Ally absolutely hated being late, especially to important meetings. But a few things had happened to lead up to this point: she missed the bus that would take her to the stop closest to Aqua Base, then she fell down while longboarding (or trying to), which made her drop the coffee she'd picked up for the team. So she had to turn around, get more coffee, and hop back on her board. And of course, as soon as she stepped foot back on base, her phone had to start ringing.
"Hey, sorry, now's not really a good time-"
"Aww, come on! Any time's a good time to catch up with family." She hadn't bothered to check the caller ID before she'd picked up, but she realized with a smile that it was her older brother, Leon. "How's college treating you?"
Ally lifted a hand in greeting to Mrs. Fairweather, who glanced down at everything she was holding and immediately offered to help her carry the coffee cups. "College is as stressful as you could imagine. Plus, I got a part-time job working with uh…" The scientist grimaced. "With the marine biology program here. I do videography for them."
"That's perfect for you, Al. Did you get to see the Mariner Bay space shuttle-" She swung around the corner just as the Captain checked his watch, and everyone's eyes went to her. Ally blushed.
"Sorry, Leon, I've really gotta go. I just got to an important meeting, I promise I'll call you back ASAP."
"You, late? Impossible," her brother scoffed, "but alright. Whatever you say."
Ally hung up, stuffed her phone into the pocket of her jeans, and gratefully took the coffee from Mrs. Fairweather, who'd taken one look at Joel and was out of there as fast as possible. "So sorry I'm late. I missed the bus, then dropped your guys' coffee," she explained, standing tall even as nervousness crept through her while the Captain frowned. "It won't happen again, sir." He stepped forward, and Ally nearly gulped.
"It's alright. If you hadn't brought me my coffee, though, it'd be a different story." Ally nearly collapsed in relief, taking a seat next to Chad, who'd already passed around the drinks, and took a long sip of her latte. "Rangers, pay very close attention." She watched as a video file blinked to life on the television screen. "This is a fuel cell, and it is extremely powerful." Captain Mitchell took a sip of his entirely black coffee- how he could stomach it, Ally wasn't sure- and continued. "Also remember, it is sensitive to high temperature, so you must keep it away from the heat, no matter what."
That would be a struggle in and of itself, Ally assumed. While it wasn't as sweltering hot as Hawaii was, it was pretty damn close here in Mariner Bay. As she watched the screen, the image changed to show a drastic explosion, and her jaw dropped. But before they could question it, Captain Mitchell turned the screen off. "You'll meet Dr. Hansen at the airport. He'll have it with him. Your job is to make sure it gets back here, safe and sound." As usual, Carter was the first to stand.
"Understood, sir. Nothing will happen to that fuel cell." He turned to glance at the others, "C'mon guys." He pushed in his chair, Earl Gray tea nearly forgotten on the table, and Ally grabbed it up for him, shaking her head.
"Always cleaning up after you boys," she muttered, handing it to him as they walked side-by-side. In these past few weeks, they'd become as close as siblings, no thanks to the pep talk she'd given him in the hospital. Out of everyone, Ally was the most comfortable telling Carter about her family, but that was still if it ever came up.
"Dana," Captain Mitchell called after her, and Ally turned, confused. Why hadn't he just addressed her in front of them? "I have a different assignment for you." She met her roommate's gaze, shrugged, and turned to Carter, waiting for a response.
"Let's go."
Ally figured it was as good a time as any to call Leon back as they drove to the airport. She shushed her teammates, then dialed, waiting for her older brother to pick up. "Miss me already, sis?"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night. How're things back home?" Leon heaved a sigh, and Ally cringed.
"Mom and dad are really worried about you, y'know. What with all the crazy shit that goes on in Mariner Bay. Hey, there's even a local team of Power Rangers there. Ever see them?" Ally barely heard him. She was used to sharing absolutely everything with Leon, but this? This was out of the question. While it was only a matter of time before he eventually found out, especially since they weren't doing much to keep their identities secret…
"No, but they're, like, all over the local news. But it's just like with all celebrities, right?" Leon cackled his deep laugh.
"You don't actually know if they're nice or not."
"They seem cool," Carter glanced over from where he sat in the drivers seat, and Kelsey and Chad leaned forward in the backseats, "but I dunno if they are in real life. For all I know, they could be a bunch of nerds."
Leon laughed even louder, and Ally smacked Chad's slap away. "Ally, you're a nerd, you 4.0 GPA college kid."
"Says you, college dropout. You should apply to MBU. They've got a great art program here that you'd love-"
"As much as I'd like that," Leon began, "I'm kinda done with the education system. Working freelance has done me a lot of good. If it wasn't, I'd take you up on your offer, especially since mom and dad pester me about you every day." Ally scrunched up her face.
