Fish in Troubled Water

by Stefan Petrucha

“So . . . Billy,” he said. “I’m Ira. What’s your project?”

  Of course. It was a perfect question. They all had projects. Billy wished he’d thought of it but was just as happy to be asked.

  “I’m using electroencephalography to image brain waves of . . . ,” he began. Remembering the Power Rangers’ befuddled reactions, he stopped himself. “I guess I should probably explain what electroencephalography means . . .”

  A few of the students who were listening laughed nervously.

  “Uh, did I say something wrong?” Billy asked.

  Ira coughed a little and said, “No, not really. It’s just that I think everyone here knows what electroencephalography means!”

  A cheerful girl came up and pointed at the bowl in Billy’s hands. “And does that adorable little Carassius auratus have a name?”

  Knowing the Latin for goldfish, Billy brightened. “Goo Fish Junior,” he said. Taking Ira’s cue, he read her name tag. “What’s your project, Alani?”

  “I’m working on some spacecraft-navigation software based on the shark’s ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field,” she said.

  A black-haired teen with thick glasses raised his hand to speak, as if he were in a classroom. When they all turned his way, he said, “Hey, I’m Kevin and . . . uh, I know a joke. Why did the chicken cross the Möbius strip? To get to the same side!”

  When they all laughed loudly, without anyone having to explain that a Möbius strip only has one side, it really broke the ice. Then they all started talking. In fact, Kevin reminded Billy a little of Zack.

  Things kept getting better. During orientation, Billy learned that all the scientists working there, including the head of the center, the famous Dr. Anton Fent, would offer advice and guidance, but only if they were asked. He also found out that each student would have their own private lab space to use.

  Billy was already feeling pretty great when he found his assigned space. One look at all the equipment made him give off a long, low whistle. “Wow!” he said. “With this, I can do in days what would’ve taken months, or a year, at Angel Grove High!”

  Happily, he unpacked and made sure Goo Fish Junior’s feeding schedule was up to date.

  But then he heard a dreadful clatter from the hall outside his door. Relaxed as he was, Billy’s Power Ranger instincts kicked in. When he opened the door and saw some suspicious shadows shifting in the hall, his first thought was that it was one of Rita Repulsa’s monsters, thanks to the overall stench!

  Rushing outside, Billy almost exhaled when he saw who was causing the racket.

  Almost, but not quite.

  It was Farkas “Bulk” Bulkmier and Eugene “Skull” Skullovitch, the two hapless bullies from back home. Dressed in gray overalls, Bulk and Skull were trying to pick up a bucket and mop they’d knocked over. Every time they tried, though, they somehow managed to keep bumping each other.

  Billy loudly cleared his throat. “What are you two doing here?” he asked.

  Startled, they both nearly fell over. Once they realized it was the “loser” they knew from Angel Grove High School, they straightened and did their best to look tough.

  Bulk huffed. “So it’s our old pal, Billy Cranston. You’re one of the nerd types crawling all over this place, huh? It just so happens that Skull and I have decided to engage in some gainful employment here, as temporary custodial engineers.”

  Billy shook his head at the illogicality. “You two never cared about work before,” he said. “And if you don’t like ‘nerd types,’ why take a job that leaves you stuck with us for a week?”

  Skull scrunched his face. “Hey,” he said, “we’re not stuck here with you. You’re stuck here with us!”

  Bulk patted his friend on the shoulder. “Exactly! When we heard there’d be as much free food as you can eat and a bunch of losers to push around, we signed right up with our fake IDs! And you’d better not get any ideas about turning us in, or else!”

  Once, Billy might have let them push him around. Heck, fish used to scare him! But his experiences as a Power Ranger had given him confidence, even if he couldn’t tell them about his other identity.

  Billy wasn’t used to standing up for himself, especially not to Bulk and Skull, but he held his ground. “Or else what, Bulk?” he asked.

  Bulk grinned. “You know.”

  Billy felt unsure what to do next, but he crossed his arms over his chest. “No, Bulk, I don’t,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me?”

