Author's Note: Just another lil bit of fun, written at the urging of some friends. Thanks to QueenRiley for the inspiration for this. If you want to read a wonderful story with a similar premise to this fic, you should check out her fic 'Innocence' – it's amazing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers or any related media or characters. The story idea is partly own but the rest isn't. Everything is copyrighted to its respective owners.
WARNING!: This fic will contain slash, femslash and possibly even some het (le gasp). Fic rating might change depending on what I write for later chapters, but I will warn before any mature scenes. Please keep this in mind.
Extra Note: Contains some spoilers for certain plot points in the series, maybe. Slight AU since it strays from canon – but most of my fics do that, ne?
Rereading this, Flynn's accent's been very inconsistent and I haven't been proofreading as well as I should. Guess the Deeg is just too eager to get new chapters out. XD I'll try to proofread a bit more before sending the next chapters.
Duck, weave, dodge, parry, block, strike. Terms and motions whizzed through Ziggy's young mind as he attempted to keep on his feet and unharmed as Scott came at him, the older male's moves calculated and precise. When he'd started teaching the boy, the Red Ranger had held back more, merely showing Ziggy the basics and informing him of his mistakes. Now that his pupil had physically grown twice and was showing speedy improvements, he didn't have to hold back as much. If the boy left an opening where he could be hit, the team leader would hit him, and things would continue from there. After all, in a fight against real enemies, they weren't going to stop for you to fix the errors in your form or for you to catch your breath. Well, that was usually the case anyway - grinders tended to be on the stupid side and would occasionally wait for you if asked.
"Come on Zigs, get up." Scott called, looking down at where he'd sent the boy sprawling from a small hit to the chest. His student almost always would roll away from an attack like that or scramble back up soon afterward. The fact that Ziggy wasn't doing so right now either meant he'd been seriously hurt or was hoping for a break. "Come on Ziggy – we're not due to break again for another twenty minutes and you know it. Get up." the man repeated more sternly, but as his student barely moved or groaned, he walked over slowly to check on him.
Soon as the Red Ranger was close enough, he realized his mistake, what with Ziggy springing up from his position on the floor to try and bypass Scott's defenses from below. Had the man not had well trained reflexes and quick thinking, the would probably have been thrown. As it was, the older male managed to grab Ziggy and half pin him, albeit receiving a punch to the jaw before he'd gotten a good hold on the boy.
With his student half held right now, the dark skinned male shook his head, "I can't decide if I should bother reprimanding you for using a dirty trick or not, since that grin tells me you already know it was underhanded." the Red Ranger commented, smiling despite himself at the boy's wild grin.
Ziggy stuck his tongue out, slipping down to a crouch, trying to turn Scott's grip on his arms against the older man, "You said you're teaching me PRACTICAL stuff this time, and deception IS practical." he argued, attempting to use his teacher's own weight and arm position to flip him. It'd have worked better had Ranger Red been moving, but it did get him off of Ziggy and onto the mat again, so it worked just fine.
The ranger kept a firm hold on one of the boy's wrists, yanking the boy back to him and pinning him against the floor. "You have a point. We can talk to K about contesting that mark on your score then later." he joked, knowing the girl tended to monitor their sessions with interest. She claimed it was because seeing the improvements of one member of the team was relevant to her studies. They all knew she just liked to see her little student showing up the others at things, which he got to do every once in a while.
It didn't take long for the pair to get away from bantering once more and back to serious combat practice and training. However, the lighthearted moments between their sparing matches did show how the two were growing closer. This Ziggy wasn't half as afraid of Scott as he had been as a grown up, and Scott was a lot less irritable with the younger ranger. The smaller brunette might not be perfect at everything, but he was a fast learner when he was given time and a patient instructor, which the older male was becoming more and more of.
"How long've you been this age again, Zigs?" Ranger Red asked as he darted around another of the boy's punches, the thought having just struck him that it'd been a while since his teammate grew. They'd all realized he would return to adulthood at some point, and with how short the initial stages were, the team was positive the boy would be back to his old self before too long. However, his current stage had lingered for a long while and K said that things in him were starting to stabilize more and more, meaning jumps between ages would be slower and less jarring for him.
