"Rangers, party of five, your table is ready," Fran said, walking into the kitchen with an empty pizza tray. Ever since she had found out the truth about her co-workers she was more than happy to announce it when they were alone.
"Fran, you don't have to announce it to the world," said Theo, running a roller over a slab of pizza dough.
"Relax, Theo, she's excited," said Lily, squeezing Fran in a side hug. "I'd be the same way."
"Yeah, but what if someone hears her?" Theo asked.
The kitchen door opened, and Kali walked in. "No one can hear anything over that noise," she said, rubbing her ears. "I've worked at the Rock Porium, a music store, no less, and it's not as noisy as here."
"Well, a restaurant would seem noisier," said Casey. "People eating, drinking, having fun? You know, it's a generally happy place."
"And a music store isn't?"
Casey smiled. "Do they play heavy metal loudly throughout the store?" he asked. "Because that would be annoying."
"Toby's a pretty chill dude," said Kali. "You're more likely to hear the Beetles or Stereophonics playing."
"Oh, I love the Stereophonics," said Fran.
Kali smiled at her. "You should visit the Rock Porium if you're ever in Briarwood," she said. "Tell them Kali recommended it, and you'll get 20% off on your purchases."
"Does that go for all of us?" Theo asked.
"Sure."
Opening the oven door, Casey stuck a pizza rod in and fished out the cooked pizza. "Move it or lose it, people, this is hot!" he called, swinging the rod around and dropping the pizza onto the table. He shoved himself backwards and knocked over a bucket of pizza sauce in the process.
"No problem, I can make more sauce," said Lily, chirpily.
Kali frowned at her. "You're too helpful," she said.
"Uh, Theo, you were supposed to put extra sausage," said RJ, checking the order, "not pepperoni."
"What? No, I double ch…" Theo trailed off as he took the order receipt. "Dang it!"
"Language!" Rylie scolded, passing Casey a towel.
"Come on, I'll help you make a new one," said Lily, nudging Theo.
Kali eyed her curiously. Was she aiming for a raise? Employee of the month? Or had she always been like this?
"Hey…" said Fran, snatching the towel from Casey and holding it up, revealing an orange cardigan. "I just bought this."
Casey pointed at Rylie. "She passed it to me," he defended.
"Sorry, Fran," Rylie apologised. "It was on the side and the first thing I grabbed. I didn't really pay attention to it."
"Although, I was curious as to why a towel would have buttons on it," said Casey.
Kali cocked her head to the side. "You were curious but didn't consider to ask?" she questioned.
"More pressing issues," said Casey, indicating to the sauce. It had spread further across the table and was starting to drip onto the floor.
Kali rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket, pulling out her Mystic morpher. She snapped it open, pointed the wand at the table and muttered, "Finishio!" the sauce disappeared.
Casey gaped at the table and then looked to Kali. "Why didn't you do that the first time?" he asked.
"Technically, I wasn't supposed to do it that time," said Kali. "Personal gain and all that. But, I don't think Rylie or RJ wants to be scraping dried pizza sauce off the floor."
Fran looked from her cardigan to Kali and back again. "Could you -?" she asked, her voice small.
Kali smiled, pointed her wand at the garment and said, "Finishio!" The sauce disappeared, leaving the cardigan clean.
"Thanks!" Fran said, brightly.
"Toss it here, I'll put it somewhere safe," said Kali. She snatched the cardigan out of the air as Fran tossed it at her.
"You know, you two could stand to be more considerate," said Fran, looking between Casey and Theo. "Like Lily."
Theo shook his head. "No, we don't," he slung an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Lily is considerate enough for all of us."
The phone rang, and Kali reached over her shoulder, lifting the receiver and pressing it to her ear. "Jungle Karma Pizza," she said. "Oh. Sure, sorry about that. I'll get someone on it straight away. Thanks for calling." She hung up. "That pizza was meant to be a delivery," she added to the team.
"I'll take it," said Lily.
"No, no, let me," said Casey, shaking his head. "I want to be considerate, too."
Lily smiled.
As Casey closed the pizza box and scooped it into the JKP delivery bag, RJ gasped and hunched over, grasping his shoulder and chest.
"RJ, you okay?" Theo asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I just pulled a muscle yesterday," said RJ, gasping for breath. "I'm going to go upstairs and take a break."
