See chapter 1 for the series Disclaimer, though I will add that the title of the chapter borrows from a paraphrased version of a certain classic Michael Jackson song and I also borrow an idea from an old Cheech and Chong movie I'll leave which one to be revealed in the story.
Summary: While helping out a film crew visiting Terra Venture, Leo finds the main star shockingly familiar.
Power Rangers Galactic Justice
By Lucas Harrell
Episode 8
The woman in the mirror
Leo tried not to chuckle as the crew was in awe of him being able to lug 2 huge stage lights around, one on each shoulder. So far, this assignment wasn't too bad and he was even getting paid a good amount. They were still getting set up, so he hadn't met any of the cast yet.
After hoisting up the stage lights up for someone to put in place, Leo saw the Director heading in his direction. "Mr. Trezo, we're having trouble getting through to your people in bringing the cast here and I hate to be any trouble since you've done so much already, but could please you go get them?"
"Sure, not a problem and please, no Mr.," Leo said with a grin. He liked the Director well enough. "Just Trezo would be fine." The Director nodded. "Do you have the planetary coordinates for where they are on Earth?"
"Oh, um, just a sec, I've got it here somewhere," the Director said, searching through his pockets and coming up with a slip of paper, which he handed Leo. "They should all be there."
Leo nodded as he took the slip. "All right, I'll be right back," he said, "I shouldn't be more than 10 minutes, depending on if any of them wondered off." The Director nodded. He opened a portal to his right and with a little wave, he stepped through it.
Most of the people were eagerly awaiting the transport to Terra Venture… except for a blonde woman that turned away from Leo as he stepped out of the portal, grabbing her purse. "Oh yeah great, thanks for finally coming," she called over her shoulder sarcastically.
"Hey, I just got word you people needed transportation so sorry my brother or one of the League couldn't come help, but I'm sure they had their reasons and its not really my fault," Leo pointed out. He wasn't liking this woman already.
"Yes, yes, yes, just open a damn portal," the woman said with a dismissive gesture over her shoulder, still not even bothering to turn around. Her cast mates were apparently used to this diva behavior as they were all rolling their eyes at the woman.
Leo couldn't help but do the same as he turned around, typing into his watch for several minutes to open a standard portal then led the group through. "Thank you for bringing them, Trezo, and sorry for the inconvenience," the Director said.
"It wasn't any trouble really as it was just a quick portal jump away," Leo replied. As the group he brought in began dispersing, he heard someone behind him clear their throat then touched his shoulder. He had a feeling who it was, so he pretended not to hear her.
"Hey look, I'm sorry about earlier," came the voice of the rude woman from before though now she was talking pleasantly, "I just wanted to get here and get this over with and didn't mean to take out my frustration on you, but we were there for several hours waiting for someone to get us."
"It's alright, don't worry… Kendrix?" Leo asked as he turned and his jaw dropped when he saw what the woman looked like. 'How did she get back to Earth?' He thought, 'I haven't read any portals leaving Terra Venture since the planetary archive mission was jumped last weekend.'
"I'm sorry, you must have me mixed up with someone else," the woman said.
"I guess so but wow it's so weird as you look just like someone I know," Leo said.
"So, who's this Kendrix, your girlfriend?" the woman asked.
"Oh no, she's a woman that I helped out of a jam right before Terra Venture's launch," Leo explained. It wasn't really a lie except of omission.
"Oh really, she's just some random woman you met once and remember the name of, huh?" the woman replied with a smirk that really brought out her resemblance to Kendrix, "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"
"Nah, I just have a knack for remembering names that aren't used often and I've never met anyone else named Kendrix, man or woman," Leo said, both of which also weren't lies.
"Besides, I never forget a pretty face and I've come across her a few times since, both in and out of costume," Leo added, hoping giving the woman an indirect compliment would get her off this train of thought.
The woman couldn't help but smile at the compliment though she could sense an attempt at a deflection a mile away, but they were both getting called away, so she didn't have any more time to pester Leo. "Anyway, sorry again and my name's Carolyn," she said, extending her hand.
"Good to meet you, Carolyn, and I'm sure I'll see you around," Leo replied, shaking Carolyn's hand briefly before bringing it to his lips to kiss with a wink, giving her a good laugh as he was being a little overdramatic. With that, they went their separate ways.
PRGJ
A few days later, Leo was back on set helping out when he spotted Kendrix, out of costume of course though the team did take shifts in-costume. She even had a side job helping them with lighting and sound though her and Carolyn hadn't seen each other yet. She looked around and blew him a kiss and they both chuckled.
Leo was about to turn when one of Scorpius' monsters suddenly teleported in, holding a large album like book. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't accompanied by Sting Wingers, who started blasting things around them. "Well, well, what do we have here?" they asked.
"I don't know who you are, but this set is under my protection as much as
Terra Venture as a whole, jackass, so get lost," Leo said confidently, "If Scorpi-ass sent you, he was bound to tell you nothing you've got can hurt me, right?"
"Ah, but that's precisely why he sent me," the monster said, "My name…"
"It doesn't matter what your name is!" Leo couldn't resist exclaiming, never one to pass up using a wrestling quote. He even got a few laughs from crew members cowering behind random objects. He was curious if any of them had ever worked with the Rock. He'd actually met him a few times at charity events and they got along pretty well.
