Twisted Hearts
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Chapter 3
A System That Works
The Java Reload was an internet café with a lot of privacy…Cam sat holding his cup, staring into the coffee like it was his only refuge. The privacy was why he and Hunter had come here. Hunter was looking around for a topic to talk about.
They sat their in silence.
Please let Dad blow the console up again! Please let Dad blow the console up again! Or try to give it chicken soup for a virus!
Monster attack! Monster attack! Come on Monster attack!
They looked at each other and smiled with so much evident discomfort it hurt to think about it.
"You boys want to order food?" the waitress asked.
"Yes!" Cam said, with more enthusiasm then intended
Lothor frowned, the strange roaring noises were really annoying him now, with a frown he looked about. He followed the bleeping and roaring and shouts of battle all the way to the control room.
Marah and The Psycho Yellow were sitting near the screens playing a computer game centering around masked wrestlers.
"HAH! Special attack" Marah giggled.
"Awwww! Dudette!" whined Psycho Yellow.
"Marah! Psycho Yellow! Why aren't you plotting the destruction of the Rangers?"
"Uncle, his name's Austin, y'know – he's not Dustin but he's Austin"
"I don't care if he's Penicillin GET TO WORK"
Psycho yellow huffed and stood up, he crossed his arms and stomped out of the room. Marah sighed. "And I was just about to win the game!" she sighed. "Oh well!" she pressed restart.
"Psycho's are attacking the Shopping District!" Cam nearly cried Hallelujah and Hunter was forced to suppress a howl of triumph.
"We should hurry – we'll be there soon Tori" Hunter said. He and Cam darted out of the café, paying as they shot past the cashier.
The Psycho's blasted the surrounding area, they walked down the street with Diabolique standing between them. "Born to shop" she crowed.
"Oh yeah? Prepare for Discount Ninjas!" the tsunami cycles blasted the villains. Leaping forth the four heroes stood before the villains.
"Well ,well, well" Diabolique sneered. "Haven't you heard? This is a Fashion Faux-pas Freezone…no SPANDEX" she unleashed a power blast from her hands that blasted them all in separate directions. "Why am I fighting them?" snapped Diabolique.
"On it boss" agreed Yellow and Crimson as they launched into an attack.
Dustin and Shane engaged Psycho Yellow while Hunter and Blake fought against Psycho Crimson. Diabolique dealt with Tori and Cam.
Psycho Yellow and Dustin smashed their hammers into each other and were thrown in different directions. Dustin rolled along the ground and Shane slashed Psycho Yellow with his sword. "Dude!" Psycho Yellow yowled. He staggered back. "So totally not the way to go!" in a blur of light he slashed Shane repeatedly. "That's better" he nodded. Dustin charged him but Yellow swung around and slammed his hammer into the Original Yellow.
Crimson and Blake locked staffs. "Hey bro – don't treat me like a stranger" cackled Crimson. He twisted the weapons and smashed Blake away. Hunter landed a strike on his Psycho Clone but Psycho Crimson shrugged it off and unleashed a red lightening blast into the original ranger. "Shocked?"
Diabolique yawned as she blocked the attacks of Tori and Cam. She caught their fists with one hand, holding them both using joint manipulation to essentially weave them together. "Disappointing" she sighed. She slashed out and sent them flying away. "Finish them" she commanded.
The Psycho's nodded and started to crackle with energy. "Adieu" Diabolique said. She vanished in a burst of purple and black misty energy.
The Psycho's floated into the air and lanced downwards in a massive thunderstorm.
Cyber Cam stared at the attack, the rangers were being flung about. "We have to do something!" Cyber Cam exclaimed.
"Like what?" Theo murmured, flinching as Hunter was hurled into the air.
"What have I missed?" Cassidy ran into the room.
"The clones appear to be too powerful for the rangers" Sensei surmised.
"Then drain the power" Cassidy exclaimed breathlessly. She hurried over to a cupboard and took out a large black metal case. Inside was a pair of rectangular grips that glowed, and a sphere like a volleyball of blue and black metal plates.
"This energy siphon will drain energy from anything it gets at, that includes the morphers – which was one of the kinds we were working on – anyway, use it and maybe you can make sure it ends well"
"I'll go with it to them" Theo said as he straightened his leather ninja robes.
"Are you sure?" Cassidy asked.
"Yes" Theo said. He took the case. "I'll be back in a flash" with ninja speed he was gone.
Lothor narrowed his eyes. "What's this?" he growled, Theo was rushing up the steps to the place the rangers were being thrashed. "Marah – Kapri –make yourselves useful…go fight that kid"
"The Black Ranger?" kapri asked at the same time as Marah asked: "The White Ranger". They glared at each other.
"Black Ranger"
"White Ranger
"Black"
"White"
"So Black!"
"Totally White!"
"Call him grey and get on with it!" Vexacus snarled.
The girls teleported to earth.
"Why oh why can't I choose my family?' grunted Lothor.
Theo opened the box and tapped the keys, charging the sphere. "Right I pressed the buttons, it says: Loading"
"Then wait until it loads" Cassidy said breathlessly. "Remember, don't let the rangers get caught in the shockwaves, they're weak enough as it is"
"Got it…don't worry" nodded Theo.
"Actually – you really should worry" Marah said.
"Got it?" smirked Kapri?
They unleashed the blasts of power from the spear and sword in their respective hands. Theo shoved the case aside as he dived away. He rolled along the ground and backflipped as Marah unleashed a blast of energy along the ground. Kapri hurled an energy wave but he somersaulted away just in time.
