Chapter 5: Liability
Ryne was quiet as she looked down at Asher's sleeping form, as if she was waiting for her to open her eyes and wake up at any second. Eventually she sighed, and sat down on the chair between her pod and Blaze's.
"It's creepy, watching you sleep," she muttered, pulling her legs up so she could rest her chin on her knees. "It's not like we beat your Avatar yet," Ryne then laughed lightly. "Maybe true love's kiss would wake you up. You know, if you actually had someone you were in love with," she shook her head. "Dumb, I know. This isn't something magical. For once," Ryne chuckled, entertained by her own words. "I've heard too many fairy tales," she said quietly, and her laughter faded as she looked down at her hands. "Your Avatar knows me too well, Ashe. She knows exactly what to say, and I'm scared that I'll..." her quiet words stopped as she heard the doors slide open.
There was a quiet moment as Ryne sat awkwardly, not sure if she should move or not, before a tall young woman stepped into view. Her long blonde hair was tied in twin braids, sitting over her shoulders, and her pale green eyes were as sharp as ever. She wore an SPD uniform in two shades of grey, and a Morpher was strapped to her wrist. As soon as she spotted Ryne sitting amidst the pods, she broke into a smile.
"Hey Ryne," she greeted, and Ryne smiled back.
"Hey Kiana," she stood and hugged the young woman, who hugged back tightly.
"I heard from Uncle Spence that you'd become a Ranger too," Kiana said as she released her. "I meant to come visit earlier, to see Ashe and see how you were doing. How are you doing? What's it feel like, being a Ranger? Asher said that it would fuse her DNA with a Squirrel. Did that happen to you? How is-"
"Kiana!" Ryne exclaimed, laughing at the fast pace that her friend spoke at. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for her to start rambling without pause, asking question after question. Sometimes Ryne wondered when she took a moment to breathe.
"Sorry," Kiana smiled weakly. "Habit. How are you?" she asked, her smile softening.
"I'm fine," Ryne shrugged. "Adjusting to being a Ranger. It's been weird," she admitted, taking a seat again.
"Well, from what I heard, you weren't exactly expecting it," Kiana pointed out, turning to watch Asher. "Even when you're expecting it, it's a lot," she murmured, her gloved fingers on the bulky device strapped to her wrist. Kiana then turned back to her, bringing a bright smile back to her face. "But you'll be fine. I know you, Ryne. You're already doing great," Kiana said confidently. Ryne's stomach squirmed, and she looked down. "Ryne. Don't make me have to use this," Kiana pressed a finger to her temple.
"What if I'm not going to be fine?" Ryne asked, knowing that when Kiana made a threat, she would follow up on it. She was a powerful empath even with her gloves on to dampen her abilities. "Asher's Avatar is strong, and she has her memories. She knows me. What if I can't save her?" she asked, sounding helpless.
"She knows you, but you have just as great an advantage. You know Ashe, just as well as she knows you," Kiana pointed out, a hand on the pod beside her.
"But she doesn't risk lighting everyone up like fireworks," Ryne held out her hands to demonstrate her powers. Blue sparks crackled and danced around her fingers, and Kiana watched, fascinated by it. Ryne then frowned as she let them fade. "Actually...I don't think she can use any of her powers," she considered, and Kiana cocked her head.
"Well, an Avatar is a virtual copy. She has her memories, but nothing else. It makes sense," she considered, before shaking her head to stop herself getting distracted. "Ryne, we've been over this," Kiana put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "If you're getting overwhelmed, step back. Take a breath, focus on something else," she told her gently.
"Y-yeah," Ryne nodded, having discussed with the Empath many times since she'd first developed her powers. "Thanks Kiana," she smiled, and Kiana ruffled her hair.
"No problem," she then straightened up. "I just wanted to see you and Ashe before I go on this mission," Kiana said as she looked down at Asher. "I don't know how long I'll be gone," she murmured.
"Wow, you must be nervous," Ryne stood, and Kiana looked at her, a little confused. "You don't ramble as much when you're really nervous," she teased lightly, and Kiana chuckled.
"Well, you know. First solo mission," the blonde shrugged. Ryne then looked down at her Wristcom when it beeped once.
"Oh, I have training," she realised.
"Go. I'll see you later," Kiana told her, and Ryne hugged the taller girl again.
"Good luck, Nova," Ryne said with a smile, before jogging out of the room. Kiana ran her hand through her hair as Ryne left, and she looked down at Asher once more.
"You better be awake when I get back, Asher Bly. I'm going to have a hell of a story for you, and I want you to be awake for it," Kiana warned her best friend, who just continued to sleep.
"I'm gonna dismantle that rat," Roxy growled, kicking a rock out of the way. It hit a passing Tronic with a loud clang, and the robot fell over. Asher sighed, shaking her head as she watched Roxy having what she could only describe as a tantrum. "I can't believe he stole credit for us taking the Neural Aligner," Roxy huffed, still angry even after a few days.
