I know it's been a while since I updated this, but I was trying to focus on getting Animal Guardians done, and then school started, so I've been busy. I decided that I would write this since I'm almost done with Animal Guardians, and had a bit of free time.

Also, I have a new OC contest for one of the next stories I'm doing after Animal Guardians, if you guys wanna check it out (if you haven't already). It's gonna be up until September 7th-9th and you can submit two characters, so feel free to enter!

Logan is portrayed by Alfred Enoch

Tori ran down the street, hot on the criminal's trail. She knew from reading his file that he was quite dangerous, and had been the main suspect in the latest murder, which had been sent in while she and the others were at the award ceremony.

The young man used his foot to push off of a wall and run up a fence, hopping it with ease.

"Stop!" She yelled, running up onto a dumpster nearby and leaping off of it onto the other side of the fence, trying to reach her handcuffs out of her belt as she sprinted after them man. "Brian Carter, you're under arrest! Stop now!"

Brian ignored her, and shoved a nearby group of boxes from an ally in Tori's way. She saw this coming and leaped out of the way, kicking a few of them back as she continued to run.

The man ran faster, looking back at her for a moment. "You'll never catch me!"

"We'll see about that!" A new voice said, as Autumn jumped out in front of him, having ran through a building to cut him off. She smiled at Tori, who gave her a smirk and a nod. "Good plan, Tor!"

Tori finally pulled out her handcuffs as Brian stood in between them. "I agree. Brian Carter, you're under arrest for the murder of your girlfriend, Lisa..." She trailed off as Brian pulled out a gun, looking between the two. "Hey, drop your weapon, now!" Tori reached her hand to touch her morpher.

Brian turned left and pulled the trigger.

BANG!

- Cue Opening -

*Four Hours Earlier*

"This award is presented to Autumn DeWitt for her dedicated and hard work catching and locking away George Tucker, who has been on the run for a while now," Masters spoke in front of an audience at ER, with Autumn and Lia standing next to him. He was holding a medal in his hands.

In the crowd were both sets of rangers, chief and lieutenants, besides Owen, who was still recovering at home from his stab wound. Among them, as expected, was Tori, who had her arms crossed as she watched Masters speak.

Tori had been a ranger for a few months now, and had caught many criminals in her time, as well as ones she had caught before becoming a ranger. She had never gotten an award. Autumn showed up, and got an award for the second person she caught.

Not only that, but another ranger had gotten hurt on her watch. How did that make her a hero?

She watched as Masters put the medal around Autumn's neck and handed her the microphone. "Thank you, Masters and Lia," Autumn smiled to her mentor, who returned the gesture. "Honestly, and I'm not just saying this because it's customary, I was really surprised when I found out I was getting this. I've only caught two criminals, and that was only with the help of my team." She gestured to Jason and Nikki. "Another ranger, Owen Lalley, also was injured on the job during this fight. I don't really feel like I deserve this."

Autumn looked out into the crowd, her eyes locked with Tori's for a moment. "So, I dedicate this medal to, not only my team, but also the chiefs and everyone at ER. If it weren't for them, I never would've had this opportunity, so thank you all." She looked at Tori once more as she handed Masters back the microphone.

Tori shook her head, causing Sean to nudge her with his elbow. "What?" She growled, looking to him.

"Why don't you knock it off, Tori?" He whispered, rolling his eyes at her. "We're not children, and we don't hold grudges over nothing. Autumn deserves what she's getting, whether anyone, including her, thinks so or not. Just because we're higher rank, doesn't mean that we should look down on them for doing something good."

She scoffed. "You don't know anything."

Taz and Joey, who were sitting diligently next to them, looked over. Joey leaned over, looking past Taz to speak to them. "Why don't you two quiet down? We're here to support Autumn."

"I'm not supporting anyone!" Tori hissed. "I'm here because I have to be."

Joey shook his head at her. "You just have a bad attitude. When you get a good one, talk to me." He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.

The chiefs quieted down as everyone began clapping, and they did so as well, despite being a bit distracted. Tori, however, was the only one not clapping.

- PRER -

Owen stood in front of the mirror in his room, lifting up his shirt to look at the fresh scar on his abdomen. He had the stitches removed a few days prior, and was finally cleared to go back to work today, as long as he didn't do anything too strenuous for a week. This meant no ranger duty, but he could at least go and help out with interrogations and such.

