3Chapter 2 - A New Generation, The Modern Day Ninja (Part 2)
As lunch time approached, the sound of laughter, trays slamming and students chatter, reflected off the walls and windows. Using this time to relieve the stress of school work or fill their empty stomach after a long day of class, all except one student who was unfortunately sitting by herself, accompanied only by her inner thoughts.
This student was Sarah and she was no stranger to loneliness as she didn't meet the social standard of a high school girl and people ignore her because of it. This didn't bother her that much though, as she didn't quite understand social standard or slang herself, as she mainly focused on her inventions and grades. She was currently working on a device that resembled a small pink bullet train like skateboard except that it didn't have any wheels.
Sarah had unnatural pink hair due to some kind of genetic mutation she experienced during birth. Along with her unnatural pink hair are a pair of deep blue eyes that are similar to the color of the ocean. Sarah clothes consist of a simple pink blouse and a pair of jeans. Her most noticeable piece of clothing is a white jacket that had several deep pockets that she use to hold her tools that she is currently using to adjust her invention.
"Just a few more adjustments to the stabilizer, followed by some calibration to the engine and you'll function exceptionally." Sarah said as she was connecting some wires together from one of the circuits.
Focusing on her device, she did not hear the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She only noticed them when one of them spoke "Nice toy you got there Thompson."
Sarah could recognize his voice as local bully and football captain of Summer Cove High. She let out a small sigh but kept her optimism up. Turning to see his gang, Sarah asked, "What do you want Vince?"
Vince was a brown haired teen with green eyes dressed in a white t shirt, green army jacket, and a pair of brown pants with brown boots. Behind him were some of his fellow bullies and punks.
"What? Can't a guy just talk to a pretty lady like yourself?" said Vince trying to flatter Sarah who only rolled her eyes.
"Your attempt at flattering me is pointless as you've never shown any evidence of having interest in me or anyone remotely similar to me. It is most likely that you require my assistance with something that you do not wish to do yourself and on that note I say no." Sarah said completely unphased by Vince attempt of flattery.
"Oh come on baby, I just need someone to help with a couple of homework assignments so I can play in football." said Vince as he continued his pointless attempt of flattery hoping to get a different outcome.
"I see your predicament and I will help you by giving you this piece of advice. If you spend less time in practicing this mindless activity of yours, then you can free up some time to do your homework." Sarah said as she worked on her invention completely ignoring Vince. Sarah's response enraged Vince a bit, but he kept a cool face, not wanting to cause a scene and do something that would get him in detention, or worse, suspension.
"What is that you're working on?" he wondered while hoping to get information that he could use against her.
"It's just a little project for the science lab, not that you would care or even understand the meaning of those words." she responded.
"Looks more like a piece of scrap metal to me." he joked, getting his friends to laugh as well.
"This may be a piece of scrap metal to you, but to those with a proper intelligence, this is a revolutionary device capable of transporting people from one destination to another without the need of fossils fuels or use of a bodily function." Sarah explained. Vince looked at Sarah and her project, as a cruel and twisted idea began to unfold in his mind. Seeing that flattery was no longer working, he decided to take a different method to get Sarah's help. He snapped his fingers and a couple of his friends grabbed the invention from Sarah's hands while a few others grabbed her by the arms.
Trying to get out of their grasp, she told them, "Release me."
"I tried to do this the nice way but you don't leave me any other choice. We can work on my homework or someone's gonna be out of a science project." Said Vince with a dastardly grin across his face.
From the other side of the cafeteria, a young man with tan skin, brown hair, and green eyes watched as the event took place in front of him. He was wearing a red sweater with a grey shirt underneath, along with a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes. He had witnessed everything that just taken place. On instinct, he was about to spring into action and help, but then stopped, as he was surprised to see Sarah handling things herself just fine. However, he saw that the situation had completely gotten out of control, and decided it was time for him to step in. As no one else seemed to pay attention to them, he decided to walk on over.
"Vince don't be stupid. This isn't gonna make things better for you!" Sarah said as she continued to struggle free.
"Yeah but you had your chance." Vince replied as he raised Sarah's invention into the air. "Now you need to learn a lesson."
"Wow Vince, I didn't know you got the role as the bully from a generic 80s sitcom." A voice had suddenly shouted aloud. It was the teenager in the red shirt. He had a small smirk on his face as he looked up at them, holding one hand on the strap of his backpack.
