Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, but I do own this team and their adventures.
*Italic indicates thought
Episode IX: Land of Fiction
Chapter Three: Real Life Vs Fiction
A/N: Hey readers! Sorry about the long delay on this. I've been unbelievably busy since school started. But things are finally starting to clam down a little and I had time to finish this. Big stuff coming next epaiode so I hope you're ready!
"Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us." -Paul Theroux
"Ugh..." Andy moaned as he opened his eyes. He tried to move his hand and rub them, but he couldn't move it. He lifted his head up and looked down at his body. He was lying on a metal table with his wrists and ankles strapped down by metal cuffs. "Oh man!" He looked around and saw Jasper and Austin on ether side of him. "Jasper! Austin!"
"Mmm..." Jasper groaned. He cringed in pain right before he open his eyes. "Andy?" He tried to move his hands, only to meet the resistance of the metal cuffs. "What's going on?!"
"Dude, there's no need to yell," Austin said. "My head is freaking killing me." He felt the metal cuffs on his wrists and ankles and frowned. "What...what the hell?!" He jerked back and forth trying to get free.
"Where are we?"
"I don't know! Andy?"
"Uh...well if I had to guess, I'd say a science lab."
Jasper noted all the monitors on the walls and really scary looking equipment on counters. "I'm pretty sure I've seen horror movies with this kind of set up."
"We're screwed," Austin said. "We're so fucking screwed!"
"Austin chill. We're not dead yet. I'm sure if we put our brains together, we can figure something out."
"Put your brains together?" asked a woman's voice. The three boys lifted their heads as much as they could and saw a woman in black clothes and a white lab coat standing in the doorway. "What an interesting idea."
"Who are you?" Jasper asked while Andy stared wide-eyed. He hadn't realized that meeting the hero he'd created would also mean meeting the villain.
"I'm The Scientist."
"Of what?" Austin asked. "What type of scientist?"
"Oh...many things," she mused as she walked closer to them. "Biology, chemistry, microbiology, pathology, you get the picture."
"What do you want with us?" Jasper asked. Again, Andy found himself marveling at the fact he was at the mercy of his own villain. Granted he'd only just started understanding The Scientist himself, which made this all the more scarier. Clearly they'd been sent into the storyline of his current and unfinished book, but he didn't think that was good. He didn't even know how to defeat her yet.
"What," The Scientist demanded, looking at them like they were a brand new species. "You think I'll just give you a whole monologue about my schemes?"
"It's that usually what crazy ass bitches like your do in these situations?" Austin asked. Andy shook his head at the green ranger. Jasper noticed the immediate change in the demeanor of their captor. She stopped smiling and started glaring at them. She snarled and grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be a scalpel. Before any of them could say anything she swung her arm and stabbed Austin in the arm.
"Ah!" the green ranger seized against his restraints, as blood oozed out of the wound. "Fucking pyscho ass bitch!"
"Austin, shut up," Andy hissed.
"She fucking stabbed me!"
"Keep calling me that and I'll cut out the foul tongue," The Scientist snarled at Austin. Andy hoped he's stay quiet, but then remembered this was Austin he was talking about.
"You're bluffing."
"Austin shut it!" Jasper snapped. This woman looked like she would legitimately hurt him.
"Make me!"
"I'll make you!" she yelled. She reached behind her and grabbed something that looked like scissors. She set the scalpel down and reached out for Austin. He turned his head to the side. She grabbed his head and turned it up. She moved her hand down and forced Austin's mouth open.
"Leave him alone!" Andy told her.
"He's a crack-head, he doesn't know what he's saying!" The other two Rangers were thrashing around in their restraints. Austin glared at the scientist. He glanced quickly at Jasper and Andy, who were starting to cut their arms because of how much they were struggling.
"Wait!" The Scientist looked at Andy, having put the device in Austin's mouth. It was now open all the way and held open with the device; his tongue flopping out like a dead fish. "You-you don't want to do that!"
"Why not?" The Scientist asked.
"Because...because if you do...then it might effect the results of your experiments."
The Scientists considered, scaled hovering near Austin's mouth. He was staring at it with wide eyes. "I suppose you're right." She put the scalpel down again and looked down at Austin. "You're lucky your friend here is so smart." Austin nodded as she took the device out of his mouth. "Now, let's continue, shall we?"
The three boys glanced at each other. They hoped help was coming soon.
