My Hero Part One
It was a crisp, November morning, and a start of a new weekend. Bonnie, of all the folks in her town, had always favored autumn over any of the other seasons. The air was cool, and she loved the feeling of it blowing through her hair as the colored leaves fell all over people's lawns. She just loved it.
After tying up her hair in a ponytail, she put on her black sweatpants and white sweater. She took a glance at the mirror above the fireplace, giving her reflection a playful blow kiss.
Before she walked out the door, she called out to her aunt. "Okay, Aunt Rachel, I'm off for a run."
Her aunt's voice called out from the kitchen. "Okay, hon'. Be safe!"
"I will," Bonnie replied as she walked out of her house and began her jog across the neighborhood. After running for a mile, she paused to catch her breath near the entrance of the town's cemetery. She frowned as she examined the hundreds of gravestones.
Poor souls. She thought before shrugging her shoulders. Well, at least they probably lived long and happy lives. She was about to continue her jog when she noticed a familiar car parked at the adjacent side of the cemetery. It was of course Maya's Jeep. Bonnie decided to investigate further as she walked further into the cemetery.
She stopped when she noticed Maya walking from a distance towards something, but Bonnie couldn't figure out why her friend was there.
She decided to follow her friend from a safe distance but then stopped when Maya knelt in front of a certain gravestone. She could hear from the distance Maya muttering something incomprehensible in Spanish.
Bonnie raised an eyebrow as she walked up to her friend. Once she reached her, her shadow caught the attention of Maya.
Maya turned and was shocked to see Bonnie standing behind her with a worried look on her face. She quickly stood up. "Bonnie!" She scratched the back of her neck. "What are you doing here?"
Bonnie shrugged. "I saw your car outside this cemetery and decided to see what you were up to."
Maya crossed her arms and her gaze fell. She sighed. "Today is just a sad day for me."
"How so?" Her friend asked. Maya then motioned over towards the gravestone. Bonnie looked over at it and narrowed her eyes.
Diego Menendez Garcia. 1979-2015. "He was a great man and his daughter's hero."
Bonnie gasped softly as she glanced over at her friend. "Is this...your dad?"
Maya nodded her head as her expression reverted to that of pure sadness. "He passed away when I was 10."
"How..." Bonnie asked, her voice was a soft as it could be as she was stunned to be standing in front of the grave of her friend's father.
Maya sighed as she spoke. "On this day in 2015, my father was deployed in Iraq. He was sent on a mission to defuse a bomb that posed a threat to his base. The robot that he controlled was over to take out the bomb, but the remote control failed and..."
Maya felt tears form in her eyes. She took a deep breath and glanced over at Bonnie when she felt her rub her back to comfort her. Maya continued her story, her eyes narrowed as she thought about her father's old lieutenant, who was just hailed as a hero at the expense of her father's death. "His lieutenant, Gary, ordered him to go out there and help defuse the bomb, but when my dad obliged, the bomb exploded once he was just a few feet away. He was blown to smithereens and it took so long for my mother and I to...hear about what happened. I lost my dad..."
Maya fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Her emotions have hardly subsided from the moment she found out about her father's passing. She began weeping as Bonnie knelt next to her and wrapped her arms around Maya in a desperate attempt to comfort her friend.
Maya buried her face into Bonnie's shoulder and her weeps shifted into sobs. Bonnie rubbed her hand up and down Maya's back as she spoke soothingly. "Shh, it's okay, Maya. I'm sorry that this had happened to you, and I feel your pain."
Maya pulled back from Bonnie's embrace and sniffled. "How could you and Donnie deal with losing your parents?"
Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it was hard. But we managed to handle the grief by seeking comfort from our aunt and other family members, which helped us immensely. You can't deal with grief alone. You got your mom, DJ, Max, and now you have me and Donnie. You are not alone, Maya. We are here for you."
Maya wiped the tears from her face and gave Bonnie and weak smile before embracing her. "Thank you."
"No problem..."
They sat in silence before something popped up in Bonnie's head.
