Nowhere to Grow

"Paint!" shrieked the librarian when she noticed that a large replica of the Tiger Wild Zord crouching by the entrance to the conference room in the library had been splattered with blue paint by a 8 year old boy wearing a Gundam Wing T-shirt and blue jeans a tad too big for him. "Jonathan, how could you! Is this how you show respect to the former Power Ranger who will be coming here in 5 minutes to tell a story to Mrs. Jones' Fourth Grade class?"

"Sorry Mommy, but I was bored." Jonathan answered as he put down the now empty paint canister. "You know I hate reading books. They're all boring, even with the pictures. I wanted…well…"

"A bit of fun, huh, young man?"

"Yes Mommy."

"Goodness!" Mrs. Bloom threw up her hands in exasperation when she realized there was absolutely no way the Tiger Zord could be repainted white, black, and pink before my former teammate Alyssa Enrile came to greet the assembled crowd of kindergarten kids and their parents. "What in the world can I do now? My reputation will be ruined for sure…"

"I wouldn't say that." I said, and clapped my hands. Janitors standing by the entrance to the library basement then opened the door and proceeded to replace the damaged cardboard tiger with a inflatable Wild Force Megazord balloon. All color then drained from Mrs. Bloom's face when she saw this cheap replacement, and some kids watching the janitors started roaring with laughter. The entrance was no longer guarded by an impressive statue, and even I ended up giving the librarian a sympathetic wince, but it was now too late to change anything. Seconds after the Tiger Zord had been dismantled and shoved out of sight, Alyssa herself entered the main lobby and caught sight of this bizarre balloon attached to the doorknob of the conference room.

"Oh, hello Alyssa." I said cheerfully, before grabbing Jonathan's arm and yanking him over to the former White Ranger. "This is Jonathan, and he will show you where you will stand for the next two hours. As you can probably tell, the kids are all eager to hear your story about the Animarium."

"Yes, of course," Alyssa answered with a small smile, "but where is my Tiger? People told me they had made a replica of her and…" here I saw her eyes beginning to water, "I wanted to see her."

"Unfortunately there was an…accident." I said after a moment's pause. Beside me, Mrs. Bloom started babbling apologies under her breath, while Jonathan pushed a janitor aside so he could fetch the head of the cardboard Zord, which, to Alyssa's shock, had been splattered with blue paint. "It was that kid who did it. I'm sorry, I was his babysitter and I shouldn't have stuck my head in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire while he was performing this dastardly deed. Please forgive him, and me."

Alyssa's eyes softened when she heard this, and her hands closed around mine. "I'm not mad." She said softly, then opened her bag to rummage around for something. "By the way, since you and your team of artists worked so hard to build me a replica of the White Tiger, knowing I'll probably never see her again in my life, I stopped by an import store earlier." Here she produced a box wrapped in brown paper, which I immediately ripped open. "Kite met me there and, well, he recommended I get you this."

I smiled, then quickly thanked Alyssa by giving her a very affectionate bone-crushing hug before accepting the bean-bag walrus holding a miniature Coca-Cola bottle.

"You're welcome." Replied my former teammate. "Well, I have a story to tell, so I won't bother you anymore now. Good luck with ninja training, my friend." With that, she disappeared into the room, whose occupants immediately started catcalling, hooting, and clapping. After letting my jaw drop in surprise for a moment (how in the world did Alyssa know I was now a ninja?!), I turned to Jonathan with a toothy grin. He smiled weakly back before I noticed my unusually sharp teeth (Gah, I should stop eating too much meat these days) was scaring his mother and quickly placated both by throwing a Snickers bar at the librarian and a photo of Shane with his face squashed on my window at the boy, who laughed loudly upon seeing the funny face.

When it came down to skateboard practice, Shane was usually eager to show off new moves in public at the local skate park, but for once he insisted it be done around 11 PM at night, when the city park was closed but unguarded. This was not only an unusual idea, but a stupid one as well, so I immediately put my foot down. This did not discourage the teen, and Dustin was quick to tell me the idea would be executed anyway, much to my displeasure. While working the afternoon shift in Storm Chargers with Shane the day the guy intended to disobey my rules, I had the urge to tap him hard on the head with a measuring stick I found on the floor, and would have done it to show him who's boss of the team, if Kelly had not noticed my nasty smile seconds before the stick hit skull. However, I was not to be thwarted, so immediately after work I had the local bakery make a cake with icing that formed the words 'Horrible Hawk' while I asked Tori to come down and deliver the dessert to her friend so the Red Ranger wouldn't link me to the dastardly deed. Yet by the end of the day, both Shane and I were not on speaking terms, and even Sensei couldn't get us back together again.

