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Centiback’s Big Comeback
(A Power Ranger Fanfic)

By: Nibblah Frog & TK Tigerkat

Chapter 4 - Training

Adam and Billy stood outside Angel Grove High, having run across the entire campus for the last 20 minutes looking for any sign of Rocky or the monster.

“Ugh! This is useless! We can’t find him anywhere, and our scanners are still jammed!” the black ranger finally said in frustration.

“Let’s check up at the football field. Perhaps Rocky decided to stop to practice for the tryouts next week.” Billy suggested.

“That knucklehead better not be playing football while his science project is due!” Adam said, his annoyance born of worry for what trouble his teammate might have gotten into.

“OK…let’s go check. If he’s not there, we’ll regroup with Tommy, Kim, Aisha and Ninjor and decide where to go from there.”

Billy nodded his agreement as the black and blue rangers ran towards the football field outside of the school. They ran through the gates and arrived to find only empty bleachers and a deserted field.

“Hmmm…nothing here,” Adam said, looking around.

Billy took his ranger tracking device from his belt and turned it on, adjusting several knobs on the side as the device flashed and beeped.

“Our scanners are being flooded with an ultra-powerful energy that seems to be coming from everywhere at once, “Billy began as Adam stopped to listen.

“I had Alpha analyze the energy that has been blocking our signals, and it’s definitely one of Rita’s monsters that is responsible, but what’s interesting is that it jams our signals with a type of high power energy wave. This energy wave is so strong it overpowers other types of energy it comes in contact with, almost like it changes the environment around it. That‘s why we‘ve been getting readings from everywhere!”

“Great. So how do we find the source of this monster pollution?” Adam said, folding his arms.

Billy‘s device started flashing again, louder this time and more frantic.

“I’ve got something! It’s detecting a very large energy, and it seems to be heading towards us!”

The rangers froze for a moment, then Adam turned and ran towards the bleachers signaling for Billy to follow.

The rangers climbed the steps and stepped into the enclosed announcer box at the top of the bleachers. As soon as they ducked out of sight, three glowing red spheres flew in from above, fluttered towards the middle of the field, then slammed down into the turf sending up a shower of grass and dirt.

As the dust settled, Adam and Billy looked down in shock to see not one but three Centiback monsters standing in the middle of the field. The rangers looked at each other, both remembering this monster and knowing they were outnumbered.

The grim thought of what might have happened to Rocky and Tommy flashed in their minds, but they knew it just meant it was that much more important to plan their attack strategically. Billy turned his scanning device back on and aimed it at the creatures, adjusting knobs carefully. Adam peered out to see what the monsters were up to, the leader stepping forward and looking all around the stadium.

“Home sweet hive! Whaddya say, boys? You think this is a fitting headquarters for team Centiback?”

Rocky stepped forward, pumping his fist. “It’s great coach! Just think of all the people who’ll come to watch us stomp our opponents week after week! With my skills, I’m gonna be a superstar! That’ll really pack the stands!”

“They no come into our stadium. This is OUR house!” Tommy roared as he pounded his chest. “We gonna win it all! Get trophy! Get….cheerleaders!” Tommy said and stopped, tilting his head and drooling as his mind drifted off to the thought of cheerleaders in their tight skirts, delicate curves, ample thorax, and nice long antennae.

“I love the way you guys think! You make a papa proud!” Centiback said, coming over to give each bug and affectionate slug on the shoulder.

“But you lunkheads need to think bigger! I’m talking about a stadium so big that everyone in Angel Grove can come to see us play!” Centiback stepped forward energetically, putting his claws out to imagine the scene.

“We need to do a little renovation here and make it a home field worthy of team Centiback!” the bug said, stepping towards midfield. He stopped short of the very middle, and then dropped into a crouched ready position. Flexing his muscles, Centiback’s whole body shook with power, his antennae starting to glow yellowish orange and shoot down into the ground. As the energy flowed, the ground below pulsated with a red light, spreading outwards in a circle. The glowing light soon eclipsed the Angel Grove High logo, blocking it out as the light spread across the grass field. With a last surge of energy the disc disappeared, revealing a new logo of a football with a centipede wrapped around it, with the letters “C B” emblazoned in red on a white background.

“That’s more like it! With all the energy I sucked up from you two, I can build this whole place into a coliseum! Your ranger powers will provide all the warmth we need to incubate our little squirming team egg. Once we hatch, there’ll be no stopping us!”

From their hiding place, Adam and Billy gasped and looked at each other.

“Did he say ranger powers?” Billy whispered.

“Yeah! “ Adam said as quietly as he could. “And he said ‘you two’, as if he got it from those two other monsters. Oh no…you don‘t think?”

“It must be Rocky and Tommy!” Billy deduced. “He somehow stole their powers and turned them into Centiback monsters. It must have to do with the energy he gives off. It seems to corrupt everything it touches, like he‘s copy-pasting himself on everything he sees!”

“Geez that must be some powerful stuff,” Adam marveled, “It’s like they don’t even remember who they were an hour ago!”

Billy pushed some buttons on his device, studying it intently as the screen showed two small glowing dots inside a sea of dark light.

“I‘m detecting a faint life reading from inside the two monsters, which means that part of Rocky and Tommy is in there somewhere. If I can calibrate our blasters to counteract Centiback’s power, we might be able to reverse the transformation.”

“Right,” Adam whispered as he turned back to keep an eye on the monsters.

“What is this? Baby blue? That’s no color for a football team! A little bit of bug juice will make it a proper Centiback red!” Centiback said as he scurried around the field, zapping each of the high school team’s benches, turning them from solid blue metallic metal to brand new benches with a sleek red finish and padded seats, each covered in logos with the familiar centipede wrapped around a football.

“Uhhhh…what about Angel Grove football team?” Tommy said as he watched Centiback work, scratching his helmet with a single claw. “They not play here anymore?”

“The Angel Grove Angels are a bunch of wussies!” Rocky snorted, stepping forward and pounding his fist. “I don’t know why I ever thought about trying out for their team! I hope they do come back so we can pound ‘em into the dirt and show them who’s top bug around here!”

“Not quite, rookie! Coach Centiback as a better plan,” the bug said, flashing a toothy grin. “We’re going to hold tryouts of our own. When the Angel Grove football team shows up for practice, we’re going to put them through Centiback Training Camp. By the end of the week, every last one of those weak pink fleshy humans will be pumped and sculpted into mountains of pure centipede muscle!”

Adam turned back to Billy with a worried look on his face. “He’s planning on turning the entire football team into monsters! If there’s that many of them, we may not be able to stop them!”

The blue ranger nodded, but kept at his work diligently. Centiback was starting to zap the end zone with his antennae’s power when Billy held up the device triumphantly.

“I’ve got it! I’ve copied his energy pattern and reversed the polarity! Here, let me calibrate your laser blaster. We should focus our fire on Tommy, since his change was the most recent. That’ll be our best shot to reverse the transformation.”

Adam nodded. “I’ll create a distraction. If you can get a clear shot, you’ll have a better chance of making it.”

Billy nodded in agreement, fiddled with the black ranger’s gun, and then returned it. With a deep breath and a nod, the two rangers stepped out of press box, Billy slipping behind while Adam stepped up on the top bench of the bleachers.

“Centiback!” Adam shouted, clenching his fist and stepping forward. “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time when we sent you packing? What’s the matter, can’t fight your own fights?”

Centiback stopped and looked up to the top of the stands. With a derisive laugh, he stepped forward and held a clenched fist up at the ranger.

“Well if it isn’t another mighty morphin weakling ranger! Pretty big words for a little shrimp! Why don’t you come on down here and show us what you got!”

“You’re on the wrong team, Adam!” Rocky said, recognizing his former friend through the tainted lens of his new persona. “Centiback’s a way better coach than Zordon ever was! Just give up and accept his power and you’ll be as big and buff as us in no time!”

Centiback just chuckled as he stepped forward, folding his arms with smug satisfaction.

“See ranger? You’ll never know how powerful you can become until you don the pads and become part of the team. I think Tommy here would love to have a little brother to wrestle with! You two could practice your tackling together.”

“I’ll never join your team, bug-breath! I think it‘s time for you to hit the showers!” Adam said as he pulled out his laser and blasted at Centiback, his shots scattering around the monster’s feet as they pulled together and backed up.

“You wanna lob the long ball ranger? Let a pro show you how it’s done!”

With lightning reflexes, Centiback pulled football after football out from behind his back and hurled it at Adam. The black ranger shot the balls as fast as he could, but there were too many as several exploded around him, forcing him to take cover.

“Let’s see how you handle a blitz!” Centiback laughed as he continued to lob footballs at Adam, forcing him to dive out of the way. He made his way towards the field, hoping to further draw their attention away from the blue ranger, who he feared was their last hope.

Meanwhile, Billy had snuck around behind the bleachers and was taking aim at Tommy. Setting his blaster on high, he pulled the trigger and let loose a laser blast of blue energy. It tore through the air and hit Tommy square in the left shoulder pad.

“Auuuuurrrgghhh!” Tommy shrieked out in agony as the laser blast burned his hide. It was his pads, but they were connected to his body so it felt like it was a laser blast on his bare skin. Billy watched on as the area he blasted began to shrink, the muscle receding a little as the numbers on his arm faded from view. It was working!

The blue ranger looked up just in time to see a spiked football sailing towards him. Too late to put up his arms, Billy could only brace himself as the explosion knocked him back, breaking the laser fire. Recovering quickly, Billy pulled his gun up to fire to see Rocky barreling towards him.

“No one messes with my bro! I’m gonna flatten you, little fly!” Rocky growled as he dove at Billy, spreading his arms out wide as his pecs swelled. Billy rolled out of the way, feeling the earth quake beneath him from the impact of Rocky’s flop.

“Trick play! You rangers are gonna pay for this!” Centiback said in a rage, throwing a dozen footballs at the black ranger to keep him from getting a clear shot. Falling back, Cenitback turned and put his claws on Tommy’s expansive chest in concern for his offspring.

“You did good there kid! You took one for the team!” Centiback said, reaching around at patting the wound gently.

Tommy’s mind went blank, the furor of the football frenzy gone, replaced by fuzzy memories of human and centipede lives. He didn’t know what to do, and looked around blankly for any sign of recognition. The big bug glanced down and saw Centiback standing before him. Looking down, Tommy’s eyes met with Centiback’s, his eyes glowing up at him with true concern.

“You’re gonna be OK, big guy! Daddy Centiback is gonna make it all better, and then you can get back out on the field and play!”

Tommy suddenly felt warmth fill him to the core, thoughts of his team, his centipede family, and the big bug that was always was looking out for him, that loved him.

“Coach?” Tommy said, emotions welling up in his beady red eyes. Reflexively, he opened his arms slightly.

“Awwww…that’s my lovable lug!” Centiback said with pride in his voice, wrapping his arms as far around Tommy as he could and giving a powerful hug. His antennae uncurled and made contact with Tommy‘s antennae, an energy flowing between as the massive bug opened himself to his father’s love. Tommy felt the addicting power and strength return as a warming energy filled him. With a growl, Tommy felt himself inflate, the hole in his shoulder filling itself in and number returning, good as new. Tommy flexed his arm experimentally and felt the strength bursting from every muscle.

“Alright, team huddle! Timeout!” Centiback said, pulling his whistle out from his side.

*Tweeeeeeet!*

Caught off guard, Adam and Billy both stopped in their tracks as the three bugs gathered in a circle with their heads together, leaning over.

“They’ve decided to play dirty team, so it’s time we pull out some new plays of our own!”

“Lemme at em coach!” Rocky said impatiently, “I wanna crush that blue ranger! “

“Want…tackle!!!” Tommy-Centiback growled impatiently, flexing his muscles and stomping his oversized cleats in place.

“Alright team! The game is on!” Centiback said, addressing his team. “DeSantos, you and I will take the blue ranger. Oliver! The black ranger is trying to sack the quarterback! Go tackle him!”

Tommy-Centiback’s eyes went wide as he listened intently to his coach, and then narrowed as he turned to glare at Adam. A fire grew inside Tommy, seeing the black ranger as the enemy

The blue and black rangers watched on as the bugs conversed together, their antennae all starting to glow as suddenly, Tommy turned to face them. Lurching forward, he immediately rumbled towards Adam, his simple mind focused on taking the ranger down hard.

The massive bug’s charge scattered the black ranger, giving Rocky and Centiback time to pull out spiked footballs and bombard the blue ranger with explosions as they ran around.

