Summer made her way to the local high school at lunch time, making her way through the security checkpoint. Since she had been released from prison along with her former cellmate Jennifer, known inside by her nickname "Mouse", she had been keeping in touch with the young woman who'd managed to help her maintain some measure of her sanity during the ordeal.
She still didn't know how much of her sanity she had managed to maintain. She still hadn't slept one full night since she had watched Ronan kill himself rather than face imprisonment for his crimes. She couldn't shake the image of him placing the blaster into his mouth and pulling the trigger. She could still see the blood splattering across her face and chest; still smell the horrendous stench of burnt human flesh and hair. More than anything, she couldn't shake his taunting words as he told her he would be with her forever. The thought horrified her, but all things considered, she was beginning to think he might be right.
She loved Dillon so much. Being close to him made her feel good about herself. Any time he kissed her she felt like nothing else mattered in the world as long as they were together. Unfortunately she found that she was having problems letting him hold her.
She knew in her mind and in her heart that he would never take advantage of her. That he would never hurt her, but any time he had his arms around her she just froze. She loved his gentle touch, but because of what Ronan had done to her any time his arms were around her, she felt like she couldn't get away. Trapped and vulnerable like she had been as a teenager when her former training officer had attacked her, and like she had done back at the apartment when his three accomplices tried to restrain her.
She couldn't forget the look on his face when she swiped his hands off her in the Garage earlier. He had tried to hide it from her, make it seem like it didn't matter, but she knew that it hurt him when she pulled away. She could see it in his eyes. The last thing she wanted was for him to think that she didn't love him, or that she didn't trust him, but so far she couldn't stop herself from feeling an intense panic whenever she felt trapped. She knew it was down to the dreams, it just had to be.
She smiled as she noticed Jennifer helping out some students with the inventory. She looked in her element here in a way she never had at the prison. Since it had been discovered that the fraud she had been arrested for was in fact down to her former boss and her conviction had been overturned, Colonel Truman had used his political influence to convince the Education Authority to re-hire her as a librarian. She looked up to see Summer and waved, smiling happily. She was so much happier here; this was easily where she belonged.
She finished with the students she was helping and bounded over to Summer with enthusiasm. Summer had called to arrange lunch with her at the end of her first week back at the school to see how she was settling in. By the look of the smile on her face, she needn't have worried. Apparently Jennifer was having an easier time getting back to normal than she was, and she had been wrongly imprisoned for a year and a half. Summer had only been there for a few days. In some ways it just made her feel worse to know that she was so weak.
"Hi there Summer, are you ready to go?" Jennifer asked her.
"I'd have thought they needed you here Mouse." Summer commented, gesturing around to the packed library. It was coming close to the end of the semester, and the kids were anxiously trying to finish off coursework and prepare for exams. She realised that she had mistakenly called her Mouse, a name she had been given in prison because of her small size and nervous disposition. "Sorry Jennifer."
"It's OK; it's taking me a while to get used to it too." She replied. "I was called Mouse by everyone for a year and a half. I've kind of gotten used to it. I've actually introduced myself as Mouse a couple of times since I got out. Anyway, they have seven other library assistants here. It's my turn for early lunch, so we're fine to go."
"I guess everyone has stuff to get used to when they get out." Summer responded quietly, thinking about her situation. "So where are we going?"
"I thought we'd try the hot dog vendor out in the quad." Jennifer answered. "The canteen's always kind of packed at this time and I only get about 20 minutes for lunch."
It didn't sound like much, but as long as she got to see her friend, she was only too happy to go with it. She knew the real reason for the choice of venue anyway. Jennifer was claustrophobic. The library was large enough that it didn't cause her to panic, but at lunch time the canteen would be full of hungry students and faculty members. It would have to be almost as bad as the punishment box back at the prison for her. Jennifer hooked her arm in Summer's and led her from the library.
"Anyway, let's go." She beckoned her. "If we don't get there soon they'll be out of sauerkraut."
Meanwhile, Tenaya 7 watched the outside of the forensics office, waiting for her target. She had seen the Blue Ranger with one of the workers there and had gotten the idea that this might be a weakness in the team. So far the only other weakness she could see was the irritating little weakling that had prevented her from claiming the Ranger Series Green technology.
She had seen him with the Rangers and had thought that he might be a weak link, but now that he had the Series Green powers bonded to him, he was no longer defenceless. The weakest link in the team, yes, but not defenceless. She had a vast knowledge of guerrilla warfare tactics as befitted her designation as an infiltration unit, and while she was a powerful warrior, she knew that it was always best to find the path of least resistance. And right now she could see that the only one with a connection to the Rangers that was powerless to resist her worked in that building.
