Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers, especially Lost Galaxy, or anything affiliated with it though Johnny Marshak, the White Galaxy Ranger powers and future Galactabeast/Galactazord, and Alpha Squadron as it exists here (think I read a fanfic with a vaguely similar idea back in the day though I don't remember who wrote it, when, where it was, or even the name and it's probably long since lost to the ages anyway) are my ideas. Disney, Hasbro, Toei, and I'm not sure who all else does.
I also borrow from both the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies. You'll know exactly what I mean when you see them. Last I knew, Sony had the exclusive rights to all but the Tom Holland version and kind of co-opts that with Disney.
Author's notes: This is actually the 4 or 5 in the series I've been working on as I've been on quite the writing bender for almost 3 months now and I think I've finally gotten my groove back but some won't be publishable for a while. Let's just say I've had so many ideas some were written out of order.
I've even got a hell of a story waiting for a good bit down the storyline that's more or less fully written I'm itching to share but will have to wait until then as it'd be completely out of context as it'll will have a lot of future info to process into hints during these other stories first. Anyway, onto the story.
Even a blind man
By Har-El
Johnny stood in the middle of a an intersection leaning on a lamppost, his sword strapped onto his back. Alpha had helped him with the synthesizer to make a beautiful scabbard that looked right out of the knights of the round table stories he'd always loved since he was a kid. He didn't know why, but something almost instinctive made him give it an avian theme.
Marching down the street was Ecliptor and a small army of Quantrons. "So, little 'Ranger', you have chosen to face us alone," Astronema's favorite bodyguard/stooge called out, "Oh wait, you're not even a Ranger, are you? That pointy little stick has done nothing for you so far. You should give it up to a real warrior."
Johnny winced as he felt the emotional bite from the Ecliptor's words. It was true the Vortex Scimitar had yet to work for him so far other than absorbing energy to fire back against enemies. He hadn't been able to morph yet and it was just getting very frustrating, hence this showdown. He did find out one thing though. His sword could absorb energy and redirect it.
Meanwhile, the other Galaxy Rangers have had a few little misadventures since Mirinoi mostly defending Terra Venture and planetary archival missions from hit and run attacks by Sting Wingers and Furio.
At least Johnny had been able to join in some of the fun though, even if it was just in his fighter. He'd even had the onboard AI develop a tie into the frequency the Galaxy Rangers used to help coordinate the efforts better. 'Or at least to coin Collin Raye, that's my story and I'm sticking to it,' he thought with a grin.
Johnny wouldn't admit to anybody, not even his parents or aunt Cassie, but he was starting to become quite smitten with Maya as she was just about everything he looked for in a potential girlfriend… beautiful and kind, with a wicked sense of humor… and so much more.
They'd even exchanged numbers on their own little private line while heading back after one of their misadventures and Johnny had enjoyed talking or at least texting Maya off and on ever since, until one time it got so late she later explained Kendrix had started taking her phone away after a certain time so they could get some sleep, something they laughed over.
'I have to figure this out soon or Ecliptor's right, I should pass it on to somebody that's actually worthy,' Johnny thought then shook his head, set his jaw determinedly, and glared at Ecliptor. 'No, this has to work. I have to be able to help the others… especially Maya.'
"Yeah, I'll think about that… when Satan needs a snowplow, asshole," Johnny responded and with that last, stubborn sentence running through his mind, he began wading through the Quantrons.
First Johnny used fluid dodging techniques he'd learned from his uncle Zack, followed by quick sharp jabs from his aunt Trini, and mixed in the brute tank style his Dad and uncle Jason usually adhered to as well as Brazilian jiu-jitsu he'd learned from a foster brother years ago after a particularly nasty beat down from a bully who broke his wrist just to prove he was untouchable.
Johnny was glad to learn and later use it to prove the jackass wrong and sent him running. The bully had stopped being such not long after his favorite punching bag quit taking any of his shit and they actually became good friends and occasionally keeping in touch with each other to this day, same with the foster brother even after the latter had aged out not long after.
Once he was done dispatching the last of the Quantrons with relative ease with the same spinning roundhouse kick that had helped him save Maya on Mirinoi, Johnny finished the spin by unsheathing his Quasar Saber and going into what he hoped was an intimidating fighting stance with it even if he didn't quite have a good fighting style to go with it. 'Yet,' he thought.
The two dueled for a few minutes longer than usual, sparks flying as the deceptively thin Vortex Scimitar clashed with Ecliptor's green and black sword but it ended as it always did, with the villain disarming his foe almost effortlessly, sending the Quasar Saber flying and lodging itself into a nearby wall.
"Damn it, not again!" Johnny yelled out though more in frustration than pain even though that final blow felt like it had probably broken his wrist again so he knew his right hand would be practically useless for the next few days as was he in this fight since he was even worse with the Quasar Saber in his left hand.
Johnny let out a string of colorful expletives that would make even his Aunt Cassie blush and cause his Mom to pull him over her lap and make sitting uncomfortable for a while as he called for the Simudeck to end the simulation then called his Quasar Saber back into his left hand after carefully shifting the scabbard where he could slide the sword back in.
"DECA, please ask Alpha to meet me in the infirmary again," Johnny requested, cradling his wrist to his chest as he left the Simudeck. The Megaship's AI complied with his request and the diminutive robot was waiting for him in the infirmary in what was becoming a custom he came so often to practice using the Quasar Saber as well as trying to unlock his ability to morph.
PRLG
"Oh, ay yi yi, not again," Alpha said as he assessed Johnnys wrist, "Its definitely hairline fracture so you're going to have pretty limited use with that hand for a few days yet again. I've been telling you this has to stop at least until it can heal properly." He set it as best as he could.
Johnny sighed and nodded. It was a common occurrence to his Simudeck training, right down to Alpha patching him up and scolding him afterwards. He had gotten pretty good at hiding the injury from his friends and family, even covertly reprogramming the AI of his fighter to be able to help him handle the right side controls.
"Look, I'll take it easy for a while if that helps," Johnny said, "Just… please don't tell Aunt Cassie or especially my folks. If Dad knew I've really been flying at barely 70% efficiency at best, he'd pull my flight status without hesitation and I need that to help the others until I can get this damn thing to work." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at his sword.
"All right, but you really should tell someone," Alpha reluctantly said as he gently applied the chameleon splint as they called it, something he'd come up to help Johnny while keeping the injury a secret. "I can't just keep patching you up like this. You need to see a physician and maybe go into physical rehab. It's not doing you any good to keep doing this to your wrist."
Johnny hung his head. "You're right," he admitted though he hated doing so. When Alpha was done with his wrist, he hopped off the table he was sitting on and gave the little robot as big a hug as he could with one arm. Though they often bickered, especially since he'd started his recent training, he really did love him. "Thanks, Alpha, for letting me come do this, patching me up, and listening to me."
"You're very welcome," Alpha said, patting Johnny's back.
After Alpha helped him carefully slide back into his Alpha Squadron jacket and bidding goodbye to him and DECA, Johnny had to quickly make his way off the Megaship as he just noticed it was a little after noon. He had a lunch meet up with Maya at 1330 and he didn't want to miss that for the world.
PRLG
Maya's right hand and thumb twitched as she sat at the gang's usual table at the Comet Cafe. She was so nervous, it was all she could do to not have her thumb in her mouth. Her thoughts were unknowingly echoing Johnny's in how she was smitten with him and how cute and brave he was.
