Disclaimer: I do not own any characters related to Power Rangers they are owned by Saban/Disney et. al
I do however own all things Tanzetti and reserve the right to reuse them as I please.
Tommy sighed in relief as the last of his students left the Youth Center. It had been a hard week. Nearly every class at school had a major test, he had had three papers to turn in, and Rita and Zedd seemed to be on a creative streak because he couldn't remember the last time he'd had more than twenty-four hours between attacks. He was looking forward to a relaxing evening at the movies with his friends.
He stumbled up the stairs and collapsed in a chair next to Kimberly.
She made an exaggerated frowny face and pushed a stray lock of hair away from his forehead. "You look exhausted."
"It's been a rough week," he said.
"Maybe we should skip the movie," she said. "Billy's already not coming and if you're not up to it-"
Tommy's head shot up. This was the third time Billy had canceled going out with the group. "Billy's not coming?"
Kim shook her head. "He called me this morning and said he had something come up."
"He's been saying that all week," Rocky said. "Come to think of it, he's been acting strange for awhile, hasn't he."
A chorus of agreement went around the table. Tommy felt a knot in his stomach. Billy had assured him more than once that nothing was wrong and the whole garage incident wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for what happened on Saturday. Neither of them had mentioned it to the others, but he was starting to wonder if maybe he should.
"Yeah," he said. "He has been acting strange, and I think I know why."
Kimberly stiffened in her chair. "What? What's wrong?"
"I think Billy has a new girlfriend." He explained what had happened on that Saturday two weeks ago.
Rocky was elated. "Are you serious?" he burst out. "Billy scored with the Cadillac Girl?"
Aisha turned to Rocky in amazement. "You knew about this?"
"Yeah," Rocky said. "He met her at that bookstore two weeks ago." He proceeded to give a brief explanation of how the woman had come outside to show off her restored Cadillac and been very open with Billy.
"She was riding a motorcycle," Tommy said.
"She's got a motorcycle too?" Rocky sank back in his chair and let out an exasperated sigh. "Wow, I never thought I'd be jealous of Billy."
"Yeah, well, I think I ruined it," Tommy said. "He's been avoiding me for two weeks."
Kimberly put an arm on his shoulder. "No, Tommy, it wasn't your fault."
"Yeah," said Adam, "He's been avoiding all of us. For all we know he's out on a date with her tonight."
Tommy thought about that. Adam had a point. Billy had been avoiding nearly all activity with everyone lately, was it possible his absence was merely him devoting all his time to patching things up with this girl? Billy wasn't the kind to hold a grudge. Whatever his plans for this evening were, there was very little chance it was because of him.
"Yeah, maybe your right. Billy wouldn't hold a grudge like that."
"Billy?" a sharp voice from across the room said. Tommy looked over and saw Bulk and Skull sauntering their way.
"My condolences," Bulk said. "I heard all about Billy going out and getting himself a new posse. You guys must be serious losers to get dumped by the King Geek himself."
"What are you guys talking about?" Aisha said.
"Billy," Skull said in his high pitched squeal. "We saw him with his new gang last night."
"New gang?" said Adam.
Bulk twitched and waved his arms to make a point. "Yeah, we've been working security at the Stone Canyon sports arena for the district kickboxing tournament. Billy came in last night with a team of boxers."
"No way," Adam said. "Are you sure it was Billy?"
"Absolutely," Bulk said, his eyes going dark in a sad attempt at seriousness. "As Junior Police officers our detective senses are far superior to you mortal citizens."
"Yeah," said Skull. "Plus, he recognized us."
"Guess he was tired of living in the slow lane with you dweebs," Bulk said. "Well, we're off to make our city a little bit safer."
The pair bumbled off to the exit, but Tommy just sat in a daze.
"Do you think it's true?" Adam asked.
Tommy shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think Bulk and Skull would lie but, boxing? Billy?"
"Well, there is one way to find out," Rocky said. "You guys want to go to a boxing match?"
Everyone hit their feet at once. "I'll drive," said Kimberly.
The sports center was crowded for the final night of boxing. The Ladies' competition was first and had already started when they arrived. They wandered the bleachers looking for a bench with enough room for all five of them. When they finally found one it was so high up Tommy was worried they wouldn't be able to see.
