording her album and promoting it—as well as her current tour—that they had not really had time to notice a difference.
"Hopefully we start making some money soon so I can actually hire a decent sized staff," Adam mused aloud as he started for the bathroom.
The hours seemed to drag on from there, Adam pitter-pattering around the house alone, trying to find things to occupy his time until he had to leave for the dojo. Video games, movies, crappy daytime television; there were only so many things one could do when the rest of the world was out working, and inevitably they all started to become rather boring.
By the time one-thirty rolled around he had so much pent up energy that he was more than ready to take some of it out as only his chosen sport could help him do. His school lied right on the Angel Grove side of the border between it and Stone Canyon, so the drive was a little bit longer than he would have liked, but he hoped it would be worth it in the end. One of the things he had learned in business school was to make your business accessible to as many people as possible, and by placing his dojo smack dab in the middle of the two neighboring towns he was hoping he would eventually start drawing kids from both sides of the border. Slowly but surely, he was already starting to see progress.
When he had first opened the school he had been struggling for business, but word of mouth had garnered him a rapid increase in clientele, so much so that he barely stopped moving between his first and last classes. Unfortunately, the influx in business had yet to be enough to pull him from the debt he was currently in with startup loans and things of that nature, but if everything stayed the way it was he would be in the black by November, just in time to start paying for a wedding.
"Knock on wood," Adam murmured, doing just that to the desk in his small office as he tossed his black duffel bag onto his chair. He pulled out his black gi pants and a matching tank top from the bag, proceeding to change from his street clothes before making his way back to the main area of the dojo.
He moved through some stretches and a light kata to get ready for his three o'clock class, a group that consisted of kids both male and female, most of them in their early teens. It was easily his favorite class of the day, mostly because they reminded him so much of himself and the way he had been at their age.
As it grew closer to three o'clock the kids started arriving one by one, some with their parents who, as always, lingered to watch their children in action. He had disappeared back into his office at this point, waiting until two minutes to three before making his way out to where his class was, most of them hanging around near or on the karate mats. Some stood and some sat, most of them engaged in some form of conversation with one another, but as soon as they saw Sensei Adam they all made haste to spring to attention.
"Okay, guys, you know the drill. Stretch lines," said Adam, watching as they fell into their familiar positions with a unified cry of "Yes, Sensei!"
It took maybe two minutes of stretching for Adam to see the problem child rear its ugly head. It seemed like there was one in every group, from the youngest of children to the handful of thirty-plus adults he taught. This one, a blonde haired, blue eyed, thirteen year-old kid named Charlie was one of the worst in all of Adam's classes. On the first night of class three weeks ago Charlie had chosen his target, a much smaller boy called Eric who was far too timid to defend himself when it came to Charlie's bullying.
Adam had given the boys their space to see if they could work things out on their own, but it had now become apparent that he was going to have to intervene. When the class started doing squats, Charlie discreetly attempted to sweep Eric's legs out from under him. Eric fell to the mat with a thud, Charlie laughing and pretending like he had had nothing to do with the embarrassed boy's fall, completely unaware that Adam had seen the whole thing.
"Alright, class, that's enough stretching!" said Adam.
The class all returned to standing positions, some of them looking around at one another with confused expressions on their faces. One student, a young brunette named Alexandra, turned to Adam and said, "But Sensei, we haven't finished everything yet."
"I know, Alex," Adam replied, giving the young girl a calming smile. "We're going to do things a little bit differently today. We're going to have a little lesson in respect; respect for yourself as well respect for each other." He said this while walking up and down their ranks with his arms folded behind his back, falling to Charlie's side and placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Charlie, you seem like you're ready to show us all what you're made of today. What do you say you and I spar a little bit? You know, give the rest of the class a show."
Though he posed it as a question, the grip he had on Charlie's shoulder left the boy knowing he could not say no. Instead he just nodded timidly, allowing Adam to lead him towards the center of the mats while Eric watched with a beaming grin. Once they had reached their destination, Adam turned to the class and addressed them once more.
