Chapter Text
Not many people understood Chase, which was fine. He didn’t need people to understand him or his choices. Chase was comfortable in his skin. It had taken him a long time to get to the point where he could be comfortable. He was used to the eye-rolls and whispers about him being lazy or borderline unreliable.
He could handle the naysayers. He could handle the quiet criticism. The words strangers said behind his back or even to his face. It didn’t matter that the world put him in this category or that. It didn’t matter. Chase could handle a bunch of people who didn’t matter thinking the worst of him.
What he couldn’t handle was this.
“What did you just say?” Chase asked and got right up into his teammates face. Riley looked surprised, like he hadn’t expected such a reaction from Chase. He probably hadn’t. Chase was a pretty easy-going guy and he tended to let all the teasing words thrown in his direction roll of his back like water off a duck.
This was different.
“I-I think you heard me.” Riley said and straightened up his spine. “You’d sleep with anything that gave you a second glance.”
Riley had just called him a whore.
Chase couldn’t just laugh that off.
“Maybe he doth protest too much?” Ivan said with a chuckle. Apparently he thought Chase was joking.
Chase was not feeling humorous. He felt cold. Betrayed by the people he thought were his friends. Shelby puffed out a breath into her bangs and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Chase, calm down.” The pink ranger said sternly.
“He has a point, Chase.” Tyler said with regret in his voice. “It’s not the way a power ranger should act. Power rangers aren’t supposed to – ”
“Be sluts.” Riley provided with a grin that told Chase he was trying to be funny, but it wasn’t funny. Not at all.
“I am not – ” Chase’s voice rose as he tried to defend himself.
“But you are.” Shelby sighed. “You sleep with a ton of girls and never call them back. Heck, there are a few guys that have come in asking for you at the café. You have no shame.”
“I thought you were my friends.” Chase said as he took a step back from the group.
“Friends, of course we’re your friends.” Tyler took a step forward and Chase took another step back. “Chase, we’re just worried about your behavior. It’s not healthy.”
“We defeated Sledge and my ‘behavior’ was never a problem before.” Chase pointed out in a low voice. “So I’m a flirt, I don’t see what the problem is. What the hell?”
“Chase, the stakes are higher with Heckyl.” Riley tried to explain.
Kendall and Koda weren’t apart of this discussion. Neither was Keeper. In fact it had been rather random. They had all been at the park taking a break from work when Chase started to chat up a girl who had smiled at him.
It wasn’t like it had been unusual.
After he had gotten her number he turned and smiled at his friends and that’s when Riley had said it. He called Chase a man-whore.
The jerk.
“I don’t have to listen to this.” Chase said firmly and turned his back on his friends and started to walk away. He shouldn’t have needed to defend his actions to his friends. They had fought wars together. They should support him, trust him, but they didn’t.
“It’s not like what we’re saying isn’t true!” Riley shouted after Chase. Chase didn’t turn back, he didn’t want them to see the tears in his eyes.
Chase never thought he’d have to explain himself to his friends. He had believed they trusted him and accepted him for who he was.
He was wrong.
He had been wrong.
“Let him go.” Tyler’s voice said as Chase left them behind.
Good, Chase thought as he walked off the path and into the woods. He needed time alone. He needed to pull himself back together. He decided to hike up the mountain. It wasn’t exactly the safest thing to do, especially off the normal hiking paths. Chase didn’t care, he needed to blow off some steam and clear his head.
His phone rang.
With a sigh Chase pulled the little device out of his pocket and looked at the screen. Kendall. He ran his thumb across the screen and opened the line.
“Chase,” Kendall said with a heavy sigh. “I heard what happened.”
“Are you going to call me a slut too?” Chase demanded and forced himself not to end the call. Kendall didn’t deserve his anger. Out of everyone she understood why Chase flirted as much as he did.
“They don’t know the story.” Kendall told him. “I do. I’d never call you that. Besides, we both know you don’t sleep around.”
“Are you saying I should tell them?” Chase demanded. “No. They don’t deserve to know my pain. If they want to judge me without a second thought, fine. They’ve thought these things about me all along. I – ”
“Well, well, well.” Fury said, suddenly in the small clearing with Chase.
“Fury.” Chase said, turned and tensed with the phone still pressed up against his ear.
“Chase.” Kendall’s voice went up an octave. “Where are you? We’ll come help you.”
Fury pulled out a wicked looking device and laughed. “We’ve been waiting to get one of you rangers alone.” He announced and fired before Chase could say a word. The bolt of black lightning struck Chase in the chest and with a groan Chase fell to the ground, instantly paralyzed.
The phone was still in his hand and Chase could hear Kendall shrieking and begging him to answer her. Chase parted his lips, but found he couldn’t make a sound. Fury stepped over him and picked up the little device and pressed it to the side of his face.
“The black ranger can’t come out to play right now.” Fury said to Kendall and then crushed the phone in his clawed hand. “He’s a little busy being captured.” Fury continued unnecessarily.
Chase looked up at his enemy as his vision started to black out and figured this was some sort of cosmic poetry. Being taken was the icing on top of his already shitty day.
Bring it on, Chase thought as his eyes fluttered shut.