Returning To Your Roots

Pulling into Angel Grove, I felt a sigh of relief escape my mouth. I was one step closer to becoming what I was meant to be.

My entire life, I've been preparing for this moment. Training. Suffering. Shedding blood, sweat and tears for years on end. Born and raised in a clan as an outsider, put through rigorous martial arts training and bodily conditioning - and I put up with it even when I had the chance to escape. All to get to this point and be prepared for it.

I was born in this world as Marcus Julius Blake and I was raised in a clan of die-hard killers. But this wasn't my first life, it's my second. I'm what you'd call a reincarnator, a being who was sent to another world after dying.

My first life was pretty simple. Average, even. So average it doesn't even need to be explained or delved into outside of the fact that I died to the infamous Truck-kun. If that was all that happened, getting killed by Truck-kun would've been my claim to fame. A true isekai ending to a mediocre life. But what came next was something I hadn't been expecting - an honest to God meeting with...a God. A being above humanity who are nothing more than bugs next to it. A being of pure light and indistinct form as it had evolved beyond the mere limitations of a fleshy body.

I was placed in front of that kind of being. I couldn't speak or move or...so anything, really. I was a round ball or soul, just floating there in front of such a magnificent being. Just being in front of it almost made me want to become a priest or a fanatic religious person but I digress. All that happened there was it telling me what would come next.

Reincarnation. The philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. I'd always thought it a load of bullshit or a lazy writing tool to explain a protagonist entering a fictional universe.

But here I was, a God explaining to me that I was about to go through that very same procedure.

It didn't say where I'd turn up but it did tell me it'd be a world filled with superhumans, both good and bad, so-called gods, demons and a whole bunch of other shenanigans. When I was first born, I quickly knew where I was. Or at least I thought I did, anyway. It was 1990 when I was born and seemingly to a single mother called Julia. I was born in a place called Angel Grove, a small town in California on the West Coast of the US.

Basically the place where the Power Rangers movie from 2017 was set. But things were a little different. I grew up surrounded by the cast but they were my age when they should've been much younger or not even born yet. I did consider that I was in some sort of AU but the main cast looked exactly like their actors, so that idea quickly went out the window.

Then I saw a news station speak about Tony Stark and I knew I wasn't just in the Power Ranger verse. I was in the MCU, if Stark's appearance as a carbon copy of RDJ was anything to go by.

Looked through the books and saw that Captain America was a thing. Also saw some odd pictures in some old papers that involved a blonde woman in an odd uniform aka Captain Marvel or Carol Danvers. Knowing I was in this type of world - a mismatch between two wildly different universes - I began to slowly slip myself into the main cast. I became friends with Billy and Kimberly, had a positive relationship with Jason and I began to enroll myself in whatever martial arts classes I could.

This continued until I was around nine-years-old, and at that point my new mother died suddenly and out of nowhere. A complication in a heart surgery she had and even now, I couldn't find any foul play involved so I just put it up to bad luck. Sure it hurt like a bitch, but I was much better equipped mentally and emotionally than a nine-year-old should be, so I dealt with it much better as well.

That's when 'they' appeared.

My father was apparently a pretty high-up guy in a clan of killers who were obsessed with human perfection. Eugenics, selective breeding, survival of the fittest--all of that crap. But like most guys, dear ol' dad couldn't keep it in his pants and got my mom pregnant. To cover up for his mistake, he left as soon as he found out but when she died he found some kind of conscience and came to pick me up. If what he brought me into could even be seen as good faith.

So, I said goodbye to Angel Grove and left for Germany where the central branch of this clan was. Jaeger was the name of this family, and they accepted nothing but perfection. They'd started off well before the idea of eugenics or natural selection was even a theory but they understood that strong people beget strong children, sometimes even stronger children if the right parents are brought together. As a result, since the 10th century, the Jaeger noble bloodline as been obsessed with bringing talented and strong people into the family to produce better offspring. They honestly reminded me of the Kure Clan from Kengan or the Newton Clan from Terra Formars - both groups being obsessed with selective breeding.

The only difference is that this group are just a tiny bit more realistic. No superhuman strength or funky superpowers. But it did explain why I felt different when compared to other kids - in a physical sense, that is.

The selective breeding and eugenics, while barbaric and even bordering on unethical, had gifted me with peak human potential. I was naturally stronger, faster, more durable and filled with more energy than any other kid I'd ever met. My natural amount of athleticism was beyond incredible as well. I could easily win gold medals in the Olympics if that interested me.

