Grandfather

[samecgh]

Grandfather

 

 

It was three weeks after Rita kidnapped Justin. The shock of finding out that she was his biological mother had worn down enough to not freak him out every time he thought about it. They were wary of any powers he may develop later and watched out for signs that she would come back and try to claim him again.

 

Today, Tommy and Adam were walking him to the shelter after a baseball game with Rocky, Jason and Zack. He had liked meeting a few more of the Rangers before him. The game had run late and during a change he had to call in to inform them he might be back after curfew. They hadn't taken it well, but finding out about the group he was with, they allowed it.

 

Ms. Whetherflee allowed Justin in, waving to the two others that then left. “You have to go to Mr. Andersons office,” she reported, heading to the living room to start telling kids to wash up.

 

He groaned and headed for the mans office. The door closed, he knocked twice. “Who is it?” Mr. Anderson yelled.

 

“Justin Stewart.”

 

“Justin, come in.” He opened the door and stepped in. He waited to be waved over and sat in the chair indicated. “You're not in trouble,” he cited.

 

“Okay....”

 

“We may have gotten in contact with your grandfather on you fathers side. Do you know anything about him?” Justin shook his head. “We got an answer back and he's willing to meet with us over possibly taking you in.”

 

He was confused. His Dad never mentioned he had a grandfather, but then he didn't tell him about his biological mother. Unsure of what to say, he mumbled, “Okay?”

 

“He's coming in two days. You have nice clothes that are clean and not full of holes?” he questioned, glancing at his clothes.

 

Justin looked down to see he had worn his jeans with knee holes and his shirt was greased from work on Tommys race car. “Yes.”

 

“Wear them when he visits.” Effectively dismissed, he walked out of the office and toward his room. A grandfather that I had not idea about is planning on meeting with me. This could either turn out really good or really horribly.

 

\o/\o/\o/

 

The man that walked into the shelter did not look like he meant to be there. A gray two piece fitted suit was paired with a white button up. Ms. Whetherflee spotted him. “Are you Mr. Stewart?” she inquired.

 

“Yes,” he confirmed.

 

“Mr. Andersons office is on the right that way,” she pointed. He nodded his thanks and walked down tot he mentioned room.

 

Justin was working on some school work when his 'grandfather' walked in. He paused to look up. Mr. Anderson stood up to greet him. “Mr. Stewart,” he introduced, “Bruce Anderson. The young man over there is Justin.” He paused to allow them to greet each other. “We would like to talk about placing Justin in your care.”

 

“Of course,” he said, taking a seat.

 

\o/\o/\o/

 

The next monster attack, Justin was moving automatically. Anytime he talked, it was to reply to questions or direct someone. There were no quips or jokes from the young man. After the monsters defeat, they went to the Juice Bar. Adam and Tanya were talking about the latest album from a favorite band. Tommy had to rush out after getting a message from his uncle. Kat watched Justin pick at his sandwich instead of eating quickly like he had before. She asked, “Justin, what's wrong?”

 

He didn't look at her when he answered, “Nothing.”

 

“Justin, you're not eating.”

 

He stopped tearing apart his sandwich. “The shelter found someone for me to stay with. Supposedly, it's my Grandfather, my Dads Dad, but he's never talked about him and I never met him until Monday.”

 

“Are you worried?”

 

“A little. There must have been a reason why my Dad never talked about him, or that he never visited.”

 

“There must be a reasonable answer. Maybe your Grandfather couldn't be contacted until recently. Your father may not have found the right time to tell you about him.”

 

Justin thought the new suggestions thought and found reason in them, but it stil didn't sit well. “I don't know. Something just feels wrong.”

 

“I think you need to give it a chance,” she said, “Now actually eat your sandwich.” Kat went back to her milkshake and watched until he actually picked up his remade sandwich and started eating.

 

\o/\o/\o/

 

Saturday had Justin moving into his Grandfathers house. He told the shelter the house hadn't been maintained beyond once a month cleaning and minimal servicing. Once he delcared it ready for habitation, Justin was allowed in.