  Confused by Billy’s confident stance, Bulk fumbled for the right words. “Or else . . . you know. It’ll be trouble for you, not the other way around.”

  Pursing his lips, Skull echoed his partner’s words. “Yeah, trouble.”

  With that, the two strutted off as if they owned the island—but not without nearly tripping again over the bucket and mops they carried.

  Relieved his act had worked, Billy realized it could have been worse. Bulk and Skull are a nuisance, he thought. But at least they’re not a real threat.

  Chapter 4

  As the Blue Ranger returned to his lab, he failed to notice a short alien figure skulking among the shadows farther down the hall. As the figure neared the open area that contained the big tanks, sunlight from the domed glass ceiling shone on his doglike features.

  Afraid he might be seen, Finster stepped back into the shadows. The evil minion couldn’t care less about all the busy teens and scientists. He was much more interested in the enormous marine specimens. But he was also in a hurry.

  Using alchemical magic on the Moon Palace teleporter to get through the solar storm had been easy. Going to Earth without Rita’s permission was dangerous, though. If the wicked queen awoke from her nap and found Finster gone before he could prove the value of his Enhancifier by creating his greatest monster ever, she’d be . . . well . . . unhappy, to say the least.

  Once Finster made it to the collection of enormous tanks, seeing all the monstrous possibilities made him so giddy, his worries disappeared. As he “shopped” around, checking out one marine creature after another, it was all he could do to keep himself from clapping like a child in a toy store.

  Now, now, he reminded himself. I’m a scientist and an inventor. There’ll be plenty of time for giddy clapping later. This is a time for clear thinking! My choice has to be perfect!

  The blue whale in the biggest tank caught his eye immediately. Pressing his hands against the thick Plexiglas for a closer look, Finster thought his mission might already be accomplished.

  But something made him hesitate.

  Is it really the best I can do? he wondered.

  True, the whale was enormous. It was, of course, as big as a whale! But there was something too . . . peaceful about the giant. It made Finster worry whether it had the heart to attack anyone, let alone the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

  “This is more like it!” he said, turning to the next tank. “The great white shark is a classic killing machine! Still . . . classic can also be cliché. I want something even more impressive.”

  Like a picky shopper, he found something wrong with nearly every choice. The giant spined sea star, with its ability to regrow limbs, or the giant spider crab, with its armor-like exoskeleton, were fearsome, but . . . not quite as big as Finster wanted.

  The billowing, poisonous tentacles of the lion’s mane jellyfish were much more like it!

  Or the Portuguese man-of-war!

  Or the giant isopod!

  Strengthened by his Enhancifier, any one of them could crush the Power Rangers.

  Soon he had the opposite problem. There were too many great choices.

  This will be a tough decision, he thought, chuckling. A tough decision, indeed!

  Chapter 5

  Back in his student lab, a certain teen with attitude had filled Goo Fish Junior’s little glass bowl with waterproof sensors, speakers,
and microphones. Billy hoped they would not only record the fish’s brain waves, but also let Billy “talk back” with sounds, lights, or bubbles, whichever worked best for a goldfish. Color-coded wires led from the bowl, across the worktable and floor to a high-powered computer. From there, they were connected to a fancy headset that Billy wore.

  Ready for his first try, Billy leaned in close to the bowl. “Goo Fish Junior, hello!” he said. “Can you hear me?”

  As he spoke, the tiny speakers sent waves through the water, a gentle light flashed Morse code, and a little tube gave off a sequence of bubbles.

  When Goo Fish Junior seemed to bubble back, Billy got incredibly excited.

  Did it work? he wondered. What will the fish say?

  But the computer only translated: “Blorp, boop, blop.”

  “Oh well,” Billy said to the fish. “At least I proved the equipment works. Once I make some changes to the sensors, I should be able to see what you’re thinking. Maybe then the computer can create a better version of fish-speak. You probably only want to tell me how crowded it is in there, anyway, huh? This is going to take a little soldering . . .”

  No sooner did Billy find the soldering iron than there was a knock at the door.

  “Come—” he said.

  Before he finished the invitation, a very hurried and very wet Ira and Alani charged in. They were followed by a group of other students. Together, they made Billy’s lab almost as crowded as the fishbowl.

  And it wasn’t just Ira and Alani who were wet—everyone was. At first, Billy thought they’d gone swimming, but they seemed upset.

  “What’s wrong, guys?” he asked.

  Ira bent over to shake some of the water from his hair, as he explained, “These two custodial engineers spilled their bucket on us! I’m not even sure they meant to do it. They were tripping all over the place, so it could have been an accident. But when I asked them to apologize, they called us losers and said they’d do it again!”

  Alani was fuming. “Custodial engineers, ha!” she said. “I don’t think they’ve had any janitorial training at all!”

  Randal, a blond boy, looked especially shaken up. He leaned against the doorframe and sadly wrung his shirt dry. “I really hate this,” he said. “It’s bad enough that I have to deal with bullies back home. How am I going to complete a decent aquatic toxicology study if I’m constantly looking over my shoulder?”

  Feeling bad for his new friends, Billy passed around the few towels he’d packed and sighed. “Unfortunately,” he said, “I’m very familiar with those two. But trust me, you don’t have to worry about them anywhere near as much as you do your own fear. If you stand up to Bulk and Skull, they’ll back off. I promise.”

  Randal twisted his brow as tightly as he had his shirt. “No offense, Billy, but not worrying is easier said than done for some of us. I mean, look at you. You’re so sure of yourself, it’s hard to believe you were ever really afraid of something.”

  Me? Sure of myself? Billy thought. I guess being a Power Ranger really has changed me for the better. But that doesn’t help them much.

  “I have been very afraid,” Billy said to Randal. “I’ve had huge fears, so bad I couldn’t move! It started back in grade school. I was trying to create a self-sustaining whirlpool in a lake, but the vortex balance was just a little off.”

  “That can happen to anyone,” Ira offered. “And you used your finger to correct it?”

  “Exactly. And when I did,” Billy continued, “I guess a fish must have mistaken my finger for a worm. Before I knew what was happening, for lack of a better word . . . chomp!”

  Billy said it so loudly that everyone jumped a little.

  He held up his finger and looked at it. “There’s no scar, even a tiny mark, but I still remember that bite as if it happened yesterday. After that, for years, I couldn’t bring myself to go in any water where there might be fish. I’d go to the beach sometimes, but I’d never swim. I’d even stay at least ten yards from the shoreline. I actually said no to scuba diving with my friends. But then . . .”

  Billy paused. They all waited eagerly for him to finish, but it occurred to him that he couldn’t exactly tell them how his goldfish’s namesake, the monstrous Goo Fish, had immobilized his fellow Power Rangers. The Blue Ranger was the last member of the team left standing. Billy couldn’t let them down; he had to do something, no matter how hard it was.

  Finally he said, “My friends needed me, so I had to face my fear and get over it. And now . . .” As everyone watched, without hesitating, he stuck his finger into the goldfish bowl. Goo Fish Junior nibbled at it, but the tiny mouth didn’t even tickle. “I’ve conquered my fear.”

  His fellow “nerd types” were very impressed.

  Ira looked downright inspired. “Billy’s right! We should stand up to those bullies together, as a team!”

  The others nodded. Billy was going to say something else, but Randal, still in the doorway, glanced outside and gulped.

  “It’s them!” he shouted. “They’re coming this way! We’ve got to get out of here and hide!”

  All at once, the frightened teens raced out.

  “Wait!” Billy called. He headed after them, but by the time he reached the door, they’d disappeared down the hall. He saw a grinning Bulk and Skull coming from the other direction. They picked up their pace to chase the students.

  But Billy stepped out to block their path. “Hey! I want to talk to you! Those guys are really afraid of you.”

  The two slowed down to face him. Pleased with himself, Bulk snickered. “Yeah, well, that’s the point, isn’t it?”

  “No, it’s not the point of anything,” Billy said. Although Trini was able to translate for Billy sometimes, none of the Rangers understood how Bulk and Skull thought. “I want you to back off and leave them alone!” he said.

  Billy was so loud and confident, it made them shake. Wondering why he was talking so tough, they peered over Billy’s shoulder into the lab.

  “Your martial arts pal Jason isn’t around anywhere, is he?” Bulk asked.

  Seeing that the lab was empty of people, they relaxed.

  Noticing the fishbowl, though, Skull’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Oh! A fishy!” he said.

  As excited as a little boy on his birthday, Skull rushed in. Spotting the food container, he grabbed it and started shaking flakes into the bowl.

  Billy turned toward Skull. “Stop that!”

  Billy was about to take the food container from Skull, but a swaggering Bulk stepped into his path. Even as a civilian, Billy was sure he could move Bulk if he had to, but his Power Ranger training had taught him that violence was only to be used as a last resort. So even though it meant trying to explain something to Skull, Billy gave it his best shot.

  “Overfeeding can hurt goldfish,” he said. “They’re opportunistic feeders. That means they eat as long as there’s food and don’t know how to stop.”

  Skull shook in a few more flakes. “Aw, overeating never bothered Bulk. I don’t see why it’d hurt Little Bulky here.”

  “Little Bulky?” Bulk said, half smiling. “That’s sweet. Wait. I don’t overeat!”

  “Please stop,” Billy said.

  Bulk sneered and aimed his thumb at the door. “Come on, Skull. We’ve got a whole island of losers to play with!”

  When they left, Billy wanted to follow and find his friends. First, though, he had to scoop all the extra flakes out of the fishbowl. It was a long, difficult process, especially with the sensors getting in the way, but he was responsible for the fish’s health.

  As he worked, something about the way Goo Fish Junior tilted his body made Billy think he looked disappointed.

  “Sorry,” Billy said. “It’s for your own good.”

  Once he was finished, Billy searched the halls. When he couldn’t find Bulk and Skull, he hoped they’d decided t
o take a break from acting tough. He did find his fellow students, though. They were all together in the cafeteria.

  Ira, Alani, and the others had pushed several tables together in the center of the space so everyone would fit. They were having what looked like a very serious meeting. A pile of chemical supplies had been stacked on the floor near their chairs.

  Seeing Billy enter, Ira started a round of applause.

  Billy half smiled, half frowned. “Thanks,” he said, “but . . . what’s going on? What’s all that stuff?”

  As he got closer, he realized that the students had gathered the standard chemical ingredients for stink bombs and flash firecrackers. They’d already made two large buckets of what looked like a powerful liquid glue.

  An eager Alani bounced up from her seat. “We’re taking your advice!” she said proudly. “We’re going to face our fear of those two bullies and get some payback!”

  Billy shook his head. “Wait, no! That’s not what I meant. If you try to get revenge, you’re just stooping to their level.”

  “Oh no, not at all,” Randal said. He pointed at the supplies. “What we’ve got planned is much more sophisticated than anything Bulk and Skull could come up with. Clearly, we are way above their level.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Billy said. “You’re just becoming bullies yourselves!”

  Ira frowned. “But isn’t that okay, if you only bully bullies?” he asked.

  “No,” Billy said. “It isn’t.”

  “Why not?” Alani asked.

  Trying to figure out how best to explain, Billy looked off to gather his thoughts. When he did, he saw something very strange in the distance, over by the marine specimen tanks. It was a short, furry figure, clapping happily. At first Billy thought it was Bulk or Skull, but as he narrowed his eyes, the pointy dog ears he saw were unmistakable.

  It was Finster!

  Without another thought, Billy ran from the cafeteria.

  “Sorry!” he called back to the others. “I have to go check on something extremely important. We’ll talk later, but please, don’t make any more plans until we do!”