It's Quitting Time
The Red Ranger gathered with his teammates, unaware of a certain individual watching them from afar. The monster, Speedicus, halted to a stop, his feet screeching on the patterned concrete as he observed the leader of the Power Rangers himself joining his friends in combat against him.
He laughed hilariously as he began hopping like a hyperactive youth about to go on a joyride. "You slowpokes stand no chance against me."
Donnie growled next to Max. "I've had with this guy!" He shouted out, his words matching his tone and frustration.
Max thought for a moment before an imaginary lightbulb shot up above his head. He turned around and faced Maya. "Hey, your powers are based on Earth, right?"
"Yeah," Maya was confused as to how her friend was trying to untangle the monster's wrath.
"Sensei taught you to use your senses to feel the Earth's movements. We can use that to our advantage to figure out when and where we can strike this guy!" Max then cursed under his breath in hope that his idea would work.
"Great idea!" Maya face lit up before she folded her hands. Her mental capacity was capable of linking into the Earth's rotation as the monster began sprinting around the perimeter at sonic speed.
Just then, Maya's eyes shot open underneath her dark visor. She wielded her bow gun towards her right and shot a blast. It accordingly struck Speedicus as he swung by, stopping him in his tracks and sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Hey, how did you do that?" He exclaimed as he got up to his feet. He began to kick it up a notch as he sped around the Rangers, but of course, Maya kicked her senses in and, with her intelligence on when and where the monster will appear in front of her, shot her bow gun forward. Speedicus swung by just in time for the blast to strike him and send him to the ground once again, his body beginning to emit fumes.
Speedicus growled as he got put to his feet. He shot the Rangers a hateful glance as he backed away. "You Rangers got lucky! I'm worn out, but once I get some rest, I'll turn you all into Rabbit food!" He called out before speeding off through a portal, right back to Kartae.
The Rangers demorphed and began to praise Maya for her role in driving the monster away.
"That buck-tooth freak really had it coming." Donnie laughed.
"Seriously, are we just going to ignore how big his FEET was?" DJ exclaimed hysterically as he and his friends burst into laughter.
Just then, Max jogged away, waving his friends goodbye. "I'll see you guys at school soon!"
Bonnie nodded. "Okay, see you later!" She called out as she and the other waved goodbye.
Max hurried over to where he and his father sat for lunch, and was concerned as his dad's seat was now vacant. He began to scratch his head before realizing that his father must be out looking for him.
He turned around and tried to sprint before he stumbled across a much taller figure. He was relieved to see that it was his father, but his face fell as he noticed his dad's rather stunned expression.
He chuckled nervously. "H-hey, dad..." He knew something was up.
His dad just cleared his throat before speaking up with a grin. "Um...is there something you want to tell me?"
Max gulped. This is not good...
Buckateer opened up his virtual map of the entire planet of earth. He snickered in his newly build dark cavern as he tried to pinpoint the exact point to initiate the next phase of his plan.
"I need that find where the attack the Justices of World Karate," he muttered to himself. "I just need to remember where their global headquarters are."
The Justices of World Karate have schools all over the globe, including countries such as the United States. Uni Nakamura is the headmaster of the school in America, yet he is one of the many headmasters on Earth. However, there are only one main headquarters of the entire branch of martial arts, and that is located in a specific country that Buck had finally pinpointed.
"Australia...here I come..." he snickered. Nothing would stop him, not even the Rangers.
"...so after the students were kidnapped, Maya, DJ, and I had to become the Yellow, Blue, and Red Rangers to defend the Earth. I guess that should explain why I have been disappearing constantly."
Max and his father walked down the neighborhood towards their home as Max was explaining the story of how he and his friends became Power Rangers. Thankfully, his father had the patience to listen to his son's explanation. Now it all became clear. Why he hadn't asked his father lately to drive him to his karate classes, why he made spontaneous disappearances, and why whenever there was danger, Max was nowhere to be found.
Bobby could not believe his ears. "Wow..." he spoke with a wide grin. "My little boy is a Power Ranger..the RED Power Ranger."
"Also, Donnie and Bonnie came along as they wanted to avenge their parents," Max added, his lips pursed as he grew nervous about this entire situation.
"Avenge their parents?" Bobby spoke, raising an eyebrow.
"The main villain killed them when they were young...they are the Green and White Rangers you saw out there."
"Wow, I...I am baffled. I mean, here I was telling you that you needed to be more responsible, while you are responsible for protecting the whole planet."
Max shrugged and chuckled. "Well, I am not a little kid anymore."
"No you are not, and I have to say that I am incredibly proud of you."