But, obviously, it didn't. I wanted to survive the fuckery this world would produce in the future. Not just the MCU but the Power Ranger portion of the world as well. Especially the Power Ranger part. Compare the two verses and the Power Ranger verse is actually way more dangerous. The MCU is a weakened version of the comic book Marvel or Earth-616 and doesn't really have any planet-busters. The Power Rangers? They have enemies who can threaten the entire universe and who can destroy planets if they put some effort in.

So, I needed power. I knew Angel Grove would be my first avenue because passing up on one of the Power Coins just wasn't something I was willing to do. But for starters, I took everything the Jaeger Clan could throw at me.

Martial arts training, weapons training, physical training, brutal fights between the other kids in my generation--I did it all. All so I could become powerful enough to fight the battles that would come in the future. Which brings me to now; I'm free of the Jaeger Clan. They're brutal, barbaric people who only care about perfection and personal ability but they won't keep you there if you prove yourself to be good enough. To the weaker members, the hierarchy is horrific but to the more talented and stronger members, the hierarchy works in their favour.

As proven with me. All I needed to do was prove I was among the strong and I could pretty much do what I wanted. In that Clan, might makes right.

Which means nine years later and I'm back in Angel Grove at the age of eighteen and the strongest specimen to have come out of the Jaeger Clan to date - I think I'm just about ready to get one of those Power Coin. It'll be a decent power-up, considering that a Ranger is vastly superhuman and capable of fighting some pretty insane enemies. Put together with my training and I'll no doubt be catapulted up the ranks of this world.

Now, you might be thinking 'How are you going to get a power coin if the original cast are all there?'. Well, I'll get one however I can. I'm not about to kill some innocent teenagers but if I get to the Power Coins first, it wouldn't be too bad, would it? Still, I have to wait for certain events to happen, of course. If I want to get the Power Coin without drawing unnecessary attention.

If I'm pushed, I can just use some connections and have them excavated but that's a last resort. It'd draw too much attention. Best to just let Billy do his magic.

Before that, I need to go and register back in school, right? Should be a nice vacation compared to where I was before.

. . .

...How do I get myself into these situations? Is this reincarnator bad luck or something? It just can't be like that, right? Because unlike the majority of reincarnators, I don't look like a twig with a pretty face and 'jade-like' skin. I'm 6'3" and muscular as all hell. There can't be someone stupid enough to think this is all for show, right? Even bullies have some degree of intelligence, right?

"Oi, new kid, are you even listening to me? Or are you retarded or something?" the redheaded bully in front of me chortled at his own joke, signalling to his grunts behind him to laugh along with him. Five of them in total.

I sighed and brought a hand up to my face, trying to rub away the growing annoyance, "What do you want, man?" I asked while pinching the bridge of my nose.

"What do I want?" he asked, incredulously, "What do I want? Well, I want a lot of things. A new car, a PS3, some weed but right now...I'll be taking your money, rich boy," he said and by god was it the most stereotypically 'bully' thing to say. So cliche, I actually had to laugh, my lips splitting into a refreshed smile - back at the clan, this type of stuff never happened. If someone stepped up to you, they'd have a plan, a backup plan and a backup plan for the backup plan. They'd be coming at you to seriously hurt you or even kill you, not for some petty money.

The differences between this school bully and even the most average person in the Jaeger Clan were just astounding to me. So much so that my laughter turned into an uproarious belly laugh. The five, including the redhead, looked at me like I'd gone insane and I couldn't really blame them.

But right now? I didn't have it in me to explain I came from a clan of perfectionist killers and that the shambling actions they call intimidation just looked like a comedy routine to me.

In the end, the redhead got seemingly upset with my laughing and threw a punch.

...Hey, at least I can get put in detention if I beat them up. Should help kickstart the plot a little faster than before.

Pulling my head back a small margin, I watched as his sloppy and beyond slow haymaker sailed past my face and brought up my hand to grab his wrist. If I wanna be put in detention - serious detention that'll happen on the weekends - I'm gonna have to be a little rough but not rough enough to get me in trouble with the cops. 10% it is then.

Twisting his arm, I heard a unsettling crack but ignored it and twisted harder, forcing him to face down and bend over. Humans fear pain, so when it's applied to them, they move away from it. In a fight, this can be taken advantage of pretty easily to set up your next attack.

Which led to me bringing my knee up and into his face. Another crack, this time from his nose, entered my ears. One more should be good enough. Placing my free hand on the back of his head, I slammed down while simultaneously kneeling down so I could slam his head into the ground. A third and final crack came as he lost consciousness. I looked up and over at the four remaining bullies and, bless their little brains, they realized what was happening just after it did.

