Here's the next chapter. Sorry this took a month to get out - I'll try to make sure the next one doesn't take that long too. I was just really busy and this was a hard chapter for me to write, which I'll explain below so that I don't spoil anything. Anyways, enjoy!
Late at night, a young man, about the age of 22, walked into a small convenience store in a bad part of town. He had tanned skin and brown hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. His brown eyes scanned the cashier at the front of the store as he walked around the aisles.
He had one hand on the base of the hood on his black jacket, and one hand near his belt.
The man behind the counter watched the young man carefully, watching to see what he was going to do. Since he had set up shop in this side of town, the man always had gang members and such coming in and out of his store. He was sure they stole from him, but he had never been in a real robbery before. Despite this, he always kept a sharp eye on everyone that walked in, especially someone alone and looking suspicious.
"Can I help you, young man?" The older man called out, attracting the attention of the 22 year old, who was trying to avoid his glance.
The young man looked up, a strange look on his face. "No, I think I know where the thing I need is," He said, pulling his hood up over his head and walking towards the man, immediately pulling out a gun. "Give me everything you got," He growled.
"Okay, just calm down," The man behind the counter urged, tapping the keys of the cash register as fast as he could, his hands shaking. "I'll give you everything, just please don't hurt me. I have a wife, kids - grandkids!"
"Hopefully they'll still have a grandpa tomorrow." The robber rolled his neck, still pointing the gun at the man as he shoved money across the counter.
The cashier gave him everything, and the man shoved it all in the large pockets of his hoodie. "Please, just leave." He pleaded to the younger man.
"Get back there," The robber gestured to the back room with his gun. "Now!" He cocked his gun for extra measure. The older man walked quickly towards the back room, letting the robber slam the door behind him. The young man shoved a whole shelf of snacks in front of the door since it locked from the inside before running out of the store, leaving the man behind.
- Cue Opening -
Tori walked into the chief base, looking at Sera and Logan, the latter doing work on the computer while the former and more experienced of the two was doing some paperwork and had cork board next to her. It was obvious that she was getting ready to pin up some information about a case they had. She walked over to her.
"Sera, there's a case?" She asked, looking at the case file in front of her, frowning when she saw two.
Sera nodded. "Two, actually. I was thinking you and the other chiefs could take on one while the lieutenants took the other, if that's alright?"
Tori gestured for her to move over a bit and opened both of the case files. One of them was a robbery, while the other was a murder - one that seemed like it could have another body involved if the murderer continued to stay on the outside. She nodded. "Alright, we'll take the murder," She handed that case to Sera, while picking up the other file. "I'm gonna take this to the lieutenants, alright?"
Before Sera had a chance to respond, Taz and Sean walked into the room, Sean seemingly trying to explain something that was bothering him to her, while she seemed quite irritated with what he was saying.
"What's wrong with them?" Tori asked, frowning at two of her partners.
Sera shrugged. "Something about Sean not liking Junior,"
"Oh, well I agree with him on that," Tori said, making Taz glare at her. "Look, I'm sorry but it's true. He doesn't treat you right - Taz, I see him making eyes at your mom. He's not the kind of guy you want to make a life with, especially considering that you should be looking into that when choosing someone to be with."
Taz shook her head. "He's not that bad."
"So you're okay with someone who will leave you for your mom?"
"He's not gonna do that," Taz rolled her eyes. "Why won't you guys just leave him alone? I love him, and it's my life - I can do what I want with it!"
Sera gave her a look. "So you expect us to just stand by while you do things to hurt yourself?" At this statement, all three of the chiefs in the room looked a bit uncomfortable, all with different reasons for looking so. "You know what I mean, guys." Sera said, knowing somewhat about all of the three's problems.
Tori rubbed her arm with her free hand awkwardly. "Okay, look, we don't have time for petty arguments about who likes or doesn't like who. We have a new case and I'm gonna pair you two up while I'll pair with Joey."
"What?" Taz narrowed her eyes, while Sean seemed alright with the pairing. "He's just gonna talk bad about Junior the whole time. I don't wanna put up with that."