"If I talked to you every day, I'd lose my mind."
"Speak for yourself, little sis." Leon sighed once more, "And stay safe, okay? Shit is crazy down there, fo' real kine." And there was his tell: his Pidgin accent appearing. She and her family didn't have those accents unless they were worried.
"Alright. Talk to ya later, Leon."
"Aight. See ya, Al." When she hung up, she was pretty sure Leon knew something was wrong.
All friendly banter in their jeep was over the second Dr. Hansen stepped inside. They had to keep up appearances, put on a good face for Lightspeed, and Ally was a pro at good first impressions (at least, she hoped she was after years of meeting her parents' clients and patients at fancy dinners and parties). Something was in the air, though. She wasn't sure if she was just paranoid, or if it was truly a sign, but she got her answer as lasers blasted down onto the road in front of them. Her hand flew behind her, instinctively protecting the doctor and his precious cargo, and as soon as they stopped, she vaulted out of the passenger seat.
"What's going on?" She shook her head.
"Not sure, but we're gonna find out," Carter replied, and she and Kelsey took up defensive positions around Dr. Hansen. No doubt whoever had attacked them knew about the fuel cell-
"Look!" Ally spun around, only to spot a nasty looking creature stalking towards them. This one emanated malevolent heat outwards in waves, and she resisted the urge to fan a hand in front of her face as sweat dripped down her back.
"Give me the fuel cell, and no one gets hurt!" It growled.
"And let Diabolico have it? Hell no," Kelsey scoffed.
"If you won't give it to me, then I'll just take it!"
"What a bully," Ally muttered.
"You got that right," Carter replied. "Let's go, guys."
One of the first signs that your opponent's going to attack, Ally remembered, was a change in footing. As soon as the monster shifted one foot in front of the other, she grabbed Dr. Hansen's arm and pulled him away from the blast, taking the brunt of the attack on her back.
If Leon saw her now, she thought, he'd probably kill her. (And if she was already dead, he'd revive her only to kill her again.) "Get that fuel cell!"
"Kelsey, Ally, cover him!"
"On it, Carter," she managed to reply as she ducked down, swept out a leg to trip the oncoming Battling. She came back up, dealt two quick punches to the other creature that'd appeared in her way, and launched a kick at another. Thanks to her training, she could tell that she wasn't prioritizing putting power into her movements, but instead focusing on speed. The Battlings just kept on coming, and if they wanted to get the doctor out of here safely, they needed to get rid of them as fast as possible.
"Al, heads!" She spun, already reaching for her blaster upon hearing Joel's warning, and fired off four shots at the approaching Battlings.
"God, these things don't quit," she muttered. This was another thing she wished she could skip out on: the pain after the fights. No doubt she'd be sore for a few days after this. Ally got weird looks as she hobbled to and from classes, and she tried not her best to look as awkward (not as sore) as she felt. "I'm calling Dana." She blocked yet another punch, and sidestepped away from the next as she raised her morpher up. "Dana, where you stay right now? We need you."
"Uh… I don't know what you just said, but I'm on my way."
A bit late, Ally realized she'd let her Pidgin accent slip, along with her focus, apparently, since the slice of a Battling's sword went over her midsection, forcing her to stumble. "Dana, hurry!" Carter added, and Ally nodded.
"That would be nice, Mitchell!"
"Negative." For the first time, Ally wanted to scream at their Captain, "Dana, return to the Aqua Base." She forced the conversation out of her range of concentration, and ignoring the stinging pain at her abdomen, dove back into battle.
Somewhere along the course of the battle, Ally realized that she'd gotten separated from Dr. Hansen. And before she could act on the quickly sinking feeling in her gut, the monster lashed out with his sword, slicing the box with the fuel cell clean in half. "Uh… guys?" She shouted over the din, leaping onto a wooden crate and firing down at the Battlings below her. "We've got a problem!"
"Yeah, I see that!" Joel bit back, and Ally raised her blaster, getting rid of the Battling that was causing him trouble. "Thanks."
"Eh." She leapt down from the crate, not seeing any more Battlings, but had apparently acted way too soon: another materialized out of the shadows and wrapped it's chilly arms around her, pinning her own arms to the side. "We need to get the fuel cell back."
"On it!" Carter kicked at the Battling holding him- Ally wondered why the hell they thought one puny thing could restrain Carter Grayson- and launched forward, firing at the monster. Then, he turned, firing off lasers at the Battlings holding them. The blast was close enough to her glove for Ally to feel the singe, and she shook out her hand once she got free.
"Be more careful next time?" Carter cringed.
"Sorry."