"Wait, you're mother is very sweet, but you have always had the attitude...and your father was a marine..." A small smirked crept onto Bonnie's face. "That makes sense."
"Oh, shut up!" Maya laughed, pushing Bonnie away.
The following Monday, Maya drove at an accelerated speed with Bonnie in the passenger seat. DJ and Donnie are currently out of town as their martial arts team have taken a trip toward a tournament in the neighboring town, and Max had just woken up with a bad throat and his parents didn't want anybody catching it, leaving the two girls to attend schools by themselves.
Bonnie was scrolling through the school blog until an online announcement caught her attention. She gasped in excitement as she spoke. "A United States General is visiting our school today!"
Maya's eyes widened. "Really? Who is he?"
Bonnie scrolled through the page until she finally caught the guy's name, but then her smile faded as she realized who it was. It was the soldier who just so happened to be Diego Garcia's old lieutenant back when he died. She gulped before speaking up. "His name is...Gary Brooks."
It sounded as if Bonnie as just said a very cursed sentence as she noticed her friend's expression shifted from excitement straight to pure fierceness and anger.
Maya began breathing in and out as she tried to get her anger in check. Bonnie had pursed her lips awkwardly as she put her phone away. She just wished this person would not run into them, let alone Maya. She knew there would be a chance that Maya would cause a scene, and who would blame the Yellow Ranger? This man is practically the reason Maya lost her father, and he had also gained fame for surviving a mission, as well as a higher ranking.
Bonnie quickly got out of the car as soon as it was parked by the school. She and Maya stood side by side as they approached the school's entrance, the former trying to ignore the latter's current fierce expression.
When the two girls arrived at school, they went straight to their first-period class, knowing they'd be the first ones there because the class wasn't starting for another 15 minutes. The girls entered and were greeted by their elderly English instructor. Mrs. Booke appeared to be in good health for her age of 62, and she adored the girls. She had blue eyes and a wrinkled face, yet her grin could brighten anyone's day.
When the girls reached the entryway and peeked inside, they came to a halt when they noticed Mrs. Baker conversing to a man dressed in camouflage military clothing. He had short, blond hair and green eyes. Bonnie took a moment to comprehend who this person was: none other than Lieutenant Gary Brooks.
Mrs. Baker observed the two students and smiled wide at them. "Hello, girls. If it is okay with you, Maya, this hero would want to meet with you in the corridor."
Bonnie cursed under her breath as she noticed Maya's face was turning into a bright shade of ready. She looked as if she was about to explode, but Maya simply took a deep breath and obliged, walking out of the classroom with the soldier following close behind her.
Bonnie approached Mrs. Baker and spoke. "Mrs. Baker, you do realize-"
Mrs. Baker interrupted her. "Yes, Bonnie, and might I add that I too believe this may not go as well as I wish, but she cannot avoid adversity, you know?"
Bonnie sighed as she hoped this wouldn't go as bad as it could most likely be.
Maya and Gary stood by the lockers as the former stopped to face the latter. She crossed her eyes and if looks could kill, Gary would have been decomposed by now.
"What the hell are you doing here, Gary?" She spoke coldly as if his name was a forbidden curse.
Gary sighed and gave Maya a sympathetic look. "Maya, it has been a while, and I came to town just to check up on you."
Maya chuckled sarcastically. "What? Are you expecting some sort of media coverage out of this? 'Brave General and Hero comfort girl who has just lost her father.' Oh, what a hero you are." She mocked, before blowing raspberries in the General's face.
Gary wiped the saliva from his face before he spoke. "I understand you blame me for the loss of your father. But you have to understand what I have gone through after your father passed away. I was stranded for 3 years after we were attacked by a militia. I was rescued and for a while, I have tried to contact you to say that I deeply apologize."
Maya took a deep breath and spoke sternly, balling her fists, with tears of frustration forming in her eyes "Your son and daughter were both lucky to have their father back, but do you think that I have gone through a better scenario than you have? You honestly believe that I would fall for this. That I would fall with the lie that you even cared. My mother and I had to bury an empty casket because my dad's body was blown to bits. There was NOTHING to bury. Do you have any idea how that feels?"
