Kicking it to the Max Part Two

DJ joined Maya in her kitchen, helping her and her mother prepare a signature dish for Max's birthday. DJ was appalled when Maya's mother forced him to wear a pink apron when he wanted to cook. Maya looked amused as she pulled the eggs from the fridge and walked past DJ, mixing the ingredients in a bowl.

"You look nice," she teased with a smirk, laying the eggs next to the bowl.

DJ looked crossly at her. "At least I look better than you were this past Halloween." He replied, cracking the eggs into the bowl.

Maya slapped his shoulder. "At least my costume was better than yours. Seriously, you couldn't be more creative than putting a white cloth over your body."

"I was a ghost, how else would I have done it?"

"Good point," she chuckled. As the batter was done, Maya's mother bolted into the kitchen, looking distraught.

Maya looked over at her with concern. "Mamá, ¿qué pasa? ¿Por qué entras en pánico?" She asked, walking over to hold her mother's arms, trying to calm her down.

Adana, her mother, shook her head. "¿La madre de Max ha sido secuestrada en su trabajo?"

"¡¿QUÉ?!" Maya screeched.

DJ was stunned, standing between the two. "Wait, what did your mother just say?"

"Mrs. Cruz has been kidnapped at her job?" Maya translated what her mother just said.

DJ gasped. "Oh my god, are you serious? Mrs. Garcia, where did you hear this from?"

"Her husband," the woman answered, shaking her head. "I cannot believe this. Oh, Dios mio, I cannot believe this could happen to Mary."

"Oh my god, I gotta call Max!" DJ said, pulling out his phone. Just then, it suddenly rang with Ellie's caller ID on the screen as 'cutie geek'.

Maya tried to take a glance at DJ's phone. "Who is calling you?"

DJ hid his phone's screen from the girl, blushing. "Nothing, just Ellie?" He said embarrassingly before answering the call. "Yes?"

Maya couldn't hear what Ellie was saying on the other line, but she soon got a hint once DJ's face turned grave.

"A-Are you sure they are behind this?" DJ asked, still bewildered by what Ellie had just told him. "Okay, thanks." He hung up and turned to Maya. "We got to go!"

"Wait, where are you going?" Adana asked.

DJ needed to devise another lie to get Maya's mother off their tail. He scratched his head in a mild panic before a lightbulb came over his head. "The police want to question us since we know Max's mother so well."

"I do not understand."

Maya started to catch up with what DJ was trying to do. "It's classified, Mama! We will be back soon." Maya then quickly kissed her mother's cheek before bolting out of the house with DJ, grabbing her keys.

Adana watched as DJ went off with her daughter and shrugged her shoulders. She always suspected her daughter to be up to something, but it never got to the point where the woman would be concerned that Maya would ever deceive her.

If only she knew a particular boy who was spying on her from under the windowsill of the kitchen's window.

"Adana Garcia," the boy whispered. "It is true...I knew it."

Bobby parked his new SUV across the street from city hall and saw something he wished he would never see in his lifetime. A dozen police cruisers surrounded the building, crime-scene tape encompassing the perimeter, and a crowd of frantic reporters and curious citizens gathered around the place, which was occupied by police officers and detectives. All the city council members and staff were surrounded and protected by the officials from the reporters desperate for any insight into what had occurred.

As Bobby got out of his vehicle and approached the scene, one of the officers, who had worked with him in the past, approached the sheriff.

"Please tell me this is some sort of joke, Cletus," Bobby begged, his eyes contorted in fear.

His blond-haired colleague shook his head. "It's true, Bob...your wife has been kidnapped."

One of the detectives, Detective James Parker, approached the two, looking into Bobby's eyes. "Bobby, I'm so sorry about this..." the elderly man said apologetically.

"Who did this, Parker? Who kidnapped my wife?" Bobby almost hollered in the detective's face.

The detective shook his head helplessly. "There is nothing I can tell you. There is no surveillance, no fingerprints, no trace. It's like she vanished."

"Then how do you know she was kidnapped?"