The red chief rubbed a hand down her face, sighing. "You'll be fine. You can work out your issues while you catch a murderer. Look through the file, I have to go give this one to the lieutenants." She turned to Sera. "Send them to the location; Joey and I will look through the evidence later." Before letting anyone respond, Tori walked out of the room and made her way down the hall, finding Nikki, Owen, and Jason all in the lieutenant base. "You guys have a case," She announced, causing them to look over at her.
When neither Nikki or Jason made a move forward to take the case file, Owen sauntered forward and took it, opening it to look through it. "What is it?"
"Robbery over on Tide Road." Tori told him, before looking back at Jason. "Since Autumn is out of commission for the time being, you're in charge, you know?"
Jason frowned. "I am?"
Tori nodded slowly, as if her statement was very obvious. "Yeah. You're second-in-command, so it's your job to take over when the leader is gone." Tori noticed Nikki glaring at her out of the corner of her eye, though chose to ignore it. "I'm thinking that two of you should go over there to talk to the guy that was attacked while the other stays here and checks over the file with Andi and Sophie." Seeing the looks they gave her, she spoke again. "I know I don't get to tell you what to do, I'm just giving you a suggestion."
"Why are you giving us a case anyways?" Nikki crossed her arms. While the yellow lieutenant was usually more kind and energetic around others, she usually seemed cold and almost angry around Tori.
"The other chiefs and I have to take care of a murder case," Tori explained, her expression calm and collected as she spoke, not faltering with the looks Nikki was giving her. She then look to the three lieutenants. "I trust you three can take care of it. I have to get back and find Joey to go work on my own case if you need me."
As she walked away, Nikki scoffed. "I don't like her, you know?"
"She didn't do anything right now except give you a case," Andi pointed out, taking the file from Owen and looking it over. "Why don't you just let it go?"
Nikki made a face. "She messed something up for me - something I wanted more than anything. I'm not just gonna let that go." She shook her head. "Okay, Jason, what's the plan?"
Jason looked at her, his cheeks turning rosy from being put on the spot. "Well.. I don't know.. Autumn usually comes up with the plans," He stuttered, rubbing his arm awkwardly. "Or you guys do. I.. I'll just let you guys come up with the plan and I'll go with it."
"No way, dude," Owen shook his head. "You need to step up. You're not only second-in-command, but what if we weren't here? We can't help you then. Tell us what you want us to do and we'll do it."
"Owen," Nikki frowned at him, nudging him lightly.
"What? He does," Owen crossed his arms. "He can't just walk around and expect us to do this for him. He needs to come up with a plan as our leader for the time being."
Jason had no idea what to say, looking between the two - Owen giving him a hard, expectant look while Nikki looked more sympathetic. "I.. umm... Okay, let's do what Tori told us to do. One of you can stay here and look over the information, and the other can come with me to the sight." He said, taking a deep breath.
Nikki and Owen looked at each other, before Owen said, "Who do you want to come with you?"
"Uhh..." Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "Owen, I guess. No.. not that I wouldn't want you to come, Nikki, it's just that.. you know, you're really good at spotting things that we wouldn't in the evidence and.. stuff."
"Okay," Nikki nodded, walking over to Andi to look over the evidence.
Sophie stood up from her position at the computer, and walked over to them. "I'm coming with you guys. I can help calm the guy down so you can really talk to him and find out what happened."
Jason looked between Owen and Sophie, before nodding. "Alright, let's go."
- PRER -
Joey was in the chief firehouse, washing the firetruck with the hose. When he was done rinsing it, he put the hose back for a minute and looked outside. The sun was shining brightly and he could smell freshly cut grass coming from outside.
He saw another firemen walk by and caught him by the shoulder. "Hey, can you finish this up? I have to.. step out for a minute."
"Yeah, no problem," His coworker nodded, picking up where he left off as Joey walked outside, stepping to the side where there was a wall so no one would see him 'slacking off.'
Joey breathed in deeply and smiled, looking around at the town before him. In the distance, he could see some skyscrapers and, while he thought they were beautiful and he was grateful to be able to even see them, he frowned.
He thought about all of the rich owners of the buildings looking down on the poorer workers on the different floors. He also thought about how they had an easy life.
While Joey would definitely consider himself someone who wasn't afraid to take risks, mostly due to wanting to do everything before he couldn't, he was always afraid of risking his time. His time was something he couldn't get back, and, the more time he risked, the closer he would be to a time when he can't do everything he wanted to do.
