Pink Ranger Problems

It feels good rescuing people. Maybe that’s why Alison always saves me. She's like a knight helping people for seemingly no reason. The toned muscles from years of martial arts training stood out more than they ever have before. It looks so natural for her. Nothing seems to confuse or phase her. She's able to pull person after person out of the rubble of fallen buildings, with the grace and unending energy she always has. Then there's me.

I'm glad that our first mission is rescue. Acting like I'm calm is easy, I do it every day. If you react to people they feel empowered to be worse. A level head keeps me from focusing on the consequences of failure. Who the hell puts this pressure on kids? 

How am I going to react in combat though? When push comes to shove, I'm untrained, undisciplined and uncoordinated. Why was I chosen to become a ranger? 

"Help! Please. I can't see."

The voice sounds like a child. No older than twelve. Most buildings have been evacuated by now. Where could the voice be coming from?

"Where are you?"

"I was walking home from my karate class and then those monsters attacked and I hid in the alley and then a wall fell and now I can't see."

The buildings behind me were empty but between them sat an alleyway. That must be where he is.

"I'm coming. Don't move." I need to ask Astrus what's wrong with my morpher when I get back. My voice sounded so gentle and feminine compared to the borderline monotone it usually had. Maybe that's a result of being the pink ranger. The voice thing not the girl body thing. The old Pink Ranger was a guy, but when he saved people his voice took on a gentleness you wouldn't expect from a strong manly hero. I shouldn't get distracted. If being a girl helps this kid, I'll pretend to be one.

"Okay!" The child shouts.

"Where are you parents buddy?" How did people calm me down when I was young and scared? How did the Pink Ranger calm me down? I'll keep him talking. Looking at the wreckage buildings, my suspicions are confirmed. These buildings are empty. This kid is alone.

"They can't pick me up and we live nearby so I walk."

"Do you have a phone? Or a phone number we can call to get you home?" 

"I think Mum labelled my bag with her phone number. I lose stuff a lot." 

"I used to lose stuff a lot too. What's your name, champ?"

"My name is Will. What's yours?"

His voice is close. The alleyway between the buildings is a disaster zone. Will's lucky he doesn't sound hurt. The dumpster he's hiding behind looks crushed.

"I'm the Pink Ranger, Will. I think I've found you. Can you say something?"

A chunk of rubble lays on the crumpled dumpster. By the Power this kid was lucky. No wonder he can't see.

"I'm here. Under here!" His voice penetrates the rubble. This is the right place. 

"Okay, Will. I'm gonna move these rocks."

I grab the edge of the debris. Power flows through my veins as I lift the chunk of rock up. Under it is Will. His eyes are clamped shut, and his hair is a disaster, but he doesn't seem hurt. I'll take him to the medical stations that have been set up just in case.

"You can open your eyes now, Will." His little eyes flutter open and a look of awe graces his tiny features. Now I see why Alison teaches these little ones. They are adorable!

"I can see!"

"Don't move until I say so, okay?"

"Okay!"

I heave with all of my strength at this chunk of rock. If I tried this with my old body I would snap in half but now it's easy. I tossed the rocks aside. 

"It's safe now, Will. Do you have your bag?"

"Thank you so much, Miss! I do." A warm feeling pools in my stomach. I saved someone. He's grateful to me! He called me miss!

"You found someone, Pink?" Summer asks. When did she get here? 

"Yeah. His name's Will. I'm going to call his parents. If I can figure out how to get my phone from my--"

My phone appeared in my hand. This superhero stuff was weird but I wasn't going to complain. Summer looked at me and then back to the kid.

"You alright, kiddo?"

"I'm fine! She saved me," he says as he thrusts the bag into my arms and I stumble off balance

Will's mum picks him up soon after I call her. He shows one last big smile my way before leaving. Summer and I wander around the disaster zone. Unsure if anyone is left. 

"I think that's the last of them." Shouts Alison, in her handsome, booming voice. She stands on a pile of debris like an action hero trying to rally people to action. That's who I want to be.

Our morphers ring and the world around me becomes a blinding pink light. Teleportation again. Should I be closing my eyes?

The command centre's lights and blinky dials appear again. 

"You did well. You have the makings of a strong team. You will be sent home shortly. Stay safe, Rangers."

“Before you do, is there a way to keep in touch? What happens if there's another attack?” Leo asks. He has a point. How are we meant to get back here? 

“By the power, I am so sorry. Kepler can you fit our rangers with a communicator each?” It's comforting to know that giant face holograms could look embarrassed. Maybe that's how he'll look when he explains to me why the hell I'm a girl!

“Right away, Astrus!”

A robot waddles out from one of the many hallways. Kepler I assume. Today has been too eventful to freak out about AI sentience. It wraps what looks like a wrist watch around my dainty wrists. Astrus needs to fix this. I can't be dainty. Guy's shouldn't be dainty.