Dustin looked up, he forgot about the Psycho's…Theo was flipping abou nearby, avoiding the girls. Dustin rose.
"Hey! Not so fast!" Psycho yellow exclaimed. Dustin ignored him and dived into the ground. He resurfaced with incredible force under Kapri and Marah's feet. They shrieked as they were knocked back.
"No fair!" Marah squealed as she landed in a bush.
"All's fair" Theo said. Kapri blasted at him, but he stepped aside and Dustin batted it backwards. The girls teleported away to avoid injury.
"Thanks" Theo said. "I owe you one"
"No you don't dude" smiled Dustin.
Theo shrugged as he took the two fists and held them tight. "Well – I want to make it up to you" he charged forwards and leapt through the air. The psycho's turned around in time for the steel fists to magnetize to their bodies and drain light into the devices which bounced the power to the sphere. The Psychos struggled free, clutching the glowing wounds on their chest.
"You aren't even wearing Spandex!" Psycho Crimson roared.
"PVC is the in fabric" Theo shrugged as he readied to strike again. The Psycho's gave a cry of anguish and disappeared. Shane gave a short nod. "Nice one-liner" smiled the Red Wind Ranger.
Hunter and Cam lay on the grass in the woods. "I want to tell the world" Hunter said as he looked at his fingers, enmeshed in Cams. "I want to scream it out loud, I don't care who knows"
"What are you on about now?" smiled Cam. He kissed his boyfriend on the forehead.
"We should tell them – everyone…that we're together" Hunter exhaled. "No hiding I don't want to hide…there's stuff I've hidden and it's poisonout". Cam looked into Hunter's eyes. "What?"
"Are you going to explain the brooding now?"
"No…not yet…someday…so can we tell them?"
Cam stared at the sky for a while. "Not yet – I amn't ready"
Hunter stayed quiet for a moment and Cam looked at him, the Crimson ranger was unreadable. "Okay" said Hunter at last. "I'll respect that"
"Someday" Cam promised as he kissed Hunter, letting the tongue slip into his mouth and the brush of lips sweep him away.
Theo was practicing Tai Chi when Blake entered the gym area. "Hey" he said slowly. Theo looked over at the Thunder Ninja and gave a small smile.
"You want to spar?" Blake asked.
Theo looked around. "I – I don't know"
"We need to talk…come on" smiled Blake weakly.
Theo nodded and walked onto the mats. He took up a fighting stance and Blake took on his own. It started off light, a few simple jabs and kicks… "So why not take us to your academy?"
Theo stumbled during his punch. "What!"
"Why won't you get us to that scroll in your academy?"
Theo didn't reply, he just kept focused on his fighting, sad eyes down. Blake was getting frustrated. "I asked a question…HEY! ANSWER ME!" he kicked Theo across the face with more force then he'd intended. To his utter shock Theo twisted in the fall and managed to somehow whip his body around into Blake's.
"I CAN'T GO BACK!" Theo roared. "I CAN'T GO BACK TO WHERE THOSE SADISTS DESTROYED ME". Theo couldn't stop himself as he rammed an elbow into Blake's stomach and grabbed the Thunder ninja's shoulder to fling him down.
Theo stared at the stunned Blake – then ran from the room.
Blake sat up…Tori cleared her throat from the opposite door.
"I know – I screwed up" Blake said
"THEO?" Hunter walked out of his recently-discovered-twin's room. "Theo? Where are you?" he walked into the control room, his hand brushing Cam's ass with only Cassidy noticing, she raised her eyebrow with a smile.
"Anyone seen Theo?" sighed Cassidy.
"yeah – Blake did" Tori muttered as she stalked into the room. "He went pushing the wrong buttons again". Blake looked downcast.
"What did you do?" Hunter murmured.
"I just asked why he couldn't go back to his old school to help us" Blake said. "if it's any consolation he thrashed me…"
"Not that much" Tori sighed. "We should look for him"
Sensei nodded and closed his eyes. "My mental Ninja powers tell me he is -"
"On the beach" Cassidy said as she swung around in the console chair. "Thank me later, go make happy families!" Tori nodded, glared at Blake and shoved him out the door.
Theo sat on the bench and stared out at the surfers and beachgoers. "Hey" he looked around. Blake and Hunter took a seat on either side of him.
Blake stared ahead for a moment. "I'm sorry about how I acted – you have your reasons…whatever they are"
"yeah I do" Theo nodded.
"I won't push – but I'll just say that we need your help"
"You're both my brothers" Hunter said at last. "I'm related to you both and you're important to me…I'm going through some stuff right now…and I need you both" Theo nodded slowly. "You don't talk to me about our actual family – but I want us to be actual family – all of us, the three of us…" Hunter said he scratched his head. "Corny, huh?"
"No – It's a nice idea" admitted Theo. "Blake – I amn't trying to phase you out or anything…I never could, you and Hunter grew up together, you're real brothers – I can't deny the link me and Hunter have – but you don't have the identical one… it's just a different, stronger one between you – so … yeah I amn't trying to usurp your life I just want to be a part of Hunter's"
Blake nodded.
"I get it now…sorry I put you through all that"
"No – it's okay" Theo said. "I understand, like I said" he took a deep breath. "I'll take you to the Astral Academy" he relented.
Dustin opened the door to the large mansion by the beach. The sound of Bach wafted from the music room where his Aunt was – probably entertaining some clients for a business deal. Wine and Cheese nights. Yuck
Dustin climbed the stairs to the upper floor and checked his mother's bedroom. Her case was gone from the corner…
"Trip to Europe" he guessed. "I'm seeing her not being at my birthday". Sadly he trudged back to his room
TBC