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"And remember everyone, this Saturday is the annual Pine Ridge Pride Parade!" Jane exclaimed into the camera. "Bring the whole family out to celebrate love and hope and...all that other great stuff! Isn't that right J-Borg?"
The android walked up to stand at Jane's side. "I installed a special module to celebrate!" she declared, before opening her mouth and shooting a rainbow coloured beam light out. It bounced all over the windows of the Buzz Blast office, making everything appear wonderfully gay.
"That's the spirit!" Jane cheered, and signalled for the cameraman to cut as she laughed.
"So, are you excited?" Amelia asked Izzy as them and Ollie watch from the sidelines.
Izzy gave a half smile. "Yeah! Totally..."
Amelia frowned. "Hey now, what's wrong?" She let out a little gasp. "Oh no! Did you and Fern break up?"
"No, no, nothing like that. We're actually doing pretty great." Izzy sighed. "I don't know, I just feel weird going to the parade with her. Like, with her."
"Oh, you...haven't come out to anyone else, have you?" Ollie asked.
Izzy nodded slowly. "Yeah. I mean, some people at school kinda know, but nobody's saying anything. And I'm sure my parents would be fine with it, but sometimes I see stories about families that seemed cool with stuff until their kids come out and I just kind of freeze up."
Ollie and Amelia exchanged a look with each other. They had no idea how to help Izzy, they didn't know what she was going through, but she was still their friend and they couldn't just say nothing. "Hey, I get it. But I feel like the more you dwell on it the more freaked out you're gonna get," Amelia said softly.
"And besides," Ollie continued, "nobody can change who you are, so maybe it's best to just get it over with?"
Izzy shrugged. "Maybe." She looked at her phone. "I actually have to go meet Fern, but thanks for the help."
"Any time," Amelia beamed. Ollie nodded encouragingly, but the two could tell that Izzy was still pondering what she should do.
"Are you excited for Saturday?" Fern asked as the two walked through the park hand in hand. It was a beautiful day, barely anyone in sight. It was times like this that Izzy felt at peace. But then Fern had to ask that question and bring the real world back to them.
"Uh, yeah...ugh. Look, I need to tell you something." The two stopped and Izzy turned to face Fern, still keeping their hands locked together, passing her thumb over the back of Fern's hand intimately. "I don't know if I'm...comfortable being out like that. Not yet, at least."
Fern looked at her girlfriend with a mix of emotions. "Oh," she finally said. "I thought you were -"
"I know," Izzy cut in, "and I'm sorry for not being clear. I love dating you and being with you, but I get worried about what other people might think and -" She stopped when she saw a pair of guys jogging towards them. Even though they were barely looking in their direction, Izzy quickly pulled her hand away from Fern's. Fern's face fell.
"I was kind of hoping to go with you...I mean, every year I have to go with my parents. They're cool with things."
Izzy nodded. "Of course. And I'm sure my parents would be too. I just...I need time." She gulped. "I'm sorry."
Fern quickly put on a nice face. "It's fine. I don't expect you to come out before your ready. Besides, if you're not ready yet, there's always next year."
"Right..."
Aiyon and Zayto were training next to Dinohenge when Izzy walked up to them. "Hey guys!" she called.
"Hey Izzy!" Zayto called back, only to get laid out on the ground when Aiyon swept his legs out from under him.
"Gotcha!" the other knight shouted with delight.
"That doesn't count!" Zayto chuckled.
Izzy grimaced when she saw Zayto go down. "Sorry!" she said as she got closer and helped him up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Zayto replied before glancing over. "Aiyon always gets me with the leg sweep."
Aiyon grinned. "Yeah, this guy never thinks he can get knocked over."
Izzy felt Zayto's hand twitch away from her own. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I felt a lot of worry coming from you just now."
Izzy gave a half-hearted laugh. "Oh, yeah. I'm just all up in my head about the Pride Parade."
"Ooh, I heard about that!' Aiyon added. "It looks like a lot of fun! Um. What is it?"
"Right, you guys wouldn't know," Izzy replied. "Right, so I don't know if you guys have this on Rafkon but on Earth there are some girls who like girls - like me. And there are guys that like guys, and people who like both, and people who thought they were one gender but realized they were another - a whole bunch of stuff. And unfortunately, there have been a lot of times through history - and even now - where those people weren't treated very well. So we have a Pride Parade to remember everyone who came before us and celebrate who we are."
Zayto nodded excitedly. "Ah, yes, that sounds great! We had something similar on Rafkon."
Izzy's eyes widened. "Really? You guys had alien pride?"
