Episode 29

Dating 101

It was the end of the week, and by now, there was only one thing in the student body's minds. The Spring Bloom dance was only a few days away, and for many, it couldn't come fast enough. At least to those who weren't frantically running around with last-minute preparations.

"Okay, so these posters still need to go out," Abbey instructed, pulling out the large cardboard signs from her locker and handing them to a less enthusiastic Erika. "They're a reminder of the registration details for Spring King and Queen. The registration closes tonight, so we need to make sure that everyone who wants to run is on there so we can get the posters finished and the ballots printed and…"

"Abbey, chill," Erika suggested as the redhead nearly went into overload. "It's okay, people already know, and I can't imagine that anyone thinking of running hasn't already registered. Not this late anyway."

"And because you've thrown that out into the universe, someone is going to send me an email at 11.55 tonight, demanding to know how to throw their name into the running!"

Erika simply rolled her eyes, dutifully taking the placards while shooting Lena a knowing look. Lena wasn't sure what the fuss was about. It was just a night. Sure, they were all getting dressed up, but it wasn't like anything about their lives was going to have changed come the next morning. But after weeks of hearing endlessly about the coming ordeal from the entire student body, Lena would have been forgiven for thinking that their literal lives depended on it.

The others, however, were taking it in their stride, and over the last week, the singular topic had dominated their conversations. Erika and Abbey, Lena understood. Abbey was on the planning committee, and Erika had recently stepped in to assist her, but even Zeke and Miguel were weirdly excited about it. The boys had come a long way, but ever since their ill-advised venture into Xaviax's lair, it was as if they'd been best friends their whole lives. Just the other day, they'd gone to organize tux rentals together.

But while the endless chatter about the coming dance was a welcome distraction from the looming threat of monster attacks, Lena couldn't help but feel left out. Because as much as the others tried to include her, she couldn't understand it. For all of the purpose of her programming and all the time Lena spent living among them, there was something about people that she just didn't… get.

Their fixation on frivolity, the way their pointless short-term excitements would completely consume their lives. Lena knew the basics and the rules. What to wear, what not, what looked good and what didn't. She knew that the final dance of the year, under whatever name it brought, was an important coming-of-age ritual for any senior cohort, but she couldn't for the life of her understand why any of it actually mattered.

The others had tried including her. Erika and Abbey had helped her select a dress, even if it was part of Erika's scheme to interrogate Abbey on feelings for Miguel. A scheme Lena had been happy to take part in, and for all of Abbey's current stresses, Lena was happy to see a newfound spirit in the girl. It eased her conscience, knowing that things for Abbey and Miguel were finally back on track after Lena had so spectacularly derailed them. But the dress nonetheless had been simply an excuse, nothing more, and now Lena's tiny cupboard in Ray and Hilary's guest room had a useless garment that Lena never actually intended to wear.

And yet, Lena couldn't help but be intrigued by the bizarre ritual of preparing for the school dance. On her creation, Lena had been programmed with a basic understanding of human interactions and social norms, but to actually experience one so supposedly pivotal was captivating. In her mind, the entire event was pointless, and yet Lena couldn't look away from how wholeheartedly everyone threw themselves into it. From the guessing of who was asking who to the spectacular "promposals" and, to Lena's biggest shock, the politics.

The entire senior cohort was in election mode, with the who's who of the year group battling it out in the most overblown popularity contest Lena had ever seen. The whole thing was over the top, and it was all for a few seconds of standing stage in a plastic crown that offered no real power or prestige. It was like Lena was watching some kind of absurdist theater. Every time she was in earshot of another candidate's efforts, it made her want to just sit back with a bucket of popcorn like it was some kind of enrapturing nature documentary. Of course, as Lena soon discovered, the field grew narrow very quickly, and with only one a few days left, it seemed like the polls for Spring Queen were for only a single, unopposed contender.

"I don't know why anyone would put themselves on the ballot at this stage anyway," said Zeke. "They'd just be letting Whitney know that they're gunning for her queen bee status."

"Maybe that's why they'd register so late?" Miguel suggested, "Less time for them to conveniently disappear and never be heard from again."

"It's not like the King title is particularly up for grabs either," Erika added. "Most people just vote for whoever showed up with their chosen Prom Queen. Which means come Saturday night, Deryck will be dopily smiling on that stage as Whitney waves to her adoring crowd."

But as Erika made the assertion, Lena watched Abbey's expression transform into a cunning smile, a clear signal that she was about to spill some premium quality tea.

