A/N – Warning for implied child abuse during this chapter
A few days after the debut of the Jet Force Megazord, Mark was standing outside a boarded up building on the edge of central Aaronsdale. He was slightly surprised to receive Rachel's message asking to meet her at this address but in the spirit of team building, he agreed to the request. He had been waiting for several minutes after the meet time and there was no sign of the white ranger. Moments later he did spot three familiar faces, "Stevie, Ricky, Jazz," he greeted the members of Project Jet Force, "did you get a message from Rachel too?"
"Yeah, something about a new project," Jazz replied, "can't imagine why she'd ask us to meet at this dump though."
"This used to be a proper student bar if I remember," Ricky added, "the ones where you'd buy watered down beer for a buck whilst spending most of the night stuck to the floor, you know the sort."
Mark stiffly shook his head, "Can't say that I do."
"You wouldn't Captain America," Stevie snorted, "it wasn't the place stiff Air Force officers hung out", she paused at the looks from her teammates, "so I was told, by others, I'm far too young, never been drunk in my life," the blue ranger added at a rapid fire rate.
"I know how to have fun," Mark replied defensively.
"Organising your underwear drawer doesn't count as fun," Jazz snorted, drawing giggles from Stevie and Ricky.
"That was one time and you promised you wouldn't tell anyone," Mark wagged a finger towards Jazz.
The red ranger was saved from further embarrassment when the metal door to the building swung open, "Hey you're all here," Rachel greeted the group but realised there was someone missing, "Anyone heard from Harley?"
"Course not," Mark shook his head, "that guy is a ghost outside of training and monster battles. Even Major Earhardt struggles to track him down, I believe she's trying to find him on an unrelated matter right now."
"Oh," Rachel replied flatly, "I'll start the tour, maybe they'll catch us up," she added whilst leading them through the door.
Inside there was clear evidence to the building's past as a bar. Broken tables and piles of chairs were pushed into one corner and the bar itself was covered in dust and grime, "See what did I tell you about the sticky floors," Ricky commented as each step was greeted with a sound like tearing Velcro.
"I'll admit it needs some work," Rachel replied, taking a position behind the bar, "my surveyor said the fire damage that closed the place wasn't too bad, it mainly just needs a clean and a coat of paint-"
"Wait a second," Jazz interrupted the white ranger, "you've bought this place, with your own money?" Behind the bar was a bottle, still with some liquid inside, "What do you know about owning a bar?" Jazz asked, taking a whiff of the bottle in the process.
"Absolutely nothing," Rachel grabbed the bottle from Jazz, "which is why this isn't going to be a bar, it's going to be a gym."
There was a pause until Ricky spoke, "Maybe the fumes are getting to me but did you say you brought this bar to convert it into a gym?"
"Yup," Rachel smiled, "I was thinking we need a good cover story if we're going to be proper superheroes. Think about it, one of the tabloids or gossip websites got hold of pictures of us together there would be questions. I mean, why would an internet celebrity hang out with an Air Force officer, two college students, a High Schooler and a degenerate like Harley?"
"That's not a bad idea," Mark began, "it gives us a reason to meet away from the base with a reasonable cover when the Vyglass attack."
"And make a bit of money on the side," Stevie added, "I assume that's why you dragged us down here so early, to offer us a job?"
Rachel laughed, "We will need staff and I'm sure I can find a job that works for everyone and hits in around their current schedule."
"Don't you need licences and qualifications to run a gym?" Mark asked.
"As the owner and manager, no," Rachel began, "if I was going to be a personal trainer than I would." She slowly walked over to the red ranger and placed her hand on his arm, "If only I knew some over achiever who took the necessary qualifications a couple of years ago," she said with a hopeful smile.
Mark blinked slowly, "How did you know that?" he paused and let out a deep sigh, "Jazz," he groaned.
"Rachel asked," Jazz replied defensively, "I didn't know she planned to buy a building and open a bloody gym. You have to admit it's a good idea though, you enjoy putting the Rangers through their paces so you might as well get paid for it."
After grumbling under his breath for a couple of moments, Mark said, "Fine I'll do it, on the condition that Jazz joins our sessions," which drew a cry of protest from the Scot.