He touched the scar lightly; it was still a bit tender, but it didn't really hurt.

A knock at his door startled him, and he put his shirt down, turning to see his younger sister, Mallory, standing in the door frame. She was 15, and had the same dark hair, pale skin, and blue eyes that Owen, and their older brother, Wade, had.

"What's up?" He asked, looking her over. She was wearing shorts and a crop top, with wedges on. He frowned. "What are you wearing?"

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Everybody dresses like this at my school, Owen." She said, before looking him over instead. "Are you going back to work?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, today's my first day back." He noticed her worried look. "I'm fine, and will continue to be. It's not like that happens all the time."

The young teen rubbed her arm nervously, looking at the ground. "I don't want you to end up like Wade." She said, causing a hard look to cross his face. "He's not a good brother anymore."

"Get in here," Owen hastily pulled her in the room and shut his door. "He'll hear you, and you're wrong. He's depressed, Mallory. We need to be supportive to get him back to normal."

Mallory made a face. "It's been two years, Owen. What makes you think he's ever gonna be normal again?"

Owen sighed. "I just know." He opened the door and ushered her out into the living room, where a 29 year old man was sitting in a wheelchair, looking out of the window at something. "Do you need a ride to school?" Owen asked his sister.

"Yeah," Mallory nodded, looking down at the floor. "Let me go get my backpack."

When Mallory left, the man spoke up softly. "You going to work?"

Owen looked up at him, seeing him turn his head slightly towards him. "Yeah," The green ranger moved his tall frame towards him. "You have any plans today, Wade?"

Wade scoffed. "I'll see you guys when you get back." He began to roll his wheelchair back, and off towards his room.

"Wade," Owen called, making him sigh and stop for a moment. "Maybe we could do something this weekend? Just like old times?"

Mallory had come back out of her room at this point, and moved to stand beside Owen, as Wade didn't say anything and went into his bedroom.

"Owen?" Mallory looked up at him, but Owen shook his head.

"Come on, let's get you to school," Owen held up his keys, leading her out of the house.

- PRER -

Sean walked out of the men's locker room, wearing a plain blue tank top, black basketball shorts, and blue sneakers. He was currently in the gym, and got onto the treadmill just as Taz came out of the women's locker room, dressed in her casual clothes, rather than her uniform.

He turned around, making sure to pull the clip out of the treadmill, and raised an eyebrow at her as she put her uniform in her locker. She looked beautiful, with her brown hair framing her lightly tanned face perfectly, and her green shirt accenting her blue eyes.

"Taz?" He asked, startling her. "Sorry; what are you doing here?"

She finished her task, turning back to him. "I'm going out with Junior, so I figured I should get dressed properly."

Sean made a slight face. "Really?"

Taz rolled her eyes. "Yes, really. Look, Sean, I know you don't like him, but I have no idea why. He's a nice guy."

"No, he's not." Sean scoffed. "He's a dick who doesn't treat you right, and obviously doesn't like you like you should be. You deserve so much more than him."

She looked down at the ground. "I don't know about that." Taz muttered. "Besides, I feel safer with him than most guys who have been with me."

"Wow, that really makes him a keeper." Sean said sarcastically. "Dating isn't just about safety - it's about love and how you act with each other and how you feel with each other. There's so much more to it than you know, if you're gauging your relationship on your safety."

"What do you even know about it?" Taz crossed her arms. "You're not even in a relationship, and haven't been in any that I know of."

Sean almost laughed. "I've been in relationships." He smirked.

"With who?"

He made a face. "Girls back in high school and the police academy."

Taz raised an eyebrow at him. "You haven't been in the police academy for like four years at least."

"Maybe I just haven't found the right person yet." Sean crossed his arms back at her. "Why are we even arguing about this? I know for a fact that Junior isn't right for you, and I know you'll see that eventually."

She stared at him. "What's your problem?" She asked. "Obviously you know or feel something that I don't." He looked down, as she thought for a second. "Do you..." Taz trailed off, making a hard look on her face appear. "Nevermind, I'm leaving."