The monster snarled as he ripped a page out of his album like book and threw it. To Leo's surprise, the monster didn't throw it at him but at Kendrix, who hadn't the time to sneak off to morph, hitting her on the leg as she fought off a couple of Sting Wingers.
This caused Kendrix to cry out in pain and collapsed to the ground, clutching her leg, and oddly enough, a matching cry was heard that Leo recognized as Carolyn from not that far off.
The monster seemed very surprised at something but shook it off. "Mock me at your own peril, Kryptonian," it warned, "I am known as Wise Wizard and you'd be advised not to invoke the wrath of my Corsican spell any further if you don't want your little girlfriend to suffer."
"All right, all right, I'm sorry," Leo said. He didn't like seeing anyone hurt, especially not Kendrix, so he stood down. 'What the Hell does he mean by Corsican?' he couldn't help but wonder. The only Corsican he could think of was an old movie but that didn't make sense. "Just call it off."
"Hm… no, after such blatant disrespect, I don't think so," the Wise Wizard said after tapping its chin as if thinking about it, "I think you should see her suffer a little more as a reminder of this encounter. For now, I'll just let you stew on that." With that, it disappeared as did the Sting Wingers.
Leo wanted no time in hurrying over to Kendrix, who was sobbing from the pain as people flocked to help her. "Can you stand?" he heard someone ask right before he could get over to them. She tried to get back to her feet, but her leg just crumpled when she put any weight on it. She shook her head.
"Don't worry, just back up to give me a little more room and I've got her," Leo said. The others nodded and let him get closer to Kendrix, who squeaked as he gently but effortlessly picked her. Even she forgot just how strong he was sometimes.
Kendrix couldn't resist leaning up and planting a little kiss on Leo's neck as he cradled her close to his chest and followed some crew members, who motioned him over to a chair nearby and one grabbed a nearby stool for her to prop her leg up on. Luckily no one seems to have noticed the loving gesture or the grin and wink he gave her in return.
As soon as he set Kendrix down in the chair and quickly checked her leg with his X-ray vision and only seeing an odd calligraphic symbol that seemed to be etched into her bones and muscle, which was weird as he knew she didn't have any tattoos and having one like that shouldn't even be possible.
Leo could hear someone calling out for him and he could hear Carolyn in pain. He cursed under his breath. He'd been so focused on Kendrix he'd forgotten about the actress. "If you're all right, ma'am, someone else around here somewhere is hurt and I need to go check on them," he told Kendrix.
"Your leg looks all right but be careful putting weight on it in case something's wrong that even I can't see," Leo added, "Call out to me if the pain gets really bad and you think you might need to go to Memorial."
"You've got it and thanks, Trezo," Kendrix said then smiled as she whispered, "Sorry about the kiss, especially if anyone saw, but your neck just looked so inviting that I couldn't help myself."
Leo couldn't help but chuckle. Kendrix had been acting kind of odd the last few days, a little clingy, which she'd never really been even back in the day, and even more affectionate than usual, even when they were in costume. "It's all right," he mouthed before he zipped off.
It didn't take long for Leo to track down the person calling for him and found the Director and Carolyn. He frowned when he noticed the latter clutching her leg just like Kendrix though in this case her right leg, like the injuries mirrored each other. He scanned it and was surprised to see the same symbol.
'Wait, so maybe them looking so much alike isn't just a coincidence?' Leo wondered then shook his head as that wasn't important right now. "Sorry it took me a few minutes to get here," he said, "What's wrong?"
"We heard shouting from somewhere that sounded close by and then, my leg started hurting really badly, almost as if it was broken," Carolyn explained, "I can't really put any weight on it or anything."
"Don't worry, I've got you," Leo said. Like Kendrix but a little louder, Carolyn let out a loud squeal of surprise as he picked her up effortlessly but carefully and started carrying her towards her crew chair as she definitely wasn't used to it. "By the way, did you know a Valerie Morgan?"
"Yeah, that was my aunt though I haven't seen her in ages," Carolyn said then gasped as it dawned on her, "Wait, your friend Kendrix, she's her daughter, isn't she? I know I have a cousin I thought I might've heard called that before, but I've never actually seen her as Aunt Val left when she was still pregnant."
"Yeah, it's her," Leo answered, "So, Pickets is just a stage name?" He remembered Kendrix mentioning Val having a twin sister she'd never met who had a a baby born of rape.
Carolyn nodded. "There are several actors with the last name Morgan in the acting world so when I started acting, my agent advised me to go with something different and original," she explained, "Even Carolyn isn't real though it is close as my name is actually Caroline. Can you take me to see her when my leg's better? I've always been curious about her."
"I need to check on her again anyway so sure," Leo answered. Carolyn gave him a strange look at that. "The yelling you heard was a monster attacking another part of the set. Kendrix was helping out when she was caught in the middle of me confronting them and she was hurt. He called it a Corsican spell."
"Oh, like the Cheech and Chong movie?" Carolyn asked.
A little surprised Carolyn got the reference too, Leo nodded. "By the way, be careful mentioning her Mom, especially about how she died," he advised, "One of her friends told me she died about 7-8 months ago and it's still a touchy subject for her."