"There's nothing you can do about it now, other than steer clear of Master Evox for a while," Asher told her, flicking her hair from her face.
"Oh? And what are you going to do, huh?" Roxy whirled around, glaring at her. "Try to boss me about like you're in charge?" she scoffed.
"Enough," Blaze warned, ending a fight before it could begin. His attention lingered on Asher for a moment. He hadn't missed her tense. She had been ready to fight, and she wasn't about to give Roxy any warning. "We can't fight amongst ourselves. Not when we have the Rangers to deal with," he reminded them. Roxy scoffed and turned away.
"Whatever," she muttered. Asher, however, now looked thoughtful.
"Asher?" Blaze frowned, wondering what she was thinking.
"Fight amongst ourselves…" she repeated his words, and looked up. Her normally soft features were twisted in a smirk. "You ever hear the phrase 'divided you fall'?" Asher asked, and he cocked his head.
"Of course. What are you thinking?" he asked, knowing that she had an idea cooking up.
"Just because you're Rangers, doesn't mean you're automatically the perfect team. And I know just how to prove that," Asher smirked, her green eyes gleaming with malice. Even Roxy turned back around, and exchanged curious looks with Blaze, who wondered just what she had planned.
Zoey's back hit the mat, and she grunted from the force of her fall. Frustration bubbled up, but she pushed it away and took Ryne's hand as the Pink Ranger offered her hand.
"Thanks," she said as the girl pulled her back to her feet. Ryne nodded, releasing her hand, and stepped away, falling back into a fighting stance as Lewis watched from the sidelines, arms folded.
"How is their training coming along?" he angled his head to the side to acknowledge Commander Shaw as she walked in, but he didn't take his eyes off the four sparring.
"Steady progress so far," Lewis answered her quietly. "Ravi's good, as to be expected since he's a chosen candidate. He's basically perfected his technique, and his execution is great," he started, watching the Blue Ranger as he held a slight advantage over Devon. "Devon's much better than I expected, but he said he's been studying martial arts for the last year. He's a quick study and he's interested, so he's applying himself and learning faster than most I've taught before," he continued, leaving out the part about how Devon's dad had most definitely not approved of him learning martial arts. "Ryne's been training on and off again for a few years with family friends, and she's better than I expected as well. She's quick to notice weak spots and go for them," Lewis admitted as he turned his attention to Ryne, who struck out at Zoey with open-palmed strikes.
"And Miss. Reeves?" Commander Shaw asked, and her eyebrows furrowed very slightly as Zoey tripped and fell again.
"She's good, and she's remembered what she learned as a cadet before she had to drop out. She's smart, and picks this stuff up even faster than Devon," Lewis answered, trying not to look unhappy at how many times Zoey had fallen. "But she's still trying to shake the idea of sticking to the techniques she's been taught, so she gets caught off guard when someone does something unexpected," he tried not to sigh as he saw the flicker of frustration on Zoey's face as she got up again, ignoring Ryne's hand this time.
"I see," Commander Shaw nodded, not missing it either. "And Nate?" she asked, reminding him of the extra assignment she'd given him a few days ago. To train up the scientist in the event that he was made a target. Lewis hesitated to say anything at first, but when Commander Shaw looked at him, he knew he had to speak.
"He's...getting there. But unlike these four, he's not had any real experience actually learning how to fight. It's going to take a little longer until he's confident enough to do anything other than the basics," Lewis said honestly, feeling a little guilty. He liked Nate, and he disagreed with the Commander's decision to babysit him, so it felt wrong to have to say such things. But he had to be honest.
"Keep up the good work," Commander Shaw told him, the corner of her mouth tugging up in a faint smile. "I know it can't be easy training them," she said. Lewis gave a light shrug.
"I manage," he told her, confident. His own smile fell when the Commander's Wristcom beeped.
'Commander, we have a situation in town,' one of the officers who monitored for threats reported. 'Asher has been spotted with a new Robotron,' she warned.
"Rangers," Commander Shaw addressed the four, who'd stopped sparring to listen. "Stop Asher before she can do any harm to the civilians," she ordered.
"On our way, ma'am," Devon nodded to the other three, and they hurried out. Lewis watched Ryne as she passed him, and he didn't miss her worried look. He stayed quiet, grim, hoping that whatever Asher had planned, wasn't too bad.
Asher hummed quietly as she walked through the Town Square, arms swinging by her sides as her form occasionally flickered like a bad glitch. Waiting for the Rangers to arrive, she looked around for any sign for stragglers to torment, while the Robotron she had created ran around, chasing off civilians as they made their way to one of the top-up stations for the Morph-X bikes. The Yellow Ranger's creations were still a good source to steal from, but after their first attempt to steal them, Grid Battleforce had outfitted the bikes with sensors around the bikes that detected any attempt to remove the Morph-X, making it impossible to drain them.