"Deal," Rachel extended her hand for Mark to shake, drawing another loud curse from Jazz, "the Major has been saying for ages you need basic training, you might not wear the spandex but the Vyglass know you're part of the team."
Jazz snorted, "Just remember, I know where youse all live and I can easily find youse little secrets," her Scottish accent more prominent than usual.
"Great," Rachel said perkily and placed a six pack of beer on the dirty bar, "this deserves a toast, don't worry these are fresh." Everyone took a can except Stevie who had a can of soda hastily thrust into her hand, much to the blue ranger's disappointment, "We'll keep the spares aside for Harley and the Major," the white ranger added.
Mark shook his head slowly, "Something tells me you're going to be waiting a long time."
On the other side of town, the early morning sunlight dragged a reluctant Harley from his sleep. The black ranger rubbed his eyes as the light hit his sparsely furnished room. A dirty cooker sat in the far corner with an equally grubby sink nearby. A small cabinet held up a tiny tube television that barely worked and the other chair in the apartment held all of Harley's clothes.
The room was barely big enough to contain the mattress that Harley called a bed, the black ranger didn't even have a frame to put the mattress on. Giving himself a quick sniff Harley nearly retched, "I really need to give up smoking," he swung his leg off the mattress, knocking aside some empty bottles in the process. Grabbing a leather bag from the floor, he opened the main door and entered the hall.
His apartment was so small that it didn't have its own bathroom, the entire floor of the building had to share communal facilities. Harley didn't mind, he was barely there and the small cost of rent suited him. This area of town didn't have the best reputation, one newspaper described the South Side as the 'sewer of the city'. After bumping into a few of his neighbours, Harley knew that description was spot on.
The black ranger heard a muffled thump from around the corner followed by a banging door. Immediately Harley squared his shoulders, he had a pretty good idea which apartment that came from. Stomping around the corner, he spotted a young boy no more than ten year old hunched over in the hall, "Dylan," he said to get the child's attention, "we gotta stop meeting like this kid."
He knelt down, the boy was clearly in pain but there was no tears, just a silent grimace, "Look kid we both know what's goin' on, I ain't an idiot," Harley began softly, "might sound corny but you gotta friend in me if you want it."
Before the boy could reply, the door flew open and an overweight, balding man filled the doorway. There was a curse on his lips but it died the second he saw Harley, "Scotty," he greeted with faux happiness, "just the man I was looking for."
"Boy, inside now," Scotty hissed towards the child before turning back to Harley, "this is bordering on harassment Harley," he said with as much authority as he could manage.
Harley let out a dry chuckle and slowly extended himself to his full height, easily standing several inches above the man, "I warned you last week Scotty, if I saw another bruise on that kid you'd have me to answer to."
"I d-don't see a mark on him," Scotty stammered, grabbing the child and shovelling him through the door, "you can't prove anything."
"True but the right word to the right person and you'll become the most wanted man in the city," Harley replied with menace, "then maybe you'll pick on someone your own size." Scotty didn't reply, merely slamming the door in Harley's face, "One of these days Scotty, one of these days," he shouted whilst pounding on the door. The noise drew the attention of the neighbours poking their heads cautiously into the hall, "Whatta you lookin' at?" Harley snapped before stomping back down the hall, his morning shower quickly forgotten.
The black ranger was still fuming when he returned to his apartment, nearly breaking the door off its hinges when entering, "Rough morning," a voice greeted him, "or rough night judging by the smell," Taylor continued from the sole chair in the apartment, a brown envelope in hand, "
"Great just what I need," Harley groaned, "to what do I owe the mornin' wake up call."
"You know the Air Force could give you a stipend for a better apartment," Taylor replied, "I think I saw some cockroaches leaving in disgust earlier."
"I don't do charity," Harley sniffed, "just say what you want to say and get outta here."
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the mattress," Taylor raised an eyebrow, "I heard your argument, I have a few contacts that could help."
Harley grabbed a bottle of water from a mini fridge near his mattress, "Suits don't care about people in this ass end of town, I have half a mind to take my Jet Blaster and stick it where-"
"I'll stop you there," Taylor halted Harley's rant, "there was an old Power Ranger rule about using your powers for personal gain."