"Oh?" she asked slyly. "You didn't hear? Whitney said no."

All four faces, including Lena's, dropped in disbelief. That was a twist they hadn't seen coming. Scolex publicly revealing himself as Xaviax would have been less surprising. And yet, Abbey's face showed no sign of jest, only amusement at their dumbfounded expressions.

"No way…" Erika breathed.

"So she actually…?" Zeke began.

"That's right," Abbey confirmed. "Word is she decided Deryck wasn't "Prom King material," and got asked by Chad Leary instead."

"The lacrosse captain?" Erika realized with abject disgust. "Wow, she is serious."

"I mean, you hear about cut-throat politics," said Miguel, "but, damn."

"Why?"

Lena's question passed her lips without a thought, an innocent, curious attempt to grasp the concept she was missing. But the others all turned to her at once, all sharing the same confused look as if the answer was obvious.

"What do you mean, why?" Erika asked.

"I mean, why is it a big deal that Whitney isn't going with Deryck?"

"Come on, Lena," Miguel encouraged. "It's Whitney and Deryck."

Lena scrunched her brow as she tried to put their pieces in place. "Hang on, are they actually going out?"

A silence fell among them as all four opened their mouths to reply, only to close them as they had no answer.

"Well…" Erika reasoned. "I mean, they're always together…"

"Like all the time," Zeke agreed.

"But you two hang out all the time," Lena pointed out. "And you're not going out."

Both Zeke and Erika paused, looking at each other before shivering with equal distaste. Lena was just grateful she didn't need to reopen the can of worms that was Zeke and Abbey. Speaking of though…

"Oh, I get it!" Lena realized, turning to point at Abbey and Miguel. "They're like you two! Dancing around each other too chicken to make a move."

Both teens went bright red, sharing a nervous look of embarrassment as they, too, conceded Lena's point.

"So let me get this straight," Lena tried to reason. "If they're not together, why did you think they'd go together?"

"I mean," said Abbey. "I guess we just assumed…"

"So, neither has any obligation to go with the other?"

"No, I guess they don't," Miguel admitted.

"So why is it such a big deal if Whitney's going with someone else? Did she turn Deryck down? Did she reject him in some cruel, needless way?"

Again, none of them replied, nervously looking at each other as if deciding whose job it was to explain it. Lena suspected the answer would be something seemingly obvious and yet equally silly and ridiculous.

"I mean," said Abbey, finally. "I don't think he actually asked her."

Yup, it was.

Yet more stupid rules and conventions about human relationships that Lena simply had no interest in. Nothing outside of academic curiosity, at least.

The rest of the conversation continued in a similar manner, where it was explained that because Whitney didn't want to go alone (which was bad, apparently), she had no choice but to accept Chad's request. Deryck had yet to ask anyone and the others suspected that meant he was also flying solo (which was not bad, apparently). Zeke advocated for that choice, announcing his decision to go for the fun of being with friends and not fretting about bringing a date. By the time the lunch bell had rung, Lena was well and truly done with learning about the intricacies of human dating practices and was relieved that her next hour of history would be spent in the absence of any such conversation. She hoped.

But as Lena took her seat on the edge of the room, eager to examine the economic fallout caused by the collapsing Soviet Union, she was quick to notice a strange, eerie air that had fallen about the room. People were staring, not at her, but in her general direction. Because not long after Lena had chosen her place, Deryck had sat down beside her.

That itself was odd. He was usually perched up the back, shooting spitballs and goofing off with the rest of his friends. It wasn't like he didn't have a choice either; his usual seat was still unoccupied, and there were plenty of others to choose from. But, for a reason foreign to both Lena and the rest of the class, Deryck had chosen to sit somewhere else of his own volition. Right next to her.

Lena decided to think nothing of it, focusing instead on the fascinating graphs and numbers as the rest of the class's brains melted out of their ears. But now and then, as Lena would look away from the board, she noticed Deryck's attention was on her. He wasn't bored, he wasn't fidgeting, he was just watching her in curious contemplation. It prickled at her more self-conscious instincts, and by the end of the hour, Lena was very happy to hurry from the room and return to her friends.

And they were still on the topic of dates.

"I'm telling you," Zeke insisted. "I don't mind flying solo. It'll be fine."

"You don't have to, you know that, Zeke?" Abbey insisted. "I'm sure there are plenty of girls that would love to go if you just asked them."