-Thunder Strike-
Quinn finished the wiring and stood back. The device she'd made was haphazard at best. It was shaped like a remote with a few buttons and a sensor. She brought it over to her monitors and started typing. She set the device to lock on to the teleportation path of the boys. "Leo?"
"Yeah Quinn?!" Leo ducked as a Darkling swung at her head. She shot it down and turned her attention back to Teleporto. "Chris and I are closing in on the demon-"
"No! You can't destroy him! Not yet."
"Why not?!" Chris demanded. She fried at Teleporto from her bike, then had to bank to the left quickly to avoid the blast coming back at her.
"I've been doing some research. I think that if you destroy the demon before the boys get back, they'll be trapped there forever!"
"Well that would be bad."
"Definitely," Leo agreed. "What do you want us to do?"
"I have an idea...but it's just..."
"What?!" Chris asked, narrowly voiding being teleported somewhere herself.
"I can't! It would require me leaving."
"Why not send Z then?" Leo suggested.
"I'd need time to teach him how to use the device and-"
"We definitely don't have that kind of time," Chris said. She and Leo fired close to the demon to keep his attention on them. "Quinn just go!"
"But-"
"No buts!"
"She's right," Leo agreed. "You need to go Quinn! We'll hold him off as long as we can! Get the boys and send them down when you get back."
"O-ok." Quinn smiled. "You can count on me girls!"
"I know we can. Now go!"
The device beeped. It had found the teleportation path of the boys. Quinn smiled as she picked it up. She hit a couple of buttons and set the coordinates. "Sorry Z. Looks like I have to break your rules after all." She hit the last button and teleported away just as Z came downstairs to check on her.
-Thunder Strike-
Asa knew he was in trouble. He couldn't stop mentally kicking himself for allowing three teens to be taken under his watch. First that pyscho last year, and now a new crazy had shown up. "I need to get to the Lab. I'll need some gear and of course-" He stopped short when a person quite literally fell out of the sky. Whoever it was on his car. He hit the breaks and saw a blur of black hair through the cracked windshield as the person rolled off his hood and into the thankfully deserted street. This day isn't going well. He got out quickly and ran over. "Are you ok?"
He helped the girl to her feet and she squinted at him. "Why are you all blurry?"
Asa noticed a pair of gold, metal glasses on the ground and picked them up. "Um...hold still." He put them on her and she smiled.
"Oh that's better." Asa regarded her with curiosity. She looked perfectly normal. Her black hair was in a pony tail, and she was wearing overalls with a white shirt underneath. He noticed her bare feet and wondered if she was homeless. And why she fell out of the sky.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Quinn."
"Mind explaining why you fell out of the sky?"
"Oh, I teleported here."
"Teleported?"
"Yeah! I'm looking for my friends. Andy, Jasper, and Austin."
"Andy, Jasper, and Austin? They're you're friends?"
"Yes! Have you seen them?"
"Um...yes. I'm afraid they've been kidnapped."
"Then we need to go rescue them!"
"We?! Oh no. You're not coming."
"Yes I am."
"No you're not."
"Yes I am. They're my friends! I have people counting on me!"
"You could get hurt! And you're barefoot!"
"I'm coming with you whether you want me to or not."
"But-"
"Look, we can sit here or we can get moving. We need to save them. There's not much time."
Asa sighed. He was extremely hesitant to involve this girl, but he didn't see what other options he had. The was clearly something special about her and she had fallen out of the sky. "Fine. But if things get too dangerous-"
"I'll make sure to keep you safe." Now she started pushing buttons on her remote.
"What exactly is that?" Asa asked her.
"It's a teleportation device. I threw it together to come here and save my friends."
"You built this?!"
"Yes."
"Can it take us anywhere?"
"Um...I suppose. Why?"
Asa smiled. "Because I have an idea." He held out his hand for the device. "If I may?" Quinn looked at him for a moment before she handed it over. He took it and put in some coordinates. "We need to go here."
"Why?"
"Because...I think I know how we'll save your friends."
-Thunder Strike-
Jasper flinched as The Scientist finished drawing a vial of his blood. He didn't look af his arm until he felt the pain stop.
"There," she smiled. "All done."
"You're gonna let us go now, right?" Austin asked.
"Of course not."
"It was worth a shot."
"We need to find a way out of here," Jasper whispered to them.
"Now, for Phase 2!" The Scientist smiled.
"There's a phase two?" Austin asked.
"Of course there's a Phase Two!"