"Don't need my powers to rip the head off that tubby piece of crap," Harley snorted, "don't worry Major, I won't do anything," he paused before added a soft, "yet."
Taylor let out a deep sigh, "Which nicely brings me to this," she waived the brown envelope, "General Harmon got this from the FBI, the life and times of James Harley and his various aliases."
Harley stiffened for a moment, "Have you read it?"
"What I can," Taylor replied with a nod, "parts are missing but I can use my imagination." She paused and slowly stood up, "These are just words though, I want to hear your side of the story."
"And what if you don't like the story," Harley countered defensively, "you can't have this little Ranger project without me."
"There's plenty of former Rangers itching to come out of retirement," Taylor said flatly, "I'm sure we'd find a way."
The tense standoff was broken by a rumbling from deep within the building, "The hell is that?" Harley stated.
"A building this rundown, it could be anything," Taylor's reply was interrupted by a scream, "that sounds like it came from upstairs," she added.
Suddenly there was a splintering of wood and plaster as two pink tentacles crashed through the ceiling, knocking Taylor and Harley through the wall and into the hall. The pink appendages continued down the hall, breaking through a couple of doors only to retract moments later as the occupants of the room were dragged out, "Okay have we suddenly entered a dodgy Japanese TV show or did I drink too much last night," Harley muttered.
More of the ceiling gave way, revealing a giant maw lined with hundreds of sharp teeth. Harley and Taylor were frozen as the tentacles flicked its captives up, straight into the waiting jaws, "Alright now I've definitely seen it all," Taylor gagged at the sight.
"They might be the dregs of society but that's no way to go," Harley seethes and called on his morpher, "Jet Force, Take Flight," he shouted and jumped into action almost before the morphing sequence was complete, "you picked the wrong day to piss me off," he cried.
Harley swung his Jet Sword at the tentacles but they were tough, his attacks only succeeded in annoying the beast, "Whatever this is, its infected the whole building," Taylor called over the creaking building, "we need to get as many out as we can then get ourselves out." The black ranger was too busy taking his frustration out on the beast to reply, "Harley, that's an order," she added, swinging a piece of wood to protect herself.
Suddenly one of the tentacles wrapped around Taylor's ankle and dragged her across the floor, "Oh no you don't," Harley slammed his blade down on the appendage. The attack didn't have the desired effect, instead the arm catapulted Taylor towards the gaping maw. Harley didn't want to think about how much trouble he would get in for allowing the Major to be eaten and in a rare moment of teamwork, he shouted, "Major, catch."
The black ranger threw his Jet Sword, Taylor deftly caught the hilt and slashed at its fanged mouth, drawing a cry of pain from the beast. Taylor landed gracefully just in front of Harley, "Urgh, can't believe I nearly got eaten," the blonde shook her head, "still, at least I have a new story to tell at the next reunion."
"Major?" Harley asked slowly, "someone's been holdin' out on us," he added.
Taylor twirled the blade a couple of times, "Misspent youth, that's all I'm prepared to say for now." She offered the blade back, "Thank you Harley, you saved my life."
"Don't be spreading that around though," Harley shrugged his shoulders, "I have a reputation to keep." Another crash interrupted the moment as more tentacles probed through the walls, "Looks like I'm gonna have to cut our way out." To his surprise, Taylor had produced a sword with a silver and yellow blade. There was a winged shaped crossguard which Harley swore flashed with yellow energy, "Where you been hiding that?" the black ranger asked.
Taylor smirked and slashed through the nearest tentacle, "Still sharp after all this time," she said quietly, "well don't just stand there Harley, get cutting." For once, Harley was only too pleased to obey the command.
At street level, the other four Rangers ran towards the building, by now the tentacles were protruding from all levels of the building, "Woah, who let the Vyglass read Lovecraft," Ricky commented.
"Or look at your search history," Stevie nudged the yellow ranger's shoulder, "I haven't known you long but this looks totally up your alley."
"Do you like what I've done," the arrogant drawl of Count Trivium called from the entrance to the building.
"Not really, you've probably taken thousands off the sale price," Mark commented dryly.
