The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 70 - Rematch

The bite of Guiana’s blade was a sensation that Nicole was well familiar with, yet it was still satisfying to watch the smug satisfaction of a battle all but won fall away to the cold realization that things hadn’t gone entirely as planned.  The sparks flew off of Nicole, the void of energy cascading over her newly morphed form.  As much as she wanted to bask in the growing surprise on the enemy General’s face, Nicole wasn’t able to stop and enjoy it.

Her sleek blades were replaced with jagged daggers as they cut through the air, now moving with all the speed that Nicole could extract from the Source energy burning through her.  Guiana hadn’t reacted fast enough, said blades scored a deep cut along the General’s collar as she attempted to put distance between them.  Nicole didn’t let her go uncontested, kicking off in pursuit.  Guiana snarled, her movements accelerating at an alarming rate, forcing Nicole to draw deeper upon the Source to keep ahead of the woman. 

Grace hadn’t stood idle either, she charged forward with a bright crimson glow.  Somehow Grace beat her to Guiana, slamming into her with all the power of one of Bartran’s heaviest blows.  Nicole’s eyes widened as Grace continued to move with a savage fury, her axe sending shockwaves with each blow that Guiana barely managed to deflect. 

All of that had transpired in the span of a single heartbeat.

Digging deep, Nicole pushed herself to keep up, knowing she would regret it, but they couldn’t lose the advantage while they had it.  The moment Guiana regained the upper hand they would be fighting to keep the momentum that they had stolen.  Nicole wasn’t about to let that happen, not while there was still strength within her. 

The distance was closed in an instant; three more clashes rippled through the air before she caught up.  Nicole wasn’t going to be left out and joined in the assault, her own blades cutting the very air.  Strikes aimed at vital points were turned away, but Guiana was forced to ignore glancing blows to her limbs if she hoped to keep her vitals whole.  None of the cuts had time to bleed at the speeds they were moving, yet she could see the growing concern on Guiana’s face as the small slices continued to multiply. 

Nicole was thankful to have Grace by her side, keeping the enemy general’s full attention with her heavy blows.  That allowed them to keep the Sylan General on the backfoot through teamwork.  Unfortunately, the strain was building and Nicole was fighting against the inferno that had been growing exponentially within her.  She couldn’t keep it up, and given how she had just handed the enemy a piece of critical information, she didn’t want to give away an obvious weakness so freely. 

Guiana continued to deflect Grace’s strikes, letting more of Nicole’s through with each exchange in an effort to keep the fight going.  The cuts were accumulating, with purple blood barely beginning to well up from her injuries.  They were all moving so far beyond human norms that it was difficult to keep that in mind. 

The thin blade snaked towards Grace, only to be turned away by her axe.  The strike didn’t stop, only shifted, and Nicole was forced to turn herself intangible to avoid it.  The blade passed through her, the momentum preserved, but Nicole had other ideas.  She dropped the shift, turning solid once more, and locked her own arm around Guiana’s. 

The General only had a moment to realize her mistake as Grace’s shoulder slammed home.  Nicole held tight for the barest of moments, letting the sensation of Guiana’s shoulder socket being torn by the force of the impact before she phased herself to keep from being launched with the Sylan.

Nicole dropped low and kicked off, intent on keeping up the pressure.  If the woman had a chance to recover, it risked letting Grace’s empowered state expire, which would give the General all the opening she needed to finish them all off. 

And Nicole wouldn’t hesitate to reveal their ability to teleport if it came to that. 

No, they needed a win here.

Guiana hit the ground once, shattering concrete with the first impact only to right herself and come down feet first before the next.  She carved through the asphalt as she jammed her blade deep, bleeding her momentum even as the Rangers pursued. Guiana glared with unfocused eyes only for her gaze to hastily sharpen at their rapid approach.  She let out a hissing breath as her blade rose up and blocked the flurry that Nicole brought down upon her.  With only one working arm, Guiana couldn’t keep up, and yet… 

It still wasn’t enough for a decisive blow, and the pressure within was past the tipping point.  Nicole was now pushing the General, which meant she was nearing the critical threshold for her ability to handle the Source. 