Florabundacus laughed as she watched Shane angrily bite the head off a marshmallow red hawk that had been stuck to the top of his cake while reading the Blue Bay Daily. The Red Ranger's Monster Alarm had been disabled for the day, since he did not appear to be alert nor aware of his surroundings, and this made the female monster very happy. According to her boss Lothor, Rangers rarely let down their guard, and thus, to find an unfocused leader of the Ninja Storm team thinking about getting revenge on his teammate for bringing him a cake featuring a nasty message was a lovely prize indeed. It was also twilight, so visibility would be poor for the teen, and Florabundacus knew this was the perfect time for an attack. However, before she could act, Shane abruptly swallowed the rest of his marshmallow and started walking in the direction of the bush. The Kelzaks, stupid creatures, heard him coming and automatically started squeaking, which gave away their positions.

By peering over the bush, Shane easily spotted the crouching Florabundacus, and all anger dissipated when the Kelzaks dropped their pails, shovels, and seeds to surround him.

"Is this a party?" he asked in with a smirk, and patted his chest. "Man, I'm so bummed because I wasn't invited. First Laura gives me hell with that cake, and now you guys turn me down." Here he pretended to be sad, but only for an instant. "So, since you were all so rude, you mind if I crash?" With that said, he lashed out at the nearest Kelzak and kicked it down before punching the daylights out of the others. "Man, that was easy. All right, Monster of the Day, you're next!"

"The name's Florabundacus." The monster answered in a high-pitched voice, and she stepped back a little when Shane yelled 'Ninja Storm, Ranger Form' to become the Red Wind Ranger. But she was not entirely afraid of the leader of the team, and with her pollen she managed to send him in a sneezing fit. Quickly the Red Ranger retracted his visor so he wouldn't sneeze into his helmet, but that just made him more vulnerable to the pollen, and before long he was kneeling on the ground with a pair of red eyes and brilliant red nose. "Now you know my pollen's something to sneeze at…OUCH!" Florabundacus' speech was abruptly cut short when a knife thrown by an unknown assailant cut her wrist. "You idiot, you attacked me! How could you!"

"It wasn't—Achoo!—me." Shane growled as he picked himself off the ground while sneezing every 5 seconds. He then raised a hand to wipe his nose and was surprised to see a tissue suddenly obscure his vision for a moment as someone waved it in his face. "Thanks. I needed that."

"Well, I can't help but apologize for being so mean to you." I said, and upon recognizing my voice Shane angrily started ranting about how mean the message on the cake had been, while I buried my head in my horse's mane and tried hard to hide a sheepish grin. "Anyway, if you're done with that outburst of yours, could you please start ranting on how bad my aim was?"

"Bad? That wasn't bad. Where did you learn that? That was awesome, dude."

"Thanks. Just so you know, I happened to learn shuriken basics long before you pipsqueaks came along." I answered with a grin from atop Silver Moon.

"Oh no, you did not just call me, Tori, and Dustin pipsqueaks." Shane replied, before I grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face the monster. "Right, right, we must get rid of this guy first."

"Get rid of me?" Florabundacus asked, and 'leafed' before we could charge at her. When Shane responded to this by thrusting his sword into the ground in front of him, I casually whipped out a potted plant I had hidden in my saddlebag.

"Want a Venus Flytrap, Shane dear? It would look great in your bedroom."

Silence. And then I was answered with a sarcastic reply that reminded me of Cam and his cynical remarks. "Sure, why not? Rub my defeat into my face, why don't you, by giving me a plant that looks like that monster I couldn't kill."

"Oh Shane, don't be mad. Come and take your skateboard, and we'll talk while you show me how many new tricks you've learned."

"Neigh!" Silver Moon agreed, and as the moon started to rise the three of us rode, or skated, down the path that led to the center of the park where our conversation could be continued in private.