Turning to see him, he told the teenager, "Stay out of this Romero. This isn't any of your business."
"Well, at least I'm not stupid enough to pick on a girl while everyone is watching." Brody replied. "Just leave her alone before you get called into the principal's office AGAIN!"
Sarah could recognize the guy from one of her classes as she let out a bit of a smile and said, "Yeah thanks Brody but I got this. I just don't want to kick their butts with the chance of getting busted."
"You got it." Vince said with a laugh. "There's only one little you and a bunch of us."
"Do you wish to call some friends to improve your odds of success? Because quite frankly, I can still easily take on all of you. And that's without Brody's help." Sarah replied.
"You heard her Vince, go before everyone here gets a video of you getting your butts handed to you by a girl." Brody said.
They weren't threatened. "Not happening." Vince said, now fixated on Brody. "But now, since you're here, let's show you what happens when you mess with us." signaling his friends to go at Brody.
As the group was talking, everyone else in the cafeteria could see what was going on and they began to gather around the brawl that was surely beginning to brew. Letting out a small sigh, Brody lowered his backpack. Warning them he said, "Alright, but remember, you asked for it." he said in a very snarky voice.
Not taking him seriously, Vince and his friends let Sarah go and made their way towards Brody. The crowd around them gathered in a circle as they watched. In a quick motion, Vince snapped his fingers signaling his cronies to attack.
As one tried to throw a punch at Brody, he was easily able to dodge and move out of the way. The bully tried to throw another, but Brody grabbed the guy by the arm and flipped him. Everyone seeming surprised. Two more came to attack him. One tried to kick Brody, however, he was quickly blocked by him, then blocking a punch from the other. He wasn't trying to take an offensive method, but simply trying to get them off guard.
Sarah was intrigued and impressed at Brody's action and fighting skills. She stood to the side until she saw another guy trying to punch Brody from behind. Feeling that she needed to help Brody, she grabbed the guy's arm surprising everyone before swiping his legs and knocking him to the ground.
Looking back at Sarah, Brody thanked her. "Nice moves." he said.
Sarah nodded in return and answered, "Sure thing."
Having enough of looking like a fool and a coward, Vince finally decided to join the fight by trying to side kick Brody. Brody countered by grabbing Vince's leg and twisting it. Vince was flipped onto his back and landed on the floor. Just as Vince was about to get back up he felt pressure being applied to his stomach. He looked up and saw that Brody with his foot on Vince's stomach, keeping him from getting up.
"That's enough!" One of the teachers called out.
They turned and saw the teacher approaching, however, one of the bullies took the opportunity to run up and tackle Brody to the ground and off of Vince. The teacher then walked over and got them all to break it up, as Sarah lended a hand to Brody to help him up.
"Now, can someone please explain what happened here?" the teacher asked.
Vince smiled, as he thought he could blame it on Brody.
"I don't know Ms. Hoffer, Romero just went crazy and started whaling on my friends." Vince said.
"Yeah right." said Brody sarcastically.
"Oh Really? Then care to explain why all his friends are bashed and bruised and why you had your foot on his stomach?" questioned Ms. Hoffer.
"Vince was trying to trash my science experiment and Brody here was just trying to help." Sarah explained to the teacher.
"She's lying, she helped him go crazy and attack my friends." Vince continued. Ms. Hoffer raised an eyebrow and didn't quite buy what Vince was saying. She then reasoned with them and said, "Alright, let's get you boys to the nurse's office, and then you all need to report to my office after school and I'd like to have words with your parents."
That result was less than satisfying for each of them, but it was the most probable way that would have gone down. Seeing the crowd, the teacher told the students, "That's enough, there's nothing to see here. Finish eating and then head down to the science lab when the bell rings."
The students then scattered and went back to what they were doing beforehand.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked, going to Brody, wanting to check on him.
"Yeah, those guys couldn't even land a punch on me." Brody said.
"Yeah, sure, but they also rammed you into the ground." Sarah said with a slight grin.
"Don't worry. If I can't take a hit like that, then how am I supposed to be a ninja?" Brody said.
"A ninja?" Sarah asked confused.
"It's a family thing. My great ancestors were ninjas back in their day and now I will uphold their legacy by becoming the first ever modern day ninja."
"Uh, sure. Good luck with that." Sarah replied, still slightly confused as to what he was talking about. "Anyways, thanks for your help. I should head down to the science lab. I need to turn in my device before it opens."