"Asher!" Ravi's voice reached her, and she stopped, smirking.
"Well, well," she spoke lightly as her Robotron, which had been built from an old radio, ran back over to stand by her side. "Thanks again for the Neural Aligner. I'm sure it'll come in handy," Asher teased, and Ravi flushed.
"Don't let her into your head," Devon warned the Blue Ranger.
"You won't have much use for it when we take you down," Zoey shouted confidently. Asher snorted.
"Big talk from the girl whose only use in Grid Battleforce was organising the laundry," she mocked, and this time it was Zoey's turn to blush, embarrassed by the words.
"Don't listen to her," Ryne said quietly, putting a hand on her arm. "There's nothing embarrassing about working hard," she told the Yellow Ranger, but it did little to comfort her. "Are you just here to make us feel bad? Or are you going to do something?" Ryne called over to the Avatar of her cousin, glaring at her.
"Hmm…" Asher tapped a finger to her chin as she hummed, seeming thoughtful. She then shrugged. "Both is good," she decided. "Tronics!" she shouted, summoning the robots to her side. "Waste them," Asher ordered, voice light. Boomdrone ran at the Rangers with the Tronics, and they began to fight them off.
"I'll handle this creep, you guys take the Tronics!" Devon instructed as he led Boomdrone away from the fight.
"Sounds good," Ravi nodded, throwing a Tronic away from him before punching another that tried to get in close. Zoey helped, fighting off the Tronics with her own attacks, but as Ryne tried to help, she found her path blocked by Asher. Her eyes narrowed.
"Choosing me as your opponent? I'm honoured," Ryne said dryly. Asher smirked at her, flicking her hair from her face.
"You should be. This is going to be fun," she laughed, running at Ryne. She then spun, kicking out at the younger girl, who weaved around it and caught Asher with a blow to the side. However, Asher just laughed even as she was forced back, and blocked Ryne's follow-up attack. "You've been training again. I figured you would," she commented, and kicked Ryne back. The Pink Ranger managed to swallow the cry of pain, and put a hand to her chest where Asher's attack ached.
"Obviously," she managed to say, rushing Asher again.
"Well, yeah," Asher nodded, and caught Ryne's wrist. "Because you were never capable of beating me before, let alone now. But I don't think you ever will be," she taunted, and flipped Ryne over her shoulder. This time, Ryne couldn't stop herself from crying out as she landed hard on her back. "You're weak, Ryne. You've always been weak. Happy to hide in the shadows and build your little toys. Happy to let others do the fighting," Asher taunted, stepping back and allowing Ryne to get back to her feet.
"There's…" Ryne started as she stood, breathing heavily. "There's more to life than just fighting. There's more to helping people than just fighting," she shook her head. "Being a Ranger was never something I considered. Especially after the stories we were told as kids," she insisted, and Asher snorted. Ryne landed a kick, and Asher stumbled backwards, but didn't lose her smirk.
"That's exactly why you're weak. Because you're content to stay out of the way. Or…" she trailed off, looking thoughtful again. "Or is there more to why you want to stay out of the fight? Are you so scared of being like your dad, that you just do what he did and hide while you let others do the fighting?" Ryne's eyes widened and her anger bubbled to the surface.
"Leave my dad out of this," she growled, her dark eyes flashing as she rose to Asher's bait. The Avatar's smirk widened, twisting Asher's face, which only made Ryne angrier.
"I wonder if you're more like him than you realise," Asher giggled. "After all, I inherited all my dad's powers. Even Nathan did. Kai and Niall can do more than you too," Ryne's breath caught, and tears stung at her eyes as Asher dug the knife into her deepest insecurity. She was the one person Ryne had spoken to about her feelings on her powers, and now they were being used against her.
"Stop it," Ryne stepped back, her voice shaking.
"The Energems left residual power too, and they all thought that power might end up with us. You think it did with you?" Asher pushed, and Ryne gasped as her powers sparked from her hands without her permission.
"No, no!" she stumbled backwards, willing the power to fade. "Please, stop," Ryne pleaded with her hands, but the blue lights only grew as she became more frantic.
"Ryne!" Devon noticed what was going on, and ran towards them.
"No, don't!" Ryne shouted at him.
"If anyone got anything from those Energems, I'd think the Dark Energem would be the strongest, right?" Asher spoke louder this time, for everyone to hear, and Ryne's powers exploded from her hands, striking out everywhere like lightning.
"Whoa!" Ravi gasped, barely dodging it as the Tronics around him turned to dust. Even the Robotron couldn't avoid the attacks, and screamed as he jerked.
"Pretty lights," Asher commented as she avoided them, admiring the blue lights that shot all around them. "It's probably a good thing that you didn't get much else. Who knows how much you'd have blown up, with that crappy control you've got going on?" she continued to taunt Ryne.