“Keep moving Adam! With their increased size, we retain the advantage of agility to avoid their attacks. We need to focus our attacks on the main bug if we hope to break the spell on Tommy and Rocky! It’s no use trying to free them if he can just pump them with his energy”

“Hear that guys? They want to take me down and take your uniforms away. Whaddya think about that, team?”

Rocky and Tommy roared as the thought of losing their powers sent them into a rage. Adam had his hands full with the massive Tommy, who towered above the black ranger and was easily four times the ranger’s size. Billy was having a bit better of a time darting around, easily avoiding the footballs and managing to land laser blasts on Centiback and Rocky.

“What’s wrong rangers? Can’t get your offense going? You even look tired! Maybe another timeout will help you regroup!”

Centiback flashed a toothy grin and took out his whistle, putting it to his mouth and letting out an ear-piercing blast.

*Tweeeeeeeet!!*

Adam and Billy were compelled to put hands up to their ears to block out the sound, but found they were frozen in place as soon as the whistle blew. The sound lasted a full two seconds, long enough for Tommy to catch up with Adam and Billy to watch a lazily flying football heading right towards him.

With a dual crash, Tommy-Centiback smashed into Adam while a spiked football exploded against Billy’s chest, knocking each ranger to the ground.

A rush of energy filled Tommy as he wrapped Adam up in his arms and slammed him to the ground. He could feel energy being pulled from Adam and flowing into his shoulder pads, making the pain from his injuries fade away in a rush of adrenaline. The feeling was addicting, making him just want to squeeze the ranger tighter and tighter between his pecs. The giant bug mmmm’d loudly and bucked his body against the ranger, each press and squeeze fueling the monster’s football frenzy.

Slowly, Tommy-Centiback got up off of Adam and towered over the ranger, looking down as he writhed about on the ground. To Adam it felt like he had just been hit by a ton of bricks, and he knees wobbled and head rung as he stood up to face his converted teammate.

“Tommy…no…don’t! It’s me, Adam!” the black ranger said in desperation, backing away from the massive centipede.

“Tackle!” the bug said mindlessly and lunged at the ranger. Adam jumped out of the way, but landed off balance. As he wobbled Tommy growled and lashed out his massive arms, smacking the ranger square in his chest and sending him stumbling backwards. As Adam reeled from the blow, Tommy-Centiback turned and lunged at the ranger, his eyes showing no recognition of his former teammate, only the single-minded desire to defeat his opponent.

Centiback watched on as Tommy overwhelmed the black ranger, letting Rocky handle a teetering Billy with a barrage of exploding footballs.

“That’s it Oliver! It’s time to practice your tackling on that ranger! Think of him as your personal tackling dummy.” Centiback said, knowing it was time for his son to use his new power.

“Du…mmy,” Tommy said gruffly, smiling down at Adam and pounding his fists together and rushing the ranger.

With a bone-crunching crash, Tommy-Centiback rammed into Adam and tackled him to the ground. Adam cried out as the blow knocked the wind out of him, struggling under the massive bug as he was ground into the dirt.

“Tackle dummy!” Tommy-Centiback laughed in a slow tone, shocking Adam with how much the bug was enjoying this. The centipede monster got up off of the ranger, giving him time to get back up. Adam wasn’t sure how much he could take, the two tackles already making him feel woozy and tottering from the energy drain. It only seemed to be encouraging the monster, enjoying watching him struggle to stand up.

Trained never to quit, Adam stood up defiantly. As soon as he got to his feet, Tommy-Centiback charged the ranger once more, slamming into the weakened ranger and wrapping him up in his arms. Adam grunted as he was squeezed, the air forced from his lungs as the ranger kicked and fought as hard as he could. The massive bug held the squirming ranger easily, his pads continuing to drain his energy as Tommy put the smaller human into a muscled headlock.

“Tackle! Tackle!” the monster grunted as he once again forced Adam to the dirt, grinding his body on top of him as the black ranger gasped for air.

His ranger powers held strong, but each time Adam stood up he was slammed back to the ground again, but not before being subjected to powerful headlocks, suffocating squeezes, and bone-shaking body slams. His energy was sapped out hit by hit, until after a dozen tackles Adam lacked the strength to stand up.

“Dummy…broken?” Tommy-Centiback looked to his coach, who stood watching on with arms folded.

“You did great my boy! Way to show that rangers what real Centiback muscle feels like! Now why don’t you wrap him up one last time and make him your tackling dummy for good!”

“Touchdown!” Tommy-Centiback said, smiling toothily.

Adam saw a shadow descend over him as Tommy-Centiback lumbered in and picked him up in his arms and hugged him tight to his chest. Adam squirmed weakly, having to fight for air as the embrace kept getting tighter and tighter, Tommy’s muscles swelling and tensing around Adam’s body as his head stuck up from between the crook of his forearm and bicep. Adam felt a warm glowing feeling spread throughout his body, intensified by the constricting feeling of the hug. Feeling a wave of fatigue fall over him, Adam realized that his energy was being drained making his struggle and writhe in Tommy’s arms. As the power flowed into the bug’s pads, the monster let out a pleased growl as the added energy made the embrace even stronger.

Now just fighting for his life, Adam gasped for air as his struggles got weaker and weaker. Faintly, he could feel a tickling at his sides that ran up and down his body.

“Tackle…dummy!” Tommy-Centiback grunted as he wrapped his body around the ranger, the line of centipede arms running down his arms and legs coming to life and grabbing at the struggling prey. Out of the ends, a fine silk-like substance was produced, the arms attaching it to Adam’s body and pulling it tightly around.

Tommy-Centiback growled and squeezed as his little arms went to work, quickly wrapping Adam from head to toe in tight silken webs. With each passing moment the webbing kept getting thicker, Adam soon disappearing into a cocoon that bound his arms and legs together. In twenty seconds Adam was completely covered, and in a minute the webbing was so thick that Adam’s struggles were reduced to shallow wiggles.

“Tackle…dummy!” Tommy-Centiback shouted, body pulsing with the black ranger’s stolen power. The massive bug gave Adam one last squeeze, his antennae glowing as they touched to the head of the cocoon and engulfed it in energy. In a second the energy made the cocoon swell, then disappear leaving in its place a giant padded tackling dummy, all black with Adam’s picture on the outside.

Centiback smiled as Adam became sealed away in completely in a padded cylinder, a cartoonish picture of the black ranger emblazoned on the outside with a permanently surprised look on his face.

“Nice work, son!” Centiback said, clapping his claws together excitedly. He was pleased at his offspring‘s new power, a unique ability coming from within the former ranger and brought to life by the football spirit that filled him. With his link to Tommy, Centiback could even feel the ranger’s energy trapped within the cocoon struggling in futility to get out.

“Way to show that ranger that he’s nothing more than a tackling dummy for team Centiback! With all the energy you sucked from that pathetic grub of a ranger, you’ll be able to pummel him over and over and never get tired! Hear that blackie? My boy here is gonna pound and squeeze every last ounce of power from you, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

Centiback smiled, knowing that every time Tommy used his new tackling dummy, he’d get bigger, stronger and fall deeper under his control. He admired his new son before, but with his new beefed-up body, he couldn't stop staring at his muscled physique.

With one ranger taken care of, Centiback turned to his other son, flexing his muscles and smiling as he saw Rocky the Centiback was providing trouble for even the agile blue ranger.

“Stand still you little pipsqueak!” Rocky shouted as he rushed towards Billy, trying to trample the ranger under his oversized cleats. As Tommy drained Adam, Rocky could feel the stolen energy filling him, making his muscles swell as he bore down on the blue ranger. Billy dodged around the monster's attacks and planted a series of punches into the bug’s sides, hoping to find a weak point in the muscled monster’s armor. The blue ranger’s blows bounced off like he was hitting a brick wall, hurting Billy's fists and only making Rocky turn to flash him a toothy grin.

“Are you just going to just tickle me all day, or do you want to step onto the field and play football with the big boys?” Rocky taunted as turned and swiped a claw at Billy, making him pedal backwards quickly to avoid the blows as the giant armored insect rushed the much smaller ranger relentlessly trying to overwhelm him with his size and power.

“Alright boys! Just one ranger to go, and he‘s a puny little runt!” Centiback called out, Rocky and Tommy’s antennae twitching in approval as they stopped in their tracks and turned to face the blue ranger.

All alone now with all communications jammed, Billy couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the massive bugs moving in to surround him. Backing up slowly, he held up his blaster threateningly, swinging it from bug to bug waiting for the right time to strike. He knew his only chance of victory was to get distance between the monsters and bombard them with laser fire.

Centiback stepped forward, folding his arms confidently as his sons closed in on their prey.

“You’re pretty smart, maggot. But it’s time to put your toys away and let papa Centiback show you what TRUE power is!”

Pulling the familiar red and white whistle from around his neck, Centiback pulled it up to his mouth and blew.

*Tweeeeeeet!!!*

Billy stopped in his tracks at the shrill sound, feeling a cold tingling chill run down his spine. Looking down, the blue ranger felt nor looked any different than before, much to his relief. As Billy cautiously backed away Centiback didn‘t move an inch. In fact all three bugs had stopped, and were watching the ranger with disappointed looks on their buggy faces as the ranger slowly made his escape.

“Not gonna step up to the line and face us, ranger? Ha! Doesn’t surprise me coming from a little runt like you!” Centiback said, flexing his muscles tauntingly. “You can’t gain any yards on the ground against us. You’d better develop that passing game if you have any hope to beat us. In fact, I’ll help you out right now with a long bomb!”

The bug suddenly pulled a spiked football from behind his back and hurled it high into the air. Billy tensed as he watched the ball, preparing to dodge before he realized that the ball wasn‘t even thrown at him, sailing far over the ranger’s head.

As Billy turned back to aim his laser blaster at the monster, the sight of the football leaving his vision caused him to snap his neck back involuntarily. He felt a sudden surge of energy, his legs starting to move on their own as he felt an overwhelming compulsion to chase after the football. His mind cried out for him to stop, but the blue ranger’s body had a mind of its own and soon he was running faster than he thought he ever could, easily gliding under the descending football and putting out his arms out to make the catch.

Billy was blown back as the explosion of the football bomb rocked him hard and sent him flying into the dirt. His ranger uniform had kept him from any serious harm, but was smoking now and couldn‘t hold much more punishment like that before it faded completely.

‘It’s like my body has a mind of its own…I…I just had to catch that ball!’ Billy realized in a panic, trying to figure out a way to stop it from happening again.

“Hahahaha!” “Butterfingers!” “Nice catch, shrimp! “The three centipedes laughed and slapped each other’s pads as Billy got up slowly.

“Almost got it there, just slipped right out of your hands. I bet this time you‘ll catch it for sure!” Centiback said, stepping forward and pulling another spiked football from behind him.

Billy started running in the opposite direction, but as soon as the ball was thrown an invisible force pulled him back towards the ball. Billy strained, tensed, and used all his mental power to stop himself, but the rush was too strong and the energy had to go somewhere or he felt he’d explode. Suddenly the tension snapped and Billy almost got whiplash as he jerked towards the ball at full speed.

‘No no no no no no no!’ was all he could think as he watched himself stride towards the ball and catch it with surprising ease. He winced while watching the ball fall right into his hands, the explosion knocking him back and leaving Billy’s head ringing and with a throbbing headache.

‘Uhhhhhhhhhh….’ Billy moaned as he rolled around, his whole body aching.

‘They’re closing in. I’ve got to resist their power as long as I can so help can arrive! ‘Billy thought desperately. ‘If I can just keep my mind, I might be able to stop them!’

The blue ranger felt the ground shake as the three monsters jogged forward to intercept.

“What’s wrong maggot? You’ve only caught two footballs and you’re giving up on me already?” the muscled centipede monster taunted, towering over the blue ranger with his shadow casting down ominously.

“Son, get this pathetic pile of dung beetles on his feet!” Centiback grunted.

“Right coach!” Rocky replied obediently, marching forward to grab the ranger. Two strong claw-hands gripped Billy’s shoulder and pulled him briskly to his feet, then spun him around like a top and pulled him back against the bug’s chest. With a quick, powerful motion Rocky grabbed Billy’s arms and folded them behind his back, pinning them to his body with a mighty flex as he leaned down to growl in the ranger’s ear.

“You’d better listen to every word coach has to say, or else I’m gonna shove you between my pecs and squeeze you like an orange.”

Billy struggled, the threat keeping him docile as Centiback stepped forward and held up a red and white whistle, dangling it in front of the ranger tauntingly.