"That Marshak kid running late?" Amanda asked as she brought over a soda for Maya to sip on while waiting. Kendrix had told her what Leo said, that she was Mike's girlfriend and practically a mother to the Red Galaxy Ranger, which made her instantly like the server.
"No, I'm just pretty early," Maya answered as she took the proffered drink and taking a sip. Since it wasn't as early enough lunch that they were super busy, Amanda gestured to the other seats and the Yellow Galaxy Ranger nodded as the server plopped down with a sigh of relief. She'd been running around all day so far and was glad for a short break.
"So, how's it been going, using these little meetups to try to build up the courage to tell Johnny how you feel about him?" Amanda asked.
Maya chuckled. Though the others were sometimes put off by the tendencies of the two to get right to the point as bluntly as possible, she found it quite refreshing. "I think it's going well," she replied, "I could talk to Johnny for hours… if Kendrix didn't take away my phone at night, anyway… and he's so sweet and caring…"
"And cute as Hell," Amanda and Maya added together and they laughed.
"It's just so hard to believe no one tried to lock him down," Maya finished.
"Yeah well, I've heard one or two tried, especially that last one, Yoli," Amanda replied.
Maya nodded as she'd also heard about Johnny's infamous last girlfriend who'd just became an ex not even 6 months before he boarded Terra Venture. Yoli had cheated on him and got pregnant but tried to pawn the baby off as his as it's bio father wanted nothing to do with her or the baby.
Johnny had believed it without hesitation, hoping to be an amazing Dad and shower his baby with the love and attention that while he'd gotten from the Olivers and he loved them for it, he'd also never had biological parents to also give him affection. It had come to a head when the baby, a daughter, was born… with beautiful ebony skin.
Johnny had been absolutely heart broken and left the hospital as soon as he saw the baby after glaring at Yoli and threatening legal action if she even tried to forge his name on the birth certificate.
Wanting to get away from that shit show was what finally caused Johnny to take his Dad up on his offer sooner than planned. He had originally planned to wait a couple of months then propose to Yoli and marry her before Terra Venture's launch so her and their baby could come with him.
Someone called for a check and Amanda had to go with a promise to check back on Maya and Johnny when he got there but the Yellow Ranger wasn't waiting long as her prospective boyfriend came walking up a couple minutes later. "Sorry if I'm a little late," he said after exchanging cheek kisses, "You look amazing by the way."
"Thank you," Maya said, "You look very handsome yourself."
The two did make quite the dashing pair, Johnny in khaki pants and a light green plaid button up shirt under his squad jacket and Maya in a black and white striped dress Kendrix had helped her buy just for one of these meetups. Her teammate had even sprayed her with a little perfume. She usually didn't like it but did love the flowery aroma of this perfume.
"Oh and you're not late, a little early in fact," Maya reassured Johnny, "I just needed to talk to Amanda about a few things and here's pretty much the best place to catch her as it seems like she's always working, trying to get her mind off Mike I think, so I was just a little earlier."
Johnny nodded as he sat down. He winced and hissed softly as his right hand bumped the table and pain shot up his arm. "Are you all right?" Maya asked, looking at him worriedly.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Johnny said, "I broke my wrist years ago and I don't think it ever really healed properly so it sometimes flares up when I strain it. In this case, I slipped in the shower getting ready and landed a little hard against the wall with it pinned between me and the wall."
It wasn't a complete lie as that did sometimes happen and Johnny's wrist usually hurt like Hell for the rest of the day but this time it had been broken, albeit a minor break, and would take at least a couple of days to heal.
"Oh, why didn't you text and tell me?" Maya asked, "We could've done this another day. I wouldn't have minded since you're hurt so badly."
"To be completely honest, I look forward to these little meetups so much, I could be needing to be in full traction right now and nothing would have a chance in Hell at keeping me away," Johnny said, "Besides you look so beautiful and that makes it worth the pain."
Maya couldn't help but beam. Johnny never passed up an opportunity to compliment her like that to make her feel special. They gazed at each other for several minutes, transfixed, before a loud coughing caught their attention and found Amanda grinning at them.
"Hey, Johnny, and sorry to break you lovebirds apart for even a minute but I thought I'd get your order, though by the looks of things I'll probably have to change it later to Delivery when you can't keep your hands off each other," Amanda said.
They both turned red at the implication but knew Amanda was just trying to get a rise out of them. She took their orders and hurried to the kitchen to put them in to the system after a quick wink at the two.
All in all, both enjoyed this little lunch "date" and neither were wanting to part ways after so they were trying to think of ways to continue it. They couldn't at first until Maya hit on an idea when Johnny offered to walk her back.
"Hey, how about instead of us heading to my place, we go to yours?" Maya suggested, "You've been over at our place a few times but I don't think I've even seen as much as your door."
"Well, there's not really that much to my place, especially anything like that awesome hammock that you have set up in yours but sure, if you want," Johnny replied with a shrug. He paid the tab and waving goodbye to Amanda, they headed out.
PRLG
Though it'd been her idea, Maya couldn't help but feel underdressed as they walked through the halls of the Alpha Squadron barracks. Everyone was very friendly though. She kind of knew everybody but had to play it off as though they'd never interacted before today as they didn't know she was a Ranger except Johnny and Cassie.
Maya especially loved meeting Johnny's parents and his adorable little brother and she could tell how much they loved each other. Tommy was the cool but authoritative Dad, Kim the beautiful doting Mom, and Aaron was the usual 6 year old, running around like a headless chicken.
Eventually they made their way over to Johnny's quarters. "Well, you wanted to see my door so here it is," he joked, making a grand gesture. Maya giggled. "Just to warn you, I don't really have much in way of food supplies or anything but I think I can wrestle you up a Coke or something."
"I'm good thanks, though you might want to leave the body slamming to Leo as he loves that kind of thing," Maya teased and Johnny laughed as he waved his key fob over the door plate and it slid open. He waved her in and as the lights activated, she took a look around.
As Johnny had warned, there wasn't much in way of furniture but it did have a table and chair set, a loveseat that looked quite comfortable, and a few chairs and small tables scattered about. Pictures of him and his extended family were everywhere.
"Is a smaller version of one of these pictures in your locket?" Maya asked.
"No, though I've thought about rotating it with some, especially one with me, Mom, Dad, and Aaron," Johnny replied as he walked over to the dinner table and sat down, tossing his key fob down onto the middle. He took the chain out from his neck and opened the locket to show her as she joined him in a chair. She had to help him because of his wrist.
"Is that your biological Dad?" Maya asked, "You look a lot like him."
"Yeah, I know but while I'm guessing he's my biological father, I have no idea," Johnny admitted, "All I know is that my Mom died giving birth to me and this was the only possession of hers they found, so it was put in my file box until Mom and Dad were able to sign off on it when they adopted me and give it to me on the first anniversary of the adoption. I've had it ever since."
"Aren't you curious?" Maya asked.
Johnny shrugged. "I mean, I was when I was younger, wondering who my biological Dad is, why he never came for me, if I had any siblings, stuff like that. When Mom and Dad adopted me, I just kind of… I don't know, let go of my curiosity over time I guess. They love me and gave me a stable home and I was old enough to know that was all that really mattered."
It was then that Johnny noticed just how close Maya was. The picture was small so she had to lean in pretty close to see it and his nose was practically buried in her thick beautiful hair and he couldn't help but take her fragrant smell in.
