Song of the chapter: Never Going Back by The Score
I smile as I race down the sidewalk, using my newly found super-speed to get myself home. I didn't want to bother Kim for a ride home so I took advantage of my new powers. I watch people pass by slowly, unaware of me as I dart past them.
Angel Grove seems like a cute, peaceful town. It holds so many secrets and so much pain. I wish I could leave. Jason and I should've left when we had the chance. My mind wanders back to earlier today when me and Billy fell into the opening in the ground, when Jason jumped down and made sure I was okay. A smile pulls at my lips and my face heats up. Why am I such a girl?
I spot my dad's car and Jen's car in the driveway, so I climb through my bedroom window and shut it behind me. I put on dry clothes and flop down into my bed, shutting my eyes and falling asleep.
***
I walk into the house happy to be out of school for the day, setting my bag down and checking the time on my phone. Jason said he'd be at the mines around four, so I still have about twenty minutes before I need to head out.
"Olivia?" My dad yells from the living room.
"Yeah?"
"Come here." My brows furrow, wondering what I possibly could've done this time. I slowly wander into the living room, leaning on the door frame. "Where were you last night?"
"I was out with some friends and I lost track of time-"
"How are you always so careless?" He asks, taking a sip of his water. I let out a small, sarcastic laugh. "I don't really think it's funny. You promised that you would do better this year, you told me you would try your hardest. Yet here you are, skipping school, acting out, coming home way after Jen and I go to bed for god's sake!" He yells.
"I'm sorry that I'm not perfect, okay? I am truly sorry that I am not some golden child that you can wave around like a trophy and say 'look at what I raised.' I'm sorry, that's just not me." My voice cracks slightly, and I glare at him from across the room.
"I thought you'd grow up this year. I thought you'd learn to act like a decent human being."
"I am growing up, just not the way you want me to. You can't relive your life through me, that's not how this works." My eyes gloss over and I blink a few times to push the tears back down.
"Get out of my house. I don't want to see you right now." I shove my phone in my pocket, drop my bag on the floor and nod.
"Gladly." I turn on my heel, speeding out of the house and getting into my car. My eyes land on the denim jacket sitting in my passenger's seat and I slip it on, starting the engine and pulling out of the driveway. I guess I'm showing up a little early, Jason. Hope that's okay.
The radio plays softly and a single tear slips down my cheek, causing me to let go for the second time. The dam breaks and all of the tears come rushing out. I use one of my sleeves to wipe them off of my face, but they keep coming.
I finally calm down as I turn onto the road leading to the mine. My car bounces lightly along the dirt path and I turn up the hill and park in the usual spot behind the bushes. The clock on my car radio says three-fifty. Everything goes quiet as I shut the car off and quickly clean myself up in the rear view mirror. My eyes still look blood shot and feel puffy, but hopefully nobody says anything.
My sneakers scrape lightly along the rock as I climb up to where we're supposed to meet, my mind racing with different thoughts, overwhelming me. I shake my head and take a deep breath, hoisting myself over the top and standing up.
"Hey." Jason smiles, looking at me. I send him a small wave, slowly making my way closer. "You're early." I nod.
"So are you." My voice comes out groggy and weak, making me silently curse myself.
"I'm starting to think you're obsessed with that jacket." He smiles. I stay silent. "Everything okay?" He asks, turning to me.
"Yeah, just tired." I push a piece of hair out of my face and look up at him, smiling.
"Your eyes are super bloodshot. What happened?" He asks, reaching up and tipping my face up so he can see my eyes. His thumb runs over where my tears had been previously falling and I let out a tired sigh.
"Sometimes I really wish we had left. My dad is constantly finding something to yell at me about, and it gets so tiring trying to be exactly what he wants me to be." Jason nods.
"Believe me, I understand." I smile, keeping my eyes trained on his. "Your eyes are really pretty." His eyes widen. "I'm-I'm sorry, that was weird, wasn't it?" He asks, his hand still on my cheek.
"Not really. I actually kinda needed a little ego boost." He chuckles, his face inching closer slowly. His eyes flicker down to my lips and my breath catches in my throat. My heart starts to beat a little faster, and my eyes trail down to the smile playing at his lips.
"Is it okay if I ki-"
"Hey!" Billy's head pops up over the edge and Jason's hand drops from my face as we step back. I check the time on my phone. Three-fifty eight. I wonder momentarily about what Jason was going to ask me, and soon everyone is climbing up to meet us on top of the hill. Jason smiles, seeing his team all together again. The spot where Jason's hand was on my cheek grows cold and I start to miss his warmth.
"What's up, crazy girl?" Zack smiles at Trini.
"Hey." She mumbles.
"Shall we do this?" He asks, glancing at everyone. We all nod. One by one, we jump into the water and swim out way back into the cavern. Somehow I land on my feet this time.
Once we're into the ship, Alpha greets us all and takes us back to Zordon and the Morphing Grid.
"You're back." Zordon announces, looking at each of us.
"What do we need to do?" Jason asks.
"You need to follow the three rules to being a Power Ranger. You must never use your powers for personal gain. You must never escalate a fight, unless your enemy forces you to. And you must never reveal your identity. Ever." Seems reasonable. "To assume your Ranger identities, you need to morph. Have any of you morphed before?" Zack smiles.
"Yes. But only in the shower." I snicker, biting my lip.
"Okay, okay. Let's step into the footprints, please." Alpha waves us all to our platforms. We all follow the directions, stepping up onto the glowing platforms and waiting for further instruction.
