Chapter 4 – Roommates

A week had passed since the incident at the firing range and things were strangely calm inside SPD headquarters. Sensing that he had overstepped the mark, Sky had eased up on Charlie which had the side effect of creating an uneasy tension between the pair. The other rangers were still cool towards their newest member, opting to ignore any direct confrontation. From Charlie's side she was still snarky towards the team but now there almost no malice behind her words. During a discussion over lunch the previous day, Z and Syd had decided that sarcasm was just her default method of communication. The pair also felt like the attempt to build a bridge between them and Charlie had some effect on her attitude.

That morning Z was returning from eating breakfast alone. Her uniform jacket was trailing behind her when she entered her quarters and automatically she threw it towards her bed. Seconds later a cry of indignation reached her ears, "Hey watch where you're throwing your stuff", Syd snorted. Z rolled her eyes, it wouldn't be the first time her roommate had complained about her messy habits, "Although it won't be my problem after today", the pink ranger added.

Z finally began to pay attention to Syd and noticed that her stuff had been piled into crates. Her half of the room was completely empty, "Something you need to tell me Syd?" the yellow ranger asked cautiously.

"New room assignments", the blonde began, "now we have a permanent member on the squad, Cruger decided that we need to accommodate them in our quarters". Now Z was beginning to feel worried. It was SPD policy that men and women would be segregated, otherwise Sky and Syd would've moved in together a few months ago. With only four members on the team, quarter assignments weren't an issue. The only vacant spot were Jack's old quarters and since Syd was moving, that could only mean one person was joining Z in her room.

The yellow ranger's assumption was proved correct moments later when Charlie entered the room. She had a large khaki bag slung over one shoulder and her uniform jacket over the other one, "Sup Barbie, Lizzy", the dark haired woman greeted them in turn, "looks like we get to be roomies Lizzy", she continued, "no wild parties unless I'm invited and if you want some alone time, leave a sock on the door or something".

Syd blanched at the crassness of their team mate, instead she turned to Z and said, "If you have any problems, I'm just down the hall".

"I think Lizzy and I will get on just fine", Charlie beamed and threw an arm across Z's shoulder. The pink ranger snorted and turned on her heel, leaving the new roommates to get better acquainted.

It took Z a few seconds to realise that Charlie still had her arm over her shoulder. The yellow ranger shrugged it off firmly, "Keep your hands to yourself", she sniffed, "and stop calling me Lizzy".

"Might do", Charlie grinned, "but I think Lizzy suits you". Ignoring the eye roll from Z, Charlie gave her a quick twirl to show off her new B Squad uniform, "Looks good on me doesn't it, the one I've been wearing was a hand me down but this one fits like a glove", the dark haired woman stated, "but not as good as your uniform fits you Lizzy", she added with a wink. Z gaped at her roommate, trying to work out if she was attempting to flirt with her. Moments later Charlie gave her a half smile and chuckled, "Chill out would ya, I'm just messing with you".

"Are you always this annoying?" Z grumbled, "I would rather listen to Bridge babble on than listen to your attempted jokes".

"Ouch, you wound me Lizzy", Charlie chuckled and began to unpack her bag. Z couldn't help but notice that Charlie didn't have a huge number of possessions. There were a few casual clothes, mostly a bunch of red tops that Charlie probably wouldn't wear again now she was the green ranger. Next out were a pair of well worn biker boots that despite their battered state, Z actually wouldn't mind borrowing. Just as Charlie was getting to a clear plastic bag containing her underwear she commented mischievously, "See something you like?"

Still trying to work out if this was just Charlie's nature or actual flirting, Z ignored her and pretended to sort through the piles of clothes on her side of the room. She looked over periodically and was slightly surprised with the lack of stuff. Z had barely been with SPD for a year and she had accumulated mountains of clothes and various other knickknacks. Her new roommate though clearly packed light, "Is that all you have?"

"Apparently security cleared out a lot of my possessions when I was incarcerated", Charlie made no attempt to hide the bitterness in her voice, "might get them back one day if Cruger gets his paw out of his ass". She rummaged around in the bottom of her bag and retrieved a battered shoebox, "At least they didn't throw these away, I really would've been pissed off".

Intrigued Z craned her head to get a better look at the box. To her surprise it was full of comic books, "Didn't take you for a comic kind of person", she commented as the green ranger sorted through her collection. There were at least fifty comics in varying states of wear but there was one that caught Z's eye. At the back of the stack was one inside a plastic sleeve, "Must be valuable that one". Charlie looked smug before turning the front of the comic towards Z, "No way", the yellow ranger cried, "is that Batman number one?"