Johnny didn't know if what he was smelling was perfume he guessed Maya borrowed from Kendrix as she usually didn't use it or what exactly, but it was intoxicating. 'And even a blind man would appreciate her beauty,' he couldn't help but think with a smile.
Maya looked up and smiled at seeing Johnny already doing so but before she could say anything, he leaned closer and their lips met. She kissed him back and couldn't help but squeak happily as her first kiss was everything she'd dreamed of and more.
Maya noticed a strange look on Johnny's face when he pulled back but he quickly shook it off. "I'm sorry, Maya," he said, "But that's been on my mind all day… no, make that since we met. I've been wanting to kiss you so badly, it's been driving me crazy."
Maya giggled. "It's all right, I wanted you to kiss me too," she admitted, "I even wanted you to kiss me even when you saved me from the Sting Winger back on Mirinoi. In fact…" With that, she scooted her chair over so she didn't feel like she was about to slip out of it. "I'd love it if you kissed me again."
Johnny chuckled before his lips captured Maya's once again and this time, her squeaks of delight was much more pronounced. She was a little surprised when he pulled away and started looking around. "What was that?" he asked, "It's so weird, I heard something like that back on Mirinoi but…"
"Oh my gosh, you heard that?" Maya asked, ducking her head in embarrassment. Johnny gave her an inquisitive look. "When I get really really nervous or um, excited…" She could feel her face burning at that. "I tend to start squeaking, quietly at first but the more I get excited, the louder I tend to get and I sometimes find it hard to stop."
"It's just another cute thing about you," Johnny said. Maya beamed. "Now as much as I'd love to see how loud and often I can get you squeaking…" Her jaw dropped and she playfully bopped him. "It's getting kind of late so maybe I should escort my new girlfriend back to her place."
Maya started to nod and say something and it took a moment for her mind to catch up with Johnny's words. She gasped. "You mean…"
Johnny grinned and nodded. "If you'll have me as your boyfriend," he said.
Johnny winced for a moment as he got a good idea just how loud Maya's squeaking could get as before he brace himself, she was in his arms in such a forceful rush, the chair he was in ended up tipping over. It wasn't the best idea as it jostled his wrist pretty bad but what made up for it was his now girlfriend on top of him, switching between little pecks and repeating "Yes, yes, yes!"
Suddenly a knocking sounded at the door. "I'm all right and sorry we startled you, Rocky," Johnny called back. They seemed satisfied as there wasn't another knock. "So, I take it that's a yes then?"
"Of course, silly," Maya said, "Oh shit, I'm so sorry. That must've hurt your wrist." With that, she carefully got back to her feet and helped Johnny back up.
"It did but your kisses more than made it better," Johnny replied. Maya couldn't help but slip him another kiss for such a corny but sweet line. She shifted over to his left side and slid her arm through his and after grabbing his key fob they headed out for hers and Kendrix's quarters.
PRLG
A couple of days later, Johnny was so glad when the chameleon splint disappeared as that meant his wrist was at least good enough that he didn't have to worry about bumping into the smallest things.
Johnny had been keeping his word to Alpha to stay off the Simudeck but he was itching to try morphing again now that his wrist was all right enough. 'At least I have Maya to keep my mind off it,' he thought.
However, Johnny found he couldn't keep his head in cloud 9 forever as his Mom mentioned his Dad needed to see him in his office and his heart sank. "Did he say why?" he asked.
Kim shook her head. "Sorry sweetie, but he's keeping it close to his chest, even from me," she said, "Do you want me to come with you?"
Johnny appreciated his Mom's offer but knew that whatever this was about, he needed to face the music if it was bad. "Thanks, Mom, but no, I need to meet this head on and it'd be better alone," he replied. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and a quick good luck before he started making his way to his Dad's office.
Johnny waved over the plate and heard the door chime inside. "Come in, Alpha 2," he heard his Dad call from inside and he winced at that, knowing his Dad would only be using his Squadron designation outside of battle if it was going to be bad. His bad feeling was made worse when he saw also saw Commander Stanton inside.
"Please take a seat, Captain Marshak," Tommy said, gesturing to the chair directly opposite him. Johnny tried not to hang his head as he did so, keeping his eyes locked onto his Dad's to keep from showing his nervousness. "Is there anything you'd like to tell us?"
"Um, I'm… not sure, sirs," Johnny said and it was true as he didn't know if it was over keeping his injury a secret or… Commander Stanton tapped a few things on his tablet and the nearby monitor showed lines of 1s and 0s that took a second for him to recognize the changes he'd made to his fighter's AI. "All right look, I think I can explain that."
"Oh yes, you will need to explain this to our R&D team assigned to your squadron as they're very impressed you were able to make the changes they've been trying to figure out to the AI," Commander Stanton replied.
"Don't worry, they've assured me that Alpha Squadron won't be too affected by this," Commander Stanton said reassuringly, "They just want this as a backup option in case any of you are badly injured or even rendered unconscious mid-fight."
"So… I'm not in trouble?" Johnny asked tentatively.
"While it is a breach of protocol, they've asked me to overlook it if you'll help them develop this further and apply it with the other fighters," Commander Stanton answered and Johnny sighed with relief and agreed immediately.
"However, while you might not be in trouble for that, I'd like to know why you've made these specific changes," Tommy continued. Johnny groaned inwardly at that, as he knew he was in trouble no matter how he answered.
Tommy looked at the Commander who nodded and hit a button on his tablet to pause the recorder. "I'll have to start recording again when we need to decide on a punishment but for now, you can talk freely," he said.
Tommy nodded his thanks to his friend and CO. "Are you all right, Johnny?" he asked as he stood and came around his desk to stand by his son.
"I am now but I messed up, Dad," Johnny admitted, "I broke my wrist again recently. Don't get mad at him, but I kind of made Alpha patch me up because I didn't want to go to the hospital so I could avoid this."
"I'm sorry but I can't overlook this," Tommy said.
"Dad, Commander, please don't revoke my flight status," Johnny pleaded, "My wrist is fine enough that I can still fly circles around Sting Wingers even without the reprogrammed AI. The changes were just in case my wrist got aggravated while flying and I couldn't use it. I need this. I'll be useless otherwise."
"I'm afraid we'll have to," Commander Stanton replied, giving Johnny a sympathetic look. "We can't just ignore injury protocol. The next time you go out there, your wrist could become aggravated again early on and distract you and that could be dangerous all around." Johnny nodded. He hated to admit it but his CO had a point.
"The revocation will only last until you can get your wrist injury properly evaluated and treated, maybe take up physical therapy, and can prove its as close to 100% as possible," Tommy reasoned. Johnny nodded miserably as he lowered his head into his hands. He knew he could only be mad at himself for his own stupidity.
Commander Stanton resumed the recording, making a quick summary of the young man's protocol infractions, the revocation of his flight status, and the agreed upon requirements to get it back. Johnny signed the write up and he finished the recording.
"Am I dismissed?" Johnny asked softly. His Dad and Commander Stanton both nodded and he stood, giving them a salute which they returned, and was lucky to get out the door before tears started falling.
About halfway back to his quarters, Johnny ran into his Mom, thankfully alone for the moment. "Oh, there you are," she said, "For a while there, I thought Tommy was going to keep you in there all…" It was then Kim noticed that he was crying. "What's wrong?"