Andy rolled his eyes. After this he was half willing to delete all his novels. "What's Phase Two?"
"Phase Two is me putting these mind control devices," she held up a round object, about the size of a dime with wires hanging from it like a jellyfish, "in your heads to see if they work."
"Just when I thought this wasn't enough of a horror show already," Austin said. Andy decided he was definitely revising the story when he got back.
"Now, to put you boys to-" The Scientist stopped when she heard a bang. The three boys all lifted their heads and looked towards the door. They heard the sounds of fighting outside the room. There were shouts of pain and surprise and even gun shots. The Scientist moved towards Jasper, putting the scalpel on his throat. He put his head down in an effort to keep the blade away from his windpipe. Everything was quiet for a couple of minutes, and then there were several beeps and the door exploded.
Andy and Austin closed their eyes and turned their heads, Jasper closed his eyes, and The Scientist turned from the door and put her free arm up over her face. They all opened their eyes and a figure walked out of the smoke.
"Stop fiend!" the man yelled.
Andy broke into a smile. "Captain Ace!"
"Well I'll be damned," Austin whispered. He glanced at Andy, who was staring at Captain Ace like all his dreams had come true.
The hero was wearing a white suit, not like their ranger suits, this looked like it was made of a cloth type material. It had purple gauntlets and gloves, purple boots, a purple utility belt with more toys than batman, and a purple mask on his eyes that was tied behind his head. He had a arranged meant of stripes, black, grey, purple, and white, in a soft diamond shape on his chest and torso, with gaps a south to form a 'CA' in the middle. "Let these young boys go!"
"You take one more step and I'll slit his throat!" The Scientist snapped.
"We can reason this out like adults. But you need to release them."
"Not gonna happen!"
Captain Ace sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that." He glanced behind him a little bit. "Hey Kid!"
Andy frowned, then open his mouth in shock when a teenage girl came running in. "What-"
"Awesome," Austin smiled.
The girl was about their age and had black hair in ponytail. Her suit was identical to Captain Ace's, except she had a 'GA' on her chest. "Guys!"
"Who are you?!" The Scientist demanded.
"Girl Ace!" the girl said. "I'm his side-kick!"
"Side-kick!?" Andy demanded in shock.
"You didn't say Captain Ace had a side-kick," Austin said to Andy quietly.
"He doesn't."
"Both of you need to leave!" The Scientist yelled at the new arrivals. "You're ruining my experiments!"
"You're a criminal! And you need to be stopped!" Captain Ace said. He looked at Girl Ace and they nodded at each other. Captain Ace threw something at The Scientist.
"Ah!" She yells when it exploded against her. It electrocuted her and she stumbled away from the boys. She hit a button in the wall and alarms started going off. Captain Ace attacked her while Girl Ace went for the trapped boys.
"Need a hand?" she asked them.
"You sound very familiar," Austin said as she looked for a tool in her belt. She took one out and started picking the locks on his restraints. "Have we met before?"
Girl Ace smiled and lifted up her mask a little bit. "You can say that."
"Quinn?!" the three boys hissed. She nodded.
"Shhh." She moved her mask back and moved around Austin swiftly, continuing to free him. The green ranger watched her work with a smile. Figures Quinn would be the one to come and save them.
"Qu-Girl Ace, look out!" Jasper yelled. Quinn turned around and saw several very large men come into the room. They split up, three going for Quinn and the rest going for Captain Ace. They were at least twice her size. She smiled and finished freeing Austin.
"Here!" she yelled throwing him the tool. "Get them free! I'll handle these guys!"
"You got it!" Austin agreed. He got off the table and went immediately to Andy. He started unlocking his wrists while Quinn took on the toughs. Jasper and Andy watched as she took a stance, both thinking that it would be hard for her to beat them. Quinn attacked them quickly, moving with speed the Rangers were used to during sparring. But this was a little different this what they normally saw from her. She went straight for the weaker parts of their bodies, kicking them in the knees with all her strength. She ducked as one of them punched at her head and jumped up. She kicked the first one in the side, then turned quickly to a second one. She punched him in the stomach and he stumbled back in shock.
The third one grabbed her arm from behind, but that just made her smile. She jumped up and, using her trapped arm to pull herself up, kicked him in the face. He let go and she landed safely on her feet. She turned around just the first brute swung at her head. She caught his wrist with her hands and moved her head out of the way. She quickly bent his hand back and slipped behind him; pulling his arm back and up his back. He fell on his knees with a cry of pain and she spun around and kicked him in the head. She released his arm and he fell on the ground unconscious. She stepped over him and blocked a punch from the second one. The third one came at her from behind and she looked between them. She smiled and quickly punched one in the stomach; turned and kicked then other one in the chest.
