Episode XXIV

Feet-n-Feathers

It was a dreary morning in Angel Grove, overcast and almost cold really. Ellie wasn't impressed by the drastic shift in temperature when it had been so hot the day before that she had threatened to strip out of her dress and parade around school naked. She had been joking, of course, but Logan's shocked expression was worth a laugh.

Still, Ellie wasn't known for being a pessimist and quickly selected her favorite sweater to wear for the day. It was the perfect shade of pink, not too dark or too light, and not super bright either. And it was comfortable.

With a pale pair of jeans and her hair tied back in a tight ponytail, she was ready for the day. She gave her mother a quick hug and bolted out the door, not surprised in the slightest by the shiny red car parked by the curb.

Logan was staring off into space, his dark eyes hidden behind a pair of shades and his head leaned back heavily against the headrest. Wondering if he might have nodded back off while waiting, Ellie carefully opened the door, not wanting to startle him. "Good morning," she announced brightly, sliding into the passenger seat.

His head jerked up suddenly, and his strong hands clenched at the steering wheel. She could almost feel the panic written on his face. "Uh. Mornin' Elle," he returned, his voice rough. "You look nice," he added after a quick scan of her.

"Thanks," she grinned as the faintest of blushes spread over her cheeks. For the last week they had been doing this, this strangely simple routine.

It wasn't like she had never been alone with Logan, it had happened more than once in their long friendship, but being together and alone seemed to make all the difference. She was suddenly nervous and self conscious, and she never had been before.

He was sweet to her, impossibly so, and she had never been so happy. But she was also terrified that one day he was going to wake up and decide he had made a huge mistake. What if he went back for Tiffany? She couldn't bare the thought.

Then again, she didn't have to. Logan shifted the car into drive, and once they were securely on the main road, he curled his fingers around hers, just like he had been doing it his whole life. All of their pieces just seemed to fit together.

She sighed happily, and couldn't even complain when he threatened to deafen them with his jacked up sound system. The trip was unfortunately short, and after only a brief ten minutes, she had to release him, at least for the moment.

Logan parked in his personal spot, and jumped out of the car in a hurry. He dashed around the front of his car, pulling his dark jacket tight over his red t-shirt, while she touched up her make-up, and popped the passenger door open.

Ellie took his extended hand, and let him pull her out of the seat. He half-smiled at her, and it was her undoing. Then, before she had time to think herself out of it, Ellie did something she hadn't yet done.

She climbed onto her toes, and placed the daintiest of kisses on his lips. "You're the best, you know," she whispered on her decent. Logan just stood there, completely in shock, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, sweetie. We're going to be late."

The boy just nodded, content to be led by her, as they moved past the few crowds of people that were brave enough to face the cold. Their own crowd had found a table in the cafeteria, chattering wildly, all except Spike, who was sound asleep.

They said their hellos briefly, but their own conversation drew them back, all except Ian, who examined his best friend carefully. "What'd you do, Ellie?"

The others glanced back, and Alex laughed, "Oh God, you broke him!"

Ellie blushed red for the second time this morning. "I-I didn't do anything…" she tried, but no one seemed to believe her.

"Sure, sure," Ian said, climbing out of his seat and coming up behind them. He shook Logan by the shoulder, "Wake up, dude. What ever she did, you probably want to be awake enough for her to do it again."

"Mhm," he murmured back.

"Logan?" Ellie questioned, squeezing the hand she still had in her own. "Oh, no… Maybe I did break him!"

The others continued to laugh at her, and only the ringing of the first bell could stopper them. "Give him to me, Ellie," Jaime offered. "We've got Spanish first this morning."

Ellie scanned her boyfriend's face one last time. "O-okay," she relented. She didn't want to turn him loose, but as her first class was on the opposite side of the building, she didn't really have a choice. She untangled their hands, but before she could get more than a few steps away, Logan was back on her.

He grabbed her hand tightly, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. "Wait!" he called, like he had just realized what had happened.

She wanted to ask if he was okay, but he didn't give her the chance. One moment he was standing there looking at her, and the next his lips were plastered to hers, in a real proper kiss.

