Gia was a mess of nerves by the time she got to Cat's place. She didn't really know why, she had been asked out dozens of times in her life. By virtue of being the object of desire for apparently every kid in school with a Y chromosome since First Grade, she's already dealt with more than one admirer. Most just needed to hear that she wasn't interested, but some, including one in her first year in High School who had ended up speaking a few octaves higher needed a more direct lesson.

Somehow though, this was very different. Every time she had rebuffed one of the guys, it had been easy comparatively speaking. This time though was different. It was the first time another girl had asked her out.

She had to admit that she was more than a little flattered. Cat was, to be honest, a little strange, but she had a lot of qualities that were attractive. Gia couldn't help smile when she thought about the times she would just start talking about seemingly nothing, and keep going ending up crossing apparently every subject known to man without really saying anything of any note. It was both irritating, and also highly amusing how she could begin with something relevant, only to end up with some bizarre story involving her brother and an incident that almost got him arrested.

He got to the door of the apartment and knocked. A moment later, Cat answered, a toothbrush in her mouth. She looked immediately horrified.

"Gia!" She mumbled out past the toothbrush. She gestured her inside, before rushing to find somewhere to spit. She chose the kitchen sink, taking a quick slurp of water to rinse out her mouth.

"Um...is your brother around?" Gia asked. Cat just shook her head.

"He works night shift, he won't be home for a couple of hours." She informed Gia. "Um...do you want something...?"

"Cat, could you sit down please?" Gia asked. Cat just sighed and made her way dejectedly to the sofa. Gia could already tell that she had worked out the fact it wasn't likely to be good news. She took a deep breath as she prepared for what she was sure would be the hardest conversation she'd ever had.

"I got that comic strip you sent me." Gia told her. "Um...it was really good."

"You liked it?" Cat asked hopefully. Gia just looked at her.

"It was good, but...I couldn't help...in it, you kissed me." Gia told her. Cat just looked at her like she was waiting for the point. "Um...that was your way of asking me out wasn't it?"

Cat didn't answer. She just played nervously with the collar of her t-shirt.

"I...I guess so." She stammered. Gia just sighed.

"Cat..."

"Don't say no!" She begged in response. "We can..."

"Cat, you aren't out yet." Gia reminded her.

"But..."

"What do you really think we can do?" Gia asked her. "Do you really want to spend all your time sneaking kisses in dark corners and stealing moments in secret?"

"Gia, I l..."

"I don't doubt how strongly you feel, and I'm not doing this to be deliberately cruel." Gia assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But if you aren't ready to admit what you are, then what makes you think you're ready for a relationship?"

Cat started to tear up hearing Gia ask that. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew that Gia had a point. She had closely guarded the fact she was gay, her biggest secret, for years. Since she had told her parents, and they had thrown a fit, leading to her brother taking her in, she had jealously guarded that side of herself. It was only by virtue of the fact Gia's outing had been so public that she felt the confidence to pursue her desire.

"I...I..."

"Cat, please, I don't want to lose you as a friend." Gia told her. "But since we're being honest, I don't think it'd be fair to you either. I'm...I'm kind of hung up on someone else."

"Emma?" Cat guessed. Gia hated the fact that Cat seemed to be astute enough to realise that. She bit her lip and nodded in response.

"It's more than a crush. I've been in love with her for a long time." Gia admitted, stroking Cat's shoulder. "I can't be with anyone until I get over that. It wouldn't be fair. I'd be using them."

"But..."

"I'd know." Gia told her flatly. "It wouldn't be fair. I would be using you, and that's not the kind of person I want to be."

Cat buried her face in her hands and started to sob loudly. Gia hated having to do this, having to cause her so much upset, but she knew it was something that needed to happen.

"Cat..."

"Can I be alone please?" Cat asked her. Gia just nodded, and left quietly. Cat just curled up in a ball on the couch as she went.

Back in the forest, Jordan's training was going a little hit-and-miss. He knew how to fight, and he knew how to shoot, but he just wasn't able to get his head around the fact that he needed to think beyond the fight he was having.

