The End
For now
 |
Deep within a strange craft in the middle of Angel Grove lake, a purple haired pirate peered through her periscope, licking her lips as she kept an eye on her personal favorite of the Power Rangers Turbo. Each of them held a different position in Divatox's hating heart, with the Green Ranger, Adam Park, being reserved for the state of 'desire'.
"Well, now, what's this?" she murmured to herself, or so she thought. She half-growled when she heard her nephew's voice.
"It's a fish!" he declared, and she glanced over to see him playing with a trout he'd caught. She sighed deeply. I CANNOT be his aunt. I just can't be.
"I wasn't talking about your little toy, sludgebrain!" she snapped. "I was talking about the Green Ranger!"
Elgar blinked at her. "Oh."
Divatox shivered and growled to herself. There was a mix-up, we just don't know it yet. Her gaze returned to the periscope, then flicked back to Elgar. "He's being so sweet and caring to those kids!" Adam was reading a story to a group of kids at the Youth Center. "I think I'm going to be sick!"
"Um, bye!" Elgar turned around, until her iron-hard voice stopped him.
"Don't you dare go anywhere! I want you and Rygog to go attack that ranger when he's alone!" she ordered. "I've got a special little plan for him!"
Elgar blinked again at her. "Um, what?"
The only answer the dimwit received was a laugh from the evil pirate queen. "You'll see, Elgar! You'll see!" she gazed into the periscope again, laughing under her breath as Elgar went off to talk with Rygog. "Ribbet!"
It was a peaceful day at the Angel Grove Youth Center, and Adam Park, the Green Turbo Ranger, was having a good time reading to some of the kids there. As he finished the story of the Frog Prince, the last of the day, one of the younger girl, Kristy, did what she could to look towards him. She couldn't precisely see him, since her eyes had been injured in a car accident some months earlier, but she was aware of where he was from his voice.
"Did you like the story?" he asked quietly, hoping his smile showed up in his voice. The little girl was a real charmer, one he liked being with.
"Yeah!" she giggled a little; she loved the tale of someone being turned from a frog to a prince with a mere kiss.
Adam nodded, even knowing she couldn't see him. "I'm glad. It's one of my favorites." he glanced around the room as it began to empty out. "Who's supposed to be picking you up?"
"Randi, my sister."
Adam thought for a moment. "I don't think I've met her," he couldn't place a face with the name, at any rate, and he usually could with most of those who came to meet with his young friends.
"You're in her English class!" Kristy told him. Adam blinked for a moment in surprise.
"I was?"
"You are!" Kristy insisted, and gave a quick description of her sister. Adam blinked suddenly. "She's the poet!" the little girl added, and he nodded.
"I remember her now!" his head came up as a young woman came closer to them. Long black hair cascaded down her back, covering a black turtleneck and black jeans, with a nose ring in her nose and pale skin.
She almost smiled, or at least her lips stretched a little. "Nice to know I'm remembered by someone who almost winces every time they see me."
Adam glanced over, and did smile. "Hi! Nice to see you."
"Hi," she replied coolly, then looked to her sister. "Kristy, you thirsty?" when the little girl nodded, she continued, looking at Adam this time, "Want to join us?"
"All right," Adam smiled briefly, stacking the books he'd been reading to the children to one side. Randi returned the expression, the first time he'd ever seen her smile, and his knees quite simply buckled under him. Why doesn't she do that more often? She's BEAUTIFUL! Adam shook his head for a moment, just a brief motion, more to clear his thoughts than anything. He hadn't thought about any female looking like that in a long time; the closest he'd come was Tanya. But they just worked together too closely as Rangers for him to really think of her as an actual 'female'.
Randi didn't seem to be paying any attention to him as she helped her sister into a chair at the bar and asked, "How was group today, kiddo?"
"It was kinda fun!" Kristy told her happily. "Adam told us about a frog who got turned into a prince!"
"Really?" Randi didn't quite understand the amusement she saw in Adam's eyes every time the word 'frog' was mentioned, but her sister's enthusiasm was almost infectious!
Kristy nodded delightedly. "He got turned back when a princess kissed him!"
"A princess you say?" Randi was by nature a rather 'dark' person, and only with her sister did the tiniest spark of light show in her soul. Adam was enjoying watching it as well. "Just like you?" she tickled Kristy just the tiniest bit, and smiled faintly when she laughed.
"Yup!"
Randi blinked a little, gazing into her drink. Princesses and magic. Wish it was real. But it isn't. I learned that a long time ago.
Adam felt almost obliged to make conversation, and grasped mentally for something to say. "I didn't know you had a sister," he said finally.
"Me or her?" Randi asked; since it wasn't too obvious who he was talking to just then. Kristy giggled.
"She talks about you all the time!" the little girl reported, and Adam cursed inwardly to feel himself blush. He glanced over at Randi, who had a totally blank expression on her face.
"What?" he hoped she'd explain this!
Randi quietly sipped at the drink Jerome Stone had sat in front of her with a smile. "I talk about English class, and talk about the group you always hang out with," her voice had lost none of it's coolness or composure, and as Adam nodded, she was glad he couldn't hear her thoughts just then. THAT was a close call! I should strangle Kristy for that. . .last thing I want him to know is that I talk about him. . .think about him. . .wan-. . .shut up, Randi. She herself mentally groped for something to talk about now. "How are you doing in class?"
He shrugged some. "All right," college English wasn't too hard, but the poetry they were currently working with was giving him problems.
"Need any help with the poetry assignment coming up?"
That was all the encouragement he needed. But he wasn't going to jump too fast too soon. "Probably," was all Adam said. "I can do normal stories all right, but I don't do poetry at all well."
Kristy bounced up and down a little. "Randi is published with her poems!"
"You are!?" Adam's eyes went a little wide with this!
The black-wearing girl nodded. "Yeah. Under my full first name."
Adam blinked a little. "Amazing. I've never had anything published myself."
Randi just nodded a little, then made her offer. "Want to work on the project. . um... together?" why am I doing this? I don't want to do this. .yes, I do! Oh, heck, what does it matter, I'll do it!
"Sure!" Adam couldn't believe his ears! "I'd love to!"
It was all Randi could do not to jump up and down and crow with purest out and out joy. "Cool. When do you want to work?"
"When do you have free?"
Kristy piped up with a quick "Always!!" Randi just shook her head as she reached into her purse to get something to write on.
"I've got kung fu practice this afternoon," he told her. "But after that I'm free," unless Divatox tries something. Which she'd better not!
Randi handed him a piece of paper. "This is where I live," she told him, and he nodded, thanking her. "See you then!"