Not trusting his voice, Johnny just edged past his Mom while also making a brief gesture for her to follow him. She did, now very worried. He waved his key fob over the door plate and practically ran in.
Kim stepped inside hesitantly and was heartbroken as her son set his key fob on the table, fell heavily into one of the chairs, and lowered his head into his hands, sobbing softly. "Oh, sweetie," she said, quickly crossing the room and hugging Johnny. "What did Tommy do? You want me to go chew him out?"
"No, Mom, it wasn't Dad's fault or Commander Stanton's," Johnny replied, "It was all my fault. As the saying goes, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I've been dealing with a wrist injury for a while now but have avoiding real medical treatment beyond Alpha patching me up and now it's caught up with me and they revoked my flight status.
"I even reprogrammed the AI to where it would take over the controls I use my right hand to manipulate, which was also what part of the meeting was about and I was lucky I'm really not getting in trouble for," Johnny added. Kim nodded. He could've seen jail time over that.
"How did you injure it?" Kim asked.
Johnny hesitated. Like most good Moms, Kim had a spot on built in lie detector when it came to her kids. Sighing, he knew she wouldn't let it go so he stretched out his hand to her confusion, becoming even more confused when something came flying from the top bunk on the wall and into his hand. "What in the world…" she began.
Kim was surprised to see Johnny holding what looked to be a sheathed sword. He gingerly took it out of the sheathe to reveal a medium sized, thin bladed sword. "I've seen the reports on those," she realized, "Those Galaxy Rangers use them I think. Quasar Sabers, right?" Johnny nodded. "So, you're one of them? Which one are you?"
"I'm not exactly a Galaxy Ranger… yet," Johnny admitted, "I haven't been able to activate this thing yet except to use a cool little power where it can absorb energy directed at me, charging the blade with energy that can be redirected back.
"As for the color or my zord or anything, the coin in the hilt's blank whereas the others show theirs and there's not really any colors that set it apart from the others far as I can tell, so your guess is about as good as mine," Johnny continued.
"I know you've been curious where I've been off and on the last couple of weeks," Johnny pointed out and Kim nodded, "Well, Alpha's been letting me use the Simudeck to give me experience using this and to try unlocking the morphing power. I keep re-breaking my wrist."
"I've just been feeling so useless since I can't make this… thing work," Johnny said, catching himself when he almost cussed there. "That's why I've been pushing myself in the Simudeck and when that hasn't done anything helping them through Alpha Squadron. I have to help them, Mom! They're my friends and they're putting themselves in danger and I hate that I can't do anything."
"Don't worry, sweetheart," Kim reassured her son, hating to hear the pain in Johnny's voice. "I know you'll not only get through this and have your flight status reinstated ASAP but you'll find a way for that sword to work for you and then you'll be able to pick and choose which way you can help them."
Johnny felt the heaviness of his heart lifting with this conversation. He stood up and gave his Mom a big hug and kiss. "Thanks, Mom," he said, "No matter how bad things were for me, you and Dad have always been there to help. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Johnny," Kim said with a broad smile. Though Johnny never passed up the opportunity to show her love and appreciation it never failed to make her happy. "Is your cute little girlfriend you had over the other day, Maya, a Galaxy Ranger too?"
Johnny blushed at that, kind of glad his Mom had picked up on his change of relationship status. "Yeah, she's the Yellow Ranger," he said, "She's actually technically not human or at least not Earth-born."
Johnny launched into the whole story of their adventure on Mirinoi, telling all sides of the story as he'd meticulously gotten as many details as possible from the others.
"Did you ever have anything like that happen when you were a Ranger?" Johnny asked. They'd told him almost every story they could from their days as Rangers but he couldn't remember something specific off the top of his head that was like this.
"Kind of though only one I can think of that was almost exactly like that," Kim said, "I think I've told you about Edenoite and the Masked Rider?"
Johnny nodded though he couldn't help but shudder. The guy Kim met, Dex, had been nice enough when he met him but he hated insects and the Edenoits were descended from them. He hadn't been offended as entomophobia was common among humans and he was used to it.
"So, about Maya… what do you think?" Johnny asked. He always asked at least Kim if not both her and Tommy of their opinion when he started dating a woman. They'd approved of almost all of his ex-girlfriends. His Mom hadn't quite trusted Yolanda at first but had warmed up to her.
"She's very beautiful, seems like she's a wonderful young woman, and I can already tell she adores you and you her," Kim said, "I very much approve… as long as you two don't give me any grandkids anytime soon. That whole bit with Yoli was enough to last me a good few years."
"You've got it, Mom," Johnny said. As if on cue, his phone went off and the way his eyes lit up it was obvious who was calling so after kissing his forehead, Kim quietly made her way out of his quarters. She knew Maya more than had the situation well in hand from here.
PRLG
2 weeks later…
Johnny couldn't help but grin as Maya looked almost overwhelmed at the sight before her. "This is amazing," she said as they walked down the aisles of vendors. Morale had started getting a bit low as of late so Commander Stanton had commissioned a carnival in the park downtown.
Johnny had spent the last couple of weeks busting his ass to get his flight status reinstated, starting going to the hospital so they could assess his wrist. Unfortunately they ended up having to break it again and resetting it properly so it was still tender tonight but he could manage it as long as he didn't strain it.
Johnny also took up both physical therapy to help heal his wrist as well as seeing a therapist Leo and Kendrix had gone to in order to fully put the incidents such as his wrist in the past.
"What, your people never had something like this?" Kendrix asked. Her and Leo had decided to join the new couple in a little double date, a common occurrence for the quartet over the near month half since the Pink Ranger had been delighted to find Johnny and Maya kissing outside their quarters the night they officially started dating.
"Oh no, not even close," Maya said, "The Carnivales we had were completely different and frankly boring compared to all of this." Her boyfriend and teammates couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.
"Hey, you ever play that?" Leo asked Johnny, nodding to a skeeball booth a few feet away.
"You kidding?" Johnny replied, "Before my wrist was broken as a kid and I couldn't really play anymore as it would aggravate the break and I sucked with my offhand, the local Chuck E Cheese couldn't drag me away from those things.
"I don't know how many of their prizes I had racked up back in the day," Johnny continued, "I think I still have who knows how many thousands of tickets in their systems I never redeemed." It was actually the reason the bully had broken his wrist, for showing him up.
"Ooh, what's that?" Maya asked, pointing to an oversized stuffed Pikachu doll at another booth nearby. Johnny quickly gave her a quick overview of the Pokémon games and promised to see if Aaron would let her borrow them sometime as while he had them all at one point, he'd grown out of them and gave them to his little brother. "I want one!"
Johnny nodded as he stepped over to the booth. "What do I need to get a Pikachu?" he asked the Carney as he fished his debit card out of his wallet. He was glad it wasn't anything too taxing on his wrist as well as delighted to note it was a shooting gallery game. While he was a pilot first and foremost, he was also a crack shot marksman.
"That's one of my big ticket items, so I have to set the bar kind of high," the man reasoned, "Get at least 600 and your pretty little girlfriend will go home happy with one." He leaned forward. "Maybe even keep you from going home to a cold bed alone, eh?" he whispered with a wink.
Johnny blushed as he picked up the rifle the carney had indicated. It went without saying he blew the requisite score way out of the water, racking up almost 1000 before it was over. "Oh wow, man, that was amazing," the carney admitted as he handed Maya the promised doll, "Are you a Ranger or Alpha Squadron or something?"