The whole world went dim for what seemed like hours, until a round of awkward coughing drew them apart. "Alright, alright, I think that's enough of that," Alex said, pushing herself between them. "Break it up, lovebirds, its time for class."

"Bye, Elle. See you at lunch," Logan told her softly, but all she could manage in return was a small, breathless, "Bye."

"Spike! Biology is in five minutes. Get up!"

Ellie shook off the last of her strange feelings, and came to her senses enough to help wake Spike up. His book bag was wet with drool, and went he jerked up, his face had a long red sleep line cutting across it.

"I'm up, I'm up," he replied groggily.

"Sure you are," Ellie murmured back to him, easing his long, thin frame out of the chair.

The rangers split ways after that, Jaime and Logan heading down the left hall to Spanish, while the rest of them climbed the stairs. And all was right with the world, for the moment.

o.O.o

"No, no, no!" the drama teacher screamed, throwing his pink beret to the ground and stomping it against the tile. "This is Sleeping Beauty not MacBeth! Its soft, and sweet. Be gentle!"

The little man was quite frightening, even at barely five feet tall and dressed completely in pastels. Even Ellie was taller than he was, but when the bell rang at the end of last period, she was the first out the door.

The drama room was at the far end of the school, and her locker was on the floor above, so she had to move fast if she wanted to get off the school property before the buses ran. Or else they'd be stuck for a solid twenty minutes.

She ran into Spike first, dragging his feet out of his math class. He looked dejected, and judging by the piece of paper he had clutched in his hand, she could guess why.

"There are other tests, Spike," she told him kindly, resting her hand on his forearm. She wasn't about to tell him she'd gotten a 97 on the same one.

"Hey!" came Logan's voice from up ahead. Ellie jerked her head in his direction, dropping her hand.

"Logan!" she called with a grin that lit up the entire hallway. She bound over to him, arms outstretched, and wrapped herself around him.

He caught her, and yanked her up in the air with a small spin. "How was your day?" he asked as he placed he back on the ground.

She made a face, thinking about the lecture they'd gotten last period. "Mr. Deaver isn't happy about our rehearsals."

Ellie continued to chatter on, Logan at her side pretending to listen, while Spike trailed behind. They were soon joined by Ian and Alex, and moments later, Jaime came from out of nowhere, hiking his bag over his shoulder.

"So," he started, "where are we going?"

o.O.o

By the time they got out of the school they were all caught up on the day's gossip. It was still cool, and the sky kept threatening to shower them with rain, but none of them were ready to go home quite yet. Confetti's parking lot was completely packed on their drive by, however, so they had settled for the less glamorous destination that was the park.

The place was deserted, and the usually pleasant park was quiet and unnerving. "Something doesn't feel right.." Spike muttered, looking over his shoulder worriedly.

"It's nothing, Spike. This place is empty." Ellie assured him, but she couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine.

"But-" he started to protest. Then a strange chattering call broke the silence, and set them all on edge.

"Was that - ?"

"Shit."

"Every fuckin' time," Logan sighed, digging the sole of his tennis shoe into the dirt as he dropped into his fighting stance. Ellie did the same, slightly behind him, but just as capable, despite his protectiveness.

All at once, twenty bluish creatures dropped from nowhere. They circled all around them, with hard, jerky movements, like their joints were frozen in place.

There was a stand-off for a moment, and then the bravest, or perhaps the stupidest, Nippie charged forward. The others followed suit, and ran directly into their line of fire.

One, two, three, she counted in her head as the minions shattered. Where they were stiff, the rangers were fluid, moving about each other, working together to dispatch the threat.

The creatures fell like dominoes, but when the last began to melt away, they knew better than to resume their walk. They scanned the park warily, searching for another threat. There was always some monster, ready to try them on, for glory, or power, or whatever it was that Wintressa had promised them.

They moved slowly, working their way inwards, six pairs of eyes darting in every direction, when they spotted her.

It had to be a monster, no one in their right mind would be dressed like that, on a day like this. The dress she wore was long, skimming the ground with the hem of the rosy colored fabric, with big, puffy sleeves, and ribbons of all colors twirled around her waist.