"Standing in this circle, as a team, you can easily connect to the Morphing Grid. Do you feel it?" Zordon asks.
"Yeah they do!" Alpha yells excitedly.
"No. Not feeling it." Zack shakes his head, one of his hands shoved into his pocket.
"You need to morph to get your armor."
"Oh!" Billy claps. "I knew it! We do get armor! Jason, we get armor! Oh, we get armor." He gestures to everyone around the circle, smiling at me.
"Cool. Why don't you give us the armor?" Zack asks.
"You already have it inside of you. You bring it out by connecting to each other, and connecting to the Morphing Grid. Clear your minds and focus." The Morphing Grid begins to glow and change, my hair blowing around slightly. "Power Rangers were a legion of warriors sworn to protect life. You must become those warriors!" The room shakes and the Morphing Grid glows brighter. I glance down at my arms, sticking them out slightly. I don't see anything happening, but I take a deep breath and focus. I don't really know much about the people around me, what if it doesn't work unless we know each other?
Suddenly the room grows dark again and the grid stops moving. We all look around at each other.
"Alpha-Five, why didn't they morph?" Zordon asks.
"Yeah, I don't know, sir. It's disturbing. Very disturbing. It might take some time."
"We don't have time." Alpha shrugs.
"Well if they can't morph, what are we supposed to do?" He asks.
"They'll have to train without armor. They need to prepare."
"Without armor? Sir, that'll be very painful-"
"Take them down to the pit." Alpha sighs and turns to us.
"Alright, follow me! We're going down to the pit!"
"Olivia, I don't want to find out what the pit is." Billy looks at me worriedly. I grab his arm and smile.
"Billy, I promise it'll be fine." We follow Alpha down a hallway, down a set of stairs, and into a very old, very dark cave.
"So, this is the pit. It's nice, right?" I cringe as a bug crawls underneath a rock.
"Alpha-Five, begin the exercise." Zordon demands. Alpha mumbles a sorry and chuckles.
"What exercise?" Jason asks.
"Chill out, dude." Zack glances around. A blue light glides across the ground and a couple of monsters build themselves up out of loose rocks.
"These creatures before you are a simulation of Rita's army. They're called putties. You must get through them to get to her." The creature towers over all of us and Billy begins to freak out.
"No, no, no, Olivia..." He grabs onto my arm, backing up slowly.
"Cool. Look, relax, guys. It's a hologram. Like a video game. Look." The creature lets out a roar and punches Zack, sending him flying into the wall.
"That's a strong-ass hologram," I mumble. Trini laughs as Zack pushes himself up.
"Not a video game..." He groans.
"This is why you must morph into your armor. If Rita becomes strong enough to build her army, it'll be the beginning of the end. Rangers, welcome to training."
"I'm so excited you guys are back!" Alpha jumps, his smile evident in his voice. He starts out by explaining a few things to us, and asks us to get ready. We all take off our jackets and I tie my hair up into a ponytail. Jason volunteers to go first. "Aim for the center mass!" Alpha yells as Jason gets punched clean across the face. I scrunch up my nose as he spits out blood. "One more time!"
After a few minutes, they try something different and Jason finally gets a hold of the creature.
"Come on, duck the punches, find their weak side!" Alpha yells as Jason gets knocked to the floor. Kim asks me to be her partner for the 1 v 1 training, so we head over to one of the open areas.
"Have you ever fought before?" She asks, getting into her starting stance. I shrug, getting into mine.
"I took a couple karate classes as a kid. I'm not near as good as I was back then but I remember some things." I throw a distraction punch and kick my foot out behind her knee as she blocks my fist. I pull my leg back, pushing into the back of her knee and bending her leg. I grab onto her arm and flip over her shoulder, holding it behind her.
"'Not near as good' my ass." She grumbles mockingly, looking at me from over her shoulder. I chuckle, releasing her arm.
***
"Good, Olivia. I see you are no stranger to the element of surprise." Alpha says as he pulls his arm away from me.
"Like I said, you learn a lot from a fourth grade karate class." I smile. He nods.
"Okay, let's start with some simple punches, throw a couple at me." I nod, holding up my fists and shooting them out, watching as he dodges them swiftly. I throw a quick left hook, grazing his shoulder. "Oh, you almost got-" I throw my foot up, kicking his head and watching as it spins around on his shoulders.
"Oh my god, Alpha, are you okay?" I ask, stopping his head with my hands. He nods.
"That was good." He laughs. "You are a born fighter, I can tell." Something about this training session has made me proud of myself and the people around me. After getting a few more hits in, Alpha calls Kim in, sending me to go 1 v 1 with Jason.
I find him standing around a corner, sweat dripping down his face and some of his dirty-blond hair matted to his forehead. He smiles, pushing himself off of the wall.
"So you're my new partner." I nod. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." I raise an eyebrow, placing my hands on my hips momentarily.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Scott." I smirk, elbowing him in the gut and placing him in a headlock.
"You're a ninja..." He croaks, grabbing onto my arm. I release him from the headlock and flip him onto his back, standing over him. "You are a real life ninja."
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Wow, look at that. Chapter 5 already. Don't worry, there's more where this came from, and I'm so sorry about my inconsistent publishing, I had a lot going on this week. I promise I'll try to get more out soon! Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think in the comments and any suggestions or constructive criticism would extremely helpful if your have some to give! Thank you so much!