Chapter 36: Interlude

Tommy had officially fucked up in my book, though the other rangers seemed amused, and Gwen was blushing at the very notion. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested. I mean, Gwen was a beautiful young lady, and apparently the same age as me, if only a month older, but I was still trying to move past having lost Tights and Lavender. A six-year relationship ending because I was moved by some invisible force from one dimension for another had left me grief stricken, broken, and not very personable. As I walked Gwen home and we talked about our favorite fandoms, I realized that she was quickly seeing beyond everything I had put up as barriers. She kept me talking, and tried to keep me smiling with things like ‘if Beerus and Pikachu had a baby’ and ‘Do you think Picard waxes his head?’. I t was nice. I dropped her at her front door, got a kiss on the cheek, much to my surprise, and a hug not so surprising, and headed back to the Hart residence. I made my way to my room in the basement after arriving and laid down on my bed. I tried to think of the situation as a whole. I tried to see the big picture. Here I was, normal guy, just happened to be a superhero. Obviously one day I’d have to give up my powers as the rangers would change to Zeo Rangers. I could probably take my GED and start college early if I wanted. Then there was my personal life. I could really make a life here. Besides the giant monster attacks, it wasn’t that different from back home. If only there were a way to detect and remove the force that moved me from dimension to dimension.

The next day, we were back at the command center. Jason was going over with us how our missions went. Tommy, Billy and Zach had saved a city from a tornado. Kim and Trini had collected parts of Zordon’s staff. Jason directed, and I mopped floors. Why was I mopping? Because keeping me a secret for now was a good point. We didn’t know when Rita would be watching. Soon everyone went their separate ways. I finished up my mopping and stowed the gear before heading back to the house. I sat down and started doing my homework at the kitchen table, ignoring everything, until I heard Kim and her mom arguing about relationships. After Kim stormed off, her mom came over and sat down with me.

“I just don’t understand that girl some times.” She said.

“It’s not so hard to understand, Aunt Helen.” I said. “She’s a little girl, not understanding why mommy and daddy can’t stay together.”

“I suppose I never took a step back to look at it that way.” She said. “You know, you’re a lot like your father.”

“Don’t say that.” I said, acting defensive.

The back story that I had cooked up for myself pointed at my father never being around.

“I’m serious. My brother was always the one to see things in a more practical light.” Helen said.

“It’s not that hard to see it from the sidelines.” I said.

Truth was, I saw how this all played out, down to the point where Tommy was supposed to die. Right now, Kim would be chilling out with Trini on the Pterodactyl Zord. I finished up my work, with Helen just staring into space. I stood up.

“Just give her some time to figure it out.” I said.

I headed down to my basement bedroom, patting her on the shoulder as I passed her by. As I got to my bed, I got an alert. I hit my com to hear.

“Guys, I have something.”

It was Jason, calling in the team. Five minutes later, we were in the command center getting the lowdown. 30 minutes later, The Megazord was placing down a heavy building. 35 minutes later, the team was talking to Grace Sterling. An hour after that, Finster was in a cell.