Warning: there will be swearing, which is quite new for this story.

Sins of the Father Part Two

The police were examining the incident involving the young child who was smothered and placed up as a statue in the church parking lot. After discovering the horrible scene, the detective began questioning the Power Rangers, particularly after the Yellow Ranger's temporary illness.

As the cops scattered, The Red Ranger was able to pull his father away in an aisle behind a dumpster that was obscured by the view of anyone looking inside.

Max pulled his helmet off and asked. "Any information on that boy?"

Bobby shakes his head. "I can't give any information to you, son...that would be a legal implication."

Max's face was scowling. "Dad..."

Bobby gazed into his son's eyes. They were very stern. He sighed. "The boy's name is Roberto Menendez. He lived alone with his mother in Arlington Gardens, a housing project on the city's north side."

"Roberto Menendez," Max questioned before his gaze fell slightly. "Does his mother know what had happened?"

Bobby nodded, saddened by the entire situation. "Yes...she does."

Max rubbed his helmet helplessly before turning his head over toward the team. Bonnie and DJ were trying to console a distraught Maya, who was leaning her head against the brick wall of the church, gasping with shock. The Green Ranger walked over to Max.

"We got to go and give this info to Ellie," Donnie said. It was clear that whoever had murdered that boy wouldn't stop right then and there. Considering the HDR went off, this was a small sample of what would come.

Max nodded his head before turning to his father. "I'll take care of this, Dad...just try to keep the officers off our tails, we do not need any non-powered individuals to get hurt if you know what I mean." Max winked. His father smirked and nodded before walking off to his crew.

"Yes, yes, YES!" Po chanted as he and his siblings. The dark and eerie landscape of karate started to light up, turning from gloomy and dark to light with sun rays. "It's working.

Chasm began jumping up and down excitedly like a toddler. "This is so exciting."

Sky nodded her head. "Indeed, it seems as if Marco's plan is the tipping point of the Earth's fate. Victory is within our grasp!"

Po sneered. "Now let's sit back and enjoy the show."

The rangers demorphed and teleported into the dojo via a portal. Ellie had looked up the name 'Roberto Menendez' and presented the information as she stood in front of the 5 teens, who sat at the table.

"Roberto Menendez lived in the roughest part of the city for years. He was a student at Theodore Roosevelt Academy," she shook her head in anguish. "He was so young and already had a rough life. He didn't deserve to go out like that.

"Poor guy," Bonnie said with a pout.

"But what doesn't make sense was the fact that there was Humanoitorian essence and a disturbance."

"I reviewed the footage that I obtained from the gas station Roberto was vandalizing...it's Marco," Ellie said.

That comment rocked the rangers to their core. Maya felt her gut tighten, knowing it wasn't a coincidence. Roberto's body was in military garment...and Maya's father served in the military. Just like how Dejahnay encrypted information of DJ's past, and how Maxine managed to learn more about Max's parents to easily abduct and subdue them...Marco may have used some supernational capability to figure out Maya's grief from losing her father and was willing to murder innocent people in order to get under Maya's skin.

Uni approached Ellie and spoke. "Is there anything else that should be taken into account," he asked,d giving Ellie a knowing look, urging her to esplan to the Ranger what she had discovered about Po's true plans.

"Well, you see-" Ellie was interrupted when the HDR alarm went off. She groaned. "Oh for the love of God!" She exclaimed before walking to her monitor. "The disturbance is coming from outside the city."

The Rangers had rushed over to 4321 Winslow Bay, which was just outside of their county. It was in a quiet, suburban neighborhood. The sun had set, and the dark sky hovered over the teens as they parked behind one another, with Maya parking her car behind Max's cruiser. Bonnie and Donnie were in their sedan across the street, keeping focused on the small, flat yellow house.

Bonnie focused on the house with her binoculars. "Where is he?" She cursed.

Donnie looked up from his phone. "Perhaps it was a false alarm."

"But we have been here for 30 minutes, and there is still nothing. The distress signal came from that house from there, but nothing."

Just then, Bonnie's phone rang. She answered. "Yes, Maya?"

"I see someone through a bedroom window...looks like some kid between 13 and 15 years of age. Brown skin, long dreads."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, looking over across the street at Maya's car. "What do you mean brown skin? Do you see some sort of connection with that boy you just described and the victim from earlier?"

Maya scratched his chin. "Yeah...but-" Just then, an incoming transmission interrupted the girls' call. "Hold on, Bonnie, someone is trying to get through."

Maya disconnected from Bonnie before looking at the caller ID of the person who was trying to reach her. She raised an eyebrow questionably at the 'no caller ID' label. She just shrugged it off before answering.

"Hello?"

"Helllllo, Maya." A menacing voice greeted playfully.

Maya's eyes widened as her breathing was put to a halt. Her blood went cold at the person's voice.

"Hmmm, I never pictured you to be the silent one. Aren't you the fearless, outspoken leader everyone in your community dons over?"