Kali furrowed her brow and focused her senses on RJ. She could tell that he wasn't being totally honest with them, but she wasn't about to call him out on it in front of the others. Normally she would have, but she respected RJ enough to give him a chance to come clean in his own time.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Rylie asked, her brow furrowed in worry.
RJ nodded, kissed her cheek, and then disappeared up to the loft.
~X~
No less than thirty minutes after Casey had left on his delivery, Kali was ringing up a group of kids when her morpher vibrated in her pocket. She had learned recently how to switch off the ring and found that it came in handy when working or around civilians.
The last thing she needed was anyone knowing she was a Ranger… again, enough people, just like in Blue Bay Harbour, recognised her as the Black Mystic Ranger, but here in Ocean Bluff they seemed more forward and brazen than in Blue Bay. She wouldn't have put it past them to follow her into battle.
She was in the process of calling for Fran or Rylie to cover her when an all-too familiar voice cut across her, causing her to tense and turn back to the cash register. There, standing front and centre, grinning at her with the rest of his crew at his back, was Roger David.
"It is you!" Roger exclaimed. "You haven't changed a bit. You look good, though," he added, dragging his gaze down her figure and then back up. "What happened to you? You got released and then disappeared. You're working here now?"
Kali grit her teeth. "Sorry, Roger, but I'm actually on my way out. One of my colleagues will be out soon to seat you," she said. She quickly moved around them and headed for the door, stopping only as Roger grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Don't you think we have some things to talk about?" Roger asked, his voice low. It made her shiver. "We can catch up. Come on, babe, it'll be just like old times."
Kali pulled her hand free of his grasp. "I'm done with your world," she said. She turned toe and followed Lily through the door, feeling Roger's eyes on her retreating form.
~X~
"Casey!" Lily called, turning the corner with the others and spotting the last member of their team. They reached him, just as he was thrown back by the latest Rinshi general from Dai Shi's army.
Kali took a step back in surprise. "You're fighting a pig?" she asked. "Who is this porker?"
"I don't know," said Casey. "But, he's gnarly. Let's tighten things up."
The others nodded.
"Jungle Master Mode!"
"Spirit of the Tiger, Full Fury! Jungle Master Red Ranger!"
"Spirit of the Jaguar, Full Fury! Jungle Master Blue Ranger!"
"Spirit of the Cheetah, Full Fury! Jungle Master Yellow Ranger!"
"Spirit of the Hellhound, Full Fury! Jungle Master Black Ranger!"
Taking a running leap, Kali jumped over the pig and landed behind him, followed closely by Lily. The pair turned and grabbed the porker's arms, pulling him tight as Theo and Casey both took a running jump and kicked him in the chest.
The porker stumbled as Lily and Kali let him go.
"Come on, Swine," Casey coaxed.
The pig snorted and rushed the Red Ranger. Casey leapt into the air, his side jets activating and holding him in the air, just out of reach. He dropped, dragging his claw booster down the pigs chest and stomach, and then tossing him aside.
"Claw Cannon!" the team called.
"I prefer bacon for breakfast," said Kali, allowing her animal spirit to flow into the cannon. "But I can make an exception for lunch."
"FIRE!"
The energy ball collided with the pig, causing him to explode. He laughed, though, as he started to grow.
"Let's do it!" said Kali. "Chimera Spirit!"
"Animal Spirits Unite! Gorilla Spirit, Penguin Spirit, Antelope Spirit!" the other three called.
Porker snorted and took a step back in alarm, his gaze sweeping from one megazord to the next.
"Spirit of the Shark," Casey and the others called.
"Venom strike!" Kali called. She pivoted to the left and whipped her snake tail around, striking the pig in its pot belly.
Porker howled and hunched over.
Striding forward, Casey, Theo, and Lily launched into a rotation attack, extending their shark sabres and using them to slash through Porker, destroying him instantly.
~X~
Kali snatched the pizza box from Casey and opened it. The fresh smell of Pepperoni hit her sensed and she drooled slightly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Mhm. I love Pepperoni," she said, taking two slices and passing the rest back to Casey and Theo.
"I figure it's no use wasting good pizza," said Casey, sharing the rest of the slices with Theo. He offered the box to Lily, and she took the last two slices, scoffing them down and depositing the crusts in a nearby trash can.
