Pendragoon

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 9 - Highrise

“Ah, good timing,” Carlos said as Nicole and Grace arrived.  The other firefighters goggled a bit at the sight of two Rangers.  “As you can see, we have two Rangers joining us.  Anyone who thinks they might have a hint at who these two are, lose them now.  Learning a Ranger’s identity can be dangerous, both for you and them.  As for why I know…” 

He brandished some strange device that looked a lot like a cell phone.  “Emergency Rescue!”  A flash of gold light followed and there stood one of the most well known Rangers in the country.  “I have some experience in that matter.  My identity is public, theirs is not.  Respect that.”  

He got a few nods in response. 

His uniform bore a passing resemblance to a firefighter’s coat, and the helm looked like it had a rebreather built into it.  She knew from her own helmet that it was all for show, her own rogue styling had no functionality, they just bore a resemblance to the outfit she was wearing at the time of her first morph.

“Alright, first up is a CPR refresher for the lot of you,” he said confidently before looking over his shoulder at Nicole and Grace, “and what is likely a first course for the newest Rangers in town.” 

Nicole nodded, she hadn’t done a CPR course since her first year of high school and honestly didn’t remember much of anything from it.  It hadn’t been much of a priority for her, given she was barely a teenager and was more focused on her gymnastic career until it crashed quite spectacularly when she messed up her shot at the nationals. 

It was almost ironic that she could probably dance circles around the Olympic level athletes now that she was a Ranger.  The regular staff of the station stepped up to a couple of dummies and started the usual compressions, followed by rescue breaths.  Nicole frowned as she watched, realizing the problem right away. 

“We aren’t going to be able to practice that part,” she said. 

Gold hummed, tapping a finger on his crossed arms.  “Stick around after, I’ll walk you both through it with helmets off.” 

That problem was solved, she still paid attention when it was her turn.  Chest compressions were done, gently, because she had the strength to punch through the dummy, and the concrete, while morphed.  Even with that, she still cleared the airway properly, but the actual breath portion was skipped for the moment. 

“Alright, next up is emergency first aid,” he declared.  “We’re going to watch a short video on common injuries, then practice bandaging them as well as applying pressure to GSWs and other traumatic injuries.  I’d say this class isn’t for the squeamish, but all of you will likely see worse if you make it a year into this career.” 

That he didn’t make an exception for the two of them went without saying.  She had already seen worse at the Renfaire, and there was no doubt more blood in her future no matter how good she proved herself to be.  Just the thought of it sent a shiver of revulsion and dread down her spine. 

The video itself wasn’t tame.  It would give kids nightmares, but she had indeed seen far worse.  A few of the locals even paled when one of the shotgun wounds were shown.  Nicole wished she hadn’t seen worse, but automata slicing a man down the middle was hard to top on the gore scale. 

Then, the scene shifted to just that, the aftermath of some attack in New York playing back with dozens of dead littering the ground.  People were moving through the mess of gore, checking each corpse but Nicole knew that they were dead. 

“That was likely a familiar sight to the Rangers, am I mistaken?” 

Nicole shook her head.  “Saw worse at the Renfaire.” 

“I thought as much.” He said with a nod before returning to the presentation.  “As firefighters, you likely won’t see death on that level, but there is a chance all the same.  Such is the world that we live in, and it is better to be prepared all the same.  You are the front line, fire response often beats the EMTs by minutes.  Police don’t get hands on unless there are no other options.  Corrections Officers have more in common with you than the police, so keep that in mind.” 

So much of the presentation wouldn’t apply to them, but she still paid attention, because it was knowledge that might prove valuable in the future.  Things wound down, questions were asked and answers given. 

“I won’t be answering any questions about being a Ranger,” he said after one particularly invasive question.  “I am an open Ranger, which is rare among us.  I doubt your own local Rangers will be so candid.  I didn’t have the luxury of coming into my powers somewhere off camera.  There were dozens of witnesses and too many cameras besides.  I never had the choice.” 

“I’m sorry,” Grace said, drawing eyes to her.  “I know what it’s like to have unwanted attention, though not to that scale.  I’m sorry you have to deal with that.” 

Nicole wondered what that was about, wishing she knew more about her newest friend.  They hadn’t talked nearly as much as she would have liked, and Nicole wanted to change that.  She didn’t have many people in her life, and if they were going to be Rangers together, then why not get to know her teammates before she lost her life in the line of duty? 

Gold turned back to address the firefighters when a shrill ringing sounded across the building.  “Don’t just stand there!  Gear up!”  There was a shared look among them before Gold began snapping off orders lightning quick.  After a moment, he turned, addressing Nicole and Grace.  “You feel like getting more hands-on experience?” 

Nicole almost replied, her excitement bubbling just below the surface, but she remembered she wasn’t alone and wasn’t just speaking for herself.  “Want to go be a hero?” 

Grace turned, and not for the first time Nicole found herself lamenting that the Ranger uniforms hid her friend’s face.  It was so hard to read people without facial expressions to go off of.  Still, she could imagine her friend watching her with eyes that were all too knowing. 

“Yeah,” Grace said, her helmet nodding.  “Let’s go!” 

Nicole turned back to Gold.  “Rangers lead the way.”

“Damn right we do,” he answered, then literal lights began flashing on his helmet.  Huh, she had thought those were just for show.  “I’ve got the address, let’s show them the meaning of haste.” 

Nicole grinned, because she sure as hell could appreciate a good reference.  Better yet, she could throw one right back at him. 

***

They ran ahead of the engine, smoke already billowing across the horizon.  She was easily blowing past traffic, the speed that her legs carried her defying explanation.  No human should be able to move like a Ranger could, further reinforcing the otherworldly nature of their abilities. 

Nobody actually knew the origin of Ranger powers, there was speculation that some conquered civilization had developed them and somehow followed the invaders to their next target to help seed a resistance, that was the leading theory.  There were other crackpot theories of course, like the Ranger abilities being from some multi-dimensional entity that was using human imagination and ingenuity to test something, but that came across as more cosmic horror than she wanted to entertain. 

Plus, she was fairly certain she read that book once. 

The fire was visible now, flames rising from downtown.  A skyscraper, at least four floors were ablaze, and it was spreading.  Her stomach sank when she saw the people in the windows, then her heart stopped when someone jumped.  She was forced to watch, her enhanced vision showing everything in startling clarity as the woman fell, her clothes smoldering with small flames burning.  Her hair was almost burned away completely, and her face was a splotchy red of burnt skin. 

She vanished behind a nearby building, but Nicole didn’t need to see it to know that she was dead.  Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself, pulling ahead of the Gold Ranger and jumped five stories in a single bound, landing atop one building in a roll before shifting to her shade state to pass through an AC unit.  Once she was back upright she changed back, keeping her momentum going as she ran forward, aiming for the building itself. 

She jumped, then shifted at the apex of her leap, and sailed the two remaining blocks and through the wall of the burning sky scraper.  Inside was a hellscape, cubicles all crumbling in the heat, office furniture melted into puddles.  The occasional body… 

It was sickening, but she had to press on, to save those she could.  She jumped straight up, phasing through the floor as she did, she passed all the way up to the first floor that wasn’t already burning.  People were still at their desks, working.  She couldn’t help but stop and just gawk.  Why weren’t these people trying to evacuate?  What about those that were escaping the flames below? 

Were the stairwells clear and these people just didn’t know the alarms were real? 

“Attention dumbasses!” she yelled, startling many of them.  “In case you weren’t aware.”  She pointed back to the windows behind her.  “The building is on fucking fire!  So get up before you turn to charcoal like the last three corpses I passed on my way here.” 

Okay, that was probably a bit much, but she had zero patience for whatever stupidity she was witnessing.  Worse, some middle management looking sleazeball was marching right up to her like she was the manager to his Karen.  

“Excuse me, you’re disrupting the company’s workflow,” he said in that tone that was meant to intimidate but was only ever successful if they actually had authority over you.  “I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the premises or I’ll be calling security to remove you.” 

Too bad she had to be heroic and couldn’t just throw him out the window. 

“Call them,” she said firmly.  “They’re probably a bit busy at the moment.” 

To prove a point, she summoned a dozen knives in her hands and flicked them to the window behind her blowing it out and a thick plume of black smoke blew in through the opening.  The manager paled rather quickly as he tried to maintain his imperious stare. 

He blinked first. 

She shoved him aside, uncaring that he fell on his ass, and marched over to the first row of desks. 

“The fires have reached the floor beneath your feet and are still spreading.  Check the emergency exits, follow your plans and MOVE YOUR FUCKING ASSES!” 

The office workers jumped and did as they were told, bolting towards the fire exits.  Nicole nodded, looking back at the simpering middle manager.  “Get the other floors moving before the fire spreads further.” 

She then phased herself, dropping through the floor.

The fire was spreading rapidly through the generic office spaces, and Nicole moved, searching for any people that might not have been able to get away from the advancing flames.  She made her way straight to the restrooms, phasing through the door as she did and found them devoid of flame, but filled with smoke.  She passed through the stalls, head on a swivel checking each room in a hurry. 

The floor plans were simple enough, keeping the plumbing centralized, she dropped to the next floor and repeated her search and found her first person.  He was unconscious but breathing so she moved him aside and finished the sweep.  He was the only one she found, so she slung him over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry and tried to think how best to get him out. 

She didn’t feel the flames, her suit protecting her from the worst of the blaze, but her charge wouldn’t last five seconds in that level of heat.  She needed a way to create an exit, and the only idea coming to mind was more than a little crazy, and would put others at risk. 

Time was her enemy here, and she couldn’t brainstorm every possibility, so she opted for the drastic.  She summoned one of her daggers, and cut through the inner wall.  It opened into the elevator shaft, which was free of flames, but quickly filling with smoke.  She adjusted her grip on him and hopped into the void. 

Nicole grabbed hold of the cable, the friction sending sparks as she used it to control her descent.  It didn’t take long to hit the bottom of the shaft, which was still halfway up the building.  At least from there she could find an exfil point that wasn’t engulfed in an inferno that would cook a man alive in mere seconds.

There was an emergency release for one of the doors nearby and soon she was moving through more cubicles towards the stairs.  She pushed into the stairwell and found it nearly packed with people moving to get out.  Those nearby froze at the sight of her, and she quickly realized there would be no getting out that way. 

Plan B.

She turned, running towards the window, and tossed more daggers, shattering the safety glass.  Nicole grit her teeth and jumped through, holding tight to her charge as she fell towards the street below.  Her feet hit the ground, the invisible field that protected her costume rippled from the impact as her legs flexed to bleed off as much of the force as they could. 

Asphalt splintered into spiderweb cracks from the impact, more than a few people jumped away from her arrival point.  She would have smiled sheepishly if things weren’t so dire at the moment.  

Grace arrived in a blur of red, her form as imposing as ever.  “Ambulances are set up this way, Rogue.” 

“Got it, Corsair,” she answered, moving to follow.  “Is Gold there or is he coordinating elsewhere?” 

“He’s not far,” she said.  “How bad is it up there?” 

Nicole glanced back up at the blaze, which was starting to get some water on it now that the trucks were in place.  “The floors on fire are cleared, a few bodies, unfortunately.  This guy wasn’t far behind them.”

They stopped at one of the ambulances and she handed him over to the paramedics who got him laid out.  Nodding, she stepped away, looking for the bright gold that would signify the man that no doubt had taken charge of the scene.  She found him a moment later, gesturing along with a bunch of others in fancy uniforms. 

“That maneuver was insane,” Grace said, elbowing her gently.  “Looked cool as fuck too.” 

Nicole’s cheeks heated as she actually thought about what she had done.  It probably did look pretty damn cool now that she thought about it.  Maybe she could catch it on the evening news once everything was done.

“Flatterer,” Nicole said with a grin. 

Grace shrugged, following along.  “Only speaking the truth.” 

She did nothing to prevent the smile that brought, not that anyone else could see it.  Still, she could bask in the praise of her teammate later.  There was still work to do, and she was determined to do everything in her power to do what she could to save as many people as possible.

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 8 - Department

Nicole frowned down at her homework, trying to work through the workload her professors thought was acceptable for a week of downtime due to the attack.  It wasn’t an unreasonable amount for self study, but some people were grieving, or traumatized.  She didn’t get a pass just because she was there, neither did Grace for that matter. 

The thing was, after going out and rescuing people from the fires, Nicole was more than a little antsy.  She wanted to get out there, but she had no idea how to go about it without falling back on running around and hoping to stumble upon another blaze.  Maybe she could go to one of the stations, but that would inevitably result in her being outed as a Ranger to somebody. 

She wasn’t ready to make that leap just yet.  She wasn’t even ready to tell Rebecca, and that girl may as well have been her sister.  That thought didn’t sit well with her, but there were a few outed Ranger teams out in the world and it never ended well for them, at least in her opinion.  She didn’t need that sort of attention or spotlight on her life. 

Maybe she could go down to one of the stations anyway, ask around about classes she could take for first aid and emergency care.  That could even open up a window for her to eventually start volunteering.  She took one more look at her homework, scoffed, and grabbed her things before heading out the door. 

Just as she hit the campus proper, she had a thought and a moment later Grace answered her text, offering to join her for a ‘spontaneous outing’.  She hadn’t talked to any of her fellow Rangers about the prior night, and surprisingly, it barely scored a passing mention on the news.  The fires got a two minute segment on the morning show, and a passing mention on a local news site, and exactly one picture of her had made it to the press.  Funny enough, it was her cradling the boy as she handed him back to his mother. 

She’d bought a paper just so she could pin the cutout on her wall, someday.  She’d wait until she finally got the nerve to tell Becca and Colin before making a display that either painted her as the Black Ranger, or as her creepiest fangirl in the city.

Then again, creepy fangirl was probably a good cover for her. 

It took a few minutes, but Grace was quick to come out to greet her, waving as she approached.  “Nicole!  Thanks for rescuing me from that boring ass essay.” 

“No problem,” she said with a shrug.  “Was going a bit stir crazy myself, especially after last night.” 

“Last night?” Grace asked, tilting her head in thought.  “What happened?  You okay?” 

Nicole blinked before she realized what she said sounded worse than it was.  “Oh, nothing bad, just went out for a late jog, ended up coming up on those apartment fires last night.” 

“Apartment fires?” 

Sighing, Nicole pulled out her phone and the bookmarked article and passed it to her friend.  “Yeah, ended up helping with the search and rescue.  They got a good picture of me with one of the kids I pulled out.” 

Grace scrolled the article, her eyes lighting up at one point, then she apparently reached the comments, and proceeded to burst out laughing.  “Oh my god, that is adorable.” 

Nicole snatched her phone back, only to see a new video.  She hit replay and was treated to one of the cats she’d pulled out, swatting her helmet. 

She didn’t even realize that someone was recording that. 

Nicole’s shoulders slumped as her head dropped.  “Great, knowing my luck that will go viral.” 

Chuckling, Grace patted her on the back.  “There’s worse things to go viral over.  Remember that one asshole in Texas?” 

Nicole grimaced, as it was a reminder that people didn’t become a Ranger because they were paragons of humanity.  No, even the phobic assholes sometimes got picked, then they couldn’t keep their mouth shut while in public.  It brought to question the voice that had claimed her to be worthy.  Had that man heard the same? 

Had Grace? 