"Oh okay, I'll go with you." Brody offered.
Nodding, Sarah agreed to his offer, picking up her device and backpack as Brody did the same with his bag. The two then made their way out of the cafeteria and down the school hallway.
Back at the Yokai temple; Lothor, Nerco, and Miko stood in front of many Yokai foot soldiers. The Yokai soldiers resembled ancient Japanese soldiers, dressed in blue armor and demon masks. And in the front of those soldiers is a giant rat like monster with a pair of saw-like razors for hands.
"I will say I am impressed." Miko pointed out talking to Lothor. "From what you've told us, it is a miracle you survived. But that still leaves one question: Why bother going for one man when we could easily take over the mortal world?"
"Call me cautious, that man has brightly colored friends that have interfered with my plans in the past. With a few phone calls we could be dealing with a couple of ninjas, a samurai, and some reptilian warriors. Plus before freeing all of you he grabbed something that was in the temple." Lothor explained.
"Your point is?" Nerco asked, not wanting to waste his time with a mortal pity revenge.
"It has been in my experience that weird looking things in dusty old temples have a way of causing problems." Lothor said as he recalled his encounter with the Ninja Storm rangers and how they kept interfering with his plans.
Nerco just looked at the evil space ninja and laughed.
"You may have failed in conquering this world, but I will not. I am one of the most powerful Yokai in existence. I'd have conquered this world if it wasn't for that clan of ninjas."
Slightly curious, Miko wondered, "What exactly did they escape with from the temple?"
"Ninja stars: red, blue, yellow, pink, and white. Each with a picture of a ninja on it. Do these ninja stars remind you of anything?" Lothor described. Nerco grew angry at this and pointed his spear at Lothor.
"You let that man escape with the very tools that trapped me and my army in this temple in the first place!" Nero shouted in rage.
"Well how was I supposed to know that those ninja stars trapped you here in the first place?" Lothor said in defense of himself.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now." Nerco commanded hoping to get the chances to kill the evil space ninja.
"Because I freed you from your prison, informed you about what happened in the last couple centuries, and most importantly, the magic in this place keeps both you and your Yokai trapped here so I have to use my dark ninja power to open a hole in the temple magic in order to send a couple of your soldiers and monsters to fight." said Lothor with a grin on his face as he saw the look on Norco's face. "You need me because without me you're stuck here."
Even though he was furious with rage, Nerco growled and lowered his spear away from Lothor. Lothor kept himself calm, as he still had a feasible plan for them to win.
"What is our plan?" Nerco ascended Lothor.
"Simple, first we demonstrate our strength, and then we find Mercer and get those ninja stars before he finds people to be ninjas." Lothor answered.
Bowing their heads in agreement, Nerco and Miko left Lothor's presence to begin. As they walked side by side, Miko askeded, "Surely you do not simply allow yourself to controlled by this…..joke of a space warrior human, do you, Master Nerco?"
"Of course not. Until he can break the magic that surrounds this place we must pretend to be 'loyal' followers. Then, when the chance is prime, we shall rid ourselves of him and take this world for our own." Nerco replied.
As the two continued, they bellowed with a sinister laughter as their plan was set into motion.
Meanwhile, at Summer Cove High School, the students and teachers filled the hallway in front of a room, as the sound of many side conversations, quiet laughter, and plenty of gossip filled the room. Standing in front of the door was none other than Anton Mercer, as he was getting ready to give a speech before unveiling the science lab.
"Welcome, students and teachers of Summer Cove High School, my name is Anton Mercer." he said in a clear and confident voice as the students go silent. "As a temporary substitute teacher, and to a lesser extent, the founder of Mercer Industries," the room fills with a moment of laughter, "I am proud to be here today in front of you all with the honor of unveiling the new Science Lab on the school premises. For those of you that didn't know about this, I have to say congrats, you managed to pry yourself away from your cellphones and electronics," Anton said as he got a few more laughs from his joke.
As Anton gave his speech, his eyes wander around, taking note of everyone who was in the crowd. He was proud of himself for having such a big turnout, as he looked upon the dozens of people staring back at him. He continued to give his speech as he noticed a couple of familiar faces in the crowd, like Calvin and Hayley who were standing off to the side. He also saw Preston standing next to his father and noticed the look on Preston's face. It was the same look he had seen on his own son's face in the past.
