The Venomous Eclipse Read online

  “Are they serious with those outfits?” Zack asked.

  “Oh, excuse me,” Bulk said, speaking in a high-pitched voice, but loud enough to draw the attention of the whole room.

  “Sadly, I think they are serious,” Trini replied, trying her best not to laugh.

  “My sister and I are here to get our ring back,” Bulk went on.

  “Yes,” Skull added in a high squeak. “It was our grandmother’s, and we were so relieved to learn that some delightful teenagers had found it.”

  “Um, yeah. We found it. Over here,” Jason said, waving at the two disguised bullies.

  “Oh, hello there, young man,” Bulk said, trotting over to their table in pointy-toed shoes that were too small and obviously pinched his feet. “Why bless your heart for finding our ring.”

  “It was nothing, ma’am,” the Red Ranger said, playing along. “But just to make sure we’re giving the ring back to the right people, would you please tell me what color stone is on the top?”

  “Why, a yellow stone,” the little-old-lady Bulk said with a lipstick-smeared smile.

  “No, sister dear. It was a black stone,” Skull corrected as he adjusted his hat so that it concealed more of his face.

  “Which is it? Yellow or black?” Kimberly prodded.

  “Black,” said Bulk, accidentally smearing his lipstick even more across his chin.

  “Yellow,” said Skull, scrunching down under his hat in his attempt to not be recognized.

  “Why don’t you take a look at the ring and tell us if you recognize it?” Jason suggested. “I have it right here,” he said, extending a folded-up napkin across the table. “We kept it nice and safe for you.”

  Bulk snatched the ring, and Skull made a grab for it a second later, knocking into his friend and causing him to drop the ring and the napkin. Bulk lunged for it, but his skirt was too tight and split straight up the back, revealing a pair of skintight boxer shorts with hearts and cupids printed all over them.

  Skull spied the hole in his buddy’s disguise. “B-Bulk!” he stammered, stepping behind the large teen to conceal his rear end. “Uh . . . I mean, Bulkatrice.”

  “Bulkatrice?” Kimberly wrinkled her nose.

  Skull cleared his throat. “Beatrice. I meant to say Beatrice, but I have a bit of a tickle in my throat.”

  “What?” The disguised Bulk stood up, blissfully unaware that his skirt had split or that his accomplice was standing so close behind him.

  Unfortunately, Skull wasn’t expecting this move and he ended up getting clipped on the chin, sending him tumbling backward.

  Bulk went to steady his friend by grabbing on to his voluminous dress, but the fabric was so thin that it just tore instead, revealing Skull in a tank top and a pair of baggy white underpants.

  “Oh my,” Skull said, trying to cover everything at once. “Come on, Bulkatrice. If you have the ring, then let’s get out of here.”

  Bulk checked the napkin. “Hey,” he said, pulling out a plastic flower ring. “This isn’t gold.” He turned to confront Jason. “You’re trying to steal our grandmother’s ring.”

  “Oh, give it up, Bulk,” Kimberly said. “We know it’s you already.”

  “Fine,” Bulk said, whipping off his hat as everybody in the Youth Center started to laugh. “So we wanted the ring. It’s not like it’s yours.”

  “Yeah,” Skull added, wrapping the torn dress around his body like a toga. “Did you even try to find the real owner?”

  The Power Rangers all exchanged knowing looks. Zack broke into a smile. “Let’s just say that we took care of it. The ring is exactly where it’s supposed to be.”

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