Stevie couldn't help but snort loudly, drawing a strong glare from the red ranger, "Sorry but I didn't think you knew what a joke was."
Ignoring the comments from the Rangers, Count Trivium continued, "We dragged this particular beast from the universe we called C-65, the Soul Eater as it was known there. Its appetite knows no limits, legend has it that it once consumed a planet within a week."
"Why?" Mark asked, "why this building, why all those innocent people?"
"Well, I had to start somewhere," Trivium replied coldly. Mark quickly called on his Jet Sword, "You wish to challenge me?" the Count chuckled before drawing his blade, "very well, I shall grant you the death you so readily seek."
As the other Rangers summoned their swords, Mark quickly stopped them, "No, I've got this, you go help anyone left in the building."
"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, "don't you remember that one of their leaders put me in hospital a few days ago."
"I said I can handle him," Mark added firmly, "you have your orders." The white ranger paused but reluctantly left Mark to his duel with the Count.
With a cry he charged towards Trivium, only to get easily brushed aside, "I have always been puzzled by humanity," the Count said whilst easily parrying Mark's attacks, "even in the face of an obvious defeat, you never give up."
"You make that sound like a bad thing," Mark attacked again, calling on more of his Avian power and speed. Still though Count Trivium stood firm, "Why our planet, what's so special about this Earth?"
Trivium snorted, "Absolutely nothing, your species is nothing but insects compared to the mighty Vyglass." He charged up his blade and swung again at Mark, the red ranger blocked the attack but the additional power behind the attack caused him to stumble back, "I like to think of this not as an invasion but pest control," Trivium added with a cold grin.
"Yeah well, even the smallest insects can have a nasty bite," Mark hissed through gritted teeth and charged again with renewed energy. Trivium was still able to block his attacks but the Count wasn't looking so relaxed. Both combatants charged their blades before they clashed together with a thunderous bang, forcing the fighters to step back, "Not so cocky now are we?" Mark smiled inside his helmet.
"There are more ways to crush a bug," Trivium glanced over the red ranger's shoulder, "for example, this." Mark's confusion lasted for around half a second before he was swatted aside by a tentacle of the Soul Eater. The red ranger flew across the street, his sword tumbling free of his grasp. Moments later, his vision was filled with the shadow of Count Trivium, "I'll admit red ranger, you have pushed me further than any human has for a long time," he slowly began to raise his blade, "but in the end, you will fall like so many others."
"That's where you're wrong," Mark rolled and kicked Trivium in the back of his knees, knocking the count off balance. He rolled and grabbed his blade, nipping up to an upright position in a flash. As the Count turned, Mark's Jet Sword caught him with a backhand slash across the face. The attack caused a diagonal cut stretching from underneath Trivium's right eye all the way to just above his left eye.
The Count stood motionless, almost too shocked to believe that a human had managed to land a hit. He reached up and patted his hand against his forehead, inspecting the black blood that was oozing from the cut, "I'm bleeding," he said in shock, "no one has ever drawn my blood before."
"That's just the beginning," Mark raised his blade again but this time it was blocked by someone other than the Count, "Kane, nice to see you again," the red ranger said. The cyborg grunted and forcefully pushed Mark away before grabbing Trivium and teleporting away without saying another word.
Back inside the rapidly disintegrating building, Harley and Taylor had managed to guide as many to the exit as they could. With no access to the floors above Harley's apartment, they had to assume there was no one alive to rescue. Others during their search were reluctant or physically unable to move. One resident clearly under the influence of something illegal was openly hostile to the pair. Harley took great pleasure in throwing the individual out the nearest window, in the interests of their personal safety of course. Taylor gave him a strong reprimand, but the black ranger was insistent that he knew there was a dumpster below to break their fall, the Major wasn't so sure though.
They finally made their way to the first floor, only for the stairway to collapse behind them, "Great," Harley huffed, "there's an emergency exit down there," he pointed.
The pair were halfway down the hall when they could hear shouting from a nearby room, "Did you hear that?" Taylor asked the black ranger.
