I don’t own the whole Power Rangers concept, you should all know by now that Disney does. The things I do own are any characters you do not recognize, so please don’t use them without my permission.

Chapter 1—Intro to Cybernetics 101, Part I

My name is Patrick. It’s what I go by and it’s what I answer to…but it’s not the only thing I get called, thanks to being a senior in high school. I’m not from Reefside, California where I am now. I’m originally from Ontario, Canada, and it shows in my accent. Not that I look Canadian. I’ve got gray eyes (not hazel or blue), dark brown hair that’s straight but thick, and I’m about 6’—kind of tall for my age of 18. Other than all that, I’m mixed, divided into fourths; White, Black, Native American, and Hispanic.

As interesting as all that is or was, my life warped into overdrive as I was sucked into an immense battle and eternal struggle of superpowers. This is my life, my story, my history of my actions and affairs with that multicolored team of superheroes of spandex; the Power Rangers: Cyber Squad.

—Cyber Squad 1—

“Hey Pat, wait up!” I heard a familiar voice shout down the hall.

I turned my head a bit in time to see my best friend, Matt Jamieson, running toward me.

“Heeeeey, Matt!” I said as he caught up.

“Dude, guess what!”

“What?”

“I just totally BOMBED my English quiz,” he enthused.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “And that’s funny because?” I wondered.

Matt isn’t your average guy, he’s not usually this ridiculous…well…actually, he is, but that’s why he’s cool. He stands a full inch taller than me at 6’1”, and is by birth a brunet, but has blond highlights…which I guess he thought would look good or make him smarter…whichever. He’s also got the oddest crystal blue eyes; not the bluest I’ve ever seen, they’re just odd looking.

Before Matt could answer me back, an immovable force intercepted my path.

Aaron Brooks is just so perfect I almost envy him...except for the fact he’s a complete and total dickhead.

The short version of my history with Aaron: bad. Someone started a rumor that I sent him love letters; yet he fails to realize he’s too much of an asshole for me to like him. We’ve been enemies ever since I moved here back in sophomore year, two years ago.

“Move queer,” he spat.

“Sure your royal pain in the ass,” I smiled falsely as I stuck my foot out for him.

He stumbled slightly and sucked in an angry breath.

“One of these days, Adams, I’m gonna kick your—”

“Morning boys,” a stern voice said, cutting Aaron off.

I looked up to see the aging Thomas Oliver. At 48, he was graying a bit, and his eyes had a lost a little of their fire. His stature never changed, as he obviously kept in shape, and he kept his hair trimmed and spiked, which I guess he liked.

“Good morning Dr. Oliver,” I smiled.

Aaron glared at me before muttering, “Morning…”

“I take it you’re on your way to class?” he asked.

“Yep,” I said comfortably.

“Good, good; don’t forget to stop by my office later on to get your letter of recommendation.”

I nodded, gave my thanks, and headed into the classroom as our teacher passed us, walking out to have a discussion with Dr. Oliver. Aaron was snarling obscenities at me all until I finally turned to him.

“Are you finished with your little temper tantrum, little Miss Bitchy?”

His blue-green eyes narrowed. If there was one thing I hated most about Aaron, physically, it was his eyes. They were so much odder than Matt’s could ever have been, and they seemed to be able to look right through you.

“Fuck. You.”

Oh if only...“I’ll take a rain check,” I grinned.

I turned around but he spun me right back around, “You and that smart ass mou—”

He stopped mid-sentence when I jerked my hand free and glared at him, “Don’t ever touch me again or I’ll break your hand, got it?”

He paused a minute before forcing a laugh, “Is that supposed to scare me?”

“I dunno, you tell me.”

I walked off and took my seat next to my two female best friends. Amy, my oldest and closest friend, was my ex-girlfriend. Honestly, I have a long story for her, too. She was the first person I ever told about my sexual confusions and she still hasn’t told anyone. As beautiful as she was, I didn’t think I deserved her really. She stood at 5’5”, had shoulder-length brown hair and a pair of deep blue eyes that often shielded her emotions.

Grace was my other friend. Unlike Amy, she was blond, but that never hindered her intellect. She managed to model professionally and still had me beat in all our classes with her top notch grades. At 5’9, with green eyes, and a knock out smile, Grace was definitely every guy’s dream girl. Her mom was also one of the nicest people I’d ever met.

“What was the score on that one?” Grace asked jokingly.

“Not sure, something like 6-4, me,” I responded as I dropped my forest green backpack between Amy and Grace’s seats, Matt repeating my action in the desk in front of me.

“Oh, either you’re losing your touch or he’s getting better,” Amy laughed.

Before I could respond, Jay, Aaron’s best friend, appeared next to me with a grimace plastered on his face.

“Can I help you?” I asked in annoyance.

“Why do you have to be so fucking weird?” Jay asked.

I admit, back then, that stung. He got to set the standards and that pissed me off.

“I dunno, why do you have to be so annoying?”
Jay had a much shorter temper than Aaron, so without warning he pointed a finger in my face saying “Watch it!”

“I’d say you need to watch where you’re pointing that finger.”

Before I noticed it, Jay had punched me in my nose! I lunged at him, without thinking, knocking him through several desks and landing near him. I began to punch him while trying to pin him, only it didn’t work so well against his taller, more muscular form.

Aaron’s and Jay’s football buddies, Mark Sanders and Kevin Gerringer, were coming towards me. That’s when Matt came in like lightning, pushing them back and breaking it up. He was holding Kevin back but “Sanders” and Aaron still walked towards me.