"We called it The Day of Truth," Aiyon explained. "It was about celebrating being true to yourself. It sounds like Earth had a similar situation to Rafkon in that regard. Things weren't always great, but they were getting better."
"I mean, hey, if there are still people there, I'm sure they're keeping the tradition alive," Izzy offered. The two aliens nodded solemnly. The wounds of their lost homeworld weren't as fresh as they used to be, and every day they tried harder to hope for the best.
"So what are you worried about?" Zayto asked.
"Well, I've only really come out - er, told people my truth - I've only really done it with you guys and Fern and Adrian. No one else really knows, not even my parents, and I don't know if I'm ready to share it with a whole bunch of people out in public. Just thinking about it is really overwhelming."
Zayto nodded. "I get it. Sometimes the consequences of telling someone the truth can be huge. I can relate to that fear." He grabbed his teammate's shoulder. "Whatever you choose to do, we'll all support you. But you're a strong person. I know that even if some people react poorly, you'll be able to put them in their place."
"Thanks," Izzy said. "Hey, is it okay if I train with you guys? I need to work off some steam."
Aiyon grinned. "Sounds great!"
Izzy smiled and whipped her sword out, and the three began clashing.
After an intense sparring session, Izzy teleported into the base with the other two to clean up. She wiped her forehead with a towel and walked through the bridge, where Javi and Solon were examining the map of the area. "Hey guys. What are you two up to?"
"Javi and me are running an experiment!" Solon declared.
"Yeah, I was talking to her about wavelengths and tuning, and we thought we might be able to detect other Sporix eggs using their resonant frequency." He looked back to the map. "No luck so far, though. Ooh, but check this out!" Javi turned to face her and opened up his jacket. Underneath he was wearing a black T-Shirt with a rainbow-coloured heart above the words ALLY AF in bold white letters. "I picked this up for the parade on Saturday. I got you one too!" He darted over to his backpack and pulled out a green t-shirt with a lesbian-striped smilodon on it and the words Gayber-tooth Tiger. "What do you think?"
Izzy smiled weakly. "I love them. Maybe I can wear it next year."
Javi's face fell. "What's wrong?"
"I'm losing my mind over whether I should come out at the parade this year." She took a seat off to the side. "I keep wanting to do it, but whenever I do I picture people giving me weird looks or dad shaking his head and I get more nervous than the first time I ran a marathon. Plus Fern was really looking forward to going there with me, and when I told her that I wasn't comfortable yet I could tell she was really disappointed."
"I'm sure she understands," Solon said. "She seems like such a nice girl from what you've told me."
"Solon, could you..?"
"Oh, certainly," Solon said, nodding and stalking away. "Family business. I'm here if you need me!" she said as she retired to her chamber.
Javi went to sit next to his sister. "You're really torn up over this, aren't you."
"How could you tell?" Izzy groaned.
"If it makes you feel better, the other day dad was talking about how great it was that Switzerland got marriage equality."
Izzy chuckled. "That does kind of help. But that's Switzerland. I'm his daughter. He could decide that all that queer stuff is fine from a distance, but in his own family..."
Javi nodded. "Right. I...ugh. I wish I could help you beyond just saying 'you got this'." He put an arm around her shoulders. "But you know you got this, right?"
Izzy leaned into him. "I know. Honestly? I just wish I wasn't disappointing Fern. She seemed so bummed when I told her that I didn't know if I was going. Like, we've never fought since we got together, and this wasn't even a fight but it was such a...dour moment that it got me worried."
"Whoa! Hey, if Fern is going to break up with you over you not being ready to come out in public then she's not the person for you. But I don't think she'd put that kind of pressure on you."
"I know. I'm the one putting the pressure on me. If only I could figure out a way to get out of my head about this. I've never struggled with something this much."
"Well, it's a big deal. It makes sense you're struggling." He shifted to look right at his sister. "Look, you've got a few days. Keep thinking it over, and maybe an idea will come to you."
Izzy nodded. "Right. Thanks, bro."
"Anytime."
After Izzy left, Javi tried to think of a way to help her too. He was walking by the control panel of the base when he thought of something, and started searching through previous ranger teams.
After running half the length of the canyon, Izzy was taking a quick break on a rock when a teleportal opened next to her. She barely had time to jump to her feet when she saw another green ranger step out. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"You're...the Dino Charge Green Ranger!" she exclaimed.
He demorphed, revealing a boy a few years older than her with blond hair and a babyface. "Please, you can call me Riley."
