Disclaimers: I do not own Power Rangers, especially Lost Galaxy, or anything affiliated with it. Hasbro does. Johnny Marshak, the White Galaxy Ranger powers and 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 when, where it was, or even the name and it's probably long since lost to the ages anyway) among other things are my ideas.
Ghosts of past regrets
By Har-El
Johnny ducked his head into the hangar and took a good look around. He noticed Damon at a workstation over in one corner of the hangar where he was usually assigned, a bottle in his hand, so he headed that way. "Are you alright, Damon?" he said.
Damon looked up with tears streaming down his face but smiled when he saw Johnny. "Hey, buddy," he said and tried to get up but wasn't nearly steady enough to do so he just flopped back down after a few minutes of trying. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I told Mark not to bother you."
"He was worried about you and so am I," Johnny replied, taking a seat next to Damon. "What's going on? I've never known you to drink and you know alcohol isn't allowed in the hangar except for special occasions."
Though he had only known the other Galaxy Rangers since coming to Terra Venture, Johnny knew Damon well enough from all the times he'd visited the Megaship after the Green Galaxy Ranger had been hired as mechanic and later co-curator.
"Oh, this?" Damon asked, gesturing with the barely open bottle in his hand. Johnny noticed another in a garbage bin behind him. "Oh, it's nothing and yeah, I know it's against regulations and I can get in big trouble. I'm just… this day always hits me hard."
"Want to talk about it?" Johnny asked.
"I don't want to bother you, man, and I especially don't want you to get into trouble," Damon said with a dismissive gesture, "No offense, but I just want to drink in peace. I'll apologize to Mark and the others later for being a bit of a jerk."
"Well, let me see if I can get some glasses and I'll join you," Johnny offered.
"Cassie said you've never touched alcohol in your life," Damon said.
"Well, she's technically wrong," Johnny said, "When I turned 21 last year, Mark brought over some whiskey to celebrate. It did not go over well as we were pretty plastered when Yoli found us and even less so when Mom and Dad found out.
"They weren't pleased, but they did just let the huge hangover headaches we had be the worst of it," Johnny added, "I haven't touched it since. Yoli was absolutely pissed though later admitted it was as much due to pregnancy hormones. Besides, you look like you could use a drinking buddy."
Damon chuckled as Johnny went and rooted around Mark's workspace for a mug or 2. He knew he wouldn't mind as long as he washed them afterwards. He only came up with one but figured it'd be all right as his soon to be drinking buddy didn't seem to have any trouble drinking from the bottle.
After rinsing it out, Johnny took the mug back to where Damon was sitting and the Green Galaxy Ranger gave him a decent amount. He took a quick gulp and almost spit it back out, coughing. "Damn, that's strong," he murmured.
"Yeah, Amanda swore it'd put more hair on my chest," Damon joked halfheartedly.
"So, what's up?" Johnny asked as he plopped down next to Damon, "You and I might not have been super close before I joined the team, but we've known each other a while and would like to think we were friends even before Terra Venture, much less being Rangers."
Damon sighed. He knew how stubborn Johnny could be. There was no way he'd leave it alone. "We were and still are," he reassured him, "It's nothing personal, Johnny. It's just… 3 years ago today, I lost someone very close to me named Linnea."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Damon," Johnny said. He remembered Damon saying that all of the team has lost someone before but had never elaborated on himself. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened and was she a family member?"
That was the most common thread among most of the Galaxy Rangers, losing at least one family member. Johnny, Maya, Leo, and Kendrix all lost at least one parent and Kai had lost his grandparents when he was barely old enough to remember them.
"No but she almost was," Damon answered, "I'd popped the question not before this, she said yes, and we'd just started planning. As for what happened, she had this game she'd played for years with a neighbor of her folks who had a pool.
"She would try sneaking in to swim and if he caught her, she'd have to go home, but could swim as long as she wanted to if she got as much as a toe or finger in the water without him seeing her. He had cameras of course but turned them off when he expected her to make the attempt to give her a sporting chance.
"The day she died, she tried sneaking in and almost made it but from what his cameras show, Linnea was startled by something and spun around to see what it was," Damon continued, "She slipped, fell, and smacked her head on the diving board, knocking her out as she slid into the water."
Damon gave out a short barking laughter that sent chills down Johnny's spine, as tears continued pouring down his cheeks. "Come to find out the neighbor wasn't even there, having been called away on an emergency, and was horrified to get home to find out that Linnea had drowned," he said.
"Holy shit, Damon, that's horrible," Johnny said, "I'm so sorry."
"It's all right, buddy, and yes, it was, but that wasn't even all of the bad news," Damon said, "I later found out from Linnea's parents, who were told by the Medical Examiner, that she was almost 3 months pregnant."
"Linnea's neighbor begged me for forgiveness at her funeral because he knew how much we loved each other as well as her parents' forgiveness," Damon added, "We both knew it was just a horrible accident and told him there was nothing to forgive."
"Damn," Johnny murmured, "No wonder you like to get shit faced when this day rolls around each year."
Damon couldn't help but chuckle at that, which was why Johnny had said it. He gestured for his drinking buddy to fill up his mug and he complied. He downed that quickly, grimacing a little as he asked for another, which he downed as well.