"It's okay, Mom," Zeke shot back, half teasing and half annoyed. "I'm not going to desperately crawl around the school for a single girl who'll just say yes out of pity. I'm showing up for the fun of it, and I'm cool with that."

Lena was about to voice an intervention, pointing out that she also didn't have a date and that Zeke would be in good company, when all eyes suddenly turned toward her. Their gazes widened, so shocked and horrified that Lena wondered if she had something on her face. But then she realized that they were looking past her, and as she turned around, Lena's jaw equally dropped as she saw Deryck standing behind her.

He didn't look nervous, per se, but there was a strange air about him, like his nonchalant demeanor was masking another feeling. But whatever Deryck's mood, his intentions were absolutely clear. He wanted to talk to Lena.

"Can I help you?" Lena asked dryly as the other four huddled closer to eavesdrop like gang cartoon sleuths.

"Yeah, hey. Lana, right?" Deryck asked her.

"It's Lena."

"Yeah, got it. So, I was thinking, we've spent a lot of time together in history this year, I think we've got pretty close."

"We haven't shared a word, and you first sat next to me today," said Lena. "But please, continue."

Deryck nodded as if he wasn't even listening. Instead, his eyes shot over Lena's shoulder as if looking out for something in particular. "Totally. Anyway, I was thinking. Spring Bloom's this Saturday, and I heard that no one had asked you. And I hadn't decided who I wanted to take either. So… do you wanna?"

Lena stifled a gasp, a mix of surprise and laughter as her entire body flinched into tight tension. Behind her, the others stood still as stone, clearly hoping that Deryck's vision was based on movement. But even without looking, Lena knew that their jaws were hanging slack, equally surprised at the sudden turn of events. And Lena didn't have to guess what, or rather who, Deryck was looking for over her shoulder.

She knew what she should say, the obvious answer to a more blatantly obvious ploy. And yet, as Lena breathed in to voice the rejection that her friends so hotly expected, she hesitated. It would be so easy to flat-out refuse to be a pawn in whatever game Deryck was playing with Whitney and coldly rebuff such a terrible attempt at courtship while giving her friends something to laugh about later. But at the same time, Lena's curiosity beckoned her, daring her to investigate further. To see first what had perplexed her for so long.

A date, a boyfriend even. Things that she'd always wondered about but never actively pursued. It wasn't from lack of candidates, theoretically, but solely her own lack of interest in any pursuit. But here was her chance, standing right in front of her, to experience what so many insisted was a vital part of the human experience. And the more Lena thought about it, the more curious she became about what she was missing out on.

And so, after looking back to see her friends watching on with bated breath, Lena turned to Deryck and gave her answer.

"She said what?"

Erika couldn't help but laugh at Ray's reaction, amused that the usually calm and professional guidance counselor was as perplexed as they were. She, Abbey, and Miguel had been talking non-stop for the entire drive to the quarry. They had eagerly informed Ray about Lena's date with Deryck the moment they saw him.

"I know right?" Erika agreed. "Like, I don't want to yuck on any of Lena's tastes. But… Deryck?"

"They share at least one class together," Abbey suggested in a tone that betrayed her own faltering belief. "Maybe there's something she sees in him?"

The theory was met with skeptical looks from both Erika and Miguel.

"Yeah, okay," Abbey conceded. "I heard it, too."

"Whatever it is that Lena's thinking, I'm sure she has her reasons," said Ray. "It's easy to forget, but she's not like us. She was made at the age that she is, and for all the information she has in her head, it's all pretty alien and foreign without the experience of growing up to make sense of it. Lena might pass as an ordinary teenage girl, but she's anything but. If this is something that helps her better understand the humanity she's trying to find, then she needs our support."

Erika sighed in disappointment at Ray's reasoning, begrudgingly admitting that the right thing to do was killing a good time. But all the same, Ray couldn't resist giving his own opinions.

"Of course, that's not saying anything about taste."

"Woah, Mr. G. Telling us how he really feels," Miguel whistled.

"I've got to admit, Mr. Granger," said Abbey. "I didn't think you'd be interested in any of this."

"Knowing more about the interactions between students helps me do my job." Ray explained before admitting sheepishly, "Also, faculty members definitely know a lot more about who is dating who than students realize. And boy, do they have opinions."

"And," Hilary added gleefully through the coms. "He then gets to come home and give me juicy details. This stuff's better than The Bachelor."

