trans_9 | Cascade [Open party time!]

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Cascade [Open party time!]

Billy had just launched another portal in that maze of mazes, exhaustion setting in. Surely this time he would land on another moving platform of death?

Nope, just the exterior of the finished bathhouses. All polished, systems running, and just about ready to open! Given how sore and exhausted he was, that sounded like an excellent idea at the moment.

With a quick message to the rest of the crew, he set out the 'Open' sign for the first time and took advantage of his owner status---the prime waterfall spot could be his!

((ooc: The bathhouses are now open! Feel free to mingle around, relax, and have a party. Or cause trouble, but that might invite more trouble. Just start a subthread with your character's location and have fun. For reference there are individual showers in front, followed by hot tubs centrally located, saunas further back, and private baths along the side. The showers, tubs, and saunas have smaller sex-segregated units along with a central group unit that's larger.))

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"No, it's fine. I remember the good times." She sounded genuinely pleasant this time. "Why didn't you know your family too well?"

Billy turned back toward her, pushing some hair behind his ear. "They were as involved as they could be when I was young, but as soon as I was old enough to start going to school things changed. Dad's a scientist too, and his work often kept him away from the house for days at a time, sometimes weeks. Mom tried to keep up, but she only had so much time for me when there was housework to do."

He folded his hands in his lap, feeling sadder as the implications of everything started to hit. "Shortly after we started high school, my friends and I became the Power Rangers. That distanced us even more because I was charged with keeping my identity a secret from everyone except the other Rangers. I couldn't tell Dad where I'd been after school, or let Mom see the injuries I'd have to explain. It was better for me to keep up a minimum of contact about grades---that lessened the chance of hard questions. I've always been a bad liar, so that was my only course of action."

Memories of their parents being imprisoned flitted across his mind. How worried he'd been, how much he'd lost in those years...and now, it was unlikely that he'd ever see them again. He breathed deeply, trying not to let guilt overwhelm him.

Sofia nodded. "That must have been really hard, to be so close to them but so far away." Like with her father. "You don't have to answer, but I am curious. Why couldn't you tell them you were a Power Ranger?"

"Yeah," Billy mumbled, leaning back against the ledge. "Sometimes it felt as if they couldn't really know me anymore. If they were here now, I could tell them, but..."

No use wishing for something that won't happen. "On Earth, as far as we knew, we were the only resistance against the only invading force on the planet. Our mentor made us swear never to tell anyone or to use the powers for personal gain---I suppose we might have been too distracted if we were signing autographs on a card table when we went out. Our enemies knew who we were, and they attacked our families sometimes, but...we kept our silence and lived that dual life."

It was so far away now that he wasn't sure he could go back to it. He tried to smile and think of another topic, suspecting that Sofia didn't want to share.

"But there must be a difference between telling your family and telling everyone. The X-men had secret identities but as far as I know their families knew, if they had any." Which was not that common. "When my mother was alive I don't think there was anything we didn't talk about."

"I think Zordon was trying to keep the information under tight control and the impact of the war at a minimum: it was the first invasion in many years and the people had never seen something like it before.. Some of our parents might have been prone to gossip, or panicked, or demanded that we resign from the team immediately. Kimberly's might have," he laughed, shaking his head. "I longed to tell them every day, confide in someone else, but I'd sworn to follow the rules."

Billy passed his hand over the water. "It was a real adjustment here, to have my status discovered right away and be among other heroes. I don't have to hide part of myself from everyone I meet anymore."

He trailed off, then turned to look at her. "Did you all ever have problems with the families?"

"I can understand that." Sofia said slowly.

"Oh, I was never an X-man. I wanted to be but I was too young. I think about half of my friends had supportive family and the other half were disowned or ran away. I'm lucky that I was able to make good friends. I think Laurie's mother started to think of my as another daughter. She offered to let me live with her after- well, after I left home." Putting things simply.

Billy managed a small smile for her. "Then it's been a rough road. Rougher for you, I believe, but good friends make everything easier to bear. It's just taken me longer to learn that than some others."

He ran some water over his face and rolled his shoulders, feeling better by now. "Thank you, before I forget. It's nice to actually relax in here."

"As long as they don't leave." Sofia mumbled. Or die.

"You're very welcome. I'm just glad I can help."

The concern came back instantly. "Or never awaken again," Billy sighed. "I'm sorry, Sofia. I can only hope that I'm allowed to stay around and help."

"Oh no, it's all right, Billy. None of us can stop GLaDOS from taking us. At least here I know that everyone is alive even when they're gone. And that they didn't want to leave me." She paused. Being this cryptic was only hurting things. "About a year before I came to Stacy, most of my friends died, including Laurie. She's alive now, Stacy saved her like she saved me, so many of my other friends may still be alive too. But it is still something I struggle with."

Billy's face fell. He thought he knew of Laurie---she'd died? At least she had survived this time.

"I've only seen my friends struck down in my memory of the Ohm's attack," he started. "I don't know if any of them survived from another point in history, and I don't know if I'll ever know, but...I'm glad you got to reunite with yours. To see someone who had died again is such an impossible chance."

He was happy for her, he really was. "But then they're taken away from you. At the rate you all keep gaining and losing people, I wonder if my state of endless uncertainty isn't so bad."

Not wanting to end on such a low note, he reached out---could he touch her shoulder? It was a little awkward, but he'd try to offer silent comfort. This was the least he could do.

"I think I'm glad I can't remember the Ohm attacking even if I wanted to." Sofia leaned into the touch. "I think that even if you lose someone, as much as it may hurt- at least it was better to have known them. How lonely would life be if you never spent time with someone else? They might be gone now, I might never see them again, but nothing can take away the times we had together." At least she was slowly starting to realize that.

Billy leaned in a little too, blowing a trail over the water. "That's what I had to think about lately. A lonely life would be free of sharp pains, but one would be constant and joy would be absent." He let her go with a faint smile.

For instance, they would be bathing alone, and the loss of this pleasant company would be felt. "So I've resolved to start spending more time with all of you. Maybe get to know my excellent dance partner."

Come on, he's gonna pull a cute face now and everything. Can that cheer her up?

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Sofia smiled. "Maybe I could teach you more about dancing later?"

Wait- was she asking him on a date?

Maybe...

"It would be my pleasure," he smiled right back. It could be his exercise in between intense training days---yup, that's how he'd justify spending the time.

Billy reached out, grabbing one of his feet and bringing it up for 'critical inspection'. If it was a bit odd, he explained: "I'm confirming that I don't have two left feet. They're ready for training."

And the rest of him was too, if he could really have Sofia as an instructor.

Sofia grinned. "Remember, the most important thing is to have fun. But I'm sure I'll you'll be dancing with the best of them soon. You are a fast learner."

Billy looked quite pleased with that. "Having fun won't be a problem if it's with you. I'll definitely be looking forward to it."

He casually pressed another button, triggering a jet of water to tickle their feet. Totally innocently, of course.

Sofia practically beamed. "Great. I'll try not to disappoint you." She giggled at the sudden burst of water across her feet.

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Cascade [Open party time!]

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