Chapter 3: The Snap
They had been looking for days now, with no sign of a student showing the "symptoms" of being a Power Ranger. They thought they knew what to look for. Suddenly enhanced strength, speed, and seeing a shiny green coin would be a sure giveaway. But they had so far come up short, and Jason was getting just a little tired of it.
"There has got to be some way of tracking it remotely," he said. Alpha 5 shook his head.
"We've been able to tell that the coin's power is becoming more and more active, but we can't get a lock on it yet," he said in his robotic, yet human like voice. We won't be able to track it for sure until it's at full power and the new Ranger is able to morph. Even then, I'm not sure we'd be able to track the coin, since it was with Rita for so long. It may be possible she corrupted it to a point of being unable to be directly tracked."
Jason grumbled ran a hand through his hair. "Well then we'll just have to keep looking then, won't we?"
Alpha 5 nodded slowly, and Zordon gave a sigh.
"I know this is hard on you Jason, but the coin must be found, and found as soon as possible. If that coin falls into the wrong hands, it could very well lead to catastrophic losses. You know how powerful each of you became when you connected with your coins. And when you morphed, you were even greater, and especially as a team."
"Yeah, but we were a team. Whoever has the green coin is alone. We need to find him before he or she does something that could expose us, even if it's an accident."
"And I am sure you will Jason. Trust in each other."
Jason chuckled. "I do Zordon. Especially after Rita."
"Then you will find it. When a Ranger team is united as yours is, you are practically unstoppable."
Then he paused, as if contemplating something, then sighed again.
"If only my team was as tightly bound as yours has become in these last weeks."
"You can't blame yourself for Rita Zordon," Alpha 5 said, but Zordon shook his head.
"Oh I can Alpha. More than you know. Go back to your team Jason. Any training is postponed until that coin is found."
Jason nodded and walked out, his mind still racing. Who could it be? They had a whole town to think of, let alone a student. God, what if Pearl had found it? No, she would have showed me, her big brother. She always trusts me, maybe more than I deserve. And would the coins work with someone that young anyway? Maybe we can rule out any young children. But everyone else is still fair game. Rita and Zordon were adults after all.
He reached the outside and began to swim upward, emerging and climbing back up. Kimberly was waiting for him at the top, sitting on a rock. She gave him a small smile, seeing his expression.
"No luck on trying to track it?" She asked. Jason shook his head ans gave a small growl of frustration.
"They can't seem to get a lock. And if we don't find this guy soon, then I just got a bad feeling about this. How it could go..."
"Hey, take a breathe. We'll find em'. Trust us."
Jason took a deep breathe and nodded, returning her smile.
"Yeah, we will. I know we will."
Kimberly smiled wider and leaned forward, her lips softly brushing against his own.
-0-
This is gonna be a bad night.
Tommy knew from the instant his dad pulled up it was going to be a bad one. He knew from the way he staggered out of his truck that he had had maybe one or more too many. And he knew that if he didn't watch himself carefully, he would be hurting by the end of the night.
Please just don't be drunk enough to start. Please don't be that far.
Yeah, his father had a drinking problem. Tommy really wasn't sure why. It wasn't like he had a bad life. His job was rather well paying, and he was able to live comfortably by reasonable standards. So was it just the alcoholic in him that made him consume so much? Did his father just have some insatiable urge? Something that couldn't be satisfied by any other means?
Regardless, he had learned to act when his father was this bad. He would try and act as nonchalant as possible, not doing anything that might draw attention to himself. His father often just left hi alone if he did not reveal himself or make say anything to him. Tommy stayed out of sight, he stayed out of mind. It had not always worked, but it worked often enough that it was a very legitimate tactic when his father went over the top during the night.
Therefore, he retreated back into his room, turning off the light and closing the door. It was late enough that he could at least theoretically be in bed, though he usually was still up, being somewhat of a night owl. He sat in his bed, and listened to his front door open, and his father grumbling about something. Nothing happened for a few moments, and Tommy wondered if simply staying down until his father went to sleep, which shouldn't be long at all, would once again work.
Only this time, fate apparently had a different story in mind.