“Tapping your communicator will send a message to the command centre. Tap it twice and the message is to everyone. Press the red button for 5 seconds to teleport to the command centre. Goodnight rangers.”

A flash of light in front of us stops any other questions (or angry screaming demands) I might have. We just have to accept everything? I need to know why the power turned me into a girl, damn it!

"You two." Astrus said. No pink light, that should have been the giveaway that I wasn't being sent home. Anyway, Alison is the only one still with me, and I'm hoping she still hasn't figured out who I am. "Come back tomorrow. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but your parents will be worried."

"But Astrus--" Alison's new masculined voice cracks. Is she as desperate to know what's going on as me? She was confident earlier, was that an act?

"No buts, Red."

I try to open my mouth to argue with the cryptic sage hologram. What's going on with our bodies? Am I stuck like this? I've worked so hard to become a guy. Am I supposed to just deal with it? The words were stuck in my throat, so many questions and I can't figure out which one to ask. The world around me flashes pink and I realise it’s too late. I'm outside my house. 

"Ryan, is that you?" Dad asks from the kitchen. He cooks when he's anxious. 

"Yeah, Dad." I cringe. My voice sounds like garbage but it's back. My body is too. That's a relief I think. At least food smells good.

"Oh thank goodness you're safe. I heard that the youth centre fell apart and then you didn't come home. I was so worried!" Dad is always worried about me. Will being a ranger make that worse? Ugh, now's not the time to be worrying about this. My eyes are barely staying open. 

"I just ran into some issues getting home." I lie. There's no point worrying him further. I don't want to be spinning lies while half asleep.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I saw there were Anemobots. Are you sure you're fine?"

"I'm sure." I can't tell him they disappeared before I had to fight them. 

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Okay,  there's homemade pizza in the oven."

"I'm not hungry." Food delays sleep and changing. Damn I forgot about changing. My gi hung on to my scrawny sweaty body. I need a shower. Eating is for later. Maybe. If I have time. 

"Ryan, you need to eat."

"No, Dad. I need to shower and go to bed."

"You haven't eaten a proper dinner in weeks. You always just go to bed. You are eating."

"Dad--"

"Don't Dad me. I avoided eating at your age as well. Go have a shower, then eat, then you can go to bed.”

“Alright.” There's no point arguing with him when he gets like this. Are all parents like this? Are they all this worried about meaningless things like whether their child feels like eating? Besides, I have been eating. Just not when he's around.

Everything feels wrong as I get in the shower. Probably just exhaustion and contrast. I was so powerful, so energetic when I morphed. All the awkwardness in my movement, all my coordination issues disappear when I become the Pink Ranger. Maybe the energy required to correct all that and use super strength made me tired. Who would have thought?

The food is warm and I know it should be tasty. Dad always makes good food. I used to enjoy food more. I just can't get excited about it anymore. Food is just fuel for my body. Just another thing that gets more bland as you grow up, I guess.

I slide under my blankets and my mind turns to Alison. As the Red Ranger she was strong. She always has been but somehow she was stronger than ever before. She's always the more confident one between us. A cool confident tomboy that never let teasing get to her. She protects everyone else and never shows weakness. The Red Ranger is the leader, and I couldn’t think of a better leader than her. So why did her body change that? How does the most confident person I know look more self-assured than ever? 

The vibrations from my phone jolt me from my daze. Who is ringing me at this hour? I don’t bother looking at the name and just hit the big green button.

“Hey, Ryan. Can I talk to you?” Alison. No time for snoozing. Why is she calling me at this hour? Has she figured out I'm Pink? 

“Uh, sure. What do you need?” I try to keep my voice steady. 

“We’ve been friends a while. Right?”

“Yeah, as long as I can remember.” Where is this going? 

“If hypothetically, I was a guy, would that change how you think of me?” Is she freaking out over her body changing as well? Her voice sounds normal, so it isn't like she's stuck as a guy.

“I don't think it would? Why?” Is she okay? 

“What if I wanted to be a guy?”

“What do you mean?” 

“I think I’m trans, Ryan. Something happened and I saw myself as a guy,” Oh. Oh. “Everything made sense. I didn’t get why being called a girl felt so wrong. I thought it might have been because I’m an adult now but, damn it. I wanna be a guy again.”

“I’m here for you, bro.” Is that the right thing to say? Affirm him. Let him know he’s gonna be okay and I see him as a guy. That's what people on the internet say you should do. Hopefully my research was reliable. Hopefully my dude speak is up to scratch.

“This sucks. I don’t know how I’m supposed to teach like this. How can I go back after seeing how I could be?” Did he mean when he was a ranger? He needs to be more careful. Why was he being so casual? No, ignore that. There are more important questions.

“Do you have a name you want to use?” 

“Can you try calling me Scott?"