"Today is going to be a bit different- we're going to focus on regulating your nervous system after fights, combatives- anything that can activate your fight or flight response. We are also going to introduce you to the idea of taking care of your mental health," Kim said as Erick walked into the large combatives room and she motioned for him to come to the front. "This is Dr. Erick Schutley and he has been treating Power Rangers for the last four years. One of the goals we have with your training is to help you be able to recover after the fights that many of you will eventually be in. I'm going to leave this to Erick, but I'll be back in a couple of hours to get feedback and give some practical applications."
The room fell silent as Kimberly quickly exited and the future rangers stared at Dr. Schutley. There was so much that they struggled to believe when it came to the ranger world, but this was the hardest so far. It had never crossed any of their minds the mental load that came along with being a Power Ranger. Apparently, the Olivers were acutely aware of it and wanted them to start preparing years before they could even get powers.
"We'll eventually get to down-regulating, but that may not be today. That may not be for several lessons. Kimberly and Tommy are allowing unique access to their records and issues so that you have a living case study. They trust you far more than I do. If you use this against them, it will have severe ramifications on everyone in this program," Erick said and murmurs went up around the room. "Go ahead- ask it."
"They really see therapists?" Sam Hughes asked with a laugh as Erick nodded. "Why would they possibly need therapy?"
"PTSD. Killing thousands of aliens. Losing their best friends," Greyson muttered as Jessica exchanged a glance with him and then looked away. Those all hit way too close to home. She had been to enough therapy after her mother had died to know that it helped, but she had never imagined being in a job where therapy was good preventative medicine.
"Oh c'mon- the monsters aren't THAT scary," Halima Best said with an eye roll as Greyson just shook his head. "Oh like you'd know."
"Actually, there are some people in this room that would know. That could, potentially, be second generation Power Rangers. Halima…" Erick paused as she nodded her head and he glanced around at the other students, doing his best to sweep by Greyson and Jessica. They were already on his books for monthly check-ins because of their history, but he knew that at least Jessica was keeping her history quiet. He was not sure that Greyson would keep it quiet much longer if the others continued to mouth off. "Halima, how do you like the idea of being tortured?"
"That doesn't happen," Halima scoffed and Emma just shook her head. "It doesn't."
"You haven't gotten to that part of the history just yet, but that absolutely has happened. Multiple times, I mean…as recently as Luca's birth," Emma stated as the new students stared at her and she glanced up at Dr. Schutley. He nodded for her to go on and she let out a disgruntled sigh. So many of the students were here for the cool powers and did not understand the pain that most likely would be coming their way. She knew the others that realized what was in store for them- they had all accepted these lessons a long time ago. "It's not just cool suits and powers, there's real danger and real shit we're going to have to deal with if we get picked."
"And Kimberly and Tommy did not begin to deal with things until they were in their early 30s. Tommy is protective, partially because his PTSD demands it. Kim struggles to truly connect with people, because she's been betrayed and lost so many of them. As hard as they work on things here, they work equally hard to undo the damage that being rangers has done to them," Erick supplied as the room sobered. "And this is how you should be reacting to potentially being rangers. You will have a grave responsibility on your shoulders. That is why it is so important that you learn when to ask for help and why it is important to truly consider what you are getting yourselves into."
"Who are the legacies?" Ada Crawford whispered as the first set of students crowded around the lunch table and they scanned the table of the newest students. "It's none of us, right?"
"It could be. I mean…I haven't exactly asked everyone for their family tree," Walker de la Cruz joked as the others looked at him. "All of our parents are alive though, so that probably means it's a no."
"Then who?" Ada muttered as their staring became more obvious and Emma stalled as she was headed towards her normal seat.
"Are you trying to make enemies with them?" Emma asked as she settled into her normal chair and the others shook their heads. "Then why are you staring at them like they've done something wrong."
"None of us are legacies- so it has to be them," Walker explained and Emma just shook her head. She had figured out who the legacies were very early on, all it took was their last names and quick look at the ranger history. They had both been quiet about it, so she left it alone. She hoped the others would respect their wishes, but she doubted it. "You know who it is."
"Yeah, if you took more than three seconds to get to know some of them- you'd know too. And no, I'm not telling you. We're not in competition with them, maybe you should stop acting like it and actually get to know them," Emma said as Ada and Walker exchanged a glance. They had not wanted to form any bonds with the new class, but they were starting to see the point that she made. "They're good people, give it a try."
"You think they know?" Jessica whispered as she settled next to Greyson and he shrugged. "Grey."
"It doesn't matter if they do, it changes nothing," Greyson said as Jessica let out a sigh before she began digging through her backpack. "How is normal school going?"
"I'd rather be here. Kim said they're working to get accredited as a high school, but that is going to take time and hiring traditional teachers and well…honestly a half day with my core subjects and then coming here makes a lot more sense," Jessica explained as she fiddled with her uniform and let out a sigh. "I hate this uniform though, it's so scratchy."
"You're going to Marymount? How did they swing that?" Jackson Bradshaw asked as she shrugged. She wasn't really sure how they had decided which high school she was going to attend, she just knew that her dad insisted that it was a good school. "No, but seriously- that school is…Hill…Hillard-Richardson."
"Jack, leave it," Greyson said as he looked at him as well and the recognition hit. "I don't care who knows, but let her tell people how she wants to."
"Tell people what?" Halima asked as she settled down across the table from them and Jessica glanced up at Jack, hoping he wouldn't tell everyone.
"How she managed to get into Marymount. Do we have an undercover genius among us?" Jack joked and Jessica just shook her head as she placed her homework on the table and started working on it as Grey gave Jack a grateful smile. There would be a day when Jessica would have to tell everyone, but that didn't need to be today. He hoped that this bit of privacy gave her the peace that she seemed to so desperately need.