Adam watched as Randi paid for the drinks and headed for home with her sister in tow. I can't believe this. I'm going to be working with one of the most beautiful people in creation for several hours tonight. If Divatox attacks, I think I'm going to sink her Subcraft!
Adam floated through what remained of the day in what might best be termed a happy fog. Almost before he knew it, he was heading towards Randi's house, humming delightedly under his breath, but still with a small nagging worry gnawing at him. Is this the best idea? Randi's . . .well, Randi!!
His thoughts blew totally out of his mind as with a splash, Divatox, Rygog, Elgar, and a squad of Piranatrons leaped up out of nowhere right in front of him. "Oh, great," he groaned, ready to hit his communicator and call the others at a moment's notice.
Divatox leaned over, giving him an excellent view of her not unimpressive cleavage. "Well, well, well, what do we have here, a Ranger all on his lonesome?"
"And late for his meeting with his homework partner!" Adam snapped. Divatox only laughed at him.
"You're going to be even later before I'm through with you, Green Ranger!" she told him. Adam growled as she motioned the Piranatrons towards him, flicking his wrists to call up his turbo key. The Green Ranger barely had time to morph before he felt something sharp sliding into his skin, and saw one of the Piranatrons moving away from him with what looked like a needle in it's hand/flipper/whatever.
I'm outta here! was the only thing he thought as he flipped away from the Piranatrons and headed down the road at Turbo speed. Whatever it was, he had absolutely no intentions of letting it take it's effects while he was that near to Divatox! Be it love potion, evil potion, sleeping potion, whatever, he was not going to be near her!
The evil pirate queen laughed softly, then sighed. "Well, I'll have him later!" she declared, teleporting back to the Subcraft with her minions in tow. She had a feeling she knew where Adam was going to be going, and it was going to be fairly interesting to see how he reacted to what she'd put in him!
Randi smiled briefly as she opened the door to see Adam standing out there, panting. He must have run the whole way there, he looked exhausted! "Hi!" she nodded. "I was just about to change, want to come up?"
Adam's eyes tripled in size when he took in the tight shirt and shorts she was wearing. He was barely able to mutter an affirmative and follow her to her room. It was wide, long, and divided into two areas by a curtain, one side being where she slept, the other the living area obviously. He stared hungrily at her posterior as she entered the room ahead of him, trying with every ounce of self-control he had not to jump on her right then and there.
What's wrong with me? he wondered, clenching his fists. I haven't been able to keep my hormones under control since that Piranatron injected me with. . .whatever that was! I can't think straight. ..all I can think about is SEX!
"You okay?" Randi asked, glancing over at him as she went into the bedroom and pulled the curtain to one side. Adam nodded quickly, trying not to think of what was going on behind that curtain as he heard her starting to undress.
She's so beautiful. . .oh, God, why can't I control what I'm thinking. . .feeling. ..wanting. ..NEEDING!? His thoughts broke off as Randi poked her head around the curtain. "Mind if I take a quick shower before we start working? I just finished up the lawn and I've got grass all over me."
"Don't mind at all," Adam's voice was extremely tight and controlled, doing everything he could to keep himself from leaping up and taking advantage of her right then and there. Randi nodded pleasantly; here in her own home she seemed a little more relaxed than she did at the college.
"There's some stuff to drink in the fridge, help yourself," she told him, pulling the curtain back and coming out wearing only a short black silk housecoat. "My folks took Kristy to the doctor for her eye checkup. They think they can get her seeing again."
Adam glanced up as she spoke, and when he saw her in that, every ounce of control he had vanished completely.
Randi was taken by surprise, almost as much as Adam himself was, when he charged across the room and took her into his arms, kissing with hard, rough passion. "Adam!"
"I. . .I'm sorry," the Green Ranger whispered, shaking as he still kept on kissing her.
Randi almost moved back from him, then gave in to her own hormones, raging as they had been since she had seen him at the door. "Stop. . .ohhhh. ..no forget that, keep doing that!"
Neither of them cared for anything but the desires boiling without control in both of them, and a moment later, Adam was plunging inside of Randi. She half-screamed with pain at the loss of her virginity, and tried to push away from him. "Adam! Stop!"
"I can't!" he howled, unable to pull back, even if he had wanted to. And with the supercharged hormones Divatox's injection had given him, he didn't want to.
"Please!" she begged. "This hurts!"
"I can't!" he whispered. Everything in him demanded this release, no matter what.
Randi's eyes filled with tears as it continued against her will. "Adam, I beg of you to stop!"
Almost as if in answer to her plea, the desire and the need faded to nothingness. Adam stopped and stared at her, moving back. "W. .what have I done?" he whispered, looking from her to himself. Randi curled up, covering herself as best she could.
"Something we consented to, at first," she half-hissed, willing the tears not to come down her face.
He wasn't hearing her, though. "I. . .I. . .no, I couldn't. ..I didn't. ."
"When I asked you to stop, it turned into rape!" she growled at him. Adam stared, shaking his head. The only thing he could do, he felt, was what he did. He turned and ran as fast as he could out, fastening his clothes as he did, wanting nothing more than to die. How could he? How could he do something like that to someone so wonderful?
The wonderful person he was thinking of quietly crawled onto her bed after he left, and huddled against her pillows. That's not like Adam at all, she thought, ignoring the pain in her body to try and think just vaguely logically. I need to talk to him. ..I don't think he meant it. . .I hope he didn't anyway.
She picked up the student directory and paged through it, remembering he'd mentioned once in class that he and one of his friends lived in a dormitory on campus. A few moments later, she was dialing his number, and an unfamiliar voice spoke up. "Hello?"
"Adam?"
"No, this is Tommy," the stranger replied. "Adam's out at the moment, can I take a message?" his voice sounded strong and comforting, and she thought she remembered seeing Adam with who this must be; a tall, broad-shouldered, long-haired, muscular guy.
"Yeah. ..I. . .," words failed her; what could she say that would make some sort of sense, yet wouldn't get Adam in trouble? Something she couldn't explain told her that Adam hadn't really meant to do what he had done. That was why they had to talk.
Tommy moved over a little. "Let me get something to write with," he said. She made something that might have been noises into the phone, nothing coherent. "Is something wrong?" he did sound concerned. But. ..no, she wasn't going to tell. "Can I at least tell him who called, so he can call you back?"
"Randi from English," she could at least get her name out! She heard a door slam open somewhere on the other end, and involuntarily jumped.
Tommy's voice came a moment later. "Here he is now! Want to talk to him?"
"Yeah," she replied. More than anything. .. but. . .oh, what the heck, what can be worse than what happened earlier? He sure can move fast, though! I thought it would take longer than five minutes to run between my place and his!