"Sure is", there was a brief pause before Charlie handed it over to Z, "I'll let you hold it but no taking it out of the plastic though".

Z grasped it in her hands reverently and ran her fingers across the cover, "It's in amazing condition for nearly ninety years old". She turned the comic over to inspect the back page, "Unless this has been in your family for years, this must've cost a small fortune".

Charlie hesitated for a moment and the yellow ranger picked up on her awkwardness, "My Dad brought it back in 2008, cost him nearly four hundred thousand dollars". Z gaped and nearly dropped the comic book. Suddenly she felt very nervous holding something of that value, "He got it for my tenth birthday, probably paid too much but it was about the time that The Dark Knight was raking in money at the box office". She carefully took it back from Z, "I reckon it would easily sell for half a million if I put it on the market".

For someone who had grown up on the streets, Z couldn't comprehend the amount of money that Charlie was taking about. She also couldn't believe the casual way that the green ranger commented on her father spending nearly half a million dollars on a comic, "Wow, what's someone with that much money doing in SPD". Charlie winced and visibly froze for a moment before attempting to collect her comics together casually. Z noticed that was the second time her roommate recoiled at her alleged wealth, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to touch on a sore spot".

"Not your fault Lizzy", Charlie replied in a small voice. For the first time Z felt the hardened outer shell of the green ranger crack. She wanted to ask more questions but she didn't dare push harder, that would force the wall back into place.

Charlie carefully placed her collection into the small cabinet beside her bed before turning to face the yellow ranger, "You ever heard of the Matthews family of Hartford, Connecticut?" Z shook her head, "we're old money and my family have more money than they know what to do with". She shifted slightly on her bed, "Honestly I swear one of my uncles has an underground vault that would rival Scrooge McDuck".

"Let me guess, they weren't happy you decided to join SPD", Z had a feeling this was where Charlie was going.

"Good instincts", Charlie gave her a small smile in return, "Little Charlotte Emma Matthews was meant to go off to some expensive College before getting married and push out the next family heir". She snorted angrily, "What they got instead was Charlie Matthews who wanted to kick some ass and change the world". Z couldn't help but laugh at that comment, "No way are they getting a kid either".

The atmosphere turned a little awkward again as Charlie lapsed into silence. The green ranger scratched the back of her head nervously, "But that's enough of my family history", she grabbed her jacket and pulled out a scrap of paper, "Cruger's changed rotas as well", she handed the paper over to Z, "Barbie and Space Ace are now partnered together which means that we're not just roomies, we're beat partners too".

A few minutes ago that would've filled Z with dread but after having a brief conversation with Charlie, she found herself actually warming towards the woman. It was too early to say if they'd be friends but at least they could be civil with each other, "Can you answer one question?" Z began, "how did you get out of containment?"

Once again Charlie shifted uncomfortably on her bed, "That's between Commander Andros and me I'm afraid". Z frowned, unhappy with the response from the green ranger, "One day I'll be able to tell you but my orders are to keep my lips firmly sealed". She stood up and grabbed her jacket, "Andros has always been a sucker for a redemption story. If he can forgive his sister for wasting their home planet then forgiving me for going off the rails should be easy".

"Wait his sister destroyed their home?" Z gasped in surprise, "that didn't come up in our Ranger history classes".

"Nah it wouldn't", Charlie chuckled, "those things are all airbrushed anyway to make them sound even more heroic than they actually are". The green ranger quickly patted herself down and checked that she had her Delta Morpher. The morphing function still hadn't been enabled but Charlie had been sailing through her catch up sessions. It would only be a matter of time before she was fully part of the team, "I was in the first group of recruits when SPD opened its Earth branch ten years ago so I got the full unedited version of the story". Quickly looking at the clock, she indicated to the door, "Our first shift starts in ten minutes, I'll tell you a few stories on the way".

Z nodded and grabbed her uniform jacket and followed after Charlie. It had been easy to paint Charlie as an evil person after the traitorous nature of A Squad had been uncovered. She was one of the few people who weren't in a command position that remembered the early days of SPD and had probably been mentored by some of the original Rangers themselves. It made her fall from grace all the more surprising to Z. Here was a woman who clearly wanted to make a difference, going against her family in the process, only to be swayed by the offer of power from Grumm. Maybe one day that would be a story for Charlie to tell her.