Rich business men didn't have to worry about that - they always had security and didn't have to worry about what would come for them the next day. They didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck.
It's not that he hated richer people, but sometimes he wished he didn't have to live with the danger of not knowing. He also wasn't afraid of not knowing, but it wasn't a secure feeling to know that your life could be torn down by something in an instant just because you don't have enough money to pay your rent or bills.
"Joey," A voice said, making him turn his head quickly to see Sera standing against the garage door frame. "Are you okay?" She asked, frowning at his facial expression.
He nodded. "Yeah, what's up?" Joey asked, straightening himself out.
Sera seemed skeptical of his answer, but didn't try to push the subject. "Okay, well Tori needs you in the chief base to look through evidence with her. There's a murder, and she already sent Sean and Taz out to the scene."
"She wants me to be her partner?" Joey asked, a strange look on his face. "I thought Sean was usually her partner."
"He is," Sera nodded. "But Sean and Taz aren't really getting along that well, so she decided to make them work together to get over their 'childish differences.'"
Joey chuckled a bit. "Alright, let's get in there."
- PRER -
Jason, Owen, and Sophie made it to the convenience store, seeing a few police cars already on the scene and questioning the man who seemed shaken up, but alright nonetheless.
As they approached, a policeman stopped them at the crime scene tape. "I'm sorry, this is a closed off area at the moment. There was a robbery here last night and no civilians are allowed past this point."
Owen and Sophie looked to Jason to speak, but when he looked over to them for help, Sophie spoke up, nudging Owen before he could berate Jason. "We're from the Emergency Responders base," She said, pulling a badge out of her pocket, gesturing for the two rangers to do the same. "We're here to investigate the robbery."
"Oh.. are you new chiefs or something?" The officer asked, looking them over.
Sophie shook her head. "No, they're the blue and green lieutenants - Jason Johston and Owen Lalley," She gestured to them as she spoke, "And I'm their intern, Sophie Wilkson."
The officer gave them a strange look. "Well, we were just expecting the chiefs, but I guess you'll do." He said offhandedly, leading them into the crime scene as they frowned at him. "Gary Herseb owns this store and said that it was robbed by a man that looks like this drawing from our sketch artist," He looked through a file he had laying on his car's trunk. "We also sent surveillance photos to the chiefs - I'm not sure if you got them or not."
"We did," Owen snapped, causing Sophie to give him a look as the officer turned around and glared at him. "Look, I just don't want to be disrespected because I'm not one of the chiefs. Just because we're not them doesn't mean that we can't do what they do."
"Well, here's the drawing," The officer ignored Owen's anger, handing the photo to Sophie, who showed it to the two.
As soon as Jason saw the photo, he immediately began to get a pain in his head. He winced, bringing a hand up to touch his head and attracting the attention of Owen, Sophie, and the officer standing with them.
Jason brought his other hand up as well as the pain began to get worse and his vision became distorted.
"What's going on with him?" The officer asked as Sophie came around to Jason's other side while Owen was on one, and the two helped him lean against the police car as he hissed in pain.
"He's having a vision," Sophie told him, squeezing Jason's shoulder.
- Vision -
A young, 9 year old Jason sat in the library at lunch time, reading a book all alone. He usually ate lunch alone in the library while reading a book, mostly because he wasn't allowed to go out and play with the other kids, which left him without any friends to spend time with.
His parents were very overprotective of him, and wouldn't let him do anything that would trigger his very bad asthma, which would send him back to the hospital. The amount of time he spent in the hospital almost made him home schooled, since he was out of school so often.
His classmates knew about it as well, and would either avoid him completely or bully him. Thankfully, most students wouldn't indulge in such an act, but that didn't make him completely immune to bullying.
Being different made people dislike him, or scared they would 'catch' asthma, even though that's not the way it worked and Jason wished he could explain that to others.
He just didn't have the courage to go up to them and ask them to hang out, or to calm their fears. He was too shy - too set under rules and protection to break away and actually get out to make friends.
Jason sighed, putting his book down as he finished his lunch. He picked up his cardboard tray and walked over to the garbage can a little bit outside the door, before turning to walk back into the library.