"Because the only piece of evidence that we have is this clean note." He handed and crumbled-up piece of paper to the sheriff. Bobby took it and read the contents. He was appalled at what was written. Before anyone could say anything, a voice rang from behind the officers.

"Hey!" Everyone at the scene turned and noticed the Power Rangers were standing on top of a commercial building. The Red, Blue, and Yellow Rangers all leaped, before landing in one piece. The reporters and the citizens all gasped at the famous modern heroes, unable to fathom their presence. However, they were all smart enough not to cause too much of a frenzy, as they didn't know much about the Rangers' backgrounds. As in, they have no idea that the Rangers were humans from Earth.

"What are they doing here?" Parker barked. "This is no need for any vigilantism!"

The Blue Ranger growled at the detective, causing Parker to jump a bit. The officers were behind the detective, all of them shooting death glares at the Blue Ranger. DJ stepped back as the Red Ranger approached the sheriff.

Bobby reached over and held his son's shoulders, desperately trying to stop the tears from escaping his own eyes. Max's breath hitched. He tried desperately not to believe what he heard from the news just posted minutes before he made it to the building. His mother had been kidnapped.

"Who took her?" Max hissed.

Bobby didn't say anything. Knowing his son's alternate identity, he handed the aforementioned note to Max.

Parker stepped forward and yelled. "Hey, you cannot give them that! That's crucial evidence, and they are vigilantes!"

DJ was becoming very annoyed by the older man. The entire crowd was stunned when the Blue Ranger grabbed the man by the collar and lifted him high above the ground. Before anything could be done, the Yellow Ranger stepped in, putting a hand on the irritated boy's shoulder.

"Put him down. He's not worth it." She ushered her teammate. The Blue Ranger grumbled as he set the penguin-sized man down. Parker was daunted by the blue-colored hero's power, but he tried his best to hide it. DJ decided to have a little bit of fun and stomped forward, startling the detective enough for him to scowl behind Bobby.

Max rolled his eyes as he examined the note his father had given him.

It read:

Hello to those this letter is aiming to address,

Maxine is the name. And whom I have with me is someone that a particular person holds dear.

I would hate for this darling lady to succumb to my wrath because someone decided to pull a fast one on me. Oh no, that would be terrible.

I hope to see you there.

His hands were shaking. Bobby could see his son's raging blue eyes through the Red Ranger's triangular visor. Both the Yellow and Blue Rangers took a glance at the note and gasped, horrified at the idea that Maxine and Marco were both behind this.

The Red Ranger looked up at his father and whispered. "Go home."

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"This is a family emergency. Your wife is in danger, and chances are that you may be next. I need you to head home, sir." Max stated, trying to make it seem as if he had no relation to the officer at all, just their conversation and figuring out that Bobby's son was him. However, his voice was trembling, as well as his lip that was underneath his helmet.

Bobby realized this and nodded. "Okay, yes Red Ranger, sir." He then turned and announced. "Everyone who is not an official should leave immediately!"

All the bystanders complied and scurried away, hopping into their vehicles and driving off. Parker stood just a foot from Bobby and glared at him.

"If I find out you are working with these pests, then it's your butt I will be hunting down, Cruz," he growled before turning and walking off into the herd of police officers that are bickering over the situation.

Bobby turned, only to find the Rangers had disappeared.

Mary moaned as she slowly awoke. An awful smell violated her nostrils and she was desperate to escape it. She tried to move her neck, but she was met with a metallic force that held her in place. Her eyes shot open as she realized where she was. She was pinned on her back, with her neck being chained to the ground. She suddenly began to panic, gripping the chain, desperately trying to pry it off of her neck.

She looked around and realized she was in a large transparent glass vat. Wherever she was, it was lit by bright blue fluorescent lights that illuminated the entire scene.

"Hello?!" She screamed, shaking violently. "Somebody help me!"

She turned her head to the right and noticed through the glass a daunting figure. A figure wearing a red outfit that resembled that of a ninja just stood motionless, staring at her with piercing eyes.