"Okay, the rest of you spread out to the outside of the mats," he instructed. Then, returning his eyes to Charlie, he took a few steps back and lowered himself into a bow, craning his neck to say, "You ready?"
Timid though he initially may have seemed, Charlie was also the type who could not stand to appear weak in front of his peers, even at the expense of others. Tightening his orange belt, he nodded to Adam and bowed with the faintest hint of a sneer, uncaring to the fact that Adam was obviously a vastly superior martial artist.
"Go!" exclaimed Adam, springing forward with a knee that would have snapped Charlie's head back had the boy not been able to sidestep the attack; that and the fact that Adam had no real intention of hurting his student, merely teaching him the lesson he so desperately deserved.
From there Charlie was forced to backpedal rapidly, simultaneously attempting to deflect the multitude of strikes Adam was half-heatedly sending his way. It was clear from the beginning that Charlie was no match for his sensei, and it did not take long before many of his classmates were laughing and snickering at his expense, never more so than when Adam took him down to the mats with an effortless leg sweep.
Hearing their laughter only made Charlie angrier. From his position on the floor, he glared daggers at Adam's back, pushing himself onto his feet and letting go a powerful battle cry as he charged his sensei from behind. Before Charlie even had time to realize what had happened Adam had spun around, throwing a snapping side kick that stopped just inches from the boy's neck. Adam held his foot there for a short while, watching Charlie's expression grow progressively more fearful; then, with a sly wink, he slowly and exaggeratedly swung his leg around and back down.
"Never attack an opponent when he's not looking. There's no honor in that," said Adam, motioning for Charlie to rejoin his classmates. Charlie did so, looking as red as a tomato, sitting as far away from them as possible while Adam turned to the rest of the class and added, "Okay, finish your stretches and then split into your usual partners for some sparring. I'll be walking around to check on all of you."
The rest of the class went smoothly, and a few parents had even stayed behind to thank Adam for what he had done, particularly Eric's mother who must have thanked him at least a dozen different times. For the next few hours classes came and went, all of them without incident; that is, until seven-fifteen rolled around.
Adam was in the midst of showing his brown belt class the proper way to execute a Butterfly Twist when the front door was practically thrown open, followed by the entrance of a muscle-bound man who looked something like Hulk Hogan circa 1985. Right behind him, looking ever so proud of himself, was Charlie.
"Ochitsuite," Adam said to his class in Japanese, their postures relaxing as Charlie's father stormed towards Adam.
"You wanna tell me what the hell you were thinking going after my boy like that?" the forty-something man demanded, his fists balled at his sides.
Suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, Adam quietly replied, "Your son needed to be taught that being the strongest person in a group isn't always an advantage."
The older man laughed sarcastically and said, "Oh, that's mighty big coming from a grown man to a teenage kid!"
"Sir," Adam responded calmly, not the least bit afraid of the imposing figure standing before him, "if you'd like, I can show you that being the strongest person in a group isn't always an advantage as well."
As if on cue, Charlie's father cocked his arm back and attempted to throw his most power packed punch at Adam's head. Squatting slightly, preparing to duck the attack, Adam saw something from the corner of his eye and immediately threw himself into a graceful back flip, kicking the man in the chest on his way. The kick had not been designed to hurt the man, but to save his life.
Everything seemed to slow down as Adam heard the sound of glass shattering, his eyes settling mid-flip on the very large projectile that had just been thrown into his dojo. Screams of fright followed next moment, his students running panicked in every direction. Upon landing, it took less than a second for Adam to realize what the object was, having dealt with his fair share of them in his time as a Turbo Ranger; only Divatox's explosives had never looked quite as big or as powerful as the one lying just a few feet away from him did.
"Everyone out!" he yelled, the students and parents around him rushing towards the door. Caring little about all his possessions in his office, Adam made to follow his students, but stopped when he reached Charlie's father, slumped on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Rolling his eyes, Adam lowered himself down and grunted, "Alright, c'mon," simultaneously scooping the older man into his arms.