She hadn’t talked with anyone about it, fearing that she had been alone in hearing a voice, so desperate for validation that she had imagined all of it.  Last night had been the first time she felt like she earned those words, and she was desperate for more of that feeling.  A sense of purpose that was fulfilling. 

“So, you mentioned plans?” Grace asked after a moment.  “I’ve got the afternoon free which means I’m all yours.” 

Nicole looked away to hide the warmth on her cheeks.  “Well, I wanted to look into what it takes to become a proper fire fighter.  I felt more from helping those people than I did from fighting the Sylans.  I felt more like what a Ranger should be.” 

“That’s some deep thoughts,” Grace said, thinking about it.  “Well, why the hell not?  You picked out a station to swing by to ask around?” 

“Yeah, mind giving me a lift?” Nicole asked. 

Chuckling, Grace waved for her to follow.  “Come on, we’re burning daylight.” 

Nicole followed her to the vehicle, hopping in the now much cleaner passenger side.  It was funny, she was all but certain running would be faster, but would only invite more questions than answers if they both showed up on foot.  No, driving was unfortunately safer, even if she hated getting in a vehicle after the crash that had claimed her grandparents but spared her.

Grace put on some heavy metal, but kept the volume low as they pulled out onto the streets, her GPS already set for the destination.  It was a wonder the invaders hadn’t taken all the satellites out with their opening salvo.  They only hit military targets during the initial incursion, the first Ranger team being a group of National Guard in New York, defending Manhattan as the civilians retreated. 

That actually seemed to be a recurring pattern with emerging Ranger teams, helping to repel an attack in progress, and it fit their own experience.  Both she and Grace had been actively fighting to protect others when the Power chose them, for whatever that meant.  She only hoped she could earn that honor before she fell in the line of duty. 

One particularly upbeat metal song came on, the lyrics so outlandish that she couldn’t help but laugh.  Grace smiled, head moving with the beat and lips silently following along.  The enthusiasm was infectious between the pair and by the time the second chorus began, they were both animatedly singing along with the lyrics. 

Though she only knew a few of the words, it was freeing and fun.  The next song was no less infectious, though of a completely different style and band.  Their antics continued until they were pulling into the parking lot of the station, their windows rolled down and the music now blaring loudly enough that several of the fire fighters stopped to watch the pair as the music cut off and they got out of the car. 

Nicole was a bit disappointed that their fun had ended, but it wasn’t like she couldn’t just do so again once they concluded their business at the station.  Grace batted at her playfully, and she let herself stumble slightly rather than respond with a display of athletics that would draw far more attention than she wanted. 

She learned that lesson the hard way back in high school.  Turns out that people don’t care if you’re on the gymnastics team, showboating in the halls is frowned upon, even when someone trips you.  Pushing that frustrating thought aside, Nicole walked up to the approaching man.  He was fit and deeply tanned, wearing a tight fitting shirt with a department logo on the chest, he had a few tattoos, but none appeared to be distasteful.  His black hair was trimmed into a near military buzz, longer on top than the sides and he was clean shaven. 

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said, his voice deep and firm, with a hint of an accent that she couldn’t place.  “Is there anything we can help you with?” 

Grace snorted, though Nicole was a bit confused as to why.  “Cute leading line, but you’re barking up the wrong tree.” 

Rather than seem offended, his smile just grew wider.  “Good to know you won’t accost any of my innocent boys.  So, what brings you here?” 

Swallowing, Nicole knew she needed to take the lead.  “I was hoping to take a few classes on first aid and crisis response.” 

He nodded, though his expression dimmed slightly.  “All good skills to have.  You looking for the basics or something more expansive?” 

“Uh, can we start with the basics?” Nicole asked, her voice faltering a bit.  Dammit, she was a Ranger, she should be more confident!  “I’d like to eventually learn some more advanced stuff, but the basics work for now.” 

He nodded, his expression brightening once more.  “Great!  I take it your friend would like the same?” 

“She would,” Grace said, her voice amused.  “My friend here had a close experience recently, and wanted to be better prepared in the event something else happened in the future.  I had the afternoon free and this gives me an excuse to put off that essay my history professor wants done.” 

“Ah.  Well, you’ve lucked out then,” he said, gesturing back at the others.  “I’m actually visiting from out of state.  I’m a crisis trainer based out of New York, and given the recent involvement of a Ranger with search and rescue, I figured it was a good idea to get the locals trained on how to handle having the potential support.” 

Nicole very carefully kept her face neutral as she listened.  It hadn’t even been twenty four hours, and he was already off the plane and ready to teach the people that responded to the same fire she did? 

“Impressive turn around,” Grace said, her voice echoing Nicole’s own suspicion.  “Must have been quite the red-eye flight.” 

Nicole nodded, looking closer at his shirt, sure enough, it wasn’t for the local precinct like she assumed, but rather one of the New York ones.  More specifically, it was the same precinct known to hold the New York Rescue Rangers. 

The man grinned wider as he eyed them a bit more critically.  There was nothing lecherous about his gaze as it swept over them, even if he did linger on their shirts. 

“Bit of advice,” he said, his voice now much quieter.  “From one Ranger to another, dressing in your colors is more than a little on the nose.” 

“Called it,” Grace said.  “Though, you’re wrong about the colors.” 

That got a smile out of Nicole as well, even if she had just been outed as a Ranger.  “Yup.  I’m the local Black Ranger, she’s Red.” 

“It was the hair, wasn’t it?” Grace teased with a grin. 

“Ha!” he exclaimed, grinning wide now.  “Good show then, though still a bit too close.  I’d recommend you focus on clothes that are decidedly more neutral than the obvious in the future.  Now, want to fold in with the boys over there?  I wasn’t kidding that I was here to teach classes, and I was actually hoping to reach out to you the next time you showed up, so this works out splendidly.” 

Nicole and Grace shared a look and Grace shrugged.  Nodding, Nicole turned back to the out of state Ranger.  “Sure, our afternoon is free, though classes will be resuming soon.  The sooner we can get through things, the better.” 

“I can always work on more one-on-one stuff on your own time,” he said.  “For now, we have a quick CPR refresher lined up, some general emergency first response medical care, then we’ll get into more fire related stuff as the evening draws closer.” 

“Sounds good,” Nicole answered.  It seemed she was going to get exactly what she hoped for, and Nicole found herself looking forward to the lessons to come.  “When do we begin?”

“Right now,” he answered before pausing and offering out his hand.  “Oh, introductions, how rude of me.  Lieutenant Carlos Jimenez of the Bronx Precinct.  Better known as the Gold Rescue Ranger.” 

“Grace Evans, Red Ranger.” 

She reached out, shaking his hand as well.  “Nicole Hayes, Black Ranger.” 

He nodded.  “You’ll want to come up with a name for the team soon, before the media saddles you with one.  Or in your case, some company tries to sue you for infringement.  Trust me, sponsorship isn’t always worth it.” 

That warning brought Nicole up short.  Sure, they were fantasy themed, with clear inspirations and archetypes in their Ranger suits, but could some company really try to sue them over it?  Stupid question, of course they could, companies sued over stupid shit all the damn time. 

“Thanks for the advice,” Grace said, looking back towards the waiting firefighters.  “How do you want to introduce us?” 

He hummed, glancing back over his shoulder.  “They haven’t gotten the best look at you yet, so you could morph, but that is probably ill advised since you did just drive up on a car and all.” 

“They probably will figure it out anyway,” Nicole said with a grimace.  “You as well for that matter, so maybe we should just own it?” 

Grace blinked, biting her lip as she looked back at her car.  “Okay, just hand me your phone so it doesn’t get drained again, we can leave them in the car, and I can park it somewhere a few blocks away.” 

“Good precaution,” Carlos said with a toothy grin.  “Alright, you take care of that, I’ll keep them distracted, and you can join when ready.” 

He turned and started walking with purpose, his voice picking up as he did.  Nicole turned to face Grace.  “You alright with this?”

“Not entirely,” she admitted.  “Still probably the best option so people don’t ask too many questions.” 

“Unfortunately,” Nicole said.  “I should have thought this through a bit more.” 

Grace shrugged, getting back in the driver’s side as Nicole took her own seat once more.  “I don’t think either of us expected them to send an actual Ranger like this, or at least not so soon after our debut.” 

“All of the above,” Nicole said, setting her phone to airplane mode before stashing it in the glove box.  “At least we won’t have to pretend to just be limited to normal human perimeters.” 

“That is one advantage to all this cloak and dagger stuff,” Grace said, then she smirked.  “Which should suit you just fine, miss Rogue.” 

“Says the Corsair,” Nicole shot back with a smirk.  “Maybe we should refer to each other by our supposed classes rather than color while we’re in uniform.  Might keep things clearer.” 

“Not a bad idea,” Grace said.  She drove for less than five minutes before pulling into a parking lot near a small park.  “This should be good.” 

Nicole didn’t see any reason to disagree, so she hopped out of the car, stretching as she did.  She barely caught Grace watching her out of the corner of her eye.  Oh, her shirt had ridden up, showing off her overdeveloped abs.  She hurriedly straightened back out, tugging her shirt down in the process.  She hated just how masculine she still looked, and despite her efforts to not work out, it seemed the Ranger powers were content to push her to some twisted ideal. 

“Well,” Nicole said, eager to change the subject.  The park was deserted, so she figured it was safe enough.  “Roll the Dice.”

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 7 - Fire

Adrift. 

That was a good word for how Nicole felt ever since her parents were killed.  She couldn’t even claim a desire for vengeance, despite being killed during an incursion, it had been human hands that ended their lives.  The Sylan were just the excuse that the real monsters used to justify their crimes. 

Despite becoming a Ranger, that had done little to give Nicole a reason to continue.  All it really did was give her a reason to bow out in an honorable way.  Dying in the line of duty had a good ring to it, just another dead Ranger in the grand scheme.  She wouldn’t even be the first Ranger to fall in the line of duty. 

She had a feeling she wouldn’t be the last either. 

The automatons were lethal, there was no doubt about that, but those had yet to kill a Ranger.  It was the mutants that often came with them that posed the real danger, and her team had it easy so far.  The creature they had fought wasn’t particularly strong, and went down to some basic teamwork that was put together on the fly. 

She already dreaded the next attack and the escalation it would no doubt bring.  There were a bunch of theories on the net about why the Sylans chose their targets, it wasn’t like the invaders were some force of nature from another dimension, or mindless monsters.  They were spacefaring, which meant they had to be intelligent. 

The Rangers were a roadblock to blind conquest, if that first team hadn’t emerged and drew the invader’s ire, the world would have been lost.  Now she was a part of that ongoing war.  

So, she found herself wandering the streets late at night, just trying to get some fresh air and wear herself out enough to actually get some sleep that wasn’t drug induced.  She’d sworn off all sleep aids, and for good reason.  Absently, her fingers brushed the semicolon tattoo on her wrist, then she broke out into a jog. 

Running had always felt freeing, the world passing by her in a blur, but something had changed when she became a Ranger.  Her feet were lighter, her muscles practically charged with raw power, and she almost flew down the sidewalk.  Thankfully there weren’t many on the streets to witness her bout of superhuman footwork.

It almost made her itch to get back onto the gymnastic mats and see what she could do now.  Not that she would, there were too many memories associated with her former hobby.  She willed herself to move faster, and she did.  Blocks blurred as she ran, following the curving path of the Mississippi.

There were almost no stars in the night sky, the city lights drowning out the sight of the Milky Way.  There was one star that stood out, always hanging near the moon in the sky, and sometimes it was even visible during the day.  The Sylan mothership, the source of the invasion forces that she was now charged with fighting. 

She wasn’t sure how long she had been running, or even quite where she was, the sign said she was still on Mississippi Blvd, but that road ran an almost absurdly long distance.  She couldn’t remember passing the dam, but given her current speed, she might just have.  That she was back into the residential areas meant she probably was well beyond it and nearing the end of the road, something she had never managed on any other attempt. 

She emerged from the treeline, wondering how long until she would turn around and head back towards the college when a massive plume of smoke engulfed the night sky ahead of her.  It wasn’t close, not for a normal person on foot, but she wasn’t normal now was she?  She pressed both buttons on her watch and was engulfed in a flash of not-light and suddenly her former speed was as if she had been standing still. 

She must have crossed a mile in mere moments and soon she stood just outside of the Riverside Apartments, two of which were currently ablaze.  Fire crews were just arriving, and it seemed they weren’t the only thing on fire either, a warehouse just behind them was also ablaze, and the source of most of the smoke. 

Her first instinct was to clear the way for the professionals, but she wasn’t a bystander, she was a fucking Ranger.  Gritting her teeth in determination, Nicole hurried over to one of the firefighters that seemed to be directing things. 

“Where do you need me?” she demanded. 

The man blinked, be it in surprise or disbelief she wasn’t sure. 

“Uh, we haven’t cleared either building, but some people have evacuated, try asking them if there’s still people inside, I imagine your suit is a bit more protective than ours.” 

She nodded, not wanting to waste more time on small talk and hurried over to where people had congregated in the parking lot away from the emergency vehicles.  One person was being held back, screaming hysterically. 

“My son is missing!” she screamed. 

Nicole froze for a single beat of her heart, a chill running down her spine at the visceral terror those words held.  That woman was about to lose her entire world, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.  Well, she certainly could do something. 

“Which apartment?” she asked, projecting her voice as she did. 

The woman turned, tears streaking down her face as she practically threw those holding her back off of her and lunged right at Nicole, gripping her frantically.  She practically screeched the number, and wasn’t letting go.  Reaching for that feeling, she phased out of her grip, the woman looked about in confusion as Nicole vanished.  Not wanting to torture the frantic mother, Nicole only took a few steps back before turning visible once more. 

Then she was a blur, bursting through the indicated door only for a blast of flames to wash over her as the draft added an inordinate amount of fuel to the fire.  Not her smartest move, and now the entire living room was fully engulfed.  Right, find the kid first, worry about how to do this shit better later.

It wasn’t big, not by any stretch, and only three doors led off from the main living room and kitchen space.  The first was open, and led to a bathroom.  The tub was clear, so she phased through the wall, entering the next room without risking any draft from her high speed movement.  Okay, parent’s room based on everything she could see. 

Phasing once more, she crossed the hall and entered the kid’s room.  She immediately heard coughing coming from under the bed, which had small bits of flame catching on the blanket.  She slid down, falling prone even as flames licked at her suit, the heat barely registering to her.  The kid was there, having crawled under his bed for safety.  He must have woken up after the flames reached his room. 

“Hey kid,” she said, smiling before she realized he wouldn’t be able to see it.  “How about I get you out of here before the literal roof comes down on us?” 

He stared, wide eyed at Nicole, unmoving, not even breathing.  Then he grinned.  Sighing in relief that he hadn’t just croaked in front of her, she stood, grabbed the edge of the bed, and lifted it up.  It was so light, and she easily tossed it aside.  The kid was scooped up under her arm and she reached back, forming a handful of her throwing knives before using them to decimate the window. 

“Hang on,” she said, stepping forward and then she jumped, falling from the third floor window down to the walkway below.  People were still holding the mother back, so she reoriented the kid to sit on her shoulder and walked him over to the waiting group.  “He’s fine, maybe some smoke inhalation.  Make sure the EMTs get a look at him.” 

The mother barely heard her, clutching the boy tight as she sobbed incoherently.  One of the others that had been holding the woman back smiled at her, patting her shoulder.  She wanted to stay, but there were likely others in need of help, or pets still trapped that she might be able to help.  The firefighters now had water on the worst of the blaze and more trucks were arriving along with the first of the ambulances. 