Sam came out of the lab building after a long day of paperwork. She had given herself a headache working through literally hundreds of case reports handled by her former boss. She still had a long way to go to work through all the potentially mishandled cases, but she had exhausted herself enough for one night. All she wanted to do was go home, have a shower and call Flynn to come over.
Across the street, Tenaya 7 smirked as she saw her target emerging from the building and adopted a less conspicuous outfit. She made her way along the street behind Sam, keeping a safe distance. Watching her take a shortcut down a side-alley, she made her move, rushing up behind her and shoving her to the ground.
Sam realised she was being attacked and instinctively reached into her purse. Tenaya grabbed her, pulling her close and glaring into her eyes.
"You can come with me the easy way, or the hard way!" She hissed menacingly, hauling Sam to her knees.
"Sorry, I have plans." Sam responded, pressing the barrel of a hand blaster into the cyborg's abdomen hard enough for her to feel it. "Let go of me!"
"Try it if you dare." Tenaya warned her, reaching back a fist to strike. Sam was left with no choice but to fire. Tenaya staggered backwards from the force of the blast. Blood sprayed from her, and she felt a warm sensation in her stomach.
Sam looked up at Tenaya in horror as she stood before her. There was a wound in her stomach that penetrated straight through her. It should probably have been fatal; certainly the victim shouldn't still be on her feet. Sam realised to her horror who this was, Flynn had explained about Tenaya 7. The cyborg got a twisted snarl on her face and stepped forward, swiping away the blaster.
"Big mistake!" She snapped, punching her hard across the face, knocking her unconscious. She bent down, picking up Sam's unconscious body and threw it over one shoulder. As she stood up, a couple of soldiers arrived, drawn by the sound of the blaster shot.
"Put the woman down!" One of them demanded, pulling out his weapon. Tenaya Sam's discarded blaster at him, slamming it into his face and knocking him unconscious. Changing back into her battle form, she pressed the side of her head set, bringing down her face guard.
"Do you really want to try this?" She asked him. The remaining soldier lowered his weapon, trembling in fear.
Tenaya threw Sam at him, knocking him to the ground, before standing over him and kicking him in the head, knocking him unconscious. She picked Sam up again, before leaping impossibly onto a nearby rooftop and leaving the area. The Blue Ranger would be the first to fall. All she had to do now was find somewhere to keep the good doctor and affect some repairs. She had underestimated her opponent. It was a mistake she would not make with the Blue Ranger.
Back at the Garage, Dillon was sitting on the couch, reading a magazine when Ziggy came into the room, opening the fridge and cracked open a carton of milk. As the rim was about to touch his lips, a huge laser cannon came out, pointing directly at him. Ziggy pulled the carton away and held his hands up defensively.
"OK, OK I'll get a glass!" He shrieked. The cannon withdrew into the fridge as he went to the counter to get a glass. "Dr. K has serious issues."
"I guess she does over-react a little." Dillon replied with a shrug. "Of course I'd really rather not be swapping spit samples with you any time I want some milk. No offence Ziggy."
"None taken." He laughed, pouring himself a glass of milk, before replacing the carton in the fridge. "Of course I'm sure you'd much rather be swapping spit with Summer."
"Careful Ziggy." He said with a cold stare in warning.
"Hey, I just think it's great the two of you are happy." He replied as she sat down with his friend, taking a loud slurp. "The way you two have been staring at each other has been like watching a bad high school drama."
"Sometimes it feels like that and..." Dillon got an annoyed look on his face and his words tailed off. "Why the hell am I talking to you about this? Get the hell out of here Ziggy!"
"Chill out a bit, we're all Rangers here." He reminded the Black Ranger. "I'd talk to you if I found..."
"OK Ziggy, what'll it cost me to get you to stop talking and leave right now?" Dillon asked him. "Don't forget that I can and will hurt you."
"Give me that cupcake you have." He stated. Dillon just picked up the cupcake and handed it to him. Ziggy got up and left the room obediently. Dillon just pulled out a lollipop and placed it in his mouth as he threw the magazine aside.
He wasn't really angry with Ziggy; in truth he kind of liked the little guy. He just seemed to connect with him in a way the others hadn't. Really he was just frustrated with the situation with Summer.