 

The house was a bit larger than he expected. It was two stories and a bit wide in the front, clearly showing a large entrance way, living room to its right and study-library tot he left. Single briefcase and backpack in his hand, Justin walked up and knocked before waiting for someone to answer.

 

It wasn't his grandfather, but a middle aged woman that answered. “You must be Justin. Come in,” she greeted, stepping aside. “I'm Janice, Mr. Stewarts house assistant. Cleaning, laundry and shopping are my areas. Any requests or necessary items, tell me, got it?” He nodded and walked with her as she pointed out areas in and out of the house. “The study is off-limits, even to me, so is his bedroom.”

 

“He doesn't want you to clean them?”

 

“Nope. He does it himself.” Justins bedroom was already done in a deep ble, clost to the color of his Ranger suit. The sheets were a solid blue, a few shades lighter. The carpet was a gray that matched the rest of the house. “Your Grandfather is out finishing some legal papers. I plan on him returning at six and around six-thirty, dinner will be ready.”

 

“Okay.” She walked out of the room, leaving him alone. Dinner was a quiet affair, his Grandfather not starting any conversation and Justin not knowing how to initiate. He left and locked himself in his study after dessert. Unsure of what to do, he went back up to his room.

 

\o/\o/\o/

 

“Hey,” Kat greeted, motioning to Justin to join her and Tanya.

 

“Hi,” he shot back.

 

“How's the situation with you and your grandfather?” Tanya asked. Justin looked at her. “Kat told me.”

 

After glancing at her, he answered, “He's.... I don't know. We don't really talk. He works early in the morning to dinner time and then locks himself in his study afterward.”

 

“It's been like that ever since you moved there?” Kat inquired.

 

“Four week ago. Sometimes he doesn't come out of his study. Not last weekend, the one before, he went in on Friday and didn't come out until Monday morning.”

 

“You're being left by yourself?” Tanya brought up.

 

“There's Janice, she takes care of the house and he is there but....”

 

“He's not 'there'.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Maybe you should start the conversation. Ask him things about your Dad, your Grandmother,” Kat suggested.

 

“Ask him about his job, hobbies,” Tanya added.

 

Justin nodded, “Yeah, thanks.”

 

\o/\o/\o/

 

Three days later, Justin tried to ask some questions about his job. With no response, he moved onto his Dad and Grandmother, who he had never heard of either. There was still nothing from him as he went to his study.

 

Justin sighed in frustration. He couldn't get anything out of him, unless it was a command to get out of his way or stay out of certain rooms. He was about ready to stalk back up to his room when he noticed the door of the study adjacent. Curious, he looked in. There was no sign of his grandfather. “Where did he go?” he pondered, “Maybe he went for a drink.” He checked the kitchen and found no one. Standing for a minute, he decided to listen for anyone else in the house. The only noises came from the plumbing and insects outside. “He couldn't have left without being able to hear him.”

 

About ready to start searching the study, he heard a crackle before the familiar sound of teleportation. Justin hid around the corner of the study and watched as a monster stepped out. He looked to be made of muscle with metal accents in certain areas. His right hand held a staff with a Z on top. With two taps of the staff, he changed into the man he knew as his grandfather. The staff shortened and became a pen, which he stuck in a pocket. He then walked out of the house.

 

“What?”

 

\o/\o/\o/

 

His drawing skills weren't high, but he was able to mostly get what he saw on paper. He was finishing details when Adam looked over his shoulder. “What are you drawing?” he asked.

 

He was mildly shocked, but only looked up at him. “It was something I saw,” Justin vaguely answered.

 

“Huh, where?”

 

“I think I saw it on the TV,” he lied.

 

“Okay,” he said, “Kat and Tanya are going to head tot he mall in an hour. They say you're welcome to join them.”

 

Kat and Tanya shopping? I barely escaped from their last trip. “No thanks,” he declined quickly, getting back to his drawing.

 

Adam waited until he was out of hearing and sight range from Justin before bringing his communicator up. “Hey, Tommy, are you there?”

 

A minute went by before he answered, “Yeah, I'm here.”

 

“Does Justin know anything about Rita and Zedd?”