Yeah, it was going to suck in the morning.

Grace caught back up in a storm of motion, her axe flashing out as though it weighed nothing, but each blow impacted with the fury of a goddess of war.  The couple pushed hard, knowing they were on borrowed time.  Guiana’s single blade was moving faster than Nicole had ever seen, the air sparking with flames from the friction of its passing.  Despite Guiana’s raw abilities, the injury was tipping the scales.

There was realization in the General’s eyes and she seemed to come to a decision.  Grace’s glowing aura remained strong as Guiana kicked off and both Rangers moved to follow.  Nicole caught the familiar glow engulfing the General and immediately reached out to grab hold of Grace before she got too close. 

Grace’s helmet turned sharply, and Nicole could almost feel the surprise radiating off her girlfriend at the action.  Nicole squeezed a bit harder, pulling her back as Guiana snarled, glaring back at Nicole.  The General vanished in a flash, just as Nicole no doubt had all those days ago. 

The red glow dissipated from Grace as she jerked away from Nicole’s grip.  Nicole began to exhale all the excess energy within her as best she could, but it was always a losing prospect.  It was far easier to do so when she wasn’t morphed, given the energy was cumulative.  As long as she remained morphed she would continue to gather Source energy faster than she could bleed it off. 

Which meant that she was going to end up going through another overdraw once back on The Progenitor’s ship… 

Two in one day, she was starting to make it a habit.

“Dammit!” Grace shouted, holding her axe high before planting it into the ground with enough force to send splintering cracks down the length of the block.  Nicole could only wince at the display even as she continued.  “We almost had her!  Why did you hold me back?” 

“Because I didn’t want a repeat of my own accident,” Nicole said hotly.  As much as she wanted to answer anger with anger, now wasn’t the time.  Taking a deep breath, Nicole continued in a calmer tone.  “Sure, I ended up somewhere relatively safe, but who’s to say you wouldn’t end up on the Sylan command ship?” 

“And what if I did?” Grace almost yelled.  “I could have finished her!  I could have done damage to the ship!  We don’t know what would have happened!” 

Nicole stood firm even as her heart twisted.  She knew Grace was heated, that she was lashing out, but the tone was still biting deep.  They really did need to sit down and talk about their relationship, because it didn’t take a genius to see that they were heading towards a breakup if things continued as they were. 

“Hey, no need to fight about it,” Kayla said softly, joining them.  She was walking with the help of Jeff and Devon, but decidedly upright even if their suits were torn.  “Thanks for coming to bail us out, we appreciate it.” 

“Damn right we do,” Jeff said enthusiastically.  “Fighting that woman is a special level of hell that I’m not too eager to repeat.” 

Devon nodded along.  “No kidding.  Nicole, all the respect in the world for being able to fight her as long as you did.  I just hope you’re not about to have a repeat of your accident?” 

“Not as long as I can get back to the ship in short order,” Nicole confirmed only to wince as the Source within sparked for a moment.  “Which should probably happen pretty soon.” 

“Did you have to jump in like that?” Grace said, her voice soft yet hard.  “I was keeping up with her, I could have managed what we did without you putting yourself in harm’s way…” 

“You were both holding back,” Nicole said.  She had to be careful, especially with how both of their emotions were still riding the rush of the battle.  “I’m sorry I went off script like that, but I remember how she moved when I overtook her, and she wasn’t even close to that level yet.  Even when we both came at her, she never quite reached her full speed until the retreat.” 

“You think she would have sprung that on me,” Grace said in challenge. 

“I know it,” Nicole said.  “She wanted to hurt us.  Generals don’t deploy without reason, and something tells me she knew about Maraline joining us.” 

“Oh yeah, she definitely asked about that while kicking our asses,” Kayla said.  “Didn’t give her an answer, but I think it was rhetorical.” 