Tommy held the phone out to his friend. "It's for you, he said casually. "Randi from English class," he was surprised by the way Adam reacted, staring at the phone as if it might suddenly rear up and attack him. "Take the phone!" he urged. "It doesn't bite!"
The Green Ranger finally reached out and took the phone and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hi," Randi's voice was ice. "Why?" that one simple question held more importance than any of them could understand.
Adam took a deep breath. "I couldn't control myself. I wanted to, but I couldn't," he ignored the way Tommy was looking at him.
"Not good enough," she practically bit off the words.
"I'm serious!" Adam begged. "I never did anything like that before to anyone! I'm really not sure if I even wanted to do it to you. Not like that anyway!"
Randi sighed. "Oh," just what I wanted to hear. ..not. "We need to work on the project."
"I know," Adam replied. Divatox HAD to have something to do with it, I know it! But I can't tell her that! "I'll try and come over tomorrow. I think we both need to cool down and rest some."
The class loner's voice held no life in it. "I guess."
"Randi?" Adam was worried about her; he knew what he had done was wrong and lived right now in pure terror that she would have him arrested, and knowing he deserved it.
"What?"
What could he say? What could he possibly say that would change or help what had happened? "I'm sorry. Very sorry."
"I bet."
He tried to put some of what he was feeling into his voice, and could only hope he was succeeding. "I am! I swear I am! I would rather have died than done that!"
"I know," Randi sighed. "Here I started to believe that there might be someone in the world who likes the loner."
Adam almost shouted, "I do like you, but I didn't want to do that! There's a difference!"
"You don't get what I'm saying," Randi said quietly. "Not the full meaning of it."
"Then explain it to me!" he did shout this time!
"I thought you might have been attracted to me!" she explained quickly, trying not to let the pain in her heart show through with the quick words.
Adam paused. Wow. She. ..oh, wow. ..All that came out of his mouth, however, was "I. . .uh. .."
"I know," he could almost hear her shrug over the phone. "Who could be interested in me?"
He took a deep breath. "Me."
They both could almost hear the world shaking in shock at that. "What?"
"I am interested in you," he said quickly. "That's why . ..what I did. .why it hurts."
"Oh."
Adam took a deep breath and continued onwards. "I feel like I ruined what could have been."
"Not yet," Randi shook her head softly.
The young Ranger stared into the phone. "How can we be sure?"
"Give me time," she asked quietly, and Adam agreed. There was silence between them for a few moments, of slightly better understanding, and something that possibly have been what could be mistaken for love or romance, had Divatox not interfered.
"When do you want to work on the project?" he finally asked. Randi shrugged.
"Tonight?" she suggested. It was still early, they had time.
Adam took a deep breath. "All right. Do you want me to come over or do you want to come here?"
"Here," she told him. "Living room."
"I'll be there as soon as I can be," he told her. "And thanks. I'll see you then. Bye."
"Bye," she said quietly, then hung up as her little sister came upstairs. Adam sighed deeply on his own end, and hung up, glancing over to see Tommy smiling at him.
"What happened?"
The answer was a major shock to him. "I'm not sure if I should be shot, hung, or burned at the stake."
"What did you do?"
Tommy almost flinched at the bitter tone to his friend's voice. "Oh, nothing much. Just raped someone I would like to consider a friend, if not more, someway."
"Why!?" was Tommy's question, though what he wanted to say covered a lot more than that!
The Green Ranger sighed. "Only thing I can think of is the fact I got jumped by Divatox on the way to see her."
"Come on!" Tommy didn't quite believe Adam right now, but when the other man explained what had went on, the Red Ranger had only one reply for him. "We're going to the Power Chamber."
"Yes, Tommy, how can I help you?" the Inquirian who had replaced Zordon asked quietly when the two Rangers appeared in their headquarters. The Red Ranger swiftly explained what Adam had just told him, and she frowned briefly. "Alpha, scan Adam to determine what has been done to him."
The results came in moments later, in one single word. "Divatox."
"Dimitria," Tommy was about to ask something that he honestly would have felt far more comfortable asking Zordon. "Can Adam tell Randi? About us, that is? The Rangers?"
He watched for a few nervous moments as his mentor considered the request. Then, "If you swear her to secrecy first," she decided. I believe we can trust her. Even if she and Adam do not become friends or lovers, I believe we can.
Adam smiled briefly. "I will. And thank you." he barely waited around for Dimitria's welcome before teleporting away again. Tommy sighed as the green streak lifted out of the Power Chamber.
"Divatox had better leave him alone," he said, just before he himself teleported back. Dimitria didn't have the heart to tell him that Adam was not being left alone.
Adam backed away again from Divatox, who stood before him in a tight outfit that made everything else she'd ever worn look like a nun's habit. "Get outta my way!" he growled, ready to morph at a moment's notice.
"Now, now, now, be nice!" she warned him. "Or else!"
"Or else what?" he asked with a defiant tilt of his head. The soft, evil laugh she uttered did nothing to make him feel any better.
"You don't want to know."
Adam shivered a little; something in the way she'd said that told him he really didn't want to know. "Look, I'm going to be late, let me beat up some Piranatrons, and then I'm out of here!"
"I don't think so!" the evil queen laughed. "And if you think you're late now, that's nothing compared to how late you're going to be!"
Adam sighed. "What do you want?" he wasn't surprised to hear her reply that what she wanted was him. He had an answer for her, though. "Can't have me!"
The pirate queen laughed, drawing a strange looking wand out from somewhere. "Then no one else will!"
"What are you talking about?" he started backing away nervously, reaching for his communicator as he did so. There was a sudden wash of pain over him, and the next thing he was fully aware of, he was small, covered in wrinkly skin, and croaking! I don't believe this! She turned me into a frog!
Adam-frog had no intentions of staying around Divatox, even like this, though, and hopped off towards Randi's home. He could hear Divatox calling after him. "Only I can break the spell, Ranger!" then she was gone.
I don't care, he growled to himself. I'd rather stay like this forever than become her toy! He could only hope he would stay true to that as he hopped down the road.
Randi sighed as she swung on the porch swing, waiting for Adam to show up. She was beginning to lose hope that he would; that something had happened so he couldn't or wouldn't. She almost jumped when a frog's ribbet sounded very near her, and looked over to see the small creature sitting rather forlornly on the porch.
"You lost, little fellow?" she asked, half-blushing at how silly that sounded. It wasn't as if it were a dog! It ribbetted again as it hopped closer to her. "What's wrong? You want a home?"
She could almost swear it was looking into her eyes as it came closer, and that it sounded upset! Once again it ribbeted, and she shrugged. In Angel Grove, who knew what could happen. ..even frogs literally hopping up and practically asking you to adopt them! "Come on. Looks like we both need a friend tonight."