From there he made a beeline to the door, barely making it outside before the explosive device was detonated, the impact throwing Adam forward and causing him to drop Mr. Greenberg, the former Black Ranger slamming hard into a nearby station wagon. Groaning in pain, Adam's thoughts quickly went to the safety of his students, and as he gingerly returned to his feet he looked around and breathed a sigh of relief; they were all alive and uninjured.
He had just opened his mouth to address them when he felt a cool, icy hand fall on his shoulder, followed by a sensation so cold and wet that it felt like he was being dragged through the depths of the Arctic Ocean. When he reappeared moments later, however, he was in a place far from cold or wet, in fact it was rather hot. Looking around in shock, he realized it was the inside of his karate studio now engulfed in flames.
"Oh my God," he muttered, wondering how in the world he was going to pay for everything.
Then came a maniacal laugh from somewhere behind him, followed by a deep voice saying, "Oh no, Black Ranger, I'm much more powerful than God."
"Who the hell are you?" Adam demanded, carefully eyeing the bald, trench coat and sunglass wearing man. "What do you want?"
"Ah, yes, two very simple questions with two very simple answers," the man replied. "I shall answer your second question first, and that is the destruction of you and all your little Ranger friends. Don't look so surprised, Mr. Park," the man continued, upon seeing the expression on Adam's face. "I know much about you. Father: Dae-Jung, mother: Eun Sun, both immigrants to this country. Your girlfriend, Tanya Sloan, whom you hope to one day marry, was also a Power Ranger. Tommy Oliver, Kimberly Hart, Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Campbell, Billy Cranston; they were your teammates as well."
"Who are you?" said Adam once more, this time through gritted teeth as he clenched his fists at his sides. "Tell me your name!"
"My name?" the man replied, shaking his head. "My boy, certainly you know my name. It's one you have heard before, not too long ago either, in fact. I am your worst nightmare, Mr. Park. The time has come for you to face your demise, and you will have Jared Grant to thank for it."
Adam's eyes went wide at that as he tried to process what he had just heard, leaving him vulnerable to the energy attack Jared had just thrown at his chest. Flying through the air, Adam did not see the flash of red light that filled the room moments later, nor the disappearance of the one called Jared Grant. He crashed hard into a wooden beam, snapping it in half as he fell to the floor, grimacing and groaning in pain, pulling shards of splintered and blood spattered wood out of his back.
Looking up at the ceiling, he heard a tremendous creak and knew that he had reached the end. The ceiling was about to collapse on top of him and there was nothing he could do to stop it from happening. He simply closed his eyes in meditative preparation for what was about to occur, accepting that his time had indeed come.
The funny thing was that it never did. He heard the ceiling collapse, opened his eyes in time to see it raining down on him, but the impact he was expecting never came. Moments later something slimy and wet slapped the side his face, remaining there as his body was jerked violently from underneath the falling ceiling. Next moment he was standing atop a twelve-story apartment building two miles away from his school, staring down at the bustling traffic of Angel Grove's business district. Looking at the cars as they whizzed by, his eyes grew wide once more, this time when they fell on an iridescent black frog hopping lazily over the many vehicles.
"No way," Adam murmured, rubbing the back of his neck in disbelief. "I gotta call Tommy."
Unfortunately, his cell phone was now likely a melted mess of plastic components and battery acid, just one of the many items he would have to replace thanks to this Jared Grant character. After dealing with the police upon returning to his school, it was damn near midnight when he finally got home. Every movement he made was a cautious one: opening the door, turning on the lights, checking the answering machine in the kitchen; they were all acts that were committed with great trepidation, Adam fearful that any single move he made could have been the one to result in his demise.
And it very well could have.
As long as Jared Grant was around, none of the Rangers were safe anymore.
--
Sitting at a desk in his darkened basement, his entire head hidden behind a heavy welding helmet, Billy Cranston made careful, intricately planned maneuvers with the large torch-gun he was currently holding. He had spent the better part of six months working on this project, a small metal box roughly five feet by five feet in size, and at long last he was nearly finished. Killing the flame shooting from the end of the gun, Billy lifted his mask and wiped the sweat and black grime away from his forehead onto the back of his sleeve.