Then, someone tripped him. He hit the ground hard, thankfully catching himself with his hands so he didn't hit his chest and knock the air out of his already damaged lungs.
He sat on the ground and looked up, seeing a smirking older boy standing above him with his two friends sitting at a bench behind him. Besides the three of them, no one else with smirking or laughing. In fact, a few seemed disgusted at the older boy, though no one came to help him.
"Why'd you do that?" Jason asked, looking hurt.
The older boy, one he knew as Adrian Hunter, laughed. "Because you're weak. You don't belong with the normal kids, you freak! Get out of here."
- End of Vision -
Jason was suddenly taking in gasping breaths, not only to compensate for the pain he felt severely in his head, but also from the stress of the memory he saw. The pain in his head went away, and he immediately put a hand on his chest in distress.
"Jason?" Owen asked, watching as Sophie suddenly caught him as he fell to the ground, trying to control his breathing. "What the hell is going on?" He asked Sophie, seeing her looking him over.
Sophie shrugged frantically as she looked for something that could be wrong. "It could be a lot of things - panic attack, reaction to the pain.. I don't know! He's never mentioned breathing problems before!"
Owen looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else who could help, though he saw no one. "What are we gonna do?" He asked over Jason's heavy wheezing.
The intern looked up at the officer who was still standing next to them, looking stunned. "Sir, please go call my partner at ER. Ask for Andi, I need to know if there's anything she might know about this. If she's not available, ask for Sera. Hurry!" She then put a hand on Jason's forehead, trying to use her power to calm him down. "Just relax," She soothed, watching his body relax, but his breathing was still the same.
"Can I do anything to help?" Owen asked, kneeling down beside them.
Sophie shook her head. "I don't know. If this was a panic attack, his breathing would be coming back down to normal." She looked up at him, her eyes fearful. "I could try and treat him for something but I have no idea what's wrong. He's never said he experienced something like this before."
Suddenly, Jason went limp - the only thing he was doing now was making gasping breaths. "Damn it!" Sophie exclaimed, laying him out on the floor carefully. "I need some help over here! Now!"
- PRER -
Meanwhile, Sean and Taz had left the crime scene and stopped at a small cafe, sitting outside while they waited for a waitress to bring them their orders. They sat in an awkward silence, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other.
"Okay, look," Sean started, causing Taz, who was looking at the ground, to look up at him. "I'm sorry for insulting your.. boyfriend, but I'm just worried about you and I just want you to see where I'm coming from. I know you're not gonna leave him because I say this, but I just want you to know that I'm saying these things out of car for you, not out of spite."
Taz gave him a small smile. "You don't need to be worried about me, though. I'm okay," She told him, causing him to sigh.
Sean ran a hand down his face tiredly. "I just don't trust him."
"But you trust me," Taz said. "Right?"
He nodded. "Of course, but that has nothing to do with this. I how you feel - how you don't think you deserve to be loved in the right way because you're not lovable. I've been there. Hell, I am there half of the time. Just because you don't appreciate yourself in the right way doesn't mean you should let others treat you badly."
Taz looked down at the table, not knowing what to say for a minute. "What makes you say that?"
Sean had a hard look cross his face. "Because I've been there, and I know what it looks like. Maybe that's why I'm not in a relationship; I don't think I deserve to be loved in that way, or at all sometimes."
"Really?" Taz asked, looking back up at him, though she kept her head down a bit.
"Yeah." Sean nodded. "It's hard, but it doesn't mean you have to succumb to those feelings. I know it's hard - I really, really do - but you can't let people walk all over you or treat you badly."
Taz fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater. "So what should I do?"
Sean sighed. "Do whatever you think you should do - whatever is best for yourself and whatever you need to help feel better about yourself. If Junior makes you feel better about yourself, then keep him around.. but, if he doesn't, then leave him."
"Hey, Sean?" She said, giving him a small smile. "Thank you for always taking care of me, even when I say I don't need it. It means a lot that you care so much about me."
The blue chief smiled back, reaching across the table and taking her hand. "You don't need to thank me. The way you care about me and other people is thanks enough."