She carried him upstairs, putting a couple of towels onto her dresser top, and placed him on it. "There you go. That'll do till I can get an aquarium for you."
The frog almost seem to sniff at the towels, and apparently was pleased by the scent! She smiled weakly as she went to pick up her student directory book. She might not live on Angel Grove University's campus, but she still called people there every now and then.
Adam managed to get a look at the directory, and if his frog-skin had been built for it he would have blushed. A heart. . .with my name in it! Drawn on the directory! Oh, BROTHER!! He watched as Randi dialed up his number, and spoke. "Is Adam there?" he couldn't hear what Tommy was saying, but he could hear her. "He's not here. Oh, okay. Okay, call me. I'm in the directory, under Miranda Stone. Yeah. Thanks. It's not so hard, for me. Look, I'll let you go and find Adam. Do me a favor? Don't tell anyone. Thanks and bye."
She sighed a little as she hung up. I wonder if something DID happen to Adam on the way here. I hope he's all right. Who would have imagined his roommate is a fan of my poetry? Will stranger things ever happen? She looked up at the very loud sound of a ribbet from her frog-friend, and sighed. "I don't think even you can cheer me up."
Adam-frog did what he could to sound both very lonely and very friendly; he was surprised that she had even looked at him really. But nothing was more surprising than when Randi opened up an old tattered notebook and started to write in it.
Curiosity was one thing that hadn't changed with Adam's form, and he hopped over to see what she was writing about. Oh, wonderful. What I did earlier. Hey, there's an idea! He looked directly into her eyes; trying to figure out a way to communicate to him just who he was.
"I'm writing, kiddo!" she protested. Adam pawed at the notebook, then hopped over to her directory and pawed at the name, at his name written on it. "You like that name?"
Adam did his level best to point to himself, but discovered that simply wasn't possible when one didn't have fingers. Randi shrugged. "Okay, I'll call you Adam," she would have almost sworn he groaned. "Go to sleep, Adam," he ribbeted again and pawed at the name as best he could. "I'm tired." the frog hopped nimbly up to her shoulder, and she sighed, putting him back on the dresser where he belonged. As she started to get ready for bed, she didn't notice him staring at her, a very un-froglike line of drool going down one lip.
There could be advantages to this! he thought as she slid into bed. She was asleep in moments, and dreaming not long after. Adam watched in horror as she tossed back and forth in the grips of a nightmare, a nightmare he knew all too well.
"Adam!" she shouted, sitting straight up in bed. A moment later the door flew open and her parents came running in. Just like her uncle, Jerome Stone, her father was a cop, and he was instantly alert for anything that might bother her.
"Randi, what's going on?" he asked as she trembled in her bed. "Please, talk to us, what happened? Was it a nightmare?"
She nodded a little, and her mom took her hands. "What was it about?"
Adam winced as the tale of what had happened earlier came out of her, and Officer Stone looked very annoyed. "Daddy!" Randi looked at him warningly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what happened earlier."
"Why didn't you?"
She sighed. "Because I don't want him getting arrested!"
"He should be!"
The young poet shook her head. "But he stopped. Don't let this one mistake ruin his life," her father growled, and Randi's eyes hardened. "Forget I even said anything."
Her dad looked at her. "Are you sure?" at her assurance, he sighed. "All right."
With mutual reassurances that everything was all right, her parents hugged her. Adam was amazed at the level of trust they had in her, really. "You guys have to get up early to take Kristy to the hospital, anyway! And I've only got one final class before break starts anyway, and that's a test."
Her mother nodded. "Get some rest," she ordered as they left her laying down. Randi sighed a little, then pulled her poetry notebook out. Adam watched from almost literally over her shoulder as she ripped out the first draft of the poem, and rewrote it. Once it was done, she put him back on the dresser, and returned to a deep, restful slumber.
Adam sighed deeply. I'm screwed.
Dimitria was somewhat surprised when Tommy teleported back in. The first words out of his mouth were rather simple: "Adam's disappeared."
"Alpha, begins scans to find him," the Inquirian directed. The little robot did so quickly, and Tommy paced back and forth worriedly. He was considering calling the other Rangers in to help when Alpha turned to him.
"He's at Miranda Stone's."
Tommy blinked, shaking his head. "He is? But she said he wasn't there!"
"I can bring it up on the screen," Alpha said, punching buttons. "Look, he's in her bedroom!"
Tommy stared at the images, then shook his head. "I don't see him. I see her, and her pet frog, and that's it!"
Alpha scanned again. "According. . .yo-yo-yo. ..that frog is Adam!"
"Say what!?" Tommy stared at Alpha, who rechecked the readings and nodded.
"That frog is Adam!" the New York accented robot told him. Tommy growled out the name of their enemy; that was the only thing that could possibly make an sense! "We can get him in the morning. I can run a few tests long-distance from here and see if we can undo it. You go home and sleep; you've got a test tomorrow in English!"
Tommy sighed. "I know. But. ..Adam's a frog!" how am I supposed to sleep with my friend croaking!?
Adam watched, unable to sleep, as Randi tossed and turned in her sleep. "Adam. . .," she whispered, not knowing that he was sitting just a few feet away from her, watching. "I love you."
The frog sighed. If only you knew, he thought. And if only I could tell you. I love you, too, Randi. With a mighty jump, he hopped over to her and snuggled as close as he could, hoping his clammy skin wouldn't wake her up. It didn't seem to, as they both drifted off to sleep together.
"How dare he find her!" Divatox screamed, furious at this most recent turn of events. "How DARE he!"
"He did!" Porto spoke up, then winced away from the look in her eyes.
Divatox paced back and forth, not wanting to watch her frog-Ranger as he slept with that human. "She can break the spell on him!" she shouted. "I have to destroy her!" the wand she had used to transform Adam had been a one-time shot, the only thing it could do was what it had done, turning him into a frog. She had set the spell so only one of two things could break it: her own desire or the kiss of true love. She'd not wanted to put that 'true love' subclause into it, but she hadn't been able to figure out how to get around it. Unluckily, it looked as if he had found his true love!
Elgar waved his sword around. "Lemme do it, Auntie D!" he begged. Divatox looked him up and down. He had the IQ of a fruitbasket, but he was a good fighter. She nodded.
"Fine. Tomorrow morning will be her final exam at that college!"
"Wahoo!" Elgar bounced up and down with evil glee. "I get to kill the human! I get to kill the human!"
Divatox nodded harshly. "And make sure it's slow and painful!" she ordered. "I will have my Ranger-toy!" as she stormed off to plot just what she was going to do to Adam once she had him, Porto looked over at Rygog.
"I think she took it well."