"Enough!" Asher cried out as Devon collided with her, using his superspeed to ram her. The Avatar landed on the stone steps nearby, cursing at the pain. "Ryne, what's going on?" Devon asked, barely able to avoid Ryne's powers as they spiraled out of control.
"Stay back, please," Ryne pleaded as she tried to remember Kiana's words. She needed to stay calm. She needed to stop her powers before she hurt someone.
"Ryne," to her frustration, Devon didn't back away. He gestured for Ravi and Zoey to stay back, and they watched, worried, as Devon inched closer to the Pink Ranger. "You're okay. Whatever's going on, we can handle it," he said carefully, hearing her erratic breathing. He flinched as one tendril of energy caught his shoulder, ripping through his skin, and he took a step back, before pushing forwards. "You're okay," Devon repeated. "Take a deep breath. Focus on me," he said carefully, and Ryne finally opened her eyes, looking up at him as he continued to try and get closer. She forced herself to take a deep breath, inhaling as much as she could as she kept her gaze locked on the Red Ranger. The power started to fade, drawing back slowly but surely, and the bright blue lights vanished. Ryne fell to her knees, and Devon ran over to crouch beside her.
"I-I'm sorry," Ryne stammered, her heart still pounding. Hearing Asher's laugh, she looked over at the Avatar as she walked over to the Robotron.
"Perfectly predictable," she taunted. "How can you work with a team when you can't even control your own powers?" with that, Asher vanished with Boomdrone. Tears continued to run down Ryne's face, and Ravi and Zoey exchanged worried looks, before looking at Devon, who met them with an equally concerned expression.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Zoey asked as she walked with Devon and Ravi. Devon kept checking his shoulder, expecting to still see the burn that had been left when he'd been caught by Ryne's out of control powers, but it was gone.
"I'm fine," he insisted, still looking a little stunned. "Ryne's healing power made it like it was never there," Devon told them, but was massaging his shoulder like he still felt the pain. It was hard to adjust to, having severe pain that took up most of his focus one moment, and then for it to be gone the next moment, was disconcerting to say the least.
"That's a useful power to have," Zoey considered, and Ravi hummed.
"It wouldn't need to be useful if she hadn't tried to fry us," he considered, and Devon immediately stopped them.
"She didn't try to fry us," he defended Ryne, who had rushed off right after healing him. "She just...lost control. And from what I heard, Asher knew how to make her lose control," Devon pointed out.
"That's the problem," Zoey said quietly, shifting. Devon frowned, turning to her. "Asher knew how to make her lose control," she repeated what Devon had just said. "What's to stop her doing it again? I don't know what exactly that power is that Ryne has, but it's dangerous. It destroyed the Tronics in seconds. It could have done the same to you," Zoey told him, worried.
"Asher mentioned the Dark Energem," Ravi spoke up, thoughtful. "I've been reading up on other Ranger teams," he started.
"We all have," Devon nodded. It was one of the classes they were taking in Grid Battleforce, in order to improve and become proper members of Grid Battleforce. "I don't think I've heard of the Dark Energem though," he commented.
"The Energems were the source of the Dino Charge Ranger's powers, and contained pure positive energy. When they were made, the negative energy created a thirteenth Energem - the Dark Energem," Ravi recited what he'd learned. "With the power of all twelve of the Energems, only evil. And if anyone who wasn't pure evil touched it, it turned them evil too," he explained.
"So Ryne's dad…"
"Touched the Dark Energem," Ravi confirmed. "And Asher said something about if anyone got anything from the Energems…"
"The Dark Energem would be the strongest," Zoey remembered Asher's words, even if she hadn't understood them. "You mean...Ryne could have that energy in her?" she asked, horror in her tone. Ravi nodded, looking grim.
"Hold on. You don't know that they actually got anything from them. Besides, Ryne would have told us if they did," Devon protested, not liking the route they were going down. He didn't like them thinking the worst about their team-mate.
"She didn't tell us that she can't control that power," Zoey stated, and Devon hesitated. He'd noticed it before, when Asher had made a snide comment, and Ryne's powers had overwhelmed her for a second. However, this was far worse, and he knew Zoey had a point.
They looked up when Lewis turned the corner, walking towards them.
"Hey Lewis, have-"
"Training room. Now," his voice gave no room for argument, and he turned on his heel, leading them back the way he'd come. Devon glanced at Zoey and Ravi, before shrugging and following their teacher to the large room that he'd claimed as their training room for the foreseeable future.
"What's going on?" Zoey asked, wondering what was wrong with him. His expression was dark. They'd never seen him mad before.
"Where's Ryne?" Devon asked, having expected the Pink Ranger to be there if he was holding another training session. Lewis didn't answer, and instead crouched to undo the laces on his boots. He then kicked them off, and turned to the three.