- PRER -
Nikki walked down the hall, trying to reach in the infirmary. Sophie and Owen had told them about what happened at the crime scene, and, after half an hour looking through evidence they had gotten, Nikki could help herself but to go see how Jason was doing.
She was actually quite surprised to find out that he had been hiding from all of them, besides Andi, that he had asthma. It was something she thought was strange that he was keeping it from them, especially since she knew it was something that affected his health.
While personal matters weren't something the rangers had gotten together to discuss, this was different. If Andi wouldn't have known that he had it, something really bad could've happened.
Sophie and Owen had no idea what to do without that knowledge. It could've been much more serious than it was.
While Nikki knew she had it in her to be mad that he didn't tel them and posed a risk to his health, she also knew that if he had a good reason for keeping it to himself, she could find it in herself to sympathize with and forgive him.
As she approached the infirmary, she heard voices coming from inside the room and stopped just outside the door, listening in on Jason's and Logan's, the new chief intern she had yet to officially meet, conversation.
"I just don't want to be looked at like that anymore!" Jason snapped, something that was unusual for the shy forensic scientist. "I don't want to be looked at like I'm different or weak or.. broken. The others are all amazing and strong and healthy, but I'm not. I'm not like them.. I don't deserve to be ranger."
At his statement, Nikki sighed, bringing a hand up to rest over her heart at the sorrow she felt for him. She knew the how it was to not feel like she was good enough, especially when she was around Tori or one of the other chiefs. She took a deep breath to contain herself and continued to listen.
"I stay in a lab because I don't feel tough enough to go out and fight crime like the rest of the team. I've always wanted to help people, but I don't think I'm strong enough to do it. The others probably don't either, now that they know." Jason said.
Logan then spoke up. "That's not true. The others are your friends - they care about you and your health, and they would never judge you, especially not for something that you can't control. They want you to be healthy and happy just like you would want the same for them. If anything, they're feeling worried and hurt about the fact that you didn't trust them enough to tell them."
Jason was silent for a few moments. "I was just scared." He whispered.
"I know that," Logan sighed. "But they don't. They're probably sitting around wondering why one of their friends didn't trust them enough to tell them something important like this. They trust you, but you, despite knowing who these good people are, don't trust them."
The blue ranger took in a deep breath. "I never looked at it like that. Some people in the past have just made me feel embarrassed about it.. like, it's something I should hide. It's not that I don't trust them - I don't want them to feel that way. These people here are the closest thing I've had to a family in a year or two. I don't know why I'm so afraid."
"It's a normal human reaction to feel insecure about the things that make us different, and to worry how others will react to it." Logan assured him. "If someone makes you feel bad about something you can't control or something that make you different, then they're not your friend. Tell them to screw themselves. People like that aren't people you want to be friends with."
After a moment, Jason spoke up again. "Thanks, Logan. That means a lot to me."
When their conversation seemed over, Nikki knocked on the wall and poked her head in the doorway, smiling at Jason, who was sitting on the side of a bed in the infirmary. "How you feeling?" She asked, walking over and sitting on the side of the bed with him. Neither of them seemed to notice, as they spoke, that Logan made a face when Nikki walked in and made his own way out of the room.
"I'm okay," Jason said, giving her a smile in return.
"I'm glad," Nikki put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed in comfortingly. "So, are you feeling up to talking about what happened out there? I mean, I know you had an asthma attack, but why? You've never had one after a vision before."
Jason sighed. "I saw something that made me.. have a panic attack. I know the guy who robbed that convenience store - he used to bully me as kid. His name's Adrian Hunter. I guess when I saw him again I freaked out, even though were both adults now and it shouldn't even mean anything to me."
"Hey, childhood bullies can definitely have an affect on how you see the world. You can become insecure and hurt because of it. I don't know how badly this bullying was, but it could still make you feel upset or embarrassed." Nikki reassured him, before giving him a thoughtful look. "Wait, if you know this guy.. maybe if you know where he lived or something we could get a lead on his whereabouts."
The blue lieutenant gave her a small smirk. "I think I might remember. Should we go after this guy?"
Nikki chuckled, "No, we should just let him go," She smirked, speaking sarcastically. "I'll get Owen, and then we'll get this guy. You ready for this?"
Jason took a deep breath. "Yeah, I think I am. Let's do it."
