(Disclaimer: I do not own PRNS….only Aria Bradley)
(A/N: the song on the previous chapter is "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis; however I did alter some lyrics)
Chapter 20: Tongue and Cheek
-Storm Chargers-
After their moment on the beach a couple of weeks ago Aria and Dustin have gotten much closer, in fact she had been more open with her feelings, smiling more instead of small grins and smirks. She had also even forgotten about her…other powers; however, she didn't know what to call this 'relationship'. Things were still crazy with their 'other job' just last week Cam had created a device that was meant to turn Sensei back into a human but instead caused him to switch bodies with Shane and Dustin.
Speaking of Dustin, Aria was waiting for him to get off work when a hefty business guy walked in. The two rangers slowly inched closer and heard Kelly reject his offer to buy the small store, they glared at the guy and watched as he walked off.
Later that evening Aria was still waiting for Dustin, not that she minded, she enjoyed helping around the shop.
"Later!" the two of them said as Kelly was about to walk out
"You guys don't mind locking up?"
"No, I just have some stuff to finish up" Dustin confirmed
"See you tomorrow!"
After she left the two of them headed to the back to finish up some work when Aria heard the door open and multiple hushed voices.
"Psst, Dustin….what do we do?"
He thought for a second and stepped farther back from Aria
"Oh fuck no…" she said as he morphed.
She watched as Dustin stopped one of the guys from ripping a skateboard off the wall. She had to admit that the guys' faces were pretty hilarious. They scrambled to the door but were stopped again by Dustin's double.
"Guess you didn't see the 'closed' sign" he said to the group of guys "Now go back and tell your boss the shop's not for sale!" they guys tried to run out the door but were stopped again "After you put that back" he said motioning to the surfboard in one of the robber's hands.
At that moment Kelly walked in "Dustin, I forgot my-wow a power ranger" she breathed
"Yes ma'am now you have any more problems with these guys. MOVE IT!" the robbers left leaving only Kelly and Dustin in the shop
"Uh, thanks!"
"No problem!" he said before he streaked out the door, seconds later he and Aria appeared from the back
"Did you guys see that?" she asked
"What?" they both said
-Next Day: Ninja Ops-
Dustin and the other Winds were in Ops the next day, he had just told the others about the appearance of the Yellow Wind Ranger at Storm Chargers
"Lucky you were there to help Kelly" Shane said
"Yeah, hopefully those boneheads won't come back"
"Your actions were noble Dustin," Sensei said "but using your ninja powers for everyday situations could have serious consequences"
"Sensei, we fight Lothor's goons all the time!" Dustin said, trying to reason with the guinea pig "What's the big deal helping out a friend?"
Aria soon walked in followed by her two brothers holding the latest newspaper
"Hey check this out" Hunter said with concern
"Our boy here's a celebrity!" Blake joked
The headline said 'Blue Bay Seeing Yellow: Is Yellow Going Solo?'
"Kelly must've told a reporter what you did" Aria thought out loud "It's all over the newspapers"
Tori read out the headline causing Dustin to laugh and smile while Shane started to read the article
"While the city has grown used to the heroics of the Power Rangers, this is the first time one has stepped forward on his own"
The three Bradleys looked at each other, having read the article already they knew what was going to be said about Dustin next
"Could this be a sign of things to come as Yellow going solo?" Tori followed
"Hey that's stupid!" Dustin exclaimed "Why would I-"
He was cut off by the computer, it wasn't the alarm signaling an attack but instead it was a flood of fan mail coning through
"What's up with the computer?" Blake asked as the six rangers ran over to Cam
"I've been keeping tabs on some of the fan sites, yellow ranger just got fifteen thousand letters and counting!"
"They're all for him?" Shane asked in shock
"Don't be so shocked" he replied with slight arrogance
"Hey it's jamming the system!" Aria pointed out "It's gonna crash!"
As she said those words the supercomputer sparked, smoked, and shut down
"Do us a favor Dustin, next time you decide to become famous, tell your fans to send letters the old fashion way…with stamps" she added with annoyance. Dustin just smiled and lightly laughed.