 

There was a pause as Tommy thought about how to answer that question. He knows about Rita, but he didn't know if he had ever been shown or told about Zedd. “He knows about Rita, but I'm not sure about Zedd. Why?”

 

“He was drawing Zedd. Claimed to have seen him on the TV.”

 

Justin. “Try talking to him again. See if he knows who Zedd is.”

 

“Got it,” Adam said, confused. He went back to the table Justin had been at to find he had left. “He might have gone home.” Convincing himself, he started the journey to his house.

 

After Adam went back to Justin, Tommy checked in with Zordon. Alpha answered. “Yes, Tommy.”

 

“I think we need to go back over Justins scan.”

 

“Why do you say that?”

 

“Zedd may be Justins grandfather,” he reported.

 

“We will check that possibility,” Zordon told him.

 

Justin walked in the house, surprised that the front door was unlocked. Janice must be home. He shut it and walked upstairs to his room to drop off his backpack. He walked across an open door and back pedaled to double check what he saw.

 

Janice was lying on the floor, bullet wound in her head creating a blood pool. He slowly became scare as he backed up and started moving quickly to the front door. His hand was on the knob when it was pulled back and his arm was twisted behind his back. Another hand came up and covered his mouth before turning around. There was a second man holding a gun. “There shouldn't be anyone else here,” he accused his partner.

 

Forcing his head up to look at him, he stared at Justin before saying, “Info said he took in his grandson. Him, too?”

 

“Might be more useful than that woman. Throw him down in the basement,” he decided.

 

Justin was forced into the kitchen. The door tot he basement was opened and the man didn't throw, but pushed him in before shutting the door. He immediately tried the knob, finding it locked. His second thought was to kick the door open and run, but he heard a chair being wedged underneath the knob. “No,” he moaned.

 

Adam had just walked up and gotten to the door when he heard the two men talking. Flattening to the side of the house, he glanced in and saw the second man drag Justin to the back. Moving quickly to the back, he watch him get locked in the basement. He quickly looked down to see if there was any way to get Justin out through he windows. “Too small, but I can still talk to him,” he muttered. Figuring out it was locked on the inside, he carefully tapped to get Justins attention and not the men in the house.

 

Justin rushed over and opened the window. “Adam!”

 

“You okay?”

 

“Janice is dead.”

 

“They killed her?” He received a nod. He didn't want to leave Justin there, but he wouldn't be able to get him out without a few sounds that would alert them. Teleporting would be suspicious and it looked like they had a gun. Power Ranger or not, fighting against that would be stupid. “All right, I'm going to go as fast as I can and call the police.” Justin nodded and he moved out of sight of the windows before running to the closest house he could see.

 

Mr. Stewart was just getting home and was greeted by the two men that had broken in. “Stewart, long time no see,” the gun holder said.

“Five years since you left us on the Trachet expedition,” the other one mentioned.

 

“And the reason you come visiting today is why?”

 

“Heard you popped up again,” the gunman noted, “Nice house. Nice assistant.”

 

“Even got a grandkid. I'm surprised your son isn't here.”

 

Stewart was getting annoyed with the two men. Pulling his pen out of his right pocket, he extended it into his staff. He then dropped his human disguise. Lord Zedd stood before the two human attackers. Freaking out, they started moving to the back. He stopped them by shutting all the doors in the entry way and the hallway. With a few more movements, they ended up tied up on the floor, backs against each other with gags in their mouths.

 

With the threat eliminated, he moved around his house. He found Janices body and started making arrangements for burial and a search for a new one. He got down to the kitchen and noticed the chair against the basement door. He changed back into his human disguise before taking it away and opening the door.

 

Justin was at the bottom of the stairs when he opened the door. “Come up, it's safe,” he told him. He walked up, hearing a police siren in the distance. “I suppose that would be for us.” They walked out of the house when the first of the responders pulled up.


Quick note, since I totally forgot this the first time. Bruce Anderson is a nerdy reference to two aliases of Bryce Larkin from Chuck. The Anderson could also go with Cooper from Glee, but I was aiming for Bryce.


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