The dress was one thing, the pointed hat, complete with a ribbon that flowed past her long blonde hair, was something totally different.

The creature spun on her heel, sending a shower of rainbow sparkles to the ground as the dress puffed up around her form. The shining glitter had her distracted, but when the monster cackled manically, Ellie's eyes were drawn up to its face.

While the form was certainly feminine, the thin, pointy face was anything but. With a beak like nose, and a course set of eyebrows to match the black goatee, the creature painted a confused picture.

"Why hello, Rangers!" it cooed at them, followed by a dainty blown kiss.

"Yep, that's it, I'm going home," Ian muttered behind her.

She had to agree, of all the monsters they had fought so far, and all of those she had heard about in the past, this one had to be high on strangest list.

"Ooh hoo hoo! I forgot to introduce myself! How rude," he told them in his false, high-pitched voice. "I'm Mr. Feathers. Or Feathers, if you please." Feathers continued to chatter, dipping into a curtsey as he said his name.

The show was horribly eye-catching, something like watching a train wreck in slow motion, but Alex was having none of it. "Come on, Birdbrain. We don't have all day."

He pouted with his candy-colored lips. "If it's a fight you want, then a fight you shall have," he sneered, his voice turning dark and menacing.

A haunted look took over his lavender eyes, and with his next breath, he hurled himself forward. His lithe body seemed to skim across the ground, one fluid movement after another.

They couldn't even get near him, even after they morphed. His multitude of ribbons swirled through the air, some burned when touched, others sparked, and a few whipped and twirled around their captives, drawing them in.

He batted off every attack they threw at him, and nothing seemed to cut through his defenses. The stand still continued, a dance of sorts, until a bright blue ribbon caught her by surprise. The bright fabric twirled around Ellie's ankle, and with a sharp tug sent her sprawling to the ground.

"Logan!" she screamed, dropping her fans so she could dig her fingers into the hard dirt. Her efforts did little, and despite his desperate onslaught, Logan couldn't get anywhere near her.

Farther and farther she slid. Her entire body felt tight and constricted, and the feeling only kept intensifying. It took her several feet of space before Ellie realized the impossible. She wasn't just being dragged, she was shrinking, fast.

With no escape, Feathers reeled her in, and enveloped her in the satin folds of his interior. Dark, damp, and smelling of freshly tilled sewage, Ellie consigned herself to her end, half in shock, half in tears.

To make matters worse, over the next several minutes, four blips of light cut through the darkness, and four of the others joined her cave of utmost doom.

Their only hope was Logan. "Logan," she whispered to herself, pulling her knees up to her chin. "Save us, Logan."

o.O.o

Panicked by his sudden abandonment, Logan ravaged the monster with every ounce of his strength. He didn't think, or feel, he just did. And with one powerful blow after another, he backed the pink monstrosity into a lone tree, and pinned him there with a hand to the throat.

The ribbons drifted harmlessly to the ground as the monster choked. "No!" he gasped, eyes wide with terror as the red ranger pulled back his weapon.

With a wild slash of his boomerang, Logan slit Mr. Feathers' torso open, and sent the monster shattering to the ground. His teammates spilled out of the gash, dripping a sticky black goo, but otherwise they looked unharmed.

Alex took a fist full of the ick from her visor and slung it to the ground. "That shit reeks," Ian said between gags.

But Logan only had eyes for one of them. They would only have a few moments before that atrocity grew to the size of skyscrapers, but he had to make sure she was okay. Personally.

Ellie was trying, and failing miserably, to get rid of the mess that coated her usually pristine pink uniform. Even when the rest of them were coated in filth, she somehow remained clean, but not this time.

Logan didn't care about the mess, or the smell, all we wanted was to make sure she was actually there, to feel her with his own hands.

"Don't touch me, Logan," she told him as he neared her. "You'll get your suit dirty."

"I don't care," he returned stubbornly. With careful hands he reached under the lip of her helmet and pulled on the latches. Her helmet gave way, splitting open to reveal her flawless skin beneath. Even her makeup was intact.

"What are you doing?" she breathed, searching his expressionless visor for some kind of answer.