“With some training, you could be the roughest, toughest, and fastest wide receiver this team has ever seen.” the big bug said, eyeing the ranger like an unmolded lump of clay.

“Time to pump you up, maggot!” Centiback said, putting the whistle up to his mouth.

*Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!*

Billy convulsed at the sound kept going, arching backwards as a sudden intense rush of energy overtook him, feeling like an electric shock that made every muscle tense at once. Billy strained against it as best he could, held tight in Rocky’s arms he could only watch as his legs began to swell, gaining bulk and definition as they pushed out from his blue spandex uniform. The rush kept coming, the tense electric feeling becoming so strong that Billy couldn’t think of anything else but his inflating legs. They felt more sensitive, more responsive, and more powerful. Billy grunted in spite of himself, unable to deny how good it felt now as he watched his thighs grow into two tree trunks, calves exploding out with muscle definition that spread down to his boot and started inflating them into…

‘Oh no…I’m becoming one of them!’ Billy’s mind suddenly snapped back to reality as he looked down at his massively oversized cleats attached to his feet. To his shock, his ranger uniform was starting to change color from blue to a crimson red. Centiback red. Tracing up his legs, Billy gasped as he noticed that his power coin had started to tarnish in small black splotches.

‘I…I gotta get out of here!’ Billy’s mind took control, looking around for the quickest escape route. Seeing a gap between Tommy and Centiback, his brain put his body into action as he dropped to his knees and twisted his body to break Rocky’s grip. As soon as he started to rush for the exit he found himself moving in slow motion, his inflated legs feeling like they weighed a hundred pounds each.

The ranger’s fear fueled his determination as he kept pumping his leg, able to work up an awkward gait as he stumbled and lurched forward. Getting a good head of steam, Billy smiled as he saw open field between him and the stadium’s exit gate.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the ranger.

“Tackle!!!”

The blue ranger looked up just in time to see Tommy flying in from above. Before he could react, Billy was wrapped up in two massive muscled arms as the bug’s chest slammed into him tackling the ranger to the ground.

Tommy grunted, pressing against Billy with his entire weight. Billy tried weakly to crawl out from under the bug, Tommy moaning and grinding his body against the ranger as he started to work him in between his pectorals.

“Now you feel how strong I am!” Tommy growled in the blue ranger’s ear, slowly flexing his muscles making his chest swell as they started to squash Billy between with increasing pressure as his head stuck out from between the pecs. As he gasped for air, he could feel his energy being drained from his body, even seeing waves of blue energy flowing from his body into the massive bug serving to stoke Tommy’s grunting and moaning.

“You struggle like worm!” Tommy let out a baritone laugh, letting out a low moan as he continued to squeeze and grind against Billy, enjoying it immensely.

“Dog pile!!!” two simultaneous cries rang out as Rocky and Centiback dashed towards the prone ranger and jumped into the air. With successive earth-shaking thuds the two massive bugs slammed down on top of Tommy, the weight transferring to Billy as he had his face was pressed into Tommy’s padded chest.

The centipede monsters all laughed and pressed themselves into each other, writhing around to make sure the ranger didn’t escape as they all squirmed around in a big pile.

Underneath, Billy was gasping for air and trying to pull himself free, but the combined weight of all three bugs bearing down on him left him hopelessly pinned. Worse, the slow energy drain started by Tommy’s hug increased with the added mass on top of him, every attempt to escape from Billy was met with a wave of fatigue that weakened his muscles and made them feel like jelly. Worse yet, the weaker he got the more enthusiastic the grinding of the bugs got as they laughed and taunted the ranger trapped beneath.

“We’re gonna squash you like a fly!” “When we’re done with you ranger there’s gonna be nothing left!” “Who wants a ranger pancake?”

After a full minute of grinding Billy into the ground, Centiback finally stood up off of Billy, followed shortly by his two sons. Billy lay motionless in the dirt, conscious but unable to move for a moment as his strength slowly returned.

“You’ve got potential, kid! But you’re gonna need coach Centiback’s patented De-luxe Extended De-Humanizing Workout to exercise all that weak flabby flesh and pump you up with pure Centiback power!”

A feeling of dread fell over Billy as he finally struggled to get to his knees. He could hear the clacking of teeth and claws and slapping of heavy pads all around him, hearing their cocky grunts and growls.

“Yeah…you’re not gonna be puny anymore Billy. Just put on the pads and you’ll see how amazing it feels!” Rocky grunted and flexed his biceps downward, posing for Billy and showing off his massive frame.

“Alright! Time to get up, maggot!”

*Tweeeeeeeet!!!*

The sound of the whistle gave Billy a sudden burst of energy, instantly feeling euphoric as all the pain of his pummeling completely disappeared. Patting himself in disbelief, the ranger’s instincts kicked in as he immediately tried to run away, darting between Rocky and Tommy as his massive legs began churning powerfully.

With lightning quickness Rocky stepped in front of the escaping ranger and lunged at him with arms open wide. Billy tried to dodge, but Rocky tracked his movements and crashed into him with all the force of his body and wrapped his massive arms around the ranger’s chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Rocky said as he reached down and grabbed the blue ranger with his two mitts. Pulling him in with a jerk, the bug gave Billy a mighty squeeze as his arms tightened around his chest. In one motion the ranger was pulled him off his feet and pressed flat against Rocky’s chest.

“You’re going to give coach Centiback your full attention. The workout is just about to begin!“

“Good work, son. That’s why you’re our star quarterback!” Centiback said, coming over and giving Rocky an affectionate slap on the back. “Let’s suck some of the fight out of that maggot and get him into the proper football mindset!”

Billy struggled hard in Rocky’s arms, but was no match for the superior strength of the massive bug. He hooked his leg around Billy’s back and squeezed his waist between his overly muscled thighs, making the ranger groan and gasp for air. As he strained against the tight hug, Billy could feel a warmth grow, intensifying as the pressure of Rocky’s embrace increased. His muscles pulsed and closed in around them, smothering the ranger until all that could be seen was Billy’s helmet sticking out from between the bug‘s pectorals.

Billy tried to keep from being suffocated by the monster’s arms, unable to do anything to stop the ever increasing warmth, turning into a numbing sensation that quickly engulfed his body. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, Billy suddenly realizing his power was being drained from his body. In panic he tried to struggle hard, Rocky responding by clamping down over him and squeezing even tighter.

“You always were the weak one, Billy. You should thank me for emptying all your useless ranger energy so coach can mold you into a lean, mean football machine!” Rocky grunted, grinding himself against the ranger while squeezing up and down his back feeling his claws suck the energy out of his former comrade with each flex.

The three centipedes all watched as blue energy flowed from the blue ranger’s body into Rocky, his antennae glowing yellow-orange and jumping out in electric bolts to connect with Tommy and Centiback’s antennae. As Billy’s power waned the centipedes began to grow in size, muscles stretching and pads cracking to accommodate their inflating bodies as together they fed on the ranger’s superhuman powers.

“Mmmmm….pound ranger makes muscles grow! More muscle means more ranger pounding! More ranger…” Tommy grunted excitedly as the flood of energy filled him, sending little electric pulses coursing through his body making every last muscle twitch and swell.

"Alright you two knuckleheads, take it easy on your future brother! I think we've drained his puny pink body enough for now," Centiback said with a laugh, folding his arms and nodding his head, clearly pleased. "But this bookworm still thinks too much..."

Billy squirmed hard in Rocky's arms, wondering what Centiback meant by that. As Rocky kept squeezing him his struggles weakened, and within a minute he was so exhausted he could barely keep his head up. The constant draining was taking its toll, and although it was looking bleak Billy knew if he could keep his mind intact he might have a chance to get out of this unscathed.

‘He takes over by inundating his opponent with his unique energy signature, which alters the energy wave to its own frequency,’ Billy’s mind went into action, looking for ways to save himself as the bugs surrounded him with mocking laughter.

'How does he manage to focus all that energy? It'd have to be a powerful conduit that would help to channel and amplify all that ener....oh my gosh...the power coins!' Billy gasped as he realized just how Centiback was corrupting his teammates with his power.

'I know how to stop him now...! I gotta get free and tell the others before it's too late!' the blue ranger's mind raced with the importance of his task as his struggles renewed in Rocky's arms.

Out of the corner of his eye, Billy saw Centiback pull a spiked football from behind his back. The ranger winced, thinking it was meant for him as a final blow, but instead Centiback brought the ball up to his head and touched it to his antennae. A red glowing energy burst from his antennae and began to flow into the ball, surrounding it with a brilliant, pulsating light. As the energy filled the ball it began to grow in size, the red eyes and smile on the front of the ball expanding into a giant toothy grin. The large spikes disappeared, replaced by a single row of spikes that wrapped around the ball in a spiral, each spike glowing with red light at the tips that gave the ball an overall flashy, eye-catching appearance.

Centiback walked over to the blue ranger with a wicked grin and held the football up in front of him. Billy glanced down curiously as the red eyes of the ball started to pulsate, the glowing spiral of spikes starting to spin slowly, drawing the eyes inward towards the ball’s toothy smile. His vision started to blur around the edges as felt compelled to stare at the ball.

“Like it ranger? It's my latest design, the official Centiback brain-drain football! Perfect for turning brainy bookworms into mindless maggots!" Centiback said, moving the ball back and forth in front of Billy tauntingly, the eyes leaving trails of light as they danced in front of his face. "It'll suck all those useless thoughts right out of your head so we can pump in pure 'pede power and make you into the ultimate receiver!"

As he looked quickly at the ball Centiback’s mocking words amplified in Billy's mind, like the taunting laugh of a bully stinging his ego and making it hard to think of anything else. ‘Whatever you do, don't look at it!’ the ranger thought frantically, turning away and squeezing his eyes tight. Centiback laughed as he watched the ranger squirm away from the football like a child from a plate of vegetables.

“Just remember maggot...keep your eyes on the ball...” Centiback chuckled, pressing the ball closer towards the ranger's helmet. Billy turned away in disgust, but Rocky reached up with a claw and snapped the ranger’s head forward to face the glowing football.

'Gotta keep your wits Billy! Just don't look at the ball!' the ranger thought frantically. Even with his eyes closed, Billy could feel the rhythmic pulsing of the glowing football, feeling waves of warm energy emanating from the ball. Centiback's words began to echo in his ears, a low drone that buzzed louder and louder. 'Keep your eyes on the ball...eyes on the ball...eyes on the ball...', as if calling out to him inviting him to accept his destiny.

'Don't look...just don't look! You gotta hold out. Just a bit longer...you gotta...you gotta keep your eyes on the ball...NO! Snap out of it Billy!'

The harder Billy tried to tune out the centipede's drone the louder it became, growing to a cacophony that was starting to drown out Billy's conscious mind. As he struggled to keep control of his own thoughts, something called out to him from amidst the chaos. A warm, simple voice, beckoning him into the light as if promising everything would be alright, that embracing this light meant that all the confusion and problems would just go away.

Slowly, Billy turned and cracked one eye open, taking a small peek at the brilliant red glow. Suddenly, a wave of energy crashed into the ranger as the red light opened and welcomed him in. Opening both eyes, he gazed directly into the two glowing red eyes of the football and became instantly transfixed. All the ranger's thoughts were swept away, replaced by a dizzying euphoria that knocked Billy for a loop.

'Gotta keep my...eyes on the ball...no, I can't give in! If I can just...eyes on the ball...' Billy desperately tried to take control of his thoughts, but each was washed away in a stupefying mix of droning sound and pulsing lights. The constantly smiling face of the football seemed to be mocking him, a nagging doubt starting to erode the ranger's confidence as he fell deeper into the hypnotic trance.

'I can't...! I must...keep my eyes on the ball...yes Billy, your eyes on the ball...' everything else seeming to fade into black as Billy felt as if he was being sucked into the center of the ball. Frozen stiff and unable to form a thought, the blue ranger stared into the slowly pulsing eyes.

Centiback grinned at how well his new toy was working. As Billy's resistance waned, the bug could feel the ranger's thoughts being drained from his head, a blue energy being pulled from his eyes and flowing into the ball, drawing the blue ranger deeper into its trap.

"Mmmmm now that's what I call brain food!" Centiback said as he flexed his bicep, feeling the stolen brainpower pour into his body as pure, muscle-pumping power. He looked back and saw that Tommy and Rocky were doing the same, mmmming loudly as they clenched their fists and flexed, feeling the energy make their massive bodies grow in size even more.

