The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 13 - Sowing Chaos

The machines all turned their focus on the flash of light that spanned the visible spectrum.  The power swelled within, and Nicole relished the feeling.  She couldn’t help but smile as she turned all her frustrations upon an acceptable target.  None of the machines moved to break away from the group, they were there solely to counter the Rangers at the behest of the woman who had once helped put her back together after one of her worst breakdowns. 

“Keep them contained,” Devon said, stepping forward.  “I’ll keep them from advancing further.” 

Nicole rolled her eyes, not that anyone could see it and punched Grace’s shoulder.  “Let’s wreck their shit.” 

“It’s certainly a better plan than homework,” Grace said, chuckling. 

Nicole grinned, and started forward at a steady pace, a sureness to her steps that she only had on the gymnastics mat.  An automaton lunged for her, blade coming down.  She sidestepped, pushing the limb out of the way and struck with an open palm.  The machine dented under her blow and flew back, the others neatly stepping aside to dodge the new pile of scrap. 

Grace crashed into their formation shoulder first, bowling them over.  In the distance vines shot through the massed machines, shredding them.  No sooner than they had contained the group, another flash of light signaled the arrival of more machines just up the walkway.  They split, some coming to reinforce those battling the Rangers, but others moved to attack the town. 

People screamed in the distance, and she could hear the telltale snap of gunshots. 

“Silver, handle these bastards,” Grace yelled.  “Black, let’s go show them why we’re the real threat!” 

Nicole nodded, punching one machine before spinning to drive her elbow into another, then legged it through the opening.  She jumped, skipping the two dozen stairs, flipping as she did in a move she hadn’t done in months and landed atop the railing. 

“Showoff,” Grace said, taking the stairs six at a time.  The machines up top all paused, turning their focus from the civilians.  “That’s right, scrap for brains.  Come and get us!” 

The machines let off a warbling screech and surged forward, Nicole and Grace were quickly surrounded as they fought them back.  Further flashes of light around them signaled more arrivals, but she didn’t stop, summoning her daggers and cutting them down.  Grace had her axe out and was shredding them with each swing. 

Individually, the machines weren’t much of a threat, but they were swiftly growing in numbers, up from the initial dozen at a terrifying rate.  Nicole knew it was to wear them down, and already they had been forced to split up.  It was classic divide and conquer, and it was working. 

Police cars came to a screeching halt, officers stepping out and taking cover behind their vehicles.  They opened fire on the machines, to little effect.  Nicole almost jumped when one of those bullets impacted her shoulder.  She grabbed the nearest automaton and threw it towards the police. 

“Check your fucking fire!” she yelled, then hissed as a clawed limb scraped across her back.  It hurt, even though it hadn’t penetrated her suit, it had still dug into her flesh.  She spun, kicking the machine hard and loosed a flurry of small blades at it.  The machine fell, twitching and sparking as two more seemed to take its place.  “We’re going to get overrun at this rate.” 

“Welcome to being a Ranger,” Grace said, ripping her axe free.  “This isn’t like the old kiddie shows, we fail here, people will die!” 

Nicole knew that was true, and yet it was only now sinking in just how outmatched humanity truly was.  They were deploying these kinds of numbers on a whim, all for an attack that likely hadn’t been planned in advance.  An elbow strike to one machine, sidestep to avoid a strike, duck a blow, blade through the chest.  It was all she could do to keep her focus on the chaos around her. 

A weight crashed into her from behind, cold machine limbs wrapped around Nicole’s torso and the kinetic barrier sparked from the pressure.  Before she could throw the machine off another swiped at her with bladed limbs, sending heavy sparks arcing off of her with a heavy grunt of pain. 

The worst part was how it felt like she was getting beaten with heavy clubs, just along a fine edge.  Nicole grit her teeth, dropping her daggers so she could grab the machine off her back, and twisted, flipping it like the crack of a whip into another with a deafening crash.

Those same blades sparkled into motes of light, reforming in her hand as Nicole buried them to the hilt into the next machine.  Blades brushed against the suit, tracing lines across her suit, but none managed to cut into her.  She was off balance, looking up at another ready to carve into her, her breath hitched as she braced for the coming pain.

Grace severed the machine in twain with a guttural yell, moving to cover Nicole’s back.  “You good?” 

“You’re kidding, right,” Nicole asked, wishing she could spit the blood from her mouth.  She must have bitten her cheek at some point in the chaos.  Just for spite, she brought her foot down on one of the damaged machine’s head and crushed it like an empty soda can.  “There’s no end to them.” 

A spear ripped through another, Jeff dropping in a blur of purple as he swung around his spear, pulling it free and swiping across the hoard.  “Silver and Green are right behind me, they’ve been focused on reinforcing those attacking you two.” 

That was good, at least the others hadn’t been getting swarmed as badly as she and Grace had, but it was still a struggle to gain ground.  Vines arc’d into the sky momentarily, then speared down into the automatons and Devon pushed his way through, shield up like a battering ram. 

