The next morning, Gia wandered in a zombie-like state, shuffling into the kitchen in her pyjamas. Eric was in the kitchen, reading a newspaper, while Emma was by the cooker, making breakfast. It had been the smell of fresh pancakes that had stirred her awake. Gia liked her sleep, but Emma had known her for so long, she knew that opening her door a little way and starting to cook was a far more effective way of waking her than a marching band. Mr Goodall set down his newspaper.
"Good morning." He greeted her. "Would you like some matchsticks to hold your eyes open?"
"Coffee." Gia muttered. Emma reached across, pouring a cup from the coffee maker into a mug and handing it to her. Gia sniffed it deeply, and was lifted a little way from her virtual coma. She drank some, as she sat down. "It's fair-trade. I know it's different than the stuff you usually drink, but at least I know the people that picked the beans are being paid more than a few cents a day."
"Coffee good." Gia mumbled. Eric and Emma just looked at each other, struggling not to laugh. It wasn't the first time either of them had seen "Zombie Gia", but they hadn't seen her this bad in quite some time. Gia did not operate well on less than a full eight hours of sleep without a truckload of caffeine.
"Well, that is kind of what'll happen if you don't get home until after midnight." Mr Goodall stated. Emma paused for a second as she was bringing the pancakes to the table. She knew that Gia had gotten home late, after she had gone to bed anyway, but she didn't know it was THAT late. She set down the plates, at which Gia fumbled with a fork, starting her breakfast. "I was up at the bathroom when you came in."
"What were you doing out so late?" Emma asked her. Gia just looked up to them. The Goodalls had done so much for her; she didn't want to lie to them. She had stayed with Cat until she felt sure that she would be alright until her brother got home. She looked back down to the plate.
"I had...something important to do." Gia told them. "Sorry I was so late."
"Gia, is everything alright?" Eric asked her. She just nodded wordlessly, hoping the questions would stop. She knew that now Cat had taken the decision to come out, they would likely hear about her soon enough but she didn't feel it was her place to tell them. Emma in particular wasn't happy that Gia felt the need to keep any more secrets from her. The truth about her sexuality had been a pretty big one for Emma to deal with. As much as they had tried to move past it, and keep things the same, Emma found it hard to feel like it really was.
"Look, I had...there was someone that really needed my help alright?" Gia said, trying to keep things as vague as possible. "I...I can't say who, they're dealing with something bad, and they needed someone to help. I can't betray their trust."
Mr Goodall just sighed as Emma went back to the work surface, biting her tongue. Gia couldn't betray someone else's confidence, but she could keep secrets from her? Who was really that important to her? Eric leaned across the table, taking her hand.
"Gia, you've been through a lot these last couple of months." He told her. "I know that there are a lot of things you've been dealing with, and..."
"What are you saying?" Gia asked.
"I've given you a lot of leeway in how I've treated you." Eric told her as gently as he could. "Emma comes home late, but she's never come home at that time, and if she did, I'd want...I'd expect a pretty good explanation."
Gia didn't know how to respond. She had to admit that he did have a point. She'd basically sneaked into the house well after a reasonable curfew for a seventeen year old school girl wandering the streets unaccompanied.
"We'll let it go for now, just...make sure you're keeping yourself safe." He told her. "And since you are living under our roof, I'll expect you to abide by the same rules as Emma. That means, if you're going to be late, then I'll expect a call, and if you're not coming home or staying out after midnight, then I'll expect another one."
"I guess that's fair." Gia told him. She knew she really didn't have any cause for complaint. He was giving her a lot of understanding in her behaviour, and she hadn't really given him much cause to believe in her gratitude for all they had done.
"Fine, then we'll leave it there." He told her. "By the way, your mom called around last night."
"She...she did?" Gia asked him. Emma looked a little surprised. It was news to her too.
"She wanted to see you." He told her. "I know this is difficult, but she has given you a lot of space. You agreed that you would give her a chance to make amends."
"I know, it's just..."
"It's difficult; I can get that, that's why I'm not pushing things. Obviously you need time to get yourself ready." He said as he looked to her. "But she is trying. Maybe you can meet her half way. We talked over dinner..."
"Dinner?" Emma asked. He just nodded.
"Don't worry, I didn't cook. We got take out." He assured his daughter. "The leftovers are in the fridge for later if you want them. She's willing to let you call the shots Gia. Maybe some time you can arrange to meet with her?"
Gia just nodded in response.
"So, you're going out again today?" He asked the girls. Gia just looked to Emma. This was the first she'd heard about it. It was largely by virtue of the fact she'd spent all night keeping Cat company. Emma just sat with them, beginning her breakfast.
"We're heading to the woods again." She told Gia. "The others will probably be waiting for us."
"Um, OK." Gia answered. "Well, I guess I'll just shower and get dressed. We can walk over..."
"Walk?" Mr Goodall asked. "Why don't you ride?"
"I don't know how to ride a unicycle dad." Emma said, rolling her eyes. "My BMX is still totalled."
"Well actually, the old one's in the trash." He corrected her. He then smiled. "The new one was delivered yesterday. And since SOMEONE'S not letting me go to the office, I had some time on my hands, so I had a chance to build it."
"Are...are you serious?" Emma asked him, her eyes flashing in excitement. Being without her beloved BMX had been like losing the use of a limb. He just smiled.
"Have a look in the garage." He told her. Emma ran out of the kitchen, heading through the house and barging into the garage. Sure enough, resting against the wall was a brand new, top of the range, gleaming pink BMX. She turned back to her dad, hugging him tightly.
"Ow, ribs!" He reminded her. Emma loosened her grip slightly, but was still overjoyed. "Just...try to avoid rocks in future."