The blue ranger didn't notice as the bugs grew up around him, dwarfing the human more and more with each passing second. To Billy, it felt like he had tunnel vision, and as Centiback spoke he could hear his name being chanted, hear the shouts of his teammates cheering him on like he was in the middle of a football game. As the sounds grew louder his emotions began to stir, feeling a rush of adrenaline like he was really there at the game. Slowly, Billy began to nod along, his mind completely blank and open to suggestion.

“That's more like it ranger, thinking makes you weak! Winning is everything….to win you have to be the best….to be the best you have to train….to train, you must listen to your coach….you must obey your coach…” Centiback grunted, slowly starting to pull the ball back and forth across the ranger’s vision.

Billy’s head followed obediently, starting to silently mouth the words under his helmet. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice crying out for him to stop, to snap out of it. But that seemed so far away now, and the ball was so enthralling. The more he stared into those captivating red eyes, the deeper his focus became and the more lightheaded and dizzy he became.

“That’s it, just like that…follow the ball…empty your mind and think of nothing but the ball…let the movement of the football control you…the football controls you…”

As Billy stared into the pulsating eyes he sank deeper and deeper into a trance, his mind clearing of all thoughts. His obedience was rewarded with a warm feeling that washed over him, a feeling like he belonged and was wanted and loved. When he looked away from the ball he felt cold and alone, so as Centiback pulled the ball back and forth Bily’s eyes followed with intense focus.

“Time to train ranger…train to become big and strong…time to realize your potential and become the ultimate football player!”

“Become…the ultimate…football player!” Billy said involuntarily, his mouth hanging open as he stared into the glowing eyes with unbroken focus. The crowd roared in his ear, cheering him on, urging him to win. All the ranger knew was that he couldn’t let them down. Let Zordon down? Who was Zordon? He needed to train to get stronger to be the fastest and outrun every opponent. He’d soak in their cheers, the football frenzy feeding his desires that blocked out all lesser thoughts.

Barely aware of Rocky as he released his prisoner, Billy didn’t move, but just stood in front of Centiback, staring at the ball and eagerly awaiting orders. He started to lift his legs up just to feel how pumped up they were, his inflated muscles sending little jolts of pleasure through his body as Billy moved them. The rush was addicting, and as he stared into the football's eyes, his desire to pump himself up grew and grew.

"Alright maggot! Time for the training to begin!" Centiback said, pulling his whistle out and putting it up to his mouth.

*Tweeeeeeeeet!*

Out of the ground in front of Billy tires suddenly began to spring up like mushrooms, alternating red and white car tires that popped up in a column two tires wide and extending 30 feet long. Each tire was bigger than a normal tire, just oversized enough for a Centiback cleat to fit easily in the middle.

"If you're going to be the fastest bug on the field, we need to work on those legs!" Centiback shouted, pumping his fist excitedly. "Ready....go!" *Tweeeeeeeet!*

The sound of the whistle filled Billy with a sudden blast of vigor. With an enthusiastic "Right coach!” the ranger started to pump his legs and jog in place, then put his head down and charged straight towards the tires.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Billy heard a faint cry, a desperate plead for him to stop. But as he hit the first tire, his massive cleat stepped down in the middle and he felt an electric shock zap up his leg and course through his body, leaving a warm afterglow that made his leg muscles tingle like after a good workout. Left cleat followed right, stepping into the second tire, then the third, and the next, the ranger pumping his arms and lifting his knees high as the electric shocks came like pistons pumping, giving him a boost of energy that pushed him on. As he continued the course, the shocks built into a constant flow of energy that surged through Billy, making him feel almost bloated with power. Breathing hard and churning his legs, the ranger didn't notice as the blue of his uniform was slowly disappearing as the padded white football pants of team Centiback swallowed up his skinny ranger legs, giving his thick toned bulging thighs and well defined calves, making his upper body seem tiny by comparison.

By the end of the first run through the tires, Billy was panting as he put his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. He felt better than he had ever felt in his life, and although he felt fatigue starting to set in, he steeled himself as the drive to get better pushed him through the pain.

'Oooh my legs feel so big and strong! But I'm not done yet! Coach is gonna work me until I'm as tough and buff as he is! Wait until Rocky and Tommy see how pumped I'm getting! They won't think I'm a pipsqueak anymore!' Billy's mind buzzed with football fever, pumping his fists as he turned around to await his coach's orders.

"Nice work maggot! Those legs are looking great!" Centiback said, his pleased tone making Billy's heart jump for joy.

"I'm ready coach! Lemme at 'em!" Billy barked back, bending his knees and preparing to do the course again.

"OK maggot...go!"

*Tweeeeeeeeeeeet!*

The blue ranger exploded from the starting line as soon as he heard the whistle, legs churning and stepping through each tire deftly, twice as fast as he had done before. Each successive step and shock fueled the ranger's obsessive frenzy to be the best, the intense feelings starting to work its ways up his body.

The three centipedes clapped and cheered on Billy, watching on as the blue of his ranger uniform began to fade to a deep purple before shifting to the deep crimson of team Centiback, spreading up from his waist. After the second run through, the ranger's entire upper body had started to swell, muscle definition seen beneath the ranger's changing uniform as pads began to form splitting his chest down the middle and exposing the ranger's chest, where tiny black scales were beginning to form that ran down his front.

"Alright rookie! Great work! Give me two more runs through the tires and we'll move on to the final phase of your training!" Centiback cheered, clapping his claws.

"Right...coach! I'll show you what a real receiver can do!" Billy shouted back, feeling cocky and full of energy as his body pulsed with power. Centiback knew the tires were really sapping out the last of his human mind and pumping him full of Centiback energy, and was proud to see the ranger so eager to go for another round. He was looking forward to calling him his son.

"Ha ha!" Rocky laughed, slapping his knee with a claw, "Still looking a bit puny there, kid! You call those muscles?"

Egged on by Rocky's taunts, Billy waited patiently for his coach's command, chomping at the bit to show his teammates his newfound abilities. With a shrill blow of the whistle Billy took off at full speed through the tires. With grunts and pants, the ranger stepped through the tires one after another, starting to moan loudly now as his body overflowed with Centiback energy now, each step making his muscles tense, then expand, then tense, then expand. It was an addictive cycle, Billy unable to help himself as he reached up to feel his now massive pectorals. The more he gave into the addicting power, the more his body changed, shoulder pads growing up from his uniform, still patterned with white diamonds but now distinctly football gear.

At the end of the run, Billy looked down and saw his ranger gloves disappear as thick padded football gloves grew up in their place, all the way down to the end of his fingers which grew into long dark claws. The sight filled the ranger with joy; the thought of being so pumped up and strong excited him even more, smiling as he admired the set of football pads he was now decked out in.

The constant running and inflating was starting to tire the ranger, holding his thighs and panting, his mind ready to go another round although his body ached and cried out for him to stop. But his job wasn't done, and looking at the other bugs he felt a pang of jealousy at seeing their football helmets when compared to his much smaller ranger one.

"One more...gotta do one more rep...the coach is counting on me! If I do good enough he'll give me a helmet and let me on the team!" Letting the adrenaline take him over, Billy turned around and lined up for another run, panting heavily.

"That's it! One last rep and you're done! Ready...go!" Centiback said, holding his whistle up to his jaw for one last blow. With a shrill tweet the ranger was off again, the tires sending more addictive shocks as the ranger's body swelled from human sized to bodybuilder before their eyes, his biceps and shoulders growing to match his pecs as his uniform finished its transition, becoming a complete set of football pads that covered Billy neck to toe.

As the ranger finished the last tire, he stopped and put his hands on his hips to face the bugs. He was barely recognizable from the human who had started the tire run, his entire body ripped with muscles from neck to toe, only a blue ranger helmet suggesting who this beefy stud used to be. His body was more slender than the other bugs, but his strength was undeniable as tightly toned muscles suggested at the mix of speed and power the ranger now possessed.

Billy couldn't help but clench his fists and flex his muscles, starting with his biceps before reaching down to make his shoulders bulge and finishing with fists above his head to show off his pulsing pectorals. The ranger was overwhelmed with passion and desire, an unquenchable energy that made him want to run and run and never stop. As the frenzy took over the ranger's mind completely, he turned to his coach and dropped into a ready position.

"Lemme at 'em coach! I'll run rings around those defenders! I burn them like toast! I'll juke them right outta their socks!" Billy jabbered on with excitement, jogging in place and holding his hands out in a ready position.

"Alright, maggot. There's one final test before you can be a part of team Centiback," the paternal bug said, stepping forward and putting his hand on the much smaller ranger's shoulder. Billy felt a twinge of excitement as Centiback's strong claw touched his shoulder, though he put his hand on his pads, Billy felt like the bug was touching his bare skin. Looking up with a gaze of admiration, Billy felt a love growing inside him for the big bug, knowing how dedicated Centiback was to making Billy the best he could be.

"I'm gonna throw one more long bomb, a real hail mary this time! If you're as quick as you say and can catch the ball, then you're on the team!"

"You bet coach! Lemme show you what I can do! Throw it all the way to Japan...I'll catch it!" Billy said in a frenzied tone, the prospect of making the team filling him with an excitement he'd never known.

Centiback smiled down at the ranger, admiring how much he'd grown and how dedicated the former bookworm was to the team. A fatherly pride welling up inside him, the big bug took a football from behind his back and held it up to his head. Two long antennae reached down and touched the ball, suddenly glowing with a red energy that began to flow into the ball and make it glow. This time, the ball turned into a simple red and white ball with alternating colors on each panel, and inflated up to twice the size of a normal ball as it filled with energy. With a flash Centiback pulled his antennae back and presented the ball for Billy to see.

"OK rookie, this is your chance. This ball is filled with pure Centiback essence. Anyone who touches it will be filled with its power and become a centipede forever...are you ready?" Centiback said with a grin, knowing the answer already.

"I was born ready!" Billy said enthusiastically, bending down preparing to take off after the ball.

"Alright maggot...go get the ball and accept your destiny!" Centiback said as he cocked his arm and launched the ball high in the air.

As quick as lightning Billy zoomed after the ball, his massively pumped up legs churning in a blur of motion as he dashed across the field.

"I'm gonna get it! I'm gonna catch the ball! Oooh I can feel that power now! I'm gonna show coach just how good I can be!" Billy's mind raced as fast as his feet, a constant flow of thoughts keeping him deep in football frenzy. He gazed up at the ball and locked eyes, repositioning himself to be under it as he put out his hands to catch the falling red and white ball.

With soft hands Billy guided the ball into his arms and pulled it to his chest. Holding it tight, he slowed to a stop and held the ball up triumphantly. The ball glowed red, then suddenly started to flow into Billy's body with a deep crimson energy that made his entire form glow with power.

"Yes!" Billy exclaimed as he felt the power filling him, flooding into his body and making his swell all over. He could feel his muscles inflating, his skin hardening into thick plated centipede scales, dozens of arms popping out from his arms and legs as two antennae suddenly burst from his ranger helmet.

Running over clapping his hands, Centiback rushed up to Billy and put both claws on the new bug's shoulders. Though Billy was twice the size he was as a ranger, he still was dwarfed by Centiback, who had grown even bigger and more bulky from the blue and black ranger's stolen power.

"Well done, my son! You really made your papa proud!" Centiback said, looking down at Billy. The former ranger blushed, hearing Centiback refer to himself as his father filled him with a warm feeling that made him feel a special connection to the big bug. Looking up, he couldn't help but think how lovable he was with his tender heart under his gruff exterior. Unable to help himself, Billy rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Centiback and gave him a squeeze, trying out his new muscles.

"Awwww...that's my boy!!" Centiback said with a tear in his eye, returning the hug with a powerful embrace of his own. As the two bugs held each other, Centiback's antennae arched down and touched Billy's.

"I love you...son!"

A burst of energy flowed into Billy's antennae, and then started to change his helmet. In seconds, the former ranger helmet had morphed into a Centiback football helmet with two small bars across the front to denote a wide receiver position, revealing a smiling centipede face with long sharp teeth and glowing red beady eyes. With one last hug, Billy's uniform grew white stripes across the shoulders and a giant number "88" appeared on his front and back, along with the name "Cranston" emblazoned in white letters.

"I love you too, papa Centiback!" Billy said with true conviction in his voice. In his mind, he was finally home. He belonged.

Centiback put an arm around Billy's shoulder, as together they walked back to allow Rocky and Tommy to welcome their new brother with a pair of bear-hugs, teasing the smaller bug about his diminutive size when compared to them. Together, the Centiback team all shared a high five, and then turned their attention to the black tackling dummy with the picture of Adam on the outside.

"So my boys...your coach thinks it's time for tackling drills!"

