I do not own Power Rangers. Just the season and its premise. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Mental Games Part One

DJ was back to his 5-year-old self. His father had come home from work one day to find DJ tired, filthy, and hungry. His mother was nowhere in sight, so his father took it upon himself to get DJ fed and cleaned up.

He picked DJ up and walked into the bathroom to give the boy a nice warm bath. Once the bathtub was filled, his father noticed something on his son's upper back as he had DJ take his shirt off.

"Son, what is this?" His father asked in shock.

Crap. DJ thought. His father noticed the bruise that started to look blue.

"Who did this to you?" His father demanded.

DJ felt his lip tremble as tears formed in his eyes. "M-Mommy..." he whispered.

He regretted ratting his mother out. Because all that resulted was his father feeling terrible for not realizing the abuse DJ was going through. Later that night, when his mother came home, DJ's father had packed her bags and out the door.

Then there was custody court...his mother didn't even show up.

Then DJ's dream reverted to probably 3 years before his mother was kicked out of the house. He didn't know why, but he imagined himself being held by his mother, nurtured by his mother, before everything faded to black...then it reverted to his mother, with bloodshot eyes with bags underneath, whipping him with one of her husband's belts.

DJ woke up with a start. His entire face was dripping with sweat as he was hyperventilating. He was back home, on his makeshift water bed his dad bought him for his 15th birthday. The blue nightshirt was drenched in sweat, so he took it off, throwing it across the room into the laundry basket.

He cursed himself for not being able to understand why these nightmares of his mother were coming back. She had been deceased for more than 10 years. How come DJ is still affected?

He sometimes wondered how differently his life would have turned out if his mother resembled more of Max's mother or even Maya's mother. The former was very strict with her son, but still had good intentions, and would never hurt Max in any way. Heck, Mrs. Cruz even made a killer souffle once when DJ came over. The latter, Ms. Garcia, was beyond the realms of smothering and kind. Not to mention that she was a strong woman, who grappled with the loss of her husband and managed to sustain a good life for Maya and her younger brother.

DJ thought he would get used to being without a mother, but every time he would find a woman smooching her son with kisses, or see any of his friends with their mothers or a female figure like the twins' aunt, he would be reminded that a particular woman died never caring for him.

He groaned as he collapsed on the bed, trying to fall back to sleep, ignoring the pain that still radiated in his chest.

The Crystal of Nightmares was an old, mystic artifact that had once been buried in the deep trenches of Kartae. That was before Po's sister Skyler discovered it a few years back. Once, Po sent a monster to use the crystal against the rangers, igniting nightmares from DJ's past. Now, DJ's twisted ninja counterpart, Dejahnay, wearing her light blue blouse and purple heels, examined the crystal in her hands.

"DJ wishes he had a mommy," she mocked with a sarcastic pout. "Perhaps he'll have a helluva time remembering her from his dark past."

"I do not understand your intentions," Maxine muttered, walking closer toward her comrade. She was still wearing her red blouse as she crossed her arms.

Dejahnay looked up at her teammate. "We are mentally fit to fight off those pests, but perhaps we should make it easy for us by eradicating their mental health."

"Then use the crystal on all of them. I would prefer you start with the Red Ranger first."

"Not a chance. Po left me in charge of this objective, and I say we start with the blue boy."

Maxine rolled her eyes before speaking up. "You better hope this works. Po does not have any patience for failures."

"Oh, it will, my dear friend. It will..." Dejahnay replied, snickering evilly.

Maya was waitressing at her family's juice bar/youth center, handing over the drinks to a couple at the far corner of the dining area, next to the gym. At the far right corner of the gym, she saw Max going crazy on a punching bag. His red tank top was drenched in sweat, and so was his hair.

She handed the sideboard over to a coworker before walking over to Max. "A penny of your thoughts?" She spoke, crossing her arms.

Max let out a frustrated grunt and he looked at her. "I just...can't stop thinking of those ninja brats we faced the other day."

Maya sighed, shaking her head. "Do you believe those ninjas are under mind control?"

"What do you mean?" Max asked, his arm leaning against the punching bag.

"The way they joked about kicking out butts, and how they were extremely egotistic about their skills...those do not scream mindless minions if you ask me."

Max scratched his chin. "If you are saying these three joined Po WILLINGLY, then that would be stating the obvious. Po raised them for years, and only NOW sent them after us as a last resort, probably."

"Wait, why now? You don't think Po is planning something big."

"That is what I am wondering. It seems very fishy that after countless monsters, destroying one of Po's relatives, and unlocking the Sacred Box, Po would figure it would be convenient to send three humans after us."

Maya smirked. "I wouldn't worry too much. We all thought Buck had us beat, and look where that got him."

The two laughed. "Good point, my friend," Max stated. Just then, their communicators vibrated on their wrists. They looked around before walking over to the corner near the bathroom, far away from any other patron at the center. "Yes, Ellie?" Max spoke to his wrist.

"Dejahnay is at the culdesac near DJ's neighborhood. Get there quick!"

"Right," Max looked up at Maya. "Let's leave and morph."

Maya nodded, taking her yellow apron off as she and Max darted toward the exit.

"Lo siento, mamá! DJ necesita ayuda!" Maya called out to her mother in Spanish, throwing the apron for her to catch. Her mother was confused but failed to say anything as Maya and Max burst through the exit.

After having washed his face and getting up in the morning, DJ decided that going for a drive would help clear his mind. He was glad his father had the day off and was sleeping in, so now DJ felt secure enough to take his dad's prized SUV out for a ride.

After putting on a blue T-shirt and jeans, DJ slipped his shoes on, grabbed his dad's car keys, and went outside, hopping in his dad's car.