Without much else to discuss until they met again with Lena to debrief, the three teens followed their mentor down into the quarry. With amusement at Lena's predicament fading, a renewed sense of curiosity returned as to why they'd been asked down there. They'd all got the message the day before, with Hilary asking if they could meet with Ray on the outskirts of town after school. Initially, all five were planning to meet, but Zeke then realized that he had a paper due. Lena's surprise date, of course, also made her unavailable.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Erika asked as they reached the bottom of the quarry. "Just really into rock formations and wanted some opinions?"

"Not quite," Ray chuckled. "Truth is, I figured we could do with some training."

"What's wrong with the sparring room back at the museum?" Miguel asked.

"Nothing," Ray replied. "For hand-to-hand practice, it's perfect. But after the last few run-ins with Ender's creations, I figured we needed something a little bit more Rangers-specific. And this place is big and out of the way enough that we can cut lose without much trouble."

"I want to take some readings while you're at it," Hilary added. "We've got all the battle data we could ever want. But if I want to push the suits' limits, I'd rather it be in a controlled environment than in the chaos of a fight."

As Ray and Hilary explained, Erika's face suddenly lit up, grinning from ear to ear as she realized what they were saying.

"So we get to give it everything we've got?" she asked. "Hold nothing back?"

"I mean, we should probably hold something back if we're training with each other," Abbey said nervously. But Erika was too excited, already eager to see exactly what her suit could do without the stresses of Cyberdrones, monsters, or endangering civilians.

"Or…" she suggested giddily. "Or we could bet that the first person to demorph buys the first round of smoothies!"

"Now that's something I can get behind," Miguel agreed.

Abbey looked nervous but began to relax as she got a comforting glance from her boyfriend. Because there was no way they wouldn't be teaming up almost immediately. Erika smirked, sharing a look with Ray that confirmed her suspicion as the alliances silently settled.

This was going to be fun.

"So, how are we doing this?" Erika asked. "Backs turned and twenty paces?"

"Turn and morph on my count," Hilary agreed.

The four Rangers stood with their backs together, slowly stepping out to Hilary's excited count. With every pace, Erika's heart beat faster, excitedly jittering in her boots as the distance grew.

Oh, yeah. This was going to be fun.

As the gap between them grew, Erika's keycard flipped between her fingers, gripped tight as the Morpher flashed to her wrist and she took the final steps.

"Seventeen… Eighteen… Nineteen…" Hilary announced. "Twenty!"

All of them spun at once, hand raising as they all four rushed to activate. Too used synchronicity, there was no clear winner, all of them morphing in time with the other.

"Server Force! Login Access!"

And as the blazing light of the morphing grid, the four Rangers lunged into action, determined to be the ultimate victor.

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," Zeke warned.

Lena simply rolled her eyes and ignored him. She shouldn't have been surprised; it was to be expected that the others would find her choice of inquiry partners difficult to comprehend. She had already born their endless questions about her judgment throughout the afternoon. But now, as only Zeke remained, the endless loop of "are you sure?" was starting to get on Lena's nerves.

"You don't have to come along, you know. You can do your calc report somewhere else."

"Sure," Zeke shrugged. "But they don't let me eat at the library, and I don't want to go home. So, the Hub it is. You're acting like I'm following you, but this was always my plan. It's not my fault you decided to go on the worst date in the world at the last minute."

Lena wanted to retort but knew, in truth, she had no good ground to stand on. But just because her plans changed last minute, that didn't mean Zeke had to annoy her about it.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Lena said. "It's just one date and a dance. It's not like I'm daydreaming about an imagined and intricately planned out future like some other people."

Zeke stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face her as his face contorted with a mixture of perplexion and exasperation. "Don't see the big deal? It's Deryck! You know, the guy who spent every day since middle school throwing me any trashcan he could reach? Or maybe the guy who was constantly goading Erika into fights. Or maybe-."

"I get it, Zeke, he's not great," Lena cut him off with a rising tone. "I'm not an idiot. I do go to your school."

"He's just using you to make Whitney mad," Zeke rebutted.

"Yeah, I know," said Lena flatly. "That's what makes it so convenient. He gets to make a show in front of Whitney, and I get to have a basic, seemingly fundamental human experience. I get a coffee house date and someone to go to the dance with. Which is something you also are always telling me is such a big deal. So you don't need to keep warning me about Deryck because I know."

"Then why?"

"Because I want to know what it's like. It's all that any of you ever talk about, and when you're not talking about it, you're thinking about it. And when you're not thinking about a date for yourself, you're all speculating on ones for your friends. It seems exhausting, and yet you're all so consumed it may as well be the most important thing in your lives."

