A/N: Hi everyone! This story has been nominated for best angst at The 2007 What A Character Awards! So if you like my story, please click on the link in my profile and vote for me! Thanks!

The Weakest Color

Chapter 9: Inside Job

A hard rock dug into his side, and Bridge could feel sharp blades of grass pressing into his face. Taking a deep breath, the green ranger pulled himself to his feet, shivering slightly in cold.

Where was he? How did he get here?

Steadying himself against a nearby park bench, he tried to gather his thoughts.

What exactly happened between the time he had left his room and now? Had he been sleepwalking? He couldn't remember. It was hard to think clearly with such a splitting headache.

"Maybe I had another nightmare." He said aloud, trying to sound convincing. A quick glance showed his morpher was safely in its holster; however, Bridge couldn't dispel the feeling that he was missing something terribly important.

"I've got tell Kat about these dreams." Bridge reluctantly admitted. Nightmares were one thing, but waking up in a random park – and having no idea of how you got there - was a completely different matter. 'Maybe she has some drugs or something that will help me.'

From somewhere nearby, he could hear the faint whisper of traffic and the low hum of Newtech city night-life. Someone laughed and yelled drunkenly, and an instant later he heard the sound of shattering glass.

Taking a few unsteady steps, he began to walk down a dirt path. A light flickered and buzzed before fading, leaving Bridge to continue on in the dark. He had almost reached the road when he heard an evil, terrifying whisper. 'Have you forgotten so soon?' Whispered a voice that could only belong to Gruumm. 'Have you forgotten our bargain?'

And then it all rushed back. His disastrous nighttime stroll. The super-weapon. The terrible bargain he had made. "No." He replied, partly out of denial. "How could I?"

He ran a hand through his thick hair, only to stop as he felt a small scar on the back of his head. 'Remember what's at stake, Green Ranger.' Gruumm continued. 'Through the device implanted in your puny brain, I can speak directly into your mind. You will follow my every order, or your planet will pay the price.'

"Now go." The warlord continued, after a brief pause. "I will instruct you when the time is right." Bridge bit his lip, and nodded. For now, it seemed, he didn't have a choice.

Finally reaching the road, he ignored the speeding cars and instead searched the skyline for the familiar outline of SPD headquarters. It was closer than he thought, Bridge realized, relieved. If he walked quickly, he could arrive well before dawn – and hours before anyone would realize he was gone.

Anyone, that is, except for Sky. 'He'll be upset, but won't say anything.' Bridge thought. Besides, Sky's disapproval was the least of his troubles.

After all, he had just sworn loyalty to an evil galaxy-conquering monster.

'How did I get myself into this?' Bridge thought, very quietly, in the deepest part of his mind. 'And how do I get myself out?'

But by the time he reached SPD headquarters, he still didn't have an answer.

From the moment Sky woke up in the morning, he knew it was going to be a bad day.

Long ago, during his first year at the academy, Sky had trained himself to wake early, before the alarm clock rung. Today, however, he woke at the same time as Bridge – that is, an hour later than usual. Which meant he had to rush.

Somehow, he managed to take a shower, throw on his clothes and arrive at the command center with two minutes to spare before the morning briefing. Two minutes early was, in Sky's book, late. And everyone knew it, too.

They were just too tactful to mention it.

Sky stifled a yawn, tired before the day even begun. His dreams had been dark and disturbing, full of battles and images of Gruumm and Broodwing. The nightmares had only gotten worse when Bridge returned from his midnight excursion; after a brief moment of wakefulness, Sky had fallen back into an uneasy sleep and the dreams had returned with a vengeance.

It was strange, Sky considered. These dreams were much more vivid and involved than usual. 'Well, it probably doesn't mean anything,' he eventually decided, firmly banishing the nightmares from his mind.

He had bigger things to worry about than dream interpretation. One of which was, at this very moment, stomping around in downtown Newtech City.

Giant robots took precedent over morning briefings any day, and within moments they had been sent out with the Delta Runners.

In all probability, Sky thought, this was just some random criminal, intent on destroying the rangers for either fame or personal profit. When would they learn? SPD fought and defeated such aliens on a daily basis and, as far as he could tell, this one seemed no different than the others.

"Let's finish this one quickly." Sky said tersely, and the other rangers nodded in agreement. Quickly fusing the runners into the Deltamax Megazord, they attacked the invader.

Sparks flew as the criminal staggered backwards. "SPD!" The rangers yelled. "Stop right there!"

"Not a chance!" Replied the criminal. Raising a gigantic arm, he struck at the rangers, confident of victory... only to have his robot's hand caught in the vice-like grip of the Delta Megazord.