"That should have done the trick," he murmured to himself, inspecting every side of the silver cube, running his gloved fingertips along its smooth, still warm surface. Half-smiling at his presumed victory, Billy retrieved what appeared to be a silver watch resting atop his work station and strapped it tightly to his left wrist. With a silent prayer, he brought his right hand to the side of the watch face and quietly added, "Let's hope it works this time."
There were three small knobs along each side of the watch face; in silence, Billy tapped a series of the knobs, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed the center knob in tightly on the right side. The rush of energy that overtook his body moments later was exactly what he had been hoping for, a blue column of crackling light enveloping him entirely before shooting up through his house and high into the sky above.
He could see the tops of every building in Boston as he flied through the air at breakneck speeds, unable to believe that he had actually managed to build a fully functional teleportation grid. The whole journey seemed to last hours, but it was really only a few seconds before he reached his destination, alone in a cemetery that was located more than four-thousand miles away from his Massachusetts home. Without intending to, his eyes fell upon the inscription of a nearby headstone, Billy reading the engraved words to himself.
Trini Kwan
August 9, 1978 - January 16, 2003
Daughter to two, Friend to many, Protector to all
Tears hit Billy's eyes midway through his reading as he struggled to grasp the notion that it had truly been more than a year since Trini had passed away. Deep down, it seemed like it had only been just yesterday when he, her family and friends, and the other Power Rangers had laid the young woman to rest here.
"Why?" he asked aloud, running his fingertips along the stone surface that marked her eternal resting place. "Why did you have to leave me, Trini?"
"I didn't want to, Billy," a quiet voice answered from behind him.
Billy immediately recognized the voice, and whirled around with a wide-eyed look of surprise to find Trini standing there; only, it was not the Trini he remembered. Garbed in a pale yellow robe with her raven colored hair hanging well past her waist, Trini's body cast an iridescent glow the faintest hint of yellow, reaffirming to Billy what he already knew.
"You're a ghost," said Billy, sounding more like a question than a statement.
Trini laughed. "I prefer spirit, but ghost works too I guess," she replied, shrugging her shoulders as she started a glide towards Billy, her toes just inches above the ground. For the longest time Billy just stared at her, trying desperately to process what he was seeing. Standing a few short feet away from him, Trini met his eyes and added, "Don't look so surprised, Billy. To those who possess the Power, all things are possible, remember?"
Swallowing hard, Billy nodded and managed to croak out, "I can't believe it's really you. I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again."
Smiling, Trini reached out and touched the side of Billy's face, Billy gasping when he felt her touch. Could ghosts…err, spirits, actually touch things?
"Yes, we can," Trini answered, seemingly reading his mind. "We've been watching you quite a bit this last year, Billy, and we both want you to know that it's time for you to move on. You can't spend the rest of your life grieving over me, my love. You have a life to live, a world that needs you; and grieving my death will only cause you even more pain than you've already dealt with. We…I don't want that for you."
Blinking back tears, Billy asked, "When you say 'we,' you mean Zordon, right?"
"I knew you'd pick up on that one pretty quick," said Trini, smiling and winking at him. "I meant what I said, Billy. You can't spend the rest of your life thinking about me and what could have been. I can't bear to see you so sad all the time. How can you expect me to watch over you when all you ever do is work and mourn?"
Billy's eyes went big once more. "W-watch over me?" he stammered.
Trini nodded. "What else do you think I'd be doing? I've been trying to teach Zordon how to play volleyball, but he's not very good at it, so there's not really a whole lot to do."
"It's just you two then?" asked Billy.
Laughing, Trini shook her head and said, "Oh, no, there's quite a few of us, actually, all but Zordon are former Rangers, but they all have a tendency to be kind of cliquey. Like the Wild West Rangers; they just sit around at the juice saloon all day telling the same old stories about Calamity Kim and won't even bother to talk to anyone else except Zordon."
