Girl Power

Rocky DeSantos stroked his chin as he looked over one of the Youth Center's menus. Billy Cranston, Adam Park and Tommy Oliver sat around him at one of the outdoor patio tables behind the Gym & Juice bar, and Ernie tapped his foot as he waited for Rocky to make up his mind. He'd been tasked with getting the food for his picnic with Ryan Cooper later, and he wanted everything to be perfect. "Can I get two club sandwiches... couple bags of chips... two smoothies..." Rocky pursed his lips in thought as Ernie scribbled down his order. "And for Ryan? What do you guys think? A fruit cup?" Rocky teased. Tommy rolled his eyes and pushed the bill of Rocky's red baseball cap down, while Ernie shook his head and started for the kitchen to retrieve his order.

"So when are you picking Ryan up?" Tommy asked.

Rocky twisted his cap backwards before answering. "Well she and Aisha are at the mall now, but we're supposed to meet at the beach around two. Then I'm gonna give her a ride home." Rocky said, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

"Man, you better get a move on." Adam said, looking down at his wristwatch.

"I don't suppose this shopping spree is just a way of relieving her anxiety about your impending picnic, is it?" Billy hypothesized.

With a grimace, Rocky shook his head. "No! She's probably just nervous." Once again, Billy's elocution had gone over his head. The other Power Rangers rolled their eyes before chuckling at their friend's expense.

Up on the Moon, Rita Repulsa spied on the male Rangers through her telescope. "So, Rocky's got a date with that cute little Pink Ranger?" she sneered. An evil plan was already coming to her; when behind her, Goldar spoke.

"You think she's cute too, huh?" he asked. Rita spun around, her eyes wild and her nostrils flared, causing Goldar to cower in fear of her wrath.

Turning back around, Rita looked into her telescope. Her magnified winged eye blinked as she pointed it at the Angel Grove mall. "I'll show her just how big of a biotch I can be!" Rita snarled. The name that Ryan called her still upset Rita, and she was going to make the Pink Ranger pay for her insolence if it was the last thing she did.

Back on Earth, Ryan and Aisha Campbell stepped onto the escalator and rode it to the first floor of the mall; both of them carrying shopping bags. "Girl, Rocky is gonna love you in that dress." Aisha guaranteed.

Beside her, Ryan rolled her eyes. "I got it for myself, Aisha. Not for Rocky." Aisha cut her dark eyes at Ryan; she didn't believe her for a minute. Ryan sighed in defeat. "Okay fine, I'm bugg'n'." she admitted, sharing an excited squeal with Aisha. "I can't believe I got the last one. And in my size, too!"

Aisha placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder to calm her down. "It's a sign." she teased.

As soon as they set foot on the first floor, a group of Tenga Warriors were teleported in front of them by Rita. "Or an omen." Ryan blinked. Mall goers began to flee as soon as they saw the Tengas, except for Ryan and Aisha, who dropped their bags. "Ninja Ranger power!" Ryan cried. She and Aisha swung their left arms in a clockwise motion before thrusting both hands forward with their index fingers pointed out. Ryan and Aisha were suddenly cloaked in pink and yellow ninja uniforms complete with hoods to conceal their faces, and their spirit animal emblems on their chests - the crane for Ryan, and the bear for Aisha.

Ryan somersaulted into action before landing a back handspring and back flipping into the fray. She ducked a Tenga's roundhouse kick and swept it's talons out from underneath it, before springing to her feet in time to block another Tenga's blow and flip it on it's back with a martial arts throw.

Several feet away, Aisha blocked another Tenga's attack before delivering a karate chop to it's chest. She spun around in time to knock an oncoming Tenga back with a kick, before spotting two Tenga's in her peripheral and ducking their attack from behind. When they swung back with their wings, Aisha threw up her arms to block them. Grabbing their forearms, she flipped the Tengas onto their backs and struck her Yellow Ninja Ranger pose.

Three more Tengas charged at Ryan, but she kicked the first one - knocking him into the others. Another Tenga tried to sweep her feet out from underneath her, but Ryan avoided it with a back tuck. She followed up with a roundhouse kick, but the Tenga ducked. When it rose, Ryan leveled it with a front kick, before striking her Pink Ninja Ranger pose as well.

While their friends kept Ryan and Aisha busy, two more Tengas approached the shopping bags they dropped and pulled out Ryan's dress. It was a pink sundress; perfect for a picnic at the beach. They began shredding it with their talons and beaks, just as Rita instructed them to.

Ryan and Aisha were circled by the Tengas until they stood back to back. "Switch?" Ryan proposed. Aisha leaned forward and Ryan rolled across her back, landing on her feet in front of one of the Tengas. "Sit down!" Ryan grunted, performing a bicycle kick that rendered the Tenga unconscious. It stumbled back onto the escalator, which carried it to the second floor.