He understood that there would be problems; she had been through a terrible ordeal. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her to face being assaulted like that, not once, but twice. He had been told by the others that the original incident with Ronan had taken a lot out of her; the whole situation with the false imprisonment had to have been nothing short of a nightmare. He had tortured her mercilessly, bringing back everything that she had put behind her before, and forced her to face it again.
More than that, he had convinced her that she had betrayed everything that she held dear, making her believe that she was a murderer. Finally, he had forced her to face the possibility of a lifetime as his toy, his helpless victim, his plaything, just as he had wanted.
He couldn't even give her the satisfaction or the closure of a trial. He had taken the coward's way out and blown his brains out in front of her, but not before sneering at her, taunting her one last time about how she would never be rid of him. He had felt the pain and anguish flow out of her as he held her to his chest, preventing her from seeing the horror of his corpse. In the days that followed, she had told them that she was just getting back on her feet, but Dillon knew that wasn't the case. If anything she was getting worse, falling apart at the seams slowly but surely.
He wanted to help her, but she was so stubborn that he knew suggesting she needed help would only set her off. She hated feeling helpless, and could never let the guys see her that way. She was the kind of person who always tried to handle everything on her own, just like him. Of course he had found out himself how destructive that attitude could be. Sometimes people needed help, but he couldn't force her. She had to come to the conclusion herself that she needed to talk about what was bothering her. He hoped he had the strength to be patient with her until she did. He just wished it didn't hurt so much that she kept pushing him away.
Back at the school, Summer sat, absent-mindedly stirring her coffee as Jennifer talked about...something. She didn't really know, but that was mainly because she wasn't paying attention. Her eyelids were beginning to get heavy again, and she had to keep blinking as her eyes felt exhausted.
"Summer, are you listening?" Jennifer asked her, jabbing a finger into her shoulder. Summer looked up at her blankly.
"Yeah, it sounds great Jennifer." She murmured. Jennifer just looked at her a little unconvinced.
"What's wrong Summer?" She asked the Yellow Ranger. "You haven't paid attention to a thing I've said."
"Yes I have." Summer replied wearily. "You said you love being back in your old job."
"Summer, that was ten minutes ago." She responded. "Besides, that honey you're stirring into your coffee? It's mustard."
Summer looked down at the squeezable bottle in her hand and confirmed that Jennifer was right. She groaned and threw it away, dumping the cup in a recycling bin.
"Summer, I didn't want to bring this up, but you look terrible." She continued, shifting a little closer. "Are you feeling alright?"
"You sound like Dillon." Summer answered as she rubbed her eyes. "I just didn't sleep well last night."
"Maybe you should listen to him." Jennifer suggested sympathetically, putting an arm around her. "The conversation's been kind of one-way since we got here."
"I told you, I'm fine Jennifer." Summer repeated. "I guess I just need a bit of a rest when I get back."
"You look like you need a chemically induced coma for about a fortnight." Jennifer told her. "Are you sure you've only had one restless night? You're as white as a sheet. Your eyes are dark, and look like you need matchsticks to keep them open and you keep zoning out."
"OK, It's been more than one night." Sumer admitted in a sigh. "I haven't slept properly since I got out."
"Since Ronan killed himself you mean." Jennifer shot back. "Summer, maybe you need some help."
"No, I'll be fine." She muttered. "I can't afford to take time out. The guys need me..."
"Well think about them then." Jennifer snapped back at her. "If you keep this up, you're going to burn out. What good are you going to be to the guys if you pass out in the middle of a battle? You can barely concentrate on anything as it is."
"What are you suggesting Mouse? That I see a shrink?" Summer asked her incredulously. "I can't do that! I won't!"
"Calm down Summer, I'm your friend." Jennifer said as calmly as she could, seeing how worked up she was getting. People in the quad were already beginning to stare.
"A friend who thinks I'm a psycho!" She snapped as she lost what little patience she had. "What do you think would happen if I said I wanted to see a shrink? The others would think I'm a loser! That I'm weak! Helpless! Do you think they'd want a loony watching their backs? I've worked too damn hard for this Mouse!"
"No one's saying you haven't..."
"Forget it Mouse!" She snapped as she turned and stormed away. Jennifer couldn't help feeling badly for her friend. She knew that in her exhaustion her temper had gotten the best of her and that she didn't really mean what she had said, but it was becoming obvious that there was a lot more wrong with her than she was willing to admit. She could only hope that Summer would realise it too before something serious happened.
Tenaya 7 arrived in an old foundry, placing Sam gently on the ground. She looked around for something to use to restrain her as the forensics expert came to. Sam looked up in a panic as Tenaya approached her with a steel reinforcing rod.