Billy chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck as he said, "Wow, that's remarkable. So it's sort of akin to heaven for deceased Power Rangers?"
"Yeah, it's kind of like that," Trini replied, smiling at the amazed expression that Billy was wearing. "And one day we'll be there together, Billy, but for now you have to find a way to go on without me. Bad things are about to start happening; in fact, they already have, and the world is going to need you more than I do right now."
"What kind of bad things?" said Billy softly, as he reached out for Trini's hand, praying that he could touch her the same way she could touch him, leaving him pleasantly surprised when their fingers interlocked.
Trini started to answer him but stopped short, Billy staring at her wide-eyed expression with one of confusion. "Billy, look out!" she screamed, throwing him to the side without warning; the burst of red energy that had been intended for Billy was simply and harmlessly absorbed by her spirit form, her eyes settling on the blasts originator, a cloaked and bald man wearing a pair of black sunglasses standing some fifty feet away. "I don't know who you are, but you just made the biggest mistake of your life!" Trini told the man, sending his way an equally powerful eruption of yellow energy.
Jared Grant effortlessly deflected her attack with a wave of his hand, laughing cynically as he said, "Calm yourself, Yellow Ranger. I was merely attempting to do you a favor by permanently reuniting you with your lover."
"What does he mean, permanently?" asked Billy, from his position on the ground. "You're not staying?"
Looking down at him sadly, Trini shook her head and said, "I can't, Billy. My time on Earth is limited by the Morphing Grid and somehow this guy knows it. You need to get out of here now, before it's too late."
Billy started to protest, but before he could utter a single word he felt his body being enveloped by a dome of yellow energy, a shield to protect him from Jared Grant's follow up attack, this one a constant stream of red that made the shield crackle orange at its place of impact.
"Billy, you need to use your Power Coin and get out of here!" Trini commanded, visibly struggling. "He's too strong for me! I'm not going to be able to hold the shield much longer!"
"I'm not leaving you by yourself, Trini!" Billy argued, shaking his head. "I won't do it!"
Trini rolled her eyes, and impatiently fired back, "For crying out loud, Billy, I'm dead as a doornail! He can't do anything to me! I already told you how important you are to this planet, now get out of here or I'll get you out myself!"
Billy's eyes narrowed as he looked back at Trini, wanting so very much to argue despite knowing that it would do him no good. Sighing, his fingers drifted towards the pocket of his khaki pants, but stopped just inches away from the golden disc inside when he heard a familiar sound from off in the distance. It was a high-pitched howl, accompanied by what sounded like thundering footsteps rapidly growing nearer. His eyes turned towards the place where the sound was emanating from, focusing intently on a small speck of blue light that was approaching the trio rather quickly.
"Billy, your coin!" Trini reminded him, uncaring as to whatever else was going on.
"Right," Billy murmured, rising to his feet, retrieving his Power Coin. Holding it tightly in his grasp, he waved his arms like he had done so many times before and shouted, "Ninja Ranger Power, now!"
His eyes snapped shut instinctively as he felt a glimmer of what the Power had once been wash over him. When the transformation was complete and the blue robes covered his body, he turned to Trini only to get a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach when he realized that she was gone. How could she have left him at a time like this, when he still had so many questions he needed to ask her? Then a quiet voice in the back of his head reminded him.
"…for now you have to find a way to go on without me. Bad things are about to start happening, in fact they already have, and the world is going to need you more than I do right now."
With a newfound sense of strength, Billy turned to face Jared Grant just in time to see another pulse of red energy heading straight for his masked face. Billy executed a graceful flying cartwheel, his body flipping easily over the energy blast, and as soon as his booted feet had hit the ground once more he was running right at his assailant. Burst after burst of energy was sent his way as he ran, Billy using his years of gymnastics training to avoid them without exerting very much effort at all, although many a headstone was destroyed in the process.