His dad had been in the military for most of his life, and Jordan's sensei had all been part of the military. While that had meant that he had walked away on the better end of fights before, he was now starting to realise there was a very big weakness in what he had trained in. His sensei all had a very basic mantra that had served him well up until now. Strike first, strike hard, make sure the other guy is out of the fight, THEN worry about whether or not he would walk again!

As he took a break, and the others took a rest from being kicked to the ground, he sighed. Troy had shown him that while his training was effective in keeping himself safe, there was a lot more to being a superhero than that. He needed to expand his vision beyond the immediate battle, and realise that he wasn't the only one that could be hurt. His Robo Knight form came with armour, which so far had always kept him from any serious harm, but not everyone had the same luxury. Most people would rely on him to keep them safe.

"Your training seems to be going well." They heard someone say. They all snapped to their feet as Lauren arrived in her Ranger mode. "It's a little unorthodox, but I guess I can work with it."

"Um...thanks?" Troy offered. "I've...I've seen you before."

"I'm the Red Samurai Ranger." Lauren explained. "Well...one of them anyway, there were actually two but...you know what, that isn't important."

"How did you know...?"

"You're really not as subtle as you think." Lauren cut off Noah. "By the way, wearing your Ranger colours 24/7? Not a good move if you really want to keep things under wraps."

"We'll bear that in mind." Jake stated. "Now, what are you here for?"

"Well, the new guy seems to be having a few teething problems." Lauren stated, gesturing to Jordan, before casting a symbol with her Samuraizer. A bundle of training equipment appeared before them. "I figured I could help."

"Really?" Jake asked. "What makes you think...?"

"I was quite literally trained to fight since I could walk." Lauren began. "I spent the better part of twenty years being shipped from one sensei to another to prepare me for my role as Red Ranger, and...oh yeah, I spent nearly two years as a captive in a hell dimension where I was tortured for hours a day every day."

"Um...I guess that makes her qualified." Emma babbled. "I mean, she has done this before."

"The Samurai Rangers were active for almost two years." Noah stated. "So...you've been watching us?"

"We needed to know if you needed help." Lauren told them. "I have to admit, we had some worries, especially once we figured out you were all kids, but so far you've done well."

She stepped into the middle of the clearing, and pointed to Jordan.

"So...you think you're ready?" She asked him. "How about you try me?"

"I have to warn you, this armour's pretty tough." Jordan stated.

"I think I can handle it." Lauren replied. "Unless you're scared of a girl."

Jordan called forth his armour, striding forwards.

"You asked for..."

Before he knew what had happened, he found himself flat on his back, with Lauren looking down on him.

"Sorry, did you need a moment?" She asked. Jordan kipped up back to his feet and rounded on her, throwing himself back to the attack.

Back at the Brainfreeze, Eric was settling up is tab when he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned around, seeing Mrs Moran standing before him.

"I..."

"You're a hard man to get a hold of." She commented. "I have been trying."

"It's not exactly deliberate; I've just had a lot on." He commented. "Um...we probably shouldn't..."

"Thank you." She interrupted him, surprising him somewhat. She gestured to his face. "I'm guessing my soon-to-be ex-husband didn't exactly go quietly."

"He made it clear he didn't want to go to jail." Eric replied. "Sorry, but this is unexpected."

"Things weren't right between us for a long time, long before...well..." Mrs Moran offered as she gestured to the door. "Can we go for a drink or something? This is starting to feel a little awkward."

"I guess I have some time." He replied. "What did you have in mind?"

"There's a place near here that has incredible chicken wings." She told him.

"Probably my favourite two words in existence." Eric replied, following her.

Back in the forest, Jordan flew into a tree, slamming into it hard. He punched the ground in frustration. Lauren wasn't stronger than him, she wasn't faster, and by the looks of her costume, she didn't have better protection than him. He couldn't understand why she was constantly beating him and tossing him around like he was nothing.

"Strength isn't the most important factor in a fight." Lauren explained. "You can have all the strength in the world, but still lose because your opponent is better."

Jordan rushed at her, intending to prove a point by grabbing her and driving her into the Earth. Before he knew what direction was which, he was once again staring at the ground. A foot slammed into the back of his helmet, grinding his face into the dirt.

"Wow, that was impressive." Lauren said sarcastically. "Your passion is admirable, but you could do with a little more control."