- PRER -
Silas sat in a computer chair in his office, waiting for Thorn to bring in a new criminal he'd been seeing rising in the last few days. People were calling this serial killer the Grave Digger because the bodies being found were all buried under ground in some kind of 'coffin.'
"Boss," Thorn spoke, opening the door to Silas' study. "He's here."
Silas nodded. "Alright, send him in." Thorn reached out from behind the door and pulled a scrawnier man who, surprisingly to Silas, was wearing a police uniform. "You're the Grave Digger?" Silas almost scoffed. "You don't look like much."
The policeman crossed his arms as Thorn closed the door behind them. "I'm a lot more than I look."
"What's your name?" Silas leaned back in his chair, observing the man carefully.
"Johnny," He replied. "And you're Silas, the most infamous gang leader out in this whole area. What do you want with me?"
Silas smirked slightly. "I figured you could help me out with something. You know it's only a matter of time before the rangers catch you - especially considering they just got the case this morning and your.. close relationship with one of the chiefs."
Johnny narrowed his eyes. "What about it?" He asked defensively.
The crime lord nearly laughed. "Oh, don't even try to play me, boy. I know how little you truly care about her. Don't you have a thing for her mother?"
"What is this about?" Johnny repeated louder and harsher, ignoring his statements.
Silas leaned forward, placing his hands crossed on the desk in front of him. "I want you to do your work on your little girlfriend. Get her and whoever she's with and shove them under ground."
"They'll catch me in half a second if I do that!" Johnny exclaimed. "I can't do that - not without Taz or any of the others seeing me or figuring out who I am if they don't."
"So you'll flee," Silas shrugged. "You do this, or I'll shove you underground and do it myself, Junior."
Junior sighed angrily. "You're really gonna make me do this?" Silas lightly threw an envelope on the table, prompting him to pick it up. "What is this?"
Silas gestured to it as he opened it. "Take it as a sign of good faith. It's a private plane ticket to Mexico, where you can live without worrying about the rangers and be free after you do what I ask of you."
"How do you know I won't just go there anyway without doing this?" Junior asked, studying Silas' face.
"Because you don't want to die," Silas said simply. "You'd inflict pain on others easily, but when something dangerous comes your way, you do what's best for yourself. You'd rather go to prison for the rest of your life than face me in a fight, and we both know that." Junior said nothing. "So, what'll it be? Death, or going on the run?"
- PRER -
Jason, Nikki, and Owen stood morphed in an alleyway, watching Adrian's house, seeing a few gang members come in and out, and also seeing Adrian pass by the window from inside the house.
When all the activity seemed centered inside the house, and after one of the members closed the blinds at the front window, the three decided to move in, holding their blasters down at their sides.
Nikki went up the porch stairs first, listening to the activity inside through the door, before looking back to Jason and Owen, who were waiting for her gestured. She nodded, allowing Owen to come up the steps and slam his foot through the door, effectively opening it.
Some of the men inside immediately drew guns, pointing them at the three rangers as they trained their blasters on them. Once they fully saw the rangers, a few men surrendered. One man, however, ran out the back, only seen by Jason.
Not seeing Adrian anywhere, Jason could easily assume it was him.
"Drop the guns!" Nikki ground out, she and Owen keeping a close eye on them. None of them seemed to want to make a move. "Now!"
Jason turned his head slightly toward Owen, who he was closest to at the time. "Stay here and help Nikki handle and cuff these guys. I'm going after Adrian."
Owen nodded to him. "Go get him," He encouraged.
The blue lieutenant kept his blaster trained on the men as he made his way to the back, running out the door once he felt he was safe enough to do so. Hearing pounding to his left, he ran over and jumped up over the backyard fence and onto a metal sheet covering the top of the neighbors work tools and such. He ran over it, chasing behind the robber in front of him.
Adrian jumped down after reaching the street and ran through the road, stopping cars whose drivers proceeded to honk. Jason flipped off of the metal sheet, following him through the street and down an alleyway, noticing how the drivers now seemed more interested in what was going on rather than irritated at Adrian stopping traffic.
Jason chased him through the various turns through the alleyway, until they came to a dead end. Jason pointed his blaster back at the man, while Adrian drew his gun, pointing it back at him.