He was finally able to breathe. It was a harsh winter, but it felt like spring was coming early, despite March having just started. He breathed easily as he drove into the city, going through a drive-thru of a Starbucks to get his favorite cappuccino. He was finally relaxed.

He then felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He kept one hand on the wheel as he used the other to fish his phone out, answering it as he pressed the 'speaker' button. "Yes?"

Heavy breathing came from the other line. More like a lady slowly breathing in, and slowly breathing out.

DJ narrowed his eyebrows. "Who is this?"

The girl on the other line giggled. "Hello, Blue Ranger."

DJ's blood went cold from hearing that girl's voice. It was scratchy, but he knew where he heard that voice from before. It was none other than her.

"Why so silent? Cat got your tongue?" Dejahnay joked.

DJ gulped. "What do you need right now?"

"Oh nothing, just wanted chat. I know you may think I am a little insane."

"That's an understatement. Your team name has the word "twisted" in it, correct me if I am wrong."

Dejahnay chuckled, which got DJ's spine to quiver. "Let's just chat," she squealed. "We can talk about high school, and what life is like on Earth."

DJ scoffed. "We can discuss it after we take you, that red-headed witch, and that bug-eyed boy down."

"Temper, temper, haven't your daddy ever taught you any manners?"

"You wouldn't know manners if it bit you in your blue-covered behind. Have a nice day."

"You hang up on me, you will be destroyed, just like your mother." The girl hissed.

DJ jerked the car to a stop, and his breathing nearly stopped. His eyes were wide from the shock, and his jaw dropped, his chin nearly touching his throat.

"Do you want to die, DJ? Your mother sure didn't."

DJ was silent, biting his lip, fighting the urge to scream at this sick and evil girl.

"Doesn't it hurt you? Knowing that your father nearly lost the house because his ill-gotten ex-wife abandoned you guys when you needed her the most. Does it bother you that she and your father most likely had a WONDERFUL marriage...then you came along? And you had the GALL, the absolute GALL, to spend several years of your youth pointing the blame at your father, when you inadvertently caused your mother's death...by simply being born." Dejahnay accused, trying her best to dig deep into DJ's emotions. The crystal did most of the dirty work for her, she might as well have some fun pushing the Blue Ranger over the edge. This was her plan to destroy the Power Rangers, as she knew they could never move forward and fight if their psyche were to be decimated. That was her specialty.

"Well, I must be off now, we got a lot to handle later. Bye!" Dejahnay let out a loud cackle before hanging up, leaving DJ sitting in the car, stunned and speechless.

He didn't know what to think. His whole body felt like a dam that was about to be busted open. He heard whispers in his ears, and his brain vibrated mildly. He was losing it, and it was clear Dejahnay's plan was working.

With his arm shaking, DJ turned the steering wheel to park by the curb. Once he did so, he turned the car off before slowly getting out of the vehicle. He leaned against the door as he slid down to the ground. He could stop the flood of memories of how his mother treated him, and how many different scenarios that would have occurred if she were to change.

But DJ never came to terms with the idea that perhaps it wasn't his mother or his father.

Perhaps it was just him.

DJ began to hyperventilate. No, he wasn't at fault, right? No, his dad loves him. His friends love him. Heck, his friends' PARENTS love him. No, there couldn't be a scenario where everyone's lives are happy and chirpy if he wasn't around.

DJ tried to get a hold of himself. But the more attempts he made just more it seemed like he was getting closer and closer to snapping.

Just then, he felt two shadows hovering over him. He looked up and saw both Maya and Max standing over him, both looking extremely worried about him. "DJ, are you okay?" Max asked with concern, kneeling to face his friend eye-to-eye.

Max looked into DJ's paranoid eyes and immediately became scared for the mental state of his friend. He stood up, tugging DJ's arm to get the Blue Ranger up. "Come on," he beckoned, but DJ wasn't budging. Instead, he let out a grunt, before pushing Max away, roughly.

"GO AWAY!" He screamed. Maya caught Max and the two watched as DJ continued to breathe again, digging his nails into his forehead, before turning and entering his father's car, slamming the door shut. He started the car and in a flash, sped away.

Maya and Max stared at the SUV as it traveled down the road. They then glanced over at one another as Max sighed. He wasn't stupid. He knew the kind of person DJ was. It didn't take much effort to break someone like him. However, whatever caused DJ to snap the way he just did must attacked him not physically, but psychologically.

They needed to speak with Sensei, and quickly.

"She's on a roll!" Maxine hollered ecstatically toward her master, commenting on Dejahnay's actions.

Po chuckled as he sat criss-crossed on his throne. "Indeed, she is. I must say, I wish I should have thought of this when I first embarked on the journey toward world domination."

Maxine took a bow as she spoke. "Trust me, Po, the entire Earth shall be within your grasp."

"I hope you are right, now if you will excuse me, I shall be alone."

Maxine stood up straight. "Yes, Master." She then turned and started to walk away. Marco then appeared, causing Maxine to stop as she examined the expression on her teammate's face.

"What's up with you?" She asked incredulously.

Marco turned his gaze toward her and spoke. "I realized something about that Yellow Ranger."

"What is it?"

"I...I do not know, but I feel like she is in somewhat of a relation to me."

Maxine blinked before laughing out loud. "Are you serious?" She exclaimed. "What nonsense are you speaking of?"

Marco's glare intensified as he spat out. "Listen, I do not know where my parents are, but what I do know is that my father was promiscuous, I was brought into this world by an unfaithful man and his lover."

Maxine frowned as she looked deep into Marco's eyes. "You don't think..."

"I just need to do some investigation to be sure," Marco said abruptly before bolting off, leaving a confused Maxine behind.

To be continued...