"Take me down," he ordered, and all three stared at him.
"Wh-what?" Zoey was taken aback by the command. Lewis rolled his eyes, and was suddenly in front of Ravi, kicking him backwards. With a cry, Ravi stumbled and fell back on the mat, groaning. When Lewis turned to Zoey to attack her, she immediately jumped out of the way, and Lewis turned his attention to Devon. The Red Ranger had launched himself at him the moment he'd struck Ravi. However, his punch was deflected by Lewis, who knocked his fist aside with a sweeping motion of his hand, and punched Devon in the gut.
Zoey kicked out at Lewis when Devon went down like a sack of bricks, only for the man to dodge without even looking at her. He then turned, spinning and kicking out at her. Zoey stumbled backwards from the attack, and Ravi and Devon ran at him again.
Before long, all three were standing together, breathing heavily. Their confusion was forgotten for now as they were forced to focus on working together, but they still couldn't land a blow on their opponent, even when working together.
"On three, we use our powers," Devon hissed to the pair, who nodded. "One...two…"
"Three," Lewis spoke for him, and they hesitated when a black and silver aura surrounded him. A moment later, a loud squeak echoed through the room as above his head, a massive bat materialised and flew at the three. Caught off guard, all three were thrown to the floor. They groaned, not moving, as the bat flew around the room before returning to Lewis, fading as if it had never been there.
"What was that?" Devon demanded.
"That was an Animal Spirit," Zoey looked up at Lewis, who was standing over them, looking unimpressed. "Like the Jungle Fury Power Rangers had," she said.
"Like my dad, and his dad, and my many, many ancestors," Lewis said, folding his arms. "Well, congrats. You were all a disappointment," he declared.
"Now wait a minute," Devon protested, getting to his feet. "You're our teacher. You're the one teaching us how to be better, and we didn't even have Ryne with us!" he exclaimed. Lewis raised an eyebrow, his expression dangerous.
"Oh, now it's okay to have Ryne on the team?" he asked, his voice too innocent. It didn't match his expression.
"What are you talking about?" Devon demanded, frustrated from the beating they'd taken with no explanation. "Of course it's okay to have Ryne on the team!" he exclaimed.
"Then how come you three were perfectly content to discuss something that she didn't want to talk about?" they froze at Lewis' furious question. "Oh yeah. I heard it all. Ryne heard it too," he gave a mocking smile.
"So you kicked our butts as what? A punishment?" Ravi asked, back on his feet as well.
"I kicked your butts to show that you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about," Lewis replied coldly. "If I'd wanted to punish you, I'd have done it blindfolded. And trust me, that would have only embarrassed you more," he told them, his fists clenching and unclenching.
"So what are we missing?" Devon forced his own anger down to ask the question, meeting Lewis' gaze without backing down.
"Well for one thing. If the Energems somehow passed their power down from the ones they were bonded to, to us, then Ryne wouldn't be the only one you'd have to worry about," Lewis told them. They frowned, not understanding.
"Then who?" Zoey asked. Lewis lifted his head in an almost haughty look.
"Me," he said simply, making them frown. "Ryne's dad isn't the only one to have touched the Dark Energem. My dad did too," he said shortly. "But there's no trace of Energem power in any of us. Our parents have scraps left over, that's it. All you guys did was play into Asher's bait, and make Ryne's fear seem real," Lewis ran a hand through his hair, suddenly exhausted. "Urgh, I hate having to play the tough guy," he complained to himself, seeming a bit more normal.
"We're idiots," Zoey sighed, guilt weighing in her chest.
"Yup," Lewis agreed.
"But she still lost control of her powers," Ravi pointed out, and Devon put a hand to his shoulder again, thinking about it.
"Yeah...that's a work in progress," Lewis sounded tired. "She was working with a friend, an empath, to try and figure it out, but as long as she has that fear that she'll hurt someone…" he shook his head, and looked at the three. "But she needs you three to treat her as a member of your team, not someone you're afraid will turn evil or zap you. So, go talk to her," he told them.
"He's right," Devon nodded, his own guilt heavy. "Do you know where we can find her?" he asked, and Lewis managed a faint smile.
"I imagine the place she usually is these days," he said lightly, and all three looked curious.
Ryne carefully kept her hands cupped together as she crouched down, and the small kids in front of her peered closely at the squirrel that sat in her hands. They held their breaths, as if afraid that even breathing would scare the tiny creature. After a moment, the squirrel clambered up Ryne's cardigan to perch up on her shoulder, and the two kids giggled, delighted.
"Yeah, she likes it there," Ryne reached up a hand to run a finger along the little creature's head.
"What happened to her?" the little boy asked, holding his hands together to stop himself from trying to pet her.
"I think she fell out of a nest and hurt her leg. So my friend and I brought her here, so they could look after her," she explained gently.