"I guess you have me at a standoff." Adrian smirked. "Your move, blue."
"Why don't you just put the gun down, Adrian?" Jason said, taking a deep breath and forcing his voice to stay firm and strong sounding. He wouldn't let a criminal hear him sound weak or stutter. He had to be confident.
Adrian chuckled. "I don't think that's how this works. How'd you know my name - how'd you know where I live?"
"I had a vision," Jason spoke. "What's your ability?"
The robber shrugged. "Strength, durability. You could shoot me, but it probably wouldn't do anything."
Jason looked at his blaster, a bit surprised that Adrian thought it was a real gun. He didn't say anything on the matter though, worried Adrian would use the information to his advantage. "I don't want to shoot you. I'd rather take you into custody and deal with you simply and easily, but you're not gonna make it that way, are you?"
Adrian shook his head, a dark look crossing his face. "I'd never back down without a fight."
"You always have to make things hard on yourself?" Jason asked. "This can all be over. Just come with me."
Adrian laughed humorlessly. "You can go to hell." He pulled the trigger on his gun, Jason immediately throwing himself to the floor to avoid the hit. The bullet grazed over his shoulder, but, thanks to his bullet proof vest on his suit, he didn't feel it all too much.
Jason saw Adrian try to run, and grabbed his blaster, shooting a blast of energy at the robber's foot and knocking him to the ground. Jason immediately got up and ran over to the young man, holding him to the ground and handcuffing him. He then helped him to his feet, holding him by his cuffed wrists.
"How does this feel, Adrian?" Jason asked, looking him over.
Adrian glared at him. "How does what feel?" He spat.
Jason just stared, the hard look on his face not faltering, even though Adrian couldn't actually see it. "Being taken down by a weak freak?" He ground out. "You don't remember me, but I remember you. I was the shy kid with asthma who could never play sports with the 'normal' kids like you. You would torment me, but I had no idea you'd grow up to continue tormenting people. I'd hoped that, maybe, you'd grow out it and become a better person.. I see that I was wrong. You might not believe me, but I take no pleasure in knowing that."
The robber said nothing, just as Nikki and Owen ran over to them. "Hey, we got cars picking up the guys now. We should bring him over there, let them take him to the station. We can see to it that he gets a sentence there."
"Alright," Jason said, handing Adrian off to Owen, and walking beside Nikki.
"Are you okay?" She asked, looking up at him as they walked towards the street.
Jason nodded. "Yeah, I think I am. I'm just.. disappointed, I guess. I always try to see the good in people, and hope that, if they're not good, that maybe they can be. I guess that's not necessarily true."
Nikki sighed. "Look, there might be a lot of bad people out in the world, but there are also so many good people out there too. You're not in the wrong for thinking that way about people - that's what separates you from Adrian. You see the good in people, and treat them nicely and fairly, but he doesn't. You're a very good person, Jason. I hope you know that."
"Thank you, Nikki," Jason smiled at her, feeling himself blush a bit. "That means a lot."
- PRER -
As they walked back to ER, Sean and Taz noticed someone waving at the and gesturing for them to follow this person down an alleyway. The man they saw looked to be about 50, and seemed to be homeless.
Sean and Taz exchanged looks, before walking down the alley with caution, Sean staying in front of Taz in a protective manner. "Sir, do you need something?" Sean asked, looking him over. Not only did he looked homeless, but he also reeked of alcohol, and, by the way his eyes were dilated, seemed to be on drugs. "Are you alright?"
The man leaned in towards them. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Sorry for what?" Taz frowned as she was then suddenly grabbed from behind and had a wet napkin placed over her nose and mouth. Immediately recognizing the chemical smell, she pulled her head forward and threw it back, headbutting the assailant in the forehead. She pulled away, knocking into Sean as the two got into a defensive stance against this new man.
"Who are..." Sean trailed off as the two saw his face when he got up from Taz's attack. "Junior." He stated, looking over to see Taz with her hands over her mouth in shock at this.
Junior nodded, leaning against the wall and grasping something behind his back. "That's right," He smirked, looking towards the man near him. "Do your thing, Mark."
Mark suddenly grabbed Sean grasping his wrists firmly with his hands as Junior tackled Taz to the floor. Sean struggled to get out of the older man's grasp, pulling and fighting his hands when he felt a burning sensation growing worse by the minute.
