The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 71 - Surrender

The chaos that descended upon them was like an avalanche.  The first Ranger to close the distance sported a pale green, the suit lacking in any defining details other than white gloves and boots.  Even the helmet only had a black upside down triangle for a visor and silver plate where their mouth would be. 

Three other Rangers in the group were identical to the one that Nicole was currently taking by the arm and driving into the broken asphalt.  Sparks flew as its kinetic barrier was shattered and Nicole was quick to pull it back up and spin once, slinging the false Ranger into a charging Blue with a circular visor. 

Devon smashed into the line shield first, Silver light flaring from the point of impact.  Green vines and a Purple spear flanked his impact point as the group tore into the massed machine Rangers.  Chaos was the only word for it, as all form had been cast aside in favor of raw reaction.  Each of them was spent from the battle with Guiana, which had to be part of Anita’s plan, the answer to why she had waited. 

Grace landed at her back, axe at the ready as they were swiftly surrounded. 

“The enemy may change, but the results sure as shit don’t,” Grace said.  “I’ll try to take as much of the load as I can, so try to pace yourself.” 

The tenderness of the words crashed into Nicole with all the weight of the world.  She wasn’t sure what to say to that, how to unpack the depths of what wasn’t being said, so all she could offer was a simple, “thanks.” 

Power thrummed in Nicole’s chest as the Source surged, burning her very being with each beat of her heart.  It was already too much to take, but she had another battle before her.  Blades materialized from the aetheric Source and Nicole surged forward into the coming hoard of mechanical Rangers. 

Kinetic barriers shattered against clashing blades, Nicole’s runaway powers proving to be too much for the artificial Rangers to stand against.  What they lacked in strength, they were making up in pure numbers.  Nicole only had her own wits, and a phasing skill, to throw at the enemy tides. 

Grace on the other hand went full bore, unleashing the full fury that she had brought down upon Guiana just moments earlier.  She lacked the obvious glow of her berserker ability that had allowed her to keep pace with the fearsome general, but against the caliber of enemy before them, it was more than enough. 

Anita hadn’t moved from her place atop the broken building, her yellow form silently watching as the machines were taken apart by the beleaguered Rangers.  If Sinclair thought that they would be able to make an impact in the coming war, this little shakedown run had to be making the man wish he had hair to pull out.

Unlike the last fight where Anita hadn’t brought that many, this time it was as if she’d emptied the entire stockpile.  That might have been the case if Nicole hadn’t seen storerooms loaded with thousands of machines, and now that they had morphing capabilities?  Just how many morphers had they managed to empower with that singular accident? 

If this was what they considered a worthwhile expense to attain more excess Source energy, then they couldn’t afford to lose and risk another ‘accident’ that burns half the city down.  The St. Anthony fire was one of the worst recorded in the state for damages and deaths, only matched by California’s worst wildfires.  Sinclair couldn’t be allowed to repeat himself. 

Not now, not ever.  No matter the stakes. 

Blades lashed out, carving through the false Rangers as though they weren’t even there and Nicole pushed forward.  Anita took notice almost immediately, and with a gesture, a dozen more Rangers descended upon her from all angles.  Nicole quickly found herself bogged down by numbers, which kept coming even as she cut them all down. 

Just how many of the bastards did she bring?

How many had Sinclair produced if they were willing to sacrifice so many of them in an attempt to get the resources to make more?  The thought was there and gone in a shower of sparks and some sort of lubricant as yet another mechanical Ranger was torn asunder by her blades.  The fire within was beyond an inferno now, promising pain and more. 

Yet, Nicole pushed through, closing the distance between her team and the Yellow Ranger.  Machine after machine fell, yet Nicole continued forward almost methodologically.  The tension rose across Anita’s form, yet she didn’t move from her place atop the rubble.  Fire burned with each breath even as Nicole reached the base of the rubble, all her supporting machines now scrap at their feet. 

“You really are a stubborn bitch, aren’t you?” Anita said with an exasperated shake of her head.  “I mean, are you trying to get yourself killed?  What would Grace have to say about that?”

“Whatever she wanted to, because I would deserve it,” Nicole said with a weak smile under her helmet.  “I’ve let her down so much recently, and it seems that I’m going to do it yet again.” 

Anita laughed, almost doubling over as she did.  “Oh damn, you’re really sold on that selfless sacrifice thing, aren’t you?  It’s almo—” 

Silver shield met helmet at speed, and followed her all the way into the concrete below.  Dust and debris kicked up into a cloud that forced her helmet to cycle through the spectrum to find something with visibility.  The sparks from Anita’s kinetic barrier shattering were still raining as she finally caught sight through the poor visibility. 

“I hope you felt that,” Devon hissed, his sword at Anita’s throat.  

The woman coughed, but made no effort to get up.  “I’d tell you to finish me, but you’ve never had that in you.” 

Ouch, that was a burn if Nicole had ever heard one.  Still, she wasn’t about to give the honeypot a break over that.  Devon didn’t move to cut her down and Anita didn’t take advantage of the hesitation.  Their standoff was charged and it took every ounce of Nicole’s restraint to not yell at them to just fuck already, but clearly they had been if that exchange was even remotely accurate. 