"Will she be okay?" the little girl asked, looking worried. Ryne smiled and nodded.
"She will. These guys are great. They've been letting me help out when I can, and I guess she's kinda taken a liking to me," Ryne said, aware that the squirrel was now climbing her hair. She held up a hand to steady her, and catch her if she fell. "Once she's old enough, she'll either be released into the wild, or moved to a new place for animals that can't look after themselves," she then smiled at the two, as if sharing a secret. "I think I need to go there too," she whispered, making the two laugh.
Soon the two hurried off, called by their parents, and as they did, Ryne's smile faded and she sighed. She had offered to help out with visitors for the day, hoping that it would take her mind off things, but it wasn't helping much.
Asher had made her lose control, and she'd hurt Devon. She could have done a lot more damage. All because she couldn't control her emotions, and Asher knew how to work that.
"What's to stop her doing it again?" Zoey's worried question echoed in Ryne's mind. Asher knew how to get to Ryne, and she'd proven it today that she not only knew how to upset her, but she was more than willing to do so. Ryne was a liability to her team.
"You mean...Ryne could have that energy in her?" Ryne didn't like talking about her parents' past, because it was exactly that. The past. And the idea that she had inherited the evil inside the Dark Energem had been a fear since she'd first heard her aunt talking about the power that still lingered in the former Dino Charge Rangers. She didn't believe it, not entirely, but the illogical fear remained in the back of her mind, as it had done with Lewis. To hear her team-mates, her friends, talking about it like it was possible, it had hurt more than she wanted to admit.
"Wow!" Ryne was snapped from her thoughts by the gasp, and she looked at the kid who had come up to her. She managed a smile, forcing the thoughts out of her head as she talked to the kid, answering questions about the wildlife centre and about the squirrel that she had saved a few weeks ago. The little squirrel had grown since then, almost fully recovered from her leg injury but still not entirely recovered, and they'd discovered she always reacted better when Ryne was around. So they asked Ryne to help out when she could, hoping it would speed up the recovery.
"You're pretty great with kids," Ryne jumped, turning quickly as she heard Devon's voice. The kid had run off to go look at the other animals that were there, leaving Ryne with her team-mates, and Lewis.
"Sorry. Had to tell them," Lewis gave a light shrug when she shot him an accusing look.
"You work here?" Ravi asked, looking around the small center. They had been the ones to help out when there had been plans to cut down part of the forest to make a road, taking in the creatures that needed to be relocated.
"Volunteer. Just to help with her," Ryne reached up and petted the squirrel now on her head. She clung to Ryne's hand, and Ryne lifted her off, allowing her to climb inside her sleeve. "What are you doing here?" she asked, uncomfortable and awkward.
"We wanted to apologise," Zoey told her, and Ryne's eyebrow lifted. "We know you heard us...talking. We shouldn't have said what we did, or assumed anything," she said.
"Lewis made us see sense," Ravi nodded, glancing at the young man beside him. Lewis looked unapologetic.
"We shouldn't have talked about any of that stuff without you there, especially if you don't want to talk about it," Devon nodded.
"You were right though," they were surprised by Ryne's response. "I can't control my powers, and Asher knows she can make me lose control," her words were bitter. "I...I get mad pretty easy, and when I do, my powers flow easier. Then I get anxious about it, and it just sparks out of control. The more I panic, the worse it gets. It's basically a pretty dangerous panic attack," Ryne explained. "Maybe I should be benched, I-"
"No way," Devon's words made Ryne look up in surprise. "You're not being benched. You're a part of this team," he told her firmly.
"Devon's right," Zoey agreed. "We need you," she told the Pink Ranger. Ravi nodded his agreement, and Ryne blinked rapidly at the three as Lewis grinned.
"But Ashe knows she can get to me," Ryne shook her head. "I already hurt you once, Devon. If I did it again…" she trailed off, a little helpless.
"She won't get a chance," Ravi was confident. "We're a team, and we face her together," he told Ryne.
"You guys…" she murmured. "You're really confusing, you know that?" Ryne declared, making them all laugh.
"I think that's what we get to say to you," Devon told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're part of the team, and we're sorry that we acted like you weren't," he apologised, and Ryne smiled softly. She then looked up at Lewis, who was watching with his arms folded.
"You didn't go full Swoop on them, did you?" she asked, and he barked out a laugh.
"I stopped right before that," Lewis told her honestly, and Ryne shook her head.
"Full Swoop?" Zoey asked, confused.
"Eyesight is a bonus, not a necessity," Ryne and Lewis chorused together. "The Swoop technique is fighting without eyesight. For someone like Lewis, who has a Bat for an Animal Spirit, well, he basically mastered the technique on day one," Ryne explained.
"I still have no idea how these Animal Spirits work, but they sound cool," Devon declared.