Description
Centiback’s Big Comeback
(A Power Ranger Fanfic)

By: Nibblah Frog & TK Tigerkat

Chapter 4 - Training

Adam and Billy stood outside Angel Grove High, having run across the entire campus for the last 20 minutes looking for any sign of Rocky or the monster.

“Ugh! This is useless! We can’t find him anywhere, and our scanners are still jammed!” the black ranger finally said in frustration.

“Let’s check up at the football field. Perhaps Rocky decided to stop to practice for the tryouts next week.” Billy suggested.

“That knucklehead better not be playing football while his science project is due!” Adam said, his annoyance born of worry for what trouble his teammate might have gotten into.

“OK…let’s go check. If he’s not there, we’ll regroup with Tommy, Kim, Aisha and Ninjor and decide where to go from there.”

Billy nodded his agreement as the black and blue rangers ran towards the football field outside of the school. They ran through the gates and arrived to find only empty bleachers and a deserted field.

“Hmmm…nothing here,” Adam said, looking around.

Billy took his ranger tracking device from his belt and turned it on, adjusting several knobs on the side as the device flashed and beeped.

“Our scanners are being flooded with an ultra-powerful energy that seems to be coming from everywhere at once, “Billy began as Adam stopped to listen.

“I had Alpha analyze the energy that has been blocking our signals, and it’s definitely one of Rita’s monsters that is responsible, but what’s interesting is that it jams our signals with a type of high power energy wave. This energy wave is so strong it overpowers other types of energy it comes in contact with, almost like it changes the environment around it. That‘s why we‘ve been getting readings from everywhere!”

“Great. So how do we find the source of this monster pollution?” Adam said, folding his arms.

Billy‘s device started flashing again, louder this time and more frantic.

“I’ve got something! It’s detecting a very large energy, and it seems to be heading towards us!”

The rangers froze for a moment, then Adam turned and ran towards the bleachers signaling for Billy to follow.

The rangers climbed the steps and stepped into the enclosed announcer box at the top of the bleachers. As soon as they ducked out of sight, three glowing red spheres flew in from above, fluttered towards the middle of the field, then slammed down into the turf sending up a shower of grass and dirt.

As the dust settled, Adam and Billy looked down in shock to see not one but three Centiback monsters standing in the middle of the field. The rangers looked at each other, both remembering this monster and knowing they were outnumbered.

The grim thought of what might have happened to Rocky and Tommy flashed in their minds, but they knew it just meant it was that much more important to plan their attack strategically. Billy turned his scanning device back on and aimed it at the creatures, adjusting knobs carefully. Adam peered out to see what the monsters were up to, the leader stepping forward and looking all around the stadium.

“Home sweet hive! Whaddya say, boys? You think this is a fitting headquarters for team Centiback?”

Rocky stepped forward, pumping his fist. “It’s great coach! Just think of all the people who’ll come to watch us stomp our opponents week after week! With my skills, I’m gonna be a superstar! That’ll really pack the stands!”

“They no come into our stadium. This is OUR house!” Tommy roared as he pounded his chest. “We gonna win it all! Get trophy! Get….cheerleaders!” Tommy said and stopped, tilting his head and drooling as his mind drifted off to the thought of cheerleaders in their tight skirts, delicate curves, ample thorax, and nice long antennae.

“I love the way you guys think! You make a papa proud!” Centiback said, coming over to give each bug and affectionate slug on the shoulder.

“But you lunkheads need to think bigger! I’m talking about a stadium so big that everyone in Angel Grove can come to see us play!” Centiback stepped forward energetically, putting his claws out to imagine the scene.

“We need to do a little renovation here and make it a home field worthy of team Centiback!” the bug said, stepping towards midfield. He stopped short of the very middle, and then dropped into a crouched ready position. Flexing his muscles, Centiback’s whole body shook with power, his antennae starting to glow yellowish orange and shoot down into the ground. As the energy flowed, the ground below pulsated with a red light, spreading outwards in a circle. The glowing light soon eclipsed the Angel Grove High logo, blocking it out as the light spread across the grass field. With a last surge of energy the disc disappeared, revealing a new logo of a football with a centipede wrapped around it, with the letters “C B” emblazoned in red on a white background.

“That’s more like it! With all the energy I sucked up from you two, I can build this whole place into a coliseum! Your ranger powers will provide all the warmth we need to incubate our little squirming team egg. Once we hatch, there’ll be no stopping us!”

From their hiding place, Adam and Billy gasped and looked at each other.

“Did he say ranger powers?” Billy whispered.

“Yeah! “ Adam said as quietly as he could. “And he said ‘you two’, as if he got it from those two other monsters. Oh no…you don‘t think?”

“It must be Rocky and Tommy!” Billy deduced. “He somehow stole their powers and turned them into Centiback monsters. It must have to do with the energy he gives off. It seems to corrupt everything it touches, like he‘s copy-pasting himself on everything he sees!”

“Geez that must be some powerful stuff,” Adam marveled, “It’s like they don’t even remember who they were an hour ago!”

Billy pushed some buttons on his device, studying it intently as the screen showed two small glowing dots inside a sea of dark light.

“I‘m detecting a faint life reading from inside the two monsters, which means that part of Rocky and Tommy is in there somewhere. If I can calibrate our blasters to counteract Centiback’s power, we might be able to reverse the transformation.”

“Right,” Adam whispered as he turned back to keep an eye on the monsters.

“What is this? Baby blue? That’s no color for a football team! A little bit of bug juice will make it a proper Centiback red!” Centiback said as he scurried around the field, zapping each of the high school team’s benches, turning them from solid blue metallic metal to brand new benches with a sleek red finish and padded seats, each covered in logos with the familiar centipede wrapped around a football.

“Uhhhh…what about Angel Grove football team?” Tommy said as he watched Centiback work, scratching his helmet with a single claw. “They not play here anymore?”

“The Angel Grove Angels are a bunch of wussies!” Rocky snorted, stepping forward and pounding his fist. “I don’t know why I ever thought about trying out for their team! I hope they do come back so we can pound ‘em into the dirt and show them who’s top bug around here!”

“Not quite, rookie! Coach Centiback as a better plan,” the bug said, flashing a toothy grin. “We’re going to hold tryouts of our own. When the Angel Grove football team shows up for practice, we’re going to put them through Centiback Training Camp. By the end of the week, every last one of those weak pink fleshy humans will be pumped and sculpted into mountains of pure centipede muscle!”

Adam turned back to Billy with a worried look on his face. “He’s planning on turning the entire football team into monsters! If there’s that many of them, we may not be able to stop them!”

The blue ranger nodded, but kept at his work diligently. Centiback was starting to zap the end zone with his antennae’s power when Billy held up the device triumphantly.

“I’ve got it! I’ve copied his energy pattern and reversed the polarity! Here, let me calibrate your laser blaster. We should focus our fire on Tommy, since his change was the most recent. That’ll be our best shot to reverse the transformation.”

Adam nodded. “I’ll create a distraction. If you can get a clear shot, you’ll have a better chance of making it.”

Billy nodded in agreement, fiddled with the black ranger’s gun, and then returned it. With a deep breath and a nod, the two rangers stepped out of press box, Billy slipping behind while Adam stepped up on the top bench of the bleachers.

“Centiback!” Adam shouted, clenching his fist and stepping forward. “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time when we sent you packing? What’s the matter, can’t fight your own fights?”

Centiback stopped and looked up to the top of the stands. With a derisive laugh, he stepped forward and held a clenched fist up at the ranger.

“Well if it isn’t another mighty morphin weakling ranger! Pretty big words for a little shrimp! Why don’t you come on down here and show us what you got!”

“You’re on the wrong team, Adam!” Rocky said, recognizing his former friend through the tainted lens of his new persona. “Centiback’s a way better coach than Zordon ever was! Just give up and accept his power and you’ll be as big and buff as us in no time!”

Centiback just chuckled as he stepped forward, folding his arms with smug satisfaction.

“See ranger? You’ll never know how powerful you can become until you don the pads and become part of the team. I think Tommy here would love to have a little brother to wrestle with! You two could practice your tackling together.”

“I’ll never join your team, bug-breath! I think it‘s time for you to hit the showers!” Adam said as he pulled out his laser and blasted at Centiback, his shots scattering around the monster’s feet as they pulled together and backed up.

“You wanna lob the long ball ranger? Let a pro show you how it’s done!”

With lightning reflexes, Centiback pulled football after football out from behind his back and hurled it at Adam. The black ranger shot the balls as fast as he could, but there were too many as several exploded around him, forcing him to take cover.

“Let’s see how you handle a blitz!” Centiback laughed as he continued to lob footballs at Adam, forcing him to dive out of the way. He made his way towards the field, hoping to further draw their attention away from the blue ranger, who he feared was their last hope.

Meanwhile, Billy had snuck around behind the bleachers and was taking aim at Tommy. Setting his blaster on high, he pulled the trigger and let loose a laser blast of blue energy. It tore through the air and hit Tommy square in the left shoulder pad.

“Auuuuurrrgghhh!” Tommy shrieked out in agony as the laser blast burned his hide. It was his pads, but they were connected to his body so it felt like it was a laser blast on his bare skin. Billy watched on as the area he blasted began to shrink, the muscle receding a little as the numbers on his arm faded from view. It was working!

The blue ranger looked up just in time to see a spiked football sailing towards him. Too late to put up his arms, Billy could only brace himself as the explosion knocked him back, breaking the laser fire. Recovering quickly, Billy pulled his gun up to fire to see Rocky barreling towards him.

“No one messes with my bro! I’m gonna flatten you, little fly!” Rocky growled as he dove at Billy, spreading his arms out wide as his pecs swelled. Billy rolled out of the way, feeling the earth quake beneath him from the impact of Rocky’s flop.

“Trick play! You rangers are gonna pay for this!” Centiback said in a rage, throwing a dozen footballs at the black ranger to keep him from getting a clear shot. Falling back, Cenitback turned and put his claws on Tommy’s expansive chest in concern for his offspring.

“You did good there kid! You took one for the team!” Centiback said, reaching around at patting the wound gently.

Tommy’s mind went blank, the furor of the football frenzy gone, replaced by fuzzy memories of human and centipede lives. He didn’t know what to do, and looked around blankly for any sign of recognition. The big bug glanced down and saw Centiback standing before him. Looking down, Tommy’s eyes met with Centiback’s, his eyes glowing up at him with true concern.

“You’re gonna be OK, big guy! Daddy Centiback is gonna make it all better, and then you can get back out on the field and play!”

Tommy suddenly felt warmth fill him to the core, thoughts of his team, his centipede family, and the big bug that was always was looking out for him, that loved him.

“Coach?” Tommy said, emotions welling up in his beady red eyes. Reflexively, he opened his arms slightly.

“Awwww…that’s my lovable lug!” Centiback said with pride in his voice, wrapping his arms as far around Tommy as he could and giving a powerful hug. His antennae uncurled and made contact with Tommy‘s antennae, an energy flowing between as the massive bug opened himself to his father’s love. Tommy felt the addicting power and strength return as a warming energy filled him. With a growl, Tommy felt himself inflate, the hole in his shoulder filling itself in and number returning, good as new. Tommy flexed his arm experimentally and felt the strength bursting from every muscle.

“Alright, team huddle! Timeout!” Centiback said, pulling his whistle out from his side.

*Tweeeeeeet!*

Caught off guard, Adam and Billy both stopped in their tracks as the three bugs gathered in a circle with their heads together, leaning over.

“They’ve decided to play dirty team, so it’s time we pull out some new plays of our own!”

“Lemme at em coach!” Rocky said impatiently, “I wanna crush that blue ranger! “

“Want…tackle!!!” Tommy-Centiback growled impatiently, flexing his muscles and stomping his oversized cleats in place.

“Alright team! The game is on!” Centiback said, addressing his team. “DeSantos, you and I will take the blue ranger. Oliver! The black ranger is trying to sack the quarterback! Go tackle him!”

Tommy-Centiback’s eyes went wide as he listened intently to his coach, and then narrowed as he turned to glare at Adam. A fire grew inside Tommy, seeing the black ranger as the enemy

The blue and black rangers watched on as the bugs conversed together, their antennae all starting to glow as suddenly, Tommy turned to face them. Lurching forward, he immediately rumbled towards Adam, his simple mind focused on taking the ranger down hard.

The massive bug’s charge scattered the black ranger, giving Rocky and Centiback time to pull out spiked footballs and bombard the blue ranger with explosions as they ran around.