The quartet all chuckled at that question as he slid the neckline of his sweater down to show his Alpha Squadron lapel pin. "Oh wow, I thought I recognized you," he said, "Alpha 2, right?
"I was on a couple of missions with you, including that last archive mission you ran with us and you really helped pull our asses out of the fire as did the Galaxy Rangers. I could never thank you enough, my friend."
"I appreciate that and I'm sure the other members of Alpha Squadron and the Galaxy Rangers especially would too," Johnny said. They shook hands before the quartet continued making their way around the carnival.
Leo had gotten Kendrix into watching WWE with him and she was fast becoming a fan so he won her a plush of the Rock. The two ladies even jokingly had their dolls do a little wrestling match that came out in a draw.
Johnny didn't notice how chilly it was getting until he noticed Maya shivering as they headed over to The Hurricane so he slid out of his sweater and handed to her. "Thanks," she said, handing him Pikachu for a moment so she could slide it on. It was way too big for her but that just made it all the more perfect. She looked so cute in it he couldn't resist stealing a quick little kiss.
However, all good things come to an end as a siren went off about an hour later and the speakers put out an announcement that Sting Wingers were attacking Terra Venture. Maya handed Johnny back his sweater as well as Pikachu to hold on to. Kendrix also entrusted him with her Rock plush. "I'll miss you out there," she murmured after a quick kiss.
"I hope to get back in the air soon so you won't have to miss me for too long, beautiful," Johnny promised. 'Sooner if I can get my damn Quasar Saber to work,' he added mentally. Maya nodded before the 3 headed for a discreet spot to morph and teleport away.
"All by mysellllfffff," Johnny sang briefly with a sigh. 'Now I know how a superhero's significant other feels,' he thought. He started to head out of the carnival and get a transport car back to the squad barracks when terrified screams suddenly came from somewhere in the carnival grounds.
'Damn it, of course Scorpi-ass wouldn't do something so simple,' Johnny thought, 'He probably sent the Sting Wingers to attack the station itself to distract the Rangers outside while sneaking them and I'm guessing a monster to attack inside.'
Johnny was quick to pull his phone out of his pocket and dial up the Megaship. "Alpha, they're attacking the carnival grounds," he explained, "I need you to teleport a few items I've got to Maya and Kendrix's quarters while trading the other in my hand for my secret weapon."
"On it but be careful," Alpha replied.
"Don't worry I will, but tell the Rangers to head here as soon as possible," Johnny promised. The Pikachu doll and Rock plush disappeared in two brief flashes of light and a third brought his sheathed Quasar Saber into his hands. Slinging it over his shoulder, he started heading in the direction of the screams.
Johnny found Sting Wingers attacking civilians all over the place. He was quick to dispatch them as they weren't half as tough as the Quantrons from the Simudeck and sent the people he saved heading for the carnival's exits.
Johnny was a little embarrassed when one of the women he saved rubbed her hands up and down his arm. "Ooh, what big strong arms you've got to go with that face, handsome," she said with a thick accent, "Maybe you'd like to come to my place so I can… thank you more properly?"
"I appreciate the offer, ma'am, but I'm a one woman kind of guy and I've definitely found my one, not to mention there's still people that need my help here," Johnny replied. Almost a shame as the woman was quite beautiful herself and even kind of reminded him a little of Maya in the looks department.
"Aw, that's too bad though I hope she knows how lucky she is," the woman said.
"I don't know about my girlfriend, but I do know that I'm the lucky one," Johnny said, "Look, I need to go and you should get to one of the exits and head back to your place as knows what all might still be creeping around here."
The woman nodded and Johnny headed off towards more screaming. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him go. 'We'll see just how "lucky" you are soon enough,' she thought with a grin before teleporting away.
PRLG
Johnny was passing close to the shooting gallery he'd won Maya her Pikachu at when he heard some shouting. He found the carney that ran it trying to avoid 2 Sting Wingers that were trying to shoot him. He made quick work of them. "Thank you," the carney said, coming forward.
"You're more than welcome, buddy," Johnny said, "I've been telling people to head for the exit but I actually think you might be better off here as it looks like you have plenty of places to hide. Just do me a favor and do a better job so I don't have to worry about swinging back around here. I might also send people here if it's closer than an exit if you don't mind."
"You got it and send as many as possible if it means no one gets hurt, my friend," the carney said with a chuckle and ducked behind one of the bigger displays.
Johnny made his way around the carnival grounds a few times, saving almost a dozen civilians. Depending on where he found them, he'd direct them to an exit or the shooting gallery booth. It came to a head when he came across a woman he vaguely knew as a teacher from Aaron's school that was frantically looking for her daughter Stacie.
As soon as he was finally able to to get her to leave, Johnny heard a high pitched screaming and he went running in that direction. He found a monster threatening a sobbing little girl that he vaguely recognized from Aaron's class near the precipice of a hill.
Not even thinking about it, Johnny sheathed his Quasar Saber and ran for the little girl and scooped her up in mid-stride, cradling her close to his chest as he jumped feet first down the hill. He felt a snap in his right arm and the pain was almost unbearable as he first landed but ignored it as he used his left to make sure the little girl was protected as they slid down the hill.
Johnny groaned as they slid to a stop. "Are you all right?" he asked and the little girl nodded as she slid off him and stood up. He tried to sit up and barely kept from screaming as excruciating pain worse than even than when his wrist was broken shot up his arm.
'Don't look down at it or you'll go into shock and you can't afford that right now,' Johnny thought. "Give me a minute and we can go find your Mom," Johnny told the girl, "You're Stacie, right?"
The girl nodded. "You saw my Mom?" she asked.
"Yep, just before I found you and that monster," Johnny said.
"Aw, isn't this sweet?" the monster taunted as it teleported down to where Johnny and Stacie were. "The wannabe Galaxy Ranger has himself a new little girlfriend. What, the Yellow Ranger not good enough for you?"
Johnny slowly made his way to his feet and gently swept Stacie behind him so he'd be between her and the monster, slowly unsheathing the Vortex Scimitar as he did so.
"You know where the shooting gallery booth is?" he whispered. She nodded. "I sent a bunch of people that way, including your Mom, so head straight there. Hopefully you'll all be fine until the Rangers are finished and can come help." The girl nodded and hurried off.
"You didn't have to do that," the monster said, "Even I'm not without such little honor that I'd harm deliberately harm a child nor am I particularly wanting to fight someone who can't really defend himself. You know your arm is just barely staying together, right? Just give me the sword and you can walk away and get that properly fixed."
"A warrior that far outstrips your power tries a line just like that on a regular basis and my answer to you is the same thing… when Satan needs a snowplow, asshole!" Johnny retorted nastily.
Johnny raised his Vortex Scimitar and charged. He knew it wouldn't do any good but he had to prove he wasn't useless. 'For my family, for my friends, for Maya, I have to take him down no matter what the cost!' he thought stubbornly.
But no matter how hard Johnny tried, the monster easily dodged his attacks, chuckling. At one point, it even reached out and pushed on his right shoulder, which caused a ripple of pain that almost made him drop the Quasar Saber and fall to his knees.
Johnny's next move surprised them both. He spun back around with a simple slash and somehow it worked, drawing a line on their cheek. "You dare strike me and make me bleed, you stupid little Earth-born?" it demanded and slugged him, "Do you think you're special because you found the Vortex Scimitar?"