Harley didn't need a second invitation to kick down a door, blasting the obstacle off its hinges with a firm boot. Taylor was about to step into the room when Harley stopped him, "Careful," he said, "that floors riddled with holes, it could give way at any moment." The black ranger looked up, there was a large hole in the ceiling but that wasn't all, his neighbours Dylan and Scotty were clinging onto debris for dear life, "Of course you'd make it out alive," Harley grunted at the overweight man.
"Hey get me down from here," Scotty cried.
"Not until we have the kid," Harley replied, "Just hang on, literally," he added with a snigger.
"This is not the time for jokes," Scotty shifted slightly and the piece of floor creaked and bent, dropping Dylan closer to the ground.
"Yeah, maybe this is karma's way of bitin' you in the ass for beating your kid," Harley snapped, "if I had my way, I'd let you dangle for eternity."
Taylor shot the black ranger a disproving look, "We don't get to make that call."
Harley wanted to hit something in frustration but he retained enough common sense to know that was a bad idea. Groaning, he began to look at the floor, "Fortunately, I'm in a charitable mood today," he pointed at the ground, "Major you're lighter than me-"
"There's a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one," Taylor interrupted dryly.
"Let me finish," Harley held up his hands, "you're lighter than me, the floor underneath Dylan doesn't look too damaged."
"Right, good thinking," Taylor ignored Harley's frustrated head shake and gingerly positioned herself underneath the child, "Alright kid, I've got you," the terrified boy just shook his head in response, "don't worry, you're safe with us."
"Unless you want to stay here with him," Harley added. Dylan glanced at the man dangling from the floor and quickly dropped into Taylor's arms, "Well done kid," the black ranger said, "now what to do with you," he added towards Scotty.
"Just do something and quick," Scotty kicked his legs frantically.
"Don't do that you moron," Harley cried, "you'll made the whole thing collapse." His point was proven seconds later when the piece of wood snapped, sending Scotty crashing to the ground. His journey wasn't finished though, just as Harley predicted, the floor underneath wasn't safe either and it gave way. Harley looked down into the hole, "There we go, problem solved," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Taylor merely rolled her eyes in response.
"Guys, there's one down here," the pair recognised the voice of Rachel. The white ranger looked up into the hole, "What are you doing up there?" she asked.
"Saving lives," Harley began, "and I live here or at least I used to," he took Dylan out of Taylor's arms, "I'll jump down with the kid, then we'll help you out," he said to the Major.
Taylor just smiled and jumped straight through the gap, landing in a crouch next to Stevie, Ricky and Rachel, "You are such a bad ass," Stevie cried with delight, "with a bad ass sword too."
Harley jumped down after the Major, "Just showin' off," he looked down at Scotty who was unconscious on the ground, "did he break anything in the fall?"
Rachel shook her head, "Not that I can tell, everything is pointing in the direction it should be."
"Shame," Harley snorted, "I guess we should drag him outside," he walked away without offering to help, leaving the other three rangers to move Scotty.
Once clear of the building, they spotted two firefighters and paramedic, "I wouldn't go in there," Taylor began, "whole place is going to come down any second." She then gestured towards Dylan and Scotty, "Could you check these two out, they took a nasty fall."
"And maybe bring the cops for this one," Harley added, "not all those bruises on the kid are from the fall, if you know what I mean." A sad look in the paramedic eyes showed she knew exactly what Harley meant.
As the black ranger turned to leave, Dylan grabbed his hand, "Thank you," he said quietly.
The black ranger crouched down, his visor meeting Dylan's eyes, "Thank me by tellin' the truth to the officers," the boy nodded slowly, "good boy," he ruffled his hair.
A low rumble burst out the building, dust and masonry flew in all directions, "I think that's your cue," Taylor said to the four rangers, "go, I'll get everyone to a safe distance." The Rangers nodded and sprinted towards the building.
To their horror, the giant maw of the beast burst through the outer wall and a gap higher up the apartment block was suddenly filled with two giant eyes, "That doesn't look good," Ricky said, struggling to keep his balance on the vibrating ground.
Moments later Mark joined them, "Count Trivium called it the Soul Eater," he began, "said it has an irrepressible hunger."
"Can't be hungry when its dead," Harley countered, "what's the plan then boss?"
Inside his helmet Mark frowned, "You're actually asking me for orders?"
"Maybe you Air Force lot aren't all bad," the black ranger glanced back at Taylor who was pushing the emergency services back to a safe distance.
Before Mark could continue, the building suddenly broke free of its foundations and into the air. It was now attached to a giant monster with dark blue skin on its upper body and pink, fleshy legs. In place of its right hand was a giant hook and in its left hand was a giant mace, "Well I'm going to have nightmares tonight," Ricky said to the others.
"I think we're going to need the zords," Mark replied.
"Already on it," Jazz called through their helmets, "they should be arriving any second." True to her word, the zords flashed overhead, "This one is giving out some serious power readings," Jazz continued as the Rangers flew into their zords, "don't bother attacking individually, I think it's time to try the Megazord's Warrior Mode."
"Are you sure?" Mark asked, "the technicians only finished the adjustments to the zords last night."
"Trust me, you're gonna need all the firepower you can get with this one," Jazz replied over the comm.
"Alright you heard Jazz," Mark said to the other Rangers, "initiating Megazord Warrior Mode."
In unison the five Rangers entered the initiation sequence for the Megazord, automatically bringing the five jets into position. The Swan and Condor Zords folded up on themselves to form the left and right leg respectively. The Owl and Swallow zords twisted, revealing a silver hand each and took their positions at the top of the formation. Finally part of the Hawk Zord dropped down, revealing a humanoid head. The other four zords connected to the body of the Hawk Zord and with a crack of lightning, the Jet Force Megazord stood proud over the city. Down on the ground, Taylor saw the blazing bird motif across its chest and allowed herself a small smile.
The Rangers seats all linked into a central cockpit and the main command deck came alive, "So many buttons, so little time," Stevie's hand drifted over her control panel.
"Don't push anything yet," Jazz warned, "Warrior Mode is equipped with an array of melee weapons but since you're in the middle of the city, I suggest ending things quickly."
"Shame, it trashed my home and killed innocent people," Harley snarled, "I wanted that thing to suffer."
Suddenly the Rangers saw the Soul Eater firing another batch of tentacles in their direction, "Quickly Stevie push the big blue button in front of you," Jazz directed the blue ranger. A light blue shield appeared in the Megazord's right hand and on reflex, it batted away the attack before counterattacking by smashing the shield against the monster's face, "Ooh nice," Jazz cheered, "try the Rocket Punch next."
"I think you know more about this than we do," Mark shook his head but followed her instructions. The shield disappeared and the Megazord raised its arms then clenched its fists. Both the fists detached from the main body and flew towards the Soul Eaters, impacting the upper body.
The beast was stunned but not defeated, from its hands came another tentacle wave that whipped the Megazord. The Rangers were thrown around inside the cockpit, "Any ideas how to counter that Jazz?" Mark asked over the radio.
"Sure do, the Avian Sabre is coming your way," the Scot replied, "this is the Megazord's main weapon. If you combine your Avian power, it should help unleash your special attack."
The giant silver blade flew through the sky before the Megazord plucked it out the air. With a deft slash, it cut away the Soul Eater's tentacles which fell to the ground below with a wet thud. Realising that it was now defenceless, the beast roared with fury and charged towards the Megazord, "I'm done with this thing," Harley growled and grabbed the joystick in front of him, "time to cut him down to size."
The other Rangers followed the black ranger's example, allowing their Avian power to flow into the Megazord. The sabre cracked with energy, even the Soul Eater was paralysed for a brief second at the display of power, "Avian Sabre, Avian Slash," the Rangers called in unison. The Megazord jumped into the air and flew towards the monster, cutting it down with a well timed slash. The Soul Eater staggered before falling into the crater where the apartment building once stood, exploding on impact with the ground.
The Jet Force Megazord landed gracefully, slowly lowering its blade, "We did it," Stevie jumped out her seat, shaking Harley's shoulder with excitement. The black ranger turned his head and glared, "Come on big guy, give us a smile," she continued, "or a high five, come on hit me up top." She offered her hand but Harley didn't return the gesture, "Bundle of joy aren't you," she huffed whilst returning to her seat.
"See what we can achieve when we work together," Mark continued, "this should be cause for celebration."
"Guys, could you celebrate if that," Rachel pointed at the smouldering crater, "was all that was left of your home."
Harley mumbled something that vaguely sounded like a 'thank you' before adding, "Don't get me wrong it was a roach infested shithole but it was better than being homeless."
"I might have a solution for that," the white ranger replied, "you still got that address I sent you?" the black ranger nodded, "Meet me there later, I have something to show you."
Later that day, Harley turned up at Rachel's new property. He found the metal door open and let himself in," Hey, surprised you came," the white ranger said whilst shaking a bottle, "found the cheapest, nastiest bottle of bourbon I could find, seemed like your kind of drink." The blonde pulled a couple of clean glasses from underneath the bar, "I have a proposition for you," she continues whilst pouring the liquid.
"Oh yeah," Harley gave her a sly grin, "what makes you think you're my type sweetheart?"
"Not that kind of proposition," Rachel rolled her eyes and slid Harley's drink across the bar, "like I told the others earlier, I've bought this place and plan to turn it into a gym. What I didn't tell them is that there's a decent sized apartment upstairs."
"That you're just gonna give me rent free," Harley picked up his glass, "yeah right," he added sarcastically.
Rachel laughed, "Course it's not rent free do I look like a charity?" Harley shrugged his shoulders, "As you can see this place is a dump so I could do with some free labour to help clear it up. After that, maybe you work for me, I could do with a towel boy," she joked.
"Very funny," Harley replied dryly, swirling the drink around in his glass, "since I ain't got any other options, I guess I accept."
The white ranger offered a coy smile in response and clinked Harley's glass, "Good that means our hard work hasn't been wasted." As she finished speaking a door behind the bar opened and the remaining Rangers plus Jazz and Taylor appeared, "We've got the basics set up, if you want to decorate further I'll leave that up to you."
Harley was speechless, his mouth flapping silently, "I think we broke him," Mark said whilst sitting on the bar stool next to the black ranger.
"Why do all that, for me?" the black ranger asked the group.
"Air Force HR guidelines say that I have to look out for your welfare," Taylor began, "and maybe you deserved a break for once."
"The Major said that you saved loads of people from that building," Mark added, "you might be an ass on the surface but underneath, you're a decent person."
"Plus the major paid us," Stevie shrugged, "why don't you come and see what we've done?"
"You go up," Taylor began, "I just need a couple of minutes with Harley." The group slowly filed upstairs, although Harley thought he saw a lingering glance from Rachel before she disappeared through the door, "Dylan's going to be alright," Taylor interrupted Harley's thoughts, "the Police think they have enough to put his Stepdad away for a long time."
Harley took a sip of his bourbon, "I'll believe it when I see it," he said dismissively.
"Like I said earlier I have some contacts in law enforcement, I'll make sure it happens," Taylor replied with force and conviction, enough to make the black ranger believe her words. "I'm not going to tell the others, about what was in your file," she added.
"Really? Not even our Boy Scout of a red ranger?" Harley replied.
Taylor shook her head, "Not my story to tell but can I give you some advice," Harley shrugged his shoulders but didn't refuse the Major's words, "secrets can be damaging. If you're not careful they can eat away at you until there's nothing yet."
"What makes you think it hasn't already?" Harley asked quietly.
"Then you wouldn't have helped today," Taylor gave him a reassuring smile before pushing herself away from the bar and walking upstairs. Harley pondered the Major's words in silence whilst finishing the last of his drink.
On the Vyglass ship Prince Reise and Princess Lena watched as the medical droids patched up Count Trivium, "I warned the Count not to underestimate these humans," Lena scoffed, "he will have a scar but nothing too serious."
"Arrogance was always Trivium's weakness," Reise sighed, "and I would agree, this Earth is proving much more difficult to conquer than I thought." The young prince suppressed a laugh as Count Trivium furiously swatted the droids away, "If a head on assault isn't working, maybe its time for a different approach," he looked at his sister, a cold smile on his face before turning and walking away.
A/N2 - Trying something a little different with this chapter, uploading an entire "episode" rather than splitting it across multiple chapters so its a bit longer than usual.