They became enraged and charged at her. Quinn slipped between them and they needed up running into each other head first. They banged their heads together and both fell on the ground unconscious. She looked back at the boys. "You guys ok?"
"Yeah," Jasper nodded, rubbing his wrist.
"That was fucking awesome," Austin smiled. They all looked over at Captain Ace, who was trying to restrain The Scientist. She had somehow procured a knife and was trying to stab him with it. Andy watched with wide eyes as his hero flickered his eyes back and forth to follow her movements. She saw them and quickly threw the dagger at the teens.
"Look out!" Captain Ace shouted. The Rangers and Quinn scattered; throwing themselves on the ground. They got up and saw that The Scientist had gained another weapon.
"Where is she getting all of these?!" Austin demanded.
"You guys should morph," Quinn advised.
"Excellent idea," Andy nodded.
"THUNDER STRIKE, STORM WARNING!" the four boys yelled. The Scientist stared at them in open mouth shock.
"More super heroes?!" she demanded. She smiled. "Looks like it's time for me to split. This ain't over Captain Ace." She grabbed something out of one of the pockets of her lab coat and threw it on the ground. It exploded in a puff of smoke and the teens ran towards her. When the smoke cleared though, she was gone.
"Damn," Austin sighed. "She's gone."
Captain Ace nodded. "She is. But she'll be back. I'm sure of it." He turned to face the teens. "Are you boys ok?"
"Yeah," Jasper said as they all nodded. "We're fine."
Captain Ace nodded, then looked at Quinn. "Thank you for your help Quinn."
"I was glad to help," Quinn replied, beaming. She hit a button concealed on the inside of her wrist with a couple of fingers. Her wrist glowed purple and the outfit disappeared off her body. She slipped a device that was purple and looked like a cuff of some kind. She handed it back to Captain Ace with a sad smile. "It was fun while it lasted."
"Fun?" he shook his head as he took the cuff from her. "You're really something."
"So says my Dad. Oh god he'd be furious if he knew what I'd just done."
"Well I'd hope on some level that he'd be proud to have such a brave and resourceful daughter."
"Thanks."
Captain Ace sighed. "I suppose now, the challenge is getting you kids home."
"Oh we got that covered," Quinn smiled, waving her device. They left the room, heading into a hallway through the destroyed doorway. "I'll need to keep an eye on this place. And let Rick know about all this."
"Rick?" Jasper asked.
"My friend. He's a detective on the police force."
"Ah."
Andy smiled. He'd forgotten all about Asa's childhood friend and aromate, Rick. Part of him wished that he could've met him, another part was unbelievably glad to be going home. Once they were outside, which turned out to be in the middle of a run down part of the city, the guys summoned day their bikes.
"Storm chasers," the yelled. "online!"
Asa's eyes widened when the bikes teleported to them. "Wow. You kids are full of surprises."
"We try," Austin said getting on his. He was done with this crazy fictional world. It was time to get back to reality.
"Thank you for your help," Jasper said to Asa, shaking his hand.
"It's what I do."
Jasper and Andy got on their bikes while Quinn finished sending them the coordinates home. She smiled at Asa when they were done. "Bye."
"Good-bye Quinn," he smiled. He shook her hand. "Fighting with you today was a grand adventure."
"Hopefully you have more to come."
"You as well."
Quinn frowned. "I wouldn't count on it." She went over to Jasper, and got on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her bare feet against the back of his boots. "Come on boys, let's go home."
Andy took one last look at Asa. It was unbelievable to him that his character existed here. "Bye Asa."
"Good-bye," Asa replied, waving. "Be safe."
"We try," Austin said. The boys powered up their bikes and drive forward; teleporting away a few seconds later.
-Thunder Strike-
To say that Z was worried as a vast understatement. He was petrified. Not only was Quinn gone, but he and no idea where she was. She could've been on the moon for all he knew. He really hoped she wasn't. As if answering his prayers, Jasper, Austin, and Andy suddenly teleported into the basement; braking in just the right place with practiced ease. Quinn jumped off the back of Jasper's bike.
"Go! Leo and Chris are waiting for you guys!" she yelled to them. She ignored her uncle, who was glaring at her, and went straight to her computers.