This time, it was Zeke who had no response, standing in quiet contemplation as he considered what Lena was telling him.

"You don't know what it's like, Zeke," she said. "To be always on the outside with the people you share your life with. You guys have seventeen years of life experience and a mountain load of evolutionary instinct that seems to concoct all these obtuse human rules that you all just inherently understand. But me? I've existed for what, a year? Total? And I have to learn all of that from scratch. I can learn the rules, that's no harder than memorizing a dictionary. But there are also so many unwritten and unspoken ones that as well. And all these exceptions that dictate how and why they do and don't apply. So, it turns out most of the rules aren't really rules at all; they're more like guidelines. And I don't have any of the advantages that the rest of you have to intuit them. So yes, I would like to go on a date because it might actually give me some insight into what all the fuss is about."

It was only when her last breath had unleashed that Lena realized that she was seething, that her eyes had furiously narrowed as Zeke stepped back with defensive instinct. She regretted losing her cool, something Ray kept telling her was completely human, as was learning to take control of it herself. But Lena was still far too annoyed to apologize for it. Instead, both stood there in an awkward, simmering silence, each waiting for the other to make a move in backing down. Zeke was the one to break it, but not to end the discussion.

"But… Deryck?" he asked again.

"Yes, Deryck!" Lena snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, he's one of the few people on a very short list of candidates that can. Because apparently, among all those rules, there are restrictions about who you're even allowed to go on a date with. Miguel's out because you can't go on a date if you're dating someone else. Hell, I'm not picky, but that takes Erika out too. I don't even know if I should be picky about that or if I even have to be. So, if most of the people I know who can go on a date with a girl aren't allowed to because they're already on a date with someone else, you might have noticed that leaves me with a lack of options. Unless you're suddenly planning on stepping up to the plate."

This time, for once, Zeke considered what he was going to say, but his reply only served to make her angrier. "I can't go on a date with you, Lena. It doesn't work like that. We're friends."

Admittedly, Lena knew the answer here. But by now, she was so annoyed that all she wanted to do was poke holes in all the stupid dating rules. "So you can't go on a date with a friend? What about Miguel and Abbey?"

"That's different. They don't just like each other, they, like, "like" like each other."

"So, you have to "like" someone to go on a date? What if you only just met them? How can you know if you "like" someone you don't even know?"

"Well, I mean, that's okay. It's more if you're already friends then you have "like" them-."

"See? Different rules again," Lena cut in. "You don't need a strong attraction to someone; they just have to fit the category of who you can go on a date with. Only that's not the same for everyone, and for some, it's both. And if they're already your friend, then you need to like them as more than a friend, or otherwise, it's not a date, even if it's just the two of you. And don't even get me started on the convoluted flow chart that you need to explain Ray and Hilary because, apparently, siblings and friends of siblings make it even more complicated. But at the same time, if you don't like or know each other, so long as you can "like" like them and not just like them, and the two of you meet up, then apparently that is a date? Do I have all of that about right?"

By now, Zeke could only stare in confoundment as he tried to process Lena's verbal bombardment. Then, wincing in anxious hesitancy, he tried to reply. "Yes? I mean, no… Hang, I'm confused."

"Then, welcome to my life!" Lena exclaimed. And then, refusing to entertain Zeke's superficial objections any longer, she barged right past him and stormed into the Hub. Valerie's smiling face greeted her at the counter, yet another person who Lena could theoretically date but couldn't because she wasn't allowed to. Having seen Lena arrive, Valerie's smile shifted from warm and welcome to sly and amused, shooting an amused look to where Deryck was sitting. Erika must have tipped her off.

"Well, hello there," Valerie purred. "Here for your big, romantic date?"

"Save it," Lena said rudely, striding straight past the counter to make a direct approach toward Deryck's table. So far, this "date" was turning into the biggest hassle of Lena's entire existence, only further making her question why humans bothered with the entire ordeal. It better be one life-altering human experience to be worth even a fraction of the effort it was taking.

Deryck was sitting on his phone, hunched over, and not even looking out for her. He didn't even look up when Lena's shadow loomed over him, only jolting in surprise when Lena finally announced her arrival with a curt "ahem."

"Oh, hey, Lana," he realized without even rising from his seat. "You totally made it. Cool."

"That's right, I'm here for our agreed-upon date," Lena replied as she slumped into the opposite seat. Deryck, however, seemed to just be looking past her as if scanning the room to see if anyone was looking.