Maya gulped, trying to get her blood pressure under control. "What are you doing, Marco?"

"Just enjoying the atmosphere in this cesspool you call home. Something about this atmosphere, however, feels very close to home."

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts. We have trampled over both Dejahnay and Maxine, it's only a matter of time before you join them in defeat."

"Fair enough, but before my story ends, I wanted to explore your story...or should I say our story," Marco chuckled.

Maya raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Sergeant Diego Garcia, born in Puebla City, Mexico. Member of the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company of the United States Marine Corps...does that sound familiar?"

Maya's eyes widened as her expression turned fierce. "Why is my father's name in your MOUTH?!" She roared.

"Like I said, this is OUR story...you'll find out soon enough."

The line went dead. Maya stared aimlessly as she slowly slid the phone off her ear. What did he mean by 'our story'?

Maya was snapped out of her stupor as she looked into her rearview mirror and noticed a swarm of Karadracs lurking their way toward the Rangers. "Oh for the love of..." she exclaimed before hopping out of her car. All the rangers hopped out of their vehicles as they morphed.

"Call into Combat!" With that, each ranger used their signature weapons to battle their school of foot soldiers.

"Don't these freaks get enough," DJ wondered, slashing away at each Karadrac that tried to strike him.

"Tell me about it," Bonnie replied, ramming her staff against the abdomen of one Karadracs. "It's like they can't get the hint!"

The Yellow Ranger continued to ruthlessly fire at each Karadrac she saw with her bow gun. Her frustrations were starting to build up, and she facilitated her fighting using her built-up rage.

Within a few minutes, the rangers managed to strike down everything, and they all evaporated into the air. The 5 teens surveyed their surroundings, regrouping in the middle of the street.

"What was that about?" DJ asked.

Max shook his head. "I don't know, but let's just continue surveying this street before-"

Just then, their communicators pinged. The Red Ranger groaned as he put to finger on his ear to answer. "Yes, Ellie?"

"Those Karadracs triggered the HDR. I just received another distress signal from where you guys are."

The White Ranger tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, but if we just eliminated the original threats then..."

It just hit Maya like a bullet. "This was a diversion!" She exclaimed in horror.

Just then, a scream came from the same house they were spying on. The Yellow Ranger sped past her friends and burst into the house, rushing up the stairs to come to the resident's rescue.

Once she made it up the stairs, she halted to a stop. Maya walked carefully into the open bedroom that was to her right. She took a deep breath before peeking her head inside.

What she saw made her nearly throw up.

A young girl was suffocated and hung up like a doll against the wall. Her eyes were shot with red streaks that looked more graphic than the previous victim's, and her hair was all frizzled out.

Maya looked away, sliding down against the doorframe as the entire situation was too much for her to swallow, even for a Power Ranger.

Just then, a ringing of a cell phone was heard. The Yellow Ranger looked up and noticed the ringing coming up what was presumed to be the deceased girl's cell phone that was on the dresser next to her body. Maya picked herself up and fiercely rushed over to the dresser, picking up and then answering the phone.

"What?"

"Preview of upcoming events," Marco hissed from the other end.

"Well, why don't you come for me? You got the balls for that?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk...typical Maya. Always wanted to be the hero and the star."

"This isn't a reality TV show?"

"No, but it certainly is a story, as I mentioned before...our story."

"You think you're funny, fuckface?" Maya cursed.

"I have one question for you, Maya. What's so great about being a hero when you get to witness the demise of numerous people, especially those that are close to you."

The Yellow Ranger paused for a moment to speak. "What do you mean?"

Marco chuckled. "The ones you care about the most? Something closer than friends...a blood bondage."

"Don't...don't you fucking dare."

"You can't save them...all you can do is watch," Marco instructed.

"Listen to me, you sick bastard, if you come near my family, I will-"

"You don't tell me what you are going to do, bitch!" Marco hissed. "You hear me, I am the author of this story, but do not worry, I'll make sure you'll stick around...at least until the final chapter." Marco cackled before the line went dead.

Maya's hand was shaking as she slowly set it down. She was about to crumble down, but she couldn't. Marco was aiming toward something both he and Maya share, and she was willing to combat it if it were to mean her family was to be safe.

"Maya!" Max's voice rang as he and the others rushed up the stairs. But before they could get to the top, Maya ran past them, pushing Max and Bonnie who were standing in her way.

"Maya?" Max followed and the others followed her and watched as she went down the steps. They wondered what was up, so they traveled to the top of the staircase and into the open room. The four were horrified at the sight of the deceased victim.

"Oh man," Donnie groaned before looking away in disgust and horror.

Max shook his head as he rushed down the stairs. The others followed him as they made it outside. They witnessed Maya demorphing before she hopped into her car, driving up at an alarming speed.

The four other rangers took their helmets off as they stood on the road, watching as Maya's car disappeared into the street. "Where is she going?" Bonnie asked with concern, looking over at Max.