"I lost a girlfriend named Zuri around this time too, about 7-8 years ago," Johnny revealed after another mug. He hadn't talked to anybody about this in years, not even Tommy and Kim, and it still hurt like Hell even after all this time.
"We were both 14 and she was biking home one day when a racist piece of shit thought it'd be fun to run her down just because she was African American. We hadn't really been dating long but she was a close friend of mine before that, so it hit me hard.
"I got home that day to find Mom and Dad, Cassie and her sister Brynne, another ex of mine, and Zuri's Mom Gloria, who were all crying," Johnny recalled, "A redheaded boy that lived near her had been found with her that they thought was me, so you can imagine their surprise when I got home.
"The worst thing about it was I could've stopped it," Johnny said, "An older friend had picked Mark and I up before we headed home from school to celebrate his birthday. I tried to get her to come with us so she could meet my friend, but she said she had to head home."
"If only I'd shown a little more of the stubborn streak that people tend to say I have, she'd still be alive," Johnny whispered, his voice started cracking as tears rolled down his cheeks and he hung his head. "I wish they'd quit telling me that. It didn't help Zuri one damn bit that day."
"You can't think like that, buddy," Damon interjected, "One thing I've learned when Linnea died was that bad things happen for what can be shitty reasons if for any stated reason at all and we can't blame ourselves."
At a momentary loss for words, Johnny could only nod and Damon patted his shoulder. "So, we're kind of in the same boat… and out of booze," he said, noticing after one last swig that the bottle was empty.
"That's probably for the best as I'm starting to get buzzed and you were already looking like you couldn't make it back to the Megaship on your own as it was when I got here," Johnny pointed out. Damon nodded. "Well, we can either call Alpha and have him teleport you to the Megaship or you can come sleep it off at my place.
"No, I found out when I did this that first year after I was hired that the sensors won't lock onto me because the alcohol getting absorbed into my system throws the sensors off and I don't think I'm steady enough to get to your quarters," Damon said.
"There's a futon in the room across the way for repairs that go into the night if you don't mind helping me get over to it," Damon pointed out, "There aren't any blankets I know of but maybe I can find something to use as a makeshift one.
Johnny nodded and got back to his feet, then carefully helped Damon to his before they headed over to the locker room. "Thanks for coming to check on me, Johnny, and especially for listening," he said as he sat on the futon, "I'm glad Mark called you. You're a really good friend."
"I'm glad he did too and thank you for listening to me as well," Johnny agreed, "You're also a really good friend to me. I don't like to talk about Zuri much, not even to Mom and Dad, but it felt good to let it out for the first time in a while. You're one of a handful of people onboard that know about her. Not even Maya knows."
"So, whatever happened to the asshole that killed her?" Damon asked as Johnny looked around for something to cover him with and found a throw blanket that would work well enough. "I'm guessing he's still in prison as they tend to throw the book at a child killer."
"He was… for about a month or so," Johnny said, "Zuri had a cousin that's about as hardened a criminal as you can get, having been convicted of multiple life sentences not long before she died. He seemed to hate just about everyone and everything, especially racist bastards.
"The one person he did love was Zuri though it turned out he did seem to like me too as the last time I saw him before he went away, he said that I was a good kid and told me to stay away from trouble and watch over his little angel, probably the nicest things he ever said to anyone except Zuri.
"I begged Dad to take me to see him after Zuri was murdered so I could tell him about it myself then begged him for his forgiveness for not talking Zuri into coming with me," Johnny said.
"We both cried for a few minutes before he told me there was nothing to forgive, how much Zuri loved me, that she wasn't his only little angel as he still had me, to not let hatred get into my heart because of that asshole, and to not worry, he'll take care of it.
"I didn't quite understand what he meant with that last part until about a few weeks later," Johnny continued, "While he didn't know which one it was for sure, it didn't take him long as the jackass was still bragging about it… right up until the moment he became another life sentence for Zuri's cousin."
"Holy shit, that's brutal," Damon murmured.
"No one cried for the piece of shit, not even his family," Johnny said, "When asked why he did it, all Zuri's cousin would say was that he sent the demon that killed one of his little angels back to Hell where he belonged and that he knows he belongs there too for all the bad stuff that put him there.
"There was an investigation into me possibly being an accomplice because of what he told me, but he was able to convince them that despite what he said, I'd had no clue, saying I was too good a person to see prison, and the family of the asshole agreed, so it was dropped," Johnny finished.
"Anyway, try to get some sleep and I'll see how you're doing later or at least see if Mark or someone can come check on you in a little while," Johnny suggested. Damon nodded and the White Galaxy Ranger turned and left as his friend fell asleep.
Mark was waiting outside. "Is he all right in there?" he asked.
"I think so as he seems to be able to hold his liquor a lot better than we did, though someone might want to check on him every once in a while," Johnny said and they both chuckled at the reminder as Mark nodded, "Thanks for calling me instead of Security."
"Yeah, the boss wanted me to, but I just figured Damon just needed a friend and you were the only one in your group of friends I have a number for," Mark replied with a shrug, "You alright? Need some help getting back to your quarters?"
"I'm good as I didn't drink that much but thanks," Johnny answered. He was quiet for a moment then sighed. "I almost let it slip by me again." Mark gave him a questioning glance. "The anniversary of Zuri's death.