-Storm Chargers-
Shane, Hunter, Blake, and Aria all walked into Storm Chargers and were shocked to see how packed the small store was
"Hey guys!" Kelly greeted brightly
"What's the deal Kel?" Aria asked
"Ever since Yellow Ranger made his debut appearance, I can't keep people away! It's kinda crazy but it's great for business"
"What? Just 'cause Yellow Ranger was here? He's not even like, the Red one" Shane said only to receive shoves from the guys and a smack up the head from Aria
"I don't know…there's something a man in yellow" Kelly smiled as she walked away
Aria had to stop herself from laughing at that statement. Seconds later Dustin appeared from the back room.
"Oh man, I lost track of time! Let me wash up!" he said before disappearing again
Shane had a demo that day and Dustin was supposed to come watch
"So what are you guys gonna do while me and Dustin are at the skate park?"
Hunter reached into his back pocket and brought out a folded letter
"It's from our adopted grandmother"
"Yeah, we've never met her before but we hear she's really sick" Aria said with concern and worry
"You guys gonna visit her?"
"That's the problem" Blake sighed "She lives like really far away"
"Hey you think Sensei will let us use the Ninja Red Eye?" Hunter whispered (A/N: Can someone explain to me what that is?) "If you know what I mean?"
"One way to find out" Shane shrugged
The three of them said their goodbyes and left to go ask Sensei
-Ninja Ops-
They handed the Ninja Master the letter and waited for him to make his decision
"Can we go Sensei?" Aria asked
"As you know, Ninja Skills are only to be used for the betterment of humanity,"
The Bradleys cringed at those words thinking he wouldn't let them go
"And I believe caring for your family certainly falls into that category" he finished, causing those cringes to turn into smiles.
"Thank you Sensei!" Blake said brightly
"We'll be careful" Hunter reassured
"You must be. We cannot afford another situation like the one Dustin has got himself into"
Aria groaned, "Ugh, don't remind me…" she looked over at Cam "You cool with fixing the computer by yourself?"
"Yeah, I should be done in a couple of hours…go ahead"
"Thanks Cam!"
With that, she and her brothers were off to visit their grandma.
-Unknown-
(A/N: Couldn't think of a location for this scene)
Aria and her brothers were almost at their grandmother's when she got a call from Tori
"Hey guys hold on a sec!" she said as she picked up the phone "Um, hey T is something wrong?" this prompted Tori to give full blown rant to the Black Thunder Ninja about how Dustin was letting fame get to his head and how he and Shane were at each other's throats, when Tori was finally done Aria had an annoyed look on her face "T, tell him to smarten the hell up before I beat his ass" she finished as she hung up
Her brothers looked at her with eyebrows raised
"Long story…." She said as they continued walking
-Dark Forest-
Aria had just finished telling her brothers what Tori told her
"So Dustin and Shane are pissed at each other because Dustin went off to fight an alien without telling Shane and Dustin thinks Shane is just jealous of all the attention is getting?" Blake asked
"Essentially yes; and apparently he's doing phone interviews now" Aria said with an eye roll
"Ok can we change the subject really quick?" Hunter asked out of the blue
"Um….ok"
"Is there something going on between you and Dustin?"
Aria stopped in her tracks and looked at her older brother
"Um…."
"Is there Ri?" Blake added
"I don't really see the big deal here" she finally said
Her brothers stared at her with wide eyes
"What?"
"When did this happen?" Hunter demanded
"During the whole Beevil incident, I really don't see the big deal…" she replied as she started walking again
"The big deal is that you're dating our best friend!" Blake answered
"He's too old for you too!" Hunter added
"Wow, one year! You're right Hunter, way too old" something a couple yards away caught her eye and she stopped beside an old tree
"Ri-" Hunter started again
"Hold on…" she cut him off as she focused her attention to an old house in the middle of the forest "Look"
"Hey that must be the place!" Blake said
"No, I think it might be another house in the middle of the woods dude" Aria said sarcastically
Ignoring her Blake continued "Looks like something out of a fairy tale"
"A grim one maybe…" she added
"Let's just get down there, I hope grandma's alright…" Hunter said as he led them down to the house
"Grandma!" Aria called out as the three reached the front of the house
"Blake? Hunter? Aria? Is that you? Come closer so I can see" their grandma said in a shaky voice
Aria then got more self-conscious about what she was wearing, this was the first time they ever met her and she knew some people thought her style was a bit…much; so Aria closed her black and gray flannel to try and cover her purple crop top. Thankfully she chose to wear jeans instead of her usual black shorts.