"Put your ankles together and keep them there." Tenaya warned her sternly. "I'm going to restrain you."
"You think I'd make it easy on you?" Sam asked her. Tenaya just laughed.
"The alternative is I just rip your legs off." The psychotic cyborg replied. "So what's it to be?"
Sam could see from the sadistic gleam in her eyes that she was serious. She put her ankles together, at which Tenaya began bending the steel rod impossibly with her bare hands, wrapping it around her ankles and binding her legs together. There was no way she would be able to free herself without cutting tools; it was only Tenaya's enhanced strength that made it possible to bend it originally. Sam knew it was pointless to even try to remove it with her bare hands.
"What do you want with me?" Sam asked her. "Is this about Flynn?"
"Is that what the Blue Ranger calls himself?" She asked in reply. Sam nodded. "Yes, this is to draw him out. Destroying the Rangers one at a time will be easier than taking them on all at once."
Sam pulled herself against a wall, sitting with her back to it as Tenaya began searching some debris for something. She found a blow-torch, and shook it, finding that there was some fuel in it. She sparked it alight.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked her in a panic, her eyes never straying from the blue flame.
"You damaged my biological frame." Tenaya answered. "I need to perform some repairs."
She struggled for a second, fumbling the torch as she tried in vain to hold the wound closed and cauterise it at the same time.
"I can help you." Sam told her. Tenaya looked at her suspiciously.
"Do you think I'm that stupid?" She snapped.
"I can't walk." Sam reminded her captor. "Where am I going to go?"
Tenaya thought about it for a few minutes. The blowtorch didn't have much fuel, and if she didn't cauterise the wound, her self-repair system wouldn't be able to close it. It was too wide. She brought down her face shield and approached Sam, handing her the blowtorch. She pulled open her bodysuit and turned her back, holding the exit wound closed with her fingers.
"If you do anything other than close the wound, I will kill you." She stated coldly. Sam reluctantly brought the flame to her flesh.
Tenaya flinched a little as she felt the flame searing her flesh. She didn't suffer the same traumatic shock from injury as humans, she still had pain receptors. She could still function through pain that would floor a human, it still hurt.
"Turn around." Sam instructed her. Tenaya turned to face her, and held the entry wound closed with her fingers. Sam again began searing the flesh shut with the torch, balking slightly at the smell of burning human flesh. When she was finished, Tenaya grabbed the blow torch and shut it off, before throwing it through a window, far out of reach.
She stood up and re-fastened the bodysuit closed, before inspecting the work. The wound was sealed completely closed. It would have caused a horrific scar in a normal human, though likely by this time a normal human would have perished from the injury. To Tenaya though, it was just an annoying reminder of her misjudgement. She knew that in a few hours her self-repair system would have dealt with the scar tissue, leaving her looking as she always had.
"Thank you." Tenaya said to her hostage. "I am holding you against your will. Why would you help me?"
"You needed help, and I can't escape by myself." She replied. "I was hoping not to antagonise you."
Tenaya sneered at this answer and turned from her hostage. Did she really hope that she would be released by being nice to her? Didn't she realise that she was only bait to draw the Blue Ranger to the foundry? She would serve her purpose soon enough. Tenaya only needed her alive long enough to bring the Blue Ranger here. After that, she would suffer the same fate as a worm on a hook.
Summer arrived back at the Garage, making her way into her bedroom and pulled a bottle of pills out of her jacket pocket. As much as she was still enraged by what was happening to her and Jennifer's suggestion that she needed help, she was right about one thing. She was no good to the team in this state. She needed some rest. She opened the bottle of sleeping tablets and poured out a couple of them, before throwing them down her neck, washing them down with a glass of water. The others would know where to find her if she was needed. Right now, she needed to sleep. She put the bottle of pills into her bedside drawer, before turning onto the bed and falling asleep.
Flynn was sitting in the Garage, making himself a smoothie, while Dillon and Scott played pool in the latest of their competitions for dominance. Flynn always had to chuckle as he saw them continue to take every opportunity to bait each other into pointless competition. They were both so similar that it was funny. They weren't used to taking instructions, and so they continued to try and get one up on the other to prove their superiority.
As he finished with his drink, his cell phone went off. He groaned as he realised that this was yet another smoothie he would have to put in the fridge for later. He wasn't disappointed for long though. The caller ID let him know it was Sam.
"Hey there sweetheart, are you ready for me to come around?" He asked her with a cheerful grin.
"Any time sweetheart." Tenaya 7 replied. Flynn's face fell as he recognised the voice. "Don't alert the others in any way. If you do, your girlfriend will be dead before I hang up."
