"You know," Kelsey starts, and her tone makes me a little afraid. Once she gets going, I have no idea what she'll say next, "Whatever you said to Carter the other day definitely worked some magic."

I fix my cap, adjusting my stance on my longboard. What can I say here that won't seem like… like what? Is there a way that Carter and I seem? Why am I thinking about it? After all, it is only just a few more days until my "trial run" with Lightspeed is over. "I just leveled with I him is all." The brunette lets out a soft whistle.

"Impressive, considering it kicked his ass back into gear."

I shrug. "We all need someone by our side, even-" An ear-piercing shriek forces me to coast to a stop, and Kelsey does the same. She holds up a hand, signaling for us to wait, and there's the noise again. "Screaming."

She nods and glances around. "There." Cars swerve around something that's blocking the road, a little too small for me to see clearly. "Someone's dog must've escaped."

For a moment, I almost instinctively call for help. Then, I realize, we are the help. "You'll be faster on your skates than I'd be on my board," is what I say instead. "I'll spot you from the other side of the road." With that, she nods, and we're off. Thankfully, the signal just turned to Walk, and so I zoom across, leaping off my longboard the moment my wheels touch the sidewalk. The light further down the street just turned red, so I lift my morpher, trying to ignore the stares I'm getting. "You're good, go."

I watch in stunned silence as Kelsey leaps over the parked cars, skates easily onto the road, and right into the path of an oncoming car. The driver slams on their brakes, narrowly avoiding her as she scoops the small dog into her arms. "Got her!"

"Great, now get out of the damn road!" Kelsey's probably the second most badass person I've ever met, next to my own brother, but sometimes, she really needs situational awareness. Case in point: there's a huge truck barreling down on her as we speak, one that she ducks beneath and comes skidding to a stop next to me. I steady her, although I'm mostly making sure the dog is okay.

And of course, here comes the obligatory crowd of onlookers. Phones are shoved into our faces, questions thrown at us, and Kelsey and I exchange a wry smile. This is hands down one of the reasons why I don't want to see this job out. One of them, a woman in an indigo sweatshirt, takes the dog out of Kelsey's hands. "Thank you, Rangers. Seriously. I'm Nancy, and this is Darcy."

At least there's no I know who you are. "Kelsey."

"Alyssa. It's nice to meet you both."

Nancy smiles. "That was crazy, what you did back there. But I'm very glad you are."

Kelsey shrugs and adjusts her headphones even though they were already as snug as could be.

"What can I say? Crazy's my middle name." It's like listening to Joel regale us with one of his escapades- My phone alarm goes off.

No way it's half an hour before class starts. Ugh. "I've gotta get to class. It was nice meeting you!" Kelsey's wide-eyed stare almost makes me feel bad for leaving her alone. "I'll see you at home, Kels."

"Yeah, see you." With that, I drop my longboard to the ground and skate away.

—-

Before I left for class I'd called this place home. That doesn't mean I meant it the way I do when I talk about Hawaii. Hawaii will always be somewhere I know I can go back to. The Aqua Base is just the place I eat, sleep, and shower. The door to our quarters slides open, and Dana leaps up, hands on her hips. What'd I do now? "Were you with Kelsey this morning?"

"Uh… yeah? We went skating before I went to class." If she's worried I skipped, she should know better: I'm too scared to ditch. I'm also starving, so I rummage through our fridge. Hopefully, no one ate my leftover blueberry cream cheese bagel. "Why, what's up?"

The smile growing on my blonde roommate's face tells me everything I need to know. "Tell. Me. Everything."

"Well, to sum it up…" There. Someone put the paper-wrapped delicacy in the very back of the bottom shelf. My back cracks as I straighten up and take a bite from it. Yum. "I guess Kelsey's badassery is going to get her some action if you know what I mean."

Dana grins and sits back down. "I'm satisfied." The door slides open again, and miss Yellow Ranger herself steps in, gym towel around her neck.

"I'll never understand how you have the energy to skate and work out." She rolls her eyes and snatches my backpack from where it's hanging on one shoulder, tossing it onto the counter. It lands directly in front of my favorite study seat.

"And I'll never understand how you have the mental willpower to take four more years of school."

Dana nods so vigorously that her hair bounces. Kelsey snorts out a laugh, sauntering over and snatching a pretzel from her bowl. "Wasn't twelve enough?" Now it's my turn to put my free hand on my hip.

"Hey, I'm doing something I enjoy. It hardly even feels like school." Dana hums in acknowledgment, and Kelsey shrugs.

"It's still school-" Kelsey's mouth slams shut the instant Dana points towards the tv. "What?"

"Shh."

Ah. The satellite launch was all anyone could talk about today. I'm pretty sure one of my classmates is going down there to photograph. "This mission will be flown by first-time pilot, Nancy Cooper." Kelsey's gym bag flops to the ground, and I nearly lose my grip on my bagel as I run over to the living room.

"That girl! S-she's the one I told you about, D, with the puppy." Dana and I exchange a glance over Kelsey's shoulder. Not that she'd even notice, considering she's still staring at the newsfeed. Poor girl. Nancy and her copilot are already in the cockpit, making final adjustments to their controls, and I flop onto the end of the couch to watch. What are the odds of us rescuing an astronaut's pet?

The door slides open again. "Up and at 'em, girls!"

"Joel," Dana mutters, "Please be quiet."

"Yeah," Kelsey adds, "We're trying to watch the news here."

"We rescued her dog," I explain. Chad and Carter lean against the back of the sofa, Joel crossing his arms and choosing to stand. The countdown starts, and I lean forward, eyes glued to the footage. No sci-fi movie can match something like this.

"This mission will spend only a short four hours in space, where it will run several ship maneuvers and vacuum tests, which have been strategically mapped out, as well as launching a satellite."

Incredible. In the past few years alone, we've made such immense progress that it's hard to believe- Our morphers beep in unison, and Joel heaves a sigh. Drama queen. "Go."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got trouble."

"Can it wait, sir? We're watching the-"

"Joel."

Dana shuts off the television, and I take the last bite of my bagel. "Yes. Right away, sir."

—-

As far as I knew, there hadn't been a wind advisory set for today. Guess there's still a lot I don't know. The wind whips around us mercilessly, generated by a fierce tornado above the water, sending people scattering for cover and trash floating on the wind. "The hell's this," Carter mutters, then louder, "Everyone get inside!" Each of us dash off to separate areas of the pier, and I manage to catch an umbrella before it pins one of the civilians to the wall.

"Go, go! Follow the rest of them!" Before long, we've emptied out the pier, and not only that, but the wind dies down, too. In its place however, is a floating sphere that's also somehow on fire. Not fun.

"What's that?"

"I am Diabolico." Like… the actual demon we're trying to defeat? If Carter's as scared as I am, I can't tell.

"What do you want from us?"

"I've come to destroy your precious city, and restore Queen Bansheera's magnificent palace." With that, the floating fiery orb transforms back into its tornado form and starts off across the water.

—-

We don't follow the tornado far, since we end up a little further down the harbor. Carter activates his scanner as the rest of us keep our eyes peeled for- "He's in the tornado!" Before I can even react, he pulls out his blaster, firing at its center. The massive vortex disspates, but now we're faced by… I don't even know what that this is. It stands feet taller than us, with strange wings that curve directly behind its back and fangs that drip spittle.

I still can't believe any of this is real, that I'm here, that this morpher chose me. Especially because I didn't want to be chosen.

"Don't you realize you can't stop me?"

"Save your breath," Carter counters, "My friends and I will stop you, count on it."

"If it's friends you want, then you can meet some of mine!" A chill creeps down my spine as the Battlings emerge from the shadows. Their amorphous bodies and piercing eyes still give me goosebumps just like the first day this all started.

"They haven't gotten less creepy," I mutter.

"Could say that again," Chad agrees.

"Battlings, get them!"

"Rescue blasters!" I know exactly what Carter's going to order, especially since we're being charged at with literal swords, "Baton mode!"

The first few monsters dash at me, weapons outstretched, so I do what I do best: run straight at them. It's just like I thought, too, they're too dumb to be confused at my recklessness. And too dumb to notice the cubby between two shipping containers that I dash into as they rush forward. The first two Battlings are too slow to counter my bullets, disappearing back into their dimension, and the other two leap at me, wings spread. Well. If they're gonna go high… I roll beneath them, and when I come up on the other side once more, fire two more times. Both headshots. Nice.

I spin, craning my neck to look for my teammates. "Everyone okay?" Why hasn't Carter checked in? Where is he, anyway?

"Fine!" Chad reports back, and Dana regroups with me. "I think Carter's handling the monster on his own." As usual. Dana shakes her head, and together we dash out of the shipping area just in time to spot our leader knocked to the ground. Panic threatens to tighten my chest, but I focus on what I need to do next: stop our opponent from causing any more damage. I reload my blaster, then fire off a warning shot, purposely aiming for a barrel I note on the side of the pier. The water inside explodes, providing a momentary shield while we run to Carter.

"You okay?" Kelsey checks in.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" Oh, Dana. Always the EMT.

"Yeah, I'm okay." And Carter, always the liar. (Not always. Just sometimes, like in the thick of battle when he's undoubtedly hurt.) Our opponent lets out a chuckle, and I turn a moment too late. Near unbearable heat licks at me, and even though I know I won't be burned, the attack hurts like I will be. Knocked down as we may be, though, no way we're knocked out. "Rescue blasters!"

—-

We make quick work of the monster, and it's nice to be able to walk in a straight line without being blown over. No rest for the weary, though. "Rangers."

"Go ahead, sir," Kelsey's the first to reply.

"The space shuttle's in trouble. The tornado hit them hard, we don't know if she's gonna be able to land on her own." Shit. Why hadn't I thought about that? Kelsey and I glance up at each other, and even though I can't see her expression, I know what she must be feeling. Who she must be thinking about.

"We're going to help her," I reassure.

Joel nods, resting a hand on Kelsey's shoulder. "Captain Mitchell, I can help out with Aero Rescue 3."

"You can't do it alone, Joel. You won't be able to land safely. You'll both crash."

"There still has to be something we can do."

This is the longest I've seen Kelsey go without speaking, especially in a crisis like this. "I've got it."

"Great," Carter replies, "What the hell's it?"

If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's smirking right now. "Just follow my lead."

—-

After that riding test I'd been put up to last week, I feel more confident than ever on my Rescue. Especially now that I'm using it to save a friend. Or, acquaintance, at the very least. "Joel, locate the shuttle." Right. Focus up, Sakamichi.

"I'm on it, Kelsey." He zips up into the clouds, and I lose sight of him. Thanks to a small screen on my dash, though, I have a reading of his altitude and the general direction he went, along with where everyone else is. A real life minimap. Insane.

"The rest of you, follow me." There's nothing to do but trust that Kelsey's actually got this under control, so I zip through the streets, following her lead.

"In position now."

"Attach your cable magnets to the shuttle." For a moment, there's only static, and then a crackle.

"Cable magnets? For what?" Nancy, along with the bumping and rattling of her ship. I can't imagine how terrified she must be, despite the dozens of drills and tests she's undoubtedly had to run.

"We're gonna help you land." Oh, Kelsey's voice definitely lowered just now. Hilarious.

"Roger that," Joel reports, and I think I can hear a hint of a laugh in his tone, too, "Try and keep her steady, Nancy. I'm locking on."

"Careful, I don't have much control." Plummeting down towards Earth with no landing gear and no controls? Fuck. I hold my breath, watching the green dot of Joel's location speed forward.

"I've got you." His location suddenly lifts up and up and up, and I feel like I can finally breathe.

"Shuttle's readings indicate they're leveling off," Chad reports.

"That's one less thing to worry about," Carter replies, "But it still can't land at that speed."

"Dana, Ally, clear the freeway. It's about to become a landing strip." No wonder she hadn't told us her plan: Kelsey is crazier than I thought.

"On it," I reply nonetheless.

"Same here," Dana radios in. There's no way I'm fitting between the jammed-up cars. (California traffic is way worse than Hawaii traffic, after all. Shocking.) But there is a ramp that'll put me right on top of the Medic Rescue. It's risky, but what about this isn't? With that thought in mind, I rev my engine and fly up the ramp, lower myself down over my Street Rescue, and make the jump easily.

I think I hear Joel whistle in astonishment, Chad mutter something like Crazy kid. Carter doesn't say much of anything, which isn't unusual. There's the clunk of Dana's Rescue opening up, and I raise up my morpher. "This is an emergency! We need the freeway cleared, everyone please drive into the back of our Rescue vehicle!" It doesn't take long for the streets to be completely empty, and I pat the back of the giant ambulance. "Think I can catch a ride?"

"Of course, 'Lys. Freeway's all yours, Kelsey!" As soon as I've got my own Rescue safely strapped down to the top of the vehicle, I turn and spot-

"Kels, what're you-"

"Joel, put the shuttle on my roof." Oh god.

"On your Zord?" Joel stammers. (Not once have I heard him even come close to stuttering.)

"While you're moving? You're crazy!"

Please don't say it, please don't say it- "Crazy's my middle name!" (I am so single.)

"Your… Kelsey? That you?"

"God, I feel like I'm interrupting something."

"Alyssa?" At least she remembered my name, too.

"Yours truly." There's a few moments of silence on the other end.

"If you guys think this'll work, I do too. Let's go."

I can damn near see Kelsey's stupefied grin. "Atta girl." Too bad there's no preprogrammed secret channels on comms, since if there were, I'd be making a gagging noise to the others.

"I've got a visual!" Nancy reports, "Easy…"

"Just like the air show days." I'm shocked Joel hasn't burst into laughter by now. "Releasing payload in three, two… now!" My heart's in my throat as I watch and wait for the shuttle to finally land with a thud onto Kelsey's Zord.

"Yes! It's almost over. Al, can you ride alongside me, get me an approximation of the distance I've got left?"

"Of course. D?" The clamps on the bottom of my Rescue release, along with a ramp that deploys from the back of Dana's rescue, and I zoom down it. Kelsey and the shuttle are almost out of my line of sight, and I grit my teeth, leaning forward and pushing my Rescue faster and faster until I catch up.

"How are we looking, Carter, Ally?"

"Ease it down," Carter warns. "You're running out of road."

I glance down at Kelsey's position on my mini-map. "Little less than three miles." It's not much sooner than that when I run out of road, have to pull to a stop, lest I go flying off. "Two, now," I count down, "Kels…"

"Yeah, I know, I know! Reversing… now!"

—-

Once more, we make light work of the tornado monster, even as he grows into his giant size. (I never thought I'd be piloting a literal gundam alongside a group of people I hardly know. Crazy how things turn out. Speaking of which…) Nancy stands near the wreckage of the freeway, waving to Kelsey and I. The two embrace, and I exchange a glance with the others. "First you guys save my dog, then me?" My friend's cheeks flame with red, and I have to bite my lip to keep from giggling. "So. What's it like being a part of Lightspeed?"

"Incredible," I admit, "But it's nothing compared to what you do, Nancy."

"I've always wanted to fly a space shuttle," Kelsey adds.

Nancy grimaces. "After today, though, I think I should keep my job, and you can keep yours." The funny thing is, she's not wrong.