His approach to Jared Grant became so rapid that, by the time Billy was within striking distance, there was little Jared could do except absorb the back flip double kick flying right at his chest. Jared was thrown back some twenty feet, crashing into a tombstone and shattering it into hundreds of pieces as a result.
"Come on!" Billy yelled to the fallen man, beating his fist against his chest as another howl diverted his attention once more. This time there was no mistaking its origin, as a glowing blue wolf had now become visible and was rushing towards the two opponents as quickly as it possibly could.
As the wolf grew nearer, Jared returned to his feet and proceeded to engage Billy in a fierce bout of hand-to-hand combat. Having not fought like this in many years, Billy was at a severe disadvantage, and as they battled back and forth it did not take long for Jared to best the Blue Ranger, tossing him like a rag doll into the hard trunk of a very large, nearby oak tree.
"You asked for it, Mr. Cranston," said Jared wickedly, standing over Billy's fallen and pain-inflicted body. As though pulling an invisible rope, Jared stopped his motions once his hands were at his side, grinning psychopathically as a small orb of red energy began growing larger and larger in his hands.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he was knocked aside by a flash of blue. Breathing a sigh of relief, Billy quickly scrambled to his feet and set his sights on the glowing blue wolf that had just saved him and was now slowly approaching the place where Jared lay, snarling loudly and baring its sharpened teeth at the man.
Billy watched on in shocked awe as the wolf sprung at Jared, wincing beneath his mask when Jared reared back and delivered a powerful kick to the animal's chest, causing it to cry out as it went flipping wildly through the air. By the time Jared had returned to his feet and prepared to deliver another attack towards Billy, however, the wolf had regained its composure and was running towards Jared once more.
"Perhaps I underestimated the power of your spirit animals," said Jared, smirking at Billy. "Until we meet again, Blue Ranger!"
Just as the wolf made to spring once more, Jared disappeared in a flash of red light. Upon landing and realizing that his prey was gone, the wolf turned to Billy and gave a quiet howl, nodding its head once before it too evaporated into nothingness. Looking around in disbelief, alone again, Billy: rolled his eyes, threw up his hands, and muttered, "Can't anyone stick around for more than five minutes?"
Sighing, he checked to make sure no one else was around before powering down, and moments later he had again become nothing more than a crackling column of blue light, rushing through the sky back to his three-story home on Mount Vernon Street in Boston. His mind was a cluttered mess upon returning to his basement, Billy pacing around and wondering what in the world he was supposed to do now.
Like the other Rangers, he too had seen Kimberly's Pink Ranger resurgence on the news, and knew that she was staying with Tommy in Reefside, but did that mean that their pact had now been broken? Deciding that there was only one way to find out, he ceased pacing and raised his communicator to his lips, pressing the button that would send the communication signal to the Ranger's former leader. He just hoped Tommy had not forgotten his communicator again.
Then came a slight crackling sound, followed by a deep voice saying, "This is Tommy."
"Tommy, it's Billy," he replied, looking around anxiously, as if expecting to be attacked at any given moment. "Look, whatever happened to Kimberly just happened to me as well. Somebody attacked me a few minutes ago; I don't know who he is, but I do know he was stronger than anything we've ever faced before."
"Yeah, it seems like it's been happening to everyone. I just got off the phone with Adam. I tried to call you too, but you didn't answer. Now I know why," said Tommy, his voice inflected with that leader tone he had used so much over the years. "Listen, there's a lot we need to talk about so everyone's meeting up at the outskirts this weekend. I know it's short notice, but do you think you can make it?"
Billy looked across the room, at the box on his desk, and smiled brightly to himself. "That shouldn't pose a problem now that I've perfected the teleportation grid I've been working on for the last six months."
"You did what?" Tommy blurted out.
"I built a fully functional teleportation grid," Billy answered, feeling quite proud of himself. "I must say, even though it's not an entirely original creation, it is one of my better inventions. I'm most impressed with it, actually. It's comparable to the one Zordon used in terms of strength, plus I added in a bit of Aquitian technology as well, so once I've programmed all of our communicator signals into it we should all be able to teleport again without concern."