Grace’s shoulders were set and she was prepared for the argument to escalate.  Nicole knew that if she dropped her morph, she would have tears streaking down her face from how raw everything was.  She didn’t want to fight her girlfriend, not over something done to protect her.

Red energy shattered, falling in a cascade to the ground as Grace stood, tears cascaded her face despite the anger still visible in her expression.  Her shoulders trembled but she stood firm otherwise. 

Nicole moved forward with slow and deliberate movements, knowing full well that her current morph was strong enough to snap Grace like a twig.  She pulled her girlfriend into a gentle hug, a hand on the back of her head as she leaned into the embrace. 

“I’d drop the morph, but I don’t think you want to see me like that again so soon,” Nicole whispered before pulling back and speaking a bit louder.  “Now come on, let’s get our friends to the ship and make the introductions, then we can have a much needed talk in private.”

Grace nodded against her, then pulled back.  She flashed a weak smile, one so fragile that the slightest of breezes might break it.  “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” 

“So, how does this work?” Kayla asked, her voice far too chipper to be anything other than an attempt to brighten the dark mood that had settled over them.  “Do we call someone to beam us up or are there weird water portals involved?”

“Aww, leaving so soon?” 

“Oh daughter of a bastard!” Nicole snapped, turning to face the new arrival.  “The fuck do you want this time, Anita?” 

The woman gripped her chest as if she were wounded.  Anita stood atop a pile of rubble that was once a building, looking down on them with that insufferable smirk on her face that was visible despite the low light of the overcast night. 

“Well, I was on my way to help with the whole crazed Sylan murderer thing, but it seemed like you both had it well in hand, so I’m here for the aftermath!” 

“Well, you’re about as late as an Alabama period after the family reunion,” Grace said, her voice completely flat. 

Nicole did a double take, then had to bite back her reaction.  Anita didn’t bother, laughing openly at the rather unexpected joke.  Okay, shit as the situation was, that was pretty funny.

“Damn, wasn’t expecting that from you,” Kayla said.  “Not wrong though, just what the hell kept you?” 

Anita shrugged.  “Well, I would have arrived sooner, but someone kicked my ass earlier and took down all my assistants.”

“A shame, truly,” Nicole said. 

Jeff laughed.  “Maybe that will teach you to not bring down the roof.” 

“I’m a party animal, it’s in my nature.” 

Nicole stepped forward, daggers still in hand.  “Well, the party is over.  Need me to call you a ride?  I unfortunately left my phone…”  Nicole paused, her face shifting into a frown.  “Actually, where the hell even is my phone?” 

“It was in the bag Sarah grabbed,” Grace said, pinching her nose.  “Probably dead as can be after everything.” 

“Yeah, Source energy is a bitch like that,” Anita said.  “It took us ages to figure out a fucking pager that would survive a morph.” 

Nicole snorted.  “Shouldn’t have shut Becca out.  She could have figured that out in no time.” 

“She served her purpose,” Anita said.  “I did warn them that excluding her like that would basically end our agreement, but the reward was worth the risk.” 

“You mean your machine Rangers?” Devon demanded, his fists held tight and trembling.  “You used us…  Was that all we were to you, tools to discard when inconvenient?  I trusted you!” 

“And that was adorable.”  Anita held up her hand, inspecting a few nails.  “You were such fun to manipulate.  Wanna go at me one last time?  Break up sex is usually pretty steamy.” 

Devon screamed, but Jeff held him back before he could rush forward.

“Ah, I really should have gotten you that leash and collar,” Anita said with a fond sigh.  “It’s a pity, but you know how these things go.” 

Kayla’s staff impacted the ground, sending a mess of vines toward the Sinclair Ranger.  Anita sidestepped the lackluster strike, Kayla’s fatigue clear to anyone that knew the woman.  Nicole was having flashbacks to their first real mutant battle outside Avant Garden, and how the entire team was basically on their last leg.