“Keep moving Adam! With their increased size, we retain the advantage of agility to avoid their attacks. We need to focus our attacks on the main bug if we hope to break the spell on Tommy and Rocky! It’s no use trying to free them if he can just pump them with his energy”

“Hear that guys? They want to take me down and take your uniforms away. Whaddya think about that, team?”

Rocky and Tommy roared as the thought of losing their powers sent them into a rage. Adam had his hands full with the massive Tommy, who towered above the black ranger and was easily four times the ranger’s size. Billy was having a bit better of a time darting around, easily avoiding the footballs and managing to land laser blasts on Centiback and Rocky.

“What’s wrong rangers? Can’t get your offense going? You even look tired! Maybe another timeout will help you regroup!”

Centiback flashed a toothy grin and took out his whistle, putting it to his mouth and letting out an ear-piercing blast.

*Tweeeeeeeet!!*

Adam and Billy were compelled to put hands up to their ears to block out the sound, but found they were frozen in place as soon as the whistle blew. The sound lasted a full two seconds, long enough for Tommy to catch up with Adam and Billy to watch a lazily flying football heading right towards him.

With a dual crash, Tommy-Centiback smashed into Adam while a spiked football exploded against Billy’s chest, knocking each ranger to the ground.

A rush of energy filled Tommy as he wrapped Adam up in his arms and slammed him to the ground. He could feel energy being pulled from Adam and flowing into his shoulder pads, making the pain from his injuries fade away in a rush of adrenaline. The feeling was addicting, making him just want to squeeze the ranger tighter and tighter between his pecs. The giant bug mmmm’d loudly and bucked his body against the ranger, each press and squeeze fueling the monster’s football frenzy.

Slowly, Tommy-Centiback got up off of Adam and towered over the ranger, looking down as he writhed about on the ground. To Adam it felt like he had just been hit by a ton of bricks, and he knees wobbled and head rung as he stood up to face his converted teammate.

“Tommy…no…don’t! It’s me, Adam!” the black ranger said in desperation, backing away from the massive centipede.

“Tackle!” the bug said mindlessly and lunged at the ranger. Adam jumped out of the way, but landed off balance. As he wobbled Tommy growled and lashed out his massive arms, smacking the ranger square in his chest and sending him stumbling backwards. As Adam reeled from the blow, Tommy-Centiback turned and lunged at the ranger, his eyes showing no recognition of his former teammate, only the single-minded desire to defeat his opponent.

Centiback watched on as Tommy overwhelmed the black ranger, letting Rocky handle a teetering Billy with a barrage of exploding footballs.

“That’s it Oliver! It’s time to practice your tackling on that ranger! Think of him as your personal tackling dummy.” Centiback said, knowing it was time for his son to use his new power.

“Du…mmy,” Tommy said gruffly, smiling down at Adam and pounding his fists together and rushing the ranger.

With a bone-crunching crash, Tommy-Centiback rammed into Adam and tackled him to the ground. Adam cried out as the blow knocked the wind out of him, struggling under the massive bug as he was ground into the dirt.

“Tackle dummy!” Tommy-Centiback laughed in a slow tone, shocking Adam with how much the bug was enjoying this. The centipede monster got up off of the ranger, giving him time to get back up. Adam wasn’t sure how much he could take, the two tackles already making him feel woozy and tottering from the energy drain. It only seemed to be encouraging the monster, enjoying watching him struggle to stand up.

Trained never to quit, Adam stood up defiantly. As soon as he got to his feet, Tommy-Centiback charged the ranger once more, slamming into the weakened ranger and wrapping him up in his arms. Adam grunted as he was squeezed, the air forced from his lungs as the ranger kicked and fought as hard as he could. The massive bug held the squirming ranger easily, his pads continuing to drain his energy as Tommy put the smaller human into a muscled headlock.

“Tackle! Tackle!” the monster grunted as he once again forced Adam to the dirt, grinding his body on top of him as the black ranger gasped for air.

His ranger powers held strong, but each time Adam stood up he was slammed back to the ground again, but not before being subjected to powerful headlocks, suffocating squeezes, and bone-shaking body slams. His energy was sapped out hit by hit, until after a dozen tackles Adam lacked the strength to stand up.

“Dummy…broken?” Tommy-Centiback looked to his coach, who stood watching on with arms folded.

“You did great my boy! Way to show that rangers what real Centiback muscle feels like! Now why don’t you wrap him up one last time and make him your tackling dummy for good!”

“Touchdown!” Tommy-Centiback said, smiling toothily.

Adam saw a shadow descend over him as Tommy-Centiback lumbered in and picked him up in his arms and hugged him tight to his chest. Adam squirmed weakly, having to fight for air as the embrace kept getting tighter and tighter, Tommy’s muscles swelling and tensing around Adam’s body as his head stuck up from between the crook of his forearm and bicep. Adam felt a warm glowing feeling spread throughout his body, intensified by the constricting feeling of the hug. Feeling a wave of fatigue fall over him, Adam realized that his energy was being drained making his struggle and writhe in Tommy’s arms. As the power flowed into the bug’s pads, the monster let out a pleased growl as the added energy made the embrace even stronger.

Now just fighting for his life, Adam gasped for air as his struggles got weaker and weaker. Faintly, he could feel a tickling at his sides that ran up and down his body.

“Tackle…dummy!” Tommy-Centiback grunted as he wrapped his body around the ranger, the line of centipede arms running down his arms and legs coming to life and grabbing at the struggling prey. Out of the ends, a fine silk-like substance was produced, the arms attaching it to Adam’s body and pulling it tightly around.

Tommy-Centiback growled and squeezed as his little arms went to work, quickly wrapping Adam from head to toe in tight silken webs. With each passing moment the webbing kept getting thicker, Adam soon disappearing into a cocoon that bound his arms and legs together. In twenty seconds Adam was completely covered, and in a minute the webbing was so thick that Adam’s struggles were reduced to shallow wiggles.

“Tackle…dummy!” Tommy-Centiback shouted, body pulsing with the black ranger’s stolen power. The massive bug gave Adam one last squeeze, his antennae glowing as they touched to the head of the cocoon and engulfed it in energy. In a second the energy made the cocoon swell, then disappear leaving in its place a giant padded tackling dummy, all black with Adam’s picture on the outside.

Centiback smiled as Adam became sealed away in completely in a padded cylinder, a cartoonish picture of the black ranger emblazoned on the outside with a permanently surprised look on his face.

“Nice work, son!” Centiback said, clapping his claws together excitedly. He was pleased at his offspring‘s new power, a unique ability coming from within the former ranger and brought to life by the football spirit that filled him. With his link to Tommy, Centiback could even feel the ranger’s energy trapped within the cocoon struggling in futility to get out.

“Way to show that ranger that he’s nothing more than a tackling dummy for team Centiback! With all the energy you sucked from that pathetic grub of a ranger, you’ll be able to pummel him over and over and never get tired! Hear that blackie? My boy here is gonna pound and squeeze every last ounce of power from you, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

Centiback smiled, knowing that every time Tommy used his new tackling dummy, he’d get bigger, stronger and fall deeper under his control. He admired his new son before, but with his new beefed-up body, he couldn't stop staring at his muscled physique.

With one ranger taken care of, Centiback turned to his other son, flexing his muscles and smiling as he saw Rocky the Centiback was providing trouble for even the agile blue ranger.

“Stand still you little pipsqueak!” Rocky shouted as he rushed towards Billy, trying to trample the ranger under his oversized cleats. As Tommy drained Adam, Rocky could feel the stolen energy filling him, making his muscles swell as he bore down on the blue ranger. Billy dodged around the monster's attacks and planted a series of punches into the bug’s sides, hoping to find a weak point in the muscled monster’s armor. The blue ranger’s blows bounced off like he was hitting a brick wall, hurting Billy's fists and only making Rocky turn to flash him a toothy grin.

“Are you just going to just tickle me all day, or do you want to step onto the field and play football with the big boys?” Rocky taunted as turned and swiped a claw at Billy, making him pedal backwards quickly to avoid the blows as the giant armored insect rushed the much smaller ranger relentlessly trying to overwhelm him with his size and power.

“Alright boys! Just one ranger to go, and he‘s a puny little runt!” Centiback called out, Rocky and Tommy’s antennae twitching in approval as they stopped in their tracks and turned to face the blue ranger.

All alone now with all communications jammed, Billy couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the massive bugs moving in to surround him. Backing up slowly, he held up his blaster threateningly, swinging it from bug to bug waiting for the right time to strike. He knew his only chance of victory was to get distance between the monsters and bombard them with laser fire.

Centiback stepped forward, folding his arms confidently as his sons closed in on their prey.

“You’re pretty smart, maggot. But it’s time to put your toys away and let papa Centiback show you what TRUE power is!”

Pulling the familiar red and white whistle from around his neck, Centiback pulled it up to his mouth and blew.

*Tweeeeeeet!!!*

Billy stopped in his tracks at the shrill sound, feeling a cold tingling chill run down his spine. Looking down, the blue ranger felt nor looked any different than before, much to his relief. As Billy cautiously backed away Centiback didn‘t move an inch. In fact all three bugs had stopped, and were watching the ranger with disappointed looks on their buggy faces as the ranger slowly made his escape.

“Not gonna step up to the line and face us, ranger? Ha! Doesn’t surprise me coming from a little runt like you!” Centiback said, flexing his muscles tauntingly. “You can’t gain any yards on the ground against us. You’d better develop that passing game if you have any hope to beat us. In fact, I’ll help you out right now with a long bomb!”

The bug suddenly pulled a spiked football from behind his back and hurled it high into the air. Billy tensed as he watched the ball, preparing to dodge before he realized that the ball wasn‘t even thrown at him, sailing far over the ranger’s head.

As Billy turned back to aim his laser blaster at the monster, the sight of the football leaving his vision caused him to snap his neck back involuntarily. He felt a sudden surge of energy, his legs starting to move on their own as he felt an overwhelming compulsion to chase after the football. His mind cried out for him to stop, but the blue ranger’s body had a mind of its own and soon he was running faster than he thought he ever could, easily gliding under the descending football and putting out his arms out to make the catch.

Billy was blown back as the explosion of the football bomb rocked him hard and sent him flying into the dirt. His ranger uniform had kept him from any serious harm, but was smoking now and couldn‘t hold much more punishment like that before it faded completely.

‘It’s like my body has a mind of its own…I…I just had to catch that ball!’ Billy realized in a panic, trying to figure out a way to stop it from happening again.

“Hahahaha!” “Butterfingers!” “Nice catch, shrimp! “The three centipedes laughed and slapped each other’s pads as Billy got up slowly.

“Almost got it there, just slipped right out of your hands. I bet this time you‘ll catch it for sure!” Centiback said, stepping forward and pulling another spiked football from behind him.

Billy started running in the opposite direction, but as soon as the ball was thrown an invisible force pulled him back towards the ball. Billy strained, tensed, and used all his mental power to stop himself, but the rush was too strong and the energy had to go somewhere or he felt he’d explode. Suddenly the tension snapped and Billy almost got whiplash as he jerked towards the ball at full speed.

‘No no no no no no no!’ was all he could think as he watched himself stride towards the ball and catch it with surprising ease. He winced while watching the ball fall right into his hands, the explosion knocking him back and leaving Billy’s head ringing and with a throbbing headache.

‘Uhhhhhhhhhh….’ Billy moaned as he rolled around, his whole body aching.

‘They’re closing in. I’ve got to resist their power as long as I can so help can arrive! ‘Billy thought desperately. ‘If I can just keep my mind, I might be able to stop them!’

The blue ranger felt the ground shake as the three monsters jogged forward to intercept.

“What’s wrong maggot? You’ve only caught two footballs and you’re giving up on me already?” the muscled centipede monster taunted, towering over the blue ranger with his shadow casting down ominously.

“Son, get this pathetic pile of dung beetles on his feet!” Centiback grunted.

“Right coach!” Rocky replied obediently, marching forward to grab the ranger. Two strong claw-hands gripped Billy’s shoulder and pulled him briskly to his feet, then spun him around like a top and pulled him back against the bug’s chest. With a quick, powerful motion Rocky grabbed Billy’s arms and folded them behind his back, pinning them to his body with a mighty flex as he leaned down to growl in the ranger’s ear.

“You’d better listen to every word coach has to say, or else I’m gonna shove you between my pecs and squeeze you like an orange.”

Billy struggled, the threat keeping him docile as Centiback stepped forward and held up a red and white whistle, dangling it in front of the ranger tauntingly.