"You've been tricked, Rangers!" The monster snarled, "That box is empty!" Ally glanced down at it, frowning when she realized he was being serious. Not good. Not good at all.
"If this box is empty, then where's the fuel cell?" Chad muttered.
"Not sure, but you better get somewhere safe, doctor," Kelsey urged, and Ally gestured to a nearby building that was more or less intact. The doctor, or whoever he was, nodded and rushed out of harm's way.
"I'll give you one more chance: tell me where the fuel cell is!" Ally flipped her blaster out of its holster, turned it into its baton mode.
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Carter spat back.
"Then you six Rangers can say farewell to- wait, there are only five of you! The Pink Ranger must have the power cell! Until I get the cell, this city is going to burn!"
"Oh no, you don't-" Ally dove forward, but before she could even swing her baton, the monster disappeared into its trademark cloud of bats.
"Come on guys," Carter ordered as she finished swatting the last bat away from her head, "We've gotta get to Dana before he does."
Along with their many other functions, like their helmets' scanners, Ally and the others' suits automatically protected them from extreme conditions. Case in point: the heat that was forcing civilians onto their knees. She took back what she thought about the California temperature in comparison to the Hawaii climate. "These people are burning up. We've gotta get them out of the Sun."
Ally nodded and bent down, noting the glimmer of hope in the civilians' eyes as they saw her: a Power Ranger.
"Come on," she murmured, holding out a hand, "Let's get you into the shade."
And as they accepted her help, the older woman patted her arm gently. "Thank you so much, Power Ranger. We owe you one."
And like all the times before, Ally wasn't sure what to say. "Uh… guys? Take a look at this!" She placed the civilians gently down next to the others, and stepped over to Chad, shielding her eyes from the too-bright sun to see a giant… her stomach dropped to her knees.
"What is that?"
"That," Ally began, already starting to take a step back in preparation to run, "is a magnifying glass." She couldn't even finish speaking when a blast of flame rocketed down from the reflective surface and onto a building next to them. As they ran out of the way of the falling debris, she risked a glance back at her teammates. "Don't tell me you guys never burned ants with a magnifying glass as a kid?"
She couldn't see his face, but Ally was fairly certain Joel was judging her (as he usually did to them). "Pretty sure that's a Hawaii thing!" She stuck her tongue out at him, and regretted not facing forward immediately after, since she nearly ran right into the path of a fireball. Even knowing her suit would protect her didn't lessen the burning sensation prickling over her skin, and for a moment, Ally just lay on the pavement, every muscle in her body fatigued.
All this for a simple fuel cell?
Well, she reasoned, a fuel cell that could potentially destroy the city if placed in the wrong hands. She was suddenly immensely grateful that Dana probably had it. Chad was the first one back onto his feet, and Ally managed to pull herself up to a wobbly standing position. "I'm going to see if I can find him, he's gotta be here somewhere… got him, on the rooftop!" Ally let out a groan, holding her side where she'd fallen onto the road.
"Hopefully the damn elevator is working."
The damn elevator was not, in fact, working. As such, they'd had to run up six flights of stairs, and while Ally was thankful to at least have some shade, her legs still screeched in protest. "Fireor!" The name of their opponent, which they'd found out on the way up here, wasn't one that struck fear into her heart. But unfortunately, it's powers did. "We're here to cool you down." Ally cringed. Carter needed to work on those one-liners.
"But the sun's not finished. Battlings?" Kelsey let out an irritated sigh, and Ally felt exhaustion creeping back into her bones.
"We've got a job to do."
"Right!" Ally hit the ground, sliding under the leaping Battling, and came up on its other side, round-house kicking it off the roof. She didn't wait to see if it hit the ground, already flinging up an arm to grab the kick from another opponent. Using its momentum, she hurled it the way of its friend. "Anyone else?"
She'd spoken way too soon. While the Battlings had been easy pickings, Fireor had been smart, conserving his energy for when it was his turn to take them on. And he wasn't so much as taking them on rather than taking them down. Ally could've sworn this was the fifth time or so that it'd beaten her into the pavement. Her vision swam in circles, mouth dry from dehydration, and she struggled to get back up without falling over. From somewhere off on the other end of the warehouse, where she thought Carter had led Fireor to as a distraction, Ally thought she heard the explosion of another blaster going off.
Dana? She scrambled off the ground, relief washing over as she caught sight of her friend's pink suit. "About time," Ally joked, and she was pretty sure Dana rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, glad to see you too, Al." She turned, and Ally did the same, bracing herself for the fight. They were in the home stretch, she could tell. If only they could make it through the rest of this, they would be fine. "Now we'll see who feels the heat. Come on, guys. Let's do it."