"Last year, I was in the middle of helping Yoli through the last few weeks of her pregnancy and it just slipped by," Johnny continued, "I promised myself I wouldn't miss it again this year. I'm pathetic. If Damon's story hadn't had some eerily similar details, I would've forgotten again."
Mark nodded. "I know Zuri would understand, given the circumstances," he reassured Johnny, "Hey, uh, speaking of Yoli…"
"I know," Johnny said. Yoli had told him that her and Mark had started dating recently and it was already starting to look serious. "I wish you all the best. I'd say not to hurt her, but I know it's not necessary."
"I'd sooner die," Mark agreed, "I'm actually thinking about popping the question pretty soon and there isn't anybody I'd even remotely consider to be my Best Man except maybe Bulk, so would you want to stand beside me when the time comes?"
"I'd be honored to, bro," Johnny replied. They hugged and he headed back to his quarters. He wasn't anywhere near stumbling drunk but would rather avoid a chewing out by his Mom. He ran across Cassie and asked if she'd take him back to Earth to visit Zuri's grave in a little while, which she was glad to agree to.
Johnny was a little surprised to find Maya waiting outside his quarters. "Hey, beautiful," he called out to get her attention. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. Even after the breakup and all of the memories of Zuri popping back into his mind, nothing made his day brighter than seeing her.
"Hey, John…" Maya started to say then recoiled a little before narrowing her eyes. Given her sensitive nose, Johnny was guessing she could smell the alcohol on him. "Are you drunk?"
"I wouldn't exactly say drunk or at least not too bad off, but I did have some drinks with Damon over in the hangar," Johnny replied. He always tried to be honest with Maya, partly because she could usually tell when he was lying but also because he'd always laid out things for his exes.
"I didn't think that was allowed," Maya said.
"It's not as there's no telling when an attack could come in, so I know I'm going to catch Hell for doing it, but let's just say Damon needed it today," Johnny said, "I can't elaborate as it's his story to tell, but if me getting a little drunk and listening to him helped both of us, that's what matters, right?"
Maya nodded. "Of course," she said, "I'm sorry if I sounded like I was accusing you or anything, but you always told me that you hate alcohol and you'd never drink again, so you caught me by surprise."
"It's cool as normally yeah, I would stick to that but today was an exception," Johnny replied, "What'd you want, anyway? I'm going to be heading back to Earth for something here shortly, so would you like to come with me and finally really see it?"
"Don't worry about it, it was nothing really," Maya replied but Johnny noticed her hand and thumb twitching.
"Are you sure?" Johnny asked, "You know you can talk to me about anything."
Maya hesitated. "It's just… I miss you," she said. Johnny gave her a questioning look and she sighed. "I mean, I miss us being together romantically as we hang out pretty often as friends. I know we agreed to take a break and that was only a few weeks ago, but…"
"I've missed us being together too," Johnny replied softly. Being reminded of what happened to Zuri had brought that to the forefront of his mind. Oh, how he's missed the sweet taste of Maya's sweet lips on his.
"Look, if we're going to do this, we need to sit down and have a serious talk, but I don't have the time right now as I need to head back to Earth for something here in a little while. Unless you want to come with me, can we have that talk when I get back?"
Maya smiled happily. As long as Johnny didn't say no outright, she could wait. "It can wait as while I'd love to come visit Earth with you, Ryan really needs me at the stables right now as business is starting to pick up and I'm all him and Jack have at the moment," she explained.
Johnny nodded. It was tempting to kiss Maya but while it was looking like they were possibly going to reconcile soon, he didn't know if it was a good idea at the moment. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone but it shouldn't be much more than a week and a half at most so please tell the gang I'll see all of you then, would you?" he said.
Maya nodded and kissed Johnny's cheek to his surprise. "I can't wait," she said before turning and practically skipping out of the barracks. He couldn't help but chuckle as he headed into his quarters.
PRLG
A couple of days later, Johnny was trying his best not to cry like he did every year on this day as he strode across a cemetery, heading towards a headstone reading the name Zuri Julie Kramer. Cassie had to go check with her family or she'd be there with him.
"Hey, Zuri," Johnny said, taking a knee before the grave as he always did. He had a beautiful bouquet of Zuri's favorite flowers that he put down in front of the gravestone. He'd just come from her parents' house, as was also part of his tradition.
"Sorry I wasn't able to make it last year but with the whole bit with Yoli and Michelle, it just slipped my mind," Johnny said, "As promised, I have never forgot about you and not a day goes by that I don't think about you in all the little things that remind me of you."
Johnny got choked up for a few minutes and before he could recover, a small blur came zooming out of nowhere and bumped into him. It turned out to be a little boy that looked about Aaron and Jodie's ages. "Oh geez, I'm so sorry, mister," he said.
"It's all right, buddy," Johnny reassured the boy with a gentle smile as he got back to his feet, "But you shouldn't be running through the cemetery, especially by yourself. Where are your…"
"Zuri Johnathan Chan, what have I told you about… OH MY GOD, JOHNNY?!" a decidedly feminine voice cried. Johnny was surprised as Hell when Brynne ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. Déjà vu hit him as it was kind of like the last time he'd seen her.