She returned to where those in charge of the response seemed to be, and they had several suiting up with masks preparing.  They all took one look at her, then at each other before a different person stepped forward from before. 

“We have limited confirmation of who is and isn’t accounted for.  How able are you to perform recon in the worst of the blaze?” 

“Uh, honestly not sure,” she admitted.  “Still getting used to things and these powers didn’t exactly come with a manual.” 

He chuckled at the lame joke, which was sort of nice of him, she supposed.  “Well, no time like the present,” he said, then turned to the inferno.  “Start in there, and if it’s too much come back and let me know, I’ll shuffle people around to make due.” 

“You got it,” she said, returning her focus back to the blaze and phasing through the closest door.  It was time to do some good that wasn’t just breaking machines with her fists, and honestly, this almost felt more fulfilling in some way. 

***

Ever so carefully, Nicole eased the door open.  The temptation to just phase into her room certainly existed, but she didn’t want to chance someone on campus seeing her and doing the basic arithmetic that would follow.  Instead, she was sneaking back in like she was returning from a particularly embarrassing one night stand, which was far more innocuous when college students were involved. 

She probably saw others doing exactly that at least once a week.

Three more people, and twelve pets were pulled out of the fire after that first kid, and she thanked her lucky stars that she hadn’t been the one to pull out the first body, or the second.  An elderly couple that died in bed, seemingly sound asleep.  There was no way to know if they’d died of the smoke or if something else had ended their time on earth. 

It was sobering, to see so many normal people working to help others, see how powerless they were in the face of something beyond them.  Yet, they never gave up, didn’t stop until they were sure that everyone was accounted for.  People were tenacious like that, and she felt a bit of pride at being right there with them through all of it. 

Fighting fires wasn’t punching faceless machines, or repelling an invasion, but she’d enjoyed it.  It was something fulfilling, and a very different sort of thrill to what she got while she was out acting as a Ranger.  She wanted more of it.  Hell, maybe she could find someone to act as a contact with the fire department and get into more search and rescue work. 

No wonder the Fire Rescue Rangers always seemed so upbeat in interviews, they were always out there, they left the fights to the other teams, and instead focused on helping the people that needed them.  Maybe there was something to that, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to explore those things more. 

Maybe she could even bring Grace next time. 

The door carefully clicked shut, Nicole thought she was home free, then the lights all came on at once.  She turned, fists up, ready for whatever ambush was waiting for her within the walls of her own home.  She’d almost expected Maraline to be sitting on her couch, so the sight of Becca holding her phone with a scowl on her face was a welcome sight. 

For all of three seconds. 

Nicole swallowed, then tried to force a smile.  “Hey Becca, you’re up early.” 

“And you were out late,” she countered frostily as she stood up and walked over.  “Never mind that you smell like you’ve been smoking something unsavory.” 

Oh shit, she could smell the fire?  So much for the Ranger suit blocking that stuff from getting into her clothes, or something else was at fault there, because she waited till she was halfway back to drop the transformation. 

Then, Rebecca cracked, a muffled giggle-snort followed and she was then laughing.  “Oh shit, your face.  Seriously, you know I can’t smell shit since the plague, lighten up.” 

Some of the tension bled out of Nicole, but not all of it.  She knew Becca well enough to know that there was still another shoe to drop.  She crossed her arms, waiting for Becca to calm down.  It took longer than she would have liked. 

“You done?” Nicole asked once the laughing was settled back into snickering.  “It wasn’t that funny of a joke.” 

“No,” Rebecca said, pausing to take a breath, “it was funny because you looked like I just caught you in bed with a cute girl.  So, spill.” 

Nicole blinked, not having expected that.  Worse, her thoughts immediately turned to Grace’s smiling face and she felt heat creeping up her cheeks.  Nicole tried several times to give voice to her denial, but it came out choked, taking far more attempts than she would have liked and only served to damn her further before she finally got some words out.

“I just went for a jog, that’s all.” 

“To this mysterious girl’s dorm no doubt,” Rebecca teased.  “Seriously Nikki, lighten up.  I’m not one to chastise you for sneaking out to see someone.  Hell, I wasn’t even planning to stop by, but I needed a few things and got a bit worried when you weren’t here.  Usually you message me when you’re stepping out.” 

Nicole blushed, looking away.  “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to be in tonight, so I didn’t…” 

“Nikki, it’s okay,” Becca said.  “Like I said, I’m just giving you shit.  I don’t really care why you might have been out so long as it doesn’t result in our dorm getting wrecked.  Have fun, be safe about it, and all is well.” 

That only made her face burn, feeling the heat of the flames from before once again.  More so, she wanted to open up to Rebecca, tell her about being a Ranger and her new team.  The only thing that stopped her was the very real fear that it might out other members of her team if she did so. 

She wouldn’t ask her to keep secrets from Colin, she couldn’t do that to her best friend.  Messaging Grace would help, as would setting up another meetup at the diner, she kinda missed the place.  Cementing those plans, Nicole pulled Rebecca into a hug and buried her face in her shoulder to hide the rising heat on her face. 

“What did I do to deserve a friend like you?” 

A huff of air escaped Becca as she returned the hug.  “Dummy, you didn’t do a damn thing.  You’re worth it all on your own, no qualifiers necessary.” 

Nicole’s eyes burned as she tried to bury her face deeper, to hide the tears that she couldn’t stop.  If Rebecca was upset about the growing patch of moisture on her shirt, she didn’t give voice to those complaints, and for that Nicole was grateful.

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 6 - Practice

Nicole looked across the rolling fields of green and gold, a handful of butterflies flitting about in the afternoon light.  A nap had indeed been had, granted it was barely an hour, but she felt better than she had that night.  Grace once again picked her up, opting to carpool rather than take their own vehicles to the same place. 

They ate light, picking up some fast food on the way to the park.  They were the first to arrive, though the others filtered in not long after and soon they set off down the Monarch long trail until they found an appropriate field for their testing.  

“We’re gonna get covered in ticks,” Jeff said, eyeing the grass with a wary eye. 

Kayla laughed, the sound almost melodic as she pranced into the field.  “You really don’t get out much, do you?  This is great!” 

“Says the Druid,” Grace said, smiling as she shook her head.  “If you’re that worried, just morph first.” 

Jeff paused mid breath, clearly preparing for another rant that was abruptly cut off at its knees.  “Fair point.”  He looked over the watch on his wrist before pressing both buttons.  “So, I just say roll the dice?” 

A flash of purple followed and in his place stood the Purple Ranger with his Dragoon themed helm.  He looked at his gloves briefly and the sharp barbs protruding from them, almost in awe, then he stepped into the field without hesitation. 

“Pussy,” Kayla said with a smirk, then fell back into the grass with arms outstretched as if it were water.  “Great choice of location, I didn’t even know this existed.  I think I’m gonna start coming here more often.” 

“I’m glad you like it,” Devon said.  “I loved this place growing up and remembered the fields and thought it might work.” 

Nicole nodded along, looking across the field as she did.  It really was perfect for their needs, and the odds of someone spotting them depended on how occupied the trails were.  Still, as low as the likelihood of someone seeing them might be, it still wasn’t zero. 

“Roll the Dice,” Nicole said, a flash of black accompanying the surge of power that morphing brought with it.  “Shall we begin?” 

Grace grinned, pressing her own morpher before speaking the words and flashing red.  Her helm held the tricorne design of her old outfit and the waist flaps kept an impression of her old tailcoat.  “Let’s get to it!” 

She grinned, stepping off to the side of the others, facing Grace the whole way as she adopted the karate stance she vaguely remembered.  Nicole hadn’t practiced in nearly a decade, and barely advanced to green belt before dropping out.  She couldn’t remember if that was anything impressive, but she didn’t think so at least given brown and black were the highest. 

On the other hand, Grace had said she didn’t have any real fighting experience prior to becoming a Ranger, just that she knew how to swing an axe.  Nicole had a theory about Rangers, one she was about to test.  The others had morphed, and settled in to watch, all that was left was to kick it off. 

A wasp flitted past her helmet, and she was surprised at just what she could perceive of its flight.  Each wingbeat was in slow motion, her perception far beyond even her phone’s best slow motion function.  Taking a deep breath, Nicole pushed off, her foot digging deep into the soft earth then she was halfway to Grace in the time it took the wasp to flap its wings.

It was strange how the helmet was so unintrusive, she could see it, yet it didn’t intrude upon anything in her normal field of vision.  Grace wasn’t sitting idle, her arm coming up to block Nicole’s punch, which she allowed, flowing into a roundhouse that caught Grace right in her side and sent her tumbling.  Something sparked on impact, and Nicole realized that it was some sort of kinetic barrier. 

Shaking that realization off, she fell back into her stance, letting Grace try her hand at a distance closer.  It was strange how their enhanced strength and speed worked, something about it felt weird, like she was missing something.  She didn’t have time to dwell upon it as Grace crashed into her shoulder first, opting to use overwhelming brute force rather than finesse. 

Nicole found herself tumbling from the impact, each bounce carving through the dirt and rock of the field before she slammed into a tree and came to an abrupt stop.  She hadn’t felt a thing, just a dullness to each hit, along with that same sparking flicker of dispersed energy.  Blinking, she pulled herself free, fingers splintering the bark and wood under her enhanced grip. 

“You alright?” Grace yelled, her voice slightly distorted by the helmet. 

She decided to be cheeky, forming her energy blades in hand and flicked them towards her newest friend.  Grace yelped, dodging with a bit of a flail as she stumbled and fell on her ass.  Kayla laughed, she was morphed but had set her helmet aside as she watched.  She definitely fit the definition of a druid for as much as she seemed to enjoy nature. 

“Bitch!” Grace exclaimed, hopping back to her feet, then her axe was in hand and Nicole smiled for a moment, right up until Grace reared back and threw the damn thing right for her.  

Rather than dodge, Nicole stood firm and drew her own blades.  The axe was moving swiftly, but not so fast that she couldn’t follow it.  Nicole’s dagger caught the axe broadside, defecting it just enough to soar past her.  The impact sounded like a meteor impact behind her, but she didn’t flinch. 

Rangers didn’t look at explosions after all. 

Grace’s head tilted to the side while Jeff and Kayla cheered.  Nicole started to stalk forward, picking up speed with each step forward until she had fallen into a sprint.  Grace hadn’t moved from her spot and Nicole was just starting to wonder what she had planned when her hand snapped up, held open as if... 

Nicole’s eyes widened as she dove to the side, the massive axe sailing just past where she had been and landing firmly in Grace’s hand.  Nicole rolled back to her feet easily enough, and she couldn’t help but clap for the display. 

“Didn’t know it could do that,” Grace said, looking over her weapon.  “Think we should all try it?” 

“Sure,” Nicole said, hurling her daggers into the distance.  She focused on where they stuck themselves into the distant tree.  Rather than dislodging themselves, they vanished into motes of light and reappeared in her hands.  “That’s different.” 

“Oh, let me try,” Kayla said, her staff appearing in hand in a swirl of petals.  

It really was quite beautiful. 

Kayla hurled the staff skyward, and it quickly turned into a speck on the horizon, though Nicole could still see it in perfect clarity as if it was right in front of her.  That was probably the most disconcerting part of the whole becoming a Ranger thing, the enhanced senses.  She could hear the ants crawling at her feet, each flap of a butterfly’s wing, everything was sharp as hell when she morphed and it was proving to be quite disconcerting.  

Nicole was forced to admit that she was now a walking kungfu movie stereotype.  Soon, Jeff was throwing and recalling his spear while Devon was trying to figure out his own method of ranged attack.  Kayla then proceeded to summon her vines, shrug, and wove them into a hammock and took a seat on it with a gentle hum.

After several minutes of just tossing and recalling their weapons, and Nicole trying and failing to properly juggle her blades, Devon yelled in frustration as he stomped off to pick up his blade again. 

“Why won’t this work?” He yelled, lifting up the sword and waving it about.  “It works for all of you.” 

“Maybe you’re looking at it from the wrong angle,” Nicole said, stepping beside him.  “We seem to operate off of some weird fantasy logic, so maybe try a blade beam?” 

Devon scoffed.  “Like that would work.” 

“Maybe give it a try before dismissing what she says?” Grace snapped back before forcing herself to relax with visible effort.  “Seriously, just chill.  We’re all learning here, no need to lash out at your fellow Ranger for trying to help.” 

Rather than glare at Grace, he looked to his sword, his expression was hidden by his helmet just like all of them were.  Even Kayla had put hers back on while they practiced with hurled projectiles, even if it had taken a near miss to get the point across.  After a few minutes of nothing happening, Jeff and Kayla went back to playing with the recall ability of their weapons. 

Nicole was leaning against a tree, watching Devon closely when Grace stepped beside her. 

“You sure you aren’t just having him on right now?” Grace asked. 

Nicole shook her head.  “No.  I figure it’s something like my throwing knives, he just has to figure out the best way to channel it.” 

The area was peaceful, aside from the occasional flash of a thrown weapon, it was a stark contrast to the chaos that they had survived just a day ago.  They’d come out changed, with a power no person should reasonably have, but allowed them to protect and save others.  Nicole knew she wasn’t worthy of it, few people would be. 

They were all the city had, the only line of defense that would be able to protect the civilians from the Sylan invaders.  It was a bit of a joke, even if she was having fun trying out the new abilities she possessed as the Black Ranger. 

“We’re so far out of our element here,” Grace said, almost echoing her thoughts.  “Even if we train non-stop, will we be ready for the next attack?” 

“Probably not,” Nicole said softly.  “Worse, I expect the casualties to be higher next time.” 

Grace’s red helmet turned.  “How do you figure?” 

“Reading over past attacks,” Nicole said.  “Typically, places attacked without a Ranger presence use weaker machines.  When Rangers are selected and mount a defense, those weaker machines aren’t sent in anymore.  We’ll start seeing the upgraded models, but in smaller numbers, along with more things like that mutant scorpion.” 

Grace made a gagging sound.  “That thing looked horrific, with the oozing flesh and metal aesthetic.  You would think they looked at some horror films and ran with it just to unnerve us.” 

“They might have,” Nicole agreed.  “What do we actually know about the invaders?  We know we’re not the first, that the species that created the Ranger powers used them against the Sylan.” 

The vision she’d had of their losing battle against the invaders had been sobering.  It showed what they could bring to the field if push came to shove, and it made her wonder why they didn’t just flood the planet and take over.  There had to be a reason beyond not wanting the human race to retaliate with nukes. 

“Little to nothing,” Grace agreed.  “Our military did decently enough for the technology gap, but they held air supremacy before the first day was done.” 

“Then the Rangers came and the tactics changed with them,” Nicole mused. 

There had to be some significance to that, why the invaders were spooked by the return of the Rangers.  A flash of silver light drew her attention and Nicole found herself smiling.  Devon held the glowing sword high, then swung, an arc of energy shooting off across the field before felling several trees. 

“Nice,” Grace said, kicking off the tree and walking towards their fellow Ranger.  “Looks like we’ve all got a ranged option now.  That’s a good start.” 

“It sure is,” Devon agreed, swinging his sword again.  Another flash of silver shot off into the sky, disrupting a low cloud as it soared off.  “I’d say this was a rather successful training session.” 

Kayla snorted, then summoned her staff back as she hopped off her vines.  “Think we’ve got other tricks related to our forms?” 