"But in all honesty, the reason I funded this science lab was so bright minds could be able to expand their knowledge and have the resources needed to explore their research. Now, my good friend Dr. Thomas Oliver and I didn't have this kind of technology when we started my company, but with time, and plenty of effort, we were able to do great things in the fields of science. About a decade ago, Dr. Oliver decided to leave me for a life of teaching science to students just like you, so that future generations will have the knowledge needed to enter the field and improve our world. His fantastic work and contributions to society is what inspired me to give to this community and supply you all with a vast array of resources to spark an interest and dream in all of you. And Now, without further ado, I give you, the Anton Mercer Summer Cove Science Lab." The room fills with applause as Anton finishes his speech and begins to open the door to unveil the school's new science lab.
Anton opened the door so that everyone in the hall could witness the fruit of his labor and see the new science equipment. Sounds of grasping fill the hallways, only to be followed by fear driven screams, as students began running for their lives. Anton was puzzled and startled by what had went wrong, until he looked back at the entrance to find a hideous monster approaching from within. The Yokai known as Ratsaw.
"Surprise!" yelled Ratsaw as he started swinging his saw blades and running toward the people.
"So this is what it's like to be on the receiving end of a monster attack." Anton said having been used to being the one who sent monsters out to attack people. With not a moment to lose he grabbed his briefcase and ran for his life.
Meanwhile, Kudas had invaded the school with their weapons raised and started going after the school students. One of the students fell and a Kudas was about to hit her, when jumping out from the side, Brody kicked the Kudas away from the student and landed in a fighting stance. As he stood in front of the group of students, he told them, "Go, I got this!" A few more came at him, so he jabbed them in the stomach, followed by a few kicks.
'This guy really is nuts,' Sarah thought to herself as she saw him. Brody fought the Kudas using his ninja skills when some more Kudas came from behind.
Wanting to help, Sarah stepped in and kicked a Kudas in the gut, causing it to fall on top of another.
"Thanks for the help." Brody said.
"No problem, I got your back." she replied, winking at him.
Calvin and Hayley took cover behind a couple of lockers to avoid the chaos as the Judas went after the students and teachers.
"What are those things?" Hayley askeded.
"I have no idea." Calvin answered.
As the Kudas invaded the school, some of them noticed Hayley and Calvin hiding behind a couple of the lockers. They were about to strike when a barking noise got both the couple and the Kudas' attention. They turned their heads and saw Haley's dog running through the hallway, biting the leg of one of the Kudas. The Kudas tried to shake it off its leg, but before it could, Hayley delivered a roundhouse kick to the Kudas' head.
"Stay away from my dog!" Hayley said. A few Kudas were about to jump the girl and her little dog, when Calvin tackled them and slammed them into the lockers.
"Stay away from my girlfriend!" Calvin said.
"Thanks baby." Hayley said before she gave Calvin a kiss on the cheek. More Kudas came and surrounded the couple. Both teens got into fighting stances while Hayley's dog growled.
"Look like we're fighting our way out of this." Calvin said.
"I got your back." replied Hayley.
Preston and his father ran as fast as they could to avoid the Kudas and Ratsaw. Preston's father kept running but Preston came to a stop when he saw that the Kudas were going after Anton for some unknown reason. Preston grabbed the back of his father's shirt to get his attention.
"What is it son? I'm kinda busy running for my life," Andrew said.
"That." Preston said as he pointed to Anton using his briefcase to fight off the Kudas. "We have to help him."
"No son, we need to get out of here." Andrew said.
"But… but Anton….."
"Look, son, we need to get out of here right now. If Anton makes it he makes it. If he doesn't then oh well." Andrew interrupted.
Preston looked at Anton, then back at his father. Preston couldn't stand back and let those monsters have Anton. He knew that his father would be angry with him, but Preston considered that a bonus. He dashed towards Anton and punched a Kudas square in the head, followed by a few kicks to the rest of them.
"You okay Anton?" Preston askeded, only to realize that Anton wasn't there anymore. Preston was confused for a moment until he heard a noise from behind him. He turn around and saw Anton behind him holding his briefcase like a weapon next to a Kudas on the floor.
"I am now." Anton answered.
"Good, good, and thanks for the help." Preston said.