"Quinn-" Z began but she cut him off.
"Lecture me later. I need to focus on helping the Rangers right now."
Z sighed but reluctantly nodded. As furious as he was with his niece, he knew she was right. The most important thing right now was saving the world. And that she was safe. The fight he knew would inevitably come later.
-Thunder Strike-
Meanwhile, Leo and Chris drove in zig-zags around Teleporto. He was desperately trying to hit the girls with their own blasts, but they were figuring out his name. All of a sudden, three more bursts of light appeared and the boys raced out of them. They all shot at Teleporto, whose back was turned to them. They hit him and he fell on the ground.
"About time you guys got here," Chris said as they joined the boys.
"Is Quinn ok?" Leo asked them.
"She's not dead, which is good," Jasper said.
"And she's even more of a badass than she was before," Austin added.
Teleporto got to his feet. "How did you Rangers escape?!"
"You underestimate our team!" Andy yelled. "And how unbelievably awesome our tech girl is!"
"Let's finish this guy off," Chris suggested. "I'm getting real sick of his attitude."
"Great idea," Leo agreed. They took one of the tags off their necks.
"Storm chasers, attack mode!" they yelled, slipping the silver tags into their bikes. They drove around Teleporto and spread out in a circle.
"Hawk chaser, power up!" Leo shouted.
"Tiger chaser, power up!" Chris yelled.
"Bobcat chaser, power up!" Austin exclaimed.
"Fox chaser, power up!" Andy yelled.
"Falcon chaser, power up!" Jasper shouted.
The eyes on the front of their chasers tsar tee glowing with their ranger colors. They all fired and drive after their shots. The shots all hit Teleporto in their pairs; red, blue, green, white, and black. They all stopped and spun around facing Teleporto as he exploded.
"You guys are getting good at this," Quinn said to them.
"Think he's coming back?" Andy asked. His question was answered when a quant funnel cloud appeared in the center of the circle of rangers.
"Yes," Austin replied.
"Thunder zords, activate!"
"Thunder hawk zord, powered up!"
"Thunder tiger zord, powered up!"
"Thunder bobcat zord, powered up!"
"Thunder fox zord, powered up!"
"Thunder falcon zord, powered up!"
"Thunder Strike Megazord!"
Teleporto clapped his hands together, then disappeared. He reappeared behind them. He hit the megazord and it stumbled forward. The Megazord spun around, only for him to disappear again as it reached its arms out. He reappeared on the side this time; hitting the fighting machine again.
"Let's get on with the power up," Leo said. The others nodded, regaining their senses from being knocked around. They took our their new tags and put them in the slot on their controllers.
"Storm chasers," they yelled. "online!"
"Storm Chaser Megazord!" the five of them yelled. They swung the spear at Teleporto, only to have him teleport out of its way.
"Haha! You still can't catch me Rangers!" the demon laughed. He kept teleporting round the megazord; hitting it every time he reappeared. The Rangers did their best to maintain control of their zord, but they weren't able to land a solid hit. The Megazord stumbled as it almost ,a aged to scratch him.
"We seriously need to pin him down or something," Austin said.
"I have an idea," Jasper said suddenly. They were all thrown forward, all of them feeling at least a couple of ribs crack from the force of being thrown into their front panels.
"What is it?" Leo asked. She was welcoming any ideas at this point.
"Our storm chasers are able to teleport, right?"
"So?"
"I lIke where this is going," Quinn said in their helmets. "Jasper thinks you guys can get the Megazord to teleport."
"Is that possible?" Chris asked.
"For the amount of power you'd need...dangerous. You only have enough power to do it once."
"Then let's make it count!" Chris suggested.
"Ok, follow my instructions exactly."
Teleporto meanwhile was enjoying the fact that the Rangers weren't able to keep up with him. He teleported behind them and was about to hit them when the I tore Megazord disappeared! He looked around. "What- ah!" The Megazord reappeared behind him and knocked him to the ground.
"We got him!" Austin cheered.
"You guys need to be careful," Quinn warned them. "If you overload the fuel cells the zords might explode."
"That would be bad," Jasper agreed as the Megazord stabbed the spear at Teleporto before he could recover. The wheels on the spear spun around at impossible speeds. He got to his feet, only, to be throw back by the Megazord swinging the spear at him. He was hit in the chest and took off the side of a building with his fall.
"Let's finish him!" Leo ordered. They flipped the third switches and pushed a button.
