Chapter Text
Cam knew it was a bad idea. It was 101 for superheroes, ‘Don't bring strangers to your SECRET base’. This is especially true when there is a pair of strangers who beat you up in every encounter that happened to show up at the same time another pair of strangers began hanging out with you. Honestly, had Cam not been stuck in Ninja Ops 24/7 and tried to socialize with the Wind Rangers, he may have met Hunter and Blake and connected the dots before it was too late.
That didn't matter now, the Thunder Rangers had just come down the stairs, blocking the main exit. No fanfare, no evil presentation, really lousy supervillains, but hey, they were effective. Cam had just gotten up from his chair after a job well done and turned around thinking the footsteps he had heard were from his coworkers. He was taken aback when all he saw were the intimidating enemy Rangers, but he tried to look tough, his eyes locking onto the Navy Thunder “Blake, I guess?”
The accusation was nailed, as the Ranger looked down for a second, ashamed of his betrayal “I am sorry, but this isn't personal”.
“We don't want to hurt you, especially after what you did for my brother” interjected the Crimson Ranger, stepping forward.
A moment of silence allowed Cam to think of an escape plan. Obviously the main entrance wasn't the only way out, there were many hidden exits. And the best part was that Cam's father could easily reach them. Using his basic training, he landed an axe kick on the handle of his father's tray, catapulting the guinea pig onto the steel beams on the roof. “Run!” Was all Cam got to say before bolting towards the Zord Bay, where a human sized exit happened to be hidden.
He didn't get far, though. The Crimson Ranger quickly appeared in front of Cam and shoulder checked him. This made Cam stumble backwards, allowing the Navy Ranger to grab him, putting both arms below the armpits and then putting his hand behind the neck. With one quick kick, the tech genius was now on his knees.
“At least my father is okay” Cam thought, trying to avoid the dread that came with his situation.
After a quick check by Hunter, the sensei was nowhere to be found. He turned towards Cam, pulling a handful of hair to make his prisoner look up “Where is he!?”.
“Probably in another state by now, he is a master ninja after all” Cam spat, ignoring the pain in his head and shoulders “Unlike you two”. He didn't know why he said that, it was a very stupid idea to make your kidnapper angry, especially because the Crimson Ranger seemed to be the more impulsive one out of the two. But Cam's natural reaction always seemed to be to spit venom and sarcasm, that's how he treated every Ranger.
Fortunately, Hunter only responded by grunting and releasing his hair with only a little more force. “Bro, calm down, he is just the chair guy” added Blake, trying to calm his partner. And that's why Cam hated Rangers, to them, he was only ‘the chair guy’, ignoring how much technical and mechanical work he did for the team.
Taking a deep breath, Hunter kneeled and opened his visor, looking at his prisoner right in the eyes “Listen to me, that sensei of yours is nothing but a disgrace”. Despite Hunter looking quite intimidating, Cam did not even blink. He may have been scared, but he wasn’t going to let his captors know that, so he just stared at those blue eyes filled with anger. “Tell us where he is and we won't hurt you”.
Silence was Cam’s only answer, because he didn’t actually know. His best bet was that his father had gone hiding and telepathically contacted the Wind Rangers, so he would do his best to gain some time for them to get to Ninja Ops, hoping the Thunders wouldn’t take him somewhere else.
“Why do you even work for him?” Blake suddenly asked. That question threw Cam off, making him drop his poker face. Bad idea.
Cam tried to focus before answering the question “He is my… sensei”. He hesitated, another bad idea.
A grin was beginning to form in Hunter’s face “Really? Such a lousy fighter is a ninja who wasn’t abducted by Lothor?”. Cam could almost see the gears turning in Hunter’s head, realizing he had screwed up. The fact that he hadn’t been able to keep his cool about the subject had given away valuable information to his enemy.
The Crimson Ranger held his hand up, placing it right in front of Cam’s face. Holding up his index and middle finger, bolts of lighting began to appear all around his hand “I guess then he won't mind hearing the screams of just another student, huh?”.
“Hunter…” Blake was beginning to have doubts about his brother’s methods, even if he believed they were necessary in their quest for revenge.
Cam’s face, illuminated by the crimson lighting, had tried to remain stoic, but the fear in his eyes was undeniable, while Hunter once again blocked his face with his visor “I mean, it’s not like he cared about the Rangers when we beat them up”.
Cameron wished that was true, he really did. But his father was not that kind of man, or in this case, rodent. The many times Cam and his father had not seen eye to eye often had to do with Kanoi being quite stubborn and overprotective. So, to the surprise of only the Thunder Rangers, Sensei Watanabe dropped from the ceiling and created a gust of wind, pushing the brothers to opposite directions.
Being now free, Cam quickly refocused and grabbed his father, heading directly for the main exit. Unfortunately, Blake had gotten up with one jump and began attacking Cam with a flurry of kicks and punches. And despite what they had called him earlier, Cam was no lousy fighter. Yes, he wasn’t a ninja per se, but he had been trained primarily in defensive maneuvers, so he blocked and dodged every attack headed his way.
Unfortunately, this hadn’t been enough to get past the Navy Ranger and before he knew it, a sting of pain had struck between his shoulder blades. Electricity coursed through his body, making him drop Kanoi as the room was filled with his screams of pain. He heard the older Watanabe scream his name full of worry as he dropped to his knees first, then collapsed face down on the floor.
It hadn’t been a deadly strike, but it was painful enough to stun him, especially because he didn’t wear any kind of suit or armor like his co-workers did. “Low blow bro” Cam heard Blake's voice and tried to turn his head, though only barely being able to see Hunter’s two fingers still in the air where they had come in contact with Cam’s skin.