There was a loud bang on his door, and it was flung open, having been shoved so by his father. Before him he stood, rather wild looking in his polo shirt and slacks. He had apparently been hitting the tab since work ended. Tommy looked up in surprise, this having never happened before, even when he was really drunk.
"Get up!" his father yelled. Tommy detected a rather dangerous tone to his voice, but slowly stood up, his heart racing faster than a NASCAR car on the last lap. He father pointed at him with a quivering hand, and spat on the ground.
"You're responsible for this! This hell our marriage has been! I told her to abort, but she wouldn't do it! Crying about loving the unborn and all that shit!"
Tommy felt his heart stop. Abortion. His father had wanted to abort him. Tommy almost felt like his throat started to quiver at the admission. He opened his mouth to speak, but is father lashed out, striking him across the jaw. Strangely, he was more hurt by surprise than the actual blow.
"Stop!"
His mother's voice sounded terrified. He saw her over his father's shoulder, her eyes wide with emotion, most likely fear. His father whirled around and stomped out, roughly passing by his wife, who looked at her son with tears in her eyes. Tommy didn't make a move as she walked toward him, and placed a hand on is jaw, feeling maybe for a bruise. Her voice hitched as she spoke.
"I'm sorry Tommy. You know how your father gets, but this was just..."
"Is it true?" he asked, making an effort to keep his voice level. She just shook her head.
"It's just one of those nights. I promise I'll make sure he goes to AA. We just need to work through this-"
"Is it true?" he interrupted her. He had to know. She gulped and was silent for a moment before answering.
"Yes...yes at first. He didn't think he was ready to be a dad. But I knew I wanted you. I was young yes, but you were mine. My flesh and my blood. My spirit all in a new form. And I couldn't give that up. So I stood my ground and wouldn't got through with it."
Tommy shook his head, and to his shame, or maybe pride, tears were forming.
"So just stay here honey. I'll fix this."
She caressed his cheek and smiled, then left. He stood there for a while, then sat in his bed, taking deep breathes to control himself. He knew he should be at the age when things like this shouldn't make him cry. He should be tougher than what he was being. But this moment had just rattled him down to his core, and so he just quietly let himself go, just for this moment.
He heard more sounds, voices talking from down the hall. Then the voices got louder and louder, more intense and passionate. He could hear his father's yells, unintelligible, and his mother's rising to match it. It just kept going and going.
Tommy put his hands to his ears. "Stop it. Just stop it..."
It kept building and building, and then he heard a crash of something and more yelling.
"Stop it. Stop it. Stop it..."
For the love of god enough!
And then he heard the scream, the feminine scream of his mother, and it was not one of anger, but he could hear the fright. And then a loud crash, and a thud, the telltale sound of a body hitting the floor. And he was on his feet in and instant, charging down the hall, the blood pumping in his veins. He threw himself against the door, and froze when he saw it.
His mom was laying on the ground, a broken lamp next to her, and the side of her head was bloody, She was unconscious, and he wasn't even sure if it was that or dead. His dad was sitting next to her, looking at her and quivering.
"Oh god...I...I didn't mean..."
Then he looked up and saw Tommy standing there, and his face morphed into an unbridled rage. He stood up and took a drunken, stumbling step toward him.
"Look what you made me do you little bastard. How dare you. I...I..."
He threw and fist at Tommy, but something was different. Tommy didn't feel fear of his father now. No. He felt rage. A powerful, overwhelming rage. Something he couldn't describe to anyone with words. A grip of ice was on his heart, and when his father threw the punch, Tommy didn't even try to avoid it. It was as if he knew nothing this man did could physically hurt him.
The fist connected to his forehead, and Tommy barely acknowledged the blow. His father withdrew his hand in pain, and looked at him in confusion.
"The hell..."
Tommy took a step closer to him, a look of cold blooded coolness on his face. His father took a step back. Tommy took and other. And his father followed suit.
In his mind, he heard it. A guiding voice from somewhere, he knew not where. All he knew now was that it was the only thing that was making sense right now, and it was telling him exactly what he needed to do. It calmed him, giving him a sense of purpose in the storm.
Make him pay. He just hurt your mother. He deserves it.