“I swear, you just can’t trust another person, can you?” Devon spat. 

Even with the helmet, Nicole could feel the glare coming from underneath the visor even if it wasn’t directed at her.  “I’m fighting for the future of humanity.  I’ll burn anyone I have to if it means we get to see the dawn of the next century as a free species.” 

“There won’t be a new century if the warnings I was given are accurate,” Nicole said.  “Our best chance of stopping The Prime Administrator isn’t fighting each other, it’s pooling resources and cooperating.” 

“Like you’re cooperating with the pretty General in blue?” Anita asked.  “I offered to work with you, but you wouldn’t give me even basic reassurance by letting us hold her for questioning.” 

“Oh I’m sorry,” Kayla cut in, “it’s just hard to trust someone who decided burning half the city was acceptable collateral for tin soldiers that barely match a mid-tier Sylan bot.” 

“That represents a colossal leap over the first generation units,” Anita muttered.  “But your point is heard.  Fine then, what are your terms?” 

Nicole could only blink at the audacity Anita had to actually demand terms when she was clearly at a disadvantage.  What did the woman think she still had to bargain with?  Looking around, the battle was over and all her machines were scrap, she’d lost completely against an exhausted team. 

“Aside from dropping this pathetic attempt to stall?” Grace snapped.  “You know what shape Nicole’s in right now.” 

“Brimming with power that’s liable to explode on us?” Anita asked sweetly.  Ah, that explained it.  “I am quite aware.  Which means I’m sitting in a very good bargaining position if I do say.” 

“You really aren’t,” Grace said.  “Nicole, head on back.  I’ll catch up once we get the details squared away.  That way you aren’t getting in even worse shape than you already are.” 

Nicole opened her mouth to protest, but immediately shut it before a single sound could emerge.  Tipping off that Grace could teleport as well wasn’t a huge risk, and it made it clear that each of her team would soon be able to do so.  A touch of bait and a promise that there were no chips on the table that weren’t in their corner. 

Anita seemed to realize that as well as her form slumped and her morph shattered.

“Then I surrender,” Anita said, holding up her wrists.  “It’s clear as shit that this is a dead end if these botbrains can’t even handle an exhausted team.” 

Was she really going to work with them, or was this yet another feint? 

“How does one take a Ranger into custody?” Devon asked with a weary sigh. 

Anita snorted.  “No fucking clue honey, we’ve never managed it either.” 

“Lovely,” Grace said, turning to face Nicole as she did.  “If we take her with us, it risks exposing your friends.” 

Nicole paused for a moment.  Would The Progenitor actually struggle to contain her?  The mysterious custodian of the ancient ship seemed to have no issue disabling Sylan tech, so why would they have any issue with bootleg Ranger stuff?  They could just bring her back with them and call it quits once her morpher was disabled. 

“Leaving her here forever alienates her, and Sinclair,” Nicole countered.  “At least this way we aren’t at their mercy and terms.” 

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Grace said.  “It’s up to you.” 

Deciding to take the risk, Nicole stepped forward and hauled Anita up to her feet.  The woman hissed in complaint, but didn’t make a move otherwise.  Nicole was barely keeping herself together, the strain having long since grown past the point of being able to manage it with careful breathing. 

“We’re going,” Nicole said.  “Form up and place a hand on my shoulder.  It’s time everyone met The Progenitor.” 

Pausing for a moment, Nicole almost slapped herself. 

“And could someone grab Carlos?” 

***

It felt as though Nicole was beginning to do nothing but travel back and forth from The Progenitor’s ship.  She could only hope that they would get a moment to rest but didn’t dare voice those thoughts for fear that the universe would spite her just because they could.  The Source within roiled, looking for a release that she couldn’t grant.

Something told her that one day that power would consume her, but Nicole was determined to push that off for as long as she could if it meant another day spent with Grace at her side.  The crimson light of her teleportation continued to spiral protectively around Nicole’s own negative light.  It was sweet of her, and Nicole wasn’t quite sure how such motion even worked. 

Perception outside of the teleportation was strange, sometimes the outside world was visible, other times it vanished in a kaleidoscope of color that felt achingly familiar.  The city had vanished and now the jungle and rock of the underground sanctuary came into view just before they touched down inside the ancient vessel. 

The second Nicole’s feet hit the ground she collapsed, gasping desperately to bleed off the excess power.  Grace was at her side in an instant, helping her up.  Words were yelled out but Nicole didn’t have the focus to spare to follow them.  She blinked and the next thing she knew Becca was there with some glowing device. 

Another blink, and Nicole could only feel the bone crushing weariness of someone who stretched themselves too thin.  That and the weight pressing down upon her.  Opening her eyes, Nicole was glad to not be immediately blinded by light.  It also confirmed that the weight on her wasn’t unwelcome in the slightest. 

