Malcolm's POV
Panic rose inside of him. Why was Jason here and where were his own mother and father?
His parents and he had been traveling to Angel Grove from a martial arts match that had taken place in Stone Canyon. His last opponent had been Rocky DeSantos and he, Malcolm, had defeated Rocky in a clean match.
Malcolm gasped; he couldn't remember getting out of the car between Stone Canyon and Angel Grove. What had happened?
He could see that the police officer was looking very concerned and looked as if he wanted to haul Jason and the kid with glasses out of the room. The nurse was also giving him a concerned look.
It was then that he remembered the police officer…Lt. Stone…telling him that there had been a car accident and that he had been unconscious for two days. What had happened to his parents?
An uneasy feeling filled his heart as he suddenly felt the need to get up and run as far away as he could.
"Malcolm, take it easy," Jason said in an anxious voice as he watched Malcolm force himself into a sitting position and wince, obviously in pain from overexerting himself. "You should stay in bed."
Lt. Stone suddenly looked frightened and backed up into the doorway, "I need the bathroom," Malcolm said in as firm a tone as he could muster as he looked at Jason and suddenly winced. "I hurt…a lot."
"Young man, you have four broken ribs, tubes in your chest, a serious head injury, a broken ankle, and internal injuries that required surgery, and some third degree burns on your arms and legs," the nurse spoke up as she approached the bed. "It's no surprise that you're feeling sore when you're anywhere but in bed. Now, lie back down and try hard to relax. You're being well taken care of now."
Malcolm was silent for a moment and then silently lay back down, "Jason, will you go find my parents?" he asked as the nurse propped his casted ankle on a small pillow and covered him back up with the standard hospital blanket. It was then that he noticed the bandages on his arms and lines in his hands.
"Malcolm…" Jason began as he turned to look at Lt. Stone, who was suddenly looking very solemn.
Lt. Stone sighed, as delivering such news was never easy, "Angel Grove police have been searching the scene of the accident for two days and we found some incinerated remains of what appears to be some sort of vehicle," he stated as he set a few items on the portable table. "We also found these items."
Since the table was too far away for Malcolm to reach, Jason and Billy looked at the items; there were three wallets, a battered license plate, a small photo of a man, woman, and Malcolm standing outside of a large building next to a large sign that said 'Crystal Valley Martial Arts Center'.
The man and woman were dressed in casual clothes and Malcolm was wearing a martial arts outfit complete with matching headband; all of them were smiling with their arms around each other Besides the photo, there were a couple of gold rings, and a gold medal on a black ribbon.
"Your clothes are under the bed, dear," the nurse chirped in, trying to help him feel reassured; she could see he was looking very anxious.
"Those items were put in the car after the tournament," Malcolm said in a hushed, scared voice. "Where are my parents?"
Even though he could see that Malcolm was slowly turning a combined shade of puke green and chalk white, Lt. Stone sighed, "I'm very sorry to say that we also found the remains of two bodies," he said in a solemn voice. "The remains were examined and identified as Tyler and Karen Lee Scott. I'm so sorry."
Billy looked horrified and stared at the ground while Jason looked at Malcolm, "I'm so sorry, Malcolm," Jason said as he moved closer to the bed to try and console his cousin. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know," Malcolm replied tonelessly as he gazed at the ceiling. "I don't know anything anymore."
Unbeknownst to anyone, the nurse had slipped out of the room to find a doctor and get some medication to help Malcolm rest. Jason looked at Billy and murmured 'go tell the others' in a quiet enough voice that nobody else would hear. Billy nodded and quietly moved over to the open door.
"Lieutenant Stone, could you do me a favor please?" Jason asked as he turned to face the officer.
Lt. Stone nodded, but said nothing, "My address is 545 Stone Way; could you please go pay a visit to my parents and tell them what happened to Malcolm and his parents?" Jason asked in a very worried, solemn voice. "I'm going to stay here and keep my cousin company…if that's allowed, that is."
"It's perfectly fine," Lt. Stone replied in a gentle voice. "Yes, I will go tell your parents what happened."
As Lt. Stone left the room, Jason looked at Malcolm and sighed, hoping things were going to be okay.