Shattering glass drew her attention, where several automatons were smashing their way into some storefronts.  One of which just happened to be Avant Garden.  Nicole growled, jumping over the masses of machines to land on the other side, running them down.  She pulled one from the window, hurling it back towards where the others were fighting, then tore into the others. 

Several had still made it into the store, one accosting Colin who was trying to shield Kendea.  Blades formed in Nicole’s hand and she hurled them towards the machine about to cut down Colin.  The blades burst, tearing through the machine.  Kendra took the opportunity to run towards the rear door, and for a moment she caught Colin’s eye as he ensured Kendra made it through. 

At least her best friend wouldn’t be losing her boyfriend because Nicole hadn’t been fast enough.  Nicole returned to the fray, continuing the fight in a haze of dull pain and shrieking metal that just wouldn’t fucking end.  

She cut yet another machine down, then blinked when another didn’t immediately take its place.  Nicole took the opportunity to step away from the fight, crossing the distance to the officers in a flash.  

“Establish a perimeter and keep them from wandering off to attack civilians,”  She looked back at the main battle, grimacing at how many remained.  “We’ll take care of them!” 

“G-got it,” a male officer said, his hands trembling.

She didn’t particularly care about his name, Nicole had delivered her message and was already rejoining the fray.  She hadn’t seen another flash of teleportation in some time, which she hoped meant that they had exhausted whatever the Sylan were willing to expend on the attack.  Either way, Nicole doubled down, pushing herself harder.  She took hits, but brushed them off, pain was temporary after all and she had machines to dismantle. 

She wasn’t sure how long it took, but soon Jeff was tossing the last sparking and flailing machine off of his spear.  Nicole was nearly panting, her heart thundering in her chest as she bent over with her hands braced on her knees.  Fighting definitely wasn’t how she imagined it to be, but there was something to the rush that it brought with it. 

“Everyone alright?” Kayla asked. 

“I think my everything is bruised,” Jeff grumbled. 

Devon nodded.  “No kidding.  I don’t see myself getting out of bed for at least two days.” 

Nicole could agree with that sentiment.  At least no mutant had arrived during this battle, which was something she wasn’t even going to tempt Murphy with by voicing.  More importantly, she didn’t think any of the mechanical soldiers had managed to get their claws into civilians.

She looked up, finding Grace’s red helm.  She smiled, even if her friend couldn’t see it.  She’d been in danger, and her teammates had come to help, they’d fought together again, and won in a way that they could be proud of. 

A sharp clap startled her, and all five Rangers’ attention snapped to the source of the sound.  A young girl was standing back behind the police line, clapping.  Others were stepping out of nearby shops, and joining in, and soon they had a small crowd cheering for them.  Colin and Kayla were among them, the jubilation picking up by the second.  Nicole looked on, dumbstruck. 

People were cheering for her.  Even when she was doing gymnastics, the only ones to do that were her parents, and her two friends.  Now, she had an entire crowd, not just clapping politely, but actively cheering!  Her eyes burned as she took it all in, and a firm hand fell on her shoulder.  Grace stood beside her, visor looking back and she could just barely make out her face underneath.  She nodded, then turned back to the crowd, waving as she did. 

Nicole decided she could unpack those feelings later, and followed her friend’s example. 

*** 

“Ow, fuck,” Nicole said, opening the door to her dorm. 

Beside her, Grace helped prop her up as they stumbled inside.  “I don’t think I’m going to be able to get back to my dorm tonight.  I’m fucking exhausted.” 

There was no disputing that.  Nicole felt like she’d been thrown down a mountainside and into a blender.  If Grace felt even half as bad, she wouldn’t want to go any further than absolutely necessary.  Nicole glanced across the darkened apartment, glad that it seemed to be empty. 

“Totally getting Chinese delivered, no way I’m up to even microwaving something.” 

“Sounds good,” Grace said softly.  “I need a shower, but fuck that noise right now.” 

Chuckling, Nicole helped Grace to the couch, not that she wasn’t being helped just as much.  They flopped down with heavy, and pained, grunts.  Nicole knew right then and there she wasn’t getting back up that night, even for takeout.  She wasn’t about to voice that, however.  Instead, she fished her phone from her pocket and placed it on the wireless charger that Becca had bought for them and grabbed the remote, turning it to the news. 

Sure enough, all the local coverage was about the Rangers making another appearance.  What surprised Nicole most was that they had considerable footage this time, at least compared to what happened at the Renfaire.  Most of it was shaky cell footage, but there was some store security stuff mixed in as well. 

“I dashed us some Chinese,” Grace said after a moment. 

Nicole blinked, looking at her friend.  “Your phone didn’t get drained by the morph?” 

Grace chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.  “Left it in my car.  I figured yours would be dead if you had to morph, so I didn’t want to take that chance.” 