However, as they got nearer they finally got a good look at the old woman. She had a big nose and curly…pink hair?
"Grandma what a big-" Blake began
"Dude, go easy!" Hunter warned
"Uh, pair of glasses you have?"
"All the better to see you with my dear" Their grandma said
"Well apparently we're in little Red Riding Hood now" Aria mumbled
"What big pink hair you have?" Blake continued as he circled around the old lady
"All the better to tease you with my dear" the lady said as she fluffed her hair, knocking her glasses off as well as…her nose?
"What the fuck…"Aria mouthed to Hunter
"Ugh, what's with the nose?" Hunter said to Blake
This started a quick conversation between her two oblivious brothers, but for Aria she noticed the front door was open and that someone was inside. The person inside let out a small giggle and she knew exactly who it was. The pink hair, the nose, it was so obvious it was sad she didn't notice before. Summoning a ball of lightning she hurled it at the door to reveal Marah. Kapri shot up from her chair and ripped the disguise off. The three of them got into their fighting stances
"Ri! What just happened?" Blake asked
"I just proved once again why I'm the smart one out of us three" she replied as a group of Kelzaks and a new alien appeared
"ATTACK!" the sisters commanded
They defeated the Kelzaks easily and all that was left was Lothor's latest goon, Slob Goblin.
"Time for my stamp of approval!" he said
"Not so fast!" Hunter commanded
"This one's marked return to sender" Blake added
"Oh really?"
"THUNDERSTORM"
However, they never finished their morphing call as Slob Goblin's giant tongue shot out and transformed them into stamps.
"Huh?"
"Blake? Ri?"
"What the hell?!"
-Ninja Ops-
"I'm worried about Dustin," Shane spoke to Tori "I mean all the attention's gone to his head, if it gets any bigger-"
"What?" they heard Dustin say angrily as he walked into Ops "There'd be no room in here for the rest of you?"
"Something like that…" Shane sighed
"I think you're just jealous and dude green is not your colour"
"Well it is my colour dude," Cam said from the computer "and I think Shane has a point for what it's worth"
"Typical, everyone thinks Dustin can't be right!" he exclaimed in frustration
"This isn't about who's right Dustin it's about doing what's right" Tori reasoned but Dustin just rolled his eyes
"We are all pleased you have gained the world's attention Dustin but how you use that attention is what's important" Sensei
Dustin pretended to think about but just ignored what everyone had to say "Hmm, thanks for your concern but I think I'm doing just fine. I gotta go I have to take a call from my agent."
"Agent?" Tori exasperated
"I can only imagine what Ri would've said" Shane thought out loud
"I believe her words were 'Tell him to smarten up before I beat his ass' "
"That's not the only problem" Cam said
"I've just lost all trace of the Thunders…"
-Later-
About a half hour later Cam was able to find the last known location of the Thunders "I've traced the Thunders' DNA, they disappeared off the map here, and reappeared…there!" he said as he showed satellite footage of Slob Goblin at a construction site
"Lothor' post monster general" Shane grumbled
"Must've gone postal on Hunter, Blake, and Ri" Tori said "Let's go"
"Someone beat you to it" Cam said as he pulled up a video of Dustin facing off Slob Goblin
"How'd he get there already?"
"Hey, he's the great Yellow Ranger remember? Of course he's there first"
"Shane, I seem to remember that before you and Dustin were Rangers, you were good friends. It would be a shame to los that" their Sensei said
Shane bowed his head, and hurried out with Tori.