Shoving the alien off balance, the rangers prepared to finish the fight. Arming the mega blaster, they aimed and fired; only to be thrown to the ground as the weapon backfired, a massive explosion scorching the side of the megazord.

The criminal paused a few feet away from the fallen rangers. "Later, power rangers!" He sneered disdainfully, quickly reconfiguring his robot for flight. Within moments, their opponent was only a speck in the sky. "Can we pursue him?" Sky asked. It galled him that any criminal could attack Newtech city so boldly – and get away with it, too.

"Are you kidding?" Jack replied. "And risk another explosion like that?"

"Rangers, return ... command center... repairs." Cruger interrupted, his message interspersed by static.

It seemed that even the megazord's communications had been damaged. The blue ranger groaned inwardly. Today just got a whole lot worse.

"...This morning's malfunction was unprecedented." Kat said, a concerned look on her face. "I'm worried that the megazord may have been sabotaged."

Cruger turning away from the scientist, growling under his breath. He had enough problems as it was, but he liked to believe that the SPD was successful both due to the power of a just cause, and the team of people devoted to it. The thought that one of his own could be working for Gruumm ...That was a possibility he had no wish to face.

"A traitor? In SPD?"

"It's one possibility, sir. The accident could have been a coincidence, but the chances of such a backfire happening on its own are a million to one."

Cruger sighed heavily. Sometimes he felt like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Kat waited patiently for his reply, a hint of sympathy in her eyes.

"Investigate everyone who has access to the megazord, especially any new recruits."

"The Rangers will have questions – what should I tell them?"

Cruger paused.

During the siege of Sirius, more than one of his old friends had defected to Gruumm's side. He thought he knew them well and had pegged them as honorable and loyal soldiers, but as soon as the tide began to turn against the defenders, they had thrown their lot in with the evil warlord, further weakening Sirius's defenses.

On good days, Cruger could almost pity their fates. But then he reminded himself of the damage they caused, and knew that they had brought it upon themselves. Gruumm was rarely merciful, even to his allies, and had made no exceptions for the defectors.

Thus, in times like these, not even the Rangers were beyond suspicion.

But if he had learned anything in his years as SPD commander, it was that very little was accomplished alone. He had to trust somebody – and it might as well be the ones with the least to gain from defecting to the side of evil.

"Very well. We will fully brief the Rangers. I could use the extra eyes and ears."

There was a reason Sky was blue ranger, and it wasn't his people skills. He was, however, very observant: more so than Jack or his other teammates would ever give him credit for.

He noticed things.

It was true that he didn't know when Bridge left their room. He also didn't know where he went, or precisely when he came back. But he did notice how tired his roommate was, and how silent he was around the other rangers.

He noticed how Bridge favored his left arm, as if something pained him. He also noticed how Bridge avoided his eyes when they spoke and how, during the afternoon, the normally social green ranger was nowhere to be seen.

After searching all the usual haunts, Sky ultimately found the green ranger in their room, cleaning.

That was when he knew something was terribly wrong.

Bridge hated cleaning.

He didn't really believe in it. And, sure enough, no matter how often the green ranger cleaned his side of the room, his things would gradually creep back to their places on the floor, the desk or the bed, forming cluttered piles across the room. And then he would clean it, and the cycle would start all over again.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Sky began, startling his roommate. "What happened to your back?"

"I was attacked by... a cat." Bridge said lamely, cursing himself for his carelessness. How had Sky known? 'He must have seen me changing this morning.' Bridge realized. 'I have to be more careful.' At the time, he had tried to be inconspicuous. Obviously, his efforts weren't enough.

He looked back at Sky, who was frowning at him. "A cat, huh?" Sky repeated, disappointed. The blue ranger sighed. "Bridge, you're my best friend. But I can only do so much. I promised not to report your late-night walks, but you need to get your act together before Jack or Cruger notices."

Bridge swallowed, and hung his head. "I'll try, Sky."

The blue ranger nodded. "I know." Walking over to his desk, he grabbed his handbook and turned to leave. But at the door he paused, and turned back. "And Bridge?"

"Yes?" The green ranger replied apprehensively.

"Cats have four claws, not five."

By the time a special briefing was called, Bridge was a nervous wreck. Tormented by a guilty conscience, he could only wait and rationalize away his worries. Had he been exposed already? 'No,' he reasoned. 'There's no way Cruger could have found out. I haven't done anything.'