Getting used to this whole 'thinking on your feet' business, the younger male parried a move Scott was sending at him before trying to aim his own and answer, "Least a month 'n a half? Maybe a bit more? I keep forgetting to mark days off on my calendar and K said not to worry about it."
The man rolled his eyes, darting back from Ziggy's hit, "Think you should be due to grow any time now though, right?" he asked, looking like he was leaving an opening for the boy to kick him, but preparing to grab and throw the other.
Zigs stopped a second, looking confused and automatically aiming a punch off from where Scott had left himself open, "Maybe? I don't know – the first time I felt sick the morning of but fine before, and the second time I felt fine even when I was changing. This time I was upset because of other things so I didn't really notice it."
Scott stumbled a bit, the messed up fake out throwing him a tad, "Any clue what you'll be next time?" the older male was pretty sure the boy would be a full on teenager this time, but it was just felt like a natural question.
Taking the opportunity of his commander being off balance, the small brunette ducked down to sweep a kick and send the Red Ranger sprawling. Bouncing on his toes a bit, the boy grinned, "It's 3 – time for a break." as he said this, Ziggy headed over to offer Scott a hand and try to help the larger male off the floor. It wasn't something he could easily do, but the older man thankfully had already mostly gotten his legs under him.
From the side of the training room, applause could be heard, drawing the pair's attention away from their conversation. Gem and Gemma stood in the doorway, bright smiles on their faces, ready to greet the duo for a break. "Hiiiiiii!" the woman called first, darting over to hug Ziggy as her brother came over to shake hands with Scott and smack the man's student lightly on the shoulder. "That was really good." Gem complimented, having seen training sessions before but pretty sure the youngest male in the room could use the praise anyway.
"Thanks." the boy answered before following Gemma's lead into the living room. Scott trailed after them, joking with Gem about whether or not he was losing his edge, or Ziggy just had freak luck.
On the couch Ziggy and Scott flopped down in unison – the boy having learned the proper comfortable limp bodied couch flop from his surrogate "father" - and the twins snickered a bit, taking seats across from where they were. "You two really were talking pretty-" "-seriously there for a bit!" the olive skinned pair commented, eyes wide with curiosity.
The red ranger nodded, "Yeah, I was asking Zigs about when he's next growing. Which reminds me," here he turned to look at the younger boy, "you didn't say what age you thought you'd be about."
Immediately both twins' eyes were on their young protege. Nervously scratching the back of his head, Ziggy tried to come up with a good answer, "Well, if the growth pattern I have been following up to this point remains, I should likely be about 16 or 17." he told them, eliciting a giggle from the twins.
Even with both Scott and Ziggy blinking up at them, it took a moment for them to be able to explain what was so funny, "Oh Ziggy, you just-" "-sound so much like K!" Ranger Red looked at his companion for a second before chuckling and nodding, "You do, kind of."
The boy lightly kicked the older ranger before half reclining against the side of the couch, Scott's chuckles having just increased on the other end, rather than the man retaliating. With a fond smile, the older man looked over at his friend before speaking, "Yanno, when you get to your next age, I should teach you to drive."
This statement was met with shocked faces from the other people in the room. The man looked between the three of them with a raised eyebrow, "What? I said I should teach him to drive, not that I was going to suddenly shave my head and wear a dress. Why all the surprise?" seriously, they were looking at him like he'd gone insane.
Ziggy awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he answered, "Well it's just that...um...YOU just offered to teach ME to DRIVE." he pointed out. Sure, he and Flynn had a car for him already and there was the implication that someone might end up teaching him, but Scott of all people? Ziggy may not have remembered EVERYTHING yet, but he did know for sure that one of his last memories of the older man involved him getting yelled at over something to do with Scott's car. Denting it maybe, though Ziggy didn't even remember doing that.
Gem and Gemma backed their friend up, nodding in sync, "You are really-" "-REALLY protective of your car." they said in awe, watching Scott's face he took in these comments.
