A/N: The scene at the beginning of the fic relates to the episode "Idol", where Sky's good friend Dru turns out to be a traitor and mercenary.
"No….Dru…..Why…"
A few feet away, Bridge let out a long sigh as he lay unmoving in his bed, staring at the dark ceiling, while he listened to his roommate's third bad dream this month. They weren't nightmares; nightmares implied fear, and Sky wasn't afraid. He was angry and deeply hurt, though. Bridge could sense that with or without his gloves on, and that anger over his oldest friend's betrayal had not diminished yet in Sky, even after all these months.
Bridge turned his head towards Sky at the same time as the lump on the other bed twitched, and Sky's aura pulsed a bright blue. He mumbled something unintelligible, and Bridge sighed again. "If only I could help you, do something to make this better…"
But unfortunately, Bridge's powers didn't work that way; what good was being able to read auras and sensing emotions, but not being able to soothe an anguished mind?
A familiar daydream rose from the back of the Green Ranger's mind towards the forefront. "If I had psychic healing powers, I would lay my hands against your temples and suck out all those negative feelings and bad vibes and you would look at me with those beautiful eyes of yours and you would say 'Thank You, Bridge, you made me feel soooo much better' and you would give me a big hug and I would hug you back and draw it out as long as I could so that I could touch you as much as possible…and then you would pull back but only just so far so that you could look at me again and then you would lean in and…"
Bridge sighed again and blinked; he had played out the kiss, the favorite part of his daydream, in so many different ways: sometimes chaste, other times passionate, but always with both of their hearts and souls laid bare to each other, endearments whispered against soft lips and Bridge's bare hands finding their way under Sky's shirt to roam over warm skin…It was the touching part that excited Bridge almost as much as the kissing part.
Bridge knew he was touch-starved, but there was no way to change that. His genetic powers had kept people at bay as far back as he could remember. He understood and accepted that; people didn't want anyone to know their most private thoughts and feelings, especially not an awkward, gawky teenager with the tendency to babble and ask long, drawn-out questions. Most of the time it didn't bother Bridge anymore, but with Sky, things were different.
He couldn't pinpoint the moment when his feelings for his teammate had started running deeper than just friendship, although the physical attraction had been pretty much instantaneous; Sky's looks had taken his breath away the moment he had been introduced to his fellow cadet on the first day of SPD basic training. Sky's gruff demeanor, however, had been off-putting, until he realized later on that Sky wasn't like that to just him, he was like that to everyone.
When they were assigned to be roommates, Bridge was stoked and terrified at the same time. And it was rough at first, but gradually they learned to cohabitate, and Bridge learned that private Sky was quite different from public Sky.
There was Sky, who always studied the SPD handbook in public, but read Bridge's comic books when Bridge just "happened" to let them lie around their room; Sky, who whistled in the shower... and Sky, who lately often looked at Bridge with an unreadable expression, but always waved it off and changed the subject when Bridge asked him what was on his mind.
"If only I knew how you felt. If only you knew how I feel…" Bridge knew he needed to resign himself to the fact that he would most likely never know how his teammate really felt about him. Almost of its own volition, Bridge's arm came up and reached out towards Sky's bed. Only about five feet separated the two bunks from each other, but it might as well have been a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon. Touching Sky without the gloves would result in a psychic onrush of all of the Blue Ranger's unguarded feelings and emotions, and Bridge would never invade his friend's privacy like that. It was selfish and wrong and just no!
His outstretched hand curled into a loose fist, then he pulled his arm back. Chances were he would never know how it felt to touch Sky's bare skin. It was the way it was, the way it'll always be. Bridge swallowed down the lump in his throat, rolled over with his back to Sky, and willed himself to sleep.
In the morning, Sky was his usual stoic self. He never mentioned the dreams, and neither did Bridge.
On the south side of NewTech City, in an underground room of a nondescript warehouse, a technician was sitting in front of a computer, typing, scrolling, searching. His fingers flew over the keyboard and images were flashing across the screen, until the computer suddenly beeped.
"Sir, I think I have a hit."
Across the room, a meticulously groomed and dressed man looked up from his handheld device. He approached the desk to look over his henchman's shoulder at the picture of a grinning young man on the screen.
"Who is he?"
"Bridge Carson, second-year cadet, SPD B-Squad. Empath with psychometric abilities."
"Is he the only one?"
"So far, yes, sir. No other human psychics, empaths or telepaths are listed in the files."
"Then he'll have to do." The man touched his minion's shoulder. "Find out his work schedule, especially off-base patrols, before their systems discover your hack." He allowed himself a smug smile. "See, I knew that SPD personnel files were the place to look for what we need. I was right."
"You usually are, sir."
The man regarded the image on the screen for another moment. Cadet Carson, I have a job for you and you better do it well.
"Z, I'm telling you, it's the purple cows on Kobia II, their milk is one of the creamiest in the whole quadrant! It's gotta be the zero-gravity pastures, or maybe it's the fact that they get backrubs from the farmers every day, or it could be the white noise generators, did you know they are mandatory at every dairy farm in the Kobian cluster? That's because by law, these cows have to get an average of eight hours of sleep at night…Anyway, that's why Kobian butter is the best brand to use for the most buttery toast." Bridge suddenly sat up straight and snapped his fingers. "I think I'm going to put in for some time off, then go to Kobia II and spend some serious time on one of those farms, bonding with the cows, learning the ins and out of dairy farming and butter-making, bring back lots of samples and detailed video recordings, that has to convince Kruger to put Kobian butter on the cafeteria menu!"
"You want to go on vacation to a dairy farm?" Z couldn't help but laugh as she steered their patrol jeep around a corner. They had left SPD headquarters for their routine morning patrol of NewTech's harbor area over fifteen minutes ago and Bridge was still well into his monologue about the best types of butter to use for toast.
"Why not?" Bridge flashed her his signature goofy grin. "I think it would be a great experience. Plus, it would give me a leg up if I decide that I'm gonna become a dairy farmer after I retire…"
"Attention all Sector 6 patrols, robbery in progress at Zirox's Plutonian Deli on 1500 Highland Avenue. Closest units please respond! I repeat: robbery in progress at…"
"That's literally the next street over," Z cried, flooring the accelerator while Bridge switched on the roof lights and sirens and snatched the radio microphone to respond to the call.
They reached the scene of the alleged crime three minutes later to find – absolutely nothing.
The building housing the deli was located on a quiet side-street; the few parked vehicles along the sidewalk were all empty, a solitary hobo dozing in an entranceway a dozen feet away was the only other sign of life in the entire street. The whole area was eerily quiet.
They could see through the panoramic window that all lights were off inside the deli. A "Closed" sign blinked in neon colors on the front door. Z tried the door anyways, but it was locked.
"I don't get it. Did dispatch get the call wrong?"
"Maybe they went in through the back door and are still inside?" Bridge wondered out loud. "Lemme just double-check real quick…" Bridge holstered his blaster and raised his hand. But before he had a chance to pull off his glove, a beam of energy hit him from behind, right between the shoulder blades. With a cry of pain and surprise, Bridge went down instantly – and stayed down, motionless.
"Bridge!" Z yelled, her blaster already swinging in the direction of the unseen attack, but before she could take three steps towards her downed teammate, a second blast hit her in the chest, catapulting her backwards and into the side of the deli's building.
She never saw the black van pulling up alongside Bridge, nor the two men jumping out of the open side door who grabbed Bridge and shoved him inside the van. With screeching tires, the vehicle disappeared around the corner, leaving behind only a once-again quiet street and the Yellow Ranger's unconscious form.