"Cool…" he repeated. "Cool…"

Oh, for Morphing Masters' sake!

"Deryck, listen," Lena said flatly. "I know why you asked me, and I don't care. I agreed to come because I wanted to go on a date and have someone take me to the Spring Bloom. So, if you go ahead and show me what a date is like and what it involves, then I will happily help make Whitney as mad as you could possibly want."

For a moment, Deryck stared at her in abject confusion, a look that Lena was growing immensely sick of. And then, even though Lena wasn't entirely sure that he knew what he was agreeing to, Deryck shrugged.

"You want a date?" he decided. "Sure thing, we can do the normal, lame dating stuff."

In the corner of her eye, Lena watched Zeke take a seat and fold out his notebook in an attempt to study. But as much as he seemed to be genuinely trying to work on his calc paper, Lena noticed him shooting skeptical glances in her direction and either scoffing or rolling his eyes.

"Perfect," Lena said to Deryck. Folding her leg over her knee to elegantly straighten her posture, she began mentally running through the dating rules she'd absorbed in her time at Lakeview High and scours through the internet. "Now, seeing as this is a date, I believe that gentleman is the one who pays. So, if you don't mind, I'll have a Pumpkin Spice."

Erika moved with swift ferocity, determined to not be caught in the open and become an easy target for Abbey's bow. Who, it seemed, had managed to gain quite the advantage in the four-way superpowered sparring contest.

It had started as Erika had expected, with Miguel making a charge at her while Abbey turned her bow on Ray. The alliances had locked in almost immediately, with a silent, informal agreement between Erika and their mentor to not fight each other until they'd dismantled the unity of Abbey and Miguel.

It came surprisingly quickly.

Abbey kept on the move, refusing to let Ray pin her down as she circled the quarry with the presumed goal of doubling up on Erika. But Erika's instincts were sharp, catching a glimpse of the gliding Blue Ranger and leaping back as she leveled the shot. She'd assumed Abbey would withdraw, with an exposed Miguel being her only available target. But it was a target too good to pass up, apparently. The sky-blue rays fired from the knock, blasting beneath an unsuspecting Miguel to send him flying. Landing on his back, Miguel could only cry out in surprise.

"What? No way!"

"Sorry!" Abbey giggled, already bounding away. "But all's fair in love and war!"

"Rookie error, Miguel," Ray warned. "That's why I'd never partner up with Hilary."

"I heard that!" came the reply amused reply through the coms. "But he's also totally right."

But Erika had no time to share in the amusement because now she had far bigger problems. If an alliance between Abbey and Miguel was no longer a given, then that meant Ray no longer needed his truce with her. And the Gold Ranger was already seizing on the chance.

"Oh no, you don't!" Erika decided, whipping out her Security Pistol and opening fire on their mentor before he got a chance to lunge. Ray didn't even flinch, bounding high as the red beams danced along the ground, soaring above the ensuing fireball as the Mainframe Defender flashed to his hand. Erika was already moving, leaping back as the gold beams erupted from the cannon to annihilate the ground she'd been standing on.

And so, the four of them battled back and forth across the gorge as they tested and pushed the limits of their powers and abilities. For all the blasts and the mayhem, the jovial spirit remained, all of them laughing with joy as they battled it out for supremacy. But inevitably, the tables turned, and in the interest of calling an ending, an alliance finally solidified.

Soon, Ray found himself staring down three morphed Rangers at once, stepping back as they cornered him against the rockface.

"Now, guys," Ray urged them seriously. "Let's not do anything we might regret."

"Will we regret it?" Erika asked him. "You've been wiping the floor with us all year. I think we're going to enjoy it."

"The deal was that first one down buys, right?" Miguel checked. "Just in case you want to skip ahead and surrender."

"I take my smoothies with oat milk," Abbey advised. "Just as a heads up."

With Erika and Miguel taking the front and Abbey leveling her bow behind them, the three of them moved to corner to him. Seeing the inevitable coming, Ray braced to lunge, Mainframe Defender primed in blaster mode to assist in his desperate escape.

"Well, if you're all going to insist," he decided. "Come on. Do your worst."

"DON'T MIND IF I DO!"

The voice cackled through the air, echoing off the canyon walls. They all realized it together, that none of them had said it and who the voice belonged to. But they were far too late. A laser slammed into the ground between them, exploding with full might to send the four Rangers flying. Rising from their tumbled landing, all of them spun around and cursed at the source.