It was 11 PM at night when Silver Moon abruptly yawned and made it clear that it was time to cut the conversation short and go back to Ninja Ops. Feeling a bit sleepy myself, I closed my eyes in an effort to concentrate on staying awake just a bit longer until we got back to base, but ended up snoring softly seconds later. Shane gawked, for he wasn't quite sure how I could sleep in a position like this, and fall asleep that fast too. Then he realized it meant my incessant apologies would cease until the next morning, and chuckled to himself. At that moment a thought passed through his head and he wondered if this was the perfect opportunity to do something cruel and wicked of his own. However, all thoughts of getting revenge on a unsuspecting Lunar Wolf Ranger vanished when his morpher started emitting that annoying beep and Cam's voice came through the speakers.

"Shane, you there? My father would like a word with you, if you don't mind."

"Be right there Cam." Shane answered. After putting down the potted Venus Flytrap, he gently began prying my hands off Silver Star's reins. Once in full control of the horse, he carefully got up behind me and patted the horse's neck. "Okay, let's go home buddy." Seconds later, both riders and horse had ninja streaked out of the park.

I was still snoring softly when Shane got us all back home, but a little conk on the head by a guinea pig who suddenly had the idea to tap my head hard with his bamboo stick caused me to jump up, fall off Silver Star, and land on the fresh hay in her stall. It was a painful landing, but the injuries were not serious and I walked out with a few minor bruises.

"Ugh…man, I swear my head will never be the same again. Did you have to do that, Sensei? I mean, you could have caused me to hit my head on the rafters or something and get a even nastier bump."

"I am sorry, Laura, but there is something you and the others must know before we all turn in for the night. Please understand that."

"Uh-huh. So what's the big i—yawn—dea?"

"Look." Sensei pointed at two seeds about the length of a IPod lying on his portable habitat. "These seeds were found on the site of the battle between Florabundacus and Shane. Since you studied Botany with our Earth Sensei a year ago, shall I assume you know a bit about this type of plant?"

I looked, then asked Cam to fetch a pencil. He did, with a skeptical look on his face, as if unsure how a pencil could help us get some answers. Without further ado I stabbed the seeds with the writing implement, and regretted doing this almost instantly. For as soon as the outer shell was ruptured both seeds started giving off an offensive smell. It was so bad, even the horses started blowing their noses hard in their sleep, while Sensei simply said 'phew!' as he waved his little paw in front of his twitchy nose. Beside me, a patch of grass hiding a little plastic rabbit with a Easter egg between its paws wilted.

"Ack, forget Botany. I call this plant the 'Stinky Bomb'. No questions asked." Hearing this, Shane snickered, but Cam and Sensei were not amused.

"Well, that's nice." Cam answered in a sarcastic voice. "Good one, Laura. Now we call see how pathetic you are."

"Oh, shut up." I retorted, before asking Sensei if he himself had the answer.

"No, but I have an acquaintance, Dr. Belrab, who is an expert on exotic plants. You must gather the others, Shane, and meet him tomorrow at his botanical laboratory outside of town."

Shane bowed to acknowledge the new mission before waving a hand at me. "Can she go too?"

"Of course. I want all Rangers involved. Cam will stay behind—"

"But why can't I go?" His son immediately protested upon realizing that he would be the only one left behind. "This may require someone who actually has a clue about botany."

"So you want to help. But I assure you that help is always there for the Rangers when they need it the most, so please be careful how you choose to get involved. Dismissed." With that, Sensei turned the cart around to let us know that he wasn't in the mood to talk any longer. After bowing toward his corner of Ninja Ops, I yawned, grabbed Shane's shoulder, and told him to 'throw me home'.

And throw he did. Seconds later Shane ninja streaked, with me in his arms, into the residence hall in the Blue Bay University campus. After receiving permission to enter my dorm, he then tossed me onto the lower bunk bed before turning off all the lights in the room. One more yawn later, I was fast asleep, and Hannah groaned when she realized that there was absolutely no way she could stay up to 2 AM studying for her Biology test now that the 'rude boy' had plunged the room into darkness.

"I'm surprised Laura knew that the 'Stinky Bomb' was related to the Venus Flytrap." Dr. Belrab said as he adjusted his glasses and squinted down at the large mystery seed he was now holding in his hands. Cam had knocked on his door 10 minutes earlier to have a cup of coffee and present the botanist with the mystery seeds and the Venus Flytrap I had brought for Shane. "But yes, this is a kind of flower which, to our relief, is relatively harmless despite being labeled as having an 'aggressive' nature. You see, it can't devour anything in its path yet, nor can it grow to a monstrous size, because it has to be nourished with water that has what some may call a 'kick' to it."

"I think we may have a problem anyway."

"Oh, don't fret. It's really quite harmless, unless you dunk it in the special nutrient bath I've just described. Stop worrying or you'll end up having strands of white hair long before you reach 20."

Cam smirked. "I'm already over the age of twenty, doctor."

"Oh. Right, right…these days I can hardly tell the ages of kids. My eyesight's not as good as it used to be, I'm afraid. My bad."

"So…where can one find this water, if you don't mind me asking?" Cam wanted to know as he poured himself another cup of coffee. The caffeine from the first one had not quite yet woken him up completely, and he had gotten only five hours of precious sleep last night due to the late-night conversation we had had with Sensei. Thus, this morning he was a tad crankier than usual.

"There's a volcanic spring to the north of here and—"

"You're talking about Turner Springs!"

"Yes, yes, I am. The trek's too dangerous to make often though, and besides, to do an experiment with this water here in my lab may have disastrous consequences, not to mention I've got giant corns to worry about." Here, he waved a hand to show that they had been talking in front of 3 50 feet tall giant corns the entire time.

"Ah…ha, ha, yes…very good." Cam said nervously, and quickly exited the laboratory while his head was still trying to make sense of the literal picture of giant corns. "Wow, that was…unexpected. Time to head out." With that, he pulled out a compass to determine where north was before walking away from the lab. As he disappeared into the bushes behind the greenhouse, he was unaware that the three Wind Rangers were watching him atop Tori's van with binoculars in their hands and interested looks upon their faces.

An argument quickly ensued, as the Rangers squabbled for the 'Volunteer to Ask Dr. Belrab' job. No-one could agree on who was going to trail Cam and who would be paying a visit to the botanist, and it's certain they would have gone on arguing all morning, had I not suddenly turned up with Desert Storm and told Dustin to go in with Tori, since it was his horse who had given me a ride this beautiful morning anyway. I then sent Shane to keep an eye on Cam, with strict instructions about when and how to approach the Sensei's son should the need for confrontation arise, before taking Tori's car keys away so I could drive out of town to meet and greet a bunch of strange ninjas who claimed they could control the element of fire.

While Shane ran off in Cam's direction, Dustin took up Desert Storm's reins and motioned for Tori to follow him into the lab. Together, they cautiously stepped into the greenhouse while making sure they were well aware of their surroundings, so that if an evil space ninja happened to be in the vicinity they could easily defend themselves. After crossing countless rows of strange plants and flowers with interesting scents, they stopped in front of two very familiar looking lab assistants making a fuss over a orange flower with odd looking petals.

"I know who you are--!" Tori burst out seconds after she laid eyes on them thanks to the disguise penetrating training I had given her over the course of the last few weeks, but before she could enlighten Dustin, Marah abruptly squeezed the blossom she had been admiring, releasing the pollen in the process and causing the Rangers to fall into a deep sleep.

"And that is how one takes care of menaces like the Power Rangers." Kapri announced proudly as she began to tie the two up with the vines Florabundacus had left behind under the table earlier that day. "Good job Marah, you knocked them out beautifully."

"Yes, take care of these sleeping beauties while I tend to my children." Florabundacus added as she abruptly appeared next to Lothor's nieces in a whirlwind of pollen, and headed for the stairs that led to the basement. Once there, she began her 'Destroy Humans Using Plants' rant, before urging her plants to grow faster so they could have the entire city trapped in vines by evening.

"Ah, here we are." Cam announced as he dipped a tiny glass vial into Turner Springs to extract a bit of water for his little 'Let's Grow the Monster Plant Accidentally And Wreck Ninja Ops' experiment. He didn't know it, but above him Shane was watching him while sharing a branch with a disgruntled squirrel eating its brunch. Though Shane didn't move, nor try to upset the creature, the squirrel wasn't used to having a human take up almost its entire favorite branch (Shane was lying down on it at the moment), but it couldn't move its entire meal away lest the hawk in the nearby tree decide to pounce on him. With Shane around, the hawk didn't dare have a snack, because it was afraid the teen might try to scare him off. Safe, but still very disgruntled, the squirrel occasionally stopped munching to throw its leftovers at our Red Ranger.

Below the tree, Cam was getting ready to leave. He just finished stuffing all his stuff back into his backpack when the Kelzaks jumped out of the bushes surrounding him and attacked. Fearing for Cam's safety, as he was not yet a Ranger, Shane quickly leapt off the branch, shaking half of the squirrel's remaining meal onto the ground in the process, and joined his mentor's son in battle. The Kelzaks were soon disposed of with a few well placed kicks and punches, allowing Shane to follow my directions to the letter and interrogate Cam. However, Cam would not reveal any answers. He simply told Shane that he himself would explain the situation to his father before storming off. Shane sighed, then made a mental note to tell me my plan had not produced the desired results.

"Mission failed." He muttered while taking one last look at the Springs. Just before he ninja streaked off to hide from my wrath in Storm Chargers, the angry squirrel managed to hit his head with its final acorn, leaving behind a small bump that would nevertheless be noticed and laughed at for a week. "And to top it off, I was defeated by a squirrel. How nice."

"And that's very good, for a beginner." Said Albert when I demonstrated how to summon a ball of fire from out of thin air for his friends and Sensei. It was supposed to have been a private training session, but word had spread fast, so our lesson was frequently interrupted by cheers, jeers, and wise advice. Now that I understood the basics, Albert told me, next week we could do something much more complicated with fire.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you next Monday then." I said to him, and began walking back to Tori's van accompanied by a blue jay who, though afraid of flame, had been curious enough to stay and watch me try out my new skills. "But wait! What's this I smell? Somebody's got pepper on him!"

"It's just my salt and pepper beef!" A blonde girl cried out, and I got a good view of her lunch when she held it out so everyone could see what she was eating. "Want to try one?"

"Er, not today, but thank you for your kind offer." I answered, before turning to the instructor, who was stroking his long white beard while reciting Chinese poetry in a voice so soft I could barely hear what he was saying. A bow got his attention, and he waved me away with a smile on his face. I smiled back, only to be presented with the beef again. "Ahem. I just said I wasn't in the mood for—ACHOO!"

"Eek!" Shrieked the girl, who immediately dropped the beef, which was, to my surprise, now on the ground smoking and looking quite black. The blue jay screeched as it flew away, apparently startled by the sight before it. "You burnt it!"

"I what?" I asked in surprise, and a boy named Zachary pointed out smoke was coming out of my mouth. Horrified, I used one of the Water techniques I had learned at the Wind Ninja Academy to create a ball of water in my palm so I could see my own reflection. "GAH! I can't be breathing fire! That's technically impossible!"

"Yes, it is, but this is quite…interesting, I must say." Said the Sensei. "I would be delighted to study you further, Laura."

I fumed when I heard the word 'study', because I didn't like the idea of becoming a human experiment, but gave my permission. "F-Fine. You can think of me as the 'human dragon' if you want. However, could we not meet too many times after Monday? Lothor thinks he's already destroyed everybody at the Ignis Ninja Academy and we can't have him spying on us from his spaceship…you never know what might happen if he finds out there were survivors."

"Of course, of course. Now go, child. There appears to be trouble in the city, and you may be needed."

"Trouble? Ah, dang it. Every time I leave the Winds alone they always leave behind some crazy mess. A mess which I, not Sensei, has to clean up." Quickly I started the engine and put my foot down on the pedal. "Gotta go, then! See you later, old geezer!"

Meanwhile, Cam was busy fighting a baby Sudima plant inside Ninja Ops with one hand while typing on the computer with the other.

"Shane, Laura, come in!" he shouted. "Dustin and Tori are in trouble! The parent plant's got them in its vines and they can't break free."

"How do you propose we break the vines?" Shane asked, and Cam turned his chair around so he could attempt to unwrap a vine from around Blazing Lion's neck before the poor stallion choked to death. "Uh…you okay over there Cam? You sound like you're in trouble."

"Yes, I'm okay." Cam grunted as he pried the last of the vine off the horse before returning to his seat. His father cried out behind him, begging for help, but the son was too busy typing on the keyboard to notice. "We had a situation involving a nearly dead horse, but that's taken care of for the time being. Now, draw your sword, wait a few seconds while I upload this power up, and start slashing away."

"Why can't I use my Hawk Blaster? I could probably fry that thing now."

"No, you can't, because its vines are too thick and it can regenerate really easily. I just broke a vine trying to save Blazing Lion and it regrew faster than you could say 'dang'. Download complete, you go try it out now."

"Great." As Cam watched, Shane then leapt into the air repeating 'she loves me, she loves me not' as he sliced the giant destructive flower into pieces. Seconds after the flower exploded a car suddenly came out of thin air and I stepped out with a flustered expression on my face. "Oh, hello Laura. Nice of you to ah, streak by."

I laughed at this before helping the others get back on their feet. "Gee, thanks. Now, it's time to kick some petals around! Who's with me?"

"I am!" As usual Dustin was enthusiastic about fighting evil space ninjas. "By the way, dude, you have got to show me how to streak while driving a car, it sounds awesome."

"Maybe some other time. Wild Access!"

"And here we go again." Tori mumbled when Florabundacus abruptly stomped into view to complain we had killed her baby. Since I was in the front of the group, she chose to charge at me first, but I suddenly ninja streaked away, leaving behind a horse sized wolf dummy behind me. Then, while Florabundacus still looked shocked, Shane used the wolf dummy as a launching pad so he could leap into the air and perform a spectacular Ninja Air Assault on the monster, who screeched in pain as the sword broke the vines attached to her body.

"How can that toothpick hurt me?" She screeched while blowing pollen at the Wind Rangers, who rolled out of the way to escape her attack. "You can't possibly…"

"That would be because it's a ninja sword and weed whacker! It's an all in one deal I couldn't refuse, so I brought it!" Shane shouted back at her, and took out his personalized weapon. "All right, Storm Striker positions, people! Hawk Blaster goes in front today!"

"Storm Striker, fire!" the trio soon hollered seconds later, and Florabundacus screamed loudly as she exploded.

"And now, let's bring out the Megazord!" I called out in my best announcer's voice, as the Rangers started forming the Storm Megazord. Since the role of commentator could tire me out quickly, and my voice didn't sound right thanks to the helmet, I quickly demorphed. "Actually, it's the Storm Megazord Lightning Mode we're gonna be watching today, folks! I wonder what attacks they plan to do…OH! Florabundacus looks shocked! The Rangers have created a ramp, and now the Megazord is rolling down it at a speed that could put my Wolf Zord to shame! Ah! They hit, and Florabundacus is sent flying! What a spectacular move, and crash too! I can't believe my ears, and I've got such sensitive ones. Now, let's see what the Rangers will do next! Oh, it's the Blizzard Flurry, and Florabundacus hates the cold! Hear how loudly she shrieks as Dustin's Lion Zord freezes her! And finally, we see the Serpent Sword being brought out of Power Sphere #1 just for the fun of it, since the Rangers love doing multiplication! One slash, and yes, the Rangers win! Oh, what a spectacular move! Join us next time for a—What?" My morpher suddenly went off at this time, which ruined the commentary.

"Laura?" It was Shane.

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Whatever. Dustin?"

"Glad you asked! If you come up here to stand by us, you can probably see my house from here!"

"And thus, for staying up so late and engaging Florabundacus in combat without notifying me, the others, or Cam, you and Laura are to be punished." Said Sensei to Shane when we finally returned to Ninja Ops soon after the battle. "Ten mile jog, please."

"But!" I cried out, and Sensei's fur suddenly started smoking, much to the shock of the others. "Oh shoot! I let my emotions carry me away again. Sorry Sensei!"

Sensei's only response with a stern expression, which caused me to kneel before him and kowtow 4 times, but the apology was not enough, for he decided to extend the punishment. "15 mile jog please, both of you. And Laura, though I may not be able to rid you of this fiery new ability, learn that some outbursts are probably best kept to yourself. We cannot have Ninja Ops burning down because of your hot temper."

"Yes Sensei." With that said, I grabbed Shane's hand and together we headed out the door to brave the cold wind blowing outside.