The run soon turned into a casual walk back to the start of the trail. "Your brother called me," Riley explained. "He said that you seemed really nervous about stuff, and he remembered me from the ranger database that Mick gave you guys. You know, you and me are a lot alike - we're both green, both the youngest on our team...both gay."
Izzy looked to Riley in surprise. "You're gay too?"
He smiled. "Oh yeah, there are a bunch of queer rangers. Me, Kelsely, Vida, Antonio and Jayden - I'll send you a jacket for Christmas."
Izzy laughed. "I had no idea. I don't really have other queer friends. I mean, Fern, but I'm dating her so I'm not sure if that counts."
"No, I get it," Riley shrugged. "There wasn't anyone I could talk to on my team either. I didn't really join 'the community' until after we finished off our Big Bad and I went to college. I...regret not going to more pride stuff before then. I think I would have been able to handle myself a little better."
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"Well, I wasn't exactly the kid my dad hoped for. I'd work on the farm but I was more interested in science and history. I didn't get into sports until after he left, and I think a part of me always hoped that that would somehow bring him back. I spent so long being someone I wasn't, and it took me becoming a superhero to start being myself. But I still ended up with a crush on my teammate that never got reciprocated, and I never actually came out to my family until last year. Same with my team."
Izzy nodded. "So...you think I should go to the parade? Do everything now, show the whole world?"
"Well, that's the thing. Hindsight is twenty/twenty. Who knows what could've happened if I had come out earlier? Would I have put myself in a dangerous position? Would I only be doing it to appease somebody else? Only you know when the time is right."
"If I came out now...it would mainly be for my girlfriend," Izzy admitted. "I like being with her in public, but most of the time there's plausible deniability."
"Gals being pals," she said, and Riley said the exact same thing at the exact same time. The two laughed at the joke.
"Right. But if we were at the parade together there'd be no more hiding, no more secrets. Which I want eventually, but right now it feels like...I don't want all those eyes on me."
Riley thought for a moment. "You know...there is a way you could go without showing everyone..."
Izzy looked at him in confusion for a moment, but then the penny dropped. "Is that allowed?"
"Oh, absolutely. And I think a lot of people would like it too."
"But Fern..."
"Hey, if Fern's smart than she'll know what to do."
Izzy laughed. She felt a weight lift off her. "Thank you. That actually makes a lot of sense." She looked to Riley. "Do you wanna stick around for the parade?"
"Well, I have to get back to my own dimension soon - I'm on my lunch break right now. But maybe I can pop in later in the week?"
"That would be great."
The Pine Ridge Pride Parade was just about to get underway when the rangers teleported in. Jane spotted them and quickly ran over, J-Borg not far behind with her camera. "Power Rangers! What's going on? Is there a Sporix Beast nearby?"
"On the contrary, the route is as safe as can be," the Red Ranger stated before stepping onto a nearby float. "Everyone! May I have your attention?" Once the crowd were looking in their direction, the Red Ranger continued. "Though our main objective is defeating the Sporix Beasts, us Rangers are heroes who protect everyone. And I mean everyone - no matter who they love. As such, we would be honoured if we could walk alongside you all and support your cause."
An enormous cheer erupted through the crowd, and soon the parade was underway with six flashy allies marching next to the city's LGBTQ community. Every face looked overjoyed at the development - well, almost every one.
Fern walked near the back, a few yards ahead of her parents, waving a lesbian flag with muted enthusiasm. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice one of the rangers approach her until she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned with a start and saw the Green Ranger standing next to her. "Why the long face?" she asked.
"Oh, it's silly," Fern replied, internally screaming - she was talking to a Power Ranger! "I was hoping my girlfriend would join me this year, but she wasn't ready. And now I feel bad because I'm scared I put too much pressure on her and she might break up with me."
The Green Ranger nodded and then, surprisingly, took Fern's hand in her own. "I'm sure your girlfriend understands. She probably has her own hang-ups, but I bet she cares more about you than you could possibly imagine." The Ranger passed her thumb over the back of Fern's hand intimately.
Fern's eyes widened. She thought the voice was familiar, but didn't place it until just now. "Wait. Are you -"
The Ranger held a finger up to wear her lips would be, and squeezed Fern's hand. Fern broke out into a huge grin.
"Thank you. Thank you so much Iz - Green Ranger." She let go of the hand and pulled a second flag out from her belt. "Would you like to spread the love?"
"I'd love to," the Ranger replied as she took the flag. The music was pumping, the crowd was dancing, and Fern proudly waved her flag next to the Green Ranger - her girlfriend.