He turned away from his comrades before answering.
"Is there anything I can bring over?" He asked her. "Is there some way to prove how crazy you make me?" He emphasised the word prove to send a message to the cyborg without alerting the others. Tenaya handed the phone to Sam.
"Flynn?" She asked him. "She's holding me in the old foundry." Tenaya ripped the phone from her hand.
"Meet me here alone inside the hour." Tenaya told him. "If I see anyone but you, your girlfriend dies."
As she hung up, Flynn struggled to keep his composure and not give away what was going on in his mind.
"I love you too Sam." He said, before hanging up. He pulled out the keys to his truck and climbed in.
"Time for the hot date?" Ziggy asked him.
"It is indeed pal." He replied through a forced smile. "Don't wait up guys."
With that, he drove out of the garage and into the night. Every ounce of his being wanted nothing more than to be sure that Sam was safe. She meant too much to him to allow her to die because of him.
Back at the foundry, Tenaya crushed the cell phone into smithereens, before turning to face her captive. She became curious as she saw that she was crying. She came over to her and knelt beside her, stroking a tear from her cheek with her finger.
"I have not hurt you." She stated. "Why are you crying?"
"You want to destroy Flynn." Sam replied in a shaky, fearful voice. "He's coming here because of me."
"So he gets destroyed." Tenaya stated. "I thought humans had a self-preservation instinct like mine. Would you prefer if I destroyed you?" Sam nodded her head as her tears came more freely. She was terrified of her captor, but the thought of Flynn being killed in an attempt to save her was devastating to her.
"I would." She replied. "I love him."
"Love?" Tenaya asked her. "Curious. This love, it's a virus that over rides the survival instinct?"
"It's a lot more complicated than that." Sam responded. "You wouldn't understand."
Tenaya just snorted in disgust and turned away from her, leaving the room but she couldn't help thinking about what she had said. Flynn was coming alone to certain destruction just for the chance to save her despite the fact it would make his team weak following his death. Her hostage had told her that she would rather die herself than see Flynn being killed. What was this force that had such a profound effect on the human psyche? What was love?
Meanwhile, back at the Garage, Summer thrashed around on the bed in terror as another nightmare assaulted her. This time she was back in that alley as a 19 year old cadet, being beaten and battered mercilessly by her former training officer. She looked up to him as he grabbed her. Once again, it wasn't the face he had back then, but the one she had seen on the night he had killed himself. Smoke came from his mouth as he spoke.
"Summer!" He called out. She began to shake violently. His voice changed, and she rushed from her dream and back into consciousness.
She hadn't closed the door to her bedroom, and so Ziggy had heard her screaming. He was shaking her to bring her back around.
"Summer!" He yelled. "Summer, it's alright, it's..."
He was sent flying by a hard punch in the face, sending him to the floor. Summer leapt on top of him, winding him. She wrapped her hands around his throat, squeezing as hard as she could.
"Get out of my life!" She screamed in her violent rage, continuing to strangle the Green Ranger. "I hate you Ronan! Get out of my life! Leave me alone!"
Scott and Dillon arrived in the room, turning on the lights and finding her choking Ziggy aggressively. His eyes bulged and his face was turning red. Scott surged forward, tackling her and pulling her off him. Dillon just stood, unable to move as he watched Scott wrestling on the floor with her, trying to restrain her as she continued to fight. He couldn't believe that she would lash out against her own friends like that.
"Summer, we're your friends!" Scott screamed at her as he held her down. "Ronan's dead, he can't hurt you, calm down!"
"Get off me!" She screamed. "Let me go!"
"Dillon, get out of the way!" Dr. K ordered him as she barged into the room. "Scott, Ziggy, hold her down. She's hysterical; I'll have to sedate her."
Summer let out another anguished cry and tears streamed down her face as Ziggy and Scott held her down, allowing Dr. K to inject her with a sedative. She quickly settled down and became a lot more lucid. She looked around, realising what had happened. She had tried to kill Ziggy believing him to be Ronan. She had thought her friends were trying to hurt her. The nightmares had harmed her a lot more deeply than she had imagined.
She sat with her back against the bed and wept as she realised that she couldn't deal with it on her own. As much as she wanted to, she just couldn't.
"I'm sorry!" She sobbed in her sorrow. "I'm so sorry!"
Dillon wanted nothing more than to hold her and comfort her, but right now, he knew that would probably be the last thing that would help. Right now, she needed help. The kind of help that he couldn't offer her.