The monster kept up its attacks Johnny was able to move out of the way of some but most of them still caught him a glancing blow. Then it kicked him and knocking him on his back to the ground, causing another explosion of pain.
"OH GOD!" Johnny yelled, trying his best not to black out from the pain. He still had a hold of his sword and tried using it to get back to his feet again but the monster stepped down on his chest though surprisingly not too hard, just enough to keep him from even sitting up.
"Stay down, damn it!" the monster exclaimed, "Stay down and I will show you mercy by just claiming the Vortex Scimitar instead of your life. We can do this dance another day when you're healed." Johnny was surprised that the offer felt genuine, like it was showing respect for his fighting spirit.
"Never!" Johnny spat back, followed by a string of colorful words about the monster's questionable genitalia and how closely related their parents were outside of their marriage as he frantically tried to shove its foot off his chest but not being able to budge it as much as an inch. "You want it, you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!"
"A shame to waste such potential but if you insist…" the monster said, almost sounding sad, and Johnny closed his eyes as it raised its weapon. 'I'm so sorry, Maya,' he thought, bracing himself for the final blow.
PRLG
A small, petite figure slowly crept her way through the ruined carnival grounds. Kim had heard about the secondary attack and came running because she knew her son wouldn't let something like this happen if he could help it.
Kim found a small group at a shooting gallery booth that had nothing but glowing praise for her son and how she raised him, followed by a little girl pointing her in the direction of the "cute brave guy that saved me".
Kim began hurrying in that direction, not noticing that the people in the booth coming out and following her after gathering up various little things to use as makeshift weapons. She got to the crest of the hill overseeing the brief battle between her son and the newest monster to attack.
Kim carefully started making her way down the hill. She could see where Johnny had slid down it with little Stacie. She gasped when the monster kicked her son to the ground, eliciting a loud scream that brought tears to her eyes as she sped up her descent and broke out into a run as soon as she got to the bottom.
PRLG
"Si-kyah!" was shouted as a small blur came from the hill and gave the monster a wicked kick. It didn't hurt it but it did back up in surprise, taking its foot off Johnny, who was shocked when his Mom knelt down beside him on his left side to keep from jostling his arm. "Are you all right, sweetheart?"
"Mom, get out of here!" Johnny pleaded, "I can't stop him, I can't even get up, and that thing will kill you!"
"It doesn't matter," Kim reassured Johnny, "Nobody hurts either of my babies and gets away with it."
"Who the hell do you think you are, you stupid Earth-born?" the monster demanded.
"I'm his mother, that's who I am," Kim said defiantly as she straightened up and turned to face the creature, "Wow, they make them a lot uglier than I remember. I bet you wouldn't even last five seconds with Goldar and Rito though and I whooped them every chance I got!"
"Hm, the original Earth-born Pink Ranger I take it then?" the monster said, "I think the bounty that idiot Zedd put on your admittedly pretty little head is still good, so maybe I can kill two birds with one stone as you Earth-born like to say."
'Get up, dumbass!' Johnny yelled mentally, 'Your mother has done so much for you and you can't let her down now!' He tried his best to even just sit up but he was so shaky from the throbbing pain, he didn't know if he could get back to his feet in time.
Just as the monster reached out for Kim, a bottle flew out of nowhere and smashed against its head. It shouted and withdrew its hand, more in surprise than pain. They turned to see the shooting gallery vendor at the top of the hill. the other people Johnny had helped that night fanning out around him on either side of him.
"Here's a little tip on Earth-born as you call us, Capullo," the vendor said, cocking his arm back with another bottle to throw. "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us, am I right?!" The others cheered then jeered as they began raining down all of the objects they'd found along the way, from bottles to skee balls.
Thanking God for the distraction, Kim spun back around to help her son back to his feet. "Come on, back on your feet, kiddo," she said as she gently tugged on Johnny's left arm at first then sliding under it when she got him sitting up. "What would Maya think if she could see you right now?" She almost laughed when he redoubled his efforts.
"Bah, you're less than nothing to me," the monster said, ignoring the crowd as they continued taunting him to try to keep his attention on them. He turned back to Kim and Jonny and wasn't too surprised the latter had been able to get back to his feet. "I have to give it to you, you are a stubborn one, an admirable trait."
"Thanks, it runs in the family," Johnny said, giving his Mom a loving look before ignoring her protests as he slowly nudged her to stand behind him. 'Former Power Ranger or not, she's still my Mom and no one dies on my watch tonight, especially not her!' he thought.
"Obviously," the monster replied with a surprising note of respect in its voice. All of a sudden, they all heard some kind of weird chiming sound and it tilted its head as if listening to it. "Well, as much as I hate to end this fun, I suppose I'll have to take you up on your offer of prying it from your cold dead fingers." With that, it began gathering energy in preparation for its final attack.
Johnny was worried for a minute then something clicked and he grinned. 'The idiot must not know about the scimitar being able to absorb energy directed it or it'd be using its bare hands,' he realized.
"Go, run to the others," Johnny told his Mom over his shoulder then nodded at the people up on the hill, "I don't know what this will do or how much it can hold without me being morphed." Kim had an idea of what he was going to do so she hurried over to their new group of friends after kissing his cheek.
"You're certainly welcome to try, jackass, though I seriously doubt that you'll succeed anymore than you have so far," Johnny taunted, shifting his stance slightly and placing his scimitar even more between them.
Suddenly, the monster stepped forward and the ball of energy in its hand erupted in a wave towards Johnny, who braced himself. The energy wave hit the sword and it began soaking it up, just as planned.
A glow started at very tip of the blade and drifted down to encompass first the rest of the sword, then made its way up his arm and spread over his body and when a telltale device appeared on his offhand wrist, Johnny knew what to do. He swiped the sword, cutting the connection and tossed it in the air.
"Go Galactic!" Johnny yelled, pulling his arm closer and using the point of his jaw to hit the activation button and the glow dispersed to reveal an almost all white version of the suit the others wore. He was a little surprised when instead of a sheathe at his hip like the others, it was his own replicated one over his shoulder.
However, most surprising of all was Johnny's arm, which had been causing him excruciating pain since the trip down the hill, was not only feeling fine as he even lifted it, but his wrist felt better than it had in years. He used it to effortlessly catch his Vortex Scimitar in midair.
"How can this be?" the monster demanded, "No one has ever been able to survive my Annihilation Wave."
"Well then, I guess you can call me no one," Johnny retorted. He looked at the monster and under his visor, he was giving it a huge grin. "Now, what was that about doing this dance again when I was healed? Bring it on!"
Johnny didn't wait for an actual answer as he jumped at the monster, slashing it from shoulder to hip. Sparks flew from it and it backed up. He made several more strikes on the monster, who was still so shocked it didn't try to fight back at first.
Before it could shake off the shock, Johnny then took off running up the monster then kicked off of its head with a backflip he knew probably had his Mom beaming with pride. He ran his hand along the blade to charge it in midair and slashed at it the second he touched back down, sending the monster flying.
As the monster slowly got back to its feet at his onslaught, Johnny was having a blast but knew he had to end the battle soon as the adrenaline was starting to wear off and his limbs were feeling heavy. The sword was especially getting heavy so he sheathed it, preferring hand to hand anyway.
It tried swinging at Johnny as he closed in on it, but he easily slid under its clumsy attempt at a punch, striking it hard in the right knee several times with both kicks and punches. It roared as its leg collapsed under it. It was obvious it wasn't getting fully back up on its own.