I don’t know when, but Amy and Grace appeared and gave Sanders and Aaron a stern talking to. Sometime in that quarrel, Sanders pushed Grace and Amy went berserk, just straight wailing on him. A quick movement out the corner of my eye let me know Jay was charging me. I lifted my foot and it connected flawlessly with his stomach in a squishing noise.

“What in the hell is going on here?!?!” I heard Dr. O’s voice yell.

“Ah shit…” I heard Aaron groan…

—Cyber Squad 1—

“I mean, do you even think before you act?” My mom yelled over the phone.

I cringed at her tone, as I was holding the receiver a good two inches from my ear.

“I can’t believe you Patrick Thomas Adams, you are so grounded! Have you been taking your medicine?”

“Yes mom,” I answered annoyed.

“We’ll talk about this later, I can’t afford to lose my job over this,” she sighed.

“Alright.”

“Bye.”

“Bye mom.”

“Hey,” she said, noticeably softer.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I hung the phone up and walked dismally over to the group of kids that had been involved in the brawl.

Once Dr. O came in we all stopped and he brought us to his office, and then made us call our parents. On top of that, we’d have detention for a week and 40 hours of community service each. Apparently there was no need to involve the police since we all agreed to the community service because there was no way we were getting out of it. Blah.

During detention, I drew. I didn’t talk to anyone, I didn’t look at anyone, I just drew; and that was what I was good at. Before I knew it, detention was over.

“Need a ride?” Grace asked, walking up beside me.

“Uh, yeah sure. I was just gonna walk but I guess a ride wouldn’t hurt,” I said.

We began our walk to the parking lot that was separated in two by a mini-forest so dense you couldn’t see through to the other side.

“I figured we could get something—” she was cut off by an earthshaking, sound barrier cracking explosion. I clasped my hands over my ears in pain.

“What was that?” Grace yelled over the sound of fire once we picked ourselves up off the ground.

“I dunno!” I yelled back.

She pulled out her cell, “I’m calling the police.”

She was sane and I guess it was good know one of us would be. I just nodded and began to run through the mini-forest to see what happened. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I arrived on the other side.

There, getting pummeled by a female ninja clad in white and black armor, were Aaron and Jay. Not too far behind them were Sanders and Kevin, getting bashed around by a brutish blue-skinned alien.

“What’s going—” I heard Grace stutter mid-sentence as she saw the scene unfold.

“I’ve got to help them,” I said mainly to myself.

I began to jog off when Grace grabbed my arm, “Where are you going? You’ll be killed!” She jerked her thumb to Aaron and his friends and added, “And they’ve already tried to hurt you today!”

“I don’t care, no one deserves to die like that,” I said angrily as I ripped away from her.

Before I knew it, I was flying through the air in a jump kick that nailed ninja girl right in the side of her head, causing her to topple into blue boy, who growled in dismay.

I looked down at Aaron who winced as he looked at his bloody elbow.

“Run!” I yelled at him while he and Jay sat on their asses.

They looked at me quickly then got up and began to run.

“I don’t think so!” Ninja lady screamed as she shot laser shuriken at us.

The blast landed just in front of the two jocks.

My tunnel vision set in for the second time that day as I kicked her katana out of her hand and round house kicked her in the jaw. Her neck cracked with a nasty sound as she twisted it back into place. I attempted another kick but she grabbed my foot and slammed me to the ground, jamming my knee slightly.

I groaned as I hit the ground hard. She started going for Aaron. “Where is Thomas?” she asked.

Thomas? I hoped she wasn’t calling me by my middle name…

“I already told you, I don’t know,” he said pitifully, panting and holding his shoulder.

She picked her katana off the ground and pointed it at him fiendishly. “My patience isn’t my best quality boy, you’d better tell me where he is or I—”

“I’m right here,” I said foolishly.

My voice didn’t waver as I stood facing her angrily.

“Nonsense boy, you’ll get yours next.”

“Don’t turn your back on me, slut!”

Her eyes narrowed as she turned to face me.

Without a second glance I jump kicked her in the nose and grabbed her arm, twisting it and cracking it nastily. My brain registered that her arm shouldn’t have looked like that but I didn’t care. I kneed her in the back and then kicked the back of her knee caps as she fell to the ground without a sound.

Aaron looked at me in horror, “Did you…you…killed her?”

“No,” I denied, bewildered as I grabbed his arm and started running.

“She’s dead, man!” Jay shouted hysterically, pointing his finger in horror.

I wanted to slap him. I realized he’d just been through a traumatic experience but damn!

We were almost to the forest, Kevin and Sanders hot on our trail, when Ninja Girl and Blue Boy appeared in front of us, the former wearing a particularly nasty grin. “You thought you could break my arm and get away with it?”

I had to swallow two gallons of fear before responding, “Bring it, bitch.”

She smirked and drew her katana from between her two hands.

Oh great…

I heard a roar of an engine as Grace’s black truck burst through the path, slamming into blue boy and Ninja Girl. Andrea’s car skidded to a halt next to her, spraying dirt up.

“IN!” Grace demanded frantically.

Aaron and I were the closest to her car, and I realized I was still holding the arm of his sweater, but I didn’t care.

We both got in her back seat, and Jay, Kevin, and Sanders all crammed into Andrea’s classy sport utility vehicle.

I could see the smoke rising from Aaron’s fried truck and I felt somewhat sorry for him…but I still didn’t know what that was all about.