Nicole grinned, leaning against her friend as a bit of tension bled out of her.  “At least someone on the team has some brain cells.  I went off on my own and allowed Queen Bitch General of the Scourge there to find me.” 

A loud snort rumbled through Grace, but Nicole didn’t have the energy to react.  

“I’m assuming that’s a reference I’m not getting?” 

“Nah, just pissed that she pretended to be my friend,” Nicole said softly.  “I don’t have many of those, and she caught me at a particularly low point before the attack.” 

“What about today?” Grace asked. 

Nicole thought back to seeing her across the street, and the conversation that followed.  “If I didn’t know better, I would almost think that she was checking up on me.  As if she was actually concerned.” 

Grace sat up a bit straighter, jostling Nicole from her comfortable position.  “Is it possible that she actually did care?” 

“Not a chance in hell,” Nicole spat.  “She claimed to have been engineered to lead the forces on Earth, yet she had enough volition to come check on me.  She has enough free will to walk away if she wanted to, so fuck her.” 

“Just because someone can leave doesn’t mean they are able to,” Grace said at almost a whisper, reaching her arm around Nicole’s shoulder and squeezing gently.  “Until we know her circumstances, what hold they have on her, I don’t think we should discount her just yet…  I mean, no civilians were hurt, and she didn’t turn a mutant loose either.” 

That was true, and did seem out of the ordinary.  Why waste hundreds of their drones on an attack like that?  Had Maraline intentionally limited the attack just to spare them the worst of it.  Shit, if that was a limited attack, what hope did they have if things got truly serious?  That was a sobering thought, and one she was far too tired to entertain at the moment. 

Instead, she just let those thoughts flee, falling into a comfortable doze.  A moment later someone dared disturb her from her slumber.  She grumbled petulantly, even as her warm cuddle source pulled away. 

“Nicole, food’s here,” Grace said.  She just grunted in reply.  “Fine, fine, I’ll get the food, you nap a bit more you adorable menace.” 

She hummed in response, then the words registered and her brain was practically burning as the words registered.

Someone had called her adorable? 

She must have dreamed it, because nobody was there.  Instead, she stretched, every joint cracking as she did, her muscles protesting with a dull ache.  Just how long had she been out, because she should be in far more pain that she was given how she felt earlier.  Vaguely, she wondered why she felt like someone was missing. 

Becca was at Colin’s, but that had been for days now, so who… 

“Who the hell are you?” Someone said from the doorway.  Nicole sat up, that voice was familiar, as was the sound of panic coming from the other woman.  Nicole jumped up to her feet as Grace was at the door with her hands up, taking a step back.  Becca didn’t waste a moment, stepping forward and into Grace’s personal space.   “No seriously, who the fuck are you?  I swear, if you hurt Nicole I’ll—” 

“Becca!” Nicole said, sliding between the two girls.  

Rebecca blinked, looking Nicole over quickly, then her eyes settled back on Grace, and a damn smirk came to her lips.  “Well, looks like I wasn’t the only one getting a bit of private time with a special someone.” 

“That isn’t—” Grace tried, but Nicole held up her hand. 

“Becca, this is my friend Grace.  Grace, meet Becca, my obnoxious best friend and roommate.” 

Grace chuckled nervously, offering her hand.  “I’d say it was a pleasure, but this is hardly the right foot for that.” 

Becca glanced down, and hesitantly accepted it.  “You hurt my friend and I’ll kill you.” 

Grace blinked, and Nicole had to snort.  Rebecca was protective to a fault when it came to those in her circle, and disappointing her was near the top of Nicole’s list for why she hadn’t cashed out of the game of life just yet.  She’d disappointed enough people as it was, and didn’t want to hurt her as well. 

“Noted,” Grace said.  “Now, this might be crass, but would you happen to be our dasher?” 

Becca rolled her eyes, stepping back out into the hall before retrieving a bag.  “Got it right here, and you’re lucky you tipped so well, otherwise I might have doubled back for Colin’s shotgun before delivering this.” 

Nicole shook her head, taking the bags from her.  “Since you’re here, care to join us?” 

“Nah, I don’t want to intrude,” Becca said with a mischievous glint in her eye, then they widened in concern.  “Wait, why are you both bruised to hell?  Shit, were you two in a fight or something?” 

Nicole and Grace shared a look, with her friend offering a shrug in answer.  She wanted to tell her best friend, she really did, but would that only serve to put her in more danger?  It was a real possibility, but at the same time, the support of someone who knew her secret would certainly help, especially if something came up during school hours… 

“About that…” Nicole said, stepping over to the kitchen island.  “Pull up a seat, this might take a minute.” 

Rebecca raised an eyebrow, glancing from the chair back to Nicole.  “If this is some weird sex thing, I don’t want to hear it.” 

Nicole’s face heated almost instantly to an inferno as Grace, the traitor, bellowed out a laugh.