"Wow, it's been ages, Brynne, and you look great," Johnny said, hugging Brynne and laughing. He hadn't seen her since she'd spent the better part of a month with him, making love every chance they got. Remembering that time made him suddenly freeze then pull back. "Wait, did you just say…"
"You know him, Mommy?" the boy asked.
"Yes, sweetie, he's a dear old friend of mine," Brynne said, "Johnny, this is my son and as you heard, I named him after the 2 best friends that I could have ever hoped for."
Johnny nodded. "It's very nice to meet you, Zuri," he said and extended his hand to the boy, who all of a sudden turned shy and hid behind Brynne. "Aw, don't tell me you you're getting shy on me now after almost knocking me over. Just kidding, Brynne. He didn't bump into me that hard."
Brynne had opened her mouth, probably to chide Zuri about bumping into Johnny, but just smiled instead. "Come on, Zuri, say hi," she said.
"It's nice to meet you too," Zuri said softly, shaking Johnny's hand.
Johnny couldn't help but smile as Zuri reminded him a lot of himself when he first met Tommy and Kim, very shy and soft-spoken. 'Among other things,' he thought as he took in the boy's appearance.
Zuri took a lot after Brynne but to his consternation, Johnny could also potentially see some of himself in him. 'The math would even be about right too, but her or Cassie would've told me I had a son, right?' he asked himself.
Johnny started to say something to Brynne but stopped when he saw her stepping up to the grave of her son's other namesake and kneeling, tears in her eyes. Even after almost all this time, he knew it had to still hit her even harder than it did him. "I'll give you some privacy," he said.
Johnny started to walk away but Brynne called after him. "Please stay," she said, "I haven't had the chance to come visit her grave since the funeral and I know she'd want both of us here together."
Johnny nodded and took a seat next to Brynne and Zuri sat down on the other side of her. "It's been a couple of years since I've been here myself," he said, "I was dealing with some stuff with my now ex-girlfriend this time last year and the day just slipped past me in all the confusion."
"I know Zuri would understand," Brynne told Johnny with a reassuring smile. Jordan had told her about Johnny their mutual friend Yoli pretty seriously for a few years there and how they'd broken up.
They weren't at the gravesite long before Zuri was complaining about being hungry, so they headed out of the graveyard. Johnny went with them to the local Chuck E. Cheese, which was where Brynne's son wanted to go.
Brynne apologized as she knew Johnny used to avoid going to them because of his history with his wrist, but he just shook his head. "I finally got over that a little while ago, long story I won't bore you with, and even if I hadn't, if that's where Zuri wants to go, then I'm all for it," he said.
Johnny wasted no time in showing Zuri all the tricks he'd learned about skee-ball. The little guy looked to be a natural at it, though he also loved a bunch of other stuff like the play area so while he was off crawling through the tubes, the redhead was finally able to get some questions answered.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Johnny asked, "Why didn't Cassie?"
Brynne was confused for a moment before she realized what Johnny was thinking. Oh, how wished she could tell him that he was Zuri's biological father with as much trouble as she was still having with the actual sperm donor and the math would technically be right.
"Zuri's not yours," Brynne said, "I was seeing someone not long before that day we met up on the Megaship. I had broken up with him a couple of days before that, in fact."
Everything in Brynne's life these days always seemed to track back to that day they'd met up on the Megaship back when they were 16. She hadn't been looking to start up anything with anybody, even swearing off dating and sex for a while after the nasty split from Zuri's sperm donor.
But when they'd met up that day on the Megaship, Brynne had been quick to fall for Johnny's sweet nature and charm all over again and him singing to her with his almost angelic voice quickly had her panties dropping and him losing his virginity.
"How do you know I'm not?" Johnny asked.
"Um well, we didn't know for sure at first, but sis popped over to your house about a month and half after we broke up and 'borrowed' a toothbrush you were using at the time to run a comparison, quietly returning it when it showed Zuri wasn't yours," Brynne said.
"My ex has never been in Zuri's life beyond child support payments that I had to get a court ordered paternity test for, and he's been trying to weasel his way out of that off and on since, mostly with under the table jobs that can't easily be garnished," Brynne added.
"One good thing is that the jerk's parents are good people though, so Zuri knows them and they help out and they're especially great in keeping him from not paying up," Brynne continued.
"As for Cassie, don't get mad at her as I asked her not to say anything before the paternity test as you were dating Jordan and then Yoli and I didn't want you to be burdened with that," Brynne reasoned.
"I know you," Brynne added, "Even after we found out you weren't his father, you'd have been there for me, maybe even asked me to marry you. It was my responsibility and I didn't want to force it on you."
"I still could've been there for moral support though and I know Mom and Dad would've wanted to as well," Johnny pointed out, "You didn't have to cut us out altogether."
"I know but I was a scared 17-year-old when I had Zuri and I thought I was doing the right thing at the time and have been an idiot ever since," Brynne said, starting to tear up a little. "I just didn't want any of you to think that I was just a whore trying to baby trap you or him."
Johnny winced. "Hey, I'm sorry," he said softly, hugging Brynne. "I didn't mean to sound judgmental or anything. I never would've thought that about you and Mom and Dad wouldn't have either, though I'm guessing that sorry sperm donor of an ex did and even said it."
