AN: I know that this has only been up a few hours, but patience is not my virtue…. Over 100 hits and no reviews? Someone has to have some sort of opinion! I'm also open to any plot ideas anyone has, but I have a couple of my own brewing too! ;)
I DON'T OWN THESE CHARACTERS, EXCEPT BROOKLYN, SHE'S MINE!
'I never imagined the end to be quite so bleak.' Billy thought to himself as he laid next to the other broken rangers. He knew he had a broken leg, and numerous other injuries. He couldn't stand, much less fight. Kim and Zach were both still, he couldn't tell if they were dead or alive. Aisha and Rocky were pulling themselves up to try to help Tommy, but it was slow going for them. Tommy was doing his best to keep the bull away from the others, but he wasn't doing any damage. Billy's eyes widened as the bull charged, his horns aimed for Tommy's chest. Tommy tried to avoid it by spinning out of the way, but it caught his shoulder with one horn, and threw him back. His white uniformed stained with red and he howled in pain. The bull backed up for a final charge towards him, when a blur of orange flew through the sky landing behind the bull. The orange ranger immediately started an assault against the bull, and landed a forceful tornado kick squarely on its chest, knocking the creature across the quarry. The orange ranger ran to the group of injured rangers, speaking quickly. "Who can fight?"
Jason, Aisha and Rocky all went to her side. She pointed at Billy and Adam, the only two who seemed to be coherent. "Blue, green, get the rest out of here." She turned to Jason, pulling her power sword from her side. "I don't know how to use this thing, take it. Go for the head." Jason took it gratefully and the remaining rangers charged towards the bull. Aisha, Rocky, and Brooklyn attacked from the sides and back, distracting the bull and forcing it to take its attention off of Jason. As the bull knocked Brooklyn and Aisha away like rag dolls, Jason took a flying leap and ran the sword through the bull's neck, as the head fell, the body collapsed into a pile of clay. The rangers stared at the pile of not so intimidating clay, but didn't feel much like celebrating their victory.
"Let's go." Jason said, and they all teleported back to their fallen teammates.
COMMAND CENTER
Alpha was in the infirmary working on the injured rangers when Jason, Brooklyn, Rocky and Aisha walked in. "Please have a seat dudes and dudettes, I will tend to you when I am finished with the others."
"We're fine Alpha, how are they?" Jason said.
"Concussions and broken bones mostly, nothing I can't fix, with ranger powers, they will be 100 percent in a couple of days."
"And Tommy?" Aisha questioned.
"He will be fine too. A lot of blood loss, and I must make a new uniform for him, but fortunately, the horn missed anything that would do lasting damage."
Jason turned to Brooklyn, "Thank you… from all of us. Really." She nodded curtly, glanced at the injured rangers looking back at her, and walked out of the room.
"Not exactly the talkative sort is she?" Rocky said hopping off the table as Alpha finished with him. Jason shrugged but didn't say anything to the contrary.
"I still don't trust her." Tommy murmured to himself. Jason rolled his eyes at him.
"Dude, she just saved your life, you don't think that maybe she deserves more than that?" Jason asked.
"You saw her, she doesn't want more than that. I would bet that the only reason she stepped in is because she wants to kill us herself." Tommy said angrily.
"Listen man, she's a ranger now, like it or not. You will respect her like you respect the rest of the team."
"Wait a minute, Tommy respects us? Since when?" Zach joked trying to keep the mood light.
"I'm serious Tommy, you at least need to thank her for saving our asses. All of you do. Give her a chance." Jason said as he was walking towards the door. He paused and turned back to the team before he walked out. "And she's moving in with us." A few groans filled the room as he left.
RANGER COMPOUND
A full week had passed since their first battle as a 'complete' team and had been mostly uneventful. Brooklyn secluded herself, choosing to work out, eat, run, smoke, and relax by herself. Jason woke up Kim and told her that today, now that the Rangers were mostly healed, they would be training together as a team. He and Kim had been together for a year, and being with her was easy, and felt right. They became each others rocks in the tough times they encountered. On the other side of the spectrum, Aisha and Zach fought constantly, and drove each other insane on a daily basis. To a bystander, they seemed completely wrong for each other, but the rangers knew better. They loved each other just as much as Kim and Jason did, they just chose to be much more… public with their feelings.
"Are you sure a team training session is such a good idea?" Kim asked her boyfriend as she got dressed.
"I think it's exactly what we need. There's nothing wrong with Brooklyn, and the sooner the others trust her, the better." Jason replied.
"There's nothing to dislike about her babe, there's just… well… not a whole lot to like either." Kim told him honestly. It was true, they knew no more about Brooklyn than the first day they officially met her. She didn't volunteer anything, and none of the rangers really asked anything either.
"She's just new, and getting used to the team aspect of this. She's not used to having people to rely on. You're our social butterfly Kimmie, will you work on getting her to at least sit in the same room with us by choice." Jason asked his girlfriend.
"I can try that. I am a miracle worker after all." Kim thought for a moment. "I think we're gonna need to get some booze."
The rangers stood in the basement workout room, listening to Jason brief them on the usual things. Stay alert, don't try to take on a fight by yourself, etc. After he was done he started pairing people up to spar together. "Zach and Rocky, Adam and Kim, Myself and Billy, Tommy and Brooklyn, Aisha and Trini."
Tommy opened his mouth to protest but realized it wouldn't do any good.
"Five bucks Tommy takes her down." Rocky whispered to Zach.
Zach sized up Brooklyn, who had a focused and determined look on her face. "I'll take that bet." He whispered back. All of the rangers began sparring, but kept one eye on Tommy and Brooklyn, who were currently circling each other like two lions fighting for a kill.
Tommy struck first, but Brooklyn blocked his punch, bringing up her leg for a side kick that Tommy easily avoided. He threw a kick of his own, Brooklyn grabbed his leg and pulled, causing Tommy to fall flat on his back.
"Can I change my bet?" Rocky said to Zach in between their own kicks and punches.
Tommy jumped up immediately, catching Brooklyn off guard, and getting a clean hit to her chest, making her stumble back. She looked surprised for a second, before furrowing her brow and rushing back towards her opponent. The way they fought, one would think they had telepathy. Tommy would kick; Brooklyn would block. Brooklyn would punch; Tommy would dodge.
An hour had passed and the other rangers had long since finished their matches, and were watching the remaining two. Neither Tommy nor Brooklyn would admit to defeat to the other. They were both breathing heavily, their bodies sticky with sweat, and slowing down. Brooklyn started looking for a way to end it, and saw her opening. She swept her leg behind Tommy's and he felt himself going down. He reacted by grabbing her arms as he fell, and flipping them to where he was on top when they hit the ground.
Chests pressed against each other, faces inches apart, Tommy plastered a smug grin on his face. "Give up?"
Brooklyn pushed him up as hard as she could, bring her feet up to hit him squarely in the chest, sending him tumbling as she jumped to her feet, mimicking his grin. "Nope."
They both prepared for another round, when Jason stepped between them. "That's enough for today. Let's call it a draw."
"Ah man!" Rocky began to protest, until Jason shot him a look that made him decide that maybe he should keep his mouth shut.
"Let's relax tonight, we'll barbecue, have some drinks, pretend we're normal. All of us." Jason said, looking at Brooklyn.
"That an order Bossman?" She asked.
Jason sighed, running his hand through his short brown hair. "No, that's an invitation." He replied, leaving it at that. As the rangers began to disperse, Kim and Aisha approached Brooklyn.
"Please hang out with us." Kim said earnestly.
Brooklyn sighed softly. "Alright."