Grace stirred, her eyes fluttering open as she got her bearings almost as slowly as Nicole was getting her own.  It took a moment for their eyes to meet, but once they did, Grace’s eyes almost seemed to shine in the dark.  The crushing weight grew tenfold as Grace clamped down on her, and Nicole couldn’t help but return the embrace. 

“Nicole!  You’re awake!” 

The words had come out half choked, guilt once again rising up in the back of Nicole’s throat as she realized she’d put Grace through it once again.  There was a shift in the air and the lights rose minutely as someone stepped inside.  She wasn’t surprised to see a rather exhausted Becca freeze in the doorway.

“How long this time?” Nicole asked with a weak smile.

Becca sighed, turning away as she wiped at her cheeks.  “Three days.  You had three times the Source energy bouncing around in you than the last time.  It’s a good thing you didn’t drop your morph, it would have killed you.” 

Well, that was a sobering revelation, but not unexpected. 

“Yeah, I had a feeling it would be bad,” Nicole said with a sigh.  “We really need to come up with a better option than me almost dying in each fight.” 

Becca tossed something, and Nicole caught it on reflex.  It was a watch, a bit chunkier than the usual affair, but not dissimilar to her original.

“That’s a new morpher, made from scratch just for your unique ability to channel the Source.  It will keep you from overdrawing again.” 

“Becca, have you slept at all?” Grace asked, sitting up.

Nicole tried very hard to not think about how her girlfriend was now straddling her.  

Rebecca snorted.  “Not a wink, which is going to change in about five minutes.  Besides, you’re going to need that thing sooner than later.” 

“What do you mean by that?” Nicole asked, failing to push back the mounting dread. 

Becca yawned, heading for the door.  “I’ll let you check the news yourself.  The ship has internet now thanks to tapping my phone into the communication grid.  Try not to abuse it, the antivirus is still pretty shit.” 

And like a passing squall, Becca was gone in a flash. 

“Well, that happened,” Nicole said.  “Do you know what she meant by that?” 

Grace looked away, biting her lip.  A hesitant nod followed.  “Yeah.  Computer, show global news live feeds, current events priority feed.” 

Screens began to manifest in mid air all around them in an impressive display of technology.  The talking heads all formed up, though thankfully they weren’t all spitting out audio.  Nicole focused on one she recognized from across the pond, and suddenly the audio was coming right into her ears clear as day. 

“The attacks continue to multiply in both magnitude and ferocity.  The machine armies of the Sylan have—”  The anchor cut off and it was obvious he was being fed some breaking news.  “Apologies, we just received word that Hawaii’s Ranger team has fallen.” 

Stomach dropping, Nicole searched the screens frantically to find one from home.  Instead, she was stopped by the sight of familiar Gold fighting alongside other Rangers.  The backdrop of New York was hard to miss, and Nicole spun sharply to where Grace was watching another screen that showed the Vegas strip. 

“Carlos went back out there?” 

Grace nodded, not looking away from the chaos.  “The moment the retaliatory strikes began.  His morpher got the teleportation upgrade, but the fighting’s been too intense for him to return.” 

“What about the others?” Nicole asked, already knowing the answer. 

“They’ve been better about returning after a battle,” Grace said, gesturing towards her screen.  

Sure enough, that was Devon in resplendent Silver facing off against a literal mammoth of a Mutant just across the street from an ugly ass black pyramid.  He caught the charge on his shield and didn’t buckle.  Jeff then came crashing down, spearing the monster through its head, ending the fight right there.

“Kayla’s fighting a different monster in Seattle,” Grace continued, flicking a different screen over.  The monster was already down, choked out with a veritable jungle’s worth of thick vines.  “They tend to change the flow of battle once they arrive.” 

“What about you?” Nicole asked, her mouth moving faster than her brain. 

Grace smiled, though there was an ocean’s worth of pain reflected in her eyes.  “I stayed, because I didn’t want you to wake up alone.” 

If Nicole hadn’t already been laying down, she would have collapsed on the spot.  The sheer weight of that statement was like a blanket, both comforting and strangling.  Grace had chosen to remain with her even in the face of being able to save countless lives.  It spoke clearly to her priorities, and echoed her own insecurities. 

Nicole wasn’t certain that she could have made the same choice.

That truth hurt far more than she expected, the realization that her girlfriend clearly cared more than she did about their relationship was a hard pill to swallow.

“You didn’t have to,” Nicole muttered, even as tears streamed down her face. 

“Dummy,” Grace said, stepping forward to pull her into a gentle embrace.  “Even in the face of the end, I’ll be with you.  Always.” 

Nicole held tight to her girlfriend as she sobbed.  She knew she wasn’t the kind of person who could leave so many to suffer just to save the one she loved.  It went against everything she was, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be that person so much that it hurt.

“Oh good, you two aren’t fucking,” Anita said, striding through the door with all the confidence of a woman in control of the situation.  Nicole watched with a slack jaw as Anita took a seat, the chair forming beneath her before she ever made contact with it.  “So, up to speed on how fucked we are, or do you need another minute?”