“What, like Black over there going invisible?” Jeff asked, leaning on his spear. 

“Huh,” Nicole said softly, focusing on that power flowing through her.  Could she do something like that?  Invisibility stirred nothing within her mind, but the thought of shadows...  She stepped over to the woodline and into the shade of a large tree.  Immediately she felt different, almost comforted by the cover of darkness, weak as it was.  “Can everyone still see me?” 

“Duh?” Devon scoffed.  “Please don’t tell me that was a racist joke.” 

“Fuck no,” Nicole said, genuinely offended by the implication.  “It’s just, being in the shadows feels different to me, almost as if it’s where I belong.” 

“Oh, that’s how I felt when we stepped into the woods!” Kayla exclaimed.  “Maybe you’re onto something with that.” 

Kayla almost skipped out into the field, her staff in hand as she slammed it down, letting the vines flow freely.  Nothing seemed all that different from the first fight, at least at first, then she saw that the staff seemed to be taking root in the ground itself.  Nicole watched in fascination as the entire thing seemed to blossom in the setting sunlight. 

“Okay, as cool as this looks,” Jeff started to say, then those roots erupted from the earth and ensnared all four of them in a blink. 

Nicole yelped, falling back, and through the vines, her vision turning monochrome as she landed in the dirt.  Shit, what did she just do?  How did she even do it?  She’d been trapped, needed to get away, to fade back into the background where she would be ignored.  Was that it? 

Nicole hopped to her feet and skipped back, her movements still just as physical as ever despite being out of sync with the greater world.  The ground somehow didn’t count as something she could phase through, or maybe it was something else preventing her from falling into the earth itself. 

“Shit, where did Black go?” Devon asked. 

The others were free of the vines and looking around, Grace especially seemed a bit frantic.  Chuckling, Nicole started walking over to them, still out of sync with the rest of the world.  She felt a bit sluggish when the light touched her, as if she wasn’t even morphed, which was a fair trade off for being outside the tangible spectrum when shrouded in darkness. 

“Nicole!” her friend yelled, hands cupped around the mouth guard of her helmet.  “Shit, everyone, fan out.  She can’t be far.” 

Nicole chose that moment to unclench her hold on that power, and the world came back to color around her as she stepped into the light.  “Why’s everyone yelling?  I’m right here.” 

Grace spun quickly, jumping back as she did.  It was almost sad that they couldn’t see her cheeky smile, it was a really good trick and she was going to experiment with it as much as she could.  The others visibly relaxed, Devon’s shield dropping from a defensive stance, and Kayla’s vines calming in their agitation. 

“How did you?” Jeff asked, gesturing at the open field as he did. 

“Stealth field,” she answered.  “When the vines grabbed me, it clicked and I slipped right through as if they weren’t even there.” 

Grace stepped forward, holding up an open hand.  Nicole high fived her, then Grace punched her shoulder.  “Don’t scare us like that again.” 

“No promises,” Nicole answered coyly. 

“Hey!”  As one, all five of the Rangers turned to the source of the voice.  The man was wearing a tan cowboy hat and matching uniform.  He didn’t appear armed, but that didn’t mean much.  “You’re destroying protected forests, I’m going to have to...  Oh shit, you’re the new Rangers.” 

Looking around, they’d made a mess of the field, and some of the forest besides.  The sun was setting, the sky beginning to fall into the oranges of the late evening.  It was a good start, but she knew they would need to do more if they wanted to be ready.  Unfortunately, they had indeed made quite the mess of the area.

Kayla took the initiative, stepping forward.  “Sorry about that.  We needed somewhere away from people that wouldn’t be easily seen.”  She then slammed her staff back into the earth, and her vines spread out.  Flowers blossomed across the field.  “It’s not perfect, but I can at least ease the mark we leave behind us.” 

“Oh,” the man said.  “That...  I suppose that works, but you’re still out of line.” 

“Won’t happen again,” Jeff said, saluting. 

Grace nodded.  “Yup.  We’ll just be on our way.” 

With that, the five of them took off into a sprint, leaving the bewildered park officer in their wake. 

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 5 - Planning

Nicole’s French toast was a bit burnt, but that didn’t stop her from eating each and every bite of it as slowly as she could, all to avoid the looming conversation that she could tell Grace was just itching to dig into.  Still, she wasn’t an accomplished introvert for nothing, and if there was one thing she was good at, it was avoiding awkward conversations. 

“Still stalling?” Grace asked after a moment.  “You’ve been staring at your empty plate for five minutes now.” 

“I could stare for another twenty,” Nicole answered.  “You underestimate my powers of procrastination.” 

Grace sighed, sitting back in the bench seat.  “I’m not going to pretend to know what you’ve been through, we’ve only known each other for twelve hours after all.  What I can tell you is that burying stuff only makes it worse in the long run.” 

“What if I don’t expect there to be a long run?” Nicole muttered softly.  “We’re now soldiers in a war, one I don’t think we can win.” 

“Rangers hold the line,” Grace said softly. 

Nicole winced, the phrase having been the rallying cry of a failed stand against the machines.  The Ranger team were all killed, but they saved the lives of thousands in doing so.  That phrase had been immortalized as a result, as had the team that died fighting.  It was how she expected to die now that she had joined their ranks. 

“It’s a cheery thought, isn’t it?” Grace continued.  “Nobodies turned heroes, fighting for the fate of humanity to the bitter end.  I imagined being a Ranger so many times, yet I never actually expected…” 

“Me neither,” Nicole said.  “It’s just so damn hard to care about anything.  I don’t have any family, and prior to today, I had one friend in the entire world.  Everyone else was dead and gone and I couldn’t afford therapy without my parent’s insurance.” 

“And now you have purpose,” Grace finished for her.  Nicole smiled, but she knew she didn’t fake it well enough.  “Just know you aren’t alone in all of this.  We’ve got each other, and three other teammates besides.” 

“Need a top off?” Gertie asked, smiling. 

Nicole nodded, sliding her nearly empty cup to the edge of the table.  The TV was back onto local news, and footage of the Renaissance Faire was being shown, mostly cell footage from prior to the attack, and some that Nicole could tell was taken in prior years.  She nearly startled when Vegetable Justice came on screen and she saw herself.  More importantly, that otherworldly woman was there, clear as day. 

“Grace, TV, now,” she hissed. 

Grace turned, then grinned.  “Oh cool, you’re on TV.” 

“Oh, looks like I got myself a celebrity,” Gertie said.  “Hear that Sam?  We got a famous girl here.” 

“So what if she was on TV,” he grunted, turning the page on a magazine.  “Doesn’t do us any good.” 

“Spoilsport,” Gertie snapped back, the banter smooth and good natured.  She topped off Grace’s cup then retreated once more, giving them their vanneer of privacy. 

“What’s so special about that woman next to you?” Grace asked in a hushed tone the moment she could.  “Something about her looks…  Off.” 

“She knew the attack was coming,” Nicole said, her knuckles clenched white.  “I tried to warn security, but what could they actually do against those monsters?” 

“You think she was one of them?” Grace asked, glancing back to the screen which was now showing the pair of them fighting off the automatons together. 

“I don’t know,” Nicole said.  “It was so damn weird.  First she showed up out of the blue, then she pulled me out of a spiral and accompanied me until I was more or less functional again.  Then she told me to go home and vanished into thin air.” 

“Weird,” Grace said, crossing her arms as she sat back, her face scrunched adorably in concentration.  Nicole tried to not stare at her well toned arms.  “Think she might have been something related to your powers?” 

Nicole blinked.  She hadn’t even considered that as a possibility. 

“She was dressed in blue, but her look was decidedly goth and not quite human, then you end up the Black Ranger.  Maybe she was some apparition of whatever chooses someone to become a Ranger?” 

Was it really that simple?  The Ranger powers picking her ahead of time?  If that was the case, then it raised other questions about how those powers knew an attack was coming.  It was far too heavy subject matter for five a.m. and three hours of sleep. 

“Something to consider,” Nicole said, hoping to move to a less existentially terrifying topic.  “Think your wardrobe is going to get an infusion of red going forward?” 

Grace blinked for a moment, then snorted.  “Half my wardrobe is already red.  How about you?  All in on black?” 

“Same problem,” Nicole said, a soft smile coming to her face.  This was a much more comfortable line of thought.  “Poor Jeff, he’s gonna be wearing purple all the time.” 

“No worse than Devon,” Grace said.  “He’s gonna have to settle for heather gray.” 

“Or go full sixties sci-fi aluminum foil,” Nicole said, her smile morphing into a grin.  “I could see him being that dramatic.” 

Grace snorted, a touch of coffee shooting from her nose as she started coughing.  Nicole tried to stifle her laughter as she passed over a bundle of napkins.  Grace accepted it with one hand, flipping her off with the other.  A single moment of levity didn’t make things better, but it certainly helped. 

“You good,” Nicole asked, her voice sickly sweet. 

“Fuck you,” Grace said, trying to clear her throat. 

Nicole’s mouth worked before her brain.  “Maybe if you ask nicely.” 

Grace paused, clearing her throat as she looked away.  Nicole fought down the rising heat of embarrassment flooding her.  Why had she said that?  She never did something like that around someone she barely knew, especially not around someone she thought was cute.  She was trying exceptionally hard to not think about how attractive her fellow Ranger was.  Sure, Nicole thought she had flirted at the Badger Blades stall, but that was easily explained as her just being friendly. 

Nicole knew she was unattractive, being a gymnast had left her with a muscle heavy build, one that her fellow students hadn’t hesitated to make fun of her for.  She’d been called all kinds of names, but the favorites were always some flavor of transphobic comments.  She wasn’t even trans, but people still called her all sorts of shit all because she had the strength to compete on the state level. 

The others on her team didn’t push themselves, they wanted to stay petite.  Nicole decided to give the one thing she was good at a shot and it showed.  She wasn’t nearly as bulky as the girl that went onto the nationals, but she still had well defined muscles over most of her body. 

Grace had muscle too, but she wasn’t built like Nicole.  Her arms were toned, her shoulders had a bit of bulk as a result, but it was flattering.  Her choice of costume, with the huge ass axe, really brought together the look.  It worked for her in a way it just didn’t for Nicole. 

She’d slacked on her training since high school, she’d lost some of the bulk in the last few months, but it was still obvious.  It was why she usually wore bulky clothes.  Men’s shirts hid the muscle better than women’s most of the time, and sweatpants were just good overall.  Yet, she hadn’t worn any of that to see Grace.  She’d grabbed a pair of jeans that hugged her form, and one of her mom’s shirts that was cut for women. 

She’d noticed Grace staring at her muscles a few times during the meeting after the fight.    She’d tried to ignore it, to pass it off as idle curiosity.  The guys had been looking too, especially Devon.  He’d been watching the other two girls on the team rather closely.  Kayla seemed receptive of his attention at least.  Nicole wasn’t going to pry into the interests of her teammates, but she also knew that dating coworkers only led to drama. 

One Ranger team in Texas ended up fighting amongst themselves for a week over a love triangle gone sour. 

“I am curious, how do Ranger teams get from place to place,” Grace said after a moment, the change of subject obvious, yet welcomed.  Nicole had dwelt too much on her body issues as it was, nevermind her thoughts about her teammate.  “Like, we never see them driving in the streets, they just arrive within minutes of a new crisis.” 

“I suppose we’ll find out,” Nicole said.  “Maybe another Ranger will mentor us or something.” 

“They’d be going really out of their way if they do,” Nicole said, sipping her coffee.  The nearest teams were based in Chicago and St. Louis, either case would be quite the trek and would leave their cities under manned.  “If anyone was going to do it, it would probably be a New York Ranger since they have three active teams.” 

Outside, the sun was starting to illuminate the horizon, touches of orange and yellow piercing through the sky as it slowly lit up.  They’d been there for nearly four hours now, and even with the coffee, Nicole was starting to feel the exhaustion creep back in.  The bell on the door rang at that moment, and an older couple stepped inside. 

“We should probably go,” Grace said, pulling her wallet out.  Nicole watched as she walked up to the waitress, handing her a trio of twenties, and dropped an additional twenty in the cook’s tip jar.  The man saluted her with a spatula while the waitress hugged her.  Nicole resolved to make the little diner her new morning stop.  

“Think you’ll get any sleep?” Nicole asked as they got back into the car.  A second car was now pulling into the lot and she knew they’d made the right decision.  The waitstaff hadn’t pried, but there were no guarantees that one of the patrons wouldn’t listen in on them. 

“I’ll probably catch a nap this afternoon,” Grace said.  “My roomie decided to go home, so I have the dorm to myself at the moment.” 

Nicole nodded, Rebecca would likely go spend time with her boyfriend, taking advantage of the break from classes.  Nicole didn’t want to be alone, but until Becca decided to tell her she was ducking out, she didn’t want to leave her alone either. 

“You’re welcome to swing by my dorm at any time,” Nicole said.  “I don’t know what my roomie’s plans are yet, but odds are she’ll duck out too.” 

Grace paused, her key in the ignition.  “You sure?” 

Nicole nodded.  “Yeah, we should probably know where each other live.” 

“You mean the team, right?” Grace asked, the car pulling onto the street.  “We never know when the next attack might occur, best to be safe and all.” 

“I was more so thinking about other potential issues,” Nicole said softly.  “Between the government, and criminals, the last thing we want is to be caught in a situation where we are forced to reveal ourselves.” 

“A mugging would be a shitty way to be revealed as a Ranger,” Grace agreed.  “Oh fuck, all my weird fantasies about odd situations are gonna involve morphing now.” 

Nicole chuckled.  “Oh good, at least I won’t be the only one.” 

She’d often imagined what she might do if she was a Ranger, how she could stop someone trying to attack her or Becca with ease.  Now that it was reality she just felt silly.  That initial transformation had done something, not that she could put a finger on it, but something about her was different, and not just physically. 

After fighting some of the scariest things she could imagine, the Sylan invaders, what situations could even compare?  She needed to try some of her gymnastics, see how she moved both morphed and as she was without her new power coursing through her.  She needed to know her limits, needed to start training again, to learn to fight beyond her basic martial arts practice as a kid.

Nicole’s phone dinged, and she fished it from her pouch. 

Becca:  Hey, you gonna be back soon? 

Nicole:  I’m actually on my way back now.  Need anything? 

Becca:  Nah.  Colin asked me out to breakfast, figured I’d let you know. 

“Well, that answers that,” Nicole said.  “Becca’s heading over to her boyfriend’s.” 

Grace hummed.  “Good for her.” 

Nicole chuckled, putting the phone away before slumping in her seat.  “I feel so underprepared for all of this.” 

“Yeah.  I don’t even know how to fight with an axe.  I just chopped wood at my grandpa’s farm on occasion.” 

Nicole tried to avoid drawing comparisons between her new friend and a certain social media lumberjack that loved flannel and maple syrup.  Not that the comparison would be unflattering, far from it, but she didn’t need more intrusive thoughts about her new friend. 

“Maybe we should arrange to spar with our fellow Rangers,” Nicole mused.  “It would be safer than trying to fight with our weapons and Renfaire stuff.” 

“That’s not a bad idea,” Grace said.  “Think you can whip up a group chat and send that off?  I’m a little busy keeping us on the road.” 

Nicole rolled her eyes, fingers dancing as she typed up what she hoped would be an appropriately obscure reference. 

