"There she is!" Joel cheers as I step out of my car, lock it, and slip my keychain into my pocket. "How was class?"

Ugh. Don't remind me. "Was fighting the temptation to sleep the whole time," I mutter, "And then my stomach started growling."

Kelsey snickers. Chad shakes his head and tosses me one of the two hot dogs he was holding. "Then good thing I saved one for you." After the whole Vypra taking control of a guy who then tried to fight him thing from the other week, I've gained a different sort of respect for the Blue Ranger. He's incredibly wise, but also insanely powerful to back it up.

I dig in to the snack, hunger quelled. "Where's D?" It's weird without her commenting on the fact I didn't eat before I left for campus.

"Working on a science project," Carter informs.

I take a sip of my water. "So, kissing ass."

Everyone chuckles. "I'd agree, but I don't think she needs to." Carter's got a point. Speaking of which, it's been nice to not worry about pissing him off with every single one of my actions. And even better, we've moved past the co-workers phase. I'd even think we were-

"Hey, guys. When are you headed back to the Aqua Base?" Speak of the devil, or the angel, rather. If you ever decided to describe Dana Mitchell as a devil, you'd be dead wrong, anyway. Or just dead. "I'm heading to Mt. Jasmine and need the Rover."

Joel lifts his morpher, and I try not to take notice of the cluster of people near the hotdog cart that stare. "Dude, we just got our food. Chill."

I make sure to swallow my bite of hotdog before speaking. "I can give you a ride, Dana."

"Ooh, right. Our resident volcano expert."

The others nod in agreement, and I swear my heart twinges. "C'mon, guys. I'm from Oahu, and the volcano's on the Big Island."

Joel frowns. "Which one's the Big Island?" Ah. The confusion makes a little more sense now. Not like I'm about to relieve any of it.

"Hawaii." Joel blinks. Chad tilts his head slightly. Kelsey does the same, but in the opposite direction, and Carter scratches his neck. "You guys crack me up. I'll be back on base in fifteen. See you then?"

"Yes!" Dana cheers, "Field trip!"

Kelsey cackles. "Yeah. Definitely kissing ass."

—-

"Okay, okay, explain it to me one more time?" This is only the second time I'll be explaining it, so I don't know why Dana's asking like that.

I tap my fingers on the wheel in time to the Olivia Rodrigo song playing from Dana's Bluetooth. "Hawaii is the name of the state."

"Yeah," Dana murmurs, "Got it."

"And it's also the official name of the biggest island."

"Which is also affectionately known as the Big Island?"

"Bingo."

She nods slowly. "Do you miss home?"

"Sometimes," I admit, "Especially since Leon got hurt, now I have him to worry about, too."

The blonde glances over at me. "How is he?"

An old Coldplay song starts up, one Leon introduced me to, coincidentally. "Better. Was discharged a few days after the robbery."

Dana chuckles, but her eyes are already fixed at a point outside of the window. "Heroics run in the family, huh?" She always gets like this. Curious about Leon. Almost sentimental. Like she has a sibling, too, but that doesn't make sense, because she's never talked about one.

"Guess so." I slow to take a slight turn as the road curves, and it's at that precise moment that the earth starts to shake. "Looks like you'll have your seismic activity," I mutter, driving past the end of the curve, "Hold on, I'm gonna pull over in front of this bus-"

The moment I pull to the side of the road, there's a load pop, and I jump. Dana only sighs. "No way you got a flat, too. Got a spare?"

I give a sheepish smile, to which Dana frowns. "I used it already?" I wave her away. "It's all good. I have free bus fare as a Mariner Bay U student." She sticks her tongue out at me. "But, uh, we can have someone from Lightspeed out to grab my car after the fact, right?"

"What, don't wanna pay the towing fee?" She jokes as we step out of the car.

"Hell no," I entertain her, "Broke college kid, remember?" We laugh, but my giggle dies away immediately when the door opens, and a man at the front of the bus sticks a gun into our faces.

—-

As much as I hate to admit it, this guy is smart. He recognized us, thanks to our jackets that I knew we should've left in the car, and knew we wouldn't dare fight him with the civilians in the crossfire. So, Dana and I allowed ourselves to be herded towards the back of the bus. "We are not stopping this damn bus," the gunman snarls, "Y'hear-"

A few rows in front of us, an older woman stands. "You felt the earthquake! We have to turn around-"

He shoves her, and Dana's up out of her seat, steadying the woman. "Look, sir," I soothe, "We can keep driving," and we should, "but there's no need for violence."

The gunman tilts his head. "Look who's talking, Ranger."

Like I said. Smart.

"Speaking of which…" He leans closer, but I don't give an inch. "No calling for backup."

—-

Back home, I'd fall asleep on bus rides like this, headphones on and music blasting. Now, I wouldn't dare to crack a yawn, or so much as breathe the wrong way. I'm not so much worried about myself, since a small part of me is pretty sure I'd survive a GSW, but rather about the civilians.

So, for the past half hour or so, I've been sitting up, gaze straight ahead, but tuned in all the same. That's what Leon would call it, anyway. Being hyperaware of every part of a situation, ready to act if anything changed- "Dana. Alyssa." The gunman's head whips to the side, obviously hearing Captain Mitchell's voice streaming from our morphers, "There've been reports of seismic activity in your area." Oh, really now? "I'm recalling you both back to base."

The gunman takes a step closer to us. "Dana. Alyssa." My friend slams her hand down over her morpher, fingers deftly working to mute it.

"What'd I say about backup?"

The whole thing about fight-or-flight is that once you're trained in either one, that option becomes, like anything else might, muscle memory. My arms fly, knocking his grip off of my collar and the gun out of his hand next. With both of his hands free, though, he can throw a punch, and I barely duck under the first one, I don't intend on doing more harm than is necessary, and it looks like I'll achieve that, since the ground is shaking us so badly, the gunman can hardly launch his own attack-

He lunges, and I sidestep, and then the next few events happen near simultaneously: we slam into the guardrail, and the door unlocks- probably some safety mechanism. And since his balance was already skewed, the man is hurled right out into the open air.

It's like I explained: muscle memory. I hit the ground, laying prone and reaching out as far as I dare, forcing myself not to look down at the rushing river below us. "Can you swing your other hand up?"

"The fuck you think I'm tryna do?"

"Try harder!" If I wasn't so hyperfocused, I would be shocked at Dana's shrill screech.

"I can't! I'm slipping!"

"No, you're not!" Dana's free hand claps over her ear, and I stare. "What?"

"Your voice! What'd you-" Her face contorts in pain, which only serves to make me even more confused, "My fucking hand!"

"I- I don't-" The bus lurches, and I bite back a yelp of fear. My words wouldn't have been true, anyway. I do know what's happening, somewhere deep down inside, the part of me that still hesitates to believe I do what I do for a living. My hand grasps the gunman's arm. "You're so strong."

In the next instant, his other hand flies up to grip the edge of the bus, and little by little, he pulls himself up. Dana and I stare at him, then at each other. She's muttering to herself. "Dana?"

"How'd you do that? How'd you do that?" I collapse onto a seat.

"I don't know-" The bus shakes, and the driver stumbles, shoulder slamming against one of the metal poles. He grits his teeth against the pain, and I flinch as we tilt further and further over the ravine. Not because of how much that must hurt, but because if Carter and the others don't get here soon, none of us will have to worry much about pain-

"Miss me?" If he wasn't literally saving our lives, I'd cuss the Green Ranger out. Based on the look I give her as I reach out a hand for her to take, I know Dana's thinking the same. She squeezes my hand, and something like tears well up in my eyes. Ones I wipe away as the doors fly open once more, admitting the others, led in by Carter.

"Ally," he breathes, "Dana." His hand on my shoulder sends waves of relief crashing through me, and it's all I can do not to collapse then and there. "You guys good?"

"Define good." This time when the ground shakes, it's the strongest it's been since the earthquakes have started. Keeping our footing's impossible, and I stagger forward, right into Carter, who steadies me. "Thanks."

Dana swears under her breath. "Seismic readings are off the charts. Eruption will probably happen in any second."

As usual, Chad's the first to swing into action. "We need to get back into town." He bends down next to the driver, who shakes his head.

"My shoulder… I can't drive."

Dana's there immediately, and it's like that very first day when I saw them taking on the Battlings: this team's a well-oiled machine, and even that's putting it lightly. She murmurs something to the driver, then presses down on the injury, causing him to let out a pained yelp. "He's right. And even if he tried to drive, I wouldn't let him."

"Does anyone here know how to drive a bus?" Carter calls out, and the silence has my heart pounding faster and faster-

"I do." All hell breaks loose.

"I am not letting that man drive my bus!" The driver points with his uninjured hand towards the gunman.

The old lady he'd pushed nods emphatically. "He had a gun!"

Joel, who'd just joined us at the front of the bus, steps forward. "A what?"

"We don't have a choice," Dana mutters, and I turn to the man as he takes off his sunglasses.

"Can we trust you?" I already know the answer. I'm just asking for the sake of the others. He removes his beanie.

"As much as I trusted you just now."

Carter nods. "Perfect. Then let's go."

—-

I never touched the stove as a kid. Didn't mean I wasn't clumsy, but at least I wasn't stupid. This must be what it felt like. After another blast of fire from the Cerberus-looking creature, I hit the ground, skin scorching even though I know I'll be fine. Dana's there immediately, helping me up, and I grit my teeth as I stand. "We need to get in closer."

"Which means we need to put out that fire," Chad mutters.

Carter draws his blaster, switching it from its offensive mode to something I've seen him use a few times before. "Exactly what I was thinking. Dana, you with me?"

"Of course." She lays down cover, and as the monster sends another blast of fire her way, Carter extinguishes it.

"Let's end this." A natural born leader, our Red Ranger. I toss him my blaster, and he clicks it into the Unilaser, holding it steady and firing off a single multicolored bullet.

—-

When we arrive at the run-down gas station, the passengers from the bus thank us profusely. No one pulls out their phones to snap a photo, probably because they're all still recovering from shock.

Staring at each of their faces, I'm once again reminded of why I do this. Why I choose to do this. "Thank you," the man who'd driven them to safety murmurs, "I owe both of you my life."

Dana grasps his hands in hers. "We only did what you did, too: what was right."

I offer a nod. "You're a hero, sir." He shakes his head, just as the familiar whir of police sirens sound behind us.

"My name is-"

"Steve Harrison?" My head snaps over to the officer who'd just spoken.

"Yes."

"You're under ar-"

Dana and I exchange a glance, then step forward in unison. "Sir," I begin, "with all due respect, Mr. Harrison saved these people's lives."

The cop offers a slight smile, but the cuffs still go onto the man's wrists. "We'll take that into consideration. Thank you, Rangers."

Mr. Harrison takes one final glance back at us, mouths Thank you, and that's that. Dana and I stare at the cars until they take the bend around the road and out of sight.