Anton nodded, then pushed Preston to the ground when he saw a Kudas heading their way. Anton threw his briefcase at the Kudas, then Preston kicked it in the gut. Five more Kudas were about to jump them before Brody and Sarah jump kicked them into the lockers.
"That makes twenty-six." Brody said.
"Actually, that makes 29 if you count the ones that took each other out and the one that simply surrendered." corrected Sarah.
"Okay, that was awesome." Preston said. "By the way, my name's Preston."
"Brody." Brody said.
"Call me Sarah. Now come on, we need to fight these things off." Sarah said. Preston nodded and joined the two in the fight against the Kudas and Ratsaw. They rushed off to take on the Kudas. Preston jabbed and punched a Kudas before grabbing it from behind and held it in place so Sarah could let loose on it. Brody did a couple of backflips to avoid the Kudas' spears, then grabbed one of the spears. He twirled it in his arms for a bit before he jabbed the spear into one of the Kudas, piercing its armor. He sent a side kick towards the incoming Kudas, sending those Kudas towards the other, and they all collapsed, domino-style.
"I will not let a couple of mortals get in our way." Ratsaw said in frustration, and ran toward the three teens. They dodged each and every one of Ratsaw's blades while landing a few hits themselves. This went on for a while, until Ratsaw was kicked towards the lockers by Calvin and Hayley.
"Need an assist?" Calvin asked.
"We will have a more likely chance of surviving this experience if we have more fighters to combat these creatures, so your assistance is really needed." Sarah said, and they went off to attack the Kudas.
"Does everyone in this school knows how to fight?" Anton askeded himself as he saw Calvin and and Hayley save Brody, Preston, and Sarah from the Kudas. The five of them stood in a circle and began defending themselves against the Kudas.
'I'm starting to see how a bunch of teenagers were able destroy my monsters.' Anton thought to himself as he saw the teenagers fighting and holding off the Kudas, but they were starting to lose. Anton looked around to see if anything could possibly help the teenagers until he saw his briefcase. More importantly the contents of the briefcase. Apparently, he grabbed the wrong briefcase and took the one that held the ninja stars and morphers instead of the one that held his documents. He looked at the morphers and back at the teenagers thinking that they wouldn't last that long without the necessary gear needed to fight.
"Why not? Both Lothor and myself lost to a bunch of teenagers, so why not have the Yokai fall by teenagers, too?" He grabbed the briefcase and pulled out one of the frog guns. He aimed and fired at the Kudas, destroying them all and getting the attention of the teenagers.
"Catch." Anton said as he tossed the morphers and the ninja stars to the teenagers. Brody caught the red ninja star, Preston caught the blue ninja star, Calvin caught the yellow ninja star, Hayley caught the white ninja star, and Sarah caught the pink ninja star.
"What are these?" Hayley askeded as she inspected the weapon.
"They look like ninja swords." Brody said.
"Listen to me, you need to attach the ninja star to the sword handles and spin them." Anton instructed.
Taking a look at the morpher, Brody noticed a open slot on the handle and placed the ninja star on the blade. Thinking out loud, "Okay, what if I do this… and, this?" He then spun the sword on the blade as it created a large red energy spun around him.
Seeing it work, Sarah did the same and told the others, "I think this is how it works."
Placing the stars in the morphers, they spun them around. As the wave from the star grew bigger, their bodies transformed, each wearing a colored suit with a black satchel of a colored shuriken. Their helmets each had a different kind of shuriken for their visors, with the top parts of the shuriken being silver. Amazed, they each noticed how their bodies were now armored.
"Woah." Calvin said as he looked at his arm and gloved hand.
"Awesome." Sarah said as the others looked at the suits as well.
"Check out these suits." Hayley said, impressed with the Rangers' suits.
"Haha. I'm finally a ninja!" Brody said as he noticed the suits resemble ninja suits.
"We all are." Preston said, noticing that all their suits were the same.
Ratsaw and the Kudas were afraid, as they were faced with the same ninjas that sealed them away with Nerco all those years ago. They took some steps back in fear before facing the Rangers.
"Huh. Don't think that just because you have some fancy new suits that you'll be able to stop us." he told the five of them.
"We'll see about that." Brody said, pointing at them, the Rangers standing side by side.
Growing impatient, Ratsaw yelled and ordered the Kudas to "Attack!" The Kudas then ran towards the Rangers.
Putting themselves in various stances, the Shuriken Rangers were ready for battle.