Yes he does, Tommy thought. And I'm going to make sure he never does this again.
"What the...what is wrong with you?"
Tommy still didn't reply. It was pointless to waste the air with people like his father. He was ending this, right here and now.
With that, he threw a punch right at his father's face, and the fist connected with a sickening crunch. His father's head snapped to the side, and he heard a loud snap, before his father fell to the ground. There he lay, motionless. And Tommy realized he did not care, not until he turned to look at his mother, and found that her chest was still rising and lowering softly.
With that the facade broke, and fell to his knees, cradling her softly, crying out for her, not immediately sure what to do. Then he ran for the phone, frantically calling for an ambulance. Afterward it was as if the world was being viewed from a distance, as if he was separate from his body, his mind. His only thought was hoping, almost praying, that his mother would be alive at the end of the night.
The questions of the cops were distant. He wasn't even sure if he answered them. Every thought was of only one thing, and one thing only. Please don't let her be dead. If there is a god somewhere, then this would be the time for him or herself to prove their existence to him, beyond any doubt.
His thoughts then went to his father. And what he did to him. He wasn't sure if the cops were going to arrest him or not. They hadn't put him in handcuffs or anything, but he wasn't sure he had given them any reason to think he had not done it.
Then an EMT told him that from what they could tell, his mom should be able to come through. Tommy nodded, acknowledging the news. Then he heard it again.
You did well tonight. You saved your mother and finally dealt with your father. Well done.
He reached into his pocket, and found, not to his surprise, the green coin. As he held it, the same warm glow was felt, and the coin glowed slightly with some strange energy.
Tommy smiled.
-0-
One of the things about a small town was that news spread quickly. Like a wildfire in a forest of dried brush, or a plague across fresh, non-immunized communities. Tommy was allowed to return to school after it was determined he couldn't be linked to the death. His father had been very drunk, and could likely have fallen or something. Tommy wasn't sure how they came to this conclusion, but he didn't question it. It would give him time to help his mom when she was ready to leave the hospital, after all the tests they were doing.
Tommy forced himself to keep the routine and the facade, but he could indeed feel it in him. That pulsing anger at all of them, looking at him with those looks of pity. He didn't want their pity. He just wanted it back to normal, without his father involved.
Unfortunately, after finding that coin after the whole giant robot vs gold monster thing, strangeness was becoming the new normal. But at the same time, he felt he was almost enjoying the new territory he had discovered.
He certainly was feeling different. Despite the anger he was feeling, he had a new confidence about him. As if a certain veil had been shrouding him, and it was lifted, lifted the moment he awoke the next morning after the battle with a green coin, when he found he had gained some large increase in his strength and speed. He didn't deny the weirdness, but he was finding himself embracing it.
He smiled as he felt thought of the green coin in his pocket. He didn't want to part with it. Certainly not yet. And despite everything he had tried to do otherwise, the coin was sticking with him, somehow constantly being in his pocket. Like a new friend that was always there for him, and asked nothing in return.
Detention on Saturday was still going on. Yes, detention was always going to be there, no matter how much tragedy there was in one's life. It was irrelevant, one's misfortunes, and the schools pound of meat must always be had. Tommy plopped himself in the seat, and began to work on his papers, speaking up only when his name was called for attendance.
After while he thought he heard a whooshing sound. He looked up but saw nothing going on, and so he looked back down to observe his work. Then he heard it again, more definitively this time, and looked up just in time to see Billy Cranston catch a note in his hand.
The hell?
He watched Billy open it and read the message, whatever it was, and then he wrote something down, folded it, and threw it to Trini nearby. Yes, he threw it, at some sort of speed he didn't think was possible, and yet he was able to see it move quite easily. And he seemed to be the only one besides the note passers to be able to see it going on. He followed it for a while longer, seeing it passed as well to Kimberly Hart, Jason Scott, and that other guy, Zack Taylor.
They didn't seem to notice him watching them, so he kept his cool until the end of detention was called. That was certainly something weird, but it wasn't much use to him anyway. He went to the bathroom, and was washing his hand when he heard the door open and close. He turned and was face to face with Skull, his teeth wide in a sadistic looking smile.