As she stepped off his helmet, she powered down, exposing herself to the team. Jordan sat up as the others all tried to take in what they had just seen.

"Lauren?" Troy asked.

"Jeremy, Spike and I are heading back to Panorama on Monday." She informed them. "You're a little greener than I would have liked, but it looks like you have things covered here. Just as well, one of my team is pregnant, another two are waiting on their surrogate giving birth, and one of them's spending about seventeen hours a day in his new restaurant."

"Do we even want to ask?" Jake asked her. She just smiled and handed him a card.

"If you need help, just call." She told them. "In the meantime, teach the new guy that the main benefit of armour is that you can actually BLOCK some attacks."

With that, she walked away, and seemingly disappeared into the ether.

"Wow, another Ranger." Noah started.

"Alright, take five." Troy stated. "Then we can get back to whipping the new guy into shape."

"Hello, I am right here!" Jordan protested as they headed for the picnic hamper to have lunch.

Later in the day, Gia got to Ernie's and saw Ernie gesturing to her wildly. He approached.

"I need you in the back." He told her.

"Ernie, I..."

"Please, it is something you can help with." He told her. Gia just followed him. As she got into the back, she found Cat sitting on the floor. Her clothes were torn, and stained with blood. She was holding tissues under her nose, which were saturated with blood. She looked up as Gia came in, but quickly averted her gaze.

"Cat?" Gia asked. "Who did this to you?"

"I don't..."

"Cat, someone obviously beat the crap out of you." Gia stated. "Who did it?"

"Everyone?" She offered weakly. Gia didn't understand. "I thought about what you said. I realised you had a point."

"You're going to have to back up a few steps, I'm kind of lost." Gia told her. "What happened?"

"I admitted what I was. I came out." Cat told her. "Some of the other kids didn't like that much."

"Cat!" Gia shrieked, before looking to Ernie.

"I got her to safety." He assured her. "I saw she was in trouble and got her away."

"Cat, why the hell would you do that?" Gia asked her. "Why the hell would you...?"

"Because you did." She whimpered. She just stared at Gia with glassy, slightly vacant eyes. "I did it because you said..."

"Cat, you saw how much shit I got when I was outed!" Gia stated. "I didn't mean..."

"I just wanted to be honest with what I am like you." Cat whimpered. Gia just sighed. Although she knew that realistically there was no way she could have controlled what Cat did with her advice, she still felt guilty. The only reason Cat had come out was because Gia ad said that there would be no chance of them having a relationship if she was still in the closet.

"Cat, who did this to you?" Gia asked her. Cat just looked to the floor.

"I don't..."

Cat, who did it?" Gia asked again.

"Brittany." She answered. "She called me...a lot of things...then she just hit me."

Gia got up and stormed out of the back room. As she got into the main restaurant, she saw exactly what she was looking for. Brittany.

She was a big girl, close to six feet already, and with an athletic build. She was on the volleyball team, and something of a queen bee at the school. No one was more pleased than her when the truth about Gia came out, because Brittany was the Beta girl in the school. Now Gia was known to be inaccessible to the guys, Brittany was the new alpha.

"Hey Gia, I..."

Gia grabbed her shirt and pulled her to her feet.

"I hear you messed up Cat." Gia stated.

"I..."

"You knocked her down, why don't you try knocking me down?" Gia insisted. Brittany stood up to her full height, towering over Gia, looking down on her. She then pointed over Gia's shoulder.

"Hey, isn't that your dad?"

Gia turned to look, only to find herself on the floor very quickly afterwards. It was a trick, a cheap shot on Brittany's part, one that she knew she should never have fallen for. She stroked her jaw as Brittany shook out her hand to recover some feeling in it.

"I'll give you that one." Gia said, before kicking Brittany's feet from under her. She got to her knees as Brittany started to lift herself up. She spun around, connecting across her face first with her left foot, then with the heel of her right. Brittany ended up on the floor, barely moving as Gia got to her feet.

"You're a coward. You knew Cat would never fight back." Gia spat as she straightened out her clothes. "When you're done collecting your teeth, maybe you can learn not to take on fights you'll never win."

With that, she walked out of the Brainfreeze, leaving Brittany nursing her injuries.