Sean was silent as she left, making him sit down on the bench with his head in his hands. He sat like this for a few moments, feeling a sluggishness overcome him. He heard footsteps approaching, and looked up to see Sera come into the room, stopping in her tracks when she saw him.

"Sean, are you alright?" She asked, walking towards him.

He sighed. "Can you drive me home? I'm..." He gestured to his head, and she nodded in understanding immediately.

Sera pulled her keys out of her pocket. "Yeah, come on." As he stood, she put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you said something - last time you didn't wasn't very good."

Sean nodded in remembrance. "I remember." He muttered, letting her lead him out.

- PRER -

Jason walked into the chief forensic lab, going to obtain the body Taz had to examine. Since she was going to spend the day with Junior, she told Jason to take it to the lieutenant lab and work on it until she got back.

When he entered, he saw a young man, about the age of 19 with dark skin, black hair, brown eyes, and a handsome face. Jason couldn't help but stare, which startled the young man when he turned around.

"Wow, you scared me," He chuckled, causing Jason to looked away very suddenly and awkwardly. "I'm Logan Jordan, the chief's new intern. And you are?" Logan reached his hand out to shake Jason's.

Jason took his hand and shook it back. "Jason Johston, one of the lieutenants," He forced a wide smile, causing Logan to chuckle. "So, Jordan, huh? You related to Dan?"

Logan nodded. "My uncle, actually. He helped me get a job here, though I have no idea how he did that with his reputation around here."

The blue ranger shrugged. "Well, it's not that we don't like Dan - he's a nice guys, it's just that we don't like him protecting criminals, you know?" He explained, rubbing his arm nervously.

"I figured," Logan looked him over. "Anyways, what lieutenant are you?"

Jason gestured to his blue shirt. "The blue ranger."

"Second-in-command, huh?" Logan smirked. "Impressive. Maybe I'll come up with something to impress you later." Jason stared at him, as he laughed, before handing him a few papers. "I assume you're here to pick up the body, but Taz asked me to hand you these instead. She decided against moving the body so soon and giving you all the information she had instead."

"O.. oh, okay." Jason stuttered as he took the papers, before exiting the room quickly. He jumped when he turned the corner and saw Nikki and Owen waiting in the hall for him. "Oh my god," He held a hand on his chest. "You frightened me."

"Dude!" Nikki hit his arm, making Jason give her a strange look. "He was totally flirting with you! Get back in there now!"

Jason sighed and began walking back towards the lieutenant lab, Nikki and Owen following him. "No, I don't really think so. Besides, even if he was, we just met and.. and I.. I just need some time to think about things like this. It's just.. nevermind." He muttered, walking into the lab and putting the papers down. "Why were you waiting for me?"

Owen gestured out. "We were gonna invite you to go get some lunch with us."

"Oh, I don't know, guys.. I..."

"No," Nikki grabbed his arm and began to pull him with them. "You're coming. You never go anywhere."

Jason gave her a look. "I like my lab."

"Obviously. Spending all that time in a lab must be super healthy for you," Nikki rolled her eyes. "I mean, that's all you do. No offense." She shook her head. "Look, we're going, and that's final. Come on."

- PRER -

Joey had stopped at his small house for a while, which he lived in with his mother due to money problems. His mother and him had never really had a solid income, or an official place to live when he was younger. It wasn't until he was 16 and managed to get his own job that they were able to find a more or less 'stable' place to live.

Now that he had a much better job, he could help support his mother even more. She now worked two jobs, and was often tired and stressed out, which made Joey want to stay and help her out even more.

As he walked in, he shut the door behind him and saw a picture of himself as a baby on the table. He smiled and picked it up, but noticed that it was folded over oddly. He opened it, and saw another baby sitting there - one that look almost the same as himself, sitting in the same position as him, on the other side of the photo.

His mother, Deborah, who often came home between her jobs for lunch, walked into the living room, surprised to see him standing there.

"Joey," She said, walking towards him, even more surprised to see the photo in his hand. "What are you doing with that?" Joey showed the full picture to his mother, who tried to be nonchalant. "What's wrong?"

"Who is that?" He asked, pointing to the baby on the other side of the photo.

She chuckled awkwardly, leaning down to pick up her coffee cup and walk it into the kitchen, with Joey on her heels. "That's you."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "But, I'm here." He pointed to the other child.