Mary gulped as she stared at the Red Ninja in pure horror. The Red Ninja merely walked over to the vat, pressing her forehead on the glass barrier. "Hello there, I want to play a game."

"What game?" Mary barked. "Who are you?! Why am I here?!"

"We cannot start the game until all the contestants are here, can we?" The Red Ninja squealed in delight before walking off, but not before flicking off the lights on her way out.

Mary screamed in the dark in pure angst, gripping the chain around her neck and moving her legs wildly. "HELP ME! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" She cried. Her voice echoed around the vat. No one could hear her.

All she could think about at that moment was her family. It was her son's birthday, and now she had to grapple with the terrifying possibility that she may never witness any more birthdays if something were to happen to her.

Uni had just gotten done with his afternoon meditation session when he heard a commotion going on in his home. He entered only to find his daughter in a state of panic and shock. After Ellie had shown her father what she had just learned from various news sources regarding the situation involving Max's mother, they wasted no time contacting the other Rangers, only to find out they had become aware of what had occurred to the Red Ranger's mom.

They were all in Karate Operations, with Ellie using her computer, laptop, tablet, and other electronic devices to hack into every single surveillance system in the city to track down Mrs. Cruz.

The Rangers were still in their suits but had their helmets detached. Max sat at the tiny chabudai table, his hands in his face as he was breathing in and out. Maya was rubbing his back, continuously beckoning him to continue breathing. DJ was pacing around the place, looking furious, gripping his helmet tightly. They knew exactly who was behind this, all they needed to figure out was where the culprit was holding the hostage.

Uni glanced at the three with a sympathetic look on his face before turning to his daughter. "Anything at all?" He beckoned.

Ellie continued to switch from one gadget to another. Each screen showed surveillance footage of a random establishment that was near the scene of the crime at the estimated time that it had taken place. Occasionally, Ellie would flick from one establishment to another, but so far, there was nothing.

Meanwhile, Max continued to huff and puff as he tried to contain his emotions. "T-that bitch...that no-good, rotten bitch." He muttered.

DJ came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man, this is just a sick game they are playing. They do not even want anything to do with your mother. They're just using her as bait!"

"Right!" Maya added. "We just need to brainstorm so we can outsmart them and save your mother."

Max gaze remained face down, not even looking up at Maya.

Suddenly, Ellie shouted out. "EUREKA!" Catching everyone's attention. The Rangers stampeded toward her, narrowly stopping when they were just behind Ellie's chair.

"What?!" Max asked hurriedly. "Did you find my mother?"

"Karadracs are guarding the abandoned warehouse 30 minutes north of downtown."

"Wait, isn't that in the middle of nowhere?" DJ asked.

"That doesn't tell us anything!" Max exclaimed, his face turning red from anger and frustration.

"Well, they aren't attacking anyone. They are just guarding the facility. That should raise questions as to WHY they are guarding the place." Ellie said.

Maya scratched her chin. "You do make a point. That is our only lead for the time being. It's worth checking out."

Max shook his head helplessly. "Fine...let's get back to action."

Karadracs were all pacing in different directions from around the warehouse that sat on the dusty, seedy street. A ghostly breeze brewed about, sending Maxine, who stood above them on the balcony of the second floor, into a tremoring realm of excitement.

"They should be here any moment now," she said, giggling. "Oh, I just get the warm fuzzies just thinking of the huge bash we are going to have."

Just then, they noticed from a far distance three different beings hurdling toward them. Maxine giggled as she realized who those three were. She snapped her fingers, igniting a smoke bomb in front of her, reverting her into her suit.

"Keep them busy!" She called out to the foot soldiers below.

The Rangers pulled out their blades from the scabbards on their backs as they charged at the foot soldiers. There were plenty of them, but it wouldn't be much of a problem for the three, especially Max, who was now in a blind state of rage. He torpedoed through the crowd of Karadracs, slashing his blade any chance he had. The birthday boy was now seeing red. He was going to tear Maxine to bits, even if it would be the last thing he would do.

To be continued...