"Damn, Billy, I mean, I knew you were a genius and all that, but…damn!" said Tommy, laughing out loud. "I don't know how you did it, and I probably wouldn't understand it if you explained it to me, but I'm damn glad you did. I get the feeling we're going to need all the help we can get now."
Billy's eyes narrowed in deep thought as something suddenly struck him. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Tommy remained silent for a few moments before sighing audibly and saying, "Yeah, it looks that way. I know it's the last thing any of us want to deal with at this stage in our lives, but I don't see how we have any other choice. This guy doesn't care about taking over the planet; he's targeted us specifically, and he won't stop until he succeeds or until we find a way to stop him first."
"I'm ready," said Billy, firmly and without hesitation, because he knew it was what Trini would have wanted.
"Good," Tommy replied, a hint of thankfulness in his voice. "Be at the outskirts at sunset on Saturday. We'll talk about everything then."
"Okay, Billy out," he murmured, ending the communication transmission with Tommy. Then his eyes settled on an object resting in the corner of his desk, causing a lump to form in his throat as he approached the framed picture and took it in his hands. It was of he and Trini, their arms around each other as they stood in front of the glowing Ferris wheel at the state fair, one of the few times they had been together after his return to Earth and before she had passed away. Staring down at her face, he rubbed his thumb across her cheek and murmured, "I'm fighting for you, Trini."
Returning the picture to its place, he slowly wheeled around in his chair and set his sights on the teleportation grid, a box so simple in nature one would have never been able to fathom the immense power that it was capable of. Deciding to test its capabilities further, he proceeded to start teleporting variously sized pieces of furniture from all three upper levels of his house down into the basement. In a matter of minutes he had two beds, a couch, all six dining room chairs, a recliner, a coffee table, and his flat screen television surrounding him entirely.
He was just about to start sending them all back upstairs when his communicator went off with its familiar six-tone chime, a sound that made him instantly smile. Raising the device to his lips, he pressed one of the buttons on the left side and said, "Billy here, go ahead."
"Billy, it's Tommy," the former White Ranger replied hastily. "Look, Hayley and I have been monitoring the frequencies of every major media frequency in the country, and there's been murmurs that identity of the Pink Ninja Ranger was revealed to someone earlier today. Hayley's already working on hacking into their networks and deleting all the video footage of Kim fighting, but it's going to take her awhile and she could really use an extra hand. This story's going to go public in less than twenty minutes, man; we're desperate."
Wasting no time by asking who this Hayley person was, Billy wheeled his chair over to a nearby computer station and brought it to life with a quick flick of the mouse. "Put Hayley on," said Billy, almost snappily.
"Alright. Thanks, Billy-man," said Tommy. "Here she is."
Billy nodded to himself as he waited for Hayley and started bringing up a variety of windows, mostly programs that he himself had created, all of which were entirely illegal for a civilian to be accessing for personal use.
"Hi Billy, this is Hayley," said the young woman moments later. "Listen, what programs are you using and I'll guide you into the different networks."
Grinning, Billy quickly replied, "Nothing you've ever heard of. Just give me IP addresses and any passwords I'm going to need. We don't have time to delete these files one by one. The world's going to have to go without its news tonight."
"Can you actually do that?" asked Hayley, clearly surprised.
Billy chuckled slightly. "Yes, I can, and I'm going to do it as soon as I get those IP addresses and passwords. Not to be rude, Hayley, but can you hurry it up a bit?"
"Damn, and Tommy says I'm snappy," said Hayley, with a short laugh of her own. From there she started reading off some different numerical codes, followed by all the passwords and phrases Billy would need to access the various networks. "You know, I consider myself to be quite the genius when it comes to stuff like this, but if you can shut down everything I think even I will have to bow to you."
"Just call me King Cranston," said Billy dryly, his eyes moving across the screen as rapidly as his fingertips flew across the keyboard. For nearly fifteen minutes he operated like this, saying nothing except for the half-dozen times when Hayley asked him how close he was to being done, Billy giving the same response on each occasion. "I'll be done when I tell you I'm done."