Max rubbed his head in frustration and fear. The person he saw running off was not Maya. The person he just saw drove off was not acting like his best friend. He knew there were a few things that would send Maya into a state where she would shut everyone else out, and he knew any one of those things would result in Maya losing herself. He couldn't afford that. He couldn't afford to lose one of the few people outside of his family that he held dear to his heart.

"Bonnie, you and your brother head home for the night, I believe you guys have seen enough for the day," Max said sappily. He then looked over at DJ. "Tomorrow, we're going to pay Maya a visit."

DJ nodded his head as the four rangers demorphed. They all hopped into their car and drove off. They knew the police would discover the body in the house, so they would need to leave the town and return home quickly enough before any familiar faces would spot them.

Maya sped into her town, just barely over the speed limit. Her family's safety was on her mind, and knowing how psychotic the ninjas had proved themselves to be, as well as the deceased youth that had been discovered over the past 24 hours, Maya was not brushing Marco off as if he was joking. No one should joke around when it came to her family, nor would they dare threaten her family.

The sun was setting as she finally made it to the neighborhood.. Driving just over the curb, she shut her car off before hopping out and sprinting into her house. She speared through the door.

"Mama! Pablo!" She called out in distress. "Mama!"

She rushed into the kitchen, only to find her mother pulling a tray of enchiladas out of the oven and setting it on the stove. Adana turned her attention to her frantic daughter and frowned worriedly. She quickly pulled her oven mitts off as her daughter approached her.

"Mamá, ¿estás bien? ¿Estás bien? ¿Estás herido? ¿Estás bien?" She rambled, holding onto her mother's arms.

"¡Maya, nena, cálmate!" Her mother beckoned. "What's going on?"

"Oh my god, Mom! I just had this strange feeling that something happened! I...I..." Maya stuttered, not being able to formulate the correct words to describe how she felt without compromising her status as a Power Ranger. "It...it was just my instincts," she said, rubbing her forehead as she got her breathing under control.

Adana raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Okay, Mija, why don't you get some sleep? You looked very flustered and exhausted." She requested, rubbing her daughter's shoulder soothingly.

Maya looked at her mother's eyes and sighed. "Okay, Mama."

Her mother smiled before giving Maya a quick kiss on the cheek. Maya turned and was just about to make her way out of the kitchen, but as she made it to the doorframe, something crept into her mind that she thought she needed to bring up.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Nena?"

Maya turned, leaning her against the frame. "What was Papi like when he was younger?"

Her mother blinked, trying to process Maya's question, but then a smile crept onto Adana's face. "Oh, let me tell you something, Maya, he was a charmer! A BIG charmer. All the girls in the community. I was surprised out of all the women he could have ended up with, he chose me. He had a girlfriend at the time and intended to marry her, but he broke up with her just to be with me."

Maya's eyes widened, stunned by what her mother just told her, before a small smirk crept on her face. "I'm not surprised, Mama...you're wonderful."

Her mother blushed and grinned. "Aw, thank you, darling," her mother held her arms out, motioning Maya to walk over and embrace her. Adana gave her a loud kiss on the forehead before pulling away. "Now go get some rest."

Maya nodded her head and smiled. "Okay, Mama. Te amo." She said before making her way toward the staircase.

"Te amo, Mija."

"Max, these ninjas are really starting to get to me, man," DJ said as Max was driving into town.

Max sighed. "I hear you...what Maxine did to me and my parents was unfathomable, but whoever is doing these murders is taking the cake...I'm just so tired, man."

DJ rubbed his forehead with one of his knuckles as he spoke. "You don't think Marco is behind this right?"

"Considering how badly Maya is taking this, I do not doubt it...and I'm also scared about one thing...about what is going to happen? I'm afraid of losing Maya...not physically, but in a different way."

"What are you talking about, Max?

As Maya walked up the stairs, she tried her best to get the images of booth victims out of her mind. Despite the talk with her mother, there were still so many questions she had that were left unanswered, but she couldn't muster up the courage to ask her mother for more information about her father. There was a huge chance she had more questions than her mother could answer.

"Deej, for the past several years that we have known Maya..."

Maya changed into her pajamas before hopping into her bed.

"I'm the leader, you're the muscle, but she...she is the heart of this team. Her dedication, her determination...it's something I do not want to see being thrashed away."

Maya's eyes welled up in tears from all the intense emotions she was feeling, as she tried to reduce herself to a slumber.

"I get it, but Maya has been through a lot, just like us, and we are a team."

"But I'm still scared, DJ...I'm scared of seeing a new Maya."

"And what do you mean, Max?"

Maya's eyes then shot open as the realization struck her. Her father had a girlfriend...an intended fiancee. The ring in the box...as well as Marco's possible meaning of 'their story'.

"I'm scared of seeing..."

The girl was hyperventilating as the truth was starting to become as clear as day. She was becoming...

"...a different Maya."

To be continued...