"Sorry!" Ender chuckled from his perch atop the cliff. "But you looked like you were having so much fun, and I couldn't help but join in!"

With a flash of green, a horde of Cyberdrone appeared at his back, lining the canyon walls with an eager readiness to descend. Erika glared with gritted her teeth at the unwelcome arrival as the Rangers regrouped and gathered. She knew what was coming next and knew it wasn't going to be pretty. They'd been battling solid for the last twenty minutes. Their power reserves were depleted, and their bodies were exhausted.

"He just has to be included, doesn't he?" Hilary grumbled into their coms. But her flippancy wasn't enough to mask the rising concern. Erika had no doubt that the programmer was currently running every protocol she could to keep the suits running as long as possible. "I'm calling the others."

"Wait," Erika hissed quietly, earning some confused tilts from the Ranger's helmets. "We can take them."

"Erika," Abbey warned. "Now's not a good time for bravado."

"No, she's right," Ray decided. "There's no monster, just Cyberdrones. If they're jumping us because it's convenient, they might not have a more organized plan."

"And if they do, then it's better for them to play their hand while we've got the others in reserve," said Erika. "Bringing them here now could be exactly what Ender wants."

Abbey relented the point as Erika heard Hilary's annoyed muttering in reluctant agreement on the other end of the line. They knew she was right, and Ray's backing of her settled it. They needed to see how it was going to play out before committing.

"Alright," Hilary agreed hesitantly. "But I'm putting them on standby in case this gets messy."

Acknowledging, the Rangers readied their weapons, shifting into a defensive formation as they braced for the fight ahead of them. On the plus side, they'd come up to the quarry to train and practice, to the open and isolated space to cut loose without fear of any damage. So, if Ender wanted to be their punching bag, then by all means, why should they stop him?

"If we wanted you here, you'd have been invited," Erika called to him. "Can you ever take a hint?"

"I just live in the hope that I can change your minds," Ender replied sadly. "Oh well, maybe my friends can win you over. Boys?"

The Cyberdrones descended as Ender gave the command, and the Rangers leaped forward to meet them.

She was really going ahead with it!

Rolling his eyes, Zeke looked away from Lena's table and tried to get back to his paper. His preference would have been focusing on the calculus he needed to finish by Monday without the distractions of his teammate's "date" nearby. Of course, some of the distractions were also from other interested parties.

"How do you think it's going?" Valerie asked him, nodding over to Lena and Deryck as she cleared the table.

Zeke just shrugged. "I don't know. Right now, I'm trying to figure out the infinitesimal in this equation, so I've been a little preoccupied."

Valerie simply raised an unconvinced eyebrow before returning to spying on the two teens. With the hovering of his newfound company, Zeke found it impossible to continue concentrating, quickly giving up to join Valerie's voyeurism. He knew he shouldn't pry, that it wasn't any of his business, and that he honestly didn't care if Lena went on a date with anyone (except Deryck, obviously). And yet, Zeke couldn't look away either.

Because through all of that, he wanted to stay. It wasn't that Zeke had any real personal investment in Lena's love life, real or theoretical. Even if he hadn't learned his lessons about longing after close friends from his tragically doomed crush Abbey, there just simply wasn't anything between him and Lena to muster even a hint of jealousy. In fact, as long as Zeke had known her, he wasn't sure that Lena had expressed any resemblance of romantic interest at all. It wasn't just that the unspoken intricacies of human interaction were a mystery to her, but also romance as anything more than a concept.

But for that reason alone, Zeke wanted to hang around, to keep an eye on his impossible friend and teammate. Despite all they'd gone through, despite the strange reality that Lena was in many ways an adult in a teenage body, Zeke, just like the others, couldn't help but feel a sense of protectiveness around Lena's areas of inexperience. In understanding that Lena had no say in her creation or the circumstances of her existence, the other Rangers knew that she was navigating a foreign landscape that she was never designed for, and the gaps in her knowledge could be perilous. As her friends, as the only people in her world, they had a responsibility to help Lena find her feet when the ground suddenly vanished beneath her.

Which was why Zeke remained at the table, just within earshot, keeping an eye on his friend and hoping that his decision to do so would be a waste of time. That, and he knew the other Rangers would want to know all the juicy details at the first opportunity.

And then Zeke's communicator buzzed. His heart sunk, breathing in a cautious breath as he looked over at Lena's table. Hers had gone off two, and she was already shooting him a worried glare about whether or not she should answer. It was like she didn't know if it was allowed.