Behind Ryan, Aisha spotted a mop and bucket left behind by the janitor. Hooking her foot through the handle, she kicked the bucket into another Tenga's face, splashing water in the process. The Tenga fell onto it's stomach, where Aisha jumped on it's back and rode it across the wet floor. "Surf's up!" Aisha quipped before driving the Tenga's head into a wall.

Once Ryan's dress had been shredded, the remaining Tengas flapped their wings and cawed before soaring into the air. Shattering the skylight above, they flew back to the Moon Palace as fast as their wings could carry them.

"Woo! Ain't no stoppin' the bear!" Aisha declared. Together she and Ryan tugged at their ninja uniforms, magically tearing them off so they were back in their everyday clothes. While Aisha waved goodbye to the Tengas, Ryan noticed their shopping bags out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh no," Ryan gulped. She hurried over to their bags, where she found the tattered remains of her dress. "It's ruined!" Ryan exclaimed, looking down at the ripped remnants of the dress in her hands. She thought the Tenga attack seemed random. Now she knew what Rita really wanted, and that was to get to her.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Aisha said softly, kneeling beside Ryan to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You could show up in your underwear and Rocky would still be into you." Aisha said before cracking a smile. "Okay, he'd probably like you even more if you did that, but you get what I'm trying to say." she chuckled.

Ryan forced a smile as she met Aisha's gaze. "You really think so, Aisha?" she asked skeptically.

Aisha had been best friends with Rocky even before becoming Power Rangers, when they were still enrolled in Stone Canyon High; and she knew him better than anyone. "I know so." Aisha promised. "Now come on, you can't keep the man waiting!" she teased. Standing up, Aisha offered Ryan a hand.

With a genuine smile this time, Ryan accepted, springing to her feet. "Do you think we could stop by my house on the way to the beach?" she asked as they headed to Aisha's car.

---

Rocky sat on the red and white checkered blanket he'd laid out on the beach, along with his untouched picnic basket. With his arms wrapped around his knees, Rocky watched the waves roll in. Ryan was past the point of being fashionably late. And although he could be a meathead at times, Rocky knew when he was being stood up. With a sigh, Rocky stood and slipped his flip flops onto his feet, before starting for his car. He only made it a few feet when he heard someone calling his name. Turning back around, Rocky smiled at what he saw; because Ryan was jogging up the beach.

"Rocky!" Ryan called out again, smiling now that she had his attention. And boy did she. Rocky couldn't look away from her. Wearing a pair of high-rise cutoff shorts that were folded down at the waist, along with a hot pink bikini top and a loose white tank top, Ryan jogged towards him like one of the lifeguards on Baywatch. It might not have been as nice as her sundress, but she had a feeling Rocky would like it just as much.

"Ryan, you made it!" Rocky beamed.

"Of course I did." Ryan shrugged. She gave him a smirk, as if to say, 'Why wouldn't I?'

Rocky lost himself in her smile momentarily, before remembering their reason for meeting. "I got the food." he said, gesturing to the picnic basket beside them.

"Great! I'm starving." Ryan said, placing a hand over her flat stomach. They sat across from one another around the picnic basket, while Rocky divided the food among them evenly. He did it with such concentration that he didn't notice Ryan smiling at him, admiring how considerate he was.

After enjoying their meal - as well as each others company, Rocky stood behind Ryan on the blanket and guided her into a new position. Since becoming the Pink Ranger, he'd been mentoring her in martial arts so she could better defend herself against the forces of evil. "Now," With Ryan's hands in his, Rocky spread her arms out. "Kneel forward on this knee, and stretch your other leg back." Rocky instructed. Ryan mimicked his movements. "Keep your back straight." Rocky reminded her. He pressed his palm between Ryan's shoulders, before slowly sliding it down her back. "Perfect." Rocky said. He was no longer talking about her form. Ryan craned her head to look over her shoulder, where Rocky met her gaze. She glanced down at his lips as he licked them. Slowly, they leaned into one another and met for a kiss - their first.

On the Moon, Rita watched the romantic scene unfold through her telescope. Although she hated both Power Punks, Rita almost shed a tear. "Aww! Zeddy! How come we never do anything like that?!" Rita nagged. Behind her, her husband Lord Zedd sat on his throne, shaking his head with his clawed index finger pressed against his temple.

Once she finally broke their kiss, Ryan's hazel eyes fluttered open. "Morphinominal." she muttered. Clearly, she was spending too much time around Billy. Rocky grimaced, staring at her confusedly. She started to laugh, when suddenly she felt something pressed against her lower back. Gasping, Ryan narrowed her eyes. "Rocky. That better be your Power Sword..."

Clearing his throat, Rocky jumped back. "Well, I think we're all done for today." he said, kneeling to fold the picnic basket into the blanket in a hurry. "Race you back to the car!" Rocky exclaimed, wanting to get as far away from Ryan as possible in that moment.

With a smirk, Ryan rolled her eyes and shook her head, following Rocky to his car. "It's a good thing you know how to drive stick!" Ryan called out to him, making Rocky's face burn as red as his Power Ranger costume. It was going to be a long drive home, because Ryan planned on teasing him the entire way...