"Poor, defenseless orphan," Rita cooed as she watched Malcolm through her magical telescope. "It's probably better that we didn't capture him. He looks too weak and pathetic to be of any use to us."
The view suddenly switched to a spot in the park where Zack was alone and looking very angry; he was, in fact, very jealous about the fact that Tommy seemed to still have some sort of 'in' with Alpha, Zordon, and the other Rangers when he no longer had powers. Zack saw Tommy as a Ranger faded from glory.
Rita silently watched through the telescope as Zack took his morpher and Power Coin from his pocket, "I don't even know why I am still a Ranger if Zordon still relies on Tommy for help," he said in an annoyed voice as he set the items on the ground and stared at them. "Is it really worth it to keep going like this?"
"FINISTER!" Rita shouted, a plan suddenly forming in her mind. "COME HERE! I NEED YOU NOW!"
Finister hurried out of the darkness, "Yes, my queen?" he asked in a nervous voice. "You called?"
"I need a potion to turn the Black Ranger against Zordon, Alpha, and the other Power Rangers," Rita replied in a snappish voice. "I will capture him and you will turn him into a protector for my heir."
Nodding, Finister hurried off into the darkness. Rita turned back to the globe and pointed her scepter through it; she then sent a beam of energy towards Zack and cackled when it knocked him out.
Delighted that she and Zedd could now together control one of the Power Rangers and forget about their failure with the Green Ranger, Rita quickly teleported the unconscious Zack out of the park.
As Zack's unconscious form appeared on the floor in front of her, Rita took another look at the viewing globe, not caring that she was seeing several of the Rangers gathering to socialize. She had what she wanted now and she was going to use it to bring about the downfall of the Power Rangers for good.
"Billy!" Trini said in a happy voice as Billy entered the Youth Center and saw that Trini, Kimberly, and Tommy were seated at a table making funky get well cards. "We made some cards for Malcolm."
Billy nodded, but remained silent as he was still reeling from the news that Malcolm's parents had been killed in the same car crash that Malcolm had been injured in. Nobody should have to lose their parents.
"Billy, what's wrong?" Tommy asked, suddenly realizing that Billy looked very serious, almost solemn.
As Kimberly and Trini stopped working, Billy swallowed hard, "While Jason and I were visiting the hospital today, Malcolm woke up and asked where his parents were," he explained in a solemn voice, struggling not to cry. "There was a cop there that said that Malcolm's parents were killed in the crash."
For a moment, Kimberly, Billy, Tommy, and Trini were silent; each of them horrified at the news.
"That's awful," Tommy finally said, looking as if he had been hit over the head with a large hammer.
Kimberly sighed and gathered up the cards, "These won't help him any," she said in a solemn tone. "If we give him get well soon cards, it'll only make him feel worse. I'm not sure how to help Malcolm now."
"Jason's at the hospital with him now," Billy interjected. "Malcolm didn't want to be left alone."
Tommy sighed, "Maybe we should take the cards to him anyway," he said in a calm voice. "I think that we should just try and help Jason be there for Malcolm right now. We should talk to Jason and he can talk to Malcolm to see when visiting would be appropriate. Then, as a team, we can visit Malcolm."
"Speaking of being a team, where's Zack?" Trini asked, concerned that Zack might be in trouble.
Kimberly sighed, "Zack got so upset at the Command Center over Tommy being there," she said in a semi-concerned tone as she set the cards back on the table. "He's probably blowing off steam now."
"We'll leave Zack be and find him later," Billy said in a calm voice. "It's probably better that way."
There was again silence and Billy finally smiled, "Jason asked the police to find his parents so that they can also come be with Malcolm," he explained. "Apparently, Malcolm and Jason are long-lost cousins."
"Then let's give them the time they need to catch up," Tommy replied calmly, settling the matter.
Trini walked back over to the table where the cards were, "Since Rita or Zedd aren't giving us any trouble, why don't we finish the cards?" she suggested. "Maybe we can visit Malcolm tomorrow if Jason says it's okay. Maybe you and Billy should make some cards too, Tommy."
Tommy and Billy smiled; they were eager to help Malcolm feel better however they could. Tommy was always anxious to help others whenever he could and Billy was doing his best to stay true to the vow of protection.
For although nobody knew it then, chaos would soon again be unleashed.
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