Deborah nodded. "They're both you. It was an editing problem at the photo studio when you got your picture taken, and it duplicated you."

"Really?" He asked, looking at the back of the photo. "But it says Joseph and Anthony on the back."

She looked at it in shock. "Oh, well, that's what I called the duplicate as a joke," She said, shrugging. "I saw that and named it because I thought it was funny at the time. So did your father."

Joey made a face, and ripped the photo in half, making his mother gasp. "Well, my dad is a dick, so we don't need this other half with 'Anthony,' do we?"

"I.. umm.. guess not." Deborah said slowly, watching him throw it away with a strained look on her face. He handed her back the half with him on it. "Thank you, Joey." She said, forcing a chuckle.

He smiled, not noticing the look on her face. "So, what's for lunch?"

- PRER -

Meanwhile, Autumn walked out of ER for a moment, fiddling with the medal still around her neck. Since she had gotten it that morning, she had to wear it for the rest of the day until she went home, not wanting to take it off around any of the others.

As she walked outside, she saw Tori walking down the street, not far from her, and she was acting strange. Tori was looking around, trying to make sure she was alone, and quickly turned a corner, obviously trying to avoid being seen.

Autumn sighed and walked after her, though she stayed a bit behind. When she rounded the corner, she was confused when she didn't see Tori. She walked forward a bit, when someone grabbed her and pulled her into an alleyway.

She kicked the person back and went to grab her morpher when the person grabbed her again and shoved her against the wall, pinning her there. When her eyes adjusted to the dark off the alley, she noticed it was Tori.

"Tori, what the hell are you doing?" She hissed, pushing the other red ranger back. "I thought you were a criminal trying to kill me or something."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Oh please," She scoffed. "What are you doing following me?"

Autumn looked to the side. "I wasn't following you," She said, trying to be nonchalant.

"Yes, you were," Tori growled. "And if you don't tell me, I'm going to lock you to the nearest car and leave you there."

The lieutenant sighed. "I was wondering what you were doing. You looked suspicious - like you were planning to do something stupid."

Tori shook her head. "I'm going to do my job, like I should be doing. Unfortunately, I've been a little distracted lately."

Autumn frowned. "What? By me and the other lieutenants?"

"The others I'm used to." Tori said, crossing her arms. "They've always been around - albeit they were rangers until you showed up, but they've always been itching to do it whether they were or not. It's you that's the problem. You show up out of the blue one day, become the red lieutenant ranger, and then get an award after catching only two criminals. You're just..." Tori shook her head. "You're too much."

Autumn looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I didn't mean to. Besides, I thought it would help to catch criminals, no matter who helped me do it."

"You..." Tori sighed. "I.. look, I worked really hard to be in the position I'm in and..."

"And I'm not trying to steal your spot." Autumn told her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder, though Tori shied away from the touch. "I'm just trying to do my job, like you. I know my place, and I know your's too. Don't worry about that." Tori was silent. "Look, why don't you tell me what's going on so I can try to help you out?"

Tori looked at her. "I don't know, I..."

"I'll listen to everything you say. You're completely in charge, just don't go out there alone. We both know how dangerous and stupid that could be." Autumn told her.

The chief nodded. "Alright" She gestured out to the street. "But let's get out of here first. There could be people back here."

As they left, a figure in the shadows of the alley watched them, before retreating back into the darkness.

- PRER -

*Now*

BANG!

The gun shot resounded through the alleyway, and Tori closed her eyes, expecting to be shot anytime. When she heard someone else fall and didn't feel any pain, she opened her eyes and saw Autumn on the floor, holding a hand to her side in pain.

"No!" Tori exclaimed, pulling her own gun out and pointing it at Brian as he turned towards her. "Drop it now!"

Brian smirked. "You're not gonna shoot me. I know you won't."

Tori trained her pistol on him, but she wasn't pulling the trigger. Behind him, she saw Autumn give her the signal to let him run if he refused. "Drop it." She demanded, cocking the gun.

From behind Brian, Autumn watched carefully as she cocked her pistol. "Don't do it, Tori," She whispered, holding a hand to the bloody mark in her side. Because Brian wasn't a good shot, he just grazed her side, but it still hurt very badly. "Please, do the right thing and don't shoot him."