Adam-frog felt a touch on his skin the next morning, and looked up to see Randi looking at him with a frown on her features. It took him a moment to remember that he was a frog, and that Randi had said she loved him the night before. I'm. . .so weak. ..what's wrong with me?
Randi's forehead furrowed. "You are dry. This isn't good. Come on, time for a shower!"
Adam hardly moved as he was picked up and carried into the bathroom. It perked through his brain that he was a frog now and frogs had to stay wet: and he was dry. He didn't even notice when Randi got out of her clothes and carried him into the shower with him. He did, however, notice when icy-cold water poured down on him. "Yow!" he yelled in reflex. "That's cold!" when he heard himself, he stopped suddenly. "Hey! I talked!" he looked over at the sound of a body falling: Randi had fainted! "Oh, boy!" he hopped quickly over to her, landing on her chest and staring at her. "Randi! Randi!"
Slowly her eyes began to flicker open. "A. ..Adam?"
"It's me!" he said as happily as he could, considering her was still a frog! And considering what he was going to have to tell her.
She stared in shock. "How did this happen!?"
"I've got a few things to tell you," he said quietly. She nodded quickly.
"You sure bet you do!"
Adam took a deep breath; and hoped she wouldn't notice anytime soon he was still sitting on her chest. "Let me start at the beginning. I'm a Power Ranger."
She barely flicked an eyebrow. "And?"
For almost an hour, she was treated to the history of the Rangers, right up until the moment Divatox had turned him into a frog. She nodded slowly when he was done. "I've got to get Tommy," she said finally, looking at him. "Get off my chest, Adam."
He hopped quickly off her, then watched as she filled the tub up with a little more cold water. "Get in," she said. "Don't want you dying on me!"
"Thanks," he said quietly as she nodded, dried, and dressed. When she returned to the bathroom, she was looking curiously at him, and seemed to have put it all together again in her head.
"You must be hungry."
Adam nodded. "Yes, and I don't really want a fly," despite his words, when one buzzed by right then, he automatically shot his tongue out and pulled the thing in. Randi shivered.
"Looks like you got one," she gulped. Adam swallowed quickly and did a frog-smile.
"You know, that doesn't taste too bad!"
Randi took a deep breath and shook her head. "See ya!"
"Take me with you!" Adam asked, hopping towards her eagerly. Randi shook her head.
"No, you need this," she gestured to the water. "You were so dry and weak this morning. You still are, actually."
Adam sighed. "Okay," he settled back into the water as she shut the door, more to keep him safe than to keep him in. She shook her head as she headed out to the front yard and the car.
"First Kristy and now this," she muttered. The guy I love is a frog. Wow.
She opened the door and practically had a fatal heart attack at the sight of a huge, ugly monster on the front yard. A part of her mind recognized it from Adam's descriptions as Elgar, Divatox's nephew. "Hi there!" it growled, waving a large sword. "I get to kill you!"
Randi shrieked as she backed away from the creature, backing back up the stairs and stumbling. "Adam!" she shrieked. Why did I shut the door? "Adam!" I think I just twisted my ankle!
She looked up as Elgar raised his sword and prepared to bring it down harshly on her. "Noooo!" she screamed. "Help!"
"Hey!" she jerked her head back and was surprised to see Adam there! Then she remembered she'd left the door just the tiniest bit open, he must have been able to get through it. "Adam! Get help!"
Adam hopped towards Elgar as fiercely as any frog could. "Leave her alone!"
Randi shook her head. "Get out of here, Adam! Get Tommy!"
Adam thought of his next line for all of a minute. "I'm a frog." I'm a frog and she expects me to get help? Wonderful!!!
"Adam, I can't walk, I twisted my ankle. You are my only hope!" she told him. Adam sighed as he started to hop away as fast as he could. He wasn't too shocked to see Divatox appearing in front of him, though.
"Hello, my frog prince!" she declared. Adam shivered, staring at her in shock.
"Get away from me!"
Divatox laughed softly, almost fingering the top of his head. "Why? Only I can change you back!"
"I'd rather stay a frog than be with you!" he hopped away as fast as he could. Divatox laughed.
"Then you will!" she declared. "Pity, because I am your true love!"
Adam looked over his shoulder, as much as he could. "Shut up, unless you really want to see that fly I had earlier!"
"Look for your friend while you can!" Divatox growled. "Cause soon she will be gone!"
The Green Ranger, currently in frog-form, did what he could to hop away. "Don't you touch her!"
"Oh, I'm not!" Divatox promised coldly. "Elgar gets that pleasure!" she told him, reaching again. Adam hopped away quickly, finding a nice cool bush to hide under. He chuckled to himself as she searched in vain for a few minutes, then stomped off to help Elgar. Adam growled; he had to find a way to help Randi!!
A sudden familiar tingling brought him to the Power Chamber, and he found himself sitting on the floor, looking up at things that were so much bigger than he was used to seeing them. Tommy came over to him, a grin on his face.
"We got you!"
Adam ignored that; there was something else on his mind, and now he could help her! "Randi! Elgar and Divatox are going after her!"
The Rangers' leader nodded, and glanced at the others. "Let's go, guys! Shift into Turbo!" the Power Rangers were on the job.
Randi was doing what she could to pull away from Elgar's sword, keeping herself as far back from him as she could. He laughed icily. "Time to die!"
"No!" she screamed as he started to bring the sword down. "No!!"
She looked up as the Red Turbo Ranger appeared suddenly, kicking Elgar's sword smoothly out of his hands. Tommy glared at the two creatures of evil. "I suggest you leave here!"
"I wanna kill her!" Elgar growled. "Divatox said I could!"
Divatox's eyes blazed brightly. "Don't you dare interfere!" Tommy's only response was a powerful and harsh kick straight to the midsection.
"I suggest you leave, now!" he ordered. Elgar shivered away from him, his hands going down to cover that most sensitive of areas.
"I'm going, I'm going!"
Divatox wasn't so easily disposed of, though. "You'll never have Adam back, never! I'm the only one who can change him back!"
"I've heard that one before!" Tommy laughed. "Get out of here, Divatox. And stay gone this time."
Together the evil aunt and nephew vanished, and Tommy demorphed, knowing that Adam had told her their secret already. "Randi!" he knelt down next to where the girl had crumpled. "Randi!" she wasn't paying much attention, though. "You're safe," he told her. "They're gone."
Her eyes blinked. "W. .what?"
"They're gone," he repeated. "You're safe."
Randi nodded, wincing at the pain in her ankle. "Where's Adam?"
"I left him in the Power Chamber, Dimitria and Alpha are working on fixing him up," he told her. "We can get your ankle fixed there if you like."
Randi shook her head. "I'll take my chances in the ER," she said. "But first Adam. He's a frog; if he's out of water for too long, he could die if he dries up."
Tommy smiled briefly, and was surprised when she returned it. He'd never seen her smile before, and was impressed by it. I can see what Adam sees in her, he thought. "Let's go."
Seconds later, they were in the Power Chamber. Adam was happily splashing around in a bucket of water while Alpha searched through all the databanks for a way, anyway, to return him to normal. "Adam?" Randi glanced around as she appeared in the headquarters.
"Over here!" Adam piped up. Randi hobbled over to him and bent over the bucket.
"Adam, you okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah, what about you?"
"Probably a twisted ankle, shock," she said carelessly as he tried to smile. "I'll live. We'll talk more later."
Adam nodded as she smiled briefly, then leaned over to kiss him on the forehead.
They all stared for a moment as a silvery-green glow wrapped around Adam, starting from where her lips had touched him. Then, he was standing in the bucket, naked as the day he was born, and just as human!! Randi stared, blushing, then quickly whipped her sweater off and wrapped it around his hips. Tommy could barely hold his laughter in as he teleported the embarrassed Green Ranger home; they could figure out later how it had happened.
Randi sighed briefly, then looked to Tommy. "Think you could send me home?"
"Sure," he punched a button on a console, and Randi dissolved into white light, reappearing in her bedroom. Ignoring the pain in both her heart and her ankle, she laid down on the bed, staring half-mindlessly at the ceiling with unnoticed tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Randi?" she turned to see Adam standing there quietly, dressed and looking nervous.
She nodded quietly. "Hello, Adam."
"Thank you," he whispered, looking ready to jump and leave at any moment. She raised one eyebrow.
"For what?"
Adam sighed. I knew it was too good to be true. The spell must have just worn off, that's all. "Never mind," he replied quietly. "I guess it's not true. I won't bother you again." he lifted his communicator up when she spoke.
"Did you enjoy being here last night?"
Adam nodded quietly, and she smiled briefly. "I liked having company, even if I didn't know it was you," she looked at him. "Did. .I, um, talk in my sleep?"
"No," he said after a moment's pause, his wrist still raised and ready to go. Randi sighed.
"Oh. Cause I have habits of doing that," she told him, sitting up and patting the bed next to her. She could have sworn he actually jumped back some.
Adam shook his head. "I'd better go." Last time we were both human. .I. .no. .I . .I won't do that again, I won't!
Randi sighed, getting up and going over to the window, deliberately putting pressure on her foot despite how much it hurt. "Oh. Here I thought you liked me too. I guess I was wrong again."
He stared at her retreating back, then decided to go for broke. "I do," his voice was very soft, very tender. "That's why I can't stay."
"That's so stupid!!" she glared at him. Adam shook his head, and she sighed, trying not to cry as she sat by the window. "Fine. Go."
Adam tried to make her understand. "You know what I did the last time we were like this. I won't bother you again." he tried to ignore the tears going down her face. "It's better this way."
"Fine," Randi wept. "I lose a boyfriend before we can even start dating."
"It's safer for you anyway," he said, his hand reaching for the communicator slowly, oh, so slowly!!!
Randi could feel her heart breaking, her very soul breaking as he prepared to go. "Whatever you say."
"No matter how much I want to stay," he whispered. "I can't."
Randi shrugged. I think I can find my dad's gun as soon as he's gone. "Then go," she kept her voice a full level coolness.
Adam nodded, trembling. I guess . .she doesn't love me. . He took a deep breath, and teleported away. Randi sighed as he vanished, then headed downstairs to where her father kept some of his spare weapons. They were locked up, to keep them away from Kristy, but she knew where he kept the key. Quietly she got one of the smaller handguns out, and loaded it with firm fingers. Randi had made up her mind long ago. When life no longer seemed worth living, then she wouldn't. And when the man she loved didn't love her, then it wasn't worth living. With quick strokes, she wrote her version of a suicide note; a poem that told everything.
She took a deep breath, lifting the gun to her chin. This should be painless. ..I hope. She prepared to squeeze the trigger, when a flash of green appeared, knocking the gun away from her. "Leave, Adam," her voice was cold.
He looked right at her, and there was more love and life in his eyes than she had ever seen before. "Do you love me?"
"What do you care?"
"Answer the question."
Randi sighed. "Yes." her heart nearly exploded when Adam leaned in and planted a kiss on her! She didn't want to, but she pulled away.
"I love you," he whispered. She shook her head, tears in her eyes.
"Let me do this!"
"No!"
Randi's eyes hardened. "You said it yourself. You don't want to be with me."
Adam groaned; she was about to die over unsaid words and misunderstandings! Well, not if the Green Ranger had anything to say about it! "I do want to be with you. But I thought that you didn't want to be with me."
"I know I talked last night," Randi whispered. Adam nodded.
"And I know what you said. Then I remembered something else Divatox said: something about how only true love's kiss could break that spell. You broke it, Randi. You are my true love."
"It doesn't matter anymore," she insisted. Adam shook his head, it did matter. "Adam, I'm no good for you!"
Adam looked right at her. "You are. You're perfect for me!"
She closed her eyes briefly. Could his supposed love stand up to what she had to tell him? To what he should know, considering what had happened the day before? Well, there was only one way to find out. "I could be HIV positive, Adam."
He shrugged. "Your point being?"
"I could be dying!" she growled. That was the point! Didn't he get it!
"I don't care, I love you," she could say one thing for him, he was stubborn!
She looked at him; he was so cute, and so stubborn, and so very, very, lovable. But her mind was made up. "I am not going to inflict this on you."
"You probably already have," he said bluntly. "I want you to understand this, Randi. No matter what, I love you. You could grab that gun and kill me and I'd die loving you. I'd be extremely annoyed, but I'd still love you!"
Randi smiled briefly as he kissed her again, and held her close to him. It felt so good to be in his arms too. She didn't ever want to let go. . .
But she had to. "I need to leave, Adam."
"Why?" he looked so innocent when he asked that simple question! She could understand why she loved him, but why he loved her. ..she had no idea.
She gestured to her ankle. "My ankle is swollen three times it's normal size," she said dryly. Adam smiled a little.
"I'll take you to the ER."
Randi smiled briefly as he picked her up most gallantly. "Thanks!" she giggled a little. "Are you going to carry me?"
"Of course!" Adam grinned as he headed out with her in her arms. They didn't teleport, but it didn't seem as if any time at all had passed by the time they got to the Emergency Room. They were the only people there, so the doctor was able to look at her quickly.
"What happened here?" the doctor wondered, looking at them curiously.
Randi shrugged a little. "I fell and twisted my ankle."