He certainly was not trying to be disrespectful, rude, or short, but he had to concentrate on what he was doing if he was going to stop Kimberly's identity as the Pink Ranger from being exposed on an international level. As the twenty minute mark grew nearer and nearer, an exasperated Billy finally said, "Watch your computer screen and tell me what it does in five, four, three, two, one, now!"
"Pink flash," said Hayley.
"Now!" Billy replied.
"Yellow flash."
"Now!"
"Black flash."
"Now!"
"Red flash."
"Now!"
"White flash."
"Now!"
"Blue flash."
"It's done," said Billy, breathing deeply for he had forgotten to do so for nearly two minutes. "The Crane, Bear, Frog, Ape, Falcon, and Wolf Viruses have successfully been deployed. Turn on the TV and see it for yourself. I apologize, but I couldn't help but to add a nice little personal touch for a bit of character. You know, sort of like a hacker's mark."
Hayley laughed. "Hey, as long as you did what you said you were going to do, that's all I really care about. Tommy's turning on the TV right now and…oh my God, that is too funny! Billy, you are amazing!"
Billy grinned triumphantly, teleporting himself, his recliner, and the flat screen television back to their places in the first floor living room where he proceeded to take a seat and watch his efforts unfold onscreen. At that very moment, news anchors from every television station on Earth were telling the world about how they had breaking news regarding the identity of one of the Power Rangers, completely unaware that the graphics next to their heads were currently reading random things like "I traveled 400 light-years from Aquitar and all I got was this crappy t-shirt," and, "Chicks dig the long ball," and, "I'm the (insert color here) Ranger." At one point or another, each and every newscaster currently on the air had been declared a Power Ranger of at least one color.
Over his communicator, Hayley, Tommy, and Kimberly all doused him with congratulations and thanks, and it was only moments later that his cell phone started to ring. He allowed Adam's congratulatory call to roll over to voicemail, as one by one each of the Rangers called in to offer him similar praise. Then, as if on command, the calls stopped coming as his television screen flickered and changed stationson it's own accord.
The screen displayed what appeared to be a standard newscast; a single male anchor, blonde and handsomely dressed, sitting at a desk with a stack of papers in front of him, but right away Billy knew that this was no ordinary broadcast. "Hello, people of Earth, and welcome to this special broadcast that you will only find here, on PRNews," the man spoke, smiling a proud smile. "My name is Josh Weinstein and I'll be your host for tonight's show. As you'll soon find out, here at PRNews it's all Power Rangers, all the time. That being said, let's jump right into the news, shall we?"
Billy watched on in horror as an image of the Pink Ninja Ranger in action appeared alongside the anchor's head, grimacing visibly as the man continued on.
"Earlier today the identity of the Pink Ranger was revealed to me, in an exclusive interview with a source who at this time wishes to remain anonymous. However, I can assure you that his information is accurate, as you will see in the following clip. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I give to you…the Pink Ranger."
The image onscreen changed a second later, to an overhead view of the spacious grounds that were Angel Grove Park, slowly narrowing in on a location near a cluster of oak trees. Then a blonde haired, blue eyes beauty appeared, running for cover as an army of Putty Patrollers and the winged Titan, Goldar, chased after her. The camera followed her pursuit for a few seconds, her face remaining unseen until she ducked behind one of the trees, at which point came the fearful expression that Katherine Hillard was presently wearing. Billy could tell almost instantly that this was Katherine right after she had joined the team, when she was still unsure of herself and lacking confidence in her ability to be a quality Power Ranger.
Still, she moved her hand behind her back like she had done it a thousand times already, retrieved her Morpher, and thrust it outwards while shouting, "It's Morphin' Time!" There was a flash of pink light and seconds later the Pink Ranger had appeared in full morph, leaping from behind the tree to engage Goldar and the Putties.
"Billy," said Tommy, over the communicator, "What just happened there?"
Billy simply shook his head. "I have no idea."
--