"Dad, listen." Max stopped walking and grabbed his father's arm, pleading with his eyes. "Please, it is not safe for you to know, so you need to keep this a secret. You can't tell anyone, not even mom. You could even put Maya's mother and DJ's father at risk if they found out about their identities...please."
Bobby smiled and ruffled his son's hair. "Your secret is safe with me."
The other Rangers were training in the dojo. The boys combat with one another with a kendo stick as Donnie tried to dominate DJ, but the Blue Ranger wasn't backing down.
"You know, this Blue robe is dry clean only. Defeat would be an incredibly bad stain." DJ smirked. He chuckled but then felt something strike his gut, hard. DJ clutched his stomach and stumbled backward to the wall.
"Oh, that stain seems permanent," Donnie smirked, which got DJ to growl in resentment. Just then, Max walked in with his red uniform as he spoke to everyone.
"Um, guys...do you mind if I speak to Sensei alone?"
Uni looked up from the book of symbols here was reading as the Rangers looked at one another confusingly before complying with their friend's request. After they, including Ellie, left the dojo, Max sat with Uni at the small table as Max took a deep breath. He has anticipated Uni's reaction to the news to not be quite pleasant, and as much as Max loathed confrontation, this was something he felt obligated to do.
"Sensei...my dad figured out my secret."
Uni's ears perked up hearing this. He narrowed his eyes and stayed silent, urging Max to continue on.
"I can explain. He just saw me from afar morphing...but he did tell me that he would keep it a secret. Listen, I'm sorry for lashing out at you earlier, but I feel like it is my duty to let you know about this."
"Max..." Uni tried to speak but was interrupted as Max began to go off with his explanations.
"I know you may be disappointed, but let me tell you, my dad is never a snitch. He always kept secrets and promises, and that is who he is."
Uni sighed as he spoke up. "He is a liability, Max."
Max's eyes widened as this, but he fired back with a stern remark. "I know he is, but you need to trust him as I do!"
"I understand what you are trying to say, but Po and his enemies will use his knowledge to their advantage."
"HOW?!" Max's temper was growing short. He then realized his tone and took a deep breath. There would be no way Po could use Max's father's knowledge, especially since if he wouldn't dare come near Max's house, then there wouldn't be any matter if Max's father were to know about Max's double life as the Red Power Ranger. He glared at Uni. "What can you do about this, then?"
Uni spoke nonchalantly. "According to the Rangers Scroll, if one happens to have their identity to be revealed to anybody, they must be exiled to the Sensei's place of living until the job is done."
"WHAT?!" Max screeched, his face was becoming an unbelievable shade of red, almost matching his hair. His teacher had the nerve to recommend that Max never see his parents again all because of a certain mistake that may not result disastrously if handled properly.
"Max, you do not use that tone-"
"Oh, screw this!" Max interrupted. Uni was stunned at Max's rebellious attitude and was having none of it, but Max was quite dominant in this exchange as he began to scold his own Karate teacher. "You are not my parent! You can't take me away from my parents like you are Child Protective Services, old man!"
"Yell at me all you want, but at least I have the decency to be more responsible." Uni instantly knew the power of his own words was much greater than the power of his physical techniques as soon as he watched Max's hard expression dissolve to that of pure disappointment and acceptance.
That comment did it. "Responsible?" Max laughed out loud sarcastically. "Well, guess what? If being a Ranger means I may never see my parents again, then I have no interest in working for you." He was so in a rage, that he didn't even know Maya and DJ had returned briefly and were listening to the conversation eerily from a distance. Max roughly took off his Morpher from his wrist and set it on the table before finally barking out the two words that were not even anticipated before this conversation had begun, and were as cold as the glaciers within the Arctic Circle. "I QUIT!"
Both DJ and Maya gasp in shock. Max didn't seem to care that his friends were here. He just stormed off and brushed past them, giving both of them a stern glare of pure annoyance, before exiting through a shimmering portal, with no tail between his legs, leaving the martial arts instructor stunned.
DJ and Maya had hard expressions written on their faces as they looked crossly at Uni. They both gave him disapproving head shakes before they followed Max out.
Uni's gaze fell as he looked down at the table. Granted, he knew that having the fate of the entire world on a person's shoulder could have an impact on their mentality, whether severe or minor. Although becoming a Power Ranger meant making sacrifices, it was never Uni's intention to deprive any of his students of life experiences such as school, family, and working on future goals and dreams. However, despite his knowledge of the Rangers still adjusting their lives with their duties as Power Rangers, he never wants their families to get in Po's ruthless path of world domination.
He just wished Max would have a complete understanding of this crucial situation. Nonetheless, no other person in this world, besides Po's family, knows more about the Lord of the Humanitors himself than Uni Nakamura.
To be continued...