"Storm Chaser Final Strike!" the five Rangers yelled. The Megazord raced forward and went through Teleporto with its spear. He tried to teleport out of the way but didn't quite make it. He exploded and the Rangers all cheered.
"The storm has passed!" Leo agreed.
-Thunder Strike-
Later on, Leo was playing her violin. She played a few measures, then made a note on the music. She wrote a couple of notes on the staff and put her pencil down. She picked her instrument up again and started playing from the beginning of her piece. She had working on it for four months. Writing music took a while for her, since she wanted every note and chord to matter. She stopped suddenly, her bow screeching against the strings in surprise, when she heard the yelling. She frowned as she went over to her door and opened it. She saw Chris do the same from her door down the hall. The two girls heard shouting coming from the library.
"Is that Quinn?" Chris wondered. She looked at Leo for conformation, thinking the red ranger had a better listening place. She saw Leo shift on her feet and sighed. She went down the hall and put her hands on Leo's shoulders. She steered her back into her bedroom, making sure to shut the door behind them. A second later it opened again and Andy came in.
"Hey, why are Quinn and Z-" he stopped short when he saw Leo. "What's wrong with her?"
"Leo's not the confrontational type," Chris reminded him. Andy nodded. Leo was so much more sure of herself when she was the red ranger, they tended to forget she wasn't like that all the time. Leo played with the tuning knobs on her violin, despite the fact it was already in tune. Austin came in next.
"Yo, Z and Q are going at it in there. I could hear them over my music."
"Me too," Chris said. She had been dancing in her room when she'd heard the fight.
"Wonder what what they're fighting about," Andy mused.
"It probably has something to do with Quinn coming to save us earlier," Austin suggested.
"What does?" Jasper asked as he entered.
"The fight."
"Oh yeah. I'd bet money it's that."
"What money?"
"Alright you two," Chris warned them. "Knock it off."
"Maybe I should've have told Quinn to go," Leo said so quietly they almost didn't hear her.
"No, you made the right choice."
"Yeah," Andy agreed. "We would've been gonners without Quinn."
"But if it's causing them to fight-" Leo argued, putting her violin down on her bed.
"We all know why they're fighting and it has little to do with her busting out today," Austin said. "But it does have everything to do with Z keeping her locked up in here."
"Quinn's got every right to be angry with Z," Jasper agreed. "I mean I get that Quinn's dad and Z are worried about her safety, but we all know this is crazy."
They heard the library door bang open and running footsteps. A second later another door slammed shut. They all stayed quiet for a minute and Leo went over to the door. She opened it and looked out. She saw Z come out of the library and approach Quinn's door. He raised his hand to knock on her door, then hesitated. He stood there for a minute before sighing. He turned away, and headed towards the stairs. Leo ventured out of her room and knocked on Quinn's door.
"Quinn?" she asked quietly. "Quinn? Are you ok?" She waited, but didn't get a response. She opens the door slowly. "Quinn?" She saw the bay windows open on the far side of the room. Her friend was kneeling on the balcony, arms draped up on the railing; crying. Leo entered the room, shutting the door behind her. She approached her distraught friend slowly. She grabbed the gold blanket off Quinn's bed. She dropped it over her friend's shoulders. "Don't catch a cold."
Leo knelt beside Quinn, putting an arm around her shoulders. Quinn leaned into her, burying her face in The red ranger's shirt. Leo hugged her tight; not caring about the tears that soaked her shirt. Nether of them said anything for a few minutes. Eventually, Quinn calmed down a little bit. The red ranger played with a stray strand of black hair.
"This place is a prison," Quinn murmured.
"...it's a nice prison," Leo countered, not even trying to argue the point.
"It's still a prison." Quinn buried her face in Leo's chest again. "I hate it here."
"I know you do. But try to look on the bright side-"
"What bright side?!"
"...it's a nice prison."
Quinn huffed, sitting up and wiping her eyes. Sure, it was nice. She lived in a mansion; never had to worry about anything; owned so many nice things and state of the art technology. But a gilded cage was still a cage. "If only it had an exit," she mentioned. She sighed and leaned into Leo. Her friend wrapped her arms around her. Quinn curled up and cried. Leo stayed quiet and held her.
-Thunder Strike-
Next Time on Power Rangers Thunder Strike: the ranger get the day off from duty and want to spend it outside the house with Quinn. If only they could convince Z to let her leave.