"Still did last I talked to him, which was why I went low contact," Brynne added, "After he found out I'd slept with you during that visit from a former mutual friend I'd stupidly told when I got back, he started believing that I slept around, still does, and refuses to believe Zuri is his despite the test. Please believe I've only ever been with you and him."
"I believe you and hey, if that jerk wants to miss out on having such a wonderful kid as Zuri seems to be, that's on him," Johnny pointed out, "Just from what I've seen so far, you're doing an amazing job as a single Mom and I just know you'll continue to be one to him."
Brynne beamed happily. "Thanks, Johnny," she said, "You always did know just the right thing to say."
"Anytime," Johnny said.
Suddenly, they heard screaming from somewhere in the restaurant and Johnny got up quickly out of habit. "Don't worry about it," Brynne said, "That's probably nothing, maybe just a little roughhousing. Even in Angel Grove, not everything being screamed about is a monster attack."
Johnny was about to agree and sit back down when there was more screaming, definitely terrified this time and sounding like Zuri, followed by kids stampeding away from where the screams were coming from, which got Brynne up and both of them running towards the sound.
To their surprise, a hulking monster had hold of Zuri's wrist and was trying to drag him to a nearby exit. "Stay here," Johnny told Brynne, who nodded. He didn't even hesitate in running up to the monster and kicking it in the back with a "Si-kyah!"
The attack caught the monster by surprise and made it stumble forward a little, thankfully letting let go of Zuri as it did. "I've got this, little buddy, so run to your Mom," Johnny told the boy, who nodded and said thank you before he did as he was told.
"Johnny, come on!" Brynne called out as she picked up Zuri.
"Don't worry, I'll keep it busy while you 2 take off," Johnny promised, "Just get in the car and go. If you have a way to get a hold of Cassie, do so the second you get in the car and have her teleport you to the Megaship. If not, head back to your hotel. Either way, I'll join you shortly."
Brynne nodded and reluctantly spun around and ran towards the entrance. She hated to leave Johnny to take on a monster by himself, but she knew he could more than take care of himself and she had Zuri to think about.
The monster tried to follow the 2 but Johnny began a flurry of attacks that eventually drove it out the door it'd been trying to drag Zuri to, which he knew emptied out into an all too familiar alley that still didn't have cameras last he knew. 'Perfect place for me to morph,' he mused.
"Who do you think you are, you stupid Earth-born, a Power Ranger or were you just trying to impress that girl by pretending to be a hero?" the monster scoffed as it wheeled around on Johnny.
"All you need to know is that the only way in Hell you're getting anywhere near Zuri again is over my dead body," Johnny said, "As for pretending to be a hero, who's to say I don't have a little trick up my… sleeve?"
With that, Johnny punched down then pulled his arm up with the needed sharp motions to start the morphing process while pulling down the sleeve on his hoodie to reveal his Transmorpher. "Go Galactic!" he shouted.
The monster started swearing softly as Johnny transformed into the White Galaxy Ranger. 'This was supposed to be a simple retrieval job,' it raged internally, 'They told me it'd be a piece of cake, that there weren't any actively powered Rangers currently on Earth.'
Johnny drew his Vortex Scimitar from its sheath, also summoning his Transdagger, and combined the 2 into the Omega Scythe. "Now, are you going to quit bothering my friend and her son on your own or are we going to have a problem?" he asked, hefting it up onto his shoulders. "It doesn't matter to me which you choose as either way, you're going to stop."
"You won't keep me from my bounty!" the monster exclaimed.
With that, it summoned a pair of hatchets, one of which he thrusted at Johnny, who easily blocked the attack with the blade of the scythe, rolling it around to deflect an attack with the other hatchet with the staff before snap kicking the monster to make it back up.
It attempted several more times to hit Johnny with its hatchets, but he'd gotten quite good at fighting with the Omega Scythe since obtaining his Transdagger and was easily able to block each attempt before making a swipe of his own with it, hitting the monster to make it back up.
"Hm, good to know that Xarutan was right about your fighting skills," the monster said.
That surprised Johnny enough to make him stop in mid-attack. "Wait, you know Xarutan?" he asked. Xarutan hadn't struck him as the type that would abduct a kid for bad reasons. Could this have been a misunderstanding? The monster nodded. "Why do you want Zuri?
"If you're here for nonviolent reasons you then I'm sorry about attacking you, but this is Angel Grove after all," Johnny pointed out, "A monster attack here is usually bad, especially since you were trying to abduct a kid in a public place."
"Yes, so I've heard," the monster replied with an amused tone, "All I know is that someone is trying to get hold of the boy. I'm supposed to deliver this 'Zuri' and his Mother to Xarutan as he'd never want to separate a child from their mother.
"I'm sorry for trying to get him the way I did, but I've been observing them for a few days now and thought this would be the best time," the monster further explained.
Johnny nodded. "Give me a little while to talk to Brynne and her sister, who's also a friend of mine and fellow Ranger, as well as a way to contact Xarutan to corroborate your story," he said, "Nothing personal but I do know him to be honorable while I don't know you, so I need to double check.