Kali gaped at her. "That's sacrilege!" she cried. "You threw away the best part!"
Lily laughed. "It was burnt," she defended.
"Even better," said Kali. She shook her head and swallowed the last of her own crust and yelped as Casey tossed his last crust in her direction. She tried to grab it, but missed, and the crust hit the floor.
Lily snatched it up and tossed it in the bin.
"Hey, I was gonna eat that," said Kali, folding her arms.
"It had been on the ground," said Lily. "It's dirty."
"I feel you've never heard of the five second rule?" Kali asked.
Lily rolled her eyes. "I feel you've not heard of germs and bacteria," she said. "I'm saving you're from a cold, or worse."
Kali rolled her eyes. "How considerate of you," she teased.
Snatching the pizza box from Casey, Lily laughed and playfully smacked Kali with it. Kali laughed and held her hands up to defend herself.
The fun was interrupted by a nearby scream.
"Let's go," said Casey, running off.
Kali looked from the pizza box to Lily and raised an eyebrow. Lily stuck her tongue out, shoved the box into the trashcan and run off after the others, Kali's laughter following her.
The pair turned the corner shortly after the boys and found themselves face-to-face with a prickly situation.
"First a pig now a porcupine?" Kali asked. "What, did Dai Shi run out of fearsome monsters?"
"Porcupines are fearsome," said Theo. "They're spikes hurt."
"They're also poisonous," said Lily, remembering her history.
Kali cocked her head to the side. "I have Hellfire running through me," she pointed out. "Poison would burn up as soon as injected."
"We're not all that lucky," said Theo.
"Point taken," said Kali.
Casey shook his head. "Are you finished?" he asked, reaching for his morpher. The others followed his lead.
"Ready!"
"Jungle Fury, Spirit Unleashed!"
The Porcupine laughed and fired his spikes at them. Kali raised her shield, by the spikes stabbed through.
"Whoa!" Kali yelped, ducking to avoid being hit. "What - How did he do that?"
"Look out!" said Lily, barrelling into Kali and knocking her out of the way. The pair hit the ground as the Porcupine laughed, and blocked Casey and Theo, both of whom and jumped over the girls and charged forward.
Kali pushed Lily off of her and stood up. She took a running leap and raised her arms above her head. "Jungle Swords!" she called, slashing down with the two blades.
The Porcupine blocked and ducked out from under Kali's attack. He powered up and fired his spikes again, but Kali cut through them with her swords.
"Hey!" Lily called, running at the porcupine from behind. She wielded her Jungle Bo around and struck the Rinshi in the side.
He laughed and shoved the bo away, opening fire on Lily and striking her down.
"Lil!" Theo called. He rushed by the Porcupine and knelt beside his friend.
"You'll pay for that!" said Kali, raising her sword above her head. "Darkness Wave!" she slashed down, sending a wave of darkness at the Rinshi. He howled as it collided with him, knocking him across the sidewalk and into the side of a building.
Kali stood over him, on sword hitched at her side and the other rolling between her fingers.
The Porcupine scoffed and stood. "Later," he said, running off and disappearing. Kali waited before relaxing and heading over towards Lily, Casey, and Theo.
~X~
Lily hissed as RJ yanked yet another quill from her shoulder. He looked up as Rylie handed him a plate with another sandwich.
"Oh, rare?" RJ asked, drooling.
"Practically raw," said Rylie. She looked up and spotted Kali watching RJ with a furrowed brow, curiously, she moved around Casey and Theo, sidling up to where Kali was sitting on a backward facing chair, leaning on the back.
Lily curled her lip in disgust as RJ bit into the sandwich. "Can you finish with me before you eat?" she asked.
"Sorry, I'm just really hungry," said RJ. He set down the plate and pulled a magnifying glass back across Lily's exposed neck and checking for any further quills in her skin. Normally, if there were any under the skin, small bumps would appear around the area and he could dig in and pull them free, but he couldn't see anything.
"See anything?" Kali asked.
RJ shook his head. "Lily, can you feel any I may have missed?" he asked. "We can't" leave any behind, I'm sure you know they're poisonous, and -" he cut off as Lily stood abruptly and shrugged her jacket back on.
"Nope. I feel fine. You're done," said Lily, growled.
"Chill, Lily, he's just making sure," said Theo.
Lily tensed and turned, aggressively, towards Theo. "Don't tell me how to act, blue boy," she spat.