“With some training, you could be the roughest, toughest, and fastest wide receiver this team has ever seen.” the big bug said, eyeing the ranger like an unmolded lump of clay.

“Time to pump you up, maggot!” Centiback said, putting the whistle up to his mouth.

*Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!*

Billy convulsed at the sound kept going, arching backwards as a sudden intense rush of energy overtook him, feeling like an electric shock that made every muscle tense at once. Billy strained against it as best he could, held tight in Rocky’s arms he could only watch as his legs began to swell, gaining bulk and definition as they pushed out from his blue spandex uniform. The rush kept coming, the tense electric feeling becoming so strong that Billy couldn’t think of anything else but his inflating legs. They felt more sensitive, more responsive, and more powerful. Billy grunted in spite of himself, unable to deny how good it felt now as he watched his thighs grow into two tree trunks, calves exploding out with muscle definition that spread down to his boot and started inflating them into…

‘Oh no…I’m becoming one of them!’ Billy’s mind suddenly snapped back to reality as he looked down at his massively oversized cleats attached to his feet. To his shock, his ranger uniform was starting to change color from blue to a crimson red. Centiback red. Tracing up his legs, Billy gasped as he noticed that his power coin had started to tarnish in small black splotches.

‘I…I gotta get out of here!’ Billy’s mind took control, looking around for the quickest escape route. Seeing a gap between Tommy and Centiback, his brain put his body into action as he dropped to his knees and twisted his body to break Rocky’s grip. As soon as he started to rush for the exit he found himself moving in slow motion, his inflated legs feeling like they weighed a hundred pounds each.

The ranger’s fear fueled his determination as he kept pumping his leg, able to work up an awkward gait as he stumbled and lurched forward. Getting a good head of steam, Billy smiled as he saw open field between him and the stadium’s exit gate.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the ranger.

“Tackle!!!”

The blue ranger looked up just in time to see Tommy flying in from above. Before he could react, Billy was wrapped up in two massive muscled arms as the bug’s chest slammed into him tackling the ranger to the ground.

Tommy grunted, pressing against Billy with his entire weight. Billy tried weakly to crawl out from under the bug, Tommy moaning and grinding his body against the ranger as he started to work him in between his pectorals.

“Now you feel how strong I am!” Tommy growled in the blue ranger’s ear, slowly flexing his muscles making his chest swell as they started to squash Billy between with increasing pressure as his head stuck out from between the pecs. As he gasped for air, he could feel his energy being drained from his body, even seeing waves of blue energy flowing from his body into the massive bug serving to stoke Tommy’s grunting and moaning.

“You struggle like worm!” Tommy let out a baritone laugh, letting out a low moan as he continued to squeeze and grind against Billy, enjoying it immensely.

“Dog pile!!!” two simultaneous cries rang out as Rocky and Centiback dashed towards the prone ranger and jumped into the air. With successive earth-shaking thuds the two massive bugs slammed down on top of Tommy, the weight transferring to Billy as he had his face was pressed into Tommy’s padded chest.

The centipede monsters all laughed and pressed themselves into each other, writhing around to make sure the ranger didn’t escape as they all squirmed around in a big pile.

Underneath, Billy was gasping for air and trying to pull himself free, but the combined weight of all three bugs bearing down on him left him hopelessly pinned. Worse, the slow energy drain started by Tommy’s hug increased with the added mass on top of him, every attempt to escape from Billy was met with a wave of fatigue that weakened his muscles and made them feel like jelly. Worse yet, the weaker he got the more enthusiastic the grinding of the bugs got as they laughed and taunted the ranger trapped beneath.

“We’re gonna squash you like a fly!” “When we’re done with you ranger there’s gonna be nothing left!” “Who wants a ranger pancake?”

After a full minute of grinding Billy into the ground, Centiback finally stood up off of Billy, followed shortly by his two sons. Billy lay motionless in the dirt, conscious but unable to move for a moment as his strength slowly returned.

“You’ve got potential, kid! But you’re gonna need coach Centiback’s patented De-luxe Extended De-Humanizing Workout to exercise all that weak flabby flesh and pump you up with pure Centiback power!”

A feeling of dread fell over Billy as he finally struggled to get to his knees. He could hear the clacking of teeth and claws and slapping of heavy pads all around him, hearing their cocky grunts and growls.

“Yeah…you’re not gonna be puny anymore Billy. Just put on the pads and you’ll see how amazing it feels!” Rocky grunted and flexed his biceps downward, posing for Billy and showing off his massive frame.

“Alright! Time to get up, maggot!”

*Tweeeeeeeet!!!*

The sound of the whistle gave Billy a sudden burst of energy, instantly feeling euphoric as all the pain of his pummeling completely disappeared. Patting himself in disbelief, the ranger’s instincts kicked in as he immediately tried to run away, darting between Rocky and Tommy as his massive legs began churning powerfully.

With lightning quickness Rocky stepped in front of the escaping ranger and lunged at him with arms open wide. Billy tried to dodge, but Rocky tracked his movements and crashed into him with all the force of his body and wrapped his massive arms around the ranger’s chest.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Rocky said as he reached down and grabbed the blue ranger with his two mitts. Pulling him in with a jerk, the bug gave Billy a mighty squeeze as his arms tightened around his chest. In one motion the ranger was pulled him off his feet and pressed flat against Rocky’s chest.

“You’re going to give coach Centiback your full attention. The workout is just about to begin!“

“Good work, son. That’s why you’re our star quarterback!” Centiback said, coming over and giving Rocky an affectionate slap on the back. “Let’s suck some of the fight out of that maggot and get him into the proper football mindset!”

Billy struggled hard in Rocky’s arms, but was no match for the superior strength of the massive bug. He hooked his leg around Billy’s back and squeezed his waist between his overly muscled thighs, making the ranger groan and gasp for air. As he strained against the tight hug, Billy could feel a warmth grow, intensifying as the pressure of Rocky’s embrace increased. His muscles pulsed and closed in around them, smothering the ranger until all that could be seen was Billy’s helmet sticking out from between the bug‘s pectorals.

Billy tried to keep from being suffocated by the monster’s arms, unable to do anything to stop the ever increasing warmth, turning into a numbing sensation that quickly engulfed his body. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, Billy suddenly realizing his power was being drained from his body. In panic he tried to struggle hard, Rocky responding by clamping down over him and squeezing even tighter.

“You always were the weak one, Billy. You should thank me for emptying all your useless ranger energy so coach can mold you into a lean, mean football machine!” Rocky grunted, grinding himself against the ranger while squeezing up and down his back feeling his claws suck the energy out of his former comrade with each flex.

The three centipedes all watched as blue energy flowed from the blue ranger’s body into Rocky, his antennae glowing yellow-orange and jumping out in electric bolts to connect with Tommy and Centiback’s antennae. As Billy’s power waned the centipedes began to grow in size, muscles stretching and pads cracking to accommodate their inflating bodies as together they fed on the ranger’s superhuman powers.

“Mmmmm….pound ranger makes muscles grow! More muscle means more ranger pounding! More ranger…” Tommy grunted excitedly as the flood of energy filled him, sending little electric pulses coursing through his body making every last muscle twitch and swell.

"Alright you two knuckleheads, take it easy on your future brother! I think we've drained his puny pink body enough for now," Centiback said with a laugh, folding his arms and nodding his head, clearly pleased. "But this bookworm still thinks too much..."

Billy squirmed hard in Rocky's arms, wondering what Centiback meant by that. As Rocky kept squeezing him his struggles weakened, and within a minute he was so exhausted he could barely keep his head up. The constant draining was taking its toll, and although it was looking bleak Billy knew if he could keep his mind intact he might have a chance to get out of this unscathed.

‘He takes over by inundating his opponent with his unique energy signature, which alters the energy wave to its own frequency,’ Billy’s mind went into action, looking for ways to save himself as the bugs surrounded him with mocking laughter.

'How does he manage to focus all that energy? It'd have to be a powerful conduit that would help to channel and amplify all that ener....oh my gosh...the power coins!' Billy gasped as he realized just how Centiback was corrupting his teammates with his power.

'I know how to stop him now...! I gotta get free and tell the others before it's too late!' the blue ranger's mind raced with the importance of his task as his struggles renewed in Rocky's arms.

Out of the corner of his eye, Billy saw Centiback pull a spiked football from behind his back. The ranger winced, thinking it was meant for him as a final blow, but instead Centiback brought the ball up to his head and touched it to his antennae. A red glowing energy burst from his antennae and began to flow into the ball, surrounding it with a brilliant, pulsating light. As the energy filled the ball it began to grow in size, the red eyes and smile on the front of the ball expanding into a giant toothy grin. The large spikes disappeared, replaced by a single row of spikes that wrapped around the ball in a spiral, each spike glowing with red light at the tips that gave the ball an overall flashy, eye-catching appearance.

Centiback walked over to the blue ranger with a wicked grin and held the football up in front of him. Billy glanced down curiously as the red eyes of the ball started to pulsate, the glowing spiral of spikes starting to spin slowly, drawing the eyes inward towards the ball’s toothy smile. His vision started to blur around the edges as felt compelled to stare at the ball.

“Like it ranger? It's my latest design, the official Centiback brain-drain football! Perfect for turning brainy bookworms into mindless maggots!" Centiback said, moving the ball back and forth in front of Billy tauntingly, the eyes leaving trails of light as they danced in front of his face. "It'll suck all those useless thoughts right out of your head so we can pump in pure 'pede power and make you into the ultimate receiver!"

As he looked quickly at the ball Centiback’s mocking words amplified in Billy's mind, like the taunting laugh of a bully stinging his ego and making it hard to think of anything else. ‘Whatever you do, don't look at it!’ the ranger thought frantically, turning away and squeezing his eyes tight. Centiback laughed as he watched the ranger squirm away from the football like a child from a plate of vegetables.

“Just remember maggot...keep your eyes on the ball...” Centiback chuckled, pressing the ball closer towards the ranger's helmet. Billy turned away in disgust, but Rocky reached up with a claw and snapped the ranger’s head forward to face the glowing football.

'Gotta keep your wits Billy! Just don't look at the ball!' the ranger thought frantically. Even with his eyes closed, Billy could feel the rhythmic pulsing of the glowing football, feeling waves of warm energy emanating from the ball. Centiback's words began to echo in his ears, a low drone that buzzed louder and louder. 'Keep your eyes on the ball...eyes on the ball...eyes on the ball...', as if calling out to him inviting him to accept his destiny.

'Don't look...just don't look! You gotta hold out. Just a bit longer...you gotta...you gotta keep your eyes on the ball...NO! Snap out of it Billy!'

The harder Billy tried to tune out the centipede's drone the louder it became, growing to a cacophony that was starting to drown out Billy's conscious mind. As he struggled to keep control of his own thoughts, something called out to him from amidst the chaos. A warm, simple voice, beckoning him into the light as if promising everything would be alright, that embracing this light meant that all the confusion and problems would just go away.

Slowly, Billy turned and cracked one eye open, taking a small peek at the brilliant red glow. Suddenly, a wave of energy crashed into the ranger as the red light opened and welcomed him in. Opening both eyes, he gazed directly into the two glowing red eyes of the football and became instantly transfixed. All the ranger's thoughts were swept away, replaced by a dizzying euphoria that knocked Billy for a loop.

'Gotta keep my...eyes on the ball...no, I can't give in! If I can just...eyes on the ball...' Billy desperately tried to take control of his thoughts, but each was washed away in a stupefying mix of droning sound and pulsing lights. The constantly smiling face of the football seemed to be mocking him, a nagging doubt starting to erode the ranger's confidence as he fell deeper into the hypnotic trance.

'I can't...! I must...keep my eyes on the ball...yes Billy, your eyes on the ball...' everything else seeming to fade into black as Billy felt as if he was being sucked into the center of the ball. Frozen stiff and unable to form a thought, the blue ranger stared into the slowly pulsing eyes.

Centiback grinned at how well his new toy was working. As Billy's resistance waned, the bug could feel the ranger's thoughts being drained from his head, a blue energy being pulled from his eyes and flowing into the ball, drawing the blue ranger deeper into its trap.

"Mmmmm now that's what I call brain food!" Centiback said as he flexed his bicep, feeling the stolen brainpower pour into his body as pure, muscle-pumping power. He looked back and saw that Tommy and Rocky were doing the same, mmmming loudly as they clenched their fists and flexed, feeling the energy make their massive bodies grow in size even more.