Admittedly, when Ally had first met Dana Mitchell, she'd thought the Pink Ranger looked like someone who would rather stay inside, not get their hands dirty doing the actual fighting. She'd been very, very wrong, and as they snuck through the top floor of the warehouse, Ally was glad she was. Flames sprung to life at her back, and she let out a yelp, leaping away from them.
"You jumped right into the fire!" Fireor snarled, and even though Ally had the good sense to dodge, her body didn't obey quick enough. Sparks erupted from their suits as the attacks struck true, and Ally slapped at her arms, trying to put the fire out.
"Huh, funny." Ally didn't think this was funny whatsoever, but she could see why Joel did. The crazy fucker. "Coulda sworn you said jump." Oh, that explained it. She took a running start and, using the extra strength her suit gave her, leaped up onto the next floor of the warehouse. "Aerial attack!" This one was his favorite to do during training, which was fitting. That was one thing about the Green Ranger: despite his many strange characteristics, he was consistent. One by one, they swung down from their perch and kicked Fireor until he fell to the ground. He didn't stay down for long, though.
"How about a fireball?"
Ally was grateful for the warning, but not so much at the fact that they had nowhere to run from the incoming attack. As the explosion touched down, her vision blinked completely white for a moment, but as the ringing in her ears receded, she heard a soft beep from her morpher. Four beeps in a row, the signal for the best plan they'd ever thought of: playing dead. She didn't dare to move, even as Fireor stalked over to Carter, kicked at him, and instinct screamed at her to get up and give him a piece of her mind.
"At least you'll go out in a blaze of glory, Red Ranger!" Ally watched through half-lidded eyes as Fireor raised his arm, calling down another fireball, and fought down the urge to get up and run for it.
Then, just as she heard the rumbling of the approaching attack, Carter grabbed hold of Fireor's foot. "Now!" She flipped up, grabbed hold of Fireor's ankle, and held him there as the fireball grew closer and closer…
"Jump!" Dana didn't have to tell her twice. Ally tucked and rolled out of the way as Fireor exploded into a fiery heap, and for a second, she just lay there, glad that the heat had finally dissipated… but of course, their job wasn't done yet.
Ally waited, not retaliating even as Fireor slashed at them again and again with his overgrown sword. They were too bulky to dodge, especially not in the middle of the city where there were civilians at risk, so all she could do was stall for an opening… there. At the third swing, she pushed the controls for their Megazord's arm up, grabbing hold of the blade, and Carter followed her cue, activating their ladder arms. They swung Fireor around, tossing him into the open street between the buildings, and Ally sat back, taking a breather. "Dana, he's all yours."
"Oh, I've been waiting for this one. Lightspeed flip kick!" Ally pressed the stabilizing button, kept them grounded and kept an eye on their readings as they swung around three times, one for each attack Fireor had landed. "Now we're even. Lightspeed Megazord saber!" Ally nearly laughed as Fireor stood to face them again. "Ignite!"
"Be 100% honest with me." Carter, Chad, Joel, and Kelsey all looked up as Ally answered her phone on speaker mode. "You're a Power Ranger, aren't you?" All of her friends' jaws dropped at once, and she rubbed at her forehead. She and Kelsey had agreed to turn up the air conditioning all the way once they'd gotten back to their dorms, and the guys had retreated here since their own had broken just the other night.
"Um…" She wasn't sure how to reply to Leon's greeting. "I…"
"She is, Mr. Sakamichi," Carter blurted, and Ally let out a groan. Her older brother didn't say a word.
"Mr. Sakamichi is my dad. I'm Leon, the overprotective older brother," a decisive pause, and Ally knew exactly what he was going to follow up with, "that being said, you better not be my little sister's boyfriend, or else I'll fly over there and give you lickings myself."
Chad glanced at her, mouthed, Lickings? and Ally shrugged.
Hawaii thing. He nodded knowingly, glanced back at the television.
"You don't have to worry about that, Leon. In fact, I kinda think I kinda took your job as the overprotective brother while she's here." Leon laughed at Carter's reply, and Ally couldn't help but grin. At least her brother liked her friends. There'd been many hang outs where he didn't, and he nearly scared her new friends away.
"Please don't tell mom and dad?" In the quiet that followed, Ally was worried, mostly because she couldn't tell what he was going to say.
"I found a way to block the news channels that cover your guys' stories. Make sure to take out the page in the newspaper. That good stuff." She nearly cried in relief.
"Leon, thank you, seriously. When I get back home-"
"When you get back home, you're gonna bring your friend Carter and your other badass Power Ranger friends with you. Y' hear me?"
Joel puffed out his chest, Chad scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, and Kelsey blushed. "No promises, Leon. No promises."