"So I heard your old man was wailing on your mommy."
Oh, don't you go there you son of a bitch...
"And now she's all puckered out in the hospital, and your daddy fell down and snapped his poor little neck. And I thought my life was shitty."
Tommy felt his pulse quicken and that same burning rage in him building. It was different then with his father. Skull was pushing buttons that he should never have pushed if he valued his life. His father needed to be ended quickly and cleanly, but Skull, this bastard was a low life, and he deserved to suffer.
Yes, he does. You should make sure he sees the error of his ways before the end.
He welcomed the inner voice. It was soothing to him, comforting. But was it really right this time? His father had just hurt his mother and that was a transgression that needed to be dealt with. Skull was indeed rubbing it in, but he had yet to hurt him physically yet. Maybe just a demonstration? Something to convince him that if he ever spoke like this again to him, then whatever happened to him would be of his own doing.
Yes, that was the way. Scare the ever living shit out of him, and he would never be the same to hi again. Tommy made his choice, and he gave a small grin of amusement at what was going to happen in about three seconds.
"What's so funny? If my dad had done that then UGH!"
Tommy cut him off with a hand to his throat. He squeezed just enough to restrict the air, but not to cut if off. He then lifted Skull with one arm, finding himself surprised that he was able t do it with one arm, or maybe he shouldn't have been surprised at all.
Skull thrashed and gasped in his grasp, his eyes wide. Yes. Oh yes. This rush was incredible. Tommy had Skull by the throat and all he had to do was apply just a little bit of additional pressure, and Skull's life would be at it's end. Tommy had the power of life or death over him, and he was loving it.
"I could end you right here Skull," Tommy said. "And I don't think I would lose a bit of sleep over it."
From somewhere deep in him a voice questioned that resolve, but it was silenced by the power of the moment. Skull had tears in his eyes and tried to speak, maybe to beg for his life or something like that. Tommy brought him closer to him.
"What's that you say? Are you trying to tell me something? Speak up!"
"P...pl...please..."
"Please what? I'm afraid I can't hear you."
Yes, you are the one in power here. No one else will ever speak ill of you while you hold this kind of power. Show your might to him, this sniveling worm.
Oh, he was. He had already decided he wasn't going to kill him. Skull was too much fun now. He would just-
"Let him go!"
The voice came from behind him. He turned to see Jason Scott there, in the doorway of the bathroom. He was determined in his stance, and he met Tommy's gaze evenly. He didn't seem intimidated by Tommy holding another human around his weight with one arm. Tommy looked back at him and then Skull and shrugged, letting him go.
"Your lucky day worm. Beat it."
Skull gasped and ran out of the bathroom. He didn't give Jason second glance, and ran for his life. Jason glanced behind him, and then back to Tommy. He saw him swallow.
"Tommy...listen to me. I think you may have found something you don't understand."
Did he know about the coin? Regardless, this was not going to go Jason's way. This fallen star was nothing to him now. And he wouldn't dare try to stop him. Not if he valued his limbs being unbroken.
"I don't know what you know Jason, but I like what I found. I'm free. And if you think that you are going to take that from me, then you are not gonna like how this ends."
"Tommy, I don't want to fight you. I know you have it. I saw what you were doing. Just-"
"No."
He stepped closer to Jason, until he was almost nose to nose with him. Jason didn't back down. Tommy felt as if he should maybe flick him out of the way or something with this new power he now had, but starting a potential fight, even if one sided, would not be good in the high school. He figured Skull would never tell, but if there was a fight, there could be big backlash, and he wasn't going to compromise getting back to his mom at the hospital.
"Stay out of my way, Scott."
And then he stepped around Jason, almost expecting him to try and stop him, but Jason let him pass, and with that Tommy began to leave the school. As he passed the trophy case, he saw in his reflection, his eyes flash green.
He smiled.
So yes, that just happened. Rita clearly did a number on the Green Coin. Or maybe Tommy just also had some issues internally that are being amplified by the coin. That is the question.
Hopefully, the rumors of the sequel are going to be true. I certainly hope so. Until then, I'll keep writing this, to see where my mind takes this.
Until next time.