Nicole:  Hey, G and I were wondering if everyone wanted to meet up this afternoon. 

Jeff:  I’m game for that.  What was the plan? 

Nicole:  Lunch, and maybe trying out some of our LARPing stuff, see what we can do now. 

Kayla:  Oh, that’s clever!  Anyplace in mind? 

Devon:  There’s a park not far from Anoka, we could go there.  Lots of woods to keep us out of sight and open fields we can use.

Kayla:  Damn, did any of us sleep? 

Nicole:  Doesn’t look like it.  How about 3pm? 

She watched the affirmations stream in, a smile on her face.  Nobody had disagreed with the suggestion, which was a relief, she would have felt like an ass if one of them had fought her on it.  Nicole wasn’t a leader, even in group projects she was the silent one that did their portion of the work and usually a bit more to cover for the more social people in the mix. 

“I’m guessing it went well?” Grace asked.  At Nicole’s inquisitive look, Grace smirked.  “You’re smiling, so I’m guessing everyone is gonna be there?” 

Nicole looked away, watching the city go by as they neared the campus.  “Yeah, they’re gonna meet us around three at a nearby park.” 

Grace pumped a fist.  “Oh sweet.  That gives us some time to nap.” 

A barking laugh escaped from Nicole before she could help herself, the sentiment was very much echoed by her too.  She was exhausted, despite the caffeine practically coursing through her veins.  A nap sounded fucking wonderful, then she would get to stretch her legs and see what she could really do. 

Nicole couldn’t wait.

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 4 - Restless

Nicole shot awake, sweat dripping from her as she gasped for breath.  Images of mechanical eyes and severed limbs lingered as the last vestiges of her nightmare retreated back into her subconscious.  The nightmare wasn’t new, but was amplified by the day’s events.  Looking around, she was on the couch, in her night shirt and a blanket was tangled around her.  

Right, she was back in her dorm safe and sound, Nicole glanced at the clock and groaned.  

It was only three in the morning. 

She knew that sleep wasn’t coming again, not with how she felt, so she checked her phone now that it should have some charge on it.  There were multiple alerts from the attack, some new messages from what seemed to be a new group chat set up between her fellow Rangers, and several solo messages from some of them.  She skipped those and checked the alert from the college.

At least classes were canceled for the next week, that was one of the few good things to come from the prior day.  Nicole wiped the clammy sweat from her face and got up, heading for the restroom.  She skimmed the group chat, finding most of it was just everyone checking in and a few links to some articles about their debut. 

Not wanting to deal with that mess, she instead flicked to the solo messages.  One was from Kayla, and it was half a dozen pictures of kittens.  That brought a smile to her face, even if she didn’t quite feel it, the gesture was appreciated. 

The second message was from Grace, and wasn’t nearly as pleasant. 

Grace:  Hey Nicole, can’t sleep right now and was wondering if you were up. 

It had been sent less than an hour ago, so she got to typing, letting the other girl know that she was indeed up thanks to some rather vivid nightmares.  

Nicole:  Unfortunately.  I think I’ll be seeing severed limbs and glowing eyes for a while.

Even if classes were canceled, there was no reason to wake Becca, that girl had already done enough by wasting her evening consoling Nicole.  She’d feel even worse if she had to wake her up just because she couldn’t sleep. 

Grace:  You too? 

Grace:  Well, at least we aren’t alone in the bad dream camp. 

Nicole chuckled and kept typing after washing her hands and face.  She felt a bit bad about reaching out to someone she barely knew, but Grace at least had some sense about her.  She’d been the one to take charge in a way that wasn’t completely asinine, unlike Devon’s attempt at giving orders.  She seemed to care about what actually mattered, and for that reason alone Nicole was willing to step out of her comfort zone. 

Flopping on the couch, Nicole flicked on the TV, grimacing at the late night news playing footage of their fight against the mutant machine.  Watching it from the perspective of whatever idiot had recorded them, it really did look far more impressive than she had thought in the moment.  They looked terrifying, displaying speed and power that would make a mockery of any actual human efforts. 

Shaking her head, Nicole started typing. 

Nicole:  I wish the news wasn’t so obsessed with the idea of new Rangers.  Thousands died and all they care about is a new set of ‘heroes’ to obsess over. 

Grace:  Thank you!  It’s a fucking disgrace.  Let people mourn, honor the fallen.  We aren’t anything special, no matter how shiny we look on camera.  We’re just people.

“Just people.”  Nicole smiled, leaning back on the couch as she shut off the TV, not caring to watch more footage of what they’d done hours earlier.  She’d no doubt see plenty of combat in the months to come, and she didn’t need to see more of it so soon. 

Nicole:  I ended up just laying down on my couch.  Classes are out for the week so at least I can sleep in or take a nap later. 

Grace:  Which college you go to?  I’m studying at Anoka. 

Nicole sat up straight, staring at her phone.  Grace went to her school?  She’d just assumed the woman had already graduated, or just hadn’t gone to college at all.  With shaky fingers, Nicole began to type again. 

Nicole:  Same.  I’m living in the dorms. 

Grace:  Oh shit.  We could actually meet up easily if that’s the case.  Jeff attends too, I think.  I know I’ve seen him around. 

Nicole:  Pretty sure there’s a diner open, we could get an early breakfast. 

Grace:  You know what, let’s do it.  Meet me in the parking lot in 20? 

Nicole bit her lip, she’d just gone along with it, but it had quickly turned from something digital into a very real thing, and she wasn’t sure if she was actually up for it.  She really wasn’t a people person, which was going to be fun the first time the reporters cornered them in their Ranger suits. 

She really hoped that day was far into the future and it was a miracle they avoided it at all while making their escape from the faire. 

Before she could second guess herself, Nicole sent off an affirmative and got back to her feet, padding back into her room.  She gave her gear a passing glance, it hadn’t been stored away yet, all of it just tossed haphazardly off to the side before she had showered and curled back up with Becca.  She didn’t need it anymore regardless, her morpher was locked in and didn’t need the original equipment anymore. 

She was still wearing the watch, which didn’t seem to need charginged, likely working off her body heat or whatever science mambo jumbo fueled the Ranger transformation.  She grabbed a basic pair of jeans and a black shirt with some band logo on it that was almost too faded to recognize.  It had been her mother’s and she didn’t have the heart to get rid of it despite the wear. 

She did however grab the belt she’d worn, sans knives.  It was essentially her everyday carry and had been for years.  Her phone slipped into its pouch and she double checked that she had her keys.  Before heading out the door, she stopped at the fridge and left a note on the dry erase board, letting Becca know she hadn’t been kidnapped or anything. 

Odds were that she would be back long before the girl woke up, without classes she tended to sleep to noon most days.  From there, it was just a case of navigating the halls and finding Grace.  She wasn’t surprised to see the girl already waiting, leaning against a tree while frowning at her phone.  She’d also gone with simple jeans and a red shirt. 

Nicole had to laugh at that, the joke that Rangers dressed in their colors seemed alive and well.  She picked up the pace, and when Grace saw her, a smile blossomed across her face. 

“I think I found a diner that won’t be a roach fest,” she said, holding up her phone. 

“Good, last thing we need is some extra crunch in our eggs,” Nicole said. 

Grace snorted.  “Damn, I had you down as the shy and silent type, but you keep surprising me at times.” 

“I usually am,” she admitted, reaching up to fiddle with her glasses only to remember she hadn’t needed them since the transformation.  “Dealing with idiots drains my spoons incredibly fast.  It’s better to just fade into the background most times, but dealing with people I can tolerate is easier.” 

“Oh, you can tolerate me?” Grace asked, leaning forward with a wide grin on her face.  Nicole pulled back a bit, her cheeks warming even as she looked away.  “I’m honored, truly.”

“Please don’t,” Nicole muttered. 

“I reserve the right to be a brat at my whim,” Grace said, pulling her keys out as she stepped over to an older silver car.  “So, ready to hit up the grease trap?” 

Chuckling nervously, as if Grace hadn’t just flustered her to hell and back.  She had no idea what might have prompted that, as Nicole knew she wasn’t attractive, what with her bulging muscles from years of gymnastics.  Muscles that were as prominent as ever thanks to whatever the Ranger transformation had done to her body.  Just when she thought she might get a slimmer, more feminine, figure too.  She seemed to be cursed with a masculine build.

She’d been reminded of that fact each and every day through her entire high school run.  It was something she had just come to accept, and it made her wary of Grace, even if she was a bit of a natural flirt, it didn’t make sense.  Sure, they were both Rangers now, but that didn’t really explain it.  The girl was probably straight anyway. 

Shaking off those thoughts, Nicole stepped over to the passenger side and glared down at the cluttered seat.  Grace glanced up as she turned the key, her cheeks darkening in the dim light of the car. 

“Sorry,” she said, hastily reaching over to knock the clutter into the floorboard.  “I don’t usually have passengers.” 

“I can tell,” Nicole said wryly. 

Grace rolled her eyes, turning the key as she did, only for the engine to feebly protest the efforts to start it. 

“Come on you little bastard, not now,” Grace muttered, the engine whining as it struggled to turn over.  “You started just fine after a fucking alien invasion, why are you embarrassing me now?”

Nicole chuckled, earning her a sharp glare from the blonde before the car finally started, and promptly backfired, startling both of them.  Nicole’s fingers were already on her watch, the reflex somehow already ingrained in her.  It was with shaking hands that she pulled away and tried to relax. 

Grace set the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, the radio silent as the GPS called out the directions in a robotic voice.  Nicole wanted to pull out her phone and bury her nose in a book, but she didn’t, because that would be rude.  Not that she was making much small talk either.  Why was she so bad at just interacting with someone? 

“You bought those at Artemis Leather?” Grace asked as they drove through the deserted streets.  Nicole cringed a bit, because of course Grace would be better than her at small talk. 

“Yeah, all of my pouches are from them,” she confirmed, rubbing a hand along the aging leather.  “I pretty much turned it into my everyday carry, much nicer than a purse and far more secure.”

“You packing?” Grace asked, taking a turn. 

Nicole’s mind hitched for a moment, then it clicked what Grace actually meant and she had to look away to hide her embarrassment. 

“No, I don’t trust myself with a gun,” she said softly. 

The truth was, she wouldn’t be alive if she had such an easy out.  Point and click what is basically an off button?  Too easy, both in execution (heh) and practice.  She knew that in one of those darker moments she would have taken it if she could.  And knowing Grace had made her new blades, she wasn’t about to mention that one of the options Nicole was considering was using them to end her life. 

Any thoughts or plans to follow through were on hold now that she was a Ranger.  She had a responsibility to humanity, one she couldn’t just walk away from.  She’d dedicate the remainder of her life to fighting the invaders, until they were repelled or she fell in battle.  Either way, her remaining life and following death promised to have meaning.  That was more than Nicole ever expected, and she was happy for it. 

Thankfully Grace took the hint and dropped the subject.  Nicole didn’t like it when people tried to pry into her life.  The silence lingered all the way to the diner, which was thankfully open.  She was a bit surprised that the city hadn’t been placed under Martial Law like it had following the previous attacks.  Did the advent of a Ranger team change how they handled an area? 

Nicole made a mental note to look into that when she didn’t have to be social with someone.  Grace was going out of her way to be there for her, and she wasn’t going to risk squandering that, even if she had managed to sour the mood already.  Stupid brain, stupid mouth.  She just couldn’t do anything right when it came to people. 

Hell, how was it that she hadn’t run Becca off yet?  Sure, they’d known each other for years, but she just refused to give up on Nicole when everyone else had already done so.  It was too much, and she just wanted it to all go away. 

“Keep a pot going for us, I think we’re gonna be here a while,” Grace said to the woman behind the counter, placing a twenty in the tip jar as she did. 

“Of course, hon,” she said, her scowl swapping to a bright grin at the sight of the cash.  Two cups were produced and handed directly to them.  “Take whatever table you want, I’ll be with you in just a moment.” 

“Thanks,” Grace said with a bright smile. 

The diner was currently vacant aside from the waitress and line cook, and Nicole was just fine with that.  They took seats at a corner booth, which let them technically sit next to each other, even if they took opposite sides.  It also offered a good view of the TV playing one of the national news channels.

For once it wasn’t showing their own debut and the slaughter that preceded it.  Instead, it was showing footage of the first Rangers, their leader shining in white and silver as he single handedly held off a wave of automata so his team could evacuate the civilians in danger.  He set the literal standard for what it meant to be a Ranger before he vanished three years ago after his team was killed during a battle with the Sylan Commander. 

“At least it isn’t us plastered on screen this time,” Grace whispered. 

“Give it time,” Nicole said as the waitress walked over with a fresh pot of coffee and a tray of cream and sugar.  “Thanks.” 

“No problem,” the woman said, pulling out a pad and pen.  Nicole was more than a little amused that she had another five pens ready and waiting in her apron pocket, two of which were really nice fountain pens.  “Can I get you anything to eat?” 

“Biscuits and gravy,” Grace said, “and bacon, double order.” 

A quick scratching of the pen and the woman turned to Nicole.  “Umm, can I get French toast?” 

“Sure thing, sugar,” the woman said.  “I’ll get that going for you all.” 

“I heard them, Gertie,” the cook hollered. 

“Oh don’t be so dramatic,” Gertie said, walking back to the counter where she began having a heated, yet seemingly good natured argument with the man. 

Nicole smiled, watching the two bicker as the man cooked.  It was people like them that she would be protecting when the time came.  Just normal people living their lives.  Her attention flicked back to Grace, who was watching her with worried eyes while biting her lip.  Taking a sip of her coffee, she could only hope that her fellow Ranger would just let things lie, but at the same time, she knew she wouldn’t. 

It was the whole reason they decided to get away from the dorms after all, to just find someplace low key and unwind after the day they had, and the burden thrust upon them. 

Was it bad that she almost wished some Automatons would attack just to get her out of the awkwardness of it all?

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 3 - Introductions

Nicole leaned against the wall in silence, her outfit and weapons had returned once she dismissed the transformation, the relief she felt at that was shared by most of those in the room.  Grace in particular had been especially enthusiastic about it.  The only thing missing were her glasses, which she didn’t seem to need anymore.  As much of a solace as all that was, Nicole wasn’t looking forward to what was about to happen.  

Once the paramedics and police had secured the park, the Rangers were all offered one of the backstage rooms for their own use.  Once the door was locked and they were sure it was safe, Grace had dismissed the transformation on the spot.  Nicole was surprised that it was as simple as imagining the transformation being dismissed with the intent to actually do it.  The rest of them had followed in short order, and now a tense silence had settled over the five of them. 

“Okay, this is just sad,” Grace said.  “If we’re going to be a team, someone’s going to have to kick this off.  Hi, I’m Grace Evans, and I suppose I’m the Red Ranger.” 

“You’re not native American, are you?” the girl dressed as a Druid asked with a smirk. 

Nicole snorted, drawing attention to herself that made her want to shrink back into the background.  She hated how unsure of herself she could be, but that was just how things had ended up. 

“Nicole, and as you can see, I’m not quite dark enough to qualify as black.” 

Her mother had been half Mexican, and her father was Irish, not that it was immediately obvious with her red hair and pale complexion.  That was, of course, the joke.  

The guy dressed as a Paladin groaned as the obvious jokes were thrown around.  “Yeah, it could have been me.  Devon Smith, Silver Ranger.” 

Yeah, that would have been unfortunate, given he had one of the darker shades of skin that she had seen in her life. 

“Ha!  Silver linings!” the blonde haired Druid said, pulling out a joint before she lit up.  “Kayla Beckham.  Rather fitting that the hippie ended up the Green Ranger, I suppose.” 

A few chuckles were had before everyone turned to the last member of their little group.   He was thin and wiry, with lean muscle visible under his stereotypical Dragoon armor.  With the helmet set aside, his red hair stood out as he looked back and forth between everyone. 

“Jeff Cunningham.  I guess that the powers that be decided I should be purple.” 

Grace smiled.  “I’m sure your armor had nothing to do with it.” 

Sure enough, his armor had metallic blue and purple accents, so it was probably a bit of a crap shoot which color the disembodied voice decided to give him.  Apparently purple won out.  Speaking of Jeff, she thought he looked familiar, but not in any obvious way.  Maybe they shared a class or something. 

“Well, with introductions out of the way,” Devon said, stepping into the center of the room.  “What comes next?  I don’t think any of us are actually all that experienced in this sort of thing.” 

“That’s an understatement,” Nicole muttered. 

Devon glared at her for a moment and she wanted to shrink back, her tongue often got her in trouble and never in a fun way. 

“I imagine either we reach out to another Ranger team, or they’ll reach out to us,” Kayla said, pinching the tip of her joint before putting it away.  “I can’t see so many teams existing without there being some form of communication between them, especially for larger scale attacks.” 

She had a point.  New York had three teams, and it was no secret that they had some centralized system of coordinating things between them when the Sylan attacked.  Idly, she rubbed the watch now on her wrist, her bracer temporarily stored in a waist pouch.  The watches had been on all of them when they powered down, but nobody had experimented with them yet. 

Idly, Nicole removed her belt and set it aside, then began to fiddle with the watch.  It seemed to be like any other smart watch, but there was one app that stood out.  Tapping it, an option menu was shown before instructions popped up above it.  Sure enough, that was the morpher function, and it even had a quick launch feature. 

She closed out the app, trying to think of the best way to phrase it before an idea came to mind.  With a smirk plastered on her face, Nicole pressed the two buttons along the side. 

“Roll the Dice.” 

Her watch glowed, and swirling black light engulfed her for the briefest moment before she felt the power swell within her once again, there was a twinge of discomfort that came with it this time.  She wasn’t sure what that was about, but it faded quickly enough that she didn’t think it was something worth dwelling on. 

The others all turned to face her and were staring as she checked for her new weapons and found them to be exactly as they had once been when she first transformed.  More importantly, her custom blades were still sitting on the table nearby. 

“That answers that,” Nicole said.  “Our equipment is locked in after that first morph.” 

“Good to know,” Grace said, setting her own axe aside.  “Now, how did you do that?” 

“And please tell me we don’t need to say that each time,” Jeff said.  “Fitting as that phrase might be, we might not always have time to shout it when things hit the fan.” 

“Phrase is optional,” Nicole said.  “There’s an app in there that has instructions.  You can morph in a pinch by double tapping both physical buttons on the watch, or hold them and say a phrase like I did.” 

“Roll the Dice,” Grace said, and a flash of red with literal D20’s dancing within engulfed her and the Red Ranger stood there once again. 

Kayla whistled.  “Nevermind, roll the dice is a good phrase if it comes with those effects.” 

“I retract my statement,” Jeff said, checking his own watch.  “Shit.  Do we want people to know who we are?” 

“I vote no,” Nicole cut in.  “Just look at the Sacramento California team that unmasked.  The government all but conscripted them.” 

“That’s a good point,” Kayla said.  “Fuck that noise.  If it wasn’t for the literal invaders at the gates I’d be advocating for full on anarchy.” 

“Alright, we keep our identities quiet,” Devon agreed.  “We should all exchange numbers, even if the watches can reach each of us, it’s better to have the option.” 

“Works for me,” Grace said, then wrote her number down on a sheet of paper which everyone was quick to add their own to, with Grace having first dibs.  “Shit, my phone’s dead.” 

Everyone was quick to check their own devices, Nicole dropping the transformation again so she could pull her phone from the pouch she kept it in.  Sure enough, the device was dead as could be. 

“That’s a problem,” Kayla muttered.  “Don’t suppose these watches come with a contacts function…  Oh shit, they do!” 

“Then we will make do,” Devon said. 

Everyone was quick to enter their team’s information, and that was that. 

Once finished, Grace looked towards the locked door.  “We should probably think about leaving soon before the media arrives and asks too many questions about why a group of larpers that are dressed suspiciously like the new Rangers is hanging around together.” 

“I like that plan,” Jeff said.  “Want me to peek out with my helmet on and see if the coast is clear?” 

“Good call,” Devon said.  “Let’s all get home, decompress, then meet up again in a day or two, barring another attack of course.” 

A round of agreement followed and once the coast was clear, they slipped out of the building and through one of the employee-only paths.  Thankfully a group of costumed people wasn’t too out of place at a Renfaire, but they didn’t take chances until they were well away from the emergency crews.  Nicole had kept both fingers on her watch, just to be safe, but it hadn’t been needed. 

Grace broke away from the group before they reached the parking lot, her car apparently in the vendor area, and she wanted to try and secure what stock she could before things were completely sealed off.  She at least had the sense to take off her hat and jacket, as both were recognizable enough from her new Ranger suit. 

“Anyone need a ride?” Devon asked, eyes darting back and forth. 

The parking lot was a mess between people trying to flee and the emergency crews that were continuing to arrive.  A dedicated exit lane had been cleared to get anyone able bodied away from the scene.  One of the Faire workers was directing traffic away, paying those filtering out little mind. 

“I do,” Kayla said.  “I rode one of the shuttles in, and don’t own a car otherwise.” 

“I rode my motorcycle,” Nicole added when he looked her way.  “I’ll be fine getting back to my dorm.” 

“Ride safe,” Jeff said, patting her shoulder.  “It’s going to be a nightmare out there after the attack.” 

She barely avoided flinching at the contact, Nicole had never liked being touched by guys.  She turned and waved a bit before making her way across the parking area to where her bike was, leaving the other Rangers behind her.  It felt a bit weird to split up after what they had just gone through, but sticking together wasn’t an option either. 

Her bike was right where she left it, and she took a moment to just breathe.  So much death, and for what?  Nicole’s hands trembled, but she retrieved her helmet and put it on, the motorcycle variant feeling restricted compared to her Ranger helm.  A breathless chuckle escaped as she leaned forward, resting her head on the handles. 

“Look at you, barely holding yourself together,” she whispered.  “This is such a fucking mess.  Like, in what universe am I worthy of Power?” 

It wasn’t like she expected an answer, and instead simply fired up her bike and joined the departing vehicles.  She knew exactly how dangerous motorcycles could be, which was why she rode them.  As she pulled out onto the highway, she caught a glimpse of Kayla waving from the passenger window of a black pickup truck.  She nodded her helmet to acknowledge her, then peeled out down the highway, ignoring all traffic laws in some dare to the universe to finally bring her time on earth to an end. 

It wasn’t as if there would be police out and about to stop her or anyone else from being reckless. 

Even ignoring speed limits, the drive home still took over half an hour due to backed up traffic.  It gave her far too much time to dwell on what she had seen, her thoughts drifting from one bloodied body to the next.  Visions of the dead haunted her the entire way back home.  

The parking for her dorm was half empty, which was a bit of a surprise, she expected it to be a hive of activity.  Anoka wasn’t a large city, unlike downtown Minneapolis, but there was still plenty to do.  Given the recent attack, she was a bit surprised at how calm things were. 

She meandered her way through the halls and found her room, opening it almost absently.  She barely remembered the ride back, so consuming were her thoughts.  When she stepped inside, the lights were off and it looked like her dorm mate was still out and about.  She hoped she was alright, but she was at least with Colin and was supposed to be far from the Faire. 

Nicole flopped onto the couch and just let herself zone out, an almost haze settling on her as she laid in the darkness, the silence ringing in her ears along with the ghostly echoes of the dead screaming in terror.  Visions of blood and death, of callous machines cutting down innocents filled her mind. 

Pressure on her shoulder had her pushing up in a burst of motion, hand dropping to her blade as everything snapped back into focus.  A blonde haired girl stepped back hastily, hands up in the air. 

“Easy, Nikki,” she said quickly.  

Nicole blinked, the girl’s thin lips and brown eyes coming into focus.  It took a moment, the flashes of violence fading away in favor of reality before she finally recognizing her roommate.  “Becca?” 

“You back with us?” Rebecca asked hesitantly.  “I tried to call, but it just went to voicemail.” 

Nicole sat up, a low groan escaping as her stiff joints protested the movement.  Sleeping in her gear might have made sense when camping to give it that authentic look, but it didn’t lend itself to comfort in the slightest.  She pulled her phone from its pouch and pressed the power button.  Nothing. 

“Oh right, it’s dead,” Nicole said with a frown, trying to think of an excuse for why it wasn’t working that didn’t involve the rangers.  “Odd, I charged it before I left.” 

She still wasn’t sure why it was dead.  It could have been anything from the Sylan to the morph itself.  She hopped to her feet and hurried over to the kitchenette and found a spare charger, relief flooded her when a charging symbol appeared on the screen.  It was drained, not bricked.  Maybe the morph must have siphoned it in some way?  Sighing, she opened the fridge, fishing for something to drink. 

“Did you leave before the attack?” Rebecca asked, taking a seat on their little love seat and flicking the TV on, quickly finding a news station covering the attack. 

Nicole paused, water bottle in hand.  “No, I was in the thick of it when the attack started.” 

“Oh fuck!” Rebecca exclaimed, jumping back to her feet and rushing over but stopped short of pulling her into a hug.  “You’re lucky as hell.  Preliminary estimates have the death toll at nearly two thousand.” 

The yawning pit in Nicole’s stomach plummeted further.  So many were dead, and all anyone had to show for it was a shiny new Ranger team, one of almost three dozen in the nation.  Something special, but far from unique.  A stopgap in the face of a slow march to subjugation. 

Rebecca’s face fell as Nicole hunched in on herself.  “The news is censoring it, but you saw it all first hand, didn’t you?”  Nicole nodded mutely.  “Shit, are you alright?” 

“I watched a man get bisected,” she said after a moment.  “I watched machines tear through dozens as if their lives didn’t matter…” 

“That couldn’t have been easy,” Rebecca said, stepping closer, hesitantly.  “Do you need a hug?” 

Nicole didn’t hesitate, lunging forward and wrapping her arms around her roommate.  They were practically sisters, what with Becca’s family fostering her after her parents died.  She was the one person in the world that she worried about disappointing.  That thought alone always pained her, now more than ever.  Nicole was afraid of dying and leaving Becca to grieve her.  Nicole sobbed, letting every emotion she had endured out in a torrent.  

All the pain, all the death. 

She was just so goddamn tired of everything. 

Rest wasn’t an option, not anymore.  She was a Ranger now, someone expected to stand strong in the face of the endless tide of invading machines.  Worse, now that the city had a team of Rangers, the attacks would become more frequent, almost weekly if the other cities were anything to go off of. 

She knew from interviews that many of the Rangers enjoyed the fighting, but she hadn’t.  Sure, there was a rush that accompanied the sudden power at her fingertips, a power that hadn’t completely receded.  She was forever changed, not quite the same anymore, but it hadn’t done anything to help in the way that she needed. 

“Hey,” Rebecca said, pulling away slightly.  “Why don’t you let me order some pizza, and we dig into the cookie dough ice cream while watching something mindless, see if that helps?” 

Nicole snorted, snot shooting from her nose as she did.  That did sound like a good plan in light of everything she had been through.  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Rebecca enough to tell her about becoming a Ranger, but did she want to burden her with that knowledge right away?  When Nicole offered to share a dorm with Rebecca, she was extremely hesitant, but she liked the idea of getting stuck with a stranger even less.  

Rebecca wasn’t the worst person to live with, and she didn’t bring any strangers home with her, thank goodness.  Nicole didn’t fancy the idea of some drunk frat boy trashing their dorm, and Becca seemed to be of a similar mind about it, even if she was a bit of a party animal.  It helped that she’d been in a steady relationship for a few years now.

“Just don’t put any damn olives on the pizza and you’ve got a deal,” Nicole said, forcing a smile. 

She wasn’t better, but at least she wouldn’t be alone.

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 2 - Ranger

Nicole blinked as the world came back in a rush, color returning all at once as everything snapped into focus.  The blade was still there, now moving towards her, but it was oh so slow.  Nicole brought her leg up, and pushed the machine away.  It was almost effortless, and she used that same motion to hop to her feet. 

Even with years of gymnastics experience, she couldn’t have explained how fluid that had been, how easily she managed it.  The machine crashed into another, both practically crumpling with a deafening crash.  She stood, watching as every machine around her all paused in their assault, only to watch in horror as they all turned their full attention onto her. 

“Shit,” she muttered. 

She brought her weapons up, and it was then she realized that they were different, changed in ways she couldn’t explain.  The polished steel had been replaced with some black material that didn’t even appear to be metal, but the edge looked sharper than ever.  Then she noticed her gloves were no longer fingerless.  She blinked at the deep purple accents set within the deep void of black that lined them.  Those accents trailed up her arm, barely visible against the deep blacks of her skintight suit and the armored layers along it, before vanishing into some bastardization of her former duster coat.  More than that, she was now wearing a full coverage helmet that didn’t obscure her vision whatsoever. 

Unfortunately, Nicole didn’t have time to dwell on that further as the automatons all surged as one towards her.  She twirled her blades, a fresh confidence filling her as she stepped forward, calm and collected in a way she shouldn’t have been.  A flick of her wrist and her new blade bisected the first machine as if it was made of wet newspaper. 

Sparks showered from the strike, and for once she was glad the Sylan only deployed organic creatures to fight their battles when Rangers were involved.  Oh, right…  

Nicole barely moved as she almost seemed to flow around the machine’s strikes, lashing out with her own weapons with each motion.  She felt unstoppable in a very concerning way. 

She was a Ranger now, yet she couldn’t believe it was really this easy to fight machines that had so thoroughly outclassed her just moments prior.  She stepped aside from a blow that would have disemboweled her, paying the automaton a passing glance before she kicked, sending the machine into the thinning masses with a deafening crash.  That was more in line with what she expected of a Ranger’s power, which meant it was her weapon that was making the difference. 

Most of the people had been smart once she had the automaton’s undivided attention, escaping from the battle when the opportunity arose.  Others were idiots and had their phones out, hoping to capitalize on the internet fame that came with posting the footage of a fresh addition to the global Ranger teams.

Nicole didn’t have long to dwell on those thoughts and what they would mean for her before she was right back in the thick of things.  Showers of sparks burst forth with every strike of her blades, her kicks sent the machines flying, and she’d never felt such a rush before.  She knew that if her head wasn’t covered by a helmet, that everyone would be able to see a manic grin on her face. 

Twitching husks of the automatons laid strewn all around her, severed limbs and puddles of the translucent blue fluid marking her work.  The boy that had nearly been cut down was cowering behind a stall and she hurried to him. 

“Hey kid, you’re safe now,” she said, surprised at the distortion her helmet gave her voice.  “Let’s get you somewhere safe.” 

The Renfaire had emptied almost entirely now, leaving the bodies of those killed in plain view.  There had to be hundreds of people that were cut down by the invaders, and she was almost one of them.  She stowed her blades and picked up the young boy, finding him to be almost weightless in her arms as she cradled him close and braced his head against her chest.  She didn’t want him to see the bodies, one of which might be family. 

She ran towards one of the exits where she could see a few of the gawkers still lingering with phones out.  The distance closed in a blink and she passed him to one of those still recording. 

“Get out of here, it’s not safe!” she yelled, pushing them away. 

Nicole wanted nothing more than to leave with them, she wasn’t anyone special, but she’d had power thrust upon her, she was a Ranger now.  She had a responsibility to help those that would be powerless otherwise. 

Distant screams had her head snapping towards them, her focus zeroing in on a distant struggle.  She ran, eating up the distance as fast as any car could, just as she was about to jump into the fight, a blinding flash of crimson overtook her vision, leaving her vision oddly muted as her helmet readjusted it’s tinting automatically. 

A dozen automatons were blown back an instant following the flash, and a woman in red stood, tailcoats flowing in the breeze, a massive axe held in hand.  Her helmet was done up almost in the style of a pirate’s tricorne, with her torso resembling a heavy coat with predominantly red coloring.  

Another Ranger had emerged and this one looked deadly as hell.  Nicole couldn’t help but stare as she turned, wondering just what her fellow Ranger was thinking about her own appearance.  The moment shattered as the Red Ranger threw her axe, the massive weapon ripping through the air, past Nicole’s head and impacted an automaton not far behind her. 

Her eyes widened and she remembered where she was, she reached for her throwing knives, finding they weren’t where they had been.  Instead, something began to glow between her fingers.  Realizing what they were, she threw them, launching the energy blades past the new Ranger and taking out several machines in the process. 

The two women shared a look, their helmets hiding their features but it didn’t matter.  Nicole darted forward and Red ran past her, ripping her axe from the shattered machine as Nicole pulled more energy knives from nowhere.  She let her momentum carry her into a flip, launching herself up into the air more than two dozen feet and she began to rain blades down upon the assembled machines. 

The Red Ranger wasn’t idle, her own axe parting the automatons like a hot knife through soft butter.  The difference between fighting them, even with her new knives, and the power now coursing through her was staggering.  It was no wonder the Rangers were holding the line against the invaders with such might, and now she was one of them. 

Nicole landed amidst the shattered remains of the Sylan machines, energy sparking from the damaged portions.  She expected to be out of breath, but she didn’t even feel slightly winded.  She took a moment to look across the clearing, ensuring that the area was clear, then turned back to her fellow Ranger. 

“You good?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” the woman said, taking in her changed appearance.  “Holy shit, I’m a Ranger now.” 

Nicole chuckled.  “Welcome to the club, though I think I only beat you to membership by less than a minute.” 

The woman laughed, slinging her axe over her shoulder only for it to vanish into motes of light.  “I really hope I get that back, it took me months to make it.” 

“You made that?” Nicole asked, her eyes going wide. 

Red moved to rub her hair, only to hit her helmet instead.  Her shoulders slumped in a heavy sigh.  “Yeah, I did, and unless I’m mistaken, I also made your own daggers before they were changed.” 

“Holy shit,” Nicole muttered.  “You’re the girl from the Blade shop?” 

“Got it in one,” Red said with a chuckle.  “The name’s Grace, Grace Evans.” 

“Nicole Hayes,” she said, holding a hand out.  “Looks like we’ll be working together going forward.” 

“Seems so,” Grace said, reaching past her hand to clasp her wrist.  “Think we got them all?” 

As if she had tempted the universe itself, a deafening crash sounded from beyond some of the food stalls.  Both girls turned in unison, watching the plume of smoke rise into the sky.  No words needed to be said as they both took off at a sprint.  Rather than run around the structures that held the food vendors, Nicole leapt into the air, clearing them with ease.  Grace was right there with her, just a step behind as she landed and almost threw up. 

In the open clearings, people had been killed, but here in the tighter corridors of the vendor shops?  It was a massacre.  There had to be hundreds dead along the stretch, though she did spot more than a few automatons destroyed in the midst of the slaughter.  The people hadn’t just rolled over and died. 

The source of the smoke wasn’t hard to find, rising out of a destroyed shop that had once sold clothes, was some horrific combination of machine and animal.  Six mechanical legs held it up, with arms like a crab and the head of a rhino.  It was grotesque, baring multiple attachments that had to be lasers of some type. 

“Oh fuck all kinds of duck,” Grace whimpered. 

Nicole could only echo that sentiment, looking at the creature rising up to an easy fifteen feet.  It was every definition of a monster.  That was when three colored blurs moved to stand before it.  One in silver, with a crown affixed to his helm and sword and shield in hand.  One in purple with a twirling spear in his hands and a draconian helm.  The last was as green as the forest, with flowing vines all around her staff in hand. 

Nicole shared a look with Grace then they both moved to stand with the others.  As one, they all drew their weapons to combat stances, and a chill ran down Nicole’s spine.  She felt complete for just one brief instant. 

Five Rangers stood assembled to stand against the monster that had been sent to ensure that thousands of people were slaughtered, so many pointless deaths, and they had a target to take out their aggression upon. 

“All right, Rangers!” Silver yelled, his voice commanding as he brought his sword up and a shower of silver light fell over all of them.  “Make this bastard pay!” 

Nicole yelled, darting aside as the Silver Ranger met the monster head on, blocking its charge with his shield.  Green didn’t waste a moment, sending vines to ensnare the monster as Red hacked into its side.  The Purple Ranger leapt high, then brought his spear down upon the creature at the same moment Nicole struck, severing one of its legs at the joint. 

The creature howled in rage and pain, the very air trembling from the sheer force of it.  Nicole stood firm, the power coursing through her keeping her steady.  She struck again, severing another leg and the creature began to topple.  The other Rangers weren’t idle, each striking fluidly as if they had all trained together for years. 

Nicole flipped away from a desperate swipe of a mechanical tail, throwing her energy blades into the joints as she did.  The beast thrashed, tearing vines from the dense earth and surged towards Red.  Grace stood firm, her axe held ready, then at the last moment she sidestepped the clumsy lunge and brought the blade down, severing another limb. 

Purple then speared the beast through the shoulder, hanging onto the shaft of his weapon as the monster thrashed violently.  The spear was torn free by the sheer force of momentum and Purple flipped off of it easily, landing on his feet as he did. 

Silver was keeping the crab claws occupied, blocking each attempt to grab one of the other rangers as he kept as much focus on himself as he could manage.  Nicole saw her opening and practically flashed forward, jamming one of her blades deep into the hinge of a claw, the sound of cracking chitin reminded her of the last time she ate lobster. 

Red seemed to catch on to what she was doing at that same moment, and brought her axe down on the other claw, shattering it in a spray of gore.  Nicole winced, because that was not the color of normal shellfish internals.  The scorpion-like tail lashed out again, and Nicole was forced to leap over it just as Green ensnared the entire thing. 

“Purple!  Hit the base of this thing!” 

The Dragoon styled Ranger didn’t hesitate, twisting in midair as he launched off nothing and drove his spear through the tail, severing it as he did.  The rhino head reared back, roaring as it was taken apart piece by piece.  Nicole didn’t let that literal opening go unpunished, and flashed forward once more, driving her knife through the creature’s open jaw and into its skull.

Machinery whirred, and flesh gushed forth dark blood from where it had been cut.  The creature gave one final rumbling groan as Nicole wrenched her blade free, then collapsed into a heap.  She nimbly stepped back as it fell, falling in line with the rest of the Rangers. 

“I think,” Purple said, his voice light and airy and more than a bit breathless.  “I think we did it.” 

“We won,” Red, or rather, Grace, said. 

“We fucking won!” Silver yelled, raising his sword up high.  “Take that you invading bastards!  Fuck you and the ship you rode in on!” 

Purple and Silver were rather jovial, but all Nicole could think about was possible stragglers or those that might be bleeding out on the ground.  She glanced over at Red, and she nodded, seemingly thinking the same thing.

“Stow the celebrations for later,” Grace said sharply, her axe vanishing behind her once more.  “We need to sweep the area for survivors, and deal with any stragglers.”

“It’s going to be ages before paramedics arrive,” Nicole added, already in motion before she looked back over her shoulder.  “We can celebrate once the dust settles.” 

She couldn’t understand what the two men were muttering, but Green was already using her vines to shift the rubble.  Nicole was already dreading the coming drama that would inevitably come as they found their dynamic, but for now she would focus on the task at hand, even if she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about having such responsibility thrust upon her. 

“Deep breaths, Nikki,” she whispered to herself, the old nickname bringing little comfort.  “You’ve survived everything up until today, even if you didn’t want to, and you’ll survive this.” 

After all, she wasn’t the type of person that would luck out and get to die heroically.  Oh no, knowing her luck she wouldn’t get to die until there was no hope remaining and all her friends were dead.  That’s just how her life seemed to track.  Finding someone moving amidst the carnage, she stopped and helped uncover them, her minimal first aid training coming back to mind as she did what she could for them. 

She worked diligently, helping those she could, comforting those she couldn’t.  Lingering with those who were beyond help wasn’t an option, not when others were dying around her.  At least the blood seemed to just slide off her suit.  In one particularly grim case, she had left behind a severed razor limb for a woman to make her own choice. 

Was it bad that she envied her for having the option? 

When the sirens could finally be heard in the distance, and the first responders finally arrived, Nicole took the opportunity to finally sit and rest.  She didn’t dare take off her helmet, the last thing she wanted was for her identity to be all over the evening news.  Instead, she found herself staring up into the blue sky, marveling at how little smoke there was in the air for all the damage done. 

“Looks like I’ll be a bit longer than expected, Mom, Dad,” she said to the open sky.  “Keep a spot ready for me when my time finally comes and I can rest.”

The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 1 - Worthy

A loud thunk sounded as a blade was slammed tip first into the counter ahead of her, the smith running the shop rather proud of his work as he demonstrated exactly how rugged their blades could be.  Some of the other shops were pansy asses about things, insisting you couldn’t handle a blade until you bought it, or winced when you tried a swing. 

Not this shop.

It wasn’t often that something like this came along anymore, especially given the state of the world at large.  People had to take solace in whatever brought them comfort, which was exactly what she was doing!  Some might call it silly, but it was her vice of choice and she could honestly say it was better than drugs.

“Next.” 

She hesitantly stepped forward, pushing an errant strand of red hair out of her eyes before adjusting her glasses.  

“Uh, pickup for Nicole Hayes, I have a custom piece to uh… pick up,” Nicole finished, lamely. 

The girl behind the counter wasn’t much older than her, maybe nineteen or twenty.  She was wearing something that could have been pulled straight out of a pirate movie, complete with the hat that was hiding most of her blonde hair up under it.  The only real difference was the axe slung over her back.

“Oh yeah, it’s ready cutie, love the accent by the by” the girl said.  Nicole’s cheeks warmed at the blatant flirting.  “Chuck, gotta run back to grab those daggers.” 

“Make it quick, Grace,” the smith answered.  “We’re kinda swamped here.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Grace said, waving him off.  “Won’t be but a moment.”

Grace smiled, then winked, turning Nicole into a blushing mess as the woman ducked back through a curtain to where she knew they kept the overstock blades and custom orders.  Nicole was left fidgeting with one of the strings of her own outfit, a custom black leather duster set with leather bracers, jerkin and boots to match.  All that was missing was just beyond the curtain, and she’d had to wait far too long to get it due to age restrictions on purchases. 

Nicole was fresh out of High School herself, officially a college girl and attending the Anoka-Ramsey Community College.  She’d lived in Minneapolis all her life, and out of her admittedly limited choices for college, she ended up liking the campus there the best.  Nicole didn’t have much money to her name, what with how life insurance treated deaths to the invaders following the early days of the war.

Damn Supreme Court decisions…  

That didn’t stop her from attending the Renaissance Faire, she’d been going ever since she could remember because her parents were massive nerds like that and it had honestly rubbed off on her.  She’d been working on an outfit to wear for the last two years, and finally she could legally purchase the finishing touch.

The blades. 

She’d been working with the smith through email for months, making sure all the little touches were just right, and now they were ready.  The woman returned with a wooden case and a grin on her face.  The smith himself had even paused his presentation with one of the other Faire goers to watch the show, phone in hand, to make sure he could record it. 

Nicole hesitantly lifted the lid and beheld the blades within.  The silver shine of good steel greeted her, curved ever so slightly and laced with an intricate damascus pattern.  She’d based them off of their Kukuri, but with a few of her own touches, like how the blade handles were wrapped in black leather instead of the usual chord.  Each handle held a single black opal, which refracted the light beautifully. 

It was just what she needed to perfect her rogue ensemble. 

She’d even had custom scabbards for them made, and arranged for them to be presented with the blades.  She gingerly lifted the twin daggers from the case, handling them with the deserved reverence.  She gave them a practiced twirl, the balance allowing her to do so with ease.  A flick of the wrist and she slashed forward, the imaginary throat slit before her.  So easy to handle, and a far cry from the cheap stainless steel pair she’d been practicing with for years. 

They were perfect. 

“I think she likes them,” the smith said.  Nicole blushed, quickly putting the blades away into their scabbards before working to secure them to her belt.  “As you can see, that was a Badger Blades custom job, forged and prepared by our own rising star, Grace!  All our blades carry a lifetime guarantee.  We challenge you to break our blades, because we sure as hell try.” 

He held the camera on her expectantly, and Nicole sighed, reaching back to one of the blades, drew it in a practiced flourish, and slammed it point first into the wooden table. 

“Now isn’t that just a beautiful sight,” he said with a grin.  “Never know when you might need to stab an alien bastard, and our blades are up to the task!” 

Nicole chuckled awkwardly as he ended the recording. 

Most people didn’t like to talk about that, it was considered bad luck to bring up what was on the horizon, and Minneapolis was still lacking its own defenders.  Even St. Louis had a team for fuck’s sake.  Three ‘minor’ attacks, and nobody had been chosen, or however it actually worked.  Their city had weathered the storm all the same, even if her family hadn’t.

That first attack still stuck out in her mind, it was the day the world learned they weren’t alone in the universe.  The day the Sylan invaded.  They came in massive ships straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster, and deployed foot drones of all things.  Bipedal machines that alone were actually something a person could survive, but they never came alone. 

They deployed by the thousands. 

Nearest scientists could figure, or at least release to the public, they were mass produced shock troopers meant to soften targets in a way that didn’t invite nuclear response.  The ships stayed just in range of major population centers and occasionally tested the waters.  There were even running theories that the ships were unmanned save for the biological abominations that were periodically released and the handful of ‘generals’ that sometimes deployed to face an entrenched target. 

Nicole just didn’t have it in her to care, not after her parents had died in the last incursion a year prior.  She shook those thoughts away and stowed her blade, giving a rather curt thanks as she left the shop, much to Grace’s confusion.  Just randomly blurting that your life was upended by the invaders wasn’t something she wanted to do.  So, Nicole wandered for a few minutes through the crowds before taking a seat at one of the many benches near the food vendors. 

The world was so completely fucked, and she couldn’t even blame it on the boomer generation like her parents had.  No, she had the luxury of growing up in a literal alien apocalypse where there was little hope for the future.  Sure, the Rangers were holding the line as they always said, keeping the bastards from overrunning them in a way even the military struggled to. 

That first incursion had decimated the airforce of most nations, limiting what could be done.  If that first group of Rangers hadn’t emerged in New York when it did, the battle might have been lost on the very first day of fighting.  That had been the turning point as the invaders rallied around the city and attempted to put the Rangers down. 

The Rangers won the day and the world hailed them as heroes.

So few took the time to remember what had been lost over the years, but not Nicole.  She’d lost her mother and father, like so many others, and the world instead celebrated the chosen few rather than those lost.  All because some primary colored assholes halfway across the country stopped the bloodshed temporarily. 

She still couldn’t believe it had been five years since she lost them.  They’d always attended the Renfaire together, and she kept that tradition alive thanks to her best friend’s family taking her in.  This was the first year she was attending without her parents.  Her best friend Rebecca was busy with her boyfriend Colin and planned to come with her tomorrow, yet the void remained.  Nicole took a deep breath, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t let the memories ruin the day, that she would enjoy it despite the pain. 

She finally had her complete outfit, she was doing something she loved…  Then why was she crying?  It was so stupid, breaking down in such a public place, but she had almost nothing left.  Pretty much everyone she loved was dead and gone, and she had no friends at the college outside of Becca and her boyfriend, and Becca was all but obligated given she lived with her family after her parents died. 

She’d checked off the final item on her bucket list.  With the Renfaire no longer being something in the future for her to strive towards, everything felt so hollow. 

Was it even worth it?  It wasn’t like there was a future for anyone, not with the impending devastation to come.  Even if Minneapolis ended up with their own Ranger team, it wouldn’t do much good in the face of such overwhelming might.  Maybe she would be better off just checking out on her own terms… 

A bitter laugh bubbled up, she’d avoided such depressing thoughts for months, the looming Renfaire helping to keep them at bay thanks to having a goal ahead of her.  Now it was here and that was all gone. 

Absently, Nicole noted someone sitting down beside her, their back to the table as they watched one of the food stalls.  It was one of the downsides to the Renfaire, unless you locked yourself in a porta-potty, you weren’t getting much privacy. 

“Tough day?” the woman beside her asked. 

Nicole glanced up, the dampness of her cheeks chilling in the late summer breeze.  The woman wasn’t truly looking at her, instead she watched the crowd.  Nicole could tell that some of her focus was on her, but she wasn’t anything more than a passing curiosity to the vision of beauty.  Like many at the Renfaire, the woman was in a costume that almost made her seem fae-like.  There was an ethereal quality to her makeup, changing the shape of her face to be angular in a way that wasn’t quite human in appearance. 

It was good work, accentuated by the stall bought fairy wings whose cheapness was completely out of place on her elegant royal blue dress.  Nicole felt more than a hint of jealousy at the skill it must have taken to manage such a look.  Worse, she felt the embarrassment of being in such a sorry state that she drew the attention of such a beautiful woman. 

“You could say that,” Nicole said, wiping her eyes.  “It’s just a tough time for me.” 

The woman hummed, still only giving her the barest of attention.  “This seems to be a joyous time for most, so why do you not share their mirth?” 

Ah, she was playing a bit.  Some people did refuse to break character regardless of circumstances when visiting the Renfaire.  Normally Nicole found it amusing, but right now it was just leaving her drained. 

“I used to come with my parents,” Nicole admitted, because she had nothing to lose by opening up to a stranger, they’d forget about her within a week after all.  “I lost both of them to the incursion last year.” 

“Ah,” the woman said with a bit of a wince.  “I am truly sorry to hear that.  Such matters are always full of senseless bloodshed and loss.”

Nicole chuckled, but it was without mirth.  “That’s one way to fucking put it.” 

“Maybe you should head home,” the woman said, looking off into the crowds.  “This doesn’t seem to be a safe place for you right now and you’ve lost enough as it is.” 

“No, I’ll manage,” Nicole said, forcing a smile.  “Maybe I’ll sit by Vegetable Justice for a while, that’s always good for a laugh.” 

“The man’s insults were rather amusing,” the woman agreed before pulling out a strange phone.  “I have about thirty minutes before I have to depart, so if you insist on not leaving, it would be poor form to leave you unaccompanied in your present state…” 

Nicole blinked, unsure exactly what was being offered, but she was finding it difficult to refuse.  It truly was as if she’d encountered someone otherworldly, and she didn’t have much to lose. 

“You know what, sure, why not?” Nicole said, getting to her feet before she held out her hand.  “My name’s Nicole.” 

The woman blinked, looking at the offered hand.  “Maraline.  Sorry, I’m not one for physical contact with the common masses.” 

Nicole winced, withdrawing her hand.  “Sorry.  That’s completely understandable.” 

“Vegetable Justice then?” the woman asked, rising to her feet with a languid grace. 

Nicole smiled, happy that at least some part of her day seemed to be looking up.  “Lead the way, m’lady.” 

*** 

“Hey kid, know why the fairies are all extinct?” 

The little girl threw a tomato at the man sitting behind the wooden cutout wall only to hit the bright red cartoon tomato painted around his face and arms.  The cutout was offering the obvious target as the man behind it heckled the young girl who was standing at the five to seven year old line.  She was wearing a pink and sparkly princess dress with the same sort of fairy wings that Maraline wore, much to Nicole’s amusement. 

“It’s because I plucked all their wings, ground them up, and snorted them.” 

Half the assembled crowd booed the joke as the man laughed, then the girl nailed him right in the face with her last tomato and the jeers turned to cheers almost instantly as everyone clapped for the young girl.  Even the man hurling insults joined in as an older boy took the girl’s place front and center.  

Such was the way at Vegetable Justice.

“Does he truly do that to such beautiful wings?” 

Nicole eyed Maraline, who was ever the picture of an arrogant fae creature as she sat there watching the spectacle.  Another kid had stepped up and was hurling tomatoes at the taunting man, but Nicole’s focus was on the woman that had pulled her out of one of the worst spirals in the last six months. 

“You’re really dedicated to the whole Fae Queen persona, aren’t you?” 

Maraline turned, her poise unaffected by what should have been an awkward motion.  “Whatever do you mean?” 

Nicole just shook her head.  If the woman wanted to keep up appearances that badly, she wouldn’t try to force her.  For all she knew, Maraline was more socially awkward than she could be when not putting on the act.  Brains could be weird after all. 

“Sir!  Yes, you in the tight shirt,” the man yelled, pointing an arm through the hole.  “Let me guess, you wear your shirt two sizes too small so you don’t have to work out!” 

It was impossible to see his eyes from behind the reflective sunglasses, but the tight shirted man stepped forward, fishing out a few bills before slapping them on the counter.  He was handed a dozen tomatoes and started hurling them. 

“Sir, your throws are about as straight as you are!” he heckled as tomatoes turned to salsa all around his head in near misses.  “You’re so deep in the closet that you’ve found Narnia!” 

The last tomato impacted just below his chin and the fuming man stomped off as the crowd laughed.  Even Nicole found herself clapping for the Justice guy as once more a child stepped forward to play.  As they did, a chime resounded. 

“It is time,” Maraline said, standing smoothly.  “You should go home, and quickly.” 

Nicole started a bit at just how serious her tone was, and the sharpness of her gaze.  She wasn’t joking in the slightest, and it almost reminded her of that time the quiet kid in her class had warned her to skip.  He’d been arrested the following morning armed with several guns. 

“Are you going to hurt someone?” she asked, softly, her words laced with worry. 

The woman hesitated a second too long before giving her a sad smile.  “No worse than I’ve done before.” 

Nicole’s hand dropped to her blades, now secured with zip ties at her lower back.  It was a rule for safety, but now she was really wishing it wasn’t.  Nicole could describe what she felt, as though something so beyond her was pressing down with the weight of the world.  Maraline didn’t flinch or look away, then her eyes closed and someone screamed. 

Nicole’s head whipped to the side to see what was happening, only to find it had been a kid scared of one of the costumed entertainers.  She let out a heavy breath and turned back around, but Maraline had slipped away on her.  She frantically looked around, but saw no sign of the enigmatic woman. 

Discretion being the better part of valor, Nicole got up and hurried over to one of the park workers and flagged them off to the side. 

“What can I assist you with on this fine morrow?” 

“A woman I was talking to, deep blue flowing dress and makeup done up like a Fae Queen,” he just tilted his head at the description, no recognition in his eyes despite having been just a few feet away from the almost breathtaking woman.  “She made some comments that implied she was going to hurt a bunch of people here.” 

“That is troubling indeed!” the man said.  He then pulled a radio from his pocket.  “Keep an eye out for a Fae woman in a flowing blue dress, it has been brought to my attention that she may mean to harm someone.”  Some radio chatter followed and he nodded.  “The castle guard has been notified.” 

“Thanks,” Nicole said sheepishly.  “She just reminded me of someone who was almost a school shooter.  I didn’t want to take a chance.” 

“And we thank ye for notifying us,” he said, patting her shoulder.  “Go enjoy the festivities, we’ll handle things from here.” 

That would have to be enough, even though the sense of foreboding hadn’t left the air.  Nicole wandered a bit aimlessly, as if she could find the woman before the collective efforts of the park security could.  She ended up at a knife throwing stall and decided to vent some of her frustrations.  She slapped down a twenty and took position.  

The stall worker placed twelve blades in front of her.  “You’ll get two rounds.” 

She nodded and took up the first blade.  It was one thing she was truly good at, and she let a smirk come to her lips as she let the first throw loose and sunk it into the target.  More knives followed and soon she was down a dozen blades, eight of which were sunk into the wood, the other four were so dull she hadn’t been surprised she didn’t get them to stick. 

The blades were lined up in front of her again and she shook her hand out, ready for another round when another kid screamed.  She was about to ignore it, but further screams followed and that air of dread she had felt grew suffocating.  She turned slowly and her blood ran cold. 

Dozens of silver clad automatons were materializing across the field, people screaming and fleeing as the mechanical beasts rushed after them.  It was a Sylan attack.  Why were they attacking the Renfaire of all places?

Nicole moved on autopilot as she grabbed one of the throwing knives and quickly cut the zip ties holding her own blades in place, the custom made weapons soon to get tested in a way she never anticipated.  She also carried a half dozen throwing knives inside her coat, it took a few seconds to cut the ties on them free as well, but if she was going to survive, she knew she needed her gear available. 

“Can I—” Nicole cut off as she watched the stall vendor vanish into the crowd, leaving the knives behind.  She scoffed, and grabbed the few blades that weren’t in terrible shape and took off towards one of the emergency exits meant for staff.  It was her best bet as the main gates would quickly become kill zones. 

She was moving quickly, glad for once at how much effort she had put into her gymnastics career.  The hope that she might make it out was thoroughly dashed as another group materialized right in front of her.  The machines scattered, one moving inhumanly quick, their bladed arm cutting right through a man’s wooden shield, severing his arm in a spray of crimson. 

The kid behind him screamed in terror. 

Nicole froze, images of her mother dead in the morgue flashed before her eyes, then a snarl came to her lips.  Blades flew from her hands, the few throwing knives she had sent into the automaton masses.  None of the blades stuck, but it did draw their attention from the kid and squarely onto her. 

Nicole swallowed heavily, drawing her newly acquired blades and fell into a loose combat stance.  She was going to die.  She knew that, and if that was to be her fate, then she was going to go down fighting.  Three of the automatons bounded towards her, bladed limbs coming up to bisect her.  Despite that, she was at peace with her end.  She ducked, the blades passing over her head as she did, and struck. 

To her surprise, the blade didn’t just bounce off their armored plating, it bit into the joint between their torso and abdomen.  She was sprayed with some pale blue fluid, distracted for just a moment that she had actually damaged one of the invaders.  That brief pause cost her, as one of the machines pushed their damaged member atop her, knocking her down to the ground as her glasses flew off her face.  Nicole looked up into the glowing ‘eyes’ of the machine, knowing it was about to kill her. 

The blade came down, then almost seemed to hang there. 

Nicole blinked, wondering if this was the start of her life flashing before her eyes as the world shifted to monochrome around her.  The blade was still moving, but so slowly that it would take a dozen minutes to reach her.  She tried to move, but found her own body was responding in much the same way, sluggish and unresponsive. 

“Interesting,” something said, echoing all around her.  “So very interesting.” 

It wasn’t a physical voice, but rather something that reverberated in her mind.  It was coming from everywhere yet also nowhere.  Nicole wanted to do something, anything, yet she was completely pinned by whatever was happening. 

Images flashed around her, machines cutting down people that were decidedly not human.  Nicole watched the scenes shift and unfold, costumed defenders rising up to face them.  Of machines the size of buildings fighting off monsters of equal stature.

“Such a fierce spirit, willing to put yourself at risk to hold the line in defense of others.” 

She wanted to clamp her hands over her ears, the voice was borderline painful to hear, as if it spoke just a bit louder her ears would rupture and her brain would start to bleed. 

“I feared this day would never come, but I finally found someone worthy of the power I was entrusted to guard.” 

If she hadn’t been frozen in place, her mouth would have run dry.  Unless Nicole was way off the mark, it almost sounded as if she was about to become... 

“You are worthy to become a Ranger and lead the way to a brighter future..” 

The instant that word slammed into her mind, confirming her growing trepidation and fear, her entire reality spun in prismatic colors and everything changed as the world was plunged into a pitch black void.

Volume 4; Be Gay Do Crime

Here it is! Experience the explosive conclusion of Ashe's adventures as a fledgling gang lord in the city of Jericho!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OzuvIwg6JnGHHyLM-k6vNl4ZpTwYzhvAJX4_P4tP2Wg/edit?usp=sharing 

Free preview!

For those curious about the stories I'm adding to the Paladin tier of support, I'm uploading the first three chapters of each to this post!

Enjoy!

Patreon Exclusive: BGDC: Origin Riptide

Hey! While I continue to draft up the ending of volume five, while also working on another project that will hopefully hit Patreon sooner than later. Volume 4 edits will begin sometime soon as well, but in the meantime, enjoy this seven chapter look into the origins of Crystal Ellington and how she became known as Riptide.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZbUhcx8n-VDd2gCSTgnT9dlqn5w99nWfQuMfnNrqOw0/edit?usp=sharing

Volume Three: Be Gay Do Crime

With Volume Two wrapping up in May, it is time to offer Volume Three to Patreon supporters!

Due to the switch to three chapters a week, I'm going to do something a little different here, and offer the highest tier of support a 15 day early access to the advanced chapters.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y5PKYz_8ThCUV55ex6SLCDYFjuFqUebAaJvdDJ7Cqdk/edit?usp=sharing 

Be Gay Do Crime Act Two

Here it is! Enjoy chapters 39 through 69 as Ashe struggles to find her place in a growing web of criminal intrigue! Over 80k words of additional content!

Reposted due to an error with the Patreon preview that is hopefully corrected with this.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ppdvPoZX1a2g1ot1IcQT3UC82cxumfoD_Qv6gqmbFvc/edit?usp=sharing

Be Gay, Do Crime: Act One

As also shared on my discord, here is the google doc for Act One of Be Gay, Do Crime!

38 Chapters, over 100k words!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zNgxX-k_mH1DWEvQG0gbxiet3L_-CwVGs8ohpH_4QaI/edit?usp=sharing 

Welcome!

Content coming in 2024!  Stay tuned for more information!

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https://forums.spacebattles.com/members/pendragoon.477227/

https://www.scribblehub.com/profile/152128/pendragoon/ 

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pendragoon/profile