He cried out in pain, trying even harder to escape. Taz wasn't doing much better either; she was pinned to the floor and Junior had the napkin shoved over her mouth and nose. She struggled at first, but as she inhaled the chemical, she quickly lost the battle and fell unconscious.
"Taz!" Sean yelled, watching Junior hoist her over his shoulder and run out of the alley. Sean roared in anger and kicked his foot back at Mark, forcing him to let go as Sean ran after them, pulling his gun out in the process.
The blue chief looked up and down the quiet side street he followed them to and saw Junior getting ready to leave in his car. He pointed his gun directly at him through the windshield. "Let her go. Now!" Sean called to him.
Junior smirked, and revved the engine, but Sean didn't move from the road. "Alright, Sean, you've given me no choice," He whispered, putting his foot down on the pedal and driving forward.
- PRER -
Autumn walked down the hall towards the chief base, not finding anyone around in the lieutenant base at the time. She made her way over, and was surprised to only find Tori and Joey in the whole base.
"Hey," Autumn greeted, knocking lightly on the wall so as to not startle them. "Where is everyone?"
Tori looked her over, surprised at her presence. "More importantly, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be recovering?"
Autumn shrugged. "I have faster than average healing abilities," She chuckled. "I only needed a day or two to fully recover because of my ability. It's day three - I know I'm late but I didn't think you guys would think I wouldn't show up at all."
"Well, all the others are out," Joey informed her. "Sera, Andi, and Sophie left for their shifts, Masters and Lia have been in meetings all day across town, and everyone else is out with cases."
"Yeah, and we're trying to figure somethings out about the Grave Digger," Tori said, gesturing to the cork board in front of them. "We already sent out Sean and Taz to get some more evidence or leads. Whatever they can find."
Autumn frowned. "Who's the Grave Digger?"
"He or she is a serial killer who takes their victims and buries them alive in some sort of.. well, coffin," Tori explained. "This person will bury anyone in any kind of container that's big enough."
"That's sick," Autumn crossed her arms, walking further into the room to look at the board. "Any leads so far?"
"None," Joey sighed, pinning up a picture of a crime scene where they found a body in an old refrigerator. "The victims are scattered. None of them have any ties to each other. The only thing we have on this person is that they use a voice recording through a phone to inform people, and have them pay a ransom for the location."
Tori nodded. "That, or they just say good luck. Sometimes this person doesn't ask for anything, just kills the person inside."
Autumn rubbed her arm, a disgusted look on her face. "That's just horrible. Who could do such a thing?"
"I have no id..." Tori was cut off when her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket, frowning when she saw the unknown number. Despite not knowing who it was, she answered. "Hello?"
Next time on Power Rangers Emergency Responders: Tori receives a call from the Grave Digger that Sean and Taz have been kidnapped, leading to the two remaining chiefs teaming up with the lieutenants to find them before it's too late.
Next Chapter Title: Junior
So, I just wanted to say that, if you recognize the story of the Grave Digger from somewhere, it's from Bones. I love that show a lot and thought that would be a cool concept to play around with in my own way. I want to let you guys know that this is a disclaimer and I don't own that idea.
Also, I didn't want to change Jason in this chapter to someone who's now completely different and outgoing and really confident. You'll see from the next and future chapters that Jason still has more than a few insecurities and that he's still pretty shy and a bit awkward. He is, however, more confident in his ability to do his job and protect people.
One last thing, updating might still be a bit far and few in between for me for a while, but I'm getting back on schedule and have the first chapters of Rainbow Fighters and Earth Defenders coming out very soon. The schedule I'll have for updating mostly will be Guardians of the Galaxy, this story, and then those two in the order I wrote above to keep it fair with updates.
Anyways, here's the lineup for the next five chapters.
Ep 9: Partner - Autumn focused chapter.
Ep 10: Owen's Success - Owen focused chapter.
Ep 11: Home Is Where The Heart Is - Joey focused chapter.
Ep 12: Test - Nikki focused chapter.
Ep 13: Kidnapping Reds - Tori and Autumn focused chapter. Possibly a two-parter.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you guys back with the next chapter!
© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley