Episode 17:

Going Away To College

"Bouquet of clumsy words,
A
simple melody.
This
world's an ugly place
But
you're so beautiful…"

The song slowly faded into reverb, and Hilary smiled as she reached for the stereo and hit repeat. That may have been her favorite so far; bringing the lightness from her chest rising into a warm grin as she listened. She could see why Ray had said it was his favorite album when he lent it to her. But even then, she couldn't help but wonder; of all the tracks, was that his favorite too…?

No! Bad idea. Don't go down that path.

Thinking about him again was the last thing she should be doing. Fantasizing about her brother's best friend was only going to end in tears. No, she had work to do. At the very least it would help keep her distracted.

She clicked back over to the document she'd been working on; an archive of all known Ranger teams that had operated on Earth. Doc mostly had the list prepared, and while he'd kept most of the names to himself, had asked Hilary to do some research into their individual battles to help give a bigger picture of their actions. Maybe give their own team some pointers on how to beat Gideon.

It was humbling, looking back at the teams that came before them, to realize the greatness of those that she now stood beside. Up until now, their focus had been lasered on protecting Cranston City. But after reading all these Ranger stories, it really put in perspective the honor of the ranks that she'd joined.

But in all her research, she'd finally hit a wall and had to concede that she'd probably reached as far as she could on her own. Which left the true task before, the one that she'd been putting off for the last two weeks.

College applications.

Reluctantly closing the document, she kicked open the browser to take another look at her narrowed options. Her gut instinct was the local University of California campus, followed closely by Reefside Tech. Both had good reputations, as well as most of the software engineering courses she was considering. Being close to home was another factor; she could board with her parents if she stayed in Cranston, or drive back from Reefside on weekends.

Plus it would mean she'd have no problems fulfilling her Ranger duties.

But even as her pragmatism kept the two options firmly in front of her, her curiosity kept wandering to further, loftier ambitions. MIT was the obvious choice, but all other reasons aside, it was just too far. On the other side of the country, she may as well be overseas. She knew well that such a move would mean suddenly only seeing her family once or twice a year, not to mention the complete estrangement from the rest of her friends.

No matter how much the dream of MIT shined in the clouds above her head, she knew heart she wasn't ready for a jump that big. But of course, the same couldn't be said for a few other schools that were on her side of the continent…

"What are you dooooooing?"

The curious voice snickered right next to her ear, breaking her thoughts as Hilary nearly leaped from her seat in surprise. Fuming, she turned around to glare at her brother, who was now hanging from the ceiling, arms pressed to his waist as he keeled over with laughter.

"Not funny," she said.

"Oh, I disagree," Ben grinned back. "That was hilarious."

"And what would Doc think if he learned that this was how you decided to use your civilian powers?"

"Doc is human, and therefore would have found that funny."

Hilary sighed, only to begin smirking as a thought entered her head. "Well then, want to know what I find funny?"

"Oh yeah?" he replied, "What's that?"

"The digital pulse affected your body's energy," Hilary explained, "but it didn't affect your physiology. That means all the blood is rushing right to your head, and in a second you'll have the biggest headache you've ever experienced."

Ben raised his eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest. "Oh yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. Like the worse than the biggest brain freeze you can even imagine."

"We'll see."

"Well if you're going to be stubborn about it," Hilary decided, "can you at least humor me and hang away from my desk? I don't want my computer breaking your fall."

Ben poked out his tongue and moved above Hilary's bed. For the next thirty seconds, the twins engaged in their determined staring contest, Ben squinting in a stubborn refusal to blink. Poor boy never had a chance; time was always on Hilary's side. Suddenly Ben clasped his hands around his forehead, groaning as his feet slipped off the ceiling. He landed on the yellow bedspread with a thud, a thumping echo sounding as the headboard banged against the wall.

"Good thing Mom and Dad are out," Hilary laughed as she returned her attention to the computer. "Because I would have left it entirely to you to explain that noise."

"Not fair," he groaned, slowly sitting up as he rubbed his forehead. "You knew that was going to happen."

"And so should you," Hilary pointed out, "if you actually bothered to pay attention in biology."

Poking out his tongue once more, Ben rose from the bed and returned to hovering over his sister's shoulder.

"So seriously, what are you doing?"

"Looking over college applications," she said. "You know, those places people go if they want to make something of themselves?"

"I resent that."

"Anyway, it looks like it's a tie between Reefside Tech and UC Cranston."

Ben nodded, only half listening as he began nosily poking around the papers to Hillary's side. While the Yellow Ranger promptly ignored her brother, Ben found her report card and started scanning her grades.

"Umm, sis?"

"What?"

"What's your GPA again? Three-point-two?"

"Three-eight," Hilary corrected, almost absent-mindedly without looking away from the screen.

"Sure, just a casual three-point-eight," Ben muttered to himself, "because why would that be a big deal? And your final SATs were…?"

"Fifteen sixty-two," she replied impatiently. "Why are you even asking?"

Ben smirked. "You know with grades like yours, you're probably easily in line for a scholarship at an ivy league..."

That caught her attention. Hilary's head snapped up, eyes widening as she spun around to look at her brother. "That's not funny."

"I'm not joking," Ben replied. "Honestly I thought you'd already be considering it."

"It's not like I hadn't thought about it," Hilary admitted. "But MIT's too far away! I move from west to east and I could never move back, and I don't know if I'm ready to only see Mom and Dad once a year. Or even your stupid mug, for that matter."

Ben nodded in concession but didn't drop the point. "Yeah, okay. But what about Stanford?"

Hilary froze at the mention of the name, knowing full well of the final tab that was sitting unopened on the screen behind her.

Stanford. Silicon Valley. Her Nirvana.

MIT may have always been a faint dream in the distance, but this felt too close to ever dare to hope. And while Reefside still felt close enough that coming home would be clean and simple, Stanford's distance made it more… complicated.

And it was still the last thing she wanted to be thinking about.

"Okay, so what are you really here for?" she asked, desperate to change the subject "Because I don't think for a second that you're here to check in on my college applications."

As if caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Ben's mood shifted from amused to mild shame. "I don't suppose you've seen Miko anywhere?" he asked. "I know that it's my turn to feed her, but I can't find her anywhere."

Hilary rolled her eyes and sighed. Their family cat was barely more than a year old, and with far more curiosity than sense had become quite adept at slinking out unnoticed whenever someone was moving through the door. Still, she'd usually be back by now, clawing at the threshold after her rumbling stomach lured her home.

"I'm guessing you want me to go look for her?" Hilary asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ben's only response was a pout. "She tries to scratch me whenever I pick her up."

Baby.

Still, it was down to a choice between bringing the cat home now or watching Ben fumble her all the way down the street. But while Hilary would get a good view of the whole show from her bedroom window and ad to admit the second option was tempting, the cat was just as likely to scamper off into the darkness than make it home. And then Hilary would be out there looking for her anyway.

In the meantime, Ben had started begging with his brightest, most pathetic puppy eyes.

"All right," she surrendered, "I'll go and look for her. But her bowl had better be full when I get back."

Ben lifted his hands in agreement as Hilary rose from her chair and pulled on the yellow sweater by the bed. Then, leaving her brother unsupervised upstairs, she descended the stairwell and headed out into the briskness of the night.

The wind that evening had a particular bite, nipping at any skin Hilary had been unable to cover and forcing her to rub her chest to keep warm. Every breath puffed fresh whips of fog, curling in the still air as she marched up the street in search of the wayward stray. Thankfully, she wouldn't need to go far. Even so young, Miko had learned that staying close to the house ensured a reliable source of food. Likely she'd got herself stuck somewhere, and Hilary's suspicions were confirmed as she passed a large tree and heard a familiar "meow…?".

Hilary felt the grin stretch between her cheeks as she looked up to see Miko. The small tabby was clutching a branch, back paw caught behind her and staring at Hilary with eyes that were a pleading mixture of helplessness and shame. She stretched out her arms, but the cat refused to budge on seeing the signal to jump.

Only one thing for it then. For once, Hilary felt highly envious of Ben's powers as she braced her foot on the trunk and began to awkwardly climb the tree. Pulling herself upward, she carefully balanced on a thick branch, reaching toward the small cat and delicately freeing its paw from the twigs. Grateful, the feline leaped along the wooden branch and into her outstretched arm. Moments later, she was purring into Hilary's shoulder, head nuzzling deeper into the Yellow Ranger's embrace. Cat firmly in her hold, she dropped back down to the street below.

"Let's get you home," she whispered. "And I'll make sure that big bad Ben feeds you properly."

She made her way back down the street with the small bundle of fur in her arms. But as she reached the gate, Miko's head pricked up. The purring stopped, and her eyes started the scanning area suspiciously. Hilary knew the response instantly. The same reaction the pet would give every time she saw the vacuum cleaner rolling out.

The realization of a coming threat. A threat outside her house.

The bushes rustled behind her, Miko hissing as Hilary's spine snapped straight. Whatever caused that sound, it was too big to be another stray pet. It was something else; something far more dangerous.

Careful to not react, she gently kneeled and placed Miko on the garden path.

"I'll be with you in a sec," she said quietly. "Go on, go get your food."

The cat didn't need to be told twice, scampering right for the door as Hilary casually turned, knees bending into a prepared fight stance. "Isn't it a bit late for an evening stroll?"

Then they jumped her, four Byte-Bots leaping from the bushes. Hilary was ready, ducking beneath the coming blow and striking to knock it back. But already the rest were coming, two moving in at once as she parried the first strike and spun clear of the second.

She needed to move; here on the garden path she was too boxed in, and there was no way she was going to lead those things into the house. She needed to reset the field.

Another came at her, but now instead of blocking, she grabbed, snatching the arm and reefing it over her shoulder. With the Byte-Bot behind her, Hilary had the perfect opening. She flipped into a cartwheel, gliding past another blow and flipping back out onto the street.

"Sorry," she sneered. "Mom and Dad said it's way too late for visitors."

The Byte-Bots didn't relent, lunging straight out to tackle her. She flipped again, shoes skidding on the asphalt as she avoided another strike and the Byte Bots moved to surround her. Now free to move, she blocked and spun, hurling the Byte-Bot into its comrades and forcing them to come from the same direction, to control their pattern of attack.

And by the time the Byte Bots came again, Hilary had shifted into a rigid wall of metal, solid and immovable. Skin coated, Hilary swung out her arm, cracking through the Byte-Bot's limb to send the wrist flying. Then she snatched out, heaving the Byte-bot above her head and hurling it at the comrades. The others were nowhere near ready, crashing over like weightless skittles as the flying bot collided with them.

"Now," she told them, dusting off her hands as the metal receded. "Don't suppose you'll tell me why you're door-knocking?" The only answer was a flash of green, as ten more Byte-Bots materialized around her. "I guess not, then."

The horde descended, forcing her back against the fence. Hilary dodged the first, slapping its back to send it hurling over the picket, kicking back another as she chopped to slam the third into the sharpened post. She dropped low, sweeping the legs and tripping the surrounding before rolling up to the front gate. Another charged and she grabbed hold, slamming its head into the mailbox and flipping up the flag.

She needed a new plan; something to help even the odds. But with the sheer numbers coming at her, she barely had a chance to reach her Morpher. No powers, no backup. And if she weren't careful, the mob was going to force their way inside.

But then she heard a roar, a mighty battle cry as a figure leaped through the air.

Ben!

Her brother dropped from his peak, spinning into a powerful tornado kick that knocked the Byte-Bots backward. Then he snapped up beside her, guard raised and ready.

"I had them, you know," she told him.

"Sure you did," Ben smirked. "But I couldn't let you hog all the fun, could I?"

But their bravado faded as they watched Byte-Bot's already regrouping.

"I've called the others, they're on their way," Ben explained. "Time to bring out the big guns?"

"Good idea," Hilary agreed, finally able to reach for her Morpher. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Data Squad! Digitize!"

The light surrounded them, blazing with gold and sapphire as the suits formed around them and the visors shunted into place. Then, with the power of the grid now flowing through their bodies, the duo snapped out their weapons and charged into the eager horde.

Hilary's sais twirled in her palms, spinning like razor propellors that carved through the robots' sides. Then she leaped, soaring into the sky as Ben rushed in to bring his hammer down. The mallet cracked into the concrete, pulsing out a shockwave that sent the Byte-Bots flying.

With the footsoldiers scattered, the teens regrouped, ready for another bout.

"This is too easy," Hilary realized. Something had been bugging her ever since the Byte-Bots had lunged at her. It wasn't just that they were here, outside their house. It was the way they were fighting…

"And why is this a bad thing?" Ben countered.

"Because, you idiot, it probably means that we've walked into a-"

"Trap?"

The voice laughed as Mileena appeared behind the Byte-Bots with even more at her side.

"Told you."

"That you did," Ben agreed, "can we focus on the big bad lady now?"

As they turned to face their enemy the Byte-bots stepped back, clearing a path between them and Mileena. The two sides eyed each other off, gazes narrowing, daring the other to come forward.

Challenging.

"Well," Mileena taunted. "I'm waiting."

The twins engaged, Ben going high and Hilary charging low, Modem Blades drawn and ready. Mileena was more than ready, swatting Ben's attack as he spun into a landing. But her eagerness to strike the Blue Ranger had left her exposed, Hilary taking the chance and lunging. She plunged the sword at the warrior's exposed belly, forcing her enemy to turn and block to avoid the devastating strike. But Hilary didn't relent, pushing with blow after blow as the Mileena stumbled with every strike. Their blades locked in the collision, Hilary pulling herself close to Mileena's face.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Why I'm here for you," Mileena laughed, "You seemed so eager to play."

"Then how about you play with us!"

The air was filled with the roar of engines, Hilary leaping backward as lasers fired from over the hill's crest. The bolts exploded as they landed, booming into blossoms of flames as Mileena soared into the air to escape the destruction.

As she landed, three motorcycles and an ATV burst into view, skidding to a stop in front of the Blue and Yellow Rangers as the riders dismounted.

Red, Green, Black. The boys had morphed and arrived with Kyle at their side.

"We were just in the neighborhood," Ray taunted. "Thought we'd drop in."

"Seems you've got a party going," Mileena sneered back as the Byte-Bots regrouped around her. "I can see when I'm no longer wanted."

"If that were true, you'd never have shown up," Hilary replied.

The evening was filled with the flash of emerald light, consuming the enemy forces as they teleported away. But even as Mileena vanished, Hilary caught a glimpse of her face.

And she could swear the warrior was smirking.