"Let me take a look at it," he said, watching as she carefully put herself up on the table and let him take a look at it. As he carefully taped it up, she looked at him.
"Twisted?" he nodded and she sighed. "How long on the crutches?"
The doctor quickly examined the severity of the twist and frowned. "I think a couple of weeks," he said, then ran through some of his notes. "Um, Randi. I've got some news on your other condition."
She frowned. "What?"
He loved being able to give out news like this. "False alarm," he grinned. "Someone mixed up the tests."
Randi's eyes went wide with joy. "Are you sure?" she whispered. "Are you sure I don't have HIV?" when he nodded, she closed her eyes for a moment. "Is it okay if I get another blood test to make sure?"
The doctor nodded. "I don't blame you, I'd want another one too!"
"When?"
"When is good for you?"
She glanced at Adam. "Now?" the doctor nodded, and she smiled briefly, reaching for her crutches. "Come with me?" she asked Adam.
"You have but to ask," he smiled, and she could hardly help but chuckle.
"I just did."
Randi and Adam followed the doctor down the hall to the lab, and once the blood had been drawn, were told that it would be the next day before they got the results back. Randi nodded, then looked over at Adam; she'd seen her parents in the waiting room, and remembered they had brought Kristy in there today for another eye checkup. "Let's go see Kristy?"
"Sure!" Adam grinned as they started back to the waiting room. His girlfriend, and it gave him a warm thrill to think of her like that, ran over to her parents as soon as they got there.
"Is she out yet?" Randi asked, and sighed when her mom shook her head. She practically winced at the look her father was giving Adam, then got to work trying to learn how to use her crutches. After a few moments of figuring out how to walk with them, she decided it was time her boyfriend and father were properly introduced. Swinging back around, she said almost bluntly, "Adam, this is my father, Captain David Stone."
Adam nodded. "Hello, sir. Would you be related to Jerome Stone?" the officer only nodded shortly, and Adam had the distinct impression that he would gladly see him under about thirty feet of concrete if he had the opportunity. He quietly made his way over to a sit not too near the angry father-cop, and smiled as Randi sat beside him. The two of them were deeply involved in a passionate kiss moments later, totally ignoring the looks at Captain Stone kept giving them both. Things cooled off suddenly, however, when Randi tried to curl up, and winced at the pain that caused her ankle.
"Randi?" her mom looked over to her. She'd seen the crutches, but hadn't actually seen them and had it register on her mind that something was wrong. "How'd you hurt yourself?"
"Fell down the front porch," she said, eliminating the mention that it was because she was trying to get away from evil space aliens. "Adam brought me here after he came over." and he stopped me from killing myself.
Her father raised an eyebrow. "And what was he doing coming over?" there was an evident threat in his voice; he had been very upset by what his daughter had told him after her nightmare the night before.
"I asked him over," she replied coolly, looking Dad straight in the eyes. No matter what had happened, she loved Adam, he loved her, and nothing, not Divatox, not her parents, not death itself, would keep the two of them apart. "I love him," Randi stared at her father for a few more moments, then leaned her head against Adam, falling into a deep sleep. She'd had a fairly rough twenty-four hours, he would be the first to admit.
Captain Stone looked at Adam coldly. "You are lucky," he said quietly. "Lucky I don't arrest you right now." Adam said nothing, only glanced down at the girl in his arms and thanked his lucky stars that Randi understood. Even if her father doesn't.
Quiet hours passed while they waited to see what the results would be on Kristy's tests. The little girl and her mother had been in a car accident some months earlier, and while Mrs. Stone had been relatively unhurt, Kristy's injuries had temporarily blinded her. The doctors were almost certain they could repair the damage, but it was going to take time. One of those working on her quietly came out to talk to the family.
"She's awake and asking to see Miranda," he reported. This latest examination had taken longer than they thought, but things did look good, he told them. Adam slowly awoke his girlfriend.
"Hmmmmm?" Randi's eyelids fluttered.
"Your sister's awake," he told her. "She wants to see you. I'll stay here while you go; you can have some quality time with her by yourself."
Randi smiled, gave him a little kiss on the cheek, and then headed into her sister's room. The little girl lay on the bed, bandaged eyes looking up at the ceiling. "Hey! The doctors say you're going to be seeing soon again!"
"I hope so!" Kristy piped up, turning her head to the direction her sister's voice came in. "I really hope so!"
Randi smiled briefly. "I'm sure of it." she paused for a moment, then nodded to herself. "Adam will be there when you can, too!"
"Really?" Kristy loved the older man like a big brother, and hadn't failed to notice that Randi cared for him deeply as well. In fact, it was Kristy who had pointed out to her sister just how much she did care about him.
Randi nodded, and Kristy giggled a little. "You like him?"
"I guess," Randi was half-teasing her sister, and Kristy knew it.
"You guess?"
"I guess."
"Oh," Randi tried not to grin at the expression on Kristy's face, then suddenly tickled her.
"He likes you!" she teased, and then tucked her quickly back into the bed. "Get some rest, kiddo. I got homework to do," after making sure Kristy drifted back to sleep, she headed back out to find Adam sitting as far from her parents as he could get. "Let's go," she said, nodding to her parents as they went in to see Kristy in their own turn. She also noticed that Adam was avoiding looking at them pointedly. "Adam?"
"Hmmmm?"
She frowned briefly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he shook his head. Hope she believes me.
She smiled. "Okay, let's go. We've got to get some homework done."
Once they were back in her room, she looked over at him. She'd been thinking about what she was about to ask almost since she'd come out of her sister's room. "Care to join me and my folks for dinner tonight?"
He went very stiff at once. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not?" her eyes darkened at once. She hadn't missed the tension between the two of them; she'd have to be worse than blind, she'd have to be dead to have.
Adam sighed. "Your dad hates me, and wants to arrest me and see me about fifty feet under the jail."
"Give him time to cool down," she advised. When he gave her a look, she sighed. "Fine. Don't try to get along with my parents."
He shook his head. "I want to, but I don't think your dad wants to get along with me, even if he does cool down."
Her only response was to get her English notebook; they were finally going to get around to the homework that had been interrupted the night before. "Let's work on this," she sighed. "We have to write a poem."
Adam nodded. "And I want it to be good."
She handed him the notebook and a pen. "Write something," she told him, and waited as he scribbled a few lines down quickly. She knew Adam wrote prose just fine, but had no idea on how he was with poetry. Once he was finished, she took a look at it, and took a deep breath. "Ummm. . .it's a start," she said the nicest thing she could think of about it. "I take poetry very seriously, Adam. First of all, poems don't have to rhyme. Second `roses are red, violets are blue'? Isn't that what you usually find in greeting cards?"