Casey stepped forward, putting himself between Theo and Lily. "I think we all need to calm down," he said, holding his hands up.
Lily turned to him, her eyes narrowing. "I said - "she cut off and shrunk back, away from the pair, as Kali stood from her seat.
"Okay. Well, I have some work that I need to be getting on with," said RJ, reading the room. "Why don't you guys go see if Fran needs help downstairs?"
"There you go again!" Lily scoffed. "Why can't you people stop giving me orders?" She rolled her eyes and spun towards the door. "I'm out of here!"
"Hey," Kali called, jogging after her. She caught Lily by the wrist and spun her around to face her. "You want to act tough, fine, but just remember that you're the one that felt you had something to prove and got hurt because of it."
Lily snatched her hand back. "You're just jealous you're not the top dog anymore," she snapped. She then turned toe and stalked out.
Kali took a deep breath and turned back to the room. Casey and Theo had gone to help Fran, leaving her, Rylie, and RJ alone in the loft.
"You sure that's just a pulled muscle?" Rylie asked, laying a hand on RJ's shoulder. His face contorted in pain, and he let out a puff of breath.
Forcing a smile, RJ met Rylie's gaze and nodded. "Yeah. I'm…" he winced, catching his shoulder in his free hand. "I'm alright. You go on."
Rylie hesitated, met Kali's gaze, and then headed downstairs.
Kali waited and then turned back to RJ. "You may have them fooled," she said. "But not me. I can tell when you're lying."
"I don't know what you're talking about," said RJ.
"RJ, I can sense when someone is hurt or hurting," said Kali. "I sensed when one of my high school teachers was having a heart attack, and I could also sense when Carrie-Anne had an epileptic seizure during gym class. Those senses never went away, I just haven't used them in a while. And I can sense that something is wrong with you, but you won't tell us what."
RJ rolled his shoulder. "Honestly, Kali, I'm fine," he said, reassuringly. "But maybe you can put those senses to use on someone else?"
"Lily," said Kali.
RJ nodded and headed out of the loft.
Kali sighed and looked back towards the door that Lily had left through. There was definitely something wrong with the Cheetah, and she was determined to find out what.
~X~
Kali bit back a growl as Roger dropped down into the seat opposite her. She forced a smile, closed her book, and set it down on the table. "What?" she asked, meeting his gaze. The rest of his crew remained at their table but would occasionally glance over at her.
"Can't I come tell you how much I missed you?" Roger asked, leaning forward onto the table. He folded his arms and smiled, his eyes once again raking over her.
"You can stop undressing me with your gaze," said Kali, folding her arms.
"I used to undress you with a lot more than my gaze."
Kali took a deep breath, repulsed by the truth of his words. Now that she thought about it, her past was more than just running with the bad kids and getting into trouble. The first ever guy she had been with was sitting across from her.
Nick was definitely an upgrade. Hell, Xander was a better upgrade.
"What are you doing here, Roger?" Kali asked.
"Here, right now or - "
"You know what I mean."
Roger chuckled. "I see your temper hasn't changed," he said. "Still feisty."
Kali feit vomit rise in her throat. "You have five seconds to tell me what you're doing here, after that I'm heading upstairs," she said, sliding closer to the edge.
"I just wanted to know where you went after Juvie," said Roger. "The deal was, once you got out, you'd come back to the crew. But you didn't. We had rules, and you broke them. Now we find here, acting like you're better than us."
"I am better than you."
Roger scoffed. "'Course you are, Briar," he said. "Who told you that? That boy you call a mate. What was his name - Nick?"
"He happens to be my boyfriend now."
Roger's eyes widened. "Seriously?" he asked. "Here I thought you had taste."
"If I did then I wouldn't have ended up with you."
"What you talking about? I'm a catch! You were lucky to bed a guy like me."
"Still as egotistical as ever, I see," said Kali, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, my terms were crystal clear. You're five minutes are up." She stood, scooped up her book and headed for the kitchens.
Roger chased after her. "You once told me to remind you what you did if you ever got too big for your boots," he said, catching up and blocking off her access. "I still remember that old lady you almost hit on your little joyride. I stood up for you in court and told them there was no old lady."
"And I told my patrol officer the truth," said Kali. "The old lady even testified. She said it was an accident, and I was almost three feet away from her. Don't try and scare me, Roger, it won't work this time."
Roger dropped his arm and leaned closer. "You'd know if I was trying to scare you, Briar, you remember what I can do," he said, his voice lowering.
"I'm not a little girl anymore," said Kali. "You can't exploit my feelings and make me your bitch. I've grown and learned since those days. Now move, before I do something I'll regret."
Roger took a step back, his face passive. Kali could've sworn she saw a flicker of fear in his eyes, but if she had it was gone within a second. He looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could the roar of an engine echoed from outside and they both turned to see the door swing open and Lily step inside.
"Whoa," Roger murmured.
Kali's eyes widened as she looked Lily up and down. The usual bubbly teenager was wearing skin tight leather pants, a yellow shirt, leather jacket, and carrying a motorcycle helmet under her arm. Her hair, which had been tied back in a ponytail that morning had been let loose, straightened and hanging loosely around her shoulders. She even had black eyeliner and powder around her eyes.
"Is that the chick from this morning?" Roger asked, grinning. His eyes roaming Lily's body. "I'm gonna go introduce myself."
Kali grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Don't even think about fucking her life up like you did mine," she warned.
"I didn't fuck your life up, Briar, you did that all on your lonesome," said Roger. He shook her free and strode over to where Lily was getting comfortable in her seat, he sat down and leaned back, folding his arms. "Hey."
"What?" Lily asked.
"Name's Roger."
Lily met Kali's gaze over Roger's head and smirked. "You're the bastard that Kali was talking about," she said. "What? She not interested in you anymore, so you came to try and catch little ol' me?"
"You're better looking than her."
Kali rolled her eyes.
"You look like the type of guy who doesn't hear not very often, huh?" Lily asked.
Roger winked. "So, what do you say, doll face? Want to hang out? Just you and me?" he asked.
Lily burst out laughing. "Wow, Kali must've been rock bottom to even consider giving you a chance," she said. She leaned to the side and met Kali's gaze, then pointed across the table. "You aren't that desperate, are you?"
Despite her surprise at Lily's transformation, Kali smiled and shrugged. "I was sixteen and stupid," she said. "Feel free to kick him to the curb." She waved and strode out of the restaurant, dragging Theo and Casey with her as she overheard Rylie's orders.
"What's going on with Lily?" Casey asked.
Theo shrugged. "She looks really good, though," he said.
Kali rolled her eyes and led the pair upstairs. "What the hell is in the water today?" she asked. "Is everyone hormonal teenagers?"
Theo and Casey shared a look.
"What's your problem?" Theo asked. "You were fine until that bloke started talking to you."
"Who is he?" Casey asked.
"Someone from my past that I would love to forget," said Kali. "Both the past and the bloke," she added.
"You sure?" Casey asked. "Rylie could kick him and his friends out if you're that uncomfortable."
Kali shook her head. "Nah. Let them eat and then they can leave," she said. "No sense causing a problem when there isn't one."
~x~
"RJ?"
The loft was empty, except for what appeared to be clumps of fur and fluff all over the place. It littered RJ's chair and was draped over the monitors like curtains.
"I don't care how sick someone is it's not an excuse for not picking up after yourself," said Theo, grasping a clump of fur and sprinkling it back onto the floor. "What the hell happened? Is it all… fur?"
"I think some of it is pillow stuffing," said Kali, grasping a handful of white fluff. "It's like someone caught it and shook it."
"It takes a lot to shake the stuffing out of something," said Casey. "Unless you're a dog. I remember my Boxer doing it when he was a pup. It took him seconds to destroy a pillow."
"Last I checked, RJ and Rylie don't have a dog," said Kali.
"Unless they got one when we weren't looking," said Theo.
Kali and Casey shook their heads.
Suddenly the alarms blared, causing the three to jump, and look at the monitors as they flickered to life.
"We can hunt for RJ later," said Casey. "We got work to do."
"What about Lily?" Theo asked.
Kali shook her head. "She's not exactly in the right frame of mind at the moment," she said. "We'll have to do this just the three of us."
Casey and Theo nodded.
"Then let's go," said Kali. She grabbed the pair of them and disappeared in a flicker of magic.
~X~
Theo stumbled as they appeared downtown. He glared at Kali. "A little warning next time," he said. "You know, give us a chance to prepare?"
"Sorry. I thought it was an obvious mode of transportation by now," said Kali. "I mean, it's not the first time we've done it."
Theo grumbled and turned to Casey. "We should morph now," he suggested. "We don't know what we're looking for after all."
Casey nodded in agreement and slid on his glasses. The other two followed him.
"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" they called.
Once morphed, the trio set off at a slow jog. Searching in all directions for any suspicious activity in the downtown area. They had just passed a side alley when Kali stopped and turned back. "Huh, guys?" she called, waving them over. "I think we should head that way."
"It leads to a dead end," said Theo.
"I still say we should go that way," said Kali. "Trust me. My senses haven't failed me before."
Casey hesitated, glancing at Theo. He was shaking his head.
"Fine. Then I'll go that way," said Kali. "You two head off wherever."
"You're not going alone," said Casey. "Either we all go, or no one does." He turned to Theo. "Kali's right. Her abilities haven't failed us yet. We should trust her."
Theo huffed and shrugged. "Whatever. But I'm telling you, it's a dead end," he said.
Kali set off down the alley and the two boys followed her. They reached the end, which was, sure enough, blocked off.
"See, I told you," said Theo. "We just wasted - "he cut off as a dumpster hit the wall to his right and he turned, his eyes widening at the mass of fur that stood, blocking their only exit.
"What the -?" Casey broke off. He ducked aside as the creature charged forward, shoving him and Theo aside and slamming Kali into the dead end.
Kali raised her arm and thumped the creature on the head with her fist. It released her, howled, and took off, jumping onto dumpsters and swinging itself up onto a fire escape.
"What is that thing?" Theo gasped.
"Half man, half wolf?" Casey asked.
Kali shook her head. "It's a werewolf," she said. "But, not a true one. Come on." She led them down the same path the creature had gone, and scaled the fire escape, following it onto the roof.
The wolf was cowering in the corner. It looked up and snarled as the Ranger surrounded it.
"Careful," Kali warned, throwing out her arm to stop Theo. "Don't get too close."
"Then how are we supposed to - "he broke off as the Porcupine from earlier appeared.
"Oh, great!" Theo groaned, falling back-to-back with Casey. "Who do we fight first?"
Kali looked between the two creatures. "You two take the Porcupine, I got the werewolf," she said.
"You sure?" Casey asked.
"Yeah. It's not my first Werewolf," said Kali.
The trio split up. Kali could hear Casey and Theo taking a beating behind her, but her focus was on the wolf, which was still snarling at her. Raising her hands, Kali approached slowly and stopped less than a foot away.
"RJ," Kali said, softly. "It's me. It's Kali. You're okay." Her gaze glided over his body - his fur covered body, she thought - "what happened to you? Is this what you've been hiding from us?"
The wolf pulled back as Kali reached for him. He swatted at her, his claws narrowly missing her palm.
A scream from Casey caused Kali to pause and look around. She winced as the two boys were propelled through the air and landed with a sickening crunch on top of one another. Tearing her gaze away from the fighting, Kali found the werewolf sprinting away from her, towards the edge of the rooftop.
"Hey, wait!" Kali called, throwing herself after him. She snapped her fingers and her Mystic Morpher appeared in her hands. Opening it, she pointed the wand at RJ and muttered the teleportation spell. A beam of black hit RJ and he disappeared.
Sliding to a halt, inches from the edge, Kali turned back and fired off a quick message on her mystic morpher. She then turned and raced back towards the second fight. Jumping over Casey and Theo, both of whom had been rendered to their knees a second time, she slammed her knee into the Porcupine and sent him stumbling towards the edge of the rooftop.
He teetered dangerous on the side and then slipped out of view.
Kali, Casey, and Theo peered over the edge and winced as the Porcupine smashed into the ground, leaving a crater in the shape of his body.
"Ouch. That had to hurt," said Theo.
"Let's find out," said Kali. She held out her hand for them both and disappeared the minute they took hold.
Appearing back on ground level, the three Rangers approached the crater cautiously. The porcupine growled and popped up, shaking himself and throwing a glare in their direction.
"You're getting my next quill, Black Ranger," the Porcupine warned. He jumped out of the crater and blasted the trio, causing them to dive aside. He laughed and charged, heading directly for Kali.
Kali raised her hand and a shield appeared, knocking the Porcupine back. He whirled around and charged, this time towards Casey and Theo.
