Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to me.
Chapter 2: The Return
Takes place the same day as the last chapter
Alyssa Enrile squinted at the bright, California sunlight as she stepped out of the Blue Bay Harbor Aquarium. "The kids will love coming here for a field trip when spring break ends next week," thought the kindergarten teacher to herself. "It's just perfect! "
And with the Org threat eliminated, life was just about perfect for the former white Wild Force ranger. Alyssa, who was known for her kind and nurturing demeanor, adored her job as a teacher where she could continue to make a difference though this time without having to wear spandex. She enjoyed still being in Turtle Cove, now sharing an apartment with her best friend and former teammate – former yellow Wild Force ranger Taylor Earheart. The girls had both heard frequently via postcards from former blue and black Wild Force rangers respectively – Max Cooper and Danny Delgado – who were currently globe hopping from Italy to New York City. Alyssa kept the memory of her Wild Force Zord alive by volunteering at the Turtle Cove Zoo by helping to care for the white tigers in her spare time… along with starting a recycling program at local high schools, lobbying for anti-air pollution laws, taking jazz dance classes and teaching herself to cook gourmet cuisine.
Taylor continued to call her friend an over-achiever, but Alyssa knew just was the type of girl that liked to stay busy. It helped her from thinking about certain things... or certain guys. Yes, everything was just about perfect for Alyssa except that her love life had still been lagging lately. But then again, Alyssa hadn't had any romance in her world since a certain red ranger had left Turtle Cove.
Cole Evans. Just thinking of the former leader of the Wild Force team brought a bittersweet smile to Alyssa's lips. Yet she had not seen Cole since he ventured off to help animals all over the planet after Master Org was defeated. "What is it with these Wild Force boys feeling the need to see the world as soon as their ranger days are over?" chuckled Alyssa to herself, thinking of Danny and Max's international adventures together as well.
Yet of all the boys on the former Wild Force team, Alyssa with her perky personality had found a kindred spirit in the eternally upbeat Cole. She loved teaching the former jungle boy about aspects of the civilized world, and Cole in turn always made Alyssa laugh with his uninhibited nature. Plus he wasn't bad to look at either, Alyssa noted to herself, remembering Cole's masculine facial features, sexy long brown locks, and an extremely-well toned body. But as much as she crushed on Cole, Alyssa each day was coming to terms more and more with the fact that she most likely would never see the man of her dreams again.
At that moment, Alyssa was awakened from her reverie by loud screams coming from the nearby plaza beside the Blue Bay Harbor itself. "Someone's in trouble!" thought Alyssa in a panic, rushing instinctively toward the cries for help. "It's just like back in my old Wild Force days," she joshed to herself.
Alyssa though did not anticipate the dark irony of her musings. Arriving at the plaza, she gasped upon seeing the large creature that was terrorizing the crowd. Alyssa suddenly realized her reference to her old Wild Force days was no joke. For here in Blue Bay Harbor, she was shocked to see an Org carrying a large, fumigation gun firing at innocent civilians.
"This is impossible," Alyssa thought to herself in a panic. "We destroyed the Orgs almost a year ago! How can this be?"
"Afraid of a little air pollution, little girl?" Alyssa heard the horned Org ask her.
"I'm not a little girl!" retorted Alyssa resentfully. "I am a guardian of the Earth, and I will not allow you Orgs to pollute this beautiful city!"
"What's an Org?" Alyssa heard the monster ask in genuine confusion. "I'm Samurai Smogger. And although I don't know these Orgs you speak of, you still will be destroyed in the name of my master Lothor!"
"What does he mean he doesn't know what an Org is?" Alyssa thought to herself in confusion. "He has a horn, so he has to be an Org. And who is this Lothor guy he's talking about?"
"Smog Cloud!" Alyssa heard the monster cry, aiming his fumigation gun at her. Alyssa expertly dogged the blast, rolling to the side before jumping up in the air and attempting to knock the monster down with a roundhouse kick. Samurai Smogger however blocked her attack and sent Alyssa tumbling down hard on the concrete plaza.
"I sure wish I still had my ranger powers right about now," thought Alyssa desperately to herself as she struggled to get up. However, she knew that Princess Shayla had taken all the growl phone morphers up into the sky on the Animarium island so there was no chance of Alyssa being able to become the white Wild Force ranger right now. Alyssa quickly came to the realization that she was on her own in stopping this monster.
At that moment, Alyssa saw that for once her thinking would be incorrect as a young man with long brown hair leapt onto the Samurai Smogger and tackled the monster to the ground. "Need a hand?" the muscular, young man asked Alyssa.
"Cole!" cried Alyssa with overwhelming happiness, suddenly finding new strength in her body as she jumped up and hugged him tightly.
"No time for long hellos right now," said Cole firmly. "We must clean-up this monster's polluting ways, even if we can't morph."
"Right," agreed Alyssa, readying herself to fight. "And I have a plan."
"Alright, let's do this Alyssa!" declared Cole determinedly after hearing her strategy.
"Prepare to dodge dirty air!" threatened Samurai Smogger, shooting his smog gun at Cole and Alyssa. The two former rangers though defiantly ran through the smog and continued their assault. Leaping into the air, Cole somersaulted over Samurai Smogger and grabbed the monster from behind in an arm lock.
"Now Alyssa!" shouted the former red ranger as Samurai Smogger struggled to break free from Cole's tight hold.
"You're carbon dioxide contamination has been cut off, Samurai Smogger!" cried Alyssa, knocking the monster's fumigation gun out of his hand and into the nearby Blue Bay Harbor.
"My smog gun!" shouted Samurai Smogger worriedly as he watched his weapon sink slowly into the depths of the water. "I'll be back. My master Lothor will make you two pay for this!"
"Good job, Alyssa!" complimented Cole, coming over and squeezing her shoulder affectionately. "But who is this Lothor the monster mentioned?"
"I have no idea," answered Alyssa truthfully. "But the bigger question is Cole, where the heck did you come from? Taylor and I have been trying to get in touch with you for over year now. Especially with Taylor getting married to Eric next month…"
"Taylor's marrying Eric?" repeated Cole in delighted surprise. "Eric Myers the Quantum Ranger? That's so great they're finally tying the knot!"
"Yup, Eric's finally made an honest woman out of Taylor," chuckled Alyssa. "Taylor and I have been trying to track you down to let you know about the wedding, but we were unable to learn anything about your whereabouts. And now you just show up here in Blue Bay Harbor, well, out of the blue!"
"I know, and I'm sorry for not having kept in contact with you all better," apologized Cole. "I've been in the wild the past year helping heal sick animals and defend the endangered ones. But then earlier this week, I sensed this Org's aura. I tracked him here to Blue Bay Harbor."
"You think he is an Org, and the monster definitely had a horn," spelled out Alyssa. "But Samurai Smogger said he had no idea what an Org was."
"We'll get to bottom of this, Alyssa," said Cole firmly. "Will you help me?"
"Of course!" replied Alyssa quickly, eager to help stop the monster… and spend time with Cole.
"Whether or not we have our ranger powers, we are still guardians of the Earth!" continued Cole passionately. "We can not let this monster pollute Blue Bay Harbor. Thanks for your help, Alyssa. I knew I could count on you."
Alyssa sighed despairingly. Cole would always see her as a fighter, not as his lover. Maybe it was time for her to move on to someone new…
A/N: Coming up, a Ninja Storm ranger takes an interest in Alyssa. Who will it be? Stay tuned!