A/N: Thanks for the reviews, and the clarifications. Much obliged.

I see there's some confusion over the whole 'recognising Bridge and Sky' matter. I'm afraid that, for those with that complaint, this chapter would prove even more confusing. I can, however, tell you this: whenever the story's being told from Bridge or Sky's PoV, 'Bridge' would mean the real Bridge in Sky's body and vice-versa. If it's from anybody else's point of view, 'Bridge' would mean Sky in Bridge's body and so forth.

And about the 'romance'. Yes, it's Sky/Z, as in the actual Sky (whether he's residing in Bridge's body or not) with Z, and the same goes for Bridge/Syd. I've been quite smitten with these pairings lately, and feel they're rather unfairly under-represented on this site. So there you go.

4: Discovery

Sky Tate pushed his room's code into the console next to his bedroom's door with something that would approximate a weary hopelessness – he didn't think he could bear another day, leave alone weeks, in his present situation. Seeing Bridge hunched upon opening the door, great shoulders drawn together, looking the very picture of exhaustion and dejection in the last fading rays of sunlight filtering in through the window, did nothing to lift his spirits.

Bridge looked up as he came in, blue-grey eyes confused and exhausted. "Hey, Sky."

"Hello, Bridge." He walked in and sat heavily on his bed. "You know, I'm pretty sure Commander Kruger suspected something was wrong during our report."

Bridge raised a blond eyebrow. "You're worrying about the Commander? I'm pretty sure that Jack is convinced that something is wrong with us." He closed his eyes. "We can't go on like this, Sky. We need to tell the others. Spill the beans. Let the cat out of the bag. Throw light on the situation. And –"

"I get your point, Bridge," Sky interrupted quickly. "But why now? We can wait for some more time, right? I mean, today's situation wasn't all that bad. After the whole bomb fiasco, we did manage to successfully capture the mutant." He smiled as he remembered Jack's expression upon 'Sky's' revelation. "And there were certain other… improvements, as well."

"Sky." Bridge's voice was suddenly more agitated. "Do you know – have any idea – how difficult it was for me to get that shield up back there? It required an exercise of mental energy in a way that I've never, ever experienced before. And you could barely use my powers as well. Hell, you couldn't even maintain my handstand."

Sky frowned, and leaned forward. "Yeah, I was wondering about that. It's not like performing handstands was ever difficult for me. Why was it a different story back in those warehouses?"

"Like I said before, Sky, being me requires a certain type of temperament. I don't do the handstand just for laughs, you know." He eyed his friend wryly. "It really does help me think."

"Oh." Sky shifted his gaze to the window and sighed heavily. "I… I don't know, Bridge."

Bridge raised an eyebrow. The whole 'I'm-sceptical-because-you're-obviously-inferior-to-me' look was a lot easier to perform – almost a reflex – now that he was Sky. "Don't know what?"

"I don't know what to do." He shook his head, strands of brown tousled hair hanging over his eyes. "I can't seem to decide what's best for us at this stage – do we tell Commander Kruger and the others and risk a public embarrassment and suspension for endangerment of the populace with misuse of our genetic powers – as is stated in the SPD Handbook, Section 24, Article 16 – or do we continue like this and destroy ourselves in the process?" He gave a hollow, bitter laugh as Bridge watched him silently. "Some leader I am, huh? No wonder Commander Kruger appointed Jack as Red Ranger."

Bridge scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to say. Finally: "You can't handle every situation there is, Sky. You can't be perfect."

"No, but striving toward perfection is what leads to excellence."

Bridge didn't respond, unwilling to get into an argument he knew he couldn't win.

A few more minutes of tense, stifling silence.

Then:

A knock on the metal door sounded, its echoes resounding within the bedroom, causing both Bridge and Sky to jump a few feet into the air. "Uh… uhm, who is it?" Bridge stammered out.

"It's me, Z," a muffled voice sounded. "And Syd."

"Oh… Oh. I see. Z. Z and Syd. The girls. Uh… yeah. Oh." Bridge laughed nervously.

Sky rolled his eyes. "Come on in."

The doors slid open, and Z entered, her movements almost tentative. "Hey guys," she said. "I was hoping I could talk to you, Sky." She glanced meaningfully at the Green Ranger. "Alone."

Both men nodded, but neither made a move. Z frowned in confusion.

Bridge cleared his throat.

Sky blinked, as if he had just snapped out of a trance. "Oh. Oh, okay, then." He smiled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. It seemed so much easier to do in Bridge's body… and more natural, thankfully. He got up and moved toward the door. "I'll be going then."

Z smiled at him. "Syd's waiting for you outside."

"Yeah." Trying valiantly to repress a gulp, he stroked the console beside the doors, causing them to open. As he stepped outside to face a smiling Syd, and the doors slid closed behind him, he couldn't help but feel tense at this unexpected request for conversation. The girls must have discovered it. They must've found out about their little secret. How, when, where – he didn't know. But they must have figured it out.

He just knew it.

Sydney Drew found herself in a remarkable emotional state as Bridge stepped out of the room.

Obviously curiosity and a vague uneasiness occupied the forefront of her consciousness – considering the reasons she had come here to talk to Bridge in the first place – but there was also some lingering guilt, and most curiously, excitement. Excitement over what? Having Bridge alone? With her?

She pondered over that thought for an infinite moment, before discarding it with a laugh.

Excited over talking to Bridge? Sydney Drew?

How perfectly ludicrous.

She plastered a bright smile on her face, and it turned out to be pretty good plaster, for the smile did not melt even in the light of her concern for Bridge's unusually pale and worried countenance. He seemed to be tightly wound with a tension that was almost tangible – she fancied he would start vibrating violently if she so much as touched him.

There was definitely something afoot.

"Hi, Bridge," she said, deliberately overdoing the brightness in her voice, causing Bridge to tense up even more. "H-Hi Syd," he said guardedly. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

Syd smirked inwardly. He was definitely on the backfoot. It was time to press her advantage. "Why don't we go on a walk and discuss it, hm?"

"Surely there's no need –"

She made her eyes large, pouting at him. "Come on, Bridge. Please?"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before finally sighing and giving in. "Okay."

She placed a hand on his – at which he really did wince, but gave no further voice in protest. They started to walk down the corridor.

"So," Syd started after a couple of moments. "Been doing anything interesting lately?"

"Uhm, what? Interesting? No, not really."

"That's a pity." She stopped suddenly, turning to face a startled Bridge. "You know, Bridge…" she started quietly, huskily, eyes half-hooded, noticing with some hidden amusement that he was starting to sweat very badly.

Meanwhile, within Bridge's body, Sky was having, in crude terms, the mother of all panic attacks. He hadn't been aware of Bridge and Syd having a relationship that was anything more than innocent friendship. Well, now. He would just have to play along. Wherever that 'along' took him… and the real Bridge.

Syd continued, strangely enjoying the effect she was having on Bridge. "I've been very concerned about you lately." She laid a gentle hand on his chest. "You've not been yourself."

It had seemed impossible, but Bridge looked even tenser than before. "Not been myself?" Bridge made a high-pitched, nervous sound that could only be vaguely defined as laughter. "W-What do you mean? Of course I've been myself." Gently, almost unobtrusively, he pulled her hand away from his chest. "Just been good old Bridge Carson, and nothing else."

A bright flush coloured Syd's cheeks as Bridge's fingers closed over her hand. She scolded herself for being so vulnerable to such a small gesture – and from Bridge Carson, of all people. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand – which was uncloaking Bridge's mysterious secret. She decided to play her trump card.

"Oh, really?" She batted her eyelashes at him, and removed her hand from his in a shy gesture. "That's wonderful, then – you're well enough to take me on a date tomorrow like you promised."

Sky wished that a legion of Krybots – hell, even Grumm himself – would start attacking Newtech city right at that moment – he felt he was safer fighting a hundred Krybots by himself in a wheelchair and no weapons than the position he found himself in at the moment. So Syd and Bridge were dating? And Bridge had told him nothing about it? That was surprising, considering Bridge's nature.

But then again, upon further thought, it made sense to Sky that Bridge had said nothing to him. According to Section 12, Article 2 of the SPD Handbook – that section which dealt with interpersonal relationships of the cadets – anything that went beyond mere camaraderie between two cadets was strictly prohibited during times of duty – particularly Rangers, for they were almost constantly on duty. Sky would've definitely had something to say against Bridge and Syd's relationship, and it was obvious that Bridge hadn't wanted the rule-conscious Blue Ranger's interference in his romance.

He was, at present, caught in quite a conundrum. Was he to respect the institution he had worked so hard to come up in and reveal his identity, thereby stopping this blatant example of rule-breaking, or was he to respect his friendship to Bridge – one of the very few people in SPD who had not been veered away by his uptight attitude, and who had become – willingly or unwillingly – his sole confidant and a perfect foil for his over-zealousness? His best friend?

It seemed that he had been doing nothing but flounder over decisions of late.

The result of all of this introspection flowed out in six simple words from his mouth. "Sure, Syd. Tomorrow. Like I promised."

Syd smirked triumphantly. Gotcha. She placed her hands on his shoulders and slammed him against the corridor wall, leaning into his startled face. "Whoever you are, I know you're not Bridge, so spill the beans." She watched pseudo-Bridge gulp with no small amount of triumph. "I had thought that Bridge and Sky were acting strange lately. Z's going to uncover your accomplice – you've got nowhere to hide."

The impostor's eyes shifted nervously before he finally sighed and seemed to give in. "I guess the secret's out," he murmured, with something that inexplicably resembled relief in his tone. He looked into her eyes. "I'll tell you everything, Syd."

Something about the warm sincerity in his tone, that casual familiarity, like he had known her all his life, made Syd blink and let go of him. He stood straight and dusted his green and grey jacket. "Go on, then," she said. "Tell all."

He told her.

Z Delgado studied her subject with disguised interest.

Within the few minutes she had made her appearance in his room, Sky had fidgeted with his bed sheet, knocked over his alarm clock eleven times before placing it somewhere with an annoyed grunt where his elbows – suddenly prone to frequent nervous jerks – couldn't touch it; had opened his mouth, tried to say something, then closed it, at least five times, and currently seemed to very interested in studying the contours of the carpeted floor.

Well, then. It looked like she would have to start proceedings.

"Sky," she said, drawing her voice out into a thoughtful drawl, "I was thinking about what happened today. You know, how you couldn't get that shield up quickly."

"Oh?" He gulped visibly, and Z found herself wanting to laugh. Sure, she had always wanted Sky to loosen up a bit more, but this was getting too much…

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. Z's thought process came to a screeching halt. Since when had she wanted the uptight Blue Ranger to 'loosen up' with her? It had to be some sort of electromagnetic wave-like thingamajig that was screwing up their minds recently…

Sky spoke up, voice wavering ever so slightly, as if he wanted to be anywhere except his current position. "Like I said back at the warehouses, everybody has an off day. I mean," and he laughed, a light, nervous sound, "nobody's perfect, you know."

Z smirked, and leaned forward, her golden 'Z' pendant dangling threateningly in front of her chest. "But Sky, isn't striving toward perfection that which leads to excellence?"

Beads of perspiration broke out on Sky's sloping forehead. "Yes, of course, you're absolutely right – I'm glad you remember all that I say – but you see, even in the pursuit of excellence there are obstacles to be overcome. Take, for instance," Sky now seemed to be getting into some sort of an element, "the making of the Perfectly Buttery toast. For weeks, did I – I mean, Bridge – work on the program to be inputted into the regenerator, but it was only recently – and at a most unfortunate time – did it begin to work. So, Z, I hope you're starting to realise that –"

"What I'm starting to realise," Z interrupted, her voice hard, "is that you and Bridge have been acting strange lately." Her eyes narrowed. "Really strange."

Sky leaned back, and in his eyes was now an expression of utmost horror. "W-what do you mean?"

She got up, filled with an inexplicable anger at this… this facsimile, this impostor, this parasite who looked so much like the Sky Tate she had come to get used to these past few months. "You. You and your so-called Bridge. You're not real. You're not them. Syd is working on uncovering your accomplice, after which both of you will tell us where the real Sky and Bridge are, and then you two will be closeted in containment cards, along with the rest of the scum of the galaxy."

Sky's jaw dropped. "No, Z, relax! I can explain! You don't have to go to unnecessary extremes and –"

"Unnecessary?" Z reached into the holster attached to her belt. "Hardly."

Sky gulped as he felt the cold barrel of a pistol press against his forehead.

In a sudden movement, the doors slid open and Syd came rushing in, panting breathlessly, Bridge hot on her heels. "Wait, Z! Don't –" Z, startled, jerked the hand holding the laser pistol.

A gunshot and a terrible scream resounded within the confines of the room.