Hi everyone, Catlovingmermaid here with the next installation of the Power Couple, just like the last one, this one will be focusing more on one of Tommy and Kim's kids, in this case, Nick as he explores the world of the power rangers and all that that means. Enjoy and don't forget to review.
Nick sighed as he kicked the kickstand of his motorcycle down as he dismounted, his mind still filled with the argument that he had just had with his mother.
"You're Seventeen now," she had said, "You'll be Eighteen in just a few months, you need to decide what you want to do with your life."
Nick had pretty much tuned the rest of the lecture out, there was no real reason to listen, he had heard the argument a million times, he needed to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He was only seventeen and had barely finished his junior year of high school, but that didn't matter. His older sisters Ronny and Kira both had had summer jobs when they were seventeen, summer jobs that had lead to great career opportunities for when they left high school, and their mother was determined that he followed in their footsteps. Although he was sure that what they really wanted was for him to follow in their footsteps.
Well, news flash he wasn't a power ranger, and he really didn't want to be.
"Hey Nick," a new voice called out as a bulky dark-haired man stepped out of the shadows, "There you are, I was starting to think that you weren't going to make it."
Nick chuckled, removing his helmet, "Of course I could make it, just had to get away from my mom," he admitted, "Had to tell her that I had a job interview," he confessed, "Otherwise I would have been stuck babysitting, apparently the triplets are too young to watch Schuyler by themselves, yet Kira and Ronny could babysit them and me when the triplets were a lot younger," Nick rolled his eyes, "I'm telling you, my parents are driving me up the wall. I mean come on, why do I need to get a job, they didn't pressure Kira and Ronny into getting jobs, they got jobs on their own so why should they pressure me."
The man nodded, "What is up with your mom and dad having so many kids anyway dude?"
"I wish I knew," Nick admitted, "So what have you been up to Chad?" he asked, "How you liking your new apartment?"
"It's nice," Chad admitted, "My folks are covering the rent until I get a job, so there's no rush."
"I wish my parents were that understanding," Nick muttered, "Mom's threatened to cut my pocket money if I don't get a job."
Another voice laughed from the shadows, "Save your rich boy problems for someone who cares," a sharp voice snapped as a thinner man appeared leaning against the shed near where they were hiding, "Let's talk about plans for this summer, you've heard that the Power Ranger convention is being held in Mariner Bay this year?"
"Yeah," Nick said, "What about it?"
"Well, I was thinking," the slim man said, "Wouldn't it be a hoot to go to the Power Ranger Convention this year?"
"My parents are huge supporters of the power rangers," Nick announced, "I've been to every single convention since they started and they are all the same. You can get all kinds of knickknacks from any team you want and you can get autographs and pictures taken with whatever team you want, then they all smile, say thank you for coming, and disappear for a top-secret meeting."
"Well," Slim said, "I was thinking," he stated.
"And you know how much Slick hates to think," Chad added in with a chuckle.
"Wouldn't it be a hoot to yank those fancy helmets off those secret identity rangers?" Slick finished, flipping his black greasy hair out of his eyes.
"I don't know," Nick said slowly, "Who knows who they really are, there's a reason that they don't want people to know who they are."
Slick opened a cooler that was next to him and pulled out a few cans before passing them out. Nick took his, and stared at the white and blue can, "We really shouldn't be drinking this," he confessed, "We're underage if my parents find out."
They'll what?" Chad asked cracking open his, "Come on Nick you've got to start living your own life, not toe the line like your folks want you to."
"Trust me, I know," Nick said, cracking his own can open, "They seem to have it in their minds that I need to be just like my older sisters."
"Your older sisters are lame," Slick insisted, "I mean come on, who hangs out with their science teacher?"
"I think what you mean is who hangs out with their father on their own free will?" a new voice cut in, sending a sense of dread over him. He knew that voice, he had heard it enough times in the past ten years that he had lived with his family.
He slowly turned around, sure enough, there was his father standing there, hands on his hips, "Hi Dad," he said nervously trying to hide the beer can behind his back.
"Don't 'Hi Dad' me young man," Tommy snapped, his eyes flashing.
Nick saw them twitch and flash green for a second, this was bad, really, really bad, his father's eyes only flashed green when he was really, really mad. That was the equivalent of the look from his mother. He was so Grounded.
"Come on Dr. O," Slick said smoothly, "Don't tell me that you actually waited to turn twenty-one before drinking."
"Actually," Tommy said, "We don't drink in my family, it's healthier that way."
"You got to let him live his own life eventually," Chad insisted, "Besides we weren't harming anyone."
"Yeah Dad," Nick agreed, "We weren't harming anyone."
"You think so," he muttered, "Well, I hate to break it to you but as long as you live under my roof you're going to have to follow my rules."
Nick grimaced as Tommy placed a hand on his shoulder and steered him away from his friends, "We have rules for a reason, Nick," he explained, "I'm trying to raise you and the others to be helpful members of the community, who can step up if the need arises."
"In other words you want all of us to become power rangers like Kira and you and mom," Nick snapped, "Well guess what, I'm not like Ronny, I don't want to be a power ranger, and I most certainly don't want to have to follow your silly little code of conduct."
"The Code of Conduct isn't silly," Tommy insisted, "Every rule in it is there for a reason."
They had moved away from the others and were actually pretty close to where Nick had parked his motorcycle.
"Well, I don't care," Nick announced, "and I don't need you and Mom telling me what to do."
Tommy opened his mouth about to say something but paused, tipping his head as if he was listening to someone else talking, "Okay, arguing isn't going to get us anywhere," He announced, "Nick, you have to understand your mother and I have your best interests in mind."
"Yeah, right," Nick grumbled climbing onto his bike, "The only thing you care about is rather or not I become a ranger or something like that."
"Nicolas that isn't true and you know that," Tommy snapped, "We want you happy."
"If you want me happy then you should just leave me alone," Nick stated, revving his engine before tearing off out of the parking lot.
You could have handled that a whole lot better handsome, Kim's voice filtered through his mind with a sigh.
When did he even get so stubborn?
He always had a stubborn streak, Kim pointed out, It just got more pronounced this past year since the girls have moved out.
What do we do?
We give you and him time to cool off, we'll try again when he comes home.
…
Nick couldn't believe that his dad could be so uncool, his friends had been right though they did seem to be getting in his way of having fun. His mom had even tried to stop him from meeting up with his friends. It wasn't like he needed them for anything, he could survive just fine on his own. He didn't need all of those stupid, pointless rules. He didn't have powers like Kira, Troy, Ruby, Grace, and Sky. He was just an ordinary teenager and he wanted to do normal everyday teen stuff. Why should he worry about getting a summer job, it wasn't like his parents couldn't afford to give him an allowance. He bet that they still gave Kira an allowance, seeing as she was struggling with school and was only doing one gig a week, which wasn't covering her bills.
Kira could goof around and do whatever she wanted simply because she was a power ranger and she was doing what she loved to do. Yet he had to get a job because riding his motorcycle with his friends wasn't paying for the gas. Didn't they realize that they had a double standard there?
Nick swung onto the old highway, not really caring where he was going, he just knew that he needed to get away for a while. It wasn't like his parents would notice he was gone until they needed him to babysit so that they could run off to another planet or to Angel Grove.
Having Kira as an older sister was bad, but having Ronny as a sister was worst, she could do no wrong in their father's eyes. She had followed in his footsteps and had entered the world of racing right out of high school, and unlike Nick, she actually wanted to be a power ranger. She was crazy, who in their right mind would want to be a power ranger.
His stomach grumbling pulled him out of his thoughts, it was getting late, well past lunchtime. He glanced at his gas gauge, he needed to get gas as well. How far had he ridden? Where was he anyway? He pulled to a stop and removed his helmet for a second, the sign in front of him announced that Briarwood was just ahead twenty-five miles. Down below him he could see a town spreading out before him, "So that must be Briarwood," he reasoned, he could at least get some lunch and gas there.
He had just entered the town when the ground started to shake, he tried to stay upright but the earthquake was too strong and he ended up skidding off the road and tipping over.
He scrambled off the bike, pulling his helmet off, great, just great, that probably wasn't good on the bike.
Finally, the ground stopped shaking and Nick pulled his bike up into a standing position, grimacing as he saw the damage the bike had taken, it was going to take some time to get it up and going again.