Habits to Break
By: PernDragonrider
A/N: This is another drabble written for the AWDT Challenge at LiveJournal. The prompt this week was "Breaking the Habit". Hope you enjoy this and as always, please read and leave a review. Thanks, Pern. Now, onto the tale:
The young black male, American by birth, was walking, almost dancing, through the long hallways of the large conference center that hosted the Teen Peace Initiative in Switzerland.
"Hmm, been here almost three months now, Zack man, and I'm enjoying this place." His thoughts were calm and forward looking until seconds later a panicked scream pierced the calmness and quietness of the hallways.
Turning around in the direction of the scream, the young man bolted down the hallway at top speed to find a fellow delegate slumped unconscious against the right hand wall while another was staring in shock at the figure slumped before them.
"What happened?" The young man asked as he moved to assist the one on the ground.
"She just walked out of the room, screamed like a banshee she devil, and then fainted." The obviously shaken young man, from England by his accent said with a quiver in his voice.
"Stay here with her." The young black man said as he rushed into the room the young girl had come out from. He bolted into the room and then stopped quickly as he was met with the muzzle of gun in his face.
"That's far enough, Blackie." One of the hooded thugs in the room said with derision in his voice. "One more step and you'll find out just how big of a hole this little beauty can make in you, black man."
The young man raised his hands and looked around the room as it checking for friends or allies nearby. "Dang it, have to stop rushing in when there's trouble; don't have powers anymore and I might never see home or family again if this guy pulls the trigger. Jason, where are you leader-man? I could really use the back up, bro. Breaking the habit is going to be hard; but if I live through this, that's one habit I'm breaking immediately!"
Zack slowly backed away from the armed gunman and sighed in relief as he heard a very familiar and loud "Hi! Ya" echo from someplace behind the lone armed and masked stranger with the gun in his face. "Stop jumping in where angel's fear to tread, bro." Jason said calmly as the man with the gun rose from where he'd been kicked and removed his mask with a smile.
Zack almost fell over because the man in the mask was a woman. A woman with Asian features and a smile of devilish merriment gracing her beautiful heart-shaped face that set her almond shaped dark eyes twinkling. "You've got to break that habit, Zack. Think this demonstration will stop you from rushing into danger from now on. Jason nor I will always be at your back anymore."
"Trini? Jase?" Zack asked in confusion and then realized that the room he'd run into was completely empty except for the three of them.
"You've almost gotten yourself killed six times in the last three months by not breaking the habit of rushing into danger, Zack-man. Let this be your lesson that sometimes it's better to call for help first then see if there's anything you can do without getting killed." Jason told him with concern and compassion coloring his tone yet his eyes and body language told Zack that his friend, one time leader of the Power Rangers, and fellow delegate to an international teen peace summit wasn't kidding or teasing; he was deadly serious.
"I've learned my lesson, Jase." Zack said swallowing the funny retort he was planning on saying. "See that gun in my face has just made me realize that the powers are thousands of miles away and I'm only human. I want to see Angel Grove, Billy, Tommy, and Kimberly again before I die. I'm breaking the hero complex starting right now, I promise both of you that."
THE END