"I will." She assured him, looking to the bike. She was overjoyed to get back the hobby she loved so much. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt like so much longer. She went back inside to finish getting ready, unable to wait to try it out. She made a mental note though to inform Troy that if he knew what was good for him, he'd best not go anywhere near it with a sledgehammer.
In the woods near the city, Bluefur and Bigs were foraging for more of the pollutants they now relied on for their power, and indeed their continued existence. As they did so, Vrak showed up. He approached them, rousing their attention.
"Feeding time is it?" He asked. Bluefur just ignored him. "Personally, I'd have thought you'd have been looking for another henchman to throw at those Rangers. That last one you sent...if it wasn't for those Loogies I sent to help him, he'd barely have done anything."
"Badgrun did not go out on my orders." Bluefur corrected him. "He went out on some misguided mission of revenge. Psychotick was a friend of his."
"Oh, glad to see you have such control over your underlings." Vrak said sarcastically.
"Don't push your luck Vrak." Bluefur warned him. "Badgrun may have been rash and foolhardy, but he was one of us!"
"Well, perhaps you should be thinking less about the failure of your wayward kin, and should be concentrating more on coming up with something that will further our goals." Vrak suggested. "After all, it's not like I haven't been patient."
"Well, what I've noticed is that it's been a while since one of your guys did anything of note." Bigs chimed in, absorbing some toxins from the Earth to energise him. "If you're so desperate to see something done, why aren't any of your followers doing anything?"
Vrak couldn't answer without giving too much away. As far as the Toxic Mutants knew, HE was the leader of the Warstar. He was the only one they'd had contact with, since Admiral Malkor had no real desire to walk the Earth until it was his domain. He had allowed the Toxic Mutants to believe that he was the one in charge, thinking that for the time being, it was best that he alone maintained a measure of control over their actions...albeit a shaky one since the Toxic Mutants ultimately looked to Bluefur for their orders.
"We are working on strengthening our arsenal...to better assist you." Vrak lied to the gigantic mutant. "After all, now we both know how dangerous the Rangers are to both our people."
"Funny that." Bigs commented. "Your preparations are taking place on your ship where we have no access to see them for ourselves."
"You will see them soon enough." Vrak assured them. "After all, we both want the same thing. We both want to see an end to the destructive race of humanity."
"Fine, now if you would just leave, we still have to feed." Bluefur told him. "I already have my next follower ready to act."
"Really?" Vrak asked. "Mind if I ask...?"
"Bluefur silenced him with a low growl. Vrak just shook his head and decided to leave them to it. He had as little desire to see them feed as they had to be disturbed. As long as they were doing something to keep the Rangers occupied, he was more than happy to leave them to their devices for now.
Around the same time, Gia and Emma were riding their BMX's through the woods, heading to the area they normally used to train. Emma had to admit feeling great being able to ride again. While Gia would have happily lent Emma her bike, it wasn't really practical for one of them to ride while the other walked.
Eventually, they came to the clearing, to find that they had gotten here before the others. They chained up their bikes, and waited for the others.
"I guess we got here earlier than I thought." Gia stated, opening a can of Red Bull. She'd already skipped out on one training session, and although her late night had meant she'd not had much sleep, she didn't really want to let down the team again and had every intention of making it through the whole session. Emma just took a deep breath.
"Gia, what's with you recently?" Emma asked her. Gia just looked at her.
"I'm sorry?" Gia asked.
"Secret texts? Secret E-mails?" Emma asked. "Running out to help some 'friend' I know nothing about?"
"Look, Emma..."
"Don't say to me you don't want to talk about it." Emma said, looking at her pleadingly. "Gia, I know you're going through a lot, but we never keep anything from each other, not anymore!"
"Look, there really is someone I'm trying to help out." Gia told her. "I can't go into it; I can't betray her trust..."
"But it's fine to abuse mine?" Emma asked her. "Gia, if you're in any trouble, I want to know!"
"Emma, just trust me." Gia told her regretfully, knowing it sounded weak. "I'm sure you'll know about it soon enough, it's just...it's not my place to tell you."
Before Emma could respond, Jordan, Troy, Jake and Noah all teleported into view, carrying a large assortment of training equipment. Gia just looked at them, a little confused. So far, their training equipment had been largely improvised or home-made. With no real money, or access to gyms where people wouldn't ask too many questions, they didn't have many options. They already had to head over a mile into the woods to make sure they would have a training space where they wouldn't be disturbed.
"Wait...what gives? Where'd all this come from?" Gia asked as Jordan dumped a bag nearby. "Did you guys rob a gym or something?"
"No, it was a gift!" Troy told her with a smile. "Lauren gave it to us."
"Lauren? The teaching temp?" Gia asked, by now completely confused.
"She's not just that, she's a Power Ranger!" Noah informed her excitedly.
"Yeah, she was the Red Samurai Ranger." Jake said as he started to warm up.
"Wait, are you saying you guys met a Power Ranger?" Gia asked.
"We sure did, she even gave us some pointers." Emma replied. "You definitely missed the wrong training session."
"Wait, you actually got training from a Power Ranger and you didn't tell me?" Gia shrieked, realising she'd missed her opportunity to hear from a legend. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Sorry, it wasn't my place." Emma answered with a shrug. Gia felt a little put-out, realising that it was a shot at her. Troy patted her on the shoulder.
"She went back to Panorama, sorry." He told her. "Right, let's start warming up, and then we can work on some sparring."
Gia just sighed and followed the others as they started running some laps. She could tell that Emma was unhappy about the secrets, and she didn't want to keep anything from her, not after almost losing her as a friend once her own secret came out, but she couldn't bring herself to tell her about Cat. She just resigned herself to the fact that for the time being, she had to weather the storm. She would just have to take it.
