Once Kai found out that the bracelets we share, the ones I'd imbued with my telekinetic abilities, burned me pretty badly, he'd told (more like forced) me to change it. With a little bit of help from Damon, I'd managed to siphon a bit of power back out. Now, instead of literally setting our wrists on fire when the other sibling is in trouble, a gem in the middle will glow based on our emotions.
I've found that green is for disgust, jealousy, or envy. Red is for anger, determination, or love. Purple for pride. Blue for our chill moments. And yellow for embarrassment. Among other things.
I lift my wrist, gazing at the sunflower yellow crystal on it. What did he do now- the door to the gym slides open, and Leo steps in, water bottle in hand. "Hey," he greets, and I wave, gesturing to my bracelet.
"Looks like our Blue Ranger might be in a bit of a pickle." Leo snickers at my joke.
"Good. The dude got on my case about something earlier."
"Ah. Guy stuff?" He pauses his stretching for a moment, and I tilt my head at him, waiting for a response.
"Yeah. Don't think you wanna hear it." I shudder. Definitely don't wanna hear it. "What've you been up to?"
"Don't laugh." I've also found that it's helpful to lead with that warning before saying anything to my team that might be incriminating.
"No promises," Leo replies, setting his stuff down next to a punching bag, and as he goes to remove his shirt, I look away. Nope. Not today, Satan. Not today.
"Well, I guess it counts as training," I explain, bending to pick up the blindfold I'd thrown on the ground in anger. (Good thing it happened before Leo got here, otherwise he'd probably laughed until he cried.) "But I'm learning how to use my telekinesis, and fight, with my eyes closed." Leo whistles softly, and I shrug as I tie the fabric strip back around my head.
"No need to show off, Kar."
"Nah. I'm just trying my best to improve as much as I can." His footsteps shuffle against the ground almost noiselessly, but I can still hear him as he approaches me. Also, on a much weirder note, I can feel him, and not just because of our bond. Each of my teammates has a specific aura about them, one that I've grown to sense more and more as my abilities have matured.
Leo's energy feels like a warm fire. One that'd you curl up beside with a good book on a cold night. One that lets you know that you're home, that you're safe.
"Need a partner?" I haven't tried to fight against another person with this handicap, but I might as well try, right? His footsteps stop at my back, and so I turn to face him, holding out a hand in challenge.
"Bring it, Red." Slowly, cautiously, we begin to circle each other. I keep my focus deadset on the warm aura he exudes, and so when he jabs forward, I'm easily able to duck under it. My arm comes up to smack his fist down, and I spin away. Unfortunately, though, I'm only able to pinpoint his general area, not which way he's facing. Leo must've figured this out, since I can't dodge his sweeping kick that takes me down to the mat, but before he can pin me, I roll out of the way, jumping back up. "You'll have to do better than that, love."
The nickname comes easily around my team, and I think I've called everyone that (except for Kai, that would be weird). But for a reason I'm pretty sure of, it has a paralyzing effect on Leo.
"Oh, that is it." He dives for me, and I frown. Way too easy- or not. When I go to sidestep, my foot rolls against something cylindrical, and my back hits the mat, leaving me stunned and out of breath. Leo laughs triumphantly, and his comforting aura comes closer as he bends down, picking up whatever thing he'd thrown at me. Gently, he reaches behind me, untying the blindfold, and I almost wish he hadn't, since he has that smile on his face. "Gotcha." His water bottle sits in his hand, and I frown, crossing my arms.
"That wasn't fair. You cheated!"
"No way," Leo retorts, leaning closer to me and ruffling my hair, as per his usual teasing habit. "All I did was figure out that you knew where I was based on my energy. So if I threw something at you that didn't carry that same signature…"
"I wouldn't be able to predict it."
"So, you admit defeat?"
"Do I really have a choice?" Leo taps his chin, tilting his head in a pretense of contemplation.
"Uh, no. I won, fair and square."
"Ugh. Fine." The Red Ranger lets out a whoop of delight, and I roll my eyes as he stands up, offering a hand to me as well. I take it, and glance at the color of my gem. Still a brilliant yellow, almost orange, since the same emotion is coming from both me and my brother. Yikes.
"I didn't think the day would come when I beat you, princess." Heat floods my cheeks, and Leo takes a hint from my stricken expression. "I mean. Um. Kara. I, uh…"
"Rangers!" If I could collapse in relief without being weird, I would. "Maronda is attacking civilians in the park!"
Leo and I exchange determined glances. "Put a shirt on, we need to go."
Call me overconfident, but ever since we took down Scorpius, I can't help but feel like any of these monsters are easy pickings. But when I spot Commander Stanton knocked out on the grass, panic surges through me.
"Look who's come to save the day," Maronda hisses.
"That's right!" My brother retorts.
"Why, I was only playing with them." The female monster's tone slides over my skin like jelly, and I shiver. Creepy.
"Well, you sure as hell don't play fair," Leo growls, and I take that as a signal. A trio of Stingwingers leap at me, their wings carrying them an extra foot or so into the air, and I scoff. A mistake if I've ever seen one. I wait until the moment just before they hit the ground, and when their spindly legs come just within reach, I reach up. Using the Stingwinger I'd grabbed, I toss it into its friends and watch as they tumble out of the sky. Nice.
"Leo!" Kai's shout has my attention snapping towards Maronda, and my brother and I jump at her in unison. She drops the Red Ranger, instead turning her attacks on Kai and I, and despite our synchronous combat style, the monster is too fast. It's not long before Kai's on the ground, but I'm still standing, having been able to dodge most of her blows.
At least, until now. The blue creature spews some sort of powder from her mouth, and before I can get it off me, the specks explode. I'm tossed into the air, but Leo and 'Drix are there to steady me.
"You alright?" The Pink Ranger asks worriedly, and I nod.
"Yeah. I've felt worse." Not a lie, but also, that explosion still hurt like hell. The others are okay as well, so the only person left to worry about is-
"Commander Stanton, are you okay?"
"Yes." Huh. He's normally pretty stoic, but something about his demeanor is off. "I'm fine."
"Great. Let's go, guys," Leo orders, and I shake off the weird feeling. It was probably nothing.
Don't get me wrong, having a day off is nice. But sometimes it can get massively boring. Which is why having Leo with me makes it entertaining.
"Okay, now all we need is chocolate-" Something smacks the top of my head, and raw egg drips down my hair. "Chips." I spin around, only to find Leo doubled over in laughter. In fact, he's laughing so hard that it's the silent kind of laughter that almost hurts. But because he's not looking right now… I dip my hand into the leftover flour, and when he straightens up, I toss it right at him. His jaw drops, the white dust coating his red shirt, and I grin. What a loser.
"I just washed this shirt!"
"Sucks for you. Guess you'll just have to wash it again-" He lunges for me, and I screech, dashing to the other side of my kitchen counter.
"Get your ass over here, Aqua."
"Not a chance, Red." Just like we had during our spar, we circle each other around the kitchen island, and suddenly, he steps to the right. Naturally, I move the opposite way, but stupidly enough, I don't realize it's a feint. (In my defense, Leo's not the type to use feints. That's more my style.) In a matter of moments, he's got me trapped against him, his hands around my waist. The warm aura he gives off is heightened tenfold, and his embrace is comforting, safe. "Let me go, you goofball." Despite my words, though, I don't squirm away as he grabs the last bit of flour and tosses it into my hair. When he speaks, his breath tickles against my neck, and I hope to God he can't tell how fast my heart is beating.
"Gotcha."
The door slides open, and Leo pushes me away, rushing to the other side of the kitchen counter, while I step over to the sink.
"Okay, who made this mess?" Of course Kendrix has to arrive home early for once. The one roommate that would scold me for this.
"Leo started it!"
Later that evening, my bracelet glows (dims? How does one describe this…) a monotonous gray. Never a good sign. After helping Kendrix clean up the kitchen, I show her the gem and she frowns, urging me to check on my brother. So, here I am, the smell of something burning wafting out of the guys' room.
"Whoa. Guess the bracelet doesn't lie." Leo jumps into the air, a blush tinting his cheeks, and Damon waves me in.
"Something's wrong. I mean, just look at him," he whispers to me, and I frown, putting a hand on my hip. "Yo, Kai!" My brother finally glances up, and I gesture at the smoke rising from their food.
"Ah, shit! Completely burnt!"
"Something's wrong. I came all this way to check on you, so don't try to deflect." Kai glares at me.
"Thanks. You walking less than two feet is such a far distance," he mutters, "but, yeah. There is."
"Well, let it bother you after we eat- ow!" Damon clutches at the foot I'd just stepped on, and I shoot him a warning glance.
"Today the commander made me shut down two engines."
"So?" Leo replies with a shrug, and I turn my glare on him now.
Don't make me kick you, too.
Ooh, I'm terrified.
"So? According to my calculations, we're going to drift right into that star," Kai explains, pacing towards his computer and pointing at the picture on its screen. Damon sighs.
"You can't stand being wrong, can you?"
"I'm not wrong!" Kai retorts, "Maybe just not in theory."
"Theory?" Leo echoes. "Look. Commander's got us this far. I think he knows what he's doing. Wouldn't you agree?" He asks, glancing at me, and I frown.
Don't loop me into your shit, either, Red.
Or what? Gonna kick me? Ughhhh. As much as I love him, he can also be a major pain in my ass.
"I think there's good reason for you to bring your calculations up to Stanton," I murmur after a moment of thought, "especially if what you discovered could potentially save us from a dangerous situation. But also, Stanton's not the commander for nothing. He's probably right."
"Yeah," Kai mumbles, "I hope so."
My shift in sci div over, I step out of command, humming softly to myself. Hopefully Kai's talk with the commander went well-
"No, no wait!" The two guards who'd been handling him just stare, then proceed to shut the doors on him.
"Kai, what happened?"
"Commander Stanton, that's what," he mutters as we start to walk, and I sigh. Of course my advice had gone to crap, "he's suspended me from duty!" Okay, maybe not. Maybe this is all a weird dream. But when I glance down at the spot on his uniform where the GSA patch is supposed to be, it's not there. Damn. The gem on my bracelet flares a dark blue for sadness. Deep sadness.
"You did what you could. Which was…"
"Uh. Disobeying a direct order?" My right hand flies up to my left arm, and I pinch myself as hard as I can. Ow ow ow. Definitely not a dream, or a nightmare.
"Why'd you do that? I get that you had calculations, but Commander Stanton-'' Realization floods over Kai's face, and the expression is so strong, it stops my words mid-sentence.
"Told me to trust my instincts." He spins around, and I follow his gaze to the side exit of command, where Commander Stanton's just emerged from. Kai ducks down behind a car, yanking me with him, and I shake my head. I'm just here, constantly being looped into my friend's crap. "Come on. Let's follow him."
Okay. This time, this one time, maybe being dragged along on things is important. Because Moranda steps out of the shadows, whispering a command to, well, our Commander. Very, extremely, not good. If he's under her command… we're probably hurling towards the star as we speak.
"What's our-"
"You won't get away with this!" Kai shouts, dashing out from our hiding spot behind a tree, and I sigh. So much for a plan.
"And who's going to stop me, you two?" The Commander crosses his arms, obviously not about to move to safety, and I glare at Moranda. She knows we won't fire. That we can't risk injuring Stanton, no matter what the situation. "I didn't think so." I love the color blue. Like, that's my color. But when our opponent nocks a shining blue arrow into her bow, I don't think I'll ever see it the same way again. The moment she releases her bowstring, Kai and I flip away, landing in similar crouches. "Get back to your command," she orders Stanton, "and don't let anyone stop you, got it?"
"No!" I shout.
"Commander, don't!" Moranda steps in front of us, blocking our path, and Kai and I nod to each other. My brother kicks high, while I go low, but she steps out of range of the first attack, jumping up to avoid mine. When I pop back up, Kai's taking the brunt of the damage, and I let out a hiss, punching repeatedly into Moranda's back until she turns to me.
"Stop beating up my brother!" I order, bending my knees and raising my fists. I've never been the best at hand-to-hand, but it'll have to do, "That's my job." Moranda sweeps out a leg, but I'm faster, flipping away. Before I can think up a counterattack, though, she unleashes her explosive powder, scattering it over me, and I brace myself. The knockback tosses me to the ground next to my brother, and the monster raises her weapon, ready to knock us out-
The clang of metal against metal resounds into the air, and Kai and I look up to see a welcome sight.
"Kai, Kara, are you okay?" Leo asks, and I groan, getting up even as my wounds ache.
"Been better."
"Man am I glad to see you guys," Kai adds, "But now I've got to stop the commander." Oh boy. This'll be a fun bit of context to give them when we've finished this.
"I'm going too. Gotta make sure he doesn't hurt himself too badly."
What I'd told the others was a flat out excuse. The truth is, I'm terrified to let him out of my sight, what with our evil Commander on the loose. When we first fought Deviot after he'd captured my brother and Damon, Kai promised me he'd never scare me like he did again.
I've got to hold him to that. Commander Stanton swings a spare pipe, aiming straight for Kai, and I throw out a hand, forcing the pipe backwards. He keeps a death grip on it, though, and so he's able to regain control. Just as he's about to swing again, my brother and I block the hit, Kai grabbing at the pipe and pushing back while I grab at the Commander's arm, pulling it away.
"Wake up, sir!" Kai begs, and I grit my teeth. Damn, was Stanton always this strong? With a shove, the Commander knocks me to the side, and my head slams against some scaffolding, my vision blurring. But when it clears, I spot Kai dashing forwards, and I know exactly what he's going to do. He latches onto the Commander's right arm, and I grab onto his left.
"Okay, now what's the plan?" I shout, but Kai doesn't have time to reply, since the Commander elbows him twice in the ribs, then does the same to me. We end up with our backs literally to the wall (or door, same difference), and I reach up, scrambling for the doorknob. Please be open, please be open, please… The door opens with a squeak, and I almost cheer. Then, as the Commander charges, Kai kicks the door inwards, and we roll out of the way.
"You go high, I'll go low," my brother orders, and I nod. Taking a running start, Kai sends out a kick as I punch, and the Commander goes flying into the room. Before the unusually strong Stanton can break out, Kai punches in the code to lock the door, and I wait for him, catching my breath.
"You hear me? Open the door this instant," Commander Stanton orders, voice muffled behind the door as the knob jiggles, and I cringe. Maybe we'll get lucky and he won't be able to remember any of this. (Please be lucky. Please…) Kai glances up at me, and I nod.
"We're sorry, Commander."
Looks like we're absolutely no good with long range attacks, judging from the state the others are in when we arrive back to the fight. Guess I'll have to train them.
"Nice try, but you Rangers can't stop me."
"But we can!" Kai and I announce as we slash downwards, digging our Sabers into Moranda's wings. Her attack stops, thankfully, and I help Maya up from the freezing grass. "Your icy reign is over!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," I shoot back, "You'll never be able to destroy Terra Venture, as long as we're here to protect it! Ready?"
"Ready! Lights of Orion, activate!"
"Power-Up Mode!" One of these days, I'm going to ask Leo if he wants to let me activate the attacks. He'll probably say no, but it'll be worth a shot.
Then, once we activate the Power-Up Mode on the Megazord, the battle is over instantly.
Remember what I said about Jodie being the only cute kid on this entire space colony? Yeah. That's still true. I toss the football to Kai, who places it on the ground for her to kick, and I clap as it goes a pretty far distance. A car pulls up underneath the trees, and I glance over, spotting the Commander.
"I have something for you too, Mr. Chen." In the box that he hands Kai is a brand new uniform, complete with a GSA patch. A grin spreads over my face, and I can't help the surge of pride I feel. The gem on my brother's wrist glows purple, and he glances over his shoulder at me, smiling even wider than I am.
"Thank you, sir."
"Seeing as how you did such an exemplary job, I thought maybe I'd take the day off. Spend some time with Jodie. Mr. Chen, you're in charge of the colony."
"The entire colony?" Kai asks, astonished.
"Yes, the entire colony. Are you questioning my decision?"
My brother chuckles to himself under his breath, and I lean closer, waiting for his response. "No, sir."