“I told you, you didn’t have to get hurt” Hunter approached Kanoi, who had now stood up in two paws right beside Cam’s foot, willing to protect his son from any more harm. The Crimson Ranger took his staff and thrusted downwards with it, with full intent of killing the sensei.
As if acting on instinct, Kanoi created a shield made of wind, blocking the attack and making him bounce off the floor. Blake tried to catch him, but the guinea pig kept on bouncing all over the place, eventually leading the younger man to another room. Had Cam not been stunned on the floor, he would’ve laughed at the whole situation.
He was once again reminded of the severity of the moment when a crimson leathered boot stomped right in front of his face. Hunter grabbed Cam’s hands and began tying them up with a rope. “I am sorry for the taser, but it was necessary”.
Cam, despite being in the worst case scenario, hadn’t lost his sharp tongue, if anything, it was all he had now “I doubt scum like you can feel remorse”.
That had stung, Cam wished it had. Heck, in a perfect world, it had stung more than the electric attack he had received. And somehow, despite being full of conviction and willing to avenge his parents at all costs, Hunter felt like crap.
It didn’t make sense, he was the one standing over a shocked and tied up Cam, but a few words from some nerd suddenly made him feel small, pathetic even. But it wasn’t just the words, it was everything that had to do with them.
It was the fact that he had disappointed everyone by siding with Lothor, his friends, classmates, his own sensei and even tarnished his parents' memory. The fact that he had used and tricked the Wind Ninjas all in the name of his revenge. The fact that he had attacked a defenseless guy and was trying to make him feel the same pain he once felt. All those thoughts were weighing him down and Cam’s word just confirmed his worst fears.
He was scum, of the lowest kind. A disgrace to everything he had been taught as a ninja and as a man. But he was willing to be scum, if it meant avenging his parents. He would disappoint them to honor them.
Hunter was snapped out of his thoughts by a beeping sound, making him look directly at the monitor that showcased a map of the area. Three dots were approaching Ninja Ops, most likely the Wind Rangers. He grabbed Cam and forced him to stand up, if he could talk, he could walk. Ignoring his prisoner’s grunts, he pulled him towards the room Blake had gone to while chasing the guinea pig. He didn’t say another word to Cam, fearing that another interaction with him would make all of his beliefs, all of his conviction, crumble.
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“Hey, can we talk for a sec?” Hunter’s voice echoed through Ninja Ops, which took Cam out of his typical work-focused trance. Everyone else had gone out to celebrate their new alliance, but the blonde man had chosen to stay, at least for a moment, to try and make things right.
“Whatever it is, make it brief, I am working here” Cam's response was, as expected, cold and unfriendly. He didn't even dare turn around to look at Hunter.
“I just wanted to say sorry about, well you know, everything” that led to Cam barely turning in his chair, a visible eyebrow was raised in interest. “I am sorry for trying to, well, make you an orphan. And the whole mess with the bikes as well. Oh and obviously the taser wasn't… good”. Hunter, despite having rehearsed his apology a couple of times, completely fumbled his words. His embarrassment and anxiety destroyed any sign of confidence. “So… are we cool?”
At this point, Cam had fully turned around with a flabbergasted expression on his face. He angrily stood up “Really? That's your excuse for an apology?”. Cam began pacing towards Hunter, having enough of burying his feelings. “No, we are not cool. I don't trust you or your brother one bit”.
Hunter, not really appreciating the yelling, responded with equal volume “Hey I know that wasn't good, but we all want the same thing, to defeat Lothor”.
“Oh believe me, I want to defeat him as much as anyone here, so I will help you as necessary for the sake of my father”. Despite being shorter, Cam's will was making him tower over Hunter, his voice being full of contempt and venom. “But you two have done nothing but take advantage of everyone and have switched sides as soon as it was convenient. Give me one reason to suspect you will betray us, and I swear, your Zords will be part of the next 4th of July celebration”.
Once again, Cam’s words have stung. Truth was, not even Hunter knew if he was truly loyal to the Wind Rangers, his only true loyalty was to his brother, his only family. But he wasn't about to let Cam get to him again. “Oh I see it” he said, wiping some spit off his face with a smug look “You know, just cause you feel like a small chair guy, doesn't mean you have to lash out”.
Cam's face became quite disgruntled “...What”.
“Yeah” Hunter kept on saying, not really sure why. Every cell in his body was telling him to shut up, but his mouth just didn't stop talking “I am sure everyone here doesn't think you are just some nerd who needs to be babysat every once in a while”. He then proceeded to clap Cam's shoulder in the most condescending way possible.
Knowing things could escalate further, Cam didn't say a single word. He just slapped Hunter's hand and turned around, heading for his room. To say he was angry would be an understatement, he was livid. He wanted to grab that blonde head and kick it like a football or force him to eat grass. Anything that would make Hunter feel as humiliated as Cam had felt—either a month ago or in that very moment. But, as his father had taught him, you cannot show weakness when it comes to games of the mind. One slip, and you lose the battle.
So he left, leaving Hunter alone with a smile on his face. He had shown the sensei's son he could out-jerk him. And he felt awful about it.
He had approached Cam with one intention, to apologize and try to improve his relationship with the whole team. But one understandable (yet a little mean spirited) comment had made Hunter flip off and abandon his original intent. Not only had he screwed up, again, but he had screwed while trying to improve things. This whole trust deal was going to be much harder than he thought.