"As someone whose family has been part of Pai Zhuq for thousands of years, I thank you," Lewis smirked. It faded, however, as their Wristcoms beeped.
"Go ahead," Devon answered as the others looked around to make sure that nobody was listening in.
"Asher has been spotted near a Morph-X tower. Sending you co-ordinates," Commander Shaw told them, and they nodded.
"I better get her back," Ryne pulled the squirrel from the inside of her cardigan, and hurried to find one of the workers.
"Asher will try to throw Ryne off again," Lewis warned the other three, who nodded, thinking the same thing. "She'll say anything that she thinks will get a rise out of Ryne. She just needs to know that it's not true," he advised the three.
"We can manage that," Zoey said. Lewis smiled back faintly.
"I know," he said, confident in the team.
The guards outside the Morph-X tower did their best to stop Asher as she led her Robotron towards the building they protected, but even their weapons weren't enough to stop the Robotron. Boomdrone laughed loudly, and turned to the guards as they fired shots at them.
"How about a song? This is dedicated to the Rangers!" Boomdrone declared, and the speakers across his body pulsed, sending out a wave of sound that threw the guards backwards with the force.
"How pathetic. You'd think they'd get some idiots in who could at least put up a tiny bit of a fight," Asher laughed, walking over and lifting one of the fallen guns. She examined it for a minute, before letting it charge up, and pointed it at the guard on the ground in front of her.
Blue sparks arced through the air, and Asher looked up just before they slammed into her. She shrieked, slamming into the side of the tower hard enough to crack the wall. Boomdrone turned to her quickly, as the Rangers ran into view already Morphed.
"Get to safety!" Devon instructed the guards as they helped them up and guided them away from the fight.
"Okay, I admit, I'm a little surprised," Asher shrugged, her attention on Ryne. "I didn't expect you to be able to use your power for a while, after what you did earlier," she taunted.
"Save your breath, Asher," Ravi told her, and Asher glanced at him, looking bored. "You won't get to her. Ryne's stronger than you," he said confidently, and Asher laughed loudly, doubling over and clutching at her stomach as her laughter grew louder.
"Now that is the funniest thing I've heard in a while. That brat, stronger than me?" Asher straightened, still laughing. "She can't even get a little upset without trying to light everyone up around her. She's pathetic," Asher spat.
"You're the pathetic one," Ryne called back, and Asher raised an eyebrow at her. "All you can do is use Asher's memories to get to me. Can you even use her powers?" she asked, and saw Asher's face darken.
"I don't need powers to destroy you. And trust me, when I do finally destroy you, I'm going to savour it," Asher spat, grabbing her key from her side. She inserted it into the cuff on her wrist, summoning her dark pink and black armour.
"Looks like you can get to her too," Devon said quietly to Ryne, who nodded.
"Asher knows me, but I know Ashe just as well," she said. "So let's take them down," Ryne declared.
"Yeah!" the others shouted, and ran at Asher and Boomdrone. While Devon fought Asher, the other three fought off the Robotron, leading him away from the Morph-X tower.
"What, you won't even let me fight her now? Protecting her won't help anything. It'll just make you weaker. Do you really want someone that pathetic on your team?" Asher asked as she threw a punch. Devon caught it, holding on tightly.
"Ryne is a part of this team, and she doesn't make us weaker. We make each other stronger. And that's why you and the other Avatars will lose," Devon warned her, kicking her away.
"I swear, they pick the most annoying people to become Rangers," Asher complained as she stumbled backwards. Devon smirked, liking the comment.
Nearby, Ryne flipped backwards to avoid the Robotron that charged her. She landed on a bench, kicking out and hitting him in the face. Boomdrone cried out, falling backwards, and was hit by Zoey and Ravi's blasts.
"This guy is tough," Ravi commented when it didn't make him fall.
"You brats will pay for that!" Boomdrone growled as he recovered, and the speakers on his body pulsed, throwing them off their feet with a rippling soundwave so powerful it pulsed through the air.
"Oh man, that hurt," Zoey groaned as they struggled to get up. Letting her new power kick in, Ryne spotted the ripple that went through the speakers on Boomdrone's shoulders.
"Scatter!" Ryne called, and as Ravi and Ryne went left and right, Zoey leapt into the air, allowing all three to avoid the next pulse. "Beast Blast!" Ryne fired her blaster, hitting the Robotron in the face. He yelled, staggering back as he was forced to stop blaring soundwaves at them.
"Beast Slash!" Zoey swung her sword as she came back down to the ground, hitting the robot and cutting through his armour.
"No!" he yelled, throwing a punch that she dodged. Behind him, Ravi landed a much stronger punch, using his enhanced strength to smash through the metal and throw him across the square. He crashed straight into Asher as she tried to catch Devon with her twin shortswords, and she cried out.
"You idiot!" she shrieked, shoving the robotron off her as Devon backed away.