Adam by now could most definitely qualify as the Red Ranger, for the sheer blush across his face. She smiled briefly, then closed her eyes for a moment, organizing her thoughts.
She glanced at Adam for his reaction, and was flattered to see him staring at her in open-mouthed surprise. "Do me a favor. Talk to Tommy. I think he may have a book for you to read."
He nodded, slowly getting up. "Thanks for the dinner offer," and he could see her wincing at that. "But maybe some other time?" when your dad isn't ready to pull out his gun and shoot me. He took a long look at her, and almost shivered. I can't do this to her. She's already hurting so much, and we HAVE to do something to calm her dad down. Maybe we can tell him some of what happened, that I got caught in an attack by accident or something. But the first step. . .is this. .. "Randi? Does it still stand?"
She looked up; she'd started working on her own poem and hadn't noticed he hadn't left. "What? To have dinner with me and my parents. Sure."
"Then," he smiled briefly. "I think I'd like to."
Randi smiled as she pulled him over to her and into a deep, sweet, passionate kiss that made the harsh ones of the night before seem like child's fumbling. Adam's hands were just beginning to drift to interesting places when a harsh voice shouted out from behind, "Get out!"
They looked up to see her parents standing in the doorway; her mother looking somewhat embarrassed, her father looking absolutely furious! "Get out!" he repeated. "Now!"
Adam took a deep breath, and shook his head. "No."
"He's staying here and eating dinner with us!" Randi glared daringly at her parents. Her father shook his head harshly; there was no way he was going to allow a monster like that to do anything with his daughter, much less eat dinner with them! Randi could see the determination in his eyes. "Why can't you two just stop fighting!?" she yelled.
Her father's face was stern. "He raped you."
"I forgave him!"
"How could you?" he glared. "He should be locked up!"
She took a deep breath. "I love him."
Dead, total silence reigned in the room. Randi stared at the disbelieving faces of her parents, and just couldn't take it. "Get out! Both of you! All of you! Get out and leave me alone!" she turned away even from Adam. "Now! Leave me alone!" she cried as she heard footsteps leaving, wishing that none of it had ever happened, wishing that Divatox had left Adam alone, that she'd never tried to talk to him the day before and invited him over in the first place, wishing she had never even been born.
"Randi?" it was her mother's voice. She didn't even look up, though. She was serious.
"Leave me alone," she said. "I want to be alone."
Mrs. Stone wasn't going, though. "You don't need to be alone."
"What do you mean?"
"I know what you were trying to do," she said quietly. "I found the gun, Randi. I put it and the bullets away before your dad saw it. He's angry enough right now, I didn't want him to fly off the handle even farther and try to kill Adam. Why did you try it?"
She shook her head. "I can't tell you."
"Yes you can."
Randi sighed. "I promised some very important people that I wouldn't," she said. "I can tell you some of it, though. For reasons that I and a certain group of people don't understand, Divatox tried to have me killed."
She had never seen her mother's eyes that wide. "Divatox!? That space pirate that the Power Rangers fight?"
Yes, Mother, that one, do you know any other Divatoxes? Randi almost said it out loud, but decided not to. "Please let me sleep," was all she said.
"What does that have to do with you trying to suicide?" Mrs. Stone wasn't going to give up, though.
"It's one of the reasons I did," she said quietly. "I don't want to talk about it, Mom."
Mrs. Stone half-glared. "You never do."
"It's just how I am," Randi reminded her. They'd had this argument out over and over again through the years. "I do talk about things. In my poetry, but you never read them."
"I don't want Randi sighed. "Maybe that's why I never want to talk about it."
Her mom looked almost sarcastic. "Yes. Someone might help you or understand you without having to be a mind reader."
"Or I wouldn't have anything to write about."
Mrs. Stone gave up; Randi was too stubborn sometimes. "I'll write you a note to let you know when dinner is." she didn't hear Randi saying she would see her tomorrow, or crying herself to sleep as she went downstairs. Sometimes, she thought she would never understand her oldest daughter.
Adam's thoughts churned as he returned to the dorm. He wanted to get along with Randi's parents, but he couldn't explain to them the full truth of what had happened without possibly revealing the secret of the Rangers to them. He'd done that once with Randi, but that was a special case. He didn't think he'd be able to tell her parents, and even if he did, Captain Stone probably wouldn't believe it anyway. He was no close to an answer by the time he arrived home than he was when he'd left
Tommy was sitting in the main room, what would be a living room in a real apartment, reading a book. "Hey!" the Red Ranger glanced up at him as he entered. Adam just sat down, barely paying attention to him. "What's wrong?"
"The person I love is suicidal, her dad would love to shoot me, I was a frog overnight, Divatox probably wants to kill Randi, no scratch that, does want to kill her for freeing me. Nothing much."
Tommy glanced down at the book in his hands, and smiled briefly, then tossed it over to Adam. "She's a lot more than suicidal," he said. "Read that."
He watched as Adam started reading, then suddenly flipped to the front of the book and stared at the title of it. Tommy almost giggled at the look in his eyes. Lessons of the Heart, by Miranda Stone.
"S. .she's incredible!" he breathed. "I had no idea she could write so well!"
"I know," Tommy smiled. "She asked me not to tell you. I think she wanted to."
Adam nodded slowly. "She told me that you had a poetry book I'd probably want to see."
"Her way of telling you," Tommy smiled. "You two are going to be okay."
"I hope so."
Tommy chuckled as he came over to his friend, turning the pages until he reached a certain one . "This is the first poem I read by her. Kim put it inside a card she sent me a few weeks ago," Tommy and Kat were a solid couple still, but after Murianthus, Kim and Tommy had went through a very long, cathartic talk together. The man she had originally broken up with him for had eventually abandoned her, but by then she had realized she didn't want to be Tommy's girlfriend anymore. She and Jason had recently declared themselves a couple, and were exploring just what that meant to each other. "It's about forgiving."
As he went to the bathroom, Adam started reading, and his eyes grew wider and wider with every word. They were filled with tears of love and joy when Tommy finally returned. "I'm going to bed," he said. "As if you notice," he grinned as Adam barely waved to him, then headed off to his room. Adam wasn't going to be noticing anything for a while, he knew. Randi's poems did have a way of drawing you in.
Hours passed while the Green Ranger read eagerly, then he jumped when the phone rang suddenly. "Hello?" he shook his head a little, trying to pull himself out of the world the wonderful words had created for him.
"Adam. . .," it was Randi's voice whispering quietly, fearfully. "Help."
"Randi? What is it?"
"Divatox's got my parents, and is looking for me," she whispered. Adam sat up straighter.
"Where are you?"
"My closet."
"I'm on the way!" he was about to hang up, when a strangled cry came from the phone.
"They found me!"
|