FOURTH DOWN AND LONG
AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER
Okay, I apologize for my long absence, but I wasn't really sure where I wanted to take this, but now I figured it out. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban and Nickelodeon. I only own the subplots, the monster, and its powers.
Jason walked through the halls of Angel Grove High, Bulk and Skull on either side of him.
"Yo Tommy, you ready for the game this weekend?" Jason asked, as they approached him.
"Yeah, but it's going to be weird without you guys on the team," Tommy answered. "You remember last season when you and Bulk executed that play during the last game of the season?"
"Yeah, I remember, I fumbled," Bulk grumbled.
"Ah, only a little, but you recovered quite nicely," Jason reminded. Just then, Katherine, Zack, Kimberly, Curtis, Justin, Trini, and Chris walked up.
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Jason asked.
"Nothin' much," Zack answered. "Hey, how'd you do in the meet, Kim?"
"Second place," Kimberly replied.
"Aw, man, I'm sorry," Tommy said. She shrugged.
"It's totally casual. Given the fact that I was preoccupied during training, I actually did pretty well," she replied. The others nodded in understanding, knowing that she was referring to the battles that they had fought.
"That's the spirit," Zack encouraged, placing a hand on her shoulder. Then, "Hey, I wanna do something special and morphinominal for Angela this weekend, but I'm drawing a blank. Any ideas?"
"What's the occasion?" Katherine wondered.
"Yeah, it's not her birthday yet," Tommy said.
"I know, and that's the point. I wanna do somethin' when she's not expecting it," Zack stated.
"Aw, our little Zacky's growing up," Kimberly teased as Jason reached over to ruffle his friend's short hair. Zack laughed, and playfully elbowed Jason.
"Hey, leave my cousin alone…even if he is turning into a sap," Curtis said.
"Sap? I'll show you sap!" Zack exclaimed, making a playful lunge for his cousin. The others laughed as Zack took off after Curtis. Meanwhile, in class, Rocky, Hilary, Adam, Aisha, Richie, Zane, and Billy were in Mr. Wilton's science class working on an assignment.
"Hey Rocky, is it true that your uncle's going to be talking to the football team after school today?" Billy asked.
"Yeah. Mr. Caplan asked if he'd stick around and give a few pointers before the Stone Canyon game," Rocky responded. One of their classmates, Alan, shook his head in disbelief.
"'Uncle Joe'," he repeated. "I can't believe your uncle is Joe Haley," he continued.
"He's the best pro quarterback around," Aisha bragged.
"Yeah, I think you're a little biased, 'Ish," Rocky chuckled. Then, "I've always just known him as 'Uncle Joe'. He did a lot for me when I was a kid. Kept me straight."
"Enough chatter, everyone," Mr. Wilton said, halting the conversation. "Let's don those goggles and begin mixing," he continued. The students did as they were told.
"Hey Alan, could you read the equations for me?" Rocky requested. Alan blew out a breath. I hate reading out loud, but I can do this, he thought to himself.
"Okay, um, C2, H3 over O2…" As Alan read the formula, Rocky poured in the mixture. To their surprise, the beaker started smoking.
"Don't panic. Let's just exit the room quietly and wait for the smoke to clear," Mr. Wilton instructed, and everyone did as they were told.
"Oh, man, what happened?" Rocky asked as they walked out.
"I don't know, Rocky," Alan replied. What they didn't know was that the whole fiasco had been witnessed by Rita.
"I don't believe this. Those brats can't do a simple chemistry problem, and yet we can't defeat them?" she asked. What's that about? she wondered.
"Oooh, I hate those Rangers. I want them destroyed!" Zedd growled from his position on his throne.
"Well, perhaps we can beat them at their own game, your Majesties," Finster suggested, sparing a quick glance at Zedd. Yes! Empress' plan is working splendidly, he thought with pleasure when he saw the monarch slumped in his chair.
"What are you talking about, Finster?" Rita asked.
"Well, as we have noticed, they are once again going on and on about the Earth game that they call football," Finster reminded.
"They'd expect us to use the Rhinoblaster again," Goldar stated.
"Yes, of course. That is why I have come up with a different monster: the Razorback. Like the Rhinoblaster, he is incredibly strong. However, unlike the Rhinoblaster, his bite will immobilize any victim, allowing him to destroy them quickly," Finster replied. That sounds promising, Scorpina thought.
"Excellent," Rita approved. "Goldar and Scorpina can go down with a group of Putties, and then we'll surprise them with the Razorback!" she finished with a cackle.
"I'll go put the mold in the Monster-Matic at once, Your Evilness," Finster stated and hurried off to do so.
"They won't know what hit them!" Scorpina grinned. She laughed evilly and leaned into Goldar, whose laughter joined hers.