"Do it," Brian taunted her, cocking his own gun to mock her. "Cause if you don't, I will."

Tori put her other hand on the bottom of her pistol, and pull the trigger. Immediately, Brian started running away, even though there was no bullet coming after him. As he ran, Autumn put her foot out and tripped him, before kicking her foot down on his back to stop him from moving.

The chief red ranger ran over, and kneeled down, her knee in his back to hold him down while she handcuffed him. She then held him down with one of her hands while she turned to Autumn, her eyes widening at the blood coming from her side as she tried to sit up.

"Wait, take it easy," Tori warned her, holding her shoulder, though Autumn pushed her hand off gently.

Autumn winced. "I'm okay. He just grazed me. I'll probably need a few stitches, but besides that I'm fine."

"Okay," Tori nodded, pulling Brian to his feet before helping Autumn up, letting her lean on her a bit. "Hey Brian, wanna guess where you're going?"

Brian rolled his eyes, "Let's just get over there and finish this." He muttered, as Tori walked them back.

- PRER -

Later, Autumn sat on a cot in the infirmary, her bloody shirt sitting next to her as Sophie stitched the gash in her side. Autumn winced a bit at the needle going into her skin.

"You okay?" Sophie asked, looking at her face for a moment. "I would say we could stop, but we kind of can't. Sorry."

Autumn nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, and I know." She looked around. "Where are the others?"

Sophie continued her task again. "I think they're all looking over the case and trying to put all of the evidence together to be able to convict Brian. I don't know where Tori went, though."

"I'm here." Tori said softly, holding something in her hands as she walked over to Autumn, cringing at the gash. "Are you alright?"

Autumn chuckled. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

Tori gave her a pursed lip smile and sat down on a cot next to her. "So, we're off the job for the rest of the day cause Masters and Lia are kinda ticked that we went off on our own. Plus, you're off for a week or two because you're injured."

The lieutenant red rolled her eyes. "Great. You'd better look after the team, Sophie," She said to the intern, who finished off her stitches and was walking out of the room for a moment.

"I will," Sophie called back, leaving the two alone.

Autumn reached over and grabbed a red t-shirt she had gotten out of her locker to replace her bloody one for the time being. "So, what's up?" Autumn asked, looking over at her as she put it on over her bra. Tori stared at her for a moment, before shaking her head.

"Oh, I came to give you your medal," She handed it to her. "You dropped it on the way in here."

"Thanks," Autumn looked it over. "You know, I meant what I said up on that stage. This medal goes out to all of us here. You and the other chiefs did all the research, I just cuffed him."

Tori smiled at her and the two stared at each other for a moment, before they both looked away awkwardly. "Anyways," Tori cleared her throat. "I'm going to get a late lunch." She stood up, and began to walk out, when she turned back to Autumn. "You can come if you want. You know, as coworkers and acquaintances do."

Autumn nodded. "Oh yeah, completely. I'd love to go." She stood up, and followed Tori out of the room.

Next time on Power Rangers Emergency Responders: With Autumn out of command for a few days more, Jason is forced to take the helm and lead the lieutenants into a battle with a store thief. Meanwhile, things continue to be tense between Sean and Taz, making Tori force them to work together.

Next Chapter Title: Second-In-Command

So, after almost a month, here's the next chapter. I know I was going to have an Autumn focused chapter next, but I feel like I've been focusing a lot on her and Tori for the past few chapters, and I figured that it would be a good time to have the next chapter after the events of this one.

*As I said above, I have another OC contest for anyone interested (if you haven't submitted already). It's definitely going to be up for a little more than 2 weeks more, and you can go put in two of your own characters! Speaking of which, I have been getting everyone's OCs, but I won't really be responding or anything until I decide who I want on the 7th or so, so don't worry that I didn't get it or anything.*

Here's the lineup for the next five chapters.

Ep 8: Junior - Sean and Taz focused chapter.

Ep 9: Partner - Autumn focused chapter.

Ep 10: Owen's Success - Owen focused chapter.

Ep 11: Home Is Where The Heart Is - Joey focused chapter.

Ep 12: Test - Nikki focused chapter.

Anyways guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you guys back with the next chapter!

© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley