"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?" Tyler cried in outrage as the latest monster to attack Amber Beach made a hasty retreat. Randall stood atop a pile of broken and mangled Vivix on the ground as the other Rangers hurried to catch up. On his arm, the second Black Ranger had tied a white bandana to identify himself from his counterpart
"We're supposed to work as a team! Why didn't you wait for the rest of us?" Tyler angrily demanded. Randall simply tilted his head and regarded him coolly.
"Why waste time with all the pre-battle posturing and shouting? It's not like these monsters really care who we are."
Tyler fell silent for a moment conceding the point as Randall gave one of the motionless Vivix a small kick in the side, "Funny, I was hoping these guys would have put up more of a fight. I hardly broke a sweat."
He was right, Chase thought to himself with a shiver as he stood nearby and holstered his revolver. Without waiting, Randall had charged in and engaged the monsters in direct hand to hand combat. What the Rangers saw next both horrified and amazed them. The second Black Ranger had moved like a whirlwind and mowed down the enemies unarmed with efficient primal brutality. Even more so, he did it single handedly.
Even after the monster had fled, Randall seemed completely calm and appeared to relish the opportunity to release some pent up aggression. At the moment, he almost looked like some kind of predatory animal savoring its kill.
"Well, it looks a win-win today," Randall grinned as he powered down and began walking back toward home. "I saved you all some time and I got a good workout in. What do you say we all grab some dinner now? I'm starved."
Tyler stood dumbfounded for a moment before gesturing for the others to follow. Noticing Chase still staring at the carnage in front of him, Riley gave him a light punch in the arm, "Huh. I didn't think you had that in you."
Chase took one more look at all the downed Vivix before turning to follow Riley home, "Yeah… neither did I."
Later that evening, Chase returned to the command center. While he had been a little disturbed by Randall's vicious behavior on the battlefield, he couldn't help but feel more concerned about Kendall's run in with the doppelganger that afternoon. Like Koda, she was one of his closest friends and the possibility that Randall (or some part of himself by extension) had hurt her, made Chase feel a little sick inside.
As he entered the dimly lit lab, he found Kendall and Riley finishing up their work for the night. The Super Charger sat at a nearby table looking almost fully restored.
"Well, I'm beat. I'm going to call it a night Miss Morgan," Riley yawned as he caught sight of the Black Ranger.
"Thanks for all the help today Riley," she nodded removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes.
"Hey Chase, what are you doing here at this hour?" Riley asked in surprise. Nearby, Kendall cringed but remained hunched over her laptop in silence.
"Oh… I uh, just forgot some of my tools," Chase answered picking up one of his skateboard wrenches. After all, it was still a half-truth, "Don't mind me kiddo. I'll be headed out soon too."
Apparently too sleepy to argue, Riley shrugged and made his way out of the cave leaving Chase alone with Kendall who still pretended to type computer codes on her laptop. After a long pause, he sat down at the far edge of the lab, "Umm, about earlier. I just wanted to come by and make sure you were ok."
Kendall slowly turned and looked at him with a strange unreadable expression.
"Oh… and I'm sorry if I stepped in again," Chase added quickly, unsure if she was upset with him. "I mean… I couldn't help it. I got worried, and I feel like if Randall had upset or hurt you, then in some weird way, so did I. So, I hope you're not mad at me."
Kendall glanced away silently for a moment as if she was absorbed in some kind of internal debate before Chase prompted her, "Come on Kendall, say something... please?"
Kendall studied him silently for another long moment before nodding and turning away to gather her things in her purse. "Thank you Chase. I'm glad you came to check up on me, but like I said, I'll be fine."
The Black Ranger frowned, "Listen, about what I saw…"
"I already told you, nothing happened!" Kendall cut him off forcefully, "I'm embarrassed enough already so can we please just drop it?"
Chase winced and turned the wrench around his hand, giving a slightly hurt look, "But... you shouldn't have to feel embarrassed about anything."
"Oh… no, I didn't mean it like that," Kendall sighed putting her purse back down, "Listen, Randall told me that where he's from, it seems that you... and I... well, apparently we're a thing... but in a kind of selfish and depraved sort of way."
Chase looked up as Kendall trailed off into an awkward silence.
"Oh…" he said in surprise as he fumbled for a way to sound reassuring, "Well, even if that were to happen... hypothetically... then trust me, it wouldn't be like that. Besides, that kind of thing isn't something you should even have to worry about here. For starters, we both have too many things to deal with."
"Exactly, like saving the world," Kendall answered quickly in an attempt to sound rational, "We've all got to stay focused on that. Oh, and what about our friendship?"
"Absolutely. Way too important to jeopardize," Chase nodded just as quickly in agreement, "Probably for the best that we just keep things friendly and professional as always, right?"
"Right. I wouldn't have it any other way."
The two friends continued to look at each other as they trailed away into another awkward silence.
"Ok... well... glad we got that sorted out then," Chase finished. Hoping to diffuse any further awkwardness with his friend, he took a few steps forward and reached his hand out, but she tensed up again, almost in an automatic response to what had happened earlier.
With a sigh, Chase slowly walked over and placed his hand over hers. Giving it a gentle reassuring squeeze, he gave another nod before he quietly left and headed back home for the evening, not sure whether he should be feeling more relieved or confused.
The next day, Shelby and Koda sat with Randall as they took their afternoon lunch break. As they ate their lunch on some of the wooden benches outside the museum, Randall continued to gaze in wonder at the green trees and warm gentle sunlight of the park across the street. Children laughed and citizens of Amber Beach passed by without a care in the world. It was all so peaceful and he couldn't remember the last time he had felt such at ease. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he saw Shelby's hand wave across his face.
"Hey, you still with us?" Shelby asked.
Randall turned to look at her as she laughed nervously, "Chase tends to zone out every once in a while too. I guess you really aren't that different, huh?"
Randall gave the two Rangers a patient smile, "You had asked a question?"
Koda nodded, "Kendall say that Super Charger is almost fixed. You are ready to go home?"
Randall stopped and paused a moment. He supposed that part of him was anxious to return to his familiar world, but after several days in this place, he began to have his doubts. Compared to his home, everything here seemed so much quieter and easier. He wasn't constantly on edge worrying about a new monster attack, or when one of his fellow Rangers would sell him out to survive for another day. It was warm, bright, and safe. He was starting to like this place.
"You mentioned before that the park was gone," Shelby prompted, "and you seemed a little fixated on it just now."
"It's just strange I guess," Randall said taking another bite of his sandwich. "I look at the parkways out there and I can't help but want to skateboard down them. Hell, I can't even remember the last time I did skate."
"You not have fun in other home?" Koda asked curiously munching on a piece of fruit.
Randall shrugged, "Depends on what you call fun. When we're not scraping for supplies, I guess you have to find your own form of amusement, whether that's in training, fighting, or screwing.
"Sorry I asked," Shelby muttered in horror, "That sounds terrible."
"Oh, it's not all bad," Randall sighed tearing off the crust of his sandwich and tossing some to the pigeons nearby, "In a way, it makes you tough and keeps you sharp. If you want a perfect example, take Tyler."
Shelby and Koda exchanged a curious look as Randall continued with a grin, "The Tyler I know is completely different than yours and the guy is a bloody brilliant leader. You thought I was vicious on the battlefield? That guy is so cold blooded and violent it terrifies even me."
Shelby swallowed hard and shook her head, "Uh, about that Randall… I'm actually curious about something. In your world, Tyler and I aren't uh… you know…"
Randall turned to Shelby with a surprised look, "What? Like together? Romantically? Ha!"
Shelby winced again as Randall laughed aloud and gave an amused snort, "The thought never even crossed my mind. It probably never crossed his either."
The Pink Ranger stared at him for a moment before rising with a troubled look. "I… lunch is almost over. I should probably get going and punch back in."
With that, Shelby hurried away from the bench as Randall watched her leave with an impassive expression.
Koda frowned disapprovingly toward Randall and cleared his throat, trying to remain civil, "When you go home, remember this place. Still many good things to fight for here."
Randall eyed the caveman before turning back toward the pristine wooded park. "Yeah mate," he said thoughtfully while the gears in his mind began to turn. As he did, a small smile crept into the corners of his lips, "I suppose you're right about that."
Later that evening, Chase and his twin returned back to his apartment after work. It had been a long day and while Chase hadn't brought up what happened a few days ago, he was too tired to fight with "himself." For now, Randall had seemed to be behaving and wasn't causing any major problems.
It was only for one more day Chase reminded himself as he placed his keys on the cluttered counter top. The sooner Randall was gone, the sooner he could get back his normal routine and stop worrying. Right now, he just wanted to microwave some dinner, turn on a stupid movie, and take a well deserved nap.
"You aren't hungry, are you?" the Black Ranger called to his double as he flicked the lights on in the kitchen and headed toward the refrigerator.
Randall ambled around the counter and stood near the edge of the kitchen with a noncommittal look, "Sure. I guess I could go for a little freezer pizza. I remember seeing we still had a pepperoni one just the other day."
Chase turned around and opened the freezer to take a look around. "Hmm, that's strange. I don't see a pizza in here. Are you sure about that?"
Randall reached behind his back and approached slowly with a smile, "Positive. It must be buried way back there. Just keep looking."
Chase continued to dig around the freezer for a minute longer before turning around, "I don't know what you're..."
His sentence was cut short as he saw the butt of a yellow and black dino revolver crash down on his forehead. A white explosion of pain blurred the image of a grinning Randall as Chase dropped to the cold kitchen floor and his consciousness faded into blackness.
To Be Continued...