The blue ranger didn't notice as the bugs grew up around him, dwarfing the human more and more with each passing second. To Billy, it felt like he had tunnel vision, and as Centiback spoke he could hear his name being chanted, hear the shouts of his teammates cheering him on like he was in the middle of a football game. As the sounds grew louder his emotions began to stir, feeling a rush of adrenaline like he was really there at the game. Slowly, Billy began to nod along, his mind completely blank and open to suggestion.

“That's more like it ranger, thinking makes you weak! Winning is everything….to win you have to be the best….to be the best you have to train….to train, you must listen to your coach….you must obey your coach…” Centiback grunted, slowly starting to pull the ball back and forth across the ranger’s vision.

Billy’s head followed obediently, starting to silently mouth the words under his helmet. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice crying out for him to stop, to snap out of it. But that seemed so far away now, and the ball was so enthralling. The more he stared into those captivating red eyes, the deeper his focus became and the more lightheaded and dizzy he became.

“That’s it, just like that…follow the ball…empty your mind and think of nothing but the ball…let the movement of the football control you…the football controls you…”

As Billy stared into the pulsating eyes he sank deeper and deeper into a trance, his mind clearing of all thoughts. His obedience was rewarded with a warm feeling that washed over him, a feeling like he belonged and was wanted and loved. When he looked away from the ball he felt cold and alone, so as Centiback pulled the ball back and forth Bily’s eyes followed with intense focus.

“Time to train ranger…train to become big and strong…time to realize your potential and become the ultimate football player!”

“Become…the ultimate…football player!” Billy said involuntarily, his mouth hanging open as he stared into the glowing eyes with unbroken focus. The crowd roared in his ear, cheering him on, urging him to win. All the ranger knew was that he couldn’t let them down. Let Zordon down? Who was Zordon? He needed to train to get stronger to be the fastest and outrun every opponent. He’d soak in their cheers, the football frenzy feeding his desires that blocked out all lesser thoughts.

Barely aware of Rocky as he released his prisoner, Billy didn’t move, but just stood in front of Centiback, staring at the ball and eagerly awaiting orders. He started to lift his legs up just to feel how pumped up they were, his inflated muscles sending little jolts of pleasure through his body as Billy moved them. The rush was addicting, and as he stared into the football's eyes, his desire to pump himself up grew and grew.

"Alright maggot! Time for the training to begin!" Centiback said, pulling his whistle out and putting it up to his mouth.

*Tweeeeeeeeet!*

Out of the ground in front of Billy tires suddenly began to spring up like mushrooms, alternating red and white car tires that popped up in a column two tires wide and extending 30 feet long. Each tire was bigger than a normal tire, just oversized enough for a Centiback cleat to fit easily in the middle.

"If you're going to be the fastest bug on the field, we need to work on those legs!" Centiback shouted, pumping his fist excitedly. "Ready....go!" *Tweeeeeeeet!*

The sound of the whistle filled Billy with a sudden blast of vigor. With an enthusiastic "Right coach!” the ranger started to pump his legs and jog in place, then put his head down and charged straight towards the tires.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Billy heard a faint cry, a desperate plead for him to stop. But as he hit the first tire, his massive cleat stepped down in the middle and he felt an electric shock zap up his leg and course through his body, leaving a warm afterglow that made his leg muscles tingle like after a good workout. Left cleat followed right, stepping into the second tire, then the third, and the next, the ranger pumping his arms and lifting his knees high as the electric shocks came like pistons pumping, giving him a boost of energy that pushed him on. As he continued the course, the shocks built into a constant flow of energy that surged through Billy, making him feel almost bloated with power. Breathing hard and churning his legs, the ranger didn't notice as the blue of his uniform was slowly disappearing as the padded white football pants of team Centiback swallowed up his skinny ranger legs, giving his thick toned bulging thighs and well defined calves, making his upper body seem tiny by comparison.

By the end of the first run through the tires, Billy was panting as he put his hands on his thighs to catch his breath. He felt better than he had ever felt in his life, and although he felt fatigue starting to set in, he steeled himself as the drive to get better pushed him through the pain.

'Oooh my legs feel so big and strong! But I'm not done yet! Coach is gonna work me until I'm as tough and buff as he is! Wait until Rocky and Tommy see how pumped I'm getting! They won't think I'm a pipsqueak anymore!' Billy's mind buzzed with football fever, pumping his fists as he turned around to await his coach's orders.

"Nice work maggot! Those legs are looking great!" Centiback said, his pleased tone making Billy's heart jump for joy.

"I'm ready coach! Lemme at 'em!" Billy barked back, bending his knees and preparing to do the course again.

"OK maggot...go!"

*Tweeeeeeeeeeeet!*

The blue ranger exploded from the starting line as soon as he heard the whistle, legs churning and stepping through each tire deftly, twice as fast as he had done before. Each successive step and shock fueled the ranger's obsessive frenzy to be the best, the intense feelings starting to work its ways up his body.

The three centipedes clapped and cheered on Billy, watching on as the blue of his ranger uniform began to fade to a deep purple before shifting to the deep crimson of team Centiback, spreading up from his waist. After the second run through, the ranger's entire upper body had started to swell, muscle definition seen beneath the ranger's changing uniform as pads began to form splitting his chest down the middle and exposing the ranger's chest, where tiny black scales were beginning to form that ran down his front.

"Alright rookie! Great work! Give me two more runs through the tires and we'll move on to the final phase of your training!" Centiback cheered, clapping his claws.

"Right...coach! I'll show you what a real receiver can do!" Billy shouted back, feeling cocky and full of energy as his body pulsed with power. Centiback knew the tires were really sapping out the last of his human mind and pumping him full of Centiback energy, and was proud to see the ranger so eager to go for another round. He was looking forward to calling him his son.

"Ha ha!" Rocky laughed, slapping his knee with a claw, "Still looking a bit puny there, kid! You call those muscles?"

Egged on by Rocky's taunts, Billy waited patiently for his coach's command, chomping at the bit to show his teammates his newfound abilities. With a shrill blow of the whistle Billy took off at full speed through the tires. With grunts and pants, the ranger stepped through the tires one after another, starting to moan loudly now as his body overflowed with Centiback energy now, each step making his muscles tense, then expand, then tense, then expand. It was an addictive cycle, Billy unable to help himself as he reached up to feel his now massive pectorals. The more he gave into the addicting power, the more his body changed, shoulder pads growing up from his uniform, still patterned with white diamonds but now distinctly football gear.

At the end of the run, Billy looked down and saw his ranger gloves disappear as thick padded football gloves grew up in their place, all the way down to the end of his fingers which grew into long dark claws. The sight filled the ranger with joy; the thought of being so pumped up and strong excited him even more, smiling as he admired the set of football pads he was now decked out in.

The constant running and inflating was starting to tire the ranger, holding his thighs and panting, his mind ready to go another round although his body ached and cried out for him to stop. But his job wasn't done, and looking at the other bugs he felt a pang of jealousy at seeing their football helmets when compared to his much smaller ranger one.

"One more...gotta do one more rep...the coach is counting on me! If I do good enough he'll give me a helmet and let me on the team!" Letting the adrenaline take him over, Billy turned around and lined up for another run, panting heavily.

"That's it! One last rep and you're done! Ready...go!" Centiback said, holding his whistle up to his jaw for one last blow. With a shrill tweet the ranger was off again, the tires sending more addictive shocks as the ranger's body swelled from human sized to bodybuilder before their eyes, his biceps and shoulders growing to match his pecs as his uniform finished its transition, becoming a complete set of football pads that covered Billy neck to toe.

As the ranger finished the last tire, he stopped and put his hands on his hips to face the bugs. He was barely recognizable from the human who had started the tire run, his entire body ripped with muscles from neck to toe, only a blue ranger helmet suggesting who this beefy stud used to be. His body was more slender than the other bugs, but his strength was undeniable as tightly toned muscles suggested at the mix of speed and power the ranger now possessed.

Billy couldn't help but clench his fists and flex his muscles, starting with his biceps before reaching down to make his shoulders bulge and finishing with fists above his head to show off his pulsing pectorals. The ranger was overwhelmed with passion and desire, an unquenchable energy that made him want to run and run and never stop. As the frenzy took over the ranger's mind completely, he turned to his coach and dropped into a ready position.

"Lemme at 'em coach! I'll run rings around those defenders! I burn them like toast! I'll juke them right outta their socks!" Billy jabbered on with excitement, jogging in place and holding his hands out in a ready position.

"Alright, maggot. There's one final test before you can be a part of team Centiback," the paternal bug said, stepping forward and putting his hand on the much smaller ranger's shoulder. Billy felt a twinge of excitement as Centiback's strong claw touched his shoulder, though he put his hand on his pads, Billy felt like the bug was touching his bare skin. Looking up with a gaze of admiration, Billy felt a love growing inside him for the big bug, knowing how dedicated Centiback was to making Billy the best he could be.

"I'm gonna throw one more long bomb, a real hail mary this time! If you're as quick as you say and can catch the ball, then you're on the team!"

"You bet coach! Lemme show you what I can do! Throw it all the way to Japan...I'll catch it!" Billy said in a frenzied tone, the prospect of making the team filling him with an excitement he'd never known.

Centiback smiled down at the ranger, admiring how much he'd grown and how dedicated the former bookworm was to the team. A fatherly pride welling up inside him, the big bug took a football from behind his back and held it up to his head. Two long antennae reached down and touched the ball, suddenly glowing with a red energy that began to flow into the ball and make it glow. This time, the ball turned into a simple red and white ball with alternating colors on each panel, and inflated up to twice the size of a normal ball as it filled with energy. With a flash Centiback pulled his antennae back and presented the ball for Billy to see.

"OK rookie, this is your chance. This ball is filled with pure Centiback essence. Anyone who touches it will be filled with its power and become a centipede forever...are you ready?" Centiback said with a grin, knowing the answer already.

"I was born ready!" Billy said enthusiastically, bending down preparing to take off after the ball.

"Alright maggot...go get the ball and accept your destiny!" Centiback said as he cocked his arm and launched the ball high in the air.

As quick as lightning Billy zoomed after the ball, his massively pumped up legs churning in a blur of motion as he dashed across the field.

"I'm gonna get it! I'm gonna catch the ball! Oooh I can feel that power now! I'm gonna show coach just how good I can be!" Billy's mind raced as fast as his feet, a constant flow of thoughts keeping him deep in football frenzy. He gazed up at the ball and locked eyes, repositioning himself to be under it as he put out his hands to catch the falling red and white ball.

With soft hands Billy guided the ball into his arms and pulled it to his chest. Holding it tight, he slowed to a stop and held the ball up triumphantly. The ball glowed red, then suddenly started to flow into Billy's body with a deep crimson energy that made his entire form glow with power.

"Yes!" Billy exclaimed as he felt the power filling him, flooding into his body and making his swell all over. He could feel his muscles inflating, his skin hardening into thick plated centipede scales, dozens of arms popping out from his arms and legs as two antennae suddenly burst from his ranger helmet.

Running over clapping his hands, Centiback rushed up to Billy and put both claws on the new bug's shoulders. Though Billy was twice the size he was as a ranger, he still was dwarfed by Centiback, who had grown even bigger and more bulky from the blue and black ranger's stolen power.

"Well done, my son! You really made your papa proud!" Centiback said, looking down at Billy. The former ranger blushed, hearing Centiback refer to himself as his father filled him with a warm feeling that made him feel a special connection to the big bug. Looking up, he couldn't help but think how lovable he was with his tender heart under his gruff exterior. Unable to help himself, Billy rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Centiback and gave him a squeeze, trying out his new muscles.

"Awwww...that's my boy!!" Centiback said with a tear in his eye, returning the hug with a powerful embrace of his own. As the two bugs held each other, Centiback's antennae arched down and touched Billy's.

"I love you...son!"

A burst of energy flowed into Billy's antennae, and then started to change his helmet. In seconds, the former ranger helmet had morphed into a Centiback football helmet with two small bars across the front to denote a wide receiver position, revealing a smiling centipede face with long sharp teeth and glowing red beady eyes. With one last hug, Billy's uniform grew white stripes across the shoulders and a giant number "88" appeared on his front and back, along with the name "Cranston" emblazoned in white letters.

"I love you too, papa Centiback!" Billy said with true conviction in his voice. In his mind, he was finally home. He belonged.

Centiback put an arm around Billy's shoulder, as together they walked back to allow Rocky and Tommy to welcome their new brother with a pair of bear-hugs, teasing the smaller bug about his diminutive size when compared to them. Together, the Centiback team all shared a high five, and then turned their attention to the black tackling dummy with the picture of Adam on the outside.

"So my boys...your coach thinks it's time for tackling drills!"