"I-I just had to make sure you were okay."

Ellie smiled up at him, her blue eyes twinkling like gemstones. "I'm fine, honey. You saved me."

Logan puffed up a little at that, proud of that accomplishment. "Anything for you, sweetheart."

Several feet away, Alex turned her back on the happy couple. "This is going to be a running thing now, isn't it?" she sighed in Jaime's direction, one hand on her hip and the other covering her eyes. The boy only shook his head at her, making Spike burst into a fit of laughter. "Someone else break them up. I think I'm blind."

Ian moved to do so, but his trip was cut short when the puddle that had once tried to eat them started to take shape once more.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath.

Hurriedly, Logan handed Ellie back her helmet, and she snapped it back into place. "Time to finish this one off for good," he told her, his usual arrogance back in full force.

Ellie danced along beside him, and he could practically feel the smile that was surely still on her lips. Before Mr. Feathers had enough time to take shape, their zords arrived, and they were forced to part.

The giant metal animals piled into the clearing, roaring and snorting. If they hadn't been so shiny, and gigantic, they just might have been alive.

Logan sailed into the cockpit of his zord, and patted the dash. "Come on, buddy. Let's show this douche who's boss."

His restraints automatically fastened themselves down around his body, and the console flared to life. The zords controlled like another appendage these days, responding to the lightest of touches, and that, more than anything, probably stopped Ellie from being snatched out of the air.

The pink ribbon was back, and larger than ever. The strip of fabric missed the Parrot Zord by a few inches, but quickly found another target. The pink tongue wrapped itself around the throat of Ian's giraffe, and sent it toppling to the ground with a heavy thud.

"We can't keep this up, Alex," Jaime said warily after his own zord got flung half way across the park. "The zords are powerful enough like this."

Alex was silent while she considered their options, but in the end she agreed. "Activate Megazord Mode, guys."

Logan reluctantly agreed, even though he hadn't gotten a clear shot of his own yet, and flipped the switch that set his transformation in motion. The Dingo Zord bent and twisted, tucking its legs against its belly, and leaning back its head.

Spike's zord fell into place beside his, quickly followed by Ian's, all while Jaime and the girls kept Feathers distracted. The entire thing took under a minute, but time seemed to drag on. They might be stronger together, but they were never weaker than they were in those few moments.

Once the six of them were all seated comfortably in the main cockpit, the battle resumed with full force. Mr. Feathers continued to pelt them with ribbon, and when he thought one wasn't enough, three more joined the fray.

The monster used his appendages like tentacles, constricting them around the body of the Megazord, and pulled them ever closer to its center.

Alex was growing frustrated, as was everyone else, and when she successfully snatched on of the pink snakes out of the air, a dark look overtook her features. With a smirk, she pulled on her controls, and gave the ribbon a mighty yank.

Feathers stumbled, and then crashed to the Earth. The ground shook under their feet, but the Megazord remained steady on its feet. "Ian, the sword! Get the sword!"

Ian pressed buttons furiously on his console, and after a tense moment one of the diamond shaped patches on their chest glowed to life. With the arm under her control, Alex reached for the light, and pulled back the empty hilt of their sword. It flared to life then, a shining beam of light brighter than any sun.

Mr. Feathers was just making to his feet when the blade came swinging down, catching him in the skull and sending his tall hat, and chunks of ice, flying through the air. His face froze in shock for the faintest second, and then the deep gash spread, cleaving the top half of his face away from his body.

The ice crashed the ground, shattering an old tree, and ruining on of the long flower gardens. The normal chaos enveloped them as they celebrated their victory, and by the time they were safely on the ground, nothing remained but a few giant puddles.

Their were no spectators today, perhaps because it was so chilly out, so they chose to demorph there, instead of running for cover. His friends were just happy to be out of the black goo.

Logan sauntered over to Ellie, and captured her tiny hand. "You want to ditch the guys and go out for dinner?" he asked her quietly. He couldn't have been more pleased with her happy bounce, and the big hug she wrapped him up in. "I guess that's a yes?" She nodded excitedly, still pulled up tight against his chest. "Let's get out of here then."