AN: Probably my favorite so far. Tell me what you think?

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32. color (Warning: Justin-bashing. Not that sorry. Mentions of previous and future rangers.)

Blake groaned. If he had to listen to one more comment, he was going to ask Dustin for his Ram Hammer, if only to slam it into his own head, so he didn't have to deal with upstart blue Rangers anymore.

"Aw, the Navy ranger feeling a bit out of place? Not quite a Blue, huh?" Justin, Blue Turbo Ranger, repeated for the umpteenth time. Blake gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around his water bottle, ignoring the beads of sweat on his forehead and the back of his neck, not quite dry yet after the sparring match he'd had with Bridge, who was pretty damn amusing and reminded him almost of Dustin. The others had said the usual taunts - some of which had even made him chuckle, but Justin would not let it go.

The Blues had been called for a grave mission, and Blake had been happy to see Ethan again and pretty stoked to meet previous Blue Rangers. He'd gotten the whole "Navy? Navy? What? Blue not good enough anymore?" spiel and he'd taken it in stride, but he swore, if the Justin kid - and he was just a kid because apparently he'd been the youngest Ranger ever, which made him almost Blake's age anyway - didn't shut the hell up about it, the Blue Rangers were just about to lose one of their number.

"If anyone were to feel out of place Justin," came a familiar voice from somewhere behind Blake, "I should think it would be you. One of the oldest rangers yet…probably just about as old as Ethan over there," there was a gesture to the corner where Ethan of the Dino Thunder Rangers was conversing eagerly with Billy - the original Blue! part of Blake's mind crowed - about something the rest of them were having a hard time comprehending.

Blake turned and in spite of his bad mood, a grin spread across his face at the sight of his very own Blue Ranger. "Hey Tor, enjoy your chat with Madison?" Tori grinned in reply.

"Definitely, Maddie's a doll. How'd your spar with Bridge go?" Blake's grin brightened. He'd won, but not with ease - but it made him feel a hell of a lot better about not having Ranger powers anymore. Most of the Rangers he'd met - any color - could fight pretty well while not in uniform, but there were a few who relied on the strength Ranger powers gave them. It felt nice to know that he could still give a working Ranger a run for their money.

"He has this really interesting style, and I'd been meaning to go find him to ask him about it - it's like a combination of what I've been seeing in a lot of-" Blake was interrupted by a scoff.

"Interesting style? He fights like he's got no clue what he's doing. I'm surprised it took you as long as it did to beat him, he's pathetic." Blake's hackles rose and he felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle as he stared at Justin. Even if he hadn't spied Bridge's pained look from several feet away, he would've done what he did. A satisfying crack met Blake's ears as his fist met Justin's face. Justin groaned and Blake clenched and unclenched his fist a few times, staring, lip curled in vague disgust as he glanced at the Turbo Ranger.

"You gonna let him just get away with that?" Justin asked incredulously of the room full of staring Blue Rangers. The Turbo Ranger's attention fixed onto Tori and Blake felt like punching him again just for looking at her. "You don't need him - he's not even a real Ranger color, you need a real Blue."

This time it was a smaller fist that buried itself into Justin's face.

"You must be colorblind kid," Tori said with a scowl, emphasizing the word 'kid' with relish, "because the only fake Blue here is you." There was a chorus of agreements and the room was nodding as Dax stooped to pick up the dazed Blue Turbo Ranger.

"Ashamed to call myself a Blue," he murmured as he dragged Justin from the room.

"Nice punch," Blake commented, turning back to grin at his girlfriend. She gave a mock curtsy and twined her fingers in dark hair as comforting and familiar hands settled at her waist. "But are you sure you don't need a real Blue, not just a Navy?" he said, with a mocking tone in his voice, but they both knew the question was real enough.

"Navy," Tori said, punctuating her statement with a brief kiss, "is my favorite shade of blue."