"Hell, last thing I remember from you is you being pissed that I did something to your car." the brunette added, figuring he might as well put that out there. At that the twins shifted uncomfortably however, "Yeah, you were super pissed at Ziggy-" "-even though it was us that dented it."
The man had been about ready to admit that yes, maybe he was a tad too protective of his car, when the twins admitted to what they'd done. Turning slowly, Scott fixed them with a dark look, "You two did what?" he asked quietly. Had they really just told him he'd been yelling at Ziggy that day for absolutely no reason? The Red Ranger had already felt kind of bad for that but it was a bit of a blow to know not only had he yelled at his teammate for something that stupid, he'd also done it unjustly.
The pair shifted nervously before looking at Scott with guilty expressions, Gem starting the explanation, "We're the ones who dented your car that day-"
"-it was an accident and Ziggy took the fall for us cause he didn't want you to be mad." Gemma finished with a small nod.
"We were really really scared so we were hiding when he came down-"
"-and he just let you yell and then asked us not to do it again. That was the second time-"
"-in a few days he saved us. We were the ones who-"
"-messed up the laundry too."
"We're really really sorry, Scott." The sad expressions on both of their faces was enough to know they were being honest here, and the man just sighed, putting his head in his palm. Really, his team members were scared of him getting pissed over crap like this? It hurt a bit to think that but maybe that was one of the reasons no one listened to him as much as leader – he did a sucky job at it.
Shaking his head, the man sat up and nodded, "Don't worry about it," he said finally, "they were accidents and you guys know better now. Just, next time, come out and tell me the truth, okay?"
Cocking their heads to the side in unison, Gem and Gemma stared at him, "So you aren't-" "-mad at us?" They were actually kind of surprised at that – and at the fact that Ziggy was just watching them with interest rather than commenting. Hopefully he wasn't mad about taking the blame for them either.
Leaning back, the team captain waved a hand lightly, "Don't worry about it." he repeated, reaching over to lightly punch Ziggy on the arm with a smile, "And you don't go taking my crap for stuff you didn't do, you hear me?"
The boy laughed a bit, nodding, "Yeah yeah yeah." he agreed, leaning back on his own end of the couch. "Though this TOTALLY explains why I couldn't remember for the life of me what I'd done to your car."
The group palled around a bit before they had to return to training. Gem and Gemma decided to join in Ziggy's lesson and the boy actually got a rare chance to practice fighting a group – which was a pretty necessary skill for Ranger duty, so Scott had no problem letting them go that route. Things were going pretty well till Summer poked her head in to stop them.
"All right, you guys, I think that's enough for today." the blonde told them with a smile, "Dr. K wants to see you, Scott, and I was going to take Ziggy for ice cream before Flynn steals him to help out at his dad's."
The dark skinned man shrugged, lightly shoving his student towards his girlfriend, "Don't spoil him too much," he joked, "but have a good time you two."
Summer smiled, putting an arm lightly around Ziggy's shoulders as they walked out of the building. He was still a good deal shorter than her, not having gotten the growth spurt that made him so much taller than her just yet, so the woman could still enjoy walking along with her "son" like this. "Did you have a good lesson today?" she inquired, the pair taking their time on the stroll towards the ice cream stand.
"Pretty good – Gem and Gemma joined in at the end so I got to practice against them and Scott. It was pretty cool." the boy told her with a bright grin on his features, feeling pretty optimistic, "And Scott said he'd teach me to drive when I grew next!"
The blonde's eyebrows shot up, "Really now? That's good!" the yellow ranger felt proud of her boyfriend – Scott had matured a lot in the time since Ziggy'd been shrunk. They all had, growing closer as a team and as a family, but it was still gratifying to see the small changes in people as they became apparent.
As the two reached the corner where the ice cream stand was usually set up, Summer slowed down. Her companion had been walking backwards a ways ahead of her, so he didn't see the men as soon as she did. Fresno Bob and a few of his goons – including Benny – had stopped and were having an argument with the stand's owner. The blonde had completely forgotten about the cartels being after Ziggy and seeing as he was old enough to be slightly recognizable by now, they were going to be in some deep trouble if they spotted him.