Zeke nodded to let Lena know he would take it, a silent signal that she could return her attention to her all-important date before leaning in close and answering. "I'm here, Hilary. What's up?"

"We've got a situation down at the quarry," Hilary replied. "The others think they've got it handled, but I want you on standby, just in case."

"No problem, I'll get ready to bounce and let Lena know."

"I mean, we don't need to be too hasty," came the amused response. "No need to break up a good time."

Not that Zeke was sure much of that was happening. From what he could see, most of Lena and Deryck's "date" comprised of them sitting in awkward silence between bouts of even more awkward small talk. If anything, a sudden monster attack would have probably been a mercy.

And yet, for all of Hilary's clucky snickering, Zeke couldn't help but detect a sense of concern and urgency in her voice. And it wasn't just for the Rangers who'd had their training session interrupted.

"I'll keep you posted," Zeke replied eventually.

"Me too," Hilary agreed before quickly adding, "Thanks, Zeke."

Shutting the line, Zeke sent another silent glance to Lena to let her know it was all fine. Then, as he tried to yet again return his attention to his calc paper, he couldn't help but feel that it was a lot of effort to watch out for a friend's date that wasn't even going well.

So… it was going well.

At least, Lena thought it was. She didn't exactly have any real point of reference for whether it was or not. But she was there, and so was Deryck, and he'd bought her a pumpkin spice, and now they were sitting there while she drank it. Of course, it wasn't the usual size of her order (Deryck had only bought a small), and they were more or less just sitting in awkward silence. In fact, Deryck was spending most of his time on his phone. But when Lena did ask a question, he replied. He even asked her a few things about herself. They weren't much of a question, mostly superficial small-talk that he didn't follow up on, but he was asking. Regardless of the perceived quality, everything that was meant to happen on a date was happening.

So, it was going well… right?

Urgh, who was she kidding? This was going terribly.

Sitting there in growing awkward silence, Lena racked the zettabytes in her databanks for anything even remotely helpful, anything that would salvage the waste of an afternoon. Not to mention save face because there was absolutely no way that she was letting Zeke know how ludicrous an idea it had really been.

Okay, what was there? Dating protocols, expectations, common behaviors.

She and Deryck had already gone through the initial stages; he'd paid for the required beverage, and they'd exchanged the requisite pleasantries. What was there even left to do? Was that seriously all it was? Why did humans care about this so much?

It was then that Lena hit a new entry in her logs, an avenue that she hadn't considered until then and one that was a definite component of a date. Physical contact. It was worth a shot, but whose job was to initiate? Hers or his? Lena's databanks were all inconclusive, with many entries providing grossly conflicting information about the who, the when, and the various societal debates surrounding it.

Urgh! Seriously, why did humans just have to make everything so hard?

Already in for a penny, Lena chose to test the waters, selecting one of the less committal options to try. It certainly couldn't make the date any worse, right? Slowly, Lena reached across the table and touched Deryck's hand. The boy looked up in surprise, seeing Lena smiling back at him with a look so keen it was unsettling.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm initiating physical contact," Lena replied. "I understand that's what two people are meant to do in this situation. Is it increasing your enjoyment of the date?"

"Uh…" Deryck opened his mouth, but his reply seemed less than certain. "I guess?"

"Good," Lena decided. "Are there other forms of physical contact that you would like? I understand that handholding is quite common, as is the boy putting his arm around the girl. Are either of these acceptable?"

"Sure…?"

Deciding it was better than nothing, Lena shuffled her chair to beside him, pulling herself close before nestling into the shape of the armpit. She leaned back just enough for him to take her weight, although Deryck seemed more awkward than ever as Lena tried to fit into his embrace.

Yes, this was going much better. But the downside now was that in her position, Lena had a full view of Zeke, who rolled his eyes at the display as he continued the charade of doing his paper. But now Lena and Deryck were sitting together, entwined in a couple's embrace as was common for people on a date. So, who was laughing now?

Okay, that went well. What else was there to do?

But just as Lena was about to suggest that Deryck tell her a joke, providing the setup for her to tell him that he "was so funny," a darkening shadow loomed over them. Deryck's whole body tensed, his grip around Lena tightening to be both unformattable and convincing, and as Lena looked up, a pair of icy-blue eyes looked back at her, glaring daggers.

"Well, now," said Whitney dryly. "Don't you two make quite the couple?"