"Thanks guys," Devon called to his team as they ran over. "Let's finish this," he told them.
"Right," the other three nodded, combining their blasters and swords to form their Beast-X Cannons.
"No!" Boomdrone yelped as he got to his feet, staggering. Asher hissed, disappearing in a flash of pink and black, leaving him to his fate.
"Beast-X Blast!" they fired their blasts at the Robotron, and he exploded in a shower of metal.
"Virus, eliminated," Devon declared quietly, a faint smile on his face.
Humming to herself, Ryne focused on rewiring the small device in front of her, ensuring that each of the wires were replaced with new, working ones. It had only been a small light for Asher, made when they were younger, but Asher had treasured it, and had been upset when it had broken. So Ryne was determined to make it work again for her before she woke up.
"Ryne, there you are!" The Pink Ranger didn't hear the call, not reacting until Zoey's hand was on her shoulder. She blinked rapidly, looking up at the blonde who was grinning with excitement.
"Hey, what's up?" Ryne greeted, wondering what Zoey looked so excited about.
"Come with me," she tugged the girl's arm, leading her away from her work and towards the door.
"Why?" Ryne asked, but followed, confused as Zoey didn't let go, practically bouncing out of the lab.
"You'll see!" she sang, leading them down towards the training room. Ryne's confusion didn't lessen, especially when she found Devon and Ravi there with Lewis and Nate.
"What's going on?" Ryne tilted her head, looking a little wary. "Don't tell me I have to fight Lewis now too," she said, not liking the idea. Lewis couldn't help but laugh at her expression.
"Nothing like that," he soothed. "This was Zoey's idea," he added.
"What was?" Ryne was starting to get annoyed at the mystery.
"These," Nate walked over to the table nearby, which was usually covered in weapons for training that Lewis insisted would eventually come. "I just finished making them," Nate smiled proudly, holding out what looked like a ring, with a handle in the centre.
"Um…" Ryne tried not to look too indifferent as she took it from him. It was light, but didn't feel as light as it looked. Nate carefully moved her hand, pressing her fingers so they hit a small switch. Ryne jumped when spikes emerged from the ring, surrounding it.
"You said that you had trouble focusing your powers, right?" Zoey asked, and Ryne nodded, embarrassment flickering through the confusion. "Well, I was thinking about it, and I wondered, what if you just needed a better focus for it?" she suggested, gesturing to the weapon in Ryne's hand.
"Zoey asked me about it, and we went to Nate about designing something," Lewis told Ryne, lifting the other. "They're Chakrams, kind of a throwing and hand-to-hand weapon. I'd read about them a few times when I was studying my own chosen weapon," he explained.
"What's that got to do with my powers?" Ryne asked, not entirely understanding the point of them.
"Lewis kinda explained your powers a little more, how they work," Zoey told her, and Ryne had to resist glaring at her friend for his big mouth. "He said that these weapons were originally designed to be kind of...one use. But what if you could control them and bring them back?" she suggested, and Ryne's annoyance immediately faded.
"Use my powers to control them in a fight?" she realised, lifting the chakram up to examine it more carefully. Like she'd already thought, it was lightweight and easily moved. "It'd take some practice but...it might work," Ryne considered, admiring them as she thought about it.
"Zoey thinks having something like that for focus might help control your powers a bit better," Devon spoke up, as Ryne's eyes were fixated on the weapon in her hand.
"I know you said it's kind of like a panic attack, but if you're used to using your powers for something like this, it might help control come a little more naturally," Zoey said, a little embarrassed now. It grew as Ryne tore her gaze from the weapon, looking stunned at the suggestion.
"Plus it'll give us another advantage out in the field. You'll be tearing through the Tronics," Ravi said confidently.
"I…" Ryne was speechless, not sure what to say. She then set the chakram down, and threw her arms around Zoey. The Yellow Ranger was surprised by the sudden hug, but laughed a little and hugged her back. "Thanks," she heard Ryne's whisper.
"Yeah," Zoey hugged her a little tighter.
"So, how about trying them out?" Lewis asked, and Ryne released Zoey, going red herself. She then lifted the two Chakrams, examining them again, and a mischievous smile came to her face.
"I'd recommend you guys leave," she told the others, who looked a little surprised. "Cause if I'm gonna do this, well, I'd rather not have to explain to the Commander that I cut my team to shreds with something they came up with," Ryne told them, making them laugh.
"Right," Devon patted her shoulder, turning to walk out.
"You guys are starting to make a great team," Lewis told Ryne as the doors shut behind the rest. Ryne smiled a little at his words, pleased.
"Thanks Lewis. Now, how about you show me how to use these in a way that won't kill us both?" she asked, making his smile widen even more, hoping that their work would pay off.
Ryne is a very different character to how I originally planned her, but I love her for it.
I hope you liked it!
Please review!
