Episode 14

Error 404- Part 1

Lena glared at her enemy, letting the fury build to a roil w as Miguel stopped and turned to see her. His face was stony, a blank void, and yet from a single look, it was clear he knew what she wanted. From his stance, it was unclear whether he was going to comply; but his willingness had no relevance. In fact, it made Lena's job even easier if he wasn't. After all, who didn't love an easy target?

But Miguel also wasn't running, he hadn't vanished into a puff of smoke that would leave her scrambling in a chase. Maybe it was pride, maybe it was curiosity, but Lena's traitorous former friend wasn't going anywhere. Slowly, Miguel stepped forward, the two teens prowling in a circle as each sized the other up. A smile of enjoyment twitched to the corner of Lena's mouth.

Go ahead, Dark Ranger, measure me up all you want. All it will tell you is your fate.

But pretty soon Miguel was done inferring, stride stopping as his eyes narrowed upon her. Show time. "What do you want, Lena?"

"What I want is simple, Dark Ranger," Lena sneered. "Your destruction."

She lunged before he got a chance to reconsider, surging with blinding speed into a rocketing, flying kick. Miguel dodged, spinning from harm as he shifted to defense.

Exactly as she'd hoped.

Landing on one leg, Lena shot the other backward, twisting to kick with all her might and force Miguel to bat it back and stumble. With his balance thrown, Lena closed in, fists flying in a furious furry. Miguel's arms shot upwards, blocking left, right, and center just to keep up with the onslaught that was hammering him. But he didn't give anything back.

Not that Lena planned to give him the chance.

Coming to the end of her steam, Miguel took his chance to hold her off, snatching at Lena's wrist to pull her in. All that met him was a snarling face, as Lena gleefully allowed him to reel her closer.

"Impressive," she said. "Just imagine how powerful you could have been if you stuck with the winning side."

"I was never on your side," Miguel retorted.

"That just makes this next part more the shame."

She yanked him forward, jerking up the knee to ram it while Miguel's arms were occupied. But this time Miguel was ready; as Lena's weight sunk lower, he threw her back, center of gravity shifting to flinging himself free. But as Lena stumbled, feet snapping down to reposition and arms snapping high in ready for the counter, Miguel took the chance to move back.

Away from her, still refusing to fight.

His loss.

Giving chase, Lena rushed in again, leaping high in the air with a feral flurry of kicks. Again Miguel shifted back, palms slapping away her feet as she reached her peak and thundered down t. This time Miguel had no recourse but to move, and while he saw her next strike coming, all he could do was brace for impact.

Still mid-flight, Lena's body twisted as her feet hit empty air, pirouetting into a mighty kick as she landed. Her sole and heel jutted outward, pummeling the very air as it shot to the center of Miguel's chest. His arms crossed, forearms an X across his torso like a target for her foot strike. The kick sent Miguel reeling, struggling to stay upright as he grunted for breath and Lena took the chance to continue. Following up, Lena kicked again, only now Miguel was done with defense.

Shaking off the blow, the boy's arms clapped around, snatching Lena's foot mid-kick and twisting. The sudden shift swept the gravity beneath her, and it was only a reflexive leap that sent her spinning away instead of sprawling across the ground. But as Lena slowly rose to her full height, watching as Miguel's confused eyes stared frantically deciding whether to keep defending or run, Lena couldn't help but smile.

Finally, she was getting somewhere; it wasn't any fun if he didn't fight back.

"I see you're finally getting into the spirit of things," Lena decided. "So how about we kick things up a notch?"

The armor flashed to her body, locking into place as the sword materialized in her hand. She was done trading punches; it was time for a real fight.

"Lena," Miguel tried again. "We don't have to do this!"

"No," she replied. "We really do."

This time Lena gave him no window of reply, already on him with her blade aimed for center mass. Miguel's eyes widened, realizing that she was playing for keeps as he frantically dived. The green blade glowed, a trail arcing through the air as it sliced above and the unmorphed Ranger hit the ground, rolling for dear life.

Like she was going to make it that easy.

No sooner had Lena's blade cleaved through empty than she spun and jutted out a kick, her heel slamming Miguel square in the chest to expel the wind from his lungs. Stunned and staggering, he was now the perfect target, and with all her might Mileena roared as she plunged the tip of the blade at his belly.

Miguel's eyes widened, shock overcoming him as the glowing blade sniped across the gap to end him. A loud crack sounded between them, black smoke flushing from nowhere as Miguel disappeared and the sword sliced through the decaying curtain of remnant whips. She heard the crack again, and Lena turned to look where her opponent had fled.

Miguel was panting, eyes filled with fear and indecision. But he was still there; he hadn't taken the chance to run, to flee while he had the chance. Maybe the use of his powers was instinctive, a defensive reaction without would otherwise have seen the end of his life. But, still, there was nothing to stop him from vanishing again. Which meant that Miguel was remaining by choice.

His Morpher had been summoned to his wrist, the screen a bright blue that signaled its active status. He'd already called for reinforcements; it simply meant Lena would have to end it faster.

Fine by her.

"I don't know why you're bothering to hang around if you're not going to take this seriously," Lena snarled. "Come on, Miguel; let the Dark Ranger off the leash!"

"I still don't want to fight you," Miguel repeated, but his body said otherwise, and lifted the arm with his Morpher high. "But it looks like you're not giving me a choice. Server Force! Login Access!"

The flash was almost blinding, bursting out against the darkness of the night, his body vanishing completely as it connected to the grid. Moments later, the light died, the shadows returning around him as Miguel stood in his Black Ranger suit and stared at her through his crimson visor.

"Last chance to walk away," he warned.

Oooh, so scary. Shame that now there was no bite to go with his bark.

"Funny," Lena smirked. "I was going to off the same to you."

The Dark Saber flashed before him, cutting across his body as Lena's sword surged in. The weapons clashed, booming away from each other in a burst of sparks as both Ranger and Warrior recovered and tried again. Every blow against the other was matched, parried with increasing ferocity as the duo danced across the abandoned street. And yet, although he made the occasional tokenistic swipe, Lena realized that she was the only one on the offensive. Not because she was winning, but because Miguel was letting her.

"Stop. Holding. BACK!" she roared. The edge of her blade grew brighter as the two weapons locked once more, the sword pulsating with greater intensity as Miguel realized what she was doing. As he threw her back, Lena unleashed the energy from the blade, a sharp sliver of green light slicing through the air and shattering into a blaze on impact. The Dark Ranger leaped, backflipping from harm and landing on the side of the street as the two continued to stare each other down.

"You know, at first though all your running was cute," Lena sneered. "But now it's just pathetic."

It didn't make sense. If he was stalling for backup, that would be one thing. But it seemed like Miguel was doing all he could to engage, to keep holding her at bay without striking; like he himself was torn between fighting and running.

Fine then, if he wouldn't fight her, it was time to bring the monster out…

But before Lena could snarl another insult or ready a new ferocious assault, both whipped around as they heard the sound of screeching tires. A light blue Prius skidded around the corner, whipping to a stop as the door flung open and a figure leaped out.

"…Login Access!"

There was a flash of blue, and the matching Ranger soared across the evening sky, landing beside Miguel with her bow leveled at Lena.

Great; the girlfriend.

"Following someone home, Lena?" Abbey scoffed. "That's just desperate."

Two-to-one odds, and Miguel now had range support to keep Lena contained and controlled. Far from ideal.

But she could wait. Miguel couldn't stick close to the Rangers forever, and he'd have to stop running eventually. Then Lena would get the fight she was looking for. The battle that would push her to her limits. To help her achieve her purpose.

"Seems you've already got a date for the evening," Lena sneered at the pair. "But don't worry, Dark Ranger, I won't forget about you. And you certainly shouldn't forget about me."

Then she snapped up her hand, activating her connection to the teleportation network, to summon the beam that spirited her away, leaving a confused Miguel and Abbey alone on the empty street.

"So, she just attacked you?" Erika's jaw almost dropped, Zeke sharing a similar expression as Ray and Hilary stood contemplatively behind them.

Not knowing what else to do, he and Abbey had powered down and called it in, with Ray and Hilary bolting to the lab to monitor the situation on their end. Conceding that much more couldn't be done at that hour, Abbey and Miguel had headed home, with Abbey insisting on driving him the whole way to where Hilary's portable firewall emitters would keep them safe for the time being.

All of them gathered the next morning, a whole team meeting in the lab to piece together what had happened and try to figure out what to do next.

"She just appeared," said Miguel. "Flashed in out of nowhere."

"So much for your counseling," Zeke grumbled with a pointed look at Ray. "A few sessions talking about her feelings and now she's gunning for us harder than ever."

"It's not that simple," said Ray, although Miguel still noted a twinge of sadness in his voice. "All I can do is guide her towards the answers she's seeking, I can't tell her what to do with what she finds."

Zeke scowled back into the corner, although Miguel took the show of concern as an improvement. A few weeks ago, the boy probably wouldn't have cared anywhere near as much if Miguel got jumped.

"Unfortunately, for many people on the road to recovery," Ray explained, "things often get a lot worse before they get better."

"Worse for who?" Erika snorted. "Because I know sure didn't go lunging at Deryck every time he pissed me off once I got some counseling."

Ray shot her a look, a clear warning not to go there, and as Miguel watched her quiet down he realized that Ray probably had plenty of other examples he could use to counter. But the next point of argument did not come from either Zeke or Erika, it came from Abbey.

"Mr. Granger, she's got a point," she said. "I know that Lena might be going through a lot, but that's kind of hard to reconcile when she's coming after us like this."

"It is," Ray agreed. "And it doesn't excuse it. Whatever her reasoning, the sympathy stops once she starts putting people in danger. She's in control of her actions, and that means she's responsible for them."

A somber mood fell upon the lab, all four Rangers and their mentors beginning to realize the position Lena was slowly forcing on them. Finally, Miguel broke his silence.

"Lena's not evil," he told them. "I don't think we can call her that when all she's ever known is what Xaviax has fed her. And Gideon too. It's like Lena's just doing what she thinks she's supposed to do, but I don't think she knows what she actually wants. Even last night, it… it was like Lena only wanted to fight because she was meant to. She got mad when I didn't fight her back, as if it was the only way she could reconcile it."

"Because if you fought her back, what happened next wouldn't be her fault," Abbey concluded, her eyes widening with both horror and sadness at the realization.

"It's a tale as old as time," Hilary conceded somberly. "Convince yourself someone is an irredeemable enemy, and it lets you justify what you do to them."

Because if they weren't Lena's enemy, then what reason did she have to fight them? But in coming to that conclusion, another unspoken question settled among them. If not their enemy, what was she then to them?

"You say you're leading her to an answer," said Erika, returning the conversation to Ray. "But what she decides that trying to destroy is exactly what she wants to do?"

"Then when you meet her in battle," Ray replied, "then you'll know that we did everything we could to show her a different path and that the one she is walking is of her choosing. Wherever that might lead."

"Do you think she can?" Abbey asked. "Choose a different path?"

Ray didn't answer, a grim uncertain silence wafting out instead.

But as Miguel sat there, he realized that something wasn't sitting right, that there was something all of them were missing. Before Lena was their enemy, she had been their friend. Or at least, she had been his.

"I did," he reasoned, watching as the three confused faces of his teammates turned to look at him. "I managed to walk away from Xavaix."

"That was different," Abbey replied. "You were under his control."

"So is she. It might not be exactly the same, but I don't think Lena's there as willing as she says." Miguel replied. Turning to Ray, he noted an unconscious flicker in the counselor's expression, an unintended sign of agreement. "I'm right, aren't I? Xaviax is controlling her, isn't he?"

"It's more complicated than that," Ray replied. "Xaviax created her to destroy the Rangers, he's done everything he can to make Lena believe that that's all she's for. He's manipulating her, making her believe that there are no other choices. And that she shouldn't want there to be."

But was it really a choice if Lena thought there were know others? If she thought that it was only the road she could walk?

"She can change her path," Miguel decided, stepping to place himself in the center of the group. "She might not know it's there, but she can. There's more to her than just some terrifying warrior; there's more to her, and we've all seen that."

"When she was hanging with us, it was only to find a way of stabbing us in the back," Erika reasoned.

"Yeah," Zeke agreed. "For all we know, everything we saw then was a lie."

Even Abbey, for all her idealistic optimism, had to agree with a silent apologetic concession.

"I get that might have been with you," Miguel admitted. "But I don't if it always was, at least not everything. I spent time with her too, when you were off being Rangers. She can't have always been planning to turn me into the Dark Ranger. I think… I think who I saw in that time might have been the real Lena; or at least a part of it. And if that's the case, then maybe she can be turned away from evil. Maybe she can be convinced that there's another path that she can take."

"This is crazy. You do all realize that we're talking about Mileena. right?" Erika scoffed, gesturing over to Ray and Hilary. "You know, your former enemy? One of Xaviax's top henchmen?"

"If you thought everyone had given up on you," Miguel asked her quietly, "would you still try to do what's right? And if someone still saw the good in you, wouldn't you want them to hold out hope as long as they could?"

For a moment, Erika opened her mouth to reply with an almost indignant instinct, already riled and ready to deliver a rebuke. But then, as if the very words had been snatched from her breath, she looked away, shoulders slackening as the realization landed and her indignation slowly relented.

"Whatever happens with Lena, it's not going to be an easy choice," Hilary said softly. "For anyone involved. But right now, you all still have school, and you'd better get moving if you don't want to be late."

Sure; because school was where any of them wanted to be.

Accepting that there was no conceivable excuse they could conjure to justify a day's absence, the four teens picked up their bags and trudged toward the elevator, piling out at the ground floor and slowly beginning the walk to school. All of them were silent, staring \ down in solemn reflection, grappling with the full weight of the conundrum before them. All of them knew it, the silent question plaguing their minds, and none of them wanted to speak it. If Lena forced their hand, backed them into a corner, and gave them no other choice, could they really do what needed to be done?

She wasn't human, in a sense no different to the monsters they destroyed on a near-weekly basis. And yet, something about this all felt different. They knew Lena, she had been their friend. And no matter what they knew now, none of them could forget the memories of laughter they'd shared before she'd shown her true colors. Back when they'd first learned the truth, those memories soured, twisting a source of anger and bitterness realization of the falsehoods she'd weaved. But now they felt like a somber echo of simpler times; times they couldn't help but wonder if they could ever return.

But time stopped for no mood, and like it or not, the teens still had school ahead of them. As they stepped into the halls and walked to their lockers, the encroaching morning period was starting to feel like a welcome distraction. Something to get their minds off the Ranger matters.

At least, that was the hope.

"Well now, aren't you all a somber bunch?"

Her voice grated like nails on a chalkboard, a snide and unwelcome intrusion to their thoughts, and all four whipped around to see Lena smirking behind them. But as they stood there, postures instinctively tightening as they closed ranks before the threat, Miguel caught the b the look in Lena's eyes. It was amused, sure, but behind the menacing fury, he saw something else. Hurt; and instinctive reflex deep inside as the Rangers reacted to her presence. A realization of rejection that she couldn't completely hide. Not even from herself.

"Wandering in packs now?" Lena snickered, "Safety in numbers; that's so adorable."

"Just enjoying time with our friends," Erika shot back. "You know, in case you'd forgotten what that feels like."

"I never needed to know what it felt like. I ingratiated myself into your little group to fulfill the needs of my mission. Once that was complete, your companionship was no longer necessary."

"Then why are you still here?"

The question came out of nowhere, and the rest of the eyes shot to Zeke as he voiced what now seemed obvious. But as the question settled on the rest of them, Miguel kept eyes on Lena, watching the momentary flicker as Zeke's query pierced bravado and confusion washed over. It lasted barely a moment, but the answer was all too clear; Lena didn't know herself.

"Why else would I be here?" she scoffed. "I have a front-row seat to your ruination. I've even got the popcorn ready to go."

"It doesn't have to be like this, Lena," Abbey said softly. "We don't have to be enemies."

"You should all just listen to yourselves," Lena mocked before mimicking in a high-pitched voice. " 'We can be friends.' 'We don't have to fight each other.' Grow up. I was made for one purpose, and that's to see all of you destroyed. If you can't handle that, then stay out of the fight. Works out the same either way."

"Do you really believe that?" Miguel asked her. "Is that really all there is to you?"

Again, Lena's eyes flashed in unwilling concession, stifled by a straightening posture as the scowl emerged in defiance.

"I thought I made things pretty clear last night, Dark Ranger," she warned. "You just watch yourselves now. While we're here at school, it appears that all of you are safe. I do have a cover to maintain, after all. But enjoy the sanctuary while you can; they're the last hours you'll spend together. Because the next time we meet in battle, one of you won't be going home."

Then, emboldened by the veneer of a sinister smile, Lena strode on, almost shouldering past as she took off down the corridor to leave the four stewing Rangers in her wake.

That felt good.

The shock as they turned around, the looks on their faces. They looked so downtrodden, so defeated. The way they responded to her taunting, it was almost like… pity?

No!

Why would they pity her? They feared her. Because they knew what was coming, what she could do. Now that she'd resolved her conflict, and re-avowed her loyalty to Xaviax, nothing was going to stand in her way.

Nothing.

… so why didn't Lena feel any better?

She'd made her choice, but there remained that strange sinking as she walked away from the Rangers. Miguel's questions had felt like the wind had been sucked from her lungs. And Zeke's…

Urgh!

It didn't make any sense.

Lena spent the next two hours mulling it over, sitting in the back of both her classes trying to dismiss the strange feeling. And yet by the time she'd reached the break, it still lingered and showed no sign of dissipating.

Thankfully, Lena knew who best to help her get rid of it. She could even tell him of all the progress she'd made. Bounding up the steps to the third floor, Granger's office door was already open as he bid goodbye to another student.

Perfect, he even had an opening.

"Morning," Lena chirped. "I thought you'd like to know that I thought about what you said and made a choice, just like you suggested."

"Good," Granger replied, although his face said it was anything but, a cold and outright dismissal as he turned to reenter his office and leave her in the hall.

"Didn't you hear me?" Lena demanded as she barged in behind him. "I made a decision. Isn't that meant to be some kind of breakthrough? I'd have thought would have been met with some sort of fanfare."

Having made it back to his desk, Ray turned around, letting loose a heavy sigh as he leaned against the surface and looked at her with an expression of somber resignation. "You're right," he conceded. "It is good. I'm glad you came to a realization that you're happy with."

Because she was really feeling the affirmation there… But, that's what he wanted her to do.

Wasn't it?

"I don't understand," Lena stammered. "I thought that was what I was meant to do? Why are acting like someone killed a puppy?"

"Lena," said Ray, softly. "I'm glad that you're making steps, really, I am. If this is the path that you want to walk down, that you've reflected is the right one for you, then I'm truly happy for you. But that doesn't mean that I have to be happy about it, let alone condone it."

"You said I had to make your own choices…"

"I did," Ray conceded, "and it's just as true now as it was then. But I've realized that as much as I want to help you Lena, I don't think I can. Not anymore, if I even should have been at all."

Lena's jaw dropped, eyes constantly shifting between furious narrowing and widening in confusion. He… said he'd help now. And now it was a mistake? "I… don't understand."

"I'm sorry," Ray said. "I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this, and maybe that was a mistake too. But the truth is that I'm compromised, and I can't support the Rangers and help you at the same time. Not when you're making it your life's mission to go after them."

"But… you're a guidance counselor," she tried. "And I still need guidance…"

"I can try and find someone else," Ray offered. "I don't know if it will be someone who'll be able to fully grasp the situation, but they can listen to your conundrums without bias. They can offer advice without having a stake in what you choose. But if I keep trying to help you, I'm only going to end up trying to steer you in a direction that I want, even without meaning to, and that's not how this is meant to work."

All of this, all Lena's soul searching, and Granger was just going to drop her the second she became inconvenient. She took one step he disliked and all of a sudden, he couldn't counsel her? Where could she even go? Who else would understand who she was; what she was? Who in their right mind would sit in that chair in listen to her scheming, of all she planned to do under Xaviax's command, and not turf her out in fear?

Who else wouldn't see her as a monster?

Lena was about to bite back and rage against his reversal, when suddenly Granger added something, uttering words that instead stripped Lena of her fury and left her speechless.

"You deserve better than that."

She… deserved… better?

But how?

And why?

Throughout all her existence, both this one and the last, Lena had never stopped to consider her lot in life, never considered whether she'd received what she was owed. She'd never thought to because she'd never needed to. Her old self had been loyal to Gideon until the end, and when Xaviax rebuilt her, the new Mileena 2.0, she'd been just as ready and willing to do his bidding. She'd never considered what she deserved, only what her masters wanted.

"Lena," Ray said softly. "I told you that my job isn't to give you answers but to help you find them. If you go on this journey and realize that fighting the Rangers, fighting for whatever it is that Xaviax wants, is the path that is truly right for you, then I'm truly happy that you've resolved that within yourself. But no one can choose that path for you, because the actions that you take are yours to live with. They're your consequences to bear. That's why I can't help you anymore, and maybe I shouldn't have even tried to begin with. Because I can't in good conscience say that I won't try to fix you on a path as well, one that works for me even if it's not the right one for you. It's too much of a conflict of interest. I'm sorry."

Lena wanted to argue with him, just wanting to have somewhere for her hurt to go while knowing full well that he was right. She'd forced Ray to sit down, knowing that he'd try to send her away, because she had questions Ender and Xaviax couldn't answer. They wouldn't want to; they'd probably try to delete her if they knew Lena had even been asking. Granger could have sent her away, but he hadn't; he'd listened and he'd advised.

And that made his refusal now hurt even more.

What are you still doing here?

Zeke's early question echoed through Lena's mind, haunting from out of nowhere to gut punch just as hard as it had before. It was as true now as it had been then. If Lena was so happy with resolving her quandary, why did she care about more guidance? Why did she think she needed it?

Why do you care…?

Ray had asked when she'd first raged about the end of Miguel's friendship. When she'd been so furious that he wanted nothing to do with her.

Not after what she'd done to him.

Why did I do that…?

The question she'd been unable to answer after her body had moved on its own to save the little girl. An answer that Lena knew, deep down, but hadn't wanted to accept.

She was a fool. All this time she'd been looking for justification, a way to dismiss the questions that she couldn't stop asking. All because at the very end, there were answers she didn't want. Because they meant more questions that she wouldn't even want to consider.

"Why bother helping me at all?" Lena asked despondently. "Why even take me on if you were just going to send me away?"

"You said it yourself," Ray replied. "I'm a guidance counselor, and you needed guidance. Because you had questions, and I hoped to help you find the answers. You were someone in need, and despite all that's happened, I truly do want the best for you. I just don't think I'm the right person to help you find out what that is."

Because Lena wasn't his enemy, not unless she chose to be.

Again, Ray let out a heavy sigh, lifting himself off the edge of the desk and beginning to move toward the door to show her out.

"One thing though," he said. "I guess as if I'm no longer your counselor, I can just tell you, instead of leading you on a journey to figure it out on your own. You were right, Gideon used the Digitizer to bring you to life, but he wasn't the one who made you. Gideon based you off some preexisting program, he repurposed it for his own means."

It should have been obvious to her. She'd fought on the man's behalf; she'd served as his right hand. Of course, Gideon didn't have the capacity to create someone as sophisticated as herself. Of course, he made her with one more piece of stolen technology. And yet, hearing the thought hit Lena like a crumbling wall of bricks. If her initial purpose had not been for destruction, then what had it been?

"Why are you telling me this?' Lena asked, unable to hide the quivering in her voice.

"I guess to let you know that our reason for existing is always complicated, even if we wish it weren't," Ray shrugged. "You weren't as you were until Gideon made you, so maybe the fact that you were intended for something else doesn't matter. Or maybe it's a sign that one person alone can't decide the purpose of another. Parents raise their children with hopes and dreams for them, but they're not the ones who decide the child's destiny. Only an individual can do that for themselves. And I think you have as much right for that as anyone else."

And at that, he slowly motioned her toward the door, gesturing toward the threshold to guide her out.

"Goodbye, Lena," Ray said to her sadly. "I truly hope you find what you're looking for. And I'm sorry that I can't be the one to help you find it."

But as Lena turned and began her solemn walk to class, she realized that she was not sure how she would.

Not when she was alone.

Miguel wasn't sure what it was that led him back to the park, where he'd got the inkling, and certainly not why he'd decided to go alone. But ever since that morning, seeing Lena's face as she tried to deny the questions still being asked, he knew where she would go looking for answers.

He just had to hope his hunch was right. He couldn't ask the others to keep an eye out, they'd have wanted to go with him in hearing what he was planning. And even though Miguel guessed it would let him find Lena within thirty seconds, he knew he couldn't ask Hilary either. She'd just as likely sound the alarm and alert the other Rangers.

But in his gut, Miguel knew where to look.

As he wound the bend, he saw her, watching from the edge of the trees with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. Standing on the grass, eyes unable to look away and filled with innocent captivation.

She was watching the children play.

They couldn't have been any older than six, running around and laughing as they threw their balls at each other, reveling in the excited innocence that passed back and forth while often overshooting as their partners gleefully took off in chase. One such ball soared over a child's shoulder, a white sphere that bounced off the grass and rolled toward the thicket. It stopped right at Lena's feet.

From where Miguel stood, he watched as her posture stiffened, kneeling hesitantly to pick up the ball in awed uncertainty. None the wiser, the intended recipient waddled over, every step bounding in scampering joy to a stop at Lena's feet, and looked up with a heart-melting smile.

"Do you want to play?" asked the little girl.

For a moment, Lena didn't reply, only staring at the white ball in her hands. Then she slowly looked past it, down the child as the contemplation raged.

"No," she decided. "That's okay. But you should have your ball back…"

"Don't give to me, silly!" the little girl laughed. "You have to throw it!"

Again, Lena seemed to flinch, frozen by indecision. Then, as if the ball was made of tender snow, she tenderly wound back and softly lobbed it back toward the green. With a little giggle, the child gleefully hurried off to chase and rejoin her friends as Lena's posture softened and a fresh lightness came over her.

"Nice throw," Miguel commended. He'd hoped his tone was soft enough to not trigger an alarm, but Lena still whipped around as if he were a threat, snapped from her daze to be reminded of her allegiance. His hands shot high in surrender, "It's okay, I'm not here to fight."

"Then you're a fool." Lena's eyes narrowed, suspicious of his claim as her fist slowly lowered and her eyes flicked around. "I'm guessing your little Ranger pals are lurking nearby. Ready to pounce the moment I make a wrong move?

Miguel shook his head. "I came alone."

"Really?" Lena scoffed. "I have a hard time believing your girlfriend would agree to that."

"They don't know I'm here," Miguel insisted, replying before catching Lena's second comment and clarifying. "And Abbey's not my girlfriend."

Lena's scowl slowly dropped, her eyes betraying a storm of emotions that raged from concern to curiosity to guilt. Still, her guard lowered, and Lena turned back to the park she'd been watching.

"Then you're even more of a fool than I thought," she decided coldly. "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk."

Breathing in deeply, uncertain if he was about to make an enormous mistake, Miguel stepped to Lena's side as she rolled her eyes. Only yesterday she'd been lunging for his blood, and now he was standing in striking distance, with no time to react or morph if Lena decided to seize the chance.

But not too long ago, someone had taken a chance on him, and if Miguel wanted any hope of helping Lena now, then he had to do the same. Because she hadn't destroyed him, and he had to take that as a sign. A sign that there was still some kind of hope for her.

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Lena asked. "Or is this just some pathetically veiled attempt at begging for your life?"

"I realized we haven't talked in a while," Miguel said. "Not since…"

He trailed off, realizing how quickly it must have sounded like he was starting to lay blame. He half expected Lena to berate him, to call him a traitor and snarl, but instead, she realized what he was saying, almost wistfully finishing the sentence as if it were a stray thought.

"Since I gave you the Dark Morpher," said Lena as her face softened and she remembered the sequence of events. "Since I threw you into that dark cell, and since I used the…"

Since she'd gleefully taken Xaviax's override and used it for herself. Reaching the same conclusion, Lena shamefully shied away, her voice beginning to growl as she reset the terms of engagement. But not growl of righteous fury, but of a predator that was cornered with nowhere to go.

"Since you turned and betrayed us," she snarled. "Since you took the power you'd been gifted and sided with our enemies."

"Your enemies, not mine," said Miguel. "You keep saying I'm some kind of traitor, but I was never on his side. I could never turn on Xaviax if I never wanted to join him in the first place."

The realization hit him as the words left his mouth, watching as Lena's scowl darkened at the part he'd left unsaid. He was right, he never could have abandoned a side he had no intent on joining. But he had abandoned her.

"If I'd really want to fight for Xaviax," Miguel reasoned. "Then he never would have had to mind control me."

"I didn't know…" Lena spluttered to justify, only to seemingly catch herself and stop. Her shoulders slumped, her eyes drifting to the ground and recognition as she lost the argument within herself. "I'm sorry," she said instead. "I shouldn't have used that on you."

So, she did feel something. Miguel had been wondering ever since Lena got him out of detention; since she let him pass and run to his teammates without incident. Ever since they'd locked eyes as she watched him in the room, turning away with sudden and unexpected shame. But as quickly as walls had dropped, they rose again, and Lena's composure reasserted as her expression narrowed.

"I made a mistake that day, and it cost us dearly," she said. "You've since chosen your side. Just as I have mine."

"Have you?" Miguel countered. "Or did you just let Xaviax choose it for you?"

"I think I made that pretty clear last night," Lena sneered. "Or did you forget the whole part where you were running for your life?"

"I remember the part where you took it easy on me. Or did you think I wouldn't notice all Cyberdrones that weren't backing you up? Or the windows you gave me to morph instead of making me fight for it?"

Lena had let him see her coming; she fought him hand-to-hand, and it was only as she dialed things up that Miguel finally had to morph. Like she wanted him to push back.

"You only escaped because your girlfriend showed up to save you," Lena decided. "A convenience that I can assure you won't happen again."

"You keep telling us that," Miguel pressed. "You keep saying that the next meeting will be our last; that you're going to destroy us for good. And every single time you find some reason not to. I don't think it's because we get the better of you; I think it's because your heart isn't in it."

And there it was, the same flash of recognition in Lena's eyes as when Zeke asked why she still lingered in the high school. The same confusion Miguel had seen on the video playback when she'd saved the little girl. The same realization that she hadn't considered when Miguel had first told her the Rangers weren't his enemy.

It was a truth that she hadn't dared to consider; hadn't wanted to.

"Because it's not," Lena admitted with shimmering, desperate eyes. And then her face hardened, blinking the tears behind a steely veneer, her tone rumbling to a pained growl. "Because I don't have one. Don't you get it, Miguel? I don't have a heart. I don't have a soul. Because I'm not human."

"Lena, that's not what I…"

"But it is, isn't it?" She spat back. "You keep expecting me to be something I'm not. Well news flash, Miguel; I was never your friend! You were an objective, a means to an end! A pathway to achieving a goal!"

But even as Lena hissed venomous barbs designed to push him away, Miguel saw through them; saw them for what they were. And so, he held his ground.

"I don't believe that," he asserted. "Maybe that's all I am now, a goal to achieve, and an obstacle to overcome. But before you chose to make me the Dark Ranger, you were a friend. That's why you chose me, wasn't it? You could have picked anyone, but you still picked me, even though it involved having to pit me against my friends. Because you knew that once you showed them who you really were, you'd lose them. But there was a chance you wouldn't lose me."

"Choosing you to be the Dark Ranger was a mistake," Lena shot back. "A poor calculation. One that I will not repeat."

"You would have known I was a bad choice, but you did it anyway. How could that happen if it wasn't because of something else? Because of what you feel? I think the reason you won't admit that is because it means that you're more human than you realize."

At first, Lena said nothing, did nothing but stand square and face him as her anger seethed with hissing breaths. She opened her mouth to reply, and then closed it again, repeating again and again as her breathing slowed and her eyes zoned out as Miguel realized his mistake.

What Lena was stonewalling him, and in his frustration, he was lashing out. He was throwing the truth at her with no consideration of how ready she was to accept it. And it was only making things worse.

Carefully, Miguel reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "Lena…" she offered softly.

For a moment, Lena reached up to touch it, still staring into the distance as her fingers absently touched against his comforting gesture. Then her eyes snapped wide, suddenly realizing the lull she'd fallen into and the moment vulnerability she'd shown her enemy. With a resounding hiss, Lena slapped the palm away, stepping back with baring teeth.

"I'm not human!" she snarled. "I'm a program, designed to do one thing, and one thing only! My purpose is to destroy the Power Rangers, and that means you!"

She slowly backed away, seething like a cornered animal, like a creature whose instinct was to fight. Like it was the only way they knew to flee. Miguel didn't move, sadly watching as Lena further embraced the lie she told herself and narrowed her eyes in his direction.

"This is your last warning, Dark Ranger," she declared. "Enjoy these final moments while you have them because the next time our blades cross will be the last. And you will not get another escape or rescue."

Lena stepped back into the thicket, throwing up her hand to activate the teleporter and summon the green flash to whisk her away. Now alone in the park, Miguel stood by the thicket, sadly staring at the space of empty ground where she had stood.

Behind him, the children continued to play, filling the air with their laughter.