'Not yet, at least.' He amended. He was certain that Gruumm would have an assignment for him, probably sooner rather than later. 'I'm not cut out for this.' Bridge thought, trying not to fidget nervously. 'If anyone at the academy had told me I was going to be a spy, I would have laughed at them.'

The minutes went by agonizingly slowly. As he waited for Cruger to arrive, Bridge tried to distract himself, first by staring at the clock, and then by listening in on his teammates' conversations.

"Nice job." Syd was saying, speaking to Z in undertones. "You nearly got us killed today."

"Me? Why is this my fault?" The yellow ranger argued. "Sky was the one pressing all the buttons."

"Look, we did everything the way we usually do." Jack interceded, hoping to head off an argument. "The explosion probably wasn't any of our faults."

"You're right, Cadet Landors." Cruger interrupted. The five b-squad cadets snapped to attention, saluting their commander.

"At ease." He ordered. The commander began to pace in front of them, and after a moment he turned to speak. "I have called you here," Cruger began, "because it has come to my attention that there may be a traitor within SPD."

"What?"

"No!"

"How is that possible?" Syd asked.

Sky however, remained silent, remembering Dru Harrington and Sophie. Admittedly, he had a terrible record at detecting traitors within SPD. Perhaps, although he was loathe to admit it, he was just a poor judge of character.

However, the lessons he had learned were valid. 'Anyone could be working for the enemy,' the blue ranger reminded himself. 'Even those you think are your friends.'

Bridge, on the other hand, was silent, but for completely different reasons. For the second time in a single day, he saw his life flash before his eyes. 'This is it.' He thought. 'It's over. They've caught me already. The Earth is doomed.'

But then Cruger continued. "You five are the only ones I can trust with this knowledge."

'Five?' Bridge looked up, suddenly hopeful. 'That means...'

"Kat has brought up the possibility that the megazord may have been sabotaged."

There was a stunned silence. "I need you to keep an eye out for anything, or anyone suspicious." Cruger carefully studied each of their faces. "You must be careful, Rangers. Anyone able to infiltrate SPD would have to be very skilled - and very dangerous."

"It could be anyone." Syd exclaimed. "SPD must employ thousands of people!"

Cruger nodded at her assessment. "And that's why you have to be careful. Don't let your guard down, Rangers."

"Right!" Jack resolved. "Earth is counting on us."

"But what if it was an outside job?" Sky wondered aloud.

Cruger shook his head. "Then they're already long gone."

The rangers slowly filed out of the command center, each struggling to come to terms with the day's events. Lost in his own thoughts, Bridge didn't notice how Z hung back from the others and, for a moment, walked beside him in silence.

"Okay, out with it." She said suddenly, scrutinizing him. If possible, her teammate was looking even worse than usual – which was saying something. The last few weeks had been hard on Bridge, and she wasn't one to sit by and let a friend get hurt. 'Time for an intercession.' She decided.

"Huh?" Bridge replied distractedly. "What?"

"Something's been bothering you." Z said, and held up a hand as he tried to formulate an excuse. "No, not this new 'sabotage the megazord' thing. You've been acting weird for weeks. The only one who seems to know anything is Sky, and he won't tell me anything. He's playing the strong, silent type again... anyhow, I know we haven't know each other for very long. But still, we're teammates and I'm pretty sure we're friends too."

Bridge stared at the ground guiltily, looking anywhere but at his teammate. Telling the truth wasn't an option, and he was a bad liar anyhow.

"Come on, Bridge." She urged. "In times like these we have to stick together."

Bridge visibly winced, and then sighed heavily. "It's nothing important. I just haven't been sleeping well lately, that's all."

"Your powers?"

'If only it was just that.' Bridge thought miserably, but he said nothing of his troubles. "I think so." He said instead, unconsciously rubbing his gloves. "Sometimes... I wish I didn't have them at all."

Z gave him a sympathetic look. "You know, I used to hate my powers. At school, everyone teased me, and made fun of me. Even my parents didn't understand. That's why I ran away."

"I thought nobody would accept me, and was alone for a long time. And then I met Jack, and everything changed." She smiled slightly. "I finally felt accepted, and because I felt accepted, I began to accept my powers, too."

The green ranger simply shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Bridge, you're a part of SPD." Z continued. "You're an important member of our team, and your powers are part of that. So what are you so afraid of?"

But Bridge was thinking of the super-weapon and Gruumm's flashing red eyes. "If you only knew..." He said softly, but she was already too far away to hear.

TBC

A/N: Review, else I may be turned into a newt. I'll get better, but you should review anyhow. On another note, would anyone like to be my beta reader? If so, mention it in a review or message me... I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!