Gary was silent, which gave Maya an answer. She wiped her eyes and spoke coldly. "I bet you are happy because if it wasn't for my father's death, you would not have been promoted to a freaking US Military General. I believe that you're trying so hard to cover up how relieved and happy you are about the fact that my dad is gone."
Gary narrowed his eyes. "Maya, if that was true, I wouldn't even bother coming here just so that I could speak to you, don't you think."
"No..."
"But, Maya!" He stepped forward, but was struck with a sharp smack across the face. He observed Maya's face turn bright crimson with rage.
"I can't get arrested for that, as I did not give you consent to try and touch me," she said with spite. "To be quite frank, I wish you'd burn in hell much longer than 3 years." She began strolling past the now-silent general. There was nothing more she could say to this guy. This person's stupidity took her father's life, and Maya had no pity for that excuse of a man."
As Po sat on his throne, his sister approached him with another Humanitor following close behind her. His face resembled that of an angry emoji you would find in the messaging app on your iPhone he had a black mustache underneath his rather large nose while his entire body was just covered in a sickening red robe, and he was armed with a black ray gun that was in a shape of a desert eagle.
Sky spoke up, her hands behind her back. "Brother, I would like you to meet Angorio. I ran into him while I was out searching for valuable artifacts." She glanced over at the monster. "Explain to my brother what you can do."
Po grunted. "Yes, impress me."
Angorio spoke in a distinctly Mexican accent. "Con mucho gusto! I can shoot a fantastic beam from my ray that will enhance a person's angry feelings. They won't be able to control their anger once it kicks in, and it was driving them LOCO or better yet, destroy anyone that crosses them, even their amigos." He chuckled. "Escucho que el guardabosques amarillo está de mal humor. I might as well make it much better for her." He cackled, which got Po to smirk.
"I like your style," he then frowned. "Don't just stand there and be all talk. Move!"
Angorio bowed in solidarity. "Si, senor!"
After school, Bonnie and Maya decided to meet up at the park after that long day. Maya just needed someone to speak to after that whole dispute with the General.
They sat down at the bench and Maya took a few minutes to gather her thoughts before turning towards her friend and began spilling the beans of what she had said and how she had felt. She felt much better expressing these feelings towards someone she viewed as her friend, especially since Bonnie gave her the time and patience she needed.
"I just feel as if I can't forgive him, y'know. I mean, if I do, that's not going to bring me back my father, right?" Maya finished.
Bonnie crossed her legs before sighing. "Maya, these grudges are not going to do you any favors."
"But he-" Maya began but was interrupted.
"I know, but he never intended to get your father killed! He just wanted to finish the mission."
Maya crossed her arms and glared. "Listen, how am I going to forgive him? I mean, would you forgive the person who took away your parents?"
Bonnie sighed and spoke. "Po is an evil monster who shows no remorse for what he had done. At least Gary has some decency to come to town just to apologize for what he had done to your family. There were many times where my brother hurt me, and forgiving him made the situation feel so insignificant. I promise you, you will continue to miss your father no matter what, but this grudge will not make your situation better, but forgiving a person who feels sorry will make you feel better, which should matter, first of all.'
Maya wanted to say something but she couldn't. She wanted so badly to argue. She wanted to be offended, She wanted to tell Bonnie that she was wrong, but she couldn't. She let out a defeated sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, Bonnie just made a fair point.
"I know, but I don't think I could do it right now..."
Bonnie put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, but you will gain the courage eventually, but if not now, then that's alright. Now come on, I'm starving and I want Culvers'."
Maya laughed as both girls stood up, but then was stunned to hear the sounds of people screaming from a distance.
Both girls looked at one another in awe as to what was going on. "What was that?" Bonnie asked hysterically.
"I don't know, but let's find out," said Maya as both girls ran towards the source of the screaming. They reached the nearby soccer field and found a red monster terrorizing several citizens with Karadracs.
The monster looked up and noticed the two Rangers. "Ah, you two chicas must be the Rangers I have been hearing about!" He cackled
Bonnie and Maya exchanged appreciative nods. They pulled up their right wrists and pressed the center button on their newly obtained morphing bracelets. "Karate Force!" They shrieked as their morphers lighted up, and the two aimed their fists forward. "Call into combat!" They shouted. Their morphers triggered, transforming the two into the Yellow and White Rangers.
Bonnie drew her Bear Lance and raced at Angorio, who moved to the right to avoid her piercing weapon. Before Bonnie could return her focus to the beast, she was assaulted by a squad of Kararacs, whom she proceeded to hit one by one with her lance.
Meanwhile, Angorio cackled as his Karadracs battled with the White Ranger. Suddenly, he felt something strike him from behind. Like a beam of energy that made his inside flare up for a few seconds.
He turned to see Maya from a distance, armed with her Bow Gun.
She charged at the monster. "No, tu no!" He yelled angrily before cocking his ray at Maya, which got her off guard. Before she could react, Angorio shot a long beam at her, which got her to scream. It didn't feel like any other sort of pain, but it was causing her mind to revert its cells, causing her to become more aggressive for as long as Angorio kept his beam aiming straight at her body.
She demorphed by the time Angorio had finished casting his spell on her. "Well, adios. Que tengas un buen dia!" He spoke as he and the Karadracs Bonnie were battling against all teleported away.
The White Ranger demorphed and walked over to where Maya was staring off into space, still feeling the effects of the beam!"
Bonnie rubbed her shoulder. "Maya, are you okay?"
Maya paused for a moment and then gazed into her friend's stunning green eyes, which were filled with concern. After that, she narrowed her own eyes and slapped her friend's hand away from her shoulder. "I'm fine!" she spoke coldly. "No thanks to you."
Bonnie raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "Okay...what's wrong with you?"
Maya scoffed. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Today is just not a good day for me! I'm out of here! You can walk yourself home."
"What, I need a ride!"
Maya rolled her eyes. "Don't care. See ya, loser."
Bonnie was left in a state of shock as Maya stormed out of the area. That did not sound like Maya at all. For the past two and a half months that Bonnie had known her, Maya proved to be the calmest and trustworthy person who hardly ever gave anybody a bad attitude unless they truly deserved it. What did Bonnie do to deserve the type of attitude Maya just gave her? The girl that was storming away was behaving nothing like Bonnie's friend.
She pulled up her wrist, where her communicator was located. Shortly after the twins joined the team, Ellie had made it much easier to keep the Gems away from the hands of the evil Humanitors by transforming them into bracelets, which the Rangers could use to morph, and also communicate with each other and Karate Operations.
"Ellie, come in," Bonnie spoke.
After a few seconds, her tech genius friend answered. "Yes, Bonnie."
"You saw what had just occurred through your monitor, right?" Bonnie asked, scratching the back of her neck.
Ellie sighed. "Yes, report to Karate Operations so I can discuss it with you regarding Maya."
"Right..." Bonnie spoke before using her inner Karate powers to open a portal leading towards the dojo.
To be continued...
A few things I wanted to point out. If you are a Spanish speaker and felt a little offended by this, then I deeply apologize. I have taken some Spanish courses through high school and wanted it to be as less offensive as it could be. So take this villain as a pinch of salt. He is not supposed to be some sort of Matador-type monster or a stereotypical Mexican-themed villain. He is just a regular villain who just so happens to have become a Humanitor at some point in his life. Humanitors, in my story, were all once humans before turning over to the evil side. So this monster was most likely born as a Spanish-speaking human who unfortunately and willingly turned evil. I hope you guys understand, and I hope the Spanish sentences did not sound too cringy or turn you off from the story.
If you felt a little offended by this, let me know and we can have a private message regarding this chapter.
Also, I have decided to revert the Gems into bracelets to make for much more suitable morphers, so I hope that makes the change understandable.
Thank you and I will see you guys next time.