-Construction Site-
"HOLD IT!" Shane cried out as he and Tori arrived just as Dustin was about to morph
"Mind if we crash your party?" Tori asked
"Hey don't answer that 'cause we already did" Shane said bitterly as he and Dustin glared at each other
"NINJA STORM! RANGER FORM! HA!" however, because Dustin and Shane were fighting to be in the center the morph took longer than usual
"Power of Air"
"Earth"
"Water"
"Hey! What've you done with our friends?" Tori demanded
"I've stamped them out! And you're about to be next!" Slob Goblin announced as he blasted at the Winds. Tori cartwheeled away while Shane pushed Dustin aside. Shane got up and attack the monster using his Ninja Air Attack. Behind him, Dustin was gliding on his stomach and attacked, knocking him to the ground.
"He's mine!" Dustin growled as he faced Shane "Back off!"
"Listen to me!"
"No I'm tired of listening to you!" Dustin shouted as he grabbed Shane
"Now you guys are being ridiculous!" Tori yelled over the two boys' arguing
"Dustin, he has Aria and her brothers!" Shane finally yelled
Dustin stopped shaking Shane "What?"
Before Shane could answer back Slob Goblin shot out his tongue and grabbed a hold of Tori.
"Tori!" the boys shouted
"Thanks to you, I gotta new blue stamp!" the monster announced as he blasted at the boys again.
"I gotta help her! And Ri!" Dustin said
"You?" Shane demanded thinking Dustin just wanted more attention
"Ugh, this whole thing was my fault"
"If that's the way you want it, take this" Shane said handing his friend his Hawk Blaster
"What? Your Hawk Blaster?"
"If you really don't want my help, then you'll need all the fire power you can get"
"Wait, I don't wanna go in alone" Dustin decided as he handed the blaster back to Shane
After coming to an agreement the two friends teamed up against the Slob Goblin, destroying him.
"That's for kidnapping my girlfriend" Dustin said as the alien blew up
Then Slob Goblin grew, the rangers destroyed him with the megazord and freed everyone from the stamps (A/N: you get the pattern…)
-Dark Forest-
After what felt like forever the Bradleys, and their grandmother, were all returned to where they were when they got turned into stamps.
When they were freed Aria looked to her grandmother with a smile "Grandma, are you alright?" with a smile and nod Aria couldn't help but feel a rush of joy knowing her family was alright. But she also had a good feeling about something she couldn't really put a finger on.
-Next Day: Ninja Ops-
When Aria got back from her grandmother's she and Dustin went out on another date to catch up a little on what happened the day before. Together, they walked in to Ninja Ops hand in hand
"So how's seeing your grandma?" Dustin asked
"She's so cool! She's feeling much better now as well. She wasn't even fazed by the monster attack! That's one tough lady!" she laughed. Dustin laughed along with her. "So," Aria continued with a smirk "I'm your girlfriend now?"
"Shane told you?" Dustin cringed
Aria nodded her head with a smile
"Sorry-"
"The only thing you should be sorry about, is not calling me that sooner" she joked as they laughed together again
From behind them Shane, Tori, and Aria's brothers walked up with the latest newspaper in hand
"Hey, check it out!" Shane said
"Hey that's us!" Dustin said excitedly
"'Rangers Continue to Stifle Crime'" Aria read out loud
"Front cover bro!" Shane continued happily
"Hey the press did show!" Dustin noticed
From his habitat Sensei spoke up "Fortunately, they seemed to have missed the part where you opened your visors"
The Wind Rangers just laughed nervously at the thought of getting caught.
"I'm through with being a celebrity" Dustin said shaking his head "From now on, it's all for one and one for all"
Shane, deciding to mess with Dustin one last time, leaned over and whispered something to the Bradley brothers
"WHAT?!" they both yelled at the same time causing the others to stare at them then back at Shane
"Oh you didn't…"Aria said
Dustin, as usual, was the last person to catch on but finally realized how much trouble he was in with the Thunder Brothers. He laughed nervously before taking off running, followed by Hunter and Blake.
Shane and the other's busted out laughing, unfortunately for Shane however, Aria had fixed her terrifying glare on him. "Hey T, I think I found my new target for knife throwing" she said darkly, causing Shane to take off as well, followed closely by the Black Thunder Ninja. This just caused the remaining people/rodents in Ops to laugh harder.
(A/N: Not my best chapter….but oh well. Dustin and Aria are finally together! Please check the poll in my profile for one of my future chapters. And pleaseREVIEW/FOLLOW)