"Now, I'll give you a choice," Johnny said, "Leave and never darken Terra Venture again or I'll make sure you won't leave right here, right now but it doesn't have to be that way. No one has to die under my watch tonight, not even you.
"I'm only giving you this chance one time because you were honorable in our fight before, only trying to disable me, but make no mistake, if you stay or I ever see you here again, you'll join all the other monsters that has has sent after my family past and present."
The monster looked to think about the offer before nodding. "It could be worse," it said, "I lost to a truly honorable warrior so I have nothing to be ashamed of. If only things had been different… in another reality, perhaps… we could've been… friends. My name is Xarutan and I'm sure we'll cross paths again, hopefully under better circumstances." With that, it teleported away.
Johnny sighed with relief as the monster left, allowing his confident facade to drop as he drove his sword into the ground, slumped to his knees onto the ground, and leaned against it. He had gotten quite the adrenaline rush during his morph and battle and now it was wearing off and he was exhausted though at least thankfully he wasn't in excruciating pain.
Johnny knew better than to fully power down as there might still be Sting Wingers around here somewhere, but he did undo the clasps to his helmet and take it off, letting it fall and roll a few feet away.
"I can't believe I did it," Johnny murmured softly, looking down at his gloved hands then at the Vortex Scimitar. "After working so hard for almost a month, I finally morphed." He would've literally jumped for joy but he just couldn't find the energy to even get back to his feet and wouldn't be too surprised if he passed out soon.
Johnny looked up at a hand touching his shoulder and looked up to find his Mom smiling down at him with love and pride. The people he'd saved crowded around them and helped her get him back to his feet, then all of them enveloped him in a big group hug in a silent show of respect and in his Mom's case, love.
When they pulled away except for his Mom, Johnny's eyes were shining with tears. "I could never thank any of you enough," he said, "If you hadn't intervened, Mom, it would've killed me and we both would've been in trouble if the rest of you hadn't distracted it. I owe you all more than words can say."
"You owe us nothing,brother," the shooting gallery vendor said and pointed around to everyone in turn, "You went out of your way to save each and every one of us here tonight and more so if anything, we're even."
"And I'm your mom," Kim said, "Protecting both of my babies is my job, no matter how big and handsome they get." They all chuckled as Johnny dipped his head in embarrassment.
Johnny nodded. Stacie picked up his helmet and held it out so he took it from her. "Thank you," he said with a broad smile and a wink, chuckling when that caused the little girl to blush furiously.
Suddenly, five beams of different lights touched down and Johnny quickly scrambled to get his helmet back on to keep his face hidden for a dramatic reveal. The lights deposited the other Galaxy Rangers, who spread out. "Sorry we're late but we got reports of a monster here," Leo explained.
"Better late than never," the shooting gallery vendor joked. He nodded in Johnny's direction. They hadn't even noticed him as he was partially blocked from their view by all those gathered around. "Talk to the big guy. This was his show after all. We were just glad to be here to help out."
Nodding a thanks, Leo led the other Rangers through the fairly big group and was surprised to find another Galaxy Ranger like them. "Who are you?" the Red Galaxy Ranger asked.
"Wait a minute… Kim?" Maya asked, noticing her boyfriend's Mom. "Does that mean…" Kim nodded and the Yellow Galaxy Ranger powered down as she ran to Johnny and launched herself at him, squeaking like crazy as he picked her up and swung her around.
"Oh God, you don't know how badly I needed this hug from you right now, beautiful," Johnny whispered in Maya's ear. After coming so close to potentially dying, having his girlfriend in his arms felt even more amazing than usual.
"Yellow, what are you doing?" Leo asked, "We have no idea who that is."
"I'd know Johnny anywhere, Leo," Maya said, turning around after Johnny put her back down on her feet then pointed at Kim. "Even if I didn't, that's Kim Oliver, Johnny's Mom. Do you think she'd be here if it was anybody else under that mask?"
"She's right, Leo," Johnny pointed out, "Power down!" He grunted softly and felt a little woozy as his suit disappeared, but tried not to let it show as he slipped his arms around Maya's waist and hugged her to him as she spun back around and they kissed.
This tender display got quite the frenzy of whistles, catcalls, and whoops from the civilian crowd and even Kim was brought to tears as memories of her and Tommy when they were that young popped into her mind.
As he pulled back from the kiss, Johnny noticed the others still looking hesitant to power down in front of civilians. "Don't worry, they helped save Mom and I from the monster so you can trust them," he told them, "As for Mom, she used to be right where you are, Kendrix, as the original Pink Ranger so you can definitely trust her."
"We'll take this secret to our graves," the one vendor promised and the other civilians all nodded. They all raised their fingers to their lips and smiled. The remaining 4 Galaxy Rangers nodded as they powered down and started mingling with the group as they stepped over to some nearby picnic tables.
Kendrix made her way over to where Johnny was still kind of clinging to Maya, who was helping Kim check him for any lingering injuries he might have but came up with nothing wrong with him but exhaustion. "Mrs. Oliver?" she asked tentatively, hating to bother the older woman.
"Kendrix, right?" Kim inquired and Kendrix nodded, "I don't think I'm really all that much older than you so don't have to call me that if you don't want to as Kim's fine. What can I do for you?"
"Johnny said you were the original Pink Ranger at least on Earth," Kendrix mentioned. She could already see what Maya had meant when she'd told her how warm and friendly Johnny's Mom was.
"Yep a couple times over as we had a few time traveling misadventures where I ended up the first Pink Ranger of a couple other points in Earth history as well," Kim said.
"I was just wondering if I could come talk to you sometimes, maybe get a few pointers?" Kendrix asked, "I'd like to think we're all doing a good job so far and I'm trying my best to do my part but…" She hesitated.
Leo came up and gave Kendrix a hug and a kiss on the shoulder and she patted his arm. He'd been trying his best to alleviate her worrying about her performance and loved him for it but he could only help her through it so much.
"You feel a little overwhelmed sometimes, especially when you try balancing being a Ranger and having a personal or professional life," Kim finished. Kendrix nodded, hanging her head. "Every Ranger I've known or heard of have had those problems at some point, so you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"And you're always welcome in Alpha Squadron barracks, all of you," Kim said, nodding to the others on the Ranger team. "I'm not the only former Ranger as all of Alpha Squadron have been at some point now that Johnny has powers and he grew up on our stories on top of that. I know they'll be glad to help even if it's just to answer any questions you have."
"Though whatever you, don't believe half of what Rocky might tell you," Johnny added and him and Kim laughed as she lightly hopped him on the shoulder.
"Also, never think you're not doing as amazing a job as possible," Kim continued, "From what I've heard from Johnny and the wild tales from the other Alpha Squad members and archivist teams, you might be new to the game but you've already become real heroes. You just have to take the good with the bad."
"I think we'd all appreciate the offer and thank you for your kind words," Kendrix said and the others nodded. Her heart felt a little little lighter thanks to Kim's kind words of encouragement.
It wasn't long before the little impromptu party broke up. Maya couldn't help but smile when before her and her Mom left, Stacie came over and gave Johnny a cute little peck on the lips. "Hey now, I'm the only one that can kiss him like that," she said playfully, winking as she gave him a matching kiss. The girl giggled.
"So what do you plan to do now?" Maya asked as she walked Johnny to his quarters about an hour later.
"Right now, the only thing in my mind is getting in bed and sleeping in way late tomorrow," Johnny admitted, "After that, I don't have much to do until I need to help you guys in one form or other so I'm all yours until then, though I do need to do one last thing… say goodbye to an old frenemy."
Maya nodded. They had one last, lingering kiss for the night at Johnny's door. "Sweet dreams," she said as she walked off.
'Oh I definitely will tonight, beautiful,' Johnny couldn't help but think as he watched Maya walk back down the hall.
PRLG
Though originally only scheduled one night, the carnival was extended to a second night as the first had been interrupted. Johnny put his newly healed wrist to good use in a friendly skee ball competition with the whole Ranger team.
Maya had to be taught what to do so she had the lowest score though she was fine with it as she was just glad to be having fun with her friends and especially her boyfriend. Damon, Kendrix, and Kai had roughly the same score so they decided to split third place.
Meanwhile, Leo and Johnny had really gotten competitive with the newbie on the team barely squeaking out the win, both getting what the vendor said were the highest scores they'd seen. "I haven't seen skee ball playing like that since a kid in the Angel Grove Chuck E Cheese about 12 years ago. Wonder whatever happened to him."
Johnny couldn't help but chuckle as he actually kind of recognized the vendor from the old days. "You never know, you might run into him again," he said in a joking manner. The guy didn't seem to catch the hint as he asked what they wanted as prizes.
Johnny picked out an Alvin and the Chipmunks doll they had and gave it to Maya as an in-joke to their last lunch date before actual dates, Alvin of course since his hoodie kind of matched his hair. She loved it, especially when she found it sings when hugged. Leo got the Theodore doll for Kendrix at her request.
That night really helped them bond as a team without even needing Sting Wingers or monsters to fight. They laughed, they yelled themselves almost hoarse on some of the rides, they ate cotton candy until it almost made them sick, and just generally had a blast together.
PRLG
Ecliptor came walking down the streets with the Quantrons, ready for what they thought would be another easy victory but were surprised when instead of casually leaning on a lamppost, Johnny was instead awaiting their arrival sitting on the street cross legged and meditating with his back turned to them, his sword lying a few feet behind him.
"So, this is what it all boils down to, huh?" Ecliptor teased, "I beat you and break your wrist again and you slink off like a dog then come to give me your Quasar Saber? Good boy, maybe there's hope for you yet." He reached it and bent to try to pick it up but couldn't. "What is this? I demand you cancel whatever it is that's keeping me from picking it up."
"Even if I could, it wouldn't do you any good," Johnny called out over his shoulder, "If there's one thing I've learned since we last saw each other, it's that you can't force your destiny." Suddenly, he rolled back and did a handstand to get to his feet, then reached out his hand and called the scimitar to him, putting it back in its sheathe as he rotated to face them.
"I have to say, you seem completely different this time," Ecliptor said, "Before, you couldn't stop bragging how you were using me to unlock that sword and now, you're a man of few words."
"You'd be surprised what can happen in the time since I was here last," Johnny replied, "I fell in love, I was almost killed by a monster that ended up reminding me a lot of you and whooped his ass… oh yeah, and Go Galactic!" With a flash, he was morphed. "What do you say, old frenemy, one last time?"
"By all means, let's do this," Ecliptor said before the Quantrons began their attack.
Johnny had the usual fun of tearing apart the Quantrons, made even easier now that he could morph. When he dispatched them, he turned to Ecliptor. "Weird as it sounds, I'll miss this," he admitted, "You might just be a simulation but you've taught me a lot that I will put to good use now that I'm a Ranger."
Ecliptor nodded before raising his sword and the two charged each other. The swords clashed but this time, Johnny held strong and the sword wasn't going anywhere. He snap kicked his opponent to make him back up then went went for a running slide between its legs, followed by rolling back so he could kick him in the back with both legs, making him stumble forward.
Ecliptor swung around, trying to his opponent, but Johnny was already on the move, sheathing his sword as he began peppering his opponent with blow after blow all along his right side, then ducked under another swing of of the big sword and popped over to the left side and started hitting it there.
As Ecliptor readied another attack, Johnny did the running up his body like the monster earlier before but this time, he somersaulted over him, charging his blade as he stuck the rotation, and slashed him as he touched back down, doing what looked to be magnificent damage.
Johnny was a little surprised when instead of continuing the fight as it turned to face him again, Ecliptor instead held his sword blade down and pulled it to its chest then pushing it outwards again, a warrior's salute that he returned.
"You have vastly improved as a warrior, my young friend," Ecliptor said, "It has been a real honor helping you and seeing your personal growth firsthand, both personally and as a Ranger. I know you will put all of this to good use."
"You know it," Johnny replied. They exchanged a fist bump before he ended the program with mixed feelings as everything slowly faded away. He was a little embarrassed as his extended family, both Rangers and Alpha Squadron members, walked onto the Simudeck clapping.
"Barring a medical evaluation to make it official, I think you just more than proved yourself ready for reinstatement of your flight status," Tommy said, "Congratulations, son."
"Thanks, Dad," Johnny replied, beaming as his friends and family all gathered around. 'It really can't get any better,' he thought as he wrapped his arms around Maya as she kissed him as congratulations.
PRLG
Commander Stanton sighed as he closed the door to Jodie's room, having popped his head in to make sure she really was fast asleep since he knew his daughter. She'd be sneaking in some more time playing on her DS or his tablet until she really got tired.
Commander Stanton headed down the hallway to his private office and took a seat behind his desk, opening the drawer and taking two objects out. One was the picture of a beautiful young blond woman and a younger him standing together, her in a gorgeous dress and him in a tux.
"I wish you were here, Valerie, as I know you'd love to see how our daughter has turned out," Commander Stanton murmured, "She's beautiful and so full of life and confidence, it's like you're still here and she's in love with a young man I just know you would've approved of.
"I know she misses you and I do too even after all these years," Commander Stanton continued, "It'll be hard, but I'm going to tell her soon and hopefully we can help each other manage your loss in our lives."
Commander Stanton then turned to the second object, a small locket pendant, and opened it to reveal the picture of a beautiful redhead. "And you, Micki, I know we didn't know each other long but I still loved you in that brief time and I've missed you since, especially when I learned you'd passed giving birth to our son," he said, "You'd also be proud of him, I know it."
"I don't know how either will take this but I hope I can make you proud," Commander Stanton said, coming to a finish as he put both back in the drawer and wiping his eyes.
To be continued…
Notes from the author: Wow, another tough one to write, especially since I'm really going into unknown territory from here on out. Was I too quick in pairing Johnny and Maya? Maybe but I wanted to get it over with even back in First week on the job but didn't think it was appropriate there as while she's still grieving her people here, she was devastated during that.
As for their lunch date, you might be wondering why I had Maya wear a dress like that instead of something yellow. All I can say is look really closely at the picture for this story and you'll see it's one I took with Cerina Vincent about 7-8 years ago and she's wearing the dress described. The shirt Johnny's wearing is even something I currently own. Just 2 little personal touches I put in I thought I'd put in.
As for the last bit with Stanton, it's probably obvious for those that picked up on the clues from the last 2 stories to see where I'm going with it, especially given the one woman's name. I hope you readers approve as I promise it's going to get wild with the revelations coming up for my crew.
It might be spoiling things a little too much but I'm trying little scenes like that at the end to help tease the next story in line. Be here next time to find out how it unfolds and as always, Catch ya on the flipside.