The brunette, for his part, had just turned around at the sound of the argument. The day was hot, and the men were only vaguely familiar to him, just trying to get some ice cream from the very stubborn shop owner. He was claiming to be closed and out of what they wanted, but it was obvious the man just didn't want to serve these people. Before Summer could call out to stop him, the curly haired boy had dashed over to the front of the cart, raising a brow at the owner.
"What's going on here, Alex?" he asked, glancing between the people in suits and the somewhat grouchy stand owner. Usually when they came by, the person operating the stand was the much more friendly Julia, Alex's daughter but it seemed today she was busy so her father was working things. And unlike his daughter, Alex was a much more hardened and stubborn person, something Ziggy had taken a small dislike to when he'd met the man.
The burly Alex gave the boy a dirty look, "None of your business, boy." he hissed, "I was just telling these men to leave."
Ziggy maintained his calm expression, resting his elbow on the edge of the cart and looking between the still quite stunned cartel men and Alex, "Oh, why? Have they been causing trouble for you?" he asked, "Because it looks to me like they just want to purchase some of your wares and be on their way." As he said this, he turned to smile a bit at Fresno Bob and Benny, who were the ones staring at him the most.
The vendor coughed lightly, jaw clenching, "Yes but I don't want to serve them." he repeated through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at the boy.
It didn't phase the curly haired teen at all, Ziggy just shrugging, "Well that, I do believe, is discrimination. And I don't think people in Corinth really need to be dealing with that over ice cream, now do you?" he asked sweetly, "Though I'm sure these myself and these men could get something much better and with a lot less hassle a few blocks down at Pietro's, so we won't bother you further." Ziggy turned to walk away, looking like he was about to give directions to the men as to where to find the other ice cream stop when Alex sighed, opening his cart.
"FINE. Here. Whatever, I'll serve them." he growled and took the treats Bob and his workers had wanted out. It was a good thing he did too, since Fresno Bob tended to really like the quality of the goods here and really didn't want to go elsewhere, even if the proprietor was being a jackass. And it was really hot today.
The boy smiled up at the gang and waved a bit, heading back towards Summer, "have a nice day, gentlemen." he said. However, as he went the half a block back to his companion, the group followed him. The blonde tensed as Ziggy turned around to smile back at the group again. "Did you need something?"
Fresno Bob looked at him for a few moments, "Do I want to ask, Ziggy, just how you got to be thirteen again?" As if he couldn't recognize the boy like this – particularly as that was how Ziggy Grover had even managed to get in good with the cartel to begin with, being the only person in a particular town willing to serve them regardless of their status.
The teen blinked a bit, vaguely remembering the older men now, and wondering very much why he wasn't scared, "Long story – something about fighting stupid monsters trying to destroy the city." he said with a shrug, smiling at them brightly. Presently, all that was coming to him about the Scorpion Cartel was who was who, how they acted, and that he'd once worked for them. Anything about debts was still a bit fuzzy.
Bob peered at him for a few moments before nodding, "Hope you get better soon, Ziggy. We'll discuss your debt when you're back to your proper age." he assured the teen before nodding to his men and heading back to the limo. Benny smiled brightly and waved a bit to his old friend before following after them – his boss's tone was a pretty good sign that the boy was getting himself at least somewhat back into the man's good graces. And that'd mean less chance of Ziggy getting ghosted.
Summer stared for a bit before grabbing Ziggy into a quick hug. "You should be more careful, Ziggy – those men wanted you dead when you were a grownup." she told him quietly. The boy shrugged a bit, "Well, I'm still here, so let's get our stuff and get on our way, huh? I don't think Alex is in the best of moods with me." he laughed.
The blonde shook her head, reaching out to pull him into another quick hug. "You're just going to worm your way into everyone's hearts aren't you?" she asked, shaking her head and leading the boy away. Little did they know that lurking in the shadows was an Attackbot who had every intention of ending this boy's life, as well as his chances of worming into any more hearts. And if he took out a certain traitorous female in the meantime, what was the harm in that?