"Guys look!" Rocky shouted as they took their seats. He was holding a program to the event and pointing to a name on the list of competitors. "Marcy Tannon! That's the name of the girl from the book store. She's competing tonight. I think she's up next."
Sure enough, as soon as the current round was over the next match was announced and Marcy Tannon was one of the competitors. She marched out wearing the traditional silk robe, all black but with a deep purple stripe at the seam. Four men walked behind her and took seats on a small wooden bench reserved for team members; Billy was the third one from the end. All four of the men were wearing black wind suits with a dark purple stripe that went down each sleeve and the side of each leg.
"I see him," Kimberly burst out, pointing toward the bench. Tommy was suddenly very glad they had such poor seats. There was little chance Billy would spot them from here.
Marcy was talking with the fourth man next to the corner of the ring, Billy just sat waiting. When the announcer called for the next competitors Marcy threw off the robe and tossed it to the first man. Billy immediately shot out of his seat and took it, folding it carefully before setting in on the bench next to him.
"So what, he's like part of her crew?" Rocky mused.
Tommy just shook his head. "I don't know, man."
The fight started then. Marcy was fierce, but so was her competitor. They went two rounds without even coming close to knocking the other one out. The Rangers just sat in the stands watching their friend and the mysterious woman he'd suddenly abandoned them all for, waiting to see what would happen.
By the end of the third round both women were looking exhausted and a little worse for wear. Marcy had gotten pinned against the ropes twice in the last round and her face was red and blotchy from the bruising she had taken. When she came to the corner of the ring Billy jumped out of his seat and climbed up on the platform. He said something to Marcy and she shook her head. He spoke again, waving his arms in emphasis and Marcy took a look across the ring at her opponent. She looked back at Billy and they exchanged a few more words then he jumped off the platform and went back to his seat.
The bell rang and the competitors took the ring again. Marcy was different now. She was quicker on the block and seemed to anticipate the opponent's moves better. This frustrated her opponent, a tall blonde with platinum blonde hair braided tight down her back.
But whatever strategy Billy had suggested, it did the trick. Marcy broke through the other woman's defenses and knocked her out with two minutes to spare, to the delight of the roaring crowd.
Tommy saw Billy step forward to catch Marcy when she climbed out of the ring. Then the crowd pressed in and he couldn't see them anymore.
They sat in Kimberly's car for several minutes before they spotted Billy. Rocky spotted Marcy's pink Cadillac in the parking lot and they found a parking spot nearby where they could all see. There were two men in team uniforms standing by the car when they got there. A few minutes later Billy came out carrying a gym bag. The other men greeted him with cheers and high fives and he used a key to put the bag in the car.
For several seconds they just stood around, joking and laughing and passing around a small bottle of red liquid that Tommy was fairly certain wasn't juice. But Billy didn't seem disturbed and sipped at the liquid when it was passed to him without even flinching.
Then, there was a shout and the men looked over and saw Marcy coming out of the building. There was more shouting as they circled around the champion. Billy scooped Marcy up into his arms and spun her around, then set her on the car trunk. She pulled him into a hard kiss that caused the shouting of the others to rise.
"Whoa," said Rocky, from the backseat. "Did you see that?"
"Yeah," Adam replied. "Billy's got game. Who knew?"
Aisha let out a long sigh. "You guys are so immature."
Kimberly shifted in her seat next to Tommy. "I don't know, Tommy," she said. "This doesn't feel right, spying on Billy like this."
Tommy looked over at the group surrounding his friend. There were more people gathered around the car now, all shouting congratulations to Marcy for winning the fight. They didn't look like the type of crowd he'd expect Billy to be with. They were rowdy and rude, and obnoxious, and yet there was Billy, in the middle of it, laughing talking next to Marcy like nothing in the world thrilled him more.
"Maybe you're right," Tommy said. "It's just… Hey, where are they going?"
The crowd that had gathered around the Cadillac was now moving. They walked as one across the street and Tommy noticed for the first time a small diner set back from the road. The group disappeared inside the diner, taking Billy with them.
"So what do we do now?" Rocky asked from the back seat and Tommy could feel hear four bodies shift around him, and four pairs of eyes set their gaze on him. He was the leader after all, whatever decision he made, they would follow it, the same as they did in battle. Everything deferred to him, apparently even the privacy of the Blue Ranger.
"You guys hungry?"