The first two charged at me. I didn't go about doing anything too bad to them because I needn't have to. The first guy, the redhead, was already enough. It went well beyond self-defense - I already had him when I was twisting his arm, so it could be seen as assault. Detention was easily gained then.

But, I'm nothing if not diligent. I finish what I start.

A single jab, respectively, had the two charging bullies dazed. The roundhouse kick that came next put them down. By this point, people were crowding us and pulling up phones to record the whole thing. Some jeered, some cheered and some just watched in morbid curiosity. The remaining two bullies, the weakest-looking of the original five, just stood there before turning and bolting away.

...It always happens like that, huh? Knock the first one out, the next two think they can use numbers to overwhelm you. Knock those two out and the last remnants of the group will be shit scared of you. Human behaviours aside, a teacher had appeared and looked at the three downed students around me, abject horror written across his face. Then he turned to me, a stoic and stern expression adorning his face.

As he strode up to me, I held back a smile. Time to meet some old friends.

. . .

Suspended on my first day in. Must be a record, right? Either way, two weeks suspension and a month of weekend detention. I'd spent the last week chilling in my apartment, playing on my Xbox and killing it on Halo multiplayer. Now? I'm outside Angel Grove highschool on a Saturday, in the car park and getting out of my Audi R8 - what? If you have the type of money I have, you drive the best car available. Doesn't hurt that the Jaeger Clan own part of the company either.

Getting out and locking the wonderful machine, I pocketed the keys and entered the school. I was a bit late, courtesy of a late night gaming session, but better late than never, I guess.

Walking through the halls, I saw a few pictures of Jason, the schools golden boy, and Kimberly who's a part of the cheerleaders. Even Billy had a part of the school under his name because of some science contests he'd won. Good for him. Always liked him the most out of the three of them - nice kid. Got a good head on his shoulders for stuff like science and math.

In the end, I came across a bathroom where I could hear three people talking inside. One of which I recognized.

"...Let's move on," came one voice, sounding nice in a fake way. Like those sickly sweet voices some people put on when talking to someone their either hate or heavily dislike. The voice I faintly recognized replied in a relieved manner, missing the tone I'd noticed.

"Oh, thank God--" she said happily but was cut off by a third voice.

"We're moving on. Without you. Cutting you out. Literally," the sound of rustling entered my ears and I faintly remembered the scene in my memories back when I watched the movie. She must be pulling out the picture and scissors - some petty shit teenagers think will send some sort of morale crushing message. I smirked at how small they were thinking.

Cutting noises came next and the second voice continued speaking, "You can show up for cheer practice if you want, but I wouldn't if I were you," she said with a scornful tone, stabbing the scissors into the picture and sticking it to the wall. Then they left.

Walked passed me and gave me a glance of interest but continued on nonetheless. Ouch. Wounded ego - I thought my dashing good looks would've held their attention a little more. Guess not everything is like the fanfics, huh? Even if I do look like a younger Henry Cavill.

[Appearance Here.]

Well, nevermind. Not like I need the attention of some immature highschoolers. Turning my attention to the open bathroom, I leaned against the door frame and spoke to the remaining person inside, "Trouble in paradise?"

The girl shot a glare toward me, "Fuck off, creep," she spat out before turning back to the mirror and leaning against the sink. She was looking at the scissors with a dazed look. I smiled at her reply - she hadn't changed too much in terms of how sharp she can be with people when she's pissed off. Appearance wise she's definitely changed though.

She used to be a tomboy. Now she's looking like a typical popular chick you'd see in a movie.

"Ouch," I replied with a chuckle, "I know you probably forgot about me, Kim, but really? No sudden remembering your old childhood friend?" she gave me a look, a mix between annoyance and slight realization so I cleared it up for her, "It's me, Marcus. You know, the kid who stopped you from falling off the monkey bars and breaking your arm when we were five?"

Her eyes widened and she looked over my face before full realization dawned on her, "Marcus Blake? Holy shit," she smiled and paced over to me, wrapping me in a hug. We'd been pretty close as kids and she even cried when I left so I guess the nostalgia is hitting her hard right now.

I returned the hug before pulling back and looking her up and down, "Where'd my tomboy friend go? You look great, Kim, but I'm surprised to see you looking like a typical popular girl," I joked and she laughed before replying herself.

"You're one to talk, Marcus," she gestured to me, "You look like you've been in the gym ever since you left at nine..." she trailed off before turning and looking at the scissors and then back at me with a smirk on her face, "Well, wanna help me get rid of this basic ass look? I wanna get back to my short-hair roots."

...Who am I to deny her my help? Besides, she does look better with short hair.