"If he does vouch for you, I'll be in contact soon," Johnny said, "If he doesn't and this is all a ploy, you never want to see me again and you DO NOT want to mess with Zuri and Brynne, his Mom, understood? I'm guessing Xarutan has told you not to take that threat lightly."
"That he did and understood," the monster said.
The monster gave Johnny a frequency to call Xarutan as well as its own, also giving its name, Vicrow, before teleporting away. He sighed as he powered and activated the communicator on his Transmorpher. "Cassie, come in," he said.
"Are you alright?" Cassie asked, "Sensors showed that you morphed."
"I'm fine but what about…" Johnny started to say but stopped when he saw a car pull up at the end of the alley, honking. Brynne and Zuri were inside the car, shouting to hop in. He sighed. "Never mind. Keep a lock on my morpher's signal and I'll have 3 people to teleport in a sec."
"Gotcha," Cassie said.
Johnny put the communicator on mute as he ran towards the car and hopped in. "I told you to get as far away from here as possible and call Cassie," he barked somewhat sharply at Brynne, who glared at him. "Sorry for snapping but you have to know this wasn't a good idea."
"And leaving you alone with a monster was a better one?" Brynne reasoned, "You're easily the best fighter I've ever personally known even back in the day, but there's no way you could've taken it down by yourself. At the end of the day, you're just a regular guy."
"No, he isn't, Mom," Zuri said, "Look at his wrist! He's a Power Ranger like Aunt Cassie!"
'Shit,' Johnny thought. In his hurry to get into the car, he'd forgotten to cover his Transmorpher. "That's right, buddy," he told Zuri, "I'm part of the team that's on Terra Venture and I grew up around a huge group of former Rangers including Cassie the last 9 years to boot."
"That's so awesome!" Zuri cheered and both Johnny and Brynne couldn't help but smile and chuckle at his unbridled enthusiasm, "Can we come to Terra Venture with you?"
"Well, that's up to your Mom and Aunt Cassie," Johnny said then looked up at Brynne with a questioning look, "It wouldn't be a bad idea until we can clear this up. I can have some of my friends look into him getting joining Terra Venture Elementary while you're there.
"I've got plenty of space in my quarters for you 2 if you don't want to use the ones on the Megaship, I know Mom and Dad would love to see you again and especially meet Zuri, and I'd love to introduce you to the rest of the team."
Seeing the hopeful look in both Johnny's and Zuri's eyes, Brynne sighed. "All right, if you think it's the best thing to do, you know I trust you more than anybody other than Cassie and my parents," she agreed.
Johnny unmuted his Transmorpher and Cassie exchanged Hellos with both her sister and nephew before teleporting them and the car into a certain auxiliary hangar. Brynne couldn't help but laugh when she realized where they were as they got out. "Of course, she'd bring us here," she said.
"Yep, that's Cassie's warped sense of humor for you," Johnny agreed.
Zuri wanted Johnny to carry him, so he hauled him up into his arms as they headed for the lift. Cassie grinned when she saw the trio come out onto the bridge. She gave her sister and nephew hugs and kisses. "I swear, you get bigger every time I see you," she said to her nephew, who grinned.
"Why don't you 2 go get settled in one of the Ranger quarters?" Johnny suggested, "Just don't mess with anything in any that have stuff in them as that's where either Leo and Damon stay when we're on Terra Venture and Cassie and I'm staying in for the trip. If you need anything that can't be synthesized, tell DECA and she'll relay it to us."
Brynne nodded and Johnny transferred Zuri over to her before she headed for the lift. Once they were gone, he wasted no time in briefing Cassie on everything that's happened, including what Vicrow had told him. "Could whoever's behind this have a grudge against you and found out they're your family?" he asked.
"My team still has plenty of enemies that weren't wiped out when Zordon died and have made more since, but I don't really know of any that would have a grudge against me specifically that would know about much less want to hurt Brynne and Zuri," Cassie answered, "Look, speaking of Zuri, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
"Brynne already explained so it's all right, we're good," Johnny said, "I'm not even mad you borrowed my toothbrush to test me without even saying anything. It's so weird to think that he could've been mine especially with everything that happened with Yoli and Michelle last year, you know?"
"I can imagine," Cassie said, "Just how many potential kids could you have out there that might've been conceived here?"
"Hey, I'll have you know I've only slept with Brynne, Jordan, and Yoli so I know for a fact it's just Zuri and Michelle as Jordan's only recently gotten married and had a baby," Johnny said, "When it came to all of the other girls I'd brought, you either caught us or I just couldn't go through with it in the end and either way, the relationships always fizzled out."
"Even after all this time, I still can't believe it took you 2 not even 20 minutes to hook up that day," Cassie said. Her words would've been thought sharp but not with the smile she had on her face. She'd been pissed about it when she found out but that was years ago.
"Look, Cassie, about Brynne and I hooking up back then…" Johnny said.
"It's all right," Cassie interjected, "I get it. She was your first love. That was years ago and I've long since gotten over being mad though I'll admit I was pissed off when I found out h
"I'm just glad Mom and Dad took it better than they did," Cassie admitted, "I half-expected them to disown me and possibly Brynne after we found out she was pregnant and thought Zuri might be yours."
"Yeah, I'd imagine they weren't happy with me when they found out and thought I was his Dad," Johnny pointed out.
"Actually, compared to how they reacted to that piece of shit that turned out to be his sperm donor, their reaction to you being a possibility was relatively tame," Cassie said, "They always did like you 2 together… we all did… and we'd all hoped you were his Dad before the paternity test."
Johnny nodded. "Anyway, let's call up that frequency Vicrow gave me and see if it's legit," he said rattled off what they'd need to get hold of the mercs. Cassie typed it in and it didn't take long for a somewhat familiar face to appear on the screen.
"Ah, it is good to see you again under better circumstances, White Galaxy Ranger," Xarutan said.
"Same," Johnny replied, "We're calling about one of your colleagues, Vicrow."
Xarutan nodded. "Ah yes, he was just telling me about your confrontation," he said and gestured to someone out of camera range. A few seconds later, Vicrow appeared in a different window on the screen beside his.
"Hi, I'm Cassie Chan, the Pink Space Ranger," Cassie interjected. Xarutan and Vicrow both nodded politely. "I don't mean to be rude, but I'd appreciate if you'd give us any details you have on why someone's after my nephew and sister. Is it someone that doesn't like me as a Ranger?"
"To be honest, we're not 100% sure yet at this point," Xarutan replied honestly, "As Vicrow mentioned, we still don't know who's behind this. The soothsayer that divined this information for our client didn't elaborate as they can only get so much info in their visions.
"I'd going recommend somewhere safer as Earth's global defense system is, with all due respect as you're originally from there, frankly lacking, especially since they don't currently have a team of Rangers there," Xarutan continued.
"So, you think Terra Venture would be better?" Johnny asked.
"Given it's constantly on the move and is well defended by both your team and Alpha Squadron, I believe it would be much better, yes," Xarutan answered, "If you don't mind taking Vicrow with you, he will help you keep watch over your family."
Vicrow nodded. "I'd be more than happy to help however much I can," he added, "Give me your spatial coordinates and we'll meet up shortly so I can tether our ships and come aboard." Cassie nodded and sent them along the transmission.
"I'm going to go find Brynne and Zuri to give them a heads up while you 3 work out the details," Johnny said.
Cassie nodded. "Don't be visiting any of your favorite make-out spots this time," she teased. Johnny just stuck his tongue out at her and they both chuckled as he entered the lift. When he got off on the deck with the Ranger quarters, he headed down the corridor, curious which one they were in.
Turned out to they were in Ashley's former quarters. Johnny entered to find Zuri lying on the bed. "Mom's taking a bath," he said simply at the unasked question. The White Galaxy Ranger nodded and took a seat next to him to wait for Brynne to come back out. "Is there a PS3 or a 360 around here I can play on until we get to Terra Venture?"
"No but I've got my DSi if you want to play on that," Johnny replied, "I'm not sure what games I might have onboard physically as a few others I knew are constantly wanting to borrow them, but I do have some fun digital ones."
"Yes please," Zuri replied. Johnny headed over to the quarters he'd been using, which had originally been Zhane's, and grabbed his DSi and his games. He didn't have a lot of games on him as Aaron, Jodie, and Maya borrowed them often and he hoped the kid liked what he had.
When he headed back to loan the system to Zuri, Johnny had to spin around as the door opened as Brynne was out of the shower and was nude. "Whoa, sorry," he said, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks. "I thought you'd still be in the shower and Zuri would be in here."
"You might as well turn back around as it's not exactly anything you haven't seen before, even if it has been almost 6 years," Brynne teased.
Johnny nodded and reluctantly turned around, though he tried to keep his eyes averted from his ex. Brynne shook her head with a smile. He always had tried his best to be a gentleman.
"Where's Zuri?" Johnny asked as Brynne finished getting dressed, "I went and got my DSi so he didn't get bored on the trip back to Terra Venture as we don't have any other gaming systems onboard at the moment."
"He hopped in the bath as soon as I was done, insisting he's already big enough to do it himself," Brynne replied with a grin, "I thought your friends Leo and Damon lived here. Would they have minded if he borrowed one from them for now if they had any onboard?"
"I know they wouldn't have minded and would've even left something if we knew it'd be more than just Cassie, Alpha, and myself, but we had no idea and they didn't have long to grab what they needed to stay before Cassie brought me to Earth including their gaming systems and I barely had time to get some clothes," Johnny explained.
Brynne nodded as it made sense as no one knew her and Zuri would be coming along for the return trip. "Thanks for this, by the way," she said, "Not only for keeping that monster from grabbing him but offering to let us come stay with you. I just know Zuri will love this and it'll probably be all he'll talk about for the near future."
"It's not a problem as you know I'd do just about anything for you, Brynne," Johnny said, "And I can imagine how excited the little guy is bound to be. I would've been literally over the moon if I'd suddenly gotten the chance to go to a cool place like Terra Venture when I was his age.
"I don't know if I ever told you, but I even fantasized about Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin adopting me or even being my biological grandfather so he could take me into space for the longest time."
Brynne got a good laugh out of that. "So, are you seeing anybody?" she asked.
"Not currently but I was until a few weeks ago," Johnny answered.
"What happened if you don't mind me asking?" Brynne asked.