Carolyn nodded. "I know when she died and I'm not surprised as while I barely remember Aunt Val, Mom has also been heartbroken over her dying ever since," she said. Leo nodded as he continued carrying her across the set after collapsing her crew chair and slinging it over his shoulder.
PRGJ
Kendrix had her eyes closed, trying to shut out the pain from her leg. It had dulled some but not nearly enough. She heard someone doing something next to her and then flopping down into a chair. "You must be Kendrix," a woman's voice declared with a chuckle.
Curious about what was so funny, Kendrix's eyes fluttered open… then opened them wide with surprise. It was like she was looking into a mirror. She glared at Leo, who was watching the 2 with a big grin. "Um, hi," she said.
"Hi, I'm Carolyn Pickets or as my Mom calls me as she hates calling me by my stage name, Caroline Morgan," Carolyn said, extending her hand to Kendrix. "It's so good to finally meet you after all this time, cousin."
Kendrix's jaw dropped at that. She knew this woman was practically her twin, but was she serious about them being cousins? That was just crazy. "I'm sorry, I'm being so rude," she finally said, shaking her head as she shook her hand.
"It's all right, given the shock of the circumstances," Carolyn replied then nodded at Leo, "I probably would've been that shocked too if Trezo hadn't thought I was you the first time we met. I can see why you got me mixed up with her, Trezo."
Leo nodded. "Yeah, the resemblance is uncanny," he agreed.
"Wait, so your Mom is Aunt Deanna, right?" Kendrix asked. She'd never met her Mom's twin sister, though her Mom always had mostly good things to say about her except how she took their parents' side in forcing her to leave her Dad.
"Yep and you don't know how badly Mom wishes she'd never joined in those bastards' plan, especially now that Aunt Val's… shit, sorry," Carolyn said, adding the last part as Kendrix lowered her eyes. She'd gotten so caught up in meeting her cousin that she'd forgotten Leo's warning for a moment.
"It's all right," Kendrix said, "It still hurts to think about it as she went through pain I can only begin to imagine in those last couple of years, but at least Mom's where… it can't hurt her anymore."
Carolyn nodded, seeing what Trezo meant by Kendrix not liking to talk about how Aunt Val died. "So, any idea why did that monster you mentioned earlier, Trezo, attack Kendrix?" she asked.
"I think I just kind of got in its way," Kendrix lied. Luckily, she'd gotten pretty good at deflecting questions about what she was doing during times when the team had to suit up to fight a monster. "I'm just curious on how the spell or whatever hurt you."
"It said it was more than that, a deliberate act," Leo said, "This is going to sound weird, but have you ever heard of a movie called The Corsican brothers?" He knew for a fact Kendrix had but they had to keep up the appearance they didn't know each other that well.
Kendrix frowned at the strange question. "The old Cheech and Chong movie where they were twins that could feel each others pain, right?" she asked. Leo and Carolyn both nodded. "Yeah, but it's been forever. An old childhood friend of mine and I always loved their movies." Leo barely hid a smile at that.
"That Wise Wizard jackass called the attack it hit you with as a Corsican spell," Leo explained further, "I don't know what it expected to happen, like maybe it thought you being not that far away would create a link between you and me, but it seems to have locked on to you 2 being cousins instead."
"Oddly enough, that makes a weird sort of sense," Carolyn said.
The Director finally made his way over to the trio. "Are you all right, Ms. Pickets?" he asked though he wasn't paying too close attention as he actually asked Kendrix that.
Carolyn chuckled. "Over here, Marty," she said, waving to the Director.
The Director, Martin Zérstein, did a double take when he saw the seemingly identical twins. "Oh wow, you look just like Carolyn," he said.
"Well yeah, we're cousins born from twin sisters, genius," Carolyn said rolling her eyes though Leo and Kendrix could tell she was joking as she seemed to like the Director.
"Are you all right, Carolyn?" the Director asked again, this time to the right cousin.
"My leg's killing me, but I think I just need to go back to the Hilton and soak for a while," Carolyn said.
"Ooh, that sounds amazing," Kendrix agreed.
"What room at the Hilton?" Leo asked. Both Carolyn and the Director gave him questioning and slightly suspicious looks. "Don't worry, I won't leak it to or anything. I just need the room number to calculate the coordinates to take you directly to your room is all."
"Oh, you don't have to do that, Trezo," Carolyn said, trying to get to her feet. "I can make it to the…" She was stopped in mid-sentence with a loud hiss as a sharp pain came from her leg that made her sit back down, which Kendrix felt on hers, though she only winced.
"It was that bad?" Leo asked Kendrix, who nodded as the pain had felt so excruciating through the link the spell had made between them that she didn't know how that didn't drive Carolyn to her knees.
"I think you need his help, Carolyn," the Director said.
Carolyn sighed then nodded. "I'd appreciate it, Trezo," she said.
"No problem, ma'am, and anybody if anybody else wants a portal to the hotel instead of waiting for transport cars, gather around and I'll open a second portal to the lobby," Leo said.
"Mind if I drop by sometime?" Kendrix asked, "That way, we can get caught up some more."
"Of course, cuz," Carolyn said. With that decided, Leo opened the promised 2 portals than carefully picked the starlet up as the rest of the cast and crew went through the one that he pointed them to.
"I'll get Carolyn through and make sure she's comfortable then I'll be right back for you, Kendrix," Leo promised. Kendrix nodded and stepped through the portal with Carolyn in his arms. "All right, where should I put you, Carolyn?"
"Just over on the bed if you don't mind," Carolyn said. 'I could almost get used to this,' she thought with a little grin as Leo carried her over to the bed she'd gestured to and even propped her leg up using pillows. "How much for this kind of bedside service from Earth's sweetest adopted son?"
"If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it," Leo joked with a grin before he winked. Carolyn chuckled. "I should get back to Kendrix and see her home, so I'll probably see you back at the set tomorrow if your leg doesn't feel too bad. Don't be afraid to take you time and not aggravate it."
"I will and thanks, Trezo," Carolyn said with a nod.
"You're welcome," Leo said, "Oh and here." With that, he made Carolyn a beacon shield and quickly gave her an overview. "I doubt you'll need it while here in your room but if something bad comes up on set, that'll help me zero in on you. It's got charge enough for 3 beacon bursts or 1 and a taser."
"Ooh, can I take this back home?" Carolyn asked, "I've got this neighbor with a yapping little fluff ball they call a dog I'd love to introduce this baby to. Just kidding. I'd never do that to any animal."
Leo then stepped back through the portal, dissipated it, and when he turned to check on Kendrix, he couldn't but smile tenderly at seeing she'd drifted off to sleep. She must've really been exhausted too as she didn't stir in the least when he gently picked her up.
Leo then opened up a portal to Kendrix and Maya's apartment and stepped through, much to the surprise of both the Red and Yellow Galaxy Rangers, who'd been making out on the couch. "Whoa, what happened to Kendrix?" Johnny asked.
"Monster attacked the set and she got hurt," Leo replied before explaining in a little more detail, "Sorry I didn't put out the call to action, but everything happened so fast I didn't get the chance. Don't worry though, as she's just conked out. You know Kendrix. She wouldn't hear of going to the hospital."
Maya and Johnny chuckled as they both nodded. They were on the love seat, so Leo gently laid Kendrix down across the 3-seater before deactivating his nanite gear after kissing her forehead and putting a blanket over her as well as a pillow Maya handed him under her head.
"I've got to go make a patrol as I haven't had the chance to yet today or I'd stay until she wakes up, but I'll come back by to check on her here in a little while," Leo told Maya, "Please remind her to take it easy on her leg as we don't know the extent of the spell that caused her injury."
"Like she'll listen, but I'll try to make sure she does," Maya said.
"I think I'll come with you," Johnny said, a little sheepish at getting caught with Maya. 'We really need to find our own place, so we'd be at least less likely to be interrupted except in emergencies,' he mused though he knew there weren't any listings for just the 2 of them, mostly married quarters or multi-bedroom apartments.
Leo reactivated his nanite gear before portaling out of the apartment. Johnny gave Maya a kiss. "Go Galactic!" Seconds later, he was following his buddy through the portal.
Once through, the Johnny called out the newest piece of Galaxy Ranger gear, the Astro Cycle, something that Kendrix and Damon had been cooking up for a while that they finally worked the kinks out of recently.
"Tell me the truth, bro," Leo said, "You just wanted to tag along to give yourself a reason to ride that thing."
"Yeah, but also to give Yellow a little space," Johnny replied, chuckling.
"Are you 2 alright?" Leo asked. He'd been worried that there was still some tension between Johnny and Maya after what happened with Lillian Isley.
"Oh yeah, we're doing better than ever," Johnny answered, "In fact, uh, we're going to try for kids here before too long. I know I know, it's crazy thinking about that when it's still pretty early in the relationship but I honestly think Yellow's my future, so why not cement it now instead of waiting?"
"Congratulations, buddy, and I know what you mean," Leo said, "Ever since I met Pink, I felt drawn to her and like you with Yellow's, I've never even thought of eventually getting married and having kids, if we even can, with anyone but her."
"Oh, speaking of which, I was thinking about popping the question before then of course, so would you want to stand with me?" Johnny asked, "I'd kind of promised your brother that I'd have him be my Best Man and I know he'd love it if you did in his stead.
"I know I should ask Blue as I've known him for a couple of years now, but I think he wouldn't mind me asking you," Johnny added, "After all, I might not even be dating her if not for you encouraging me that might."
"Nah, I'd like to think I just help speed things along a little and you would've gotten your head out of your ass and asked her out by now at the very least all on your own," Leo replied.
Johnny nodded. "Thanks, Trezo," he said.
"Anytime." Leo said, "Anyway, let's get to the patrol. You head up to the northern section and make your way south down the eastern side while I go south and up the western side. Keep your eyes peeled for anything, especially that jerk Scorpi-ass sent." Johnny gave him a thumbs up before driving off.
PRGJ
Carolyn knew she was in a bit of a pickle when she had to use the restroom but luckily, she found that her room came with an office chair with wheels on it, which she used to get over the bathroom, then gingerly moving around inside.
When she was done, Carolyn was halfway back to the door and chair, when she slipped and fell on her shoulder hard enough that it felt like she dislocated it though she didn't feel any pain. She tried calling out but apparently there weren't any cast or crew close to her room door.
PRGJ
Maya was very started when all of a sudden, Kendrix woke up with a sharp cry of pain as she shot bolt upright, clutching her shoulder. It felt dislocated but nothing seemed to look wrong. "Kendrix, what's wrong?" she asked, rushing over. She thought maybe her friend had a bad dream.
Kendrix looked at Maya blearily and then around the apartment in shock. "How did I… never mind," she said, shaking her head to try to get a little more awake then cried out again when her shoulder kept hurting. "Get hold of Leo and tell him to check Carolyn. I think something bad happened to her."
'Who's Carolyn?' Maya wondered though she didn't say it aloud. Leo hadn't mentioned Carolyn by name when he'd mentioned what happened earlier. She pulled out her phone and hit his number.
"Hey, Yellow," Leo greeted when he picked up. Him and Johnny had just finished making their patrol rounds and were about to go their separate ways when Maya's number popped up on his HUD. "What's up?"
"Ke… Pink just woke up suddenly, in a lot of pain and acting very odd," Maya said, almost forgetting to stick to team call signs before she quickly relayed what had happened and what Kendrix told her.
"Damn it, I told her to be careful," Leo growled, "All right, thanks for telling me and tell Pink I'll come by there and check on her as soon as I get Carolyn to probably Memorial. I'd take her too, but I don't know how we explain just what's going on."
"Gotcha," Maya said. Leo explained things to Johnny, who disassembled the Astro Cycle they portaled away.
PRGJ
Carolyn was surprised when she heard a strange noise and then heard Trezo call out from the main area of hotel room. It sounded like someone was with him, probably one of the Galaxy Rangers or the Green Lantern she'd heard joined them recently.
"In here," Carolyn called back. She was still in the bathroom as while her shoulder didn't hurt when she moved, it did still make her nauseous like it was causing her immense pain and she also realized this had to be agonizing for Kendrix, so she was trying not to move around too much.
Trezo and the Red Galaxy Ranger came hurrying in a minute later. "Sorry I didn't hear you if you called out for me, but while I can hear most stuff anywhere on Terra Venture, we were over in the mountain dome when Kendrix got word to me you were hurt," he explained.
"You're here now, so we're all good," Carolyn said as Trezo carefully picked her up, trying not to jostle her too much as he knew Kendrix would be feeling the pain. The Red Galaxy Ranger opened a portal directly to Terra Venture Memorial's ER.
It didn't take long before Carolyn's shoulder was popped back into place after giving her some painkillers of course though the staff had no idea that this wasn't for her as much as for Kendrix, who sighed with relief in hers and Maya's apartment when the pain started becoming dulled.
"Are you all right now, Ms. Pickets?" Trezo asked when the staff let him come back to check on Carolyn. Johnny had needed to leave as he had a shift about to start soon and he needed to get ready for it.
"I am thanks to you, Trezo," Carolyn replied, smiling at how sweet Trezo was being. 'Too bad you obviously have a thing for Kendrix as I would love for you to stay and rock my world,' she mused. "You should go check on you know who. I can imagine the pain she must be in right now."
Leo nodded. "I was just about to, but I know she'd want me to check on you first," he replied, "They said they're keeping you overnight for observation but when they say you can leave here tomorrow, give the shield beacon a squeeze and I'll come take you back to your room, the set, or wherever else you want to go."
"Gotcha and thanks again," Carolyn said.
With that, Leo headed out of the hospital and portaled to Kendrix and Maya's apartment. He made sure the portal was dissipated before deactivating his nanite gear and moving over to his girlfriend. "Sorry it took me so long, but are you all right?" he asked.
"Leo!" Kendrix announced with a wide, goofy grin. 'At least I know the affects of the painkillers through hers and Carolyn's link as well as the pain,' Leo couldn't help but muse.
Kendrix pulled Leo down next to her on the couch and began raining kisses on his lips. Maya had gone to get her something for the pain as they didn't know at the time she wouldn't need it, so they were alone.
"Whoa there, slow down," Leo said, chuckling.
"We never did finish what we started that day in my office or in Shedquarters a few days later, you know?" Kendrix teased.
"Yeah, but that's probably not a good idea right now," Leo said. Kendrix groaned and rolled her eyes but nodded. "Seriously though, is your shoulder alright? If it was anything like when Doomsday broke my arm the first time around or my ribs that last time, it must've hurt like Hell."
"Yeah but whatever that wonderful stuff they gave Caroline made it go away just like that," Kendrix said, snapping her fingers. She winced as she pointed her shoulder to him. "Want to kiss it, to see if that makes it better?"
Leo couldn't help but shake his head, though smiling. He wasn't too surprised Kendrix was acting spacey as she had been the same way the day that she'd broken her arm when they were kids and for the same reason, but it was still weird. Painkillers seems to bring out a childishness she'd never really displayed even when they first met.
Leo figured it was best to indulge Kendrix, placing a sweet little kiss along her collarbone. Her neck looked very inviting, but he figured it might be best to err on the side of caution as she wasn't quite in her right mind anymore than she was during his first night on Terra Venture. "That help?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, that made it much better," Kendrix said then leaned forward and started kissing Leo again.
Leo sighed as Kendrix tried to slip her tongue in his mouth, then reluctantly pulled away. "Look, you know there's nothing I'd rather do than make love to you, but…" he began.
"Why not, now that we're not under Amanda and Mike's roof anymore, Maya's out for who knows for how long, and there shouldn't be anyone to interrupt us this time?" Kendrix asked.
"But you're also a bit high on painkillers right now, which isn't much better than when you were drunk," Leo pointed out, "Look, Kendrix, does this have anything to do with why you've been so clingy and affectionate lately? I've been meaning to talk to you but just haven't had much time."
"I thought you liked me being affectionate," Kendrix said.
"I do but it feels like there's something more to the level of affection you've been showering me with," Leo replied, hugging Kendrix close as he had the feeling that was what she needed. "Talk to me, Kendrix. I'll never know what's going on in that pretty head of yours if you don't tell me."
Kendrix was quiet for a moment and Leo was starting to wonder if he was pushing a little too hard. "Do you remember what happened 11 years ago today?" she suddenly asked.
Leo hated to admit it, but it took him a minute to realize what Kendrix meant. It was the day that really had ruined both of their lives until they met up again right before launch. "It was the day you and Val moved to Metropolis," he said softly, "Damn it, I can't believe I forgot that."
Kendrix nodded. "Do you ever wonder what our lives had be like now if either she hadn't taken that damn job or I had been able to get her to let me stay in Angel Grove?" she asked, "I'd like to think we would've gotten married and maybe had kids by now, but that was taken away from us."
"Yeah, of course I think about it and often, but if Doomsday taught me anything, it's that we can't dwell on things from the past, especially something that had been bad at the time," Leo admitted, "Who knows, the exact opposite might've occurred to where we might've stopped talking to each other."
"I know and I've always put it out of my mind because I sometimes still get pissed at what she did to me, to us, that day, but every once in a while, my anger at her lies and bullshit now that she's gone, I can't help but let it really seep out when this damn day rolls around," Kendrix said.
"Have you ever seen a therapist about this, about how you feel about what happened back then or your trouble over properly grieving for Val?" Leo asked though knowing Kendrix, he probably knew that answer.
Kendrix shook her head. "I know I should, but I think it's still too early for me," she replied.
"All right, I won't push you anymore except to say this once: you really should," Leo said, "It really helped when my folks died."
Kendrix nodded, remembering how bad Leo had been back around that time. She'd always been so proud of how he turned it around. "I'll think about it," she promised albeit vaguely.
Leo sighed but knew that was the best he could hope for so as promised, he dropped the subject. 'At least the mystery of her overly affectionate behavior is solved now,' he decided.
Leo felt a slight weigh on his chest and he looked down to find Kendrix had drifted back off to sleep while leaning on him. He smiled as he shook his head and got comfortable, not wanting to wake her. It wasn't long before they were both lightly snoring. Maya came back shortly thereafter and smiled when she saw them.
PRGJ
The next morning, Leo was surprised to find Carolyn had checked herself out and gotten a transport to the set. When him and Kendrix got there, they found her arguing with the Director. "I'm telling you, I'm fine to work," she told him.
"Not according to the hospital you're not as they haven't cleared you," the Director pointed out, "Besides, we can't exactly shoot around your injury for most of the scenes we're shooting." Carolyn growled but she knew he had a good point.
"Can I help?" Kendrix asked, "I might not be an actress, but I can do scenes with any heavy lifting and you can use ADR to replace me probably botching the lines with Carolyn nailing them."
"That would be great," the Director praised, "Thank you so much!"
"Are you sure you want to do that, Kendrix?" Carolyn asked, "It might not look like it, but this job can be pretty stressful for even trained actors even without an injury and I know your leg's still bothering you."
Kendrix nodded. "Hey, nothing I wouldn't do for a friend and in your case family," she said, "Just, be careful with your shoulder. The leg's a bad enough distraction without that kind of pain on top of it."
"Gotcha," Carolyn said with a grin.
PRGJ
Over the next week, Leo tried bringing in all kinds of people he thought could reverse the spell. Zatanna had been very happy to come help while he had to call in a favor John Constantine owed him to get him to come, but surprisingly them and everyone else he brought in said this was something beyond them.
Kendrix and Carolyn also spent this time finally getting the chance to make up for lost time having never seen each other before and were surprised at how alike they were inside as much as out.
Meanwhile, Wise Wizard made several hit and run attacks all over Terra Venture, including the movie set a couple of more times, apparently looking for something called "the Lights of Orion".
When Trezo joined the team in confronting the newest monster, Wise Wizard's eyes would glow and Kendrix would cry out as her leg injury became excruciating and he could hear Carolyn also crying out, so he had to retreat to make it stop using the spell to hurt them.
Kendrix was also trying her best to help out with doing mostly double work for Carolyn as well as her own onset work during this time but found out her cousin was right about even the acting part being exhausting.
One day was especially bad, as Kendrix's leg really started flaring up when she was supposed to walk up a hill and profess her love for the leading man, played by a cool down to Earth actor named Larry Mainland.
Kendrix could tell the Director was trying to be understanding as she'd disclosed the leg injury when their agreement of her being Carolyn's double, but that he was under major constraints to get the scenes shot so he was a little short with her.
"Cut, cut, cut!" the Director finally shouted after Kendrix had an especially bad flare up that drove her to her knees.
As soon as it was confirmed the cameras weren't rolling, Leo sprinted up to Kendrix, Carolyn not far behind though she was limping, trying to shut out the mirroring pain. Though she hadn't made too overt a sound, his sharp hearing had picked her letting out a gasp. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Is she alright?" the Director asked sarcastically as he joined them, "She just ruined my scene with…" He cut off in mid-sentence when both Leo and Carolyn glared at him.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Kendrix told them as she tried to get back to her feet, "Just give me a minute and…" This time, she couldn't help but let out a soft sob as she tried to get back to her feet, only for her leg to crumple under her.
"Oh God," Leo heard Carolyn whisper, hissing as the pain came through the spell link and she had to take a seat as well.
"Back off and give us a minute, you 2-bit Kubrick wannabe," Leo warned the Director, who did as he said as he turned to Kendrix. "You're not fine. I have half a mind to get you over to Memorial."
"No, really, I just need a minute and I'll be fine, Trezo," Kendrix said.
'I wonder if they realize how obvious it is they're dating?' Carolyn wondered and she couldn't help but smile at the tender moment between the 2. She wished she had half the tenacity Kendrix did. If the pain was half as bad for her as it was through the link, she had to be in unimaginable pain.
"Kendrix, you can't tell me you're fine," Carolyn pointed out, "I should be fine doing this scene as my leg's not too bad as I'm just feeling the pain from you and there's no lifting or anything to aggravate my shoulder."
Kendrix finally sighed and nodded reluctantly before hanging her head. "Im sorry, I just don't want to let either of you down," she murmured.
"You could never do that," Leo assured Kendrix and Carolyn nodded. He picked his girlfriend up and carried her to the off camera side so they could reset the shot with her cousin instead. She nailed the scene perfectly and as promised did it without aggravating her shoulder.
The Director had just called Cut with a huge grin on his face when explosions rocked the set. Wise Wizard strolled out into the middle of it, looking over at Leo smugly as the cast and crew all ran for safety. "Ready for another lesson in humility, Trezo?" it challenged.
Leo sighed. There was no way he could take on Wise Wizard even if Kendrix wasn't right here for the monster to cause her excruciating pain through that damned Corsica spell.
"Don't worry about me, Leo, even if he makes my leg hurt," Kendrix whispered only loudly enough for Leo to hear, "Go beat his ass and show him who needs the real lesson in humility."
Leo looked at Kendrix. "Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded. He looked around and not seeing anyone, he gave her a kiss. "Brace yourself for any pain he causes you and don't worry, I'll make sure give it back to him tenfold." She grinned at that as he turned away.
Leo stepped towards Wise Wizard and didn't turn as portals opened up behind him, through which the other Galaxy Rangers and Th'm's stepped through. "Oh, I'm ready for a lesson all right, but you're the one getting taught humility, you cowardly piece of shit," he growled.
With that, Leo rushed Wise Wizard while the Galaxy Rangers and Th'm's took on his cadre of Sting Wingers. "You really haven't learned your lesson, have you?" the monster taunted.
Wise Wizard's eyes glowed and Leo heard Kendrix crying out from the spell's effects which despite her encouragement made him falter, but to the surprise of both, a cry came from directly behind the monster, before he was suddenly kicked forward.
Leo was surprised to see Carolyn had been the one to kick Wise Wizard, spinning around and losing his focus on causing her and Kendrix pain. "Wait, what?" he demanded, "How did you get behind me so suddenly, Pink Galaxy Ranger?"
"Shit," Leo muttered at Wise Wizard giving away Kendrix's secret identity.
Carolyn was visibly shaken for a moment at the revelation that Kendrix was a superhero but quickly shook it off when she realized it made perfect sense given how close her cousin was to Trezo. Leo had to admit he was impressed how much courage she was showing, though he wasn't surprised.
"That's for me to know and you to never find out, asshole, but aren't you missing something?" Carolyn taunted, holding up Wise Wizard's spell book. It'd been hanging off his hip and easy to grab before she kicked the monster and he didn't even notice until now.
"Give that back to me now or the pain you've suffered from my spell will be even worse than it has been for all the other times combined, I promise you," Wise Wizard threatened.
"I don't think so, jackass," Carolyn said, "Trezo, catch!" With that, she reared back and threw it kind of frisbee style. Her and Kendrix felt a huge amount of pain emanating from her leg, but it was worth it as Leo caught the spell book easily and ripped it in half effortlessly. The pain in her leg disappeared.
"GO GALACTIC!" came a shout from behind Leo as Kendrix exploded onto the scene, hopping up onto Leo's shoulders than jumping off, first shooting Wise Wizard with her Beta Bow as she jumped towards him, then slashing it with her Quasar Saber. With her leg no longer hurting her, she really ripped into the monster for all the pain it caused her and Carolyn.
"Thanks, Carolyn, but you should probably get out of here," Trezo advised.
"Gotcha," Carolyn said with a grin before hurrying off.
Leo walked up to Wise Wizard just as Kendrix kicked it away and added his own kick, sending it flying back. "You're all going to pay for that," it said as it got back to its feet, pulled the usual growth potion flask out, and it quickly grew to gigantic proportions.
"Don't worry, we've got this from here as always, Trezo," Kendrix said.
Leo nodded and stepped back as they called the Galactabeasts and Th'm's formed another gigantic construct to help fight the huge monster. "Damn it, I've got to find some way to help them when the damn monsters grow like that," he muttered.
However, the team was surprised when Wise Wizard showed a lot of resilience and not even a Condor Missile attack could stop it. "Nice try, Rangers, but you must be really dense to think that would work on me," it taunted.
At hearing that, Leo began grinning wildly as an idea on how to help his friends suddenly popped into his mind. Tensing his legs, he jumped high into the air and up onto the shoulder of the Galaxy Megazord. "Trezo, what are you doing?" Johnny asked.
"Load me into the Condor Galactazord and use me in its missile attack, Red," Leo explained, "If that hits as hard as I think it does, my body's super high density should allow me to punch right through that shithead's chest."
"Are you sure that'll be safe?" Kendrix asked, honestly worried.
"It's can't be anymore dangerous than one time Kal threw me at Metallo when he had grown a body about that big, Pink, and that involved Kryptonite back when that was still an issue, so I'm pretty sure I'll be all right," Leo assured Kendrix rather confidently.
"If you're sure, all right, here we go," Johnny said. The Galaxy Megazord reached up and grabbed Leo off its shoulder and carefully placed him into the barrel like beak of the Condor Galactazord.
"Going to try another failed attempt, Galaxy losers?" Wise Wizard taunted. Th'm's had been keeping it busy but backed away when him and the monster saw the Megazord loading up for another Condor Missile attack.
"You bet and we can assure you that you won't shrug it one off this time around," Johnny replied, "One specially made Condor Missile Mode, Trezo edition, coming up."
"FIRE!" the Galaxy Rangers shouted in unison.
With that, the Galaxy Megazord shot Leo at Wise Wizard, who didn't even notice the attack was much different until the young Kryptonian superhero hit its chest and punched all the way through to its back. The monster looked down in shock to find a gaping hole in its chest before it fell back and exploded.
Leo used a portal shift back to the Galaxy Megazord, which carefully caught him in midair. He gave the big robot a high five in celebration of their newest victory against Scorpi-ass' minions. He vowed to do that more often as not only would it keep him from feeling too useless, it was also exhilarating
PRGJ
With the spell broken, Kendrix found helping out to be much easier and seemed like no time that the filming wrapped up in no time. The crew were staying for a few days to deconstruct everything of course, but the cast headed back as soon as everything else was finished.
The day Leo opened the portal to the spot back on Earth for the cast members to head back, Kendrix was also there to say goodbye to Carolyn. "I wish you'd come back with us for visit," her cousin told her, "I know Mom would love to see you."
"I wish I could too, but I just have so much to do at work that I can't get away right now though I will soon enough," Kendrix replied, "I've always wanted to meet you and Aunt Deanna but didn't really know how to get hold of you."
"And don't forget, you're always welcome to come visit and bring along your Mom," Leo pointed out, "Just give me or Kendrix a ring and I'd be more than happy to portal you back this way." Carolyn nodded and after giving them both a hug and kiss on the cheek, she headed through the portal.
PRGJ
A few days later, the team was relaxing at Leo and Amanda's apartment watching Carolyn accept an award for Best Actress for a movie she'd done the year before. She started off thanking her Mom, her agent, and everyone involved with the movie but then…
"There are a couple of other good friends of mine I'd like to mention, one being my cousin Kendrix on Terra Venture, for all the hard work she put in as my double while I dealt with a shoulder injury while also showing me how to power through even the worst pain to get the job done," Carolyn said.
"The other is as he loves to say Trezo-El of Krypton, adopted son of Earth, who is currently stationed on Terra Venture, who not only did a lot of hard work around set but saved my life on a few occasions during my stay there," Carolyn added.
"I'd also like to announce that I will be putting half the money I made from this movie as well as the one I shot scenes for on Terra Venture into funding cancer research, especially Leukemia, in the name of my deceased aunt, Valerie Morgan," Carolyn finished.
"I wish she hadn't said all that about me," Kendrix murmured, trying not to blush at Carolyn's kind words. The others knew she tried to stay out of the spotlight, so she had to be embarrassed by her cousin saying that on live television.
"Hey, she didn't say anything that wasn't true or deserved, hon," Leo pointed out, "Trust me, if anything, you deserve a lot more credit, both for what you've done in R&D and being the Pink Galaxy Ranger."
Kendrix couldn't help but beam at Leo's praise as she kissed him. "Thanks, but I'd rather leave all the credit to you," she said. She snuggled closer as they continued watching the awards show.
PRGJ
A few days later…
In a large room somewhere on Terra Venture, a strange group of people were meeting. "It's time to one of us to make our first strike," one of them, a hulking man with a mask on his face, said, "That bitch Marshak is getting close and our mole can't keep her off much longer."
The others started panicking before a tall, slim man with a leering grin stepped out of the shadows. "Don't worry, Trezo and his team will have more than enough to worry about soon and if they thought every monster that they've faced so far were freaks, wait until they get a load of me," he assured them and with that, he let out a hyena-like cackling laughter.
To be continued…
Note: Ooh, quite the interesting twist, huh? The Joker's somehow found his way to Terra Venture so be here next time to see him running amok. I might be putting a second chapter up later or maybe tomorrow. At the very least, I'll be reposting an old story from Paladars in that timeframe.
If I don't have a second PRGJ story up by Monday at the latest, expect 2 next week as believe it or not, I have Chapter/Episode 10 pretty much complete except for some minor details, mostly at the end. Until then, Catch ya on the flipside.