"Hey!"
The group looked around as a motorcycle sped towards them. The rider pulled back and rammed the front wheel into the Rinshi, sending him ricocheting back into a stone pillar. The rider dismounted and removed her helmet, revealing a frazzled looking Lily beneath it.
"Looks like you guys could use a little help," said Lily
"Y'think?" Casey asked, grinning.
Kali noticed the Porcupine getting back to his feet. "If we're going to forgive her, can we do it quick?" she asked. "For the record, I never not trusted you, so no need to forgive you."
Lily laughed.
Casey and Theo shared a look.
"What do you think?" Casey asked.
"You bet," said Theo, grinning.
Lily smiled.
"Great. Then let's finish this guy," said Kali.
The others nodded and followed her over to the Porcupine. "Jungle Master Mode!" they called. Calling on their newer weapons, Casey and Theo paved a way to the Porcupine as he called on Rinshi soldiers to help him, meanwhile Kali produced a shield to block the quills the Porcupine unleashed and offered Lily a safe path to get close and deliver the final blow.
The Porcupine howled as he twirled and then exploded.
~X~
Kali paused the scrubbing down of her table and looked over to where Roger was flirting with Lily as she cleared her last booth. Now that she was no longer under the effects of Porcupine's quill, the teenager was struggling to tell Roger to leave her alone.
Dropping her sponge into a dish of hot soapy water, Kali approached the pair and slung her arm around Lily's shoulders. "This guy bothering you, Lil?" she asked.
"What's it to you?" Roger asked. "You made it clear that you have no intentions of coming back to me or the crew."
"You're damn right I don't," said Kali. "But, I'm also stopping you from ruining another young girls life. Lily is worth ten of you and your crew, you stay the hell away from her, and this place, you hear me? Or I'll call the cops and give them the low down on every infraction you've ever committed."
"You wouldn't?" Roger gasped, his eyes widening.
Kali shrugged. "Try me," she challenged.
Roger swallowed, looked between the two women, and then scoffed, shrugged his jacket up onto his shoulders and pulled it forward using the lapels. "Whatever. Neither one of you is worth a damn, anyway. Good riddance, I say."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Kali called. Once Roger had disappeared, she turned the handle and locked it. Turning to Lily, she raised an eyebrow. "I thought you kicked him to the curb earlier."
"He's like a leech," said Lily, shivering.
"Yep. Should always carry salt when dealing with - no, wait, that's for slugs," said Kali, shaking her head. She paused, then shrugged. "Oh well. Roger David isn't the nicest of men, I guess we could compare him to a slug as well as a leech."
Lily laughed.
Kali smiled. "But, seriously, Lil, today was wild," she said. "I should've guessed there was a quill still inside you somewhere. There is no way your personality could change that quickly."
"Honestly, wearing that jacket helped me fit the part," said Lily. She looked around for the leather coat and found it missing. "Hey, where did it - "
"What do you pair think you're doing?" Fran asked.
Kali and Lily whipped around to find Fran, shoulders squared, facing down Theo and Casey as the pair came through from the kitchen. She was wearing the jacket.
"Um, well, we finished - "Theo said, pointing over his shoulder.
"I don't think so," said Fran. "Have you finished all the dishes? Grated the cheese? Sliced the pepperoni?"
Casey swallowed. "Well, uh, we…" he looked desperately at Kali and Lily, hoping for backup. But the pair of them were leaning on one another, sniggering at the situation.
"Get back out there!" Fran ordered. "And scrub the floors while you're at it!"
"… yeah! Yeah! No problem!" the pair said, tripping over one another as they fell back through the door.
Fran's seriousness dropped and her eyes widened. "No, wait, guys…" she called. "I'm only - "
"Fran," Kali interrupted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her head. "Don't… just don't."
"But…" Fran stammered.
Lily grinned and nudged Fran with her hip. "Kali's right," she said. She met Kali's gaze, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'm thinking we keep this outfit around for a little while."
"I like you're thinking," said Kali. "I wonder how freaked out we can make them if we also get Fran a leather jacket? I mean, you have this one, I have one."
Fran opened her mouth, paused, and then closed it again.
"Oh, Kali, you're cruel," said Lily.
Kali grinned. "I know, but it's so fun!" she teased.
Fran and Lily laughed.