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Chapter Two
The two opponents circled each other, unaware of the four cadets that surrounded them. They both knew that no one would interrupt their fight unless there was cause to, i.e. if their teammate was losing.
Shadow watched her opponent closely, waiting for that telltale move of the hips that betrayed which way he would strike. She side-stepped, waiting for her opening as they continued to move in a circle. He wasn't about to strike, she could see that in the way he moved. She would have to prompt him, make him lose his cool just enough to lash out in anger.
"Are you scared?" She asked, her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched his movements carefully.
"No." He replied icily.
"If you're not scared, then why did you feel the need to morph? Surely you can beat a little girl like me without any special Ranger powers?" She mocked him. A man like him, so sure of himself and his abilities, would never be able to take her ridiculing him. And, yes, there it was. The slightest shift of his hips before he lunged at her.
Jack could have smacked Sky right then. The man was so stupid sometimes. He knew that the Rangers were not allowed to morph unless facing one of Grumm's monsters. For one so intent on obeying the rules and regulations, why was he constantly disobeying them? There was no way that Captain Cruger would even consider Sky for the red Ranger position now, even though he had already given it to Jack.
The Ranger shook his head. One of these days Sky would have to accept the fact that Jack was his leader, but today did not seem to be that day.
He struck at her with his fist, a blow that Shadow easily dodged. Ducking under his fist, she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. The man grunted and kicked out behind him. His foot connected with her gut, and Shadow took a step back, the wind knocked out of her. Trying to catch her breath, she nearly missed the next kick that he had aimed at her. She rolled to the side, his leg brushing past her head.
Sweat began to bead on her forehead. Shadow wiped it away with the back of her sleeve. This man was good, albeit he was in Ranger morph, which gave him a slight advantage over her. She breathed deeply, gathering her strength about her for the next attack.
He came at her again, moving with inhuman speed. Shadow fought fiercely, parrying and blocking and dodging blow after blow. She was beginning to grow sore, her body was weakening and the adrenaline that she felt during a fight was slowly seeping from her. If she wanted to win this fight, and she did, she would have to do something major, and soon.
She ducked beneath the man's flying fist and aimed a roundhouse kick to his collarbone. He grabbed her ankle and turned it, using her momentum against her and flipping her onto the cold, hard ground. Grass tickled her nose as she inhaled its fresh scent. Stars danced in front of her eyes and she groaned, lifting a hand to her head. Pain coursed through her body as she gingerly touched the area that had hit against a tree root, which had seemed to spring up from nowhere. Shadow felt her opponent's weight settle on her as he drew her arms behind her back. She flailed beneath him, but he kept her in a tight hold.
"You're under arrest." He said, slamming a pair of handcuffs on her wrists.
Sky's ego was feeling a big boost as he led the prisoner down the hall towards an empty cell. She continued to struggle against him, but he held her easily. She'd been a decent opponent, but once he had morphed, the girl had been easy to take down. She was a rash fighter, using taunts and petty tricks to make him lose his cool. But Sky had beaten her, and for that he was quite proud.
"Open." He commanded as soon as he reached an vacant cell. The bars slid open and he pushed his prisoner inside. She whirled around to face him, her straight, glossy, chestnut brown hair flying about her face. Her full, pink lips were pursed together and her hazel eyes flashed in anger.
She launched herself at him just as the bars were sliding shut, she stopped short before she hit against them.
"You'll be sorry about this." She growled threateningly.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Sky replied sarcastically.
"Cadet Tate." Captain Cruger's commanding voice carried down the corridor. Sky flashed the girl his patented smirk and turned on his heel. He marched down to the end of the hall where the captain stood. He saluted his superior and nodded stiffly in greeting.
"Yes Captain." He said, his eyes trained straight ahead, watching the wall over Captain Cruger's shoulder intently.
"Cadet Landers told me that you disobeyed protocol in the field tonight." Cruger reprimanded.
"Sir I did what I thought necessary to apprehend the criminal." Sky replied, his chin held high.
"There was no cause for you to morph." Said the captain, "Unless of course this criminal was one of Grumm's monsters, was it?"
"No sir." Sky felt his pride deflating as he stood there under Cruger's reproachful gaze.
"That's what I thought. Let me make myself clear Cadet Tate. You will not morph unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir."
"You're excused Cadet."
Sky saluted and left the holding area. He needed to have a little chat with Jack about being a tattletale.
Pacing the cell floor, Shadow tried to figure out a way to get herself out of the mess she was in. If her parents found out what had gone down in the park, well, let's just say that it would not be pretty.
She bit her lip, her hands on the small of her back and her fingers tapping against the soft fabric of her black tank top. Her pink pants made swishing sounds as she paced, the loose fabric rubbing together at the thighs. She moved her left hand up to her face and chewed on her thumb nail as she thought. How could she get out?
Footsteps fell a short distance away, ringing loudly in the empty corridor. Shadow glanced up at the bars that kept her locked away like an animal. Her nostrils flared as the leader of the group that had arrested her came into view.
Shadow studied him, taking in his dark skin and creamy brown eyes. He offered her a warm smile, showing off perfectly straight and white teeth. She narrowed her eyes at him. He stood before her, legs apart, hands behind his back.
"What do you want?" She seethed.
"My name is Jack Landers, leader of the B Squad Rangers. Captain Cruger has sent me down here to ask you a few questions." He replied in an annoyingly cheerful tone. Was this guy always so happy?
"Questions 'bout what?" Her eyebrows arched together as she glared at him suspiciously.
"First of all, I introduced myself to you, so, why don't you do the same?"
"Yeah, and why don't you bite me?"
"Look, I'm trying to be nice here." Jack said, moving closer to the bars, "The least you can do is be a bit more friendlier." The way that he looked at her, his eyes directly meeting hers, made Shadow feel as if she could trust him. It was an alien feeling to her, one that she didn't really like.
"Shadow." she said quietly. His eyebrows rose in question.
"My name, is Shadow." He smiled.
"Now we're gettin' somewhere. What were you and your friend doing in the park so late at night?" Jack asked, continuing his interrogation.
"That is none of your business." Shadow growled.
"Well seeing as how you were meeting with a fugitive of the law, yeah, that is kinda my business."
Shadow sighed and rolled her eyes. She was quickly growing bored of this little "chat."
"I have nothing else to say to you." She said, turning her back on him. She moved over to the plastic bed that sat in the cell and laid down on it, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear Jack sigh.
"Very well," he said, "you don't have to tell me anything else, but I will be back later, in case you change your mind." His shoes sounded heavily on the marble floor as he walked away.
Jack opened the door to his room, doing a double take of if it really was his room when he saw Sky sitting on his bed. The blue Ranger had an angry expression on his face as he stood and faced Jack.
"You told Cruger?" He said, one eyebrow arched.
"Look man, you were disobeying the rules. As the leader it…"
"As the leader?" Sky cut him off, walking up to Jack and staring him straight in the eye. "Know this Jack, I don't take orders from you, red Ranger or not. I have been a cadet a lot longer than you, I think I know the rules by now."
Jack didn't give his teammate the satisfaction of seeing him flinch as Sky poked his chest with hard finger.
"You may have been a cadet longer," Jack replied in a low tone, "but you still have a lot to learn."
Sky narrowed his eyes threateningly before storming out of the room.
Yippee, another chapter finished. I hope you all enjoyed it and will review. Don't forget to cast your vote for who you want to see Shadow end up with. The count currently stands at:
Sky-3
Jack- 4
And a Sky/Syd relationship-3