"There are some details I can't tell you but long story short on the rest, we were rushing things and decided we needed a break," Johnny replied, "She came to see me right before Cassie and I left Terra Venture saying she wanted to talk about getting back together."
"Do you love her?" Brynne asked.
Johnny sighed. If anyone knew him as well as Yoli, Mark, or his folks, it'd be Brynne. "Yeah," he said softly, "I didn't even quite realize how much I loved Maya until she was almost killed by a monster not long before that and I stupidly never told her before we split. Hopefully I'll get the chance to soon enough."
"You're not stupid and yeah, I can imagine how tough it must be," Brynne said, "I know you don't like to look back when it comes to romance but since you're in love with her, I hope you will be able to start seeing her again and tell her."
Johnny nodded. "Thanks," he said, "Anyway, what about you? You're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. I imagine you probably have to fight guys off with a stick."
"Are you kidding?" Brynne said, "I couldn't tell you the last time I went on a date much less anything serious. You know the Brad Paisley song He didn't have to be? I'm feeling a lot like the Mom in that and I just hope I can find someone that will love Zuri as much as they do me."
"Don't worry, I know you will," Johnny said encouragingly.
It didn't take long for Zuri to come out naked as the day he was born, to the amusement of Brynne and Johnny. His Mom had laid out some freshly synthesized clothes for him which he quickly slid on.
"So, it turns out Vicrow, the monster that tried to grab Zuri, is actually working to keep you safe," Johnny explained, "He works with a mercenary I met a little while back, Xarutan, who wants him to escort us… well, you… to Terra Venture, so don't be afraid when he pops up here shortly."
"Do you trust Xarutan?" Brynne asked.
"I don't know if trust is the word I'd use, but I do believe him when he said we share the same goal in keeping Zuri safe," Johnny said, "Don't worry, I'll be keeping as close an eye on Vicrow as I can just in case I'm wrong and I know the other Galaxy Rangers will help too."
Brynne nodded. "Then that's good enough for me," she said.
There was a chime on Johnny's Transmorpher. "What's up, Cassie?" he said into it.
"Vicrow's here on the bridge and wants to talk to Zuri and Brynne," Cassie explained.
"Gotcha, we'll be there in a sec," Johnny replied then glanced at Brynne and Zuri. "Are you 2 good?" They nodded and the trio headed out of the quarters and back to the bridge.
"I must apologize for my actions planet-side," Vicrow said, "I did not mean to scare you at that restaurant earlier. Know that I will stop at nothing to make sure you are safe, Brynne and Zuri, I believe the White Galaxy Ranger said?" They nodded.
"We will and please, call me Johnny, Vicrow," Johnny added.
PRGJ
A few days later, Johnny wasn't too surprised when nearly the whole gang, Galaxy Rangers and Alpha Squadron alike, was there to greet them, though there was a tense moment when they saw Vicrow with them. "It's all right, he's here to help Brynne and Zuri," Johnny assured them.
Johnny had gotten to know Vicrow on the trip here and while he still didn't fully trust him, they did have an understanding now. He quickly explained the situation to them, though only about something being after his ex and her son.
All of Alpha Squadron knew Brynne of course and were glad to see her after almost 6 years and were delighted to meet Zuri, though Johnny did get raised eyebrows from them except his parents. Cassie had mentioned going to Kim to borrow his toothbrush.
The Galaxy Rangers were also very warm welcoming to them though he noticed Maya was also giving the latter suspicious glances. 'Damn it, I hope this doesn't make things complicated between us,' Johnny thought.
Johnny was glad Zuri was about half-asleep in his arms… he'd exhausted himself running around the Megaship nonstop… as it gave him the perfect excuse to say they'd explain everything later but needed to put the little guy to bed.
As Johnny put Zuri down in the bottom bunk. Brynne was also fairly tired, so she crawled in behind her son. Vicrow agreed to sleep on the floor as he couldn't fit in either of the other bunks or couch. "I'll be back shortly," the White Galaxy Ranger quietly told the mercenary, who nodded.
Johnny, the rest of the Galaxy Rangers, and Alpha Squadron headed a few doors down to the squad room where he explained everything that had happened and reassured everyone, especially both his folks and Maya, that he wasn't Zuri's biological Dad.
Johnny saw Maya giving him a strange look, but she left quietly before he could ask her to stay so he could ask. He'd noticed she often glare at any woman that happened to as much as ask him for the time and hoped this wasn't going to be too bad a thing.
Johnny also realized that he'd barely kept from missing a date Amanda and Kendrix had talked him into in a few days with a really pretty bartender that'd started working at the Comet Cafe with that had caught his eye named Shaiana, who was an old friend of his sister's, who told them both that she'd love to see if she was his type.
At Kendrix and Amanda's insistence, Johnny had started chatting up Shaiana on visits to the Comet Café and found her to definitely be someone he'd like to get to know better even though he was still struggling with his feelings for Maya. He just hoped he wouldn't regret this, especially if his ex was going to keep up being jealous.
As he headed back to his quarters, Johnny didn't notice a weird rippling wave. Though he shuddered as it passed through him, he didn't think anything of the strange sensation.
To be continued…
Notes: Ooh, ending on a seemingly ominous note… or is it? Lol, be here next time to find out.