Only now a new fight loomed ahead of them.  

“Ah ah, none of that,” Anita said.  “I really don’t want to fight you all, but I was sent here with a task in mind.” 

“Is that why you waited to step in?” Grace demanded.

“Oh I absolutely was going to jump in if you needed help with the Sylan bitch, but hey, she ran away without my having to break a nail!”

“Funny,” Kayla said.  “I’m pretty sure that a few of us chipped more than just a nail holding her off.” 

Anita bowed low.  “And I thank you for your sacrifice.” 

Kayla flipped her off. 

“Come on,” Grace said, turning to leave.  “We don’t need to be giving this bitch our time.” 

“Oh, you wound me, but I think time is what you need most,” Anita said with a devious smirk that sent chills down Nicole’s spine.  “See, my evening plans were just canceled, so why not invite me back to your place to catch up?” 

“After what you pulled barely two hours ago?” Jeff snapped.  “No, you blew your chances, right everyone?” 

“Yup,” Nicole said tersely.  The energy within was starting to fray.  Nicole knew she needed to get back to the ship, but showing weakness to Anita wouldn’t do them any favors.  The enemy of my enemy only stretched so far, and Nicole liked to think it was reasonable to draw the line at dropping flashbangs at their feet.  “We’re going in circles now, so I think we should all bail.  Thanks for the chat, now kindly fuck off.” 

Nicole turned and started to walk off, Grace joining her a half step later. 

“Wait.” 

It was with a heavy reluctance that Nicole halted, barely managing to keep the inferno within from flickering out of her control.  Anita’s posture had shifted and all the arrogance was now gone, but something about that was setting Nicole on edge.  

“We’ve got a common enemy, so I figure I should ask just to be able to say I tried,” Anita…  No, that was Maria speaking, it had been some time since she showed herself to their team.  “Yeah, my other half kinda screwed the pooch here, but the Sylan are the priority.  I’d be perfectly happy to put it all in the past, water under the bridge, and make sure that all the charges are dropped.” 

“And what do we have to give you to get all that?” Nicole demanded.  “No way in hell you give up all your leverage in blind faith.” 

“Of course not,” Maria said.  “Obviously we won’t ask for Becca to continue working with us, that ship is sunk.  No, I want access for myself and Kelly to the Sylan ship, along with custody of that war criminal you’re harboring within.” 

“Not a chance in hell,” Grace snarled.  “I may not like the bitch, but she’s shown herself to be more trustworthy than you.” 

Maria mimed taking an arrow to the chest.  “Low blow.” 

Oh, Anita was back out front. 

“But not an unfair one,” Jeff said.  “Hell, I only met her for a few minutes before you lit everything on fire, so I can’t say much there, but that girl was spooked as shit when I saw her.” 

“Still an enemy,” Anita said smoothly.  “We can’t exactly allow her to be free, even if she did defect as she claimed.  Turning herself in would do a lot to win some very powerful people over.” 

“Tough shit,” Nicole said, steel in her voice.  “I don’t give a damn about any of that.  We gave you a chance before, and look where that got us.  You burned all of your good will the moment that grenade dropped.” 

“Then I suppose you won’t mind if I do it again?” Maria asked, then snapped a finger.

Nicole braced for a blast that never came.  Instead, a colorful helmet poked over the pile of rubble, then another, then a dozen.  Nicole brought her fists up and Grace flashed red once again, bringing their backs together.  Their teammates formed up similarly, not that they were in any shape to continue the battle.  Dozens of multi-colored Rangers stood arrayed against them, and robotic knock offs or not, they would be in for one hell of a fight. 

“Those are some lovely readings we’re getting off of you,” Anita continued, raising her hand as she clenched a fist.  Yellow light engulfed her, leaving a Ranger in her place.  “It would be a shame if you needed to be syphoned again due to an overdraw.” 

The Yellow Ranger brought her arm down with a sharp chop and the army of prismatic Rangers descended upon them.